Euro Weekly News - Mallorca 17 - 23 December 2015 Issue 1589 by Euro Weekly News Media S.A.

ISSUE NO. 1589

17 - 23 December 2015

MALLORCA

YOUR PAPER, YOUR VOICE, YOUR OPINION

Rafa Nadal rallies for the youth of Palma TENNIS star opens his foundation centre for children at risk

By Glynis German Rafael Nadal, former number one world tennis player and Mallorca’s best known export, presided over the official inauguration of the Rafa Nadal Foundation Centre in the La Soledad neighbourhood of Palma earlier this week. Amongst those present were the president of the Consell de Mallorca,

Miquel Ensenyat, the foundation’s president, Ana Maria Parera, President of the Govern Balear, Francina Armegol and Mayor of Palma, Jose Hila. Although the centre had opened its doors to some 50 children in October last year, it had to be housed in temporary facilities belonging to the city council. In October, the centre finally opened in new premises and 140 boys

and girls are having the opportunity “to thrive in a positive environment whilst learning good values such as respect, the spirit of excellence and of fellowship,” said Nadal. The foundation opened in 2007 and its mission is to offer educational programmes to those at risk of social exclusion with the common denominator being sport, and projects throughout Spain and in India are currently active.

Tycoon returns to island SIR RICHARD BRANSON, one of the richest men in the world, with an estimated net worth of more than €4.3 billion, is set to return to Mallorca. He announced last week that he had repurchased Son Bunyola 13 years after he had been forced to sell it in 2002. The mountain estate located in Banyalbufar has long been close to Sir Richard’s heart and he is expected to revive plans to turn the estate into a five-star ecoresort.

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LOCAL NEWS

More divorcing in the Balearics THE Balearic Islands is one of the regions with the highest rate of marriage dissolutions. A total of 0.73 per 1,000 inhabitants, with the national average being

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Illegal labour conditions POLICE arrested at least 11 people mainly in restaurants in the centre

0.67, according to data released this week by the statistics section of the General Council of the Judiciary (Consejo General del Poder Judicial).

Award for bravery LOCAL Palma police have proposed that an award for bravery be presented to a 17-year- o l d b o y w h o helped save the life of an

elderly woman caught in a blaze last month. Without the young man’s actions the woman would surely have perished in the fire.

Reminder WE would just like to remind our advertisers of our upcoming 2015 festive deadlines: Kindly ensure you send us the necessary material for the January 7 edition (1592) no later than Monday December 21.

PALMA CENTRE: Business owners have been charged with crimes of social security fraud. By Glynis German POLICE arrested at least 11 people on Monday (December 14), mainly in restaurants in the centre of Palma, for labour exploitation. The business owners were charged with crimes of social security fraud, abuse of worker’s rights and public

health and safety issues. The operation was coordinated with inspectors from the Work and Health Department and the Unit Against Illegal Immigration Networks and Documentary Fraud (UCRIIF), a body of the National Police. Throughout the day, agents and inspectors conducted 15 administrative inspec-

tions in various establishments in Palma and also carried out five searches. The Association of Cafes, Bars and Restaurants of Mallorca (Restauración Mallorca) spoke out on Tuesday strongly condemning the abuses. President of the association, Alfonso Robledo, stressed that these were “isolated incidents.”

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Merry Christmas

Featured News 3

News Desk 22

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El Gordo could be your lucky number SPANISH Christmas lottery promises plenty

Russian Press 24

Finance 27 - 32

Stocks 28

Leapy Lee 33

Letters 34

Daily TV 36

Time Out 39 - 42 DOÑA MANOLITA: Is famous in Madrid for her winning lottery tickets.

Our View 43 By Glynis German

Colin Bird 43

Health & Beauty 44 - 45

Social Scene 46 - 49

Vicki McLeod 50

Homes & Gardens 51

Property 52 - 53

Legally Speaking 54

Classifieds 55 - 56

Boats 57

Pets 58

Motoring 60

Sport 62, 64

LA LOTERÍA DE NAVIDAD is the Spanish Christmas lottery which will take place next Tuesday (December 22). This is the second longest running lottery in the world and has been celebrated in Spain every year since 1812. With the amount available to win, it is considered to be the biggest lottery worldwide.

With the celebration of the lottery firmly entrenched in everyone’s Christmas list of things to do, so too the watching of the live transmission which kicks off at 8am on Tuesday. The pupils of the San Ildefonso school in Madrid are the ones charged with pulling out the lucky numbers. Numbers people like to purchase can be combinations of birthdays or wedding anniver-

saries or maybe just random numbers. People have been known to purchase their lottery ticket in different parts of the country from where they live with past winning sales outlets being popular choices. Whatever the reason, the five chosen numbers offer the chance of a lifetime and the possibility for dreams to come true. There are 17 types of prizes to be had in the Christmas lot-

tery, and El Gordo, the fat one, has €4 million available to win. The lowest amount one can win is €20, known as the refund and this is for the same last digit as the winning number. Whatever the reason for purchase, the tradition is one not likely to disappear any time soon and if lady luck is looking down on you, don’t forget you can check if yours is a winner at laloteriadenavidad.com.

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Dying on their feet CHAINED dogs denounced by animal rights group

THE Animal Association of the Balearic Islands (ASSAIB) denounced for the second time this week, the deplorable situation of two abandoned dogs in Inca. The first complaint was brought to the attention of the local authorities back in July 2014 and although the Local Police went and investigated the complaint, nothing changed. Neighbours suspect that a third dog has already died from neglect in the past year. ASSAIB reported that both dogs are permanently tied with chains and that the chains are too short. It seems that the neighbours have had to feed the animals from time to time although this has not been enough to avoid malnutrition. The smell of animal faeces and urine reaches the street and large amounts of rubbish have been left. It is feared that one of the animals

Minute’s silence in Palma A MINUTE’S silence was held outside Palma’s Plaza Cort on Monday for the two Spanish policemen killed in a Taliban attack in Kabul, Afghanistan last week. According to reports, a car bomb was detonated near the Spanish Embassy which was evacuated for some hours on Friday, December 11. The officers have been named as Isidro Gabino Sanmartín Hernández, 48, and deputy inspector Jorge García Tudela, 45 and were with the National Police responsible for embassy security. The ceremony was attended by the President of the Consell de Mallorca, Miquel Ensenyat; Vice President, Jesús Jurado; Minister of Economy and Finance, Cosme Bonet and Mayor of Palma, José Hila and other members of parliament.

Tony Alter, Flickr

by Glynis German

CHAINED UP: Neighbours have had to feed the animals now and again. will soon be dead as the animal’s health has deteriorated significantly in the last few days. Both the town council and the Guardia Civil have been advised.

“The authorities are not doing their job and they need to act now if these animals are going to survive,” said a spokesperson for the association.

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NEWS EXTRA

Driver injured A MAN was injured on Saturday night when his car overturned on the motorway near Binissalem. Although able to stand, he was taken to hospital due to a heavy blow to his head.

Baby inside A FATHER was arrested for crimes of robbery and dangerous driving. Police had pursued the car he was driving with his baby inside, and stopped him before any serious damage could be done.

Bank theft SON SERVERA was the scene of a bank robbery last weekend when a man made off with more than €1,000. Police suspect it was the same man who robbed a pharmacy in Sa Coma the previous week.

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It’s the bee’s knees for Mallorca honey lovers TODAY Marti has nearly 3 million bees settled in 74 hives By Glynis German CERTIFIED organic honey can at last be enjoyed in Mallorca thanks to beekeeper Marti Mascaro’s persistence and hard work! For 12 years Marti has been producing honey and started with just three beehives in Petra with around 100,000 bees. Today he has nearly three million bees settled in 74 hives over three organic farms. “It wasn’t easy to get certification as firstly the land where the bees live has to be certified and to be so, the property has to have a radius of three kilometres. Finding one not using any pesticides or chemicals was hard too,” explained Marti. “However, I was lucky and managed to find three organic farms, all in different places on the island and that has made the

ORGANIC HONEY: Can at last be enjoyed in Mallorca. whole process even more interesting.” The organic farms are to be found at government owned

Son Real in Santa Margalida and two private farms - Ses Cabanasses in Petra and Planicia in Banyalbufar. The local coun-

cil of the Consell Balear has certified Marti’s honey with the official stamp of the organic farming department - CBPAE.

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Pirate ship returns to park I T has been a year si nce t he chi l dr en’s pl ay ar ea i n t he Berganti park in front of the Palacio de Congr esos i n Pal m a has been cl osed. Due t o t he condi t i on of t he par k, Pal m a Counci l requested that Acciona take responsibility for its repair. During that t i m e, t he pi r at e boat t hat l i ved t her e, has been in the boat house. However, last week t he par k r eopened t o the public and the boat once again took pride of pl ace. Scor es of chi l dr en spent t he weekend playing in the par k, and especi al l y enj oyed t hei r t i m e aboard the pirate ship.

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It’s a dog’s life, not just for Christmas WITH the slogan ‘Animals are not toys! A life is priceless,’ Palma Town Council launched their campaign to promote more awareness this Christmas when it comes to

buying animals as presents. The campaign, coordinated along with BALDEA (Balearic platform for animal defence) was presented last Thursday and

A resounding no to having beach bars ONLINE petition reached its goal, with 2,500 people signing with two days

SON SERRA BEACH: Lovers of the beach hope that it is in safe hands. By Glynis German SON SERRA DE LA MARINA is one of Mallorca’s last virgin beaches, situated at the northeast of the island in the municipality of Santa Margalida. This week, local coalition Suma pel Canvi responded to

neighbours’ complaints and on their behalf requested that the coastal authorities (Demarcacion de Costas) study the recent request to install beach bars by the town hall. The neighbours of the Son Serra urbanisation took their complaint one step further and started an online petition, which

in just a few hours of going live had reached 1,000 people and after two days the goal of 2,500 people was reached. A neighbourhood representative said “We realised by having a petition we could concentrate our efforts and reach more people who feel the same way about Son Serra beach.”

coincided with International Animal Rights Day. Advertisements have been placed on the back of the number 20 bus in Palma (Son

Child hit by van in Sa Torre A DRIVER ran over a nineyear-old girl on Friday (December 11) and fled the scene. The child had been waiting with her father for the school bus and, thanks to his quick thinking, was pulled out of harm’s way thus avoiding more serious injury. An ambulance took the child to the Rotger clinic where she was treated for minor injuries. Llucmayor Local Police were on the scene almost immediately and managed to locate the van thanks to workers on a nearby construction site who noticed the driver park the van in a dead end street and alerted the police. A German man was subsequently arrested.

Espasses hospital to San Agustin) and the campaign will run over the Christmas period in a bid to encourage the responsible purchase or adoption of any pet.

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World’s press will descend on Palma for royal trial INFANTA CRISTINA is facing two counts of being an accessory to tax fraud

500

By Glynis German MORE than 500 journalists from all over the world have been accredited to cover the trial of the Nóos case in which the King’s sister, the Infanta Cristina, will join 17 other defendants in the dock. It seems that the eyes of the world will be on Mallorca when the trial starts on January 11 and the case is expecte d t o l a st u n t i l th e en d o f June. The Balearic local government has had to secure a large enough building on the Son Rossinyol industrial estate in which to house the trial due to the large number of parties expected to attend. Cristina is expected to appear for the first two days and is accused of two counts of accessory to tax fraud to a total of €337,138. Her husband, Iñaki Urdangarin, is accused, along with a former business part-

of the world’s journalists have been accredited to cover the trial

Infanta Cristina presenting an award at a ceremony in 2010.

ner, Diego Torres, of creaming off €6.2 million in public funds from contracts awarded to Nóos, a charitable foundation which he chaired. Al t hough t he ant i - cor r upt i on prosecutor sees no indications of any wrongdoings by the Infanta, the Public Prosecutor has requested more than 100 years in prison for 14 of the defendants, of which 19-anda-half years are for Urdangarin and 16 years for Torres. The pr i ncess has al r eady been stripped of her title of the Duchess of Palma and the youngest daughter of former King Juan Carlos will be the f i r st r oyal - bor n Bour bon t o stand trial.

More mainland flights AIRLINE Air Nostrum, as part of its special Christmas programme, will offer a total of 44,180 places to connect the Balearic Islands to the peninsula, representing an increase of 18 per centcompared to last year’s Christmas offer. There will be nine routes to Palma, four to Ibiza and three to Menorca. The dates run from Saturday December 18 until January 7, 2016.

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Fireworks in danger of fizzling out SA POBLA Town Council has launched an appeal to local businesses to help fund the fireworks’ display which takes place every year on the eve of San Antonio (January 15). The delicate financial situation of the council has forced this appeal and the mayor, Biel Ferragut, announced this week that some local companies have already pledged their support. Ten years ago, the budget set aside for the musical fireworks’ display was €100,000. The last few years has seen the budget reduced to only €20,000 and the council is looking at ways to keep the costs down which includes the amount of time the display lasts.

New store for Media Markt MEDIA MARKT, the electronic and home appliance store owned by German group Metro, plans to open another store in Mallorca next year. This will create between 400 and 500 jobs in Spain with the opening of more stores in Madrid, Barcelona and Santiago de Compostela. Currently 1,014 jobs have been created by the company in the last year and the goal is for 100 stores to open across Spain in the next five years.

Tram service halted due to van on track THE Sóller tram service had to be temporarily suspended on Tuesday because of a traffic accident. According to the Guardia Civil, the accident took place at around midday when the van lost control and hit a signal post, causing the vehicle to overturn. As it fell near the tracks, this meant that the tram was unable to pass. The driver of the van was taken to hospital although her injuries were not said to be serious.

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Health centre afternoon visits prove to be popular

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Consell staff hassled for doing their job PARENTS are angry about losing custody By Glynis German THE Child Welfare Department of the Consell de Mallorca has had to modify the time and place for appointments to avoid confrontations with angry parents demonstrating outside the building. Staff are tired of being booed and spat upon by said parents who, since losing custody of their children, have been camping outside the building since September 2014. The Consell de Mallorca has requested intervention from the local government and police, to find a solution so the work of the department can continue as normal and without disruption. The Councillor for Social Services, Margalida Puigserver, explained in writing that since the parents began their protests last year, the smooth running of the department has constantly been affected.

PARENTS: Said they will continue protesting until they regain custody. She added that during the course of a government authorised protest on November 20 this year, the department had to file complaints against the parents for suspected criminal activities and she requested that no more protests are authorised. From the Consell de Mallorca,

parents were reminded that the granting or denying of custody belongs to the courts and not to the department. Parents insisted that they will continue to protest until they regain custody of their children.

Magaluf hotels donate kitchen utensils CURSACH HOTELS, owners of the BH Hotel and BCM Hotel located i n Magal uf , donat ed hundr eds of ki t chen ut ensi l s over t he l ast few weeks. They wer e gi ven t o seven not-for-profit associations on the island, who work with food rel at ed pr oj ect s f or t he poor. These associ at i ons were named as Mallorca Sense Fam , Pr oj ect e Hom e, Som ni s Reci cl at s, Can Gaza, Es Ref ugi , Fundaci o Patronat Obrer and Antiguos Alumnos Solidarios Montesion.

Hotel to house works of Catalan artist Joan Miro AN exclusive, newly reformed four-star hotel situated some 200 metres from the Pilar and Joan Miro Foundation, will display around 20 of the artistâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s works from next February. The themed hotel is inspired by the work of Catalan artist, Joan Miro. Rooms and common spaces in the hotel will be decorated with his work, which guests and visitors will be able to enjoy during their stay. The nearby foundation houses some 6,000 pieces, which the artist created during his many years of living in Mallorca. The addition of this hotel means that Palma can offer more than 6,700 beds, of which 52 per cent belong to four-star hotels. The Hotel Association of Palma also informed that 22 per cent of the beds correspond to five-star hotels with 18 per cent to three-star hotels and 2 per cent to two-star hotels.

PierreSelim, wikipedia

ON November 20, health centres all over Mallorca were allowed to open in the afternoons with opening hours extended until 8pm, despite protests from The Medical Union of the Baleares (Simebal). Since that date 11,615 patients have been attended to during the afternoon opening hours. Councillor for Health, Patricia Gomez, defended her decision in parliament this week. She shared that more than 7,000 of the afternoon visits were to family doctors, 3,000 were seen by nurses, and 1,200 were to paediatricians. The deputy of the Ciudadanos party, Olga Ballester, was more critical at question time, pointing out that the amount of cancellations showed the move of opening health centres in the afternoons to be more a case of political electioneering by the government.

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JOAN MIRO: Inspired work in Barcelona.

FINANCE

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Savings Tax Directive Repealed Ahead Of New Era We have been following the evolution of the EU Savings Tax Directive since the EU began negotiations on the then ground-breaking legislation back in 2000. After much debate, Council Directive 2003/48/EC of 3 June 2003 on taxation of savings income in the form of interest payments was approved in June 2003, and came into force in July 2005. As the EU explains, the directive “required the automatic exchange of information between member states on private savings income. This enabled interest payments made in one member state to residents of other member states to be taxed in accordance with the laws of the state of tax residence.” The Directive was last amended in March 2014 to reflect changes to savings products and developments in investor behaviour; however it is has now been repealed in favour of the new, more global, Common Reporting Standard. This new reporting standard is a clear strengthening of measures to prevent tax evasion, not only within

By Peter Worthington, Senior Partner, Blevins Franks the EU, but globally too. The new legislation for advanced automatic exchange of information created a significant overlap with the Savings Tax Directive; repealing it eliminates this overlap. In December 2014, the Council of the European Union adopted a new directive (Directive 2014/107/EU) which amended provisions on the mandatory automatic exchange of information between tax administrations, to cover a much wider range of income as well as balances.

2005 Savings Tax Directive The earlier Directive 2003/48/EC only covered savings income; other types of income fell outside the scope of the directive and were not reported. Dependent and associated territories of the EU were obliged to apply the Savings Tax Directive. Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Monaco, Andorra and San Marino also imposed equivalent measures. Until recently, many may have expected Switzerland to fight to retain its prized banking secrecy, but even that is about to be abolished. Administrative Co-operation Directive from 2016 The new EU directive extends the scope of the data to be exchanged. It covers interest, dividends, gross proceeds from the sale of financial assets and other income. Account balances will also be exchanged. Names, addresses, tax identification numbers and date of birth of account holders will

also be exchanged. The December 2014 press release explained that “the dual aim is to prevent taxpayers from hiding capital abroad or assets on which tax is due, whilst also improving the efficiency of tax collection.” It implements the global Common Reporting Standard developed by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) for the automatic exchange of information. It will enter into force on 1st January 2016. Switzerland and other third countries On 27th October, the European parliament approved the new savings tax agreement with Switzerland, under which the parties will automatically exchange information on the financial accounts of each other’s residents. The existing agreement remains operational until 31st December 2016. Switzerland will then begin applying the new due diligence procedures from January 2017 and

make the first reports on EU residents by September 2018. The EU has reached agreement with Liechtenstein and negotiations are being finalised with Andorra, San Marino and Monaco. The EU’s Administrative Cooperation Directive and Common Reporting Standard does not impose new tax treatments or reporting obligations on EU residents. Everyone should already be declaring offshore income and assets, and paying tax on them, according to existing tax law in their country of residence. However, there has never been a better time to consider your tax planning and, more importantly, the use of a fully tax compliant structure in Spain, to ensure peace of mind and, in the future, a relatively trouble-free interaction with the ‘taxman’. To keep in touch with the latest developments in the offshore world, check out the latest news on our website www.blevinsfranks.com

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Mallorca film industry put forward for award THE documentary “I am your father” was nominated for the Goya Awards earlier this week for best documentary. The film is about David Prowse, the actor who played Darth Vader in Star Wars and looks at his life as a relatively unknown actor in one of cinema’s most famous films.

It was directed by Mallorcan filmmakers, Toni Bestard and Marcos Cabotá and shot on location in England and Spain. The film ‘El Rey de la Habana’ (King of Havana) was nominated for three awards: best photography, best newcomer actress and best adapt-

ed screenplay. Agustí Villaronga is the Mallorcan film director of this film about struggles and romance in Cuba. The Goya Awards celebrate the best of Spanish films and the 30th edition of the awards will be held on February 6.

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After Paris climate talks, what next? MALLORCA shows the way by planting trees

Boost for building maintenance IT was announced this week that over €15 million will be invested in the maintenance of infant and primary state schools and municipal buildings over the next four years. The councillor for Education, Susana Moll, and the councillor for Infrastructure, Andres Rodrigo Romero, explained that the new contract will mean an increase of 38 per cent compared to the amount spent on this in previous years. Moll said that a maintenance technician

had been appointed in September and had been allocated 35 of the 47 state schools in Palma in order to improve the facilities of the centres and to respond to repairs in a more efficient manner. This new employee will replace caretakers in schools, although eight of them still remain. Romero explained that the contract for maintenance of municipal buildings has 126 technicians. The building maintenance has been awarded €6 million, while the schools were awarded €9.5 million.

ORGANIC FARM: Families and friends met and planted 350 trees and native plants. By Glynis German AFTER two weeks of negotiations at the United Nations climate conference in Paris, 196 countries formally signed a vital international agreement on Saturday in which developed and developing countries alike are required to limit their emissions to relatively safe

levels. The agreement also committed finance to be provided to poor nations to help them cut emissions and cope with the effects of extreme weather. Countries affected by climate-related disasters will gain urgent aid. Here in Mallorca, a committed and international group of families and friends put these words into imme-

diate action. They met on Sunday to plant 350 trees and native plants at the Son Barrina organic farm in Llubí on the PermaMed permaculture demonstration site there. Organised by well-known agronomist and permaculture activist Julio Cantos, the idea was to plant 350 varieties of trees. This was in recognition of the goal to reduce carbon emissions to 350 ppm CO2, a level offered by scientists to move our planet forward towards climate stability. Over 350 local varieties of junipers, turpentine, lavender, alfalfa arborea and palmetto thickets were planted and Cantos introduced participants to the planting methods of Japanese botanical master Akira Miyawaki which integrates Permaculture Design and Analogue Forestry. In an afternoon of celebration, hard work and lots of fun, people of all ages came together to plant a new forest. As one participant explained, “we are creating a living carpet of green hope and inspiration, on the canvas of the Earth.”

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Mallorca’s teenagers show promising cinematic talent PEOPLE’S favourite wins two prizes at the Kontrabando Film Festival By Glynis German MALLORCA youth showed off their cinematic talent in Cine Ciutat in Palma last Saturday with eight short films shown as part of the second Kontrabando Film Festival (KBFF). The film festival gives a chance for young people to s how wh a t t h e y c a n d o , both behind and in front of the camera. The rules are simple; you have to be betw een 1 3 a n d 1 8 y e a rs to produce and direct the film and it should be no longer than 10 minutes. It can be in any language as long as the subtitles are in Spanish or Catalan. KBFF Director, Marina

FILM FESTIVAL: Gives young people a chance to show what they can do. G o n zá le z , w a s d elig h te d with the selection this year: “Twelve films were considered with eight forming part

of the festival because two didn’t make selection and two were dismissed because they didn’t comply with the

rules. Apart from that, I was impressed by the standard and the judges had a tricky job in choosing winners.”

The jury, made up of seven professionals from the world of film, were given the task of awarding three prizes; first and second prizes for achievement and a third prize for performance. The public at the festival wer e abl e t o vot e t oo f or their favourite film whilst the contestants of the compet i t i on wer e al l owed t o vote for their most talented peer. Prizes went to the young directors of La Veu Trencada, Vi si ón, The Second Look and El m enu de l os I di ot as wi t h The Second Look winning two prizes for performance and for being the people’s favourite.

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Fire forces evacuation A FIRE broke out in an apartment in Palma and caused the building to be evacuated. The fire had started in a utility room but was quickly extinguished by the fire services. An 18-yearold woman was treated for smoke inhalation.

Man found dead in apartment POLICE are investigating the death of a man, 75 years, found in his apartment in Palma on Tuesday after having been alerted by neighbours due to a strong smell of gas coming from the apartment. Police are investigating the circumstances but rule out any third party involvement.

Picture worth a thousand words IVO ERASMO, a local filmmaker, never expected that his short film ‘Entrepreneurs’ would become part of an anti-corruption case here in Mallorca. The film tells the story of the young owner of a theatre café and his dealings with the Patrulla Verde, (Green Patrol), who are an official body of the Local Police. In the film, the inspectors and their visits to the bar are portrayed in such a way that does not flatte r the polic e , w ith a bullying a nd mafia-like manner. Although the film is based on true events, it does warn that any resemblance to reality is pure coincidence and that often truth is stranger than fiction. In a press conference held on Monday this week, a spokesperson for the

ENTREPRENEURS: Has become part of an anti-corruption case. police stated that the venue portrayed in the film had actually failed to comply with local bylaws and for that reason was sanctioned. The spokesperson went as far as to say that, “the scene in which 15 police

officers enter the bar with their faces covered is untrue. The real police report says that there were only three GAP (Grup d’Actuació Preventive) inspectors and they very politely asked him for documentation.”

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Cancer charity lunch is a hit SCHOOL choir also put on an excellent show By Glynis German THE Cala Nova Cancer Charity Shop held their annual Christmas lunch last Friday at the OD Hotel in Puerto Portals. People came from all over to celebrate not only the festive season, but also to ac-

knowledge the excellent work the shop does raising funds for local charities. The Baleares International College school choir put on an excellent show and more music was provided throughout the lunch with performers who donated their services for this good cause.

Dolina Reynolds from Calvia Town Council’s foreign department gave a short speech in which she welcomed everyone and thanked Angela McGrath and her team from the shop for all their hard work and dedication. The charity shop brought the house down with the presentation of €20,000 raised in the shop which they donated to four local charities. The charities provide different services for those with cancer and the funds received mean that they can continue with their good works. The four charities were: Spanish Association Against Cancer (AECC), Balearic Association of Parents of Children with Cancer (ASPANOB), DIME Cuenta con Nosotras and Cancer Support Group Mallorca.

Annual Xmas market ES REFUGI host their annual Christmas market today (Thursday 17) which will be held at La Misericordia in Palma and open to the public from 11am to 8.30pm until Saturday. This year is the 25th anniversary and it promises to be extra special with all sorts of goods on sale. A raffle has also been organised with prizes such as a Calvo Carrión painting, a Suny Mas necklace and a Christmas hamper.

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Advertising feature

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cause any material damage to another property (through explosion, water, or fire damage), you will be held responsible for any costly repairs. To avoid having to foot the repair bill you must take out a home insurance with public liability. WHAT DOES PUBLIC LIABILITY INSURANCE COVER? Should a third party injure themselves on your property, they could make a claim against you for medical costs to cover their treatment. This can be expensive, especially if they have private medical insurance. You may also have to pay for any legal costs incurred should the claim require legal representation or court settlement. Linea Directa can provide you with advice on how to check how much public liability insurance you currently have and provide you with options on how to adequately cover yourself and your family. We hope the information provided in this article is of interest.

If you would like to contact Línea Directa please call 902 123 309 More information on Línea Directa online at www.lineadirecta.com

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LITURGICAL DRAMA: The four artistes who will perform the chant.

Musical night with a twist MALLORCA tradition has a modern touch SA TARONJA in Andratx is the setting for the performance of the Song of the Sybil, traditionally sung on Christmas Eve in Mallorca. The Song of the Sybil is a liturgical drama and a Gregorian chant with lyrics containing a prophecy describing the Apocalypse. This piece of mu-

sic was declared a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO in 2010. Singer Carmen Jaime will perform the chant on Sunday December 20 at 8.30pm and will be joined by the deep sounds of didgeridoo played by Hernan Livolsi along with

Biyi Amez, who will create mysterious and ethereal sounds on the Theremin. Xavi Villanueva will provide an informative introduction of the historical context of this song, which dates back to the fourth century, and whose peculiarities make it a unique sociocultural phenomenon.

Accompanying births DOULAS Mallorca will begin their new training programme for doulas in January 2016. They offer a 12-month programme covering all aspects which takes place a weekend

a month on the island. The word ‘doula’ comes from the Ancient Greek meaning ‘a woman who serves"’ and is now used to refer to a trained and experienced professional who pro-

Fun fundraising RA MSHAC KL E C AF É in P o rtals rais e d a w h o p p ing €1,225 for charity last week in a fun day which was enjoyed by all. The money raised was donated to the Allen Graham Charity for Kidz and they will certainly be able to provide Christmas cheer for the many kids living in Mallorca’s children’s homes this year. Organiser from Ramshackle, Nicky, said: “We were so pleased at the turnout, especially with the incredible generosity shown by all who attended. And the kids from the Allen Graham charity who came to help were brilliant!”

vides continuous physical, emotional and informational support to the mother before, during and just after birth; or who provides emotional and practical support during the postpartum period.

Hallelujah! Christmas gospel TH E M is s is s ippi G os pe l Choir will perform in the Sala Magna at Palma’s Auditorium on We dne s da y (D e c e mbe r 23) for the eighth year running in what is considered a Mallorcan Christmas classic.

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NEWS EXTRA

Dance craze THIS Saturday at noon (December 19), the Plaza Reina at the end of the Born in Palma will witness a flashmob with a difference! Lindy hop, the latest dance craze, will be the theme.

Film festival THIS evening (Thursday 17) Ocimax hosts the International Short Film Festival of Science Fiction, Horror and Fantasy starting at 8pm. There will also be a preview of the new Star Wars film.

Cosmic day WITH winter solstice almost upon us, the cultural centre Sa Possessio in Palma have organised a day of celebration this weekend (Saturday, December 19). Meditation, astrology, vegan food and music are part of the activities on offer.

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Stray cats off the streets and into new homes PROBLEM is not limited to Alaro and animal associations are helping By Glynis German RESIDENT Lisa Koppe of Alaro will never forget the day she found a stray kitten and ended up feeding it. Imagine her shock when another hundred cats showed up for dinner the next day! This has led her to care for the many stray cats in Alaro on a daily basis. “I teach English for a living, but catch cats with a passion,” explained Lisa. “I catch the stray cats, take them to the vet and if they can then be rehomed, it’s one less cat on the street.” The problem with stray cats is not limited to Alaro and there are animal associations setting up all around Mallorca. The group Dona & Castra started by Consell resident, Sherry Conisbee, funds

STRAY CAT: Patiently waiting for his new forever home. neutering programmes. “I am delighted when I meet people like Lisa,” said Sherry, “she is a beacon of light in a very

serious problem. The stray cat issue needs controlling and with the €10 monthly fee that Dona & Castra mem-

bers pay, we can do our bit too.” If you want to help, please contact Lisa on 606 602 401.

NEWS

Christmas campaign THE Local Police of Palma have launched their annual drink and drug driving campaign which will be intensified over the Christmas festivities. Spot checks will be made across Palma for alcohol and drugs with special attention given to areas such as the Paseo Maritimo where restaurants and bars celebrate Christmas. Spokesman for the police, Angel Garcia, said that special monitoring devices and controls were planned in different parts of the city. He also confirmed that last weekend, police arrested nine people for drink driving, with seven drivers over the limit of 0.60 and two drivers causing accidents whilst drunk.

E W N 17 - 23 December 2015 / Mallorca

CHRISTMAS is a time for family, friends and festivities, but all too often it can cover up a dark and violent time of year as alcohol abuse, depression and domestic strain unfold. It’s times like these that we must step in and step up. By raising awareness and creating a culture of neighbourly love and openness we can give sufferers the strength to seek help. Let’s create an environment where people not only speak out, but actively look for the signs of domestic violence. People subconsciously avoid the ugly and vicious, it’s easier to keep your head down and yourself to yourself. Well we say no more. Not when it comes to a woman’s life, her mental health, her children and her dreams. One good Samaritan can make a world of difference, but a community where every member will stand up for one another, can change the world. Christmas can be a lonely time of year, and, because it’s supposed to mean something, and you’re supposed to be happy, you can feel at your emptiest. When you look around and realise that you’re alone in a foreign country, it’s tempting just to pour an extra large drink and look the other way. Well you’re not alone, because this Christmas you can be a leader, a friend, a shoulder to cry on. So instead of locking the door and drawing the blinds, we ask that you offer your support to your community because someone somewhere out there needs it. If you have seen domestic violence among your family, friends or community, we implore you today to take action. You don’t have to call the police, or get angry. Sometimes all you have to do is let it be known that you are there. Pop round with some food to check in, have a quiet word in someone’s ear, be a presence in their life. It might not make a difference straight away, but whether it’s in one week or one year, that person might ask for your help. And you may have saved their life. It could be a man who is too embarrassed to admit that his partner is abusing him. It could be elderly parents who silently hope that their child will turn it all around. It might be a woman you’ve seen frightened by her own shadow. Or those children across the road who utterly dread Christmas time and wish it would all just go away. Remember that the spirit of Christmas is about giving. This Christmas we ask that you consider giving a little bit of your time, a little bit of your heart, and the love that you have within you, to help someone close to home. You may never know if you made a difference, but good people don’t need gratitude. Deep inside you know it is the right thing to do. If, however, you see serious violence, or if children are involved, then pick up the phone now and call the police. Their life is in your hands.

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NEWS

Good people THIS Christmas we ask that you consider giving a little bit

Case study 1 GUARDIAN ANGELS is a single-parent support group based in the Costa Blanca where each member is allocated a mentor who can provide confidential support. Their website is www.guardian-angels.es and they are always happy to hear from anyone interested in joining. F o u n d e r Tr i c i a B a r r s p o k e w i t h E u ro Weekly News: “We have supported two expat Guardian Angels’ members through severe cases of domestic violence during the past five years. “In the worst case, the member had to flee the village where she lived after her Spanish husband attempted to harm her and their 11month-old son. “Even though she had obtained a restraining order against him, she felt that her inlaws and the villagers, as well as the social worker and Local Police, were unsympathetic to her as the only English woman. She packed all her belongings into her car one day and drove back to the UK, where she now lives, unfortunately still looking over her shoulder. “The Spanish culture is more macho than in the UK, where men have in recent years played a more equal role in the home and as a result show their partners more respect. “Women who have moved to Spain and particularly those who have Spanish partners also lack family support.”

Case study 2 “IT was five years ago but even today, when I wake up, before I even realise who I am, I remember that moment. And then I reflect because... you know you have this idea of yourself, this image that, sure you’ve made mistakes, but we all have and that’s life, and, when it really comes down to it, you’re a good person. “Because what happens if you’re not? What does it mean if the mirror starts to crack? When my parents moved to Spain I was doing alright for myself, she... my girlfriend... was the light of my life. And for the first time in my life I was properly independent, we were going to really make it

Aleksandro Palombo (artist)

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE: We implore you today to take action. Sometimes all you have to do is let it be known that you are there.

you know? I still try to piece together what happened next, the way you’d try and work out what happened after a big night out. All I can say is that she left, and I wasn’t strong enough. “Spain seemed like an easy fix, time out in the sun, my mother’s comfort while I regained my strength and maybe even started a new life out here. “But I wasn’t ok, I wasn’t ready, I couldn’t do it. And when she asked me why not, it just all came out and I snapped. I hit her. My own mother.”

But I wasn’t ok, I wasn’t ready, I couldn’t do it. And when she asked me why not, it just all came out and I snapped. I hit her. My own mother.

NEWS

17 - 23 December 2015 / Mallorca

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take action of your time and a little bit of your heart to help someone close to home

Case study 3 “I THINK it was because he never really hit me that I stayed for so long. That, and he was very charming, a real alpha male, but with this doe-eyed tenderness the whole world could see. Forty was coming and I wanted children, normally it would scare men off but he painted a picture for me so vivid I was drunk. “We would go to Spain, he had contacts you see, and we would live in a country villa by the Med and raise bilingual children. Alba and Sebastian they’d be named. What can I say? Maybe it was the hormones, his charm, my blindness or just plain old love, but I lost myself. “As soon as we arrived I realised I had no one but him. My phone went missing and when I mentioned it he accused me of being paranoid. Soon he’d insist on taking me to the bathroom, doors were locked, he’d go out and come back in a fury, I never knew what happened or what he was doing. I didn’t want to ask, there was such malice in his eyes. I didn’t really have any family back in the UK, and when I finally returned I discovered my friends had assumed I’d forgotten them in my selfish joy. I was in that empty villa for three years.”

lifestyle so I thought ‘I should be grateful. There are a lot of people struggling and we have this great life, I should be thankful,’ but I was constantly on edge.” Signs were there from day one. “He was fighting against the world. I thought it would get better, that I could change h im, an d I w o u ld ma ke e xc us e s for him.” She says the violence would always follow a heavy drinking session, he would then sleep it off and be nice the next day, but Sarah knew his next episode would never be far away: “I began to know the triggers that would set him off, I knew when to stay quiet, I learnt survival strategies.”

“There were times when I questioned my ow n s a nity but it ha s ta ught me everything I need to know and when the divorce is finalised I have a few plans up my sleeve for a fresh start.”

Although names have been changed, these people have shown great bravery coming forward with their stories. We ask that you stand up and provide the strength for others to do the same. It is in your power to make a real difference.

Numbers IN 2015, so far 51 women have been killed in Spain in domestic violence incidents. A survey among Spanish men shockingly showed roughly half would NOT interfere if they witnessed a friend abusing their partner. One third of expat arrests dealt with by the British Consulate are related to domestic violence.

Expat challenges WHILE Spanish women suffering violence continue to struggle against a culture of machismo, expatriate women face a different set of challenges. Often isolated from their family or close friends, they might also be unaware of Spanish support mechanisms through language or cultural barriers. In many scenarios they may have actually been manipulated into moving abroad as an abusive partner extends his control over finances and friendships and creates further dependency.

Resources Case study 4 FEW people would survive a rocky relationship involving violence, but Sarah V has not just survived, it’s possible this woman is actually stronger and better for it: “I won't be called a victim,” she says. “I stayed. I chose to stay. I’m responsible for my actions.” The couple had also built up a good life for themselves; a nice house, flash cars and five star holidays abroad: “A lot of people were quite envious of our

STAND UP: Provide the strength for others to do the same. joe bellanger, shutterstock

Everyone deserves a peaceful Christmas, so why not let us all try to give this gift to others. It might just be the Christmas that changes everything. In case you want to get help for yourself or someone else, you can call the National Domestic Violence hotline on 016 for professional advice in different languages. You can also get advice from Women’s centres available 24 hours on 900 58 08 88 or to file a report call 062 for the Civil Police, 091 for the National Police. If you feel you are in danger, the emergency services helpline is 112.

E W N 17 - 23 December 2015/ Mallorca

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NEWS FROM OUR FIVE OTHER REGIONS

COSTA DEL SOL

Port makeover in Alicante WORK to include new signs for the casino and the carousel will be moved

CASINO CHANGE: Out with the old facade and a new, more subtle design will be installed.

COSTA BLANCA SOUTH

COSTA BLANCA NORTH

AXARQUÍA

THE Casino Mediterraneo in Alicante has presented the plans for its new facade. It comes after the casino was ordered to remove its bright and colourful signs and lightings. Mayor Gabriel Echavarri said the plans are now ‘more in line with the environment.’ The Mayor also announced his intention to install a new tourist office in the port area, which would require the removal of the carousel. The town hall is now studying the contract to see when renewal is due and where else it could be moved to. The tourist office would be a project for 2016 and include a grant of €350,000 from the Consell.

COSTA DE ALMERÍA

Feria Blanca

Fast work

Container shipping

Caravan park

MURCIA’S Feria Blanca is now open every day until January 6, from 10am2pm and 4-10pm, with an ice-skating rink and 45m downhill toboggan slide taking centre stage at the festive fair in Plaza del Cuartel de Artilleria.

TELEFONICA has completed installing fibre optic internet in practically all of Alcoy City. Jazztel is also rolling out its own system there in addition to Ono’s existing fibre optic network.

THE shipping company Tamaran is to launch a new route that will provide service to the Motril Port. The container ship Johanna Schepers will stop in Motril once a week.

THE Almerimar area of El Ejido now has a parking area for caravans and mobile homes. Local councillor Luisa Barranco explained it was needed and has services for campers in the area.

Tight squeeze

Safety campaign

Winning tickets

NOT only is Denia’s remodelled Las Marinas narrower, but chevron parking has been introduced. This is best suited to one-way streets with little traffic and Las Marinas is neither, residents said.

A GROUP of students from the Rio Verde primary school in Almuñecar participated in a new safety campaign. All of the students and teachers participated in a fire drill and an evacuation.

THE first prize of the Spanish National Lottery was won in El Ejido. Number 71,770 had a prize of €600,000 for the lucky ticket holder.

Sweet music

Port changes

UNIO MUSICAL DE TORRENT (Valencia) took first prize and €6,000 in the 42nd edition of the Villa de Altea international competition for brass bands, obtaining 572.90 points of a possible 600.

THE proposed improvements to Caleta de Velez Port have been given a budget of €650,000. The main change anticipated is the knocking down of a large part of the port wall.

Roy Heaton

Cleaning Salobreña

JAVEA U3A is mourning the loss of popular member Roy Heaton. Roy and his wife Jackie were founder members of the group 10 years ago. At his funeral service at Javea Crematorium on Tuesday December 8, family and friends packed the room, demonstrating the high regard with which Roy was held.

A NEW cleaning system launched in Salobreña last month has had good results so far. The cleaning plan works on a rotating schedule to clean up a different part of the town each week.

A MAN who was in charge of a boat carrying nine illegal Algerian immigrants, which was rescued off the coast near Cabo de Gata, has been remanded in prison. Each of the occupants paid €1,500 for the trip.

Criminal history

Farmers’ dispute

JUDICIAL authorities have ruled that the public has the right to know about the mayor of Benamocarra Abdeslam Lucena’s criminal history. The judge ruled that details of Lucena’s criminal past had to be published.

FARMERS’ associations in Almeria say the number of robberies in rural areas has not fallen by 28 per cent as claimed by the Government Sub delegation, but that farmers can’t afford the time or risks of going to report it.

Tapas route TWENTY local bars and restaurants in Mazarron are participating in the town’s Tapas Route. Tapas are offered at €2 or €2.50 and a route map can be obtained from the tourist office.

Second best THE La Manga Club has been named amongst the world’s top tennis resorts according to a new poll. It was voted second best in Europe by American website ‘Tennis Resorts Online.’

Path danger RESIDENTS have denounced a sunken part of the pavement in Alicante’s Florida Portazgo saying people are continually tripping up over the uneven path.

Election posters THE Ciudadanos party has denounced election posters stuck on lamp posts and litter bins in Alicante. According to Ciudadanos, gluing posters in these areas is prohibited.

New wine THE Sant Vicente Ferrer wine cooperative in Teulada has created the world’s first rosé muscatel wine.

NEWS

For more local news from our five other regions see www.euroweeklynews.com

City crash TWO women aged 25, and two men aged 57 and 26, were injured in Almeria when the two vehicles they were travelling in crashed. They were all taken to Torrecardenas Hospital.

Immigration crime

Cat rescue TORREMOLINOS Firefighters saved the lives of four cats after a fire broke out in a home. The cats needed artificial respiration after inhaling smoke, but thanks to the efforts of the firefighters, they survived.

Fuengirola shock A FUENGIROLA worker was seriously injured after being badly burned as the result of electric shocks. The incident took place on Calle España. Emergency Medical Services were sent to the scene, along with officers from the Local and National Police forces.

Marathon death A DANISH man died a few hours after running the Malaga Marathon. The 53year-old man, who was an experienced runner, was staying in an apartment in Plaza de la Merced. He had run the race and reportedly felt ill afterwards.

Benalmadena stabbing TWO Spanish men have been arrested for their presumed involvement in a fight in Benalmadena that ended in a third man’s death.

New casino THE Admiral San Roque Casino is aiming to have its doors open to the public by next July. The project has several phases, and is expected to create 70 new jobs in its first phase alone.

Brit arrested A BRITISH man has been arrested by the Local Police in Malaga for allegedly pouring alcohol over a police car and throwing the bottle at officers who told him off for it.

EWN top for all the news from Spain.

E W N 17 - 23 December 2015 / Mallorca

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NEWS

RUSSIAN P RESS

Committed to cooperation CAMERON and Putin agree to work together

AGREEMENT: To work together. PRIME MINISTER David Cameron and Russian President Vladimir Putin have agreed to work together to defeat Daesh, Downing Street has said. Cameron and Putin have committed to cooperate in the war against the terrorist group after a telephone conversation last week in which the PM updated the Russian leader on British airstrikes in Syria.

Technology boost RUSSIA is to increase its budget for research by 135bn roubles (€1.8 billion) in 2016. According to Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev: “It is impossible to support strong and efficient economy without achievements in the field of science and technology.”

Science Parks CHINA has said it will build two science parks in Moscow in 2016. The head of the

PUPPY: Presented to French police. construction of two platforms in Russia’s capital.”

Puppy for France RUSSIAN policemen presented a German shepherd puppy to their French colleagues to replace the police dog named Diesel killed in the anti-terror raid in Paris. The puppy presented to the French police by Russian counterparts will serve in an elite police department, the French ambassador in Moscow said last week. Moscow science and industry department Oleg Bocharov told TASS on Wednesday: “Moscow authorities and representatives of Beijing’s leading science parks have discussed

Uni education HIGHER education in Russia is almost ‘universal’, or at least available to anyone who can afford it, but ‘quality in many cases leaves much to be desired,’ analysts say. According to official figures, 54 per cent of Russians aged over 24 have higher education (the highest rate in the world). But half of employers say the skills and competence of current employees falls short of expectations.

Missile Cruiser to Syria THE Russian news agency TASS reports that Russia is to dispatch the Pacific Fleet’s missile cruiser ‘Varyag’ to Syria. The Varyag’s mission in the area would presumably last til September.

FINANCE

Mallorca

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Savoy hotel sold to French company FRHI has sold its entire portfolio to AccorHotels for €2.6 billion By John Smith FRHI, the owner of 155 hotels in 34 countries, including many famous names such as the Savoy in London, Raffles in Singapore and the Plaza in New York, has sold its entire portfolio to French company

is the number of new shares worth €1.8 billion which Accor will issue to allow for the sale to go through.

ZARA: One of the shops under Inditex ownership.

Inditex change size of mannequins By John Smith SOMETIMES people power exists and works, as has been proven by the fact that more than 111,000 people signed a petition demanding that Inditex, owner of Lefties, Zara and many other fashion brands aimed at young women, change the size of the mannequins they

AccorHotels, which owns a number of chains including Novotel and Ibis, for a total of €2.6 billion. The owners of FRHI include the Qatari Investment Authority and the Kingdom Holding Company of Saudi Arabia. They are taking their payment in shares which will give

Banks need to be able to go wrong and have the resources to deal with that.’ Sir Jon Cunliffe, deputy governor of the Bank of England on the future of banks

Photo Credit Tonyv3112 Shutterstock

Quote of the Week

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use in some of their windows as they promote the wrong body image to young girls in particular. The result has been that Inditex, whilst suggesting that the bulk of its mannequins are not too thin, will be removing certain older models and will ensure that new models are in keeping with expectations.

BUSINESS EXTRA

Santander and F1 SANTANDER bank has renewed its Formula 1 sponsorship deal with McLaren until 2020, and will also be continuing to feature Jenson Button as part of its recently introduced sponsoring of rebranded ‘Boris Bikes’ in London.

Shares fall SHARES in major mining firm Anglo American have fallen by more than 8 per cent, after the company announced it would be forced to sell large parts of its business and reduce its workforce by nearly two-thirds. The changes will see the number of employees drop by 85,000, from 135,000 to 50,000. The group has been forced to restructure following ongoing drops in commodity prices which have drastically reduced profits.

Number of Paris visitors falls AIR FRANCE-KLM has said that the Paris attacks led to a €50 million drop in revenues as trips were cancelled. The group said the attacks ‘significantly impacted’ traffic to and from Paris. Ryanair said it had cut fares in response to a dip

2 million is the estimated number of vinyl records to be sold in the UK in 2015 which is part of a growing trend whereby people download albums and then buy their favourites on vinyl or cd.

DOW JONES

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in demand, but did not expect the lower prices to have a material impact on its financial results. Scandinavian carrier SAS also said it had seen a drop in travel to Paris and Brussels but that traffic was returning to normal.

the former 10.5 per cent and the latter 5.8 per cent of the shares in Accor. This is the second major hotel merger in the past month, although the previous deal between Marriott International and Starwood Hotels created a much larger group.

IBEX 35

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Tobin tax introduction SPAIN along with nine other countries has indicated it intends to draw up guidelines to introduce the ‘Tobin tax’, which would levy a charge on any financial transaction undertaken with shares or derivatives. The concept was put forward by James Tobin in 1972 as a tax on all spot conversions of one currency into another, with the intention of stopping speculation in currencies.

E W N 17 - 23 December 2015 / Mallorca

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PRICE(P) CHANGE(P) COMPANY 3i Group 467.15 4.15 Aberdeen Asset Management 289.55 3.25 Admiral Group 1,629.00 16.00 Anglo American 301.45 8.50 Antofagasta 427.25 -1.65 ARM Holdings 1,054.50 -19.50 Ashtead Group 1,088.00 0.00 Associated British Foods 3,420.50 17.50 AstraZeneca 4,353.75 23.75 Aviva 495.10 4.50 Babcock International Group 996.00 6.50 BAE Systems 494.20 3.70 Barclays 213.73 2.53 Barratt Developments 605.50 13.00 Berkeley Group Holdings 3,501.50 3.50 BG Group 936.45 10.65 BHP Billiton 690.35 -3.85 BP 336.68 -1.32 British American Tobacco 3,649.00 50.00 British Land Co 784.25 10.25 BT Group 464.63 4.08 Bunzl 1,841.50 10.50 Burberry Group 1,145.00 5.00 Capita Group (The) 1,166.50 12.50 Carnival 3,467.50 20.50 Centrica 213.65 2.75 Coca-Cola HBC 1,443.00 5.00 Compass Group 1,121.50 7.50 CRH 1,896.50 16.50 Diageo 1,825.50 19.00 Direct Line Insurance Group 402.25 3.25 Dixons Carphone 471.90 1.30 easyJet 1,678.00 20.00 Experian 1,153.50 -1.50 Fresnillo 669.00 -6.00 G4S 214.50 0.50 GKN 287.10 2.80 GlaxoSmithKline 1,300.75 3.25 Glencore 84.82 -0.55 Hammerson 593.75 7.25 Hargreaves Lansdown 1,426.00 19.00 Hikma Pharmaceuticals 2,054.00 -8.00 HSBC Holdings 504.85 6.85 Imperial Tobacco Group 3,435.00 32.00 Inmarsat 1,103.50 3.50 InterContinental Hotels Grp 2,521.00 26.00 International Consolidated Air 574.75 8.25 Intertek Group 2,687.00 11.00 Intu Properties 309.40 5.70 ITV 265.85 3.55

% CHG. 0.90 1.14 0.99 2.90 -0.38 -1.82 0.00 0.51 0.55 0.92 0.66 0.75 1.20 2.19 0.10 1.15 -0.55 -0.39 1.39 1.32 0.89 0.57 0.44 1.08 0.59 1.30 0.35 0.67 0.88 1.05 0.81 0.28 1.21 -0.13 -0.89 0.23 0.98 0.25 -0.64 1.24 1.35 -0.39 1.38 0.94 0.32 1.04 1.46 0.41 1.88 1.35

NET VOL 4,628.92 3,881.58 4,488.06 4,466.95 4,396.92 15,300.64 5,541.82 27,201.93 55,341.18 20,115.46 5,041.97 15,778.87 36,566.00 5,962.76 4,860.90 33,318.58 15,485.71 64,170.65 68,862.97 8,129.74 39,115.83 6,232.43 5,222.34 7,856.25 7,515.65 10,521.14 5,356.58 18,679.90 15,752.54 46,065.49 6,075.00 5,487.87 6,748.57 11,604.13 4,959.29 3,351.44 4,861.76 63,941.97 12,967.13 4,662.73 6,853.90 4,152.61 99,673.50 32,943.07 4,999.27 5,950.16 11,685.39 4,369.68 4,079.18 10,635.13

COMPANY PRICE(P) CHANGE(P) Johnson Matthey 2,562.00 21.00 Kingfisher 326.60 3.30 Land Securities Group 1,176.50 19.50 Legal & General Group 259.80 1.50 Lloyds Banking Group ORD 70.61 0.60 London Stock Exchange Grp 2,538.00 45.00 Marks & Spencer Group 465.60 0.50 Meggitt 363.70 2.30 Merlin Entertainments 438.10 2.10 Mondi 1,315.00 40.00 Morrison (Wm) Supermarkets 141.80 2.80 National Grid 906.10 1.80 Next 7,460.00 75.00 Old Mutual 168.90 13.20 Pearson 708.00 -6.00 Persimmon 1,929.50 22.50 Prudential 1,482.75 13.75 Randgold Resources 4,052.00 -76.00 Reckitt Benckiser Group 6,159.00 35.00 Reed Elsevier 1,150.50 11.50 Rio Tinto 1,892.50 7.00 Rolls-Royce Group 559.75 7.75 Royal Bank of Scotland Group 285.25 -0.25 Royal Dutch Shell 1,457.50 4.00 Royal Dutch Shell 1,463.00 3.00 Royal Mail 447.35 1.65 RSA Insurance Group 421.90 2.20 SABMiller 4,028.25 20.75 Sage Group (The) 589.75 0.75 Sainsbury (J) 243.30 8.30 Schroders 2,748.00 48.00 Severn Trent 2,131.00 23.00 Shire 4,249.00 -50.00 Sky 1,069.00 13.00 Smith & Nephew 1,076.00 3.00 Smiths Group 943.00 2.00 Sports Direct International 587.50 1.50 SSE 1,441.50 6.50 St James's Place 955.50 8.50 Standard Chartered 492.10 -3.25 Standard Life 380.50 3.20 Taylor Wimpey 195.45 1.45 Tesco 149.15 4.80 Travis Perkins 1,965.00 14.00 TUI AG 1,164.00 10.00 Unilever 2,776.00 29.00 United Utilities Group 934.00 13.00 Vodafone Group 209.90 1.75 Whitbread 4,426.50 26.50 Wolseley 3,746.50 28.50 WPP Group 1,496.00 13.00

% CHG. 0.83 1.02 1.69 0.58 0.86 1.81 0.11 0.64 0.48 3.14 2.01 0.20 1.02 8.48 -0.84 1.18 0.94 -1.84 0.57 1.01 0.37 1.40 -0.09 0.28 0.21 0.37 0.52 0.52 0.13 3.53 1.78 1.09 -1.16 1.23 0.28 0.21 0.26 0.45 0.90 -0.66 0.85 0.75 3.33 0.72 0.87 1.06 1.41 0.84 0.60 0.77 0.88

NET VOL 5,344.26 7,693.25 9,375.85 15,640.90 51,417.64 8,939.00 7,825.95 2,855.87 4,393.58 6,389.89 3,290.14 34,082.47 11,465.52 8,581.36 6,045.52 5,940.78 38,256.27 3,876.06 44,205.34 13,001.64 27,726.60 10,424.83 18,831.90 59,275.58 37,423.70 4,524.00 4,331.39 65,220.97 6,378.19 4,639.03 6,333.15 5,061.65 25,600.77 18,496.63 9,730.98 3,750.39 3,545.90 14,399.46 5,077.05 12,964.01 7,658.17 6,389.80 12,249.50 4,954.24 6,880.86 35,834.19 6,382.48 56,379.26 8,116.47 9,921.17 19,591.57

Kleinwort Benson Elite PCC Ltd

0.72261

1.38387 Units per €

US dollar...................................................................1.09574 Japan yen.................................................................132.723 Switzerland franc.................................................1.07958 Denmark kroner ..................................................7.46093 Norway kroner.....................................................9.46563

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

DOW JONES C LOSING P RICES D ECEMBER 14

COMPANY MMM 3M AXP American Express AAPL Apple BA Boeing CAT Caterpillar CVX Chevron CSCO Cisco KO Coca-Cola DIS Disney DD E I du Pont de Nemours and Co XOM Exxon Mobil GE General Electric GS Goldman Sachs HD Home Depot IBM IBM INTC Intel JNJ Johnson & Johnson JPM JPMorgan Chase MCD McDonald's MRK Merck MSFT Microsoft NKE Nike PFE Pfizer PG Procter & Gamble TRV Travelers Companies Inc UTX United Technologies UNH UnitedHealth VZ Verizon V Visa WMT Wal-Mart

PRICE CHANGE %CHANGE VOLUME 154.83 -2.69 -1.71% 2.5M 68.86 -1.25 -1.78% 9.1M 113.18 -2.99 -2.57% 46.9M 144.62 -1.79 -1.22% 3.7M 65.43 -0.95 -1.43% 7.6M 86.44 -2.86 -3.20% 13.2M 26.16 -0.61 -2.28% 34.3M 42.27 -0.49 -1.15% 17.3M 108.04 -2.72 -2.46% 12.3M 70.44 -4.11 -5.51% 19.3M 74.34 -1.35 -1.78% 20.5M 30.26 -0.39 -1.27% 62.9M 176.56 -5.55 -3.05% 3.8M 130.44 -2.10 -1.58% 5.3M 134.57 -2.21 -1.62% 5.3M 34.27 -0.50 -1.44% 20.8M 101.68 -0.96 -0.94% 7.8M 64.07 -1.54 -2.35% 17.9M 116.08 -1.12 -0.96% 5.7M 52.15 -1.54 -2.87% 10.4M 54.06 -1.21 -2.19% 39.4M 126.29 -2.35 -1.83% 4.1M 32.06 -0.30 -0.93% 40.3M 77.78 -0.01 -0.01% 12.3M 109.76 -1.23 -1.11% 1.8M 93.30 -0.57 -0.61% 9.9M 115.98 -0.23 -0.20% 3.8M 44.82 -0.50 -1.10% 16.5M 76.11 -2.01 -2.57% 15.6M 59.36 -0.20 -0.34% 9.7M

NASDAQ C LOSING P RICES D ECEMBER 14

COMPANY

PRICE

CHANGE NET / %

Most Advanced Daily 2X VIX ST ETN Velocityshares Finisar Corporation AccuShares Spot CBOE VIX Up Shares VIX Short-Term ETN Velocityshares Fate Therapeutics, Inc. RCM Technologies, Inc. Escalade, Incorporated Whole Foods Market, Inc. ProShares UltraPro Short NASDAQ Biotech Mirna Therapeutics, Inc. Collegium Pharmaceutical, Inc.

$ 8.73 $ 14.25 $ 23.75 $ 31.48 $ 3.79 $ 5.40 $ 12.03 $ 34.02 $ 24.61 $ 7.10 $ 23.43

2 ▲ 29.72% 2.61 ▲ 22.42% 3.99 ▲ 20.19% 4.09 ▲ 14.93% 0.41 ▲ 12.13% 0.51 ▲ 10.43% 1.03 ▲ 9.36% 2.69 ▲ 8.59% 1.86 ▲ 8.18% 0.50 ▲ 7.58% 1.54 ▲ 7.04%

$ 8.55 $ 3.24 $ 17 $ 4.54 $ 23.12 $ 7.40 $ 12.16 $ 47.16 $ 2.56 $ 2.04 $ 3.52

2.4633 ▼ 22.37% 0.82 ▼ 20.20% 3.88 ▼ 18.58% 1.02 ▼ 18.35% 4 ▼ 14.75% 1.13 ▼ 13.25% 1.78 ▼ 12.77% 6.59 ▼ 12.26% 0.35 ▼ 12.03% 0.26 ▼ 11.30% 0.42 ▼ 10.66%

Most Declined United Development Funding IV Lantheus Holdings, Inc. AccuShares Spot CBOE VIX Down Shares Raptor Pharmaceutical Corp. Daily Inverse VIX ST ETN Velocityshares ProQR Therapeutics N.V. Star Bulk Carriers Corp. Ingles Markets, Incorporated Vanguard Natural Resources LLC Erickson Incorporated Connecture, Inc.

E W N 17 - 23 December 2015 / Mallorca

www.euroweeklynews.com

FINANCE, BUSINESS & LEGAL

RAC: Petrol could fall to £1 a litre

PETROL PRICES: Could drop by Christmas if retailers pass on savings from lower crude oil prices.

Photo Credit gkuna shutterstock

THE price of petrol in the UK should drop to £1 a litre by Christmas if retailers ‘do the right thing’ by passing on savings from the lower crude oil prices, the RAC predicts. RAC spokesman Simon Williams said: “All we need is for the supermarkets to do the right thing and embrace the season of goodwill by passing on those savings at the pump to make Christmas that much cheaper for everyone.” Just recently, the price of Brent crude oil dropped to its lowest rate since 2009, and now stands at around $40 a barrel. The RAC believe that this should equate to a 3p per litre drop in petrol prices at the pump, bringing the average price

Photo Credit Suranga SL Shutterstock

By Steve Walsh

down to £1.03. However, many forecourts may choose to be more competitive. “We are still some way off the average price of unleaded reaching the £1 a litre mark but this will be a big step in the right direction,” he added. According to reports from the BBC, supermarkets Tesco and Asda ran a three-day 99.7p a litre petrol campaign last month, and have currently cut petrol prices by 2p per litre, while Sainsbury’s said it would cut prices by ‘up to 2p’. Mr Williams also said: “If retailers don’t pass on the savings quickly, they will be giving themselves an unpopular Christmas boost to profits by pocketing the extra margin when they should really be passing this on to their customers instead.”

Former British PM to advise on investments

TOLL ROADS: Normally managed by commercial companies.

Spanish policy not in line with EU By John Smith IT has been remarked on by the European Commission that Spanish economic policy, with regards to investment into the Alta Velocidad Española (high speed trains) and toll motorways, is not in accordance with EU policy or expectation. The European Commission requires that the state should not make unrecoverable investments in any major infrastructure developments, and in particular it does not believe that the AVE will ever generate sufficient income to recover the investment that the government has placed in it. Toll motorways, although generally owned by the government, are normally managed by commercial companies who charge an agreed amount which may increase during busy periods such as Christmas, although the cost of building of the 16,583 kilometres of motorways may eventually be covered.

FORMER British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has taken up a role on an advisory panel at global investment management firm Pimco, as part of a five person group described by the company as ‘worldrenowned experts on economic and political issues’. The other members include a former US Federal Reserve chairman, retired former president of the European Central Bank and a former member of the Singapore Investment Corporation, who clearly have a pedigree that Mr Brown who earned a degree in history cannot emulate, although he was Chancellor of the Exchequer. A spokesman for Mr Brown said he was taking on ‘a minor advisory role’, and would not financially benefit and added: “Any money goes to the office of Gordon and Sarah Brown to support their charitable and public service work.” Many will remember that Mr Brown sold the majority of Britain’s gold reserves to raise funds at around £250 (€350) per ounce and then watched the price of gold soar to more than £1,000 (€1,400) an ounce before becoming Prime Minister and leading Labour to election defeat. Pimco, which is owned by German asset manager Allianz, administers about $1.47 trillion (€1.34 trillion) of assets for its clients.

Photo Credit H.M. Government

By John Smith

GORDON BROWN: Will take on a ‘minor advisory role’.

FINANCE, BUSINESS & LEGAL

www.euroweeklynews.com

17 - 23 December 2015 / Mallorca

EWN

Berlin-based company to offer new smartphone bank in Spain THERE is a new concept in banking which was launched in Germany in January of 2015 and is now to be offered in Spain by Berlin-based company Number26, which operates through smartphones and without any need for a customer to visit a bank even to open the account. According to Number26, it is able to offer a more convenient option in European countries where the technology and infrastructures are outdated and hidebound by bureaucracy. New customers can sign up for an account within eight minutes, using a video chat function to verify their identity, there is no need to go to a physical bank and there aren’t even any forms to complete. As a Spanish customer, your account will be held in Germany by what is effectively a German bank and accounts are protected by the German Deposit Protection Fund, so

Photo Credit Ditty about summer Shutterstock

By John Smith

SMARTPHONE BANKING: A new and innovative, if somewhat ‘tekkie’ concept.

unless enormous amounts of money are invested with Number26, customer funds will be safe. Account holders will receive a physical MasterCard and any transactions can be checked through an app which is suitable for Android and iOS mobile phones, although the account can also be accessed through a pc. There are no charges for opening the account nor are there fees to make a foreign transaction. The concept was created by young people who feel that because banks are generally run by those in their 50s and above, they do not understand the needs and expectations of younger generations. Their target market is in the 18 to 35 age group and they already have 80,000 users in Germany and Austria. For those who are interested in this innovative, if somewhat ‘tekkie’ new banking option, more information can be obtained from https://number26.eu/es/.

OPINION & COMMENT

17 - 23 December 2015 / Mallorca

www.euroweeklynews.com

EWN

A woman’s place is in the home THE PILL has totally confused the female of our species LEAPY LEE SAYS IT

OTHERS THINK IT HI girls, you’re really going to hate Leapy this week. Omitting his views on homosexuals, I actually believe many of the somewhat odious Tyson Fury’s views are quite correct. The latest world heavyweight boxing champion took the opportunity of his new status to release a whole tirade of his opinions on our lifestyle and traditions. I thought his views on free speech were particularly articulate. After all, if without retribution, you can praise women for being successful in the world of previously male-dominated professions, then you should be able to state that in your opinion a woman’s place is in the home. Why not? As I stated recently, I think the advent of the pill has totally confused the female of our species. Almost overnight it gave women the opportunity to pick and choose their sexual ad-

UPSETTING THE EQUILIBRIUM: The pill has a lot to answer for. ventures. Suddenly penis envy went out of the window and they all had the same freedom to come and go as the male sex; and boy has that upset the equilibrium. (Far too many examples to include here!)

Well of course it has. It’s completely against nature, that’s why. Since the age of the cave-dweller it is generally the male who, far better equipped physically, has been the hunter.

The female, also well equipped for her calling, has been the homemaker and nurturer of the offspring. It is actually the perfect recipe for a successful relationship. There’s nothing detrimental in being a housewife. It is the most taxing of professions, demanding a whole range of practical and emotional expertise. The two sides complement themselves perfectly. Show me a marriage that has happily endured for years and nine out of 10 will be a par t ner shi p based on t r adi t i onal values. To my mind the female ‘liberation’ instigated by the pill has been an unmitigated disaster for the ladies. Egged on by the women’s libbers it has destroyed all previous boundaries and sent the female of the species careering off i nt o so m any di ff er ent aspect s of physical and emotional turmoil they may find it impossible to ever recover. Keep the faith Love Leapy Leapylee2002@gmail.com

E W N 17 - 23 December 2015 / Mallorca

LETTERS

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OPINION & COMMENT

YOUR PAPER - YOUR VOICE - YOUR OPINION

Letters for Your Say should be emailed to yoursay@euroweeklynews.com or make your comments straight on our website: www.euroweeklynews.com

Ambulance drivers can’t find their way to emergencies OVER recent weeks there have been various pieces in the local papers about the slow response rates for ambulances in Orihuela Costa. There are similar problems experienced by people living on the San Miguel urbanisation, El Galan. On Sunday November 29, the 112 emergency number was used to summons an ambulance to Calle Huelva, El Galan, to attend Mrs Joyce Byne. The ambulance was called at quarter past 10 but didn’t arrive until nearly 11am. The ambulance drivers had no idea where El Galan was and had spent over 15 minutes trying to find the road in the town of San Miguel. They then admitted that it was only after they couldn’t find the street in the town that they used their sat nav! Even with this aid they failed to find the street and called for instructions. When they eventually arrived they told us that we should have given the address as being in Blue Lagoon or Las Filipinas. We did tell them that the area was El Galan on maps and on our padrons! It is indefensible that ambulance drivers do not have adequate maps, sat navs or a central control station that can give them appropriate and correct directions. Unfortunately, Joyce was pronounced dead. However, any one of our neighbours may need an ambulance in an emergency and you do not expect the ambulance drivers to have no idea of the geography of the area they serve. Barry Buckingham, El Galan

Wise words Re: ‘Only way is to fight for our ideals’ I AM an ex-serviceman and alas I don’t have time to express all of my feelings on this subject. I do feel sure that Leapy is NOT anti-Muslim. He is for sure anti-stupidity, racism and murder. If I may just quote Muhammed Ali, a world-class boxer whose wit was and is as fast as his punch. Ali’s wise words on this subject…”True Muslims know that the ruthless violence of so-called Islamic Jihadists goes against the very tenets of our religion,” he said. “These misguided murderers have

Photographs for possible publication should be sent by email with a full caption to: photonews@euroweeklynews.com

Non-existent fire service

have interpreters on hand if needed, but so many Spanish people speak English so we never have a problem. Jenny H, by email

Nice surprise THIS morning as I was making my way to Malaga airport, I picked up a copy of EWN outside Cudeca in Fuengirola. On the train I flipped through the paper and was stopped in my tracks when I came to page 100. The headline ‘Art at the Golfer Sports Bar’ by John Smith had a really nice article that featured one of my paintings from a new exhibition in Marbella. I was not expecting such exposure and wish to thank EWN for the really fabulous exposure. Thank you and John Smith in particular. Best regards and a Happy Christmas to you and all your a staff. Roger Cummiskey, by email

I HAVE been reading in the papers about the poor ambulance service in Orihuela Costa. What I want to ask is what about the non-existent fire service? There has been a spate of fires in rubbish bins all over the area. You phone 112 and wait and wait, while flames and smoke shoot up to the sky, and most times the fire engine doesn’t even bother to come and have a look. The other day there was a big blaze and many of my neighbours also called the fire brigade but no fire engine turned up. The same has happened when cars go up in flames. What happens if it is one of our houses on fire? We would be dead before any fire engine got anywhere near us. It is scary. I think people ought to be told how bad the fire and ambulance service is before they decide to live out here. Mrs K Dodds, Orihuela

perverted people’s views on what Islam really is. “I am a Muslim and there is nothing Islamic about killing innocent people in Paris, San Bernardino, or anywhere else in the world. "Muslims have to stand up to those who use Islam to advance their own personal agenda.” That says a lot to me. I hope that decent Muslims are hearing him. Leo, by email

Good care Re: letter from Cliff & Desiree, Mallorca, EWN 1584 IT IS so bad that Desiree has had to wait six months for treatment for

breast cancer in England. I hope she makes a good recovery and soon. In July 1988, I had a mammogram and got a perfect, clear report. November 1, I felt a lump and on December 14 had a 4.5 cm lump removed. That was followed by 15 doses of radiation and five years on Tamoxifen. On August 26 and again on October 7 this year, my doctor said I didn’t have a problem (although it was very obvious I did) as last year’s mammogram was clear. She did finally refer me for another mammogram. After not hearing anything for two weeks, I went to the local hospital in Benalmadena, where there was no record on the screen and the receptionist said it was probably “still going round the system.” So on Thursday October 22, I

went to the Emergency Department. The Triage nurse said I should go to my doctor; he got me in to see a wonderful doctor, who organised a mammogram and echography for the next morning. After extensive tests, on November 12, I saw the surgeon, had an x-ray, blood test, and ECG, and the following week I went to Malaga Clinic to have the lump frozen, with radiation to follow. This is public, not private treatment! I’ve had 27 good years and at 82 I won’t get that long again, but I’ll have a damn good try! What I can’t understand is why do so many people go back to England when they need help? More than half the doctors there are from different countries and too many don’t speak English. Here at least we

Just deserts I AM an avid reader of Leapy Lee’s column and agree most times with his ‘advice’ to the various organisations which are not quite on our wavelength. On Page 20 of Issue 1588: ‘Trucker puts raw pork on outide of his lorry to keep the immigrants away’! What a good idea, nearly as good as mine, which I sent to the editor of the Daily Mail a few weeks ago. When a suicide bomber had done his dastardly work, collect up his remnants and feed them to the pigs. We should then give it worldwide coverage, sit back and see what transpires. Norman, via email

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

www.euroweeklynews.com

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.

FEATURE

17 - 23 December 2015 / Mallorca

www.euroweeklynews.com

EWN

Advertising feature

Christmas gifting overseas: 20.7 million have a relative living abroad THE rise of the multi-country family sees loved ones spread across the globe • POST OFFICE analysis of money transfers reveals December 16 1 is expected to be the busiest day of the year for international payments. • Rise of the ‘Multi-Country family’ (MCF) is driving international Christmas money transfers, as 41 per cent of UK adults 2 currently have at least one relative living abroad. • The number of people with more than five relatives abroad has doubled in the past five years. New analysis from Post Office International Payments reveals December 16 is expected to be the busiest day of the year for international payment transactions as people rush to send last-minute gifts abroad. The study highlights the internationalisation of British families where parents, siblings and even partners live in different countries. On average people living in the UK have

four relatives residing overseas. Gifting money (57 per cent) is top of the list of reasons for sending money to loved ones abroad. Other reasons for sending money to relatives overseas include supporting general living and housing costs.

1 2 3 4 5

Reasons for sending money Presents Day to day living costs Housing Education So they can purchase overseas to send back to the UK

% 57% 33% 26% 15% 10%

Source: Post Office International Payments, 2015

OVERSEAS: On average UK citizens have four relatives living abroad.

Commenting on the findings, Rob Scott Head of International Payments at Post Office Money said: “People often leave it to the last

minute to send gifts to family members abroad at Christmas, which causes a spike in demand for international payments. The rise of the multi-country families sees loved ones spread across the globe, so international money transfers are a convenient way to send a present this festive season.” Post Office International Payments is an easy and secure way to transfer money from UK to overseas bank accounts. People can cost effectively transfer any amount from £50 upwards, with fee free transfers over £250. For more information please visit: http://www.postoffice.co.uk/interna tional-payments

1. Date based on transactions. 2. Research conducted by Atomik Research in August 2015 among a representative sample of 2,004 UK adults (50,502,000 - ONS UK adult population figure). Post Office Ltd. Registered in England and Wales no: 2154540. Registered Office: Finsbury Dials, 20 Finsbury Street, London, EC2Y 9AQ. The Post Office and the Post Office symbol are registered trademarks of Post Office Ltd. Post Office Limited is an appointed representative of Bank of Ireland (UK) plc which is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority. Bank of Ireland UK is a trading name of Bank of Ireland (UK) plc which is registered in England & Wales (No. 7022885), Bow Bells House, 1 Bread Street, London EC4M 9BE.

E W N 17 - 23 December 2015 / Mallorca

www.euroweeklynews.com

TV LISTING

THURSDAY 17 DECEMBER

7:30pm 8:00pm 8:30pm 9:00pm 10:00pm 11:00pm 11:25pm 11:35pm 12:35am

FRIDAY 18 DECEMBER

8:30pm 9:00pm 9:30pm 10:00pm 10:30pm 11:00pm 11:25pm 11:35pm 12:20am

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BBC London News The One Show EastEnders Eat Well for Less at Christmas DIY SOS The Big Build BBC News at Ten BBC London News Question Time This Week A Question of Sport EastEnders Citizen Khan Have I Got News for You Peter Kay's Car Share BBC News at Ten BBC London News The Graham Norton Show Josh BBC London News Strictly Come Dancing Casualty The National Lottery Live Strictly Come Dancing BBC News Match of the Day The Apprentice Merry Madagascar Toy Story 3 Christmas Big Sing BBC News BBC London News Countryfile Sports Personality of the Year 2015 The Apprentice BBC News BBC London News EastEnders Miranda The John Bishop Christmas Show BBC News at Ten BBC London News Match of the Day 2 Citizen Khan The Graham Norton Show Weather for the Week Ahead BBC News at Six BBC London News Celebrity Mastermind EastEnders Holby City Luther BBC News at Ten BBC London News Take That on Tour Mrs. Brown's Boys BBC London News Celebrity Mastermind A Question of Sport EastEnders Snow Chick Boomers BBC News at Ten BBC London News Peter Kay's Car Share Mrs. Brown's Boys

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MasterChef: The Professionals The Great British Bake Off Christmas Masterclass Russell Howard's Good News Newsnight Journey Down the Yukon: A Soldier's Challenge Mastermind An Island Parish: Falklands Alex Polizzi: Hire Our Heroes The Clare Balding Show Newsnight Artificial Intelligence: AI Japan: Earth's Enchanted Island Porridge Rudolf Nureyev Dance to Freedom QI XL James Brown: Mr Dynamite Soulboy This is BBC Two

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Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em Flog It! The Good Life University Challenge To the Manor Born Safe Haven Live at the Apollo Family Guy The Javone Prince Show

4:00pm 6:00pm Santa 7:00pm 7:15pm 7:30pm 8:30pm 11:05pm 11:20pm

Nativity 2: Danger in the Manger! University Challenge Only Connect Gorilla Family and Me Mock the Week Russell Howard's Good News The Javone Prince Show Country Strife

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Back in Time for Christmas University Challenge MasterChef: The Professionals We're Doomed! The Dad's Army Story QI Alpha Papa The Javone Prince Show

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Back in Time for Christmas Gorilla Family and Me University Challenge MasterChef: The Professionals Christmas Shopping Fever: John Lewis and the Retail Race Goodness Gracious Me - India Special 2015 Top of the Pops 2

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ITV News London ITV Evening News Emmerdale Tonight Emmerdale Coronation Street The Nation's Favourite Bond Song ITV News The World According to Kenny Everett

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ITV Evening News Emmerdale Coronation Street Text Santa Christmas Jumper Day ITV News The Best Bits Jackpot247 The Jeremy Kyle Show USA

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ITV News and Weather Keep it in the Family Christmas Special The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey The Jonathan Ross Show ITV News and Weather Notting Hill

2:00pm 2:30pm 5:00pm 5:10pm 5:40pm 6:10pm 8:00pm

Midsomer Murders Tipping Point for Text ITV News London Regional News and Weather Jekyll and Hyde The Sound of Music Live ITV News and Weather Love Actually

7:00pm 7:30pm 8:00pm 8:30pm 10:00pm 11:00pm 12:05am

9:00pm 11:30pm 2:30am 2:25pm 4:15pm 6:10pm 6:30pm 7:00pm 9:00pm 10:00pm 11:00pm 12:00am

Emmerdale Coronation Street The Making of the Sound of Music Live Coronation Street BAFTA Celebrates Downton Abbey ITV News at Ten and Weather Music and Lyrics Jackpot247

6:00pm 7:00pm 7:30pm 8:00pm 9:00pm

The Chase ITV News London ITV Evening News Emmerdale Tonight Midsomer Murders ITV News at Ten and Weather The Jonathan Ross Show Mickey Blue Eyes

7:00pm 7:30pm 8:00pm 9:00pm

ITV News London ITV Evening News Emmerdale Coronation Street All Star Mr and Mrs Prey ITV News at Ten and Weather Bridget Jones's Diary Jackpot247

8:00pm

10:00pm 11:00pm 12:10am

10:00pm 11:00pm 12:00am

9:00pm 10:00pm 11:00pm 12:00am 1:00am

The Simpsons Hollyoaks Channel 4 News The Secret Life of Children at Christmas First Dates Very British Problems at Christmas Gogglebox

8:00pm 9:00pm 10:00pm 11:00pm 12:00am

Posh Pawnbrokers Couples Come Dine with Me The Simpsons Hollyoaks Channel 4 News TFI Friday Gogglebox Alan Carr: Chatty Man First Dates

6:30pm 7:00pm 7:30pm 8:00pm

The Simpsons Channel 4 Racing Channel 4 News The Simpsons The Simpsons Arthur Christmas The World's Weirdest Weather Star Trek Watchmen TFI Friday

7:55pm

9:00pm 10:00pm 12:15am 1:15am

Crazy Christmas Compulsives Alex Polizzi's Italian Islands Ben Fogle: New Lives in the Snow Christmas on the Poverty Line Can't Pay? We'll Take it Away at Christmas

7:00pm 7:30pm

5 News at 5 Neighbours 5 News Tonight Ultimate Strongman Masters World Championships 2015 Ice Road Truckers Con Air Caught on Camera Super Casino

1:45pm 2:00pm

8:00pm 8:30pm 11:00pm 11:30pm 12:00am

6:00pm 6:30pm 7:00pm 8:00pm 11:00pm 12:00am

8:55pm 9:55pm 10:00pm 11:30pm 12:55am

Hachi: A Dog's Tale The Addams Family Channel 4 News Ice Age: A Mammoth Christmas Home Alone Bear Goes Wild with Barack Obama Homeland Gogglebox Four Christmases

1:00pm 2:35pm 4:20pm 6:05pm 7:45pm 7:50pm

Come Dine with Me The Simpsons Hollyoaks Channel 4 News Food Unwrapped at Christmas The Rich Kids of Instagram Fargo Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance

7:00pm

10:00pm 12:10am

7:55pm 9:00pm 10:00pm 1:00am

The Simpsons Hollyoaks Channel 4 News How the Rich Live Longer The Supervet at Christmas That's So Last Century The Children Who Beat Ebola

7:55pm

World's Strongest Man 2015 GPs: Behind Closed Doors Can't Pay? We'll Take it Away! Christmas with Britain's Biggest Family On Benefits: Cashing in for Christmas Michael Buble's Christmas Songbook

6:00pm

9:00pm

10:00pm 11:00pm 1:50am

6:30pm 7:00pm 7:30pm 8:00pm 9:00pm 11:25pm 12:25am

Crackers About Christmas Michael Buble's Christmas Songbook 5 News Weekend Football League Tonight Britain's Favourite Abba Songs ABBA: Live in Concert

1:00pm 3:45pm 4:00pm 6:00pm 9:00pm 11:00pm 12:30am

Surf's Up The Christmas Switch Christmas in the City Pinocchio 5 News Weekend Hellboy II: The Golden Army War of the Worlds Britain's Favourite Christmas Songs

7:00am 8:30am 10:00am

Kids' Hospital at Christmas Revisited World's Strongest Man 2015 Chris Tarrant on the Polar Express All New Shocking Moments in Pop 2 Autopsy: The Last Hours of Amy Winehouse

4:00pm

World's Strongest Man 2015 The Dog Rescuers Christmas Special with Alan Davies Michael Buble's Christmas 2015 Greatest Ever Christmas Movies Crackers About Christmas How I Met Your Mother How I Met Your Mother The Big Bang Theory The Big Bang Theory Hollyoaks The Twilight Saga: Eclipse Supernatural The Big Bang Theory

11:30am 1:30pm 4:30pm 7:30pm 12:00am 12:30am

5:30pm 6:00pm 7:00pm 8:00pm 12:00am 12:30am 6:00pm 6:30pm 7:00pm 7:30pm 8:00pm 12:00am

5:15pm 5:30pm 6:00pm 7:00pm 7:30pm 8:00pm 12:00am 12:15am 12:30am

Premier League Fantasy Football Club Highlights Barclays Premier League World Football Barclays Premier League World La Liga Show 2015 Football Gold Football Gold World Darts Championship La Liga Show 2015 Game Changers The Fantasy Football Club Football The Fantasy Football Club Football Gold Football Sky Sports Boxing Gold 2013 Sky Sports Boxing Gold 2013 Ford Saturday Night Football SNF: Game of the Day SNF: Match Choice SNF: Match Choice SNF: Match Choice SNF: Match Choice The Sunday Supplement Goals on Sunday Ford Super Sunday Ford Super Sunday World Darts Championship Big Bash League Big Bash League Ford Football Special Fantasy Football Club Highlights Soccer A.M. - The Best Bits To be Announced Ford Monday Night Football SPFL Round Up Football League Goals Fantasy Football Club Highlights SPFL Round Up Premier League 100 Club Fantasy Football Club Highlights World Darts Championship Premier League 100 Club Football Gold Fantasy Football Club Highlights Soccer A.M. - The Best Bits Sporting Triumphs Sporting Triumphs World Darts Championship Darts Gold - Legends Darts Gold - Legends Darts Gold - Legends

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17 - 23 December 2015/ Mallorca

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Famous quote

This week

MADDOCKS’ VIEW ON LIFE

‘

Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a wonderful stroke of luck. Dalai Lama

in history 218 BC - Punic War: Hannibal’s Carthaginian forces defeat those of the Roman Republic 283 - St Gaius begins his reign as Catholic Pope 1154 - King Henry II of England is crowned 1192 - Richard the Lionheart is captured in Vienna 1538 - Pope Paul II excommunicates King Henry VIII of England 1620 - 103 Mayflower pilgrims from England land at Plymouth Rock 1799 - America’s first president George Washington’s body interred at Mount Vernon 1843 - ‘A Christmas Carol’ by Charles Dickens is published and 6,000 copies are sold 1882 - First string of Christmas tree lights created by Thomas Edison 1888 - Vincent van Gogh cuts off his left ear with a razor, and sends it to a prostitute 1892 - Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s ballet ‘Nutcracker Suite’ premieres 1903 - Orville Wright achieves the first sustained motorised aircraft flight 1917 - Soviet security force (forerunner to the KGB,) ‘Cheka’ is formed after decree by Lenin 1941 - Adolf Hitler takes complete command of German Army 1956 - Martin Luther King and others sit in the new integrated bus 1957 - Elvis Presley given draft notice to join US Army for National Service 1960 - Frank Sinatra’s first session with Reprise Records (Ring-A-DingDing) 1965 - ‘Doctor Zhivago’ starring Omar Sharif and Julie Christie premieres in NYC 1965 - Great Britain sets national maximum road speed at 70 miles per hour 1966 - Britain’s favourite rock n roll TV show ‘Ready Steady Go’ airs last programme 1972 - US begins its heaviest bombing of North Vietnam

Women’s wit

‘

We’ve begun to long for the pitter-patter of little feet - so we bought a dog. Well, it’s cheaper, and you get more feet.” Rita Rudner

World of English

‘

The soldier decided to desert his dessert in the desert. Since there is no time like present, he thought it was time to present the present.

‘ NO MORE CALLS - FAR TOO BUSY CREATING THE CHRISTMAS NUMBER ONE! ´

Kakuro

for next 7 days

Mallorca

weather

Fill all the empty squares using the numbers 1 to 9, so that the sum of each horizontal block equals the ‘clue’ on its left, and the sum of each vertical block equals the clue on its top. No number may be used in the same block more than once.

TODAY ALCUDIA

POLLENÇA

CALA MILLOR

INCA

CALVIA

CALA d’OR

PALMA ANDRATX

LLUCMAJOR MAGALLUF

TOMORROW ALCUDIA

POLLENÇA CALVIA

INCA

PALMA

CALA MILLOR

CALA d’OR

ANDRATX

LAST WEEK’S SOLUTION

LLUCMAJOR MAGALLUF

Fri Sat Sun -

Benidorm

CLOUDY MAX 21C, MIN 13C MAX MIN

21 12 C 19 12 S 19 11 S

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

CLOUDY MAX 21C, MIN 13C MAX MIN

Fri Sat Sun -

23 13 S 22 13 S 22 12 S

Mon - 21 13 S Tues - 21 12 S Wed - 21 12 Cl

Fri Sat Sun -

17 9 C 18 11 S 17 11 C S Sun,

21 12 C 22 13 Cl 19 11 Cl

MAX MIN

Mon - 18 8 Sh Tues - 18 9 Cl Wed - 18 9 Cl

Madrid

CLOUDY MAX 18C, MIN 9C MAX MIN

MAX MIN

Mon - 17 9 C Tues - 18 8 S Wed - 18 9 S Cl Clear,

TODAY:

Fog,

24 13 Cl 21 12 S 20 11 S

TODAY:

CLOUDY MAX 20C, MIN 9C MAX MIN

Fri Sat Sun -

20 8 C 19 8 S 19 7 Cl

CLOUDY MAX 18C, MIN 6C

17 5 C 18 6 S 17 6 S C Cloudy,

TODAY:

MAX MIN

Mon - 17 6 S Tues - 17 5 S Wed - 16 5 Cl

MAX MIN

Mon - 19 7 S Tues - 19 8 Cl Wed - 19 8 C

Sh Showers,

CLOUDY MAX 25C, MIN 11C MAX MIN

Fri Sat Sun -

26 9 S 24 9 S 22 9 C Sn Snow,

UK NATIONAL LOTTERY

UK THUNDERBALL

IRISH LOTTO

Saturday December 12

EURO MILLIONS

LA PRIMITIVA

EL GORDO DE LA PRIMITIVA

MAX MIN

Mon - 21 12 S Tues - 19 12 Cl Wed - 19 11 C

Murcia

MAX MIN

Fri Sat Sun -

MAX MIN

Fri Sat Sun -

Mallorca

MAX MIN

Fri Sat Sun -

CLOUDY MAX 23C, MIN 13C

TODAY:

MAX MIN

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

CLOUDY MAX 22C, MIN 10C

TODAY:

MAX MIN

Barcelona TODAY:

21 13 Cl 20 12 S 19 12 C

Bilbao

Almeria TODAY:

MAX MIN

Fri Sat Sun -

Malaga

CLOUDY MAX 21C, MIN 13C

TODAY:

MAX MIN

Mon - 22 9 C Tues - 21 10 Cl Wed - 22 9 C Th Thunder

LOTTERY

Alicante TODAY:

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

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Friday December 11

5 25

Saturday December 12

Sunday December 13

5 13

BONUS BALL

THUNDERBALL

BONUS BALL

LUCKY STARS

REINTEGRO

E W N 17 - 23 December 2015/ Mallorca

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From BAFTA award-winning director Asif Kapadia (SENNA), AMY tells the incredible story of six-time Grammy winner Amy Winehouse in her own words. Featuring extensive unseen archive footage and previously unheard tracks, this strikingly modern, moving and vital film shines a light on the world we live in, in a way that very few can. A once-in-a-generation talent, Amy Winehouse was a musician that captured the world’s attention. A pure jazz artist in the most authentic sense, she wrote and sung from the heart using her musical gifts to analyse her own problems.

Alejandro Sanz, December 18, Singer Alejandro Sanchez Pizarro, better known by his stage name Alejandro Sanz is a Spanish singer, songwriter and musician who has sold over 25 million albums worldwide.

Pope Francis I, December 17, Religious Leader, 79 Argentinian religious leader who became Pope when he took over from Benedict XVI in March 2013 and has become well known for his lack of pomp, walking and talking with people in the street. Richard Hammond, December 19, TV Presenter, 46 Broadcast journalist, writer, and entertainer who co-hosted Top Gear with James May and Jeremy Clarkson on the BBC before the show was taken off the air. Is now filming a new series based on the same concept for Amazon. Uri Geller, December 20, Magician, 69 Psychic and magician known for his trademark mental spoon-bending feats as well as stopping clocks and watches by thought alone. Chris Evert, December 21, Tennis Player, 61 Chris Evert is a former World No 1 professional tennis player from the United States who won 18 Grand Slam singles championships and three doubles titles. Known for her rivalry with Martina Navratilova. Noel Edmonds, December 22, DJ and TV Host, 67 Former Radio 1 DJ and television presenter who hosted Deal or No Deal and Are You Smarter Than a Ten Year Old as well as Noel’s House Party and numerous other entertainment shows. Carla Bruni, December 23, Former Supermodel, 48 Italian born singer and supermodel who found additional fame by marrying ex-French president Nicolas Sarkozy in 2008.

Just Joking

Unscramble the name of a famous film (three words): FACE A REAL RAINBOW

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 (CENTRE) and one letter in four other cells are given as clues.

ASTUTE BEATEN BILLET CAREEN CENTRE (10) CHALET CHASTE CLOSER CREAKY EVENTS

HOLLOW LETTER LINGUA QUAVER RUSSET SHRIFT STRAIN STRICT SULFUR

LAST WEEK’S SOLUTION 1 Thirst 2 Mortal 3 Gorgon 4 Lambda 5 Reason 6 Frenzy 7 Feeble 8 Cringe 9 Derail 10 Friend 11 Screen 12 Redial 13 Versus 14 Walrus 15 Violin 16 Around 17 Herald 18 Prison 19 Adores

YOUR STARS CAPRICORN (December 22 - January 20) Contact with a less than ideal situation makes you realise just how lucky you are. It has been clear that the weeks are changeable and your situation at the moment far from settled. Pity those whose day-to-day life is completely predictable. AQUARIUS (January 21 - February 19) This being a family oriented month, much of it may be spent getting together with relatives and going over old times. Perhaps you are compiling a photo album for older members of the family or vice versa. PISCES (February 20 - March 20) An exciting invitation may set tongues wagging and make a loved one jealous. You, meanwhile, are quite bemused by the whole thing. What comes out of this week is that you are of considerable value to others. The mere thought of you not being around sends ripples through your social circle. ARIES (March 21 - April 20) Being asked to take on a new and demanding task this week may see you wishing that you had been less visible. TAURUS (April 21 - May 21) An interest in technology is not

SAGITTARIUS

(November 23 - December 21)

Sometimes, you find it hard to do things just for the pure enjoyment of it. Realise that not everything has to have a purpose or a profit. Look round this week and seek out something that will please your senses and bring a smile to your lips. something new to you. What is great, though, is that the penny has suddenly dropped. This week sees you understanding more and wanting to know more. GEMINI (May 22 - June 21) An urge to get moving must mean that the new year is round the corner. Certainly, you are questioning where you want to be in the months ahead. A house move or work placement may be on your mind. CANCER (June 22 - July 23) Be aware that not everyone is willing to work as hard as you. When approached by someone wanting you to trust them, be sure of their motives. Do what you feel is right but remain firmly in control, especially financially. It may not be the time to make a particular move, although others think that it is. There’s no problem with discussing things and talking them through.

EURO WEEKLY’S SPACE FOR YOU TO TAKE A BREA

9-Star Quiz

When I was young, I used to eat a lot because my parents told me that fat kids are harder to kidnap.

Unscramble the name of a British journalist, newsreader and television presenter: OUR CAB FINE

TIME

CALL ME A CAB All the answers begin with the letters CAB 1. In the UK, Canada and other Commonwealth countries, what name is given to the committee of senior government ministers responsible for controlling government policy? 2. In the US, what name is given to a car on a freight train, usually the last car on the train, for use of the train crew? 3. The 1972 film version of which musical, starring Liza Minnelli as Sally Bowles, Michael York as Brian Roberts and Joel Grey as the Emcee, featured the songs Wilkommen and The Money Song? 4. What name is often applied to an, often secret, clique that seeks power usually through intrigue? 5. What was the name of the Italian explorer who led the English expedition in 1497 that discovered the mainland of North America and explored the coast from Nova Scotia to Newfoundland? 6. Which British politician was the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills from 2010 to 2015 and the MP for Twickenham from 1997 until losing his seat in the 2015 election? 7. Which esoteric theosophy of rabbinical origin based on the Hebrew Scriptures was developed between the seventh and 18th centuries? 8. Which line of copyrighted soft sculpture dolls was created by 21-year-old American art student Xavier Roberts in 1978? They were originally called Little People and were ‘adopted’ rather than ‘sold’ and each came with its own adoption paper and birth certificate. 9. Which small two-wheeled horse-drawn carriage had two seats and a folding hood? Not a lot of people know that… the real name of the American jazz singer and bandleader Cab Calloway was Cabell Calloway III 1. CABINET, 2. CABOOSE, 3. CABARET, 4. CABAL, 5. John CABOT (Giovanni CABOTO), 6. Vince CABLE, 7. CABBALAH, CABALA or CABBALA (can also be spelt KABBALAH and QABBALAH), 8. CABBAGE PATCH KIDS, 9. CABRIOLET

The Amy Winehouse story

Funagram

FUNAGRAM SOLUTION: LAWRENCE OF ARABIA, FIONA BRUCE.

NEW ON DVD

SPONSORED BY

LEO (July 24 - August 23) Social demands are made, but try to shuffle them to the weekend. Be diplomatic or someone close could become irritated. Keep an eye on the small print because something fundamental may have changed in a long-standing arrangement. Suddenly, at the weekend, you are thrust into the limelight.

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

TARGET:

VIRGO (August 24 - September 23) Be aware that leopards do not change their spots, they merely hide them. Those who demand your trust need a cool checking out and don't be afraid to say ‘no’ as and when necessary. LIBRA (September 24 - October 23) Career and home are in disharmony but a bit of compromise soon sorts things out. You don’t like playing the ‘bad guy,’ but honesty is also important to you. Speaking your mind can be liberating although, initially, you may see it as a nuisance and embarrassing. SCORPIO (October 24 - November 22) Someone with a larger-than-life imagination makes you smile but that was not their intention. Try to be diplomatic and steer them in a different direction. Some feelings of loneliness will not be assuaged by working more. Perhaps it is time to consider taking on a pet or giving a current pet more attention.

Average: 5 Good: 7 Very good: 10 Excellent: 12

LAST WEEK’S SOLUTION abed abet abut bade band bane bate batt baud bead bean beat beau been beet bend bene bent beta bunt butt daub debt tabu tuba tube bated beaut butte debut tubed batted batten beaten betted bunted butane butene butted debate abetted abutted battened DEBUTANTE

A HEAD FULL OF DREAMS Coldplay NOT many albums in recent memory have suffered from more saddening advance publicity than Coldplay’s A Head Full of Dreams. It’s the seventh studio album by the slick British rock band, and was released on December 4, 2015 by Parlophone. Frontman Chris Martin hinted at the style of the album by saying the band was trying to make something colourful and uplifting, He also stated that it would something to “shuffle your feet2 to. Buy it, try it, fly it! You won’t be disappointed.

AK, BE INFORMED AND ENJOY A CHALLENGE

Crossword

Enjoy filling in the following puzzles and check the answers in next week’s edition

LAST WEEK’S SOLUTIONS

CRYPTIC

Quick

Cryptic

Across: 1 Chelsea, 5 Smile, 8 Phone, 9 Sellers, 10 Demitasse, 12 Ran, 13 Paltry, 14 Strafe, 17 Rod, 18 Prevalent, 20 Travail, 21 Swain, 23 Scale, 24 Setters.

Across 1 Long John gets medal for second place (6) 4 Non-believers keeping a grand in cooking pots (6) 9 Hates having to change in a hurry (5) 10 I am sane, suffering loss of memory (7) 11 Mice and fish at sea are trouble (8) 12 Temptation found in Cuba, Italy and France (4) 14 Points to Rene being calm (6) 16 Prevents the desert crumbling (6) 19 Spots rook next to tree (4) 20 Unbelievers present at robberies (8) 23 Pull a face, seeing depressing card (7) 24 Have the same opinion as eager drunk (5) 25 Bears damaged lid? Yes (6) 26 Dislike of French examination (6)

Down: 1 Coped, 2 Ego, 3 Sweater, 4 Assess, 5 Solve, 6 Inebriate, 7 Essence, 11 Melodrama, 13 Pirates, 15 Transit, 16 Realms, 18 Place, 19 Tunis, 22 Aye.

QUICK Across:

Down 1 Plots get revolutionary leader in a terrible mess (7) 2 Registers mediaeval tournaments (5) 3 The plane might be a Jumbo (8) 5 Nora Batty, flower of Italy! (4) 6 Quiet, it’s made from sausage (7) 7 Tin found in street is barely sufficient (5) 8 Broken heads in the underworld (5) 13 Damaged ears need the evening air (8)

Code Breaker

EWN

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OUT

17 - 23 December 2015/ Mallorca

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15 Delay concerning impish chap right away (7) 17 Have doubts about American political leader in religious order (7) 18 It’s metal crime, reportedly (5) 19 Stone outside good school (5) 21 Start court proceedings (5) 22 African money from Brandenburg (4)

Each number in the Code Breaker grid represents a different letter of the alphabet. In this week’s puzzle, 19 represents P and 26 represents Z, so fill in P every time the figure 19 appears and Z every time the figure 26 appears. Now, using your knowledge of the English language, work out which letters should go in the missing squares. As you discover the letters, fill in other squares with the same number in the main grid and the control grid.

Across 1 Flexible water pipe (4) 3 Very unpleasant (8) 9 Contracts (7) 10 Gets healthy again (5) 11 Changes for the better (12) 13 Modulation of the voice (6) 15 Free from harm or evil (6) 17 In spite of that (12) 20 Similar (5) 21 Gambling money on (7) 22 Qualified for by right according to law (8) 23 Requests information about (4)

Down 1 Infirmary (8) 2 Small fragment (5) 4 Not tired (6) 5 Accomplishments (12) 6 Excessively agitated (7) 7 Most recent (4) 8 Formal public statement (12) 12 Communications (8) 14 Pharmacy (7) 16 Firm and dependable (6) 18 Departs (5) 19 Create (4)

1 Designs, 5 Tales, 8 Examine, 9 Stars, 10 Steep, 11 Dislike, 12 Tested, 14 Ragged, 17 Arrange, 19 Tanks, 22 Tease, 23 Scatter, 24 Rests, 25 Satisfy. Down: 1 Dress, 2 Spare, 3 Glimpse, 4 Steady, 5 Tasks, 6 Leaving, 7 Suspend, 12 Tractor, 13 Screams, 15 Attract, 16 Messes, 18 Needs, 20 Notes, 21 Sorry.

ENGLISHSPANISH Across:

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

1 Sharks, 4 Arma, 8 Enemy, 9 Rinse, 10 Bee, 11 Trato, 12 Sacks, 15 Ace, 16 Traer, 18 Nurse, 19 Apio, 20 Espejo. Down: 1 Sheet, 2 Arena, 3 Keyboard, 5 Ron, 6 Axe, 7 Presents, 13 Carne, 14 Suelo, 16 Tia, 17 Ahi.

CODE BREAKER

Across 1 Tiendas (5) 3 Strawberry (fruit, plant) (5) 7 Pink (colour) (6) 9 Water (4) 10 Courgette (9) 13 Classroom (4) 14 Anchovy (salted, tinned) (6) 16 To open (5) 17 Goodbye (5)

Down 1 Seguro (convencido) (4) 2 Guisante (3) 4 Inglés (7) 5 Abbot (4) 6 To change (7) 8 Más pequeño (7) 11 Straw (agriculture) (4) 12 Orejas (4) 15 Bacalao (3)

E W N 17 - 23 December 2015/ Mallorca

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PRESIDENT Jack Ryan and his allies face a treacherous foe threatening to unleash chaos around the globe. . . When Russian President Valeri Volodin’s ambitions are foiled in Dagestan, he faces a difficult choice. The oligarchs who support him expect a constant flow of graft, but with energy prices cratering, the Russian economy sputters to a virtual halt. Unable to grow the Russian market at home, his hold on power relies on expansion abroad - a plan that has been thwarted by the United States in the past. books@euroweeklynews.com

WITH the launch of the new Star Wars film The Force Awakens, tomorrow, there is bound to be a brand new villain or two we will love to hate. However, before the new ‘Evil Ones’ take over the mantle of ‘Nastiest people in the Universe,’ we decided to take a look back over the last three decades of Star Wars wickedness to see if the new generation will be able to match up. They will have to go a long way to ‘Out Baddie’ some of these guys: 1 Darth Vader THE baddest of the bad, the evilest of the evil, Darth Vader was not only the first villain introduced in Star Wars, he is also the most dangerous in the universe. Just the sound of his breath makes his enemies quake. Anybody who would try to kill his own son, commands the powers of the dark side, can crush your windpipe with a flick of his fingers, and speaks like James Earl Jones makes him Number One for us. 2 Emperor Palpatine Palpatine, also known as Darth Sidious, is a Sith Lord of extraordinary power with great patience and cunning. Sidious is the evil that is right in front of you that you somehow can’t see. The man you think is a mentor, but is actually trying to destroy you. Not only was he responsible for the deaths of the majority of Jedi Knights, but he is also the man who turned a sweet little blonde haired boy into the darkest and most evil villain in the Universe. 3 Boba Fett There is no Star Wars villain cooler than Boba Fett. The Mandalorian warrior is known as one of the best bounty hunters in the galaxy. His cold blooded killing skills and total indifference to life and death make him a perfect tool for the likes of Jabba the Hutt and Darth Vader. 4 Grand Moff Tarkin Peter Cushing starred alongside Darth Vader as Tarkin in Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope. He was responsible for commanding the Empires forces and its most destructive weapon: the Death Star. It is Tarkin who killed millions of people without blinking an eye as he destroys Princess Leia’s homeland of Alderaan, and forces her to watch, as a means to pry the location of the rebel base from her. 5 Count Dooku Count Dooku, (played by Christopher Lee) also known as Darth Tyranus, is another

Sudoku

Asphalt 8: Airborne Free for Android Asphalt 8: Airborne is a great free racing game on mobile right now. It skips all pretensions of realism and provides an over-the-top, highoctane game with all the fixings. Players can work their way through the career mode, unlock new rides, upgrade the ones they have, or take the competition online in staggered or live multiplayer.

Play on Words STONE

T T +T 3T

STONE

Darth Vader. Sith Lord under the direction of Darth Sidious, and a talented Jedi Knight who was seduced by the dark side of the force. Dooku is a master of manipulation and a brutal warrior. He murdered his old friend SifoDyas in order to control the clone army. 6 General Grievous General Grievous is an ominous Star Wars villain. Part human (or in this case, Kaleesh) and part machine. As a Kaleesh warrior, Grievous was the epitome of a soldier until his transformation into a cyborg warrior made him a whole lot more. Throughout the Clone Wars, Grievous commands the droid army and is not only a cunning military strategist; he is also a dangerous warrior. Aided by his metal body, Grievous uses four lightsabers at once to ferociously and mercilessly attack his foes in battle. 7 Darth Maul The red skinned, red eyed and horned Darth Maul is a Sith Lord trained by none other than Darth Sidious. Maul is a master in the ways of the dark side and a talented assassin. He is also a master in the martial arts, (as Obi-Wan Kenobi and Qui-Gon Ginn found out.) As if Maul’s scary physical appearance and ferocious fighting style isn’t enough, the proof of his pure evil is in the fact he killed children simply to get the

attention of the man he sought to kill. 8 Jabba The Hutt Jabba the Hutt is one giant slug you do not want to cross. Jabba is the gangster that put Han Solo (who was in carbonite at the time) up on his wall after he failed to repay a debt. The big, greasy loan shark runs a crime syndicate on Tatooine, and enjoys keeping slaves as pets… before feeding them to his giant Rancor for entertainment. 9 The Sand People Not so much an obvious evil but more like a cancerous plague, the sand people are scavengers with the combined traits of a pack of hyenas and the morals of a vulture. The natural cowards will prey on and kill anything they come across to either; eat it, sell it or destroy it. That’s evil! 10 Saarlac Maybe not classified as a ‘Bad Guy’ but certainly an evil entity, Sarlacc the pit monster possesses massive tendrils and teeth that spread out over the area of a huge pit. Lying in wait to drag in anything that moves, once captured, the victim is dragged into the sarlacc’s stomach to be digested. As Jabba tells us, “In his belly, you will find a new definition of pain and suffering as you are slowly digested over a… thousand years.”

Boggled How many English words can you find in the Boggled grid, according to the following rules? The letters must be adjoining in a ‘chain’. They can be adjacent horizontally, vertically or diagonally. Words must contain at least four letters and may include singular and plural or other derived forms. No letter may be used more than once within a single word, unless it appears twice. No vulgarities or proper nouns are permitted.

TARGET: Average: 33 Good: 43 Very good: 62 Excellent: 77

SCORING: 4 letters: 1 point • 5 letters: 2 points 6 letters: 3 points • 7 letters: 4 points 8 or more letters: 11 points

LAST WEEK’S SOLUTION feet fore fores foes teen tier tiers brook brooks noes ores fief field feel felt roes reef reel rose role rook rooks errs elks jeer jeers prof prone pros prose pose poser poor pool spree spore spool spook sore sole sold slop left leer leers lees lore lores lose loser loop loose loosen looser look tees lops vole volt

Word Ladder WORK

LAST WEEK’S SOLUTION

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.

App of the Week

Answers:Cornerstones, Teetotal.

Commander in chief

Star Wars Villains

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

DAYS BACK

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

WARS WAYS DAYS

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WORK WORN (WORM) WARN (WARM)

17 - 23 December 2015 / Mallorca

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The simple idiom ‘live and let live’ would ensure survival

EWN

OUR VIEW

BUT the self-destructive side of humans means this would never happen Lukasz Z / Shutterstock.com

Colin Bird A weekly look Each week, Colin brings his slightly off-thewall view of the world to the pages of EWN in his own irreverent style.

WE live in a world of absolutes, a world of certainties. David Cameron knows that he is absolutely right and Jeremy Corbyn is certain of his stance. Equally, Putin versus Obama, et al. Dedicated Christians are rock solid in their beliefs and Muslims know without a doubt that Islam is the one true religion. The same can be said about the countless other religions of the world. Only their own faith represents truth and light and therefore the followers of all other doctrines are infidels, heretics and Godless heathens. Atheists are equally adamant in their non-belief of

DEDICATION: There are still people who help others, regardless of their colour or creed. a supreme being or beings, and can be as vitriolic and intolerant as the best of them. Some of the angriest people I have ever met are committed atheists. This intolerance, aka bigotry, shows itself in a variety

of ways, through wars and the domination of nations by force of arms, brutal beheadings, mutilations and the many ingenious and inhuman ways of torture devised by the Holy Inquisition, and its counterparts in other European coun-

tries in the Middle Ages. There are also more subtle ways of persuasion. When the Mormons and Witnesses come calling, the smiles and friendly manner do nothing to detract from their core message that failure to convert or

the acceptance of a blood transfusion will mean a oneway ticket to the fiery pit. It is simply intolerance in another guise. The vast majority of humanity wants nothing more than to live in peace and security and coexist with their fellow men and women, indeed there are still those of all nationalities who dedicate themselves to helping others without conditions, regardless of colour or creed. If the combined resources of the human race were utilised and used for the good of all, disease would be wiped out, wars would be a thing of the past and famine become an out-of-date concept. The simple idiom ‘live and let live’ is the tenet that would ensure our survival, but the self-destructive side of human nature ensures this will never happen.

Effects of Schengen breakdown STRENGTH of the Euro could be hurt and may even be rejected by some member states

WITH the problems of migrants and refugees rushing to Europe and the recent Paris atrocities, six of the 26 members of Schengen, which allows free movement across member’s borders, have reintroduced some form of new border control. Austria, Germany, Hungary, Slovakia and Sweden are the only countries so far to officially restrict movement across their borders, but if the flood of migrants continues then others including Belgium, Greece and Italy could well follow suit. France has also decided for different and understandable reasons to impose sporadic checks on those entering the country. The decisions seem to be quite reasonable considering what has happened in the past year, but there are ramifications which need to be considered as they could have a serious impact upon the economy of every member of the EU, and the actual strength of the Euro. Inter-European trade has grown phenomenally since the introduction of Schengen, and as most of the cross-border movement of goods is by road, then

Credit Diego Menna Wikimedia

By John Smith

BORDER CONTROLS: Six members of Schengen have tightened security.

Photo Credit Aleksei Posov Shutterstock

OPINION & COMMENT

PRESENTS: Donations.

Thinking of others AS we approach Christmas, it is very interesting to see the wealth of stories that come in concerning the number of Christmas lunches and fundraisers that are taking place, and where the funds raised are being directed. During the past year there has been a great deal of activity with regards to animals, and cancer, but it is interesting that as we get closer to Christmas there have been a number of activities across all regions we cover raising funds for children. A large number of our readers have been involved in assisting the underprivileged to ensure they and especially their children enjoy Christmas Day with gifts and food. At this time of year, children receive so many gifts they often can’t cope with them all. A number of organisations have collection points for new and good quality used toys, many suggesting they be pre-wrapped with an indication of whether they are for a boy or girl, with an approximation of the appropriate age range. There has been a great deal of activity to obtain food for food banks with volunteers collecting food at supermarkets to ensure they are well stocked for Christmas. Others are organising meals, not just for the poor, but also those who have no family to share the day with. If anyone wants to offer their services to help cook food or is looking for somewhere to go and spend the day, it shouldn’t be too difficult to find an option through one of the many local charities and religious groups.

every time a driver has to stop and present documents and perhaps have his vehicle searched, it is going to take time and increase the costs, as well as the risk of perishable goods being ruined. That is just one example and there are more. With free movement across borders, there has been a large (several million) number of cross-border commuters and in Luxembourg which has become an important financial centre, many of the staff working there actually live in Belgium, France or Germany. The attraction of working there could disappear if queues become onerous. An additional problem would be the building of border posts on new roads, and the hiring and training of additional customs and immigration staff to man those posts, as well as those on old roads too. All of this comes at a financial cost but there is also the fact that Europe would once again be divided, which Now we goes wholly against the spirit of the want to Union and with division, one could see hear your views. that the strength of the Euro could be hurt, and may even be rejectYOUR PAPER - YOUR VOICE ed by some member states if it - YOUR OPINION falls dramatically against the dollar, www.euroweeklynews.com the pound and other currencies.

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17 - 23 December 2015

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Patrizia Sassu international hair design OWNER is half German and half Italian with a wealth of salon experience PATRIZIA SASSU is half German, half Italian and a hair stylist who loves her job! p“I love absolutely everything about what I do and I believe this is what makes my salon special because I treat all my customers like my own family,” says Patrizia. Based in Santa Ponsa, Patrizia has been making people happy there for the past nine years. Before Mallorca, she worked in salons in Germany, Italy and London, and not only has a wealth of experience in cutting hair, but also in dealing with different nationalities which gives her a special understanding of what makes people tick.

CUTTING HAIR: Patrizia previously worked in salons in Germany, Italy and London. “Being based in Santa Ponsa means we see a lot of nationalities and with my background and experience, that makes us a truly interna-

tional salon,” says Patrizia. Patrizia and her professional staff offer the latest in trendy haircuts and designs, as well as the best in hair

extensions by Hairdreams. Patrizia explains: “We also offer hair straightening and we sell the popular GHD straighteners and hair

dryers plus a great selection of hair products.” Whatever your age, Patrizia and her team will make you feel special. There’s a glass of cava for the adults upon arrival and toys for younger children. Cutting children’s hair is fun too and Patrizia enjoys showing her Italian mama personality for the little ones! “My own speciality is offering hair conditioning treatments” says Patrizia. “The expression ‘our crowning glory’ refers to healthy hair, and if it’s not in good condition unhealthy hair can give problems never mind cause stress, and I want to see all my customers happy.”

For good and healthy hair with a friendly and excellent service, come and visit Patrizia at International Hairdesign. And as one would expect from this family minded woman, she would like to wish all her customers a very merry Christmas and thank them for being great customers! Opening hours: Monday to Friday 10am till 6pm Saturdays 10am till 3pm Sundays and holidays closed Avenida Rey Jaime 109E Santa Ponsa Tel: 971 694 511 Find her on Facebook ‘International Hairdesign Patrizia Sassu’

Have a healthy holiday FitFoxy

Looking Good, Staying Trim

THE festive season is upon us once more, and we are generally going to eat and drink as much as we want. After all, isn’t that what Christmas is all about? The answer is yes, but is there a way of getting through the parties, mince pies and alcohol without completely sabotaging your body and all the hard work you have put into staying in shape? The answer once more is yes, but you will still have to be smart and apply more discipline to your choices when it comes to food and alcohol consumption.

Food: Eat a nutritious Christmas meal complete with all trimmings rather than waste your calories on a tin of Roses. In my book there is nothing unhealthy in a Christmas dinner; you have meat, a mixed array of delicious vegetables, roast potatoes, stuffing and gravy. The body can utilise this healthy fuel and if you have a bigger portion than normal, you can walk it off later if need be. The hidden dangers are the chocolate gifts, rich desserts and festive pastries. Most have no nutritional value whatsoever and are full of unhealthy calories. Alcohol: Not to be the party pooper, but we know there is going to be a fair amount circulating your system. Be kind to your liver by making sensible choices. Spirits are probably the healthiest

choice, providing you pay attention to the measures. Most spirits on their own tend to be a purer form of alcohol and lower in calories (average 98 per serving) compared to other drinks such as beer and cider (average 160-200). Obviously a mixer would need to be a diet form. Wine: Try substituting your 125ml glass of white wine (average 85 cals) for a wine spritzer and half the alcohol and calories over the evening. Beer: Is the one that will give you the classic belly due to its high calorie content (average 225) so take your time with your pint, you have been warned. It is good to let yourself go a little, but just remember that the New Year will be here before you know it and the more pounds you have accumulated the more you’re going to have to burn off.

HEALTH & BEAUTY

Ask The Doctor

17 - 23 December 2015 / Mallorca

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Brought to you by Helicopteros Sanitarios.

What is psoriasis? MINISTRY OF HEALTH: Advised that HIV tests are available for free.

SPECIALIST: Doctor Luis Perez Belmonte. DEAR Doctor, Some strange red patches have appeared on my elbows and a friend who has psoriasis said it looks like that could be what they are. What is psoriasis and why does it appear? Psoriasis is a condition which mainly affects the skin characterised by the appearance of red scaly patches which can be itchy or painful. They often appear on elbows, knees, legs, back, scalp and hands and feet. The causes of psoriasis are still unknown although alterations in the immune system are believed to be behind it. Is it contagious? Can you catch it in a swimming pool? No it isn’t contagious, you won’t catch it at a swimming pool or anywhere else. My friend says her doctor has given her some injections. Are there any effective treatments? Nowadays there are many options to keep psoriasis under control including creams, ultra-

violet light, tablets and even intravenous medications for extreme cases. Do I need to see a dermatologist? Will I need tests? Dermatologists are skin experts and therefore are qualified to diagnose and treat this condition. Usually a simple examination is sufficient for diagnosis although sometimes a biopsy of an affected area may be ordered. Sometimes psoriasis can also affect joints. This requires joint evaluation and control by a specialist in Internal Medicine and a dermatologist. Is there a cure? So far no cure has been found but we have many different treatments to improve the condition. Sunlight and seawater are also very effective. Will my children get it too? Genetics are behind many medical conditions including psoriasis. There is a chance that sufferers’ children will inherit it.

The Coast’s Home GP service - wherever you are - at home - in the office - in the car - on the golf course your GP will get to see you any time, anywhere. A priceless service at an affordable price.

HIV mortality in Spain has fallen in the last 10 years DEATH rate fell by 54 per cent between 2003 and 2013 THE number of patients dying from HIV in Spain has fallen by 54 per cent between 2003 and 2013. That’s according to the Ministry of Health, Social Services and Equality in a statement to mark World AIDS Day. They highlighted the importance of early diagnosis in preventing new infections and starting treatment. In Spain it is estimated that there are currently between 130,000 and 160,000

people infected with HIV, of which between 25 and 30 per cent are undiagnosed. The Ministry of Health advises that those worried can have a HIV test for free and in confidential surroundings. In 2014, 3,366 new cases of the disease were reported, representing a rate of 7.25 per 100,000 population. Most newly diagnosed are male (84.7 per cent) and the median age at diagnosis is 35 years.

The most common route of transmission is sexual with 80 per cent of all cases being transmitted this way. Transmission through needles remained low at 3.4 per cent. Last year, the age group that presented the highest proportion of new diagnoses was between 25 and 34 years, although 13.4 per cent of new cases reported in 2014 were in those aged 50 or older.

Despite the improvements in treatment and fewer people dying from the disease, the Ministry of Health said there still exists situations of discrimination. According to a study, 11.4 per cent of respondents are uncomfortable with living around people with HIV in their neighbourhood, and 11.3 per cent do not want to share their office or work space with someone with the infection.

E W N Mallorca

17 - 23 December 2015

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Annual street Christmas festival enjoyed by all BOUTIQUE market, carol singing and an ice-skating rink By Glynis German PORT ADRIANO is celebrating their annual street Christmas festival with hundreds of happy visitors enjoying the market stalls, food trucks and entertainment on offer. Visitors are able to purchase fair trade products from local charities and learn about the importance of ethical shopping. Whilst parents shop, children can tell Santa Claus what they want for Christmas and be entertained too. Food trucks offer tasty Christmas delicacies and fun can be had by all the family! The festival is open today and tomorrow (Thursday and Friday) from 4pm till 8.30pm. The opening hours over the weekend are from 11am to 9pm and Santa Claus will be there between noon - 2pm and 3pm - 4pm on both days. The festival ends on Sunday (December 20).

SCENE

OCIAL

Short films to be seen on shortest day of the year CINECIUTAT, the people’s cinema in Palma, celebrates the Winter Solstice with what else but a selection of 25 short films. The Shortest Day begins on Monday (December 21) at 6pm and will show films made by young people from all over Mallorca. Palma resident and film director, Sally Fenaux Barleycorn, is excited to show her film Skinhearts, about a future society in which touch is forbidden. The film has already been screened in Menorca, Brussels and Amsterdam and this will be the first screening to the public here in Mallorca! “I can’t wait for Monday so I can look around and see people’s faces whilst they are watching my film,” said Sally. Her next film in already in the hands of a producer. “Let’s see if that will be screened at next year’s event,” wondered Sally.

American rock CHRISTMAS FESTIVAL: Santa takes note of what the children want!

IF American rock music is to your taste, then Fàbrica Ramis in Inca is the place for you tonight (Thursday 17) when Toni Montserrat Inc performs their full band

show. For every two tickets reserved, a free CD is gifted and reservations can be made at cultura@fabric aramis.com. The show starts at 8.30pm.

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Christmas concert THERE will be a collection for the Red Cross to help refugees AN English Christmas carol singalong is promised tomorrow (Friday 18) with The Georgie Insull Singers and Richard Vinton accompanying them on the piano. The con-

cert will take place at the Ses Escolapies Cultural Centre at 8pm. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a free concert and there will be a collection for the Soller Red Cross and their work with refugees.

17 - 23 December 2015 / Mallorca

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E W N 17 - 23 December 2015 / Mallorca

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SOCIAL SCENE

CHILDRENâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S CHOIR: Around 150

Santa L

SWEDISH community ce By Glynis German LAST Sunday, Santa Lucia day was celebrated by the Swedish community of Mallorca, a tradition that the locals have come to enjoy.

17 - 23 December 2015 / Mallorca

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Photo credit Christer Soderberg

SOCIAL SCENE

0 children dressed in white sang a selection of songs in Swedish, English, Spanish and Catalan.

Lucia shines again

elebrated their 30th anniversary this year and was enjoyed by locals This year was the 30th anniversary and around 150 children from the Swedish community, dressed in white, sang a selection of songs in Swedish, English, Spanish and Catalan in Plaza Cort. The protag-

onist, Santa Lucia, wore a crown of candles and made a speech in Mallorcan which was well received, and in which she said that the Swedish community was happy to share one of their most beloved tra-

ditions with everyone in Mallorca. Amongst those present were Princess Birgitta, sister to the King of Sweden, and the Mayor of Palma, JosĂŠ Hila, who handed a gift to the choir.

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E W N 17 - 23 December / Mallorca

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FEATURE

Dear Father Christmas, can you help? THERE are many charities and organisations in Mallorca collecting for presents for children Vicki McLeod

Family Matters DEAR Father Christmas, It’s been quite a long time since I last wrote to you, I hope you can forgive me for my silence, I’ve been rather busy being a grown up, and I see now that I have been neglecting you. I’m writing to ask you if I could have a very special present this year: I’d like just one more Christmas with my daughter before she stops believing in you. She asked me last week if you really existed and I had to turn away from her to answer her. “Father Christmas is magical, and if you believe in magic then yes, he does exist,” is what I said. But it’s been hard to believe in magic recently with all of the terrible things going on in the world. I know most of your letters probably come from much younger correspondents, because as adults we’re supposed to be depending on reality rather than magic as a way of getting things done, but I think I need a bit of help

FATHER CHRISTMAS: Can you help light up children’s lives with a sparkle of magic? with this. We often choose to be logical, rational, when really we should be allowing ourselves to dream and be carried away with the wonder and amazingness (it’s a word, I looked it up) of the world. And I don’t want my

daughter to be drawn down into the adult world so quickly where things are so serious, so relentless and so mean. She’s only just 10, and being a grown-up seems to be lasting for a very long time. I don’t want her to be

in such a rush to get there. So Father Christmas do you think you can help me? Children need magic, and to be honest, I could do with some magic too. I’d like my daughter to have more time being a kid, to have

more time to play and have fun. And can you help all the other children as well? My daughter has a great life with so many privileges, but what about the children living in fear, or suffering illness, hunger or poverty? Can you help to light up their lives with a moment of joy, a sparkle of magic? I know that there are charities and organisations in Mallorca collecting frantically for presents for children for Christmas parties: The Allen Graham Charity for Kidz, The Salvation Army, The JoyRon Foundation, the local radio stations as well, so there are lots of island-based Father Christmases doing their best. I must remember to tell people that they can take their donations of gifts to drop-off points such as the local charities, or Mood in Portals. Please Father Christmas, it would mean so much to me, and her, we’ve both tried hard to be good this year. Lots of love to you and Mrs Christmas. Vicki xxx PS: I’ll leave a mince pie, carrot and wee dram out as usual. The chimney is quite narrow, so you might be better coming through the window.

HOMES GARDENS

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Casa Nove furniture and home decor LOSE yourself in perfection CASA NOVE is a furniture and home decor shop with just about everything to make your dream house come true! The shop opened in Inca last year and has 3,500m2 of space over three floors and offers all that you need to make your home perfect. Furniture, decoration, textiles, accessories, kitchenware, lighting and even toys can all be found here, seven days a week. With some 500m2 of space given over to showrooms, this means that you have plenty of ideas on how your bedroom or living room could be. You don’t have to be an interior designer to apply your ideas, as the friendly and helpful staff are on hand to advise you every step of the way. Shop manager Mandy Qu says: “We have a lot of products offering plenty of choice, and perhaps the most important thing customers should know is that our products are the very best in quality. Match these with our compet-

itive prices and that means Casa Nove is the perfect choice for creating a beautiful home.” At Casa Nove business is booming. Mandy continued: “Shopping at Casa Nove is unlike any other shopping experience. It’s wonderful, almost like being lost inside Aladdin’s cave! As long as you leave us with a smile on your face, we really don’t mind how long you spend here. “If you’re stuck for ideas for

gifts this Christmas, then come and see us. “There are lots of decorations from candles to vases and cushions to pictures, and it means that so many tastes can be catered for.” For all your dream house needs, visit Casa Nove in Inca and lose yourself in perfection!

Opening hours: Monday to Sunday 9.30am till 9pm C/Jaime II 94 - 96 07300 Inca Tel 971 500 647 www.casanove.es Like them on Facebook: Casa Nove

SHOP: Is over three floors and offers furniture, decoration, textiles, lighting, kitchenware and much more.

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V I S I T O U R W E B S I T E W W W . E U R O W E E K LY N E W S . C O M

Social housing plan developments in Barcelona THE Patronato Municipal de la Vivienda de Barcelona is set to begin work on 47 social housing units and a family accommodation centre. According to Barcelona Town Hall, each of the social housing units will have a floor area of between 42 and 58 square metres, and 39 of the units will include two bedrooms. It is estimated it will cost

around €6.6 million. The residents are expected to pay rent depending on their disposable income, and tenancy of all these properties will be for periods of approximately six months. This development aims to provide respite for the homeless and those in need of help in the hopes that they can build a more prosperous future.

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PROPERTY www.euroweeklynews.com

This year is a lucky one for UK buyers John Graham The property expert

HAMLET Act 3, scene 1. William Shakespeare sat at his desk in Stratford on Avon in 1603 and wrote ‘To be or not to be, that is the question.’ I’m sitting at my desk in Spain on December 2015 and I’m writing to my associates in London who have asked me, ‘To buy or not to buy, that is the question!’ They are asking me for my professional opinion on the buying conditions in Spain for 2016 and the answer is easy... Buy! Obviously I need to qualify my answer by sending them pages of data covering the last seven years up to today’s date, and my forecast for the next five years. However, I only need to provide a few important facts which are important for most UK buyers looking for a holiday home in Spain, one fact is sometimes underestimated, and the other fact always plays a key part in when to buy. It’s December and my associates in London have had their central heating on for the past two months. It’s pitch black at 5.30pm and heavy rain is forecast for this weekend and frost in the suburbs. The temperatures rarely reach above nine degrees Celsius, and sun and blue skies are a rare treat. I am describing the weather in London but I could be talking about any city in Northern Europe at this time of year. The sun and temperate climate of the Spanish Costas and Balearic Islands in the winter, are one of the main reasons why buyers in the UK head to Spain on a winter break, or to buy a holiday home, a fact sometimes underestimated in the mountain of stats and data produced every year. However, one piece of data is very important to the UK buyer and that is, what is the strength of the pound compared to the euro? Or put another way, what can I afford to buy if I

SPANISH PROPERTY: To buy or not to buy, that’s the question. choose to buy now? We ll if you’r e a buyer from the UK it’s your lucky year, because the exchange rate is a fantastic €1.4 to £1.00. UK buyers’ spending pow e r is a t a n al l t i m e high and has made the decision of buying a holiday home in Spa in i n 2016 easier. It’s now a bit like buying your hol i day home at prices normally offered in the January sales. I’m obviously not as talented as the great William Shakespeare but I would recommend to buy, no question.

John Graham International Property Advisor. If you are selling your property contact me if you want UK buyers. Gk.ipad@me.com

PROPERTY

17 - 23 December 2015 / Mallorca

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EWN

Advertising feature

A brand new website that’s causing quite a stir… ONLINE property shopping just became a whole lot easier…. WE asked Unique Mallorca some questions about their exciting new property website. Why did you create this new style? “We realised so many people are shopping online, so our property website should provide the same functionality as other product websites, such as Amazon. You should be able to virtually buy online, or at least make the selection process easy, so the final step of visiting the actual property is a mere last formality.” What do you mean by ‘shopping online’ for homes? “Very few property websites give you much information about the properties they offer. It is deliberately difficult for a user to experience the properties fully. This is so that you will send an online enquiry with your contact de-

tails allowing the agency to hard sell you the homes they have listed, rather than caring about what you like and want. At Unique Mallorca we are creating a site that immerses our users within the properties, allowing one to truly shop from the comfort of their home. We have exciting and original features for our vendors, with a brand new type of real estate sales service, not yet offered in Europe.” What do you mean by ‘truly immersing your users in the properties?’ “Our new site is an experience rather than a mere static display. We have all the standard attributes of any property website but also have an array of thrilling new features, including HD property videos for every home we

What does the future have in store for the property industry in Spain? HAVE you noticed that every time you pick up a property paper or magazine these days, everything you read is ‘good news about buying in Spain’… Well is it any wonder? Since 2007, every estate agent and expert in the land (and the UK come to that) has been waiting patiently for the drought inflicting recession to end, now after eight long years they want to shout it from the rooftops. And rightly so! Prices and demand for property in Spain have begun to rise again throughout 2015. Taking Engel & Volkers as an example, we see that this stalwart of an estate agent reportedly sold over 1,000 properties in Spain last year, which is a 77 per cent increase on 2014. However the big question is, where do we go from here, what will happen next? While it’s obvious that nobody can

predict the future, we can get a good idea using key factors in the market as a guide. One way to answer the questions is to look at the UK property market which is closely related to the Spanish one. They share a strong link, due to the fact that it is British property equity and mortgages that continue to pay for home purchases in many parts of the Costa del Sol, Murcia, Costa Blanca, Almeria, Costa Brava and the Balearic islands. Combining several general surveys, this year’s figures show that 17 per cent of all properties purchased in these areas by foreigners, were paid with British mortgages or funds. Subsequently, we can deduce that there is a strong connection. Take a look at the house prices from the UK’s Land Registry and compare them with Spain’s equivalent (the National Statistics Insti-

tute), and you will find that the two paths are very similar. Although UK house prices dipped for a while in 2008 the property downturn was much shorter and less agonising than in Spain. For the UK, big drops lasted for only a few years, but here in Spain they dragged on for eight years and were more severe. In conclusion, prices in Spain have yet to regain their pre-2008 financial crisis levels, although regional results vary. But it’s here that the British connection with the robust sterling comes in again. The areas in Spain where house prices are catching up the fastest are those where Brits like to buy. Couple this with fact that the Scandinavian economies are strong and there is a new heavy-duty interest from far eastern investors, the future looks bright, so bright that you may need a new pair of sunglasses!

list, extensive features and special write-ups of each home. We have more images than other sites as well as some of the largest on the web, as well as downloadable floor plans, property likes, area information and map locators. Our website has other unique features including direct links to ask the owners and our experts a question, and an extensive search filter allowing users to drill down to the exact type of properties they like the most. We have new sections offering comprehensive guides as well as holiday rentals and future listings sections, allowing purchasers to glimpse properties hot off the press. We are also further evolving, with 3D virtual viewings, personalised owner communica-

tion suites, exciting additions to investment sections and holiday rental sections, giving investors factual information needed and much more. We cannot reveal all or we will spoil the surprises that we have in store for the coming weeks and months. Let’s just say that we truly revolutionised online property shopping and will keep on doing so. It was definitely time for a change and Unique Mallorca are proud to be the pioneers leading the way. To find out more information, and experience this for yourself visit www.uniquemallorca.com.

There can be only one …..uniquemallorca.com

E W N 17 - 23 December 2015 / Mallorca

It’s Christmas time... Bah humbug! Mike Senker

In my opinion Views of a Grumpy Old Man WELL, it’s that time of year again, goodwill to all men, ho ho ho, or in my case, bah humbug. Don’t get me wrong Christmas is OK, or should I say it was OK. I used to love Christmas, it was just a nice holiday. Who remembers how we used to look forward to the TV shows, the Morecambe and Wise special, then it was Only Fools and Horses? It’s now just a commercial event that starts way too early. I’ve seen stuff in stores since October. October? People haven’t even finished paying for their summer holidays. And big store TV adverts get more obscure. There is one on TV with some geezer on the moon who wants a telescope! Please tell me what that has to do with Christmas. All too deep for me. Their marketing department needs to get off the silly stuff and get back to Earth. Idiots! And did you know it was supposedly Coca-Cola that

put Santa in a red suit? Tell me how annoying it is to go and buy a load of presents, especially clothing, only to see it two weeks later at half price. Electrical goods that are superseded by a newer model by the time you have finished unwrapping it. Everything is more expensive. Most of the time Christmas finishes up being a stressful time. Now there is Black Friday and Cyber Monday. As my very good Chinese friend would say ‘what a road of borrocks.’ ‘We buy things we don’t need with money we don’t have to impress people we don’t like’ (nicked quote). The thing I really don’t understand is the food shopping. It’s a couple of days off. Why do some people buy as if it’s Armageddon? Like there is going to be a siege for a month. And they need to have enough food in the house to feed a regiment of starving soldiers. One of the other things that ticks me off is that everything stops. Try and get something done after the first week of December. You get ‘let’s leave it until after Christmas’. And when is after Christmas? Around the 8th of January!! Oh well, only seven more moaning days till Christmas.

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OPINION & COMMENT

LEGALLY SPEAKING

Speeding fines have increased this year AS part of a new series, we answer some common driving questions, kindly provided by members of the Guardia Civil based in Torrevieja, Costa Blanca, who set up the N332 website and Facebook page to help break down barriers.

DGT: Say rise is partly caused by the increase in the number of vehicles on the road. IN the first three quarters of 2015, €127.4 million has been collected from drivers caught by fixed and mobile radars. In 2014, the total was €129.6 million, increasing from €124 million in 2013 and €120 million in 2012. If the current trend continues, the end of year figure will be almost €170 million for 2015. The DGT believe that the increase is not caused entirely by an increase in speed by individuals, but by an increase in the number of vehicles using the roads. Similarly, the DGT also say that despite the figures for speeding fines increasing, other sanctions show a downward trend. Another possibility is that traffic studies influenced the decision to drastically modify speed control on the roads. In February, following a 40 per cent increase in speed related deaths in January, it was announced that more focus would be given to secondary roads, which account for 80 per cent of all

related fatalities, a figure which compares directly with the 81 per cent increase in speeding motorists caught on this type of road. Speeding fines have something of a unique character, in so much as many people who get caught speeding fail to acknowledge or accept their own failings and many believe that the fines are nothing more than a way for the government to increase taxation. In fact, a recent survey states that 90 per cent of speeding driver believe that their fine is nothing more than a hidden tax. However, the DGT point out that the taxable element of fines has reduced, despite the increase in revenue, dropping from €392 million in 2011 to €458 million in 2014. Former Director General of the DGT, Pere Navarro said: “Traffic law remains the law most violated in our country with nearly 13 million penalty proceedings a year between all administrations, which indicates that fines are necessary.”

For more news and articles visit www.n332.es or search N332 on Facebook.

Are over-65s free of capital? The law on capital gains tax seems to be clear. When you are over 65, and have owned your house as a principle residence for more than three years, and are an official resident of more than three years, you are free of Spanish capital gains tax when you sell your home. The question I have is about tax resiYour Spanish gestor is quite right. Only copies of your Spanish tax returns for the past three years will justify your exemption from capital gains tax. The word ‘resident’

dency. In your book ‘You & the Law in Spain’, you refer to ‘Spanish resident or the EU Certificate of Residency’. This EU Certficate is the issue. Does this not establish tax residency? My Spanish gestor said: ‘no way!’ Only tax residency for three years counts.

David Searl You and the Law in Spain

means you pay your taxes in Spain.

P.H. (Costa del Sol) If you are an EU citizen, you hold the Certificate of Residency. If you are not an EU citizen, you hold a residence permit. Either way, you must pay your taxes in Spain.

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

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BOATS

17 - 23 December 2015 / Mallorca

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New Italian Evo 43 speedboat reminiscent of Star Wars THE pilot house is raised to give good panoramic visibility around the entire vessel ITALIAN manufacturer Blue Martin and marine design studio Tecnico Rivelini have co-operated to produce a spectacular new speedboat which, with its expandable wings adding 40 per cent to the overall surface area, creates a futuristic vessel reminiscent of space craft featured in the Star Wars movies. This particular model flies through water rather than space, but it is remarkably fast, reaching speeds of up to 38 knots from two 320kW Volvo engines yet

Photo courtesy of Blue Martin

By John Smith

EVO 43: Its expandable wings add 40 per cent to the overall surface area.

Moth racing in Bermuda with some 60 competitors THE Am l i n I n t e r n atio n a l Moth Regatta took place in Bermuda from December 5 to 11 and saw some 60 competitors from 14 countries vis it t h e R o y a l B e rmu d a Yacht Club and fighting for a share o f t h e $ 1 0 , 0 0 0

(€9,100) prize money. Moths are a strange class which were originally cheaply home built dinghies, but are now expensive commercially produced boats designed to hydroplane on foils.

First round of 2016 Sailing World Cup in Melbourne ALWAYS a popular regatta, the ISAF Sailing World Cup series round one which took place in Melbourne from December 9 to 13 attracted a field of just under 1,000 competitors from all over the world, as it acts as a qualifying competition for the Rio Olympic and Paralympic Games. The first night saw a host of visitors from the Victorian sailing community, international delegates, three London 2012 sailing gold medallists and other high profile sports stars present for the World Cup’s official opening event in anticipation of the hard competition the following day. This year, the event moved from its previous venue in Sandringham to the specially created St Kilda sailing precinct of the Royal Melbourne Yacht Squadron (RMYS). Eight Olympic classes and three Paralympic classes totalling 180 sailors will battle for top 10 places for Sunday’s Medal Races.

weighing far less than would be expected for a vessel of this size and performance. The Italian luxury boat brand’s new 42ft offering will cost around $750,000 (€685,000). At its maximum, the deck measures 269 square feet and features built-in deckchairs and a diving platform. The downstairs double cabin with wardrobe, bathroom, and dining area are fully accessible regardless of what is happening on deck. If George Lucas ever wants to take to the water, then this is possibly the right machine for him.

Eccentric adventurer creates sailing record SELF-CONFESSED eccentric Sean Conway, together with up and coming sailors Phil Sharp and Alex Alley, sailed into Scrabster harbour, north Scotland on December 15 having established the first ever reference time for sailing from Land’s End to John O’Groats. Although admitting to suffering from sea sickness, Mr Conway became the first person earlier this year to run, swim and cycle the length of the UK and has completed the journey a fourth time, this time by sailing in a Class 40 yacht. After leaving Land’s End at 08.55hrs Friday morning the trio crossed the finish line off John O’Groats at 20.47hrs and 15 seconds

to set the mark for the 620 nautical miles most direct route course at three days, 11hours, 52 minutes and 15 seconds, averaging 7.39 knots. Completing the Length of Britain challenge represents the first training outing for Jersey-based ocean racer Sharp, who is looking to compete for the first time in the Vendee Globe solo non-stop race around the world starting next November. On his website, the Zimbabweborn adventurer confesses that he has found something to keep himself occupied in his spare time as he has started work on renovating a 1931 vessel Lady Sybil which was built by Harland and Wolff and was used in Dunkirk. Lwp Kommunikacio flickr

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17 - 23 December 2015

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The legend of the black dog and other canine folklore DOGS can sense things which are invisible to human eyes

Joe has met dogs, cats and donkeys on a housesit in Loja To find a pet-sitter go to www.HousesitMatch.com or call Lamia on +44 (0)1865 521508

JOE is an active retired professional from Derry in Northern Ireland. He still works as an outdoor workshop leader in the summer, and in the winter prefers to escape to the sun. This year he decided Spain was the place to spend November. By finding a housesit assignment in Loja, Granada through HousesitMatch.com he realised he could afford to spend the whole month away in the sun, because he would be caring for a family of pets while staying in someone’s home for free. Meet the fur family that Joe cared for while he was in Loja. There are three dogs, Mowgli, Tintin and Cesca, the cats Minou and Leyla, and his personal favourites Maisy and Daisy the donkeys. Years ago Joe used to have a

donkey so he told us he was delighted when on greeting them they called back! Their owner had listed the housesitting opportunity on HouseSitMatch.com with a little trepidation because it was a new idea for them, and they didn’t know Joe. However, the cost of kennelling three dogs, two cats and finding help for the donkeys for a month was too costly. On returning home they were delighted to find that Joe had not only looked after their home and pets with great care, but he had also organised the wood pile, fixed some outdoor furniture and mended the fences to prevent any chance of the donkeys escaping. And all this for the cost of an annual membership registration. Bravo Joe!

David THE Dogman Listen to David on TRE every Saturday 10am to 11am 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

The Barguest of northern England could also appear as a pig or a goat, but was most commonly a huge black dog with large eyes and feet which left no prints. Tales of packs of ghostly hounds have also been recorded all over Britain, often said to be heard howling as they pass by on

DOGS have always been credited with the power of sensing supernatural influences which are invisible to human eyes. In Wales only dogs could see the death-bringing hounds of Annwn, and in ancient Greece the dogs were aware when Hecate was at a crossroads foretelling a death. Dogs are believed to be aware of the presence of ghosts, and their barking, whimpering or howling is said to be the first warning of supernatural occurrences. In England, there are many instances of black dog ghosts which are said to haunt lanes, bridges, crossroads, footpaths and gates, particularly in Suffolk, Norfolk and the Isle of Man. Some black dogs are said to be unquiet ghosts of wicked souls, but others are friendly guides and protectors to travellers.

stormy nights rather than actually seen. These hounds generally foretell death (or at least disaster) if they are seen, and the proper action is to drop face-down on the ground to avoid spotting them. When a dog howls in an otherwise silent night, it is said to be an omen of death, or at least of misfortune. A howling dog outside the house of a sick person was once thought to be an omen that they would die, especially if the dog was driven away and returned to howl again. A dog which gives a single howl, or three howls, and then falls silent is said to be marking a death that has just occurred nearby. Dogs were feared as carriers of rabies, sometimes even a healthy dog was killed if it had bitten someone, because of the belief that if the dog developed rabies (even many years later), the bitten person would be afflicted.

AWARENESS: Dogs can sense ghosts.

Micro pets are proving to be popular and quite trendy WHILST micro pets have become quite trendy over the past few years and tiny pigs are without any doubt very cute, there have been a number of horror s torie s in w hic h the adorable pet suddenly put on weight and developed into a full blown pig, and the seller had disappeared. Pygmy goats are generally a different kettle of fish if you will excuse the mixed metaphor. They can make great pets, but they shouldn’t really be kept in the house. There is no question that they can

be taught not to urinate of defecate within the house, but housebreaking can actually refer to what they can get up to if they are allowed to live in a house. At the end of the day, they are powerful little animals with hooves and horns that are curious and they just love to climb! If you really want to keep a goat inside the house, you need to consider removing the horns when the animal is young, and also in the case of males, they have a habit to smell and can be aggressive at time, so

they need to be neutered. You also need to consider their feeding as apart from pellets, they also need to have access to good quality grass or hay which is also not too conducive to household living. They can make good pets but unless you want to cut major bits off of them, it is without question best to keep them safely outside in a secure pen, perhaps allowing occasional access if it is very hot or very cold.

FEATURE

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17 - 23 December 2015 / Mallorca

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Enjoy drinking at Christmas time By Marcus Hopkins CHEAP drink in Spain together with holidays and the fun of the festive season really is the time to be merry. To stay happy though, it might be worth taking a few steps to ensure that you and the ones you love keep healthy and safe. Be aware of how much you’re drinking. How many does it take to enjoy yourself? Probably less than you think. Being merry is much more fun than crawling around the toilet floor. Have a few more and you might become a burden on the Spanish health system or your family. Be aware of your behaviour too. If friends say you’ve had too many, believe them! Yes, drink to enjoy, but don’t drink to destroy. It can be far easier being fun and festive when you’re relatively sober than it can when you’re smashed. Let’s face it, most of us have probably said never again at some time in the past. But we are only human after all. Do be more aware of the need for per-

SIMPLE STEPS: To keep you and your loved ones happy, healthy and safe.

sonal safety at this time of year. Drinking far too much is all too easy and cheap, but that ease and fun can be a trap that leads

Photo by Carsten Schertzer, wikipedia

THE festive season is a time to be merry but make sure you look after yourself and the people around you

to personal harm, physical attack or worse. Look out for each other, you and your friends. Don’t let too much alcohol make

you more vulnerable to someone spiking your drink. On a different point, don’t forget that for many, alcohol can be a depressant. For some, this is an emotional time of year. If a friend wants only an orange juice then buy them just an orange juice. Don’t force your wishes to get drunk onto them. You don’t know what may be going on in their mind. You know not to drink and drive. Yet every year at this time people’s careers are shattered because they thought they could drive home just the once. Until, of course, they’re stopped and charged, or worse still, they kill someone. Make sure none of this happens to you or anyone you’re out with. If you’re a real friend, you’ll never let anyone do anything so stupid. Party safely and have fun. Have a great time and create a Christmas you’ll treasure forever. Gauge your drinking. Judge the situation. Keep a sober eye open to look after the people you are with. Have a great, safe and happy Christmas.

E W N 17 - 23 December 2015

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Two Porsche models getting a new turbo PORSCHE has confirmed something that most fans already suspected. Just like their big brother the 911 Carrera, the Boxster and Cayman models are getting a turbo. At the same time, they’re having a bit of a wider readjustment, drawing the two of them closer together than ever. As well as looking more like identical twins, they’ll be renamed ‘718’. But just so we know the difference, they’ll be called 718 Boxster and 718 Cayman, though for the first time, the Boxster soft-top will cost more than the Cayman coupe. Regarding the power-plant, the 718 uses a flat-four engine, which, with the addition of turbocharging, is what Porsche’s modern day midengine sports cars will be getting.

Clarkson Quote of theWeek

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When you reach the limits of grip, the Jaguar XJ220 demands a special technique. You put your foot on the clutch, and repeat after me: Our Father, who art in heaven, I'll be there in a minute.

Some might say...

Looks like the desert caught the Bug ICONIC coupe will surely be a hit By Steve Walsh IT’S been a long time since the beetle changed its clothes, even longer since it stripped off and went to the beach. Up until now, the famous Dune Buggies of the 70s were about the last time the beetle put its shorts and flip flops on and took a dip! But while unmistakably a Beetle, the new Beetle Dune brings a new edge to a heritage-inspired icon. Obviously taking design inspiration from the dune buggy and desert spirit, the new Dune brings a roughty-toughty attitude to the Beetle family, but also the modern technologies and creature comforts of its bigger cousins. Unwittingly destined to become the latest crossover for

the brand at some stage in the future, the wider track and a raised suspension of the Beetle Dune gives it a sporty and aggressive stance. And with a unique exterior Sandstorm Yellow colour option, new LED tail lights, a black honeycomb front grille, and a new wheel design, this Beetle shows that it’s not afraid to hide. Unique design cues don’t only apply to the outside of the Dune. Features like the special sport seats, an instrument panel with yellow accents, and a flatbottomed steering wheel, lend a feeling of spaciousness to this Beetle’ s interior.

BEETLE DUNE: Brings a new edge to a heritage-inspired icon. But as well as being an instant favourite with those old hippies amongst us, the young techies will feel at home as well with toys such as a multimedia touchscreen display allowing music, apps and more to be run

from your smartphone, a rear-view camera, park distance control and a built-in ski rack. A well-equipped iconic coupe that will surely be a hit.

Volkswagen find a magical solution for emissions issue CO2 problems disappear in a puff of smoke A MAGICAL solution that would make Houdini proud. Volkswagen tells us the internal testing of CO2 emissions issues on their European range has ended, the conclusion being … there really isn’t a problem! Volkswagen announced a few weeks ago that they had discovered a fix for the fiddled emissions on their cars in Europe, which basically boiled down to being a quick software update and a wad of plastic mesh to adjust the air flow, a total cost of about 15 cents. The question that immediately jumps to the fore is, if the VW emissions fix can be so simply done, why did VW ever employ a defeat device in the first place? However, if the magic fix is accepted by EU regulators, VW will have escaped by the skin of

FIX: A quick software update and a wad of plastic mesh was needed. their teeth. At least in terms of the cost. VW have pulled another rab-

bit out of the hat as they declare the CO2 emissions on the 800,000 European cars, which

they claimed were wrongly stated, actually aren’t. Well, not the vast majority anyway.

E W N 17 - 23 December 2015 / Mallorca

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SPORT

England will play Wales in Euro 2016 as the Cherries show dismal United ‘Howe’ to win! DRAW for Euro 2016 puts Wales and England in same group 583-4 declared as they won the opening Test against the West Indies by an innings and 212. The world record stand is 451, set by Aussies Don Bradman and Bill Ponsford against England in 1934. England have begun their tour of South Africa with a warm-up game; the first Test starts on Boxing Day. RUGBY UNION – Recent results in the European Champions Cup: Exeter 31 Clermont 14, Munster 19 Leicester 31, Ospreys 19 Bordeaux 16, Oyonnax 10 Saracens 45, Racing 33 Northampton 3, Toulonnaise 24 Leinster 9 and Wasps 23 Bath 25 (the latter scoring a dramatic 81st minute try). BADMINTON – Husband and wife Chris and Gabby Adcock have become the first Brits ever to win a World Series final – doing so in Dubai in just 37 minutes (2114 & 21-17). They received one million dollars for their efforts. Great stuff!

Tony Matthews International Sports A former player and now the world’s most prolific author of football books with almost 150 published since 1975, Tony is also the sports correspondent for Spectrum Radio and lives on La Pilica in the Sierra Cabrera Mountains overlooking Turre. Costa de Almeria

FOOTBALL - In the group stages of Euro 2016, England will face Wales, Russia and Slovakia; Northern Ireland will play Germany, Poland and Ukraine; the Republic of Ireland will meet Belgium, Italy and Sweden, and Spain take on the Czech Republic, Croatia and Turkey. Hosts France were drawn with Albania, Romania and Switzerland. The competition starts in Paris in six months’ time. In Premier League action… after beating Chelsea 1-0, Bournemouth completed a majestic ‘double’ by defeating 13-time champions Manchester United 2-1 at the Vitality Stadium. This loss by Louis van Gaal’s team followed Champions League elimination in Wolfsburg four days earlier. Out-of-sorts Manchester City (who also won in the Champions League) edged past manager-less Swansea 2-1 while Arsenal (after a superb 30 CL win against Olympiakos in Greece) beat lowly Aston Villa 2-0 to go top of the table. This defeat created a new club record for Villa - 15 League games without a win and in the same game, Gunners’ goalkeeper Petr Cech equalled David James’s record of 170 clean-sheets in the PL. Liverpool scored a dramatic 96th minute equaliser to save a home point against unlucky WBA (2-2). After a 4-1 Europa League win over Monaco, Spurs’ long unbeaten run was ended when

EURO 2016: England manager Roy Hodgson, second from left, and Wales manager Chris Coleman, far right, with draw officials. Newcastle, with a late strike from Ayoze Perez, won 2-1 at White Hart Lane. Watford won 1-0 at struggling Sunderland and Crystal Palace pipped lacklustre Southampton also by 1-0, while the games between Norwich and Everton and West Ham and Stoke were both drawn. On Monday, Leicester, hoping to return to the top of the table, played Chelsea who earlier in the week recorded a 20 CL win over FC Porto. The top Championship game ended Derby 2 Brighton 2… and this draw stretched the Seagulls’ unbeaten run to a record 21 matches. Burton Albion, with Nigel

DID YOU KNOW? QPR have had 19 managers in the last 25 years… and Arsenal, elected to the top flight of League football in 1919 when the club membership was increased from 20 to 22, have remained there ever since.

Clough back as manager, lead Coventry City in FL1 while Northampton and Oxford United are the top two in FL2. North of the border, Celtic (3-0 winners over St Johnstone), Glasgow rivals Rangers, Dunfermline and Annan Athletic, lead the SPL and Divisions 1, 2 and 3 respectively. Here in Spain, Barcelona still lead La Liga despite a 2-2 home draw with Deportivo La Coruna. Real had 20 efforts at goal but only one on target and as a result lost 1-0 to Villarreal, while Valencia (managed of course by Gary Neville) were held to a 1-1 draw by Eibar. Bayern Munich are clear of Borussia Dortmund at the top of the German Bundesliga, while Inter Milan lead Fiorentina in Italy’s Serie ‘A’. • The PL games this weekend are Arsenal-Manchester City, Chelsea-Sunderland, EvertonLeicester, Manchester United-

UNDEFEATED: Joshua is British heavyweight champion.

Norwich, Newcastle-Aston Villa, Southampton-Spurs, StokeCrystal Palace, Swansea-West Ham, Watford-Liverpool and WBA-Bournemouth. In the Championship, it’s BrightonMiddlesbrough and IpswichDerby while in FL2 Plymouth make a 775-mile round trip to Hartlepool. BOXING – Undefeated Anthony Joshua made it 15 fights, 15 wins, all knockouts, with a seventh round victory over Dillian Whyte to become the British heavyweight champion. CRICKET – Adam Voges (269) and Shaun Marsh (182) put on 449 runs for the fourth wicket in Australia’s total of

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17 - 23 December 2015

A frustrated Cristiano Ronaldo after Real Madrid’s 1-0 defeat to Villarreal. The club is now five points behind leaders Barcelona and Atletico Madrid in La Liga.

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Fantastic fourth for Baleares girls IN their first national competition the Baleares Girls XV gained a wellearned fourth place in Cordoba over the weekend. They won the group match against Murcia by 3 points to 5. After a very equal first half neither team had scored but a penalty kick after the break put Murcia ahead. This spurred the Baleares team on and they scored a try which was enough for the win. The girls lost the next group match to a very strong and experienced Pais Vasco by 41 points to 5. This put them into the play-off match for third or fourth place against Andalucia on Sunday. Although they fought hard they lost the game by 39 points to 0 earning the fourth place trophy. Baleares U14 League Hosts Agora Portals lost their match

against RC Ponent in the next leg of this league by 25 points to 75. The combined forces of El Toro RC and Dimonis proved to be too strong for the Trepitjadors team and beat them by 80 points to 10. Baleares Senior League A last-minute score for Shamrock RC gave them a win away against Bahia RC by 14 points to 16. The controversy with Shamrock’s U18 players is still to be resolved but until it is leaves them with fewer players for the team. In the match in Son Caliu between El Toro RC and the combined Corsaris/Dimonis team, a second half surge saw the win go to the visitors by 14 points to 25. Fifth Rugby Day Sunday saw the island’s young rugby enthusiasts descend on Agora Por-

TOUGH MATCH: Baleares Girls against Pais Vasco. tals for the fifth Rugby Day. The unseasonably warm weather produced the odd sunburn to go with the occa-

sional grass burn, but nothing that the hardened boys and girls couldn’t cope with.

The larger clubs El Toro and Ponent continue their domination of most of the junior grades.