Euro Weekly News - Axarquia 21 - 27 January 2021 Issue 1855

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The people’s paper ISSUE NO. 1855

21 - 27 January 2021

AXARQUIA - COSTA TROPICAL • WWW.EUROWEEKLYNEWS.COM

4-YEAR-OLD FOUND

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Last town standing

ATAJATE: The only town not to succumb to Covid-19.

BOY SAFE: He was found wandering alone along the busy A-7206 road.

THE parents of a four­year­old were ‘ec­ static’ when police called to say they had found their missing child who had disappeared earlier from a local super­ market. Thanks to requests for local support

from the police, the child was found wandering alone along the busy A­7206 road that runs between Algarrobo Costa and Pueblo. He was handed over to his parents minutes later, who had lost sight of him in a supermarket about 300 me­

tres from the place where the child was found. Social media users were quick to praise the Local Police. One user, Maria I said: “Brilliant, I would like to praise the speed and efficiency fo the police.”

Lucky escape HOMEOWNERS had a lucky escape from a blaze which gutted their house and damaged nearby cars as windows exploded into the street. At around 9.40pm,on Monday January 18, 112 received several reports from neighbours of a fire at a four­storey building in Calle Haiti, Malaga City. Flames and smoke were reportedly billowing from the building, and windows had exploded onto the street hitting several parked vehicles. Malaga firefighters, Local Police, National Police and the Public Health Emergencies Company (EPES) were quickly on the scene and began to extinguish the flames which had ‘burned the house in its en­ tirety,’ confirmed the Junta de Andalucia. According to Local Police, the owners of the house were, fortunately, able to get out of the house before emergency services arrived, and there have been no reports of injuries.

FIREFIGHTERS: Were quickly on the scene.

HIDDEN away in the Serrania de Ronda is a small ‘white town’ that can claim to be truly unique. The town of Atajate situated at the mouth of the Genal Valley is the only town that has not succumbed to the viral force of the pandemic. This town is without Covid. It is indeed the last municipality that has not one infection. The town is 130km from Malaga and 16km from Ron-

da. It has only 168 inhabitants but is still a municipality. It has all you would expect, a church and local provisions store. It is also the town with the lowest population in the Malaga Province. The low population and the location probably keep it safe from Covid, but locals must be wondering how much longer they can keep the virus out, considering it’s been almost a year since the pandemic started.

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21 - 27 January 2021

Tree

tragedy A COUNCIL worker died after being hit by a branch of a tree he was cutting down in the Malaga munici­ pality of Cartama. 112 Emergencias Andalucia received a notice from the Pub­ lic Health Emergency Service (EPES) at 1 0 . 2 0 a m o n S a t u r­ day, January 16, re­ porting that a man h a d b e e n l e f t s u s­ pended from a har­ ness in the Vega de Riarán area. Firefighters of the Malaga Provincial Consortium, the Guardia Civil and Car­ tama Civil Protection were deployed but the 39­year­old vic­ tim died at the scene, according to health services. Civil Protection sources have indicat­ ed that the employee suffered a trauma af­ ter being hit by one of the tree branches during pruning, caus­ ing his death. The accident has been reported to the Centre for the Pre­ v e n t i o n o f O c c u p a­ tional Risks and the Labour Inspection.

Simulated search

ALMUÑECAR firefighters have carried out a simula­ tion to search for missing persons in the event of a possible building collapse. Using dogs, the fire de­ partment adopted the Ar­ cón Method ­ created by Professor Jaime Parejo Gar­ cía ­ regarding it as the most effective means to find people trapped in rub­ ble. The simulation, attended by several councillors, to­ gether with representatives from the Local Police, Civil Protection and the Guardia Civil, took place in the mu­ nicipal depot next to the IES Al Andalus de Almuñecar. Councillor for Citizen Se­ curity, Francisco Robles, volunteered to take part and was hidden ‘buried.’ Two dogs trained by the

Arcón Method and belong­ ing to the Almuñecar Fire Station participated in the search tasks, and quickly lo­ cated their ‘missing’ person. After the drill, an infor­ mative talk about the Arcón Method event was held at the Casa de la Cultura. The Arcón Method is an official system for the train­ ing and intervention of ca­ nine teams for the search, detection and rescue of people buried alive, lost people, explosives, cancer cells, and even Covid­19. The method has been created after 12 years of ar­ duous research and innova­ tion by Professor Jaime Parejo García, and has been endorsed by prestigious universities as ‘an impor­ tant scientific advance for the good of humanity.’

Body found A SUICIDE probe has taken place after the body of a missing Ger­ man man was found in Rincon de la Victoria. Stefan Zablotny, 32, was reported missing on Monday, January 11, by his partner who he had been living with on the Añoreta Ur­ banisation in Rincon de la Victoria for a month and a half. He had been looking for work and had left the house without any of his belongings, said his partner, who appealed for help lo­ cating him. According to reports, his lifeless body was discovered on Sun­ day night, January 17, in a rural area on the outskirts of Velez­ Malaga. While no further details have been given and an investigation is ongoing, Guardia Civil sources told SUR the man’s death is cur­ rently being treated as a suicide.

NEWS

Random tests

THE Junta de Andalucia has an­ nounced mass screenings will take place in seven Axarquia towns. Alcaucin, Alfarnate, Arenas, Benamocarra, Canillas de Al­ baida, Comares and Sayalonga are among 47 towns in Andalu­ cia where population screening will take place over the coming days. In Arenas, 270 people have been selected randomly to be

tested today (Thursday, Janu­ ary 21), following a slight rise in the number of positive cases. Meanwhile, testing was due to take place in Alcaucin yester­ day (Wednesday, January 20). The objective is to deter­ mine the status of the pandem­ ic in Axarquia municipality, where the active infection (PDIA) per 100,000 inhabitants in the last 14 days currently stands at 519.

Hotels ready for jabs HOTELS in Nerja have offered their rooms for Covid vaccina­ tions. “We intend to collaborate, as we have always shown in the different phases of the pandemic, offering refuge hotels and hotels to medicalise,” said the Association of Hotel Entre­ preneurs of the Costa de Sol (AEHCOS) in a statement. The hotels in Nerja which are members of AEHCOS have signed up to an agreement the association sent this week to the Malaga Health and Family Delegation, where they put their rooms at the disposal of the health authority for vaccinations. “This solidarity initiative was launched because we under­ stand some municipalities may have difficulties when it comes to finding safe spaces to carry out vaccination,” said AEHCOS.

Clean air

NURSERY and primary schools in Almachar have had air purifiers installed to reduce risk of Covid infection. The council has supplied 10 air purifiers with CO2 controls to La Parra Nursery and Primary School and a further two to Los Rebuscos Nursery School.“In addition to purifying the air and re­ ducing the risk of contagion of Covid­19, the air quality will be controlled so that the windows are open for the shortest time possible and thus the students can cope as well as possible with the low temperatures of the last few days,” said a council spokesperson.

The Junta de Andalucia is ap­ pealing “earnestly that all those selected voluntarily at­ tend the test” as it is critical to “controlling the pandemic more effectively.” The mayor of Arenas, Manuel Ríos, told 24 FM Axar­ quia he is “very concerned about the situation,” and called on public responsibility to help combat the spread of the virus.

Green revolution THE Diputacion de Malaga has allocated €15 million to accelerate the ‘Green Revolution’ in Axarquia. The focus of initiatives will be on works in water treatment plants, the enhancement of spaces and natural landscapes and the start of a new plan to improve hydraulic infrastructure across the region. Projects are expected to be carried out in the Great Malaga Path, in the Serrania de Ronda, the Mozarabe Way, in Sierra de las Nieves, the Great Guadalhorce and Axarquia Path, the Litoral Path and in Caminito del Rey. Vice president of the Provincial Council, Margarita del Cid said: “While we are in the process of executing the Plan for Hydraulic Infrastructures of the Antequera Region, we are already beginning to work in another of the areas with the greatest water supply problems, thus facing one of the key issues for the development of the province.”

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NIBS EXTRA Fake PCR A YOUNG Moroccan woman allegedly forged a PCR test to be able to travel to her own country and was intercepted by National Police at MalagaCosta del Sol airport. Two days prior to trying to board a plane, she had reprtedly carried out a test with a positive result.

Two dead TWO bodies, which have not yet been identified were recovered from a fire at a sheet metal house in Churriana at around 2.20am on Wednesday morning, January 20. Once firefighters had extinguished the blaze, the lifeless bodies were discovered inside the property on the Camino de la Sierra.

Water call THE mayor of Nerja, José Alberto Armijo, has once again requested a telematic meeting with the General Director of Water, Teodoro Estrela, after not receiving a response to a request made on December 28, with the aim of promoting the drafting of an agreement over the delivery of water to the town hall.

Riverbeds AN increase in waste in riverbeds and streams in Torrox has prompted an appeal from the town mayor, Óscar Medina, for ‘citizen collaboration.’ He has reminded that it is illegal to throw agricultural waste, rubble, or other types of materials into the river and carries a financial penalty.

Next stage NEW infrastructure and street service improvements have been completed in Torre de Benagalbon, and work is expected to start ‘imminently’ on improvements to road and pedestrian safety in Calle Chile, following calls from members of the public for increased measures.

New access NERJA Council has begun carrying out access improvements at Maro Social Centre, which will be equipped with a new access ramp. The existing toilets will be renovated and a new facility for people with reduced mobility will be installed as part of a €40,000 redevelopment scheme.

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Fascinating facts around town A ‘SMART HISTORY’ project has been launched in Velez-Malaga which will see beacons of information installed around the town. The aim is to bring ‘the historical and cultural heritage closer to the public through new technologies by installing beacon devices at monuments and in cultural spaces.’ There are 21 points in the town where, through the mobile phone, they will offer information of interest about the spaces and monuments. The beacons will be kept up-to-date and will be of-

SMART HISTORY: Bringing heritage closer to the public. fered in different languages. Cultural spaces and monuments that are part of the ‘Smart History’ project are: Arco Mihrab,

Palacio del Marqués de Beniel, Convent of San Francisco, Casa Cervantes, Plaza de Las Carmelitas, Church of San Juan, El Pósito,

Towns Against Drugs RINCON DE LA VICTORIA is launching free work­ shops to help tackle drug and other addictions. Since October 2020, the ‘Town Against Drugs’ Information and Advisory Service has carried out 80 projects and initiatives mainly aimed at young people who show problems of abuse ­ a figure the town hall says has increased due to confinement. And now the town council’s Department of Social Welfare has announced the start of a se­ ries of free workshops for January and February, related to the prevention of drug dependence and addictions to new technologies. Deputy mayor, Elena Aguilar, said: “These

workshops are aimed at promoting healthy habits and preventing the consumption of toxic substances, focusing on our young people as the most vulnerable groups.” Informative talks will be given on the preven­ tion of cannabis use aimed at tutors and stu­ dents, along with the digital risks of using the in­ ternet, social networks, video games, online gaming, and sports betting. The ‘Towns Against Drugs’ initiative will run until April 30 at a cost of €34,000 co­funded by the Junta de Andalucia. To find out more, email ciudadesantelasdro gas@rincondelavictoria.es or call 952 918 292.

Community Get involved service NERJA plans to reinforce its community so­ cial services team for 2021 with more staff. The council has confirmed a four­month full­time social worker will be hired to assist the management of the provision of the Minimum Income within the town. And in addition, the selection process for hiring a psychologist have been approved. The candidate will temporarily replace a psychologist who is currently on leave, though it’s not clear if the new recruit will remain after the leave period. Councillor for Human Resources, Ángela Díaz, welcomed the move and said: “The selection process will be carried out through a generic job offer processed by the Andalucian Employment Service, since it is the most agile recruitment procedure, due to the need to cover the service in the shortest possible time.” A 62­YEAR­OLD man has been arrested for claiming to have been the victim of a ‘violent robbery’ in Malaga City. The Spanish man told police he had been pushed and thrown to the ground by a thief who stole his wallet containing €600, bank cards and identification. He told police the thief was wearing

WHAT leisure and training acitvities would you like to see in 2021? An online survey has been launched in Rincon de la Vic­ toria to find out what preferences people aged 14 and 35 have when it comes to courses, workshops and activities in the town. Town mayor, Francisco Salado said “this new survey aimed at the youngest people in the municipality will serve as a tool to establish actions which promote the de­ velopment of a training plan that offers greater opportuni­ ties for our young people.” While councillor Antonio José Martín added that the objective of the survey is “to have the opinion of our young people, to know what their con­ cerns, needs and suggestions are in order to be able to better define youth policies in our municipality.” The campaign called #tienesmuchoquedecir consists of an online survey where young people can respond and in­ dicate their preferences in relation to which courses they want to be offered or in which recreational activities they are most interested. The survey is available at the follow­ ing link: https://forms.gle/hCpkvvKSLMYRS94H7 and on the council’s Facebook page.

Bogus victim glasses and a mask and so could not give a description of the ‘suspect.’ But an initial investigation of the alleged offence on Thursday January 7, raised suspi­ cions and officers were concerned the

Murallas and Puerta Real de La Villa, statue of Juan Breva, María Zambrano Foundation, Felipe II Fountain, Camarín de la Piedad, La Fortaleza, Santa María Church, Vélez-Málaga Museum (MUVEL), El Carmen Theater, Las Convent Claras, Francisco Hernández Contemporary Art Center (CAC), Cruz del Cordero and María Zambrano Park. The project was unveiled by councillor for Culture, Cynthia García, and the representative of creator Poetopia, Antonio Zamparelli (pictured).

New look parking TORRE DEL MAR has re­ opened the central car park after a ‘comprehensive’ re­ modelling. The car park in Calle Duque de Ahumada has un­ dergone a €48,000 facelift to improve the aesthetics of the area. Councillor for Infrastruc­ ture, Juan García, said: “vari­ ous actions have been car­ ried out in order to replace the existing pavement, which was very deteriorated due to its age. “It is an area in high de­ mand by users, mostly resi­ dents and parents of the ed­ ucation centre in the area. The action has consisted of the demolition of the pave­ ment, planters, concrete lay­ er, curbs and the pavement at the southern part, in addi­ tion to several LED lighting which will be installed in the coming days.” The deputy mayor of Torre del Mar, Jesús Pérez Atencia, stressed that it is “a central area in which we have car­ ried out various actions that have valued all its surround­ ings. Among them, the con­ struction of the new library, remodelling of Calle Duque de Ahumada, Calle Babor and now this parking lot.”

man’s story didn’t add up. He was called back to Malaga police sta­ tion where he had made his initial com­ plaint, before admitting he had made the robbery up. He was arrested for ‘simulating a crime,’ and the matter is in the hands of the courts.

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Residence outbreaks COVID infections have been reported at four residences in Axarquia ­ two in Velez­Malaga and two in Rincon de la Victo­ ria. The Official Gazette of the Junta de Andalucía (BOJA) has published the impact of the pandemic on nursing homes, with 922 infections across the region ­ 543 residents and 379 members of staff. Seventy­one residents are in hospital and a fur­ ther 1,751 in preventative isolation. The following resi­ dences in Axarquia have reported infections: Almudena Alzheimer’s residence in Rincon de la Victoria where 26 resi­ dents and seven staff have tested positive; Bof­ fer Residence in Rincon de la Victoria with 16 resi­ dents and 12 staff infect­ ed; and Torremar Resi­ dential Centre and Seniors Residence, both in Velez­Malaga, each with one employee in­ fected.

‘Bank’ of workers NERJA Council plans to create a ‘bank’ of skilled tractor drivers, machine operators and labourers to deal with clean­up op­ erations. The proposal, which is intended to cover the tem­ porary needs of labour per­ sonnel in municipal ser­ vices, particularly in the wake of storms etc, has been approved by the Lo­ cal Government Boards. Councillors for Human Resources and Beaches, Ángela Díaz and Maricar­ men López, welcomed the move and are inviting ap­ plications from interested parties in the town. The vacancies will be published in the Official Gazette of the Province of Malaga within the next few days, and applications must be submitted within 10 working days.

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Yelmo Close Temporarily CINEMA: Forced to close during current restrictions.

THE Yelmo cinema chain which is very popular with the English-speaking communities on the Costa del Sol has decided to temporarily close its cinema complexes in Plaza Mayor, Malaga, and Rincón de la Victoria. Yelmo has built up a good following with its screening of original-language films, and with them operating a schedule of one session during the week, then two on the weekends, the 8pm closure enforced under the Junta de Andalucia coronavirus restrictions do not make financial sense to the company. The Plaza Mayor complex, with its 20 screens, is Yelmo’s principal complex and is one of the largest multi-screen cinema complexes in Spain, highly profitable under normal circumstances. A spokesman for Yelmo said the complexes will remain closed during January, but their cinema in Vialia, Malaga, will remain open from Wednesday to Sunday.

USEFUL NUMBERS Emergency Services National Police Local Police Guardia Civil Ambulance Fire Brigade

112 091 092 062 061 080

NEWS

Advertising Feature

Spain’s ambitious vision for 100% renewable energy SPAIN aims to cut carbon emis­ sions to net zero by 2050, ac­ cording to a new climate change bill, which sets out an ambitious raft of targets to tackle global warming over the next 30 years. If the bill gets the go head from Spanish Parliament, at least 70 per cent of the country’s en­ ergy will need to come from clean energy sources, such as wind and solar, and all new coal, oil and gas extraction projects will be banned. The new bill goes hand­in­ hand with the Paris Climate Agreement, a global framework to limit global warming to well below 2ºC, and is also expected to shape the country’s economic recovery from Covid­19. While the plans are ambitious, Spain has already made great headway into shaking up the electricity market in favour of renewable energies. Consumers have been given more flexibility

to switch electricity suppliers, giving green energy companies the opportunity to offer compet­ itive tariffs, while supplying electricity from 100 per cent re­ newable sources. And, more recently, the re­ moval of Spain’s infamous ‘sun tax’ has paved the way for more businesses and households to generate their own electricity using solar roof panels. With more than 300 days of sun per year, Spain provides the perfect location for generating electrici­ ty from solar power. The former taxes and complex legislation had previously made the process of installing and us­ ing solar PV panels prohibitive, but thanks to the abolition of these taxes more and more con­ sumers are choosing to invest in solar energy as a way of saving money and taking a step to­ wards sustainable living. The new legislation on solar

PV panels even goes a stage fur­ ther and allows those who gen­ erate solar energy to be finan­ cially compensated for any surplus energy they produce, which can then be fed into the National Grid. In addition to the legislative changes, which empower busi­ nesses and consumers to be able to generate and consume renew­ able energy, the government is also committing to installing a minimum of 3,000 MW of wind and solar power capacity, each year for the next 10 years. Speaking about Spain’s envi­ ronmental aims, Laurence Tubiana, chief executive of the European Climate Foundation said: “By planning on going car­ bon neutral, Spain shows that the battle against climate change is deadly serious, that they are ready to step up and plan to reap the rewards of de­ carbonisation.”

+34 951 120 830 I info@mariposaenergia.es I www.mariposaenergia.es

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Expensive storm MADRID was plunged under over a million kilograms of snow in just 30 hours as Storm Filomena swept across the centre of Spain. With roads, services, and businesses paralysed by the most severe weather incident in living memory, the city’s government has announced that Madrid’s recovery will cost a staggering €1.398 billion. The government has requested the declaration of a ‘catastrophic zone’ over the metropolis as the city counts the spiralling costs of the disaster. Mayor Jose Luis MartinezAlmeida said that the storm had “exceeded all the expectations” of forecasters and said that the government’s aim was “to meet the extraordinary costs of the snow tsunami.” Nearly a billion euros was lost by Madrid’s retail, service, and hotel industry while the cut of all public transport services except the Metro cost €30 million. The council said that €75 million will be needed to repair buildings damaged by snow, alongside a further €110 million for roads and pavements. Fixing schools, sports facilities, and cultural centres will cost €43 million.

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Euro Weekly News ‘On-Air’ With BBC Merseyside Radio CEO Michel Euesden gave a live interview on Monday morning, January 18, to BBC Merseyside Radio. She was invited on to give an insight into how Brexit has affected the lives of the many thousands of expat residents in Spain. Michel said the paper was picked up and read every Thursday and was a major source of information as to what’s going on in Spain and, more importantly, what new rules there are regarding the Covid restrictions - all explained in English for the non-Spanish speaking reader.

An insight into Brexit.

The interview also included expat Jan Miller, from Warrington in Cheshire, who moved to Spain in December 2020. She goes on to describe the ‘interesting’ journey she is experiencing as she starts her new life with her partner and their two friends while they settle down in Spain. Michel Euesden was also recently interviewed by a BBC news team at the EWN offices. The short documentary was intended to explain just how life is changing on the Costa del Sol for the many thousands of expats the paper serves.

‘Non-Priority’ Officials Vaccinated THE Ministry of Health on Thursday, January 14, opened an investigation to establish why 15 people in the Alicante region who do not fall into priority groups have already received the Covid-19 vaccine. It has been reported that two

Granada Christmas Recycling Boost COUNCILLOR for the Environment, Pepa Rubia revealed that Grana­ da has increased the recycling of light packaging by 25 per cent. This is an increase from 216 tons to an incredible 274 tons. The recycling of cardboard and paper also increased over the Christmas period by 3.3 per cent, and a total of 308 tons were collected to be recycled. Due to the coronavirus restrictions in place glass recycling dropped, as business in bars and restaurants was affected. Rubia gave thanks to residents in Granada for their efforts over the festive period and said the increase in light packaging put out for recycling had “been spectac­ ular.”

mayors in Marina Alta, Local Police, Guardia Civil and eight officials of the Almoradi City Council have been vaccinated. There are currently four priority groups who are supposed to be first in line for the jab, consisting of the elderly, health

and social care workers and other front-line staff. Sources from the Ministry explained that the administration of vaccines is the responsibility of the health departments and there is no way of policing who gets the jabs when.

Urban Art Tourism URBAN ART is hoping to boost visitors to Malaga’s Soho as a crocheting duo cover the local trees, much to the delight and support of local businesses. The art is being used to great effect to cover parts of the area. Soho businesswomen Estrella Zurita and Estrella Malet have set out to cover the trunks of all the orange trees in the area and said, “If this is the neighborhood of the arts, let it show.” The new initiative has already become an attraction for tourists and is well supported by both local business and residents.

Nevertheless, officials are investigating this irregularity and have requested information from the health departments of Marina Alta and Orihuela, as well as the Torrevieja department, which is privately managed by Ribera Salud.

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Schofield “we’ll get the bill” THIS MORNING viewers were amazed and heartened by a simple act of generosity by Philip himself, after a clearly distraught viewer rang in and explained she could not eat or sleep with intense worry over a £700 electric bill. Presenter Philip Schofield said it would be looked after one way or another referring to the outstanding amount. Patricia, the viewer who it was discovered is 73 years old, was supposed to send her readings into her new supplier, but it was a little too much for her and the bill mounted up. Money Matters expert Martin Lewis was on hand after the show to explain to Patricia how to send readings in, as it was an integral part of the agreement you sign with the energy supplier.

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Guardians Voluntary Gambling Exclusions Barcelona ‘Strategic Plan 2021-2025’ for The Alhambra THE Junta de Andalucia has set out to provide new guardians for the Alham­ bra and the Generalife in Granada, in the form of fal­ conry birds of prey. They will not only restore a cul­ tural history linked to the Nasrid times, but also pro­ tect the monuments and their surroundings from being damaged by pi­ geons. Falconer, Paulino Vázquez, is the head of the project that will project the gardens and forests along with the artistic heritage of the Alhambra. His team of guardians consists of brothers Rómulo and Re­ mo, who are Harris’s ea­ gles, two hawks and a goshawk. The birds of prey will be used to displace groups of pigeons and move them into a more appropriate habitat.

IN a bid to help both gam­ blers and their affected families, gamblers can vol­ untarily register to be ex­ cluded from gambling. The Ministry of Consumer Af­ fairs states that in 2020 in Spain, over 6,000 people chose to voluntarily be ex­ cluded from online gam­ ONLINE: Access restricted. bling. The protective mea­ sures of the registries mean addicts can be blocked from gambling if they deem that it has become a problem for them. There are both state and autonomous community registers, which serve different purposes. The state registry controls access to online gambling and the au­ tonomous community registers restricted access to physical gaming businesses, that are regulated in the autonomous communities.

Madrid’s ‘Catastrophic Zone’ THE mayor of Madrid, José Luis Martínez Almeida, called on the Spanish government on Thurs­ day, January 14, to declare the country’s capital city a “cata­ strophic zone” following an esti­ mated €1.4million worth of damages caused by Storm Filomena. “We request the declaration of a catastrophic zone, the cir­ cumstances exist for it and I ask

the central government for speed in its response,” said Almeida. The mayor has also called an extraordinary plenary session to discuss the municipal manage­ ment of the recovery after the storm. Storm Filomena ripped through Madrid for several days, causing the worst snowstorm in half a century and causing un­ told damage in the city.

THE port of Barcelona unveiled the ‘Strategic Plan 2021­2025’ at the headquarters of Foment del Treball on Wednesday Janu­ ary 13. The main economic objec­ tives are to raise the value of the goods it moves internationally above €70,000 million. This will increase to 40,000, the number of people that are employed lo­ cally, and hopefully, bring an end to 50 per cent of the con­ tainer docks being empty. The president of the port, Mercè Conesa, who presented the plan together with the gen­

BARCELONA PORT: The main logistics hub in the Med. eral director of the port of Barcelona, José Alberto Car­ bonell, and the vice president of Foment, Joaquim Llansó, high­ lighted that the port is already

the main logistics hub in the Mediterranean, with €65,000 million of annual exports, and moves 25 per cent of Spain’s for­ eign trade.

Katie’s Heart-Breaking Decision KATIE PRICE has made the heart-breaking decision that no mother would ever want to make, of putting her 18-year-old, 6ft 2in and almost 29st, disabled son Harvey, who also has a disorder which makes him partially blind, into a residential college. A devastated Katie, aged 42, said “It breaks my heart. I don’t want him to think I’m just getting rid of him. It’s so upsetting to think I won’t see him every day but this is the best thing for Harvey and we have to think positively because I don’t want him to think I’m just getting rid of him. This is his chance to live an independent life, learn skills, and socialise with people other than me.” She continued, “I’m trying to get him used to

me not being there all the time. But he’ll call on his iPad and say, ‘Mum, I need you,’ and I run to him. When he’s away it will break my heart because I won’t be able to get there, as I’ve got to juggle him with my other kids. When he goes to college he will learn to be an adult. He says now, ‘Mummy, I’m not a boy, I’m a man’.” Katie added, “The other kids are excited for him, they want to see what he can do. But I think they’ll find it hard when he’s not around on weekends. I need to learn to let go but it’s tough, anyone in my position knows how hard it is. We have an incredible bond. I don’t know how Harvey will react or how he’ll feel when I can’t get to him. It’s too painful to think about.”

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CAFETERIA BECOMES AN ICU CAFETERIA: Prepared for an increase in patients.

Acid Attacker Moved ‘For His Own Safety’ SUSPECTED acid attacker, José Arcadio, is already behind bars in the Alhaurín de la Torre prison but, as if the confinement isn’t enough, he has now been moved into his own cell due to threats from other inmates. ‘El Melillero,’ as he is called, is accused of throwing acid at the face of his ex-girlfriend and a friend in Cártama. He will spend 10 days in quarantine, without contact with any other prisoner. After spending his first night there, he was transferred to module 7, which is the isolation unit where all the prisoners are found to whom the protection protocol is applied. According to sources, they are inmates who feel endangered, for example, because they owe something to another inmate or because of the kind of crime they have committed, such as those of a sexual nature. The prisoners under protection do not mix with the rest of the inmates. Their movements are restricted and prison officials coordinate their movements within the prison so that they are not even in the same corridors with the other inmates. A trial date is yet be set for the suspect.

THE cafeteria in Malaga’s re­ gional hospital is being pre­ pared for use as an ICU ward for incoming patients affect­ ed by the recent rise in Covid infections. This ward has been ‘in­ stalled’ before in the cafeteria when numbers of infected pa­ tients increased, and the need for another ICU arose. The whole of the hospital has undergone a restructure of varying degrees to accom­ modate what it’s believed will be a considerable rise in admissions in the next 14 days. The Hospital management confirmed Oncological surgery would go ahead de­ spite the influx of Covid pa­ tients, and as much normal practice would continue. Still, non­urgent proce­ dures may take a back seat till the facility can accommo­ date patients. It’s always a worrying de­ velopment when cafeterias are turned into intensive care wards, but it’s a neces­ sary one in these difficult times.

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Brit Brexit confusion Turned back at the airport.

LUCY and Adam Montgomery have been living in Barcelona for several years and both pos­ sess NIE numbers in Spain. Returning from a Christmas visit to family in Northern Ire­ land, they flew back to the Catalan capital via Manches­

Amazon Creates Jobs CORONAVIRUS restrictions and forced retail closures saw a huge shift away from traditional shopping in Spain, and online retail giant Amazon certainly made the most of the new trend, employing a whopping 5,000 people in 2020, bringing its Spanish workforce up to 12,000. The company announced on Thursday, January 14, that it now operates in 28 different locations in Spain, with new logistical centres having opened in Madrid and Sevilla in 2020. “We are incredibly proud to support thousands of people in Spain and their families in these difficult times. This is not only great news for those looking for a new job, but also a clear vote of confidence in the Spanish economy, in the hope that we can contribute to accelerating the recovery after the pandemic,” reported Mariangela Marseglia, Vice President and General Director for Amazon in Italy and Spain. “We have been overwhelmed by the trust that millions of Spanish customers have placed in Amazon and we will continue to work tirelessly for them and for the thousands of SMEs that work with us.”

ter. Upon arriving at Barcelona airport, border officials urged passengers to immediately take out their passports. The plane was divided into three lines for Spanish, EU, and British citizens. The Brits were quizzed about their residency permits by border police, who told Lucy she would not be permitted to enter the country as her TIE (registration number for non­EU citizens) docu­ ments were still being processed. She showed the police tax statements, proof of address, and other evidence that she was a resident of Spain to no avail. As her husband Adam al­ ready had a TIE number, he was permitted to enter the country. As the couple have two dogs in Barcelona, they were forced to separate and Lucy flew back to the UK. The case has highlighted the post­Brexit confusion faced by many British expats living in Spain, as overnight changes to the law brought in over the new year have caused wide­ spread travel issues.

EWN

9

Guardia Civil confirm ‘It’s a scam’ A NEW scam alert has been is­ sued by the Guardia Civil re­ garding a download scam linked to the theft of bank de­ tails. The scam is sent by SMS message to your phone and suggests downloading an app to track a parcel coming to you, and it also suggests that to be sure to receive this item you must download the app to your phone. A Trojan or similar hidden software will then proceed to try and recover any bank details you have on your phone or within the commu­ nication received by third parties such as receipts, con­

SMS SCAM: Suggests there is a parcel on its way to you.

firmations and orders. This scam impersonates the post office of Spain ‘Correos’ and asks you to upload your TIE or DNI document and a photo to be able to receive a parcel. The very clear advice from the Guardia Civil is not to

download and not to give your details if you receive a message as described, but to go to your post office and show them what you have received where all will be confirmed immedi­ ately. If you are not sure, don’t click it, the best advice always.

Freezing Classrooms unbearable AS most areas of Spain experience some of the coldest weather in a decade, teachers’ unions are demanding urgent action as students and teachers alike are forced to wear hats, scarves and coats in the classroom and wrap up in blankets due to guidance to keep doors and windows open to ensure plenty of cross-ventilation in the prevention of coronavirus. However, the unions are now urgently calling on the Department of Education to install air filters in the classroom or revert to online

teaching, as the conditions in schools have become unbearable. According to one union, students are being forced to try and learn “in the heart of the cold snap with the lowest temperatures in decades, exposed to temperatures of 5 degrees Celsius, when the Law of Education states the minimum is 17 degrees, covered with blankets, with coats on, gloves, scarves and hats. What kind of system is it that condemns people to wither, get sick from the virus or catch pneumonia?”

10 EWN

www.euroweeklynews.com

21 - 27 January 2021

FEATURE

GO LOCAL

THE EUROWEEKLY NEWS is urging its readers to support local businesses in the community by go­ ing local through the lockdown and for your all your shopping this year, instead of feeding online giants and super­ stores. This lockdown and with Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day upcoming, we challenge you to redis­ cover your local high streets, markets, butchers, greengrocers and all of the wonderfully quirky inde­ pendent businesses in your area. Due to the Covid­19 pan­ demic, you may have to support many local busi­ nesses by ordering online and making use of any click and collect services they can operate if you are un­ able to get out due to health reasons or lockdown restrictions. The joy of shopping local means that independent businesses can help support the local community. Although it may be a euro or two cheaper elsewhere

or online, consider where your money is actually go­ ing. By shopping at an inde­ pendent store you’re putting food on a local fami­

ly’s table, and there is no better time than now to give back to your communi­ ty by making a small gesture and shopping in this way. Many local stores support local charities, support and sponsor local sports teams and in many cases the small independent stores are ac­ tually much more than just a small high street shop, they’re a family’s legacy, of­ ten passed down through numerous generations and support not just the current owner but the generation before.

BUY LOCAL: By shopping locally, independent businesses can help support the local community. For those stores which are new, that extra couple of euros spent there are sup­ porting someone’s dream and ambition, and also the courage it took them to step out alone, which is no easy task. It takes quite a large chunk of money to set up an independent store and com­ pete with the multinational and chains.

So be sure to pre­order your meat from a local butcher and get your spuds from a local greengrocer, let us revive that community spirit and get to know our neighbours again. You could also consider purchasing gift vouchers from local businesses to help them over the coming

weeks, thinking outside the box can often lead to some fantastic ideas. Why not buy a meal for two, an hour’s tattoo time at a local studio, a hair cut at a local salon or an online study course for someone looking to change their career path. As people are struggling with finances thinking about

FEATURE

www.euroweeklynews.com

what friends and family may actually need is important too. Whilst it’s nice to give a glamourous gift perhaps pre­paying a family mem­ ber’s phone bill for the month would actually be a better gift. Helping people alleviate stress and worry , give the gift of peace of mind through these difficult times. Choosing to spend your money locally will really make a difference in the re­ covery of the local econo­ my. When we buy local, our money stays local, and it strengthens the local econ­ omy in two ways. First, buy­ ing local keeps money cir­ culating within the local economy.

Studies have shown that local businesses recirculate a greater share of every eu­ ro as they create locally owned supply chains and invest in their employees. Data shows that local re­ tailers return 52 per cent of their revenue back into the local economy, compared to just 14 per cent for national chain retailers. Money circulating through the local economy benefits everyone who is a part of each transaction. For example, let’s look at a local farmer growing produce. First, they sell to a local restaurant, which in turn pre­ pares the fresh produce and sells it to local customers. The farmer pays its local em­

ployees and the restaurant uses revenue from sales to buy supplies from a neigh­ bourhood hardware store. This example illustrates how the recirculation of money in the local economy leads to a stronger financial foundation for our neighbours and com­ munities.

21 - 27 January 2021

Buying local also fuels new employment and job opportunities for people within our community. Stud­ ies show, locally owned businesses employ more people per unit of sales and retain more employees over time. A fantastic example of

how to support your local community is with a Charity Gift certificate, why not do­ nate to your loved one’s favourite cause. Just remember to follow the latest government ad­ vice and any guidance busi­ nesses have to keep every­ one safe.

EWN 11

12 EWN

21 - 27 January 2021

EUROPEAN NIBS DENMARK

GERMANY

No boycott

Passports stolen

EVEN though there have been numerous allegations of civil rights breaches in Qatar, the Danish Government has indicated that if the Danish National Football Team qualifies for the World Cup Finals, it will not ban it from taking part.

THIEVES in the city of Köthen broke into a register office and removed a safe weighing 750 kilos which, it has been revealed, contained a large number of identity cards and passports as well as two finger-print scanners.

BELGIUM

FRANCE

Hydrogen problem

Back off

AN experiment to introduce buses run on hydrogen (which is considered one of the better green energy sources) in Charleroi which was first approved in May of last year has been postponed due to lack of development funding.

WORKERS and unions are upset by a new rule introduced by Swedish maker of toilet paper Essity which wants to make it mandatory for staff in France to wear a device that makes a noise if they violate social distancing rules.

NETHERLANDS

NORWAY

Child benefit scandal

Meteor strike

JUST two months before the next Dutch general election, it is possible that the government may decide to resign as politicians are due to debate a report highlighting a scandal concerning the tax office treatment of families wrongly suspected of benefit fraud.

THOSE living in the vicinity of the small town of Løten saw and heard the sudden arrival of a meteorite and are tr ying to find the outer space visitor (which is estimated to have weighed less than two kilos) in the thick snow.

www.euroweeklynews.com

FEATURE

Advertising Feature

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NEWS

www.euroweeklynews.com

21 - 27 January 2021

ERTE Extended T H E Executive Committee of the S panish C onfederation of B usiness Organisations (CEOE) met on Tuesday January 19 and have unanimously approved the document that will extend the E R T E until May 31 as offered by the government. T he C E O E has also supported the request of ATA, the main association of self-employed, to provide protection and help to entrepreneurs who

are being affected by capacity and activity limitations by administrative order. “The governing bodies of C EO E have unanimously decided to approve the document on the extension of temporary employment regulation files (ERTEs) until next May 31,” said the statement, which will maintain in very similar terms the current regulations, in force until January 31.

Masks Until 2022 T H E director of the A I D S Research Institute (IrsiCaixa) and head of Infectious Diseases at the Germans Trias i Pujol Hospital ( C an R uti), B onaventura Clotet, believes that “we will have to get used to masks” as he sees them having to be used until 2022. In statements to the programme Faqs, of T V 3

he said: “ W e have to get used to the fact that the use of masks will last until 2022,” who pointed out that after the appearance of the M E R S respiratory coronavirus in 2012, “they should have spent a lot of money to prevent a new worse variant from appearing.” The expert is committed to continuing the research

on vaccines, since “in fact, it has already been published that there are coronaviruses that have mutations and characteristics that would not be sensitive and would not be neutralised with the antibodies that are generated with current vaccines. “ I t is necessary to continue investigating vaccines,” he concluded.

EWN 13

FINANCE Refinancing SABA, the Spanish car park group owned by Criteria Caixa, the investment holding company of La Caixa bank has suffered from the lockdown and is now refinancing debts of €465 million with a number of lenders and is extending the life of its loans.

Recession bound A REPORT from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) highlighted the fact that the UK gross domestic product (GDP) declined by 2.6 per cent in November. GDP at the end of the month was 8.5 per cent below its pre-pandemic peak.

Fishing for shrimp FISHING company Iberconsa is to spend €26 million to have two new vessels built in order to strengthen its fleet and these will sail to Argentinian waters to fish for shrimp which is a new area of operation for the Galician organisation.

Jobs saved A RESCUE deal has been agreed for the Edinburgh Woollen Mill with Purepay Retail, a syndicate of investors led by the former chief operating officer of the group which will save 1,450 workers and salvage both Ponden Home and Bonmarche.

UK lockdown insurance THOUSANDS of small businesses in the UK will receive compensation from their insurance companies to cover losses incurred during the first national lockdown, following a recent court ruling. It was a test case put together by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) with the agreement of some insurance companies and small business protection groups. The Supreme Court ruled that small firms should receive payments under business interruption insurance policies which could now cost the insurers millions of pounds and form a precedence for future claims.

STAT OF WEEK

www.euroweeklynews.com • 21 - 27 January 2021

€3.5 billion

is the amount of money that Bankinter placed in its Luxembourg subsidiary in 2020 on behalf of clients looking to move their savings.

Covid dismissal upheld

EU Recovery Fund money ALTHOUGH the announce­ ment of the huge sums to be made available to Spain from the EU’s Recovery Fund was widely applaud­ ed, none has been received as yet and it appears that the government will have to prove that it is worthy of receiving the funds. The problem for Spain is that it needs the money in order to support the nu­ merous changes and finan­ cial aid that it has included in its 2021 budget which it­

self assumes the injection of €34 billion from the Eu­ ropean Union. Already it has been made clear that the ma­ chinery behind the two major new Tobin and Google taxes which were to generate significant in­ come for the country is lacking and this is an indi­ cation that the bureaucra­ cy behind the Spanish tax system is due for a major overhaul. The coalition govern­

LEGALLY SPEAKING

ment is committed to re­ form of some of the origi­ nal labour laws introduced by the Partido Popular but as time passes, it is clear that PSOE and Podemos have different views on how far and how quickly these changes can go. In a time of crisis with so many people out of work or on furlough, tax income falls and expenditure in­ creases and, in a bid, to re­ duce that load, the govern­ ment is looking closely at

the state pension with qualifying period to be in­ creased and incentives giv­ en to encourage workers to continue after the age of 65. The problem however is that with nearly four mil­ lion unemployed, many of them young, blocking re­ tirement might save ex­ pensive pensions, but leaves unemployed youth which may become a social and financial burden for a future government.

Selling performance

Future Residence Permits?

Credit: Ralph-PH flickr

BUSINESS EXTRA

14

We have received several similar questions regarding applications for Spanish residence permits into the next few years. Some al­ ready own holiday homes here where they intend eventually to retire. Others simply wonder how to apply for a residence permit a few years from now after the special post­Brexit regulations all expire. What documents will they need?

First you will need evidence of regular YOU AND THE LAW income to show IN SPAIN you can support yourself in Spain. This can be as low as €13,300, which is the general mini­ mum wage in Spain, for a single person. It varies on a sliding scale according to the number of family mem­ bers. If you do not have a regular income you must show a lump sum of €22,000 in the bank. Then you will need a medical certificate showing no contagious diseases. You must present a medical insurance policy with a company authorised to operate in Spain. There are other forms to fill in but these are basic. You will make your application at the Consular section of the Spanish embassy in Lon­ don or at the Consulate in Manchester and you must ap­ pear in person.

DAVID SEARL

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

IN an interview with the Gibraltar Broadcasting Corporation on January 14, former Chief Minister and recent­ ly appointed Minister with responsi­ bility for Financial Stability, Sir Joe Bossano made a shocking statement. He basically said that due to disrup­ tion caused by both Brexit and the Covid­19 pandemic that the Rock was no longer financially stable and that the situation is “extremely serious”

NOVEL IDEA: For someone who says he’s not a great drummer, Mick Fleetwood has done ok. MICK FLEETWOOD, British drummer and one of the founder members of Fleet­ wood Mac has come up with a novel idea which will add to his millions in the bank by sell­ ing his proportion of perfor­ mance rights to BMG music. At 73 he is clearly looking to generate additional in­ come for his successors, but unlike other musicians who have sold publishing rights re­ cently, his deal means that every time any Fleetwood Mac number (from the most successful line­up) is streamed on the internet, BMG will be paid his portion of the royalties. The recent huge success of

the Tik Tok hit featuring Dreams produced by Nathan Apodaca which had 2.8 bil­ lion views worldwide shows how important the internet and streaming has become. This deal is a follow­up to a separate arrangement done earlier whereby he sold pub­ lishing rights to a separate company, but does not ex­ clude ongoing royalties for sales of CDs and vinyl from the group’s back catalogue. Evergreen rock music has become a popular private in­ vestment option for those looking for something differ­ ent and many old rockers have sold different rights over the past 12 months or so.

Gibraltar financially unstable

with hard decisions having to be made with regards to public spend­ ing. This was after an emergency cabi­ net meeting held to discuss the forthcoming budget and he further indicated his belief that things won’t return to the buoyant times of 2018/2019 until after the next Gen­

eral Election due in 2023. Roy Clinton the opposition Shadow Minster for Public Finance remarked upon hearing this news: “We have for the last eight years been warning the government that its level of spending and borrowing were out of control. Whereas no­one could have foreseen the combined econom­

SOON after the start of the Spanish lockdown, the gov­ ernment had a Royal Decree passed which effectively stated that no­one could be dismissed due to Covid­19 related matters. Now however it is facing a dilemma as a court in Barcelona has ruled that a dismissal of an individual on July 3, 2020 had to be upheld due to Spain’s relationship with the European Union. The decision was based on the grounds that by declaring the dismissal unlawful, there would be a violation of the freedom of the company un­ der regulations governing the EU.

Mercadona coffee supplies ONE of Mercadona’s popular coffee products, the Hacen­ dado Americano range has until now been purchased from UCC Coffee Spain but actually produced by the parent company in Japan. Now with an investment of €250,000 and in accor­ dance with the supermar­ ket’s wishes to cut the envi­ ronmental impact caused by shipping, a new production line will be created at its Logroño (La Rioja) facility. The coffee, available in all of the company’s stores ex­ cept for the Canary Islands is a simple way to enjoy Amer­ icano style filter coffee with­ out the need for any special machinery. ic effects of Covid­19 and Brexit, it is evident that Gibraltar needed a big­ ger financial cushion than it currently has and its rainy­day funds are insuffi­ cient. “The £500 million loan facility guar­ anteed by the UK is only for three years and thus does not give us much room for error if we are to meet our obligations as a community. Spending needs to be prioritised and targeted.”

16 EWN

www.euroweeklynews.com

21 - 27 January 2021

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C LOSING P RICES J ANUARY 18

PRICE(P) CHANGE(P) COMPANY 3I Group 1.151,50 1.153,00 Admiral Group 2.936,0 2.940,0 Anglo American 2.672,5 2.679,6 Antofagasta 1.517,00 1.523,00 Ashtead Group 3.655,0 3.681,0 Associated British Foods 2.251,4 2.257,6 AstraZeneca 7.642,0 7.645,0 Auto Trader Group Plc 571,60 574,60 Avast 537,39 539,74 Aveva 3.788,0 3.846,0 Aviva 351,80 352,00 B&M European Value Retail SA507,80 511,40 BAE Systems 493,16 495,70 Bank VTB DRC 1,007 1,010 Barclays 150,38 150,50 Barratt Developments 705,20 705,20 Berkeley 4.537,0 4.537,0 BHP Group 2.117,98 2.135,50 BP 296,59 299,06 British American Tobacco 2.771,0 2.774,0 British Land Company 457,20 459,00 BT Group 137,46 138,65 Bunzl 2.450,0 2.449,0 Burberry Group 1.728,0 1.732,0 Carnival 1.295,4 1.308,0 Centrica 49,49 50,54 Coca Cola HBC AG 2.311,3 2.312,4 Compass 1.412,00 1.414,00 CRH 3.250,0 3.253,0 Croda Intl 6.332,0 6.406,0 DCC 5.662,0 5.712,0 Diageo 2.906,5 2.920,5 DS Smith 386,40 389,50 EasyJet 815,00 816,60 Experian 2.699,0 2.715,0 Ferguson 9.326,5 9.354,4 Flutter Entertainment 14.965,0 15.060,0 Fresnillo 1.090,00 1.118,50 GlaxoSmithKline 1.411,00 1.412,80 Glencore 277,45 279,38 Halma 2.558,0 2.579,0 Hargreaves Lansdown 1.578,50 1.580,50 Hikma Pharma 2.515,00 2.552,00 HSBC 401,75 402,70 IAG 160,31 160,95 Imperial Brands 1.635,90 1.638,00 Informa 539,20 541,80 InterContinental 4.840,0 4.865,0 Intermediate Capital 1.697,00 1.714,00 Intertek 5.584,0 5.610,0 ITV 109,75 110,40

% CHG. 1.144,50 2.926,0 2.661,7 1.488,50 3.640,0 2.234,6 7.563,0 566,40 534,50 3.785,0 347,40 505,80 490,90 1,007 147,92 692,60 4.471,0 2.112,00 296,00 2.757,0 448,00 136,85 2.436,0 1.704,5 1.280,5 49,24 2.296,0 1.403,70 3.250,0 6.332,0 5.658,0 2.888,0 383,80 795,37 2.682,0 9.242,0 14.880,0 1.081,00 1.400,60 276,58 2.554,0 1.562,50 2.500,00 399,75 156,50 1.620,75 535,00 4.824,0 1.695,00 5.548,0 109,31

NET VOL 15,53K 0,25K 7,59K 41,22K 14,92K 3,54K 10,35K 36,36K 1,98K 13,10K 295,25K 48,85K 14,15K 25,02K 806,45K 58,30K 12,76K 118,46K 664,14K 44,57K 61,15K 1,38M 0,20K 13,99K 26,21K 453,08K 1,81K 8,84K 0,02K 28,37K 2,45K 47,32K 137,72K 239,72K 36,72K 1,52K 6,73K 48,99K 53,68K 698,02K 16,44K 7,69K 1,54K 74,19K 2,26M 8,12K 55,57K 3,69K 9,88K 4,03K 49,21K

COMPANY

PRICE(P)

J Sainsbury Johnson Matthey Land Securities Legal & General Lloyds Banking London Stock Exchange Meggitt Melrose Industries Mondi National Grid NatWest Group Next Norilskiy Nikel ADR Ocado Persimmon Phoenix Prudential Reckitt Benckiser Relx Rentokil Rightmove Rio Tinto PLC Rolls-Royce Holdings Rosneft DRC Royal Dutch Shell A Royal Dutch Shell A Royal Dutch Shell B RSA Insurance Sage Samsung Electronics DRC Sberbank Schroders Scottish Mortgage Segro Severn Trent Smith & Nephew Smiths Group Spirax-Sarco Engineering SSE St. James’s Place Standard Chartered Standard Life Aberdeen Taylor Wimpey Tesco Tui Unilever United Utilities Vodafone Group PLC Whitbread WPP

237,42 2.741,0 668,20 273,87 36,24 9.213,5 431,60 182,65 1.806,29 871,60 161,20 8.122,0 34,70 2.510,19 2.738,0 695,60 1.434,50 6.292,0 1.826,50 523,20 614,20 5.933,0 104,30 6,79 1.457,40 1.457,4 1.397,6 678,20 566,83 1.908,00 14,99 3.461,0 1.228,00 965,68 2.333,0 1.566,50 1.499,00 11.525,0 1.521,00 1.178,50 490,90 307,10 165,45 242,80 400,19 4.386,7 930,00 126,03 3.152,0 817,60

CHANGE(P)

% CHG.

NET VOL

238,13 2.753,0 674,30 273,87 36,26 9.213,5 438,90 183,30 1.820,50 877,80 161,20 8.130,0 35,01 2.540,00 2.743,0 704,00 1.435,50 6.324,0 1.839,50 527,00 617,20 5.963,2 105,65 6,88 1.464,40 1.464,8 1.403,4 678,60 567,20 1.914,00 15,04 3.479,0 1.232,14 968,52 2.341,0 1.575,50 1.503,50 11.630,0 1.529,00 1.178,50 491,90 307,10 165,45 243,50 400,60 4.403,7 936,40 126,78 3.197,8 819,00

236,30 2.723,0 659,70 270,51 35,68 9.186,0 429,50 180,90 1.798,48 869,60 157,35 7.998,0 34,62 2.507,40 2.688,0 689,40 1.420,00 6.280,0 1.823,00 521,40 613,80 5.913,0 104,05 6,79 1.451,75 1.452,2 1.388,0 677,00 564,00 1.906,00 14,87 3.446,0 1.220,00 961,40 2.330,0 1.554,50 1.490,00 11.485,0 1.517,00 1.169,00 485,90 302,89 163,16 239,60 385,25 4.369,0 929,60 125,76 3.147,7 808,80

35,17K 10,10K 66,71K 136,44K 7,97M 0,91K 111,45K 163,55K 0,80K 112,64K 742,53K 14,01K 18,00K 12,23K 47,03K 93,12K 114,70K 37,98K 96,96K 49,34K 20,70K 10,77K 1,34M 82,30K 25,29K 25,63K 76,73K 68,73K 14,95K 3,46K 389,60K 2,06K 226,40K 9,00K 5,99K 45,36K 10,80K 2,10K 49,33K 9,46K 137,65K 93,62K 114,00K 266,89K 270,54K 6,13K 34,83K 377,05K 2,37K 44,80K

0.89184

1.12257 Units per €

US dollar (USD) ......................................1.20699 Japan yen (JPY)......................................125.238 Switzerland franc (CHF) .........................1.07634 Denmark kroner (DKK) ...........................7.43881 Norway kroner (NOK) .............................10.3834

currenciesdirect.com/marbella • Tel: +34 952 906 581 THE ABOVE TABLE USES THE CURRENT INTERBANK EXCHANGE RATES, WHICH AREN’T REPRESENTATIVE OF THE RATE WE OFFER

DOW JONES C LOSING P RICES J ANUARY 18

COMPANY 3M Alphabet C Amazon.com Amgen Apple Boeing Caterpillar Chevron Cisco Coca-Cola Facebook Goldman Sachs Home Depot Honeywell IBM Intel J&J JPMorgan McDonald’s Merck&Co Microsoft Nike Procter&Gamble Salesforce.com Tesla UnitedHealth Verizon Visa A Walmart Walt Disney

PRICE 165,55 1.736,19 3.104,25 245,49 127,14 204,32 194,62 92,09 45,43 48,70 251,36 301,01 275,59 205,97 128,39 57,58 160,30 138,64 209,91 83,38 212,65 140,72 134,78 213,14 826,16 351,30 57,38 201,59 144,64 171,44

CHANGE CHANGE% VOLUME(M) 166,26 163,38 3,55M 1.756,00 1.721,55 1,34M 3.142,55 3.095,17 4,24M 246,84 240,02 2,86M 130,22 127,00 111,60M 209,25 204,20 11,10M 195,71 190,88 3,32M 94,31 91,71 10,24M 45,65 44,88 30,27M 49,18 48,53 24,37M 253,86 247,16 24,94M 304,86 296,88 3,86M 276,39 268,00 5,13M 207,86 205,20 3,89M 129,24 127,67 4,91M 59,65 57,50 50,27M 161,41 159,11 7,63M 141,65 137,01 27,88M 210,70 207,42 3,59M 83,50 81,56 9,74M 214,51 212,03 31,75M 142,38 139,88 6,41M 136,20 134,66 7,76M 217,87 212,99 8,53M 859,90 819,10 38,78M 353,05 345,74 3,78M 57,50 56,71 15,79M 203,26 200,43 8,76M 145,90 143,67 11,97M 174,19 170,17 12,23M M - MILLION DOLLARS

NASDAQ C LOSING P RICES J ANUARY 18

COMPANY

CHANGE NET / %

VOLUME

+3.59% +2.62% +2.27% +3.58% +2.13% +3.12% +1.30% +5.62% +2.69% +26.65% +33.98%

6,355 549,921 551,686 381,507 422,804 307,192 521,782 1.36M 502,443 280,262 47,496

-2.90% -15.84% -8.39% -0.74% -2.23% -2.35% -1.22% -18.03% -8.73% -3.15% -1.68%

340,760 3.58M 1.61M 4.24M 38.78M 772,848 6,940 3.82M 5.24M 869,257 211,828

Most Advanced Atrion Corp. Equinix Inc. Align Technology Inc. Abiomed Inc. MarketAxess Holdings Inc. Bio-Techne Corp. Trade Desk Inc. Cl A Seagen Inc. BeiGene Ltd. ADR BioVie Inc. Kaspien Holdings Inc.

Most Declined Booking Holdings Inc. SolarEdge Technologies Inc. MicroStrategy Inc. Amazon.com Inc. Tesla Inc. Intuitive Surgical Inc. Broadcom Inc. 8% Pfd. Series A Poshmark Inc. Cl A Enphase Energy Inc. ASML Holding N.V. CoStar Group Inc.

FINANCE, BUSINESS & LEGAL

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Credit: Norwegian/ Photo by David Charles Peacock

Back to basics for Norwegian

Norwegian 737-800 aircraft. NORWEGIAN AIR has ad­ vised the Oslo Stock Ex­ change that it intends to concentrate on flights in Nordic areas only, to reduce aircraft numbers and sack around 2,000 members of staff. Founded in 1963, it ex­ panded from being an inter­ nal airline, to touching down first in Nordic countries, then most of Europe and fi­ nally took on intercontinen­ tal flights using modern air­ craft and charging relatively low prices. It eventually became the largest airline in Scandinavia and the fourth largest inde­ pendent carrier in Europe after WIZZ, easyJet and Ryanair, but its reliance on Boeing 787 Dreamliners for long haul flights had caused major problems before the outbreak of the pandemic. The airline had significant

debts and didn’t have the technical back up to cope with technical problems with its fleet and the out­ break of Covid­19 really was the last straw, as it had al­ most no income but debts to cover as well as the cost of parking its fleet to cope with. Having been refused sig­ nificant financial assistance by the Norwegian Govern­ ment it had to enter into bankruptcy protection in Ireland and whilst it hopes to reduce its indebtedness to Kr 20 billion (€1.9 billion) it can only achieve this by disposing of aircraft (if any­ one wants them), reducing staff and destinations. By taking this action, it hopes that the Norwegian Government will reconsider its appeal for assistance and it has been confirmed that the Norwegian Busi­

Spanish taxes delayed THE much-vaunted Spanish Tobin and Google taxes due to be reported in February and April respectively will have to be postponed due to a number of problems. Not only are the necessary orders and regulations not yet in place to make the imposition of these taxes legal, but computer platforms have not been completed to allow for their reporting and collection. What is not known at the moment is whether the taxes will be retrospective once everything is in place or those responsible for paying will be let off any back dating.

ness and Trade Minister, Iselin Nybø, is reviewing the situation.

BUSINESS EXTRA Cryptocurrency THE continued rise of the value of Bitcoins is starting to worry some regulators who whilst in favour of the concept of cryptocurrency fear that crooks will continue to be attracted to an untraceable way of moving money around.

Lockdown woe WHILST purely online card companies like Moonpig have seen business increase dramatically, those like Card Factory in the UK with nearly 1,000 stores has run into some financial difficulty as although online sales are good, the lockdown has drained income from the shops.

Anti-Covid bus GALICIAN based bus manufacturer Castrosura working with Scania has unveiled its first anti-Covid electric bus which includes foot pedals to request that the bus stop, built in temperature gauges and even mask detectors.

21 - 27 January 2021

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18 EWN

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21 - 27 January 2021

Organic Cuisine Championship OLULENSE chef Ángel Hernández has taken the crown at the Andalucian Championship of Organic Cuisine, in the first edition of the BioRestauración competition. Organised by Ecovalia and held at the Seville School of Hospitality, all the necessary Covid­19 security measures were followed and the final eight chefs produced their fantastic meals, all made with organic products. Each province in Andalucia was represented by a different chef. President of Ecovalia, Álvaro Barrera said the competi­ tion, “has demonstrated the high level of catering and the commitment of Andalucian chefs to organic products. In a situation like the one we are going through, from Ecovalia, we were clear that we had to support the restau­ rant sector, one of the most affected by the pandemic, and we have done so with this contest.”

200 Million Customers lost SPAIN’S airport operator Aena has suffered its worst year in history, as it carried 199,183,065 fewer passengers in 2020 than it did the previous year, representing a loss of 72.4 per cent. The first coronavirus lockdown in the spring saw a 90 per cent drop in passengers, but things slightly improved with the arrival of summer and the resumption of international travel. However, the airline sector collapsed again in September with the onset of the second Covid­19 wave. The biggest loss was unsurprisingly in international travel, with a drop of 77.8 per cent, but national airline passengers also fell by 60.6 per cent.

FEATURE

I say, each to their own LEAPY LEE SAYS IT OTHERS THINK IT I’M afraid I’m rather going off this vaccine idea. At first I thought the adverse reports coming in were the work of the usual scaremongering conspiracy theorists, but this time I find myself tending toward a similar way of thinking. Computers can deliver up all the probabilities in the world, but you cannot simulate real time in a laboratory. The only way to really know the safety and effectiveness of these new vaccines is with the test of real time ­ and this they haven’t had. What is even more disconcerting is that Norway, who, sometime before the end of last year was the first to implement the vaccine, have reported large numbers of people experiencing adverse effects, and even more disturbingly, had some 23 deaths with 13 of them positively linked to vaccine side effects. Admittedly these were all elderly patients, but even so they were the first

to receive the injection and subsequently had it in their system for the longest time. Other reports, backed up by video evidence, show people having severe convulsions after receiving the vaccine and an investigation is also under way after the death of a Florida doctor, who died of a blood disorder some 16 weeks after receiving a shot. VAERS has alleged that already in the USA 33 people have died, 96 experienced life threatening symptoms and 225 were hospitalised. It’s just all a bit worrying. Whatever any of the medical ‘experts’ say, they have no way whatsoever of knowing what the long term effects of these vaccines can be. I do believe however, that although it may never actually become compulsory, the time will come when if you haven’t had the shot, you could be severely restricted; ie not allowed to travel or cross borders without showing some proof of vaccination. Hotels, bars, restaurants and places of entertainment, could also require proof before admitting customers and even find themselves refused a licence should

they fail to comply with orders laid down by their respective governments. You also will probably be unable to gain employment in certain capacities. It’s all a bit ‘Big Brother.’ If you don’t want to spend the rest of your days as a recluse, the only choice you may have is to actually have the jab. Of course if people start keeling over in droves, all of this will become moot! I just don’t fancy being an early victim. I think I’ll try and put it off as long as possible. I’m pretty sure the three weeks of debilitating illness I suffered back in February was my own personal bout of the virus, but without the test of time, even contracting the illness is no guarantee of further immunity. Ah well, as with a whole host of human experiences and occurrences, ‘only time will tell’. All this is only my opinion of course, don’t take my word for it. Each to their own, that’s what I say. Good luck all. Keep the faith. Love Leapy. Leapylee2002@gmail.com. Expatradioscotland.com Mon. Wed. Fri.

Leapy Lee’s opinions are his own and are not necessarily representative of those of the publishers, advertisers or sponsors.

FEATURE

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Foreign office apology BRITAIN’S Foreign Office has been forced to apologise after emails were leaked containing offensive comments by civil servants about the family of Harry Dunn. The Foreign Office apologised for the ‘unprofessional and unacceptable’ language used in private exchanges between civil servants and officials describing the family of Harry Dunn. The 19-year-old was killed when the wife of a US intelligence official, Anne Sacoolas, smashed into his motorcycle while driving on the wrong side of the road in Northamptonshire. The case sparked outrage, as Sacoolas fled to the US and cannot be extradited for manslaughter due to diplomatic immunity. The bereaved family of Harry Dunn campaigned publicly for Sacoolas to face trial, though recently leaked emails reveal what some Foreign Office officials really thought

about the Dunns. One email said that calls from Dunn’s mother for Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab to resign over the scandal were ‘totally excessive.’ An official wrote that the family ‘don’t understand anything at all’ and that Dunn’s parents were so convinced of ‘everyone’s bad faith that it never crosses their mind that anything of what we are telling them might be true.’ The family’s spokesperson was described in the internal emails as ‘evil,’ ‘aggressive,’ and ‘eratic,’ though officials also conceded that he had played a ‘media blinder.’ The comments have been slammed by many for being insensitive and extremely unprofessional in the case of a tragic loss of young life. The Foreign Office has apologised over the comments, and has said that managerial action has been taken against their authors.

21 - 27 January 2021

A Close Encounter Of The Donald Kind NORA JOHNSON BREAKING VIEWS Nora is the author of popular psychological suspense and crime thrillers and a freelance journalist. To comment on any of the issues raised in her column, go to www.euroweeklynews.com/3.0.15/nora-johnson

THIS week I was planning to write about the comparative differences between the philosophies of Nietzsche, Wittgenstein and Schopenhauer. Quite brief. Provoca­ tive. And thrilling. You’d have loved it. Trust me. I’m a journo… Never mind! But then I read somewhere that an elite unit of around 20 SAS soldiers is being trained to tackle a range of ‘alternative threats’ ­ including the possibility of con­ tact with extra­terrestrials. I really don’t know why some people are so certain aliens don’t exist. Personally, I’ve an open mind; just because I’ve never seen one doesn’t mean it isn’t there. For

Making fortunes from Covid! MIKE SENKER IN MY OPINION Views of a Grumpy Old Man I’M getting some annoying emails at the moment. Not from annoyed read­ ers I must add. My post here is usually very nice. No, these are from large companies. British Airways, for in­ stance, has just informed me that if I don’t use my Avios points I will lose them. How am I meant to use them? I can’t go anywhere! They say I can gift them to a family member or friend but the family member has to live in the same house and if not you have to pay a n d i t ’ s € 1 1 0 f o r 1 0 , 0 0 0 p o i n t s . R e­ member, a sandwich and a drink costs 1,000 points! Anyway it’s just never an easy thing but my main point is why should I lose them if I can’t use them? Years ago I lost 750,000 American Airlines miles because, after I retired, I just couldn’t use them in time. That hurt and they were not interested in even discussing it. I’ve also got a few emails from hotel chains I use telling me that I need to do this or that to maintain my member­ ship level. I feel a few ‘phone calls

EWN 19

coming on as I have nothing else to do. It really annoys me how big companies just do these things. My mobile ‘phone provider has just upped my monthly payment by €3 per line with no expla­ nation. They will definitely get a call even though they have the most annoying blaring music when on hold. Watched Matt Hancock on TV the other morning and once again just could not believe the asswipe could not answer a very simple question with a yes or no answer. He was asked the same question nine times and just re­ fused. If that was me I’d just cut him off and end the interview. My daughter is here but leaving Sat­ urday. She’s just returned from having a Covid test even though it’s just been announced the UK Government has changed the day the test comes into ef­ fect. She went to pay for the test, in a private clinic, with her credit card and they asked if she could pay in cash. Hmmm wonder why they wanted read­ ies! Answers on a post card to ‘TOO MANY PEOPLE MAKING FORTUNES OUT OF COVID!!’ So far it’s cost her over €300 this trip to be repeatedly tested for an illness she has never had any symptoms for. Email: mikesenker@gmail.com

instance, I’ve never seen Dominic Cum­ mings but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t exist, does it? And Boris Johnson, is he a figment of my imagination too? No, hang on, I have met him! In many early, low­budget, science­fic­ tion classics like ‘The Invaders’, ‘Invasion Of The Body Snatchers’, ‘Quatermass 2’, the alien invaders had the power to as­ sume human form. Maybe some migrants still making for the UK aren’t just from oth­ er lands, but other planets? After all, ac­ cording to the 2011 census, the UK alone underwent its biggest population surge af­ ter a decade of mass immigration. Some even believe many ‘alien mi­ grants’, collectively, are known as Mem­ bers of Parliament since they often sound like they’re on another planet. Well, per­ haps that’s because they are. Next we’ll read Europe’s bad weather is the fault of aliens. Their UFOs moved the jet stream south. Anyway, let’s hope they’ve brought their snow boots and

fleeces with them if they’re visiting the UK at the moment. Really! Stories like these ­ head in buck­ et of sand comes to mind ­ do bring the, err, crazies out. What real news are we be­ ing distracted from? Elvis has been spotted on the moon ­ again? Slebs really do write their own novels? And Donald Trump’s still refusing to accept the election result or at­ tend Biden’s inauguration? No, hang on, that is true! Yes, politicians are strange. Alien­like. And with us. And, unlike the SAS, we’ve ALREADY got the proof... Nora Johnson’s psychological crime thrillers ‘No Safe Place’, ‘Betrayal’, ‘The Girl in the Woods’, ‘The Girl in the Red Dress’, ‘No Way Back’, ‘Landscape of Lies’, ‘Retribution’, ‘Soul Stealer’, ‘The De Clerambault Code’ (www.nora­ johnson.net) available online as eBook (€0.99;£0.99), Apple Books, paperback and audiobook. All profits to Costa del Sol Cudeca cancer charity.

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TO THE SPANISH GOVERNMENT

From our Facebook

GOVERNMENT: Needs to take action.

Chris Shelley Palmer Not much difference. We came back to the UK last year. Spain is slightly cheaper until you have to add on the private medical insurance. Food, electricity and water are similar. Car and household insurance are dearer, but council tax is cheaper.

Heather Ullyott

OUR VIEW Inoculation is the way forward NOW that the various anti-Covid vaccines are being approved by different States and production is increasing, there seems little doubt that in the long-term it should make a major difference but it will take time. Here in Spain, those in residences for the elderly and front-line workers are the first to receive the inoculations, but it has to be remembered that it takes several days for the first of two injections to start to give some safety but it isn’t until after the second injection that most people can be considered immune. The fact that some people have succumbed to Covid-19 infection following the first injections give ammunition to those nay sayers who believe that ‘the cure is more dangerous than the illness.’ With any new drug, especially one created so quickly, there are bound to be some side effects which will appear in a percentage of those who are injected, but the world can’t simply continue with these rapidly expanding and returning spikes with economies being shot to hell and people almost becoming prisoners in their own houses. One thing is certain and that is without the vaccine, cases will continue to rise as will deaths from coronavirus so those who want to fight against the virus can only do so if there is a chance of reducing the number of people liable to catch it. It is going to take a very long time for the entire population of Spain to be vaccinated, but the only way to discover what percentage of the population will benefit is by testing the vaccine in ‘real time’ as we simply don’t have the the luxury of time on our side.

CORRECTIONS

SIR, Having read in the papers this week of the terrible toll in the tourist sector, does the government realise that at the end of March tens of thousands of British tourists will leave Spain under the 90-day rule. Some of us have enquired about getting an extended holiday visa here in Spain, only to be told we can only get one in England. I think tourism is about to get another big shock. You might want to start issuing extended holiday visas here and QUICKLY! Your sincerely S Cochrane

Shocking!! I read with interest the report in the EWN Costa del Sol edition that the Velez-Malaga Council were celebrating the success of the Three Kings Celebration in Velez. WHAT! 20,000 people attending and they say coronavirus restrictions were abided by. Traffic problems in the area were terrible and guess what? Within 14 days, Velez is closed down and coronavirus probems. Which dreamland are they living in? J McLean

Thank you, thank you, thank you Hi Leapy, Just to say thank you for having the courage to write your articles in such a positive manner and from the heart! Long may you reign! And on the matter of black women’s hair, I’ve worked with many and some keep it curly and others straighten it! Not rocket science! Keep safe! A fan ­ W Ramos

HAVE YOUR SAY All letters by email or post should carry the writer’s address, NIE and contact number though only the name and town will be published. Readers who have missed correspondence can see all letters - which can be edited before publication - posted on: www.euroweeklynews.com.

A lot depends on where you live in both countries. A glass of wine here in southern Spain is around €2.50 and you get a free tapa. In the UK, last time I went, it was around £5 per glass. You can have a three-course meal here for between €8 - €10, I’ve yet to find its match in the UK, both north and south.

Isabel Papa Bauset I have a low disability pension so I just make it to the end of the month. I would say Spain, even though food has gone up, gas bills have doubled, the water bill is a joke, electricity is slightly cheaper because I pay it by Alterna. Really I can’t complain because I have my own property, where as a single parent in London I couldn’t even afford my rent.

Sue June Definitely Spain... All the bills are far cheaper, especially the yearly Suma bill which mine is €150 for a five bedroom old townhouse. Electric is €20 less and water is cheaper here too. I do have a pellet fire and that is expensive, costs me €3.69 a bag and I use one bag every day and all four levels of the house are lovely and warm. I bought 80 bags in October and that should last me all winter. Definitely Spain!!!!!

Roger Rosedale Depends what you are comparing. Housing is obviously cheaper than London. But then, so is the rest of the UK. Fresh fish is MUCH cheaper here in Spain, but fruit and veg, not necessarily so and I find the choice in Spain more limited, generally. Meat can be cheaper in Spain, but I miss the older lamb that one can get in the UK and is quite difficult to source here. And generally, white goods and cars etc are more expensive here in Spain. Not to mention electricity and heating/cooling. Luckily where I am, cooling need is rare, as is heating - except this last, exceptional, fortnight. Yer pays yer money and takes yer choice. Income Tax - far higher in Spain (for those of us not evading Spanish tax!). But, I’m very content living here in Spain.

At the EWN, we pride ourselves that reports are accurate and fair. If we do slip up, we promise to set the record straight in a clear, no-nonsense manner. To ask for an inaccuracy to be corrected. Email: editorial@euroweeklynews.com

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Schofield “we’ll get the bill” THIS MORNING viewers were amazed and heartened by a simple act of generosity by Philip himself, after a clearly distraught viewer rang in and explained she could not eat or sleep with intense worry over a £700 electric bill. Presenter Philip Schofield said it would be looked after one way or another referring to the outstanding amount. Patricia, the viewer who it was discovered is 73 years old, was supposed to send her readings into her new supplier, but it was a little too much for her and the bill mounted up. Money Matters expert Martin Lewis was on hand after the show to explain to Patricia how to send readings in, as it was an integral part of the agreement you sign with the energy supplier.

‘Non-Priority’ Officials Vaccinated THE Ministry of Health on Thursday, January 14, opened an investigation to establish why 15 people in the Alicante region who do not fall into priority groups have already received the Covid-19 vaccine. It has been reported that two mayors in Marina Alta, Local Police, Guardia Civil and eight officials of the Almoradi City Council have been vaccinated. There are currently four priority groups who are supposed to be first in line for the jab, consisting of the elderly, health and so-

cial care workers and other front-line staff. Sources from the Ministry explained that the administration of vaccines is the responsibility of the health departments and there is no way of policing who gets the jabs when. Nevertheless, officials are investigating this irregularity and have requested information from the health departments of Marina Alta and Orihuela, as well as the Torrevieja department, which is privately managed by Ribera Salud.

DAVID WORBOYS MAHATMA GANDHI said “the greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way in which its animals are treated.” Mankind has been blessed with mental and physical faculties, supe­ rior to all other beings. With this comes responsibility for the welfare of each other, of trees, plants, marine life and the environment. And animals! How well are we doing? For the past 60 years, the factory farm­ ing of animals has led to the unimaginable suffering of countless billions of cows, pigs and chickens. These innocent sensitive animals are separated from their young, injected with chemicals, fed unnatural ‘food’ and caged, often in their own fae­ ces, with no space for movement and just enough air to sustain their wretched exis­ tences. The United States is the guiltiest of hundreds of culprit nations. When we ourselves are no longer ‘caged,’ will we begin to learn from our own present in­ conveniences? In Spain, bullfighting is still practised in a majority of regions. I am ashamed that I have attended two corridas ­ in Barcelona (1961) and in Granada (1968). I boasted that I had seen the legendary

FEATURE

ANIMAL WELFARE

ALL GUILTY: The world has failed miserably with regard to animal rights. Antonio Ordonez and I read Hemingway and even studied the history. By the early 70s, I regarded it as a depraved form of entertainment, marketed as a ‘contest’ between man’s skill and the bull’s strength. It is nothing of the sort. For me, seeing little children among the spectators ap­ plauding the barbaric torture of these proud beasts is disturbing, whatever the colourful traditions and drama. Millions of pigs are slaughtered in the most inhumane way in this country that keeps millions of birds locked up for ‘life’ in tiny cages. Every day there are reports of the sadistic treatment and appalling neglect of beasts of burden, farm animals and domestic pets. It is clear to me that we are currently

experiencing a major ‘market adjust­ ment.’ We have abused our domain over our fellow beings, the animal kingdom. We have polluted the air, sea and land of our own planet and messed up the cli­ mate. We are destroying the rain forests. As travel, migration and globalisation have expanded, our standards and morals have dropped dramatically. There is too much selfishness and hatred and not enough love and compassion. We are all guilty in varying degrees. The Spanish and the American people have so many virtues, especially as individuals. As societies, they have failed miserably in re­ gard to animal rights. So has the rest of the world and we are all paying a price. I fear that, if we don’t quickly mend our ways, there will be worse to come.

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YOUR STARS FOR NEXT 7 DAYS ARIES (March 21 - April 20) Looking back over the past few months you will realise that fine adjustments are needed. Both your working life and diet need attention, so be determined that progress made will continue apace. Certainly, you have no qualms about facing any problems straight on. You thrive on responsibility and there is no shortage of that at the moment.

TAURUS (April 21 - May 21) Now that you are feeling much better, it will be tempting to put aside your healthy eating and exercise, but if you remember what a difference it makes it would be silly to stop now. Enlist the help of a friend or two in keeping the momentum going.

GEMINI (May 22 - June 21) There are so many things to do or try that you should be spoiled for choice. No, don’t settle down in front of the TV. Get out, make some friends and aim to learn something new every day. That may only be the name of your neighbour on the bus but it counts. You are charming and urbane, so don’t keep it all to yourself.

CANCER (June 22 - July 23) When your feelings are so positive, which they should be now, it is hard to remember that they have ever been any other way. You may have a plan in mind for a new activity to get the adrenalin flowing. How much more enjoyable, though, to find someone to share this with you. Book that course and maybe you will meet them there.

LEO (July 24 - August 23)

LIBRA (September 24 - October 23) With so much going on, you are in danger of burning yourself to a frazzle. You won’t realise until you have done it, so make a point of getting some peace and quiet, preferably both of them at the same time. Relax and don’t even think about things that are unchangeable. Time will sort out most things for you.

SCORPIO (October 24 - November 22) Leave nothing to chance when it comes to your health. Although you are feeling good now you will soon have problems because you are more concerned with others than yourself. This can be good but can also be overdone. You know how good you can feel. Increase this by simply not accepting second-best treatment.

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

ABSURD BICKER BUREAU CAMERA (10) CARROT CONVEY DERAIL FORMAL FOURTH GEYSER HUBRIS IDEATE KAISER MERCER SLEEPY SPARKY SUPERB SWAMPY TWINGE

SAGITTARIUS (November 23 - December 21) Your tendency to see yourself through the eyes of others can lead you to undervalue your worth. This could see you going pearshaped, emotionally. Try not to believe everything that you are told because there are always at least two ways of seeing things. Be positive. You are capable of so much. Take care of your needs on a daily basis.

CAPRICORN (December 22 - January 20) Concentrate on your physical needs this week and spend much more time on yourself. There will be plenty of opportunities to look after others when you are feeling 100 per cent yourself. Stay in control of day-to-day plans.

LOTTERY UK NATIONAL LOTTERY Sat 16 January

3-15-38 45-48-53

After a few recent excesses, bad habits can prove hard to shake off. Remember that any time of the year is a good time to make a fresh start. Don’t put off looking after your health any more than you would put off stashing a cheque in the bank. Use it or lose it? You know it makes sense. Think about combining health with a holiday.

Keep up the pace this week so that you have plenty to discuss and ‘write home about.’ With your mind so active, you are capable of doing in a day what would normally take a week. By-pass those who try to slow you down. There will be plenty of time to be a plod later.

VIRGO (August 24 - September 23)

PISCES (February 20 - March 20)

It happens that energy is sometimes low. Take the chance to read up on why this could be. You may think that you know it all, but in this world there is no chance of that. Maybe you are out of touch generally, or just out of touch with your own needs. Give building your strength priority. How much better you will cope with extra energy.

Others may be changing their minds, and generally being a bit of a pain. That may irritate you but it is no reason to change your plans. Both you and your colleagues will be glad that you did in the longer term. You may need to find some peace and space for yourself come the weekend.

BONUS BALL

27

IRISH LOTTO Sat 16 January

12-17-22 32-38-39

BONUS BALL

40

EURO MILLIONS Tue 12 January

AQUARIUS (January 21 - February 19)

TIME OUT

BONUS BALL

6

02-10-18 34-35

9

Fri 15 January

BONUS BALL

04-10-27 38-40

3 11

EL MILLON: JSQ24427 LA PRIMITIVA Thurs 14 January

BONUS BALL

10-12-14 39-41-45

6 3

JOKER: 5378943 Sat 16 January

BONUS BALL

1-28-30 34-48-49

42

JOKER: 7002402

0

TIME OUT

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CODE BREAKER

ENGLISH-SPANISH

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

Each number in the Code Breaker grid represents a different letter of the alphabet. In this week’s puzzle, 7 represents W and 23 represents V, so fill in W every time the figure 7 appears and V every time the figure 23 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 Similar (8) 4 Cuervo (4) 8 Pavement (for walking on) (5) 10 Gaviota (7) 11 Creamy (f) (7) 12 Mildew (4) 14 To support (6) 16 Rain (6) 19 Espuma (4) 21 Ecuador (7) 24 East (7) 25 Street lamp (5) 26 Orejas (4) 27 Mountains (8)

Down 1 To iron (8) 2 Nail (metal) (5) 3 To want (6) 5 Áspero (5) 6/23 Bien hecho (4,4) 7 Marble (6) 9 January (5) 13 Barrels (8) 15 Almendra (6) 17 Votante (5) 18 Cherry tree (6) 20 To hate (5) 22 Incapaz (5) 23 See 6

LAST WEEK’S SOLUTION • LAST WEEK’S SOLUTION • LAST WEEK’S SOLUTION QUICK Across: 1 Lose, 3 Shops, 8 Carpenter, 9 Fewer, 10 Bets, 14 Hide, 15 Mouse, 18 Pronounce, 20 Often, 21 Stun. Down: 1 Lack, 2 Succeed, 4 Heel, 5/19 Put off, 6 Brief, 7 Grasp, 11 Easiest, 12 Chips, 13 Found, 16 None, 17 Grin.

CRYPTIC

Across: 1 Players, 5 Cheer, 8 Notch, 9 Realign, 10 Amnesty, 11 Title, 12 Crafty, 14 Scores, 17 Pedal, 19 Opposed, 22 Trained, 23 Isles, 24 Notes, 25 Elderly. Down: 1 Panda, 2 Antenna, 3 Ethos, 4 Strays, 5 Chaotic, 6 Exist, 7 Runners, 12 Capstan, 13 Talents, 15 Rustler, 16 Poodle, 18 Dealt, 20 Pried, 21 Dusty.

ENGLISH-SPANISH Across: 1 Bowl, 3 Nubarrón, 9 Cascara, 10 Techo, 11 Perra, 12 Earwig, 14 Clavel, 16 Prueba, 19 Napkin, 21 Beret, 24 Avión, 25 Cheaper, 26 Bookshop, 27 Eyes. Down: 1 Backpack, 2 Wiser, 4 Una vez, 5 After, 6 Receive, 7 Noon, 8 Damage, 13 Pastores, 15 Abanico, 17 Rubber, 18 Inicio, 20 Kings, 22 Reply, 23 Lamb.

CODE BREAKER

BOGGLED

FUTOSHIKI

smew seem seems sees mess messes messy meson mews seer seers sews sewn egis egises gees geese gist gits resew resews resewn eyes eyer swig sties queys quod soys soak soddy yeses yesses yews wees west wigs wise wises wits ties twee tweer twig twigs nose noses nosey nosy nods noddy oyer oyers odds dyes dyer dyers dose doses dons koan koans kaon kaons

NONAGRAM airy arty hair hart hoar hour hurt riot rota rout ruth taro tart thru tiro tori tort tour tray trio trot troy tyro your yurt hairy hoary houri ratio ratty rutty tarot trait troth trout truth tutor author thirty throat throaty AUTHORITY

HEXAGRAM

WORD LADDER

1 EASIER 2 ASSERT 3 TRIUNE 4 SWEATY 5 ARTERY 6 INHERE 7 WARMTH 8 THIRTY 9 BEHEST 10 MATURE 11 HEREIN 12 TEETHE 13 EUREKA 14 SHEAVE 15 STEREO 16 REMARK 17 NETTED 18 COARSE 19 RESCUE

SENT SEAT SEAM SLAM CLAM CLAN or

KAKURO

SUDOKU

SENT SEAT SLAT SLAY CLAY CLAN

27

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Axarquía TODAY

ARCHIDONA

WEATHER

CASABERMEJA VELEZ-MALAGA NERJA RINCON MALAGA DE LA VICTORIA

TOMORROW

ARCHIDONA

CASABERMEJA VELEZ-MALAGA NERJA MALAGA

SATURDAY

RINCON DE LA VICTORIA

ARCHIDONA

CASABERMEJA VELEZ-MALAGA NERJA MALAGA

S: Sun

C: Cloudy

Th: Thunder

RINCON DE LA VICTORIA

Cl: Clear

Sh: Showers

Sn: Snow

Malaga TODAY: MAX 16, MIN 5 Fri 14 5 Sat 15 5 Sun 16 6 Mon 16 6 Tues - 15 5 Wed 15 5

Alicante TODAY: MAX 17, MIN 8 Fri 17 7 Sat 17 7 Sun 17 7 Mon 16 8 Tues - 16 8 Wed 16 8

Almeria TODAY: MAX 16, MIN 8 Fri 16 8 Sat 15 8 Sun 15 8 Mon 15 9 Tues - 16 9 Wed 16 9

Benidorm TODAY: MAX 16, MIN 7 Fri 16 7 Sat 16 7 Sun 16 7 Mon 17 8 Tues - 17 8 Wed 17 9

Bilbao TODAY: MAX 12, MIN 2 Fri 12 2 Sat 11 2 Sun 11 3 Mon 12 3 Tues 12 2 Wed 12 2

Mallorca TODAY: MAX 17, MIN 7 Fri 15 7 Sat 15 7 Sun 16 7 Mon 17 8 Tues 17 8 Wed 16 9

Madrid TODAY: MAX 10, MIN 2 Fri 11 2 Sat 12 3 Sun 12 3 Mon 11 3 Tues 11 4 Wed 10 5

Barcelona TODAY: MAX 15, MIN 5 Fri 15 5 Sat 15 5 Sun 15 5 Mon 14 7 Tues 14 7 Wed 16 8

Euro Weekly News strives for accuracy, but cannot be held responsible for any errors in published forecasts

TIME OUT

FUTOSHIKI Fill in the squares so that each digit from 1 to 6 occurs exactly once in each row and column. Greater-than and less-than signs indicate the relationship of the two adjacent squares. There is only one solution, and you can find it without guessing.

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:

SCORING:

Average: 19 Good: 26 Very good: 38 Excellent: 49

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

KAKURO 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.

CRYPTIC Across 1 Hit one's friends back (4) 3 Contains revised authorisation (8) 9 Carry out injured fencer to be given oxygen (7) 10 Raid outside Portugal is swift (5) 11 Silver is depressed when lit up (5) 12 Stand with old duke after journey (6) 14 In the past, not quite everyone ready to respond (2,4) 16 Peel off in the ship and good rests are assured (6) 19 General method for making a margin? (6) 21 Number you formerly had right in the middle (5) 24 Is doing nothing about foals (5) 25 Telephone permit for small band (7) 26 Rep sides made to move apart (8) 27 Eddy, possibly, changed colour (4) Down 1 Cabinet-maker crossing North Sea? (8) 2 Terrible starts for anyone who files unread letters (5) 4 Prevents vaster disruption (6) 5 Dog right in between officer and private (5) 6 Little devil may wander and get better (7) 7 Don's way of showing assent (4) 8 Hand tool for raw beginner wrapped in absorbent cloth (6) 13 Agreed, it's like it was posted to the editor (8) 15 Greek islanders can rest in resort (7) 17 Type of prayer from N Italy (6) 18 Letters from fancy Prussian to country (6) 20 Throw away a stew that's gone off (5) 22 Romeo gets colleague to perk up (5) 23 Foreign leader showed the way or took flight (4)

TIME OUT

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SUDOKU

QUICK

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.

Across

Down 1 Footwear (5) 2 Opposed to (7) 4 Holy book (5) 3 Summit (4) 7 Deserted (9) 4 Annoy persistently (6) 8 Short musical composition with words 5/17 Witty remark (3,3) (4) 6 Finished (5) 9 Assisted (6) 10 Ground breaker (7) 12 Small sofa (6) 11 Chief (6) 13 Digits of the foot (4) 12 Backbone (5) 16 Of the present time and place (9) 14 Closes down (5) 15 Felines (4) 18 Go in (5) 17 See 5 19 Classifies (5)

WORD LADDER

1 Low waterlogged ground (5)

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

WOOD

QUIZ BACK CAGE

LIFE’S A BEACH 1. Who delivered his celebrated ‘We shall fight on the beaches’ speech to the House of Commons on June 4, 1940? 2. Beach volleyball was introduced as a demonstration event at which Summer Olympic Games? 3. Echo Beach was a UK Top 10 hit for which Canadian rock band in June 1980? 4. In which south coast resort was Britain’s first nudist beach established in August 1979? 5. The Beach Boys have had two UK number one hit singles, name either? 6. The world famous Copacabana Beach is located in the South Zone of which South American city? 7. What connects Gold, Juno, Sword, Omaha and Utah? 8. Which British ocean liner that was launched in 1934 is now retired as a hotel in Long Beach, California? 9. Which famous American actress/singer starred alongside Gregory Peck, Fred Astaire and Anthony Perkins in the 1959 American post-apocalyptic science fiction film On the Beach, based on Nevil Shute’s 1957 novel of the same name? 10. Which large bird normally found in the Antarctic, was sighted on a New Zealand beach in June 2011, the first time this had happened in 44 years?

NONAGRAM

RACHEL AND FRIENDS

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

Not a lot of people know that… in July 2008, a complete beach was stolen in Jamaica. A three-month police investigation into the missing 500 truckloads of white sand failed to lead to anyone being charged.

TARGET:

audreyquinton99@gmail.com

Average: 16 Good: 22 Very good: 32 Excellent: 41

Answers 1. WINSTON CHURCHILL, 2. BARCELONA (1992), it has been an official Olympic sport since 1996, 3. MARTHA AND THE MUFFINS, 4. BRIGHTON, 5. GOOD VIBRATIONS (1966) or DO IT AGAIN (1968), 6. RIO DE JANIERO, 7. NAMES OF NORMANDY LANDINGS BEACHES ON JUNE 6, 1944 (D-DAY), 8. RMS QUEEN MARY, 9. AVA GARDNER, 10. EMPEROR PENGUIN

HEALTH & BEAUTY Dear Bipolar: It’s neither you nor me Prepare for the white stuff

21 - 27 January 2021

to read more visit

29

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MS BIPOLAR

UP AND DOWN WITH BALANCE UNEDITED

BEFORE SKIING: Try to warm up before hitting the slopes to prevent injuries such as pulled muscles or strains. SNOW arrived in many parts of Spain last week, including along some coastal areas, an event not seen in a generation. Whilst it may have been a brief fluttering, many have turned their thoughts to a wintry won­ derland and are dusting off the skies in search of more of the white stuff. But before you head to the Sierra Nevada, or further afield,

it is important to remember some basic health checks. Skiing can be a demanding sport so always try to warm up before hitting the slopes to pre­ vent injuries such as pulling muscles and strains. Ten min­ utes of squatting and stretching after skiing will also help pre­ vent problems. For those who do little exer­ cise, skiing can be a shock on

the system as to how physical it can be, so try and prepare at home a little before heading off. Even simple walking up and down stairs will help prepare the leg muscles. The snow reflects 80 per cent of solar radiation so whilst you may be wrapped up, don’t for­ get to wear a high sun protec­ tion factor on the face and lip balm.

I REALISE now that you don’t like to be forgotten. That you believe the world revolves around you. I know this because, when I had the nerve to live my life without thinking about you for a while, you came up from behind and knocked me for six. Were you happy that you ruined my lovely day, I wonder? Satisfied that I fell so hard and so fast that I sat crying in the dark for hours. I should’ve been angry with you then. But I wasn’t. I was angry with myself, and I shouldn’t have been. But I wonder if you were relieved, to be off the hook because I was blaming myself, obsessed with the idea that all of this was somehow my fault. It has consumed my every thought. But you know that, don’t you? Sat here wondering if I could have stopped it sooner, if I could have handled it better, if I could have prevented it altogether. And wishing, desperately, that you hadn’t gotten so carried away. Is this what you wanted? It comes in waves you see, sometimes I can

Sleeping through after 50 PEOPLE aged 50 or over have been advised to avoid caffeine in the afternoons in order to ensure a good night’s sleep. The recommendation ap­ pears in a report by the Age UK charity, which says that although it gets harder to sleep through a full night as we age, it is important for the mind that the body gets enough rest. As well as knocking tea, coffee, and other drinks containing caffeine on the head, older people should also avoid naps of longer than 30 minutes during the day. Other recommendations appearing in the report in­ clude: • Get out of bed at the same time each day. • Don’t drink alcohol as a sleep aid. • Expose yourself to some natural sunlight each day. • Don’t eat any large meals within the last three hours before you go to bed.

TAKE CARE: That you get the right amount of sleep as you get older. • Don’t look at your mo­ bile phone, tablet, laptop, or any other device featur­ ing an electronic screen af­ ter getting into bed. • Don socks to keep your feet warm in bed. • Don’t allow pets in the bedroom. • Avoid arguments with your partner or spouse be­ fore bed.

• Avoid over­the­counter sleeping tablets or liquids. A lack of sleep can increase the risk of heart disease, obe­ sity and diabetes, say the au­ thors of the report. Age UK spokesman James Goodwin said: “Sleeping is something we all tend to take for granted, but we re­ ally have to wise up to the fact that getting the right

amount of good sleep is crucial as we age, helping to protect us from all kinds of problems that can affect our brains as well as our bodies. “The message is that in order to stay mentally sharp in later life ­ some­ thing we all care passion­ ately about ­ take care of your sleep.”

tread water and keep my head afloat, but then other times the wave comes crashing down, spins me and spits me back. I’m giving you to much credit, Bipolar, and myself not enough. There is no denial that I can’t afford to forget you, that you’re too ‘toxic.’ I do blame you for being so relentless, so terrifying. But I’m not angry. I wonder if this was just a tragic but necessary thing that has happened to me. Did I choose you or did you choose me? Maybe in some ways, it was inevitable, with no one to blame. Maybe it isn’t your fault and maybe it isn’t mine. So I’m going to try and live with you, Bipolar. I’m going to be more aware so I can see you when you’re coming. Because I can spend another week obsessing, upset and looking for someone to blame. I can keep falling backwards, or I can move forward, a little wiser than I was before. So we’ll move forward, then, you and I. Because I get it, Bipolar, you don’t like to be forgotten. Well, you’ve got my attention now. Love Ms Bipolar X

msbipolar@euroweeklynews.com

Overnight fasting can help you to live longer DIETING whilst you sleep can help you live l o n g e r . Fa s t i n g o v e r n i g h t a n d n o t e a t i n g b e ­ tween 5pm and 8am can help you lose weight and also live longer. Researchers carried out a study on monkeys and stopped food between these hours and found it helped them live longer. Restricting food appeared to make bodies more able to fight off illnesses that accompany old age. As humans share 93 per cent of the same genes, they say their findings will also apply to humans. However, the results showed that it didn’t work in young monkeys, so advised that people started it later in life also. It is believed this restriction on eating reduces the chances of illnesses such as cancer and de­ mentia and that by eating less it may send the body into survival mode so that it focuses on protecting itself. The scientists said they wanted to look at ways to slow the aging mode of the body in a bid to reduce serious illnesses. The study carried out by the University of Wis­ consin in the USA, was published in the journal Nature Communications.

PETS

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Make sure pets have fun WHILE it may seem like an age away if you have planned a trip for later this year, and you need someone to care for your pets make sure they have a fun com­ panion at home with them. Find a house­sitter who will look af­ ter them and care for them in their own home. Take a moment to plan ahead for pet and house­sitters if you have trips planned this year, to see family and friends or just to get away. Now is the time to get ready. We will help you as much as we can. Our philosophy is that we are all in this together. These are the steps to take: Register as a homeowner on HouseSitMatch.com Choose a Premium account (£89 per year) to ensure you can get help online when needed Create a profile with photos of your pet and the house Post a house­sit advert stating

lot rating scale) Here’s what members have said about us ­ HouseSitMatch found us a perfect house­sitter… HouseSitMatch found us a perfect house­sitter while we were away in Canada and we were delighted with the care and attention that HouseSitMatch took in helping us find the right person. Ros Morris ­ Dog owner

STAYING SAFE: Show them you care. your plans for this year’s holiday Covid permitting. Do you need a pet­sitter in 2021? Then get started right now. How does it work? HouseSitMatch can help you find suitable sitters. Join our net­ work for a small annual fee. You

get ID checked for safety and then build your advert saying when you are going on holiday. House­sitters see your advert, they respond and you choose the sitter who’ll care for your pets. Trustpilot Testimonials ­ 4.8 / 5 Excellent rating (New Trustpi­

How do you join? Please register online via our website www.Housesitmatch. com Choose a membership plan ­ Please note prices go up soon so sign up now on subscrip­ tion to secure these prices: • Standard (DIY option) = £69 pa • Premium (with support at each step) = £89 pa

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Epileptic attacks

EPILEPSY is a problem suffered frequently by dogs un­ der the age of five, which usually causes convulsions or epileptic attacks. Canine epilepsy has a genetic fac­ tor and there are breeds, including Beagles, St Bernards and German Shepherds which are more like­ ly to suffer. The first epileptic attack usually happens between the ages of six months and five years and comes com­ pletely unexpectedly in the form of convulsions, ped­ dling movements of the legs, excessive salivation, un­ controlled urination and loss of conscience. Although the attacks in themselves don’t put a dog’s life at risk, they are in danger of biting their tongues, falling or bumping into things and injuring themselves. Knowing how to react during an attack will help you remain calm and help your dog. First, lay it down on a soft surface. Avoid high places like the sofa to avoid the risk of a fall. It’s important not to try to pull your dog’s tongue out as it could end up biting it. Attacks usually last two minutes at the most. When over, let the dog rest in a quiet place as they are usually tired and confused after an attack.

CANINE DILATED CARDIOMIOPATHY DILATED CARDIOMYOPATHY (DCM) is a disease that affects the heart muscle and affects most commonly medium to large breed dogs, such as Doberman Pinscher, the Great Dane, the Boxer, and the Cocker Spaniel. DCM is characterised by two phases, a long preclinical

phase where the dog will ap­ pear normal and healthy and then a shorter clinical phase with heart failure, the dog ap­ pears ill or might suddenly die. Listening to your dog’s heart with a stethoscope will allow a vet to pick up a murmur if it is present.

Regular veterinary visits are very important for early detec­ tion of heart disease or to monitor the treatment of a dog with heart disease. Further tests such as echocardiography will help determine the cause of these abnormalities. How can you recognise DCM in your dog? Signs include: • Laboured breathing • Weakness • Lack of energy • Coughing • Poor appetite • Weight loss • Bulging abdomen (ascites) • Fainting (syncope) Department of cardiology and ultrasonography.

TESTS: Will help determine the cause of abnormalities.

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SPORT Title Race Draw

21 - 27 January 2021

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UNEVENTFUL: Liverpool and Manchester drew 0-0 in the title race clash. LIVERPOOL and Manchester United battled to a bore draw in the title race clash at Anfield on Sunday, January 17. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side re­ main top of the Premier League table after an uneventful 0­0 draw against the champions. Alisson proved the hero for the home side denying Bruno Fernandes and Paul Pogba from close range as the Manchester

club stretch their winless league run against the Reds to five matches for the first time since 2002. In what was Jurgen Klopp’s 200th league game in charge, Liv­ erpool, sporting a makeshift cen­ tre­back pairing of Fabinho and Jordan Henderson, controlled possession but offered little in the way of attacking threat, al­ though De Gea did tip a fierce

shot from Thiago Alcantara wide and Firmino was denied a clear goal­scoring chance from United captain Harry Maguire. The result means that Man­ chester United stay three points clear of Liverpool at the top of the table while the Anfield side sit in third a point behind Leices­ ter. The two clubs meet again in the FA Cup on Sunday January 24.

It’s a victory for Covid-19 COVID­19 4 WALKING FOOTBALL 0. Not a result walking foot­ ballers want to see, but know it only too well. It was victory for the virus once again as it caused the cancellation of the Inaugural Opening of the HIDROMASTER South of Spain Walking Football League first fixtures due to be played at the Finca Naundrup, Calahonda last Sunday January 17. The new restrictions which came into effect that evening, including many pueblos being isolated, meant many of the players could not leave their homes. This coupled with the Finca being closed for two weeks led to the League Management Com­ mittee making the decision to abandon the league until next September when hopefully things might be

Finca Naundrup devoid of players.

back to normal. The committee will con­ vene on Tuesday January 25 to discuss the options and timescales with a possibility of introducing a mini group competition to be played in March and April with much flexibility with fixtures to fit in and around restrictions.

So with one League aban­ doned last spring, a Cup Fi­ nal in November and now the loss of a league before it’s started and the closure of the Finca for two weeks it’s a 4­0 victory for Covid­ 19. One match was played last week when BAHA WHISKEY Trophy winners Aston Viñuela played neigh­ bours Nerja in a friendly match at the Sports Com­ plex in Frigiliana. League newcomers (in the League since one year ago but yet to play a League match) Nerja Nomads took the lead in an even and sporting match before Viñuela showed their expe­ rience to come back scoring twice for a 2­1 victory. A return was scheduled for Tuesday but has been postponed until after the latest restrictions are lift­ ed.