Euro Weekly News - Costa Blanca North 8 - 14 May 2014 Issue 1505

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ISSUE NO. 1505

No piracy OUT-OF-TOWN taxi drivers may pick up passengers at Alicante airport only six times a month, the regional government has ruled.

Promising start THE ‘ice-cream season’ which traditionally starts on March 19 began well, thanks to good weather. If it continues, local manufacturers expect to exceed 2013’s turnover of €250 million.

Take it easy THERE were 85 days of parliamentary activity in the Valencian Community between September and the end of April. Regional MPs had 189 per cent more free days than schoolchildren.

New jobs BENIDORM is negotiating with the regional government to build a technology park adjoining Terra Mitica.

Using private money, it would attract businesses and create 5,000 jobs, the town hall said.

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Fire that devastated the Montgo was ‘deliberate’ A FOREST fire in the Montgo national park in Denia has devastated almost 40 hectares of land.

A party of four British walkers had to be led to safety after the fire cut off their route down from Montgo. They phoned the emergency services who guided them to a different route.

Up to 50 residents were evacuated due to the choking smoke, although no one was hurt.

The blaze, which broke out in Jesus Pobre, took 24 hours to extinguish and was almost certainly deliberate.

Firefighters and aircraft had to continue dampening down the smouldering area the following day to prevent the strong Poniente winds from rekindling the flames.

Residents in the adjoining area were evacuated from their homes although they were endangered less by

Credit: photo by Tom Miller.

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8 - 14 MAY 2014

the flames than the thick smoke which was blowing in their direction.

No homes were materially damaged but although the 50 or so householders were informed that they could return home later that night, many preferred to stay elsewhere with family or friends.

Owing to the continuing drought, Alicante Province is still on the maximum level of alert with a ban on anything posing a fire risk.

Early rumours that the Montgo blaze was caused by a barbecue were immediately dismissed

by Serafin Castellano, head of the regional

government’s Interior Department.

Subsequent investigations by the Guardia Civil’s nature protection unit, Seprona, and the Regional Environment Department confirmed that the fire had been started deliberately.

An examination of the area where the fire began

revealed evidence of accelerant chemicals, Seprona officers said.

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Calpe most sought after with Trivago CALPE was the most looked-for Marina Alta location on the Trivago website in 2013.

Trivago, which looks for and compares the prices of 500,000 hotels worldwide, is used by more than 45 million people a month.

The Valencian Community accounted for 10.2 per cent of all Spanish searches on the internet hotel comparison site. In all, 4.6 per cent of these enquiries were for Calpe, compared to 1.7 per cent for Javea, Benicassim and Cullera (both in Valencia Province) or Denia’s 3 per cent.

The average value of a Calpe booking cost €475, according to Trivago, followed by Javea (€415) and Denia (€392) although Benidorm bookings at an average €549 were the

THIS WEEK IN

EWN News 1 - 34

Finance 35 - 40

Letters 41

Leapy Lee 55

Daily TV Thu 44 Sun 50 Fri 46 Mon 52 Sat 48 Tues 54 Wed 56

Time out

CALPE: In favour of new technology. highest-priced.

“Although we must not ignore the traditional promotional channels, it is obvious the use of online searches is becoming increasingly popular,” said

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Calpe’s councillor for Tourism Jan Van Parijs.

“Calpe hotels and the Tourist department are all in favour of new technology,” Van Parijs added.

Classifieds 80 - 82

Sport 87 - 88

FUNDING: Benidorm’s tourism sector calls for EU funding.

Hosbec calls for EU funding for tourism THE tourism sector in Benidorm is using the approaching elections to the European Parliament, to be held on May 25, to demand that the European Union “pitch in” with the industry.

The president of the hotel employer Hosbec, Antonio Mayor, demanded the implementation of a strategic plan from the EU to help finance infrastructure in major tourist towns like Benidorm, with a cast of funds in line with the economic relevance

and seasonality of each destination. He said: “In 60 years the European institutions have not had much regard for the tourist towns which are poorly funded from Europe,” even though they give “happiness and an important service to European citizens.”

Despite tourism being a strategic sector for Spain, Hosbec lamented about the delay in launching a connection with the AVE and hoteliers facing the Coastal Act.

NEWS Beach bar offer BENIDORM City Hall invited bids to run a bar at the isolated Ti Ximo beach. The ‘chiringuito’ will open from June to September and cost the bidder an annual €6,000.

Car scams FRAUDULENT insurance claims rose by 45 per cent in Alicante Province over the past five years. Insurance companies detected 6,352 cases last year, most of them connected with motoring claims.

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Naming names at the airport ELCHE battled for years for the addition of its name to Alicante airport.

The new terminal finally bears a sign proclaiming it to be Alicante-Elche Airport but Elche mayor Mercedes Alonso is not yet entirely satisfied. She has now asked Aena to change the name on the old terminal from Alicante to Alicante-Elche.

Spain’s airports’ authority has instead taken an easier

and cheaper way out by removing the name entirely, rather than amend the sign or pay for a new one.

Many people continue to refer to El Altet but although this is the name of the Elche district where it is located, it was never the airport’s official name.

After repeated requests for the name change from a succession of Elche councils, Aena finally relented last summer.

Law-abiding THE crime rate in La Nucia dropped by 6 per cent last year while police efficiency rose by 27 per cent during the same period.

Class conscious A GERMAN teacher on sick leave since March at Alicante City’s official Language School has not been replaced. Failing their June exams will force them to repeat the course, students complained.

Veto slated CHICKEN POX cases are increasing as the government ban on selling the vaccine continues, Alicante Province paediatricians warned. They advised parents to obtain it “however they can” and vaccinate privately.

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Bitter taste

THE Gandia area ended this year’s citrus fruit campaign with 30 per cent losses compared to 2013. Growers blamed low prices for oranges and rising costs.

STDs down SYPHILIS cases fell by 17 per cent in Alicante Province last year. The 148 reported cases nevertheless exceeded the national average of 5.85 cases per 100,000 inhabitants.

By the book CHLORIDES and particles emitted by San Juan crematorium are in line with Spanish law, claimed owners ASV. Anything in excess of the regional government’s authorised levels was “minimal,” ASV said.

Debt settling PEDREGUER Town Hall finished 2013 with a €1.7 million surplus but cannot reinvest this in improvements to the municipality. Instead, it must pay off the previous council’s debts, sources lamented.

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Language plea BENITACHELL councillors unanimously agreed to ask the regional Education department to guarantee education in Spanish and Valenciano at local infant and primary schools.

Boy gored EMBLEMATIC: Tio Pepe stands proud once again above Puerta del Sol in Madrid.

Return of an icon THE new neon Tio Pepe sign in the Puerta del Sol in Madrid is due to be lit in an official inauguration today (May 8).

The Tio Pepe advertisement watched over the central square from the late 1950s until 2011 when it was removed.

The Sherry bottle, topped with a Cordoba hat, wearing a short torero jacket and brandishing a guitar, was originally fixed to the top floor of the Hotel Paris.

But the building, belonging to a Mexican property group, was leased to Apple Retail Store and the sign was removed during renovation work.

Tio Pepe owners Gonzalez Byass always assumed it would return, but when they found it was absent from plans for the revamped building they challenged them, suggesting that restoration “should be obliged to include the historic Tio Pepe sign.”

It emerged that the building’s owners did not want to renew the Tio Pepe contract but other sites offered a new home to the emblematic advertisement.

Now, it is back with a new, improved, slim-line figure.

Quote of the Week I haven’t been paid with money in an envelope in my f***ing life,” Vice-President of the Government, Soraya Saenz de Santamaria, following accusations in parliament that she had been paid almost €600,000 illegally by the conservative Partido Popular in the past years.

Up to 20 people worked on the final touches to put the advertisement in place on the top of Number 11, Puerta del Sol, with the help of a crane, causing much expectation amongst the press, local residents and tourists alike.

The original Tio Pepe figure was created in 1935, coinciding with the 100-year anniversary of Gonzalez Byass, and the following year, it was used for the first time in an advertisement. The brand Tio Pepe was registered back in 1888.

Luis Perez Solero designed the image, which has changed its appearance 12 times since its creation. In 2009, the sign was declared part of Madrid’s historical heritage.

Tio Pepe is made in Jerez de la Frontera, Cadiz, and is a dry Sherry made from the Palomino grape.

Number of the week

went to Catholic charity 77,072 people Caritas in 2013 to ask for help

finding work. For the first time, there were more Spaniards (53 per cent) than there were foreigners.

Just over 12,000 found a job thanks to the Caritas Employment and Social Economy Programme.

A 13-YEAR-OLD boy was gored three times during a street bull-running in Onda (Valencia). Villareal hospital later announced that he was seriously injured but his life was not in danger.

Mountain rescue THE Alicante Province Fire Brigade Consortium mobilised its helicopter to rescue a woman walking on Sierra Bernia near Altea. She had twisted her ankle and was unable to walk.

Fire asset THE Generalitat’s department of Culture intends to declare Alicante City’s June Hogueras fire fiestas an Intangible Cultural Asset.

And finally...

AN overweight man, 46, suffered a heart attack after being caught shoplifting in a Lidl supermarket in Madrid. He was hiding packets of ham worth €12 under his clothes and attacked staff who caught him.

He died in hospital shortly afterwards.

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Pilgrimage leaves mess ALICANTE City’s annual pilgrimage to San Juan is over for another year.

Next year, as always, it will be held on the second Thursday after Easter and, as always, there will be literally tonnes of rubbish to clear up afterwards.

This year the 300,000 or so people who walked the eight kilometres between the city and the town of San Juan left behind 35 tonnes of rubbish.

Refuse collectors also retrieved 420 supermarket trolleys from Playa de San Juan and 90 more along the route. The trolleys are habitually used by the young to transport the food and drink consumed in the course of the day and following night.

Later there was criticism of Alicante City Hall from Opposition councillor Miguel Angel Pavon.

“The PP permitted flagrant non-compliance with local bye-laws by allowing a botellon at the San Juan beach,” he said. “It was shaming,” Pavon continued, “to see images of drunken minors on national television.”

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Turtles returned to the sea DENIA Town Hall took part in the local Boat Show held in the Marina.

It was present in the Cabo San Antonio section, where maritime and fisheries volunteers

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Here to stay BENIDORM City Hall signed a seven-year agreement with the Low Cost music festival organisers. The exceptionally long contract guaranteed the festival will remain in the resort, the council said.

GOING HOME: A turtle returns to the sea last December. from the town hall and regional government

‘New’ old houses for Villajoyosa

IN KEEPING: Same shapes and colours in La Vila.

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NEW townhouses in Villajoyosa’s Old Town will preserve traditional architecture and colours.

Permission has been given to build 18 homes with garages in the town’s old quarter which is protected as an Asset of Cultural Interest. They adjoin the site of the First Century baths dating from the time when La Vila was a Roman town named Allon.

The developers had originally intended to build a hotel on the plot but initial explorations uncovered the Roman baths and the project was halted.

Instead the baths will be preserved and eventually opened to the public and 18 townhouses will instead be built nearby.

The new houses will “respect and preserve the urban image of the Old Town,” pledged Jeronimo Lloret, councillor responsible for Economic and Sustainable Development.

They will harmonise with the existing houses in Calle Dr Alvaro Izquierda and painted in the colours traditionally associated with Villajoyosa’s Old Town, Lloret said.

gave out information about the marine nature reserve.

Municipal volunteers were also present as the 200th turtle from Valencia City’s Arca del Mar marine centre was returned to the sea.

The young winners of the ‘Liberar a una Tortuga’ (Free a Turtle) art competition were also present as the turtles, which had earlier been rescued by fishing boats or found ensnared in their nets, were released in their natural habitat.

Cover story ALICANTE City mayor Sonia Castedo resigned as a regional MP, claiming she wished to concentrate on her mayoral duties.

Critics attributed her resignation to involvement in the Brugal corruption case.

Art show ALTEA announced that ‘Balconades’ pictures will be displayed on Old Town balconies from July 18 to August 31.

Happy ending for swimming disaster A SCOT holidaying in Benidorm with his girlfriend decided after a few drinks to swim to the Island.

He set off from the Poniente beach at around 7pm. Some time afterwards another swimmer who saw the young woman crying on the beach alerted the emergency services.

The 31-year-old Scot had disappeared and a helicopter and sea-rescue launch were mobilised, together with a Local Police boat and the Guardia Civil’s Scuba unit.

Police also scoured the area in case he had already emerged from the water.

The search continued until 3.25am the next morning when the 31year-old appeared at the apart-hotel on the Poniente beach where the couple were staying.

He was naked, scratched, bruised and frightened, a receptionist revealed.

He had tried to return shortly after entering the water but was prevented by the currents, he later told police. As night fell he could no longer see the shore and drifted with the tide, he said, finally washing up amongst rocks at a spot police believe was the end of the La Cala’s Paseo Tamarindos.

Seeing the helicopter and launches, he took off his bathing trunks and waved them to attract their attention. When they failed to see him, he decided to find his own way back to the aparthotel.

It was not the first time that a tourist has decided to swim to Benidorm Island after a few drinks, police said. But the 3.7kilometre swim is trickier than it looks, they added.

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Case dismissed for 10 drug smugglers THE Madrid National High Court dismissed a narcotics case because of a wiretap.

The tap ordered by a Denia court in February 2009 was “a prime example of how the police and the judge should not act,” judges said.

The public prosecutor had recommended sentences totalling 157 years and €474 million fines for 10 alleged members of a drug-smuggling group.

Based in Alicante Province and Murcia they supposedly tried to import 523 kilos of cocaine into the country.

Shuttle row is not going away ILL-FEELING is growing between Alicante City Hall and Costa Blanca resorts.

The AVE high speed train between Madrid and Alicante City is hugely successful but getting to and from the AVE terminus in Alicante City is complicated.

There should be a shuttle bus service between the big resorts and the station, say both Benidorm and Torrevieja, as 60 per cent of AVE passengers do not stay in the city.

Manuel Buch who heads the regional

government’s Tourism department agreed: “One way or other there will be a shuttle service this summer.”

This would happen even if it operated from Villena, one stop up the line from the city, he said.

Nevertheless Alicante City Council has voted once more against a regular link, with Traffic and Transport councillor Juan Seva disputing claims that few AVE passengers remain in the city. “We’re tired of outsiders telling us what we should do,” Seva warned.

Police told the Denia judge that the network’s alleged leader, a German living in Teulada, and his Colombian wife planned to bring cocaine into Spain camouflaged in tinned food.

The couple had no visible means of support, they said, but maintained a high standard of living and were clearly engaged in large scale drugs dealing.

The judge authorised a wiretap and 91 kilos of cocaine were seized at Barajas in Madrid while a further 424 kilos never left Colombia.

Ten people were arrested in Alicante and Murcia but the Madrid court has now upheld their defence’s request to invalidate the wiretap.

This should not have been allowed, they claimed, as there were “insufficient motives” for its authorisation.

Any evidence from the bugged phone conversations was therefore contaminated and the investigation compromised.

The Madrid judges agreed and all 10 accused were acquitted.

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Line 9 on the right track RENOVATIONS to the Line 9 tram between Benidorm and Denia are a step closer.

The regional government, the Generalitat, has now invited bids to produce a draft for installing Automatic Train Protection equipment along 50.8

kilometres of single gauge track.

The contract for this part of the project is worth €4.76 million, while another contract for €10.95 million will be allocated for installing the line’s signalling system, energy supply and communications.

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In demand SEVENTY-EIGHT of 95 apartments in a yet-tobe-built tower block in Calpe have been already been sold.

Prices for the secondline properties started at €118.477.

CAMPELLO: Cable no longer mars chapel.

Telefonica helps out chapel

AN unsightly telephone cable in front of Campello’s Virgen del Carmen chapel has been removed.

Town hall negotiations with Telefonica finally bore fruit and the cable, a familiar sight for years, is now below ground.

Territorial councillor Nacho Colomo thanked the telephone company

for its cooperation and resiting the cable quickly and with so little disturbance to passers-by.

Apart from aesthetics, local seamen will no longer have to manoeuvre the statue of the Virgen del Carmen past the cable when their Patroness’s fiestas come round once more in July, Colomo said.

Quiet life THREE Alicante girls aged between 14 and 18 enquired about becoming nuns at Santa Faz in San Juan. The Poor Clares enclosed order is in charge of the convent there.

Cheap swimming NO charge will be made for under-fives at Alcoy’s municipal swimming pools, the town hall announced.

Season tickets with unlimited access for pensioners, under-16s and the disabled will cost €30.

Dog walkies on Sunday A DOG-TRAINING demonstration will be held at the Albir golf course this Sunday.

Entrance is free and the event, which begins at 10am, is organised by the Cuidemos El Albir association in collaboration with Alfaz Town Hall and USAR 13 DYA.

Those attending may bring their own dogs, explained the spokesman for ‘Cuidemos El Albir,’ Justo Lopez, as the demonstration includes basic information on animal behaviour.

Both of the associations connected with next Sunday’s demonstration

Turning down the volume FINESTRAT recently held an ‘Anti-noise Day’ coinciding with International Noise Awareness Day. In collaboration with the Spanish Acoustics Society (SEA) and sponsors EcuDap, Finestrat’s Local Police organised different events on the theme of ‘Control noise for a more peaceful environment.’

These included workshops for administrators, technicians and police officers that demonstrated how to inspect, understand and install systems for noise control in public places and private establishments. All those attending observed a minute’s silence ‘in honour of silence.’ The event was also attended by pupils from Finestrat’s Puig Campana primary school.

are private and non-profit making. The USAR 13 DYA group was created in 2013 and uses specially-trained dogs for rescue operations, emergencies and natural disasters.

Cuidemos El Albir is an independent association but collaborates with the town hall on specific campaigns like the current ‘Bienvenidos a la playa de El Albir.’

The association was founded in 2012 and includes residents and visitors of all ages and nationalities.

Its membership has representatives from all professions and occupations as well as housewives and students.

They have the common goal, however, of protecting the Playa de Albir, the Albir lighthouse and the Sierra Helada national park.

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GIVEAWAY: The dancing suggests Andalucia, but that island can only be Benidorm.

‘Feria de Abril’ Benidorm-style

EIGHT restaurants contributed to Benidorm’s Feria de Abril gastronomic event that ends on Sunday.

The project was aimed at introducing visitors and residents to Andalucian food at the same time as the famous April Fair held each year in Sevilla.

Organised by the town hall’s Tourism department in collaboration with the local Abreca and Cobreca restaurateur and barowners’ associations, the Feria was officially inaugurated at the emblematic Balcon on the Poniente beach. The

Luc van Breda LUC lost his battle against cancer on April 28.

Many knew Luc as the bass player with The Brink Band, Joe Dylan Trio, Off Limits, Mad Company, Live Lounge and other Costa Blanca bands. His accurate ear and love of playing made him an exceptional musician, not only on bass but also on guitar and as a composer.

In Belgium Luc had his own sound engineering company handling large concerts for celebrities such as Prince and Santana and this experience, coupled with his knowledge of the latest musical technology and boyish enthusiasm, made him a valued band member.

He will be sadly missed by everyone who knew him.

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Water features THE cascade and water spout at San Juan’s municipal park were finally repaired. They had been out of action for 15 years, the town hall admitted.

Books balanced ALTEA Town Hall finished 2013 with a surplus of €5 million, compared to 2011 when it was €15.5 million in the red. Last year’s was the first surplus since 1991.

Helping hand TRINITY Baptist church’s ‘Extiende tu mano’ distributed more than 50,000 kilos of food and 14,000 items of clothing in Denia last year. They also provided 8,861 daily menus for 342 families.

opening was attended by Benidorm’s mayor Agustin Navarro and deputy mayor Gema Amor accompanied

by Abreca and Cobreca members.

This was an event “with a great deal of flavour” according to Amor who congratulated the restaurants for their commitment as well as their expertise and “Andalucian flair.”

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Mayor faces fireworks damage bill

Maths athletes limber up NINETY pupils are to compete in the Mathematics Olympiad in Denia on Saturday.

The competition is open to pupils from the last year of primary school and first year of secondary education.

Historiador Chabas Institute as well as the Paidos, Les Vessanes and Llebeig schools will be represented.

In addition, there will be 30 pupils from Marina Baja.

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FASHION SHOW: All proceeds go to the ambulance campaign.

Original Charity Shop and Library ‘sees red’ THE Original Charity Shop and Library in Javea is organising a fashion show this Saturday.

The event is part of the ‘Wear something red weekend’ in support of the Ambulancia para Javea campaign.

The Pura Vida spring-summer fashion show will be held at The Dance Cafe, Toscamar on Saturday, May

10, at 5pm. The entry fee is €3 and all money raised will go to the ambulance fund.

Fifteen models will show a selection of excellent quality clothing for casual, elegant day and evening wear. After the show there will be ample opportunity to purchase the outfits, accessories, jewellery, menswear and much more.

CULLERA Town Hall in Valencia will have to pay for fire damage caused by a fireworks display.

Firemen warned the local mayor Ernesto Sanjuan that a night-time display during the resort’s local fiestas should be cancelled. This followed a regional government ban on all fires owing to the region’s drought conditions.

Fireworks within 500 metres of woodland were also vetoed, ruling out the Cullera display, Sanjuan was warned.

Instead he ignored the warning and a rocket set the hillside below the castle alight. Eight fire brigades from neighbouring towns had to be called in to fight the blaze, which took two-and-a-half hours to control but was halted before it reached adjoining homes.

The Guardia Civil opened an investigation and the regional government has recently confirmed that Cullera Town Hall must meet the cost of extinguishing the blaze and faces a possible fine.

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Do you have a Euro to spare?

IN these difficult times it is hard to spare money for charities but most can spare €1.

With this in mind the Alfaz del Pi branch of AECC, the Spanish cancer charity, together with Giving4Gving and Voluntariado Social de Alfaz, have come up with the ‘Eurothon.’

The idea is to form a line of euro coins along the Paseo in Albir, starting at The Anchor. This will follow the brown stone strip between the pyramid lights as far as the donations take it.

The event will be held on Sunday, June 1 from 12 noon until 2.30pm. Collecting boxes will be placed in bars, clubs and shops before the date so that those

wishing to donate €1 before the day can do so.

On June 1 the boxes will be opened on site and the coins added up.

The line will be monitored by young local people, as the associations consider it very important for the young to learn of the need for charity and understand how they can help.

The money raised will be shared between the AECC and Alfaz’s Voluntariado Social for the immediate benefit of the town’s needy families.

For more information please call Pam on 966 860 735, email pdawson802t@cv.gva.es or Maribel Torres 607 151 878.

GATA: Pavements will make CV-748 safer for pedestrians.

Gata-Jalon road improvements A SECTION of the CV-748 road in Gata de Gorgos is to be made safer. Most of the 1.6 kilometres of improvements (to cost €130,497) to what is usually referred to as the Jalon road are in the built-up area of town.

It is much-used by pedestrians and until now has lacked pavements.

These will now be installed, together with provision for street lights and storm drains. The project will take three months to complete.

A dubious ‘first’ for Alicante MORE employees work ‘in the black’ in Alicante Province than any other in Spain.

The National Population Survey (EPA) revealed over 100,000 Alicantinos are employed in the submerged economy.

An estimated 632,000 people were in work, the EPA found, but only 531,700 were registered in the Social Security system, leaving approximately 100,000 in a legal limbo.

Not only does Alicante have more unregistered workers than any other Spanish province, but this number has remained more or less stable for 10 years, according to the EPA statistics.

The problem is deep-seated, sources said, and supports the claims of the

province’s business-owners’ association COEPA, which has long complained about the unfair competition of firms that benefit from their employees’ irregular situation.

“Unfortunately in many areas and in sectors like agriculture or the footwear industry, workers regard working without a contract as normal ‘because that’s what we’ve always done’ they say,” explained Jose Maria Ruiz Olmos, Employment secretary for the l’AlacantiLas Marinas area.

Valencia Province has 77,814 unregistered works, the next-highest number after Alicante, followed by Baleares (53,949), Toledo (41,954) and Las Palmas (39,628).

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Custody mother planned revenge on police officers A BENIDORM woman has been remanded on charges of hiring a hitman to kill two policemen.

She initially offered to pay him €15,000 for each man

that he killed, but instead of carrying out the contract, he went to the police. He showed them WhatsApp messages he had received from the woman discussing

the arms he should buy and the price she would pay.

According to sources quoted by the provincial Spanish press, the woman had very little to go on and

had no idea of the officers’ names or where they lived.

The two Local Police officers took part in an operation which carried out a court order to remove the woman’s children from her custody.

The officers were only acting as back-up but the woman allegedly remembered their faces and wanted to kill them in revenge.

Although she later admitted sending the messages, the woman April is traditionally a rainy month in who works as a Alicante Province but Aemet recorded prostitute, according to only 4.6 litres per square metre, 84 per sources, claimed she was cent below normal. joking.

The threat of drought looms and The messages were although the domestic water supply is nevertheless taken guaranteed, according to sources, seriously by Benidorm’s growers who have lost this year’s National Police, and she almond crop now fear for their trees, was arrested and later which they say they are struggling to remanded on charges of save. inciting murder.

April was Alicante’s driest for 114 years LAST month was Alicante Province’s warmest April since 1900, with an average temperature of 19 degrees Celsius.

This was 3.5 degrees higher than usual, confirmed Aemet, Spain’s meteorological office.

Spring inland is usually cold but temperatures also rose away from the coast, with a 16.7-degree average in Villena, an increase of almost 5 degrees.

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Men in good voice THE Costa Blanca Male Voice Choir performed with five other choirs at the Festival International de Coros in Alfaz del Pi. It was an evening of choral singing which raised money for local charities.

The choir performed old classics including Amen and Anthem from Chess, as well as new pieces like Bridge Over Troubled Water.

The highlight for many was a piece that is fast becoming the choir’s signature song, an African chant called Senzenina, with the choir’s musical director, Claire Post, singing as lead in her crystal clear soprano.

The evening was a prelude to the choir’s final charity concert of the season at El Verger Casa de Cultura, on Saturday, June 14, in aid of ‘One Step Malawi’ and SCAN charities.

Tickets priced at €10 are available by emailing cbmalevoicechoir@ gmail.com or by telephoning 965 744 577.

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NEWS EXTRA

Autism awareness SCHOOLS in Alicante commemorated World Autism Awareness Day by hosting a series of talks and workshops to highlight the condition.

Arty space ELCHE’S Miguel Hernández University (UMH) has opened its new cultural facility offering space for art exhibitions.

Fiesta aid THE Red Cross helped out in 41 cases during the first two days of Alcoy’s fiestas. Health teams treated dizziness, fainting, wounds, burns and wasp stings, with seven people transferred to hospital.

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Scholarship pledge

by PP candidate EURO MP and Partido Popular (PP) candidate to the European

Parliament, Eva Ortiz, plans to offer scholarships to high-

achieving students in the Valencia Region. The students with the highest marks for university entrance will get the opportunity to learn from the inside the operation of the European Parliament and other European institutions.

Students will be able to supplement and enrich their education through direct contact with MEPs and European officials, with the aim of promoting cultural exchange between European leaders, students ALFAZ DEL PI: Dancing in the merry month of May. and professionals.

Ortiz announced the plans during a meeting in Alicante with youngsters from the CROSSES all over Spain were decorated with flowers on May 3. The Nuevas Generaciones custom could be pre-Christian as historians claim, but whatever the de la Comunidad origins, the Herreria neighbourhood in Alfaz del Pi held its annual Valenciana.

Creueta fiestas and danced as it has done for generations.

A fiesta of flowers and dance

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Bare fields lead to lost crops ALICANTE PROVINCE has lost 3,000 hectares of crops in one year, due mainly to the abandonment of fields.

The Survey on Crop Yields and Surfaces prepared by the Ministry of Agriculture shows there were 162,756 hectares of crops in the province in 2013, compared to 165,641 the previous year.

Uncultivated land increased by 21 per cent in the last five years with more and more fields left uncultivated. As a result, there has also been a reduction in some of the region’s most prominent crops, oranges and lemons. The only citrus gaining ground in the Alicante area is the mandarin, with 10 per cent more surface area in just one year.

PASSED: Students joined by the volunteer teachers receive their diplomas from the Casa de Cultura in Javea.

Volunteer teachers give back to the community THE Voluntary English Teaching Group has been providing free tuition to unemployed Spanish residents in Javea for the last four years.

These courses, facilitated by the town hall, the Help Desk and Creama, the unemployment office, are designed to enable locals to learn English and/or

German to improve their chances of employment in this multi-cultural region.

Javea’s Deputy Mayor Oscar Anton and Councillor Juan Luis Cardona Councillor presented certificates to the students who had successfully completed a 100-hour English course and examination.

Anton said how pleased he was with the results of the various courses and has pledged money to obtain more teaching equipment and books for future courses.

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Care for children NEW services supporting children of women victims of violence are to be introduced in schools around the Valencia Region.

Director General of Family and Women Laura Chorro announced the commissioning of the mental health services and psychological care to the children of women treated in the network of the 24Hour Female Centres of Valencia.

Chorro said the new initiative aims at promoting and protecting the interests of children.

Help is available throughout Valencia to women suffering from violence and a free phone number is in place for advice and information on 900 580 888.

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Free test as skin cancer rates increase fivefold RATES of malignant melanoma, the most dangerous form of skin cancer, are five times higher in the UK now than in the 1970s, a study by Cancer Research UK has revealed.

For those who live in Spain, the risk increases further with prolonged exposure to harmful UV rays.

But if diagnosed early, survival rates for skin cancer are among the best for any

type of cancer.

As summer quickly approaches, Medcare British GP clinic in Alfaz del Pi is offering free skin cancer checks.

Medcare’s Doctor Hussain said: “I am seeing a lot of cases of skin cancer and would urge everyone to be extra vigilant. Anyone with a mole or patch of skin that has changed size or colour, or becomes irritated or

bleeds should consult a doctor immediately.”

Medcare patient Michael Chase knows only too well the importance of skin checks.

An itchy mole on his shoulder was diagnosed as basal cell cancer.

“It was quite a shock,” said Michael, “especially as my wife’s first husband died of skin cancer.”

Michael added: “According

to Doctor Hussain, I probably did the damage when I was 18 or 19 and used to come to Spain on holiday. All these years later the cancer developed.

“I am so glad I went to see Doctor Hussain. Had it not been for her I would have been in serious bother.”

To book a free test call Medcare on 966 860 258 or email doctors@medcare spain.com

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NEWS EXTRA

Family dog show A FAMILY dog show takes place at the Rey de la Casa, Hotel and Centro de Ocio Canino in El Campello on Sunday, June 8, from 10am-2pm. For more information, visit www.apac.campello online.com.

New sports facility for Javea Port JAVEA Town Hall has met to discuss the possible construction of a nautical sports facility

in the town’s port.

The feasibility study for the construction and operation of the facility

U3A talk U3A MorairaTeulada’s next meeting is on June 2 at Salon de Banquettes, Avenida Mediterraneo in Teulada at 10.30am.

Guest speaker is Nikki Luxford, who will be recounting her experiences on a visit to a children’s orphanage in Malawi.

Charity quiz DENIA and Marina Alta HELP’s Fun Quiz is due to be held at Los Leones in Moraira on May 17. Entrance is €15 including a three-course meal.

For tickets call 966 491 284 or 966 467

DIVERDIA: Learn more about the natural surroundings with a view from a catamaran.

Alfaz organises a Diverdia getaway

A CATAMARAN tour has been organised for June 1 by the Tourism Department in Alfaz del Pi. Councillor Paola Segura said the objective is to allow people to get to know more about the natural and cultural values of the protected area with a walk through the Sierra Helada Natural Park followed by a guided catamaran tour.

Three trips have been planned, leaving at 9am, 11am and 1pm. Anyone interested in taking part must preregister at the tourism offices in Alfaz, either in person, by phoning 965888905 or email info@turismo lalfas.com. Cost is €12 for adults and €8 for children.

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NEWS Tourist police on patrol

PORT PLANS: Javea Town Hall meets to discuss the proposals. was discussed, chaired

by Mayor Jose Chulvi, and has been unanimously agreed with the proposal able to “create a new mooring and nautical sports facilities to boost the tourism in the municipality.” A full list of conditions to ensure the economic efficiency

and environmental sustainability will first have to be presented before any further action is taken and the views of fishermen taken in to account.

An impact study on the land access will also be required.

Thousands at May Day march

MAY DAY demonstrations saw thousands of people take part in Alicante.

Unions say around 10,000 attended, but Local Police put the figure at around 5,000.

The march saw the secretary generals of the CCOO and UGT unions denounce the impoverishment of workers and their diminishing rights brought about by the government’s labour reforms. Both leaders demanded an end to austerity policies dictated from Europe.

They also called on voters in the European elections later this month to vote to give a new direction to the politics of the European Union.

A NEW ‘tourist police’ team has been created in Alicante to specifically deal with assistance to tourists who are victims of crime.

Ten officers per shift will be working the city’s streets and will be responsible for overseeing the safety of the influx of visitors.

Councillor Juan Sevca said the officers will “provide a safer environment through prevention, protection and guidance and will be responsible for collaboration with government and businesses linked to tourism in the city.”

Meanwhile, it has

Dance-off on beach TWO beach dance events take place on Saturday in Arenal, Javea.

Both are sponsored by restaurants that are 200 metres apart on the beach front and will have music supplied by two different local radio broadcasters, raising money for charities.

For more info email The Beach Dancer at playadance@gmail. com

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A magical encounter As part of our series La Gente, Euro Weekly News reporter Gemma Quinn has been out and about to see what skills, talent and inspirational people can be found on the Costa Blanca. This week she met the Professional Opportunist...

JAMES BROWN is a magician, hypnotist, author, public speaker and an all-round entertainer. As the ‘professional opportunist’, he has crafted his skill to perfection and recently wowed the audience at the Bay Radio Charity Gala in Javea.

Flying over from the UK especially for the event, James started magic 20 years ago after seeing a magician. “I was fascinated by it, not so much by the trick but the reaction it got and more into the whys and how it worked,” he recalled. He bought a pack of cards and on the train from Waterloo to Bournemouth he had worked out the trick and showed his father at home, getting the same reaction he had seen earlier, and he was hooked. He is largely self-taught and has impressed other magicians with his skills.

With a background of psychology and human behaviour, James became fascinated with perceptional psychology and started to look closer at the similarities between magic and psychology. After fine-tuning his sleight of hand and misdirection, he gained the title of the Master of Misdirection. The Magic Circle has also awarded him the title of The Best Close Up Magician in the UK. James also worked on Channel 4 show Troy

PERFORMANCE: James with two volunteers on stage. about a young London magician. He was approached to be a consultant to come up with ideas and how they could be produced for TV, but with a JAMES number of magic BROWN: shows on TV would Professional he want to be the Opportunist. star of the show himself one day? “I think I would like to do something one day but it would have to be the right thing and make sure I had creative control of it. I’m knocking close to 40

so I’m not going to be a street magician but there may be some ideas in the pipeline,” he said.

During 20 years of performance James has developed an impressive set of skills. His understanding of confidence, audience management, suggestion and psychological manipulation have led him to consult at Imperial College London on the Surgical Simulation Programme and often offers lectures and training seminars. He has also used his skills set to create a self-help book ‘The Professional Opportunist Wrongless Approach’ which relates to everyday life, boosting confidence and life performance.

It is available via his website www.professional-opportunist.com

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NEWS

UK judge backs mother over Spanish father A UK judge has sided with a British mother against her Spanish exhusband.

Jennifer Jones sparked a media frenzy in 2012 when she went on the run with four of her five children on the day that they were supposed to be returned to their father at Cardiff railway station.

Spanish soldier Tomas Palacin Cambra, 54, said ex-wife Jennifer Jones, 47, was in contempt of court and should be committed to prison.

However, the court ruled in favour of

Llanelli-born Ms Jones and spared her a jail sentence following an emotive letter from one of her children.

High Court judge Sir James Munby described Jessica’s account of her family’s trouble as ‘one of the saddest things’ he had ever heard.

Daughter Jessica, 16, told the presiding High Court Family Division judge she would rather die than go to Spain to live with her father.

The youngest two children, Eva, 10, and David, eight, now live with their father and

eldest sister Sara, 17, in Spain but Jessica and Tomas, 14, refused to go back. All of the children were born in Britain.

Jessica, who is due to sit her GCSEs this year, revealed that she is scared of her father, who has a bad temper, and would consider suicide if she was forced to return.

When asked how she would feel if her mother was jailed, Jessica replied: “I’d have a break down. There’s nothing my mum could have said or done to

have made us go back to Spain.

“I don’t understand why he would want to put mum in jail. This is just too much.”

The custody battle has been long-running and upsetting following the breakdown of the marriage between Ms Jones and Spanish army officer Tomas Palacin Cambra in 2008.

Outside London’s High Court Ms Jones said: “This victory, if that is what it is, feels very hollow, because at the heart of this terribly sad matter are five children who are no longer together as a family as they should be.

“It’s so hard on all of them. They should be together, playing and smiling and doing all the things siblings do together.

“I will never give up fighting to reunite them.”

A judge ruled that the children could be identified when appealing for help in tracing them in October 2012.

Once they were found after a five day search Court of Appeal judges concluded there would be no way of re-applying anonymity because of the amount of publicity the case received.

NINE STATIONS: To shut down due to government bungling.

Why are nine national TV stations closing?

ON May 6, Xplora, Nitro and LaSiete TV stations, among others, are all closing down but the reasons behind this closure are a little obscure.

According to the current government, the fault lies with the previous government which adjudicated the bandwidths incorrectly.

The previous government assigned the TDT (digital terrestrial television) signals to the stations without making them go through the usual application process as stipulated by law in 2010; therefore, all stations set up in this way now have to close down and start the application process from the beginning - despite having been transmitting for several years.

Planning for a ‘baby boom’?

The PIAF (government plan to support families) isn’t a government planned baby boom but it’s about as close as they can get to one without making a call to all women to give birth to more babies to ‘help the country.’

Protecting maternity, improving working conditions for mothers, tax breaks for large families and so on goes the first draft of the PIAF which harks back to president Rajoy’s election promises in 2008 of a ‘Family Ministry.’

The government is

trying to combat the falling birth rate in Spain, thought to be caused by the lack of employment due to the crisis, by trying to give larger families an easier ride. Rajoy has called them the “foundation of society” and, bizarrely claimed that “the aim of the large family incentive is to reduce poverty and social exclusion.”

The opposition is, quite rationally, against this incentive as there is not enough work for the Spanish to support their present families without thinking of having bigger ones.

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Plans for health screening for immigrants entering the EU EUROPEAN Ministers of Health have spoken of the need to carry out health screening on immigrants and refugees entering the EU. At a two-day council in Athens, they discussed the impact of the financial crisis on the public health system, including the controversial proposal, which some consider violate the fundamental rights of those checked. It remains to be decided whether screening would be the same for all immigrants or if the

systems would be different depending on where they come from.

European Commissioner for Health, Tonio Borg, said at a press conference “we have legal obligations towards the immigrants, but we are also obliged to protect our own citizens and the public health system.”

Regarding the loss of access to the public health system for illegal immigrants in countries such as

Spain and Greece, Borg explained that European States are only obliged to fulfil minimum services, such as providing basic health care and emergency care for children and pregnant women.

The Greek Health Minister, Adonis Yeoryidais, said that Greece doesn’t want it to appear to immigrants that they can come to the country and do as they like, because it would attract millions.

He added that those who had

entered illegally should leave and said that migration “shouldn’t be a burden for just one country” and should be divided amongst all. That’s why the Greek government considers that their country and others such as Italy, which see a high number of immigrants arriving, should be given funds sooner to help deal with the problem.

However, the EU Commission proposes that immigrants need to

be able to access better health care, but also need to be controlled more to prevent contagious diseases from spreading.

Regarding the creation of an identification system for immigrants arriving in the EU, Borg explained that it must be voluntary, but added that he is convinced immigrants will collaborate in order to receive better care.

Gearing up for busy summer

THE tourism sector on the Costa Blanca is gearing up for a busy summer after a ‘very positive’ Easter.

Hotels in Alicante City achieved 80 per cent occupancy over the May Day bank holiday. That’s according to data by the Provincial Hotel Association (APHA).

Councillor Marta García Romeu said the figures were “very positive” and follow from Easter week where the city had an average hotel occupancy of 86 per cent; 10 per cent higher than in 2013.

Elche also received a boost with the manager of

FIESTA PERIOD: Tourists flock to the Costa Blanca even before the summer.

Visitelche, Matias Perez Such, saying the figures show “an improvement within the sector, a main driver of local economy.”

Hotel occupancy also

increased over Easter from 57 per cent in 2013 to 69 per cent.

Hotel employer Hosbec put hotel occupancy in Benidorm over the

weekend at an average of 100 per cent, making it the most popular destination on the Costa Blanca.

Industry experts see the numbers as a positive sign.

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86 per cent pay rise to buy a house

Catalan leader attacked

YOUNG Spaniards wanting to buy a house would need a pay rise of around 86 per cent and all they would be able to afford would be 53 square metres.

Only one in four Spanish youths is emancipated; the rest are, economically, forced to continue living with their families.

According to a study by the CJE (Youth Council of Spain) Spanish people under the age of 30 would need to spend 56 per cent of their salaries on a mortgage, and then only if they got a raise of 86 per cent on the paltry amount they already earn as they are the second-worst paid young people in Europe.

Ricardo Ibarra, President of the CJE, has underscored the dramatic situation that the youth of the country are going through; in his opinion the government “has limited itself to waiting for better times” and is “doing nothing to help.”

AN unidentified woman attacked the leader of the Cataluña socialist party and called him a ‘son of a *****’.

Pere Navarro, leader of the PSC, was in the doorway of the cathedral in Tarrasa when he was punched in the face and shouted at by the woman; he was not on official business but going to the First Communion of one of his family members and, as such, had only a reduced protection detail accompanying him.

The woman, who ran away, has been described as average looking, middle-aged with no distinctive characteristics.

Navarro did not need medical attention but is reported to have a small bruise on his face. The socialist leader has been outspoken on the subject of Catalan independence; he is against it.

SPAIN: Longer jail terms.

Longer stays in Spanish prisons SPAIN comes sixth in Europe on the list of where prisoners receive the longest sentences.

Spanish prisoners spend an average of 19 months in prison whereas their European counterparts spend an average of 10 months behind bars.

A report by the European Council in Brussels, under the title ‘Space 2012’, has revealed that Spain has a tendency to hand out longer prison sentences than other European countries; only the Ukraine (38 months), Azerbaijan (30 months), Portugal (24 months), Romania (24 months) and Moldavia (21 months) sentence their prisoners to more ‘hard time’. The lightest sentences are handed out by Italy (10 months), France (nine months), UK (eight months) and Germany (seven months).

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NEWS

UNDER SCRUTINY: The AVE high-speed train line construction contract.

Nine arrests in AVE corruption case

THE Guardia Civil has arrested nine people for alleged irregularities in the construction of the high-speed AVE railway linking Madrid and Barcelona, which led to improper billing of some â‚Ź6 million.

Reportedly, the suspects are from Adif, the agency that manages infrastructure projects in Spain, and executives of a construction company who allegedly wrongfully made profits on the AVE project.

Investigators are looking into whether

executives of contractor Corsan worked with certain Adif officials and third parties to benefit at the expense of the Spanish government. Officials said prosecutors suspect that documents were altered to make it look like the contractor had done more work than it actually had.

The authorities are also examining the possibility that the contract itself was conducted under irregular conditions, according to the prosecutor’s office.

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MADRID: Workers’ Day protest.

May Day march of thousands

THOUSANDS of people took to the streets to protest to the government about the employment situation on May 1, officially the world’s Workers’ Day. “Without jobs there is no recovery,” was the motto under which the thousands congregated all over the country.

The leaders of the Communist Party and the unions, Ignacio Fernandez Toxo and Candido Mendez

respectively, took the opportunity to denounce the government’s actions to create employment as ‘propaganda’, as evidenced by the lack of growth in any sector.

Toxo pointed out that “there are 27 million unemployed in Europe of which six million are in Spain and for them the crisis is not coming to an end - nor will it until they get jobs. Where is this recovery that the government speaks of?”

Mendez weighed in on the matter by asking about the pensions, grants and family benefits that are not reaching their intended recipients due to the huge amount of paperwork now requested by the government.

Both leaders agreed that there can be no recovery without more employment.

Mariano Rajoy’s government has yet to answer.

The price of life in Romania NATIONAL POLICE in Figueras, Cataluña, have freed a young woman, of Romanian extraction, who was sold into sexual slavery for a mere €1,500.

The woman was being forced, through threats and sexual violence, to work as a prostitute in brothels.

The young woman is aged 19 now but when she was originally bought she was a minor. She was ‘purchased’ for €1,500 by two pimps who exploited her in Italy and Spain.

A few months later, they sold her on to another couple of pimps, again for €1,500, who took her to work at a club in Figueras.

The case came to the attention of the police when the Romanian Embassy was alerted anonymously

that a young woman had been sold into sexual slavery in Spain.

Once free, the woman explained that she had been captured in Romania and immediately taken abroad, she wasn’t sure where, to work as a prostitute.

Not only was she forced into a life of sexual slavery but she was also constantly abused by her captors to make sure she was always scared and would not think of going to the police.

A man and a woman have been arrested on suspicion of selling the victim.

They stand accused of white slaving, sexual aggression to a minor and extreme threatening behaviour.

Police investigations are ongoing.

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Only 47 per cent would say ‘yes’ to independence

CATALUÑA INDEPENDENCE: Less than half want it. may happen on October 9 when Cataluña goes to the polls. According to the survey many Catalonians are

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Mallorca to ban bikinis in public Photo from flickr by Energético

CONTRARY to popular opinion, only 47 per cent of Catalonians would say ‘yes’ to an independent Cataluña if they were asked right now.

This is the main fact derived from a political survey by the Centro de Estudios de Opinion (CEO); 19 per cent would vote against, 8 per cent would vote ‘yes’ to Cataluña being a state but not independent, 11 per cent would abstain and 9 per cent hadn’t made up their minds.

This is the preliminary report, requested by the president of Cataluña’s regional government, Artur Mas, which is hoping to reflect what

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worried that if they become an absolutely independent state they would lose many advantages.

MALLORCA is considering a law to ban the wearing of swimwear outside of bathing areas in the capital Palma. The proposed measure for popular holidaydestination Mallorca is said to be part of a wider campaign to tackle anti-social behaviour.

The law could see scantily-clad tourists fined, with some fearing that unsuspecting visitors to the island may end up being targeted by the authorities for inappropriate attire. However, many Mallorca citizens are reportedly fed up with seeing underdressed tourists away from the island’s beaches and would welcome the bikini ban.

The proposed ban, with details in Palma City Council’s ‘Ordenanza Civica’, or ‘Good Citizen Plan’, is said to be close to being made law.

Under a section entitled ‘etiquette’, the Ordenanza states that it will be forbidden for anyone to be ‘naked or nude’ in public places or ‘devoid of superior clothing’.

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Banana thrower freed A YOUNG man who threw a banana at Barcelona football player Dani Alves, causing a storm about racism in Spanish football, has been freed pending a court appearance.

The man, 26, was detained by National Police and after being interviewed he was allowed to leave.

He stands accused of provoking discrimination, hatred and/or violence against a person or persons for racial motives.

Villareal Football Club identified him, withdrew his membership and gave him a lifelong ban from the ground.

A judge will decide whether to prosecute the case in court or just apply a fine.

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Housework for Spain’s children, by law UNDER a new draft law approved in the Spanish Parliament last week children will be legally obliged to do housework and respect their schoolteachers.

The Child Protection Bill would mean that Spanish parents and teachers have a weapon in the war against disobedient children.

If the bill is passed, children under 18 in Spain will be legally obliged to do household chores “in accordance with their age and regardless of their gender.”

Children and young people will also have to “participate in family life” and respect “their parents and siblings,” according to Spain’s ABC newspaper.

And when it comes to school there are obligations there too, with children having to “respect school rules” and “study as required.”

The law also states that Spain’s youth should take a responsible attitude towards public property and the environment. Even though the

CHORES: Children reminded of responsibilities.

draft law doesn’t set out penalties for children who fail to fulfil these requirements, it does mark a shift in legislation, with its focus on the responsibilities of children.

The draft law also means that all job applicants wanting to work with

children will have to provide a copy of their criminal record if they have one.

The bill seeks to establish a list of those who should not be allowed to work with children and youngsters.

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More EU candidates THE BOE (official state news bulletin) has published the details of the 39 Spanish candidates for the European elections on May 29; there will be four more than in the 2009 elections.

The electoral committee has rejected the proposals of only two parties, the Canary Unity Party and the Green EcoPacifists, due to irregularities in their paperwork.

Neither party had presented their list of individual candidates and the Greens presented photocopies of their proposals rather than the originals.

The most popular are thought to be the PP and the PSOE, although minority parties including the VOX party and the Partido X (Xparty) are gaining ground the nearer the elections get.

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Restoration project THE new regional president of Murcia has promised to support the initiatives to restore two emblematic monuments in San Pedro del Pinatar, the Floridablanca bathing station and the Molino de Quintin windmill.

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NEWS DESK tracks between Antequera and Granada will affect circulation on part of the A-92 motorway throughout this month.

No apology A MEETING held between Malaga Bishop, Jesus Catala, and the family of a transsexual child, ended without an agreement from the bishop to apologise for his comments.

BBQ ban

Esperanto convention

THE lighting of any form of fire or BBQ in Murcia’s regional parks is now prohibited.

The ban came into force last Thursday and will remain in place until October.

MORE than 150 people from all over the world were expected in Ronda for an Esperanto congress, which included classes and a flamenco recital.

Helping families

Not looking

HELP Association Vega Baja donated €988 to families in Catral and through the AMICS office food parcels were gathered and distributed.

A WOMAN caused an accident during the Malaga Triathlon when crossing the road in front of a cyclist, who sustained a broken collarbone.

Top temperature THE region of Murcia had its hottest April since 1941.

According to the Meteorological Agency, the average temperature was 17.9ºC, 3.7 above average.

Casino closure CARTAGENA’S Parque Mediterraneo casino is to close after being forced to enter into voluntary bankruptcy proceedings following a decline in the number of customers.

COSTA DE ALMERÍA

Winners announced MAYOR Gabriel Amat of Roquetas de Mar has announced the winners of the recent tender for works on the market. Work begins now to complete by summer 2015.

Truck crash

PARTICIPANTS: The popular event included walkers, runners and cyclists.

La Sierrecica a success again!

MORE than 600 people came together for the third edition of La Sierrecica at HuercalOvera last week.

The popular outdoor race event included walkers, runners, cyclists and, this year as a first, horses.

The day began early with various bars in the vicinity overflowing with participants grabbing a bite to eat and a drink before setting off. The cyclists headed off first, followed by the walkers and runners, and finally the horse riders.

People of all ages got involved and, in particular, large family groups and friends.

Representatives from the town hall were also in attendance. The weather was perfect for the race, and everyone enjoyed the scenery.

Councillor for Sports, Alonso Mena, said: “This is the third year the event has been organised, and there has been a good atmosphere.”

He noted the benefits to Huercal-Overa and suggested that “by working together with our neighbouring towns and villages, we can provide new opportunities and stamp the name of Huercal-Overa firmly against the name of sport.”

The day concluded with awards and acknowledgements and then a feast of paella for everyone involved.

TWO trucks crashed at kilometre 563 of the A-7, causing traffic diversions for three hours. Nobody was injured in the incident.

INFOCA were supported by land and air.

hijacking, in which firemen, police, army, airport authorities and others took part.

MALLORCA

Over the limit

Cyclist dies

Bus accident

LOCAL POLICE stopped a man in Vera last week for driving erratically. When tested, he was found to be five times over the legal limit for alcohol.

A GERMAN cyclist, 65, died from a heart attack on the road from Santa Margalida to Llubi. He had got off his bike and was pushing it when the attack happened.

Swan Lake

Happy video

BALLET enthusiasts were treated to Swan Lake and Sea Sing in Vera last week. The dancers were from across Andalucia.

THE Mallorca version of the ‘Happy’ video, recorded in March with the participation of hundreds of people, is now available to see online.

Blaze at Bedar STRONG winds fanned the flames of a fire in Bedar last week, resulting in two hectares of scrubland being destroyed.

Plane drill A DRILL was held at Son Sant Joan Airport in Palma, simulating a plane

FOUR women were slightly injured when a bus in Palma had to brake suddenly when a taxi crossed its path. The taxi driver reportedly fled the scene.

Dangerous riding A SWEDISH cyclist, 40, was injured when he lost control of his bike while overtaking a car on a downhill stretch of road in the Serra de Tramuntana.

COSTA DEL SOL

Train works WORKS on the AVE high-speed train

Hunters protest THE Andalucian Hunting Federation is against plans to convert the Sierra de la Nieves area into a National Park, as they say it would affect ‘social hunting’.

AXARQUIA

Almuñecar gymnasts GYMNASTS from the Almuñecar Rythmic Gym School have gone through to the finals in the individual competition. They will be held in Conil, Cadiz, on June 1.

Red Cross RED CROSS members gave the children of the Algarrobo an informal chat about the importance of reading; around 250 children between the ages of six and 10 attended the event.

Cine tourism NERJA hosted a round table on the ‘Present and Future of Audiovisual Production and Cinematographic Tourism in Nerja’.

The council sees cinematographic tourism as a possible new revenue stream for the town.

€40,000 in La Herradura CONCEPCION GUILLEN, from La Herradura, was the winner of €40,000 on the EuroMillons when she got five numbers right. She shared the prize with 13 other winners.

Cross winners THE Barrio Alto cross won the May Crosses competition in La Herradura with a carnation-clad, ceramic cross bringing home the €400 prize and bragging rights for the next year.

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S CANDINAVIAN P RESS

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EUROPEAN PRESS

Stories making headlines in Europe

GERMAN PRESS Berlusconi ‘absurd’

BRITISH PRESS Homeless magazine SWEDEN - A magazine, Faktum, sold by the homeless, has caught media attention after it covered the story of homeless Swedes who beg in Spain’s most popular tourist areas.

EU drugs SWEDEN - Tabloid Aftonbladet has singled out eight European Parliamentary candidates who have confessed to using narcotics; among them two Centrists and two Greens.

Human rights NORWAY - Norway’s human rights record took a slamming in a UN hearing when Saudi Arabia and Russia highlighted its shortcomings on protecting its Muslim minority.

Arctic whisky NORWAY - A group of enthusiastic amateurs plan to launch the world’s first Arctic whisky distillery on the island of Myken, off the north coast of Norway.

Good month DENMARK - March saw the lowest ever number of traffic deaths with only 195 accidents that caused personal injuries; the second lowest figure for March in a decade.

Otter comeback TWO otters, a male and a female, have been spotted in the lake area of Nieuwkoop, raising hopes that the species could be making a comeback to the busiest part of Holland after an absence of 30 years.

Shakespeare high

Capital UFO

A COMEDY troupe has taken Shakespeare to new heights and marked the 450th anniversary of his birth by performing an abridged version of one of his plays on an easyJet flight from Gatwick to Verona.

A BIZARRE object was spotted hovering above North London prompting some to speculate that it could be a UFO. The object appeared to be black in colour and was rotating.

Celine Dion punishment GARETH DAVIES, from Kent, has been fined £3,000 and had his sound equipment confiscated for playing Celine Dion’s power ballads too loudly in his council flat.

Duck walk

THE German government has dismissed remarks made by former Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi as ‘absurd’.

He said Germans did not believe that the concentration camps had existed.

Rottweiler vote

Sick days

RUSSELL HOYLE, from Teesside, is alleged to have provided false information to the electoral register after his pet Rottweiler, Zeus, was issued with a voting card.

WORKERS in the north-east of Germany are the sickliest with an average of 18.5 days off a year in Mecklenburg. In the south-east, the average was 12.1 days per year in Bavaria.

PASSERS-BY in Peckham, London, were surprised to see a man walking two ducks on a lead down the busy high street; apparently nobody in the area seemed to think it was weird.

Nutella gang A GROUP labelled the ‘Nutella Gang’, so named for stealing 2,500 jars of the chocolate spread, have been imprisoned for a total of 15 years and six months.

RUSSIAN PRESS Three bodies THREE dismembered bodies have been found in St Petersburg. The bodies, thought to belong to a woman and two boys, were found in cardboard boxes in a vacant lot in the Krasnogvardeysky district of the town.

Junk rating CREDIT rating agency Standard & Poor’s has cut Russia’s credit rating to near junk status and has now turned its sights on the country’s blue chip companies including Gazprom and Rosneft.

Unrelated sanctions PRESIDENT PUTIN has said that the new punitive measures taken against Russia by the West are based on false claims of supposed interference in Ukraine.

RUSSIA ONLY: Internet to be named after children’s character.

Luxury Berlin

Ten dead A WILDFIRE raging in Siberia caused an explosion at a munitions depot, killing at least 10 people and forcing the temporary closure of a section of the Transsiberian railroad.

Cheburashka net A RUSSIAN senator has proposed the creation of a Russia-only internet, which would be separate from the US and EU. He wants to name it after the popular children’s character Cheburashka.

NUTELLA GANG: Jailed for stealing the choc spread.

DUTCH PRESS Funny king AFTER the first year of his reign, the Dutch consider King Willem-Alexander as more charming, more humorous and less formal than his mother Beatrix when she was queen.

Beatrix is considered to be more

FOREIGN tourists in Berlin are spending more than ever, with the rich Chinese leading the way followed closely by the Russians and Middle Eastern countries.

compassionate and more concerned, a survey by Maurice de Hond shows.

them fatal. They include all kinds of violence like mistreatment, rape, kidnapping and murder.

Honour crimes

Bike parking

LAST year there were some 500 notifications of so-called ‘honour’ crimes in The Netherlands, 20 of

BUILDING company BAM has received an assignment from Utrecht to build the world’s

biggest bicycle park. The threestorey building near Central Station will hold 12,500 bicycles.

Suicide attacks TWO jihad fighters from The Netherlands committed suicide attacks last year. One attacked a civilian target in Iraq with a rucksack bomb, the other committed suicide with a car bomb in Syria.

NEWS

www.euroweeklynews.com

700 storm over Spanish border AROUND 700 African migrants charged Spain’s barbed-wire border fences at the country’s North African enclave of Melilla.

The migrants clashed with Spanish and Moroccan border police, with Spanish authorities confirming that 140 of the migrants managed to enter Spanish territory - despite the best efforts of border control.

It was the latest wave in a tide of African immigrants attempting to cross the Mediterranean into Europe.

Spain’s two North African exclaves of Melilla and Ceuta are key entry points and have proved vulnerable to repeated attacks by hundreds of immigrants over recent months.

Yesterday’s migrants rushed the fences in two waves, with 500 arriving in the early hours and another 200 a few hours later.

By the afternoon, more than 150 people remained near an outside border fence.

Reportedly, they fended off police by setting fire to their clothing and throwing it at them.

Police resorted to the use of pepper spray to try and force the migrants down from the 20-foot high fence.

Spain’s Interior Ministry statement said that some migrants were treated

by Red Cross staff at the scene, with five taken to hospital.

Some 12 police officers were injured.

The 140 new arrivals to Spain were taken to the region’s temporary immigrant centre, which now contains more than 1,900 immigrants.

The Interior Ministry statement said that this facility is now way “above its maximum capacity.”

The EU has been asked to assist in the immigration situation, which is becoming increasingly more difficult and strained.

The cost of border enforcement is also spiralling.

8 - 14 May 2014 / Costa Blanca Nor th

EWN

33

34

E W N 8 - 14 May 2014 / Costa Blanca Nor th

A note from the

Editor

The green, green, grass of home

I

s the grass greener on the other side?

It would appear not with recent reports saying 90,000 British expatriates have moved back to the UK in recent years.

Another survey, admittedly of a very low sample group, suggests people moving to Spain and other Mediterranean countries are more miserable abroad then they were at ‘home.’

There is no doubt that many people who move to Spain fail to settle in.

Difficulties with the language and culture of what is after all a foreign country, can lead to loneliness, and even depression.

For those who have to earn a living difficulties can multiply, with generally lower wages and high rates of unemployment.

But for most of the estimated 1.2 million Britons who have set up home in this country Spain is all it is cracked up to be.

Yes there are downsides - stifling bureaucracy being chief amongst them - but most expatriates find the benefits far outweigh the problems.

Not just the weather (though that is certainly a huge advantage) but the general lifestyle. Just a little effort in learning a few words of Spanish can take people a long way to making the most of their life in Spain.

Expatriates have to realise it is not Bournemouth in the sun (no insult intended to that wonderful city), and an attempt, no matter how small, to integrate into the Spanish way of life can reap huge dividends.

Yes, some fail to settle, but for the vast majority the grass is greener in Spain.

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NEWS

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inance F A EURO WEEKLY NEWS 6 PAGE SPECIAL SECTION // WWW.EWNBUSINESS.COM

8 - 14 May 2014 / Costa Blanca North

business & legal

EWN

STAT OF WEEK ORANGE ESPAÑA’S turnover fell by 1.2 per cent in the first quarter of this year. Mobile earnings were reduced by 16.2 per cent to €621 million but income from landlines improved by 9.9 per cent.

Fish firm could still be afloat THE Pescanova board has submitted a new restructuring plan to the Spanish courts.

Banks owed money by the company would replace brewers Damm and financial holding company Luxempart as owners of the company.

The proposal is the outcome of an agreement between Pescanova - whose frozen fish

Jobless queues shrank in winter THE number of people out of work in Spain fell by 2,300 people in the first three months of this year.

The improvement was a minimal 0.04 per cent but this was the first time that the number of jobless fell in the first quarter of the year since 2005.

That was the apparently good news, but the unemployment level rose to 25.93 per cent of the working population.

Unemployment figures might have fallen during four consecutive quarters but the number of people newly in work once more has also fallen.

regulator CNMV. Creditor banks would take over ownership of Pescanova while board members Jose Carceller of Damm and Francois Tesch of Luxempart would resign.

The banks will retain €1 billion of debt, while injecting €115 million of capital, according to sources quoted by Bloomberg.

The banks will also retain €300

products are still a household name - Damm, Luxempart and the banks.

The agreement would not modify the write-off conditions, said Pescanova’s bankruptcy administrator Deloitte. Instead, it would involve replacing the stakeholders financially supporting the company’s bailout, Deloitte assured financial

In the second quarter of 2013, unemployment diminished by 230,900; the third quarter saw a reduction of 103,900 and the fourth a fall of 7,800.

By the first quarter of this year, unemployment fell by just 2,300.

Worse still, the reduction owes less to creating employment than despondent jobseekers no longer actively and officially registering as looking for work, analysts said.

In the meantime, the unemployment rate rose by 0.2 per cent between January and the end of March because the working population decreased by 187,000.

B

usiness extra

Taxman’s IT probe SPAIN’s tax office plans to examine small shopkeepers’ cash registers to determine whether they use software aimed at tax avoidance.

Farmacias (chemists) will also be targeted, Hacienda announced.

Payback time GERARDO DIAZ FERRAN will stand trial for plundering the Viajes Marsans travel agencies.

He and seven collaborators must meet a civil responsibility bond of €1.67 billion to cover a possible guilty verdict.

Deoleo loses its Spanish flavour BANCO MARE NOSTRUM (BMN) has sold its 4.85 per cent stake in the Deoleo cooking oil company for €21.2 million.

The BMN stake was bought by private equity firm CVC, which also purchased Bankia’s 16.5 per cent. Both previously needed cash from the Spanish government and were obliged to sell their Deoleo holdings under the bailout terms.

The Dcoop olive co-operative, which initially tried to block the CVC deal, is

also selling an 8.64 per cent holding.

The private equity firm intends to back a refinancing deal for Deoleo, which still has a €500-million debt despite recapitalising and a slimming down operation since 2010.

Sources said CVC expects to acquire more than 50 per cent of Deoleo despite the Spanish government’s misgivings that a foreign firm could eventually control a ‘nationally strategic’ company.

35

CREDIT: HombreDHojalata/Wikipedia

FINANCE, BUSINESS & LEGAL

HOPE: Pescanova’s Galicia plant in Cha pela, Redondela.

million of super-senior debt, €400 million of senior borrowing

and €300 million of junior facilities.

36

E W N 8 - 14 May 2014 / Costa Blanca North

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LONDON - FTSE 100

MAKE THE MOST OF YOUR MONEY WITH US

C LOSING P RICES M AY 6

C O M PA N Y PRICE(P) Aberdeen Asset Mngmnt 430.65 Admiral Group PLC 1396.00 Aggreko PLC 1652.00 Anglo American PLC 1549.50 Antofagasta PLC 798.25 ARM Holdings PLC 893.50 Ashtead Group PLC 882.50 Associated British Foods 2916.00 AstraZeneca PLC 4743.25 Aviva PLC 528.50 Babcock International 1223.00 BAE Systems PLC 403.70 Barclays PLC 246.65 Barratt Developments 379.65 BG Group PLC 1255.00 BHP Billiton PLC 1916.50 BP PLC 501.45 British Amrcan Tobacco 3396.25

C H A N G E ( P ) % C H G. -15.30 -3.43 5.00 0.36 8.00 0.49 -15.50 -0.99 8.00 1.01 7.50 0.85 9.00 1.03 15.00 0.52 -65.00 -1.35 5.50 1.05 15.00 1.24 2.50 0.62 -11.75 -4.55 4.50 1.20 3.50 0.28 -15.00 -0.78 -0.20 -0.04 -1.00 -0.03

NET VOLUME 661.28 25.01 76.65 140.56 248.15 320.05 144.60 36.32 351.07 700.31 95.14 327.26 11,371.03 281.57 1,008.25 239.86 1,026.80 198.22

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Units per €

US dollar..................................................................1.39135 Japan yen ...............................................................141.935 Switzerland franc ................................................1.21776 Denmark kroner ................................................7.46402 Norway kroner...................................................8.26035

currenciesdirect.com/moraira • Tel: +34 966 265 072 C O M PA N Y

PRICE(P)

British Land Co PLC British Sky Broadcasting BT Group PLC Bunzl PLC Burberry Group PLC Capita PLC Carnival PLC

690.00 886.00 379.35 1659.00 1481.00 1099.50 2384.50

DOW JONES

NASDAQ

C LOSING P RICES M AY 6

C LOSING P RICES M AY 6

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 140.61 87.36 35.76 131.96 104.52 125.36 22.96 67.39 102.91 26.58 156.35 78.69 26.17 191.26 100.00 54.22 101.14 58.63 39.43 73.29 29.96 81.70 40.76 90.65 116.82 75.23 47.39 207.13 78.62 81.22

+0.49 +0.43 +0.13 +2.02 -0.49 +0.64 +0.015 +0.54 +0.90 -0.10 -2.53 -0.71 -0.24 -0.18 +0.69 -1.36 -0.29 +0.41 -0.26 +0.30 -0.79 -0.22 -0.19 -0.35 +0.30 +0.20 +0.27 +2.71 -0.50 +0.91

+0.35% +0.49% +0.36% +1.55% -0.47% +0.51% +0.07% +0.81% +0.88% -0.37% -1.59% -0.89% -0.91% -0.09% +0.69% -2.45% -0.29% +0.70% -0.66% +0.41% -2.57% -0.27% -0.46% -0.38% +0.26% +0.27% +0.57% +1.33% -0.63% +1.13%

2.7M 3.3M 15.9M 4.0M 3.2M 4.2M 17.9M 3.1M 7.6M 16.6M 3.0M 3.5M 20.7M 2.2M 5.4M 25.2M 3.5M 8.1M 22.5M 2.3M 54.9M 4.6M 10.2M 1.9M 2.8M 4.5M 12.6M 3.4M 4.6M 5.7M

1.21657

0.82198

C O M PA N Y

C H A N G E ( P ) % C H G. 3.50 -3.00 1.80 7.00 -11.32 5.00 5.00

0.51 -0.34 0.48 0.42 -0.76 0.46 0.21

NET VOLUME 69.17 236.17 456.10 14.23 123.59 41.27 38.64

PRICE

CHANGE NET / %

Cadiz, Inc. $8 China Mobile Games and Ent Grp Limited $ 20.38 Medical Action Industries Inc. $ 7.07 Arotech Corporation $ 3.73 Karyopharm Therapeutics Inc. $ 29.14 B/E Aerospace, Inc. $ 97.22 AAON, Inc. $ 31.57 Kandi Technologies Group, Inc. $ 12.33 Atlanticus Holdings Corporation $ 2.77 IntriCon Corporation $ 7.26 pSivida Corp. $ 3.95

1.82 ▲ 29.45% 2.86 ▲ 16.32% 0.75 ▲ 11.87% 0.36 ▲ 10.68% 2.49 ▲ 9.34% 8.26 ▲ 9.29% 2.67 ▲ 9.24% 1.02 ▲ 9.02% 0.22 ▲ 8.63% 0.571 ▲ 8.54% 0.30 ▲ 8.22%

Most Advanced

Most Declined Tecumseh Products Company BroadSoft, Inc. Ambassadors Group, Inc. Universal Display Corporation China Auto Logistics Inc. SciQuest, Inc. Lifetime Brands, Inc. Biota Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Jive Software, Inc. Benefitfocus, Inc. The KEYW Holding Corporation

$ 6.06 $ 20.16 $ 3.63 $ 23.67 $ 2.2999 $ 17.66 $ 15 $ 3.32 $ 7.82 $ 32.60 $ 11.43

1.68 ▼ 21.71% 4.84 ▼ 19.36% 0.45 ▼ 11.03% 2.55 ▼ 9.73% 0.2201 ▼ 8.73% 1.59 ▼ 8.26% 1.30 ▼ 7.98% 0.27 ▼ 7.52% 0.60 ▼ 7.13% 2.39 ▼ 6.83% 0.80 ▼ 6.54%

FINANCE, BUSINESS & LEGAL

C O M PA N Y PRICE(P) Centrica PLC 325.80 Coca-Cola HBC AG 1475.00 Compass Group PLC 949.50 CRH PLC 1743.00 Diageo PLC 1833.25 easyJet PLC 1653.50 Experian PLC 1121.00 Fresnillo PLC 825.50 G4S PLC 239.00 GKN PLC 384.10 GlaxoSmithKline PLC 1636.50 Glencore Xstrata PLC 318.72 Hammerson PLC 577.00 Hargreaves Lansdown 1188.00 HSBC Holdings PLC 604.70 IMI PLC 1533.00 Imperial Tobacco Group 2531.00 InterContinental Hotels 2182.00 International Consldtd 408.70 Intertek Group PLC 2943.00 ITV PLC 185.60 Johnson Matthey PLC 3338.00 Kingfisher PLC 423.85 Land Securities Group 1063.00 Legal & General Group 214.90 Lloyds Banking Group 79.56 London Stock Exchange 1830.50 Marks & Spencer Group 442.50 Meggitt PLC 478.25 Melrose Industries PLC 289.35 Mondi PLC 975.00 National Grid PLC 838.50 Next PLC 6562.50 Old Mutual PLC 203.90 Pearson PLC 1107.00 Persimmon PLC 1368.50 Petrofac Ltd 1473.50 Prudential PLC 1373.75 Randgold Resources Ltd 4760.00 Reckitt Benckiser Grp 4840.00 Reed Elsevier PLC 874.25 Resolution Ltd 302.65 REXAM PLC 504.25 Rio Tinto PLC 3220.50 Rolls-Royce Holdings 1027.50 Royal Bank of Scotland 334.55 Royal Dutch Shell PLC 2519.50 Royal Mail PLC 541.50 RSA Insurance Group PLC 97.67 SABMiller PLC 3221.50 Sage Group (The) PLC 422.90 Sainsbury (J) PLC 321.80 Schroders PLC 2615.00 Severn Trent PLC 1843.50 Shire PLC 3446.00 Smith & Nephew PLC 917.25 Smiths Group PLC 1327.00 Sports Direct Intrntnl...

787.50 SSE PLC 1534.50 Standard Chartered PLC 1283.25 Standard Life PLC 388.60 St James's Place PLC 788.75 Tesco PLC 287.00 Travis Perkins PLC 1769.00 TUI Travel PLC 432.50 Tullow Oil PLC 884.75 Unilever PLC 2611.50 United Utilities Group 796.00 Vodafone Group PLC 225.25 Weir Group PLC 2671.00 Whitbread PLC 4110.50 William Hill PLC 357.10 Wm Morrison Sprmrkts 197.90 Wolseley PLC 3484.00 WPP PLC 1292.50

CHANGE -3.27 -8.00 4.00 16.00 6.50 10.00 -3.00 -6.50 0.90 1.40 9.32 -0.50 5.00 -5.75 -1.00 10.00 17.00 -9.95 2.10 12.00 1.10 31.00 -2.50 4.00 0.63 -0.06 6.00 1.50 1.10 3.80 1.50 0.00 -45.72 1.30 13.00 41.00 10.00 5.00 20.00 0.00 -2.50 1.60 0.78 -27.00 1.64 3.00 -13.00 3.14 0.00 -31.00 0.40 0.22 2.00 11.00 -21.00 -0.50 7.00 -0.10 4.00 -5.00 4.00 3.50 1.55 10.00 0.60 1.00 5.00 1.62 2.35 17.00 41.00 1.42 1.60 9.00 6.00

% C H G. -0.99 -0.54 0.42 0.93 0.36 0.61 -0.27 -0.78 0.38 0.37 0.57 -0.16 0.87 -0.48 -0.17 0.66 0.68 -0.45 0.52 0.41 0.60 0.94 -0.59 0.38 0.29 -0.08 0.33 0.34 0.23 1.33 0.15 0.00 -0.69 0.64 1.19 3.09 0.68 0.37 0.42 0.00 -0.29 0.53 0.15 -0.83 0.16 0.90 -0.51 0.58 0.00 -0.95 0.09 0.07 0.08 0.60 -0.61 -0.05 0.53 -0.01 0.26 -0.39 1.04 0.45 0.54 0.57 0.14 0.11 0.19 0.20 1.05 0.64 1.01 0.40 0.82 0.26 0.47

VOLUME 909.18 16.57 158.49 36.11 215.67 52.59 72.13 40.77 191.94 200.37 331.58 1,174.19 44.76 87.07 2,226.50 28.43 125.93 73.01 204.01 27.65 509.50 24.54 202.21 39.00 264.76 7,616.14 3.49 158.63 24.19 58.78 35.38 207.95 17.85 330.78 181.87 726.78 90.28 104.04 26.46 46.50 273.72 197.17 50.68 239.09 170.70 1,667.83 291.40 78.79 444.96 87.45 40.86 953.79 2.56 18.74 101.19 389.36 15.26 10.52 165.15 201.82 292.25 79.68 1,340.57 13.40 33.48 142.24 92.02 69.59 3,805.83 22.45 15.37 231.53 969.49 36.09 146.48

FINANCE, BUSINESS & LEGAL

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8 - 14 May 2014 / Costa Blanca North

EWN

37

European Central Bank easing in the spotlight ANOTHER European Central Bank (ECB) meeting has come and gone with no action taken.

The ECB has left the door open for more easing should the need arise; the ammunition is loaded and ready to be fired. The ECB could look to cut the deposit rate into negative territory or possibly introduce Quantitative Easing for the Euro area or another LTRO programme.

The fact that inflation is falling and well below the 2 per cent target is the main reason why expectations are increasing for more action to come from the ECB. The Euro has so far managed to shrug off the expectations of a move by the ECB and has kept hold of most of its recent gains.

If we do see further policy action from the ECB, it is expected that the single currency will weaken against the USD and the Pound. This Euro weakness could be

Ask the expert Peter Loveday Contact me at euroweekly@currenciesdirect.com

magnified if the market continues to perceive that both the UK and the US are on the path to raising interest rates in early 2015.

Recently we have seen mixed economic data from the US but regardless the FOMC has continued at a pace of $10 billion per month. US growth came in at a very disappointing 0.1 per cent for the first quarter against a forecast of 1.1 per cent but this still does not look likely to detract from the current plan of tapering.

As we stand, the Euro is trading strongly against the USD but more certainty on the US recovery and the timings of rate hikes would quickly erode these gains. For the short-

The Pound is nicely positioned for further gains against the Euro. term it looks likely that the Euro will not come under pressure against the USD. In the UK the Pound is trading firmly on the heels of the UK’s strong recovery witnessed in the last six months.

UK Industrial Production data released in April came in well above expectations, giving the Pound a boost across the currency markets and first quarter GDP was only marginally below expectations but still at a

healthy 0.8 per cent. This bodes well for the manufacturing sector and growth moving through 2014.

There is still a concern that UK data after a very good run could start to disappoint and subsequently weigh on the Pound; however, this latest release moves some way to dispel this fear.

UK data will need to come in at or above expectations to maintain the rally into the Pound. If the strong data run

does play out, we will move towards an environment where the Bank of England will need to hike interest rates earlier than expectations of a rise in spring 2015.

The Pound is nicely positioned for further gains against the Euro if the expected scenario of ECB easing and strong UK growth plays out. Ongoing economic data from the UK will be key and inflation data from the Eurozone will be closely watched.

Recent data for Euro area inflation was still weak for March and this leaves the yearly total for inflation at just one third of the ECB’s target.

The activity of the ECB is going to be the main driver to GBP/EUR; as it stands they are trying to avoid policy action but the tipping point looks to be approaching whereby they will have to act further and this should reinforce a marked decline in the Euro’s fortunes.

Visit us at our Spanish offices in Costa del Sol, Costa Almeria, North Costa Blanca and South Costa Blanca.

Telephone: UK +44 (0) 207 847 9400 SPAIN +34 950 478 914 Email: euroweekly@currenciesdirect.com • www.currenciesdirect.com

I RECALL a boss telling me that if his staff If a job has been done well then thank worked as hard as he did they would not them for it privately and publicly. be working for him but Your staff are working against him ambassadors.

If as business rivals. I employees are unfairly couldn’t argue with treated or have Mike Walsh that. negative opinions Mike Walsh was for 20 years Regional Many employers about your business Assessment Manager for the Guild of Master Craftsmen, dream of how sucthey will broadcast Britain’s biggest quality assurance body for cessful their business them. Why not give businesses. would be if staff could them a reason for www.michaelwalsh.es • 966 786 932 show the same saying how wonderful commitment as they their business is? do. Some bosses do get more out of their Staff are partners. If they are treated staff than do others. How do they do it? with respect, if unexpectedly rewarded for This can be down to having a personality having done well, they will respond well. and an empathy that inspires commitment Staff are shareholders in your business. and loyalty. Sadly, such qualities are not Why not treat them as shareholders and shared by all. There are, however, ways by show them how they as well as you benefit which you can motivate staff to be more from their business’s success? impassioned about their jobs.

A profit-sharing scheme is always a good Encourage staff to work with your idea but not always practical. This doesn’t business instead of for it. Remind mean you can’t set targets and offer employees that they are a vital part of the rewards for meeting targets. team necessary to make it successful.

The entire sales industry thrives on If you give them tasks explain why they commission and rewards based on sales’ need doing. turnover. Think, does the salaried If you have a business strategy why not salesman work as conscientiously as does let them know about it. Thank staff, the commission only salesman? This recognise their contribution. There are few answers your own question. better incentives than appreciation shown.

It might also inspire you.

Talking shop

Credit Zarateman Wikimedia Commons.

Staff stimulus

SELL-OFF: Iberdrola is divesting itself of 25 per cent of its Spanish distribution network for €3 million.

Power company’s ‘Spanishness’ in decline IBERDROLA is set to divest itself of 25 per cent of its Spanish distribution network for around €3 billion.

Investment bank Morgan Stanley will handle the deal which according to Iberdrola is the result of the Spanish government’s reforms to the sector.

The decision underlines comments from the group’s president, Ignacio Sanchez Galan, last February when he emphasised the need for “predictable and stable” regulation.

“We are now more British, Mexican and Brazilian than

Spanish,” Sanchez Galan declared in a moment of rash honesty. He afterwards hastened to defend the reforms introduced by Spain’s President Mariano Rajoy and was careful to emphasise Iberdrola’s ‘Spanishness’.

This is now brought into doubt following the news of the sale, although in the past Iberdrola also examined the possibility of selling part of its UK distribution network before shelving the plan.

Iberdrola wants to balance the books, observers say, and cash in on its Spanish network following the adverse effects of government reforms.

38

E W N 8 - 14 May 2014 / Costa Blanca North

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FINANCE, BUSINESS & LEGAL

Does your wardrobe hide a gold-mine?

IT has suddenly got hot so I’ve changed the bed covers to the summer duvet, and the gas burner has been packed away.

Next on the list: a wardrobe change! Out with the woolly jumpers and in with shorts and flip-flops.

It’s at this time of the year with the usual wardrobe changeover that it’s often revealed just how much money is wasted on clothing and accessories that have barely or never been worn. Stuff that once screamed out as essential ‘must-haves’ in a shop or

BUSINESS EXTRA

Healthier FCC SPANISH multinational construction company FCC cut its losses by 78 per cent to €31 million in the first quarter of 2013. This was due to refinancing and strategic planning, the chairman Juan Bejar said.

Turnaround

Loose change A look at finance for females

Jane Plunkett jane.plunkett@euroweeklynews.com

magazine is now gathering dust.

My wardrobe isn’t exactly the French Riviera of highfashion, but if we imagine all the closets of all the women in Spain or Europe or America combined, there must be trillions of euros

CASH GENERATOR: Sell your old handbags and clothes. worth of goods just sitting around unused.

So what’s a girl to do?

Either get rid of some clothes or get a bigger wardrobe.

In the States an app called ‘poshmark’ is available whereby women can upload photos of their unwanted gear and sell it on. It works a lot like Facebook and with Instagram quality pictures

Can he alter façade without consent?

Q. I am the president of a community of 16 houses, eight pairs of semi-detached houses.

You and the One owner wishes to build an extension to his facade. All but one member has voted against Law in Spain the project, as based on my understanding of

By David Searl Article Seven of the Law of Horizontal Property.

This one member sent an email to all 16 owners saying: “According to my lawyer, ‘Communidad’ only has an effective vote about ‘alterations’ until the 10th year of the houses being built. Since the houses were officially built in 2005, after 2015 any negative decisions to alterations of any type can be overruled by the town hall.” Can you confirm that this is not correct?

M G (email) A. Yes, I can. For any alterations which affect the exterior of a building or complex of attached houses, two conditions are necessary. One of these is a favourable vote by the Community of Property Owners and the other is a building permit from the local town hall.

There are two possible exceptions to the need for approval by the community vote.

If the town hall itself or other building authority has ordered repairs or work carried out, this work does not need community approval. This does not include extensions. The other possibility exists only in Catalonia, where such a provision can be written into the original Statutes of the Community. Catalonia has its own set of community rules.

Send your questions for David Searl through lawyers Ubeda-Retana & Associates in Fuengirola at Ask@lawtaxspain.com, or call 952 667 090.

that are attractive and fun to navigate. You create a page where you post pictures of everything from tops and dresses, to shoes and handbags. Shoppers can follow you, ‘like’ your items and make a purchase.

It’s not available in Europe yet, but a pioneering young techie could create a similar one, as the app is a massive

success in the US. Meanwhile, for women in Europe with lots of clothes and accessories clogging up the wardrobe there is always eBay or sites like Asos Marketplace, where fashion-hungry women can snap up bargain-priced designer handbags, while finance conscious girls can get rid of unwanted items and make a little profit for themselves along the way.

AIR EUROPA has backtracked on plans to lay off staff. The high court upheld a clause in the collective agreement that vetoes redundancies while outsourcing to other firms.

Share offer SANTANDER BANK is offering €4.686bn in shares for the remaining 25 per cent of Santander Brasil. It will issue around 665 million shares - 5.8 per cent of its total - in an offer representing a 20 per cent premium over the subsidiary’s last closing market price, Santander said.

Financial crisis causing more identity theft CRIMES arising from identity theft have evolved during the financial crisis.

“We’ve gone from house purchase to internet fraud,” said a spokesman for the National Police’s Economic and Fiscal Unit (UDEF).

“We also see everything from using a stolen ID for a mobile phone contract to buying a top-ofthe range car on instalments,” said a spokesman for the police’s Economic and Fiscal Delinquency Unit (UDEF).

Victims of ID theft often find they are burdened by debt, he added, and it is vital to officially report the loss of an ID card or passport as soon as it has been stolen. Victims also need to consult the RAI, Spain’s official list of debtors, to check whether their ID has been used to

incur hire-purchase or other debts.

Not only are loans now harder to come by but banks require extensive documentation precisely to avoid being stung by professional identity thieves.

They work in small groups, the police said, and tend to be young and Spanish. “A mugger who snatches Crimes range from your bag or house purchase to wallet containing an internet fraud.

ID is unlikely to use it but knows there is a market for stolen IDs. The price varies, but it’s rarely more than €50 per document.”

Often it is used over a period of time to create a false identity and win the confidence of the person or entity to be targeted.

OPINION & COMMENT

Dogged resolve needed to go to tourist beach THE new dog beach in Fuengirola (Malaga) - who on earth came up with that one?

Has Fuengirola recruited a Tourist Prevention Officer?

Let me say straight away that I am a dog lover.

However, come on, this dog beach hasn’t been thought through at all.

Let’s start with the location.

It is only about 100 metres along the beach from the fourstar IPV Palace Hotel.

Then we have the many hundreds of tourists staying at Club La Costa and taking advantage of their direct access to the beach. Which beach? The dog beach!

So this new dog beach is sandwiched directly between two of the biggest-volume holiday destinations in town.

You can see it on TripAdvisor in a few weeks’ time, can’t you? “Don’t go to Fuengirola, there’s a dog beach where dogs fight and go to the toilet. It is not only unpleasant, but also very dangerous.”

I couldn’t believe it when I went down there a couple of days ago. There was a pit bull terrier, a Staffordshire bull terrier, an Alsatian and even a Rottweiler, and none of them was either on a lead or wearing a muzzle.

The greatest worry of all is that there are young children on this very same beach.

It seems to be a disaster waiting to happen. Someone is likely to get badly mauled here!

To make things worse, this dog beach is around 10 metres from the main coastal dual carriageway, which already has an atrocious reputation for accidents. Is there a fence or barrier to stop dogs running off the beach directly onto the road? Er, no!

If Fuengirola truly has employed a Tourist Prevention Officer, he or she is doing a fine job with the new dog beach. You really couldn’t make it up.

Stuart Wright (by email)

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8 - 14 May 2014 / Costa Blanca North

Letters YOURSAY@EUROWEEKLYNEWS.COM

Letters for Your Say should be emailed to yoursay@euroweeklynews.com, posted to Euro Weekly News, C/Moscatel 10, P-62, Polígono Industrial, Arroyo de la Miel, 29631 Benalmadena, Málaga, Spain or faxed to 0034 952 440 887

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“A GENTLEMAN only ever wears black socks,” the Spanish say, so whoever lives in this modest village house must be quite a gent!

F Ashman (by email)

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copy of the Euro Weekly News and was quite disgusted by the letter from Tom Hawksworth, ‘Supply and demand is nature’s way’.

I expect you will have received many letters from readers equally outraged by this man’s attitude to people in developing countries.

He is fortunate enough to have received an education and good healthcare, but appears to begrudge people in less well-off countries even the right to exist.

I was so furious that I kept the page and brought it back to the UK with me so I could write to you.

On a more positive note, I have just looked at the Euro Weekly News online and was impressed enough to save it in ‘My Favourites’.

Jane Everitt (by email)

Grim futures

Wrong song A WADE from Benahavis (Malaga) wrote about the ‘nuisance’ of the birdsong from sparrows (Letters, Issue 1503).

He should just be grateful he can hear some birds and is not plagued by constant road noise or aircraft flying low as some people are. Or he could try living on the South Coast of England where we are, and being plagued with constant screeching from seagulls almost 24 hours a day!

He should be grateful he has his hearing, not like many who would love to hear birdsong from whatever species.

J Rogers, Fuengirola (Malaga)

Rough justice A LANDLORD asking for the rent of his apartment was attacked by the tenant with a crowbar, leaving him with head injuries and hospitalised.

The police were called and the landlord denounced the tenant, but when the case went to court the tenant was fined €200.

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:

www.euroweeklynews.com

Is this all the protection the police can give? The tenant is still in the same apartment and the rent has not been paid.

Jack Threlfall (by email)

Lights out EARTH HOUR has recently passed with more countries joining every year.

The idea is that we all switch off our lights and electrical appliances for one hour in a bid to save Mother Earth and to heighten people’s awareness that we need to take care of our planet.

Spain was part of this with town halls, cathedrals and monuments right across the

country switching off but, sadly, not Rojales Council who continue to burn lights unnecessarily.

Just one example of this – and I doubt that it is the only one – is the sports centre next to the Norwegian school in Ciudad Quesada, Rojales (Alicante). This sports centre is open from 8am to 8pm, Monday to Saturday. You would think that lights only need to be on during the hours of darkness or twilight when the centre is open.

Rojales Council prefers to burn the 14 streetlamps all night every night. Why? If it is a question of security there is already a security camera, linked directly to the police station, covering this area.

Apart from the environmental aspect there is also the financial one. With so many people having their homes repossessed and being fed by Caritas and other charities this council needs to rethink its priorities.

J Billet, Rojales (Alicante)

Harsh verdict WHILE in Spain last week with my husband, I picked up a

IT was very heartening to read the letter from Tom Hawksworth about the constant need to feed children in Africa that really should never have been born into a life of misery.

In the big scheme of life, Mother Nature - or God, depending on your beliefs allows them to be born to people who have little hope of ever sustaining them.

People, especially those who have never been to such places merely dig into their pockets for a small amount to send off.

The kinder thing is either not to send anything or to encourage new colonisers to go and live there to govern and guide the people to a better life.

Tom is to be admired for not being scared in these silly times of being called ‘racist’ for speaking the truth.

Well done, Mr Hawksworth, for stating the obvious about those being wrongly born to parents who have no hopes of bringing them up on their own.

Thank you, Euro Weekly News, for having the courage to print his letter and hopefully this one.

Brian Deller, Manilva (Malaga)

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.

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OPINION & COMMENT

When institutionalised theft is legalised Mike Walsh Mike, based in Mediterranean Spain, is an international journalist, author and professional writer.

W

HY are service providers, in particular banks and utility companies, so bad at doing the simplest of tasks?

Let’s face it, with computerisation it has never been simpler to collect and manage data on water, electricity, financial transactions, telephone and internet usage. Can they get it right? Does a rocking horse have a wooden willie?

Newspapers publish topics of public interest. One of these is crime, which includes institutionalised theft. How else do you describe the deliberate complexity and lack of

accountability in direct debit bank raids carried out by water, electricity, banking and telecommunications companies?

As Woody Guthrie surmised: “As through this world I’ve wandered, I’ve seen lots of funny men. Some rob you with a six gun, and some with a fountain pen.”

Unscrupulous and arrogant, the anti-customer attitudes displayed by service suppliers are a constant bone of contention. Yes, mistakes are part of the human condition, as are coincidences.

However, we notice that when these hapless quasi-criminal institutions make mistakes they are invariably made to favour their bank accounts, not ours.

Have a nice day! If I hear that idiotic remark one more time from a utility, bank or telecoms company, I swear I will swing for the consequences. I do not know if I have ever met anyone out of

a military uniform more intent on making certain I have a bad day.

I was recently billed three times for two months’ internet use. Between supplier and bank visits there was a maze of obscurity that would try the patience of a saint. Buck passing. They invented it, they live by it.

How about a computer error that puts money into my account?

Then I too can set up an impenetrable wall of confusion to stop them reclaiming it. No, for them it is a case of ‘heads I win, tails you lose’.

They cut off your internet, your water, gas or electricity, they freeze your bank account. You sort it. How did they end up controlling our lives as they do?

Who allowed them to?

My poor wife spent unproductive days working her

LEGAL ROBBERY: Banks and utilities that steal. way through a confusing system of money transfer. Earlier, she lost an hour’s work sorting out a computer scam.

Perhaps the newspapers would be better employed scrutinising the shareholder lists of these thieving magpies. I am sure they will find the state’s legislators and the otherwise elite have their scummy fingers predominantly in these institutions, too.

The only thing that changes over the years is that bandits also move with the times.

“When plunder becomes a way of life for a group of men living in society, they create for themselves, in the course of time, a legal system that authorises it and a moral code that glorifies it.”

Frederic Bastiat, (1801-1850) French economist, statesman, and author

OPINION & COMMENT

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Has the sun set on expats?

Nora Johnson

Breaking Views A Costa del Sol resident for a number of years, Nora is the author of psychological suspense and crime thrillers.

To comment on any of the issues raised in her column, go to www.euroweeklynews.com/columnists/nora-johnson

I

S SPAIN, the most popular EU destination for expats, losing its appeal? Last year, one in four British expatriates said adiós to the sun, sand and sangría, according to recently released data from the Spanish National Institute of Statistics.

A five-year, double-dip recession with unemployment at 26 per cent is given as the main reason for the British exodus. Thousands of Britons who headed to Spain during its decade-long building boom have headed back in search of work following the property market crash of 2008. Tortuous legal disputes with the Spanish authorities over property rights are another reason, plus changes to tax laws affecting nonSpanish residents.

However, those who migrate to the Mediterranean are actually less happy than if they had remained behind,

ADIOS: One in four UK expats left Spain last year, according to recent data. according to recent survey data conducted by a university on 329 migrants from Belgium, Switzerland, Germany, Netherlands, France, and 73 from the UK, who resettled in Spain, Portugal, Greece and Cyprus! Asked how happy they were on a scale of 0-10, they scored 7.3 on average, compared with 7.5 for 56,000 people

studied back home. Reasons given for this: language and cultural problems.

Now, to take this ‘research’ at face value, isn’t this simply another instance of people, already unhappy with some aspects of their lives, believing their problems will all melt away in the Mediterranean sun? Sadly, after the honeymoon period, their

unresolved issues return with a vengeance, exacerbated by the fact that they’re living in an unfamiliar country with a language they’ve probably never bothered to learn. For those who are genuinely ‘happy’, it probably wouldn’t make the slightest difference whether they lived in Tajikistan, Timbuktu or Tesco’s.

Anyway, I’m sure those returning will be welcomed with open arms in Blighty, except for London and the south-east where, from all accounts, it’s standing room only.

And a final word on that ‘research’.

Out of around five million Brits who live overseas, the researchers combed the four countries mentioned and identified only 73 British respondents?

Maybe they visited one bar in each country? (Which makes you wonder how the rest of the time was spent.

Break in the sun behind a façade of conducting research, surely not!)

There are so many slips here that, as as a survey, it’s pointless. But isn’t that true of any social ‘science’ survey?

Nora Johnson’s thrillers Retribution and The De Clerambault Code (www.nora-johnson.com) available from Amazon in paperback/eBook (€0.89; £0.77) and iBookstore.

Profits to Cudeca.

Welcome to the 2050 vintage Ulrica Marshall

Expat Strife Swedish-born Ulrica is a freelance journalist living in Mallorca with her family. Her debut novel $Expat Wives is available on Amazon and iBooks.

To comment on any of the issues raised in Ulrica’s column, go to www.euroweeklynews.com/columnists/ulrica-marshall

ulrica@euroweeklynews.com

“ONE minute you’re wearing woolly jumpers and overcoats and the next it’s tee-shirt weather,” someone told me when I first arrived in Mallorca.

I didn’t believe him until, indeed, someone flicked the summer switch and overnight winter became but a blustery memory. Now, according to locals, this switch scenario happens earlier each year, with each of the two seasons more extreme.

In the past few weeks, an iceberg-sized mountain of studies on the subject have been published and I will do my best to summarise them for you here.

Oxford University’s Rowlands

WARMING UP: In 2050, Spain will be hotter than ever. study predicted a rise of up to three degrees Celsius by 2050, which would wipe out 30 per cent of animal and plant species.

It would also render many African and Asian territories uninhabitable, with low-lying countries like Bangladesh under water. The displacement of population would in turn create political unrest.

The study echoes releases

from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change as well as the Red Cross. It seems that the next generation will live in a world of food shortages on a global scale, lack of drinking water and, in many cases, in unlivable climates.

The message is that we have to reduce emissions. Yet there is little political interest to take a long-term approach.

“We have a planetary emergency. We have to… create, in the generation of those alive today, a sense of generational mission,” Al Gore commented.

But amid economic woes across the world and a race for economic supremacy in China and India, the climate remains at the bottom of the pecking order.

On a local level, Spain in 2050 will be hotter than ever, losing

some of its touristic appeal. It will also face a tide of environmental refugees from Africa. Agricultural production conditions will be poor, especially impacting the wine industry. Ever wondered why the alcohol level in your bottle of tinto has crept up to 14 or 15 per cent? The answer is climate change, which is also why England is now able to produce some excellent wines.

By 2050, the best vintages may well come from Sweden.

What we do matters; environmentalists urge us to reduce the use of the car, or switch to a hybrid or electric version. Avoid flying (video conference and holiday near home) and choose renewable power if possible. We should pull the plugs on electrical equipment when not in use, recycle and avoid both dairy and meat, whose production causes 18 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions.

It’s a tall order, but if we can avoid an apocalyptic future, it is surely worth the effort…

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FEATURE

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Is the grass greener in Spain or UK? A RECENT survey of expatriates has revealed that those who migrate to Spain and Mediterranean countries are actually less happy than those who stayed at home. Are you happier here than in your home country or do you miss it? Or is it simply a case of the grass is always greener on the other side?

C

HARITY volunteer Jean McNeil, aged 73 from La Marina, Costa Blanca, has been living in Spain for 12 years and loves it. She is happier than when she was in the UK. “I’m definitely happier here.

It is cheaper to live here and the sun shines, that makes it all so much better,” she said.

Fifteenyear-old PAUL BRIGGS has the best of both worlds.

STREET TALK Gary Wilkinson, also from La Marina, has lived in Spain since he was five, but in August he will return to the UK to continue his studies.

“There are more opportunities there and I want to do accountancy. I will stay in the UK for a few years,” he explained. His father agrees with his choice, saying: “It can be cheaper to live here but if you have to work and earn money it is difficult and I know a lot of people are going back for various reasons.

“They come on holiday, think it’s great but daily living and holidays are very different.”

Plasterer Paul Briggs, aged 40, has the best of both worlds. With a second home in Formentera he is able to see both sides and treat his two young sons to holidays on the Costa Blanca, but doesn’t believe the

grass is greener in Spain and wouldn’t want to make a permanent move realising the difficulty of the work situation. He said: “I’m glad to be going home this week. We all hate work but you’d miss it really and all people seem to do here is drink.”

Chef Jason Owens, 32, from Marbella, Malaga, is happy to live in Spain. “In the catering trade hours are long and unsocial wherever you are. At least in Spain I am almost guaranteed sunshine when I am off and can enjoy it. In England I always seemed to be stuck indoors because of the rain.

“I don’t miss England at all. The grass is definitely greener in Spain!”

JEAN MCNEIL loves her Spanish life.

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Duties of information between financial institutions and clients

By Juan Antonio Abad and Angel Poveda, abogados A REGULATION relating to complex financial products is in force to protect investors; particularly those with no experience in these products.

This need of protection has been increasing because the financial institutions which commercialise these products, not only distribute them, but they also help the client to interpret this information and to take the decision to contract a certain product.

Previously, certain information may have been withheld or misinterpreted, but now the MiFID regulation (Markets in Financial Instruments Directive)

FINANCIAL PRODUCTS: Institutions are obliged to give clear and impartial information. states that specific duties of information must be given by the financial institutions to the client and every client must be informed by the bank, before the finalisation of the contract, about the risks that it holds as a speculative operation.

This general principle is a consequence of the general duty of acting in conformity with the requirements of the ‘good faith’ act (The Principles of European Contract Law) which states ‘each party must act in accordance with good faith

and fair dealing.’

Financial institutions are also obligated to ensure that the information they give is impartial, clear and not deceitful and will include ‘orientations and warnings on the risks associated with such

instruments or strategies, including any connected risks and the potential loss of investment to enable the client to be fully informed in making a decision about any financial investment.

If you think you were miss-sold a financial

product and that duties of information were not carried out, speak to the team at Poveda Abad Solicitors. Juan Antonio Abad is a specialist in banking law with over 20 years of experience in the sector and is currently helping others to make valid claims.

Poveda Abad Abogados in Javea and Valencia 1.20 Centro Comercial Arenal Avda. Del Pia 126 Javea Tel: 965 796 238 Avda Baron de Carcer 31-3º-6º Valencia Tel: 963 427 428 or 619 197 574 www.povedaabad.com

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Though the Nazis fail to open the gates of Hell, one little devil gets through. Raised at a secret FBI lab, Hellboy is a cigarchomping, crimson demon with a breezeblock for a right hand and a gift for fighting otherwordly beasts. Lively action fantasy based on the cult comic book.

7:25am The Lone Ranger Unmasked 7:55am The Marine: Homefront 9:40am Resident Evil: Retribution 11:25am Hellboy 1:45pm Fast and Furious 6 4:00pm Back to the Future 6:05pm Back to the Future Part II 8:00pm Back to the Future Part III 10:00pm Fast and Furious 6 12:15am Total Recall

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How to Win Eurovision (Entertainment,2013) BBC 3 from 9:00pm to 11:00pm Greg James and Russell Kane present an entertaining look at all the ingredients needed to become a Eurovision winner, adding a strong gimmick to what not to wear and throwing in a pinch of out-of-tune singing for good measure. They celebrate the UK's Eurovision success stories and delve into the depths of our Eurovision hall of shame, all in the name of finding out how to win Eurovision.

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UK Pensions – All Change The UK government took everyone by surprise in March by announcing a series of radical changes to pensions.

This is the most significant pension reform since 1921, and gives retirees much more freedom over their pension pot.

Your pension funds are probably a significant part of your wealth; retirement planning is an essential component of your life here in Spain.

Chancellor George Osborne wants “people to be trusted to make the right decisions about their future,” but you need to be armed with all the facts, understand how the options affect you, and review what you have to enable you to make the best overall decision for your situation.

The reforms provide more options and opportunities, making specialist advice more important than ever before.

Some reforms have already been introduced for Defined Contribution Scheme members, while others will start next April.

From 27th March 2014, the capped

By Neil Jenkins, Senior Partner, Blevins Franks

drawdown limit increased to 150% of an equivalent annuity. You can take a higher income from your pension fund, generally at your next annual review, but also need to consider how this could affect your pension pot in later years.

Another key change was the reduction in the minimum income requirement for flexible drawdown to

£12,000. Flexible drawdown allows you to take as much of your pension fund as cash as you wish. However, it is important to consider the Spanish tax implications. Besides income tax in Spain, when you withdraw funds from your pension schemes you lose the inheritance tax protection that offers; the capital will form part of your estate for inheritance and succession tax purposes.

The government also launched a consultation on more pension reforms. It intends to remove all remaining restrictions on how retirees have access to their pension pots.

The key change here is that the tax rate on cash taken out of defined contribution pension funds on retirement will be reduced from the current prohibitive 55% rate. If this goes ahead, the withdrawal (after the 25% tax free lump sum) would instead be taxed at the individual’s marginal rate of income tax.

Remember, this is under UK tax rules.

These changes will not apply to Defined Benefit Scheme members, but a consultation has been launched regarding transferring out of public and private Defined Benefit Schemes into Defined Contributions Schemes.

These proposed conditions have wide implications for retirees. Again, it is very important to consider the tax implications in Spain, as well as the fact that the cash would become exposed to inheritance/succession tax.

For larger funds, there is a need for sound financial planning and advice.

The taxation, if structured correctly, could allow you to achieve a number of financial aims that may otherwise not have been possible. In some cases it may be beneficial to suffer tax on the funds to enable you to invest in something that suits you better, but this would have to be very carefully considered.

You need expert advice to ensure you do what will work best for you in the short and long-term.

Much can happen between now

and April. The proposed rules could change under consultation. A new government could well revise the rules - the General Election is currently scheduled for May but could happen before. Overseas schemes and jurisdictions need to consider whether to adapt to these new conditions.

Specialist advice is therefore important for you to keep up-to-date on all the changes, as well as to establish the most suitable options for your personal situation.

Tax rates, scope and reliefs may change. Any statements concerning taxation are based upon our understanding of current taxation laws and practices which are subject to change. Tax information has been summarised; an individual is advised to seek personalised advice.

To keep in touch with the latest developments in the offshore world, check out the latest news on our website www.blevinsfranks.com

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•Morgan Freeman •Nigel Hawthorne •Anthony Hopkins •Djimon Hounsou •Matthew McConaughey

9:00pm Pitch Perfect 11:00pm This is the End 12:55am Bad Neighbours Special 1:15am You, Me and Dupree 3:15am Someone Marry Barry 5:00am Ghostbusters II

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Epic drama following the legal battle over a shipload of slaves who overpowered their captors at sea and landed on the shores of America. Initially, the argument in the courts revolves around the issue of property to whom do the slaves belong? It is only gradually that even the lawyers for the defence come to truly understand and appreciate the humanity of the men turned into cargo by the evils of slavery.

10:30am Anna Karenina 12:50pm Beautiful Creatures 3:00pm My Big Fat Greek Wedding 4:40pm Cold Mountain 7:20pm Amistad 10:00pm Lincoln 12:40am Dangerous Minds

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12:40pm The Poseidon Adventure 2:45pm Man of Steel 5:15pm Mean Machine 7:00pm The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring 10:00pm Man of Steel 12:30am Commando 2:10am Hammer of the Gods 3:55am Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior 5:40am The Poseidon Adventure

BBC3/ 8:00pm Great Movie Mistakes 2: The Sequel 8:05pm Top Gear 9:15pm Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl 11:30pm Russell Howard's Good News 12:00am Family Guy 12:22am Family Guy 12:44am Family Guy 1:06am Family Guy 1:28am Family Guy 1:50am Family Guy 2:15am American Dad! 2:37am American Dad! 3:00am Sweat the Small Stuff 3:30am Some Girls 4:00am Some Girls 4:30am Some Girls

Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (Film,2003) BBC 3 from 9:15pm to 11:30pm Eccentric Captain Sparrow is on a mission to rescue the Governer's beautiful daughter, Elizabeth, and his ship, the Black Pearl, both of which have been captured by curse-ridden pirate, Captain Barbossa. They brave the deadly seas and head towards the mysterious Isla de Muerta in an attempt to stop the skeleton pirates from spilling Elizabeth's blood to lift the curse that keeps them in limbo.

BBC4/ 8:00pm Britain's Natural World 9:00pm Byzantium: A Tale of Three Cities 10:00pm Alan Bennett at 80: Bennett Meets Hytner 11:00pm Talking Heads 11:40pm Talking Heads 12:30am The Many Faces of Les Dawson 1:30am To be Announced 2:00am Top of the Pops 2:40am Byzantium: A Tale of Three Cities 3:40am Britain's Natural World

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2:00pm The Iron Giant 3:00pm FYI Daily 3:05pm The Iron Giant 3:45pm Zookeeper 4:45pm FYI Daily 4:50pm Zookeeper 5:45pm Britain's Got Talent 6:45pm Britain's Got More Talent 7:45pm You've Been Framed!

8:15pm Star Wars 9:15pm FYI Daily 9:20pm Star Wars 11:00pm Viral Tap 11:50pm License to Wed 12:50am FYI Daily 12:55am License to Wed 1:40am Viral Tap 2:20am You've Been Framed and Famous!

3:10am The Vampire Diaries 3:55am Teleshopping

SATELLITE CHANNELS/ Sky1/ 9:00am Glee 10:00am Hugh Jackman: Becoming Wolverine 10:30am The Amazing SpiderMan 2: Special 11:00am World Wrestling Entertainment Superstars 12:00pm WWE Experience 1:00pm Road Wars

2:00pm Futurama 2:30pm Futurama 3:00pm Modern Family 3:30pm Modern Family 4:00pm Modern Family 4:30pm Modern Family 5:00pm Modern Family 5:30pm Modern Family 6:00pm The Simpsons 6:30pm The Simpsons

7:00pm The Simpsons 7:30pm The Simpsons 8:00pm About a Boy 8:30pm The Simpsons 9:00pm The Simpsons 9:30pm Futurama 10:00pm Hawaii Five-0 11:00pm NCIS: Los Angeles 12:00am 24: Live Another Day 1:00am 24: Live Another Day

•Tom Cruise •Philip Seymour Hoffman •Ving Rhames •Billy Crudup •Michelle Monaghan

SkyMoviesComedy/ 11:50am American Pie: The Reunion 1:50pm Maverick 4:05pm Scary Movie 5 5:40pm Blazing Saddles 7:25pm Idiocracy 9:00pm Maverick 11:15pm American Pie: The Reunion

Mission: Impossible III (Film, 2006) Super spy Ethan Hunt is enjoying retirement with his new fiancee, when an old colleague is kidnapped by psychotic arms dealer Owen Davian. Hunt must race into action to save his friends, and the world.

1:20am Scary Movie 5

SkyMoviesAction/ 10:10am Catwoman 12:00pm Mission: Impossible III 2:15pm The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring 5:20pm The Mask of Zorro 7:45pm Tombstone 10:00pm Mission: Impossible III 12:10am Fire with Fire

8:00pm F1: Grand Prix 8:40pm Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest 11:00pm In the Flesh 12:00am Family Guy 12:22am Family Guy 12:45am American Dad! 1:10am Jonah From Tonga 1:40am In the Flesh 2:40am The Call Centre 3:40am Great Movie Mistakes V: Revenge of the Fifth 4:00am In the Flesh

Family Guy (Animation,1999) BBC 3 from 12:00am to 12:22am Animated comedy series about family life. After an accident lands Brian in the hospital, he has a near-death experience that leads him to take a new lease on life.

He finds a passion for singing and develops a new nightly gig with Frank Sinatra Jr, but his lifestyle only goes so far. Meanwhile, Meg's sexuality swings the other way.

BBC4/ SkyMoviesAction/

10:00pm

BBC3/

8:00pm The Wooden Horse 9:45pm Wild Scotland 10:00pm An Englishman Abroad 11:00pm The Sky at Night

11:30pm Byline: Dinner at Noon 12:10am Krakatoa Revealed

SkyMoviesDrama/ 5:45am My Big Fat Greek Wedding 7:30am Losing Isaiah 9:25am New Year's Eve 11:30am Steel Magnolias 1:35pm Sense and Sensibility 4:00pm The Top Ten Show 2014 4:15pm Cinderella Man 6:45pm Dead Poets Society 9:00pm New Year's Eve

1:00am The Wonder of Bees with Martha Kearney 1:30am When Rock Goes Acoustic 2:30am Acoustic at the BBC 3:30am The Rolling Stones at the BBC 4:15am Sounds of the 70s

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7:00am Good Morning Britain 9:30am Lorraine 10:25am The Jeremy Kyle Show 11:30am This Morning 12:25pm ITV News 12:30pm This Morning 1:30pm Loose Women 2:30pm ITV News and Weather 3:00pm Jo Frost Family Matters 4:00pm Dickinson's Real Deal 5:00pm Ejector Seat 6:00pm The Paul O'Grady Show 7:00pm Local News and Weather 7:30pm ITV News and Weather 8:00pm Emmerdale 8:30pm Coronation Street 9:00pm Gino's Italian Escape 9:30pm Coronation Street 10:00pm Prey 11:00pm ITV News at Ten and Weather 11:35pm Benidorm 12:35am Joanna Lumley's Greek Odyssey 1:35am Jackpot247 4:00am UEFA Champions League Weekly 4:25am The Jeremy Kyle Show USA 5:10am ITV Nightscreen

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7:45am According to Jim 8:10am 3rd Rock from the Sun 8:35am King of Queens 9:00am Everybody Loves Raymond 9:30am Everybody Loves Raymond 10:00am Frasier 10:30am Frasier 11:00am Undercover Boss USA 12:00pm Come Dine with Me 12:30pm Come Dine with Me 1:00pm Channel 4 News 1:05pm Come Dine with Me 1:35pm Come Dine with Me 2:05pm Come Dine with Me 2:40pm A Place in the Sun 3:40pm Countdown 4:30pm Deal or No Deal 5:30pm Draw it!

6:00pm Four in a Bed 6:30pm Come Dine with Me 7:00pm The Simpsons 7:30pm Hollyoaks 8:00pm Channel 4 News 9:00pm Britain's Most Extreme Weather 10:00pm The Island with Bear Grylls 11:00pm Miracle Hunter 12:00am Gogglebox 1:05am Random Acts 1:10am Fargo 2:05am Scandal 2:55am Southcliffe 3:50am Mr Drew's School for Boys

7:00am Emmerdale 7:25am Coronation Street 7:55am Coronation Street 8:25am You've Been Framed!

8:45am The Jeremy Kyle Show USA 9:30am Dinner Date 10:30am The Real Housewives of Orange County 11:30am The Real Housewives of Miami 12:30pm The Millionaire Matchmaker 1:30pm Emmerdale 2:00pm Coronation Street 2:30pm Coronation Street 3:00pm The Millionaire Matchmaker 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 Mom 10:30pm Mom 11:00pm The 40 Year Old Virgin 12:00am FYI Daily 12:05am The 40 Year Old Virgin 1:25am Two and a Half Men 1:55am Two and a Half Men

SkyMoviesComedy/

Sky1/ 9:00am Modern Family 9:30am Modern Family 10:00am Futurama 10:30am Futurama 11:00am Hawaii Five-0 12:00pm Hawaii Five-0 1:00pm NCIS: Los Angeles 2:00pm NCIS: Los Angeles 3:00pm Emergency with

Angela Griffin 4:00pm Last Man Standing 4:30pm Football's Funniest Moments 5:00pm Futurama 5:30pm Futurama 6:00pm The Simpsons 6:30pm Modern Family 7:00pm Modern Family 7:30pm The Simpsons

8:00pm The Simpsons 8:30pm The Simpsons 9:00pm The Simpsons 9:30pm Modern Family 10:00pm About a Boy 10:30pm A League of Their Own 11:00pm Star-Crossed 12:00am NCIS: Los Angeles 1:00am NCIS: Los Angeles

•Judy Davis •Flavio Parenti •Roberto Benigni •Alison Pill •Alec Baldwin •Penelope Cruz

SkyMoviesComedy/ 10:55am Scary Movie 3 12:35pm Monsters University Special 1:05pm The Dukes of Hazzard 3:05pm The Wedding Video 4:55pm To Rome with Love 7:00pm Stir Crazy 9:00pm Stand Up Guys 10:45pm The Dukes of Hazzard

9:00pm Don't Tell the Bride 10:00pm Barely Legal Drivers 11:00pm Russell Howard's Good News 11:30pm EastEnders 12:00am Family Guy 12:23am Family Guy 12:46am Family Guy 1:10am Barely Legal Drivers 2:05am In the Flesh 3:05am Russell Howard's Good News 3:35am Great Movie Mistakes V: Revenge of the Fifth 4:00am Barely Legal Drivers

Barely Legal Drivers (Documentary,2013) BBC 3 from 10:00pm to 11:00pm Series in which young drivers take to the road in the family car, unaware that their parents are watching every manoeuvre through state-of-the-art cameras placed in the cars.

BBC4/ 8:00pm World News Today 8:30pm Great British Railway Journeys

To Rome with Love (Film, 2012)

4:55pm

SATELLITE CHANNELS/

BBC3/

Four sets of strangers experience life, love, fortune and fame in the Italian capital.

Romantic comedy.

12:45am Bad Neighbours Special

SkyMoviesDrama/ 8:50am Awakenings 11:00am Empire of the Sun 1:35pm Before Midnight 3:35pm You've Got Mail 5:40pm St Elmo's Fire 7:40pm Evita 10:00pm You've Got Mail

9:00pm Groundbreakers: The Man Who Shrank The World

SkyMoviesAction/ 7:20am Hero 9:05am Demolition Man 11:10am Last Action Hero 1:25pm Jack Reacher 3:40pm Bad Boys II 6:10pm Drop Zone 8:00pm Demolition Man 10:00pm Jack Reacher 12:15am Bad Boys II

9:30pm Only Connect 10:00pm Hinterland 11:35pm The First Georgians: The German Kings who Made Britain 12:35am The Toilet: An Unspoken History 1:35am Only Connect 2:05am The Golden Age of the Coach 3:05am Hinterland

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TUESDAY TV

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BBC1/

BBC2/

ITV/

CH4/

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07 am

11 am

07 am

07 am

07 am

7:00am Breakfast 10:15am Fake Britain 11:00am Homes Under the Hammer 12:00pm Caught Red Handed 12:30pm First Time on the Front Line 1:00pm Bargain Hunt 2:00pm BBC News 2:30pm Regional News 2:45pm Doctors 3:15pm The Link 4:00pm Countdown to Chelsea Flower Show 4:45pm Escape to the Country 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 Conservative Party 11:40pm Monks 12:15am Live at the Apollo 1:00am Management 2:25am Weatherview 2:30am BBC News

05

11:05am Real Lives Reunited 11:35am HARDtalk 12:00pm BBC News 12:30pm World News 1:00pm The Daily Politics 2:00pm The Super League Show 2:45pm One Man and his Campervan 3:15pm Pallisers 4:05pm Coast 4:45pm Great British Garden Revival 5:45pm Raymond Blanc's Kitchen Secrets 6:15pm Antiques Roadshow 6:55pm Party Election Broadcast by the BNP 7:00pm Eggheads 7:30pm Celebrity Antiques Road Trip 8:30pm Great British Menu 9:00pm The Big Allotment Challenge 10:00pm Watermen: A Dirty Business 11:00pm Later Live... with Jools Holland 11:30pm Newsnight 12:20am Party Election Broadcast by the Conservative Party

7:00am Good Morning Britain 9:30am Lorraine 10:25am The Jeremy Kyle Show 11:30am This Morning 12:25pm ITV News 12:30pm This Morning 1:30pm Loose Women 2:30pm ITV News and Weather 3:00pm Jo Frost Family Matters 4:00pm Dickinson's Real Deal 5:00pm Ejector Seat 6:00pm The Paul O'Grady Show 7:00pm Local News and Weather 7:30pm ITV News and Weather 8:00pm Emmerdale 8:30pm Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix 11:10pm ITV News at Ten and Weather 11:45pm The Cube 12:45am Wild Britain with Ray Mears 1:10am Jackpot247 4:00am Loose Women 4:45am ITV Nightscreen

40

7:40am According to Jim 8:05am 3rd Rock from the Sun 8:30am King of Queens 8:55am Everybody Loves Raymond 9:30am Everybody Loves Raymond 10:00am Frasier 10:30am Frasier 11:00am Undercover Boss USA 12:00pm Come Dine with Me 12:30pm Come Dine with Me 1:00pm Channel 4 News 1:05pm Come Dine with Me 1:35pm Come Dine with Me 2:05pm Come Dine with Me 2:40pm A Place in the Sun 3:40pm Countdown 4:30pm Deal or No Deal 5:30pm Draw it!

6:00pm Four in a Bed 6:30pm Come Dine with Me 7:00pm The Simpsons 7:30pm Hollyoaks 8:00pm Channel 4 News 9:00pm Embarrassing Bodies 10:00pm Mr Drew's School for Boys 11:00pm 16 Kids and Counting 11:55pm Coppers 12:55am Random Acts 1:00am Pokerstars.Com EPT London 1:55am KOTV Boxing Weekly 2:25am Transworld Sport

7:00am Emmerdale 7:25am Coronation Street 7:55am Coronation Street 8:25am You've Been Framed!

8:45am The Jeremy Kyle Show USA 9:30am Dinner Date 10:30am The Real Housewives of Orange County 11:30am The Real Housewives of Miami 12:30pm The Millionaire Matchmaker 1:30pm Emmerdale 2:00pm Coronation Street 2:30pm Coronation Street 3:00pm The Millionaire Matchmaker 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 The Vampire Diaries 11:00pm Celebrity Juice 11:50pm License to Wed 12:50am FYI Daily

SkyMoviesDrama/

Perfume: The Story of a Murderer (Film, 2006)

4:30pm

SATELLITE CHANNELS/ Sky1/ 9:00am Modern Family 9:30am Modern Family 10:00am Futurama 10:30am Futurama 11:00am Hawaii Five-0 12:00pm Hawaii Five-0 1:00pm NCIS: Los Angeles 2:00pm NCIS: Los Angeles 3:00pm Emergency with Angela Griffin 4:00pm Stargate Atlantis 5:00pm Futurama 5:30pm Futurama 6:00pm The Simpsons 6:30pm Modern Family

7:00pm Modern Family 7:30pm The Simpsons 8:00pm The Simpsons 8:30pm The Simpsons 9:00pm Hawaii Five-0 10:00pm Twin Towns 11:00pm NCIS: Los Angeles 12:00am NCIS: Los Angeles 1:00am NCIS: Los Angeles 2:00am Hawaii Five-0 3:00am Hawaii Five-0

SkyMoviesComedy/ 7:00am Alfie 8:50am The Campaign 10:25am Wild Hogs 12:15pm Grown Ups 2

2:05pm The Five-Year Engagement 4:15pm Mr Woodcock 5:55pm Nature Calls 7:25pm The Campaign 9:00pm Grown Ups 2 10:50pm The Five-Year Engagement 1:00am Mr Woodcock 2:35am For a Good Time, Call...

4:05am Nature Calls 5:30am The Fighting Temptations

SkyMoviesAction/ 4:35am Coogan's Bluff

•Ben Whishaw •Francesc Albiol •Gonzalo Cunill •Roger Salvany •Andrés Herrera

6:20am The Top Ten Show 2014 6:40am After Earth Special 7:00am The Scorpion King 8:45am The Italian Job 10:45am Four Brothers 12:45pm Pain and Gain 3:00pm Fast and Furious 6 5:15pm The Scorpion King 7:00pm The Italian Job 9:00pm Pain and Gain 11:15pm Fast and Furious 6 1:30am Four Brothers 3:25am Any Given Sunday

Jean-Baptiste Grenouille, an orphan in 18thcentury Paris, is born with an unnaturally overdeveloped sense of smell.

When he becomes obsessed with the scent of young and beautiful virgins, he turns to murder to satisfy his passion.

10:40am The Break-Up 12:35pm Medicine Man 2:30pm Sparkle 4:30pm Perfume: The Story of a Murderer 7:05pm The Break-Up 9:00pm Les Miserables 11:45pm Perfume: The Story of a Murderer 2:20am Gorillas in the Mist 4:35am Down the Shore

SkyMoviesDrama/ 5:40am A Star is Born 8:40am Under the Tuscan Sun

TCM/ 6:00am Tin Pan Alley 7:40am Gunsmoke

BBC3/ 8:00pm Snog, Marry, Avoid?

8:30pm Don't Tell the Bride 9:30pm Gavin and Stacey 10:00pm The Call Centre 11:00pm Sweat the Small Stuff 11:30pm EastEnders 12:00am Family Guy 12:22am Family Guy 12:45am American Dad! 1:05am The Call Centre 2:05am Sweat the Small Stuff 2:35am Barely Legal Drivers 3:30am Snog, Marry, Avoid?

4:00am The Call Centre

American Dad! (Animation, 2005) BBC 3 from 12:45am to 1:05am After realising that he has missed every milestone in Steve's life, Stan makes a desperate attempt to bond with his son by creating a busty blonde bombshell alias, Phyllis, whom he sends Steve's way.

When Stan oversteps his boundaries, Francine intervenes. Meanwhile, Roger starts his own limo service, and when a group of guys "drive and dash," he goes on a manhunt to get his revenge.

BBC4/ 8:00pm World News Today 8:30pm Great British Railway Journeys 9:00pm Horizon

8:40am Gunsmoke 9:40am King Richard and the Crusaders 11:55am The Sheriff of Fractured Jaw 1:50pm Gunsmoke 2:55pm Gunsmoke 4:00pm Gold Fever 5:15pm Invitation to a Gunfighter 7:00pm Westbound 8:20pm Waco 10:00pm Pale Rider 12:15am The Missouri Breaks 2:35am Pale Rider 4:35am The Forty-Niners

10:00pm Talking Heads 10:30pm Screen Two: 102 Boulevard Haussmann 11:45pm 4000 Year Old Cold Case: The Body in the Bog 12:45am Britain's Natural World

1:45am Krakatoa Revealed 2:35am Horizon 3:35am 4000 Year Old Cold Case: The Body in the Bog

OPINION & COMMENT

www.euroweeklynews.com

8 - 14 May 2014 / Costa Blanca Nor th

EWN

55

Fostering rules plain ridiculous

T

HE UK Social Services’ recent decision to bar a white couple from fostering a black baby didn’t surprise me in the least.

These departments are awash with staff, who are themselves of ethnic origin and often emerge as the worst racists of all - people who treat the rules of political correctness as a blueprint for their very existence. I wonder what sort of outcry there would have been had they denied a white child to a black family on similar grounds?

Before you accuse me of racism (yawn), I’ll cite you a couple of personal experiences.

The first concerns two, quite comfortably off, married friends of mine. This couple, who had already adopted and fostered a number of children, approached their local authorities, with regard to adopting an eight-year-old young man of Mid-East origin.

To cut an extremely long and frustrating story short, they reluctantly had to finally give up on the idea.

They simply could not comply with all the rules and stipulations the authorities confronted them with. The main issues were schooling and almost unbelievably, diet.

The department insisted that instead of my colleagues enrolling (and paying substantial fees) for the lad to attend a local, highly respected private school, they wanted him driven over an hour away to a public school, which was predominantly attended by Muslim children (sound familiar!).

Among many other stymies and stipulations, the final nail came when they declared he must have a Halal diet, insisting the couple’s kitchen must be ‘cleansed’ and completely changed to accommodate this directive.

The last they heard, this young lad was still in the

children’s home awaiting someone more ‘acceptable’ to come along.

The other case I experienced was when my dear, then 90-year-old mum, was placed in a care home in the South of England.

It soon became clear she was obviously not happy.

Although racism was not even in her vocabulary, the fact that there were no Caucasian people employed, made her feel confused and somewhat out of place.

One day I purposely turned up unexpectedly and was disgusted with what I discovered. The residents were unkempt and the whole place was mucky and simply reeked of urine.

I decided to move her as soon as possible. Over the next couple of weeks every home I visited was run by people of ethnic origin. It was for some (and probably still is) a very lucrative racket, with the residents simply regarded

LEAPY LEE SAYS IT OTHERS THINK IT

NO SENSE: Fostering rules no surprise.

as a means to an

end.

We simply have to stop listening to these pathetic

cries of racism as an excuse for any form of common sense.

You know it makes sense.

Keep the Faith. Love Leapy.

Leapylee2002@gmail.com

Rajoy flying solo E

X-PRESIDENT Jose Maria Aznar recently lamented his exclusion from the PP’s European election campaigns.

He should have seen this coming, given his frequent sniping at his one-time protégé, the current president Mariano Rajoy.

Jose Maria Aznar began to lose his grip when Rajoy lost the March 2004 general elections. Wanting to emulate the Americans, the former president decided to serve only two terms, naming Rajoy as his successor.

Aznar failed to achieve the lofty financial and personal status awaiting Tony Blair as repayment for backing George W Bush’s Iraq invasion, but neither has the ex-president done too badly.

A seat on Murdoch’s board was amongst his spoils and unlike Blair, Aznar presumably had no problems keeping Wendy Deng at arm’s length.

But Aznar lost his chance to

Cassandra Nash

A weekly look - and not entirely impartial reaction to the Spanish political scene

The sound of music CATALUÑA’S regional police, the Mossos d’Esquadra, barracked regional president Artur Mas not long ago.

They were complaining about cutbacks affecting the force and hit back in the one way they knew would be especially wounding for Mas: they sang ‘Viva España’. continue shaping Spanish events from the shadows because Rajoy did not move into the Moncloa until 2011.

And by then he had learnt to fly solo: that’s always a danger with protégés.

A load of old cobblers MIRIAM GONZALEZ DURANTEZ, Nick Clegg’s Spanish wife, was applauded recently. She told her husband in public that men who helped their wives with household and child-raising have more ‘cojones’ than those who don’t.

A Spanish woman does not need a large dose of cojones to use the word, even – or especially – if, like Gonzalez Durantez she is married to someone like Clegg. No-one would argue that his wife isn’t a ballsy woman, but people swear more and they swear far more anatomically in Spain.

Public figures are especially given to cussing and Esperanza Aguirre, who swears like a trooper, has more cojones than your average Spanish politician.

Except when it comes to getting booked for a traffic offence, that is.

EXCLUDED: Former President Jose Maria Aznar.

Trickle-down effect EDUARDO TORRES-DULCE, Spain’s equivalent of Attorney General, has criticised Spain’s inadequate anti-corruption laws.

He cited “acquittals that are hard to understand” as well as “pardons for the corrupt” and “sentences that do not reflect the gravity of the offences perceived by the public.” Legislation is complicated and insufficient, complained the Fiscal General.

Corruption has always been an

endemic Spanish disease but while it had a trickle-down effect most members of the public happily ignored it. Things are different now that the economic crisis and austerity conspired to ensure that few ill-gotten gains trickle down to provide work and prosperity for the non-corrupt of modest means.

If corruption is ever tackled and eradicated in Spain it will be because of outrage and exasperation at the bottom of the heap, not the top of the pile.

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WEDNESDAY TV

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BBC2/

ITV/

CH4/

ITV2/

07 am

07 am

07 am

07 am

07 am

7:00am Breakfast 10:15am Fake Britain 11:00am Homes Under the Hammer 12:00pm Caught Red Handed 12:30pm First Time on the Front Line 1:00pm Bargain Hunt 2:00pm BBC News 2:30pm Regional News 2:45pm Doctors 3:15pm The Link 4:00pm Countdown to Chelsea Flower Show 4:45pm Escape to the Country 5:30pm Flog It! 6:15pm Pointless 7:00pm BBC News 7:30pm Regional News 8:00pm The One Show 9:00pm Watchdog 10:00pm MasterChef 11:00pm BBC News 11:25pm Regional News 11:30pm Weather 11:35pm Party Election Broadcast by the Labour Party 11:40pm A Question of Sport 12:15am Room 101 12:50am Dragonfly 2:30am Weatherview 2:35am BBC News

7:00am Preview 7:15am Homes Under the Hammer 8:15am Caught Red Handed 8:45am First Time on the Front Line 9:15am Countryside 999 10:00am Antiques Roadshow 11:00am Bang Goes the Theory 11:30am See Hear 12:00pm BBC News 12:30pm The Daily Politics 2:00pm A to Z of TV Cooking 2:15pm Life in Cold Blood 3:15pm Pallisers 4:05pm Coast 4:45pm Great British Garden Revival 5:45pm Raymond Blanc's Kitchen Secrets 6:15pm Antiques Roadshow 6:55pm Party Election Broadcast by the Green Party 7:00pm Eggheads 7:30pm Celebrity Antiques Road Trip 8:30pm Great British Menu 9:00pm Under Offer 10:00pm Coast 10:10pm Coast Australia 11:00pm Episodes 11:30pm Newsnight 12:20am Party Election Broadcast by the Labour Party

7:00am Good Morning Britain 9:30am Lorraine 10:25am The Jeremy Kyle Show 11:30am This Morning 12:25pm ITV News 12:30pm This Morning 1:30pm Loose Women 2:30pm ITV News and Weather 3:00pm Jo Frost Family Matters 4:00pm Dickinson's Real Deal 5:00pm Ejector Seat 6:00pm The Paul O'Grady Show 7:00pm Local News and Weather 7:30pm ITV News and Weather 8:00pm Emmerdale 8:30pm Coronation Street 9:00pm Big Star's Little Star 10:00pm Billy Connolly's Big Send Off 11:00pm ITV News at Ten and Weather 11:35pm Tomorrow Never Dies 1:45am Jackpot247 4:00am British Touring Car Championship Highlights 5:15am ITV Nightscreen

40

7:40am According to Jim 8:05am 3rd Rock from the Sun 8:30am King of Queens 8:55am Everybody Loves Raymond 9:30am Everybody Loves Raymond 10:00am Frasier 10:30am Frasier 10:55am Undercover Boss USA 11:55am Come Dine with Me 12:20pm Come Dine with Me 12:55pm Channel 4 News 1:00pm Come Dine with Me 1:30pm Come Dine with Me 2:05pm Come Dine with Me 2:30pm Channel 4 Racing 4:30pm Deal or No Deal 5:30pm Draw it!

6:00pm Four in a Bed 6:30pm Come Dine with Me 7:00pm The Simpsons 7:30pm Hollyoaks 8:00pm Channel 4 News 9:00pm The Supervet 10:00pm 24 Hours in A and E 11:00pm Derek 11:35pm Cardinal Burns 12:05am Alan Carr: Chatty Man 1:05am Barclaycard Mercury Prize Sessions 1:50am Random Acts 1:55am Josh 3:35am Sunset Boulevard

7:00am Emmerdale 7:30am Britain's Got More Talent 8:25am You've Been Framed!

8:45am The Jeremy Kyle Show USA 9:30am Dinner Date 10:30am The Real Housewives of Orange County 11:30am The Real Housewives of Miami 12:30pm The Millionaire Matchmaker 1:30pm Emmerdale 2:00pm Britain's Got More Talent 3:00pm The Millionaire Matchmaker 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 Through the Keyhole 11:00pm American Pie: The Reunion 12:00am FYI Daily 12:05am American Pie: The Reunion 12:55am Two and a Half Men

SkyMoviesComedy/

9:25am

SATELLITE CHANNELS/ Sky1/ 9:00am Modern Family 9:30am Modern Family 10:00am Futurama 10:30am Futurama 11:00am Hawaii Five-0 12:00pm Hawaii Five-0 1:00pm NCIS: Los Angeles 2:00pm NCIS: Los Angeles 3:00pm Emergency with Angela Griffin 4:00pm Stargate Atlantis 5:00pm Futurama 5:30pm Futurama 6:00pm The Simpsons 6:30pm Modern Family

7:00pm Modern Family 7:30pm The Simpsons 8:00pm The Simpsons 8:30pm The Simpsons 9:00pm The Simpsons 9:30pm The Simpsons 10:00pm 24: Live Another Day 1:00pm to 2:00pm.

11:00pm Storm City 12:00am NCIS: Los Angeles 1:00am NCIS: Los Angeles 2:00am Hawaii Five-0 3:00am Hawaii Five-0

SkyMoviesComedy/ 5:30am The Fighting Temptations

7:35am Big Night 9:25am Happy Gilmore 11:00am Our Idiot Brother 12:35pm Mental 2:35pm Big Nothing 4:05pm Hairbrained 5:45pm Happy Gilmore 7:20pm Our Idiot Brother 9:00pm Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo 10:40pm Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo 12:15am How to Make Love to a Woman 1:55am Conception 3:30am Risky Business

•Adam Sandler •Christopher McDonald •Julie Bowen •Frances Bay

5:20am Good Burger

SkyMoviesAction/ 3:25am Any Given Sunday 6:10am The Amazing SpiderMan 2 Special 6:40am The Top Ten Show 2014 7:00am King Kong 10:10am Lethal Weapon 3 12:15pm The Lone Ranger 2:50pm A Good Day to Die Hard 4:35pm Catwoman 6:25pm Lethal Weapon 3 8:30pm The Lone Ranger 11:00pm A Good Day to Die Hard

Happy Gilmore (Film, 1996) Happy Gilmore has a slapshot to die for but a tinderbox temper. Banned from the rink, he finds that his ice hockey shooting makes him an amazing golfer.

Can he match up to top pro Shooter McGavin?

12:45am Gladiator 3:25am End of Days 5:35am Volcano: Fire on the Mountain

SkyMoviesDrama/ 4:35am Down the Shore 6:20am Hello, Dolly!

8:50am The Remains of the Day 11:10am The Space Between 12:45pm Struck by Lightning 2:20pm Les Miserables Special 2:50pm We Bought a Zoo 5:00pm City Slacker 6:40pm The Four Feathers 9:00pm We Bought a Zoo

BBC3/ 8:00pm Top Gear 9:00pm The Call Centre 10:00pm Sun, Sex and Suspicious Parents 11:00pm Orphan Black 11:45pm Family Guy 12:07am Family Guy 12:30am American Dad! 12:52am American Dad! 1:15am Sweat the Small Stuff 1:45am Orphan Black 2:30am The Call Centre 3:30am Barely Legal Drivers 4:30am Sweat the Small Stuff

Sun, Sex and Suspicious Parents (Documentary) BBC 3 from 10:00pm to 11:00pm Series in which teenagers take their first summer holiday abroad without their parents, who, unbeknown to the kids, secretly watch everything that unfolds.

BBC4/ 8:00pm World News Today 8:30pm Great British Railway Journeys 9:00pm Lost Cities of the Ancients, the Cursed Valley of the Pyramids 10:00pm The Damned United 11:30pm Alex Higgins: The People's Champion

12:30am Parks and Recreation 12:55am Parks and Recreation 1:15am Byzantium: A Tale of Three Cities

11:10pm Cinderella Man 1:40am Cherry

TCM/ 8:35am Gunsmoke 9:35am Westbound 10:55am Invitation to a Gunfighter 12:40pm Gold Fever 1:50pm Gunsmoke 2:55pm Gunsmoke 4:00pm Jungle Moon Men 5:25pm Green Grass of Wyoming 7:05pm The Gun Hawk 8:50pm Fangs of the Arctic 10:00pm Assassins

2:15am Lost Cities of the Ancients, the Cursed Valley of the Pyramids 3:15am Alex Higgins: The People's Champion 4:15am Great British Railway Journeys

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CROSSWORDS

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Time Out

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SPONSORED BY

EURO WEEKLY’S SPACE FOR YOU TO TAKE A BREAK, BE INFORMED AND ENJOY A CHALLENGE

MADDOCKS’ VIEW ON LIFE

Famous quote

‘

This week

Success usually comes to those who are too busy to be looking for it’

Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862)

Women’s wit

in history

Why is it that all cars are women?’ he asked. ‘Because they’re fussy and demanding,’ answered Zee. ‘Because if they were men, they’d sit around and complain instead of getting the job done,’ I told him.’

‘

1945: Herman Goering, commander of the Luftwaffe, head of the Gestapo and president of the Reichstag, is captured by the US Seventh Army in Bavaria.

1950: L. Ron Hubbard publishes Dianetics; with this book Hubbard introduced a branch of self-help psychology which morphed into the belief system of Scientology.

1957: Petrol rationing is ended in Britain. There is widespread relief across the country as the Paymaster General announces the end of restrictions imposed during the Suez crisis.

1963: The first Bond movie opens.

Sean Connery stars as the first ever 007 in Dr. No; this immortal character, created by Ian Fleming, would go on to make many more films.

1967: Two Rolling Stones arrested on drug charges. Mick Jagger and Keith Richards appeared before magistrates in Chichester charged with drug offences after a raid on their Redlands house.

1968: The Kray twins are held on suspicion of murder. Reginald and Ronnie are arrested after dawn raids by police in London.

1971: Britain’s oldest tabloid closes; the Daily Sketch, sister paper to the Daily Mail, which was founded in 1909, was published for the last time.

1972: Israeli commandos storm a hijacked jet in Tel Aviv. Twelve soldiers disguised as maintenance crew stormed the Sabena Boeing at the Lod airport; two of the hijackers are shot dead and two captured.

1978: “Son of Sam” pleads guilty to murders. The man alleged to have murdered six people in a killing spree in New York pleads guilty to all the charges against him.

1981: Thousands see Pope shot in Rome. The Pope was shot four times, two in the stomach, as he blessed the crowds in St Peter’s Square in Rome.

1984: Soviets announce boycott of Olympics. Claiming that its athletes will not be safe from protests and attacks, the USSR announces that it will not compete in the Los Angeles Olympics.

Patricia Briggs, Silver Borne

World of English During an interview on US television with Soviet Prime Minister Nikita Kruschev, the interviewer used an idiom to say he thought the Soviet leader's statements were not logical, saying that Krushchev was 'barking up the wrong tree.' Krushchev's interpreter couldn’t find an equivalent Russian expression and told Krushchev that the interviewer had said he was 'baying like a hound.' Krushchev was not amused!

‘

K a k u ro

Costa Blanca weather for next 7 days JAVEA

DENIA JAVEA

CALPE CALPE ALTEA ALTEA BENIDORM BENIDORM

ALICANTE

ALICANTE

TORREVIEJA

TORREVIEJA

ORIHUELA

ORIHUELA

Alicante TODAY:

Benidorm

SUNNY MAX 23C, MIN 15C MAX MIN

MAX MIN

Fri Sat Sun -

Mon - 24 16 S Tues - 24 16 Cl Wed - 24 16 Cl

24 16 Cl 24 17 Cl 25 17 Cl

SUNNY

MAX 25C, MIN 17C

MAX MIN

Fri Sat Sun -

Mon - 26 18 Cl Tues - 26 18 Cl Wed - 26 18 C

25 18 S 26 19 S 28 19 S

Mon - 23 17 S Tues - 23 18 S Wed - 22 18 S

23 18 Cl 23 19 Cl 23 18 Cl

SUNNY

MAX MIN

Fri Sat Sun -

MAX 21C, MIN 16C

21 16 S 21 16 Cl 21 15 Cl S Sun,

MAX MIN

Mon - 20 14 Cl Tues - 20 15 Cl Wed - 22 16 Cl Cl Clear,

TODAY:

Fog,

Fri Sat Sun -

23 16 S 24 18 Cl 27 18 S

MAX 22C, MIN 16C MAX MIN

Mon - 25 17 S Tues - 27 17 S Wed - 27 17 Cl

TODAY:

SHOWER MAX 37C, MIN 26C

Fri Sat Sun -

36 26 Sh 25 26 Sh 36 26 Sh

MAX MIN

Mon - 29 13 S Tues - 29 13 S Wed - 30 13 Cl

29 16 Cl 30 15 Cl 29 13 S

MAX MIN

MAX MIN

Mon - 36 26 Sh Tues - 36 26 Sh Wed - 36 26 Sh

Murcia

CLEAR

MAX 25C, MIN 15C

MAX MIN

Fri Sat Sun -

MAX MIN

Mallorca CLEAR MAX 28C, MIN 15C

TODAY:

SUNNY

TODAY:

MAX MIN

Madrid

MAX MIN

Fri Sat Sun -

Fri Sat Sun -

MAX MIN

Barcelona TODAY:

MAX MIN

Bilbao

Almeria TODAY:

Malaga

CLEAR MAX 22C, MIN 17C

TODAY:

31 15 Cl 31 14 Cl 29 12 S C Cloudy,

TODAY:

MAX MIN

Mon - 29 13 S Tues - 29 13 Cl Wed - 31 13 Cl Sh Showers,

CLEAR MAX 29C, MIN 15C MAX MIN

Fri Sat Sun -

30 16 Cl 31 18 Cl 32 17 Cl

Sn Snow,

MAX MIN

Mon - 29 16 S Tues - 31 16 S Wed - 29 17 Cl Th Thunder

LOTTERY

DENIA

Fill all the empty squares using the numbers 1 to 9, so that the sum of each horizontal block equals the ‘clue’ on its left, and the sum of each vertical block equals the clue on its top. No number may be used in the same block more than once.

LAST WEEK’S SOLUTION

TOMORROW

TODAY

UK NATIONAL LOTTERY

UK THUNDERBALL

IRISH LOTTO

EURO MILLIONS

LA PRIMITIVA

Saturday May 3

Saturday May 3

Saturday May 3

Friday May 2

Saturday May 3

10

4

1

7

8

11

20 9

27

23

30

48

32

EL GORDO DE LA PRIMITIVA Sunday May 4

4

5

1

14

16

21

45

49

53

30 17

39

31

41

43

42

31

2

38

BONUS BALL

THUNDERBALL

BONUS BALL

28

9

32

LUCKY STARS

2

11

37

REINTEGRO

37

1

REINTEGRO

6

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CROSSWORDS

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Time Out EURO WEEKLY’S SPACE FOR YOU TO TAKE A BREAK, BE INFORMED AND ENJOY A CHALLENGE

TAURUS (April 21 - May 21) The brick wall that you start banging your head against this week is not an illusion. It is, indeed, true that others are not responding to you in an expected way. By Wednesday this wall will start to fall and people will be more receptive.

GEMINI (May 22 - June 21) Everything seems an effort at the beginning of this week but as energy levels pick up you will gain momentum. Tackle one thing at a time and realise that Rome was not, indeed, built in a day. As the weekend approaches you will begin to realise that you have been far more effective than you thought.

CANCER (June 22 - July 23) You really do need to come to an understanding with friends over a social matter, although this may take a little effort this week. It is clear that there are those who are less helpful than others, but this could be because of a misunderstanding.

LEO (July 24 - August 23) Be a social animal this week and you will strengthen both people and business contacts.

After being busy last week, you may be inclined to take it easy. If it is the case that you really are low on energy, then use the telephone or email to full advantage to keep in touch.

VIRGO (August 24 - September 23) Someone well and truly treads on your toes this week and it really puts your teeth on edge. There are some bridges that may not be mended at the present time and are best left alone.

Show your generous side but resist the urge to give in on an important issue because you are likely to regret it later. .

LIBRA (September 24 - October 23) What a lovely surprise to find that something you have always wanted is coming your way at last. Keep a firm hand with finances and take control if you want to organise things for the better.

May 10, Bono, 53.

Singer.

Born Paul David Hewson he is the front man of the Irish band U2 which has sold over 150 million records worldwide. He is also a well known philanthropist who champions many causes.

May 11, Ace Hood, 25. Rapper.

This American rapper is best known for his hit single “Hustle Hard” and “Bugatti” the latter of which peaked at 15 on the Hot 100 charts.

SCORPIO (October 24 - November 22) Be cautious this week with your money. You have been aware for some time now that a change in your finances is likely. You have this in common with many others in your situation. Seeking professional help can be free and can make a big difference.

SAGITTARIUS (November 23 - December 21) A special chance to try something new should not be passed over. No one expects wonders from you, they are happy just to see you enjoying life. A recent change in your attitude to your future is already showing. Luck is just waiting for you to invite her in.

RESORT

CLEVER (10)

SEATED

CURSED

SEEING

DEVICE

SPEARS

DRAWER

STEEDS

ELDERS

VEERED

GREASE

WEALTH

EUROVISION SONG CONTEST

GREASY

LAST WEEK’S SOLUTION 1 Invert, 2 Waters, 3 Recede, 4 5 Closer, 6 Assure, 7 Cheers, 8 9 Cackle, 10 Cobble, 11 Spears, 12 13 Barely, 14 Saying, 15 Lonely, 16 17 Bairns, 18 Shrill, 19 Soiled

IF IT’S YOUR BIRTHDAY THIS WEEK: Many things have changed in recent months and you will need to bend with the wind in the months to come. You do not have to give up all that you hold dear; however, you may have to realise that an era has passed. See what beckons.

May 9, Albert Finney, 77. Actor.

Esteemed British actor who co-starred in Erin Brockovich made his acting debut with the Royal Shakespeare Company and his film debut with Saturday Night and Sunday Evening.

REELED

CELLAR

Elders, Usable, Cheery, Seared,

Your Stars

May 12, Tony Hawk, 45.

Skateboarder.

This Californian sports icon is known for redefining vertical skateboarding and launching a successful video game series – he is nicknamed the “Birdman” for his aerial stunts.

May 8, Marta Sanchez.

Singer.

This Spanish singer has often been called the Queen of Spanish pop after being the lead singer of Ole Ole and one of Spain’s biggest sex symbols of the 1980’s. Her father was an opera singer and she began her career with Cristal Oskuro before being discovered by Ole, Ole.

48

CAPRICORN (December 22 - January 20) Your home life gives you the most satisfaction at the moment even though someone seems to be challenging you. Some things are best ignored until they go away of their own accord and that also often applies to people.

There is a time for everything and choosing it will make a task that could be difficult that much easier.

AQUARIUS (January 21 - February 19) Involvement in a situation connected with someone close may not be the best option this week. Giving advice is all well and good so long as you are sure of your facts.

1. By what stage name is the Israeli singer Sharon Cohen (born Yaron Cohen), whose song Diva, won the Eurovision Song Contest (ESC) in 1998, better known?

2. Cliff Richard has represented the UK in the ESC on two occasions (1968 and 1973); name the two songs he sang?

3. In which country was the first ever ESC held, in May 1956?

4. What was the title of Abba’s 1974 ESC winning song?

5. What was unusual about the result of the 1969 ESC? 6. Which actress, best known for playing the role of Ronnie Mitchell in EastEnders, represented the UK at the 1991 ESC? 7. Which country has won the ESC the most times (seven)?

8. Which country will host the 2014 ESC? 9. Which Irish singer won the ESC in 1980 with What's Another Year and again in 1987 with Hold Me Now? 10. Who, in 1967, was the UK’s ever first winner of the ESC?

Nonagram How many English words of four letters or more can you make from the nine letters in our Nonagram puzzle? Each letter may be used only once (unless the letter appears twice). Each word MUST CONTAIN THE CENTRE LETTER (in this case B) and there must be AT LEAST ONE NINE LETTER WORD. Plurals, vulgarities or proper nouns are not allowed.

TARGET:

May 13, Robert Pattinson, 27. Actor.

Actor, producer and model he first came to fame in the ultra-popular Twilight series as the vampire who we all love. He also played Cedric Diggory in the Harry Potter series.

May 14, George Lucas, 69. Director.

Director, producer and screenwriter who created Star Wars and the Indiana Jones franchises; he originally wanted to be a race car driver and his debut film was American Graffiti (1973).

PISCES (February 20 - March 20) Some disruption to your plans annoys you but there’s no point getting in a huff. Outside influences cannot be stopped but you are able to keep calm yourself. Rising to the bait will play into someone else’s hands. Although a situation must be dealt with, do it in your own time and in your own way.

ARIES (March 21 - April 20) It seems that you are putting a lot of effort into whatever you do without getting as much out as you would like. However, as the week goes by, you will realise that it is only a temporary situation. Sometimes, it takes others a period of adjustment before they are ready to accept changes of a personal nature.

Average: 7 Good: 9 Very good: 14 Excellent: 17

LAST WEEK’S SOLUTION cede, clod, code, cold, cord, cred, deco, deer, dele, doer, dole, dolt, dote, lode, lord, redo, reed, retd, rode, teed, toed, told, trod, cered, coder, cored, credo, creed, décor, deter, dolce, doter, elder, erode, older, treed, colder, decree, delete, leered, recede, reeled, retold, teredo, elected, erected, ELECTRODE

Word Ladder PART

WITH

Move from the start word (PART) to the end word (WITH) in the same number of steps as there are rungs on the Word Ladder.

You must only change one letter at a time.

PART PARS PATS PITS WITS WITH

The running time is 100 minutes and it is rated for all audiences.

LEERED

ARENAS

PART PARS PATS PATH PITH WITH or

THE Lego movie is an AmericanAustralian computer animated adventure comedy co-written and directed by Phil Lord and Chris Miller.

It stars Chris Pratt and Will Ferrel and is based mainly on the Lego line of construction toys. The wizard Vitruvius attempts to protect a super weapon called the Kragle but fails... what will happen?

ACORNS

10-Star Quiz

1. DANA INTERNATIONAL, 2. CONGRATULATIONS (1968) and POWER TO ALL OUR FRIENDS (1973), 3. SWITZERLAND (Lugano), 4. WATERLOO, 5. FOUR COUNTRIES (Spain, UK, Netherlands and France) WON THE CONTEST, 6. SAMANTHA WOMACK (JANUS), 7. IRELAND, 8. DENMARK (Copenhagen), 9. JOHNNY LOGAN, 10. SANDIE SHAW

The Lego Movie

H ex a g r a m

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 (CLEVER) and one letter in four other cells are given as clues.

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Crosswords

8 - 14 May 2014 / Costa Blanca Nor th

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SPONSORED BY

For more information about the sponsor go to www.lineadirecta.com

Cryptic

Quick

Unscramble the name of a famous Football League Championship team (two words): SIGN FOR TOTTENHAM

Across 1 Bishop puts a stop to diver’s danger (5) 4 Set off, and without a meal (6) 9 Drove back at speed to let you know (7) 10 Reduce Mayflower stores (5) 11 God of war espied (4) 12 King surrounded by menservants or knaves (7) 13 Poem for odd oldies (3) 14 Look! A fish bone one discarded (4) 16 Some insane Roman (4) 18 Worry about a tap (3) 20 Press or key source of metal (4,3) 21 Where one may eat food providing calcium and iron (4) 24 Delete from Opera search engine (5) 25 Nice tax break is incorrect (7) 26 Pushes steamship around East Sussex resort (6) 27 Stuff being vandalised (5)

Unscramble the name of a famous 1946 American comedy-drama film (four words): NULLIFIED SOFTWARE FUNAGRAM SOLUTION: NOTTINGHAM FOREST, IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE

Play on Words

7 Badger one animal almost and another (6) 8 Go on holiday and cook oriental veal (5) 13 Old fashioned oboe? Let’s go beserk (8) 15 Advocate replacing alien with nothing will bear fruit (7)

17 Remove centre of timbers to make clocks (6) 18 Country’s kind dropping head of government (5) 19 Fellow the French say is kind (6) 22 A profit once more (5) 23 Rosemary, perhaps, in a feather bed (4)

Code Breaker

LAST WEEK’S SOLUTION

Each number in the Code Breaker grid represents a different letter of the alphabet. In this week’s puzzle, 1 represents H and 11 represents F, so fill in H every time the figure 1 appears and F every time the figure 11 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.

Across 1 Hold dear (7) 5 Wharf (4) 8 Method (5) 9 Make more coarse (7) 11 Memo (4) 12 Military post (8) 15 Exasperated (3,2) 16 Fundamental (5) 19 Rural (8) 21 Large brass instrument (4) 23 Person’s natural height (7) 25 Avoid capture (5) 26 Pull, as against a resistance (4) 27 Factory, school or business restaurant (7) Down 2 Lacking in feeling, pity or

warmth (9) 3 Pause for relaxation (4) 4 Brook (6) 5/24 Military identification (3,3) 6 Set of beliefs (5) 7 Correct (5) 10 Loud confused noise from many sources (6) 13 Cause to be alert and energetic (9) 14 Number puzzle (6) 17 Equipment for taking photographs (6) 18 Engraving or carving in low relief on a stone (5) 20 Make different (5) 22 Something owed (4) 24 See 5

English - Spanish The clues are mixed, some clues are in Spanish and some are in English.

REVIRD TAES

Answers: Banana split, Backseat driver

Down 1 Prohibit any form of fig tree (6) 2 Scandinavian boatmen or seafaring characters (5) 3 Cork discovered in Japanese allspice (4) 5 Appealing for gull I ran around (8) 6 Were any revised at the end of December (3,4)

Funagram

LAST WEEK’S SOLUTIONS CRYPTIC Across: 1 Regain, 5 Pretty, 8 Hero, 9 Carbines, 10 Generate, 11 Ibex, 12 Atlas, 14 Yearn, 18 Nabs, 20 Chairman, 22 Likeness, 23 Ahoy, 24 Bereft, 25 Roses.

Down: 2 Element, 3 Alone, 4 Nectar, 5 Parley, 6 Edifice, 7 Theme, 13 Austere, 15 Reasons, 16 Accent, 17 Caesar, 19 Aside, 21 Roams.

QUICK Across: 1 Christmas Eve, 7 Aura, 8 Portions, 9 Battle, 10 Images, 11/16 Run dry, 12 Fever, 14 Usual, 18 Triple, 20 Excess, 22 Biennial, 23 Pale, 24 Once in a while.

Down: 1 Courage, 2 React, 3 Supper, 4 Margin, 5 Spirals, 6 Venue, 13 Expunge, 15 Absolve, 16 Design, 17 Yellow, 19 Reign, 21 Capri.

Across 1 Química (9) 7 Cuerdas (gruesas) (5) 9 Rio (corriente de agua) (5) 10 Equipo (deporte) (4) 11 Strawberries (fruit) (6) 13 Pala (para cavar) (5) 14 Smooth (skin) (5) 15 To answer (reply) (9)

Down 2 Table (4) 3 Sorpresas (9) 4 Magazine (journal) (7) 5 Británico (7) 6 Cepillos (para ropa, dientes, pelo) (7) 8 Banana (7) 12 Izquierdo (4)

ENGLISH-SPANISH Across: 1 Empleador, 5 Taste, 7 Sacar, 9 Seiscientos, 10 Motos, 11 Tired, 13 Reservoir.

Down: 1 Eat, 2 Exercises, 3 Despertar, 4 Caras, 6 Skirt, 8 Citar, 9 Sumar, 12 Dar.

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THE TEN MOST POPULAR BREEDS OF DOG

SPONSORED BY For solutions: http://www.euroweeklynews.com/puzzle-answers.html

FROM pups that fit into purses to those that need stabling, dog breeds run the whole range of sizes, shapes, temperaments and overall looks but they all have one thing in common - they all come from the gray wolf.

Here are 10 breeds that are mainstays on the most popular dog’s lists.

1. Labrador Retriever These athletic dogs are originally from Newfoundland where they 1 worked alongside fishermen to help pull nets and catch fish. They were then crossed with retrieving breeds making them into very successful gun dogs.

2. German Shepherd This breed is the gold standard when it comes to police, guard and military dogs.

They are derived from a mix of herding and farm dogs originated in 1899 in Karlsruhe, Germany and are a mainstay on all ‘most popular’ lists.

Invisible demon protectors BOOKS books@euroweeklynews.com

THIS is the sixth book in the Shadowhunter world.

As their New York society falls apart around them Clary, Jace, Simon and their collected friends must club together to fight the greatest evil the Nephilim have ever faced: Clary’s own brother whom nothing in the world can defeat. They must journey to another world where lives will be lost and

love sacrificed.

The Nephilim are humanangel hybrids that walk among us but cannot be seen; they are the invisible protectors from the interdimensional parasites known as demons.

The whole world has changed for this instalment of the epic six-book young adult fantasy series known by its fans as the Shadowhunter

3. Yorkshire Terrier Part of the toy group they weigh between 1.8 and 3.2 kilos. Named for the city in Britain where they originated, they were originally used to catch rats in the clothing mills.

4. Golden Retrievers This intelligent dog was bred into existence by Lord Tweedmouth who wanted a skilled retriever which was suited to the Scottish climate, terrain and game, he crossed a Labrador with a Tweed Water Spaniel and the ‘golden’ was the result.

BULLDOG: Lovable nature.

App of the Week GLANCE This location app will keep you in touch wherever you are. You sign in with your Facebook details and it then alerts you to the presence of people with similar friends and interests - you never need miss an important connection again!

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5. Beagles This breed’s hunting acumen and cheery temperament have made them one of the most popular breeds.

Originally they were used to track everything from deer to rabbits.

8. Daschunds Known as ‘sausage dogs’ this fearless, lengthy, canine can dig into badger burrows and fight to the death with them. First bred in Germany in the 1600’s they didn’t become popular until the 1900’s.

9. Poodles These come in many sizes from toy, at around 1.5 kilos, to standard, at around 50 kilos. This is not a fluffy toy but rather a dog breed with major smarts which excels at training; they are thought to be one of the cleverest dogs.

Chronicles.

This book has already won the South Carolina Book award for young adults.

6. Boxers These dogs stand on their hind legs to ‘duke it out’ with their opponent; this gave them their name although they are a gentle breed and known to be very good with families that have children.

10. Shih Tzus This toy dog was cherished by Chinese royals as a house pet for over a thousand years during the Ming Dynasty. They were brought to the UK by soldiers during World War 1.

7. Bulldogs This breed owes its popularity to its lovable nature and adorable appearance.

The bulldog gets its name due to its connection with bull baiting in Britain in the 1700’s.

LABRADOR: Athletic: GERMAN SHEPHERD: Military.

Sudoku Fill the grid so that every row, every column and every 3X3 box contains the digits 1-9. There’s no maths involved. You solve the puzzle with reasoning and logic.

Boggled How many English words can you find in the Boggled grid, according to the following rules?

The letters must be adjoining in a ‘chain’. They can be adjacent horizontally, vertically or diagonally.

Words must contain at least four letters and may include singular and plural or other derived forms.

No letter may be used more than once within a single word, unless it appears twice.

No vulgarities or proper nouns are permitted.

TARGET:

LAST WEEK’S SOLUTION

Average: 21

Just Joking Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until they speak.

He who laughs last thinks slowest.

Why didn’t the blonde want a window seat on the plane? Because she just had her hair done!

Good: 27 Very good: 40 Excellent: 49

SCORING: 4 letters: 1 point • 5 letters: 2 points 6 letters: 3 points • 7 letters: 4 points 8 or more letters: 11 points

LAST WEEK’S SOLUTION oxen, toxin, tiro, tire, tine, tier, trio, trip, tripe, troy, trope, yore, inert, inner, riot, ripe, ripen, rope, rein, opine, open, nitre, next, neon, exit, pine, pier, port, pore, pert, peon, pone, crop, core, copier, cope, cone, comp, comport, nope, mopier, mope, moper

HEALTH & BEAUTY

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8 - 14 May 2014 / Costa Blanca Nor th

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ealth & beauty H TO READ MORE VISIT OUR WEBSITE WWW.EWNLIFESTYLE.COM

Advertising Feature

The widest range of expert medical professionals under one roof CLINICA BRITANNIA is Calpe’s leading private medical and health centre.

Having been established for 10 years, the clinic has recently undergone a full refurbishment and modernisation under the watchful eye of Doctor Vicente Mera, bringing the premises up to the same, exacting high standards as the professionals who work there.

Clinica Britannia houses an extensive and eclectic range of health professionals with four medical practitioners and a practice nurse, who are complemented by physiotherapists, a podiatrist and chiropodist, counsellors and chiropractors.

A full dentistry team is also on hand under Doctor Richard Mitchell, who offers free first consultations to every new patient.

Clinica Britannia can offer varicose vein treatments and even anti-ageing programmes and soon they will be introducing new laser tattoo removal.

There is also a Chinese

AT EASE: The dental practice offers patients a relaxed and soothing environment during treatment. doctor available for acupuncture and alternative medicines; something Doctor Mera believes works well alongside conventional medicine: “We want to be able to offer patients the best possible treatment for them and if, for any reason, a patient cannot take tablets,

COMING SOON: New laser tattoo removal. we have an alternative, and acupuncture is good for back pain.”

Doctor Mera also believes prevention is better than cure: “We run numerous campaigns throughout the year such as flu, diabetes and cancer detection.”

CLINICA BRITANNIA: Dr Vicente Mera heads up the established and professional team.

The clinic has diagnostic testing for stomach inflammation and irritable bowel syndrome as well as an extensive full genetic test which can detect any genetic abnormality or trait which could increase a person’s risk of inheriting and contracting a range of diseases from cancer to dementia and cardio-

vascular disease.

Knowledge is power and armed with this knowledge, Doctor Mera believes patients can adjust their lifestyle habits and live a healthier and longer life.

For those needing treatment, they work in conjunction with Clinica Benidorm and the Levante Hospital.

They accept all forms of medical insurance and are often used by national health patients wanting to pay privately for a second opinion and, equally, often refer patients to the national health for treatment if they are entitled to it.

The clinic is open Monday to Friday from 9am-5pm with a 24-hour emergency medical call-out service available.

Clinica Britannia Avda Ejercitos Españoles 16-B Calpe Tel: 965 837 553 24-hour emergency: 607 255 755 www.clinicabritannia.com

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HEALTH & BEAUTY

Advertising feature

Losing weight the fast track and easy way

By Jonathan Gilchrist Costa Blanca’s top hypnotherapist SUMMER is the most uplifting time of year and it’s coming up fast.

However, for people who are overweight, summer can be an extremely depressing season. Be it a few pounds or a few stones, the extra weight is unknowingly affecting your life and forcing you to make certain decisions, such as selecting the baggy top that shrouds your bingo wings over the shortsleeved shirt that is invariably cooler in such heat.

The Fast Track 30-minute weight control session boosts your willpower and trains you into maintaining a diet until it becomes part and parcel of your daily routine. It also encourages you to be more active.

Fast Track weight control, or the 30minute gastric band session, is about making your body at one with your mind, about giving you the strength to say no to that bag of crisps and to say yes to a new, slimmer you. With it, you’ll

soon shed the pounds and as such, your self-confidence will flourish as will your self-esteem. You’ll not only look like a brand new person, you’ll also feel like one too!

One patient, Jacinta, said: “I came for Fast Track Hypnosis after having gained weight after giving up smoking on my own, and the following August I had lost four stone (25.4 kilos). I have been honest with people and told them ‘it was easy to lose the weight’. I didn’t feel I was missing out. I didn’t feel I was depriving myself. I didn’t feel miserable.

I felt great and the more weight I lost the better I felt. So just try the Fast Track weight control now!”

Jonathan holds his Fast Track Hypnosis sessions at Cabo Roig, Quesada, and Benidorm. For an appointment, brochure, or free of charge initial consultation, call now.

Jonathan Gilchrist Tel: 691 784 954 Email jonathangilchristbh@gmail.com www.jonathangilchristinspain.com

HEALTH & BEAUTY

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8 - 14 May 2014 / Costa Blanca Nor th

Spectacle Wearer of the Year SPECSAVERS OPTICAS have launched the first Spectacle Wearer of the Year Awards in Spain.

The campaign is to recognise specs as a fashion statement as well as a visual aid and celebrate the millions of ordinary people in Spain who look amazing in their glasses.

They are searching for

specs-wearing champions who make their specs a part of their identity, no matter what their age or style.

The competition is open from May 1-31 and entries can be made via Facebook specsavers opticas or online at Specsavers.es/loveglasses.

Entrants simply need to submit a recent colour

photograph of themselves wearing glasses.

The person crowned the overall Spectacle Wearer of the Year will win a makeover, photoshoot and a pair of designer frames.

There will also be eight semi-finalists who will win a pair of designer frames each.

Details about the

Go natural for everyday holiday health complaints NOT got a medicine cabinet or a pharmacy to hand?

Try these simple natural remedies to deal with everyday holiday health complaints: Honey: Honey has been used for centuries to treat minor wounds or burns. It helps to kill the bacteria that may cause infection and triggers the production of antibacterial hydrogen peroxide. Dab a little honey on the infected area and cover with a clean dressing.

Teabags: Cooled teabags applied to an insect bite helps to relieve the inflammation, stinging and swelling, acting as an astringent.

Oatmeal also has a cooling effect on a bite.

Cucumber: This is already used as a common ingredient in many beauty products as it is known for its soothing properties. As well as helping tired and sore eyes it can also bring relief to sunburnt skin because it contains vitamin C and an antioxidant - also found in coffee - which both have anti-inflammatory effects.

Bananas: Overdone it the night before? Try eating a banana. Whilst drinking water will help hydrate you, bananas will gradually help to raise depleted sugar levels giving a more sustained recovery. Bananas are also gentle on the stomach, which may be irritated by the alcohol.

competition can be found on the website specsavers.es/loveglasses The competition will be launched officially in all of their eight Spanish stores this month, with a frame styling day.

Specsavers will also be collecting unwanted glasses for Lions Club International to donate to those in need.

HONEY: An age-old remedy used to treat minor wounds or burns.

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SPOTLIGHT

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The weakest to the wall: Spain in crisis T

HE Spanish crisis is generally discussed, alongside those of Italy, Greece and Portugal, presenting dubious statistics indicating usurious rates of interest paid on the loans and the variations of the same.

When examined in a little more depth the effect of the economic policy being carried out to chastise the frivolous ‘PIGS’ (an extraordinary term to employ with regard to the birth places, respectively, of democracy, mathematics, medicine, western philosophy, art, architecture and navigation, to mention just a part of their contribution to European culture) is not only morally wrong, but ineffective.

The protestant pastor’s daughter, born in the privations of the Eastern Block, at some deep level of her puritan psyche, is out to punish these wine-drinking siestasleeping Latins with her draconian cuts.

Impervious to the arguments against her economic illiteracy, she presses on and in so doing ensures not only acute suffering for all, but that the weakest are going to the wall.

Just how economically smart is it to allow a generation of children from the poorest families to go hungry (now including the middle classes, as Spain follows Romania in the child poverty pecking order)?

Author: Eternal Spain: Crisis and Corruption. Available on Amazon.

There is evidence of children arriving at school on an empty stomach and of teachers arriving with sandwiches to feed them. This is no rumour, but televised interviews with parents and head teachers discussing this outrageous situation.

Long term unemployment in Spain immediately implies poverty and hunger, as those who had previously enjoyed full employment come to the end of their two year dole period (a word implying small portion and also ‘painful,’ or ‘doleful’) have no more benefits available to them. They have to pay all their local taxes, school fees, medicine without the least aid, at a time when local governments in many regions hit by corruption scandals are heavily in debt.

They are, of course, losing their houses, as hundreds of thousands of dispossessions are carried out because the government refuses to follow the EU rulings that many of these are illegal.

The Law of Dependency (Ley de la Dependencia 2007) was unanimously voted in, giving rights to disabled people, including benefits to patient and carer.

They also received contributions to pensions and other benefits, but 75,000 women carers have

One woman recently interviewed on Spanish TV cared full-time for her mother, waiting five years for a pension she never received. Life is reflecting the magic realism of Gabriel Garcia Marquez, whose Colonel waited years for a pension that never arrived.

had contributions stopped and payments reduced.

Moderate dependency has been removed from the waiting list. Many of those on the waiting list have since died and their descendents, who maintained them and gave up work to do so, are not to be paid what is owing to them.

Woman are, of course, heavily prejudiced against, as their traditional role as mother/carer creates expectations both at family and state level, as the requirements of the dependency law are not met.

Grade 3 is the maximum grade of dependency and not granted lightly. One couple interviewed on the show, applied three years ago for the maximum €600 payment and finally received €400, without the possibility of back pay for the waiting period. The physiotherapist costs €300 a month and the carer who comes daily, to do what the wife is unable to, costs €500 monthly. This means that the payment received hardly

covers the basics.

Juame is a young man suffering from a degenerative disease which has left him in a wheelchair, in the care of his ageing parents, able only to use his hands. He wrote to the PM, Mariano Rajoy, explaining his case. He received a reply from the head of the PM’s kitchen cabinet, quoting the law in an inhumane manner, without any individual recognition or empathy.

Celebrated investigative journalist Jordi Evole’s Sunday night programme is rumoured to be under threat, despite the highest ratings, because of his outspoken and daring revelations on the Sexta channel. On hearing Jaume’s plea, he rang the mobile of the civil servant in question and taped his replies, which went out on a programme watched by millions.

The (not overly bright) bureaucrat played right into his hands, with a series of set phrases to fob the boy off and an Oscar-winning performance as the cruel baddy who refused the boy an interview.

It’s not difficult to see why Jordi Evoli is unpopular with the government. Nice one, Jordi! Paul Krugman appears to be the only economist capable of taking into account the total panorama and factoring in the deleterious effect of poverty in his economic assertions.

Poverty is, as European governments are now demonstrating, relatively easy to create and extraordinarily difficult to eradicate. The hungry kids, weakened or made ill by malnutrition, are not going to be the entrepreneurs of tomorrow.

It would be interesting to hear comments from the expat community regarding their experience in this matter.

Dovidena/Flickr

JORDI EVOLE: Taking civil servants to task.

By Dr Trish Watson

SOUP KITCHEN: Many relying on charity to eat.

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Costa de Almeria’s best guide to local sport

Costa Blanca’s best guide to local restaurants

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Cereal increases survival rate after heart attack RESEARCHERS claim a bowl of breakfast cereal every day increases the chances of living longer for people who have had heart attacks.

A research team, based in Boston, found that people who ate the most fibre had a 25 per cent lower chance of dying in the nine years after their heart attack, with the risk being reduced by 15 per cent for every 10 grams per day increased fibre intake.

The researchers behind the study, published on bmj.com, analysed data from two major US studies, the Nurses’ Health Study and the Health Professional Follow-up Study, looking at 2,258

women and 1,840 men who survived a first heart attack.

They were followed for an average of almost nine years, during which 682 women and 451 men died.

Those who ate most fibre had a 25 per cent lower chance of dying from any cause during the nine years after their heart attack, but only higher cereal fibre intake, not fruit and vegetables, was linked with an increased chance of long-term survival.

It has been previously found that people who have a high intake of dietary fibre are less likely to develop coronary diseases.

BREAKFAST BOWL: Dietary fibre good for the heart.

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FOOD & DRINK

Cherry juice to get more sleep DRINKING cherry juice may improve sleep patterns amongst older people who suffer from insomnia.

Researchers from Louisiana State University in the United States found that drinking tart cherry juice in the morning and evening may help people to sleep better at night.

Drinking the juice twice a day for two weeks helped increase sleep time by nearly 90 minutes it was revealed at the annual meeting of the American Society of Nutrition.

Insomnia - defined as trouble sleeping on average more than three nights per week - is a common problem among older adults, and can seriously affect their health.

It is linked to a higher prevalence of chronic pain, high blood pressure, Type 2 diabetes and a decline of cognitive function, or dementia.

CHERRY JUICE: May help people to sleep better at night.

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FOOD & DRINK

Advertising feature

For first-class service and g head to Amigos in the old to HAVING received 753 ‘Excellent’ or ‘Very Good’ reviews on TripAdvisor from a total of 777, Amigos Bar and Bistro in Benidorm has become synonymous with good quality fresh food and first-class service at affordable prices.

This small, unique bistro situated in the narrow Basque streets of Benidorm Old Town has become a destination bar for many tourists. Currently ranked at number two on the world’s largest review website from more than 8,000 restaurants in the Valencia region of Spain, reservations are advisable as they’ve just launched their new Spring Menu.

Perry and Linda Mayer, owners of this small and popular eatery for the past four years, have put its success down to attention to detail, fresh food and excellent staff who share the dream and passion of great service.

Linda makes a big deal about the bathrooms ensuring that complimentary women’s toiletries are always available and there is even after-shave in the men’s bathroom.

Before hiring their current chef, they

PARTY ATMOSPHERE: Amigos is popular with locals and holidaymakers alike. invited applicants to cook several dishes before agreeing terms with chef Kayleigh, who was desperate to show off her skills and add her own special touch to the popular Amigos’ menu. Perry said: “Finding

a good chef is difficult enough and finding one with an attitude like Kayleigh’s is almost impossible. We feel very lucky to have her here.”

FOOD & DRINK

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reat food, own CHEERS: Enjoy one of Amigos’ popular cocktail parties.

Perry and Linda, who were also judges for the prestigious UK Publican Awards in 2008 and 2009, came to Benidorm in 2010 with the idea of promoting their long-established UK Pub and Bar Network Internet business in the Costa Blanca.

However, they fell in love with Benidorm Old Town and, unable to find a suitable ‘local’ they could frequent they shelved their original idea and decided to open their own bar and the rest, as they say, is history.

Amigos has also now become very popular for people wanting to hire the bar exclusively for daytime birthdays, cocktail and hen parties with Linda even introducing divorce parties.

Their long-term manager and friend, Nas and his family who

managed Amigos for over two years, have now opened a second Amigos Bistro by Nas and Dino along Poniente beach close to the Poseidon hotel and are even talking of a joint venture to open a third.

For bookings phone: 07951 776 435 (English) 965 858 124 or

TEMPTING: Fajitas are just one of the many great dishes on offer at Amigos.

966 804 208 (Spanish) Email: amigosbarbenidorm@gmail.com Website: www.amigosbarbenidorm.com 4 Calle Buen Retiro Old Town Benidorm.

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HOMES & GARDENS

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Be warned, the dry weather may continue so gardens need watered

WHICHEVER coastal weather forecast I check the same thing comes up, another two weeks of dry weather.

This is ominous for gardeners, for with little or no winter and spring rain, the water tables are dropping and some inland reservoir resources are already under pressure.

So walk your garden three or four times a week to check that nothing, plant shrub or tree, is showing signs of drying out. If it is, give it a really good soaking.

Dick Handscombe

Gardening Corner

By Dick Handscombe Spain’s best known expat gardening author about to start his 26th winter cut back.

With such conditions only plant to hide visible gaps in otherwise pristine gardens, but do use drought resistant plants and improve the soil where they will be planted.

If you are about to plant a new garden consider delaying most of the plantings until the

DRIED OUT: If so, give a really good soaking. autumn rains unless you have a few days of heavy rain.

Twenty five years ago many areas could expect a storm a month and one could get away without an irrigation system and just use a hose between storms.

Then 10 years ago May opened in many years with heavy storms that raised garden water tables just before

planting times of flowering plants and the sowing and planting of summer vegetables. We know this for sure as several walking and camping weekends were washed out and one had to wait for the veggie plot to dry out for a few days before planting summer squash.

Today, light machines make no impression on the rock hard soil outside

our village and only heavy deep machines can plough the soil. Having suffered heavily from drought and drying winds last year, hillside olive groves are again in trouble with no rain, long

The soul of recycling RECYCLING isn’t just for the eco-parks and recycling dumps, now, more and more people are using recycling to upcycle and reuse old and unwanted items in making new household pieces.

Brazilian artist and designer Leo Capote is a leading designer in making unique furniture out of unusual materials. Former employee of the Campana brothers, today, he is credited with being one of the greatest designers in the world. Coming up with innovative ideas, he has turned a shovel into a bench, turned 319 billiard balls into a chair and at the age of just 10 made a lamp with discarded disc brakes and car springs.

So when looking for something new, try looking at something old first.

UNUSUAL SEAT: A chair made from 319 billiard balls.

hot days and dried up springs. Only those planted on the flat valley bottom - the best agricultural land - with full irrigation are likely to yield good crops. The same is true of the few fruit orchards remaining.

So against that background consider sowing and planting vegetables through holes in black plastic sheeting laid over the entire growing.

If you plant new fruit trees in the autumn, again plant them through black plastic that helps maintain moist soil al the year round.

One thing that can still be done to reduce summer watering needs is to mulch under and around plants with deep layers of compost, ground volcanic ash, small stone chippings, composted manures, nut shells, and wood chippings.

If planning a new garden plan to plant high hedges and spreading trees that provide semi and dappled shade and reduce considerably the percentage of the garden which will experience full sun all day.

Lastly, if you are not sure of which possible plants, shrubs and trees are spreading and drought resistant, have a look at the plant description tables in our book ‘Your garden in Spain.’

© Dick Handscombe www.gardenspain.com May 2014.

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HOMES & GARDENS

Advertising feature

Plan for next winter with a stylish Neater Heater IN today’s climate of austerity and rising fuel prices, it is more important than ever to research your heating options.

Many people wait until winter has arrived before rushing out to get a heater and by that time all the good, affordable and reliable ones have already been sold and you are put at the bottom of a long waiting list.

The time to buy heaters is before they are needed, so you can get what you want without compromise. Neater Heater has a plentiful supply in stock so install them now and you can be happy in the knowledge that when next winter arrives you won’t be cold.

Neater Heater is the direct importer to Spain of the

STYLISH: BEHA convection heaters.

Norwegian ADAX range of electric heaters. “The ADAX standard panel heaters offer the customer a cheaper option to the stylish BEHA heaters, without compromising on the running efficiency and reliability that we have come to associate with

Norwegian systems,” said Tony from the company.

Neater Heaters can also offer the stylish Neo range for people with a more colourful outlook on life. At the moment the customer can choose to have their Neo heaters in one of six colours:

white, black, silver, red, pink and light blue.

“By offering the ADAX range as well as the BEHA range, we believe that we have all bases covered when it comes to electric convector heating,” explained Tony. “Customers can now browse our website, or visit one of our distributors, and select a heater that totally suits their circumstances, whether it is a stylish BEHA or Neo heater or a more utilitarian, but cheaper, ADAX standard panel heater.

“Our heaters can be used for full central heating of the home or can be purchased individually for one or more rooms with a large variety of models available and can be freestanding or fitted direct to the wall,” added Tony.

Heaters also available for purchase at our online shop with free home delivery.

WWW.NEATERHEATER.ES OR Tel. 634 312 171

NEATER HEATER DISTRIBUTORS: COSTA BLANCA NORTH • MORAIRA: S&W, The Tool Bar. Tel. 965 745 805 • JAVEA: Connect 2 Spain, Javea Port. Tel. 966 460 133 • CALPE: K & M’s Electro Domesticos. Tel 965 874 838 • CALPE: Imprint, Avda Gabriel Miró. Tel. 965 874 451 • ALTEA: Leo’s Superstore.

Tel. 965 844 848 • LA NUCIA: UK Labels.

Tel. 637 433 763

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PROPERTY

roperty P TO READ MORE VISIT OUR WEBSITE WWW.EUROWEEKLYNEWS.COM

More companies are buying properties

IN 2007 only 5 per cent of property purchases were made by companies; this figure contrasts heavily with a total of 22 per cent in 2013.

Purchases made by individuals went from 95 per cent in 2007 to only 78 per cent in 2013.

This change in the profile of buyers is one of the variables analysed by the Estadistica Registral Inmobiliaria (ERI), which gathers information from the principal lenders on the market.

According to the ERI, this change in profile is not homogenous to all regions; the Canary Islands, La Rioja and Cataluña are the regions in which more companies are buying, whereas in Extremadura, Cantabria and the Basque Country private, individual buyers are still the norm.

Foreign buyers are also on the up; with only 4 per cent of purchases in 2009 they are now up to 11 per cent for 2013.

BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY: Cave-houses are popular with tourists aware of protecting the environment and keen on the outdoor life.

Ever thought of becoming a cave-dweller again?

AN earth-house is an architectural style characterised by the use of natural terrain.

In Spain, they are known as ‘casas-cueva,’ or cave-houses.

One of the main benefits of cave-houses is their natural insulation, which cools them down in summer and keeps them warm in winter. Most have huge log-burning fires.

One of the areas in Spain where there are most cavehouses is in the province of Granada. Those in the regions of Guadix and El Marquesado and the Baza-Huescar area are particularly famous and have become a huge tourist attraction since many have

been refurbished and used as rural accommodation.

Cave-houses have been the traditional homes in this area, where the climate is hot and dry in the summer and extremely cold in the winter, for centuries, although most were carved in the 19th century by farmworkers.

Nowadays, a good number of foreigners have headed inland to this little-known area of Granada to purchase cavehouses for a fraction of the cost of a villa in coastal areas located within just a few hours’ drive.

As well as living in them, they have found in cave-houses a

great business opportunity, as they are popular amongst tourists who are aware of the importance of protecting the environment, keen on outdoor sports or simply want to experience something different.

One such opportunity is currently available at La Atalaya complex in Huescar (pictured).

For more information, contact lachenni81@yahoo.es.

The Granada Plateau, in the north of the province, is a region of contrasts, with a huge plateau surrounding the mountains, lakes and natural parks.

The plateau is dotted with towns with cave-houses which

in some areas look like something out of The Hobbit, with chimneys poking out of grassy roofs and doors and windows cut out of the rocks.

Once inside, however, you may not believe you are in a cave, and they come in all shapes and sizes.

Prices for one of these charming abodes can start from about €20,000, although the average for a small cave-house is about €50,000. They are very energy-efficient, and although the structure is something which has to be taken into account before undertaking any reformations, upkeep is relatively simple.

PROPERTY

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Spain’s 10 most expensive streets to buy a property SPANISH property website Idealista.com has released a list of the 10 most expensive streets in Spain to buy property.

Spain has two versions of popular board game Monopoly, one for Madrid, on which the most expensive property is in the Paseo de Prado, and the other for Barcelona, where in the game, the Passeig de Gracia tops the list.

However, neither of these tops Idealista.com’s list of the top 10 most expensive streets in the country; in fact, surprisingly, neither city has the most expensive street.

Instead, it has been named as the Paseo de Miraconcha in the Basque city of San Sebastian, overlooking La Concha Beach, with prices of €9,453 per square metre.

The second and third most expensive streets are in Barcelona, in Passeig Garcia

SAN SEBASTIAN: Most expensive street in Spain.

Faria, where property would set you back €7,303 per square metre, and at just €350 less, the Passeig de Gracia.

The next three are on Madrid’s Golden Mile, and are Calle Velazquez, Calle Ortega y

Gasset and Calle Serrano, with prices between €6,260 and €5,962, and the seventh most expensive is also in Madrid, Calle Almagro, where the price is €5,934 per square metre.

The next is Bilbao’s Paseo

Uribitarte, at €5,723, followed again by Barcelona, where a property in the Carrer de Sentmenat costs €5,598 per square metre, and finally, another Madrid street, Paseo de Pintor Rosales, at €5,450.

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Things can only get better!

PROPERTY prices in Spain could be about to hit rock bottom in 2014, according to credit rating agency Standard & Poor’s (S&P); in their opinion Spain’s ‘brick crisis’ could finally be coming to an end.

S&P have revised the ratings of the 12 biggest banks in Spain after considering that they have now absorbed the majority of their losses due to property and the double recession. In the opinion of S&P “the end is in sight.”

After the revision, the BFA has gone from ‘B-’ to a ‘B’ and Cecabank has gone to a ‘BB+’ with a positive perspective.

Caixabank has achieved a ‘BBB-’ with a negative perspective and La Caixa has gone to a ‘BB.’ Bankinter and Sabadell have remained at ‘BB’ with positive perspective and Bankia has stayed at ‘BB-’ also with positive perspective.

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QUALIFIED COUNSELLOR: (English Female), available by phone or Skype. For a free initial chat, call Denise 696 161 706. Email counsellingbymsn@hotmail.co.uk or www.counsellorbyphone.com (215950)

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ANTIQUES/JEWELLERY ALEXANDERS, Javea port seafront. Jewellery, gold coins, Rolex and antiques, bought, sold and part exchanged. Mon-Sat 10am2pm. 965 792 595 / 667 270 969. Est since 2003 (201564)

CHARITIES

BOATS AT MICHAEL’S Two absolute top of the range Chesterfield sofas. As new!. Look at: www.michaels-javea.com (201598) AT MICHAEL’S We specialise in very high quality almost new furniture!

Look at: www.michaels-javea.com (201598) AT MICHAEL’S Now several high quality bedrooms sets to choose from. See www.michaelsjavea.com (201598) MICHAEL’S 30 YEARS IN JAVEA - ENSURES YOUR SATISFACTION! www.michaelsjavea.com Tel 965 79 1 328 (201598)

SOCIETY for the protection of Animals in Need (S.P.A.I.N). We buy, sell and exchange anything at CHARITY WAREHOUSE in Gata de Gorgos. House clearances, furniture, collectables, bankrupt stock etc. Collect/deliver 965 756 215 / 665 653 998 (216721)

CHIMNEY SWEEP CHIMNEY sweep. Clean, efficient service. 660 844 623 (221197)

CLEANING A1 SPECIALIST CLEANING. Carpets, upholstery, 15 years experience 965 058 177 / 697 511 071 marc@barnaclebills.co.uk www.britishbusinesspagesin spain.es (208039)

COMPUTERS

www.100percentplumbing.com Call for a free quotation 965 835 939 (87006) MINI DIGGER, Dumper, Bobcat with operator for hire. Pedregeur based. Keith 639 620 448

BOSCH upright fridge/freezer. 3.5 years old, 70cm x 65cm x 2m high. €250. Excellent condition.

693 987 136 (223009)

handyjavea@gmail.com. For all villa repairs, maintenance and small building works.

Specialists in pool regrouting, filter and pump problems/replacements. No call out charge, no obligation quotes.

Call 625 397 209, Javea

HEALTH & BEAUTY CHIROPODIST/PODIATRIST, Philip Mann, clinics in Benissa, Moraira, Javea, Calpe and Albir.

686 912 307 (201560) REFLEXOLOGY. May benefit aches and pains, migraine, sleep disorders.

Richard Fox. Sagra 965 587 545

INSURANCE

ENGLISH speaking driving school in Benidorm - EUROVIAL - unbeatable special offers - flexible hours - intensive courses - refresher lessons - Benidorm, next Hotel Baly - 645 475 949 / www.autoescuelaeurovial.com (218112)

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FLOOR POLISHING, all marble types. Excellent professional, excellent service. Free estimates.

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¡¡¡HEMME’S ROOF & BUILDING SERVICE!!! Traditional and modern Mediterranean roofing. 10 years guaranteed. Call 608 330 544

FOR all your building & maintenance needs and more, 30 yrs experience, at sensible prices - free estimates, call Stuart 0044 7536 102884 (223952)

DRIVING SCHOOL

ELECTRICIAN. Javea and surrounding areas. Fully qualified 667 591 961 (223761)

QUICK RENOVATIONS. www.eurobuild.es. We build and refurbish fast, at the best price & quality. Call 677 671 713

www.dragonreforms.com Tel 966 807 098. Free quotes given.

www.dragonreforms.com Tel 966 807 098. Free quotes given.

PURELY MAINTENANCE For all your maintenance needs - big or small, contact Carl on 965 878 866 or 669 218 928 email pure lymaintenance@hotmail.com

ELECTRICS GOODMANS. Tel. Mark 608 669 165 / 965 831 082.

English and Spanish qualified.

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I BUY RECORDS 50’s to the 90’s. Best prices for good records. Tel: 622 750 117 / 962 851 809 (223145)

BUILDING SERVICES

RISING DAMP! We can cure Rising Damp, Leaking Flat Roof or Terrace. We can make your Underbuild Dry. Villa Repainting Due? We can protect your villa and stop PENETRATING DAMP with a Protective Coating. You can also pay in Sterling. Phone/email us now for a FREE survey. Tel 965 050 065 or 634 322 672 www.dryzone-espana.com (221700)

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CALL US FIRST for all your insurance needs, including best deals on Funeral plans. Buildings and contents cover from just 82 euros per year and cars from 120 euros.

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MAINTENANCE, palm trees & all services. Free estimate 669 422 979 / 665 763 301 (223844)

CARAVANS BUYING OR SELLING a caravan in Benidorm?

Then visit www.benidormcaravanagency.co m Tel: 656 661 135 (223864)

For daily news visit www.euroweeklynews.es

TREE SPECIALIST, cut and removal of palm/pine trees. Size not a problem. Also dangerous & difficult work. Garden cleaning and gravelling. Free estimates. 627 103 412 (220449)

Price per word: 0,42€ + IVA minimum 15 words - Discount: Book 10 weeks, get 2 weeks free - Deadline: 4pm Mondays Contact: Phone (0034) 952 561 245 • Fax (0034) 952 440 887 • email classifieds@euroweeklynews.com • www.euroweeklynews.com

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PETS

8 - 14 May 2014 / Costa Blanca Nor th POOL MAINTENANCE YES YOU CAN HAVE A POOL We design & install Wooden Above-Ground Pools. Pools installed from 1,185€. With above ground pools there is “No Planning Permission Required”. You can also pay in Sterling. Phone or email for a FREE BROCHURE NOW. info@piscinasmadera.com Tel: 965 050 064 / 634 322 672 w w w. p i s c i n a s m a d e r a . c o m (221700) SWIMMING POOL CLEANING SERVICE from Oliva Nova to Gandia and inland. Call Paul 678 308 107 (221361) REGROUTING. Excellent value, quality service. Completed in 1 week.

Javea area. handyjavea@gmail.com / 625 397 209 (223774)

LIMESCALE PROBLEMS LIMESCALE REMOVAL FOR LIFE Single Homes to Urbanisations for under 20 cents per week. For more information call Scalewatcher 952 857 680/687 760 038 or visit www.hardwaterproblems.com

LOCKSMITH LOCKSMITH/ELECTRICIAN/C ARPENTER for emergency safe opening Altea area. Call Michael Rice 686 513 510 or Calpe area Sean Gannon 667 507 630

METAL WORKS

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) WANTED Cars, vans, caravans, 4 X 4’s British Spanish 600 781 873 ibuyany car@hotmail.com (221338) WE BUY ANY CAR for cash, don’t sell your car without calling us first, for your FREE instant quote. Tel 630 961 755 www.byrnecars.com (221308)

PAINTER/DECORATOR W. D GILMOUR. Painter & Decorator. Established 35 years in Moraira. Estimates FREE. Call William on 609 691 776 or 966 197 170. (201505)

MOBILE HOMES WE BUY, Sell, Remove all types of Mobile Homes. We pay CASH and cover all of Spain. More details call Suzi Caley 616 250 727 / 951 063 059 or email suzicaley@gmail.com (215521)

MOTOR HOMES MOTORHOMES and Caravans for sale. Interesting selection. Part exchange considered. www.hispa van.com. Tel: 687 845 730 WANTED. Motorhomes and caravans, any condition, age or registered country considered. www.hispavan.com. Tel: 687 845 730 (222034)

INTERNET

SEMI-RETIRED painter and decorator looking for work, 20k of Calpe, 6 hours per day, 50 euros per day. Tel 606 399 281 http://www.villapainting.es/ offers 10yr waterproof breathable coatings for the same price as standard painting. Karl 678 179 346 THE hire cost of one of our painting machines is 200€, easy to use, just press the trigger and spray, fast, perfect finish. Airless. 965 846 620 / ehohara@gmail.com www.decorlux.es painting, decorating, renovation. Covering the Costa Blanca and inland since 1996. Estimates free. Tel 649 181 526 Facebook/decorlux painters (221196)

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@petcouriers.com or www.pet-couri ers.com (206497) NEED YOUR PETS TAKEN CARE OF? Not kennels, just a friendly home. Large fenced area. 699 790 080 Altea (201528)

PET INSURANCE PROTECTAPET. Spain’s leading pet insurance. 965 756 371. www.protectapet.eu (216721)

PET TRANSPORT INTERPAWS: 20 years’ licensed pet transportation. Competitive rates. Difficult dog? Effective behavioural training in your home. www.interpaws.com, janette@in terpaws.com 689 742 289 (218076) PET TRAVEL UK family pet transporters Spain/UK. Travel with your pets for free. All air conditioned vehicles (no vans) www.pettravel.co.uk / UK 0800 612 4922 or Spain 960 130 537 (201747) PAWS PET TRANSPORT SPAIN UK SPAIN every month.

We treat all pets as if they belonged to us. Maybe the best rates in Spain. Please call JOE on 966 074 576 or 650 341 087 for a chat or email pawspettrans port@gmail.com. Quote ewn1 (201592) COSTA BLANCA PET TRANSPORT TO UK. DEFRA registered.

Excellent rates. www.costablan cadoghoming.com or call 965 698 052 (223781)

PLUMBING www.100percentplumbing.com Call for a free quotation 965 835 939 (87006) www.dragonreforms.com Tel. 966 807 098. Free quotes given (223752) PAUL FAULKNER - PLUMBER. Dripping tap to complete kitchen and bathroom refurbishments, including tiling. Fully legal. 965 792 134 / 676 861 963. Facebook.

(223783)

PROPERTY FOR RENT Alfaz del Pi. Bung for rent, 3bed/2Bath/1T, A/C C/w, Parking, Garden Patio, very good condition, Near Norsk School, 700€ per month www.principado-proper ties.com. Tel. 648 716 939

PROPERTY FOR SALE BENISSA COAST, Montemar, 1km to the beach. NEW HOUSE 1025m2 plot, 350m2 build, 3 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, pool 5 x 10, garage, underfloor heating, 415,000€. 965 832 658 / 629 991 543 (201518) HOUSE TO RENOVATE, 160m2 build, 825m2 plot in pure nature, 10km to the beach and 2.5km to the town of Gata, 80,000€. 965 832 658 / 629 991 543 (201518) 4 BED, 5th floor apartment, no lift, needs tarting up, in Oliva.

25,000 euros. Tel 686 624 017 (223174) La Nucia, Corner-Bung. Plot 400m2, Const. 130m2, Priv. Pool, 3 Bed, 2 Bath, A/C w/c, Independent Apartment with 1Bed, K/Living,Bath, Garage, Near Nucia Supermarket.

149.000€ www.principado-properties.com Tel. 648 716 939 (223907)

VAN SPAIN-UK-SPAIN leaving every 2 weeks. Great rates.

Contact Joe on 966 074 576 or 650 341 087 or email civic1235@msn.com. Quote EWN1 (201592) CAR TRANSPORT AND RECOVERY. UK-SPAIN-UK. Established 5 years. Do you need your car transported? We also transport boats, plant and machinery. Fully insured. Call Martin on 0044 7970 861141 or email martin.emeraldfreight@gm ail.com (221205)

PROPERTY WANTED DO YOU want to rent out your villa in Javea/Denia for summer? Or looking for a long let while your property is for sale? We have over 10 years experience. See www.cbcasas.com or call Walter at (0034) 666 327 729 (223790)

REMOVALS/STORAGE EUROPEAN removals and transport with scheduled UK routes. UK Company, fully legal, taking loads from 5kg to 24,000kg. Lowest prices and the best service. 952 816 582 or www.focustransport.com (221351)

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SEWING MADE TO MEASURE loose covers.

Choose from a wide range of materials in your own home. Javea area 686 453 827 (222252)

SITUATIONS VACANT

SPANISH MOVES. Small removals and deliveries.

Spain/UK Budget prices. Last minute jobs undertaken. www.spanishmoves.net. Telephone UK 0800 612 4922 or Spain 960 130 537 (201747) FURNITURE VAN FOR HIRE with driver. Careful local moves, Costa B lanca & UK. Hourly rate or fixed price. Call 676 644 014 (201504) CAR TRANSPORTER. Call for excellent rates, fully insured, professional service. 951 319 320, email move@freinterna tional.com / www.focus-trans port.com (215605)

ROLLER SHUTTERS REPAIRS, cords, slats, winding mechanisms, motors. Calpe + 40 kms. Tony Bowers 659 464 992 www.toldosalchemy.com (222307)

SCRAP VEHICLES SCRAP VEHICLES wanted for cash. Call 646 726 377 (221337)

SITUATIONS VACANT

Alfaz del Pi. Apartment Constr.

49m2, 1 Bed/1Bath/Living/ Terrace, Lift. Very central located, Very Sunny. 59.900€. www.Princi pado-properties.com. Tel. 648 716 939 (223907) PRIVATE SALE Moraira (no agents), 3 bed villa, all en suite.

Spacious, reformed, pool and close to town. €50K under valuation. €410,000. Tel 628 776 433.

Also plot and project in one of the best areas. €550,000. (223108)

EWN

REMOVALS / STORAGE

FREE accommodation in Spain this winter in return for handyman work. For further details email: oasisparks@yahoo.co.uk or 696 090 776 (218521) EXPERIENCED CARERS REQUIRED! Join our team of carers who work in the UK. Earn from £868 - £1330 for 2 weeks. Good written/spoken English/ British or EU Passport required. Contact Sandra on 658 965 204 or email s.field@consultuscare.com.

(221355)

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SITUATIONS VACANT

TAX AFFAIRS

WANTED

SKIP HIRE

ALBIR, BENIDORM. Young beautiful lady, speaks English, offers massage and escort service. 626 096 866 (221195)

CONTENEDORES MATA - SKIP HIRE 3-5-10m3. Tel 965 790 172 / 679 440 046 (218835) JAVEA SKIP HIRE 626 670 038, Moraira, Benissa, Calpe, Denia from S & W TOOL HIRE & FERRETERIA MORAIRA (206498)

LOOSE COVERS, CURTAINS ETC. Made to Measure. Choose from a wide range of beautiful fabrics in your own home. Tel: 965 771 397 or 686 453 827 (222181)

SOLAR POWER LOWEST PRICES IN SPAIN, www.solarmegastore.es (222286)

STRUCTURAL SURVEYS MARK PADDON BSc Hons. Building surveying. MCIOB, CAAT. From 245 EUROS + IVA. Insured and legally registered in Spain.

Tel: 653 733 066 / 962 807 247 www.costablancasurveyors.com

SWIMMING POOLS 15 DAYS SWIMMING POOL. www.edenpool.net. We build your pool in 15 days, at the best price & quality. Pool experts. Call 677 671 713 (217896)

XXX RELAXATION Readers of a sensitive disposition may find some of the advertisements in this section offensive.

CHEF/COOK wanted for bar in Benidorm part-time or full-time.

Call 660 715 505 (223902)

SOFT FURNISHINGS

www.euroweeklynews.com

TELECOMS FED UP PAYING TOO MUCH FOR YOUR MOBILE PHONE CALLS? THEN CONTACT TELITEC TODAY. CALLS TO SPAIN 7C PER MINUTE INCLUDING MOBILES. CALLS TO UK 5.3C PER MINUTE. NO MONTHLY FEES, NO CONTRACT. WWW.TELITEC.COM TEL: 902 889 070 (0)

TOOL HIRE PREMIER HIRE, N332 Alfaz. Tools, Mixers, Kangos, Generators, Chainsaws etc. 640 384 429 / premiercortes@yahoo.es (218879)

TV/SATELLITE QUALIFIED BRITISH SATELLITE ENGINEER with over 25 years experience on Costa Blanca. Installing and repairing SAT TV equipment. Same day service, all work guaranteed. Call Steve 617 911 118 (223760)

WIG SPECIALISTS WIGS-R-US. Indoor Market Rincon de Loix, Benidorm. Monday Saturday 10 - 3. Also outlet at Wel Cisne, Benidorm Thursday, Saturday, Sunday 10 - 2. Home visits.

690 378 844 (215804)

For daily news visit www.euroweeklynews.es TUITION

GENERIC Viagra extra strength 120mgs. Also Kamagra 100mgs and Weekenders (Cialis). www.costablues.com or phone Colin 680 878 735 (220434)

CLASSIFIEDS

FEATURE / PETS

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8 - 14 May 2014 / Costa Blanca Nor th

EWN

83

Solid start for Murcia’s Supermoto racing MAT FORD-DUNN: Qualified in pole position for the SM35 Master Championship.

BOTH Anthony and Mat Ford-Dunn were in action at the weekend at the first round of the Spanish Supermoto Championships held in Villena, Alicante.

The action for the

brothers had already started the week before, when they both travelled to France to compete in the first round of the Supermoto Grand prix’s.

The brothers both faired

well with Anthony finishing 12th in the world championships and Mat finishing 23rd in the European Championships, but it was clear that they were outpaced by superior factory machinery.

Although they struggled for pace against the superior factory bikes the team learnt a great deal and have many things to test to improve the ‘Advance Moves International Removals’ sponsored, Supermotoland race bikes.

The racing at Villena, Alicante was held in sunny but blustery conditions and both brothers got their championship

How to introduce cats to cats or even to dogs!

NOT many people are able to introduce a new cat into the home of a resident cat that has been with a family for years.

Often the advice is to keep the new cat in another room and not allow it to roam around the home and to change over the sleeping cloths so that the cats are able to scent each other. This works but one must be patient and this takes much time.

My daughter Sarah, who has seven llamas, two horses, two Shetlands, two donkeys and two old cats, decided it was time to look around for another two cats. Sarah did not want kittens because they are

challenges off to a solid start. Anthony qualified 3rd in the Premier SM Open championship class, and finished 5th, 2nd and 4th in his three races to come away with a 3rd overall for the days racing. The results could have been even better but the Villena circuit is notoriously difficult to pass on and a lot of the race depends on how good a start you get.

Anthony had the crowd on its feet in Race 2 when he put in an almost impossible overtaking move on the last lap to take 2nd place at the flag.

SPONSORED BY

For all do g treats p lease call: 971 887 0 07 / 634 1 52 813

David THE Dogman

Listen to David Costa del Sol on TRE every Saturday 10 (San Roque to(Gibraltar/Sotogrande) 98.7fam to 11am m (Calahonda to Calahonda) 91.9fm Costa Blanca Motril) 88.9, Costa Calida (To 92 .7fm rre vie ja to Elche) 10 (Elche to Calpe 5.1 (Denia to Valen ) 88.2fm, (Calpe to Gandiafm cia & ) Ibiza) 104.6fm 95 .3f m Mallorca 103.9 , fm

DOGS AND CATS: Can be friends. apt to be destructive, she found a pair of males that were about 18 months old.

My daughter has 10 acres of land and devotes her entire day to the animals which are all her pets, she has a lot of work

FIRST ROUND: Anthony at the start of the race.

with grooming. There is much work in picking up stools - she has a special miniature tractor with a skip which is also good for moving poo, feed and hay.

It is a long day but she also makes time to groom all

her animals every day.

Sarah decided to take the hair which she had groomed from one of her resident cats and put this hair on the new cat and vice versa, this way they got used to each others' scent and within a few days the cats were all getting on well with each other.

This will also work with dogs so why not give it a try especially if you are introducing cats to dogs or dogs to cats.

For your local radio frequency log onto www.talkradioeurope.com

Older Brother Mat qualified in pole position for the SM35 Master Championship and finished his two races in 2nd and 3rd position that gave him a 3rd overall for the days racing. Once again his results could have been even better but a crash on the first lap of race two whilst leading saw Mat have to remount in last position and fight through

the pack to get a well deserved 3rd place.

Team Sponsor Shane Stratton from Stratton Motorsports had flown in especially to watch the racing and was happy to see both his riders on the rostrum with some good championship points under their belts. The brothers next race is on May 11 at Menarguens in Catalunya. www.supermotoland.com

Pop in for a special deal MORE and more businesses are embracing the Telitec COMPANY Javea Bowls Club High Street Heaven Poolshop Quick Save Arenal The Nail Station Mayflower Florist Specsavers Mimi Fiesta Crafts The Butcher’s Block GJ’s CoCo Moda Shoo La La The Garage La Cocina Delicious Profigura Barquitos Connect2Spain KrazyKidz Lenceria Susan Gold Rush Treatment Works Lancashire Bruja Mintt Rustico Lavanderia Los Delfines The English Bakers Zapateros Incodnito

pop up shop concept.

The businesses below all sport a bright pink sticker in their window letting clients know that they are participating.

They offer discounts and deals as well as offering the full range of Telitec’s internet TV and phone services.

There is also a chance to win €100 worth of vouchers during their Pop Up weeks.

WWW.EUROWEEKLYNEWS.COM

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otoring M TO READ MORE VISIT OUR WEBSITE WWW.EUROWEEKLYNEWS.COM

MOTORING

SPONSORED BY For best rates in motor insurance call: 952 89 33 80

White is the new black...

WWW.EUROWEEKLYNEWS.COM

SPAIN, Greece and Italy attract millions of visitors every year to their sun-drenched beaches, but a new Ford Motor Company study on buying trends in Europe shows that residents in some of the region’s hottest countries are among the least likely to buy a new car with a sunroof.

This is one of several findings from Ford Car Buying Trends 2014, a study of new car buying habits in 22 countries across Europe, highlighting regional trends and national differences that both

TOP SELLER: Across Europe most popular colour is white.

conform to and confound expectations.

The study shows that white surpassed black last year as the most popular car colour across Europe, according to an analysis of more than 500,000 Ford vehicle purchases in Europe in the past year. The fast-growing car colours in recent years have been brown and orange.

“When it comes to car buyers’ tastes there are a few things that remain consistent over the years and many aspects that change and evolve,” said Roelant de Waard, Vice President, Marketing, Sales and Service, Ford of Europe. “We study these changes - and some can be surprising - in order to better serve customers across Europe.”

SPORT

Sabrina is a winner MONTGO Golf Society visited the Font del Llop course for a Stableford competition sponsored by Sabrina Vincke and Pierre van der Zee. The course was in reasonable condition although many of the fairways have bare patches with the greens being a little on the ‘woolly’ side.

Sabrina, the only lady playing, put the men in their places by scoring an excellent 36 points off her 15.7 handicap. In second place was Nigel Siddall (16.6) just one point back on 35 with John Feek in third position, 33 points from 16.7 and Shaun O’Gorman (6.6) taking fourth place on handicap with 32 points.

Graham Powell was the winner of the nearest the pin on Hole 8 with Norman Howell taking the honours at the 16th.

Neil Carter secured two prizes with the nearest second shot on Hole 7 and the longest drive on the 13th. Sabrina had the only two of the day.

The society’s next game is on Friday, May 16, at Oliva Nova for a Stableford competition sponsored by Peter Chapman.

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8 - 14 May 2014 / Costa Blanca North

Who will be champions - Man City or Liverpool?

Tony Matthews

Round 9

International Sports A former football player and the world’s most prolific author of football books (more than 100 published), Tony is also the sports reporter for Spectrum Radio and lives in the Cabrera mountains.

COLIN TURKINGTON won Round Nine of the 2014 BTC Championships at Thruxton Park. Mat Jackson was second and Fabrizio Giovanardi third.

Andrew Jordan leads the overall standings.

Costa de Almeria

WHICH team will be crowned 2014 Premiership champions and who will be relegated along with Cardiff and Fulham, Norwich, perhaps?

All will be revealed on Sunday when Liverpool take on Newcastle who last Saturday demoted Cardiff while Manchester City, 3-2 winners at Everton last Saturday, host West Ham, 2-0 victors over Spurs. The odds are on City after Liverpool could only manage a 3-3 draw with Crystal Palace.

The Canaries, who dented Chelsea’s hopes with a 0-0 draw at The Bridge, face Manchester United, beaten 1-0 at home by a revitalised Sunderland, who themselves meet Swansea.

There’ll be plenty of nailbiting fans (even managers and coaches) and as always it will be celebration time for some and heartache for others.

Last weekend, Doncaster Rovers were officially relegated from the Championship which was won by Leicester with a

2014 BTC Championships. club record 102 points.

Birmingham City stayed up courtesy of a 93rd minute equaliser at Bolton; FL1 champions Wolves also amassed a record 103 points by beating demoted Carlisle who drop down a division along with Tranmere, Shrewsbury and Stevenage; Chesterfield rise from FL2 while Bristol Rovers sadly lost their Football League status after 94 years.

In Scotland, Hamilton ran up their biggest-ever win, crushing Morton 10-2 and The New Saints won the Welsh Cup final. * La Liga leaders Atletico Madrid lost 2-0 at Levante as both Real Madrid (2nd with a game in hand) and Barcelona (3rd) both drew 2-2 with Valencia 2-2 and Getafe respectively.

SHORTS * Freddie Flintoff could return to action with Lancashire in the 20/20

U3A Stableford Golf Group THE U3A Stableford Golf Group met for their regular monthly meeting at the Poniente course, Villaitana.

On this occasion 28 players made the short journey and were rewarded with a typical Spanish spring day.

They played a mixture of team and individual Stableford. The winning team was Bina Tomes, Julia Hodgson, David Noble and John Rhodes. Individual prizes were won by Elke Woods, Bill Hodgson, Sandy Coates, Peter Ketteringham, Julia Hodgson and Gerry Dee. Nearest the pin was won by Rita

Linder and Gerry Dee. This golf society is one of the many groups in the U3A Moraira/Teulada organisation with well over 1,000 members, catering for all types of interests from dining out to cultural events.

As far as the group is concerned, we can always accommodate guests and members of other U3A associations no matter where based.

Contact Robin Woods on robin@woodsmagnolia.co.uk or by phoning him on 965 748926

tournament; Kevin Pietersen is set to open cricket academies in Dubai and India and ex-Surrey cricketer Graham Thorpe is set to replace Graham Gooch as England’s batting coach. * Kieren Fallon, riding 40-1 outsider Night of Thunder, won the opening

classic of the year, the 1,000 Guineas to give trainer Richard Hannon his first ‘big race’ success. * American sprinter Tyson Gay has been banned for a year and told to return the Olympic silver medal he won with the USA 4x100 relay team after failing a drugs test.

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87

An easy win for SACC

BATTING first after winning the toss, Salix CC found the going tough as the pace of Sporting Alfas CC youngsters Perman and Brown left them reeling on five for two after only four overs.

Leo Laundon, 12, was introduced along with Jack Perman, also 12. Jack bowled his leg spin and Leo seam up, neither getting any help from the opposition as bad balls were rightfully punished.

Despite that only 66 runs were taken from the 12 overs they shared, Leo bowling one Salix player and getting another caught

by N McKinstry.

James Smith, 15, then joined C Cooper in bowling another good spell taking one wicket in 13 overs for 60 runs, with James leading the way with yet another good display with his off-breaks. SACC went on to win by eight wickets.

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Sport Costa Blanca’s best guide to local sport

SPORT

www.euroweeklynews.com

Win for Marquez Marc Marquez, riding in his 100th MotoGP, won his fourth race of the season here in Spain. Valentino Rossi was second and fellow Spaniard Dani Pedrosa third.

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

Success at BBC THERE were several success stories for Javea Green at the annual BBC Open Competition.

Firstly Team ‘Argo’ (comprising Trevor and Janet Neale, John and Pat Pittaway and David Gardiner) were the overall runners-up having drawn on 37 points with ‘Primed’, but when the shot difference was taken into account, it was BBC Team Primed who took the trophy.

In the Mixed Rinks discipline, it was Argo’s Trevor and Janet Neale plus John and Pat Pittaway who lifted the trophy with a convincing win of 15 shots to four against Jacqui and Dave Roberts, along with Richard and Iris Gardiner of Primed.

Commiserations to Argo’s David Gardiner who was gallant runner-up in the Gent’s Singles, going down by just 13 shots to 14 in an exciting last end

shoot-out.

In the Ladies Singles, Gail Chick (Team ‘Mixed Bunch’) took the crown, winning the final in a tightly fought contest by just 12 shots to 11 against Jenny Benwell (Pettswood +1).

Worthy of a mention though is Pat Pittaway who successfully reached the semi-final stage.

Finally there was another success for Gail Chick along with team members Jeff Richards and Alan Fallows, who were runners-up in the Mixed Triples discipline.

More information on Javea Green: 96 577 1553 or visit www.javeagreenbowls.wiki dot.com and www.innonthegreen.es