Euro Weekly News - Axarquia 29 January - 4 February 2015 Issue 1543

EWN FRONT EXTRA

Beach bars optimistic BEACH bars in the Costa Tropical are expecting to register positive results in 2015 after a 9 per cent increase in benefits in 2014. Head of the region’s beach bars association explained that a new law passed to regulate coasts will mean legal guarantees for owners.

Sporty high AS many as 6,000 people took part in sports events at Velez-Malaga sports facilities in 2014.

The town’s sports councillor stressed that the figures are high as in July, 800 people visited the facilities, compared with 600 in 2013.

Roadworks THE street that connects Almenara with Loma del Gato in Motril is currently being renovated at a cost of €170,000.

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FITUR highlights Axarquia AXARQUIA – as one of Southern Spain’s most important tourist destinations – is this year wellrepresented at FITUR in Madrid, arguably the most important international tourism trade fair in Europe.

In a week that Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy described tourism as “a State policy in Spain,” Motril, Nerja, Rincon de la Victoria and Almuñecar are among the areas of Andalucia featured at the trade fair that attracts more than 200,000 worldwide visitors each year.

King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia attended the opening of the fair this Wednesday, illustrating the importance of the event in a country hugely reliant on the tourism industry.

Spain is the third most visited country in the world, and the municipalities of Axarquia have worked hard to prepare for the massive event that continues until February 1.

Motril, for example, has designed a comprehensive programme highlighting all the attractions of the area.

Noteworthy is a project specially designed for the disabled community under the slogan ‘Motril is for Everyone’, which aims to promote the town as an accessible, adapted destination.

Nerja is focusing on the town’s environmental attractions. ‘Nerja, Naturally’

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ISSUE NO. 1543

highlights its unrivalled natural beauty.

Rincon de la Victoria has designed brochures in four languages to hand out at the fair and will also introduce the new website for the town’s most important natural monument, the Treasure Cave. Almuñecar is

playing its part by launching an outstanding promotional video featuring its historical, cultural and traditional attractions.

The importance of being featured at FITUR cannot be underestimated. It is the ideal place to discover a wide range of worldwide destinations under

one roof, with a total of 686 stands representing 165 countries. The fair is not just a place for professionals to meet and network, but an ideal weekend destination for members of the public to not only gather information on potential holiday destinations, but also to sample the food, drink and culture of various worldwide vacation hotspots.

FITUR also puts on a number of events for the public over the weekend, including a ‘travellers’ gymkhana’ on Saturday, which will give visitors a chance to win prizes including free hotel stays, trips, typical local products and many more prizes by proving their travel knowledge.

The 2015 34th edition of the FITUR tourism event will be open to the public this Saturday from 10am to 8pm, and Sunday from 10am to 6pm.

More information on Page 5

Mayor visits life-saving Red Cross volunteers MAYOR of Motril Luisa Garcia Chamorro visited Red Cross offices in the town, in an event to honour and thank the organisation’s members.

Motril’s branch of the Red Cross counts on the help of 300 volunteers who, in 2014, assisted more than 3,000 people in social matters.

In addition, the Red Cross has provided medical treatment to around 500 people rescued by Guardia Civil and Salvamento Maritimo (Spanish sea search and rescue) when they were trying to reach the coast in dinghies.

The Red Cross assists women, youths and children with social difficulties, senior citizens, disabled residents, immigrants, and families who live in an extreme state of vulnerability as a result of the financial crisis.

Ms Chamorro also visited the facilities that the Red Cross has in Motril Port, where the Immediate Emergency Response Team (ERIE) are in charge of providing medical treatment for immigrants who arrive in the port after being rescued by Salvamento Maritimo and the Guardia Civil police.

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INDEX News 1 - 24 Finance 25 - 30 Letters 31 Leapy Lee 32 Daily TV 34 VOTE: Members decided to link with nationalist party Ciudadanos.

Time Out 36 - 37 Health & Beauty 39 Pets 40 Services 41 - 43 Classifieds 44 - 45 Motoring 47 Sport 48

Flood of support for SOHA homeowners

A PRESSURE group of owners of ‘illegal’ homes in the Axarquia, SOHA, has received a massive response after their last meeting in La Viñuela.

The meeting’s main goal was to decide whether the group should participate in the next municipal elections as an independent group or join a previously existing political party.

SOHA members decided to link their political efforts to centre-left, non-

nationalist party Ciudadanos in towns Alcaucin and La Viñuela.

SOHA’s spokesperson and councillor in Alcaucin, Mario Blancke, stood in the last elections with party Los Verdes (Equo) and will lead the candidacy for Ciudadanos in Alcaucin.

Although SOHA is formed mainly by expats, many local Spaniards have shown their willingness to join the group in their newly-created political career.

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New access THE Development Ministry has approved the project to create the new access from the N340 to the Las Palomas residential complex in La Herradura.

VELEZ-MALAGA’S fourth Tapas Route will take place between February 6 and March 1.

A total of 15 Velez-Malaga restaurants and bars will participate in the event, each presenting the dish in which they specialise.

The tapas will have a price of €2, which will also include a drink.

Citizens’ will be given a

‘Tapaporte,’ a special passport including all the participating establishments, their opening hours and available dishes.

Participants will be able to collect stamps from each restaurant, and participate in a raffle for a €500 gift voucher if they have been able to collect all 15 stamps.

Those participants who have at least eight stamps will have the

chance to participate in a raffle to win a €250 voucher. The raffle will take place on March 13.

Users will also be able to vote for their favourite tapa at www.facebook.com/rutadelatapav elez and the author of the best comment on the winning tapa will receive a surprise prize.

More information can be found at www.rutadelatapavelez.com.

Costume contest ALGARROBO is hosting a Carnival Costume competition.

Those interested in taking part can register until February 13 at the socio-cultural area offices, the town hall or by calling 607 662 082.

Nature forum TWO hundred people took part in the Eleventh International Nature Conservation Forum in Malaga City last weekend, sharing information on endangered species and how to protect them.

Mobile tunnels MOBILE phone services will be available in the tunnels of Malaga Metro by this summer, the Junta de Andalucia regional government’s Development delegate Manuel Garcia Pelaez has announced.

Blood donor’s tribute THE Regional Blood Transfusion Centre GranadaAlmeria and the Blood Donors Association of Granada were honoured in Motril in an event celebrated at the town’s Teatro Calderon where participants received diplomas rewarding their efforts.

District improvements THE Barrio de la Esparraguera in Motril will undergo comprehensive renovations which will include the complete renovation of water supply and sewage systems with a budget of €1 million.

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Velez-Malaga Tapas Route

Photo: Eloy Verdu Martin/flickr

Tourist brochures THE tourism department of Rincon de la Victoria will release 20,000 tourist brochures in four different languages (Spanish, English, French and German) including information about the town’s history, events and services.

January - 4 February 2015 / Axarquía - Costa Tropical WE 29DO!

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Torrox’ sports complex

THE legal procedures to build a big sports centre at Torrox coast have been started by the town’s council. It is expected to be built in the area of Los Llanos.

Pay-and-display PAY-AND-DISPLAY areas are to be implemented in VelezMalaga. Those drivers who wish to park their cars during business hours on the streets of Velez and Torre del Mar will have to pay according to the time they spend parked.

Saving animals MALAGA Local Police force’s Nature Protection Group (Grupona) picked up a total of 158 animals in 2014 including snakes, birds, bats, squirrels, chameleons among others.

Helping office

GETTING INTO CHARACTER: Valencia celebrates the past.

Moors and Christians meet again in celebration

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HE streets of Bocairent in Valencia will reverberate to the sounds of clashing scimitars and gunfire as Moors and Christians maraud through the town to mark the ancient battles when the area was taken over by Moorish invaders, only to be overthrown by the Christians centuries later.

The first weekend in February sees Bocairent kick off the round of Moros y Cristianos (Moors and Christians) festivals that take place throughout Spain. Visually spectacular, the event commemorates the Moors and

Christians’ struggle for control of the country, with Christian crusaders eventually triumphing over their Arabic North African neighbours.

Complete with camels, horses, armour, guns, swords and - in some places - elephants, many towns and cities hold Moors and Christians festivals to commemorate Spain’s rich and culturally diverse past. Medieval music and spectacularly colourful parades over a number of days mark the festival that usually culminates in a mock battle to remember the Christian ‘reconquest.’

MOORISH INVADER: Typical scene from a ‘Moros y Cristianos’ fiesta.

Gerry Balding/flickr

THE immigrant’s service office of Motril assisted around 1,000 people in 2014. The platform’s goal is to contribute to the community’s social, economical and cultural integration.

Fire in Motril A YOUNG man suffered minor injuries in Motril as a result of a fire which flared up in his home in the area of El Varadero. Fire Department officers are uncertain as to what caused the fire.

New buses VELEZ-MALAGA will add two new microbuses to its public transport service. The new buses will start running by the second week of February.

CREDITlev radin /

‘

Quote of the Week We know that (our) problems cannot be resolved with magic works or Caribbean incantations,’ said Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy in reference to political party Podemos’s ties with leftist governments in Latin America.

Number of the week

€600,000

is the amount that an individual could be fined for protesting in Spain under a new law that is expected to be made official in February.

Unauthorised demonstrations will be outlawed under the Citizens’ Security Bill.

And finally...

AN ‘armada’ of 352 kitesurfers in Tarifa in southern Spain has broken the Guinness World Record for the largest kitesurfing parade across one nautical mile. The army of adrenaline junkies broke the previous record for the largest enmasse kitesurf by 34. Tarifa is a Mecca for kitesurfers from all over the world.

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Malaga flavours under the spotlight RINCON de la Victoria hosted the first Malaga Flavour ‘Aires de la Axarquia’ gastronomy gala with 30 local products on show. Held at El Reservado restaurant, recently added to the Michelin Guide, the event highlighted the quality and variety of local products thanks to the participation of 22 businesses from 17 different areas of Axarquia.

Councillor for Rural Development and ‘Malaga Flavour’ promoter, Leonor Garcia-Agua, stressed the importance of recognising products made in Axarquia.

“We have to recognise the great effort carried out by El Reservado, which offers high quality dishes using products included in the brand ‘Malaga Flavour’,” said Garcia-Agua.

Our View

Good news as sterling soars

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XPAT pensioners living in Spain got a welcome bit of good news this week following the controversy over the Winter Fuel Allowance being axed.

It may come as some consolation to cold pensioners that at least now their UK pension goes a lot further thanks to sterling hitting a sevenyear high against the euro.

With the European Central Bank pumping more than a trillion euros into the eurozone economy, at the time of going to press, £1 buys nearly €1.34, giving you more bang for your buck in a country where the cost of living is (relatively) cheap and the sunshine is free.

Analysts are predicting that the euro could plummet even further given the result of the elections in Greece, which have shaken the money markets’ faith in the euro.

This is great news for those expats on a UK pension and for Brits wanting to holiday in Spain this year. The exchange rate is at its best since early 2008, which means more money at a time when the Winter Fuel Allowance is stopped for pensioners living in Spain thanks to the misleading ‘temperature test’ which tells the British Government that we are all sweltering in our Spanish villas during the winter and nabbing UK taxpayers’ money for heating that isn’t needed.

While the ramifications of the Greek elections remain to be seen and the political landscape slowly shifts in parts of Europe, at least the good news for expats on a British pension in Spain is that it results in more money in your pocket than it did before.

That’s some solace to help get through the cold winter months.

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Bus station work begins 14 years on CONSTRUCTION work on the new bus station in Motril has finally begun.

It was the last project of Manuel Morales, former head of the regional development department, who unveiled the details before he was let go from his position as the pact between his party, Izquierda Unida (IU), and governing socialist party PSOE was broken and early elections called.

With a budget of €1.5 million, the new station will have 12 platforms, gardens and shops.

The station project was first set out in 2001, and in 2006 the Junta de Andalucia regional government approved a €1.8 million budget to fund it.

In 2010, the then provincial delegate of the public works regional department visited the site where the station was to be

UNDER SCRUTINY: Motril officials examine the plans. built, in the area of El Vadillo, and she announced that the construction work would soon begin.

However, this did not happen.

Last Monday (January 26) during his visit, Morales said that the company, which was put in charge of the project back in 2010, had been replaced. He added that the station would be located in the town’s southeast area, close to the Puntalon motorway.

It is expected that work will be completed in a

Cameras ready for St Valentine’s Day A PHOTOGRAPHIC contest has been set up by Nerja’s Youth Department to reflect the spirit of St Valentine’s Day. Participants are requested to take the best shot of a love or friendship kiss.

The winner of the contest will receive a tour around the Spa Paraiso del Agua for two people.

Those interested can

register until February 9 at the Youth Information Centre located in Calle Cristo, 12, first floor. It is also possible to register online through juventud@ nerja.es.

Only one picture will be accepted, in jpg format, either in colour or black and white. Originality and creativity will be the main aspects evaluated when choosing the winner.

period of 15 months, coinciding with ‘Semana Santa’ (Easter) 2016.

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Double exhibition GALERIA KRABBE in Frigiliana is holding an exhibition of paintings and ceramics by Dorthe Steenbuch Krabbe and Luise Haugen until February 28. More info at www. galeriakrabbe. com.

Tango in Nerja THE Argentinian tango dance company Arcos de Buenos Aires will perform at the cultural centre in Nerja on January 31 at 9pm. Tickets are €10.

Busy crew IBERIA ground-crew and handlers dealt with more than 4.3 million passengers at MalagaCosta del Sol airport last year, the company reported, almost 11 per cent up on 2013.

Local art LOCAL artist Margaret Riordan is holding two exhibitions until March, one at Bar Choto Playa in Torrox Costa and the other at Restaurante Sevillano in Nerja.

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Attracting the Irish MALAGA City’s tourism department was at Andalucia’s stand at the Holiday World fair in Dublin, the main tourism fair in Ireland, to promote the destination amongst Irish tour-operators.

Sports gala CANDIDATES who want to participate in Nerja’s 19th Local Sports Gala have until February 13 to register at the town’s Sports Office.

New app A NEW mobile phone app has been launched by Velez-Malaga Council to offer news about local events, activities and pictures.

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Motril searches for cemetery

MOTRIL is facing a deadly problem. The town is in dire need of a new cemetery, as the existing graveyard only has capacity for about another year and a half, and cannot be extended any further.

The town’s council is putting every effort into getting construction under

way on a new one, although it has come to nothing so far.

Three plots of land have been analysed but none of them have proved suitable for the construction of a graveyard.

The first site considered by the town’s council was a 35,000 square metre plot that belonged to the Junta

AYUNTAMIENTO DE MOTRIL

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MOTRIL CEMETERY: Mayor visits in 2013. de Andalucia regional government, but was

FITUR: how to get there Continued from front page.

Entrance tickets are €10 and can be purchased at the north and south entrances to the fair, or €9 if purchased online at http://www.ifema.es/ ventainternet/inicio.htm?idioma=es&feria =FT15 The FITUR website www.ifema.es/ fitur_06 has an extensive guide to everything you need to know about the event.

IF you want to get to FITUR By plane: The exhibition complex is just 10 minutes away from Madrid Barajas airport. Metro Line 8 connects the terminals with the Feria de Madrid

complex. The station to use is the Campo de las Naciones.

By Bus: The main routes to connect to are: Route 112-Mar de Cristal-Feria de Madrid-Bº Aeropuerto.

Route 122-Avda de America-Campo de las Naciones-Feria de Madrid.

Route 828-Universidad AutonomaAlcobendas-Canillejas-Feria de Madrid.

By car: Madrid’s major routes and ring roads: the M11 (Exits 5 and 7), the M40 (Exits 5, 6 and 7) and the A2 (Exit 7) have connecting roads to the complex. Parking areas have direct access to the south, north and east entrances.

eventually rejected due to its instability and steep slopes.

The second choice was located in La Nacla, and at 80,000 square metres was certainly big enough. But it was also counted out as it was being used as a debris dump, and the cleaning

works would have delayed its availability.

Finally, the third plot, which also belonged to the regional government, has recently been discarded as it is officially considered public forest and the paperwork to turn it into a municipal facility would take too long.

Mayor of the town, Luisa Garcia Chamorro, who held a meeting with a government representative to discuss the issue, said: “They have advised us to find a private land plot, which would have to be paid for by the council.”

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Extra flights GERMANWINGS airline will be adding an extra flight to its MalagaDusseldorf route on Wednesdays starting at the beginning of March.

Council aid EIGHTEEN residents of Motril will benefit from new council internships.

The project is for people who have training but no experience in fields such as maintenance, IT and leisure services.

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Help centre to open for Axarquia drug users THE construction works for Almuñecar’s Regional Drug Dependence Treatment Centre are already completed.

Mayor of the town, Luisa Garcia Chamorro, together with other council representatives, visited the new facilities, located in the area of La Alcoholera.

Ms Garcia explained that the project was possible thanks to the collaboration of the Regional Health Department, the Provincial Council

FACILITY: Will support 700 people. of Granada and the town’s council, which have come together to offer

a better service to the centre’s users and the professionals who work in it.

The project had a budget of €129,643, paid for by the provincial council.

Two psychologists, two doctors and a social worker, amongst other members of staff, will work in the new facility, which will offer services to more than 700 people with addiction problems from across the Costa Tropical.

Work on Casa Garach nears completion

Charity event ER TAPEILLO bar in Almuñecar will celebrate its 25th anniversary today (January 29), raising money for a local Alzheimer’s association.

NEW HQ: Ready in two months.

MOTRIL’S Casa Garach renovation works are close to completion.

The historic building will become Costa Tropical’s headquarters as well as home to some of the public department’s offices.

Mayor of the town, Luisa Garcia Chamorro, together with head of the Commonwealth of Costa Tropical municipalities, Jose Garcia Fuentes,

visited the restoration works at the building, which have had a budget of more than €1 million, paid for by the commonwealth.

The Casa Garach was built at the beginning of the 20th century and it is in the Plaza de Javier de Burgos.

Works are expected to be completed in two months and will maintain the building’s antique façade.

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New bowls venue THE Almijara Bowls Club has inaugurated its new rinks in the sports complex La Raqueta.

The club, formed by 70 members, most of whom are British citizens, will now be able to enjoy six new rinks.

The new venue will allow them to host international tournaments in which teams from the UK will have the chance to participate.

Head of the club, David Trippas, has invited Nerja residents of all nationalities to try out the sport, also known as Short Mat Bowling.

He also thanked the Tourism Development councillor for allowing the team to use temporary grounds while the ones at La Raqueta were built.

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Concert trio THE Casa de la Cultura of Almuñecar will hold a concert by Hammerstein Trio on February 2 at 8pm. The international group has artists from Spain, Poland and Japan.

Peace exhibit UNTIL January 30, the sixth edition of the Peace Exhibition will be open in Sala Mercado.

It features drawings, murals, poems, etc, by primary and secondary schoolchildren.

Tour success MORE than 28,000 people participated in the guided visits organised by VelezMalaga Council in 2014. The visits were conducted through the town’s historic centre.

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Tender for school services THE tendering process for Motril’s new preschool services has now been opened by the council.

Head of the Infrastructure depart-

ment, Nicolas Navarro announced that the facilities will be the first ones operative in the areas of Santa Adela and Varadero. Residents had

requested a closer facility for a long time.

The preschool centre will be located inside the Tourism Development Centre of the Costa

Tropical, and cover a surface of 400 metres, the budget has been set as €309,000.

The winning bidder will also have to purchase the furniture for the future school a budget has been set at around €80,000.

In total, 41 children between zero and three years old will be able to attend this school which will offer three nursery rooms, a canteen and interior and exterior playgrounds amongst other areas.

Neglected Almuñecar street to be renovated in 3 months Visit Axarquia’s THE Calle San Crescencio, located at Barrio del Castillo in Almuñecar, Axarquia, will be redeveloped with a budget of more than €32,000.

Plans are to remove the existing pavement and replace it with concrete paving stones, as well as the placing of new litter bins and bollards to prevent traffic.

Councillor for Public Works, Jose Manuel Fernandez, explained that the works were aimed at carrying out a

past on free trips

CALLE SAN CRESCENCIO: To be repaved and levelled. comprehensive renovation as well as improving accessibility.

In addition, the street will be levelled, and the

sewage water and sewage systems upgraded.

The works are expected to be completed in a period of three months.

ALMUÑECAR’S programme of free cultural excursions begins this Saturday, January 31.

The council’s Culture and Education department and Archaeology section have created the programme to encourage locals and visitors to discover local heritage attractions.

Olga Ruano, Culture and Education councillor, said that the first visit would be to the Puente de Noy Phoenician necropolis, which was chosen to kick off the programme by popular demand.

Tours are planned for the last Saturday of each month with sites including San Miguel castle, the Archaeological Museum and the Tesorillo fort.

The tours are free of charge but limited to 30 people each. Those interested can sign up at the tourist office.

Driving licence changes THE news that expats in Spain who have lived here for two years or more may have to renew their driving licence has caused some confusion. Here we look further into the matter to try and clarify the issue.

PEOPLE who already have a Spanish driving licence or a UK/EU pink photo card style licence are unaffected by new regulations aimed at people with old style permits.

A January 2013 EU directive allows countries to insist that foreigners resident in a member state have a driving licence with the same validity period as those issued by that state.

In Spain a normal driving licence is valid for 10 years or five years after the age of

65. The new regulations mean that people from the 28 EU states who are legally resident in Spain must renew or change any licences they hold that are valid for 15 years or more in the case of Group One (car and motorcycle) category permits, or five years or longer for Group Two (transport and large vehicle) permits.

For recently registered residents, the measure comes into effect two years after the date they became legally resident in Spain.

It is still acceptable to drive on a UK driving licence as long as it is in date and one of the pink photo card style with a 10-year expiration date.

But holders of old style UK paper licences valid until the age of 70 will have to change them for a photo card if resident in Spain or face a €200 fine. While UK photo cards are valid here, the DVLA will not change or renew them if the holder lives abroad.

They must be renewed or changed at the Spanish DGT traffic department.

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More accessible ALMUÑECAR Council has been carrying out works during the past week aimed at eliminating obstacles for disabled users in streets such as Calle Torres Quevedo and Calle Guadix.

Stolen fruit A VEHICLE was intercepted by Local Police in Puntalon (Motril) after four people were seen stealing fruit from a local farm.

They were taken into custody as 120 kilos of stolen custard apples were found inside their car.

Nerja attack A MAN from Nerja was taken to the Hospital Comarcal after his former partner allegedly stabbed him in his thigh. His injuries were minor and he was able to issue a complaint in the Guardia Civil station.

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Top results for Malaga school ST GEORGE’S SCHOOL, Malaga, is celebrating another year of excellent academic achievement.

Five of its students obtained the highest marks in Spain and one, the highest mark in the world, for the International Cambridge examinations taken in November 2013 and June 2014.

• Javier M J – The highest mark in Spain for IGCSE Biology • Marta D J – The highest mark in Spain for Cambridge International A Level History • Laura D R – The highest mark in Spain for Cambridge International AS Level Thinking Skills • Jake W – The highest

ACADEMIC SUCCESS: St George’s School, Malaga mark in Spain for Cambridge International AS Level History • Pablo H M – Highest mark in Spain for Cambridge International

AS Level Applied ICT • Keda Nicole B – The highest mark in the world for Cambridge IGCSE Foreign Language Spanish.

Miss Gardner, the headteacher at the school, stated that this was an important achievement for both the students, staff and parents, all of whom have played a significant role in supporting the students to gain this success.

St George’s School, Malaga, has offered a British education to children from three years old since 2001. Many students have gone on to study at the best universities in Europe and the US.

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Take virtual classes in VelezMalaga RESIDENTS of Velez-Malaga can now apply for online training courses launched by the town’s council.

Councillor for Urban Initiative ‘De Toda La Villa’, Lourdes Piña, explained that the courses will be free for those residents of La Villa, Arroyo de San Sebastian and La Molineta.

Those interested can apply until February 10 at the Citizens’ Service Office of the council, bringing a copy of their DNI (Spanish identification card).

Courses are expected to begin on February 17 and will cover a variety of themes such as customer service in the hotel industry, digital photography and business creation, amongst others.

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Three face child begging charges THREE people have been arrested for forcing a minor into begging in VelezMalaga. The suspects are two women aged 34 and 19 and a 35-year-old man, all of them from Romania.

National Police authorities began the investigation when members of the public informed officers at the Velez-Malaga station that there was an underage girl begging every day at the front door of a local shop.

The girl would arrive in the area in a car driven by a man and a woman, according to the officers, and the same couple would collect her every night.

After the police confirmed that the girl was underage, the two were taken into

CHILD BEGGING: Three arrests made. custody for an alleged crime of exploitation against a minor. The girl’s legal guardian was also arrested. The young woman has been taken into a child protection centre.

Police chief jailed for forgery HEAD of the Local Police in Torrox for 12 years, Jose Roque Fernandez, has been jailed for three years for a document forgery crime.

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Migrants rescued Photo: Sarawut Chamsaeng/Shutterstock

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The events took place in 2007, when Roque created an official certificate with the signature of the then mayor, Toñi Claros, without her permission in favour of another Local Police officer, Monica Martinez.

The certificate was aimed at proving that the

woman had taught courses on gender-based violence and selfdefence, although the courses had never taken place.

Malaga Provincial Court has given him until January 30 to enter prison of his own volition, as well as pay a €1,080 fine.

Man arrested for assaulting partner LOCAL POLICE in Motril have arrested a 49-yearold man for threatening and mistreating his partner in public.

The man allegedly approached her in the street and began threatening and shaking her, only stopping when he saw that there were

other people nearby.

Local Police arrived and after searching for the man, who was located in the surrounding area, they took him into custody.

The woman was taken to the Santa Ana hospital to receive medical treatment.

THE lifeboatmen of Salvamento Maritimo rescued 39 migrants found aboard two dinghies in the Mar de Alboran. They were taken to Motril port in good health.

Classic performance THE Youth Orchestra of the South of Spain will perform on February 7 at 8pm in the Casa de la Cultura in Almuñecar.

Improving areas SALOBREÑA Council will upgrade the area around subsidised homes in La Caleta.

Plans are to repave the area and carry out comprehensive cleaning work. The work is due to be completed in two months.

Trained first aiders MEMBERS of Civil Protection of Nerja received diplomas for their participation in training courses which taught them how to use a semi-automatic defibrillator and other elements of basic life support.

Free tickets A HUNDRED children from Motril will be given free tickets for the football match between Granada FC and Athletic Club Bilbao, which will take place on February 14. The giveaway is thanks to the town’s council.

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Chemist gift LOS ALAMOS chemist in Motril has donated €500 to the town council to be used for social projects as part of the shop’s Christmas benefit scheme.

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An improved outlook for Motril residents A TOTAL of 224 public homes in Motril are due to have their windows renewed thanks to a

Top photo ALMUÑECAR photographer Francisco Mingorance has won first prize in Share the View International Nature Photography Contest. His picture depicts a young gorilla splashing about in a river.

Nerja on show NERJA Council together with Nerja Caves Foundation will have a stand at the major tourism fair, FITUR, in Madrid.

BACK IN PLACE: The Apofis Vase.

project launched by the Junta de Andalucia regional government.

With a budget of €710,989, the scheme will generate 946 daily jobs and involve homes in various streets.

In the Huerta Carrasco neighbourhood, 118 homes in six buildings located in Calle Venus and four in Calle Urano will benefit from the project.

Work in this area is expected to be completed

by March.

In the neighbourhood of Los Alamos, 106 homes will see their windows replaced, covering four buildings in Calle Cuertel de Simancas.

“This is a highly gathered archaeological remains from ambitious project carried 14 different countries and 41 out by the Junta to museums around the world. increase residents’ quality The Apofis Vase is an Egyptian of life and also reduce funerary object, sculpted from a single electricity consumption,” piece of marble, with hieroglyphs and said Manuel Morales, the has a royal seal engraved on it. regional government’s It is now back in local museum representative in Motril.

Cueva de Siete Palacios.

Treasure back home ONE of Almuñecar’s archaeological treasures, the Apofis Vase, has returned to the Axarquia town from New York after being displayed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Called ‘From Assyria to Iberia: Crossing Continents at the Dawn of the Classical Age’, the exhibition opened in September last year and

EWN

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Creating jobs in Axarquia THE Junta de Andalucia regional government fostered the creation of 554 businesses and 689 jobs in the Axarquia in 2014.

Through its Centres for Enterprise Development (CADE), the regional government has contributed to the town’s economy with €4.8 million.

Of the entrepreneurs, involved, 57.23 per cent were aged between 25 and 40 years old, followed by those over 40, who represented 30.92 per cent, while 8.84 per cent was composed of young people of 25 or under. Out of these 622 business creators, 357 were men and 265 were women.

The education level of new owners was topped by those with secondary studies (73.8 per cent), followed by those with a university education (20.42 per cent).

January - 4 February 2015 / Axarquía - Costa Tropical TRUST our advertisers 29WE DO!

Nerja donates 13 tonnes of clothes KIND-HEARTED Nerja residents donated almost 13 tonnes of clothes and shoes in 2014.

Five clothing drop-off containers are located in the town, in Calle Madrid, Avenida de Pescia, Ciudad Deportiva, Calle Mirto and Maro.

The NGO Social Organisation for Humanitarian Action (OSAH), collected a total of 12,990 kilograms of donated products amongst which were not only clothes, but also shoes and used toys, according to Councillor for Urban Ecology, Jose Miguel Garcia.

The most successful drop-off point was the one located in Avenida de Pescia, which raised 3,520 kilos.

“The result goes to show Nerja residents’ great solidarity, as donated products will help needy families around the town and other people through projects carried out by OSAH in the Dominican Republic and Haiti,” the councillor remarked.

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Malaga painter featured in Rincon de la Victoria CASA Fuerte Bezmiliana in Rincon de la Victoria is hosting an exhibition by Malaga artist Jose Azaustre Muro.

The paintings depict scenes taken from the lives of peasants and sailors, but also reflect religious figures as well as portraits, all created in oils, according to Culture Councillor Antonio Jose Martin.

Jose Azaustre Muro was

MIWIPEDIA ON WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

NEWS

ON SHOW: Muro at Casa Fuerte Bezmiliana. born in 1929 and studied Art at the Royal Academy Saint Telmo in Malaga. He spent seven years in

Madrid studying the great classic painters at the Prado Museum. He has worked in places such as

Puerto Rico, Santo Domingo, Miami and Washington. He also founded art schools in Puerto Rico, where he lived for 26 years.

The exhibition can be visited from January 23 to March 6, Tuesday to Saturday between 10.30am and 1pm and from 7pm to 8pm. On Sundays, it will be open between 11am and 2pm.

Entrance is free.

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E W N 29 January - 4 February 2015 / Axarquía - Costa Tropical

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NEWS

Photography on foot FEBRUARY 1 is the date chosen to celebrate the photography route ‘Villa de Nerja’.

The project was organised by the association ‘Yo Amo A La Axarquia’ (I love the Axarquia), supported by Nerja Council.

The event was created to honour the memory of Javier Aranda, the association’s founder, who passed away recently.

The photography route will start at 10am with a breakfast at the Cultural Centre Villa de Nerja.

EUROPE’S BALCONY: Part of Nerja’s photography route.

Participants will begin the itinerary at 11am, to photograph streets and

monuments around the town, including the Las Angustias Chapel, Calahonda Beach and the Balcony of Europe.

Expert photographers Angel Aranda and Jose Gonzalves will assist participants with photography techniques and tips.

In the afternoon, and after a lunch break, the Nerja Caves Foundation has donated tickets so that participants can visit the cave for free. Pictures can be taken at this natural

monument until the end of the journey at 6.30pm.

All the pictures will be added to an album on the association’s Facebook page and the contest will begin.

The ‘most liked’ pictures will be sent to the town hall, where a panel of experts will choose three winners.

The first prize consists of a spa session for two in Nerja and the second prize will be dinner for two at a local restaurant.

Malaga fayre now available online ONLINE shopping enthusiasts now have the chance to get their hands on typical Malaga products with the launch of a ‘Malaga Flavour’ electronic market.

‘Malaga Flavour’, the provincial council’s brand for local food products, has made 170 items available online, all produced in the province by 23 companies.

The shop at www.shoppingsaboramal

aga.com was conceived to promote sales abroad, as 42 per cent of the companies’ sales are to foreign buyers.

Head of the provincial council, Elias Bendodo, presented the new platform and stressed that the industry provided employment to 40,000 families in Malaga.

The online shop was created with a budget of €640,000 and includes products from companies including Cabra Malagueña, Murex, Bravo, La Molienda, Lujo del Paladar, Manzanilla Aloreña and Bravoliva, amongst others.

Products from the agricultural food industry generated almost €700 million in 2014, and the industry has increased its production output by 10 per cent.

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E W N 29 January - 4 February 2015 / Axarquía - Costa Tropical

Council promotes gender equality A CAMPAIGN has been launched by the Equality Department of Nerja Council to promote equality amongst secondary school students.

Head of the department, Gema Garcia, explained that the campaign is aimed at raising awareness amongst the students to prevent gender-based violence.

Together with the co-ordinators for equality in local secondary schools Sierra Almijara and Chaparil, Garcia presented projects such as the creation of a branch office of the Women’s Information Centre in each school.

Council workers will also visit the schools to give courses on March 8, the occasion of International Women’s Day, and will teach students about gender inequalities and how to reduce them.

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London studies Nerja STUDENTS from the Royal Holloway University of London have returned to Nerja to study the town’s geography.

For more than a decade, first-year geography students from London have visited the town to investigate areas

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covering agriculture, urbanism and of course, its geography, as a part of their degree.

Apart from Nerja, the geography students are also scheduled to visit Ireland, New York and Kenya.

with Jazztel earlier this year.

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NEWS EXTRA

Love letters A TOTAL of 330 letters has been submitted to Almuñecar’s ‘Love and Lovesickness’ Letter Contest with entries from Spain, France, Israel and America.

Damp work LA HERRADURA Council has carried out renovation works at the local cemetery to solve the problem of damp on the walls, as requested by the town’s residents.

Sporting first ALMOST 100 athletes participated in the first Badminton Tournament of Salobreña, which took place last weekend at the Julio Martin Perez Sports Centre.

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E W N 29 January - 4 February 2015 / Axarquía - Costa Tropical

Woman who claims to be former king’s lovechild tells all INGRID SARTIAU, who claims to be former King Juan Carlos of Spain’s illegitimate daughter, has shared all with the Daily Mail online newspaper.

Although Spanish courts rejected paternity claims against King Juan Carlos by Ingrid Sartiau and Alberto Sola in 2012, ruling that the monarch could not be held accountable under the Spanish constitution, legislation has been introduced since his abdication last year which allows legal action through the Supreme Court only.

The Supreme Court has now agreed to hear Sartiau’s claim,

which she says is all about recognition rather than fortune.

“All I want is to meet and have a relationship with my father. I would prefer to be recognised by him than all the money in the world,” Sartiau said.

The 47-year-old woman explained that her mother Liliane kept her father’s identity from her for many years, and it was only in 2011 that she spilled the beans.

Sartiau told the Daily Mail that her mother fell madly in love with teenaged Prince Juan Carlos in 1956 while working as a governess, and

Sartiau told the Daily Mail that her mother fell madly in love with teenaged Prince Juan Carlos in 1956, while working as a governess

went to Marbella 10 years later in the hope of finding her heart-throb.

In November 2012, Liliane, then 79, gave a statement before a notary in Ghent, declaring that the couple met up in a Marbella nightclub and spent three passionate nights together before she realised a

CORDON PRESS

Legislation introduced since Juan Carlos’s abdication last year means the paternity claim can be heard in the Supreme Court.

porter had recognised the prince and fled for Belgium.

Liliane said: “From those intimate encounters until the birth of my daughter I never had any other sexual relations and I can guarantee 100 per cent that Ingrid is the daughter of Juan Carlos I. “I confirm that the sexual relations with Juan Carlos were without contraception.”

Once at home in Belgium she said she had confided in two nurses, who advised her to have an abortion (which was illegal at the time) because authoritarian, ultraconservative General Franco, who was ruling Spain

as Regent, could try to hunt the child down.

Ingrid said that her mother, now 82, had never loved anyone else and was still in love with Juan Carlos to this day.

She stated she had never doubted her mother’s story and that she had no need of the royal family’s money.

“People say I am just saying this story for the sensation, or because I want money, but I have only lost from this experience so far. My marriage broke under the pressure, my children have been under pressure, my health has suffered.”

Air authorities unmask ‘ghostly plane’ AIR TRAFFIC controllers have had to step in to halt rumours of a ghost plane which internet users thought flew across Spain at night.

Those who have heard it insist it sounds like some sort of war plane, and reports of sightings (or rather hearings) spread like wildfire across social media sites, quickly christening it the #avionetafantasma (ghost plane).

Over recent months many internet users followed tracks and photos of a ‘mysterious’ aircraft that repeatedly crossed the skies of Cantabria heading south across Spain.

People in Cordoba also reported hearing the racket as the aircraft flew overhead and thousands took to the internet to discuss it, converting the tag #avionetacordoba in a national trending topic. People in Campillos and Estepona in Malaga Province also reported hearing the noise.

Air authorities explained that the not-at-all mysterious aircraft is a fourengine Antonov An-12 belonging to

SPOOKY AIRCRAFT: Antonov An-12 is strangely noisy.

Ukrainian Cavok Air airline that transports goods at night from the UK to Morocco.

Air traffic controllers confirmed on Twitter that the cargo plane flew over Cordoba and Malaga at a height of approximately 25,000 feet, considerably lower than commercial planes which generally have a cruising altitude of more than 30,000 feet.

They said the Antonov is one of the oldest, largest and noisiest cargo planes and its four propeller engines are responsible for the noise it makes.

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E W N 29 January - 4 February 2015 / Axarquía - Costa Tropical COSTA DEL SOL

Going underground MOBILE phone services will be available in the tunnels of the Malaga Metro by this summer, the Junta de Andalucia regional government’s development delegate Manuel Garcia Pelaez has announced.

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

Excellence award

ESTEPONA Council has announced that the 2015 budget for the town includes €150,000 for its Social Emergency Fund to help needy local citizens.

Nature forum TWO HUNDRED people took part in the 11th International Nature Conservation Forum in Malaga City last weekend, sharing information on endangered species and how to protect them.

COSTA DE ALMERÍA

Free Wifi ALMERIA CITY’S historic centre will soon have free Wifi. Technical issues delayed connection in late 2013, but the work now begins in earnest by Netllar Lirosan Telecommunications.

Mayoral candidate JUAN PEDRO PEREZ has been formally announced as PP candidate for mayor in Albox. Perez said: “I want Albox to be a town of opportunities for all, with quality public services.”

Port expansion ADRA PORT is to be extended by 700 square metres. The land is to be reclaimed from the coastline and will be used for the storage of pleasure craft during the winter months.

Health shortfall DALIAS residents have complained that staffing levels at their health centre are insufficient. There are just two health professionals to cover the needs of almost 4,000 residents.

Cocaine bust A MOROCCAN man was taken into custody last weekend in Sant Llorenç d’es Cardassasr (Palma), after Guardia Civil officers found a 500-gramme cocaine haul under one of the seats of his car.

MORE than 250 people demonstrated last Sunday (January 25) in the Plaza de Alaro to demand the creation of a new green route along the former railway track between Alaro and Consell.

Learning to recycle

Helping the needy

bike path to connect Cami des Reis with Son Espases.

Green route plea

GRUPO EXCELENCIAS, which edits a number of travel and tourism magazines in six languages, has awarded its Premio Excelen-cias Turistas 2014 tourism excellence prize to Torremolinos Town Hall.

MIJAS schools are taking part in a recycling campaign with trips to the recycling plant in Casares and a video competition, prizes for which will be awarded in April.

NEWS DESK

Water off USAR 13: Search and rescue volunteers with their dogs.

Old depot turns into a disaster area LA NUCIA Town Hall in conjunction with the USAR 13 (Urban Search and Rescue) non-government organisation (NGO) is designing a dog-training zone.

It will be located at the former municipal depot in Rotes and work will be carried out in phases at the 10,000square-metre site so that instructing the Search and Rescue dogs can start without delay, the town hall said.

The training ground will be made as realistic as possible, resembling a

disaster area following an earthquake.

Beams and columns from demolished buildings, boulders and all kinds of materials will be used to recreate the type of surroundings in which the dogs will have to carry out their lifesaving duties.

“Our objective is to be as welltrained as possible so that we can cooperate with international rescue teams during the next natural disaster, whether at national or international level,” said USAR 13’s Omar Suarez.

Not so equal

Doggy mess

OLA and the Choque por el Empleo contracts generated 88 jobs in Almeria over two years. However, despite including an equality clause, only a minimal percentage of the jobs went to women.

LOCAL POLICE in Elche have opened proceedings against 18 dog owners for failing to clean up after their pets in the street, in just over a month.

COSTA BLANCA SOUTH

HUNDREDS queued in Elche at an information booth in Calle Uberna next to the site of the new sports centre to apply for around 30 vacant positions.

Budget opposition THREE opposition parties in Santa Pola have, for the first time, rejected the approval of municipal budgets, criticising the increase in revenues through bank loans amounting to 30.5 per cent more than in the previous year.

Garage arrest A MAN was arrested in Torrevieja in connection with a robbery at a petrol station in Guardamar del Segura, which took place last November when he and an accomplice, who has not yet been found, made off with cash from the till.

Job queues

Students lose out PUBLIC university budgets in the Valencia Community have lost €143.3 million in the last four years, representing a reduction of 12.44 per cent in spending per student.

MALLORCA

New bike path PALMA COUNCIL will spend almost €300,000 on the construction of a new

THE water supply was interrupted for 10 hours in a large part of Manacor after a pipe broke as a result of the construction works that are currently taking place in Calle Sebastia Rubi.

Body found A DEAD man was found last Sunday under the Torrente de Mal Pas Bridge in Palma. The body had to be retrieved with ropes and Local Police believe the victim could have been a homeless person.

COSTA BLANCA NORTH

Kindest cut BENIDORM will reduce IBI rates in the town by 10 per cent. This compensates for the increase in rateable values carried out by Spain’s tax authority, Hacienda, according to the town hall.

Stiff bill FIVE turncoat councillors in Benidoleig voted not to settle €12,000 legal costs incurred in 2013 when they temporarily installed a new mayor. Bloc-Compromis, now governing in minority, must foot the bill.

Research backed ALICANTE UNIVERSITY has allocated €1 million for contracting young scientific researchers, and physicists in particular. This will safeguard ongoing important investigation projects, said rector Manuel Palomar.

Mugs mugged FIFTEEN tourists reported that their bank accounts were emptied after they had their drinks spiked in Valencia City clip joints. Extra charges were added to the credit cards they had already used there, they maintained.

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E W N 29 January - 4 February 2015 / Axarquía - Costa Tropical

S CANDINAVIAN P RESS

EUROPEAN PRESS

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Stories making headlines in Europe

GERMAN PRESS Trek tech

BRITISH PRESS Burglary chart

DENMARK: Young Danes are starting to turn away from Facebook and Twitter in favour of other social media like Instagram and Snapchat. Just four per cent of Danes used Twitter daily in 2014.

INSURANCE comparers Moneysupermarket released a list of Britain’s burglary hotspots, with East London suburb Dagenham and Becontree at the top.

In five safe spot postcodes, in Dundee, Dumfries, Argyll, Bangor in Wales, and Felixstowe, no insurance claims for burglary had been made in two years.

Numbers up

THE Jewish Museum in London is hosting an exhibition entitled Love, displaying artefacts donated by local people of different religions. The items on display include wedding saris, handwritten vows and photos of tattoos. The exhibition is open until April 19.

that hurt the overall performance of Marks and Spencer, Morrisons and chocolate chain Thorntons.

Political debates

Manhole explodes

BROADCASTERS have announced plans for pregeneral election leaders debates which will include at least seven parties; Conservatives, LibDems, Labour, SNP, Plaid Cymru, UKIP and Greens. Northern Irish parties have complained at their exclusion.

A TODDLER had a ‘miracle’ escape after an explosion in a Birmingham manhole blew off the cover, just missing a two-year-old girl. A local shop owner said there had been a similar explosion in the manhole nine months ago, but no cause had yet been identified.

Sausage success

Tram trial

RETAIL figures for the Christmas period found sausage roll supremos Greggs, alongside John Lewis, Next and House of Fraser, all increasing their sales compared to 2013. Black Friday was blamed for chaos

A LAWYER representing 60 cyclists who say they have fallen off their bikes due to Edinburgh’s new tram tracks is taking the city council to court. Injuries include a broken foot after a cyclist was run over by a bus.

New life DENMARK: The Danish National Chamber Orchestra has been given new life and will continue to perform thanks to private donations, following the decision by broadcaster DR to axe it from their budget.

Mad cow NORWAY: The Food Safety Authority has said it has detected a ‘probable’ case of mad cow’s disease.

Officials have urged the public not to panic.

Animal police NORWAY: A police unit specialising in animal cases may be set up as the government announced a pilot project in a bid to improve action against animal abuse.

Classy hire SWEDEN: The world’s first limousine snowplough has been put up for hire on Blocket, Sweden’s version of eBay.

First pool SWEDEN: Sweden’s first public swimming pool for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people is to open this week in Stockholm.

No drivers

Love spreads SOARING SALES: Greggs sausage rolls a favourite.

RUSSIAN PRESS DEUSXFLORIDA/FLICKR

DENMARK: The number of people seeking asylum in Denmark doubled to 14,815 in 2014 but is still below the original government estimate of 20,000.

CAROL/FLICKR

Silent tweets

Travel plans FOREIGN visitors to Russia must now provide a detailed itinerary along with their visa applications under new regulations. Travellers are now required to list all cities and towns they intend to visit.

Coke ban THE sale of fizzy, caffeinated drinks to minors has been banned in the Vologda region. Stores will now have to ask for age identification when selling drinks such as Coca Cola and Dr Pepper.

Eat less

ENGINEERS in Potsdam have built a machine, dubbed Scotty after the Star Trek character, which can ‘beam up’ objects. The machine scans physical items and rebuilds them in different locations.

COKE BAN: Minors banned from buying caffeinated drinks.

PART of the A9 Autobahn in Bavaria is to be equipped to support driverless cars.

The route will be upgraded to allow communication between the road and vehicles.

Prices slow PROPERTY portal Immobilienscout24 says the rise in house prices slowed in 2014, increasing by four per cent when previous years produced much sharper climbs.

Balcony ban AFTER a couple complained about their neighbours’ heavy smoking, the supreme court has instructed a lower court to decide a limit on the amount anyone can smoke on their own balcony.

Splashing ok A DUSSELDORF court ruled in favour of a man whose landlord had tried to claim for damage to a bathroom floor apparently caused by splashed urine. The judge found that some sprinkling was to be expected.

Korean critics

A LAWMAKER from the United Russia party has advised Russians struggling to pay for food to ‘eat less.’ Ilya Gaffner’s comments come as the country’s inflation continues to soar and the ruble weakens.

RUSSIA is to create a job concentrating on the fight against doping in sports. The new position was announced following the suspension of three Olympic walk champions for doping infringements.

NORTH KOREA has accused the Berlinale film festival of “hostile actions,” in the mistaken belief that it is to show James Franco and Seth Rogan’s comedy about the state, The Interview.

Ukraine deaths

McDonald’s pong

Bild campaign

THE death toll from the conflict in the Ukraine that began last April exceeds 5,000 and could be a lot higher, according to the United Nations human rights office. Nearly 11,000 people have also been injured.

A MOSCOW man has filed a lawsuit against fast food giant McDonald’s over the ‘nauseating’ smell of fast food from his local branch. The building he lives in shares a ventilation pipe with the restaurant chain.

A CAMPAIGN called ‘Stop Bild Sexism’ is growing against the newspaper’s use of pictures of topless women.

Anti-doping job

FINANCE, BUSINESS & LEGAL

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

29 January - 4 February 2015 / Axarquía - Costa Tropical

business & legal

EWN

STAT OF WEEK TOLL-ROAD traffic rose 2.39 per cent to a daily 16,346 vehicles in 2014. This was the first increase since 2007 but 31.5 per cent below that year’s 23,867 vehicles a day.

Telefonica still matchmaking REJECTED by British Telecom, Telefonica is still looking for a suitor for its UK mobile subsidiary O2.

The Spanish company is in talks with Sky, Virgin and Hong Kong-based Hutchison Whampoa, which owns the Three mobile network.

Three is currently the smallest operator in the UK but if Hutchison goes ahead, paying a possible $13.6

billion (€10.5 billion) for O2, it would become the country’s biggest mobile operator with more than 31 million customers.

Were Hutchison, Sky and Virgin all to reject Telefonica’s approaches, the Spanish company would take its remaining option of floating the company on the stock market, sources said.

Spain heads up eurozone growth THE International Monetary Fund (IMF) has cut growth predictions for all but the US and Spain.

The IMF reduced global economic growth to 3.5 per cent for 2015 and 3.7 per cent in 2016 owing to a slowdown in China, probable recession in Russia and the eurozone’s continuing weakness.

In its sixth consecutive upward review of Spain’s economy over the last 12 months the IMF now foresees 2 per cent growth for this year and 1.8 per cent for 2016.

This will be doubly pleasing to Spain’s president Mariano Rajoy as the revised figure coincides with his own

estimate and negates the 0.8 per cent forecast from the IMF’s Director of Resarch Olivier Blanchard a year ago.

Over the last two years the IMF’s predictions for Spain have been the most modest amongst the world’s biggest economies. Now the position has been reversed and Spain is at the head of eurozone growth, although at this stage the IMF foresees a slowdown in 2016.

Unemployment is the only cloud on the horizon.

Last October the IMF calculated that Spain would create 130,000 jobs in 2015 compared with the government’s forecast of 348,000.

B

usiness extra

Big plans for Lidl LIDL is building its largest European logistics centre in Alcala de Henares (Madrid). Work on the €70 million project has now begun and should be finished by summer 2016.

Take it easy FIVE executives of the now-defunct Novacaixagalicia will stand trial at the Madrid high court in May. They are accused of awarding themselves early retirement deals worth €18.9 million.

Comfort letter clears the air EY, formerly Ernst & Young, have now revised AENA’s accounts for 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014.

The auditors worked in record time, practically occupying AENA headquarters according to employees, working weekends and over Christmas.

The required ‘comfort letter’ confirming the financial soundness of Spain’s airports operator and the accuracy of its accounts has now been

drafted, EY sources confirmed.

An 8 per cent stake was sold to Corporacion Financiera Alba last November, plus 6.5 per cent to Ferrovial and 6.5 per cent to Children’s Investment Fund.

AENA has now cleared the final hurdle before its stock market debut and the sale of the remaining 28 per cent to privatise 49 per cent of the company.

25

TELEFONICA: Still looking for a suitor.

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E W N 29 January - 4 February 2015 / Axarquía - Costa Tropical

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PRICE CHANGE %CHANGE VOLUME 164.02 84.13 33.37 134.62 85.61 106.85 28.21 43.31 94.72 73.79 90.89 24.48 180.49 105.37 155.87 -102.20 56.68 89.56 62.49 47.18 96.16 32.45 90.08 107.00 119.98 112.00 47.15 258.29 88.51

-1.87 -0.24 -0.42 -1.02 -1.21 -2.07 -0.29 -0.47 -0.43 -1.30 -1.98 +0.20 -1.55 -0.70 +0.48 --1.56 -0.91 -1.33 -0.10 +0.05 +0.31 -0.36 -1.54 -1.17 -0.47 -1.85 -0.65 +0.69 +0.21

-1.13% -0.28% -1.24% -0.75% -1.39% -1.90% -1.02% -1.07% -0.45% -1.73% -2.13% +0.82% -0.85% -0.66% +0.31% --1.50% -1.58% -1.46% -0.16% +0.11% +0.32% -1.10% -1.68% -1.08% -0.39% -1.62% -1.36% +0.27% +0.24%

2.2M 7.4M 25.5M 3.8M 5.0M 8.0M 21.8M 12.4M 4.7M 3.5M 14.7M 63.7M 3.1M 4.1M 4.8M 347.5K 10.1M 15.5M 11.5M 6.2M 26.2M 3.4M 26.0M 6.7M 1.9M 4.3M 5.3M 24.3M 1.5M 7.6M

1.33397

0.74963

C O M PA N Y

+0.09% +0.12% -0.12% +0.31% +0.62% +0.24% +0.65%

NET VOLUME 986,971 698,302 526,781 74,116 138,462 464,230 153,520

PRICE

CHANGE NET / %

$ 7.11 $ 8.54 $ 14.94 $ 2.78 $ 16.99 $ 18.92 $ 4.97 $ 28.17 $ 6.81 $ 32.93 $ 17.88

2.06 ▲ 40.79% 2.43 ▲ 39.77% 2.95 ▲ 24.60% 0.4701 ▲ 20.35% 2.59 ▲ 17.99% 2.52 ▲ 15.37% 0.61 ▲ 13.99% 3.32 ▲ 13.36% 0.78 ▲ 12.94% 3.59 ▲ 12.24% 1.58 ▲ 9.69%

$ 5.56 $ 4.89 $ 21.29 $ 38.35 $ 13.76 $ 3.40 $ 3.66 $ 4.45 $ 14.91 $ 65.24 $ 4.13

0.84 ▼ 13.13% 0.61 ▼ 11.09% 2.57 ▼ 10.77% 4.57 ▼ 10.65% 1.59 ▼ 10.36% 0.36 ▼ 9.57% 0.36 ▼ 8.96% 0.40 ▼ 8.25% 1.32 ▼ 8.13% 5.71 ▼ 8.05% 0.35 ▼ 7.81%

Most Advanced Array BioPharma Inc. Egalet Corporation Vitae Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Burcon Nutrascience Corp Infinera Corporation Eagle Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Novatel Wireless, Inc. Covenant Transportation Group, Inc. E2open, Inc. Otonomy, Inc. TubeMogul, Inc.

Most Declined Quotient Limited Mid-Con Energy Partners, LP Altisource Portfolio Solutions S.A. Virgin America Inc. Home Loan Servicing Solutions, Ltd. SFX Entertainment, Inc. Vestin Realty Mortgage II, Inc. Knightsbridge Shipping Limited Abengoa, S.A. KLA-Tencor Corporation Sphere 3D Corp

FINANCE, BUSINESS & LEGAL

C O M PA N Y PRICE(P) CHANGE Carnival PLC 3,142.00 +16.00 Centrica PLC 267.30 -2.70 Coca-Cola HBC AG 1,098.00 -14.00 Compass Group PLC 1,137.00 +5.00 Diageo PLC 1,978.50 +9.00 Direct Line Insurance 311.60 +0.30 Dixons Carphone PLC 426.30 +1.40 easyJet PLC 1,764.00 +29.00 Experian PLC 1,164.00 +2.00 Fresnillo PLC 888.00 -9.00 Friends Life Group Ltd 411.10 +4.10 G4S PLC 288.30 +1.20 GKN PLC 378.20 +2.90 GlaxoSmithKline PLC 1,500.00 0.00 Glencore PLC 242.80 -6.60 HSBC Holdings PLC 626.20 +1.40 Hammerson PLC 688.50 -1.50 Hargreaves Lansdown 1,010.00 -12.00 ITV PLC 230.30 +0.70 Imperial Tobacco Group 3,097.00 +6.00 InterContinental Hotels 2,763.00 +9.00 International Cnsldtd Air 554.00 +18.00 Intertek Group PLC 2,357.00 +29.00 Intu Properties PLC 366.60 -0.90 J Sainsbury PLC 265.70 -2.20 Johnson Matthey PLC 3,520.00 -12.00 Kingfisher PLC 341.50 -2.50 Land Securities Group 1,282.00 -2.00 Legal & General Group 267.50 +1.60 Lloyds Banking Group 75.32 -0.21 London Stock Exchange 2,385.00 +11.00 Marks & Spencer Group 475.70 +0.20 Meggitt PLC 541.00 0.00 Mondi PLC 1,162.00 +12.00 National Grid PLC 933.10 -3.80 Next PLC 7,200.00 +50.00 Old Mutual PLC 205.20 +0.60 Pearson PLC 1,342.00 -7.00 Persimmon PLC 1,540.00 +13.00 Prudential PLC 1,627.00 -0.50 RSA Insurance Group 465.00 +0.30 Randgold Resources 5,350.00 -70.00 Reckitt Benckiser Group 5,560.00 0.00 Reed Elsevier PLC 1,161.00 +1.00 Rio Tinto PLC 2,822.00 -61.00 Rolls-Royce Holdings 907.00 +5.00 Royal Bank of Scotland 383.90 +3.80 Royal Dutch Shell PLC 2,163.50 -21.50 Royal Dutch Shell PLC 2,256.00 -18.00 Royal Mail PLC 442.20 +1.20 SABMiller PLC 3,463.00 +26.50 SSE PLC 1,518.00 +26.00 Sage Group PLC/The 478.80 +0.10 Schroders PLC 2,866.00 +11.00 Severn Trent PLC 2,152.00 +5.00 Shire PLC 4,980.00 +164.00 Sky PLC 941.50 +1.50 Smith & Nephew PLC 1,191.00 +1.00 Smiths Group PLC 1,115.00 -5.00 Sports Direct Intl 724.00 +3.00 St James's Place PLC 862.50 +1.00 Standard Chartered PLC 941.70 -9.40 Standard Life PLC 405.00 +1.20 TUI AG 1,199.00 +2.00 TUI AG 1,171.00 +6.00 Taylor Wimpey PLC 133.50 +0.40 Tesco PLC 234.45 -0.85 Travis Perkins PLC 1,950.00 +17.00 Tullow Oil PLC 360.10 -11.20 Unilever PLC 2,881.00 +27.00 United Utilities Group 998.50 +3.00 Vodafone Group PLC 240.40 +0.50 WM Morrison Suprmrkts 196.70 -2.40 WPP PLC 1,476.00 -3.00 Weir Group PLC/The 1,665.00 -10.00 Whitbread PLC 5,085.00 -5.00 Wolseley PLC 4,027.00 +28.00

% C H G. +0.51% -1.00% -1.26% +0.44% +0.46% +0.10% +0.33% +1.67% +0.17% -1.00% +1.01% +0.42% +0.77% 0.00% -2.65% +0.22% -0.22% -1.17% +0.30% +0.19% +0.33% +3.36% +1.25% -0.24% -0.82% -0.34% -0.73% -0.16% +0.60% -0.28% +0.46% +0.04% 0.00% +1.04% -0.41% +0.70% +0.29% -0.52% +0.85% -0.03% +0.06% -1.29% 0.00% +0.09% -2.12% +0.55% +1.00% -0.98% -0.79% +0.27% +0.77% +1.74% +0.02% +0.39% +0.23% +3.41% +0.16% +0.08% -0.45% +0.42% +0.12% -0.99% +0.30% +0.17% +0.52% +0.30% -0.36% +0.88% -3.02% +0.95% +0.30% +0.21% -1.21% -0.20% -0.60% -0.10% +0.70%

VOLUME 45,953 1,763,549 362,741 348,472 773,092 429,561 722,590 568,413 444,286 911,380 1,067,267 327,284 557,423 1,734,484 9,855,655 3,415,421 347,206 850,201 1,440,642 357,608 71,371 2,588,870 48,743 254,438 1,523,278 126,589 1,882,096 279,363 1,355,413 22,585,227 58,832 437,894 175,987 216,156 1,704,283 69,404 954,121 492,532 128,654 512,068 284,763 99,450 204,343 534,097 935,399 1,013,934 1,412,448 1,249,884 662,315 307,246 297,697 911,236 262,903 41,696 70,670 605,854 487,142 436,362 266,818 177,597 225,615 1,987,369 706,889 93,758 88,079 3,064,498 5,534,374 122,649 1,096,636 955,325 272,396 12,099,567 3,395,117 575,305 100,144 50,433 91,300

FINANCE, BUSINESS & LEGAL

www.euroweeklynews.com

29 January - 4 February 2015 / Axarquía - Costa Tropical

EWN

27

Free courses in customer relations MOST of us are uncaring of marketing strategies designed to shape our buying habits as we browse supermarket aisles. The ‘sheds,’ like Primark, IKEA, B&Q and ASDA, spend millions analysing our shopping penchants.

Like donkeys chasing carrots we are tempted around displays. Some colours on packaging create more sales, others have the opposite effect.

A well known expression in the marketing industries: ‘Blue and green should never be seen.’

The science of creating and maintaining customer loyalty is zealously studied and put into practice. Some larger organisations

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

regard good customer service as pivotal to their existence.

I was reminded of this when I contacted Amazon customer service.

As a publisher I had a technical question. Within hours I received a reply: “Thank you for contacting Amazon KDP. I hope you are having a

nice day. I’ll be more than happy to assist you.”

As good as his word, Raul sorted my problem out.

Had he been unsuccessful he would personally help me through the process.

Cynics say such American salutations are insincere. I do not.

But, I do know that when a neighbour calls, “How are you today?” he sincerely hopes I will not unburden myself.

Some businesses are good at customer relations, some are hopeless.

Disgruntled customers are a financial drain on businesses. Lack of customer empathy means one needs to constantly advertise to replace

dissatisfied clients. Revolving doors; new clients in turn will be offended by poor service.

My business budget could never match that of the larger companies when analysing buying habits and customer retention. Never mind, we have ‘free’ staff courses. Let us say I am recruiting staff for a new restaurant.

Having given a nod and a wink to the manager of a friendly business, I would treat my staff to a night out.

I would ask only one thing of my new employees. That, throughout the dining (or shopping) experience they focus on the super service we receive.

The lesson for the day is: ‘This is How I Want it Done.’

28

E W N 29 January - 4 February 2015 / Axarquía - Costa Tropical

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FINANCE, BUSINESS & LEGAL

COPYRIGHT LIGHTWAVEMEDIA

Get active and save yourself money Loose change A look at finance for females

Jane Plunkett jane.plunkett@euroweeklynews.com

THE start of a year can be a difficult month financially.

Especially after perhaps forking out on Christmas presents, expensive New Year plans or having flown abroad to visit family over the holidays.

It’s also a time of year where everyone is talking about getting into shape. And while such resolutions are predictable at this time of the year, it can be difficult to keep up momentum and stick to an exercise regime.

But here are a few reasons to keep on exercising - and not just for your physical health, but in terms of your financial health too.

Save on Make-up Regular exercise is one of the best things for your skin. Sweat out all those nasty toxins and your skin will thank you for it.

The clear complexion that goes along with regular exercise, helps to improve your selfimage too, so you don’t feel the need to hide your face behind a painted mask. So get moving and you won’t have the urge to fork out money every time you pass the make-up counter.

Regular exercise is one of the best things for your skin.

SAVE MONEY: Swap your coffee break for a quick, brisk walk.

Save on Mental Health Frequent exercise helps to enhance your mood. Isn’t that why they call it ‘the runner’s high’? A good running session can work just as well as antidepressants for many cases

Reader spots error in 2015 Lawbook Q. I have recently upgraded to the new 2015 Edition of ‘You & the Law in Spain,’ and this time I purchased the Kindle edition. In the Spanish Income Tax section on page 289, you give a ‘Sample Calculation’ for computing your tax. I have read this over with care, but I am at a loss to determine where your figure of €918 reduction comes from. I have copied out the relevant section here.

Sample calculation. “It works like this: If you are a married couple of pensioners with two pensions and a small investment income totalling, say, €27,442 a year, you first consult the list of deductions. If both of you are 66, your personal minimum is €5,151 plus €918, a total of €6,069 each.” Perhaps you can clear this up for me?

L.T. (e-mail)

You and the Law in Spain

By David Searl

A. Thank you for your letter, and double thank you for exposing an error in the book. You could not find the figure of €918 because it is not there. The €918 is the previous year’s extra exemption for people over 65-years-old. The figure for this year should have been €1,150. Oh, my. Furthermore, the personal minimum should have been €5,550 and not €5,151.

Upon checking, I find that I made the corrections, but failed to mark them properly, so the old paragraph ran without change, and I did not catch this in proofreading. In practical terms, it makes very little difference, but it is indeed embarrassing.

So our ‘Sample Calculation’ should have read:

“If you are a married couple of pensioners with two pensions and a small investment income totalling, say, €30,000 a year, you first consult the list of deductions.

“Your personal minimum for tax year 2014 is €5,550. In addition, you have a further deduction of €1,150 because you are over 65. This gives a total of €6,700 each. Times two gives €13,400. In fact, if you each receive income, you will make two separate tax declarations, but I am lumping them together to simplify. You are also each entitled to the wage earner’s deduction of €2,000 for ‘other expenses,’ together making €4,000, which gives total deductions of €17,400.

“Deducting the €17,400 from €30,000 gives €12,600 taxable income. You look at the table and see that a tax base up to €12,450 pays at 20 per cent, so you owe about €2,500 to the Spanish tax man.”

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

of mild depression. So getting up and moving is a fantastic way to cheer up without having to fork out for professional help.

Save on Caffeine Slouching around leaves a person with little energy, whereas an active lifestyle guarantees lots of energy. So the more you move, the less need you’ll have for a double espresso throughout the day.

You could save a euro or two a day by simply swapping your coffee break for a quick brisk walk.

Save on Medical Costs A healthy fitness routine will help you steer clear of having a heart attack or stroke. It helps to decrease the chance of developing chronic conditions like diabetes and arthritis.

Staying fit also strengthens your immune system, improving your body’s ability to fight infections, helping you get through flu season without needing a pricey prescription. Stay active and avoid expensive medical bills.

BUSINESS EXTRA

Slow progress UNEMPLOYMENT should gradually improve although Spain will continue to have one of the highest rates in a developed country, said the International Labour Organisation (ILO). It will remain above 21 per cent until at least 2019 when the ILO predicted 21.49 per cent unemployment, compared with 23.6 per cent this year.

Low cost THE Sandero hatchback which costs less than €7,000 with discounts is made by the Romanian firm, Dacia, that was bought by Renault in 1999. A total of 19,394 units were sold in Spain between January and November last year, representing 30 per cent of all the Renault group’s Spanish sales.

Build it up CONSTRUCTION companies asked the government for ‘legislative mechanisms’ and financial help to help the sector grow again in Spain. International ventures representing 90 per cent of business and national projects were positive, they agreed at the recent Infrastructure Sector Meeting, but help was needed to boost the domestic market.

OPINION & COMMENT

Buzz off, little ones! You are not welcome!

RE the noisy children outside a reader’s house, I am reminded of the action taken by the Moulin Rouge to discourage prostitutes outside the venue.

They simply installed green lighting which made the girls look ghoulish and put off the punters - job done. A similar change might work for the reader.

Some years ago I read of a small device which emitted a high-pitched sound, similar to that of a mozzie that younger people can hear, but not those whose hearing has deteriorated with age. Apparently it is very, very irritating. Try Google to find it.

Another ploy is to play classical music which had the same effect; choosing something soporific should work wonders. Best of luck!

Richard in Crevillente (Murcia)

Lesson learnt I DEALT with a ‘noisy children’ situation quite recently, but they were under the age of 16.

During the first two evenings I merely acknowledged their presence. They were obviously encouraged and so became noisier. I then decided to tell them that if they wished to sit on my wall, I would join them and give them a class in English.

They smiled and left!

They now wave to me from the wall of a Spanish neighbour further down the hill.

Stuart Burnley has had to tolerate the situation for a long time, whereas I was able to nip it in the bud. Maybe this won’t help you, Mr Burnley, but try it!

Pamela Hosey, Almayate (Malaga)

Think positive SORRY, but I don’t agree with ‘Our view’ about seasonal blues.

My view is firstly that the sun was out during most of the month of December with clear days to enjoy sitting outside on

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

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I WONDER how many people are aware of this monument to the International Brigade in London. It came as a surprise when I encountered it on my last visit.

Peter Cochrane (by email)

terraces, looking out at the sea and mountains.

Eliminate January from the calendar? April or May when the season begins are still a long way off, so why push time any faster? Rather, enjoy this tranquil and relatively quiet time to be happy and thankful for so many things, those that are mostly taken for granted!

And let’s not forget, we have generally been fortunate enough to afford to celebrate the festive season in the first place.

Let’s be positive all the year round including January !

Felipe, Palma de Mallorca (Baleares)

Trade-off I AM not one to reply to correspondence under most circumstances, but the blatant misrepresentation in the letter from Bill Campbell should not go without correction.

Is he not aware that we do have to leave the EU to trade with the rest of the world?

We are specifically banned from arranging trade deals with them by EU statutes and are not even allowed into the talks which take place.

Furthermore we buy 50 per

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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cent more from Europe than we sell to them and thus would benefit from any trade restrictions in the very unlikely event of their being applied.

Also is he not aware that the study, so often-quoted, was based on data up to 2011 and totally at odds with current realities?

It did not take into account the massive influx of immigrants since then.

Nor did it take into account the millions in family allowances paid for children not living in this country.

Similarly it did not take into account the massive amounts of money transferred by immigrants to their overseas accounts.

Alison Wilson, Benidorm (Alicante)

The sad problem IT is sad that people are taken in by populist but totally uninformed anti-EU UKIP propaganda. The EU would work even better if the laws thought up in Brussels were accepted by individual member states wholly and not diluted.

Unless a person does a bit of travelling or a bit of business, people see improvements in this area as threatening and pressure for further EU integration, which seems to be mainstream media reactionary hype.

I think people are conflating EU migration with multiculturalism and failed integration. It is a failure of multiculturalism that we have entire swathes acting exactly as they did in their home countries (forced marriages or female genital mutilation, for example). This has nothing to do with hardworking Polish bricklayers or Spanish chefs.

David Charteris, Palma de Mallorca (Baleares)

Stalemate I RECEIVED my telephone and broadband service from a company who began to send the monthly statement via the internet.

EWN

31

They tended to be erratic and I did not always receive one, but I noticed a few months ago that the amount taken from my bank did not always tally with the amount on the statement.

Upon telephoning to discuss this I spoke to a young lady in customer services, during which she said she could do nothing without the billing date. Her attitude was quite obstructive as I thought a look at my account would show this up.

I concluded by saying that if she could not clear this up I would pay no more money.

Her reply to this was that they would no longer provide the service and hung up.

I fully expected her to calm down after a couple of days and to get some explanation from the company.

I was therefore surprised to find some three days later that my broadband was no longer working, so it would seem she was as good as her word.

I am guessing that I have overpaid up to €100 on my monthly account, but am unable to be sure because of the lack of invoices.

I am unable to phone them as they have barred my phone number, so all I get is a message to say that ‘this number is unobtainable from your area’ when I try to call. I now find that they have transferred my phone to Telefonica - with no permission from me - and I have just received a bill from Telefonica for two months calls and line rental.

As I am unable to contact them and as they are not replying to my emails I am at a loss to know how to proceed. Is anyone able to help?

John Shannan, Turre (Almeria)

The real deal ALL this hype about Mr Darcy!

Unlike reader Suzanne Stokes I’ve always found him an almighty bore and doubt that in real life he’d have been anything like Colin Firth doing his wet tshirt number.

Now Lord Peter Wimsey, that’s another story. Read the description of him leaning naked out of an upstairs window in ‘Busman’s Honeymoon.’

Phwoar...

Jacqueline Miller (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.

32

E W N 29 January - 4 February 2015/ Axarquía - Costa Tropical

R

aquel Rodriguez Navarro from Inford@tox, Albox, Almeria, said: “Many of our clients are from the UK and spend long periods of time here or transfer their pensions. It is better for them to get a good exchange rate but it also benefits our businesses because they are happy to spend more money here.

This is good for them, good for me, good for Albox and good for Spain.”

Mark spent seven years in the armed forces learning telecommunications skills. He now brings this expertise to the

OPINION & COMMENT

www.euroweeklynews.com

Sterling surges: what will this mean to your business?

Marina, Costa Blanca South, believed more spending power benefits the whole community. “Due to the better exchange rates, this is the best time in the last four years for Britons to buy property, particularly as house prices are still low. It also creates work for banks, estate agents and lawyers. The other effect is for those who receive pensions from the UK. With more disposable income, pensioners will spend more on new furniture, clothes, electrical goods, etc, resulting in a boost to our economy.” He added: “If the Spanish economy recovers, hopefully there will be more money available to local authorities, to improve the infrastructure in our communities.”

It is all about boosting the local economy, bar owner Kevyn Noble believes. The entrepreneur who owns and runs Winnies Bar in La Cala de Finestrat, Costa Blanca North, said: “Tourists who have already budgeted their spending money will now get more for their pounds, enabling them to eat and drink out more.

This is definitely beneficial to us and Spain’s industry as a whole.”

STREET TALK

MARK: The Sky Doctor, (left). Products cost less. RAQUEL: Inford@tox (centre).

JEFF: (Right) Greater spending power can only boost the local economy.

KEVYN: More money to spend in bars and restaurants will help local businesses.

community of the Costa del Sol and to you, via The Sky Doctor, professional installers of IPTV and satellite systems based in Marbella and Calahonda. He remarked: “It means that Brits on holiday will have a higher spending capacity to

buy our excellent products and it will cost them less, providing even more value for money for items and services from The Sky Doctor.”

Councillor for Urbanisations, Jeff Wiszniewski, based in Urbanisation La

Copyright iofoto

Poisoning young minds LEAPY LEE SAYS IT OTHERS THINK IT

S

OMETHING really must be done about Ofsted. Their rampant rhetoric and unchecked inspections are not only becoming ludicrous, but often to my mind dangerously akin to child abuse.

These misled incompetents, who profess to be on a mission to stamp out racism, homophobia and inequalities in schools, are creating the very ‘intolerances’ they purport to be eradicating.

The recent report of their antics in the case of Durham Free School is a glaring case in point. An individual apparently asked youngsters between 11 and 13 if they knew what a lesbian was - knew anyone in the school who was actually gay - felt they were trapped in someone else’s body - what they would do if a Muslim came to the school - or had learned how to make a baby. If these were appropriate

MISGUIDED: Ofsted antics could plant the seeds of intolerance in schoolchildren. questions to ask 11-year-olds, then I’ve completely lost track of the plot. With this type of approach and question, I believe these jumped-up morons are actually managing to create intolerance and racism where it has in fact never before existed. The five-year-old boy, who was reported for asking, because

his little friend was brown, did he come from Africa, is a case in point. The ‘official’ hue and cry that ensued resulted in a number of things. Namely, the young lad became completely confused and traumatised because he didn’t really know what he had done wrong and what is even more

disturbing, he was of course introduced to racism. By the same token, the young lad who was asked what a Muslim was. Apparently his answer included a reference to terrorism. Well, of course, it did. With a never-ending list of highly publicised terrorist attacks by militant Muslims, does it not stand to reason that his young mind would link the two? He was subsequently accused of bigotry.

Is it not obvious to any clear-thinking person that the completely over-thetop official reaction to these children’s innocent observations could easily plant the seeds of racism or intolerance in young minds?

What I want to know is, who is watching the watchers? Who trains these misguided people? We don’t have to ask who pays them, of course. But frankly if someone doesn’t rein them in, they will, inadvertently or not, continue to poison our precious young minds until bigotry in our places of education could well become a part of the curriculum.

Keep the faith Love Leapy leapylee2002@gmail.com

COMMUNITY

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GUIDED TOUR: Raised Lux Mundi funds.

Day out in Marbella THIRTY-FIVE international friends of Lux Mundi, Torre del Mar, visited the old town of Marbella.

Guide Natalia took them around the winding, narrow streets pointing out the beautiful buildings, including the Ayuntamiento, the Hospital Bazán which now houses the Museum of Contemporary Spanish Engravings and the Chapel of Santiago.

After a viewing of the 10 bronze sculptures by Salvador Dali on Avenida del Mar, and lunch, there was a retail

therapy trip to the La Cañada shopping centre.

Lux Mundi, Torre del Mar would like to thank all the friends who joined them and supported them, which enables the group to continue its charitable work.

The Lux Mundi Ecumenical Centre is in Avda. Moscatel 1’I’, (Jardines Viña Malága/Antigua Casa de la Viña), Torre del Mar, open Monday to Friday, 10am to 1pm and 3pm to 6pm. More information: 952 543 334 email: luxmundi@luxmundi.org or visit www.lux-mundi.org

41 Club extends the hand of friendship

THE 41 Club based around Nerja presented the Asociacion Taller de la Amistad (The Friendship Workshop Association) with a cheque for €1,200.

The associaton helps those with learning difficulties in Malaga Province, with its aim being to implement the principles of social and occupational integration whilst maintaining stages of personal development through Person Centred Planning (PCP).

The 41 Club Nerja has more than 40 members from many European countries and is a group of men who were previously members of Round Table, a social

PRESENTATION: Club members hand over cheque. and charity fundraising organisation for the under 40s.

They raised the money for this donation during a four-day conference they organised in November, when 230 members of the 41 Club from many countries gathered in Nerja in the Marinas de Nerja Aparthotel.

Members hope that Taller de la Amistad will find good use for the money in its day centre in Nerja. This is not the

first time members of 41 Club have supported the association and members hope to continue working with them over the coming years.

The 41 Club meets at the Hotel al Andalus in Maro every third Thursday of the month, except August and December.

Further information about the group can be requested from Alfie Fornear on a.fornear@hotmail.com

editorial@euroweeklynews.com

29 January - 4 February 2015/ Axarquía - Costa Tropical

EWN

33

34

E W N 29 January - 4 February 2015 / AxarquĂ­a - Costa Tropical

Thursday 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 EastEnders 9:00pm Eat Well for Less?

10:00pm Death in Paradise 11:00pm BBC News at Ten 11:25pm BBC London News 11:45pm Question Time 12:45am This Week

BBC TWO 6:15pm Flog It! 7:00pm Eggheads 7:30pm Great British Railway Journeys 8:00pm Antiques Road Trip 9:00pm Attenborough's Paradise Birds 10:00pm Modern Times 11:00pm Charlie Brooker's Weekly Wipe 11:30pm Newsnight 12:20am MH17: In Search of Truth

ITV 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 Perspectives 12:40am Ade at Sea

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 Location, Location, Location 10:00pm Cucumber 11:00pm The Mega Brothel 12:05am 24 Hours in Police Custody

CH5 4:10pm Cedar Cove 6:00pm 5 News at 5 6:30pm Neighbours 7:00pm Home and Away 7:30pm 5 News Tonight 8:00pm North Pole Ice Airport 9:00pm Benefits 10:00pm Celebrity Big Brother 11:00pm Botched Up Bodies 12:00am Celebrity Big Brother's Bit on the Side

SKY1 3:00pm NCIS: Los Angeles 4:00pm Inside RAF Brize Norton 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 A League of Their Own 10:00pm Ross Kemp: Extreme World 11:00pm Ascension 12:40am David Attenborough's Galapagos

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 6:15pm Antiques Roadshow 7:00pm Eggheads 7:30pm Great British Railway Journeys 8:00pm Antiques Road Trip 9:00pm Mastermind 9:30pm Food and Drink 10:00pm The Big Allotment Challenge 11:00pm QI 11:30pm Newsnight 12:05am The Road

ITV 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 Shaun of the Dead 1:30am 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 Catastrophe

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 12:30am Celebrity Big Brother

SKY1 3:00pm NCIS: Los Angeles 4:00pm Inside RAF Brize Norton 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 Show Me Your Garden 10:00pm Ascension 11:50pm Ghostbusters 1:55am A Most Violent Year Special

Saturday BBC ONE 4:00pm Homes Under the Hammer 5:00pm 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 9:30pm The National Lottery 10:20pm Casualty 11:10pm BBC News 11:25pm Weather 11:30pm Match of the Day 1:00am The Football League Show

BBC TWO 4:25pm Hidalgo 6:30pm The Great British Sewing Bee 7:30pm Flog It! 8:30pm Attenborough's Birds of Paradise 9:30pm Dad's Army 10:00pm QI 10:30pm The Secret World of Lewis Carroll 11:30pm Ginger and Rosa 12:55am The Tempest

ITV 3:10pm Who's Doing the Dishes?

4:10pm Doc Martin 5:10pm Big Star's Little Star 6:10pm Local News and Weather 6:20pm ITV News and Weather 6:30pm You've Been Framed!

7:30pm Stars in Their Eyes 8:30pm Planets Got Talent 9:05pm Take Me Out 10:20pm The Jonathan Ross Show 11:25pm ITV News and Weather 11:35pm The Shawshank Redemption 2:10am Jackpot 247

CH4 5:00pm Come Dine with Me 6:00pm The Big Bang Theory 6:30pm The Simpsons 7:00pm The Simpsons 7:30pm Channel 4 News 8:00pm The Restoration Man 9:00pm The World's Weirdest Weather 10:00pm Ted 12:10am Your Highness

CH5 3:40pm Columbo: A Friend in Deed 5:35pm Columbo: A Deadly State of Mind 7:10pm NCIS 8:00pm NCIS 8:55pm NCIS 9:50pm 5 News 10:00pm Celebrity Big Brother 11:00pm CSI: Crime Scene Investigation 11:55pm Law and Order 12:50am Criminals

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 Sun, Sea and A&E 7:00pm The Fanatics 8:00pm Show Me Your Garden 9:00pm Ghostbusters 11:05pm A League of Their Own 11:35pm A League of Their Own 12:05am Hawaii Five-0

TV LISTING

www.euroweeklynews.com

Sunday BBC ONE 3:15pm Escape to the Country 4:00pm Eat Well for Less?

5:00pm Your Home in Their Hands 6:00pm Songs of Praise 6:35pm BBC News 6:50pm Regional News 6:55pm Weather 7:00pm Animals in Love 8:00pm Countryfile 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 12:30am The Apprentice USA

BBC TWO 3:00pm Food and Drink 3:30pm Talking Pictures 4:00pm Ivanhoe 5:45pm Flog It! 6:15pm Ski Sunday 7:00pm The Coffee Trail with Simon Reeve 8:00pm The Motorway: Life in the Fast Lane 9:00pm Top Gear 10:00pm Dragons' Den 11:00pm True Grit 12:45am New Jack City

ITV 3:10pm Mel and Sue's Best Bits 4:10pm Tipping Point 5:15pm The Spy Who Loved Me 7:35pm Local News and Weather 7:45pm ITV News and Weather 8:00pm Get Your Act Together 9:15pm All Star Family Fortunes 10:00pm Mr Selfridge 11:00pm ITV News and Weather 11:15pm Perspectives 12:15am LV Cup Rugby Highlights

CH4 3:00pm The Simpsons 3:30pm The Simpsons 4:00pm Penelope 5:50pm Channel 4 News 6:20pm Mr. Popper's Penguins 8:00pm The Jump 9:00pm The Hotel 10:00pm Our Guy in India 11:05pm The Simpsons 11:30pm The Super Bowl: American Football Live 4:30am Superscrimpers: Waste Not, Want Not

CH5 4:25pm Hoodwinked 5:55pm Made of Honour 7:50pm Hellboy II: The Golden Army 9:55pm 5 News 10:00pm Celebrity Big Brother 11:00pm Justice 1:00am Britain's Flashiest Families

SKY1 4:00pm Last Man Standing 4:30pm Last Man Standing 5:00pm Emergency with Angela Griffin 6:00pm The Simpsons 6:30pm The Simpsons 7:00pm The Simpsons 7:30pm The Simpsons 8:00pm The Holidaymakers 9:00pm A League of Their Own 10:00pm Hawaii Five-0 11:00pm NCIS: Los Angeles 12:00am Show Me Your Garden

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 11:40pm Weather 11:45pm Football Focus 12:30am The Graham Norton Show

BBC TWO 6:15pm Flog It! 7:00pm Eggheads 7:30pm Great Antiques Map of Britain 8:00pm Top Gear 9:00pm University Challenge 9:30pm Only Connect 10:00pm A Cook Abroad: Dave Myers' Egypt 11:00pm Backchat with Jack Whitehall and His Dad 11:30pm Newsnight 12:15am 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 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 The Jonathan Ross Show 12:45am The Kyle Files

CH4 6:30pm The Simpsons 7:00pm The Simpsons 7:30pm Hollyoaks 8:00pm Channel 4 News 9:00pm The Jump 10:00pm The Undateables 11:00pm Catastrophe 11:35pm Bodyshockers 12:40am 24 Hours in A and E

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 Celebrity Big Brother 10:00pm Celebrity Big Brother 11:00pm 10,000 BC 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 Holidaymakers 10:00pm 50 Ways to Kill Your Mammy 11:00pm Air Ambulance ER 12:00am Hawaii Five-0

Tuesday BBC ONE 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 11:40pm Weather 11:45pm Count Arthur Strong 12:15am Gareth Thomas: Game Changer

BBC TWO 6:15pm Flog It! 7:00pm Eggheads 7:30pm Great Antiques Map of Britain 8:00pm Antiques Road Trip 9:00pm Alex Polizzi: The Fixer 10:00pm Inside the Commons 11:00pm Rory Bremner's Coalition Report 11:30pm Newsnight 12:15am Weather

ITV 6:00pm The Chase 7:00pm Local News and Weather 7:30pm ITV News and Weather 8:00pm Emmerdale 8:30pm Deirdre and Me 9:00pm Bad Builders Bang to Rights 10:00pm Paul O'Grady's Animal Orphans 11:00pm ITV News at Ten and Weather 11:40pm Benidorm 12:10am Carry on Jack

CH4 6:30pm The Simpsons 7:00pm The Simpsons 7:30pm Hollyoaks 8:00pm Channel 4 News Includes sport and weather.

9:00pm The Jump 10:00pm 24 Hours in Police Custody 11:00pm Ramsay's Hotel Hell 11:55pm The Mega Brothel 1:00am 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 Benefits 9:00pm Costa Del Casualty 10:00pm Celebrity Big Brother 11:00pm 10,000 BC 12:00am Celebrity Big Brother's Bit on the Side

SKY1 4:00pm Inside RAF Brize Norton 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 Modern Family 9:30pm Modern Family 10:00pm Air Ambulance ER 11:00pm Ross Kemp: Extreme World 12:00am NCIS: Los Angeles

Wednesday BBC ONE 5:30pm Antiques Road Trip 6:15pm Pointless 7:00pm BBC News 7:30pm Regional News 8:00pm The One Show 8:30pm Match of the Day Live 11:00pm BBC News 11:25pm Regional News 11:40pm Weather 11:45pm A Question of Sport 12:15am Film 2015

BBC TWO 5:10pm To the Manor Born 5:40pm Hi-De-Hi! 6:15pm Flog It! 7:00pm Eggheads 7:30pm Great Antiques Map of Britain 8:00pm Antiques Road Trip 9:00pm Alaska: Earth's Frozen Kingdom 10:00pm Wolf Hall 11:00pm Up the Women 11:30pm Newsnight 12:15am Weather

ITV 5:00pm Mel and Sue 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 Midsomer Murders 11:00pm ITV News at Ten and Weather 11:40pm Bring Back Borstal 12:35am I Never Knew That About Britain

CH4 5:00pm Shipping Wars 5:45pm Couples Come Dine with Me 6:30pm The Simpsons 7:00pm The Simpsons 7:30pm Hollyoaks 8:00pm Channel 4 News 9:00pm The Jump 10:00pm 24 Hours in A and E 11:00pm Bodyshockers 12:00am The Undateables

CH5 3:15pm NCIS 4:15pm Another Man's Wife 6:00pm 5 News 6:30pm Neighbours 7:00pm Home and Away 7:30pm 5 News 8:00pm Cowboy Builders 9:00pm GPs: Behind Closed Doors 10:00pm Celebrity Big Brother 11:00pm Age Gap Love 12:00am Celebrity Big Brother's Bit on the Side

SKY1 3:00pm NCIS: Los Angeles 4:00pm Harrow: A Very British School 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 NCIS: Los Angeles 12:00am NCIS: Los Angeles

OPINION & COMMENT

www.euroweeklynews.com

29 January - 4 February 2015 / Axarquía - Costa Tropical

EWN

35

You have the right to answers Mike Walsh Mike, based in Mediterranean Spain, is an international journalist, author and professional writer.

I

N Ukraine, a terrifying civil war rages.

Devastation is likened to the Battle of Stalingrad as the death tolls nears 5,000.

Europe’s biggest country is disintegrating. Over one million Europeans are displaced, 750,000 live in Russian displacement camps; borders sealed to stop thousands of young people avoiding conscription by escaping to Russia.

EU sanctions and economic sabotage in support of the Kiev regime is said to have plunged the eurozone into recession.

And for what? The Russian invasion of Crimea? Then part of the USSR, Crimea in 1954 was gifted to Ukraine by a tipsy First Secretary Nikita Khrushchev.

Crimeans recently voted

overwhelmingly to return to their homeland. We have yet to see credible evidence of a single Russian army boot on Ukrainian soil despite numerous alleged invasions.

Seven EU countries, so far, demand sanctions be lifted: Austria, Hungary, Italy, Cyprus, Slovakia, France and the Czech Republic.

Their economies and others

sabotaged by BrusselsWashington blockades. Greece may soon give two fingers to EU membership; will Spain and others follow?

The New York Observer: ‘The new Ukraine is run by Sexpots, Warlords, Lunatics and Oligarchs.’

Venerable British journalist, John Pilger: “In the Ukraine the US is dragging us into a war

UKRAINE: Europe’s biggest country is disintegrating.

with Russia” - The Guardian, May 13, 2014.

Let us take a closer look at those in key positions of the EU/ US backed Kiev regime. After Washington DC bragged about their ousting elected President Viktor Yanukovych, there is little point in debating whether they did or not. Who has taken the overthrown government’s place?

Get ready to squirm.

Billionaire oligarch Pyotr Poroshenko is President.

Prosecutor General of Ukraine Oleg Makhnitsky, the xenophobic leader of the Bandera Svoboda Party. It uses Nazi regalia and salutes. I don’t know why, as Banderistas spent their war in Nazi concentration camps.

New Secretary of the powerful National Defence and Security Council, Andriy Parubiy, aka ‘The Commandant,’ is leader of the Swastika flaunting Fatherland Party.

His Deputy is Dmytro Yarosh, leader of the Right Sector’s paramilitary wing. Photographs of him

and his armed henchmen wearing army fatigues and IRA type balaclavas circulate.

New Defence Minister is Ihor Tenyukh, extreme rightist of the Svoboda Party. Key government positions are held by various Svoboda Party thugs such as Oleksandr Sych, one of Ukraine’s three Prime Ministers.

This obnoxious party holds key government ministries such as Agriculture.

The Economy Minister is Lithuanian, the Finance Minister, a US citizen. The Health Minister is Georgian who cannot speak Ukrainian. All parachuted in

by Washington DC. These are the kind of people that Washington DC’s Victoria Nuland, Senator John McCain, and other top US and EU officials embrace.

If you ask what the hell is going on then you have every right to ask. You also have the right to demand answers. If we fail to address this unfolding tragedy, the John Pilger war prophecy could be reality.

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/norajohnson

H

AVE you been targeted by one of those ‘phishing’ scams? You know, those scam emails pretending to offer customers a tax rebate? Or worse still, think you might miss the January 31 deadline for online UK tax returns?

If so, you’d better come up with a better excuse than those provided recently by HM Revenue and Customs as the worst examples people have come up with for filing/ paying their tax return late.

These range from the usual “my pet dog ate my

tax return… and all the reminders;” “I was up a mountain in Wales, and couldn’t find a postbox or get an internet signal” and “I was in Australia” to the “poor me” variety (“I fell in with the wrong crowd;” “I live in a camper van in a supermarket car park”; “a work colleague borrowed my tax return, to photocopy it, and didn’t give it back to me;” “my girlfriend’s pregnant”) to the truly bizarre (“Barack Obama’s in charge of my finances;” “I’ve been busy looking after a flock of escaped parrots and some fox cubs;” “I’ve been travelling the world, trying to escape from a foreign intelligence agency”).

Unsurprisingly, none of these led to a successful appeal - or worthy of an award at next month’s Oscars. As HMRC director general of personal tax put

COPYRIGHT JOE SEER

Tax return cop-outs worthy of an Oscar? it: “People can have a genuine excuse for missing a tax deadline, but owning a pet with a taste for HMRC envelopes isn’t

Have you been targeted by a ‘phishing’ scam?

TAX EXCUSE: Is yours worthy of an Oscar?

one of them.”

To return, briefly, to ‘phishing,’ maybe the best advice nowadays is, sadly, ‘Trust nobody.’ The world in which we now live. Fake tradesmen in hi-vis jackets knocking at your door to check some phoney gasleak/pipework ‘problem’ and walking out with your wallet. The elderly being palmed off with third-rate stuff at outrageous prices.

Or a worthless plot of land as an ‘investment.’

This happens, we all know it happens. The answer may partly lie with the media: more publicity given about the punishment dished out to offenders to scare off those hell-bent on committing such crimes.

And more, much more success in catching the offenders ...

What’s really disturbing is that the police often know who the offenders are, but can’t get enough people to testify against them. Perhaps we’re all at fault here. What’s your view?

Nora Johnson’s thrillers ‘Landscape of Lies,’ ‘Retribution,’ ‘Soul Stealer,’ ‘The De Clerambault Code’ (www.norajohnson.com) available from Amazon in paperback/eBook (€0.89;£0.79) and iBookstore.

Profits to Cudeca.

36

E W N 29 January - 4 February 2015 / Axarquía - Costa Tropical

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Time Out

TRUS

our a

T

dvert

WE D

isers

O!

EURO WEEKLY’S SPACE FOR YOU TO TAKE A BREAK, BE INFORMED AND ENJOY A CHALLENGE

Axarquía weather

NEW ON DVD

for next 7 days

MADDOCKS’ VIEW ON LIFE

Boyhood Filmed with the same cast over a period of 12 years, Boyhood was recently nominated for eight Academy Awards. The movie plots the joys and pitfalls of growing up as seen through the eyes of a child named Mason, his parents and his sister. A series of vignettes of Mason’s life from the age of five to 18 captures family meals, road trips, birthday parties, graduations and other important life milestones. A favourite to pick up the Best Picture award at this year’s Oscars.

Directed by Richard Linklater, stars Ellar Coltrane, Patricia Arquette and Ethan Hawke. Run time 162 minutes. Rated R.

TODAY

TODAY

ARCHIDONA

CASABERMEJA NERJA

VELEZ-MALAGA MALAGA R DE LA VICTORIA

ARCHIDONA

CASABERMEJA NERJA

VELEZ-MALAGA

TOMORROW MALAGA

R DE LA VICTORIA

Fri Sat Sun -

Mon - 14 6 C Tues - 14 6 S Wed - 17 6 C

21 11 C 19 8 C 16 9 S

9-Star Quiz

tars

GEMINI (May 22 - June 21) Someone with a romantic interest in you starts buzzing around. This is all very well if you are willing, but if not keep your distance. As thoughts turn to summer, it is not surprising that a holiday is on your mind.

VIRGO (August 24 - September 23) Putting your thoughts and feelings on a par with someone else will help you to understand their point of view. Tthere will need to be some compromise if everyone is to be happy.

CANCER (June 22 - July 23) Small matters start to clog up the emotional works. You would rather be somewhere else, but grit your teeth and deal with necessary matters. Finances certainly must be watched most carefully.

LIBRA

Sudoku

(September 24 October 23) Although you may not have received the expected response to a question recently, it is no reason to brood.

SCORPIO (October 24 November 22) The way to bring energy levels up this week is to spend time with energetic people. You may feel a little on the fringes initially but, at the end of the day, your spirit will be lifted.

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.

LAST WEEK’S SOLUTION

SAGITTARIUS (November 23 December 21) Look ahead to see how exactly you can make this spring extra special. Making your plans clear to others means a smooth journey.

CAPRICORN (December 22 January 20) There is an incredibly romantic week ahead if you only enter into the spirit of it. Let your feelings be seen and felt, showing appreciation for loved ones.

LOTTERY UK NATIONAL LOTTERY

UK THUNDERBALL

IRISH LOTTO

EURO MILLIONS

Saturday January 24

Saturday January 24

Saturday January 24

Friday January 23

4

8

19

35

44

49

2

8 18

9 36

1

9

12

38

43

44

BONUS BALL

THUNDERBALL

BONUS BALL

17

5

28

6

29 38

LUCKY STARS 1

8

7

14

16

36

37

47

REINTEGRO 29

2

EL GORDO DE LA PRIMITIVA 11

Fri Sat Sun -

23 45

MAX MIN

MAX MIN

Fri Sat Sun -

Mon - 14 7 C Tues - 15 8 Cl Wed - 16 7 S

16 9 Sh 14 8 Sh 13 7 S S Sun,

14 10 Sh 12 4 Sh 13 6 Cl

MAX MIN

Mon - 9 1 C Tues - 11 1 C Wed - 11 1 C

Murcia

CLOUDY MAX 16C, MIN 9C MAX MIN

Fri Sat Sun -

MAX MIN

Mon - 17 7 C Tues - 17 7 S Wed - 17 7 C

CLOUDY MAX 14C, MIN 9C

TODAY:

Mallorca TODAY:

22 11 C 20 8 C 18 8 C

Madrid

17 13 C 17 9 Sh 16 8 S

TODAY:

MAX MIN

Mon - 12 6 C Tues - 15 6 S Wed - 13 6 C Cl Clear,

SUNNY MAX 22C, MIN 10C MAX MIN

Fri Sat Sun Fog,

Sn Snow,

23 12 C 21 11 Sh 20 8 S C Cloud,

MAX MIN

Mon - 17 6 C Tues - 17 7 S Wed - 19 5 C 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 L) and there must be AT LEAST ONE NINE LETTER WORD. Plurals, vulgarities or proper nouns are not allowed.

TARGET:

Average: 11

Very good: 20

Good: 14

Excellent: 25

amen, amid, amir, dame, damn, damp, dime, dram, emir, idem, made, maid, main, mane, mare, mead, mean, mend, mien, mind, mine, mire, name, perm, pram, prim, ramp, ream, rime, admen, admin, aimed, aimer, amend, amide, amine, anime, armed, denim, derma, dimer, dream, maned, media, mined, miner, mired, named, namer, prima, prime, ramie, rearm, remap, rimed, admire, airmen, dampen, damper, impend, maiden, marine, marred, median, medina, minder, primed, primer, ramped, remain, remand, remind, admirer, mariner, married, REPRIMAND

Word Ladder SNAP

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

41 54

REINTEGRO 7

Fri Sat Sun -

MAX 18C, MIN 12C

MAX MIN

Fri Sat Sun -

CLEAR MAX 20C, MIN 11C MAX MIN

MAX MIN

Mon - 12 6 C Tues - 14 6 Cl Wed - 12 5 C

14 10 C 13 8 C 15 8 Cl

SUNNY

MAX MIN

Mon - 16 8 Cl Tues - 16 8 S Wed - 16 8 Cl

Benidorm

Malaga TODAY:

MAX 19C, MIN 12C

19 13 C 19 12 C 16 10 S

TODAY:

CLOUDY MAX 17C, MIN 12C

Sunday January 25

Saturday January 24

30 45

LA PRIMITIVA

Fri Sat Sun -

SUNNY MAX MIN

Barcelona TODAY:

LEO (July 24 - August 23) Mutual plans are exciting but make sure that others know your needs exactly. As a Leo, you will never willingly accept second best but how can others know your standards?

Y S our

TODAY:

MAX MIN

MAX MIN

TAURUS (April 21 - May 21) You may feel a bit like Sherlock Holmes when you solve a tricky dilemma.

With your intellect soaring, it is little surprise that others come to you with their problems.

TWO’S A CROWD

MAX MIN

www.fiduciarywealth.eu

ARIES (March 21 - April 20) Emotional and monetary wealth go hand in hand at the beginning of this energetic week. Someone is likely to make demands that you find unacceptable and you will need all your tact to avoid unpleasantness.

1.

According to Roman mythology, which twin brothers were the legendary founders of Rome?

2. Both located in the Cairngorms in Scotland, which are the two highest mountains in the UK? 3. In terms of land area, which are the two largest US states?

4. What are the forenames of the two female members of the Swedish pop group ABBA? 5. What are the names of the two team captains on the longrunning TV panel show Have I Got News For You? 6. What were the names of the actors who played the first two ‘incarnations’ of Dr Who? 7. What were the names of the first two women (both Russian) in space?

8. What were the two former names of the Turkish capital city, Istanbul?

9. Which are the two UK newspapers with the biggest daily circulation?

Almeria

SUNNY MAX 19C, MIN 11C

PEAS

SOAR SEAR PEAR PEAS

PISCES (February 20 - March 20) Even as you prepare to go on a trip or start something new this week, the future beckons. In small things there are clues to the way forward. A chance encounter brings humour and opens your eyes to a friendship lately neglected.

Alicante TODAY:

(SEAM) SEAS PEAS or SNAP SOAP

Visit the stars, for details on our expanded range of services

SNAP SWAP (SLAP) SWAT (SLAM) SEAT

AQUARIUS (January 21 - February 19) Being at the forefront of a learning experience is pleasurable this week. An unexpected offer seems small but could have a big effect. A friend in need may go over the top and annoy you.

1. ROMULUS and REMUS, 2. BEN NEVIS and BEN MACDUI, 3. ALASKA and TEXAS, 4. AGNETHA Fältskog and ANNI-FRID Lyngstad, 5. IAN HISLOP and PAUL MERTON, 6. WILLIAM HARTNELL and PATRICK TROUGHTON, 7.

Valentina TERESCHOVA and Svetlana SAVITSKAYA, 8. BYZANTIUM and CONSTANTINOPLE, 9. THE SUN and DAILY MAIL

www.euroweeklynews.com

CROSSWORDS

Crosswords

29 January - 4 February 2015 / Axarquía - Costa Tropical

EWN

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Cryptic

Quick

Across 1 Letters from Oscar certainly seem few and far between (6) 4 Some of Clement Attlee’s gossip (6) 9 Eat a cut cooked spark (7) 10 Post the money for a bet (5) 11 Will, from the rear, looks dowdy (4) 12 Bring down dress circle record (7) 15 On the contrary, her art is moving (6) 16 Group of ten become rotten we hear (6) 19 Spoke but spoke indistinctly first off (7) 21 Mention it's in church (4) 24 A doctor has some hesitation about the colour (5) 25 One so behind after quarantine (7) 26 Journey made by composer after end of concert (6) 27 Hate can be tested (6) Down 1 Normal sort of flag (8) 2 Appeal to an act containing a refined tart (7) 3 Bird talk (4)

Across 1 Capture (6) 4 No longer tired (6) 9 Short sleep (3) 10 Announce (7) 11 Break down (7) 12 Separate part of a whole (5) 13 Thickly packed (5) 15 Encounters (5) 20 Makes warmer (5) 22 Wailing (7) 24 Futile (7) 25 Fasten (3) 26 Fixed (6) 27 Repaired (6)

5 "A ship, your Majesty!" Ted declared (8) 6 Takes in the faulty parts (5) 7 Veer off at any time (4) 8 Some native general back in the desert (5) 13 Erase her comical practise (8) 14 Forceful? Even them, in a way (8)

17 Bring to life, I meant a modification (7) 18 Memento from more licentious times (5) 20 I bit a broken bone (5) 22 Lure one into club (4) 23 Secret message from San Francisco detective (4)

Code Breaker Each number in the Code Breaker grid represents a different letter of the alphabet. In this week’s puzzle, 4 represents J and 24 represents C, so fill in J every time the figure 4 appears and C every time the figure 24 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 Severe, 4 Closet, 8 Acrid, 10 Scope, 11 Erect, 12 Shine, 13 Earns, 14 Mason, 17 Acts, 19 Cent, 21 Lasts, 24 Bride, 25 Tails, 27 Abode, 28 Ahead, 29 Range, 30 Eating, 31 Beards.

Down: 1 Swansea, 2 Verdi, 3 Redeem, 5 Listen, 6 Scourge, 7 Teens, 9 Fees, 15 Ada, 16 Out, 18 Trident, 20 Testers, 21 Leaden, 22 Shot, 23 Sterne, 24 Brace, 26 Inner.

QUICK Across: 1 Lamp, 4 Peculiar, 8 Coarse, 9 Nearer, 10 Joke, 11 Startled, 13 Little, 15 Tested, 17 Reaching, 20 Rags, 21 Scheme, 23 Adapts, 24 Operates, 25 Sick.

Down: 2 Apologise, 3 Perfect, 4 Press, 5 Contact, 6 Least, 7 Ate, 12 Energetic, 14 Evident, 16 Screams, 18 Cheer, 19 Goals, 22 Cap. ENGLISH-SPANISH Across: 1 Snail, 4 Shade, 7 Margarine, 10 Cod, 15 Artichoke, 17 Medio, 18 Argue.

LAST WEEK’S SOLUTION

Down: 1 Sala, 2 Arm, 3 Loro, 4 Scar, 5 Amigo, 6 Even, 9 Usted, 11 Farm, 12 Ocio, 13 Boca, 14 Bone, 16/8 Egg cup.

English - Spanish The clues are mixed, some clues are in Spanish and some are in English.

Across 1 Plomo (4) 3 Cuevas (5) 8 Translator (9) 9 Late (after usual time) (5) 10 Garras (de animal) (5) 12 Carpintero (9) 14 Home (5) 15 Elbow (4) Down 1 Lápiz de labios (8) 2 Después de (5) 4 Avocado (8) 5 Comer (3) 6 Wastepaper bin (8) 7 Alleged (8) 11 Sour (not sweet) (5) 13 River (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 (WREATH) and one letter in four other cells are given as clues.

BITTER

PURRED

DEALER

ROARED

DESIRE

SISTER

DETOUR

STEALS

EITHER

TALLOW

ENTERS

TASTES

HUMANS

TESTED

MANTLE

TITLED

MONTHS

WREATH (10)

MORSEL

LAST WEEK’S SOLUTION

Funagram Unscramble the name of a member of the European Union and its capital city: SILENT NATIONAL FUNAGRAM SOLUTION: NEIL ROBERTSON, ESTONIA, TALLINN

Unscramble the name of a top professional snooker player: NO TERRIBLE SON

Down 1 Yearly (6) 2 Put back (7) 3 Unhappily (5) 5 Specimen (7) 6 Subject (5) 7 Peril (6) 8 Threaded fastener (5) 14 Hang freely (7) 16 Distorted (7) 17 Heads (6) 18 Robber (5) 19 United by being of the same opinion (6) 21 Make laugh (5) 23 Squander (5)

1 Splash, 2 Ambled, 3 Shells, 4 Paltry, 5 Please, 6 Deduce, 7 Fields, 8 Cancel, 9 Titter, 10 Facing, 11 Saucer, 12 Rigour, 13 Chains, 14 Trough, 15 Corona, 16 Cruise, 17 Favour, 18 Archer, 19 Forces

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E W N 29 January - 4 February 2015/ Axarquía - Costa Tropical

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OPINION & COMMENT

Better strip the dummy!

Each week, Colin brings his slightly off-the-wall view of the world to the pages of EWN in his own irreverent style.

B

ACK in the early 70s, before novelty birthday gifts like strip-a-grams became all the rage, an acquaintance from the local pub decided that he was going to hire himself out in this manner.

His name was Jack. He had the build of an athlete, complete with an impressive six pack - unlike me who sported more of a Gobi Desert belly (flat and featureless) - and was always an instant hit with the ladies.

Nevertheless, he was a good bloke and was well liked by most of the male patrons.

He outlined his plans to us and asked if anyone had a suggestion of what he should call himself. A lot of weird drink induced handles were suggested and when I came up with my own idea, it was adopted with great enthusiasm.

Thus Jack the Stripper was born.

Personally I was glad to get rid of

him on Saturday evenings. At least, I reasoned, there would be a better chance of pulling a mini skirted dolly or two with him not around.

We saw less and less of him as his novel service caught on and he seemed to be travelling further afield entertaining rooms full of drunken women on birthday binges.

Then he vanished completely.

Somebody told us that he had a regular spot in a London strip club, so we resolved to surprise him and travel to the Smoke one weekend to catch his act.

We expected some upper class establishment, but were shocked to find a seedy little uni-sex place in a back street off Soho. Jack the Stripper was the headline act according to the tatty poster outside and as we were shown to our seats, one of the supporting acts was just about to start her routine.

Our jaws dropped open as an aging, very ugly woman limped on to the stage dressed in a man’s suit, complete with ventriloquist’s dummy!

It was the most grotesque thing we had ever seen and long before

the old biddy had removed even half of her Burtons three piece, we were yelling for her to strip the dummy.

It would have been more of a turnon.

This was more than enough for us and we agreed that we had no wish to witness the depths to which our erstwhile pal might have descended; paid the extortionate bar bill and left.

None of us ever saw Jack again, but we subsequently heard that he had inexplicably moved to Switzerland - the land of dodgy bank accounts and cuckoo clocks.

God knows what he was doing, but I had recurring visions of him entertaining a bunch of Swiss hausfraus, covered in melted Toblerone and yodelling to the strains of Edelweiss.

Copyright vishstudio

Colin Bird

JACK THE STRIPPER: With the build of an athlete and an impressive six pack.

A happy event for Susana Diaz Cassandra Nash

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

S

USANA DIAZ, president of Andalucia’s regional government and - who knows? possible aspirant to the presidency of Spain, is pregnant.

The baby is due this summer and the 40-year-old president will not be altering her public agenda. “Nothing will change,” said sources close to Diez.

Will she follow the example set

by Soraya Saenz de Santamaria, Mariano Rajoy’s vice-president and the most powerful woman in Spain?

Saenz de Santamaria gave birth in November 2011 and worked up to the last day of her pregnancy. She appeared in public nine days later, on the night of the PP’s election victory and was back at work almost immediately.

You win some, and you lose some THE Partido Popular intends to wheel out Jose Maria Aznar, Spain’s president between 1996 and 2004, during its election campaigns.

The idea is to attract and reassure the more conservative PP voters, but once again the party leadership is looking in the wrong direction. The far right has no other option bar the party currently headed by Mariano Rajoy, but the voters he needs to attract can choose from the PSOE, UPyD, Ciudadanos, Ganamos, IU and last but not by any means least, Podemos.

On becoming president, Rajoy was wise enough to distance himself from Aznar. He might be revered by hardcore PP voters but Aznar is a monumental turn-off for the undecided majority. And those are the votes that Rajoy needs to court and convince, not lose.

Diaz’s baby is due mid-July, sufficient time to recover from whatever the municipal elections might bring and to prepare for the national ballot.

As for her future political ambitions, Diaz’s domestic arrangements after the baby is born will reveal more than any statements or interviews.

JOSE MARIA AZNAR: A huge turn-off.

leave the national high court he has presided over since 2010.

There is nothing sinister about his removal, which is in line with Spain’s legal system. Ironically, his place is likely to be taken by Jose de la Mata Amaya, a highranking official in the ministry of Justice during the last socialist government.

Although Ruz expects to have tweaked and tied up any loose Gurtel ends, De la Mata will be taking over other sensitive cases.

Will it be a case of “come back, Ruz, all is forgiven”?

Speciality act

All forgiven THE judge Pablo Ruz, investigating or ‘instructing’ the Gurtel corruption case, is due to

CAMPAIGNING politicians pledge to cut down on their special advisers.

It was one of Rajoy’s election promises, but instead they increased by 18 per cent in 2013 and 151 trusties cost the taxpayer €8.3 million in 2013 with three earning more than Mariano Rajoy. Whatever their expertise, at least we know what makes them so special.

HEALTH & BEAUTY

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29 January - 4 February 2015 / Axarquía - Costa Tropical

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

In future I must remember to take some of my own advice Erica Russell Watson: My journey – and I’m driving

24th January THE sunny weather and having my parents with me has been warming in all senses of the word.

My sister left last week to fly back to Manila and her partner back to Singapore.

It was very sad to see them go, especially my sister with whom I am extremely close and love dearly. It is hard to express how proud I am of her and just what a strong person she is. Just as well my parents didn’t leave on the same day otherwise it would have been even tougher to say goodbye to everyone at the same time.

My parents and I enjoyed doing the simple things together, sharing meals, playing games with the children, supporting their grandson on the sidelines at football matches, chatting by the fire, watching Only Fools and Horses and British quizzes which they have been starved of because they live in Mexico.

Unfortunately all good things come to an end and their departure date drew nearer. The last night was spent together with my children and Jorge having a meal out and then suddenly it was time to pack up and go.

Jorge drove them to the airport and parked outside the door and was allowed to leave the car there for longer than normal because of his job. Rather good having a badge to flash from time to time!

We said our goodbyes and did

FAMILY WARMTH: It was sad to see my parents and sister leave. well not to be overcome by emotion, although I have to admit to having a little cry later. It had been lovely to see them and it reminded me of my childhood. A cup of tea or a meal made by your parents is a thing to be treasured.

I shall miss having them here but I am glad they are back in Mexico in much warmer climes.

My parents are both cancer survivors and have fought off practically everything, but they cannot abide the cold.

Thankfully the days were sunny but the nights were a little too cold for their liking in Spain. It’s understandable as Mexico enjoys a warm climate all year round.

After a quick pit stop to see Jorge’s mum I headed back to my house. The week was spent fairly quietly, resting, eating well and playing word games. My daughter in particular loves them. The Saturday football match was upon us again and I have to say that despite a sterling performance from my son, we were soundly beaten!

Never mind, nothing a cinema trip and popcorn wouldn’t sort out!

Next week would be my fourth treatment and I was really hoping

that they would manage to get the line in first time. There was a trainee nurse the last few times I went for my chemo and whilst I appreciate she needs to practice, I would rather she didn’t do it on me!

As my veins aren’t the best I really need someone who knows what they are doing. Apart from that minor concern and a slight chesty cough, I was feeling on good form and looking forward to getting to the half way point of my chemo.

A little bit like an obstacle course, you have to jump through the hoops, under the cargo netting and over the wall and charge down the other side to the finish line. Once this next session was over I would be ‘over the wall’ so to speak, which I was greatly looking forward to. Whilst I am extremely patient there is nothing you can do to speed up the process.

Do the things you have less time to do when you are at full speed with a busy working life.

Read a book, have a siesta and cook wholesome meals… I must remember to take some of my own advice!

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Ebola evolves

SCIENTISTS say that Ebola strains causing the outbreak in West Africa are changing and evolving so quickly that it could have an impact on experimental drugs with many being obsolete before they even become available.

Drugs currently in development are designed to bind to and target pieces of the virus’s genetic sequence,

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or proteins deriving from that sequence, but if the sequence changes over time, the drugs may not be as effective.

The study by the Centre for Genome Sciences at the US Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases highlighted the genetic changes that could affect these sequence-based drugs originally designed in the early 2000s.

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E W N 29 January - 4 February 2015/ Axarquía - Costa Tropical

Homes&gardens Pets FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE SPONSOR GO TO WWW.LINEADIRECTA.COM

By Dick Handscombe The basic needs TO ensure the maximum

TO READ MORE VISIT OUR WEBSITE WWW.EUROWEEKLYNEWS.COM

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A practical guide to your olive harvest yields each year, subject to weather conditions, you will need to prune, feed and

take precautions against potential pest attacks.

We suggest that you use ecological methods and products in order to end up with high quality ecological olive oil.

Pruning There are four important types of pruning: remedial pruning of neglected olive trees; regular winter pruning to cut out vertical growth which cannot be trained to grow horizontally, plus weak, deceased and dead growth; regular spring pruning, which, depending on the health of the tree, can be a five to 20 per cent pruning; and removal of suckers.

Feeding Two types of feeding are beneficial. Firstly a late winter root feed using well rotted animal manures, powdered dried manures or proprietary ecological manures. Secondly ecological foliar feeds in spring, summer and autumn.

Irrigation We suggest you do not water your olive trees except for recently planted young trees and during freak long dry spells. Olive trees are one of the most drought resistant trees.

Spraying There are number of pests that can affect yields and the quality of fruit.

Ecological products are available for each and the most convenient can be mixed together to reduce the number of sprayings required. © Dick Handscombe www.gardenspain.com

HOMES / PETS

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Welcoming your new dog David THE Dogman

Listen to David on TRE every Saturday 10 thru 11.

Costa del Sol (Gibraltar/Sotogrande) 98.7fm (San Roque to Calahonda) 91.9fm (Calahonda to Motril) 88.9, Costa Calida 92.7fm Costa Blanca (Torrevieja to Elche) 105.1fm (Elche to Calpe) 88.2fm, (Calpe to Gandia & Ibiza) 104.6fm, (Denia to Valencia) 95.3fm Mallorca 103.9fm

CHILDREN are always excited about a new pet.

Don’t allow them to overwhelm him with attention and handling.

They should be taught to play gently with him, and never to disturb him when he is sleeping or eating.

Parental supervision is important.

You’ve probably given your dog a new name. Use it frequently and try always to associate it with good things: affection, approval and fun.

When he is first settling in, your new pet may have problems of shyness, anxiety, restlessness, excitement, crying or barking. Physical symptoms may include excessive

GENTLE PLAY: Set rules for your children and dog. water-drinking, frequent urination, diarrhoea or a poor appetite. If any of these symptoms last for more than a few days, call your veterinarian.

Be consistent. Decide on the rules and stick to them.

For example, be sure you and your children understand whether or not the dog is allowed on the furniture. Does that mean all the furniture or just some of it? If you change the rules, the dog will be confused. Don’t allow him to do something one time and forbid it the next.

Obedience training can be very helpful to the adult

dog and to you. However, it is not the same as training a puppy with no prior training.

Your dog may have learned commands other than the ones you use.

Take time for him to adjust to your commands.

Most dogs adjust quickly to their new families within a week or two. Some take longer. Very few dogs are unable to adjust at all.

In most cases the dog will be a well-adjusted member of the family within a month. In fact, you may find it difficult to remember a time when he wasn’t part of the family.

Pet sitters for frequent travellers

By Lamia Walker of HousesitMatch THE Grays from Bristol love the Costa de Almeria, the weather, the beaches and beautiful landscape, to say nothing of the quality of lifestyle relative to the cost of living at home. As they near retirement, they find they are spending more and more time on holiday in Spain, and it’s increasingly difficult to find care for their dog, Poppy.

It was easier asking relatives and friends when they popped over for a week or so now and

again, but now their trips are getting longer and more frequent, pet sitting favours are harder to ask for.

They recently came across a network that allows them to tap into available housesitters with pet experience, some local to them, others remote but keen to travel and swap their pet experience for free accommodation.

To Don and Susan this has provided a solution.

They signed up three months ago and have already hosted one

housesitting couple and have advertised their next three sets of dates on the website.

HouseSitMatch.com allows them to plan up to three trips in advance.

“This is unique, and pretty darned handy for regular travellers,” they said.

Download your Free Easy Guide to Housesitting from www.bit.ly/eurown001 To find a pet sitter go to www.HousesitMatch.com or call Lamia on +44 (0)1865 521 508

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29 January - 4 February 2015 / Axarquía - Costa Tropical

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E W N 29 January - 4 February 2015 / Axarquía - Costa Tropical

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E W N 29 January - 4 February 2015 / Axarquía - Costa Tropical

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CLASSIFIEDS

FOR RESULTS EVERY WEEK

lassifieds C

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INSURANCE

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LAWYERS

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MOBILE HOMES WE BUY, Sell, Store, Remove all types of Mobile Homes. We pay CASH and cover all of Spain. More details call Suzi Caley 616 250 727 / 951 063 059 or email suzicaley@ gmail.com (228718)

MOTORING

BUSINESS OPP. BUYING or Selling a Business?

Contact Spain’s leading Business Broker, ‘Business Broker Spain.’ Free consultation and Assessment. Tel: 617 062 421 (229626)

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CARPENTER CARPENTER cabinet maker, Irish. Available for all types of property maintenance, plumbing, painting, electrical, kitchens and bathrooms renovated etc.

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INSURANCE

WE ARE currently the market leader in our country in the sale of direct car, motorbike, home and company fleet insurance.

Since we started out in 1995, our philosophy has always been to offer an excellent service with the best prices in the market. For the most competitive quotes in English, call Linea Directa on 902 123 309. (200726) AUTOMATIC BMW MINI COOPER ‘S’… 2008, only 41,000kms (approx 25,000mls), FSH. Black with white roof/mirrors, cream leather interior, one careful English gentleman owner leaving Spain, immaculate condition, sat nav, telephone, cruise and climate control, alloys, CD player, cost new 28,500 euros, bargain now 12,995 euros. Samantha or Gordon Robertson (The Car Couple) Tel. 952 832 173 / 608 658 785 see photo at www.robertsoncars-spain.com (234732) 4x4 DIESEL SUZUKI Sx4…

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PEST CONTROL

PET TRANSPORT

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Specialised vehicles – bespoke service. Full legal service including documentation if required. For further information call or e-mail us: Tel: (0034) 651 033 670 or (0034) 637 066 227. Email: info@petcouriers.com or www.petcouriers.com (231443) LAGUNA KENNELS AND CATTERY. Your pets lovingly cared for by English Mother and Daughter.

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PROPERTY WANTED REAL ESTATE company urgently require properties for our international clients looking to buy in Nerja and the surrounding area. 951 254 144 or info@propertypointspain. com (228708)

REMOVALS/STORAGE EUROPEAN removals and transport with scheduled UK routes. UK company, fully legal, taking loads from 5kg to 24,000kg. Lowest prices and the best service. 952 816 582 or www.focus-transport.com (221351)

BUYING a new car??? Do not trade in your car!! If you are an expat with a good quality, genuine mileage car, we will pay you more for it in cash than you will be offered at dealerships against any new car. Find out the real deal, ring Gordon or Samantha Robertson 952 832 173 or 608 658 785 or email us therobert sonclan@gmail.com (234732) FORD FIESTA, 1.6 TDCI, 2008, 5 door, 100,000 kilometres, LHD, Spanish plates. ITV May 2016. Excellent condition. €4,500 including transfer. 951 066 068 / 666 322 732.

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Price per word: 0,42€ + IVA minimum 15 words - Discount: Book 10 weeks, get 2 weeks free - Deadline: 4pm Mondays Contact: Phone (0034) 952 561 245 • Fax (0034) 952 440 887 • email classifieds@euroweeklynews.com • www.euroweeklynews.com

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WE have an urgent vacancy become available for an Editorial Co-ordinator based in Malaga Province.

Do you have journalistic skills, are you extremely organised. Do you have native English but understand Spanish? All applicants must possess NIE & Social security numbers as we offer full time contract and salary. Tlf 600 583 275 (7171)

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REMOVALS & STORAGE

AFFORDABLE POOL MAINTENANCE - Professional maintenance from only €80 per month (exc. chemicals) Call Splash Pools on 952 591 053 open 8am to 4pm (231442)

TELECOMS FED UP PAYING TOO MUCH FOR YOUR MOBILE PHONE CALLS? THEN CONTACT TELITEC TODAY. CALLS TO SPAIN 7C PER MINUTE INCLUDING MOBILES. CALLS TO UK 5.3C PER MINUTE. NO MONTHLY FEES, NO CONTRACT. WWW.TELITEC.COM TEL: 902 889 070 (0)

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MOTORING

29 January - 4 February 2015 / Axarquía - Costa Tropical

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Latest sporty Lexus launched LEXUS is showing its sporty disposition with the GS F performance sedan which was revealed at the North American International Auto Show.

The GS F is the latest vehicle to join Lexus’s high-performance ‘F’ line that already includes the RC F coupe.

The new addition combines a refined fourdoor package with the speed and agility of a premium sports car.

Although the new GS F shares the same platform as the standard GS, there are enhancements through out, including to its engine.

Under the hood will be a responsive, normallyaspirated 5.0-litre V8 that produces a remarkable 473PS (348kW) at 7,100rpm and peak torque of 527Nm at 4,8005,600rpm.

This sophisticated engine uses both Otto and Atkinson combustion cycles to maximise power and efficiency in given situations. The engine will be mated to an extremely responsive eight-speed automatic gearbox with manualshifting capabilities.

Lexus’s innovative Torque Vectoring Differential (TVD), also found in the RC F, will be part of a long line of standard equipment that will make the GS F’s handling stand out from the crowd.

The GS F monocoque will also feature structural reinforcements and suspension exclusively designed to optimise the handling without detracting from

The TVD features three operating modes: · Standard (default) provides a balance of agility and firmness; · Slalom emphasises nimble steering response and agility; and · Track emphasises stability during highspeed circuit driving. its ride quality. Drivers will appreciate the GS F’s stability and smoothness on the open roads as well as the sedan’s on challenging roads, whether they’re winding up the side of a mountain or at

LEXUS GS F: Has the speed and agility of a premium sports car. a racetrack.

Lexus says the new GS F will offer drivers a very balanced sedan with genuine dual personality, equally

adept at trimming lap times and the commute back home.

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NEW LEXUS: Drivers will appreciate the stability and smoothness on the open roads.

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E W N 29 January - 4 February 2015 / Axarquía - Costa Tropical

Sport Axarquía’s best guide to local sport

SPORT

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Sun was out, but the winds blew THE rain stopped, the sun came out but icy winds led In the GINS competition at Añoreta, winner of the to some low scoring when GINS played at Los lady’s comp was Anne Jones (31) and Peter Garner Moriscos. In the individual Stableford competition top (36) won the men’s. At Baviera they played a 3-2-1 lady was Rita McCracken (34 points) and of the men team game, with George Heron, George Reid and Ali Mike Cummings (36).

Check website for full story.

Durston (77) winning.

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Alonso test drives new McLaren FOLLOWING the hugely anticipated launch of the new McLaren-Honda Formula 1 car for the 2015 season today (Thursday), Spanish racing fans will get a chance to see their hero Fernando Alonso run the car through its paces at winter testing in Jerez on Sunday.

Always an immensely popular event for people

who may not be able to travel to races during the season, the traditional Formula 1 winter testing attracts thousands of people each year to catch a glimpse of the new batch of cars that will compete in the coming season.

Alonso’s new team for 2015 will launch their MP4-30 online this Thursday, with Spanish

FERNANDO ALONSO: Fans will be keen to see him hit the track in Jerez on Sunday.

fans in particular eager to see exactly what Alonso

will be driving this year after his disappointing

stint at Ferrari.

Alonso will get testing underway in Jerez on Sunday, February 1 and will get behind the wheel again on the third day (Tuesday) of the four-day test. His new teammate, former world champion Jenson Button, will handle the driving duties on days two and four.

Motorsports fans will also be eager to see how Sebastian Vettel handles the new Ferrari, due to be launched online this Friday.

Most of this season’s Formula 1 teams will be present in southern Spain this weekend, including Mercedes, Williams, Red Bull, Force India, Lotus, Sauber and Toro Rosso, along with McLaren and Ferrari.

The 2015 Formula 1 season gets under way on March 15 in Australia.