20 - 26 MARCH 2014

ISSUE NO. 1498

EWNFRONT EXTRA

Facebook search A RESIDENT of Son Servera, Juan Pedro Diaz Sierra, has uploaded photographs of himself at different ages to Facebook in an attempt to locate his twin brother. They were separated at birth.

Girl bullied A GIRL, 12, who was found dead after jumping from a fifth floor in Palma, left a letter saing that she was being bullied at school.

Mega traffic MORE than 150,000 vehicles enter Palma city centre and its industrial estates every day. According to the Mallorca Road Department, most of these vehicles are driven by people who live in the nearby towns and work in Palma, although there are also many who come to the city for administrative purposes, shopping or to attend leisure activities. The number of vehicles, estimated at between 150,000 and 180,000, also use the roads connecting to the city to exit it, meaning the roads carry more than 363,765

vehicles every day. Every year, the number of people who work in Palma but live in areas like Marratxi, Llucmajor, Inca, Campos, Sineu, Santa Maria and Consell is increasing. The road used the most, apart from the Via de

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Cintura, is the motorway between Inca and Palma, with 93,765 vehicles every day using it to enter or exit the city. The second busiest connects the capital to Llucmajor and is used by 82,001 every day, including those heading in and out of the airport.

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NEWS

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THIS WEEK IN

EWN News 1 - 16

Finance 17 - 22

Letters BORIS BECKER: The tennis star lost a court case involving an unpaid bill.

Boris Becker’s villa to be confiscated BORIS BECKER’S Spanish villa is being auctioned off for an estimated €7 million after the tennis star lost a court case involving an unpaid builder’s bill. Now the holiday home, complete with nine bedrooms, is set to be confiscated and sold at auction after Becker failed to pay approximately

€400,000 for carpentry, plumbing and work on a basketball court at the property. The former tennis player, 46, purchased the Mallorca property 17 years ago and has been entangled in court cases over it ever since. The hope that it would turn into a dream holiday retreat on the island came

to a crashing end in 2003 when a court ruled that it had been built in part illegally and ordered extra rooms to be demolished. Lawyers for Becker argued that the estate agent who sold him the house, Matthias Kuhn, should foot the bills. However, this argument was thrown out of court.

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Daily TV 26

Leapy Lee 28

Time out 32 - 33

Classifieds 43 - 45

Sport 47-48

NEWS Attempted attack A MAN, 35, was arrested in Palma for attempting to mug a mother and daughter who were walking along the sea front promenade. Emergency drill STUDENT firemen in Palma carried out an accident drill at the Balearic Islands University Metro Station. Plan accepted ALL of the employees at the Coca-Cola bottling plant in Palma have now accepted the dismissal programme presented by the company, affecting more than 1,600 workers.

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Killer points to suicide pact A MAN, 29, has been remanded in prison accused of the murder of his wife, 39, in Can Picafort. The police were alerted by a woman in Palma who hired the victim as a translator and became worried when several days passed and she didn’t answer her calls. This allowed them to identify the victim, who had been found several days earlier on Son Baulo Beach, not far from the couple’s home. Her husband told them she was dead and confessed that blood on his

trousers was hers. A search of the house revealed a suicide letter which he had written, and he had cuts to the arms and neck which he claimed were from attempts to kill himself. He claimed that he and his wife had agreed to kill themselves together on the beach. They went into the sea, but he says she was knocked down by a wave and injured. He claimed he hit her over the head with a rock, although a post mortem examination revealed that the cause of death was suffocation.

IMPORTANT: A good relationship with colleagues.

Fewer passengers THE number of people using Palma city buses in January fell by 1.8 per cent to 2.7 million passengers, compared to the same month last year. Voluntary return THE Balearic Government has announced that it will provide €400,000 in 2014 to help non-EU citizens to return voluntarily to their countries of origin. Cyclist injured A CYCLIST, 46, was seriously injured when he was involved in a collision with a motorbike on the motorway between Llucmajor and Palma. Man found A DISABLED man, 21, who went missing while walking with his father in the Ermita de Betlem area of Arta was found several hours later. Helicopter rescue A WOMAN, 49, had to be rescued by helicopter by the Guardia Civil and taken to Inca Hospital after falling during a hike in Fartaritx, Pollensa .

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Don’t worry, just be happy...

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ODAY (March 20) is International Day of Happiness, established by the United Nations General Assembly in 2012 and celebrated throughout the world with education and public awareness-raising activities. A recent study shows that only 59 per cent of Spaniards claims to be happy. The study, by Ipsos, was carried out in 24 countries and shows that only the Hungarians are unhappier than the Spanish. Meanwhile in Indonesia, 92 per cent of those questioned claimed to be happy, as did 86 per cent of Canadians, 85 per cent of Swedes and 84 per cent of North Americans. In Europe, the happiest residents after the Swedes are the Belgians, British, French, Germans and Italians. The study also shows that women are happier than men, and that people under 35 are happier

Quote of the Week Until ETA is broken up, the team of 4,500 National Police and Guardia Civil will remain in place.’ The Interior Minister, Jorge Fernandez Diaz, during a visit to the Basque Country, where a regional police force, the Ertzaintza, is also present to fight terrorism.

than those above that age. A study carried out earlier this year by Adecco showed that in Spain, teachers, firemen, journalists, pharmacists and engineers claim to be happiest in their work. Despite cutbacks in the education sector, more than 94 per cent of teachers claimed to be happy in their work, mainly because they enjoy contributing towards the social and personal development of others. The study shows that the Spanish think those who are happiest in their jobs are artists, football players and sportspeople in general. More than 29 per cent think that the secret to being happy at work is enjoying the job, 17.6 per cent considered the key was to have a good relationship with colleagues and 13.3 per cent put work happiness down to a good salary.

Number of the week

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men who entered prison between 2003 and 2012 for killing their partners or former partners remain behind bars. A further 264, according to the prison institution, are not on record or have been since been released.

EWN

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Euesdens win court battle JUSTICE has been done. After a nine-year internet campaign of lies and defamation against Steven and Michel Euesden, blogger Lenox Napier has been found guilty of severe criminal defamation by an Almeria court. Napier - former owner of The Entertainer newspaper had, the court decided, defamed the Euesdens owners of the Euro Weekly News (EWN) - in a series of online articles, including on such sites as the Ripoff Report and various other expat forums. This, said the Euesdens, had not only been aimed at them personally, but also targeted their business. Speaking after the sentence was declared, Michel said: “We would like to thank all of our valued clients and readers for their constant support through this difficult time. We see this as a victory for everyone who has suffered from online abuse and bullying. “Napier’s loss has proved that lies are lies wherever they are published. The internet is no hiding place for people to spout defamatory comments and get away with it. “We always believed in the Spanish judicial system. It may sometimes seem slow, but in the end we have been vindicated. The Spanish courts have not let us down. “A special thanks must go to all the staff at EWN who have had to live through this for many years. The campaign has at times been fraught, but the staff have stuck together and have always supported myself and Steven.” Don’t miss next week’s EWN for the full story.

And finally... At least 750 more illegal immigrants managed to enter the Spanish enclave of Melilla in North Africa this week, by climbing over the frontier fence from Morocco. Some were injured and had to be treated before being taken to the already full centre for immigrants.

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NEWS EXTRA

Readers decline THE Librarian Collective of Palma has decried the lack of customers saying that numbers have gone down by as much as 30 per cent. This is attributed to cutbacks made by the government.

Bad weekend LAST weekend there were more traffic accidents than usual in Palma. Three accidents took place on Sunday morning between midnight and 9am.

No cuts THE high courts have annulled the 7 per cent cut to firemen’s salaries made by the Consell de Mallorca considering it “out of line with government regulations.”

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Wheelchairs plea is a success for charities AFTER a plea was made last week by the Euro Weekly News for wheelchairs, one electric chair has been donated and another one promised.

Martina, the president of DIME, received several more donations ‘PINMAR’ donated €2,000 to the cause for wheelchairs, bathing

chairs and walkers for the Palliative Care DIME, to which Cala Nova Cancer Care added another €1,000. There will be a James Bond evening at MOOD on April 29, entrance will be €15 and will include a welcoming glass of cava and canapés. It will be a good night of cabaret and dancing and a fun/mock casino will be run by real croupiers, all money raised, won or lost, will be donated to some of the worthy charities: DIME, Palliative Care, AECC, Spanish Cancer Assoc in Baleares, ASPANOB, Children in Baleares with Cancer. Tickets can be bought at Mood Beach, Cala Nova Cancer Shop San BURNT OUT: Car in Rover Motta Street. Augustin, Studio 3 Portals Nous and The Tranquility Spa at the Country Club this was not necessary. looking into the cause of National Police are the fire. Santa Ponsa.

Alarm in Palma street over burning car A CAR was found burning in Rover Motta Street, in Palma. In only a few seconds the whole vehicle was consumed by flames. Palma Fire Brigade and local policemen rapidly managed the fire and cut off the street from vehicle or foot traffic as a precaution. Due to the huge amount of smoke, evacuation was considered but, as the fire was put out quickly,

NEWS

Jailed for gaming swindle THE courts in Palma have jailed a Chinese man for 22 months after he swindled a games hall out of €5,537. He managed to trick the slot machines into paying out by turning them off each time that he didn’t get a prize. The swindle took place at the Punt de Joc, in Santa Pagesa Square, Palma. The accused, accompanied by another, unidentified, man had a system to fool the slot machines into paying out. The trick consisted of betting different amounts on several numbers and, in the case that the ball would fall on a number they had not chosen, they would unplug the machine thus invalidating the play and recuperating the money they had bet.

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NEWS

Mallorca residents more concerned about safety ACCORDING to a survey of 900 people, done by the Gadeso Foundation, residents of Mallorca are more worried about their safety, and that of their possessions, than they

were a year ago. The principal worries are about their cars and homes. Fifty seven out of a thousand worry about their cars being vandalised,

having the windows or exterior mirrors broken, antennas snapped off, or paint scratches. Thirty eight out of a thousand worry about their cars being broken into and only 15 are worried about the car itself being stolen. The main worry with houses is the second residence - only 50 of a thousand worried about burglary or vandalism at their primary residence whereas 73 worried about this happening at their second residence. When rating public services the fire brigade came out on top with a score of 6.3 out of 10 with the Guardia Civil a close second with 6.1 out of 10. DISPLACED: Leaving for universities on mainland. Neither the Local Police nor the National Police Last year 22 per cent of Although the UIB has to scored very highly - both displaced students matri- turn away some local came out with 4.2 out of culated at universities in students they have 10. Emergency services got Catalu単a and 8 per cent of matriculated 135 students a five out of 10. them in Madrid. from other communities.

Four out of 10 leave the Balearic Islands to study A TOTAL of 1,125 students have gone to universities other than the Universitat de les Illes Balears (UIB) to study this year. The majority of these students go elsewhere due to overcrowding at the UIB in the most popular courses. Law, Psychology and Business Studies are among the saturated courses which also have a maximum amount of students per course.

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EWN

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Youth forced to rob shop TWO young men have been sentenced to a year in prison for forcing a minor to rob a shop in Manacor. The 15-year-old dashed into the shop, armed with a knife, and, after explaining the situation, asked the shopkeeper to call the police. The two men had held the minor for several hours and, after threatening him with a knife, they took him to the entrance of the shop with instructions to ask for €1,000. Apparently the minor owed them money for drugs and they decided to collect by forcing him into a robbery.

NEWS

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Jail threat for house scam THE courts in Palma have opened a case against a 45-year-old man for selling three uninhabitable houses in the Donants de Sang area. He sold the houses for a total of €346,212 in 2004 and 2005. Even though they needed serious work done on them the seller just gave them a facelift. The accused never revealed the poor

conditions to the buyers. Some of the problems were a safety risk - among them were bad foundations, no sewerage connection and a cesspit under one of the houses. The prosecution is asking for four years. UNINHABITABLE: Houses for sale.

Drug gang in court

Photo from Flickr by naukhe

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PALMA courts have opened a case against a gang for drug dealing in Andratx. Drug prosecutor, Julio Cano, is asking for a total of 42 years in prison for crimes against public health. The gang is composed of seven suspects, Spaniards and Moroccans, all of whom were dealing in the Andratx area. The head of the gang, a Moroccan man, age 28, opted to claim his right to silence and refused to answer any of the prosecution’s questions. The prosecution is asking for eight years, for the leader, due to his having used a minor to transport the drugs.

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NEWS

Specsavers and Lions are working together OVER the last three months Specsavers Opticas have been working with the

Lions Club Charity to collect unwanted glasses to distribute around the world,

to help improve the sight of the world’s poorest people. Specsavers ran a competition in conjunction with the Euro Weekly News to exceed the target of collecting 3,000 pairs of glasses, and the result was a fantastic total of nearly 4,500! The competition helped drive more people to donate their unwanted glasses and gave them the chance to be entered into a prize draw to win a new pair of designer frames.

Congratulations to the winner Tricia Comer, who chose a Karen Millen designer frame from Specsavers Opticas Javea. All eight Specsavers Opticas on the Costa Blanca, Costa del Sol and Mallorca are continuing to support the Lions Club by being a drop off point for old glasses, so residents are being encouraged to make sure their old glasses don’t go to waste. Visit www.specsavers.es.

WINNER: Congratulations to Tricia Comer (centre).

NEWS

Car full of marihuana A POLICE roadblock in Palma intercepted a car full of marihuana. They found buds and cuttings from Cannabis Sativa. The roadblock was in the Son Banya area of Manacor on the road between Son Ferriol and Casa Blanca. Upon stopping the car the policemen noticed a strong marihuana smell emanating from the interior of the vehicle. They then proceeded to search the car and uncovered eight silverpaper wrapped packets containing buds and on the back seat they found 25 cuttings. The driver was also found to have four buds on his person.

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2 arrested for break-ins NATIONAL POLICE have detained two men for allegedly being part of an organisation dedicated to stealing from motorbikes, garages and boxrooms. The two men, one Spanish and one Ukrainian, had stolen goods on them when they were detained. A communiquĂŠ from the Balearic Police Headquarters states that the investigation began due to the large number of motorbikes that were being broken into and having crash helmets and

gloves stolen. The gang would take anything they could carry away with them from garages and boxrooms. Among other items they stole were: 50 crash helmets, gloves, a Play Station and four bicycles. When the police searched their homes they found a fake gun but do not have any knowledge of it having been used in the course of a crime. The investigation is still open and police expect to make more arrests.

Search for missing mother POLICE in Es Rafal are looking for the mother of a three-month-old foetus found buried in a local park. The police believe it was a natural miscarriage but would still like to speak to the mother.

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EWN

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NEWS

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UK passport fees to be reduced by 35% EXPATRIATES looking to renew their British passports should hold on until April when it will become 35 per cent cheaper. James Brokenshire, Immigration and Security Minister, has announced that from April 7, the passport fee for customers applying for a UK passport from overseas will be reduced by £45 for adults and £28.50 for children. The new fees are: • Adult 32 page passport £83.00 Child 32 page passport £53.00 • Jumbo 48 page passport £91.00 (Adult/ Child/Veteran). The 35 per cent decrease in passport fees is the result of efficiency savings made over the last three years by bringing back the processing and issuing of overseas passports to the UK, including from the former passport processing centre at the British Embassy in Madrid. Will Middleton, Consular Director for Spain, said: “This is good news for British citizens

PASSPORT REPLACEMENT: In future will be 35 per cent cheaper. applying for a UK passport from Spain. The repatriation of overseas passport centres means overseas applications can now be handled more efficiently and at significantly lower cost. “The new fees will benefit some four million Britons living overseas, including many of the estimated 800,000 who live in Spain for all or part of the year.” If you need a new or replace-ment passport, go to the Over-seas British passport applications page on www.gov.uk. You need to apply and pay online

and send your supporting documents direct to the UK (no longer to the nearest embassy). The turnaround time is four to six weeks, and applications are accepted up to nine months before the expiry of your current passport. The new fees for overseas applications remain marginally higher than the equivalent fees for UK-based applicants because on average overseas applications take longer - and therefore cost slightly more - to process. This is because it is often less

straight-forward to establish whether or not an overseas applicant is entitled to a UK passport. Overseas customers will also continue to pay a courier charge in addition to the passport fee. British nationals can get more information and advice on living in Spain by ‘liking / following’ the British Embassy’s popular new social media channels on: • Facebook www.facebook.com/Brits livinginSpain • Twitter www.twitter.com/Brits liveSpain

NEWS

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Don’t lose your vote - register! WITH just seven weeks left to register to vote in the European elections, the Electoral Commission is urging UK expatriates to visit www.aboutmyvote.co.uk/overseas to make sure they can have their say on Thursday, May 22. The election watchdog’s overseas voter campaign launched in February, with adverts placed on Facebook, expat radio stations and on websites popular with UK expats. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office A GRANDFATHER in Palma has gone on trial (FCO), expat organiaccused of exhibitionism and abusing his sations and political partner’s granddaughter when she was eightparties have also joined years-old. the campaign to ensure The accused has denied all charges alleging the message is spread far and wide. that the child invented the whole thing after Expats need to act now her big sister and mother put the idea in her to make sure they’re on head. the register by the The victim states that the accused would deadline of Tuesday, May subject her to “unwanted, intimate, touching” 6. when they slept in the same bed. She had Every British citizen tried to push his hands away but to no avail. who has been registered The child’s older sister states that the accused to vote in the UK within masturbated with the door to his bedroom the last 15 years is open on two occasions. eligible to vote in UK Prosecution is asking for three-and-a-half years in prison for exhibitionism and sexual Parliamentary general abuse of a minor. elections and European Parliamentary elections.

Man accused of abuse

Magaluf minor school theft THREE minors have been detained by the Guardia Civil in Magaluf for stealing 10 iPads from their school. The robbery took place at an English school in Magaluf - the underage robbers

got away with 10 of Apple’s iPads and a multi-charger, the total value was €5,000. Some of the stolen goods have been recovered.

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EWN

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Winning ticket A WINNING ticket for the first prize of the National Lottery, with €600,000 in prize money, was sold in Fuengirola.

Motorcyclist dies A MOTORCYCLIST, 39, died when he was involved in a head-on collision on the A-397 road in Benahavis. His passenger, a woman of 36, was injured.

Drugs bust AGENTS from the Tax Office intercepted a 63.5-metre-long merchant ship in the Alboran Sea off the coast of Malaga, as it was carrying 12 tonnes of hashish.

Contraband cigarettes ALMOST 530 packets of contraband cigarettes were seized in Antequera which were reportedly being sold to the public with no state controls.

Cars galore A VEHICLE ‘styling’ meet held in Coin attracted more than 100 vehicles and ended with a parade through the centre of the town.

AXARQUIA

Bank boost THE BBVA bank is collaborating with the mayor of Almuñecar on the ‘I am employment’ campaign, which is designed to get the long-term unemployed back to work.

Honouring seniors HERRADURA is honouring its elderly with a concert by well-known singer Antonio Cortes. Couples who celebrate their golden anniversary this week will also be invited to a special lunch.

In rhythm THIRTY-ONE students, from several different classes of the Almuñecar Rhythmic Gymnastics School presented their routines at the Second Spring Exhibition in Torrox.

Tennis finalist JAVI MOLINO, from Almuñecar, has reached the finals of the Babolat Tennis Cup in Cordoba.

For the kids THE Herradura festivities, in honour of St Jose, are also celebrating Children’s Day with special rides and activities designed for the young.

News from our editions With six editions and read by more than half a million people, EWN is Spain’s largest free local English-language newspaper

Hollywood film hopes for Andalucia’s economy TALKS have been held to bring more Hollywood film productions to Andalucia following the economic boost Ridley Scott’s film Exodus gave to the region. The president of the Andalucia Film Commission (AFC), Carlos Rosado, said that film studios FOX had been looking for locations in the region, but he declined to give more details. Ridley Scott had recently used locations in Almeria Province as he shot the film, reigniting interest in the area amongst Hollywood film-makers. With major stars like Christian Bale and Sigourney Weaver flying in, the film production gave Almeria worldwide exposure. Rosado said now was the time to sell the region to film-makers after the publicity it has received from Exodus. He added that he hoped the movie would give the region’s film industry a major boost and promote Andalucia. The president also said that the AFC was trying to come up with RAISING PROFILE: Big stars like Christian agreements with the Indian and Bale were in Almeria for the filming of Russian film industries to attract the Hollywood blockbuster Exodus. more projects.

COSTA BLANCA NORTH

Robber seized A 54-YEAR-OLD man was arrested in Beniarbeig, accused of robbing €4,000 from a Sanet i Negrals bank. He allegedly doused an employee with petrol and threatened him with a knife.

Fund-raiser THE parish church in San Juan is holding concerts to raise cash for repairs. Those attending will be able to donate towards the €70,000 that is needed.

/ SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

COSTA DEL SOL

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S_BUKLEY

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received a 12-month sentence for manslaughter after a tenant was electrocuted in the shower. The waterheater was incorrectly installed and unsafe, the court ruled.

Labour scam REGIONAL police and work inspectors located two clandestine shoe factories in Monovar. Fourteen of the 89 employees in both workshops were working without contracts, the Generalitat revealed later.

COSTA BLANCA SOUTH

Uncaring theft

Air ambulance

ALICANTE CITY police halted traffic in La Florida after a gas escape was discovered at Rafael Altamira school after school hours. The leak occurred after thieves removed copper piping.

A WOMAN, aged 30, was airlifted to hospital with a head injury following a car accident on the road between Torrevieja and Orihuela.

Lodger killed A SAN VICENTE lodging-house landlord

Body in sea AN investigation has opened into the identity of a man whose body was

NEWS DESK found floating in the waters off El Campello close to Muchavista beach. The body showed no signs of violence.

Smash and grab A BUSINESSMAN was robbed of €26,000 in cash in the centre of Orihuela as two thieves on motorbikes broke his car window and stole the money from an envelope on the passenger seat.

Shoe jobs OF the 3,600 jobs created in Elche in the last 14 months, 55 per cent came from the footwear sector and components, as there is increasing demand for both managers and qualified professionals.

Production down AFTER two decades, the largest industrial company in the province of Alicante, which manufactures Dodot disposable nappies, is cutting out the fifth shift at its production plant and is closing at weekends to adapt to market demand.

COSTA DE ALMERÍA

Pond rescue THREE Guardia Civil officers in Vicar formed a human chain to rescue a man who had fallen into a pond. The man was transferred to Poniente Hospital suffering from hypothermia, one of the officers also needed treatment.

Cages found POLICE in Adra and Senes have intercepted several cages used by hunters in the area. The illegal cages are used to catch birds and small mammals.

Food shared PECHINA TOWN HALL has shared out more than 15,000 kilos of food between a total of 165 families most in need in the town.

Thieves caught THREE men of North African origin were caught red-handed by police officers as they attempted to steal items from the Santa Maria Church in Nijar.

California dreaming FOUR artists from Almeria are to have their works displayed in the Roll up Gallery in San Francisco, USA, from April 18 to May 4. The four participating artists are Jesus Zamarron,Paco de la Torre, Francisco Uceda and Manu Muñoz.

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NEWS

Tougher new A bit of pain and traffic penalties a bit of gain S A note from the

TRINGENT new fines are being introduced for driving offences. With penalties of up to €6,000 on the cards for some offences, it can be an expensive business breaking the rules of the road. A sensible move for road safety? Or a money-raising scheme for cashstrapped government? Probably a bit of both, with a €6,000 fine on the use of radar ‘inhibitors’ seeming a little excessive. But without a doubt the introduction of the penalty points system in Spain has coincided with a dramatic drop in the number of road deaths with all the human misery and financial cost - that entails. The Spanish Government should be congratulated.

Some good news… As everything seems to get more

Editor

expensive day by day it is good to get a little cheer. The price of getting a British passport for expatriates in Spain is set to come down by a whopping 35 per cent. By law a profit - or loss - cannot be made on passports, so with changes in the way they are issued overseas the cost has come down, with those savings being passed on. Which begs the question... why did it not happen sooner? But it’s good news, especially if like myself you are part of a family of five members who all need their passports changing at the same time. And just in the nick of time too! I was about to complete my application, but now I will wait until after April 7 and save myself a substantial amount of money. So thank you, HM Government! But expatriates around the world will be saying: “About time too!”

NEW regulations for traffic fines are going through the Senate and will come into effect soon. If a radar inhibitor of any sort is installed in the car, the fine is up to €6,000 and the loss of six points. A fine of €1,800 will be levied if the car has been involved in a serious or very serious offence and the national police authority (DGP) is not notified of who was driving the car. There will be no loss of points for this. If the vehicle weighs less than 3,500 kilos and has no valid insurance the fine will be €1,500, no loss of points but the vehicle will be immobilised for one month. If the vehicle is parked and has no insurance then the fine is €800. If the driver doubles the legal alcohol limit, is a frequent offender or

NEW LAWS: Will be coming into effect soon. refuses to take the breath test then there is a loss of six points and a fine of €1,000. The same applies for driving under the influence of any amount of drugs. There will be a fine of €600 and a loss of six points for a ‘very serious’ speeding offence. There is a loss of six

points and a fine of €500 for lesser speeding offences. A loss of four points will be applied if the driver is not correctly licensed for the vehicle. There will also be a loss of four points for a driver who is over the alcohol limit but without doubling it.

FINANCE, BUSINESS & LEGAL

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

business & legal

OECD praises economic reforms

GREECE, Ireland and Spain - in that order - have closely followed Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) recommendations. The OECD pinpointed priorities for each member country during 2012 and 2013. The three countries under most pressure were those who had made the most effort to comply with the ‘Going for Growth’

programme, said Rintaro Tamaki, the OECD’s vice-secretary general and chief economist. Spain was immediately in front of New Zealand and nine other countries, including the UK, Tamaki said. The majority of member states still had a wide margin for manoeuvre, he added, which would allow them to carry through structural reforms.

More models more money CAR companies could invest another €3.5 billion in new models between now and 2017. Energy and transport costs will be decisive, declared Mario Armero who heads the country’s automobile manufacturers’ association, Anfac. A flexible work force and background knowledge will be equally important, he said. The association has remitted proposals to the government aimed at reindustrialising Spain and Europe, based on Brussels’ insistence on increasing the role of industry. The country’s production

plants and assembly lines have already received €3.5 billion since 2012 from Spain-based manufacturers, but this could double by 2017, Armero believes. In addition to alreadyannounced new models, more are likely to go to the Mercedes-Benz plant in Vitoria and General Motors in Figueruelas (Zaragoza), he said. The car industry in Spain is seen as being hugely important in bringing economic growth to the country with the billions spent by international car manufacturers investing in Spanish plants.

B

usiness extra

Boxing clever HACIENDA earned an extra €2 million after impounding 542 safety deposit boxes. Their 551 owners owed €317 million in back taxes, Spain’s tax authority revealed.

Pay slashed A 75 PER CENT reduction in employees’ salaries by Barcelona firm ImesApi was illegal, ruled a Cataluña judge. The firm cut eight workers’ monthly wages from €3,000 to €751.38 without prior agreement.

Spanish go for cheaper homes SPAIN’S property market is still in crisis six years after the property bubble burst. Foreign buyers are the only bright feature in a barren landscape blighted by a dearth of loans and reduced spending by Spanish families. According to ministry of Public Works’ figures for the last quarter of 2013, properties acquired by foreign buyers are 12

per cent more expensive than those bought by the Spanish. The average home acquired by a foreign buyer changes hands at around €153,000 compared with €135,000 spent by national purchasers. While properties bought by foreigners were 2.5 per cent cheaper than during the last quarter of 2012, those bought by Spaniards were 6 per cent lower.

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STAT OF WEEK A BUTANE gas bottle remains at €17.5 including tax, the same as in March 2013. The price will be revised every two months, the ministry of Industry, Energy and Tourism announced.

Herve Cortinat/OECD

Spain earns plaudits

EWN

PRAISE: Rintaro Tamaki said Spain was on track .

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FINANCE, BUSINESS & LEGAL

LONDON - FTSE 100 MAKE THE MOST OF YOUR MONEY WITH US

C LOSING P RICES M ARCH 17

C O M PA N Y PRICE(P) Aberdeen Asset Mngmnt 369.50 Admiral Group PLC 1499.00 Aggreko PLC 1533.00 AMEC PLC 1072.00 Anglo American PLC 1461.50 Antofagasta PLC 847.25 ARM Holdings PLC 964.50 Ashtead Group PLC 922.75 Associated British Foods 2840.50 AstraZeneca PLC 3970.50 Aviva PLC 515.25 Babcock Intrntnl Grp... 1393.00 BAE Systems PLC 396.25 Barclays PLC 231.07 BG Group PLC 1080.00 BHP Billiton PLC 1808.75 BP PLC 476.88 British Amrcan Tobacco 3199.50

C H A N G E ( P ) % C H G. 4.50 1.23 14.00 0.94 22.00 1.46 7.00 0.66 38.50 2.71 18.00 2.17 12.50 1.31 22.50 2.50 4.00 0.14 57.50 1.47 8.50 1.68 14.00 1.02 8.40 2.16 -0.10 -0.04 9.00 0.84 22.00 1.23 -0.40 -0.08 -23.50 -0.73

NET VOLUME 4,555.93 363.47 566.29 1,178.87 5,338.53 1,960.55 3,486.53 1,127.88 571.75 1,875.00 6,774.62 548.65 8,406.18 46,130.62 4,251.39 8,432.96 28,048.62 3,159.90

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0.83666

Units per €

US dollar.................................................................1.39282 Japan yen..............................................................141.5317 Switzerland franc .................................................1.21519 Denmark kroner ................................................7.46336 Norway kroner...................................................8.28258

currenciesdirect.com/mallorca • Tel: +34 687 906 226 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

670.50 934.50 394.05 1582.50 1444.00 1104.50 2379.00

DOW JONES

NASDAQ

C LOSING P RICES M ARCH 17

C LOSING P RICES M ARCH 17

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 132.21 91.07 32.77 125.64 95.90 114.95 21.53 66.33 93.87 25.40 167.04 79.32 24.77 185.69 93.80 57.25 97.56 56.26 38.15 78.93 31.39 79.67 38.22 83.26 114.45 76.94 46.44 222.97 74.61 81.35

+2.38 +0.90 +0.28 +2.53 +0.51 +0.85 +0.18 +0.56 +0.40 +0.29 +1.69 -0.06 +0.27 +3.48 +0.99 +0.45 -0.02 +0.56 +0.445 +0.61 +0.155 +0.69 +0.05 +0.60 +1.85 +1.23 +0.36 +2.20 +0.33 +1.28

+1.83% +1.00% +0.88% +2.06% +0.53% +0.74% +0.84% +0.85% +0.43% +1.15% +1.02% -0.08% +1.10% +1.91% +1.07% +0.79% -0.02% +1.01% +1.18% +0.78% +0.50% +0.87% +0.13% +0.73% +1.64% +1.63% +0.78% +1.00% +0.44% +1.60%

1.3M 1.2M 10.7M 2.4M 2.0M 2.5M 14.6M 1.5M 3.7M 14.9M 1.6M 2.8M 9.4M 2.8M 2.6M 6.8M 2.6M 4.5M 10.4M 1.9M 10.8M 3.6M 8.8M 1.1M 1.9M 1.4M 14.6M 886.4K 3.0M 3.3M

1.19522

C H A N G E ( P ) % C H G. 7.50 8.50 5.10 19.00 22.00 -4.00 18.00

C O M PA N Y

1.13 0.92 1.31 1.21 1.54 -0.36 0.76

NET VOLUME 4,635.78 3,180.87 12,881.59 369.62 1,241.52 1,217.96 735.79

PRICE

CHANGE NET / %

$ 4.375 $ 12.29 $ 21.2875 $ 22.17 $ 17.67 $ 2.28 $ 4.3799 $ 7.50 $ 3.30 $ 3.97 $ 69.4165

1.105 ▲ 33.79% 2.39 ▲ 24.14% 3.9275 ▲ 22.62% 3.42 ▲ 18.24% 2.30 ▲ 14.96% 0.28 ▲ 14.00% 0.5099 ▲ 13.18% 0.73 ▲ 10.78% 0.31 ▲ 10.37% 0.34 ▲ 9.37% 4.8265 ▲ 7.47%

$ 5.36 $ 11.61 $ 410 $ 13.34 $ 26.85 $ 4.2001 $ 3.13 $ 18.43 $ 33.82 $ 24.49 $ 7.77

0.85 ▼ 13.69% 1.74 ▼ 13.03% 52.26 ▼ 11.31% 1.64 ▼ 10.95% 3.25 ▼ 10.80% 0.4399 ▼ 9.48% 0.31 ▼ 9.01% 1.57 ▼ 7.85% 2.88 ▼ 7.85% 2.07 ▼ 7.79% 0.62 ▼ 7.39%

Most Advanced China Recycling Energy Corporation Sky-mobi Limited Kandi Technologies Group, Inc. Five Prime Therapeutics, Inc. STAAR Surgical Company AirMedia Group Inc China BAK Battery, Inc. Empire Resorts, Inc. U.S. Auto Parts Network, Inc. Vimicro International Corporation Sina Corporation

Most Declined China Finance Online Co. Limited Audience, Inc. Intercept Pharmaceuticals, Inc. LMI Aerospace, Inc. National Interstate Corporation Burcon Nutrascience Corp NewLead Holdings Ltd. Intra-Cellular Therapies Inc. Nexstar Broadcasting Group, Inc. Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc. Credit Suisse AG

C O M PA N Y Centrica PLC Coca-Cola HBC AG Compass Group PLC CRH PLC Diageo PLC easyJet PLC Experian PLC Fresnillo PLC G4S PLC GKN PLC GlaxoSmithKline PLC Glencore Xstrata PLC Hammerson PLC Hargreaves Lansdown HSBC Holdings PLC IMI PLC Imperial Tobacco Group InterContinental Hotels International Consolidtd Intertek Group PLC ITV PLC Johnson Matthey PLC Kingfisher PLC Land Securities Group Legal & General Group Lloyds Banking Group London Stock Exchange Marks & Spencer Group Meggitt PLC Melrose Industries PLC Mondi PLC National Grid PLC Next PLC Old Mutual PLC Pearson PLC Persimmon PLC Petrofac Ltd Prudential PLC Randgold Resources Ltd Reckitt Benckiser Group Reed Elsevier PLC Resolution Ltd REXAM PLC Rio Tinto PLC Rolls-Royce Holdings Royal Bank of Scotland Royal Dutch Shell PLC Royal Mail PLC RSA Insurance Group SABMiller PLC Sage Group (The) PLC Sainsbury (J) PLC Schroders PLC Severn Trent PLC Shire PLC Smith & Nephew PLC Smiths Group PLC Sports Direct Internatnl SSE PLC Standard Chartered PLC Standard Life PLC Tate & Lyle PLC Tesco PLC Travis Perkins PLC TUI Travel PLC Tullow Oil PLC Unilever PLC United Utilities Group Vodafone Group PLC Weir Group PLC Whitbread PLC William Hill PLC Wm Morrison Suprmrkts Wolseley PLC WPP PLC

PRICE(P) 332.35 1485.00 914.50 1654.50 1781.50 1632.50 1055.00 923.75 236.30 381.65 1639.00 306.32 549.25 1312.00 597.15 1461.50 2417.50 1896.00 429.85 2942.00 197.45 3101.00 414.05 1048.50 229.30 79.52 1948.00 466.50 460.00 292.20 1083.50 826.25 6705.00 189.85 1023.50 1361.50 1365.50 1356.25 4970.00 4817.50 916.25 372.40 483.55 3179.75 1045.50 303.05 2289.00 572.00 96.47 2810.25 411.40 311.50 2598.00 1831.00 3131.00 928.00 1338.00 858.50 1427.00 1192.50 362.60 636.75 299.70 1877.50 432.90 776.50 2370.00 792.50 225.97 2506.00 4323.00 376.20 207.35 3385.00 1222.50

CHANGE 2.00 52.00 3.00 14.00 -41.00 21.00 10.00 -1.00 6.80 8.40 8.00 9.60 3.00 20.00 -1.10 5.00 3.00 9.00 8.60 12.00 3.30 34.00 12.40 15.00 1.60 1.12 48.00 5.00 10.20 6.10 14.00 1.50 130.00 2.00 17.00 48.00 17.00 10.00 -27.00 -30.00 4.50 6.30 0.80 39.00 14.00 3.50 -6.00 6.00 3.30 7.00 8.00 -2.20 15.00 18.00 44.00 -0.50 7.00 33.50 4.00 1.50 3.70 2.00 -4.00 27.00 8.30 -1.50 -1.00 6.00 3.85 55.00 88.00 0.60 -0.60 45.00 16.00

% C H G. 0.61 3.63 0.33 0.85 -2.25 1.30 0.96 -0.11 2.96 2.25 0.49 3.23 0.55 1.55 -0.18 0.34 0.12 0.48 2.04 0.41 1.70 1.11 3.09 1.45 0.70 1.43 2.52 1.08 2.27 2.13 1.31 0.18 1.97 1.06 1.69 3.66 1.26 0.74 -0.54 -0.62 0.49 1.72 0.17 1.24 1.36 1.17 -0.26 1.06 3.54 0.25 1.98 -0.70 0.58 0.99 1.42 -0.05 0.53 4.06 0.28 0.13 1.03 0.31 -1.32 1.46 1.95 -0.19 -0.04 0.76 1.73 2.24 2.08 0.16 -0.29 1.35 1.33

VOLUME 23,562.78 340.43 2,395.08 1,855.96 7,322.08 779.77 3,493.21 942.63 6,092.96 4,086.40 5,071.87 41,384.51 1,464.02 380.47 30,454.03 721.75 1,746.83 690.58 17,773.74 236.69 15,186.01 352.48 12,690.20 1,721.91 12,465.20 82,949.58 292.48 4,465.37 3,174.98 1,835.72 1,468.52 5,490.88 270.16 7,786.90 2,603.86 2,913.10 945.73 4,826.92 416.46 1,054.50 4,184.03 2,450.33 1,515.85 3,784.44 3,638.05 11,751.70 9,508.48 3,080.21 20,965.47 1,798.64 2,058.82 12,637.33 265.30 807.66 2,361.79 1,927.90 904.35 3,926.46 2,154.86 4,261.57 2,833.45 1,748.02 30,710.72 553.57 1,520.70 1,704.05 3,269.98 1,705.51 57,827.40 649.73 461.07 2,640.15 13,482.50 666.88 3,489.97

FINANCE, BUSINESS & LEGAL

Handing over the reins FLORENTINO PEREZ has revealed who will take over when he steps down as ACS president. Perez is commonly associated with the presidency of the Real Madrid football club but his fortune is founded on the ACS construction and services group which last year had a €38.373 billion turnover. Eightysix per cent of its projects were outside Spain and the company made a €702 million net profit. “I have a successor at ACS,” 67-year-old Perez announced during a television appearance. “It is Marcelino Fernandez Verdes, CEO at Hochtief.” Fernandez Verdes has run Essen-based Hochtief since November 2012. It is Germany’s largest construction company and ACS holds a 56 per cent stake in the company. “I shall be able to do what I can’t do now,” Perez said. “All I want now is to consolidate what we have done. Fortunately I have successors and one successor in particular, so I’m comfortable.” Perez left unanswered the question that most of Spain is now asking. “I don’t yet know who will follow me at Real Madrid,” he said.

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Body language in selling T

O succeed in selling, awareness of body language is essential. Twenty-five years in business, selling a concept on quality rather than price that had no immediate benefit, taught me selling is a tough career option. Most are aware of sales terms like ‘buying signals,’ ‘the close’ and ‘body language.’ Do we understand their importance? Let us look at body language. Well named, it means the positive or negative signals radiating from a client’s body language as you set out your stall. Eye avoidance is clear indication of deceit. When you meet and greet maintain eye contact. If one has the upper hand during the handshake, it suggests dominance. Times up: If toes point the opposite way to his face he cannot wait to end the conversation.

Crowdfunding threatens to crowdout banks CROWDFUNDING is an increasingly attractive way of raising money for business ventures. It took off via the internet in 2006 and eight years later typing ‘crowdfunding’ into Google produces link after link to specialist platforms. They detail schemes that range from raising £15,000 for Chagford Community Farm (Devon) to HK$12.7 million for an off-grid solar farm in Qianhai (China). Now comes news that the Spanish government plans to restrict total funding to €1 million per project. Individual contributions will be limited to €3,000, with a €6,000 cap on the amount donated to the same platform. Crowdfunding platforms will need capital of at least €50,000 and insurance of at least €150,000. “We do not understand these limits,” said Xavier Olivella, president

20 - 26 March 2014 / Mallorca

of the Asociacion Española de Crowdfunding (AEC). They were fixed without taking the reality of the sector into consideration and without consultation, he complained. The government is not trying to limit crowdfunding; on the contrary it hopes to boost it, a Ministry of Economy spokesman responded. The formula is conceived for micropatronage by many small investors, not large-scale investments, he continued. The proposed law will encourage crowdfunding while

Talking shop Mike Walsh Professional copywriting content editing service.

www.michaelwalsh.es 966 786 932

When invited to take a seat, take the boss’s chair and you have just lost the sale. Much the same if you focus unevenly on his wife or secretary. Try to position your seat so you are not directly opposite and if possible without a desk between you. Never mind what your client says. He may nod approvingly but if his arms are folded or legs crossed with lowered chin he is negative and you can kiss the sale bye-bye. Legs spaced apart with hands behind the neck are a strong buying signal.

Size matters. Watch the pupils of his eyes as you show him what is on offer. Enlarged pupils means he likes what he sees. Reduced size means he is underwhelmed. This is the reason why astute gamblers wear dark glasses. It is something we have no control over. If he scratches his nose or covers his mouth when talking, he is possibly being deceitful. If he touches his sleeve, he is nervous. An interested client will show an interest in what you are saying; asking questions that enable him to confirm his decision to buy is the right one. One last thing: body language works both ways. www.michaelwalsh.es

FROB’s anger over recent court ruling CROWDFUNDING: An increasingly attractive way of raising money for business ventures. offering guarantees to investors. “It is hard not to come to the conclusion that once again a Spanish government is legislating in favour of business lobbies, in this case, the banks,” said Enrique Dans, a professor at the IE Business School in Madrid. “Remember that Spain’s banks have effectively frozen lending to small businesses in the wake of a financial crash that they largely brought about in 2008.” Reading between the lines of a BBVA report, banks clearly fear that crowdfunding could erode their dominance. “There is a real risk that banks could cease to be a principal source for personal loans and small businesses,” the study concluded.

TWO sacked Catalunya Banc executives can keep their pensions and will each receive €600,000. Adolf Todo and Jaume Masana, respective former chairman and CEO of Catalunya Bank, were dismissed without a payout by the government’s FROB rescue fund after the bank was nationalised last year. It was one of many savings banks that needed bailing out after its solvency was threatened by bad loans during the property boom. By the end of 2012, Catalunya Banc’s €11.8 billion losses required a rescue costing €12 billion, the FROB’s second-highest bailout and the highest ever for

a bank of its size. Despite the bank’s problems, Todo paid himself €3.3 million between April 2008 and May 2013. According to a Barcelona court, the FROB letters informing Todo and Masana of their dismissal were ‘full of generic terms’ and ‘lacked concrete, definite deeds.’ Todo and Masana each claimed €900,000 compensation for unfair dismissal, although the judge reduced this to €600,000. He also ruled that their pensions - totalling €4.5 for Todo and €1.5 for Masana - still held good and would be paid at the appropriate time. The Economy ministry is appealing the sentence.

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FINANCE, BUSINESS & LEGAL

Joint smoking for better healthcare Loose change A look at finance for females

Jane Plunkett jane.plunkett@euroweeklynews.com

I DON'T know about where you live in Spain but where I live, the waft of marihuana smoke is about as commonplace as the smell of freshly ground coffee, the smell of fumes from cars or the smell of fried food from open kitchen windows. Compared to Ireland, where I recall that most joint smokers used to hide away in their homes to puff on ‘ganja,’ in Spain many people appear to be free and open about their habit, lighting up on streets, outside bars or wherever else they fancy a joint. What’s interesting about this situation is that this apparent love for smoking

SMOKE FREELY: If easy to get hands on, why not regulate? Bob Marley’s favourite herb could help better the society we live in here in Spain. It could lead to big financing for better roads, better education and better healthcare for all! How? Well by simply changing the law and legalising marihuana.

It’s just been reported that the US state of Colorado collected €1.5 million in taxes from newly legalised recreational marijuana businesses in January. Colorado became the first US state to legalise the commercial sale of cannabis

Has Horizontal Law changed regarding community areas? You and the Law in Spain By David Searl

A. Yes, the Horizontal Law has been modified and, no, a unanimous vote is no longer required to authorise changes in individual units of the Community. This change comes in ‘Ley 8/2013,’ the Law of Rehabilitation, Regeneration and Innovation of properties. It is quite complex but one basic and important change is that an owner who wishes to make changes to his property needs only the approval of three fifths of the votes instead of the unanimous

Q. Can you advise on whether the Horizontal Law has recently been modified with regard to changing the status or the layout of individual units or Community areas? Does the law still require a unanimous vote of the AGM? AM (Canary Islands) approval formerly required. These changes might include a change of use, where, for example, commercial premises are modified into residential apartments, or where a large apartment might be subdivided, or where three flats might be made into one large apartment. These are changes which require modifications to the constitution of the Community, because the percentage of ownership and Community fees for the new system will be different from the original

charges. If the building or development has come under an official plan of rehabilitation, and the changes are ordered by the authorities, no AGM approval is required.

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

in 2012 and stores opened for business on 1 January 2014. In total, 59 marihuana companies filed tax returns for the first month of 2014 and collective sales for January are estimated to have been about €10 million. If medical marihuana firms

are included, the US state collected a total of €2.5m in marihuana taxes. The money made from the taxes on the sale of marihuana in Colorado is chalked down to be used to aid youth prevention services, substance abuse treatment and public health. Not surprisingly many US states are carefully watching the figures coming out of Colorado and the nation’s capital, Washington, is already set to introduce legal sales within the next few months. If people are going to smoke anyway - and judging by the smell on Spanish streets, marihuana is easy to get your hands on - why not regulate the plant? As is already the case for cigarettes. This will cut out dodgy dealers, better control usage and at the same time give a good bit back to society through taxes.

BUSINESS EXTRA

Bank must pay BANCO POPULAR BANCA PRIVADA must return €9.9 million to clients who bought ‘atypical financial products’ on the bank’s advice. They were not told they were investing in high risk products, the courts ruled.

Right track AN FCC-LED consortium of four companies will build a section of the Doha metro for the Qatar Railways Company. The €506 million project will be completed in 31 months.

New hub INTERNET shopping giant Amazon is opening a new distribution centre in Barcelona, according to Spanish media in unconfirmed reports.

E-cigarettes hitting stop smoking market ONCE quitting smoking was simply a matter of a patch, gum or tablet, but new research from market analysts Mintel sees smokers increasingly turning to E-cigarettes to beat the habit. Indeed, latest research from Mintel finds that today, while sales of smoking cessation aids have slowed, the market for Ecigarettes is booming, increasing an impressive 340 per cent in the UK over the past year from an estimated £44 million (€52.7 million) in 2012 to reach an estimated £193 million (€231 million) in 2013. While the smoking cessation market has seen strong growth historically, with annual increases of around 6-10 per cent between 200912, sales of

products such as gum, tablets and patches have slowed. Indeed, in 2013 the market for smoking cessation aids grew just 1.7 per cent to reach a value of £131 million (€157 million). Roshida Khanom, Senior Personal Care Analyst at Mintel, said: “The rise in popularity of E-cigarettes has hampered growth in the value of the smoking cessation market, which saw modest growth in 2013. Although E-cigarettes are largely marketed as an alternative to smoking, smokers have been using them to cut down or quit smoking. But with the growing popularity of E-cigarettes, there is concern that young people may take up ‘vaping’ as a less harmful alternative to smoking. This concern has resulted in the British Government announcement made in January 2014 that the sale of Ecigarettes to under-18s is to be made illegal. The Spanish Government has also vowed to restrict the use of Ecigarettes. E-CIGARETTES: Being used as an alternative.

OPINION & COMMENT

A timely scammer warning THANK YOU Yvonne Thomas! A couple of weeks ago I read a letter from Ms. Thomas, recounting her experience with tricksters who pretended they were calling from Microsoft in Glasgow. They tried to make her believe there was a problem with her Windows programme. Would you believe that a few days later I had a call from you’ve guessed it! - Microsoft, telling me they needed to troubleshoot a problem with my computer. I wouldn’t have said the call was from Glasgow, though, as this person spoke good AmericanEnglish with a hint of a Hispanic accent. The number 0019 (or something very like that) came up on my phone screen. “Well thank you very much, but I happen to know that this is a scam and there’s nothing wrong with my computer. So thank you very much, but no thanks,” I said rather tartly and hung up. A day or so after that there was another call from the same number, and this time a youngish-sounding man asked to speak to me. So I launched into my spiel once more, advising him not to waste his time on me. Blow me down, if he didn’t start giggling before hanging up! There was a third 0019 telephone call yesterday from an American-sounding female with a hectoring voice, but not wanting to waste more breath this time, I hung up without answering. Be warned: this really is a scam, and they’re persistent too. T Freeman (By email)

Pigeon problem ARE there more pigeons and collared doves in the old part of Pinar de Campoverde, than in the Rio Seco ‘area of natural beauty?’ After walking for more than two hours in the morning in

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20 - 26 March 2014 / Mallorca

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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SPRING is perfect here and I love finding little pockets of ‘real’ Spain, even though it’s overgrown like this meadow a few hundred metres away from Altea’s open air market. Linda Gonzalez

the area around Pinar de Campoverde, I was amazed at how quiet it was. I heard no more than two pigeons the whole time, whereas in the area where I live in the old part of Pinar de Campoverde there is constant noise from pigeons, particularly in the early morning. Also we get a problem with the pigeon droppings and suffer ill health from the excessive amount of pollen from the pine trees. Has anyone else encountered these problems? The ‘Ayuntamiento’ seems powerless to tackle them. David Fentum, Pinar de Campoverde (Alicante)

Car solution YOUR reader Gill Nickson should have asked the Gestor for a ‘Baja Permanente.’ This requires the owner to hand over the registration documents to Trafico and effectively removes the car from the road. Richard, (Crevillente) (Alicante) Editor’s note: Gill Nickson asked how to take an old car off the road, while holding on to it for spares.

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

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Winds of war I SAW something in ‘Your Say’ quite some issues back, probably in mid-February, that I half-forgot about until now. It was a reference to the death of a Spanish photographer Jose Couso, who I believe was shot by US snipers in April 2003 in the early days of the Iraq invasion. “Now what must be understood, this is war!” the writer of the letter exclaimed in reply to a Euro Weekly News columnist who had criticised the shooting. Personally I would question that. Yes, it later became a war but we in the UK, the US and Spain were under the impression at the time that allied forces went to Iraq to liberate the country from the tyranny of Saddam Hussein.

It was not, or at least it should not have been, a war at that early stage, not long after the troops first went in. If I cite the letter all these weeks later it is because the same old percussionists are beating their war drums again, this time over Crimea. A few months ago it was Syria, which we were thankfully spared. A couple of years before that it was Libya, preceded by Iraq and Afghanistan before that. Ironically all those names from our old history books are coming back to haunt us once more. Trevor Mortimer, (By email)

Horse sense I’D like to convey heartfelt thanks to town halls that fine owners who leave their dogs’ disgusting ‘calling cards’ on public roads and pavements. I’m lucky enough to live on a Camino Verde for walkers and cyclists, now closed to all but residents’ cars. There is not nearly so much dog excrement these days, either because owners are more civic-minded or more likely don’t want a fine. But there’s another problem, albeit sporadic: the other morning I heard the clip-clop of a horse passing by and

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when I went out later was confronted by a heap of manure. There are no pooperscoopers for horses! But I wonder what the legal situation is for riders and if they run the risk of fines too? Gwen Beaumont (By email)

Fine example SPEAKING to your Spanish friends, you would have to believe this is the most corrupt country in Europe. I have never encountered it here myself, however. I have lived outside the UK for many years, but my British friends all assure me that there is no less corruption there although I was barely aware of it in my day. “Look at the MPs’ expenses scandals,” they say by way of an example. Now I am beginning to believe they are right, after reading headlines screaming about Nigel Farage having both his wife and his mistress allegedly on his taxpayerfunded payroll. Farage, that Wooden Horse of an MEP, might not like Europe but by gum he’s taken to their customs all right! A mistress, indeed! Now you know what to expect, UKIP! Derek Paston (By email)

Go away THE Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have been criticised for leaving their baby son, eight-month-old George, at home while they holidayed in the Maldives. Hands-on parents and the anti-nanny brigade were appalled and envious in equal measure but good for you, say I. I don’t eat out all that often these days and a birthday treat of lunch with a pal was wrecked recently by the presence of a fractious months-old infant. Unfortunately its British parents, hands-on and droolingly indulgent, were sitting at a table uncomfortably close to ours. If only they had gone to the Maldives! Sadly for us, they chose Mallorca. S McNamara, (Mallorca)

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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Vicki Mcleod

Family Matters

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You’ve got to laugh... AIMEE K PHOTOGRAPHY

T

HE lady in the photo is Glynis German performing last week at the International Women’s Day event I organised at Mood. I’ve known Glynis since I moved to Mallorca. I always say that Glynis was there for two of the most important days of my life so far: she featured in my wedding when I asked her to translate the service from Spanish into English for our guests (they all thought she was the mayor and was actually marrying my husband and I!) Then she helped me when I was in labour with Gidg, she translated for me and tried to keep me together whilst everything around me was going a tad awry. So far neither of these events have been used as material for Glynis’ new career: these days our Glyn is making her way as a stand-up comedian.

OPINION & COMMENT

STAND-UP: Glynis German makes it look really easy. She’s been working towards this since she did a course in Barcelona with a professional stand-up and teacher, Logan

Murray, a few years ago. Glynis is one of those people who makes it look really easy to tell jokes, and that’s where

her skills lie because it is not in any way easy to be deliberately funny and it takes hours and hours of work and practice to get the delivery and timing right. She’s started to get bookings in other parts of Europe now so good luck chick, we’re rooting for you! Now she brings Logan over to Mallorca once a year to run a course for any other people who want to be stand-ups, comedy writers or improvisers and they do a show at the end of the course. I did mine last year and I absolutely loved it. It collided badly with the very serious forest fires in Andratx so I was quite distracted that weekend and didn’t ever get around to telling the gentle readers of Family Matters about how it went. Well: it was terrifying, exhilarating and addictive. As soon as I had been onstage for my eight minutes of fame, I felt like I could have leapt

over a house in one bound, it was a fantastic feeling of achievement. Making people laugh is a drug. I harbour an ambition to get back up there and do some more, but wow those nerves before you go on the stage! If you want to challenge and push yourself then do it. Or if you’ve ever thought, “What’s all the fuss about, I can do that,” then do it. The courses this time around could well be full by now but you can contact Glynis via my blog www.familymattersmallorca.c om if you want to get more information. Or come along on Sunday (March 23) night and see the merry band of brand new comics testing out their brown trousers as they make their debuts on the Sa Botiga de Buffons in Palma. Doors open at 8pm for a prompt 9.30pm start (info and address on my blog).

26

E W N 20 - 26 March 2014 / Mallorca

Thursday

Friday

SATELLITE CHANNELS - Sky1/

BBC1/

BBC1/

4:00pm Escape to the Country 4:45pm James Martin's Food Map of Britain 5:15pm Flog it! Trade Secrets 6:15pm Pointless 7:00pm BBC News at Six 7:30pm BBC London News 8:00pm The One Show 8:30pm EastEnders 9:00pm Holiday Hit Squad 10:00pm Davina - Beyond Breaking Point for Sport Relief 11:00pm BBC News at Ten 11:25pm BBC London News 11:35pm Question Time

4:00pm Escape to the Country 4:45pm James Martin's Food Map of Britain 5:15pm Sport Relief Does Glee Club 2014 6:15pm Pointless 7:00pm BBC News at Six 7:30pm BBC London News 8:00pm Sport Relief 2014 11:00pm BBC News at Ten 11:25pm BBC London News 11:35pm Sport Relief 2014

BBC2/ 4:25pm Bergerac 5:15pm 'Allo, 'Allo! 5:45pm 'Allo, 'Allo! 6:15pm Antiques Roadshow 7:00pm Revenge of the Egghead 7:30pm Sport Relief's Top Dog 8:00pm Antiques Road Trip 9:00pm The Hairy Bikers' Asian Adventure 10:00pm Turks and Caicos 11:35pm Newsnight

ITV/ 4:00pm The Alan Titchmarsh Show 5:00pm Tipping Point 6:00pm The Chase 7:00pm ITV News London 7:30pm ITV News and Weather 8:00pm Emmerdale 8:30pm Tonight 9:00pm Emmerdale 9:30pm Ade at Sea 10:00pm Dangerous Dogs 11:00pm ITV News at Ten and Weather 11:35pm Edge of Heaven

CH4/ 4:30pm Deal or No Deal 5:30pm Four in a Bed 6:00pm Come Dine with Me 7:00pm The Simpsons 7:30pm Hollyoaks 8:00pm Channel 4 News 8:55pm The Political Slot 9:00pm The Hoarder Next Door 10:00pm Inside Rolls-Royce 11:00pm 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown

ITV2/ 4:05pm The Jeremy Kyle Show 5:10pm The Real Housewives of New Jersey 6:05pm The Millionaire Matchmaker 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 Big Reunion 11:00pm Celebrity Juice 11:50pm Dads

1:00pm Sunday

•Elliot Knight •Marama Corlett •Elliot Cowan •Estella Daniels

Sinbad (Drama, 2012) Sinbad and his friends find themselves up against a Fiend, while Taryn tries out some interesting disguises. Guest starring Dougray Scott and Mathew Horne.

BBC2/ 4:25pm Bergerac 5:15pm 'Allo, 'Allo! 5:45pm 'Allo, 'Allo! 6:15pm Antiques Roadshow 7:00pm Revenge of the Egghead 7:30pm Sport Relief's Top Dog 8:00pm Antiques Road Trip 9:00pm Mastermind 9:30pm Gardeners' World 10:00pm A Very British Renaissance 11:00pm Sport Relief 2014 11:40pm Newsnight

ITV/ 4:00pm The Alan Titchmarsh Show 5:00pm Tipping Point 6:00pm The Chase 7:00pm ITV News London 7:30pm ITV News and Weather 8:00pm Emmerdale 8:30pm Coronation Street 9:00pm Student Nurses: Bedpans and Bandages 9:30pm Coronation Street 10:00pm Edge of Heaven 11:00pm ITV News at Ten and Weather 11:35pm Duplicity

CH4/ 4:30pm Deal or No Deal 5:30pm Four in a Bed 6:00pm Come Dine with Me 7:00pm The Simpsons 7:30pm Hollyoaks 8:00pm Channel 4 News 9:00pm Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. 10:00pm Gogglebox 11:00pm The Last Leg 11:50pm 8 Out of 10 Cats

ITV2/ 4:05pm The Jeremy Kyle Show 5:10pm The Real Housewives of New Jersey 6:05pm The Millionaire Matchmaker 7:00pm Dinner Date 8:00pm You've Been Framed! 8:30pm You've Been Framed!

TV LISTING

www.euroweeklynews.com

Saturday BBC1/ 4:45pm Reflex 5:30pm Final Score 6:10pm BBC News 6:20pm Regional News 6:23pm Weather 6:25pm Sport Relief 7:45pm The Voice UK 9:40pm The National Lottery Live 9:50pm The Voice UK 10:25pm Casualty

BBC2/ 4:25pm Ingrid Bergman Talking Pictures 5:00pm Notorious 6:40pm Flog it! Trade Secrets 7:40pm Don't Panic! The Dad's Army Story 8:30pm Dad's Army 9:00pm The Perfect Morecambe and Wise 9:30pm The Plantagenets 10:30pm QI XL

ITV/ 4:30pm Kindergarten Cop 6:35pm Local News and Weather 6:45pm ITV News and Weather 7:00pm You've Been Framed! 8:00pm Saturday Night Takeaway 9:25pm The Cube 10:25pm The Americans

CH4/ 5:10pm Come Dine with Me 5:40pm Come Dine with Me 6:10pm Come Dine with Me 6:45pm Come Dine with Me 7:15pm Come Dine with Me 7:45pm Channel 4 News 8:05pm Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. 9:00pm Off the Record 10:00pm Rush Hour 3

ITV2/ 4:25pm Britain's Got More Talent 5:25pm Babe 2: Pig in the City 6:25pm FYI Daily 6:30pm Babe 2: Pig in the City 7:15pm About a Boy 8:15pm FYI Daily 8:20pm About a Boy 9:15pm Mr Bean's Holiday 10:15pm FYI Daily 10:20pm Mr Bean's Holiday

Sunday BBC1/ 5:15pm Escape to the Country 5:45pm Songs of Praise 6:20pm Pointless 7:05pm Blandings 7:35pm BBC News 7:50pm Regional News 7:58pm Weather 8:00pm Countryfile 9:00pm Antiques Roadshow 10:00pm The Musketeers 11:00pm BBC News

Monday BBC1/ 5:15pm Flog it! Trade Secrets 6:15pm Pointless 7:00pm BBC News 7:30pm Regional News 8:00pm The One Show 8:30pm Bang Goes the Theory 9:00pm EastEnders 9:30pm Panorama 10:00pm Silk 11:00pm BBC News

BBC2/

5:15pm Flog It! 6:00pm Collectaholics 7:00pm The Hairy Bikers: Restoration Road Trip 8:00pm Wild Burma 9:00pm Lambing Live 10:00pm Louis Theroux's LA Stories 11:00pm Mock the Week

5:15pm 'Allo, 'Allo! 5:45pm 'Allo, 'Allo! 6:15pm Antiques Roadshow 7:00pm Revenge of the Egghead 7:30pm The Voice: Louder on Two 8:00pm Antiques Road Trip 9:00pm University Challenge 9:30pm Mary Berry Cooks 10:00pm The Plantagenets

ITV/

ITV/

BBC2/

5:15pm The Spy Who Loved Me 7:35pm Local News and Weather 7:45pm ITV News and Weather 8:00pm Catchphrase 9:00pm Harry's South Pole Heroes 10:00pm Mr Selfridge 11:00pm ITV News at Ten and Weather

CH4/ 4:35pm The Simpsons 5:05pm The Simpsons 5:35pm Deal or No Deal 6:40pm Channel 4 News 7:10pm Rio 9:00pm The Million Pound Necklace 10:00pm The Tourist 11:55pm Dogma

ITV2/ 5:10pm Ant and Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway 6:40pm The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor 7:40pm FYI Daily 7:45pm The Mummy Tomb of the Dragon Emperor 8:50pm Whip it! 9:50pm FYI Daily 9:55pm Whip it! 11:00pm The Only Way is Essex

5:00pm Tipping Point 6:00pm The Chase 7:00pm Regional News and Weather 7:30pm ITV News and Weather 8:00pm Emmerdale 8:30pm Coronation Street 9:00pm I Never Knew That About Britain 9:30pm Coronation Street 10:00pm The Widower

CH4/ 5:30pm Four in a Bed 6:00pm Come Dine with Me 7:00pm The Simpsons 7:30pm Hollyoaks 8:00pm Channel 4 News 8:55pm The Political Slot 9:00pm Dispatches 9:30pm Shop Secrets: Tricks of the Trade 10:00pm One Born Every Minute

ITV2/ 5:10pm The Real Housewives of New Jersey 6:05pm The Millionaire Matchmaker 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

Tuesday

Wednesday

BBC1/

BBC1/

4:00pm Escape to the Country 4:45pm More Creatures Great and Small 5:15pm Flog it! Trade Secrets 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 Shetland 11:00pm BBC News 11:25pm Regional News 11:30pm Weather 11:35pm Keeping Britain Safe 24/7

4:00pm Escape to the Country 4:45pm More Creatures Great and Small 5:15pm Flog it! Trade Secrets 6:15pm Pointless 7:00pm BBC News 7:30pm Regional News 8:00pm The One Show 9:00pm Holiday Hit Squad 10:00pm MasterChef 11:00pm BBC News 11:25pm Regional News 11:30pm Weather 11:35pm A Question of Sport

BBC2/ 4:25pm Cagney and Lacey 5:15pm 'Allo, 'Allo! 5:45pm 'Allo, 'Allo! 6:15pm Antiques Roadshow 7:00pm Revenge of the Egghead 7:30pm The Voice: Louder on Two 8:00pm Antiques Road Trip 9:00pm Lambing Live 10:00pm The Great British Sewing Bee 11:00pm The Culture Show 11:30pm Newsnight

ITV/ 4:00pm The Alan Titchmarsh Show 5:00pm Tipping Point 6:00pm The Chase 7:00pm Regional News and Weather 7:30pm ITV News and Weather 8:00pm Emmerdale 8:30pm River Monsters 9:00pm Midsomer Murders 11:00pm ITV News at Ten and Weather 11:35pm Didier Drogba: Sports Life Stories

CH4/ 4:30pm Deal or No Deal 5:30pm Four in a Bed 6:00pm Come Dine with Me 7:00pm The Simpsons 7:30pm Hollyoaks 8:00pm Channel 4 News 8:55pm The Political Slot 9:00pm Kirstie's Best of Both Worlds 10:00pm Food Prices: The Shocking Truth 11:00pm The Missing

BBC2/ 4:25pm Cagney and Lacey 5:15pm 'Allo, 'Allo! 5:45pm 'Allo, 'Allo! 6:15pm Antiques Roadshow 6:55pm Party Political Broadcast by the Liberal Democrats 7:00pm Revenge of the Egghead 7:30pm The Voice: Louder on Two 8:00pm Antiques Road Trip 9:00pm Lambing Live 10:00pm William the Marshal 11:00pm W1A 11:30pm Newsnight

ITV/ 4:00pm The Alan Titchmarsh Show 5:00pm Tipping Point 6:00pm The Chase 7:00pm Regional News and Weather 7:25pm Party Political Broadcast by the Liberal Democrats 7:30pm ITV News and Weather 8:00pm Emmerdale 8:30pm Coronation Street 9:00pm Big Star's Little Star 10:00pm Law and Order: UK 11:00pm ITV News at Ten and Weather 11:35pm Exposure

CH4/

ITV2/

4:30pm Deal or No Deal 5:30pm Four in a Bed 6:00pm Come Dine with Me 7:00pm The Simpsons 7:30pm Hollyoaks 8:00pm Channel 4 News 8:55pm The Political Slot 9:00pm Secret Eaters 10:00pm Dead Famous DNA 11:00pm First Dates

4:05pm The Jeremy Kyle Show 5:10pm The Real Housewives of New Jersey 6:05pm The Millionaire Matchmaker 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 American Pie Presents Band Camp

4:05pm The Jeremy Kyle Show 5:10pm The Real Housewives of New Jersey 6:05pm The Millionaire Matchmaker 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 Party Wright Around the World 11:00pm The Only Way is Essex 11:50pm The Big Reunion

ITV2/

FINANCE

EUROPEAN PRESS

www.euroweeklynews.com

20 - 26 March 2014 / Mallorca

EWN

27

The Importance Of Tax Residency – Don’t Risk An Unexpected Tax Bill The issue of where you are resident for tax purposes is an important one for British expatriates. Getting it wrong can result in large tax assessments. If you want to stop paying income and capital gains taxes in the UK, you must ensure you are non-UK resident. It is not enough to look at Spain’s tax residency rules, you also need to understand the rules governing UK tax residency, follow them carefully and keep records. In the case of Mr and Mrs Rumbelow, getting it wrong cost them £600,000 in taxes. They left the UK in April 2001, initially residing in Belgium. Later that tax year they disposed of UK properties, believing they would avoid UK capital gains tax since they were no longer resident. They had a villa built in Portugal and moved there in September 2002. Becoming Belgian residents first meant their property disposals in 2001-02 were

By Peter Worthington, Senior Partner, Blevins Franks taxed at zero rate in Belgium; if they had been resident in Portugal then they would have had to pay tax there. HM Revenue & Customs opened a tax enquiry into their disposals of UK property, and the matter was referred to the First Tier Tax Tribunal. The Rumbelows maintained they stayed within the limits for non-UK residence and made a “substantial

loosening” of family, social and business ties to amount to a distinct break as required by HMRC’s IR20 residence guidance. However they were unable to provide a detailed diary of their movements, or documentary evidence of their Portuguese villa purchase. The tribunal used evidence of cash withdrawals, debit card purchases and business transactions to track their movements, and considered their UK visits were more frequent and extensive than described. Their 15 year old daughter also remained in the UK family Cheshire home. The tribunal ruled that their settled and usual abode remained the house in Cheshire, and they were resident in the UK. HMRC’s decision to levy capital gains tax for the years 20012005 was upheld. Although they were resident in Belgium and then Portugal, it is possible to be resident in more than

one country under the local rules. Double tax treaties exist for such cases, but do not provide as much protection as many believe. In this case, the terms meant that the gains were taxable in the UK. On the other hand, careful planning about when you leave the UK and sell assets can prove very beneficial. In a case brought by HMRC against Mr Glyn, the tribunal ruled in favour of Mr Glyn, who saved himself £5.5 million in capital gains tax as a result. It ruled that he had effected a distinct break; significantly loosened his ties and had no ‘habitual abode’ or ‘abode for a settled purpose’ in the UK. Mr Glyn’s meticulous records aided his case considerably. These court cases relate to the pre2013 residency guidance. The UK’s Statutory Residence Test which came into effect last April does clarify matters going forward. It is still very detailed and complex, but there are

clearer rules to follow. However HMRC is still looking at cases from the previous 10 years, and the old and new rules run alongside for three years. Whether pre or post April 2013, the burden of proof falls on the taxpayer. It is therefore essential that you seek specialist advice, understand the application of the rules, follow them closely and keep detailed records. 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.

28

E W N 20 - 26 March 2014 / Mallorca

www.euroweeklynews.com

OPINION & COMMENT

An uncontrollable temper uncontrollable temper, used to throwing his weight about and, up to this point getting away with just about anything. Irrespective of who was in the loo, he killed them in a fit of vicious rage and is, in my opinion, therefore guilty of murder. One or two other things have fascinated me about this trial, not least the fact that it was from the same court Nelson Mandela was sent down all those years ago. Having been in SA during the dark days of apartheid the situation today appears to me nothing short of miraculous. Another is the rather quaint way they address the female judge. M’Lady in that SA accent sounds for all the world like Thunderbirds’ chauffeur Parker addressing Lady Penelope herself! In a recent piece I wrote that I

Business Matters DON’T know about you, but I’d say that MY 2014 season has definitely started. Now’s the time to look wistfully back to the slow days of January and kick myself for not using the time more constructively! “What do you actually DO for a living Vicki?” I have been asked that a lot. Well I do PR: I get things printed in the papers for example, I liaise with businesses, I make business opportunities, I introduce people to each other, I write (a lot) of words: for articles, for websites, for brochures, I take photos, I organise shoots and videos, I teach and coach other small and medium businesses to take control of their own communications and marketing through offline and online media, and I do an enormous amount of events: micro and maxi. My business is called Phoenix Media and I have some great clients. If you want to find out more or work with us then just ping an email over to phoenixmediamallorca@gmail.com. We have a lot of events coming up. If networking is your thing then you may well be in the minority as it’s not an easy thing to do if you’re even a tiny bit shy. But the more you do it the easier it gets. Here are some of my recommendations: both my own events

/ SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

OTHERS THINK IT

Vicki Mcleod

I

had always considered the Princess Diana rather a manipulative woman, fully prepared to use the press to further her own cause. The reaction I got to that particular statement was, as anticipated, a deluge of hate mail descending through my inbox. Well, in the light of the recent

LEAPY LEE SAYS IT

disclosures of her handing over the phone numbers of all the Royals up to, and including the Queen, I think my point has been somewhat proven, wouldn’t you say? And that’s about it. I’m still down in the Tenerife sunshine. There is something to be said about all-year-round sunshine! Ah, well, someone has to do it. Just a few more weeks and I’ll be back with the family. Yesss. I’ve actually just finished appearing in a Channel Five documentary. The theme is ‘Growing old Disgracefully’. Sounds about right! I understand it’ll be aired late May early June. I’ll keep ya posted. Enjoy your week, and whatever ya do, always keep the faith, love Leapy. Leapylee2002@gmail.com INTRIGUING: Oscar Pistorius’s murder trial.

MIQU77

L

IKE many of us, I have been intrigued by the Oscar Pistorius murder trial in South Africa. As someone who also watched just about every minute of the OJ Simpson trial, where, in the light of overpowering evidence to the contrary, an animal was actually found not guilty (later to be found guilty in a civil court) by a sympathetic jury - mainly composed of elderly black ladies I have been fascinated to see if another celebrity wriggles out of something that, for a lesser mortal, would be cut and dried within a few days. Personally, I can’t see what difference it really makes who was in the toilet when this young man blasted the shots through the door. Nor do I think any intruder who locked himself in the loo screaming for mercy was actually any threat to a person standing outside with a loaded pistol in his hand. No, to my mind this is a spoilt young man with an

LEAPY LETTERS

Brave words

GOOD strong, brave words on the Northern Irish situation (Issue 1496). I’m with you 100 per cent, let’s live together but not one rule for one and another for another. It must be hard for anyone involved directly in the struggle but, as an outsider, we must stop the issues being passed to future generations. I think we learn that when we live abroad and I hope and wish the British and Irish can do the same Phil Saint (By email) Editor's note: Leapy said it is time to forgive and forget the troubles in Northern Ireland and move on. That applies to former soldiers implicated in Bloody Sunday as well as people who took part in bomb attacks.

Spin your web! Take your pick from events coming up

NETWORKING: The more you do it, the easier it gets. and ones I think you should go to. Just this week there is The Supper Club which will feature the lawyer Alejandro Bellapart who will be giving free legal advice and Helen Pitt who will be speaking on behalf of the Cancer Support Group. The Supper Club is an informal and inexpensive social and business

networking group which meets once a month from October to May. It costs €15 which covers two drinks and supper (this month it’s fish and chips!). That’s Thursday, March 20. You can reserve on info@moodbeach.com or call 971 676 456. Charity events are often sponsored by

some seriously good businesses, and supporting the same charity events is a good introduction to them. Next Saturday night there is ‘Casino Royale.’ This is an event for the Cala Nova Cancer Care shop. Tickets are €15 (€10 of this goes directly to the cause). You can get your tickets from info@moodbeach.com or from the charity shop, Estudio 3 in Portals or the Tranquility Spa in the country club in Santa Ponsa. Another event I would recommend is the Top 100 dinner which is on April 11. It is a fundraiser for breast cancer and cancer support on the island. It has a Twenties theme and features a five course gourmet dinner, and tons of chances to network. More information: 646 752 276 (Helen). Then the big daddy of networking over the next month or so is the Crew Show. Put it in your diary NOW as you should attend. The show opens at 4pm on Friday, April 25, and goes on until 8pm. It is four short intense hours of high level networking business to business and client to business. More information: www.businessmattersmallorca.com.

HEALTH & BEAUTY

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20 - 26 March 2014 / Mallorca

EWN

31

ealth & beauty H TO READ MORE VISIT OUR WEBSITE WWW.EWNLIFESTYLE.COM

900,000 opt for electronic cigarettes AN estimated 900,000 people in Spain have switched to electronic cigarettes. According to data from the National Electronic Cigarette Association (ANCE) the industry has a turnover of €18 million, a figure that is expected to multiply in the coming years. Whilst many credit them for helping people to stop smoking, the debate of their use has reached parliament as their use in government buildings, health centres, schools and places with children, has been banned. However, some say, as they contain nicotine, they should be treated as tobacco and be subject to the same rules and be banned in all public spaces such as bars and restaurants. Victoria Aldea Míguez, member of the Medical Association of Pontevedra and smoking expert, says there is no scientific evidence to ensure that the electronic cigarette is safe: “We know that it contains nicotine, but do not know what effect the other substances in them have on the lungs when inhaled.” However, many voices have supported the use of the electronic cigarettes versus tobaccos, including the European Society of Cardiology.

One spoon of flower please

BOUGAINVILLAEA, found in abundance in Spain, is being used in a drink to counteract the effects of sugar. The flower contains pinitol, a naturally occurring compound which is believed to lower blood sugar levels after a

person consumes a high amount of sugar. The Simply Great Drinks Company has created a range of juices derived from the flower, with extracts of apple, carob and grape. The blend was created by a team of biomedical

consultants led by Dr Sepe Sehati who said drinking a glass every day for 12 weeks is enough to have the desired effect on blood sugars and is “a major breakthrough in tackling some of the harmful effects of sugar in juice and juice drinks.”

FLOWER POWER: Drink

Eye tests vital to combat glaucoma THE early diagnosis of glaucoma is essential to prevent irreversible vision loss. To mark World Glaucoma Week, running until Saturday, the president of the Ophthalmological Society of the Valencian Community and Glaucoma Specialist, Doctor Konrad Schargel, is warning of the risks of the disease if it is not diagnosed early and recommends periodic ophthalmologic examinations. Glaucoma is a disease which is related to eye pressure increases if the fluid does not drain out of the eye properly. If left untreated the patient may lose vision and even become blind. Doctor Schargel said: “In the case of glaucoma it is a leading cause of

irreversible blindness worldwide and its incidence revolves around 2 per cent of the population aged 40

years.” Glaucoma with drops or there are treatments

is treated surgery, but now laser that have

been used successfully in the USA for over 10 years. Doctor Schargel says it is particularly important to have regular eye

examinations if there is a family history of glaucoma, you are aged over 40 and are nearsighted.

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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

Mallorca weather

NEW ON DVD

for next 7 days

MADDOCKS’ VIEW ON LIFE

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire Based on the novel by Suzanne Collins, this film is the second in the adventure trilogy. Starring Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss Everdeen who returns home victorious after the 74th Hunger Games. But she and her fellow winner Peeta Mellark (played by Josh Hutcherson) soon discover that rebellion is in the air, with growing dissent to the Capitol’s rule. Donald Sutherland plays President Coriolanus Snow who uses the 75th Hunger Games, known as the third ‘Quarter Quell’ to wipe out resistance in the districts.

TODAY

LLUCMAJOR MAGALLUF

CALA d’OR

PALMA ANDRATX

LLUCMAJOR MAGALLUF

Your Stars

istic. Even dropping heavy hints can go well astray of the mark. Although it is unpalatable to your sensitivity, plain talking is needed.

VIRGO (August 24 - September 23) This is a week of deep thinking and meaningful conversations.

March 20: Fernando Torres. Spanish footballer. Nicknamed El Niño (The Kid), Torres began his career with Atletico Madrid and now plays for Chelsea and the Spain national team. He is married to Olalla Dominguez Liste; they have two children. Torres is an avid admirer of JRR Tolkien and has a tattoo reading ‘Fernando’ in ‘Tengwar’ on his left forearm.

30

SAGITTARIUS (November 23 - December 21) Be determined to make a budget and stick to it. Even if you are arranging a holiday, resist the urge to splash out. Because this is such a busy week, it may not seem that there is time to read the small print.

TODAY:

CLOUDY

Fri Sat Sun -

19 11 Cl 18 8 C 16 8 S

CAPRICORN (December 22 - January 20) With a big event coming up, you need someone to give plenty of love and support. Starting a new interest could lead you into their path. Going for looks alone will do you no favours. Be as broad-minded as possible when it comes to making friends. AQUARIUS (January 21 February 19) An area in which you have experience means that you are able to help someone close this week. Keep the advice free from personal opinions wherever possible. Some upsets on a dayto-day basis are all minor and will pass.

LOTTERY UK NATIONAL LOTTERY

UK THUNDERBALL

IRISH LOTTO

EURO MILLIONS

Saturday March 15

Saturday March 15

Saturday March 15

Friday March 14

25

38

48

22 31

29 33

SUNNY

7

10

13

27

34

38

BONUS BALL

THUNDERBALL

BONUS BALL

8

12

20

Mon - 18 9 C Tues - 18 9 Cl Wed - 17 9 Cl

6

24 27

LUCKY STARS 5

9

EL GORDO DE LA PRIMITIVA

5

13

14

19

20

37

REINTEGRO 44

1

CLEAR

2

27 45

18 14 C 18 12 C 17 11 S

MAX MIN

Mon - 17 12 C Tues - 17 12 Cl Wed - 16 11 Cl

Madrid CLOUDY MAX 21C, MIN 7C

TODAY:

MAX MIN

MAX MIN

Fri Sat Sun -

Mon - 17 10 C Tues - 17 9 C Wed - 17 9 Cl

20 8 C 14 2 Sh 13 2 Cl

MAX MIN

Mon - 14 3 C Tues - 14 2 C Wed - 14 2 C

Murcia MAX 20C, MIN 9C

TODAY:

MAX MIN

Mon - 16 9 C Tues - 17 9 Cl Wed - 16 9 S Cl Clear,

CLOUDY MAX 23C, MIN 9C MAX MIN

Fri Sat Sun Fog,

Sn Snow,

MAX MIN

24 11 Cl 24 10 C 19 8 S

Mon - 21 9 C Tues - 19 8 C Wed - 18 8 Cl

C Cloud,

Sh Showers,

Th Thunder

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 P) and there must be AT LEAST ONE NINE LETTER WORD. Plurals, vulgarities or proper nouns are not allowed.

TARGET:

Average: 5

Very good: 9

Good: 6

Excellent: 11

aper, para, pare, parr, part, pate, pear, peat, peer, pert, pray, prey, pyre, rapt, reap, tapa, tape, tarp, trap, type, apart, apery, apter, parer, parry, party, pater, payee, payer, peart, peaty, perry, peter, prate, pryer, repay, taper, perter, prater, prayer, reaper, repeat, retype, RATEPAYER

Word Ladder MOVE

29 49

REINTEGRO 9

Fri Sat Sun -

MAX 18C, MIN 9C

MAX MIN

18 11 Cl 18 10 F 15 9 Cl

SUNNY MAX 17C, MIN 13C MAX MIN

MAX MIN

Mon - 15 9 C Tues - 15 8 Sh Wed - 15 8 Cl

Mallorca

S Sun,

MAX MIN

Mon - 18 12 C Tues - 19 11 Cl Wed - 18 11 S

Benidorm

MAX MIN

Fri Sat Sun -

19 13 Cl 21 12 C 17 11 Cl

TODAY:

MAX 17C, MIN 10C

16 11 C 16 9 Sh 13 8 Cl

Sunday March 16

Saturday March 15

25 30

LA PRIMITIVA

Fri Sat Sun -

Malaga

TODAY:

CLOUDY MAX 19C, MIN 13C MAX MIN

Barcelona TODAY:

LIBRA (September 24 - October 23) Take extra care where finances concern your home. A legal matter should be considered carefully. When planning home improvements, get plenty of good advice and do not trust your heart. A new activity means new friends. SCORPIO (October 24 - November 22) Being protective of those close does not mean worrying all the

TODAY:

MAX MIN

20 12 Cl 21 10 C 18 9 S

time. With their co-operation, the burden, welcome though it may be, can be lightened. There is the opportunity to have fun with some young friends, which may not come again for some time.

PISCES (February 20 - March 20) What will really be appreciated this week is if you will give your time to others. I realise your life is busy but the emotional rewards from helping someone will be more than worth it. To see yourself in a truly positive light, imagine being in the positions of those round you.

14

Fri Sat Sun -

Someone's opinion of you reaches your ears and pleases you greatly. Work that has been progressing at home faces hold-ups and tact is needed to avoid a row.

LAST WEEK’S SOLUTION

22

MAX MIN

MAX MIN

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.

19

Almeria

CLOUDY MAX 18C, MIN 10C

Fri Sat Sun -

Sudoku

14

Alicante TODAY:

BACK

Move from the start word (MOVE) to the end word (BACK) in the same number of steps as there are rungs on the Word Ladder. You must only change one letter at a time.

RACE RACK BACK

IF IT’S YOUR BIRTHDAY THIS WEEK: Taking control of both your finances and emotions has already started paying dividends. Such a change is not easy but most satisfying. Satisfaction is something of which you will have a lot.

CANCER (June 22 - July 23) Expecting others to automatically know what you want is unreal-

1. For which American football team did the now infamous O J Simpson play? 2. In Australian Rules Football, how many points are awarded when a team scores a goal when the football is propelled through the goal posts at any height (including above the height of the posts) by way of a kick from the attacking team? 3. With which sport would you principally associate the Chicago Bulls, the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Detroit Pistons? 4. How many times did Evonne Goolagong (Cawley) win the Wimbledon Ladies singles title? 5. Edson Arantes do Nascimento is the real name of which famous sportsman? 6. Which country won the Rugby World Cup in 1995 and 2007? 7. Including the cue ball, how many balls are there on the table at the start of a snooker game?

TOMORROW CALA MILLOR

INCA

CALVIA

LEO (July 24 - August 23) Oh, gosh, this is a really sensitive time for Leos. Although it is easy to upset you, it is equally easy to fire your enthusiasm. Anyone considering not keeping a promise or appointment with you should beware because they will be whipped into shape.

A SPORTING CHANCE

ALCUDIA

POLLENÇA

GEMINI (May 22 - June 21) A trip to the cinema or theatre makes you take notice and may even shock. There are many things in life that normally do not touch us but, once we are aware, there seems to be a need for action.

7-Star Quiz

CALA d’OR

PALMA ANDRATX

MOVE ROVE RAVE

TAURUS (April 21 - May 21) Family members bring a sparkle to your eyes and a spring to your step. When there is so much going on it is easy to forget how much we are part of a whole. If you have neglected keeping in contact of late, this serves to remind you to try to do better.

CALA MILLOR

INCA

CALVIA

Starring Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth. Directed by Francis Lawrence. Runtime 146 minutes. Rated 13. ARIES (March 21 - April 20) Surprising and happy news about the 30th really puts some bounce into you. Having been so busy recently, you may not have noticed that someone has a special interest in you. Another surprise then, but how will you react?

ALCUDIA

POLLENÇA

1. BUFFALO BILLS (accept also SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS), 2. SIX POINTS, 3. BASKETBALL, 4. TWO - 1971 and 1980, 5. PELÉ, 6. SOUTH AFRICA, 7. 22 (15 reds, yellow, green, brown, blue, pink, black and white/cue).

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CROSSWORDS

Crosswords

20 - 26 March 2014 / Mallorca

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Cryptic

Quick

Across 1 Roof covering for former prime minister, almost (6) 5 Heathens keeping silver in cooking pot (6) 8 Goal being reset for Soviet gymnast (4) 9 Roused when a vigil comes to a sorry end (8) 10 Splendid joke I fed into Scotsman (8) 11 Eager to sing with a sad song (4) 12 Criticise bad start and end (5) 14 Victor loses his head midway (5) 18 Partial delivery sent back? That's disgusting (4) 20 Been a red revolutionary in Scotland (8) 22 Rosa left the presentation confused and remorseful (8) 23 The first person mentioned in Nostradamus's predictions (4) 24 With crew's net (6) 25 Begin to show fear (5) Down 2 Antique in the vestibule is a bag (7) 3 Sell the business (5) 4 Hard ground in floor of fireplace (6)

Across 1 Shriek (6) 4 Economise severely (6) 9 Permit (3) 10 Subdue by force of personality (7) 11 Ordinary (7) 12 Work out (5) 13 Go after and bring back (5) 15 Range (5) 20 Once more (5) 22 Chocolate pastries (7) 24 Futile (7) 25 Monkey (3) 26 Scandinavian country (6) 27 Chum (6)

5 First person is in place for the fish (6) 6 “Small cucumber is a bit rougher”, king said (7) 7 Nice embracing an oriental relative (5) 13 Attempting to visit the ruler (7)

15 The Spanish man's a gent, strangely charming (7) 16 Author is apparently inside (6) 17 The SDP rewrote the drafts (6) 19 Woman is in an entire new outfit (5) 21 Show doctor a graduate (5)

Code Breaker Each number in the Code Breaker grid represents a different letter of the alphabet. In this week’s puzzle, 21 represents D and 15 represents Z, so fill in D every time the figure 21 appears and Z every time the figure 15 appears. Now, using your knowledge of the English language, work out which letters should go in the missing squares. As you discover the letters, fill in other squares with the same number in the main grid and the control grid.

LAST WEEK’S SOLUTIONS CRYPTIC Across: 7 Plaque, 8 Nevada, 10 Retains, 11 Spine, 12 Acre, 13 Relic, 17 Corps, 18 Code, 22 Acorn, 23 Tourist, 24 Ousted, 25 Repose. Down: 1 Spartan, 2 Batters, 3 Music, 4 Seismic, 5 Batik, 6 Cadet, 9 Osteopath, 14 Bounder, 15 Monitor, 16 Leather, 19 Salon, 20 Toast, 21 Tuber. QUICK Across: 1 Begins, 5 France, 8 Cats, 9 Terrific, 10 Cellar, 11 Checks, 12 Owls, 14 Axe, 15 Bank, 16 Crisps, 18 Thrill, 20 Disaster, 22 Leap, 23 Greedy, 24 Sorted. Down: 2 Erase, 3 Insults, 4 Saturdays, 5 Far, 6 Alike, 7 Chicken, 11 Creatures, 13 Warrior, 15 Burglar, 17 Scare, 19 Leave, 21 Toy.

LAST WEEK’S SOLUTION

Down 1 Extremely serious (6) 2 Entourage (7) 3 Pleasant fragrance (5) 5 Masterpiece (7) 6 Perfection (5) 7 Mollycoddle (6) 8 Flat (5) 14 Meet formally (7) 16 Confidential (7) 17 Light touch (6) 18 Drive back (5) 19 Climb up (6) 21 Make laugh (5) 23 Defeated contestant (5)

English - Spanish The clues are mixed, some clues are in Spanish and some are in English. Across 1 Classroom (4) 3 Pothole (in road) (5) 8 Butterflies (insects) (9) 9 Fly (insect) (5) 10 Anchor (5) 12 Answer (reply) (9) 14 Callejón (5) 15 Wave (in sea, lake) (4)

Down 1 Carpet (8) 2 Corderos (5) 4 Aplausos (8) 5 Su (de él) (3) 6 Tesoro (de mucho valor) (8) 7 Frost (substance) (8) 11 Cadena (de eslabones, de joyería) (5) 13 Sun (3)

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

ENGLISH-SPANISH Across: 1 Lapiz, 3 Fiero, 6 Swim, 7 Trucha, 9 Caballero, 12 Acento, 13 Lago, 14 Peaje, 15 Jeans.

ARRIVE

RUGGED

DINING

SEIZED

DINNER

SENDER

FARMER

SLAYER

GREASE

STREAK

INVERT

SWAYED

Down: 1 Last, 2 Primavera, 3 Farola, 4 Escarlata, 5 Orar, 8 Sastre, 10 Damp, 11 Toes.

MEAGER

WATERS

OTHERS

WAVING (10)

RENTAL

WORTHY

RIGGED

LAST WEEK’S SOLUTION

Funagram Unscramble the name of a famous alternative rock band (three words): PRINCES MASTER TEACHER

Unscramble the name of a ‘challenging recreational outdoor activity’ (three words): WIN WITH GREATER FAT

1 Bloody, 2 Laired, 3 Deadly, 4 Mortar, 5 Unable, 6 Grapes, 7 Inject, 8 Roamed, 9 Factor, 10 Jumped, 11 Rogues, 12 Tilted, 13 Parted, 14 Bolted, 15 Salted, 16 Ghosts, 17 Stiles, 18 Horses, 19 Nearby

FUNAGRAM SOLUTION: MANIC STREET PREACHERS, WHITE WATER RAFTING

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Don’t lose the siesta... BEING on the ‘wrong clock’ makes people in Spain eat, leave work and go to bed later than the rest of Europe. With summer time coming

R

soon (March 30), our question was: Will changing Spain’s time zone to be on the more ‘natural’ GMT make a difference in increasing productivity as some

OPINION & COMMENT RAY WELLER: Keep the Spanish way of life.

Spanish MPs have suggested? Or should Spain keep the siesta lifestyle (work-rest-work) and the extra hour of summer evening daylight?

STREET TALK

EBEKAH WALSH, on holiday in Benalmadena (Malaga) from Cardiff, said she wouldn’t favour any time zone change. “Everybody loves productivity by changing to GMT since it’s would be affected really, working hours Spain for its laid-back style. I think making too hot for people to work in the are working hours whether it is light or dark outside,” stated Patricia. work hours like the rest of Europe would afternoon in the summer months.” Husband and wife Steven and Brenda Howser, who is retired and just make it like the rest of Europe! Why living in La Marina (Alicante), agreed with would it want to do that? I like the mid- Patricia O’Hare, on holiday on the Costa Blanca from her Costa Blanca neighbours. “I can’t day siesta. I know it’s a pain when Belfast, said they don’t really see what difference that hour stores close for a few hours, but believe there is much would make, to be honest. I wouldn’t they also stay open later, which has difference in the one be worried either way if it changed to its convenient aspects.” hour between GMT GMT or stayed the same.” Ray Weller from Albox and European time Eric Nickel lives in Mijas Costa (Almeria) thought the country work-wise. “I don’t think (Malaga) and he actually had quite a bit should keep the Spanish way of productivity to say. The 37-year-old water life. The 68-year-old retiree said,: “I think the shop hours are engineer was appalled to think that the country would switch better now, with shops to GMT for productivity open in the evening and purposes. He said: “If we’re closed on Sundays.” Ray talking workplace advanadded, “I don’t think it ERIC NICKEL: Switching BRENDA HOWSER: Doesn’t tages, Spain does most would make any might actually backfire. think there is much difference. trade with the rest of the difference to

STEVEN & PATRICIA O’HARE: “Working hours are working hours.” continent anyway, not with the ones on GMT. It makes sense for them to stay on the working hours zone as France, Germany, Holland, the rest of Europe.” He also mentioned a time change wouldn’t change the Spanish work culture anyway. “People are used to it. Late going in, late coming out; it’s part of the culture. Besides, a one-hour time difference gives the whole country less light in the summer hours, which would actually do a lot to negatively affect tourism. So it might actually backfire.”

FEATURE

www.euroweeklynews.com

20 - 26 March 2014 / Mallorca

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Advertising Feature

Another useful week for the euro Commentary by Moneycorp

EUR Another useful week for the euro kept it steady against the US dollar and took it a cent higher against sterling, which investors viewed with steadily less affection. A string of low-key Euroland economic indicators played no part: investors were more interested by the European Central Bank’s decision last week to hold back from bond-buying or rate-cutting. USD Stronger than expected US employment figures were vaguely helpful to the dollar but investors were left with the nagging feeling that they ought to

have been even better. They were happy to send the dollar a cent and a half higher against sterling but they left it unchanged against the euro. In the coming week the focus will be on the Federal Reserve and whether it decides to continue the wind-down of moneyprinting stimulus. CAD The Canadian dollar’s brief spurt of luck was exhausted, leaving it steady against sterling and down by three quarters of a US cent. The Loonie’s main problem was weak Canadian employment data, including the unexpected loss of 7,000 jobs in February. They were

Clarisse Musselwhite is Moneycorp’s Account Manager for Mallorca

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

902887243 mallorca@moneycorp.com doubly disappointing because their announcement coincided with equivalent figures from the States, which showed stronger than expected jobs growth. AUD The Aussie had only a slightly more difficult week than sterling, which has fallen from investors’ favour in the last couple of weeks. It was quarter of a cent lower against the pound and down

by nearly one US cent. The Australian dollar faded despite much stronger than expected Australian employment data which showed 47,000 more people in work and a significant swing from part-time to full-time employment. NZD Yet another good week for the NZ dollar took it half a cent higher against the US dollar and two and a half cents higher against sterling. A decent increase in manufacturing sales and a 2.1 per cent annual rise for house prices helped, but it was the Reserve Bank of New Zealand’s monetary policy decision that did most of the work. The RBNZ raised its benchmark interest rate to 2.75 per cent and said further increases were in the pipeline.

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E W N 20 - 26 March 2014 / Mallorca

FOOD & DRINK

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& DRINKS

ood F

Costa de Almeria’s best guide to local sport

Mallorca’s best guide for local restaurants

TO READ MORE VISIT: WWW.EUROWEEKLYNEWS.COM/FEATURES/RESTAURANTS

Does low calorie fast food make sense if you want a ‘quick fix’? THE image of the fast food restaurant has never been very associated with healthy options, but one fast food giant is offering 30 per cent lighter chips. That raises the question: are consumers really looking for light food on these menus? Many people actually want the grease factor when going to these restaurants - think David Hasselhoff drunkenly devouring that hamburger or the legions of consumers who believe that greasy food is good for a hangover. All of this comes about because Burger King has

LIGHTER CHIPS: But are consumers really looking for light food? brought out ‘satisfries’ with 30 per cent less fat, which begs the question does it make

sense to offer a consumer who wants grease, less grease? People who want to eat

healthily rarely enter fast food establishments, whereas many of the customers of these restaurants are actually looking for a greasy meal. According to medical studies humans are genetically programmed to enjoy grease and sugar, the very two components that make fast food so desirable to the masses. It remains to be seen whether the fast food giants can capture a corner of the healthy market alongside the majority who just want a quick fix in the form of grease and sugar.

Value food: Don’t throw it away... Food EVERY year between a quarter and a third of all food production is wasted. All over the world countries are trying to implement formulas to stop this wastage, such as: 1. Steam Fridges - in underdeveloped countries a lot of food wastes due to lack of electricity and these fridges use vapour from the food to maintain it. 2. Rigid Packaging - a

simple cardboard box could save untold amounts of fresh produce. 3. Metal Silos - these would provide a more stable environment for the produce keeping it fresher. 4. Hermetically sealed plastic bags - to keep out plagues of insects on growing food in the fields. 5. Infrastructure - better roads and electricity lines would mean less wastage

in transport and storage. 6. Reduce offers - the consumer often buys more when things are ‘get the third one free.’ 7. Allow donations some countries stop restaurants from donating food to the needy. 8. Avoid compulsive buying. 9. Recycle food left over and use it in another meal.

trucks or tapas?

WHY WASTE FOOD: 9 steps to stop waste.

What’s cooking in 2014? Local, simple food.. MADRID FUSION 2014 will showcase the tastiest and most desirable dishes found in Spain Estanislao Carenzo, head chef at Sudestada, comments: “In Asia they are concentrating on extravagant luxury while here we are interested in going back to the old, more simplistic ways.” Angel León, head

chef at Aponiente in Cádiz, is trying to bring back ‘humble’ fish with ‘modern’ sauces. These are teamed up with ‘modern’ sauces based on algae and plankton. This passion for local produce is reflected in the rise of urban farms which provides food for large

restaurants in their own cities. Future gastronomy is linked to the past and despite all the innovation that has been infused into Spanish kitchens in the last few years, there is a tendency to return to basics and local food. Many of the dishes on show, reflect this burgeoning trend.

FOOD trucks, have never really taken off in Spain with their waiters who are also chefs, fast food and nowhere to sit down. None of these fit in with the Spanish culture. Tapas bars are Spain’s street food. Street food is more equated with a hamburger or hotdog whereas a tapa is a mini form of restaurant quality food. Francis Paniego, head chef of Echaurren in Logroño, said: “In London or other large European cities they like to eat while walking in the street, but in Spain the culture is more of sitting around a table and taking our time.” Hence, the tapa.

FOOD & DRINK

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20 - 26 March 2014 / Mallorca

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Advertising Feature

Mallorca’s Got Talent LAST Saturday night over 200 guests descended on Restaurant Aroma in El Toro for the first heat of Mallorca’s Got Talent annual competition. The competition, sponsored by LM Engineering, will be held every Saturday up to and including April 19, with the final being staged at Pirates Theatre on Saturday, April 26 in conjunction with Radio One Mallorca and Globo Events Mallorca. Every Saturday the guests in Restaurant Aroma vote for the two artists they believe are the best on the night. These two artists then go through to the Grand Final. Last Saturday there were five very different style vocalists who entered the competition: Albie Davies, an 11-year-old with a big voice; Tom Hughes, who sang the blues and a composition of his own; Santiago, who had never sung in public before; Jake Iglesias (aka Arthur); and a talented local resident called Tony Insul. The host for the night was Paul Martin and with his special blend of upbeat music, he entertained the guests between each performance. As the night progressed, it became clear that there were three main front runners: Albie, Santiago and Arthur. After the artists performed their second song the atmosphere was electric as the

votes were counted and verified. The two winners on the night who went through to the Grand Final were Albie Davies and Santiago. Arthur lost out by several votes but will be returning next week to compete again. So Albie and Santiago are confirmed as the two winners and if either win the grand final he will also receive €1,000 in cash and up to two days recording time sponsored by one of Mallorca’s top recording studios, Audio Vision Palma, and produced by the talented owner Willi Meyer. As the competition is running for the next five weeks, organisers are advising ALL talent in Mallorca to compete. To register, either fill in the registration

GREAT TALENT: Five very different style vocalists took part in the first heat of the competition last Saturday at Restaurant Aroma in El Toro.

form on the Mallorca’s Got Talent Facebook page, call into Aroma in El Toro, or e mail mark@aromaeltoro.com for an application

form. Entry fee is only €10 per person and is open to all non-professionals, and not just singers! All sorts of performers including dancers, rock bands and other talent can apply.

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E W N 20 - 26 March 2014 / Mallorca

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Boost your holiday rental with a hot tub ALPHA Pools and Spas is the place for anyone island-wide to come when considering a pool, hot tub, spa, and much more. In fact, you’ll find saunas and barbecues at Alpha too. You can also count on them for installation, maintenance, and pool cleaning and repair. And they’re available all throughout Mallorca! David Campling runs Alpha Pools and Spas and is proud to sell HotSpring Spas, one of the top manufacturers in the world. HotSpring Spas have sold over 1 million spas during their 36 years in the business. Made in the USA with up to seven years warranty, they offer fantastic value for the money. David doesn’t want price to

ALPHA: The place for pools, hot tubs, spas and more. stand in the way of customers getting what they want from Alpha. He stated, “We always we love to haggle with customers

and come up with a special offer that meets their requirements.” Before living in Mallorca where he has lived for eight

years, David was in the UK as a service engineer and sales specialist in high-value hardware and software always for companies with a high focus on customer satisfaction. With an approach that prioritises customer service, it is no surprise that Alpha Pools and Spas has many customers on the island, both new and old. Villa owners who rent out their villas to holidaymakers have successfully purchased from Alpha. Naturally, a spa offers increased rental revenue plus the possibility of renting early and late in the season, even in the winter.

And as only an estimated 5 per cent of rental properties in Mallorca have a hot tub, this is a sure way to set your villa apart from the crowd. For more information, ring them up, email, visit the website, or just pop in the Alpha Pools and Spas shop for a chat and a coffee. Open Monday-Friday 10am4pm and Saturday 10-2pm. Outside hours also available by appointment, just give them a ring!

Alpha Pools and Spas c/Pollentia 75 07400 Alcudia 971 545 377 info@hotspringmallorca.net www.hotspringmallorca.net

Enjoy the longer days with sunny afternoons Dick Handscombe

Gardening Corner By Dick Handscombe Spain’s best known expat gardening author about to start his 26th winter cut back.

W

ITH the moving of the clock an hour forward for spring we can enjoy longer sunny afternoons. For those who still enjoy a gin and tonic, the

perpetual flowering and fruiting lemon trees prove their worth. If you have yet to plant one, the perpetual lemon tree varieties are Lunar, Quatro Estaciones and

Eureka. If the trees say lemon, go elsewhere.

Citrus planting Citrus plants are in season. Always ask what

the ripening and harvesting seasons are before buying them. I recently read that a new variety of orange has been grown in Valencia which will ripen quicker and have a higher content of essential vitamins. Give your citrus trees a spring spray against unwanted leaf minero insects and sooty leaves. Use a joint Neem and Propolis spray with a foliar feed added.

Fruit growing I’m doing a survey re fruit trees. Each entry will

go in the hat for a copy of ‘Growing healthy fruit in Spain’ plus a copy of ‘Our 52 day retirement adventure along the Spanish Pyrenees.’ Send an email to gardeninginspain@hotmail. com listing the numbers from the questionnaire of the problems that you have had with citrus trees. The winner will be contacted by email. Entries will close on Monday, March 31, at 6pm.

Easy ordering It is now most convenient to order books online via Amazon Books

A reminder For pressing gardening problems, contact Dick Handscombe via your gardeninspain@hotmail.co m. © Dick Handscombe www.gardenspain.com March 2014

OPINION & COMMENT

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20 - 26 March 2014 / Mallorca

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Are you having a killer lunch? 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

O

H dear. Yet again, it seems that we shall have to reach for the freeze-dried nutrition capsules to subsist without risking our lives. A study recently published in the medical journal Cell Metabolism claims that eating a diet high in protein is as bad for you as smoking. So while you thought a lean piece of fillet accompanied by a light salad was just the ticket for optimum nutrition, it seems you may as well have lit up a fat cigar. Now, it later emerges that the findings were not quite as conclusive as they first appeared, but it still leaves us ordinary folk confused about what should safely make it on to our plates. Sugar - or the white poison - is banned. Salt is slowly killing us, as the average Briton

apparently consumes some eight grammes each day, while the limit should be set at six grammes to avoid heart attacks and strokes, according to the World Health Organisation. Best not even get started on the whole minefield of bread, pasta or wine, consumption of which seems to rank higher than say bungee jumping in the health risk stakes. Frankly, I am feeling a little weak just writing this crouched, over a

coffee and a croissant (to calm my frayed nerves). The fact that I grew up eating meat and biscuits, drinking milk and later wine makes me a walking miracle - surely I should be six feet under already? Even opting for vegetables and fruit doesn’t put you in the safe zone. Recently a lunch guest gave me the third

degree about the origins of the strawberries I was serving his children. Were they local? Organic? Feeling like a criminal, I googled this dangerous murder weapon to discover that, indeed, strawberries have been found to contain 13 different pesticides. Lettuce, apples and potatoes were also among the suspects, unless organic, while safest of the conventionally farmed offerings included avocados, bananas and broccoli. Organic food isn’t always an Protein or a option because of cost factors and we don’t cigarette for orall availability, have the space or time for lunch... Any an effective allotment in our difference? backyard. So, ultimately the day of the freeze-dried nutrition pack may soon be upon us after all. Either that or hope that all those pesky preservatives in our diet actually turn out to ‘preserve’ our bodies, too. Imagine the irony. HEALTHY EATING: How healthy is what we put on our plates these days?

MALLORCA has been the backdrop and setting for many television commercials and feature films for many years. The latest is the new British release ‘A Long Way Down’ starring Pierce Brosnan and Sam Neill and directed by French filmmaker, Pascal Chameill. The story, based on a book by Nick Hornby, follows four people who all decide to commit suicide by jumping from the top of a London skyscraper on New Year’s Eve. Brosnan plays the part of disgraced TV presenter Martin Sharp who is prevented from ending it all by the presence of singlemum Maureen (Toni Collette), then 18-yearold Jess (Imogen Poots) and finally American rock-god JJ (Aaron Paul) who all turn up and crash Martin’s private party. Several scenes of the movie were filmed at Palmas Son Sant Joan airport and more at Camp de Mar beach where the cast frolic in the sea and you will be able to recognise the Hotel Playa and the chiringuito snack bar, La Illeta. The year before Halle Berry and Tom Hanks landed on the island from Hollywood to shoot the independent film ‘Cloud Atlas’

Penn to Paper Laura Penn aura@spectrumfm.net. Laura is the Station Manager and Breakfast Show Presenter of Spectrum FM Mallorca 88.6FM

Lollobrigida and Sean Connery had Artà as a backdrop. Agatha Christie’s ‘Evil Under the Sun’ starring Peter Ustinov, Jane Birkin, Bette Davis and James Mason was filmed near Pollensa where Ustinov lived on his boat and more recently Daniel Craig was here to film ‘Sword of Honour’ in 2000. At present more than one hundred commercials are filmed in the Balearics each year and the number of both full-length and short motion pictures being filmed on the islands is still increasing. All this is great for the economy and tourism for the island. You never know when you might bump into an A List actor although usually the press will have got there first! If you get a chance go and see ‘A Long Way Down’ and have fun spotting the locations that you recognise on the island. Laura Penn is a presenter on the Holiday & Cruise Channel 284 on SKY TV.

and memories are still fresh of ‘The Inbetweeners Movie’ and the Sky TV series ‘Mad Dogs’ which were also shot on the island over recent years. Mallorca is a dream for film location finders, not just because of the climate but because it’s varied landscape can be ‘cheated’ for anywhere in the world. The latest film releases follow a long history of movies made on the island. The first foreign movie, ‘The Secret of the Ring’ (‘El Secreto del Anillo’), was filmed on the island back in 1913. A very young Joan Collins starred in ‘Our Girl Friday’ in 1953. The action adventure ‘The Seventh PIERCE BROSNAN: Starring Voyage of Sinbad’ was filmed on Mallorca in in ‘A Long Way Down.’ 1957 and ‘Woman of Straw’ starring Gina

OTTAVIA DA RE / SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

Dream island for film-makers with its varied landscape

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PROPERTY

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roperty P TO READ MORE VISIT OUR WEBSITE WWW.EUROWEEKLYNEWS.COM

Spanish market buoyed by foreign sun seekers

WITH strong signs that the market may be about to reach rock bottom, Spain’s prime residential property market is still being driven by international buyers attracted by the country’s low prices, investment opportunities and lifestyle. The official House Price Index, published by the National Institute of Statistics which collates its data from notary’s offices nationally, fell by 7.8 per cent in 2013, which shows a decrease for the sixth straight year in a row, although the decrease is less than in 2012, when it fell by 12.8 per cent. It is estimated that the average price has fallen by as much as 30 per cent to 40 per cent since the peak of the market in 2007. According to a report from Lucas Fox, international buyers are driving the residential sales with many new owners hailing from the Far East and Russia impulsed by the so

SPANISH MARKET: Reduced prices attract foreign property buyers to Spain. called ‘golden visa’ scheme which allows automatic residency to all non-European Union citizens who invest €500,000 or more in Spanish property. There has been an increased demand for high-end, top quality real estate properties from

Northern European countries such as the UK, France and Switzerland with some strong interest coming from Russia, China and the Middle East. The most interest is being shown in Marbella and Ibiza and the least in the Toledo area.

Marbella market up 23 per cent PROPERTY transactions completed in 2013 totalled 300,349 which indicated a decrease of 17.4 per cent compared to 2012, according to the minister of Development. It also indicated that between October and December only 93,438 properties were sold which is a decrease

for that time period of 30.6 per cent. The bright spot of the market was Marbella which rose 23 per cent while Malaga fell 3.6 per cent, which, nationally, was among the most moderate of decreases. By province, the largest growth was seen in Santa Cruz de Tenerife with 2.4 per cent and Las Palmas which grew 0.6 per cent. The rest of the provinces were all negative varying between a moderate fall of 1.5 per cent in Alicante and a steep drop of 39.8 Feng Shui friendly and even per cent in Toledo. being prepared to pick By municipalities the them up from their hotels most number of sales was to take them to dinner - shown in Madrid (8,451 and pay! sales) and Barcelona Agents are also reminded (2,946 sales). the Asians are very cordial New properties repreand don’t like to say ‘no’ to sented 18.355 of these anything; so if they are transactions, 19.6 per asked if they like something cent of the total, and and they don’t answer or 75,083 of the transactions just change the subject - were for second hand then that answer was a ‘no.’ properties.

How to sell property to the Chinese: Oriental customs

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IN the last few years the fluctuation of the Spanish property market has attracted a lot more foreign buyers and investors. Among the many nonnationals who are now entering the market are the Chinese who, apparently require special treatment. They are considered such a niche market that real estate giant Lucas Fox has

created a special department just to deal with the Asian market. Among the guidelines set out for this market are that agents should, above all, be extremely patient, bear in mind certain peculiarities such as handing them a business card with both hands, being prepared to barter, preparing their properties so that they are

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Networking cocktail party for expats... THE Expats Club Mallorca is holding a networking cocktail party tomorrow (Friday). Global Clubs International was started in 2013 by Peter Redrin. Firstly with the opening of the Scandic Club and later the Expats Club International, Auswanderer Club and Yacht Crew Club. The company slogan is ‘connecting interesting people’ and that is exactly what they do. Expats Club is an international organisation for English speaking people who moved abroad, who want to get to know new people where they now live and to network for social or business purposes. Being a member of Expats Club is free of charge. Tomorrow they are hosting a networking party at the Nassau Beach Club in Portixol. Liam Live will be performing an early set at 7pm, with doors open from 6.30pm onwards. Come early for registration, a speech from host Donna Suarez about the club at 8pm, with more live entertainment later and networking all night long. You can visit the website www.expatsclubinternation al.com and also download the Expats Club app. View and join the events at the Facebook page of ‘Expats Club Mallorca.’ For information contact Joanne Calf on 691 469 605 or joanne.calf@glo balclubsinternational.com

PETS/BOATING

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Two gold medals for Spain SPAIN has won two gold medals, in two different groups, in the Arenal Training Camps Trophy (ATCT). This success in this trophy, organised by the Club Nautic S’Arenal (CNA), augurs well for the Princess Sofia Trophy which will be held in the bay of Palma. The CNA regatta attracted a total of 450 participants - most of which are using the Palma bay for winter training and practice for the Princess Sofia Trophy. This high participation demonstrates that all is ready for the penultimate stage of the ISAF Sailing World Cup: the Olympic Sailing World Cup. The Nacra, an Olympic Catamaran, crewed by Iker Martinez and Tara Pacheco, won the ATCT after three days of near perfect competition.

BOAT RACE: Enjoyed light to medium winds. The duo, composed of the double Olympic medallist of 49ers (Martinez) and the World

Champion of 470 (Pacheco), got to the top of the podium the very first day and managed to

remain on top through the six partials. They beat out the favourites, the French Billy Besson and Marie Riou, by six points. Spain also had a victory in Laser Standard with Jesus Rogel, from Alicante, who beat 35 other boats to get to the podium. In the 470 class two young Catalans, Jordi Xammar and Joan Herp, finished fifth - two places in front of Canaries natives Onan Barreiros and Juan Curbelo. British Ben Cornish was the winner in the Finn class in which there were no Spanish participants. The race was characterised by light to medium winds of between six and eight knots, very variable in direction.

Countdown to 45th Princess Sofia Trophy THE Royal Nautical Club of Palma de Mallorca (RCNP) has begun the countdown to the celebration of the 45th SAR Princess Sofia Trophy for Cruisers and Racing Monotypes. The race will take place in the bay of Las

Palmas on March 22 and 23. The competition, open to ORC class cruisers and J80, Flying Fifteen and Dragon monotypes, will consist of three technical regattas and one coastal test.

So far 47 boats have signed up: 29 ORCs, nine J80s, six FFs and three Dragons. RCNP organises this race, as well as another race of the same name which is for light sailboats, along with the nautical clubs of S’Arenal and Can Pastilla. This second race, with nearly 1,000 boats signed up for it, is considered one of the five most important of the world in Olympic Class. It will take place between March 29 April 5.

More on our feline friends

LAST week’s article on cats got a good response from readers, so here are some more cat facts... Little predators. Why do cats bring home dead prey? A cat is a predator. Cats who fill up at home with food will still potentially hunt; appetite only really affects the level of enthusiasm in their endeavours. Bringing the prey back home to you indicates that your cat feels secure there and it’s a safe place to leave food to eat now or keep for later. As your cat gets older it will For all dog treats please call: probably hunt less. along his back to stand erect at a right 971 887 007 / 634 152 813 Why do cats play with angle to the skin, referred to as pilotheir prey? erection. This gives the cat a much It’s been suggested that cats larger silhouette and is used, together play more with ‘dangerous’ prey with an arched back and a sideways like rats to practise manipulation stance, to signal defensive aggression to David THE Dogman and handling while avoiding other cats. Some cats that experience a Listen to David on TRE every Saturday 10am to 11am Costa del Sol (Gibraltar/Sotogrande) 98.7fm being bitten. sudden fright will instinctively puff up (San Roque to Calahonda) 91.9fm (Calahonda to Motril) 88.9, Costa Calida 92.7fm Or it may be that the cat their tail before investigating the Costa Blanca (Torrevieja to Elche) 105.1fm (Elche to Calpe) 88.2fm, (Calpe to Gandia & Ibiza) 104.6fm, hasn’t learned how to kill it perceived danger a little further. (Denia to Valencia) 95.3fm Mallorca 103.9fm properly and so can’t quite reach Why do cats chatter their teeth? that final stage quickly and Teeth-chattering is usually heard cleanly. Movement is then when there’s a bird outside the window necessary in order to maintain the cat’s interest in killing which a cat is watching but can’t get to. It may then run the prey, and throwing it around causes movement. up to the window or sit and make this strange toothOf course, it could be that cats simply enjoy the chattering noise, which may be frustration or excitement hunting game. or both. What does it mean when a cat’s tail goes bushy? For your local radio frequency log onto A cat has the capacity to fluff up his tail and the fur www.talkradioeurope.com

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Carnaval winners THE Airlan Aermec boats skippered by Juan Cabrer (ORC 0-1); Miguel Angel Mercadal (ORC -2)and Antoni Piza (ORC -3) were proclaimed winners of the Carnaval Trophy organised by the Royal Nautical Club of Palma (RNCP). A total of 20 boats took part in the 17 mile race for groups zero, one and two, and 15 miles for group three. The competition took place in south westerly winds which, at some points, were blowing at over 30 knots strong. Upon finishing the race the prize giving ceremony took place at the RNCP.

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Revving up for Ferrari Land PAIN is going to be home for a Ferrari theme park. The sports car manufacturer is lending the glamour of its name to the park which will be built by Investindustrial near Barcelona. It will be based within the PortAdventura theme park. The move means there will now be two theme parks in the world bearing the name of the Italian brand. The first Ferrari World, opened in Abu Dhabi in 2010. This park features attractions like the ‘V12 love flume’ and the Formula Rossa rollercoaster that accelerates to 140mph in less than five seconds. The Barcelona park, due to open in 2016, will include a Ferrari-themed hotel featuring a driving simulator and having 250 five-star rooms.

NEW THEME PARK: PortAventura team-up with Ferrari: A lucrative venture for all parties involved. Barcelona caters to fast car and theme park enthusiasts...

Ferrari Land will cover 75,000 square metres and include a variety of new and exciting attractions for Prancing

Horse enthusiasts of all ages, including Europe’s highest and fastest vertical accelerator. It will be, promise the investors, an opportunity for the whole family to experience and discover the world of Ferrari. The project will involve an overall investment of €100 million.

Andrea C Bonomi, Senior Partner Invest-industrial, explained the motivation behind the partnership with Ferrari thus: “PortAventura is one of the leaders in Europe’s tourism sector, while Ferrari is an iconic company that represents the very best of Made in Italy. The synergy between these two groups creates a

powerful combination that means we can offer clients of both brands, a unique experience. We are proud to be able to make this contribution to fostering the growth of the Ferrari brand and Made in Italy across the world. Andrea Perrone, CEO of Ferrari Brand, the Ferrari subsidiary company that manages the Prancing Horse’s brand-related activities, added: “After the success of Ferrari World in Abu Dhabi, we received many, many requests to develop new amusement

parks. “We carefully sifted through the various proposals and decided to accept Investindustrial’s because it is a very solid plan developed by competent people that will bring the magic of Ferrari to Spain, a nation where we have many supporters and enthusiasts, and to which large numbers of tourists flock each year, in part, thanks to PortAventura. This new licence further under-scores our brand’s presence in this area. Ferrari Land will delight the whole family and not just Formula 1 fans. “We will continue to evaluate other proposals for theme parks outside Europe at our leisure: the brand is our most important asset and we have to enhance its value without diluting it.”

Famous faces for famous grills

EX-FOOTBALLER David Beckham is the new ambassador for Jaguar

in China and will be the new face of all their advertising campaigns. Beckham is well known for his love of cars and has, at one time, had in his garage anything ranging from a Lamborghini Gallardo to a convertible Rolls Royce Phantom. In his first speech as ambassador for Jaguar he said he had always been a fan of the brand,

not only for their style and design but also for their character. He also commented that his love affair began with the Jaguar E-Type. In a change from his Range Rover Sport, Cristiano Ronaldo has been seen driving a Cadillac Escalade. Ronaldo is following the trend that is inundating Spain to drive luxury SUVs. The

Escalade, with its low profile rims, is in the purest style of North American luxury cars. Ronaldo has visited the USA many times and now seems to have fallen for their most desired car. As well as its huge size, the Escalade has been kitted out with the most American of accessories: massive chrome rims.

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England beat West Indies in Barbados Tony Matthews

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.

Costa de Almeria

From Back Page SLC final and Real Madrid, 1-0 winners at Malaga courtesy of Ronaldo’s 25th League goal of the season, still La Liga, ahead of Atletico Madrid and Barcelona. * In the Sochi Winter Paralympics, GB won six medals with Jade Etherington assisted by Caroline Powell, claiming four (three silver and one bronze). Kirsty Gallagher and guide Charlotte Evans won GB’s firstever gold while the curling team took bronze. This was GB’s best medal haul since collecting 10 in 1984. * Following Champions League exits of Arsenal and Manchester City, it left Chelsea (1-1 with Galatasaray) and Manchester

Messi sets new Barca scoring record THE prolific Argentine forward Lionel Messi has erased Paulino Alcantara’s name from the record books when his hat-trick in a 7-0 La Liga win over Osasuna last weekend, made him Barcelona’s record scorer of all-time. Messi’s goal-tally now stands at 371 goals in 452 appearances Philippino-born Alcantara netted 369 times in 357 games for the Nou camp club between 1912 and 1927. The 26-year-old Messi has been in sublime form in 2013-14, netting 18 times in 21 La Liga encounters and the prolific attacker’s next objective is to become the top marksman in the history of the Champions League. That honour is currently in the possession of Real Madrid icon Raul Gonzalez, who has scored 71 goals against Messi’s 67. United (2-0 down to Olympiakos) flying the British flag at the start of this week. Meanwhile Tottenham, trailing 3-1, have it all to do in Portugal tonight against Benfica in the second leg of their last 16 Europa League tie. This weekend in the PL, it’s Chelsea-Arsenal, Cardiff-Liverpool and Manchester City-Fulham followed next Tuesday by the Manchester derby. And on

Sunday Real Madrid play Barcelona in La Liga. Big games. * In cricket, England (165-6) beat the West Indies (160-7) in their last 20/20 game in Barbados. Sussex all-rounder Chris Jordan hit four sixes in the last over, took 3-39 and held a brilliant catch. The 20/20 World Cup has started in Bangladesh. England play New Zealand on Saturday while Aussie bowler

LIONEL MESSI: Been in sublime form. Mitchell Johnson is out injured. SHORTS • 235,125 spectators attended the recent Cheltenham Festival - a record 67,814 on Gold Cup day. • WBA have sacked Nicolas

Anelka for gross misconduct. • A record 80,000 Wembley crowd will watch the re-match between boxers Carl Froch and George Groves in May. • Novak Djokovic beat Roger Federer in the Indian Wells tennis final. Flavia Pennetta (Italy) defeated Agnieszka Radwanska (Poland) in the women’s event. • Mo Farah came second in last week’s New York half-marathon. • GB golfer Charley Hull (17) won the women’s LM Cup in Morocco. • Asked to donate a shirt and boots to raise money so that a young boy could brain operation, Cristiano Ronaldo did just that and also paid €50,000 for the operation itself. Absolutely great. • Exeter Chiefs beat Northampton Saints 15-8 in Rugby’s Anglo-Welsh Cup final. • Shaun Murphy won snooker’s Haikou World Cup in China. • Castleford made it five wins out of five with a 19-16 victory over Hull in Rugby’s Super League.

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Sport Mallorca’s best guide to local sport

LIONEL MESSI Barcelona’s record scorer of all-time. Turn to Page 47 TO READ MORE VISIT OUR WEBSITE: WWW.EUROWEEKLYNEWS.COM

Irish eyes are smiling, Chelsea and United get the blues, Nico wins F1

THERE was some great sporting action last week! * Brian O’Driscoll’s lastever game for Ireland ended in glory as they beat France 22-20 to pip England, 53-6 winners in Italy, on points to win the Six Nations title. In the other game, Wales battered Scotland 52-11. Victory was only Ireland’s

second in Paris - their last came in 2000. * In football, Aston Villa shocked PL leaders Chelsea 1-0. The Londoners had manager Mourinho and players William and Ramerez (with a leg breaking tackle) all sent-off. This result was great for Liverpool who are only four points behind the Blues

after winning 3-0 at Manchester United who had Nemanja Vidic redcarded again. Neighbours City (2-0 winners at Hull) are six points adrift of Chelsea with three games in hand, while Arsenal with a superb Rosicky goal, beat Spurs 1-0 in the London derby to keep well in touch. At the bottom of the Division, Fulham (1-0 v. Newcastle) and WBA (2-1 at Swansea) recorded vital victories while Sunderland and Crystal Palace drew 00 at The Stadium of Light. * In the Championship, Leicester (80 pts) and Burnley (73) look set to

return to the PL after beating Blackpool (3-1) and Leeds (2-1). Derby and QPR are 3rd and 4th on 63 pts. Wolves, unbeaten in 10 and having set a club record nine wins on the bounce, lead Brentford (77-76) in FL1; Chesterfield are top of FL2 ahead of Scunthorpe (66-65) and Rangers have already won SFL1. * Aberdeen won their first trophy in 19 years by beating Inverness Caledonian Thistle on penalties in the Turn to Page 47

1st 2014 winner Nico Rosberg won the first F1 Grand Prix of 2014, finishing 24 seconds in front of home favourite Daniel Ricciardo who was subsequently disqualified because of a fillingup irregularity. Danish debutant Kevin Magnussen, initially third, was promoted to second - the first rookie since Lewis Hamilton in 2007 to claim a podium finish. Jenson Button was third. Nico Rosberg