ISSUE NO. 1541
EWN FRONT EXTRA
Helping animals MOTRIL’S municipal animal pound, which became operational at the end of 2012, has rescued more than 1,000 animals. Out of those, 231 have been adopted by families and 325 by local associations.
Tax aid THE period in which to apply for land value tax aid for large families in Motril will be open until February 28. Up to 50 per cent of the tax could be discounted. More information at http: //www.almunecar. info.
Senior courses NERJA Cultural Centre will hold new courses for senior citizens, organised by the University of Malaga. Residents aged more than 55 years old will be able to take part from January 22.
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15 - 21 JANUARY 2015
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Nerja seeks Nymph and Clown King for carnival CARNIVAL season is around the corner and Nerja is kicking off preparations with the election of the King and Nymph of Carnival 2015. Those who would like to take the throne and become King – known as ‘Momo’ – and Nymph of Nerja wannabes have until February 10 to register. Participants will perform a fiveminute original extravaganza, using costumes, music, props and back-up dancers. Candidates are requested to be aged over 16 for the adult category and over eight years old
need parental or guardian permission. The king will receive the title of ‘Rey Momo’ (The Clown King) and a jury will assess the level of originality, quality of materials used in costumes and props, as well as overall performance. First prize for the adult category is €1,600, and €600 for the winner of the children’s category. The runners-up will win €1,200 and €450, while third prize will be €1,000 and €350, for the children’s category. photocopy of their DNI (Spanish respectively. The carnival will take place They will have to bring their identification). registration sheet, as well as a Those under 18 years old will between February 12 and 15, and was named ‘Festivity of Touristic Attraction’ by Malaga Provincial Council in 2013, as Nerja residents have turned of Islamist terrorists. of kilometres separate us, we will their carnival into one of The sad news has affected the hold each other’s hands,” said the the must-see events in town’s residents deeply, especially mayor the province. the large French community One of the victims was a resident Registrations can be currently residing in Almuñecar. of Livry-Gargan, a town twinned made at the Popular “Pain does not know about with Almuñecar since 1981, and Traditions office, Calle frontiers, because we all stand whose mayor has been sent a Cristo 12, first floor. More together against this horrible letter of condolence to express the information can be found attack, and even though thousands utmost support of all the residents. at http://www.nerja.es/
Almuñecar pays its respects MAYOR of Almuñecar, Trinidad Herrera Lorente, has sent a message to express her most sincere condolences to the families of the Charlie Hebdo victims. The act of terror has shaken France and the world; an attack which resulted in the deaths of 17 innocent people at the hands
E W N 15 - 21 January 2015 / Axarquía - Costa Tropical
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Credit to Manolo Blanco on flickr
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INDEX News 1 - 20 Finance 21 - 26 Letters 27 Leapy Lee 28 Daily TV 30 NERJA CAVES: One of the most important natural monuments of Spain.
Time Out 34 - 35 Health & Beauty 38 Pets 39 Services 42 - 43 Classifieds 44 - 45 Motoring 47 Sport 48
Nerja Cave’s 56th anniversary
JANUARY 12 marked the 56th anniversary of the day when one of the most important natural monuments of Spain was discovered. The Nerja Caves were discovered by five young men from Maro. Local residents had never dared to explore it, until January 12 in 1959, Francisco Navas, Manuel and Miguel Muñoz, Jose Luis Barbero and Jose Torres decided it was time to see it for themselves.
The young men, then aged between 13 and 21, opened the entrance with hammers and entered the cave, where they found two skeletons. Though they turned out to date from the Palaeolithic, the discoverers thought they were former explorers who had got trapped, so exited quickly. Only one year later, the Nerja Caves were announced an Artistic-Historic Monument and later, an Asset of Cultural Interest.
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Council help THE Velez-Malaga Council solved 15,755 incidents related to public spaces, services and electricity systems since 2012, when the app for incidents management Gecor was first launched on www.velezmalaga.es.
Rincon de la Victoria ‘trail’ NEXT Sunday (January 18), Rincon de la Victoria will hold the third edition of the Trail Challenge ‘La Capitana.’ The itinerary, which will cover 21km in approximately five hours, will travel paths around the town’s mountains. It is expected that more than 500 athletes will take part in this event, both professionals and amateurs.
“Everyone above 18-years-old is welcome to participate in a route in which they will be able to enjoy nature and sports at the same time, either walking or running,” said Sports councillor, Lydia Montes. This year, children aged between six and 14-years-old will also be able to participate on a route especially designed for them,
covering a distance of 1.5km, along the town’s beach. Their inscriptions will be free, but participants are requested to bring a kilo of food which will be donated. Applications for the adult category are €18 and can be made today (January 15) before 2pm at Triaworld (located at Avenida del Mediterraneo, 76) or online at www.triatlonmalaga.es. NASA ISS012E11144
Tropical innovation THE Subtropical and Mediterranean Fruit and Vegetables Institute ‘La Mayora’ of Axarquia has created apple custards with barely any seeds after 20 years of investigation. They will start being commercialised in a few years.
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Winner announced THE Salobreña Film Noir Festival poster contest will announce its winner today (January 15). The prize will be €500 and the festival is on between March 17 and 22.
Japanese musicians THE duet KaM Musik will hold a concert in La Herradura on Saturday (January 17) at 8pm in the town’s civic centre. Titled ‘Entre dos culturas’ (Between two cultures), it features both Spanish and Japanese music. Improved park PALM TREES at the Parque de los Pueblos de America have undergone cleaning and trimming works. In addition, new street lamps will be put in place shortly.
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Theatre play
ON Saturday (January 17) the Teatro del Carmen of VelezMalaga will host a play titled ‘Raices de Nuestra Tierra.’ It starts at 9pm and tickets are €12 from Palacio de Beniel (952 507 401) or Torre del Mar’s Tourism Office.
Families’ aid THE Provincial Council of Malaga will aid families with newborns or adopted children of towns with less than 5,000 inhabitants with €1,000. Towns such as Alcaucin, Villanueva del Rosario and Competa will benefit.
Mayor sued
Open daily THE Museo Picasso Malaga has announced it will be open every day of the year from 10am except December 25 and January 1 and 6. Senior workshops NERJA’S Senior Citizens will be able to take part in new workshops on literature, memory stimulation and natural therapies. More information can be requested at the Senior Citizens’ department in the town hall.
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SUCCESSFUL SEASON: The Sierra Nevada mountain range in southern Spain, as seen from the International Space Station.
So far so successful for Sierra Nevada
T
HE Sierra Nevada ski resort enjoyed its best Christmas season for five years, welcoming around 135,000 ski and snowboard enthusiasts over the holiday period. The resort - dubbed the “sunniest ski resort in Europe” - saw its average hotel occupancy rate reach 77 per cent during the Christmas break, with snow-seekers flocking to enjoy the pistes and apresski while gazing down on miles of sunny Andalucian coastline. The incredibly good weather throughout late December and early January resulted in 19 per cent more visitors making the trip to the resort than in the same period last year. Skiers like nothing more than whizzing down mountains under azure skies and dazzling sunlight, and Sierra Nevada offers a ‘sun ‘n snow’ experience unlike anywhere else.
Quote of the Week The existing mobility in the European Union is facilitating the movements (of jihadists) to any country and also to our country,’ said Interior Minister Jorge Fernandez Diaz, who wants border controls restored in the Schengen Zone in the aftermath of the terror attacks in France last week.
Throughout the break the resort kept as many pistes open as possible and it’s reported that around 27,000 visitors availed of the Mirlo Blanco family activity zone, complete with ice rink, toboggans, mini-ski and mini-snowboarding facilities. Given its popularity with families, the Three Kings even paid a visit this year, displaying their little-known but extremely impressive skiing skills. Depending on conditions, the season at Sierra Nevada can sometimes last until as late as early May, when it’s possible to ski in the morning and then make the trip down to the Costa del Sol to enjoy an afternoon swimming in the waters of the Mediterranean. As the height of the 2015 ski season is approaching, the resort can expect further good figures to complement its successful Christmas period.
CREDITlev radin / Shutterstock.com
Number of the week
35%
is the amount of Spaniards who ‘never’ or ‘hardly ever’ read books, with nearly half of this amount putting their lack of reading down to being ‘not interested,’ according to recent government research.
SIX Local Police officers of Albuñol have issued a lawsuit against the town’s former mayor, Juan Maria Rivas and a former councillor for allegedly exempting drivers from paying traffic fines and fining residents without a reason.
Pool problems THE Andalucian Party of VelezMalaga has voiced complaints, claiming the town’s indoor pool facilities are in bad condition due to lack of maintenance.
Carnival poster NERJA’S Exhibit Hall in Calle Cristo will display the Carnival Poster Contest entries until January 30, between 10am and 2pm and from 5.30pm to 9pm. Winner will receive €300.
Museum success MORE than 15,000 have visited Velez-Malaga’s Contemporary Art Centre ‘Francisco Hernandez’ between its inauguration in September of 2013 and September of 2014.
And finally... A FAMILY in the UK got a shock when they found a live gecko in a pack of supermarket broccoli. The lizard had survived a journey from Spain, a spell on the shelves of Sainsbury’s in Powys, Wales, and four days in the Martin family shed, before they discovered him. The Martin’s are keeping the gecko and have named him ‘Broc.’
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Region promises funds for Salobreña Castle renovations THE Junta de Andalucia regional government will continue to pay for the renovation works of the Salobreña Arabic Castle. Representative Manuel Morales, who recently visited the historic site, has promised that the regional government will take care of funding for the works during 2015. Archaeological discoveries made during NEW FACILITIES: Salobreña Castle, Granada.
Our View
EWN: Yo soy Charlie T
HE tragic events in Paris last week have served to conjure up all sorts of conflicting emotions in right-minded people. As events unfolded, we were – in a short space of time – shocked, saddened, bewildered, angered and dismayed, not just at the horrible events that were taking place in France but at the mind-set of the terrorists carrying out the awful atrocities that left 17 innocent people dead. These were people who were going about their daily business but were never to return home because of the distorted, radicalised views of a handful of brainwashed murderers. We have unfortunately seen this type of thing before: in New York and Washington in 2001, in Madrid in 2004 and in London in 2005, not
to mention the countless acts of violence committed in the name of Islam every day in the Middle East, Africa and elsewhere. The fear in the West is that more and more ‘lone wolves’ will arm themselves and kill innocent people indiscriminately in the name of religion. The threat that the world faces in this age – from large scale attacks to this newer individual form of terrorism – is a constant worry, but we cannot let these jihadists and bullies ruin our way of life. We are all entitled to our own beliefs despite being branded ‘infidels’ by those who would have it otherwise. The Charlie Hebdo attack and its aftermath has saddened the world, and as we try to come to terms with this latest horrific act of terrorism, we at the EWN are proud to say: ‘Yo soy Charlie.’
the execution of the works have forced the regional government to expand the budget originally set aside for this project. In addition, it is necessary to adapt the facilities at the site and provide the amenities which will turn it into a major tourism point, as well as creating a museum project. Mr Morales stressed the importance of these new projects, aimed at adding to the Costa Tropical’s tourist attractions and reducing
the seasonality of tourism, as the region not only offers quality beaches, but also a rich historical heritage. A total of €598,000 – 60 per cent of the budget – has been paid for by the region’s Sustainable Tourism Intiative (ITS), and 40 per cent has been paid by the town’s council. In 2015, 19 projects will be carried out around the Costa Tropical, with a budget of more than €1 million paid for by local governments and a private company.
Senior citizens’ cards ready to use THOSE who applied for the Senior Citizen Card can now collect them at the second floor of Nerja’s Town Hall. The card, which can be picked up from Mondays to Fridays between 10.30am and 2pm, is designed to encourage access to cultural activities and sports and entertainment
services, offering discounts and free events. Retirees who have lived in Nerja for at least four years can apply at the Oficina del Registro de Entrada, with a photocopy of their DNI or passport, a document proving that they are retired (if they are aged between 60 and 64), and a padron certificate.
Road surfacing plan will improve 16 Motril streets WITH a budget of €141,000 paid for by the council, a new asphalting project has been designed to upgrade Motril’s connections and improve drivers’ safety. Mayor of the town, Luisa Garcia Chamorro, explained that the works will start during the first three months of the year, and will cover a total of 16 streets.
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High cost of roadworks THE PSOE socialist party of Almuñecar has voiced complaints regarding the €20,000 spent on renovation works of the town’s entrance roundabout. They claimed it should have been used on social aid programmes.
Child’s play SALOBREÑA’S cultural calendar will resume next Saturday (January 17) with a children’s theatre play titled ‘En Busca del Dragon Verde’ (In Search of the Green Dragon), which will take place in the municipal auditorium at 6pm, with a price of €4.
Light up NINE new light projectors have been placed in the fountain located in Nerja’s Plaza de Cantarero. The new devices change colours constantly and have contributed to improving the square’s appearance.
Art exhibition THE art centre La Termica in Malaga has started off 2015 with an exhibition on John Lennon and Yoko Ono titled ‘Give Peace a Chance.’ It will be inaugurated on January 23 and run until March 23.
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January and divorces Divorcing in Spain DIVORCE proceedings can be initiated unilaterally by one of the spouses and there is no need to state a reason for the divorce. In cases where the spouses have different nationalities, are resident in different countries and/or got married in a third country, it might be tricky to determine if you can get divorced in Spain and which national law will govern the divorce. EU directive 1259/2010 gives a clear and sensible procedure for determining the place of divorce and the applicable law. In general the divorce can be filed in Spain if: • Both spouses are Spanish nationals wherever
In legal circles January is nicknamed ‘divorce month.’ Statistics in western countries are showing that January is by far the month of the year with the highest amount of legal breakups. they are residents. • The plaintiff is a Spanish national and resident in Spain. • Both spouses are foreign nationals and residents in Spain. • The defendant is a foreign national and resident in Spain. Filing for divorce in Spain In our experience a specific power of attorney on behalf of a lawyer and the agreement signed by both spouses (‘convenio regulador’ in Spanish), will save time to both parties as
they will be able to live in different addresses as from the signing, and in most of the cases they won’t even need to go to court to ratify it. No need to follow separation proceedings before divorce, the only requirement is that they have been married for more than three months. A divorce by mutual agreement is most of the time the best option. Documents you need to provide to your lawyer: 1. Certificate of enrolment on the town census (‘Certificado de empadrona-
miento’) of at least one of the spouses, or residency certificate. 2. If the marriage was celebrated in Spain, a marriage certificate (‘Certificado literal de matrimonio’), issued within the last three months by the Spanish Civil Registry. If the marriage was celebrated abroad, an Original Marriage certificate, if possible the international one, which will save you the endorsement with an apostille (Hague Convention for the legalisation of documents) and the translation by an official translator.
3. Birth certificates of the children, if any from the marriage. Equally, unless they are the international ones, these have to be endorsed and translated. 4. A copy of the separation sentence should be provided, if applicable. 5. Premarital agreements if any. If the agreement was signed abroad, then it also has to be endorsed and officially translated. 6. An inventory of the matrimonial assets and documents accrediting debts. A Spanish lawyer with experience in international family law will be able to assist you, and determine if it is to your advantage to be divorced in Spain.
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Seasonal success THE hotel occupancy rate in Nerja during the Christmas holiday period outperformed the average for Spain, reaching 75 per cent. Between December 24 and 31, the national average for hotel occupancy was 57.4 per cent, much lower than the town’s figure. In addition, the Tourism Office of Nerja recorded 1,533 visits during this period, mostly by British citizens, followed by Spanish, German, Swedish and French tourists.
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PSOE call for cleanup at illegal rubbish dump THE PSOE socialist party of Rincon de la Victoria has reported the existence of an illegal rubbish dump at the entrance of the town. The dump is causing health problems for those living in the area and on Calle Lechin, and asbestos has also been found in its surroundings, according to party spokesperson Encarnacion Anaya. The illegal dump is situated in the area of Calle Manuel Lopez Fernandez, and Ms Anaya added that the local football field is located nearby, which is also causing alarm
PSOE Rincon de la Victoria website
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HEALTH RISK: The socialist party also reports asbestos has been found. among parents. PSOE are calling on the mayor of Rincon de la Victoria,
Francisco Salado, to have the area cleaned and a fence put up.
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Quiet Christmas for police LOCAL POLICE in Nerja expressed their satisfaction at the lack of incidents over the Christmas season. Head of the Local Police department, Jose Miguel Garcia, said that between December 20 and January 6, the station received 186 calls, and only five on New Year’s Eve. For several nights they did not receive any calls at all. Mr Garcia added that most of the calls were related to minor incidents, or enquiries, and only three fights in public spaces were registered. “The lack of incidents is particularly meaningful if we take into account all the events that have taken place during the season, such as the Three Kings parade, the New Year’s Eve party or the concert by pop singer Abraham Mateo,” said Mr Garcia.
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Rolling Stones portraits by artist from Axarquia
PALOMA’S GALLERY ON FACEBOOK
IT’S not every 11-year-old who can say that they have been commissioned to paint a portrait of a Rolling Stone member… by another member of the world famous band. But this is exactly what happened to young Paloma Newbould from Algarrobo. Having already created portraits of rock legends Charlie Watts and Ronnie Wood from the Rolling
Stones, Paloma combines her art work with her sixth year studies of the Primary School in Caleta de Velez. Her interest in painting rock stars stems from a family connection: Paloma is the niece of drummer Charlie Watts. Her father is the ex-husband of Watts’ wife’s sister. Back in June of 2013, the young artist attended a concert of the legendary
rock band in London, were she was able to give Watts the painting she had done. She explained her inspiration had come from an old picture, taken 30 years ago, so the painting depicts a much younger Watts. The Rolling Stones were completely taken with Paloma’s talent, and Watts challenged her to paint guitar player Ronnie Wood, which she did so brilliantly. “It was an honour for me to paint these pieces for two of the Rolling Stones’ members,” said Paloma. In June of last year the band performed in Madrid and she was again given the chance to give her creation to Wood and spend a while with the band backstage, where she PALOMA: With her painting of Ronnie Wood.
was able to take pictures with all four members, including Mick Jagger.
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NEWS EXTRA
Second silver THE Almuñecar table tennis player Lucia Lopez, was announced runner-up in the Andalucian Championship, being the second year in a row that she takes the silver medal.
Law proposal THE Municipal group Andalucian Convergence of Almuñecar announced they will present a proposal to make the Public Transparency law of Andalucia stricter.
€82,000 due MAYOR of Motril Luisa Garcia Chamorro has claimed that the Junta de Andalucia regional government owes more than €82,000 to the town council for its OAP day-care centres.
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Positive tourism results for Motril during 2014 MOTRIL enjoyed a great year for tourism during 2014, new data shows. Seventy thousand people visited the area last year, with 70 per cent of those visits from Spaniards, and
six out of 10 visitors from Andalucia. British visitors accounted for 26 per cent of all visits, followed by France (24 per cent) and Germany (13 per cent).
Nerja’s time bank launched A ‘TIME BANK’ has been launched in Nerja for all residents who are willing to share their time with others and get free services in return. Using an hour as currency, a time bank is an exchange service in which one hour of a person’s free work is registered in a ticket, which can be exchanged for a service he or she needs.
These services include senior citizen care, administrative management, tai chi classes, carpentry and pet sitting, amongst others. The initiative has been created by the Citizens’ Participation department, presided over by Sandra Jimena, who stressed it was conceived to contribute to positive attitudes amongst the citizens, and
Motril mayor, Luisa Garcia Chamorro, praised the recent tourism data and stressed that the average hotel occupancy during the last year was 56.7 per cent. During the third quarter, which
corresponded to the high season, hotel occupancy was 82.5 per cent, while during low season (last three months of the year) the occupancy stood at 39.3 per cent. “We enjoy very stable occupancy figures, as other towns reach an average of only 33 per cent, a number which we have surpassed by far, thanks to our great climate and the highest temperatures of the country during the season,” said the mayor. A survey conducted amongst tourists showed that 29 per cent of them had chosen Motril thanks to the recommendations of family or friends who had already visited the town. The level of satisfaction NERJA RESIDENTS: Helping others for help in return. shown in the survey was to boost cooperation, Participation office in Calle given as ‘excellent’ and 96 sharing and solidarity. Cristo, and an appointment per cent confirmed that To be a volunteer, you to discuss what services they would return to the town in the future. can register at the Citizens’ they can offer. CHRUPKA ON SHUTTERSTOCK
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A range of activities on offer for women THE women’s centre in Almuñecar has opened registration for courses aimed at women who wish to learn about website design. In Almuñecar, courses started
Better beach lighting WORKS have begun to improve the lighting installations in the La Torrecilla beach area. With a budget of €40,000, paid for by Malaga Provincial Council, the project will cover the area between Plaza de los Cangrejos and El Chucho beach. Head of Beaches Department, Nieves Atencia, explained that the project would not only improve the lighting in the area, but also cut electricity consumption. This will be achieved by replacing 40 streetlamps with others that rely on LED technology, thereby reducing the watts consumed from 100 or 150 down to 50.
Hiking returns to Salobreña SALOBREÑA’S hiking programme will resume this year with a route between the Acebuchal and the Cerro del Caballo. Participants are to depart on January 31 at 8am, from the Plaza del Ingenio to the Acebuchal, where the route will begin. The route is expected to cover a distance of 34 kilometres and will last until around 6pm. Those interested can find out more and sign up by phoning 95 253 44 83 or 650 956 033.
last Monday (January 12), between 5pm and 7pm, at the Women’s Centre, located at the Social Services Centre in Barrio La Paloma. In La Herradura, the course
will start on January 19, with the same schedule, and will take place at the Civic Centre. In addition, on January 20 at 11am, a talk on diabetes will be held in the events hall at the
Social Services Centre. The event is free until seating capacity is reached. These add to the monthly variety of activities offered by the centres, both in Almuñecar and
La Herradura, including crafts, Pilates, Zumba, aerobics, Yoga, dance, meditation and Spanish for foreigners. For more information and registration, call 958 635 006.
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FEATURE
A heated debate over W MANY expatriates in Spain are crying foul after the UK Government axed winter fuel payments. Chancellor George Osborne has decided to apply a ‘temperature test’ to entire countries to see which pensioners should get the payment. Spain is one of those
Thermostat means-testing WHEN the Winter Fuel Allowance was first introduced in 1997, I assumed that I was excluded. At first I was too young and once I reached pensionable age I still believed I didn’t qualify as I had paid tax and National Insurance for such a short time back in the 60s. By the time I realised that I was entitled to it, the opportunity was snatched from under my nose. But was I morally entitled to claim that £200? Fortunately, Messrs Cameron, Osborne and Duncan Smith spared me that dilemma by telling me I’m not going to get it anyway.
Most of us who chose to live in this country did so because it promised more affordable living and an enhanced quality of life, which says little for the mother country and its pitiful state pensions. The Winter Fuel Allowance is a pension right, not a handout, and if the proceeds from our National Insurance contributions were used wisely, there would not be a shortage of funds. How dare Smith and his profligate pals refer to these payments as an obscene waste of taxpayers’ money! We have been, and many still are, UK taxpayers. With most retired expats retaining the right to vote in the UK elections, but the majority not bothering, we pose little threat to the government and are therefore seen as a soft target.
Expats are seen as a soft target
We’re not all in this together!
COLIN BIRD I WRITE this with radiators full on and a steaming mug of rumenhanced coffee at my elbow. Does Tory millionaire George Iain Duncan Smith (plain George Smith if he hadn’t had grandiose pretentions) not realise that even in Spain, the late afternoon temperatures drop significantly, and prolonged heating is very much required? Obviously not. Have the British Consulates, whose staff are aware of this fact, lobbied on our behalf? Doubtful.
FUEL PAYMENTS: Iain Duncan Smith says they are a waste of taxpayers’ money.
KEEPING WARM: In many areas of Spain, especially those inland, temperatures can drop to below freezing.
NORA JOHNSON SO, with the loss of the Winter Fuel Allowance, all those pensioners who, over the years, paid taxes and NI contributions thereby helping to pay for hospitals, schools, nurses, teachers, etc - will lose a little help towards the costs of keeping themselves warm in winter here in Spain. Just because they move to a CORDON PRESS
CASSANDRA NASH
that fails the test. A spokesman from the UK’s Department of Works and Pensions confirmed to the Euro Weekly News that the current payments are the last expatriates in Spain will be able to claim. From September 2015 they will have lost their
cheaper and/or warmer country to live shouldn’t mean their entitlements are summarily cut. Unlike those who stay behind, pensioners who live abroad make no demands on the UK for medical expenses, local services, welfare, etc, yet many still pay tax to the UK Government through their pensions. Indeed, research by the pressure group, Oxford Economics, found that emigrating pensioners save the Government £2.3 billion (€2.95 billion) a year in social care costs. Seems we’re not all in this together! With the NHS currently on life support and a General Election looming, it’s clear the Government needs to make savings somewhere. But it’s also clear it could save a lot more if it stopped all handouts to those who aren’t entitled to be in the country – particularly child benefit payments for children who don’t actually live in the UK.
Hey Britain! It does get cold in Spain IAIN DEMPSEY AS a 30-something-year-old Irishman living on the Costa del Sol, the decision to abolish the Winter Fuel Allowance for UK expats is one that (thankfully) doesn’t affect me. But my sympathies do lie with those who will no longer receive their payments as a result of Iain Duncan Smith’s decision. Contrary to popular belief and British tabloid spoutings, the Costa del Sol does get cold during the winter months, particularly at night. While the sun can and often does remain warm during the day, it may come as a shock to those in the British
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Winter Fuel Allowance eligibility. He said: “The regulations have been laid in Parliament and will become law.” Designed to help with the cost of winter heating in the chilly UK, critics said people in warmer climes should not receive it. It has caused much controversy over the years, but
one thing is certain, for many people losing the cash payment of between £100 and £300 (€128 to €385) will be a blow. In this special Euro Weekly News report we asked people in the street what they thought of the move, and some of our columnists give their personal opinion.
COMMENTS FROM THE COMMUNITY We have paid all our taxes for over 40 years in England. In Spain the only benefits we are entitled to are with healthcare as we are pensioners. Anybody going to England from other countries seems to be entitled to everything from the word go. It DOES get cold. We do have frosts.’ Patricia Stooks, Aljambra, Albox, Almeria It’s like giving a child pocket money to save up for something to enjoy later and then, when the time comes to spend it, taking it away again. Totally unfair. Next they will be deducting their pensions!’ Lisa Sadleir, Mijas, Malaga It seems totally reasonable that I do not get any allowance here in Spain. I have chosen (15 years ago) to leave the UK. I think their resources should be spent IN the UK on the National Health, which seems at bursting point.’ Steve Hall, Fuengirola I have a problem with the Government’s decision to penalise many of us who have paid in to receive benefits when they retired, to possibly use this money to pay out to many people who have never contributed at all.’ L Clarke, Costa Blanca
Paying winter fuel payments to British expat pensioners in Spain is NOT offensive - it is their right.’ Sandra Piddock, Algorfa, Costa Blanca We would like Iain Duncan Smith to come and live with us for a week in January while we switch off the heating! Our nearest town is Chirivel in Almeria at an altitude greater than the top of Mount Snowdon!’ Tina Charles, Chirivel, Almeria I would say approximately 90 per cent of our purchasers do not ask for or know what an Energy Performance Certificate is, and the results on the efficiency of a property do not form part of their decision process. So I take from this that the clients do not put heating/energy saving as a priority on their property purchase. However, I really feel for the people who are losing the allowance.’ Sharon Garner, Director, Spanish Property Choice I feel that people who have moved to a warmer clime should stand on their own two feet. Why should they be supported by the UK Government? Maybe it would be fairer if it was means-tested so people on the breadline got some help.’ Phil Langley, Director PLC Inter-Communications advertising and marketing
A slim chance of a reversal THERE is a possible loophole in the Statutory Instrument, the piece of legislation that the British Government used to take away the Winter Fuel Allowance. There is a parliamentary technique, which is rarely used, to halt the implementation of the Statutory Instrument, otherwise known as a ‘prayer’. It must be activated within 40 days of tabling of the Statutory Instrument. In order to have a chance of overturning the Statutory Instrument, the clerk must receive a large number of submissions, then action may be taken to stop the implementation. You must send an email to The Clerk, Work and Pensions Committee, workpencom@parliament.uk at outlining your objection to the Winter Fuel Allowance Statutory Instrument and asking for it to be annulled.
Have your say Is your blood boiling at the axing of the Winter Fuel Allowance? Or do you think it was the right thing to do? Let us know your views by sending an email to editorial@euroweeklynews.com. Parliament that it is not sunny all the time in Spain, particularly in inland areas and those at higher altitudes. From personal experience, I know what it’s like to shiver at home at night during the winter in a Spanish home that isn’t built to withstand the cold. Sure, most of the year it’s roasting, but come late November the temperatures drop and though it may not be as cold as it is in the UK, heating is definitely needed until at least early March. And that heating is expensive, be it central heating, hot air conditioning or fuel for fires. I can only imagine how much colder it can feel to an elderly person, a person who has paid their UK taxes and has the right to live in a warm home.
The problem is much bigger MIKE WALSH BRITAIN’S Foreign Aid bill this year is expected to rise to £11.3 billion (€14.5 billion). Foreign ‘Aid’ buys into products and services in which the elite have a financial interest; it is a misnomer for governmentapproved money laundering. Britain’s oil-based wealth is 19th on the world scale. Norway, drawing on similar oil fields, is not far ahead. The Norse nation has so much oil-related wealth its problem is how to spend it. Norway has no national debt. Britain is one of the most indebted countries in the world. Britain ranks shockingly high in social
deprivation, crime, abysmal educational performance, child poverty, and a ramshackle transport infrastructure. The British pension is the lowest in Europe save that of Latvia. The problem is far more than pensioners being deprived of their paltry heating allowance. Nothing will change until we wake up to the fact that Britain and its wealth are managed by one of the most corrupt and inept pseudo-democratic regimes in the developed world. We either change or change will be thrust upon us.
No choice at all DILIP KUNER IT is a bit rich for the UK Government to say that pensioners living in Spain somehow don’t deserve a winter fuel
payment. Take the example of my retired father. His home in Mijas has gas cooking and solar heated hot water. His electricity bills still come in at more than €240 a time. He also spends €100 a month on wood at this time of the year for the one open fire in his house. And that is a necessity, not a luxury. Now he may well have to economise on wood even if that means going cold. If not, something else will have to go. And what else is there? Food? Clothes? Thousands of expatriates will face the same choice that is really no choice at all. Isn’t that why the payment was originally brought in, to stop people in that position from having to make such a decision? So why should British citizens living in Spain have to choose to stay warm or not, whilst those back in the UK don’t have to? The cradle-to-grave promise of the UK Social Security system would appear not to apply if you live in Spain.
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New day centre for senior citizens LA HERRADURA will soon see the opening of a new daycare centre for senior citizens. Costing more than €12,000, the facility is being created with the aim of improving the quality of life of La Herradura’s senior community. The new centre will offer a variety of workshops around health and wellbeing, including stimulation for Alzheimer’s patients, and others aimed at improving physical health, self-
NEWS EXTRA
Classic play THE Casa de la Cultura of Cala del Moral will host next Saturday (January 17) the theatre play ‘La Venganza de Don Mendo,’ starting at 8pm. Tickets are €10. More information on 952 978 329.
Year’s budget NEW SERVICE: Sited at the former pediatric clinic. esteem and social skills. The centre will be located in Calle Alhambra, and anyone interested in finding out more about the
services on offer can register at the Civic Centre on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays, between 10am and 1pm.
Sustainable tourism plan THE town of Canillas de Albaida will inaugurate a new tourism office on January 30.
NEWS
Taking a budget of €50,000 and three years of work, the opening of the office is part of the Sustainable Tourism Initiative launched by the Commonwealth of Costa del Sol-Axarquia municipalities. “We hope to boost the town’s economy, as well
as activities such as outdoor sports,” said head of the Tourism department, Gustavo Romero. Canillas de Albaida is seeking to become a key point for tourists and hikers in this particular region of Andalucia, according to Mr Romero.
Theatre to hold 2016 awards VELEZ-MALAGA is to host the prestigious National Sports Gala. Stars from the world of Spanish sport will gather in the Lope De Vega Theatre in March 2016 for the awards ceremony. Sports councillor, Jesus Lupiañez, and head of the regional Sports department, Juan Jesus Bernal, along with the National Conference of Sports Press, announced that the event will be held in Velez-Malaga. The Lope De Vega Theatre is scheduled to undergo renovations this year, with a budget of €1.2 million paid for by the
Malaga Provincial Council. “Our town will be able to enjoy one of the most important national sports events,” said mayor of Velez-Malaga, Francisco Delgado Bonill. “Velez-Malaga will be up to the expectations of this agreement, I want to thank the Spanish Sports Press Association for choosing us as the setting of this awards which will feature the most outstanding Spanish athletes.” Head of the organising event association, Julian Redondo, expressed his satisfaction at the council’s preparations for the 36th edition of the event.
TORROX’S annual budget has been approved by the Junta de Andalucia regional government, with a total of more than €18 million to spend on projects, and income of €19 million.
New hours at registry SALOBREÑA’S Peace Court and Civil Registry will now assist citizens from Monday to Friday between 12pm and 1pm. Appointments can be made by calling 951 70 76 59.
Historic exhibition A NEW photography exhibition held at the Historical Municipal Archive in VelezMalaga will feature local associations during the democratic period. It will remain open for three months.
Nerja’s new councillors NERJA’S Sport and Public Works departments have welcomed new councillors. Gema Garcia and Nieves Atencia have accepted positions, while Jose Alberto Tome will be head of the Public Services department.
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Children take over town hall MOTRIL Town Hall will be receiving some very special visitors over the next three months, with more than 1,000 schoolchildren set to visit the council for guided visits and to learn how the council works. Mayor of the town, Luisa Garcia Chamorro, has already received the first group of little visitors; children from the first year of the Virgen de la Cabeza Primary school. The visits will start at the central patio, where the pupils will be taught about
NEWS EXTRA
Fruity award THE PP conservative party of Almuñecar will award head of the Andalucian PP, Juanma Moreno, with the ‘Golden Custard Apple,’ in recognition of his works for the community and the party.
Martial arts COUNCIL VISITS: Children learn about the facilities. the council’s different operations. Later, they will be taken to the Plenary Chamber to learn about
the room where citizens’ interests are represented. Finally, the children will visit the ‘Protocol Room’.
Culture course launches A COURSE entitled ‘Creation and consolidation of businesses in the cultural and creative field’ will be
NEWS
held in Velez-Malaga. Councillor for Business and Employment, Lourdes Piña, conducted the
introductory event in which she explained that the course will take place between January 12 and March 16, and that it is included in a programme paid for by the European Social Fund. The course is aimed at training participants to design and direct cultural proposals, the development of skills which will help to predict societal changes, the knowledge of cultural processes and worldwide trends, as well as encouraging the development of new technologies. Those interested in participating can call 693 783 028 or request information at lmartinez@ consultoracultural.com.
THE Taekwondo Championship of Andalucia was held in Rincon de la Victoria for the first time last Sunday (January 11). It was held in the Municipal Sports Centre and attracted more than 500 participants.
Chess champ THE winner of the first International Chess competition of Almuñecar was Juan Pedro Cordon from Huelva, while the runner up was Motril resident Andres Sanchez Martinez. The event was held between January 9 and 11 in the Hotel Helios.
Hiking fun MORE than 30 hikers from Almuñecar took part in the first hike along a route called ‘The Fishermen Route,’ organised by the town’s council, which departed from the city of Granada.
Redevelopment in Velez-Malaga THE redevelopment work at Calle Pilar de San Roque in Velez-Malaga started last Monday (January 12). The street connects the Camino de Algarrobo with the roundabout of the former Post Office. With a budget of just over €152,000, it is expected to be completed in five months. The work will cover the renovation of the water supply, sewage, electricity and telephone systems. In addition, the area will be made more accessible for people with disabilities, with the renovation of pavements.
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E W N 15 - 21 January 2015 / Axarquía - Costa Tropical COSTA DE ALMERÍA
Almeria pilgrimage THOUSANDS of people participated in this year’s Torregarcia pilgrimage. Fifty police, five firefighters and 15 civil protection officers were on hand to support the walkers on their journey.
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VICAR has released its population figures for 2014. Although the population dropped to 24,391 at the end of 2013, it has now increased to 24,739 with native and foreign residents.
MORE than 20,000 people attended the Three Kings in Roquetas, one of the largest in the province. Councillor for Sports and Leisure, Jose Juan Rubi, called the event the best yet.
Sun centre reopens TABERNAS solar centre has reopened its doors. The centre is used for solar research and utilised by schools, colleges and universities. The latest visitors were from the University of Jaen.
COSTA BLANCA NORTH
Italian job AN investigation into the history behind Villajoyosa streets has revealed that the town was an entry port for pilgrims to Santiago de Compostela in Galicia. It was used chiefly by Italian travellers.
Long ship UNDERWATER excavations have found that a wrecked Roman galley off Villajoyosa is bigger than originally believed. It is 33.5 metres long, seven metres more than first calculated, with a nine-metre beam.
Fast work CALPE was chosen for the 2015 presentation of Belgian cycling team Etixx-Quick Step. The team, which includes British sprinter Mark Cavendish, hopes to surpass last year’s 68 victories.
Freewheeling CLIENTS of San Vicente’s bike-sharing service used it 21,534 times in 2014. The free scheme was introduced in 2007 as a
Reinforced security
Giving up
More greenery
Kings’ crowds
construction project would amount to €5 million. The boutique hotel would include 42 rooms, a spa, a car park and a restaurant.
SECURITY was increased at Balearic airports, ports and in areas where large crowds are not uncommon in the wake of the fatal shootings in Paris during the terrorist attacks against the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo and a Jewish supermarket.
Population increase
BENAHADUX now has an additional 450 aleppo pines and 1,000 herbs, including thyme, lavender and rosemary, in its rural areas as part of an initiative spearheaded by the Junta de Andalucia regional government.
NEWS DESK
PEACEFUL: French residents met to denounce terrorist violence.
French-speakers unite to honour Paris dead MARINA BAJA’S French-speaking association took to the streets in memory of France’s victims of terrorism. They congregated in Benidorm’s Plaza de Sus Majestades los Reyes de España to denounce terrorism and show support for Charlie Hebdo magazine. More than 300 people formed a circle and observed a one-minute silence in honour of their fellow countrymen who sustainable alternative to driving, the town hall said.
Seasonal cheer THE 22 per cent difference between Benidorm’s high and low season occupancy was a further indicator of economic recovery when compared with 2013’s 27 per cent difference, hoteliers have claimed.
COSTA BLANCA SOUTH
All shook up NO damage was reported following an earthquake that shook the Vega Baja with a magnitude of 3.2 on the Richter Scale. The epicentre was in Los Montesinos.
New president THE PP in Orihuela has appointed Jose Francisco Perez as their new interim president, following the expulsion of Pepa Ferrando after refusing to vote in an anticorruption motion.
were slaughtered in the two Paris attacks. A manifesto was read out in defence of democracy and freedom of speech. The act concluded with the singing of ‘La Marseillaise’ (French National Anthem) with ‘Je suis Charlie’ placards held aloft, together with outsized pencils symbolising freedom of speech and the press.
Busy city TOURIST occupation in Murcia grew by 19 per cent in 2014, with the city receiving 478,000 overnight stays last year.
Year of weddings SANTA POLA has set a new record for weddings with an average of 30 civil ceremonies being officiated each month in 2014 in the town, thanks in part to the speed of issuing the paperwork and ceremony date.
Channel rescue TWO police officers helped rescue a man and prevent a possible drowning. The man had fallen into the irrigation channel in Beniel, Orihuela.
MALLORCA
Luxury hotel INVESTORS are making plans to build a luxury hotel in Palma Port. The cost of the
THE university dropout rate on the islands is the highest in Spain with 19.9 per cent of students leaving their courses for good before graduation. The unemployment rate among Balearic university graduates is an estimated 12.2 per cent.
Corruption case PUBLIC Safety Councillor Guillermo Navarro and the Chief of Local Police in Palma Joan Miquel Mut testified before a judge on Tuesday (January 13) for their alleged involvement in a police corruption case.
COSTA DEL SOL
Runaway ship A SHIP has disappeared from Malaga Port. The Mayak, which was caught 30 miles south of Malaga carrying almost 17 tonnes of hash last March, cut its ties and left port without authorisation, leaving a debt of €3,000.
Smuggled tobacco TWO people were arrested for smuggling and 7,900 packets of illegal tobacco confiscated by Guardia Civil officers in San Roque.
Fewer jobless MARBELLA Council announced that there were 908 fewer unemployed people registered in the town at the end of 2014 than at the end of the year before.
Medical improvements MALAGA’S Carlos Haya and Clinico hospitals have received updates valued at almost €800,000 to high-resolution angiograph and magnetic resonance equipment, which specially trained staff use to diagnose thousands of patients each year.
Guide training MALAGA Cathedral is to give training courses to tourist guides to ensure they have sufficient knowledge to explain the important characteristics of the city’s first Christian temple to visitors.
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S CANDINAVIAN P RESS
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Stories making headlines in Europe
Sales slump forces Tesco to close 43 stores
DENMARK - Denmark has been ranked by Forbes Magazine as the best country in the world for doing business.
TESCO is to shut down 43 of its stores across the country, including its head office, following a sharp slump in sales over the Christmas period. The supermarket chain also plans to cut jobs and sell off parts of its business.
Wind power
Driving sales
DENMARK - 2014 was a record year for Danish wind energy, with 39 per cent of the country’s electricity covered by wind power.
THE sale of new cars in the UK hit a 10-year high during 2014. In total, 2.47 million new cars were registered last year, which is up 9 per cent on 2013 and the best annual performance since 2004.
Drink problem
Prices rising
DENMARK - One in five Copenhageners has an alcohol dependency problem, according to a health report drafted by the city.
Rare find SWEDEN - A team of Swedish archaeologists has discovered a rare 2,500year-old wall painting depicting two Egyptian gods in a quarry south of Cairo.
Luxury home SWEDEN - Minecraft creator Markus Persson has bought a Beverly Hills mansion for $70 million (€59.5 million), the highest price ever paid for a home in the area.
Slacking off
HOUSE prices in the UK rose by nearly 8 per cent during 2014, according to Halifax. The average price of a home in Britain now stands at £188,858 (€241,744), up £14,600 (€18,688) on 2013 prices.
Too expensive A SURVEY has revealed that a fifth of parents would consider quitting their jobs or slashing
PRO-RUSSIA computer hackers have claimed to be behind a recent attack on German government websites, including the website of Chancellor Angela Merkel. They demanded Berlin end support for the Ukrainian government.
Photo: Steven Depolo
GERMANY is receiving more asylum applications than any other country according to the UN. Nearly a fifth of asylum seekers are from wartorn Syria.
Bomb scare SHOWERING: Brits take on average 227 showers per year.
Bath or shower? A THIRD of all Britons take only four or less baths each year, despite three-quarters of people having a bath in their home. New research shows the average person in the UK has 227 showers a year.
allowing foreign citizens to serve in the Russian army and Interior Ministry troops on condition that they can speak Russian and have no criminal record.
Rugby coach
Less workers
BILLIONS SPENT: Christmas shopping in Norway.
THE Berlin Senate believes that up to 3,000 unexploded Second World War bombs could be buried in the German capital’s earth.
Queen’s visit THE Queen of England and Prince Philip have announced a state visit to Germany in June 2015. It will be their first visit to the country since 2004.
Berlin support
Foreign soldiers
Big spenders
A RECENT survey shows that 57 per cent of Germans feel that Islam is a threat in the country. Numbers attending anti-Muslim rallies have increased recently.
Asylum seekers
THE Russian rugby team has announced Alexander Pervukhin as the new head coach. He takes over from Frenchman Raphael Saint-Andre, PRESIDENT Vladimir Putin has signed a decree who has been in charge of the team since May 2014. The team narrowly missed out on Photo: Jon Olav Eikenes qualifying for this year’s World Cup.
SWEDEN - Research has found that Swedes spend on average two hours per day at work ‘slacking off’ by surfing the net or chatting with friends online.
NORWAY - Shoppers spent more than NOK 50 billion (€5.5 billion) in the lead up to Christmas between December 1 and December 25.
their hours to look after their children because of high childcare costs. Costs have risen by 30 per cent since 2010.
RUSSIAN PRESS Hacking Germany
GERMAN PRESS Islam threat
BRITISH PRESS Business leader
EUROPEAN PRESS
MORE than 1,000 people attended a rally in Berlin to show their support for the victims of the Charlie Hebdo killings in Paris. Berlin politicians expressed their sympathy with France.
Factory orders INDUSTRIAL orders in Germany dropped by 2.4 per cent in November 2014, but experts have insisted that the trend will not continue.
United front
THE flow of migrant workers to Russia dropped by 70 per cent in the first week of January compared with 2014. The fall has been put down to the devaluation of the ruble and the difficulty in finding jobs.
DURING her recent visit to Britain, Chancellor Angela Merkel said that she and British PM David Cameron were united on a whole range of policy issues.
Asian tourism
Google faves
RUSSIA saw a boost in Asian tourism in 2014, but had less visitors from Europe and the USA. Tourism from China, Japan and South Korea rose in the first nine months of last year thanks to the weakening of the ruble.
THE most Googled terms made by Germans during 2014 were ‘World Cup’, followed by ‘Michael Schumacher’ and ‘iPhone 6’.
FINANCE, BUSINESS & LEGAL
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inance F A EURO WEEKLY NEWS 6 PAGE SPECIAL SECTION // WWW.EWNBUSINESS.COM
15 - 21 January 2015 / Axarquía - Costa Tropical
business & legal
EWN
21
STAT OF WEEK THE 35 firms on Spain’s Ibex stock market index were worth €563.64 billion at the end of 2014, a €27.17 billion increase on 2013. Banks contributed to €20.44 billion of this.
Taxing situation for Hacienda employees HACIENDA and State Administrator IGAE employees insisted that another 26,718 workers are needed to combat fiscal fraud. Gestha, the union representing them, claimed that without more personnel it will be impossible to pursue evaders efficiently. Nor can they meet the target of reducing by half, Spain’s €253 billion submerged economy which is
UNDERSTAFFING: A problem for Hacienda.
Canaries’ drilling results due soon REPSOL expects to finish test drilling off the Canary Islands this Sunday, January 18. Despite local opposition the Spanish multinational began surveying the Sandia oil field, 54 kilometres from Fuerteventura and 61 off Lanzarote, on November 18. Should the search for oil or gas give negative results, Repsol will go no further and abandon the Canaries project. If these are positive, the company will have to decide whether to move on to the Chirimoya field for more explorations. A third option involves a temporary halt to all prospections while the
Sandia field results are examined in depth and future strategy is decided. This would leave the drilling ship Rowan Renaissance free to depart for Angola to carry out new prospections. According to unofficial sources, this is Repsol’s favoured choice as the ship costs $1.2 million (approximately €1 million) to run each day. Prospecting off the Angola coast would be preferable to having it lie idle, the sources said. If a temporary halt is called, this could last between three and five months, depending on the quality of the Canaries’ results and the duration of the Angolan explorations.
B
usiness extra
New shoes US accessories firm Coach bought out upmarket shoe manufacturer Stuart Weitzman, now owned by Sycamore Partners, for €481 million. All the firm’s shoes are made at 11 Elda (Alicante) factories.
More AVEs THE AVE high-speed train will reach Zamora, Leon, Palencia and Burgos this year and connect Galicia’s main cities. Valencia will link with Castellon, Alicante with Murcia and the Sevilla line will extend to Cadiz.
Employment on the increase BY December 2014 there were 253,627 fewer jobless in Spain than at the beginning of the year. The number of contributors to Social Security also rose for the fifth consecutive month with 417,574 more people in system. It was the first time that this had happened since 2007 when the first symptoms of the economic crisis began to be felt. There is still some way to go, however, as 2.6
million jobs have been destroyed in the last six years. The fall of 253,627 in registered unemployed during 2014 was the greatest in 15 years and Minister of Labour Fatima Bañez predicted that 2015’s employment figures would outstrip official estimates. “The greater part of Spanish society is confident of finding work in the coming months,” she said.
now equivalent to 24.6 per cent of the country’s GDP. Understaffing is one of the Spanish system’s greatest problems, a Gestha communiqué stated. In European Union countries there is a tax administration employee for every 970 taxpayers, compared with Spain where there is one Hacienda employee for every 1,958 taxpayers, the union said.
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C LOSING P RICES J ANUARY 12
C O M PA N Y PRICE(P) 3i Group PLC 432.55 Aberdeen Asset Mngmnt 425.85 Admiral Group PLC 1360.00 Aggreko PLC 1534.50 Anglo American PLC 1157.25 Antofagasta PLC 739.00 ARM Holdings PLC 998.75 Ashtead Group PLC 1145.00 Associated Britsh Foods 3110.50 AstraZeneca PLC 4597.75 Aviva PLC 493.00 Babcock International 1034.00 BAE Systems PLC 470.55 Barclays PLC 231.78 Barratt Developments 430.00 BG Group PLC 825.70 BHP Billiton PLC 1375.75 BP PLC 394.90
C H A N G E ( P ) % C H G. 2.00 0.46 4.00 0.95 7.00 0.52 6.00 0.39 5.00 0.43 -11.00 -1.47 19.50 1.99 5.00 0.44 34.00 1.10 9.50 0.21 2.60 0.53 4.00 0.39 2.80 0.60 0.74 0.32 -1.40 -0.32 -4.20 -0.51 -0.76 -0.06 -3.90 -0.98
NET VOLUME 40.26 55.72 17.68 10.12 485.26 235.30 164.99 142.06 34.67 108.84 399.14 38.83 211.01 1,794.96 364.12 339.65 254.49 1,927.63
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C O M PA N Y MMM 3M Co AXP American Express Co T AT&T Inc BA Boeing Co CAT Caterpillar Inc CVX Chevron Corp CSCO Cisco Systems Inc KO The Coca-Cola Co DIS Walt Disney Co 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 IBM International Business Machine... INTC Intel Corp 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 TRV Travelers Companies Inc UTX United Technologies Corp UNH UnitedHealth Group Inc VZ Verizon Communications Inc V Visa Inc WMT Wal-Mart Stores Inc
PRICE CHANGE %CHANGE VOLUME 161.62 90.42 33.40 131.54 87.65 108.21 27.79 43.03 94.25 73.50 92.10 24.03 187.35 104.89 159.11 36.76 104.94 59.34 93.21 62.56 47.19 95.99 32.65 90.25 105.83 114.02 103.72 46.76 260.53 89.35
-2.01 -1.16 -0.10 -0.26 -1.06 -2.20 +0.28 -0.48 +0.46 -1.03 -0.13 -0.34 -2.92 -1.83 +0.69 +0.07 -1.45 -1.05 -1.15 -0.29 -0.40 -1.07 +0.15 -0.85 -1.35 -0.63 -0.98 -0.42 -3.92 -1.12
-1.23% -1.27% -0.30% -0.20% -1.19% -1.99% +1.02% -1.10% +0.49% -1.38% -0.14% -1.40% -1.53% -1.71% +0.44% +0.19% -1.36% -1.74% -1.22% -0.46% -0.84% -1.10% +0.46% -0.93% -1.26% -0.55% -0.94% -0.89% -1.48% -1.24%
2.4M 3.7M 21.5M 3.1M 4.9M 9.6M 33.6M 12.7M 8.6M 7.0M 14.5M 43.1M 2.0M 5.7M 4.5M 22.9M 7.4M 15.4M 4.3M 12.6M 23.9M 2.3M 24.7M 4.9M 1.4M 3.8M 3.4M 13.0M 2.6M 8.5M
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30.00 5.50 3.70 16.00 5.00 4.00 72.00
0.86 0.71 0.94 0.88 0.30 0.37 2.39
NET VOLUME 104.30 28.73 420.75 21.60 24.86 26.86 32.06
PRICE
CHANGE NET / %
$ 2.16 $ 2.91 $ 5.29 $ 7.21 $ 12.84 $ 8.51 $ 9.06 $ 74.63 $ 79.14 $ 4.83 $ 31.75
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$ 6.19 $ 5.65 $ 6.51 $ 5.02 $ 35.18 $ 4.59 $ 3.22 $ 10.16 $ 12.42 $ 27.71 $ 2.41
4.14 ▼ 40.08% 3.16 ▼ 35.87% 3.10 ▼ 32.26% 1.51 ▼ 23.12% 8.445 ▼ 19.36% 0.90 ▼ 16.39% 0.57 ▼ 15.04% 1.45 ▼ 12.49% 1.53 ▼ 10.97% 3.40 ▼ 10.93% 0.2899 ▼ 10.74%
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Most Declined Conatus Pharmaceuticals Inc. E2open, Inc. Argos Therapeutics, Inc. Star Bulk Carriers Corp. Five Below, Inc. Knightsbridge Shipping Limited MediciNova, Inc. Tesco Corporation Vanda Pharmaceuticals Inc. Golar LNG Partners LP Spanish Broadcasting System, Inc.
FINANCE, BUSINESS & LEGAL
C O M PA N Y PRICE(P) CHANGE Centrica PLC 264.45 -4.30 Coca-Cola HBC AG 1130.00 1.00 Compass Group PLC 1093.00 12.00 CRH PLC 1548.50 25.00 Diageo PLC 1840.50 17.00 Direct Line Insurance 301.50 2.30 Dixons Carphone PLC 457.25 1.90 easyJet PLC 1629.50 -0.15 Experian PLC 1098.00 5.00 Fresnillo PLC 819.25 3.00 Friends Life Group Ltd 372.75 1.10 G4S PLC 274.50 2.60 GKN PLC 343.90 6.30 GlaxoSmithKline PLC 1412.25 2.50 Glencore PLC 285.47 -0.80 Hammerson PLC 621.25 2.50 Hargreaves Lansdown 959.00 11.50 HSBC Holdings PLC 605.75 3.70 Imperial Tobacco Grp 2938.50 4.85 InterContinental Hotels 2620.00 21.00 International Consoldtd ... 473.85 8.40 Intertek Group PLC 2447.50 -12.00 Intu Properties PLC 337.65 3.50 ITV PLC 213.20 -0.30 Johnson Matthey PLC 3525.00 19.00 Kingfisher PLC 322.55 1.10 Land Securities Group 1189.00 7.00 Legal & General Group 245.65 1.37 Lloyds Banking Group 73.48 -0.25 London Stock Exchange 2235.50 21.00 Marks & Spencer Grp 447.90 -0.10 Meggitt PLC 520.75 3.00 Mondi PLC 1056.50 6.00 Morrison (Wm) Sprmrkts 174.10 -2.30 National Grid PLC 923.10 0.87 Next PLC 6952.50 55.00 Old Mutual PLC 190.25 1.20 Pearson PLC 1184.50 8.00 Persimmon PLC 1468.00 9.00 Prudential PLC 1490.25 12.00 Randgold Resources 4953.00 21.00 Reckitt Benckiser Group 5282.50 40.00 Reed Elsevier PLC 1102.50 12.00 Rio Tinto PLC 2980.75 -3.00 Rolls-Royce Holdings 872.50 10.50 Royal Bank of Scotland 366.80 -0.80 Royal Dutch Shell PLC 2142.50 -17.50 Royal Mail PLC 423.10 1.00 RSA Insurance Group 433.20 1.50 SABMiller PLC 3366.50 45.00 Sage Group (The) PLC 466.15 3.40 Sainsbury (J) PLC 240.40 -1.40 Schroders PLC 2642.50 8.00 Severn Trent PLC 2061.50 9.00 Shire PLC 4769.00 28.00 Sky PLC 889.25 5.00 Smith & Nephew PLC 1186.50 4.00 Smiths Group PLC 1078.50 2.00 Sports Direct Internatnl... 701.75 9.00 SSE PLC 1562.00 -32.00 Standard Chartered PLC 931.90 -13.20 Standard Life PLC 390.55 2.10 St James's Place PLC 788.50 5.00 Taylor Wimpey PLC 126.40 0.70 Tesco PLC 202.62 -1.44 Travis Perkins PLC 1791.50 11.00 TUI AG 1119.50 8.00 Tullow Oil PLC 384.30 -2.80 Unilever PLC 2653.50 27.00 United Utilities Group 941.75 3.08 Vodafone Group PLC 226.82 1.85 Weir Group PLC 1752.50 -16.00 Whitbread PLC 4747.00 35.00 Wolseley PLC 3710.00 12.00 WPP PLC 1375.50 18.00
% C H G. -1.60 0.09 1.11 1.64 0.93 0.77 0.42 -0.01 0.46 0.37 0.30 0.96 1.87 0.18 -0.28 0.40 1.21 0.61 0.17 0.81 1.80 -0.49 1.05 -0.14 0.54 0.34 0.59 0.56 -0.34 0.95 -0.02 0.58 0.57 -1.30 0.09 0.80 0.63 0.68 0.62 0.81 0.43 0.76 1.10 -0.10 1.22 -0.22 -0.81 0.24 0.35 1.36 0.73 -0.58 0.30 0.44 0.59 0.57 0.34 0.19 1.30 -2.01 -1.40 0.54 0.64 0.56 -0.71 0.62 0.72 -0.72 1.03 0.33 0.82 -0.91 0.74 0.32 1.33
VOLUME 910.01 20.45 165.37 51.86 175.39 111.86 100.43 76.27 53.08 79.11 158.47 128.56 278.05 234.12 967.76 14.87 27.38 1,819.84 104.31 22.60 614.71 28.35 52.77 854.90 33.20 205.35 47.83 233.57 7,665.55 15.81 236.34 55.49 35.25 795.99 257.65 20.61 505.50 64.02 62.70 134.35 24.17 30.85 57.32 243.82 271.23 433.95 449.76 34.10 137.60 184.62 94.90 346.21 15.45 18.66 185.93 77.62 153.37 27.87 27.12 216.98 587.73 102.41 69.95 1,748.21 1,670.98 5.14 43.56 618.44 119.87 113.03 2,143.64 30.69 14.51 36.88 164.35
FINANCE, BUSINESS & LEGAL
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15 - 21 January 2015 /Axarquía - Costa Tropical
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Using social media to sell ‘IF you don’t yell, you won’t sell.’ It matters not how good your product is, if people don’t know about your service it will stay on the shelf. Advertising, and now social forum interaction, are essential components of selling. Businesses traditionally turn to conventional media. Many, including the major car makers, now add social online media to support their more formal forms of advertising. The true value of the internet is that it gives the astute small business owner a level playing field with the big hitters. It is hard to believe that Facebook, founded only 10 years ago, today operates from 48 international city hubs,
Talking shop Mike Walsh Mike Walsh was for 20 years Regional Assessment Manager for the Guild of Master Craftsmen, Britain’s biggest quality assurance body for businesses.
www.michaelwalsh.es • 966 786 932
employs 8,348, and is used by 1.567 million people each day. The number of those signed up to Facebook comes to 20 per cent of the world’s population. The arts have always been the most difficult of livelihoods. Musicians, artists and artistes, the literati, sculptors and
models; many suchlike, found doors closed in their faces. Facebook and Twitter are a lifeline for many callings seeking work or orders. Social media offers advertising opportunities for the cash-strapped. Its value cannot be underestimated for those whose products or services are cold-shouldered by ring-fenced elite that is for most difficult to penetrate. They now post their interactive profiles on Facebook. By doing so, they reach far larger audiences than they could hope to present to in theatre, art gallery, catwalk or publishing house. New authors often use social media exclusively to sell their books.
Most businesses, restaurants to travel agencies, solicitors to estate agents, supplement their advertising with a working Facebook presence. Publishing houses, cultural associations would be isolated without this media. Conventional mainstream media, such as our own Euro Weekly News, value their formidable Facebook presence. This keeps users up to the minute with local and international news, offers an opportunity to have their say, or comment on various sections. One thing for certain, social media is very much a part of the ‘if you don’t yell, you don’t sell’ culture.
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FINANCE, BUSINESS & LEGAL
Where there is willpower there is a happy financial future H
OW are those New Year resolutions going? Despite best intentions it can be very difficult to stick to new commitments. Goals to save money each month, pay off debt, or stop using that credit card aren’t that easy to achieve, are they? And although everyone tells us that all we need is a little bit of
Loose change A look at finance for females
Jane Plunkett jane.plunkett@euroweeklynews.com
willpower - it seems that actual willpower is not as common as the word itself is so frequently thrown around. Self-control is not something that just magically appears when we want to be successful; it is in fact, something that takes training. So how do we train ourselves to have the ability to follow and
MEDITATION: Focus your mind on your goals.
Cash bid from banking giant THE eurozone’s biggest bank, Santander, has surprised markets by trying to raise €7.5 billion in fresh funds. The announcement of the recapitalisation move, which is worth about a 10th of its market value, was held after an extraordinary meeting of the board. Although no explanation was given for the move, some media have said that new
chairman Ana Botin was reacting to some investors’ worries that capital reserves were weaker than they should be. “This operation will be carried out through an accelerated placement,” said Santander, in a statement. It is a huge sum being raised, topping the €7.2 billion it raised in the midst of the financial crisis in 2008. Athough not as badly hit as some other banks, it still had to write off billions of bad property loans, SHARES in carbon fibre manu€19 billion in 2012 facturer Carbures plummeted alone. by 66 per cent after it restarted But generally the trading following a three-month banking giant has suspension and admitted it was a good reputation not in profit, but making a loss. in the market, and The Cadiz firm requested the was one of the few suspension last October to banks not to need address questions raised by its a governmental auditors regarding its viability. bail out.
Owning up
achieve our goals and secure a more content financial future? Well here are a few tips on where to start. Be mindful: Something like meditation is a great way to help build up willpower. Meditation is about sitting still, focusing your mind on an idea or phrase and having the patience to sit there and clear your mind of all other things apart from this goal. If you can train your mind to concentrate on a particular goal through meditation, you’ll see a remarkable change in your willpower. Make small deadlines: It’s important not to overwhelm yourself. By putting too much pressure on your plate, it’s possible to exhaust your willpower to the point where you give up. Instead take little,
but significant, steps. For example, if your goal is to save, start off by putting a small amount away, then each week or month, increase this figure slightly. This way you ease yourself into saving, without giving yourself the shock that might force you to quit. Be aware of impulses: Every time an impulse arises, encouraging you to perhaps blow all your savings or skip this month’s savings quota, try to remember why you set yourself these goals in the first place. Think of your long-term goals, and compare them to the shortterm satisfaction you get from caving into temptation. A whim impulse is not as important as the goals you spent time constructing previously, so don’t let them ruin your future.
“One man, one vote” or is it? Q. With reference to your article in EWN last week, it seems each property in a Community You and the does not have a vote, as you state. Instead it is the owner who has the vote and he has only Law in Spain ONE VOTE, regardless of how many flats he By David Searl owns. Your view is in conflict with that of Jose Luis Navarro who writes the Community Corner. If you were right, it means a property developer who still owns more than 50 per cent of the apartments, can run the Community to suit himself. R.B. (Costa del Sol) A. Well, we are both right. And, yes, it is confusing. Firstly, the Horizontal Property Law states that a majority vote in the Community needs a majority of the owners, who must also represent the majority of the ‘cuotas,’ or property shares. The need for this ‘double majority’ is clearly stated in the law. Now we come to the confusing part. Just as you say, one owner of many properties can dominate the proceedings. When some owners feel their interests are harmed, they can go to court. Spanish courts normally rule in favour of the small owners. As a result, some Communities have installed a system of ‘one owner, one vote,’ as the Community Corner points out. Nevertheless, this system remains contrary to the Horizontal Law. Send your questions for David Searl through lawyers Ubeda-Retana & Associates in Fuengirola at Ask@lawtaxspain.com, or call 952 667 090.
BUSINESS EXTRA
Cash in pesetas SOME €1.664 billion in peseta notes and coins are still lying around in Spain, roughly equivalent to the spending cuts recently demanded of Greece. They can be redeemed until December 31, 2020 and the Bank of Spain is currently exchanging notes and coins at the rate of approximately €1 million a month.
Not-so-pretty CORPORACION DERMOESTICA, specialists in cosmetic surgery, has gone into voluntary liquidation and is preparing to lay off staff. The chain, whose 43 clinics in Spain and Portugal will close, has short-term debts of €15.5 million and a diminishing turnover that fell by €6 million to €23 million in 2013.
OPINION & COMMENT
Hard-won right to vote AT 12.30pm on December 2, Geoffrey Clifton-Brown MP proposed a Bill that would give back to 1.5 million expatriates in Europe their right to vote. The Speaker called for opposition. There was none and the Bill now goes forward to be considered again at the next stage on March 6. I shall be in the House as I was on December 2. It could be that the timing of the General Election blocks all the Bills passing through the House. That would be a cruel fate after all the campaigning, but it can only delay the inevitable regaining of our right to vote. Arguing whether we vote at the 2015 or 2020 election means we have won and it is now just a matter of time. So that is how we enter the New Year, knowing that our campaign is nearly over. Harry Shindler MBE, London
Home truths ELIZABETH COVINGTON’S letter contains some often-repeated but nevertheless false statements. How could anyone imagine that trade with the 30-odd million people in Australia and New Zealand, at the other end of the world, could possibly make up for endangering our access to the 500 million who live in the EU, just across the Channel? Also, it is misleading to imply that we gave up all trade with the Commonwealth when we joined the EU. There is still a good deal left! And we don’t need to leave the EU to trade with rest of the world. All the EU countries already do that, so that if we left the EU, we would simply be competing against our present EU partners, on the same or more probably worse terms than now. We are not the ‘most populated country in more than Europe.’ Germany has about 20 million more than we have, and France and Italy have about the same. The Netherlands have more people per square mile. Our services are not at breaking point because of mass immigration but because our governments have failed to
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our aRUST dvert isers
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from 5.30pm until any time up to 2am. There can be four or 24 and their behaviour varies between texting, talking or playing music on phones to running around screaming, shouting and drinking. This happens on Fridays and Saturdays in term-time and every night during holidays. I have spoken to parents, the mayor and sat with the children trying to explain that their behaviour is anti-social and lacks respect for elderly retired people, all to no avail. I would be pleased to hear from anyone who has been in a similar situation. Stuart Burnley, Torremendo (Alicante)
Things to come?
THEY say you don’t get real twilight in Spain like this beautiful Hampshire scene in my son’s photo. For myself I’ll forgo the sunset and stay (comparatively) warm.
D Cochrane (by email)
anticipate demand and invest sufficiently. Elizabeth forgets that all calculations show immigrants put more into our benefits system than they take out, besides playing an indispensible role in staffing our hospitals. I agree if jobs are available, British people should take them and lose benefits if they don’t. However, it is not easy to refine the system in such a way as to push the able-bodied into work without punishing those who cannot work because of their medical condition, or because they are too busy looking after dependants. Bill Campbell (by email)
Long way to go I READ with some dismay in a letter in last week’s Euro Weekly News the assumption that old trading partners such as Australia would resume business with the UK if we left the EU. Australia and New Zealand have established highly profitable trading links with countries in Asia such as China,
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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Japan and India where the distances are much less. Any imports or exports would have a premium added for the cost of travel to and from the UK. As for the NHS, there is a problem (mainly in the south of England), but the cost of addressing it will not be helped by leaving our biggest trading partner and striking out alone. Far better working away inside the EU with our natural allies within the structure such as the Dutch and now, increasingly, the Germans to curb the excesses of Brussels. Lewis Rudge, Bellreguard (Valencia)
EU flipside MY regards and a big kiss to Elisabeth Covington who wrote what many Danes have been fighting for years. This goes for many Swedes and Germans too. My mother was Swedish, my father was German and I was born in Denmark. I was against the Common Market in 1972, but it was moderate then. Each country should belong to itself and not to greedy and egotistical politicians. Let us hope that many people wake up in 2015. Carl-Heinz Feddersen, Torrox Costa (Malaga)
Noisy children I WRITE in the hope that readers may be able to help me with what I know is a Spanish problem. My wife and I live in a ground floor apartment in a small Spanish village. We are the only foreign residents and for health reasons my wife need periods of rest. For several years the local children aged between seven and 16 congregate under our window
IS this a sign of things to come? One day after Boxing Day a local supermarket increased their jars of Dolmio Sauce by 12 per cent from €2.75 to €3.08. Ann Paterson, San Fulgencio (Alicante)
Keeping abreast WHY does Leapy Lee just think of himself all the time? Being married, he is in a position to see and feel a breast any time of the day or night. Does he never think of single men (we cannot help being ugly) who never see or feel a breast at all? When we do catch sight of a woman breastfeeding her child it is a sight for sore eyes to us and brings us joy and happiness. Thank you, ladies. Leapy wants to ban the breast, I want to beautify it and you can carry on when and where you like. Bob Mitchell, Torremolinos (Malaga)
Split them up HAVE just read about the lady who had her purse stolen. Mine was stolen several years ago in Baza where I use to live and when we went to the police to report it, I was told off for having my cards, money, driving licence all in the same purse. They advised me to put them in a separate purse and holders, since then I have done this and have recommended to my friends that they do so, too. Ann Davis (by email)
The views expressed and opinions given in Letters are not necessarily those of the EWN publishers. They accept no responsibility for accuracy of information, errors, omissions or statements, and reject claims arising out of any action that a company or individual may take on the basis of information contained therein.
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OPINION & COMMENT
Oh for a direct answer! LEAPY LEE SAYS IT OTHERS THINK IT
H
ERE we go again. Months of screeching Kay Burley and political purgatory. Neverending queues of pontificating politicians, filling us with insincere claptrap, and predictably evading any embarrassing questions. Oh for a politician who answers a direct question with a direct answer. It’s an art, you know. It’s a parliamentary ploy, honed over many years by people who really don’t give a damn about you or me. Cold mercenaries, who simply use any political platform they can to further their own careers. Perhaps we should all try it. WIFE: ‘What were you doing in a restaurant, dining with a young blonde last night?’ HUSBAND: ‘No no darling, you really have to look at the broader picture. A recent poll revealed that it was far more intellectually beneficial to dine out in company than singularly. We must also do all we can to encourage small
VOTING TIME: May the outcome be beneficial to us all. businesses by bringing them as much custom as possible. We really must all learn to move forward... etc.’ Alright, I know I’m not too good at it, but you get my drift. Delighted to see UKIP growing more popular by the hour. Especially when it was over two years ago I advised everyone to look out for them. (Another ‘Leapy rant!?’) To tell the truth, with all
the other parties and media constantly discussing the UKIP threat, the added bonus of so much free publicity must be very welcome indeed. Ah well, at least it’s democracy. Let the contest begin and may the outcome be beneficial to all. My TV is stuck displaying the subtitles for the deaf. Actually with my tinnitus worse than ever, it can actually help with the odd words I don’t catch. I assume it’s
triggered by some voice recognition process, which is all well and good, but does sometimes produce some hilarious mistakes. For example, in a football game yesterday it gleefully informed us that a shot was fired at an ‘open goat!’ We were also told that ‘a vessel would write itself,’ ‘a poster had sunk off of cows’ and some poor unfortunate had had ‘a shot across the bowels!’ Lovely stuff. In the normal run of things, having experienced ‘post incarceration problems,’ I would come out on the side of footballer Ched Evans; after all, he didn’t receive or deserve a life sentence for his criminality. But surely, for this young man to get a more sympathetic ear from his peers, a step in the right direction would be to simply apologise. He doesn’t even have to admit his guilt. ‘If I misread the young lady’s intentions and behaved inappropriately, then I apologise unreservedly for any suffering I have caused both her and her family.’ Job done. If his young arrogance doesn’t allow him to do even that, then he deserves everything he gets. S’there! Keep the faith, Love Leapy leapylee2002@gmail.com
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Thursday BBC ONE 4:00pm Escape to the Country 4:45pm James Martin: Home Comforts 5:30pm Antiques Road Trip 6:15pm Pointless 7:00pm BBC News at Six 7:30pm BBC London News 8:00pm The One Show 8:30pm EastEnders 9:00pm Watchdog 10:00pm Death in Paradise 11:00pm BBC News at Ten 11:25pm BBC London News 11:35pm Question Time 12:35am This Week
BBC TWO 7:00pm Eggheads 7:30pm Great British Railway Journeys 8:00pm Masters Snooker 9:00pm Nature's Weirdest Events 10:00pm The Super-Rich and Us 11:00pm Never Mind the Buzzcocks 11:30pm Newsnight 12:20am Masters Snooker Highlights
ITV 5:00pm Mel and Sue 6:00pm The Chase 7:00pm ITV News London 7:30pm ITV News and Weather 8:00pm Emmerdale 8:30pm The Kyle Files 9:00pm Emmerdale 9:30pm Birds of a Feather 10:00pm Bring Back Borstal 11:00pm ITV News at Ten and Weather 11:40pm The Brits are Coming 12:40am Ade at Sea
CH4 3:10pm A Place in the Sun: Winter Sun 4:10pm Countdown 5:00pm Deal or No Deal 6:00pm Come Dine with Me 6:30pm The Simpsons 7:00pm The Simpsons 7:30pm Hollyoaks 8:00pm Channel 4 News 9:00pm Location, Location, Location 10:00pm Cyberbully 11:20pm My Granny the Escort 12:20am 24 Hours in Police Custody
CH5 6:00pm 5 News at 5 6:30pm Neighbours 7:00pm Home and Away 7:30pm 5 News Tonight 8:00pm The Nightmare Neighbour Next Door 9:00pm Benefits 10:00pm Celebrity Big Brother 11:00pm Botched Up Bodies 12:00am Celebrity Big Brother's Bit on the Side
SKY1 6:00pm The Simpsons 6:30pm Futurama 7:00pm Futurama 7:30pm The Simpsons 8:30pm The Simpsons 9:00pm David Attenborough Conquest of the Skies 10:00pm David Attenborough Conquest of the Skies 11:00pm A League of Their Own 12:00am A League of Their Own
Friday BBC ONE 5:30pm Antiques Road Trip 6:15pm Pointless 7:00pm BBC News at Six 7:30pm BBC London News 8:00pm The One Show 8:30pm A Question of Sport 9:00pm EastEnders 9:30pm Room 101 10:00pm The Musketeers 11:00pm BBC News at Ten 11:25pm BBC London News 11:35pm The Graham Norton Show 12:25am Bluestone 42
BBC TWO 7:00pm Eggheads 7:30pm Great British Railway Journeys 8:00pm Masters Snooker 9:00pm Mastermind 9:30pm Food and Drink 10:00pm The Big Allotment Challenge 11:00pm QI 11:30pm Newsnight 12:05am Never Mind the Buzzcocks
ITV 5:00pm Mel and Sue 6:00pm The Chase 7:00pm ITV News London 7:30pm ITV News and Weather 8:00pm Emmerdale 8:30pm Coronation Street 9:00pm The Martin Lewis Money Show 9:30pm Coronation Street 10:00pm Benidorm 11:00pm ITV News at Ten and Weather 11:40pm Couples Retreat 1:50am Jackpot247
CH4 5:00pm Deal or No Deal 6:00pm Come Dine with Me 6:30pm The Simpsons 7:00pm The Simpsons 7:30pm Hollyoaks 8:00pm Channel 4 News 9:00pm Jamie and Jimmy's Friday Night Feast 10:00pm 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown 11:00pm The Last Leg 12:05am Brooklyn Nine-Nine
CH5 6:00pm 5 News at 5 6:30pm Neighbours 7:00pm Home and Away 7:30pm 5 News Tonight 8:00pm Race to the Pole 9:00pm Ice Road Truckers 10:00pm Celebrity Big Brother 11:00pm Celebrity Big Brother's Bit on the Side 12:00am Celebrity Big Brother
SKY1 5:00pm Futurama 5:30pm Futurama 6:00pm The Simpsons 6:30pm Futurama 7:00pm Futurama 7:30pm The Simpsons 8:30pm The Simpsons 9:00pm Show Me Your Garden 10:00pm Ascension 11:25pm Britcam: Emergency on Our Streets 12:25am Gremlins 2: The New Batch
Saturday BBC ONE 5:30pm Final Score 6:20pm Pointless 7:10pm BBC News 7:20pm Regional News 7:25pm Weather 7:30pm Now You See It 8:00pm The Voice UK 9:25pm The National Lottery 10:15pm Casualty 11:05pm BBC News 11:20pm Weather 11:25pm Match of the Day 12:50am The Football League Show 2:10am Phantoms 3:40am Weather for the Week Ahead
BBC TWO 4:30pm Escape to the Country 5:30pm Masters Snooker 6:30pm Flog It! 7:30pm Dad's Army 8:00pm Masters Snooker 11:30pm All Good Things 1:05am Masters Snooker Coverage of the Masters snooker tournament. 3:05am This is BBC Two Highlights of programmes on BBC Two.
ITV 3:35pm The Secret of My Succe$s 5:35pm Off Their Rockers 6:05pm Local News and Weather 6:15pm ITV News and Weather 6:30pm You've Been Framed! 7:30pm Planets Got Talent 8:00pm Stars in Their Eyes 9:05pm Take Me Out 10:20pm Bridget Jones's Diary 12:10am ITV News and Weather 12:30am Always 2:35am Jackpot 247 4:00am The Jeremy Kyle Show USA 4:40am Nightscreen
CH4 5:00pm Come Dine with Me 6:00pm The Simpsons 6:30pm The Simpsons 7:00pm Channel 4 News 7:30pm The Restoration Man 8:30pm The World's Best Diet 10:00pm The Sweeney 12:15am Greg Davies: The Back of My Mum's Head
CH5 3:05pm Ice Road Truckers 4:00pm Columbo 5:35pm Columbo 7:25pm NCIS 9:00pm CSI: Crime Scene Investigation 9:55pm 5 News 10:00pm Celebrity Big Brother 11:00pm Bad Boys 1:15am Super Casino Feeling lucky?
SKY1 3:00pm Last Man Standing 3:30pm Last Man Standing 4:00pm Greggs: More Than Meats the Pie 5:00pm Last Man Standing 5:30pm Last Man Standing 6:00pm Ashley Banjo's Secret Street Crew 7:00pm The Fanatics 8:00pm Show Me Your Garden 9:00pm David Attenborough Conquest of the Skies 10:00pm Gremlins 2: The New Batch 12:05am A League of Their Own 1:05am Hawaii Five-0 2:05am NCIS: Los Angeles 3:00am NCIS: Los Angeles
TV LISTING
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Sunday BBC ONE 3:40pm Escape to the Country 4:25pm Lifeline 4:35pm Songs of Praise 5:10pm Shrek The Third 6:35pm Celebrity Mastermind 7:05pm BBC News 7:20pm Regional News 7:25pm Weather 7:30pm Countryfile 8:30pm Still Open All Hours 9:00pm Call the Midwife 10:00pm Last Tango in Halifax 11:00pm BBC News 11:20pm Regional News 11:25pm Weather 11:30pm Match of the Day 2 12:20am The Apprentice USA
BBC TWO 3:00pm Masters Snooker 6:15pm Ski Sunday 7:00pm The Tea Trail with Simon Reeve 8:00pm Masters Snooker 9:00pm Masters Snooker 12:00am Last Orders
ITV 3:00pm Midsomer Murders 5:00pm Live and Let Die 7:20pm Local News and Weather 7:30pm ITV News and Weather 7:45pm Get Your Act Together 9:00pm Foyle's War 11:00pm ITV News and Weather 11:15pm Perspectives 12:15am The Undriveables
CH4 3:00pm The Big Bang Theory 3:25pm The Simpsons 3:55pm The Simpsons 4:25pm Mighty Joe Young 6:40pm Channel 4 News 7:05pm A Place in the Sun: Winter Sun 8:00pm Phil Spencer: Secret Agent 9:00pm The Hotel 10:00pm Walking the Nile 11:00pm 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown 12:05am The Pact 1:50am The Last Leg
CH5 4:20pm The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill But Came Down a Mountain 6:15pm Did You Hear About the Morgans? 8:05pm My Super Ex-Girlfriend 9:55pm 5 News 10:00pm Celebrity Big Brother 11:00pm Gone 1:00am He Left Me for My Mother and and Other Betrayals
SKY1 3:00pm Ashley Banjo's Big Town Dance 4:00pm Last Man Standing 4:30pm Emergency Animal Rescue 5:00pm Emergency with Angela Griffin 6:00pm The Simpsons 7:00pm The Simpsons 7:30pm Futurama 8:00pm Modern Family 8:30pm Modern Family 9:00pm A League of Their Own 10:00pm Karl Pilkington: The Moaning of Life 11:00pm Show Me Your Garden 12:00am Micky Flanagan's Detour De France
Monday BBC ONE 6:15pm Pointless 7:00pm BBC News 7:30pm Regional News 8:00pm The One Show 8:30pm Inside Out 9:00pm EastEnders 9:30pm Panorama 10:00pm Silent Witness 11:00pm BBC News 11:25pm Regional News 11:30pm Weather 11:35pm Waterloo Road 12:35am The Graham Norton Show
BBC TWO 6:15pm Flog It! 7:00pm Eggheads 7:30pm Great British Railway Journeys 8:00pm Great British Garden Revival 9:00pm University Challenge 9:30pm Only Connect 10:00pm Winterwatch 11:00pm Backchat with Jack Whitehall and His Dad 11:30pm Newsnight 12:20am Kate Humble: Into the Volcano
ITV 6:00pm The Chase 7:00pm Local News and Weather 7:30pm ITV News and Weather 8:00pm Emmerdale 8:30pm Coronation Street 9:00pm Richard Wilson on the Road 9:30pm Coronation Street 10:00pm Broadchurch 11:00pm ITV News at Ten and Weather 11:40pm Exposure 12:40am The Kyle Files
CH4 6:00pm Come Dine with Me 6:30pm The Simpsons 7:00pm The Simpsons 7:30pm Hollyoaks 8:00pm Channel 4 News 9:00pm Dispatches 9:30pm Food Unwrapped 10:00pm The Undateables 11:00pm Catastrophe 11:35pm Bodyshockers 12:35am The American Football Show
CH5 6:00pm 5 News 6:30pm Neighbours 7:00pm Home and Away 7:30pm 5 News 8:00pm Criminals: Caught on Camera 8:30pm Car Crash TV 9:00pm Storage: Flog the Lot! 10:00pm Celebrity Big Brother 11:00pm NHS Crisis - The Live Debate 12:00am Celebrity Big Brother's Bit on the Side
SKY1 6:00pm The Simpsons 6:30pm Futurama 7:00pm Futurama 7:30pm The Simpsons 8:00pm The Simpsons 8:30pm The Simpsons 9:00pm A League of Their Own 10:00pm 50 Ways to Kill Your Mammy 11:00pm Air Ambulance ER 12:00am NCIS: Los Angeles
Tuesday BBC ONE 4:45pm James Martin: Home Comforts 5:30pm Antiques Road Trip 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 Silent Witness 11:00pm BBC News 11:25pm Regional News 11:30pm Weather 11:35pm Count Arthur Strong 12:05am Film 2015
BBC TWO 6:15pm Flog It! 7:00pm Eggheads 7:30pm Great British Railway Journeys 8:00pm Great British Garden Revival 9:00pm Winterwatch 10:00pm The Eichmann Show 11:30pm Newsnight 12:20am Kate Humble: Into the Volcano
ITV 4:00pm Tipping Point 5:00pm Mel and Sue 6:00pm The Chase 7:00pm Local News and Weather 7:30pm ITV News and Weather 8:00pm Emmerdale 9:00pm Britain's Best Back Gardens 10:00pm Paul O'Grady's Animal Orphans 11:00pm ITV News at Ten and Weather 11:40pm The Mighty Mississippi 12:40am Secrets From the Sky
CH4 6:00pm Come Dine with Me 6:30pm The Simpsons 7:00pm The Simpsons 7:30pm Hollyoaks 8:00pm Channel 4 News 9:00pm Weighing Up the Enemy 10:00pm 24 Hours in Police Custody 11:00pm Ramsay's Hotel Hell 11:55pm Angry, White and Proud 12:55am Pokerstars.Com and Monte-Carlo Casino EPT Grand Final
CH5 6:00pm 5 News 6:30pm Neighbours 7:00pm Home and Away 7:30pm 5 News 8:00pm My Big Benefits Family 9:00pm Cats Do the Funniest Things 10:00pm Celebrity Big Brother 11:00pm Suspects 12:00am Celebrity Big Brother's Bit on the Side
SKY1 6:00pm The Simpsons 6:30pm Futurama 7:00pm Futurama 7:30pm The Simpsons 8:00pm The Simpsons 8:30pm The Simpsons 9:00pm Modern Family 9:30pm Modern Family 10:00pm Air Ambulance ER 11:00pm An Idiot Abroad 12:00am NCIS: Los Angeles
Wednesday BBC ONE 6:15pm Pointless 7:00pm BBC News 7:30pm Regional News 8:00pm The One Show 9:00pm Pets 10:00pm Crimewatch 11:00pm BBC News 11:25pm Regional News 11:30pm Weather 11:35pm Crimewatch 11:45pm A Question of Sport 12:15am The League Cup Show
BBC TWO 6:15pm Flog It! 7:00pm Eggheads 7:30pm Great British Railway Journeys 8:00pm Great British Garden Revival 9:00pm Winterwatch 10:00pm Wolf Hall 11:05pm Up the Women 11:35pm Newsnight 12:20am Weather
ITV 3:00pm Judge Rinder 4:00pm Tipping Point 5:00pm Mel and Sue 6:00pm The Chase 7:00pm Local News and Weather 7:30pm ITV News and Weather 8:00pm Coronation Street 8:30pm National Television Awards 11:00pm ITV News at Ten and Weather 11:40pm Bring Back Borstal 12:40am I Never Knew That About Britain
CH4 5:00pm Deal or No Deal 6:00pm Come Dine with Me 6:30pm The Simpsons 7:00pm The Simpsons 7:30pm Hollyoaks 8:00pm Channel 4 News 9:00pm The Restoration Man 10:00pm 24 Hours in A and E 11:00pm Bodyshockers 12:00am The Undateables
CH5 6:00pm 5 News at 5 6:30pm Neighbours 7:00pm Home and Away 7:30pm 5 News Tonight 8:00pm Cowboy Builders 9:00pm North Pole Ice Airport 10:00pm Celebrity Big Brother 11:00pm Suspects 12:00am Celebrity Big Brother's Bit on the Side
SKY1 5:00pm Futurama 5:30pm Futurama 6:00pm The Simpsons 6:30pm Futurama 7:00pm Futurama 7:30pm The Simpsons 8:00pm The Simpsons 8:30pm The Simpsons 9:00pm The Fanatics 10:00pm 50 Ways to Kill Your Mammy 11:00pm Karl Pilkington: The Moaning of Life 12:00am NCIS: Los Angeles 1:00am NCIS: Los Angeles 2:00am Hawaii Five-0 3:00am Hawaii Five-0 4:00am Road Wars 5:00am Airline USA 5:30am Airline USA
OPINION & COMMENT
www.euroweeklynews.com
15 - 21 January 2015/ Axarquía - Costa Tropical
EWN
31
A Grexit tragedy or a European farce Nora Johnson
Breaking Views A Costa del Sol resident for a number of years, Nora is the author of psychological suspense and crime thrillers. To comment on any of the issues raised in her column, go to www.euroweeklynews.com/columnists/nora-johnson
A
CCORDING to reports, Germany believes a Greek exit from the euro is almost inevitable if the left-wing party, Syriza, triumphs in this month’s election but that such an outcome no longer threatens the eurozone. This is merely classic brinksmanship. Syriza, ahead in the polls, is deliberately staking out an extremely defiant negotiating position to entice Greek voters so that, if elected, its government can demand more EU bailout money while refusing to honour Greece’s current debt. For its part, Germany is dropping equally defiant hints that any non-compliance by a
GREEK VOTERS: Germany believes an exit from the euro is almost inevitable. Greek government with honouring its debts would result in ejection from the euro, an outcome which, they’re keen to let the Greek people know before they vote for Syriza, would now cause Germany no major headaches. Needless to say, each side is being economical with the truth because each has every reason to issue misleading statements: Syriza to bid high in order to
win votes - and more concessions from Germany; Germany to talk up the odds of Greek ejection as a threat to Greek voters (and any other eurozone nation unhappy with austerity), although this unravelling of the EU project is the last thing Germany (or the rest of the EU) wants. The underlying worry would remain that if Greece leaves the eurozone but remains in the
EU, the domino effect might result in the exit of other nations. Cyprus might, for instance, follow Greece and the market vultures would doubtless then turn the spotlight on other austeritystricken countries like Italy and Portugal to test their market strength. The eurozone could experience a gradual break-up resulting in a smaller but more viable EU. Quite apart from the
UK’s own election outcome this May, the EU could face a concatenation of surprises in 2015 transforming it for ever. As for Spain and its own general election in 2015, the governing party (the Partido Popular) is drawing comfort from the fact that the left-wing, equally successful Syriza-like party, Podemos, would be badly hurt by comparisons with Syriza if Syriza is elected and Greece subsequently defaulted and/or exited the eurozone. Ultimately, though, the situation will inevitably be addressed neither with Grexit nor with debt default, but with lashings of the EU’s favourite confectionery: fudge. So, maybe less a Grexit tragedy than an EU farce?
Nora Johnson’s thrillers Landscape of Lies, Retribution, Soul Stealer, The De Clerambault Code (www.nora-johnson.com) available from Amazon and iBookstore. Profits to Cudeca.
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E W N 15 - 21 January 2015 / Axarquía - Costa Tropical
OPINION & COMMENT
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The great patriotic war MK.2 Mike Walsh Mike, based in Mediterranean Spain, is an international journalist, author and professional writer.
I
have more Russian friends than you could shake a stick at. I have no wish to do so, but my friends firmly believe the US and EU carry a big stick. They don’t take kindly to it. Stung by their being stigmatised, offended by hypocritical posturing, our hurt and exiled fellow Europeans turn east to China and south to India. The Russians now merge their diplomatic, defence and trade relationships with the monolithic BRICS trading bloc. BRICS control almost 40 per cent of the GDP/PPP in the world. That is more than USA and EU together. Given the minuscule size, troubled and shrinking economies of the EU and US, one wonders if the EU and US in fact exile themselves. The West certainly seems to be now hooked on its own sanctimonious petard. At home, offended Russians now resort to strident nationalism. In Russia today there is a heady mix of Soviet patriotism
STALIN: Russians are oblivious to or forgiving of his enormous crimes. and Third Reich symbolism, the goosestep parades are back. The serried sea of flags and massive arms displays are now eerily reminiscent of the Reich during the 1930s. President Vladimir Putin’s standing is at an all time high, Russian opinion of the EU and US is at an all time low. The Russians have good memories. They don’t like sieges, they know how to survive them and turn them on their foes.
The Russians are particularly embittered by America’s ousting of the legitimate government of their neighbour and partner, Ukraine. Imagine American mortification had the Russians invested $7 billion on ousting the Mexican or Canadian governments. Our Russian friends are aghast that the West openly supports pro-Nazis in Kiev. These Swastika-flaunting Banderistas are not Nazis. When the Reich occupied
Ukraine in 1941 Banderistas were thrown into concentration camps; Stalin released them. They are Ukrainian xenophobes. Their use of the Swastika is no more reflection on their agenda than it is on the stationery of Skinheads United. Before the war use of Swastikas was widespread. America’s Boeing aircraft manufacturers used it as did Coca Cola who displayed the ancient symbol of good fortune. Few in the West realise how effective the Russians’ ‘Great Patriotic War' brainlaundering is. Like the Americans and British, the Russians believe they alone defeated the Nazi meat grinder and saved the West. Russians are oblivious to or forgiving of Stalin’s enormous crimes. They are blissfully unaware that ‘victim’ Russia in 1941 was poised to attack the Reich from the east when Germany preemptively struck with disastrous effects for the USSR. The Russians firmly believe they were the victims. They forget about Stalin’s wars on Finland, Poland, etc. They now see the US and EU as being the new Nazis. The West should be under no illusions. Don’t mess with the Russians. This is not 1939 and the killing fields are now much more even.
All change, with a sigh of relief! government might succeed in facing down Brussels on austerity and renegotiate Greece’s debt. But if, as is likely, Brussels demonstrates who is boss, things will look bleak for Podemos.
Cassandra Nash
A weekly look - and not entirely impartial reaction to the Spanish political scene
N
ATIONAL high court judge Pablo Ruz leaves his current post at Madrid’s Number 5 court next March. Ruz is no super-judge along the lines of Baltasar Garzon or Javier Gomez Bermudez. He shuns the limelight but instructs Spain’s most notorious cases, starting with Gurtel which he inherited from Baltasar Garzon, now harshly ousted as a judge. The Barcenas scandal which Gomez Bermudez tried to snaffle from under Ruz’s nose is another, as well as the financial skulduggery of disgraced Jordi Pujol Ferrasola, son of the former Catalan president, the similarly-disgraced Jordi Pujol. Ruz could have stayed longer in his current post, but it is hardly surprising that nothing was done to prolong his stay. He is confident he will have finished
Could try harder JORDI PUJOL: Accused of financial skulduggery. the Gurtel summing-up before March, but there will be audible sighs of relief throughout the country once he is posted elsewhere. The loudest are likely to come from the government.
A path to follow GREECE could put a spanner in the Podemos works. Pablo Iglesias has never
hidden his regard for Syriza and its leader Alexis Tsipras. “2015 will be the year of change in Spain and in Europe. We shall begin in Greece,” said Iglesias as he welcomed Athens’ decision to call general elections. Podemos and Syriza have many populist aims in common and if the latter wins the January 25 ballot, Spanish voters will have a preview of what could happen with Podemos in power. A hypothetical Syriza
THE Accounts Tribunal ensures public administrations and political parties put public money to legal use. Despite alleged evidence of ‘grave irregularities’ in practically all political parties according to Public Prosecutor Olayo Gonzalez Soler, only the former communist party IU and Partido Aragones Regionalista are being pursued for breaking the law. Yet the Tribunal failed to winkle out the PP’s treasurer, the now-remanded Luis Barcenas. What do its employees do all day? Look the other way?
Up against it SOMEBODY had to say it and it fell to El Pais columnist Luz Sanchez-Mellado. “Con Iglesias hemos topado,” she wrote, paraphrasing Don Quijote’s “Con la Iglesia hemos topado.” When Cervantes put those words in his anti-hero’s mouth “We’ve come up against the Church” - there was an implicit double meaning all those centuries ago. Sanchez-Mellado put her always-mocking finger on the nerve that makes every Spanish politician wince with fear. Her double meaning referred to Pablo Iglesias, whose party Podemos won five surprise seats in last May’s European elections. That dark horse turned out to be not Don Quijote’s broken down hack as critics hoped, but the steeds of the Four Horsemen rolled into one. Nightmare stuff for PP and PSOE politicians who foresee the Apocalypse.
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E W N 15 - 21 January 2015 / Axarquía - Costa Tropical
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TODAY
TODAY
ARCHIDONA
CASABERMEJA NERJA
VELEZ-MALAGA MALAGA R DE LA VICTORIA
ARCHIDONA
CASABERMEJA NERJA
VELEZ-MALAGA
TOMORROW MALAGA
R DE LA VICTORIA
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Fri Sat Sun -
tars
the last minute. If energy levels are not as high as normal, use this week for planning. With holidays in mind, the summer seems far away but maybe a weekend trip will fill the gap.
mystery surrounds a close friend and your opinion may be sought. Hold fire until all the facts are known and you are sure a person has been honest with you.
GEMINI (May 22 - June 21) Although health should be good, energy may be a little low. A bit of a
TAURUS (April 21 - May 21) Social activities are likely to change at
7-Star Quiz
CANCER (June 22 - July 23) The temptation to run round like a headless chicken is strong this week.
Sudoku
VIRGO (August 24 - September 23) A lost cause tries to demand your attention, but you must try to see the situation for what it is. Sentimentality should not come into business or be allowed to upset your home life. What is past should remain so, do not torture yourself.
TODAY:
LAST WEEK’S SOLUTION
SCORPIO (October 24 - November 22) Are you suffering from winter blues? Although it is a common feeling at this time of the year, keep optimistic. There is so much to look forward to, in fact, that you are spoilt for choice. SAGITTARIUS (November 23 December 21) Recent events have perhaps left a gap in your social life that is hard to fill. Patience is needed because it would be foolish to rush into something new if your heart is involved. Concentrating on work and other people will alleviate any loneliness.
LOTTERY UK THUNDERBALL
IRISH LOTTO
EURO MILLIONS
Saturday January 10
Saturday January 10
Saturday January 10
Friday January 9
13
14
16
24
41
43
14
20 34
22 38
6
7
25
30
37
45
BONUS BALL
THUNDERBALL
BONUS BALL
39
10
8
6
21 32
LUCKY STARS 1
11
EL GORDO DE LA PRIMITIVA
18
27
37
41
42
49
REINTEGRO 20
2
3
12 20
17 6 C 16 6 S 16 6 C
MAX MIN
Mon - 17 6 S Tues - 17 7 S Wed - 18 8 Cl
Madrid
13 6 Cl 15 7 S 14 7 C
MAX MIN
MAX MIN
Fri Sat Sun -
Mon - 16 8 S Tues - 16 8 C Wed - 17 8 S
MAX MIN
S Sun,
9 1 C 9 0 S 11 2 S
MAX MIN
Mon - 13 3 Cl Tues - 12 3 Cl Wed - 13 3 C
Murcia
CLOUDY MAX 18C, MIN 11C 15 7 C 13 7 C 14 7 C
SHOWERS MAX 12C, MIN 3C
TODAY:
MAX 19C, MIN 10C
TODAY:
MAX MIN
Mon - 15 6 Sh Tues - 16 7 S Wed - 16 7 C Cl Clear,
SUNNY MAX 21C, MIN 7C MAX MIN
Fri Sat Sun Fog,
Sn Snow,
17 6 Sh 17 4 S 17 4 S C Cloud,
MAX MIN
Mon - 18 6 S Tues - 18 5 S Wed - 19 6 S 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 V) and there must be AT LEAST ONE NINE LETTER WORD. Plurals, vulgarities or proper nouns are not allowed.
TARGET:
Average: 9
Very good: 18
Good: 12
Excellent: 22
amen, amid, amir, dame, damn, deem, dime, dram, emir, idem, made, maid, main, mane, mare, mead, mean, meed, mend, mere, mien, mind, mine, mire, name, neem, ream, rime, admen, admin, aimed, aimer, ameer, amend, amide, amine, anime, armed, denim, derma, dimer, dream, edema, emend, enema, maned, media, mined, miner, mired, named, namer, ramie, rearm, rimed, admire, airmen, amende, demean, ermine, maiden, marine, marred, meaner, meanie, median, medina, mender, minder, reamed, reamer, remade, remain, remand, remind, rename, admirer, amender, dreamer, ermined, mariner, married, meander, rearmed, renamed, dreamier, remained, reminder, REMAINDER
Word Ladder SLOW
Sunday January 11
Saturday January 10
24 45
LA PRIMITIVA
Fri Sat Sun -
Mallorca Fri Sat Sun -
MAX MIN
Mon - 17 8 S Tues - 17 8 S Wed - 18 9 S
CLEAR MAX 19C, MIN 10C MAX MIN
MAX MIN
Mon - 13 7 Cl Tues - 14 7 S Wed - 14 8 Cl
MAX MIN
Fri Sat Sun -
MAX 19C, MIN 12C
Benidorm
Malaga SUNNY
17 7 Sh 16 8 S 15 7 C
TODAY:
MAX 17C, MIN 11C
15 6 C 14 6 S 13 7 C
TODAY:
LIBRA (September 24 October 23) Ruts are awful things to get into but even more difficult to get out of. Being cosy is one thing, but getting bogged down, mentally and physically, is another. All you need is to keep your optimism alive and use your imagination.
UK NATIONAL LOTTERY
Fri Sat Sun -
LEO (July 24 - August 23) A situation could become complicated if you do not plan ahead. With a little thought and planning, matters can be kept simple which is always desirable. Be choosy about the company you keep because a bad character could taint by association.
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.
Fri Sat Sun -
Barcelona CLEAR
SUNNY MAX MIN
Mon - 16 7 Cl Tues - 17 7 S Wed - 17 7 Cl
16 6 C 16 4 S 16 5 S
TODAY:
There seem to be so many demands on your time that things become confusing. Be sure you are getting enough rest because this time of the year can be fraught for you.
Y S our
TODAY:
MAX MIN
MAX MIN
ARIES (March 21 - April 20) Extra pressures at work leave you feeling less than energetic. Check on your health and don't go overboard with the physical activities. Set out to become more active, socially, and maximise on relaxation.
1. By what score did Germany beat Brazil to go through to the final in the biggest margin of victory in the FIFA World Cup's semi-final history in July? 2. Which ‘surreal comedy group’ performed their last ever comedy show at the The O₂ in London in July? 3. Which famous English electronic pop duo made a guest appearance on the longrunning BBC Radio 4 soap opera The Archers in August? 4. Which British athlete won the 10K gold medal at the 2014 European Championships in Zürich in August at the age of 40 years and 325 days? 5. Ewa Kopacz became which country’s second female prime minister in September? 6. Who announced his resignation as first minister of Scotland and leader of the Scottish National Party following the Scottish independence referendum in September? 7. Queen Elizabeth II sent her first what on October 24?
MAX MIN
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PISCES (February 20 - March 20) There may not be enough time to do everything you want, so why can't you just reorganise your life so there is? Not as easy as it sounds, Pisces, unless you learn the magic word: no. Know your limits and stick to them.
THAT WAS 2014 THAT WAS… (PART TWO)
Almeria
SUNNY MAX 19C, MIN 8C
Move from the start word (SLOW) to the end word (DOWN) in the same number of steps as there are rungs on the Word Ladder. You must only change one letter at a time.
19 52
REINTEGRO 3
DOWN
SOON SOWN DOWN
AQUARIUS (January 21 - February 19) A feeling that you should totally commit yourself to something or someone this week should be avoided. You will come up against a brick wall if a situation is forced.
Alicante TODAY:
SLOW SLOT SOOT
CAPRICORN (December 22 - January 20) A loss of patience with a situation shows this week but is not to your advantage. Whatever you feel, be subtle in your approach. Try to see your position clearly and the result will be that you realise you have more control than you thought.
1. 7-1, 2. MONTY PYTHON, 3. PET SHOP BOYS, 4. JO PAVEY, 5. POLAND, 6. ALEX SALMOND, 7. TWEET.
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Crosswords
15 - 21 January 2015 / Axarquía - Costa Tropical
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Cryptic
Quick
Across 1 Track official appetiser (7) 5 Weep, the Queen is like a judge (5) 8 Covets a redistribution for such birds (7) 9 Embarrassingly holds drapery (5) 10 Function in the mid-seventies (5) 11 We stare at sea for Jersey (7) 12 Apportions company stock (6) 14 Carpet beater moving (6) 17 Can I be pleasant? (7) 19 Second team leader and get up (5) 22 Brings up rare point by mistake (5) 23 Housing monarch in a little row of houses (7) 24 Andres Segovia reveals his clothes (5) 25 Hart’s partner gores Dr Wild (7) Down 1 Criticise pub credit (5) 2 Make amends by altering a note (5) 3 Badly written letters of support (7) 4 Make a stand against Twisted Sister (6)
Across 1 Disagree (6) 4 Win a victory over (6) 9 Reduce in length (7) 10 Revolves (5) 11 Scope (5) 12 Observe closely (7) 13 Not needed (11) 18 Reached destination (7) 20 Round fruit (5) 22 In the middle of (5) 23 Zero (7) 24 React verbally (6) 25 Author (6)
5 Two ways to get staff (5) 6 Tear bit off cleric’s cap (7) 7 Second string player showing some reticence (7) 12 Free traders had leading parts (7) 13 Stir it in quartz (7) 15 Guaranteed to be safe in goal (7)
16 A stove is included in what he ate, really! (6) 18 Ruins sculptures (5) 20 Informed about a Hertfordshire town (5) 21 Figures will show how well they are working (5)
Code Breaker Each number in the Code Breaker grid represents a different letter of the alphabet. In this week’s puzzle, 7 represents C and 10 represents W, so fill in C every time the figure 7 appears and W every time the figure 10 appears. Now, using your knowledge of the English language, work out which letters should go in the missing squares. As you discover the letters, fill in other squares with the same number in the main grid and the control grid.
LAST WEEK’S SOLUTIONS CRYPTIC Across: 1 Teak, 3 Sandwich, 9 Airfare, 10 Ruler, 11 Steer, 12 Themed, 14 Parish, 16 Hassle, 19 Facile, 21 Unlit, 24 Aroma, 25 Spectre, 26 Hostelry, 27 Cons. Down: 1 Transept, 2 Agree, 4 Agents, 5 Dirge, 6 Illness, 7 Hard, 8 Madras, 13 Restless, 15 Reasons, 17 Amused, 18 Teaser, 20 Irate, 22 Lotto, 23 Bath. QUICK Across: 1 Slapped, 5 Lends, 8 Remains, 9 Force, 10 Extra, 11 Respond, 12 Chases, 14 Closer, 17 Shampoo, 19 Seals, 22 Later, 23 Knowing, 24 Sides, 25 Descent. Down: 1 Serve, 2 Admit, 3 Private, 4 Desire, 5 Lifts, 6 Nervous, 7 Slender, 12 Castles, 13 Adapted, 15 Lessons, 16 Locked, 18 Parts, 20 Alike, 21 Sight. ENGLISH-SPANISH Across: 1 Heart, 4 Tyres, 7 Margarine, 8/10 Bin bag, 15 Over there, 17 Otoño, 18 Tarea.
LAST WEEK’S SOLUTION
Down: 1 Haba, 2 Arm, 3 Toro, 4 Team, 5 Reina, 6 Seed, 9 Ileso, 11 Rojo, 12 Otro, 13 Belt, 14 Acta, 16 Ear.
English - Spanish The clues are mixed, some clues are in Spanish and some are in English. Across 1 To find (9) 8 In the same way (5) 9 Mancha (de aceite, pintura, etc) (5) 11 Mushroom (flat-topped) (4) 12 Flat (apartment) (4) 14 Straw (agriculture) (4) 16 Envolver (4) 19 Acordar (5) 21 Now (at this time, immediately) (5) 22 Siglos (9) Down 2 Nombre (lingüística) (5) 3 Búhos (4) 4 Prueba (4) 5 Handle (of basket, bucket, jug) (3) 6 To clean (7) 7 To pack (in boxes) (7) 10 Grifo (de agua) (3) 13 Deber (3) 15 Arriba (indicando situación) (5) 17 Alquiler (de inmueble) (4) 18 Pareja (4) 20 Laughs (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 (NICHES) and one letter in four other cells are given as clues. ADVICE
REACTS
CHARMS
REGARD
DREAMS
SLAYER
GREEDY
SOUNDS
HAMMED
STORMY
MASSED
UNITED
MEEKLY
WAGONS
NICHES (10)
WARNED
NOTION
WINGED
OWNERS
LAST WEEK’S SOLUTION
Funagram Unscramble the name of an American jazz rock band (two words): TENSE LADY FUNAGRAM SOLUTION: CHRIS EUBANK, STEELY DAN
Unscramble the name of a famous former British boxing world champion: I SNUB HACKER
Down 1 Have a wish for (6) 2 Expression of displeasure (5) 3 Outermost (7) 5 More than necessary (5) 6 At a previous time (7) 7 Samples (6) 8 Free from external control and constraint (11) 14 Easily agitated (7) 15 Disperse (7) 16 Yellow fruit (6) 17 Mendicant (6) 19 Ill-defined (5) 21 Sharp end (5)
1 Tested, 2 Pitted, 3 Defend, 4 Hammed, 5 Fronts, 6 Baited, 7 Thence, 8 Endure, 9 Patron, 10 County, 11 Resent, 12 Storey, 13 Render, 14 Racoon, 15 Steeds, 16 Owners, 17 Events, 18 Leered, 19 Weeded
36
E W N 15 - 21 January 2015 /Axarquía - Costa Tropical
T
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OPINION & COMMENT
What is the funniest thing that has happened to you recently?
INA JARRETT of Lifestyle Interiors, in Portals Nous, Mallorca: “There were a few funny things that happened during the Christmas holidays. My parents have been staying with us and after Christmas Day lunch, I decided to make us all Irish coffee. I spent ages over the preparation, fresh coffee, fresh whipped cream, and the best single malt. We all took our first sip, which my husband promptly spat out across the table - I had put salt in the coffee instead of sugar! I won’t be making that mistake again.” Tony Roig of Bar Rositas, in Calvia, Mallorca: “We went to the UK over the Christmas holidays. We still had some Christmas shopping to do and gifts to buy, but the shops were so busy, we got back quite late and wrapped the gifts. After a few vinos we realised no one had written out the name tags. It was quite funny when my daughter opened an El Divo CD, and my mum got One Direction. How to disappoint two people at the same time!” Claus of the Longhorn restaurant, in Benalmadena, Malaga, is always being mistaken for the Italian referee, Collina:
STREET TALK “When I am asked if I am the famous Italian referee, it makes me chuckle, although being bald is all Collina and I have in common as football is not a hobby of mine. Recently a football team from Benalmadena gave me a very nice Kirsty (right); Tina (far right) and Claus with his football shirt (below).
football shirt with the logo of my restaurant Longhorn on it. I shall wear it next summer.” Kirsty Gordon from Bar Boru in Calahonda, Malaga, told us: “When a client bought a Bar Boru Gold Card over the Christmas period, getting her two for one evening meals all year long… the client asked me if it was also usable as a credit card!” Kirsty went on to reply “No... But it will give you a great interest in Bar Boru!!” “We were going on a cruise from Valencia, and couldn’t find the car park,” said Peter Savage from PN TV Services. “We had pre-booked the car park, so ended up abandoning the car on wasteland and leaving it with some guy. I gave him €10 and said if it was still there in a week with all the tyres I’d give him another €10. And it was! He was waiting by the car when we got off the Peter ship. It was stressful at the time of PN but we laugh about it now.” TV.
Shake, rattle and roll... Cool! Colin Bird
MODERN TECHNOLOGY: Manufacturers don’t build things to last like they used to.
Each week, Colin brings his slightly off-the-wall view of the world to the pages of EWN in his own irreverent style.
I
like my computer. I can have a good old chat with friends who live on the other side of the Atlantic - complete with a live image - and it’s great for researching things I need for work. But I positively detest the thing when it goes wrong, which is as frequent as the issue of yet another EU regulation. Anyway, I had a bit of trouble a couple of weeks ago when it began to cut out at inopportune times. Yes, I know the term is ‘crash’, but being firmly anchored in the pre-computer age, I prefer the term ‘cut out’, thank you. This happened with increasing regularity until it simply would not, um... reboot, dammit. So I took it to my local computer shop. I have to say that I take my faulty hardware in as a last,
not a first, resort. Not because I have problems with the staff, who are always helpful and professional, but due to my own failings, I invariably emerge from the place feeling like a prize turnip. They use Klingon when trying
to explain things to me, you see, and although I nod sagely, the truth is I don’t understand a darn thing they are saying. On this occasion I was told to leave the offending beast and they would get back to me, which they did, promptly.
It’s the power supply, I was told by the friendly young man. I was puzzled, everything else in the house seemed to be working perfectly and I told him so. No, the power supply, he repeated. I was getting agitated. Yes, I heard what he said the first time,
and I reiterated that all the lights in the house were working, as too were the TV and that other thing that burns bread whenever I use it, so how come? The power supply in the computer he pointed out patiently. But could it be fixed? Of course, and less than an hour later and €60 poorer, I had the treacherous machine back on my desk. The problem, apparently, is that my computer is two years old and I must expect this sort of thing to happen. My parents only ever owned one fridge purchased during the 50s and although it would shake, rattle and roll in keeping with its vintage, it was still doing its job 30 years later. So why are today’s manufacturers not able to build things to last? Well, they could, of course, but when hundreds of people queue round the block for the latest model of things like smartphones at 500 quid each, why should they?
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Women ‘sadder’ We need structure in life, but in the winter never be afraid of change
WOMEN are 50 per cent more likely to suffer from seasonal affective disorder (SAD). A new report shows that women suffer more than men from winter blues with one in five males saying they are not affected in any way by the changing seasons. The survey was conducted on over 2,000 people in the UK and concluded that women are also more likely to comfort eat during the winter months, with 33 per cent indulging in extra snacks. Of those questioned, 37 per cent of women said they struggled to get
motivated in the winter months compared to 28 per cent of men, and 44 per cent said they found it hard to get up in the colder mornings compared to 30 per cent of men. The shorter days and lack of daylight are most likely to blame, causing hormonal changes, increasing the production of the sleep hormone melatonin, making people feel lethargic and demotivated. However, 58 per cent of people said they enjoyed getting cosy in front of the TV and 28 per cent said booking a holiday made them feel better.
Erica Russell Watson: My journey – and I’m driving
7th January THE first few days of the New Year had been spent catching up with family and being looked after. January 5 was a great day in Malaga watching the Christmas processions for the Three Kings. We had a marvellous view from high up on the balcony of the Malaga Palacio hotel. The Reyes January 6 was spent quietly at home. We cut the traditional ‘Rosco de Reyes,’ a typical Spanish cake eaten in most households on this day. I was lucky enough to get the king figurine in my slice so was crowned the king for the day, which also brought me luck. My daughter got the broadbean… not so lucky as the recipient is supposed to pay for the cake but we let her off, naturally! January 7 and it was round three for my chemo treatment. I drove to Malaga for the routine blood test very early in the morning and then off to breakfast. Due to the large amount of blood analysis, chemo treatment and Cat scans, my poor veins were acting up and I came home with four different bandages instead of two, but that’s life. We got there in the end! My oncologist was very happy with my blood test results and the fact that I hadn’t succumbed to infections or colds and my defence system was holding up, meaning I could continue on track with my treatments because the sooner they were over, the happier I would be.
FAMILY VISIT: Having my sister here made a difference. The chemo session took three hours and then it was time to go back to Jorge’s house for some TLC and delicious Spanish home cooking courtesy of his mother. I rested and then felt well enough to have a little stroll around Malaga, a few tapas and an ice cream and then back home for a video and bed. I had a slightly restless night but was so relieved in the morning that I didn’t feel as sick as the last time. It seems that every session is a new experience, you just don’t know how you are going to react. I am positive having my family here has made the difference as they have taken the strain on the cooking and washing and just looked after and loved me. I owe them all so much. What a joy it is to be united! Special thanks to my lovely brother-in-law who has driven us all about and been a saint in general. January 8 was a delightful day spent in Frigiliana, a typical whitewashed town with cobbled streets, and then off to the beach for a bite to eat. My sister bought me a lovely handbag too. I was thoroughly spoilt. My next treatment would be on
January 28, marking the halfway point of my chemotherapy. This would be quite a landmark and also the last in the first batch of treatments. Session five would mean a change in dose and type of chemo. I would have no idea how I would react to this, but there is no point worrying about that. Each step draws you closer to the finishing post. Emotionally I remain extremely positive and there are days I totally forget that I have an ‘illness’. I have such a busy life with children and so much still to achieve and so many people to see and things to do that it gives me direction and focus. I have started to make a list of the things that I would like to do when I am fully recovered including walking the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage, hiking, running a minimarathon and a million and one other things. I also have a lot of thank you letters to write and good deeds to return to people. I think that people regard difficult news, hard times or illness as a bad thing, but I truly believe that a change, no matter how tough it may seem to start with, good always comes out of it. We need some structure in life but we must never be afraid of change as it breathes life into our very existence. Otherwise that allimportant discovery might never come about, that life-changing trip might never be made, a true love not met or ambition achieved. I’ve said it before, we are on this planet for such a short time that we really should try and be as kind to others as possible and do our best, but most of all be happy. Having regrets in life is one of the saddest things I think, so don’t just talk about what you wish you could be or how you wish your life could change. Make a positive step towards your goals, no matter how small, you will find it really is worth it and you will grow in confidence and self-belief.
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An overweight pet is not a healthy one MANY people like to ‘treat’ their cat or dog with extra food and snacks, but they really should take care with the amount they feed their pets. It is unfortunate that just as the human population is getting fatter, the rate of obesity in our pets is also on the rise. It is usually down to David THE Dogman OBESITY: Becoming common in pets as well as humans. spoiling them with unhealthy treats or overfeeding them. Take care to skin problems when measuring the food developing as well. Listen to David on TRE every Saturday 10 thru 11. out, and use healthy treats Costa del Sol (Gibraltar/Sotogrande) 98.7fm On top of that, if your pet (San Roque to Calahonda) 91.9fm specially formulated for (Calahonda to Motril) 88.9, Costa Calida 92.7fm needs an operation, which Costa Blanca (Torrevieja to Elche) 105.1fm your animals using good (Elche to Calpe) 88.2fm, (Calpe to Gandia & Ibiza) is more likey as it is 104.6fm, (Denia to Valencia) 95.3fm quality ingredients. overweight anyway, then Mallorca 103.9fm There are many health vets need to take extra risks to overweight pets including precautions when anaesthetising and diabetes and liver problems. performing surgery. This can be particularly serious when it Many anaesthetics are ‘soaked up’ by comes to cats, who for any reason stop fat so an overweight animal will take eating, lose weight quickly or are longer to come out of anaesthesia as the stressed as their reduced liver function drugs are retained by the fat in its body. can then prove to be fatal. As well as that, a fatty liver may not be The risk of lameness and arthritis in as efficient at breaking down heavy or obese dogs and cats is three to anaesthetics and other drugs, so again, five times that of pets at the correct recovery may be delayed. weight. So owners are not being kind when Obese cats are twice as likely to they give their pets an extra helping of develop non-allergic skin conditions, food or unhealthy treats whenever they possibly due to an inability to groom beg for them. It is better to be firm and themselves adequately, which can lead watch what their animals eat.
Daisy digs her dog-sitters By Lamia Walker of HousesitMatch JULITA, Daisy’s owner, had found that kennels did not suit Daisy’s temperament. Returning from a two-week holiday last year, she found that despite having carefully chosen a very wellrespected kennels for her young puppy, the dog had lost a frightening amount of weight and had sore paws from trying to dig
her way out of the compound every day! Realising that despite her previous dogs being perfectly happy in similar kennels, she needed to find an alternative solution. So, she went online and found house-sitters through HouseSit Match.com. Daisy could stay at home, her sitters were experienced with puppies (and understood
the emotional needs of a young and flirty Cocker Spaniel) and cared for her in her own home while Julita enjoyed a wellearned break. Julita retuned to a happy Spaniel with a healthy appetite and a bouncy tail and demeanour. Download your Free Easy Guide to Housesitting from here www.bit.ly/eurown001
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Attacking those unwanted weeds HERE are some handy tips to prevent weeds: 1. Enlarge terrace areas and widen paths This will reduce the areas of soil in which seeds can germinate. 2. Lay plastic sheeting over unplanted areas and mulch Solid plastic sheeting is more effective than woven plastic. Hide the plastic with attractive mulch such as stone chippings. 3. Mulch other nonplastic areas Mulch bare earth areas under and around plants to hinder the germination of unwanted seeds and at the same time reduce evaporation of moisture from top soil during hot weather. Section 4.7 of the book ‘How to Use Less Water in Your Garden - A practical guide to waterwise Mediterranean style gardening worldwide’ lists 18 useful ways of mulching. 4. Leave rotting leaves to create a natural mulch This will reduce your garden maintenance work, attract worms, fertilise the soil naturally and reduce moisture losses as well as deterring weed growth. 5. Use a butane weeding flame gun This garden tool is useful for clearing drives and old chipping areas. 6. Grow vegetables in easy to weed raised beds or builders buckets Additionally if you grow vegetable plants so that they touch after a few weeks of growth you won’t get weeds anyway after the
first few weeks. 7. Plant plants close Leave no bare earth!
© Dick Handscombe www.gardenspain.com January 2015
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FEATURE
Know when to hold ’em, know when to fold ’em By Iain Dempsey IT’S a sight that isn’t particularly commonplace, given its solitary nature, but it is one that routinely occurs in hundreds of thousands of homes across Spain, and forms a multi-billion-euro industry. Each night, bathed in the white luminous glow of computer screens and tablets, Spanish gamblers roll the virtual dice, fold or raise on the virtual felt, and win or lose ‘virtual’ money. But despite the dangerous lies that a gambler’s mind tells itself, the money isn’t virtual. It is real. And most gamblers are losing theirs. If the house always wins in the long run, to use the Vegas parlance, then Spanish players are paying handover-fist to the virtual house. The online gaming industry in Spain generates more than €5.5 billion each year and attracts around 300,000 regular players. It’s a lot of money for a country with nearly a quarter of the population out of work. According to the Organisation of Consumers and Users (OCU), the average Spanish online gambler is male, is aged between 25 and 34, and spends €1,765 a month on sports betting, online gambling or on poker sites. To put that into context, this amount is slightly above the average Spanish monthly wage of €1,615. Gambling on the internet is now the second biggest form of gambling addiction in Spain behind fruit machines, but takes less time to develop: two years instead of six or seven for more traditional forms of gambling. Of course, not everybody who has an account on an online poker site is a gambling addict. Many players enjoy the thrill of the game while not really expecting to win. They do it for a few hours’ recreation. However, there are others who consistently break the golden rule of gambling, ‘never chase your losses’, and find themselves loading more money into an account that rarely seems to grow in size. So what is it about online
ONLINE GAMBLING: Addiction can develop faster than in traditional gambling that means it only takes two years to develop a gambling addiction, as opposed to six if you frequent the traditional ‘brick and mortar’ establishments like casinos or bookies? It comes down to perception. Like using a credit card (which the gambler actually needs to finance their online account), the user tells themselves that the money isn’t real. If you can’t see it and can’t touch it, it’s just a number on a screen that can go up or down. Access to your bank account is just a simple click away and, who
depletes and they need to deposit more in order to keep playing. A quick search around internet forums throws up a sizeable amount of people complaining that when they first joined an online gambling site or poker site, they found themselves winning regularly and seeing their initial deposit grow in size, only for that ‘lucky streak’ to come to an abrupt end shortly afterwards. But by then it’s too late, they’re hooked and chasing the highs of that winning streak. A regulated industry, like it is in Spain, at least ensures that licensed gambling sites are above board and playing by the rules (there have been high profile cases in other countries where some sites weren’t). And the carrots that they dangle to get you in the virtual door and start spending money are just that: juicy enticements. You don’t have to take the bait, but many people do. The small percentage of gamblers – particularly in online poker – who do win on a regular basis, rely on the fact that most people will lose. They hone their game, memorise the necessary statistics, and use best judgement at the table to keep their accounts ticking upwards. The online gambling world is full of experts Gambling sites and sharks employ any number only too willing to of lures to reel you in. forms. take money Poker sites regularly from the match your deposit knows, you recreational with their own may pick or bad money, purely to up that pair players. of winning It’s a world get you to deposit aces on the not to get into money. next hand. too lightly, and Online gambling one that must be sites also employ any treated with caution. If number of lures to reel you in. you can afford it, are having Poker sites regularly match your fun, and are not all-consumed by it, deposit with their own money, then by all means, enjoy. But if you purely to get you to deposit money. consistently lose and find yourself “Deposit €100 and we’ll give you pumping more money into that another €100,” they frequently online account while you chase your advertise. Most players find, losses, it might be time to stop or however, that their €200 slowly seek help.
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SPONSORED BY For best rates in motor insurance call: 952 89 33 80
IN spite of the difficult economic environment, 2014 ended on a high for Opel/Vauxhall with the carmaker recording its best sales figures in recent years. According to preliminary figures, the company delivered around 1.076 million vehicles in Europe last year. This is equivalent to an increase of 35,000 cars or 3 per cent compared to overall growth in the European market of just 2 per cent. Opel’s share of the overall European vehicle market was up for the second year running by 0.1 per cent to 5.74 per cent. Opel achieved its best sales figures and market share since 2011. “We recorded growth in more than 15 markets. Our modern range of cars managed to impress especially in the most important European markets,” said Peter Christian Küspert, Vice President Sales & Aftersales Opel Group. Amongst others, Opel grew in Germany, the United Kingdom, France, Italy and Spain. Opel booked its largest sales volume increases in Poland (+42 per cent), Ireland (+33 per cent) and Portugal (+28 per cent). The market share grew in more than 12 European countries. The company is hoping to continue its sales growth this year, and with 85,000 orders for the new Corsa, due for delivery later this
Picture copyright GM
Good year for Opel as it Commercial sales increase records 3 per cent growth
NEW CORSA: Hopes riding high at Opel. month, it has made a good start. The new entry-level model KARL will follow in the summer and the compact model Astra will arrive at the end of the year. “We will be able to offer our customers the best small car portfolio of all time with KARL, Corsa and ADAM. And our bestsellers, Corsa
and Astra, which make up 50 per cent of our sales will be renewed,” explained Küspert. Opel’s massive investment in development will see 27 new models and 17 new engines brought to market by 2018 and the company wants to increase its sales figures further in the years to come. The carmaker has targeted a
market share of 8 per cent in Europe by 2022.
IN a sign of better times ahead, sales of commercial vehicles rose by a third in 2014. As the year ended final figures showed 113,782 units were sold across the country, the best figures since 2010. Much of the credit for the sales surge has been given to the Plan PIMA Aire which encouraged drivers to swap older, more polluting vehicles for new models by giving them a minimum trade in value. It still shows an increasing confidence in the future of the economy as businesses invest in new vehicles. The increase in sales has been across the board with a similar rise for small businesses as well as larger PLCs. The car rental sector saw an annual rise of 31.5 per cent with it accounting for 21,052 units, with a 70.7 per cent rise in sales in December.
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Sport
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Cristiano Ronaldo Picked up his third Ballon d’Or World Player of the Year award.
Axarquía’s best guide to local sport
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Greens hard to read for GINS at Añoreta
The FA Cup 4th Round
THIRTY-THREE members of GINS played a Stableford competition at Añoreta in good conditions. Players reported that the ball was running well, but the greens were difficult to read with some holes placed in the shadows. Lyn McAllister won the women’s competition with 36 points ahead of Anne Jones (34). Brian Hollinrake (34) took top spot in the men’s competition, with Frank Ferdinales (32) second and Peter Thompson (32) third. At Los Moriscos, GINS played a two ball better ball Stableford with Glyn Roberts and Jill Parker (45) coming out on top ahead of Terry Oxford and Pat Lowe (44) and with Brian Downey and Rita McCracken (44) in third.
Tony Matthews
IR O SZ
THE ties are as follows: Aston Villa v AFC Bournemouth
LASZL
Costa de Almeria
OSCAR: Brazilian plays for Chelsea.
M K.CO STOC TTER
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.
Ipswich/Southampton v Crystal Palace Liverpool v Bolton Wanderers Manchester City v Middlesbrough Preston North End v Sheffield United Rochdale v Stoke City Sunderland v Fulham/Wolves Tottenham/Burnley v Leicester City FACT FILE • Holders Arsenal, who have won the trophy 26 times, will not find it easy in Hove! • Chelsea have appeared in four of last eight finals. • Rochdale have only reached the fifth round twice, in 1990 and 2003.
/ SHU TESI
International Sports
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