Euro Weekly News - Axarquia 1 - 7 April 2021 Issue 1865

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The people’s paper ISSUE NO. 1865

1 - 7 April 2021

AXARQUIA - COSTA TROPICAL • WWW.EUROWEEKLYNEWS.COM

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MASK LAW CHANGE

SPAIN’S central government has introduced a new law surround‐ ing face masks making them mandatory in all public spaces in a move that could pave the way for safer tourism. The law was changed yester‐ day to remove the exemption in a previous regulation which meant masks did not have to be worn outdoors if people could stay at least 1.5 metres apart from each other. Now masks will have to be worn in all public spaces even if people can stay apart from each other, which could include beach‐ es and around pools. While the new law will affect many areas of Spain, Andalucia has had a similar law in effect since last July, meaning that ev‐ eryone in public spaces, except those who are exempt for medi‐ cal or other reasons, already have to wear a mask.

MASK WEARING: Could be law on the beach and by a swimming pool.

Andalucia’s law had made an exemption for those lying down near beaches and swimming

pools however, while Spain’s new law does not, meaning mask wearing is now mandatory even

on the beach across Spain unless a similar exemption is put in place by the government.

Animal Rescue

OFFICERS from the Guardia Civil in Motril have rescued five kit‐ tens from a bin. The kittens are now being cared for by an animal rescue as‐ sociation after being rescued by police from the Guardia Civil in Motril. Officers from the Guardia Civil’s environmental group, Seprona, rescued the five kittens from a bin in Velez de Benaudalla after a woman allegedly dumped them there. The incident was reported to police after a neighbour heard mewing coming from the bins, causing officers from Motril to come out and search for the kit‐ tens. A 79‐year‐old woman is re‐ portedly now under investigation for crimes against animals. The woman allegedly told police her cat had had a litter of kittens that

SAVED: Five kittens were rescued from a bin.

she did not want. Officers have now handed over the animals to rescue association SOS Animales Salobreña to be cared for. The news comes after the Guardia Civil in Granada opened an investigation into a 63‐year‐old

man into a crime of suspected ani‐ mal abuse, following the alleged neglect of a pony in Almuñecar. The Motril Seprona unit of the Guardia Civil had received reports of a pony on a farm in Almuñecar with ‘obvious signs of abandon‐ ment,’ and upon visiting the re‐

ported location, the officers found a pony whose hooves had grown and were preventing him from walking. The officers returned to the farm the next day with a vet who said the animal had symptoms of laminitis. The owner told the Guardia Civil officers that he had not cut the pony’s hooves for more than a year because he had called the farrier many times and he had not appeared, but later on he said that he did not have sufficient money to meet the veterinary expenses that the animal needed. The Seprona officers contacted the Andalucian Horse Rescue Cen‐ tre in Malaga to take the pony into care at their facilities, and the cen‐ tre has given the pony the veteri‐ nary treatment that the animal re‐ quired.

Current fines for being found not wearing a mask begin at €100 and can rise to between €601 and

€30,000 for more serious cases. The move could pave the way for safer tourism this summer in popular coastal areas, including towns like Nerja, Malaga and Marbella which attract an influx of visitors to their beaches each year. Nevertheless, the Minister of Health, Carolina Darias, ap‐ peared on Wednesday March 31 after the Interterritorial Council to explain that they are working on how to “develop a technical crite‐ ria for the application of the law.” “I hope that between now and the next Interterritorial Council we can find space to be able to apply this law, to do so in the most harmonised way possible and in the most contextualised way possible,” she said. “The mask is obligatory, but we have to study whether the law leaves us room for manoeuvre,” she added in response to the insistence of questions from journalists.

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Torrox Invests €1.5 Million in Improving Tourist Areas TORROX Council has announced it is investing €1.5 million in improving its tourist areas. Mayor of Torrox Oscar Medina said the improvements would be made in the El Peñoncillo and Calaceite areas. He said: “In El Peñoncillo-Calaceite is where this council has made the biggest economic investment of the entire municipality, bringing the amount of work carried out so far to more than €1.5 million.” Accompanied by the councillors for Contracting, Paula Moreno, and for Beaches, Veronica Muñoz, the mayor visited the sites due to be improved, with works including new paving, signage and lighting. The mayor added: “From this government team we have a firm commitment to improve El Peñoncillo-Calaceite working together from various areas.”

Almuñecar Firefighters Trained in Automatic Escalator Manoeuvres ALMUNECAR’S firefighters have been trained in manoeuvres us‐ ing automatic escalators. According to Almuñecar Coun‐ cil, the training was carried out to help put out fires in tall buildings. The course was directed by Je‐ sus Hernando Dominguez and in‐ volved three levels, which all of the Almuñecar fire station staff, around 20 people, took part in.

The different levels of the course covered a theoretical sec‐ tion, as well as practical training in different scenarios and loca‐ tions, using different rescue tech‐ niques where firefighters had to deploy the automatic escalator vehicle. The firefighters carried out the training on the Paseo de Cotobro, Avenida Andalucia and Velilla.

Motril Council Announces Plans for Land for New Courts MOTRIL Council has announced its plans to hand over land to be used for new courts. The council has said it will hand over land to be used for Motril’s courts. The news was announced by Motril’s mayor, Luisa Maria Garcia Chamorro, to the delegate of Justice in Granada, Enrique Barchino. The council’s offer was endorsed by the legal operators that represent the Judicial Party of Motril, after it emerged the court services had dou‐ bled since the current courts were opened, forcing some services into nearby buildings. The mayor said: “We are not only talking about structural deficiencies… but about the implementation of new courts.”

Eye in the sky POLICE presence is being ramped up to avoid street parties and a surge of visitors from other provinces over Easter Week. And to step up surveillance of beaches and parks, the Guardia Civil in Motril are using a drone so that the Local Police officers “can control from a bird’s eye view the leisure area of Las Explanadas and beaches to avoid crowds, street parties and the use of masks,” said Public Safety councillor, Mara Escámez. The Local Police will patrol the streets and bars to make sure that capacity is respected and the safety distance is kept in the downtown establishments, especially in Las Explanadas, “Until the end of the festivities, the controls will be much more exhaustive. From 4pm to 10pm there will be extra endowments of officers. “And between 6pm and 8pm, there will be additional patrols to keep parties and gatherings at bay. We have to do everything in our power to be a safe destination and avoid at all costs a fourth wave,” said Escámez.

DRONE: Will be used to survey the beach area.

Rincon de la Victoria Carries out Reforestation in El Cantal RINCON DE LA VICTORIA Council has carried out reforestation works in the El Cantal Forest Park. The reforestation is being carried out as part of the council’s work to tackle climate change, according to the Department of the Environment. Councillor for the Environment, Sergio Diaz said the council is “adapting this new Forest Park on Avenida de los Pintores, which residents of the municipality will soon be able to enjoy.” He added: “We are increasing the repopulation of tree species, mainly Mediterranean ones. So far we have planted more than 200 trees in the area.”

Palm Tree Maintenance Still Going Ahead ALMUNÉCAR Council has announced its palm tree maintenance has continued. The works by the company in charge of mu‐ nicipal gardens have continued in the San Cristo‐ bal and La Carrera areas. The gardens around Almuñecar have more than 10,000 existing palm trees of various vari‐ eties, which line many streets and avenues, and

in many cases, exceed four or five storeys high, so it is necessary to use mechanical lifts to reach their upper areas. The council said: “It should be remembered that the palm tree maintenance programme be‐ gan in Almuñecar as a priority in central areas or adjacent to educational centres and continuing along the promenades, starting in Velilla.”

NEWS

Indoor plantations FIVE indoor marihuana plantations have been shut down in Velez‐Mala‐ ga. Three arrests have been made in connection with cultivating, traffick‐ ing and electricity fraud after 745 plants were seized during raids at two properties. At one of the homes, all of the rooms except the bathroom were set up as an indoor greenhouse, and both floors were ille‐ gally hooked up to the public electricity supply network. The investigation began after members of the pub‐ lic contacted the Local Po‐ lice Station of Velez‐Mala‐ ga to report the possible existence of marihuana crops in two houses. Officers identified the residents ‐ two men and one woman ‐ and located the houses in question, verifying that both were il‐ legally connected to the electricity supply while noticing noise and a strong smell emanating from them. The properties were raided and five separate indoor greenhouses were discovered. The case is now in the hands of Investigative Court Number Three of Velez Malaga.

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NIBS EXTRA Body rescue THE body of a 40-year-old was pulled from the sea off El Sillon beach in Torrox on Tuesday afternoon, March 30, about 200 metres from the lighthouse. Despite resuscitation attempts, rescuers could do nothing to save the local man’s life, according to 112 Andalucia Emergency Service.

Met stations RINCON DE LA VICTORIA has installed four environmental stations to offer new information services to locals and tourists and measure air temperature, relative humidity, atmospheric pressure, ultraviolet radiation, wind speed and direction, as well as precipitation. Four meteorological measurement stations and cameras will capture images of environmental spaces in the municipality.

Ageing guide VELEZ-MALAGA has released the second edition of its Active Ageing Manual for the Elderly which enables people to ‘improve their potential for physical, social and mental well-being throughout their life cycle.’ It includes advice for the prevention of accidents at home, medical check-ups, and activities to avoid cognitive deterioration.

New route NERJA opened the new road that will temporarily link Calles Manuel Marín and Granada on Wednesday, March 30, which will also be used as a parking area offering a space for loading and unloading goods. Traffic will be one-way and there were 39 parking spaces available to the public.

Street name MOCLINEJO Council has unanimously approved the renaming of a street in El Valdes in honour of parish priest José Antonio Sánchez Herrera from the Nuestra Señora de la Encarnación, Marbella. The priest’s first appointment was in El Valdes where he was involved in the expansion of a nursery into a primary school.

Shut down A 20-YEAR-OLD has been arrested and remanded into custody after 872 grams of hashish, 174 grams of marihuana, cash, and drug paraphernalia were found during a search of his home in Velez-Malaga. Police said they had shut down a ‘very active point of sale of drugs.’

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Paseo project for anniversary THE Paseo de Las Explanadas in Motril is to undergo a comprehensive refurbishment in celebration of its 175th anniversary. The last transformation of the main leisure area was 40 years ago and the council has begun drafting a project to give it a major overhaul. Since 1846, the paseo has been a hub for social, cultural, and leisure activities in Motril and as the town has grown, the square too has changed over the years to adapt to the new generations who have grown up playing in and around the central square. And now it faces its fifth

PASEO: The promenade will be completely transformed. comprehensive remodelling, which will result in a completely transformed promenade with plans to recreate the origi-

nal architectural design. The space will be opened up with wooded areas for the public.

Motril Council will cover the cost of the project with funds from the Plan for the Promotion of Agricultural Employment (PFEA) and will create a commission, led by the Public Works department, to draft a scheme which is expected to start before the summer. As yet, the local authority has not disclosed a budget or timescale. “We want it to be a lasting reform for the people of Motril, even if it has to be undertaken in several phases,” said the mayor, Luisa García Chamorro. The last major refurb of the square took place in 1980.

Granada Man Rescued By Helicopter THE 112 Andalucia Emergency service, at‐ tached to the Council of the Presidency, Public Administration and Interior of the Board, on Sunday March 28, deployed the Public Health Emergencies Company ambulance (EPES 061), the Guardia Civil, Granada Fire Brigade, and the Mountain Rescue and Intervention Sec‐ tion (SEREIM) to a location on the outskirts of Granada. The emergency services were mobilised af‐ ter 112 had received a call at around 1.25pm

Speed Bumps on Avenida Amelia ALMUÑECAR Council has an‐ nounced it is installing speed bumps on Avenida Amelia Sanchez de Alcazar. The Maintenance De‐ partment of Almuñecar Council has installed speed bumps on Avenida Amelia Sanchez de Alcazar, next to the ‘La Noria’ school, “at‐ tending to the request of the educational community in Almuñecar,” according to the municipal mainte‐ nance manager Beatriz Gonzalez. The Almuñecar Local Po‐ lice said further speed bumps will be installed on Calle Azahar, near Costa Ba‐ nana. The news comes after an Almuñecar hotel became the first large holiday complex to reopen for business. Hotel Helios opened its doors on Saturday, March 6, to host 45 Polish cyclists for a week ahead of its official reopening on May 20.

reporting a man having fallen 10 metres down a ravine and injuring himself, and unable to move, in the vicinity of Barranco de la Luna, along the Izbor River in El Valle, Granada. The man had fallen in such a difficult loca‐ tion that it was only possible to rescue by means of the SEREIM helicopter, whose crew of officers promptly rescued the injured man and transported him to the Parque Tecnológi‐ co de la Salud de Granada (Granada Health Centre), as reported by juntadeandalucia.es.

RESCUED: After falling in a ravine.

Mayor Investigated Over Fraud THE mayor of Nerja is being investigated over an al‐ leged fraud. A court has summoned Mayor Alberto Armijo to testify over the management of a summer cleaning programme created by Nerja Council in 2019. The incident took place following a complaint by Councillor Jose Garcia, who has claimed the may‐ or was guilty of embezzlement. He also accused

councillors Gema Garcia, Francisco Arce and Angela Diaz of the same crime. The news comes after it emerged Jose Alberto Armijo is also facing two years in prison in a case over an illegal landfill. A case into the illegal site at Nerja’s Rio de la Miel will see Nerja’s mayor and seven businessmen all fac‐ ing trial over the landfill.

8,000 Lights to be Renewed MOTRIL Council has announced it will renew more than 8,000 lights following funding from the EU. It announced it will replace lights at its sports facilities, including at the Municipal Athletics Stadium, football fields in Pantalon, Cerrillo and Va‐ radero, and the Santa Adela Sports Track. The move comes after Motril received more than €2 million in fund‐ ing from the EU. The cost of replacing the lights comes to €2,611,501, ac‐ cording to the council, with the EU funding €2,089,201. The mayor of Motril, Luisa Maria Garcia Chamorro, said: “It will allow us to carry out a progressive and large‐scale action on the entire public lighting system of the municipality.”

Malaga Paddle Boarding Contest THE Malaga paddle board contest, the Senda Litoral Challenge, will fin‐ ish in Nerja, it has been announced. The contest, which is organised by the Malaga Provincial Council, will see competitors travel 180 kilometres by paddle board. The news was announced by Nerja’s councillor for Sport, Daniel Rivas, who said the event, which begins in the Puerto de Duquesa in Manilva, will finish in Nerja on Saturday April 3. He added the event would make Nerja “known as a destination for the realisation of this type of sports ac‐ tivities, at the same time it highlights our attractive landscape.”

Nerja Holds Meeting Over Health Centre NERJA Council has held a meet‐ ing to discuss the new health centre. Mayor Jose Alberto Armijo and the territorial Delegate for Health and Families of the Junta de Andalucia, Carlos Bautista, held a meeting to discuss the new Nerja health centre. The mayor thanked the Junta de Andalucia for its help in plan‐ ning Nerja’s health centre. He said: “Once the expropriation actions have been completed and the urbanisation project awarded, we will cede the new resulting plot to the Andalucian Service of Health for the con‐ struction of so important sani‐ tary equipment for our town.”

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Velez-Malaga Beach Squares VELEZ‐MALAGA beach squares are back for a second time running just in time for Easter. Tractors are once again taking to the main beaches of Velez‐Malaga to mark out the correct social distance in the sand. Beginning on Saturday, March 27, the machines were laying out two metre square sec‐ tions on Torre del Mar, Caleta and Be‐ najarafe beaches to ensure that Covid‐ 19 measures are ad‐ hered to. In addition, the authorities have confirmed that the restrooms, outdoor gyms and children’s play areas will be thoroughly cleaned and disinfected ev‐ ery day, and that people with re‐ duced mobility can request that the adapted swimming area be opened if required. From Wednesday, March 31 until Sun‐ day, April 4, life‐ guards will be on duty on the beaches between noon and 7pm, and a mega‐ phone will be used to advise beachgo‐ ers of the safety regulations. Andalucía’s bor‐ ders will remain closed over Easter in an effort to min‐ imise mobility, and the general director of the Guardia Civil, María Gámez, has confirmed that some 40,000 officers will be mobilised to enforce the perime‐ ter restrictions. Councillor for Beaches, Jesus Perez At e n c i a , a s k e d e v ‐ eryone in Velez‐ Malaga to respect the restrictions and remain responsible “as the virus is still here.”

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Lenten Concerts at an end

ON Friday April 2, at 8pm, the run of Lenten concerts ‘The Essential Hope,’ will come to an end, in the Church of San Francisco, with a grand finale concert featuring Mozart’s Requiem, performed by the Municipal Symphonic Band of

Guadix (BSMMG). This is planned to be a spectacular finale, with the BSMMG being joined on stage by the excellent Granada opera choir, who will face the challenge of interpreting the transcription of

New School RINCON DE LA VICTORIA Council has signed a €4.2 million agreement for a new La Cala del Moral school. Rincon de la Victoria Council signed the land transfer agreement with the Junta de Andalucia for the construction of the new 360 pupil school in La Cala del Moral. It has signed over a plot located in the area of Parque Victoria with a total area of 9,057 square metres next to the CEIP Maria del Mar Romera, and has also reserved adjoining land for a possible future ex‐ pansion. The mayor of Rincon de la Victoria, Francisco Salado, and the dele‐ gate of the Andalucian Government in Malaga, Patricia Navarro, signed the agreement.

Mozart’s Requiem for a brass band, by the composer Juan Jesús Moreno Muñoz. The current run of concerts has been skillfully organised by the departments of Encarnación Molero, from the Fiestas and Brotherhoods, in conjunction with Encarni Pérez, from Brotherhoods and Culture. Unfortunately, due to the coronavirus restrictions, and the size of space available being taken up by the large numbers in the orchestra and the choir together, there will be very limited seating for members of the public, so the event is being streamed live on YouTube as a result, to enable everybody to witness this musical delight. The few available places are now on sale, and can be booked by calling 958 662 995, or by email to cu ltura@guadix.es, as reported by granadadigital.es.

UK PRESS EURO W E E K LY N E W S CEO Michel Euesden has been quoted by the UK press in an article showing Spanish authorities have denied claims 500 expats will be de‐ Michel quoted in UK press. ported. The Express newspaper has this morning claimed Spain’s government is not planning mass deporta‐ tions of unregistered UK expats, as suggested by the British press. They quote the Spanish interior ministry as say‐ ing: “Following the UK’s departure from the Euro‐ pean Union, and in accordance with the Brexit agreement with EU countries and international con‐ ventions, British citizens are subject to the same rules as citizens of other third‐party countries. The same article quoted Michel as commenting on reports of large numbers of expats leaving Spain. Meanwhile, Sue Wilson, chair of Bremain in Spain, a group campaigning for the rights of British migrants living in Spain, claimed people face a 90‐ day deadline to leave the country. She said: “These are people who have been flying under the radar for a long time when they should have registered their residence in the country and didn’t for whatever reason. “Many are still planning to do the same and think the Spanish will either turn a blind eye or will take time to get their act together to enforce the law.”

NEWS

Earthquakes THE province of Granada was hit again on Sunday March 28 by two more earthquakes, as reported by the National Geographic Institute (IGN), with the first one occurring at 9.01am, with its epicentre at Fuente Vaqueros, and a magnitude of 3.3 on the Richter scale. It was felt at multiple points of the Fuenterino municipality as it was totally superficial, with movements reported not only in the capital of Granada, but in the following municipalities of the Metropolitan Area: Pinos Puente, Albolote, Atarfe, Armilla, Churriana de la Vega, Chauchina, Cijuela, Cúllar Vega, Las Gabias, Láchar, Peligros , Cenes de la Vega, Maracena, Pulianas, Santa Fe, and Vegas del Genil. Later in the afternoon, at 4.53pm, IGN posted on Twitter that a new quake had occurred, without any depth, with an epicentre in Chauchina, registering 2.6 magnitude. In the whole of last week, IGN registered almost 20 earthquakes in the Granada region, with magnitudes ranging between 1.5 and 2.9, so this Sunday was the most intense land movement of the last of the seismic swarm, and since Saturday, 10 earthquakes have been registered in the area. Seismic experts have advised the inhabitants of Granada to check the structures of their homes, and also told the town hall to review the structures of institutions and public facilities, with the aim of preventing any risk derived from the seismic activity that the province has been feeling for the last few months, as reported by granadadigital.es.

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Prices rise again THE price of electricity is rising again this month in Spain and will be 12 per cent higher at the end of March than it was in February. The electricity bill of an average user is up to around €55.20 per month in March, which is 12.6 per cent more than in February and

16 per cent more than in March last year, according to the National Markets and Competition Committee. The reasons behind the rising electricity prices in March, according to a report in national Spanish press, are the fact that wind pro-

Appeal For Blood Donors MALAGA’S Regional Blood Transfusion Centre (CRTS) has appealed for people to make a blood donation if they can so that there is no shortage during the days leading up to Easter, and that way the important supply to hospitals is guaranteed, with blood needed from all groups, but especially O and A blood groups. The CRTS is located at the Hospital Civil in Malaga City, and volunteers can give blood throughout this week and next week from Monday to Wednesday, from 9am to 2pm, and on a Monday you can also donate from 5pm to 9pm, and volunteers can also donate at the mobile unit on Avenida de Andalucía, next to El Corte Inglés, from Monday to Friday, between 10am and 2pm. Before you can become a donor in Spain, you must meet certain criteria, and you fill out a health questionnaire before the donation session, but anyone who lived in the UK for more than a year between 1980 and 1996 cannot donate, due to fears about Creutzfeld-Jacob, or Mad Cow disease. To donate blood you have to be aged between 18 and 65, weigh more than 50 kilos and, be in good health. Women can donate blood up to three times a year and men four times, as reported by surinenglish.com. For more information, you can call 951 034 100 or visit the web page: http://www.donantesmalaga.org/.

duction of electricity has fallen and had to be covered by combined gas cycles, an expensive raw material which must also compensate for CO2 emissions. It also happens when less energy is being produced by renewable sources such as wind and water, as it has to be made using fossil fuels such as gas or coal. The price of petrol also influences production costs. Comparing with last year, another reason is because demand fell during the State of Alarm. Electricity began to rise in April 2019, although this was followed by 19 months of falling prices, then two months of rises, in December 2020 and January 2021, and then another drop in February this year. Meanwhile, the price of butane gas bottles in Spain is also continuing to rise, and is now at €13.96, the highest since January 2019, and it is expected to continue to rise. The Consumer Organisation, OCU, has recommended that families who are having financial difficulties should check if they are entitled to benefits to help pay their energy bills.

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Vaccinations T H E Ministry of Health in Andalucia announced it will begin vaccinating over 65s from Monday April 5. T he M inister of H ealth and Families confirmed the news, adding that Andalucia is not receiving the number of vaccines it had ordered. Minister Aguirre said despite A ndalucia’s lack of vaccines they have now received 140,000 doses of the A stra Z eneca jab and will be administering all of them, including to those aged over 65. The news comes after it was reported that the U K is close to striking a vaccine deal with the European Union with an agreement involving the removal of the EU’s threat of blocking the Pfizer-BioN Tech vaccine supplies into Britain. The U K government would in return, agree to miss out on some of its

140,000 doses received.

long-term O xford- A straZeneca vaccine supplies. Europe’s slow rollout of the vaccine has been the biggest contributing factor in the recent political fallout with the B ritish government, who, according t o a n E U o f f i c i a l , h a d a lready imported 21 million doses of the vaccine, leading to the British saying that is down to their doing a better job of negotiating with the manufacturers to

arrange the regular supply chain. In response, EU officials had demanded that Britain should share its vaccine supplies with other countries that have lower supplies of AstraZeneca, which last Wednesday, March 24 led to a meeting where the officials agreed to work out an agreement “to create a win-win situation and expand vaccine supply for all our citizens.”

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NEWS

No jab, no drink THE UK Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, appeared on Wednesday March 24 in front of the Liaison Commit‐ tee of senior MPs, and made the suggestion that some pubs could ban unvaccinated drinkers this summer, but

added, “I think that’s the kind of thing that may be up to individual publicans, it may be up to the landlord.” He added, “there is a huge wisdom in the public’s feel‐ ing about coronavirus, and humans instinctively recog‐

‘Unavoidable’ Lockdown A THIRD national lockdown looks inevitable for France in a blow to Macron as cases rise sharply in the wake of the EU vaccine’s failure. The number of Covid‐19 patients in France’s intensive care units has risen to a new high for this year as doctors warn a third wave of the virus could soon overwhelm hospitals. Scientists have argued that the government’s partial lock‐ down measures are inadequate faced with fast‐spreading coro‐ navirus variants. In total, there are currently 28,000 people in hospital with Covid‐19 in France, slightly lower than the peak of 32,000 hospitalisations in the first wave in March and April last year, and 33,500 in the second wave, official figures show. On Monday, the public health authorities reported that 4,974 people were in in‐ tensive care, lower than the peak of 7,019 in the first wave, but above the 4,903 second‐wave high seen in November.

nise when something is dan‐ gerous.” Mr Johnson stressed that the government would not enforce such a policy but that landlords of individual establishments might wish to do so, with British pubs cur‐ rently lined up for reopening on April 12 at the earliest, under the lockdown road‐ map, but only allowed to serve customers outdoors. If data shows good results then from May 17, indoor hospitality will be allowed to open up, and from June 21, again if figures are good, all legal limits on social contact should most likely be re‐ moved He continued, “As soon as people feel it is safe, you will see a miraculous change in the mood and what hap‐ pens. That is what this is all about. We’re getting there step by step, jab by jab ‐ we’re not there yet, but I’ll be saying more on April 5 and then on April 12, and we will do what we can!”

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TUI And Jet2 Steam Ahead THE UK’s two biggest tour op‐ erators, Jet2 and TUI, have said that they are going ahead with plans to restart holidays abroad on May 17, despite huge uncertainty over whether British trav‐ ellers will be free to avail of the flights. TUI, the UK’s largest tour operator, insisted “holidays this summer will be possible,” but both compa‐ nies said they will wait for the situation to be clarified by the UK government’s Global Travel Taskforce on April 12. On Tuesday, March 23, Spain’s Minister of Finance, María Jesús Montero, an‐ nounced that travel restric‐ tions on UK tourists would be eased; however, the news was dampened by the UK government’s announce‐ ment of the intention to in‐ troduce a law on March 29 which includes a ban on any‐ one leaving the UK without a ‘reasonable excuse,’ and the risk of a £5,000 (€5,805) fine for flouting the new rules.

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Covid Test Providers Creating 1.7 Million Green Jobs COVID-19 test provider Collinson has announced it is expanding its operations with the launch of a drive‐through testing facility in APH’s long‐stay car park located near Gatwick airport. The compa‐ ny said it will also increase testing capabilities with in‐terminal facil‐ ities at Luton airport next month, adding to its existing drive‐ through offering. This follows the announcement last week of the drive‐through and walk‐in centres at the O2 Arena’s car park. Collinson already has testing operations supporting all major hubs in England includ‐ ing Heathrow, Manchester, Stansted, London City and East Mid‐ lands airports. David Evans, joint chief executive at Collinson, said: “Our ongoing work with the aviation and travel industry, coupled with our investment in creating the most flexible, convenient test‐ ing processes for passengers coming in and out of the UK, goes hand in hand with our commitment to helping the travel industry recover.

Baby Boom GRANADA City offers a unique cash incentive to prospective parents in a bid to increase the population A municipality on Granada has come up with a unique initia‐ tive to try and increase its ageing population by offering a cash incentive to people who give birth or adopt a child. Cuevas del Campo has just over 1,700 residents and only one in 10 is under the age of 14, while three in 10 are aged over 75. In an attempt to avoid the further depopulation of the area, which unfortunately continues to occur in many other regions in Granada, the city council has decided to encourage popula‐ tion growth by offering a payment of €500 for each birth or adoption in the municipality.

ACCORDING to experts, Boris Johnson could create a further 1.7 million jobs with his planned green revolution. The Onward think tank says the prime minister could create the new jobs due to the demand for renewable energy and lowcarbon tech in their report on ‘greening the giants.’ They also called on Boris Johnson to take action over 12 of Britain’s most dirty industries. The ‘carbon giant’ sectors, which include aviation, manufacturing and consultation, cause nearly two-thirds of UK carbon emissions. The report also called on the prime minister to use the success of the vaccine rollout to establish a new Net Zero Delivery Taskforce which would oversee major government trials of green tech and help the economic recovery. The experts said more jobs can also be created in low-emission energy and electric vehicles as Britain works to reach its green goals, which could generate over £330 billion (€285 billion) in additional economic value by 2030.

TAKING ACTION: Boris could create jobs.

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NEWS

ERTE Applications Lost THE March 9 cyberattack on the State Public Employment Service (SEPE) not only com‐ promised sensitive data and threatened to delay the pay‐ ment of unemployment ben‐ efits across Spain, but also caused the loss of thousands of new applications, accord‐ ing to Spanish daily press. The publication claims that while the Ministry of Labour continues to deny that the malicious virus affected SEPE files, in at least one province all pre‐applications for unem‐ ployment benefit and ERTE (Furlough) have disappeared for the period between March 4 and March 9. The Labour Ministry insists that all data is completely safe, stating that: “No pre‐application was lost because all those that en‐ tered were duly backed up and copies of the files were also sent to the provincial ad‐ dresses of the SEPE so that they could have a reliable record and check in these lists each and every one of the pre‐applications,” sources

from the Ministry told the press. However, several SEPE staff members have claimed that the virus may also have im‐ pacted the back‐up files, re‐ sulting in their loss. Sources from the Workers’ Commis‐

sions Union commented that it is a matter of “uncertainty and insecurity” for the appli‐ cants, who will not know if they have been affected by the cyberattack “until some time passes” and they are ei‐ ther paid or not.

Protecting Renters VALENCIA has already prevented ‘vulture funds’ from buying up entire buildings to turn into tourist apartments in the historic city centre and now the councillor for Housing, Isabel Lozano, has announced her intention to suspend licences for tourist apartments on entire buildings in 37 neighbourhoods throughout the city. Her aim, she said, is to “paralyse speculative movements of vulture funds and large corporations that, in order to carry out their activity, expel residents from the city’s neighbourhoods, as is the case now on Calle Turia, with expulsion not only from residences but also from businesses.” To prevent this kind of mass buying-out of buildings and the subsequent eviction of tenants, Councillor Lozano has proposed suspending the processing and granting of licences for new apartment buildings which are exclusively for tourists’ use in certain areas for the next two years. She is hoping that her measure will be approved at the next municipal plenary session in April so that it can be enforced as soon as possible.

NEWS

www.euroweeklynews.com

1 - 7 April 2021

Eviction denied A JUDGE has ruled in favour of a Sevilla man who was taken to court by a squatter for entering his own home. The squatter had filed a complaint after the homeowner entered his own apartment in Sevilla and got the illegal occupant out, changed the door to the house

and then remained there so it could not be taken over again. The squatter did not initially identify the alleged intruder, although he admitted in his statement that he was not the homeowner, but the police discovered that the man who had been reported was the legitimate owner

Foreign Secretary visits Gib ON Monday March 29, the day after Chief Minister Fabian Pi‐ cardo and his team returned to the Rock after meetings in Madrid, UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab made his first of‐ ficial visit to Gibraltar. He was met at the airport by Governor Sir David Steel and Mr Picardo and went on a walkabout through Main Street having removed his face mask as wearing one is no longer a legal requirement in the open. During the visit, the Foreign Secretary reaffirmed the UK’s commitment to reaching agreement on a future treaty be‐ tween the UK and EU in respect of Gibraltar and said: “As a valued member of the UK family, we stand side by side with Gibraltar as we enter into the forthcoming negotia‐ tions with the EU on Gibraltar’s future relationship. “We are committed to delivering a treaty which safe‐ guards UK’s sovereignty of Gibraltar and supports the pros‐ perity of both Gibraltar and the surrounding region.”

80,000 Airline Seats FRANCISCO SALADO, the president of the Costa del Sol tourism board, on Wednesday March 24 ‐ during the first of his four forums aimed at helping the sector recover from the health and economic crisis ‐ announced that between all the airlines flying into Malaga airport this coming Easter, there are a total of 79,114 seats avail‐ able. He commented, “We are convinced that we are a safe destina‐ tion, and we can offer absolute security guarantees to our visitors.” Salado said that the markets which are offering the most seats to Malaga are, internally from other Spanish cities ‐ 23,404, Moroc‐ co ‐ 7,937, Germany ‐ 6,156, France ‐ 6,089, United Kingdom ‐ 4,948, and the Netherlands ‐ 4,684.

of the apartment. A rapid trial was held but the sentence was appealed by the squatter, who considered that a serious crime had been committed against him.He said he had entered the house without using violence and had been living there for more than a year. His lawyer even contacted a company specialising in getting rid of squatters to get the owner removed from the property and asked the court to give his client a month in which to vacate the premises which the court rejected.

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UK Branches to Close SANTANDER bank has announced plans that will see 111 branches closed throughout the country as more and more people use mobile and online banking rather than visiting their bank in person. The ongoing Coronavirus pandemic has accelerated the shift to online banking too. T he closures will see around 840 staff affected although Santander have committed to trying to find them alternative positions within the bank. S antander confirmed that the Coronavirus

Alliance between Amazon and Dia THE alliance between Amazon and supermarket chain Dia has now reached eight cities in Spain. In the past nine months, the service, which allows users to buy products from Dia via the Amazon app, has expanded to Sevilla, Malaga, Alicante, Bilbao and most recently to Zaragoza. The project began in Madrid in 2016, with Barcelona fol‐ lowing in 2017 and Valencia in 2018. The head of Amazon Fresh and Amazon.com in Spain, Camille Bur, highlighted that the initiative allows for an “im‐ proved shopping experience” on the internet. The fast delivery service allows for products to be delivered to the user’s home in two‐hour slots on the same day or the following day. Dia offers Amazon customers more than 5,500 articles of its white label, as well as fresh products and other brands; orders received via Amazon are prepared by staff of the chain of supermarkets in their stores and delivered by Ama‐ zon. In 2020 it doubled its income in this way, to €139 million.

BANK PLANS: More and more people use online banking. pandemic has increased the ongoing trend which has seen branch visits reduced. A dam B ishop, head of branches at Santander spoke about the difficult decision to close branches and explained that, “Branch usage by customers has fallen considerably over recent years so we have made the difficult decision to consolidate

our presence in areas where we have multiple branches relatively close together.” There are also plans afoot to move the bank’s headquarters to Milton Keynes from London. The decision will see the floor space rented out and the capital reduced. Other office closures are planned before the end of the year too.

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1 - 7 April 2021

FEATURE

GO LOCAL

THE EUROWEEKLY NEWS is urging its readers to support local busi‐ nesses in the community by going local through the lockdown and for your all your shopping this year, instead of feeding online gi‐ ants and superstores. During this lockdown and with Easter this weekend, we challenge you to rediscover your local high streets, markets, butchers, green‐ grocers and all of the wonderfully

quirky independent businesses in your area. Due to the Covid‐19 pandemic, you may have to support many lo‐ cal businesses by ordering online and making use of any click and col‐ lect services they can operate if you are unable 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 ac‐ tually going. By shopping at an independent store you’re putting food on a local family’s table, and there is no bet‐ ter time than now to give back to your community 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 actu‐ ally much more than just a small high street shop, they’re a family’s legacy, often passed down through numerous generations and sup‐ port not just the current owner but the generation before. For those stores which are new, that extra couple of euros spent there are supporting 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 pre‐order your meat from a local butcher and get your spuds from a local greengro‐ cer, let us revive that community

spirit and get to know our neigh‐ bours again. You could also consider purchas‐ ing gift vouchers from local busi‐ nesses to help them over the com‐ ing 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 stu‐ dio, 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 fi‐ nances thinking about what friends and family may actually need is im‐ portant too. Whilst it’s nice to give a glamourous gift perhaps pre‐pay‐ ing a family member’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 diffi‐ cult times. Choosing to spend your money locally will really make a dif‐ ference in the recovery of the local economy. When we buy local, our money stays local, and it strengthens the local economy in two ways. First, buying local keeps money circulating within the local economy. Studies have shown that local businesses recirculate a greater share of every euro as they create locally owned supply chains and invest in their employees. Data shows that local retailers return 52 per cent of their revenue back into the local economy, com‐ pared to just 14 per cent for nation‐ al 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 prepares the fresh produce and sells it to local customers. The farmer pays its local employees and the restaurant uses revenue from sales to buy supplies from a neighbourhood hardware store. This example illustrates how the re‐ circulation of money in the local economy leads to a stronger finan‐ cial foundation for our neighbours and communities. Buying local also fuels new employment and job op‐ portunities for people within our community. Studies 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 lo‐ cal community is with a Charity Gift certificate, why not donate to your loved one’s favourite cause. Just remember to follow the lat‐ est government advice and any guidance businesses have to keep everyone safe.

12 EWN

www.euroweeklynews.com

1 - 7 April 2021

NEWS

Thirty-one people arrested NATIONAL POLICE arrested 31 Romanian citizens at La Jonquera, the border with France, who were found to be travelling in a bus with forged false PCR certificates. Its occupants had certificates which appeared to have been carried out in laboratories in Spain but which had been falsified. The police had been investigating the possible falsification of PCR tests by some EU citizens so they would be able to travel to their home countries. Therefore, an investigation was launched in midMarch by the UCRIF in Girona, the unit specialising in fighting illegal immigration and document falsification based on information from the French police regarding

Falsification of PCR tests.

the existence of the falsified certificates. Information was exchanged between the Spanish and French police thanks to bilateral agreements. Once the French authorities were informed, they refused to let them cross the border and the travellers were taken into custody

by the Spanish National Police and once the laboratories had confirmed the falsification, they were arrested and released with charges after giving a statement to the police awaiting a court hearing. The investigation is ongoing to determine who was involved in tampering with the certificates.

Asylum Seeker Prison IN a move that has caused some controversy, the Home Office has defended plans for a new prison style facility to be built near Consett, in County Durham. The new deten‐ tion facility is set to home asylum seekers and will be built on the Medomsley Detention Centre site. The Home Office have defended the scheme that is set to house around 80 women, and will be called the Hassockfield immigration removal centre. They claim that the new site will not only create jobs but will also help control immigration. Speaking to the House of Commons Chris Philp, a Home Office Minister responsible for immigration spoke of how valid asylum seekers will still be looked after, but explained that the new site is needed. Philip explained that, “When people have valid asylum claims, we should of course look after them, but when they do not, we should ensure that they leave. “It will create local jobs, and only people with no right to stay in the country will be there.”

EUROPEAN PRESS

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EUROPEAN NIBS DENMARK

FRANCE

Working hours

Space wine

ACCORDING to a report prepared by UK healthcare software provider Vantage Technologies, Denmark has the shortest working week amongst all European Union countries at 37.8 hours and 36 days annual leave with Spain clocking in at 40.4 hours and the UK 42.3 hours.

RESEARCHERS in Bordeaux have been given the job of tasting and analysing wine that spent a year on the International Space Station and one bonus is that there were 12 bottles of the legendary Petrus Pomerol each of which sells for several thousand euros.

NETHERLANDS Hacked off

NORWAY Silent engines

HACKERS are offering for sale 7.3 million names, addresses and telephone numbers which they claim were taken from the data base of Dutch IT company RDS which runs a service to garages allowing them to remind drivers that they are due for a check-up.

THE Norwegian Government has decided that Bergen Engines (owned by Rolls Royce) may not sell its silent engines to a Russian company (whose owners have links to Vladimir Putin) as national security interests may be compromised since the engines are in use by the Norwegian Navy.

BELGIUM

FINLAND

Name calling

Crossing borders

A FLEMISH couple (who speak Dutch) were initially told by a registration official in Brussels that they couldn’t call their child Hannes which is short for Johannes because it sounded too much like French word ânesse the name for a female donkey.

DESPITE the fact that the Finnish government has tightened entry restrictions there is still significant traffic from Estonia with some 10,600 visitors arriving at the port of Helsinki in one week alone, all mainly cross border workers, with just 64 passengers refused entry.

GERMANY Citizenship ALTHOUGH Germany has made it easier for the descendants of Jews who fled Nazi Germany to gain citizenship, there were still loopholes in the law which will now be changed as a symbolic gesture of apology to those who may have been refused in the past.

SWEDEN Emission fees IN the same way that some electric cars pay less road tax, the Swedish Government has decided that aircraft landing and taking off from Stockholm and Gothenburg airports will be charged fees based on their emissions, so the greener the fuel, the lower the charge.

1 - 7 April 2021

EWN 13

FINANCE Equal pay SOME 42,000 staff at ASDA have moved another step forward in what could be a long legal battle as the UK Supreme Court ruled that store workers (who are mainly women) should be entitled to compare themselves to distribution staff (mainly men) for equal pay purposes.

Production down ALTHOUGH there are considerably more home deliveries across the world, UK commercial vehicle production fell 45.4 per cent in February, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders due to parts shortages, new customs processes and international lockdown measures which have made production difficult.

Greater spend THE Spanish Social Security Department allocated a record figure of €10.119 billion to the payment of contributory pensions for March 2021 which is 2.4 per cent more than in the same month of 2020, according to an announcement by the Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration.

Meal box IF you have ever wondered what it would be like to enjoy the luxury of a first class meal on a British Airways intercontinental flight, now is the time to find out as the airline is offering £80 (€90) meal boxes for two to cook at home.

Price cuts AS Carrefour in Spain starts work on assimilating the recent Supersol takeover into its family, it has also announced further price cuts as the competition with other supermarkets intensifies. Some 1,000 own products have been reduced in price and a further 600 in a mix between own products and national brands have been repriced at 99c. The supermarket chain has identified the most popular products with customers and has also reduced the amount of sugar, saturated fat and salt added to 380 of its own brand products.

STAT OF WEEK

www.euroweeklynews.com • 1 - 7 April 2021

€2 billion

is the latest market valuation for Glovo, the Spanish start-up which competes with Deliveroo and Uber Eats in the fast food delivery market.

Spanish support schemes

New low-cost airline ONE of the founders of the now partially bankrupt Norwegian Air, Bjørn Kjos is looking to return to the cheap intercontinental air‐ line market. The 74‐year‐old retired as CEO of Norwegian two years ago, but could now benefit from its demise as he is talking about leasing 12 of the Norwegian Air Boeing 787 Dreamliners which were purchased dur‐ ing his tenure.

He wants to create Norse Atlantic Airways with an initial investment of 1.5 bil‐ lion Norwegian Krone (€147.6 million) working with former colleagues in‐ cluding Espen Høiby, a for‐ mer SAS pilot and brother of Crown Princess Mette‐ Marit. He told NRK “We’ll start with 12 of Norwegian’s for‐ mer Dreamliners. The dif‐ ference between us and Norwegian is that we don’t

LEGALLY SPEAKING

have any debt, and we can get the aircraft for half‐ price.” In the meantime, credi‐ tors of Norwegian including more than 30,000 passen‐ gers as well as former staff are left unpaid due to the bankruptcy protection granted to the airline in Ire‐ land and Norway. Some critics argue that it was the speed in which Kjos grew the airline and the massive purchase of

aircraft which it couldn’t re‐ ally afford that spelled doom for Norwegian which was suffering financially even before the advent of the Covid‐19 pandemic. Time will tell whether there is going to be a viable market for transatlantic travel in the near future, al‐ though Norse Atlantic Air‐ ways hope to float on the Norwegian stock market within a month or so and start flights in December.

Suppliers slashed

Clean Cars Get Stickers

Credit: Boohoo.com

BUSINESS EXTRA

14

Various readers have inquired about ob‐ taining ‘ecological stickers’ for their cars of low carbon emissions. One reader was told that the stickers were already being sent out as early as 2017 and he wonders if he will get one.

In theory he should receive his sticker YOU AND THE LAW in the post be‐ IN SPAIN cause the DGT, the traffic department, already has access to all of the vehicles’ data on the In‐ ternet. The ‘Cero Emisiones’ sticker is dark blue with a big black Zero on it and it applies to all‐electric vehicles, hybrid vehicles that can plug into chargers and some others. The next level is green and blue and is called ‘Eco’. It includes vehicles driven by natural gas and some battery‐run. The ‘C’ sticker is green and is issued to gasoline‐powered vehicles registered after January 1, 2006, and diesels registered from 2014. The ‘B’ sticker is yellow and is issued to gasoline‐driv‐ en vehicles registered after 2000 and diesels after 2006. The easiest way for you to speed up the process is to go with your car papers to the post office and order a stick‐ er. This will cost you €5.

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.

SPANISH supermarket group DIA announced on Thursday March 25 that it has agreed to convert debt owed to its main shareholder LetterOne in‐ to equity. It intends to offer new shares to existing share‐ holders worth €1.028 bil‐ lion of which the bulk will

ONLINE: Fashion aimed at those aged 16 to 30. THE value of shares in online UK fashion retailer Boohoo dropped dramatically in the second half of 2020 after The Sunday Times accused it of buying goods from companies which didn’t pay the minimum wage. Similar accusations followed from other newspapers and on social media which prompt‐ ed the company to completely review its supply line and con‐ sider opening its own factory. The company which also owns a number of other on‐ line retailers such as Pretty Lit‐ tle Things recently purchased a number of labels including Burtons, Debenhams and Dorothy Perkins following the

demise of Arcadia. A review of the working conditions of its network of factories, some of which were alleged to pay staff just £3.50 (€4) an hour has resulted in a decision to drastically reduce its suppliers from an estimated 500 to just 78, the majority of which operate out of Leicester. The report which was pre‐ pared under the guidance of a barrister revealed that some of the top people at the company were aware of the problems before they were reported in the press and had also used the opportunity of lockdown to benefit financially from the opportunities arising out of lockdown.

DIA supermarket equity be converted from the debt of €769 million it owes to Luxembourg based LetterOne which is owned by Russian billion‐ aire Mikhail Fridman. The balance of shares

valued at €269 million will be offered to other shareholders and replaces an earlier plan to convert just €500 million of debt to equity. The supermarket chain

continues to operate at a significant loss although its 2020 figures showed that the loss more than halved compared to the previous year at €364 mil‐ lion thanks to a signifi‐

THE European Commission has agreed three existing Spanish schemes to support the econo‐ my following the coronavirus outbreak to be in line with the State Aid Temporary Frame‐ work. Executive Vice‐President Mar‐ grethe Vestager, who is in charge of competition policy, said, “The amendments we have approved today will help Spanish companies preserve economic activity in these diffi‐ cult times by adapting and en‐ hancing existing Spanish schemes already in force. “We continue to work in close cooperation with Member States to find workable solutions to mitigate the economic impact of the Coronavirus outbreak, in line with EU rules.”

Canadian contract ITP Aero, a Spanish sub‐ sidiary of Rolls Royce En‐ gines will provide mainte‐ nance services for Pratt & Whitney Canada’s PW814 and PW815 engines. It will become the exclu‐ sive provider of a range of services and this is the first time that it has obtained such a contract in the civil field and work will be car‐ ried out at its Madrid facili‐ ties. Having experienced fi‐ nancial setbacks, like many other companies in the avi‐ ation industry, due to Covid‐19 and huge reduc‐ tions in flights and sales of engines, this is welcome news. cant increase in purchases during the State of Alarm. It now hopes with a sig‐ nificant reduction in debt and with the support of its shareholders that it can follow its roadmap to return to profitability, es‐ pecially as it now has no significant debt repay‐ ments due until 2025.

16 EWN

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1 - 7 April 2021

FINANCE, BUSINESS & LEGAL MAKE THE MOST OF YOUR MONEY WITH US

LONDON - FTSE 100

See our advert on previous page

C LOSING P RICES M ARCH 29

COMPANY PRICE(P) CHANGE(P) 3I Group 1.175,00 1.175,00 Admiral Group 3.018,0 3.051,0 Anglo American 2.815,5 2.836,0 Antofagasta 1.667,50 1.685,00 Ashtead Group 4.317,0 4.334,0 Associated British Foods 2.406,0 2.406,0 AstraZeneca 7.298,0 7.299,7 Auto Trader Group Plc 568,60 569,20 Avast 468,00 468,00 Aveva 3.434,0 3.437,0 Aviva 400,50 401,60 B&M European Value Retail SA539,00 540,60 BAE Systems 497,80 497,80 Bank VTB DRC 0,970 0,975 Barclays 180,04 182,08 Barratt Developments 766,46 767,42 Berkeley 4.449,5 4.452,0 BHP Group 2.091,00 2.093,00 BP 299,24 301,60 British American Tobacco 2.812,5 2.813,0 British Land Company 511,60 512,60 BT Group 150,59 152,10 Bunzl 2.308,0 2.308,0 Burberry Group 1.904,0 1.905,5 Carnival 1.569,5 1.595,1 Centrica 51,60 52,16 Coca Cola HBC AG 2.330,0 2.330,0 Compass 1.469,30 1.478,20 CRH 3.350,0 3.353,0 Croda Intl 6.420,0 6.420,0 DCC 6.514,0 6.524,0 Diageo 3.005,5 3.007,5 DS Smith 410,94 411,94 EasyJet 948,47 962,02 Experian 2.516,0 2.516,0 Ferguson 8.840,0 8.850,0 Flutter Entertainment 16.395,0 16.525,0 Fresnillo 912,20 916,80 GlaxoSmithKline 1.300,74 1.304,32 Glencore 282,54 284,99 Halma 2.397,0 2.397,0 Hargreaves Lansdown 1.540,14 1.540,14 Hikma Pharma 2.239,00 2.239,00 HSBC 420,45 421,90 IAG 194,05 196,32 Imperial Brands 1.506,50 1.508,00 Informa 565,20 565,80 InterContinental 4.946,0 4.961,0 Intermediate Capital 1.880,00 1.880,00 Intertek 5.658,0 5.658,0 ITV 126,84 127,80

% CHG. 1.169,00 2.998,0 2.814,5 1.664,00 4.310,0 2.390,2 7.282,0 560,60 458,00 3.407,0 400,10 539,00 496,10 0,970 180,00 761,40 4.436,4 2.081,00 298,87 2.786,7 510,00 149,10 2.303,0 1.890,6 1.569,5 51,56 2.305,0 1.469,30 3.339,0 6.380,3 6.478,0 2.987,5 408,78 948,11 2.495,0 8.792,0 16.385,0 902,80 1.299,40 282,41 2.383,0 1.524,70 2.223,00 420,31 193,49 1.494,00 563,80 4.922,0 1.880,00 5.608,0 126,53

NET VOL 13,05K 1,91K 52,47K 10,20K 19,66K 0,87K 5,04K 12,49K 9,00K 2,79K 88,65K 9,12K 10,63K 10,54K 2,33M 7,23K 2,69K 83,00K 209,23K 3,04K 10,41K 1,37M 5,58K 8,92K 3,98K 120,86K 7,69K 2,21K 27,22K 0,75K 1,70K 56,12K 30,42K 42,33K 27,73K 4,99K 4,44K 5,50K 20,71K 186,09K 3,19K 3,74K 3,22K 20,80K 303,84K 20,03K 19,38K 3,98K 0,04K 2,11K 33,52K

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

245,50 3.046,5 703,20 277,80 41,96 7.122,0 469,90 167,65 1.917,50 867,60 190,45 7.914,0 29,62 2.117,39 2.990,4 732,80 1.555,50 6.460,0 1.836,00 495,40 596,86 5.554,0 105,50 7,59 1.441,0 1.440,75 1.371,0 682,00 613,20 1.806,00 15,31 3.460,0 1.129,40 941,20 2.325,0 1.371,00 1.557,00 11.590,0 1.448,50 1.267,00 499,40 290,00 182,32 228,98 352,20 4.081,0 918,60 132,52 3.420,0 928,40

CHANGE(P)

% CHG.

NET VOL

246,00 3.046,5 706,50 278,45 42,13 7.162,0 482,50 168,05 1.917,50 867,60 191,65 7.932,0 29,65 2.123,00 2.995,5 734,00 1.562,00 6.460,0 1.836,00 497,80 598,36 5.555,0 106,94 7,60 1.450,6 1.446,40 1.374,6 682,80 613,20 1.812,00 15,38 3.460,0 1.134,79 941,20 2.325,0 1.371,00 1.568,00 11.605,0 1.449,59 1.267,00 499,77 290,00 182,68 230,06 358,90 4.081,0 918,60 133,98 3.450,0 929,00

244,30 3.030,6 699,80 276,50 41,80 7.088,0 469,90 167,45 1.912,93 860,60 190,25 7.900,0 29,20 2.087,14 2.964,2 730,80 1.554,50 6.416,0 1.813,50 493,30 593,34 5.522,0 105,50 7,59 1.439,8 1.440,20 1.368,8 681,80 611,40 1.799,00 15,28 3.446,0 1.113,11 934,63 2.288,0 1.359,69 1.552,50 11.515,0 1.438,50 1.260,00 498,90 285,40 180,93 228,74 351,80 4.048,0 909,40 132,32 3.420,0 925,00

53,09K 0,27K 13,57K 79,45K 2,77M 27,94K 4,24K 37,50K 0,70K 105,62K 274,36K 1,03K 66,18K 6,22K 4,63K 17,59K 130,03K 24,54K 232,66K 85,88K 2,24K 4,92K 453,68K 3,07K 309,35K 4,02K 35,72K 245,90K 4,26K 0,88K 57,04K 3,07K 100,79K 5,12K 8,76K 5,17K 14,72K 1,28K 9,92K 1,06K 19,06K 24,60K 146,38K 133,15K 306,54K 14,05K 42,85K 3,18M 3,85K 31,91K

0.85546

1.16799 Units per €

US dollar (USD) ......................................1.17865 Japan yen (JPY)......................................129.147 Switzerland franc (CHF) ...........................1.1065 Denmark kroner (DKK) .............................7.4361 Norway kroner (NOK) ...............................10.112

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 M ARCH 29

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 194,88 2.035,55 3.052,03 252,86 121,21 244,87 229,50 107,48 52,57 53,04 283,02 327,39 303,81 218,53 136,38 64,87 164,93 155,09 225,21 77,39 236,48 132,99 135,45 209,09 618,71 376,48 58,18 213,53 135,13 185,92

CHANGE 194,95 2.050,99 3.056,66 253,28 121,48 250,90 229,84 107,54 52,64 53,11 284,50 335,45 304,00 218,69 136,48 64,97 165,10 155,45 225,28 77,47 236,71 133,19 135,61 209,41 643,82 377,06 58,25 213,70 135,20 188,98

CHANGE% VOLUME(M) 192,21 2,68M 2.014,02 1,49M 2.996,00 3,31M 245,54 2,64M 118,92 94,07M 240,30 17,16M 225,21 3,04M 105,36 9,82M 50,56 32,00M 51,76 17,13M 277,77 17,63M 322,69 3,08M 296,03 5,87M 214,14 2,54M 133,12 5,57M 61,77 34,71M 161,38 7,62M 152,55 16,75M 222,42 3,26M 75,85 9,91M 231,55 25,48M 129,77 10,01M 132,48 10,82M 204,77 7,33M 599,89 33,85M 370,29 2,96M 57,38 19,63M 207,70 7,40M 133,42 9,55M 182,57 10,20M M - MILLION DOLLARS

NASDAQ C LOSING P RICES M ARCH 29

COMPANY

CHANGE NET / %

VOLUME

+1.55% +2.41% +3.52% +7.14% +6.61% +4.10% +2.10% +3.73% +107.45% +6.86% +4.41%

4.63M 377,006 191,708 1.93M 1.87M 114,983 584,593 569,255 2.59M 1.65M 2.89M

-3.39% -27.31% -25.60% -27.45% -29.55% -3.40% -3.56% -15.57% -8.52% -8.43% -0.43%

33.85M 216.63M 1.31M 106.07M 45.68M 5.16M 257,651 7,282 1.53M 5.49M 1.49M

Most Advanced Amazon.com Inc. Booking Holdings Inc. Broadcom Inc. 8% Pfd. Series A ASML Holding N.V. Lam Research Corp. First Citizens Bancshares Inc. Cl A MercadoLibre Inc. Intuitive Surgical Inc. Design Therapeutics Inc. KLA Corp. Broadcom Inc.

Most Declined Tesla Inc. ViacomCBS Inc. Cl B ViacomCBS Inc. Cl A Discovery Inc. Series A Discovery Inc. Series C Roku Inc. Cl A arGEN-X SE ADR Discovery Inc. Series B Fulgent Genetics Inc. JOYY Inc. ADR Alphabet Inc. Cl C

FINANCE, BUSINESS & LEGAL

www.euroweeklynews.com

Currency outlook: US dollar soars amid surging yields, euro tumbles on renewed coronavirus concerns

EUROZONE: Data has been mixed over the past month.

ASK THE EXPERT Peter Loveday Contact me at euroweekly@currenciesdirect.com

Euro EUR/GBP: Up from £0.85 to £0.86 EUR/USD: Down from $1.21 to $1.18 The euro continued to struggle to attract sup‐ port through March with the EU’s sluggish vac‐ cine rollout remaining a key source of pressure for the single currency. Further diminishing the appeal of the euro for investors in the past couple of weeks has been the startling resurgence of coronavirus cases across the continent, with Europe’s third wave forcing countries to tighten restrictions once more. Meanwhile, data coming from the Eurozone has been mixed over the past month, with some positive releases offering temporary respite for the single currency, but unable to re‐ verse the prevailing selling bias. Looking ahead, barring a dramatic improve‐ ment in Europe’s vaccine rollout or a sharp drop in local coronavirus cases, it’s likely we could see the euro remain on the back foot through much of April. Pound GBP/EUR: Down from €1.16 to €1.15 GBP/USD: Down from $1.41 to $1.36 March has seen the pound struggle to main‐ tain the highs hit back in February as a key pillar of support for Sterling through the start of 2021, its successful vaccination programme, now ap‐ pears to be under threat due to shortages and potential export bans from the EU. This has stoked concerns that the UK govern‐ ment will need to alter its roadmap for easing lockdown, something which Boris Johnson also warned about when schools reopened at the start of the month.

However, Sterling has still been able to find some support through the past month, with Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s budget providing a lift after he announced a more generous than ex‐ pected stimulus package and opted to defer tax hikes until 2023. Turning to April, the focus for GBP investors will be on whether the government moves for‐ ward with its plans to reopen more of the econ‐ omy on April 12, with any delays due to the vac‐ cine shortage or Europe’s third wave ‘washing up on UK shores’ likely to negatively impact GBP exchange rates. US Dollar USD/GBP: Up from £0.70 to £0.72 USD/EUR: Up from €0.82 to €0.84 The US dollar has stormed higher over the past month, with the currency garnering signifi‐ cant support amidst a sharp rise in US Treasury yields, which have surged on expectations for a robust US economic recovery and a rapid accel‐ eration of domestic inflation. The safe‐haven ‘Greenback’ has attracted ad‐ ditional support in the second half of March due to a notable souring of market sentiment fol‐ lowing the coronavirus resurgence in Europe and renewed tensions between the West and China. The US dollar’s rally in March didn’t come without its hiccups however, with USD ex‐ change rates slumping sharply following the Federal Reserve’s latest policy meeting, in which it struck a more dovish than expected tone. Looking ahead, the US dollar may maintain its upward trajectory through April so long as yields continue to accelerate as investors re‐ main skittish over the global economic recovery in 2021. Currencies Direct have helped over 325,000 customers save on their currency transfers since 1996. Just pop into your local Currencies Direct branch or give us a call to find out more about how you can save money on your currency transfers.

Visit us at our Spanish offices in Costa del Sol, Costa Almeria, North Costa Blanca and South Costa Blanca. Telephone UK +44 (0) 207 847 9400 SPAIN +34 950 478 914 Email euroweekly@currenciesdirect.com • www.currenciesdirect.com.

1 - 7 April 2021

EWN 17

18 EWN

www.euroweeklynews.com

1 - 7 April 2021

FEATURE

Time to step back and smell the roses LEAPY LEE SAYS IT OTHERS THINK IT I THINK the time has come to step back and smell the roses. I’ve come to the conclusion that if some people were in the middle of the black plague, listening to the cries of ‘bring out your dead’ and watching bodies being piled up on handcarts ‐ or standing in the middle of Auschwitz surveying the horrors of Nazi genocide, they would still be in denial. Relatively speaking, those among us who insist that Covid is not happening are only a small minority, but they are still there. When you consider there also exists a Flat Earth society you do realise that, no matter what the evidence, when certain members of the public have made up their minds NOTHING is going to change them. To disagree invites arguments, ill feelings and disintegration of friendships. So I’m gonna revert to partaking the pollen and chilling a bit. With all this Covid dissent, plus the racist bigotry and civil disobedience that is being allowed to flourish, UK society is

NOTHING: Is going to change some people’s minds. plunging headlong into the hands of the leftie politicians at an alarming rate of knots. They are all of course rubbing their hands in gleeful anticipation of as much social upheaval as they can possibly instigate and, as I mentioned last week, utilise it to seize the reins of power for Labour at the next general election.

I also notice that London’s Mayor Khan; the man who has allowed many parts of London to fall into a crime ridden, gang infested, third world anarchy; banned the use of many female models in public advertising, advocated the removal of historical figures and generally stood by while this great metropolis

experiences more racial discrimination than it has endured since the Roman occupation ‐ is actually 29 points ahead in popularity in the run up to the election of a new mayor! Obviously this man is not favoured because of his achievements. With London’s Asian community at an all‐time high, he is a front runner purely

because of his roots and ethnic background. With this same utterly undemocratic ideology being echoed in cities all across the UK, I’m afraid that within a couple of generations the culture and face of the UK will have been changed forever. This week a teacher in Batley is in fear of his life and under police protection, while a mob of masked Islamic bully boys picket the school he taught at. His ‘crime’? To breach the Islamic blasphemy laws by showing his pupils a depiction of the prophet Mohamed! (Since when was this Sharia law written into British legislation?) This was a popular well respected Yorkshire teacher working in a British school, delivering a serious lesson on the historical events surrounding the Charlie Hebdo atrocity. Showing a complete lack of cajones and a disgraceful disregard for the freedom of speech, the appeasing school governors, suspended the teacher, shut the school and issued a grovelling apology to the local Islamic community. Heaven help us all. Keep the faith • Love Leapy Leapylee2002@gmail.com excpatradioscotland.com. (alter ego!)

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

FEATURE

www.euroweeklynews.com

1 - 7 April 2021

EWN 19

Can the Government of Spain force me to rent my unoccupied home? CONSULAR MATTERS THE alarm has been raised amongst the expat community and other people who have a second home here in Spain that is used on a temporary basis. The Central Spanish Government published a ministerial order autho‐ rising the governments of each re‐ gion so that they can make owners who have unoccupied second homes to rent them to people who are victims of gender violence, to people who are homeless and other particularly vulnerable people who have been evicted from their habit‐ ual residence, for example due to non‐payment of their mortgage. However, from a legal point of

HOUSE RENTAL: New aid for the payment of rent. view it is an order without execu‐ tive value. The central government itself recognises that the norm does not allow expropriations. This norm points to the obligation of regional

governments to make publicly owned housing available to these unprotected groups. But what if there are not? It is a ‘ministerial order’, which does not

have the status of law and, further‐ more, it does not have any norm of that level on which to rely, there‐ fore it is not mandatory. Sources from the Ministry itself recognised that despite what the text says, that it is not the will of the government to open a door to the expropriation of private hous‐ ing. However, they recognised the clumsiness of the drafting of said rule that leads to confusion and alarm amongst second homeown‐ ers. This rule does not allow expropri‐ ation of private homes or protect ‘squats’ or other illegal practices. What it says is it allows the creation of a plan that can be used to pay the rent of a house. The Ministry itself has confirmed that the ‘Aid Programme for victims of gender violence and evicted peo‐

ple’ does not allow the expropria‐ tion of empty homes or second homes from privates. Also, the Ministry explained that they enable regional governments so that in urgent circumstances of extreme vulnerability determined by social services, they can resort, for example, when renting a home or offering a room in a hotel and being able to pay for it with the ‘State Plan Aid’. The ministerial order, which de‐ velops in the State Housing Plan the new aid for the payment of the rent of habitual residence to vulnerable tenants who have occurred due to the Covid‐19 epidemic, includes a programme of direct aid to victims of gender violence, people evicted, homeless and especially vulnerable to provide housing through finan‐ cial assistance.

Marisa Moreno Castillo Danish Consul and Senior Lawyer at Just Law Solicitors www.justlawsolicitors.com / contact@justlawsolicitors.com

I’m ok with the rules and regs MIKE SENKER IN MY OPINION Views of a Grumpy Old Man AS I’ve said many times I’m not a believer in conspiracy theories with maybe the exception of Princess Di, perhaps JFK, oh and Aids. But after a year of what’s been going on I’m beginning to think some things we are being told need investigating. One problem is that you’re not allowed to question anything without being labelled an antivaxxer or a member of QAnon. I want to know why there is a lack of information. What happened to all the people that got locked up in UK hotels when they came back from the red zones? Massive publicity the day it started then nothing. How many had Covid? What happened to the ones that couldn’t or wouldn’t pay the £1,700 for being banged up when there was absolutely nothing wrong with them? How about the UK government being held to account for the billions of pounds that’s gone in the direction of their mates? I’d need 4,000 words here, not 400, to ask what I want to ask. I have UK friends that keep asking me

what’s happening here and have I had the jab yet and who get quite animated when I tell them no I haven’t and don’t know anyone here that has and I’m not that fussed about having it yet. I’m OK with the rules and regs here that let me go out for coffee, lunch and now dinner and I can go shopping. I saw today that easyJet turned away a 79-year-old woman from getting on a flight because there was a slight error on her paperwork. The problem I see here is that too much power is being given to the wrong people. The person working behind the check-in desk should immediately hand over to a customer service expert to try and fix the problem any way they can instead of being a total jobsworth and just saying ‘computer says no.’ And if it’s fixable, like in this case there was allegedly just a spelling mistake, get it fixed ffs. I just read this - In less than a week, two gunmen in the USA separated by 1,400 miles have taken 18 lives. And experts, who study and chronicle mass killings, warned that there could be more as the nation reverts to a more normal way of life. If this is what getting back to normal means you are in a bigger mess than I thought! Sort your effing gun laws out you morons!!!! Email: mikesenker@gmail.com

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

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1 - 7 April 2021

DAVID WORBOYS TIGER WOODS may not be the most charismatic of sportsmen but he is un‐ questionably a legend beyond the world of golf. One of the two greatest golfers in history, his colourful life, his remarkable comeback and his recent injuries will qualify him as a living leg‐ end, as it seems certain that people will still be talking about him in 30 years’ time. He is more than a superstar. How do you define a legend? To me a legend is the subject of conversation from generation to generation, very of‐ ten a fictional event, situation or person, such as James Bond. A legend may be national or global. A living (or deceased) legend, rather than a fictional one, tends to be a one‐ off; a colourful character who has achieved excellence or glamour in his or her chosen field, has been involved in a fascinating scandal, is noted for outra‐ geous statements or behaviour or has triumphed over severe adversity. It suggests positive associations, or at least mischief rather than damage or evil. So Trump, you need not apply. Nor

LEGENDS TWO OF THE GREATS: Pele is a legend of the game of football and Elvis of the music scene. you, Saddam. And somehow, it is never appropriate as a description of such ti‐ tans as Shakespeare, Beethoven and Einstein. Pele needs no description. We all know who he is and we still discuss his

part in the 1958 World Cup at the age of 18 and his colourful life since then. Now 80, Pele is a legend of the game. When you have been the subject of discussion and controversy worldwide for years, including several decades af‐

ter you ceased activity, you may be considered a legend without qualifica‐ tion. Thus, Muhammad Ali, Elvis, the Beat‐ les, Rod Laver, Sam Goldwyn, Mother Teresa, Marlene Dietrich, Maria Callas,

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Gandhi and Churchill, have passed the test of time and achieved legendary sta‐ tus. They are still discussed today. Meanwhile, Usain Bolt, Lionel Messi and Oprah Winfrey must still await the test of time. Vera Lynn, Thomas Beecham and Agatha Christie are very different British legends. Vera Lynn touched the hearts of millions, bringing them love and hope through her singing during the most dif‐ ficult times. Beecham was noted for very contro‐ versial and witty remarks and opinions. Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple are read and seen in films all over the world. So why do the media use the word so indiscriminately and so flippantly? I have heard Kurt Cobain and David Bowie de‐ scribed as legends. As I was writing this, I just heard of the death of footballer Ian St John, described as a ‘Liverpool leg‐ end.’ Even the uncharismatic Roy Keane, has been dubbed a ‘Manchester United legend.’ Is everybody who has played football for a leading club a leg‐ end? In my subjective view, Stanley Matthews, George Best, Alex Ferguson and possibly David Beckham all qualify as British football legends. In the musical world it’s Cliff Richard and the Rolling Stones.

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

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Funeral etiquette - What is expected IF you are going to attend a funeral, you may not be sure what is expected of you, here are some tips which will help you to feel more comfortable that you are doing the right thing. Dress code Most of us would wear black or dark colours at a funeral, unless specifically told otherwise. Although the dress code is not as strict or for‐ mal nowadays and casual attire is acceptable, make sure that you are dressed appropriately and that you are showing respect for the de‐ ceased and their family. Sunglasses are acceptable for both men and women when used to hide the face and emo‐ tions, but should be as plain as possible. People will also understand if you wear them indoors, but try to remove them if you are talking to someone, as eye contact is very important. Sympathies Make sure to express your condolences to the bereaved relatives at the funeral or memorial service, even if you have already contacted them and/or sent a sympathy card. Many people find it hard to approach some‐ body who has just lost a loved one as they are not sure what to say, which is under‐ standable, but do not avoid taking a few min‐

utes to show them your support. Helping hand When you are talking to the relatives of the deceased, this is a good time to ask what you might do to help or to offer your assistance on matters such as providing them with food, of‐ fering to take care of children or pets, helping to clean the house, do their shopping, do some gardening or take them to appointments. They are likely to appreciate your gesture although they may refuse help. If they do refuse, don’t be offended, they most likely don’t want to put you out, but if you are close, look out for clues to what you could do for them anyway and try to help out over the coming weeks. Children at funerals Unless they were immediate relatives or very close friends, it is best to keep small children, especially babies and toddlers, away from fu‐ nerals, as it can be difficult for them to remain quiet and settled, which could be disruptive and upsetting for others. On the other hand, older children should at‐ tend as it is important for them to get a better understanding about death and what is expect‐ ed from them at a funeral. If you do bring a child to the funeral, if he or she becomes disrup‐

tive, leave immediately and keep to one side. Where to sit The first few rows of seats at a wake, memori‐ al or funeral are for the immediate family, after that, it is OK to sit in any of the remaining places. Make sure you get there on time so there is no difficulty finding a seat. If you’re not sure, just ask if a seat is taken and sit where you can. After the funeral Most funerals will end with a gathering, often for lunch at a restaurant or at the home of the family. Whenever possible you should attend, but don’t stay for too long. The rules of eti‐ quette are more casual at these events and children as welcome, but it is im‐ portant to remember why you have all got together and not engage in inappropriate or disrespectful be‐ haviour. While it is a nice opportu‐ nity to remember the life of the de‐ ceased and the good times you have shared with them, and it’s OK to smile and laugh, unless something different has been ar‐ ranged by the family, keep the conversation subdued and respectful. Later on Although the pain of losing a loved one never

goes away, the weeks after the funeral will continue to be par‐ ticularly painful for the family. Make sure that you don’t just disap‐ pear after the event and take some time to check in with them periodically to see how they are. Do not avoid speaking of the deceased when you are with them, but do so when ap‐ propriate.

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EW YOUR PAPER - YOUR VOICE - YOUR OPINION Letters should be emailed to yoursay@euroweeklynews.com or make your comments on our website: www.euroweeklynews.com Views expressed and opinions given are not necessarily those of the EWN publishers. No responsibility is accepted for accuracy of information, errors, omissions or statements.

LUIS SIRET 10K WALK From our Facebook I WOULD like to congratulate everyone involved with the Luis Siret 10K walk from Las Herrarias to Villaricos (near Mojacar, Almeria). Signing is very clear and the information boards in English and Spanish are easy to read and very informative of the industrial heritage of the area. Unfortunately, the walk is spoiled a little by the amount of domestic and agricultural litter on the route, and it would be marvellous if the town hall or local interested organisations could arrange a tidy up. Peter Thom

Beyonce Well said Lee re Beyonce’s racist Grammy awards speech. I wish someone in the UK had the balls to comment on what black people can say as exposed to white people. Steve

Double Standards Dear Leapy, Once again, a very observed article on the double standards of black racism. To sum up the answer to your question - or is there something more sinister taking place? The answer is arguably ‘cultural Marxism,’ a term created two decades ago, but is now expounded by opponents of left-wing theory. It has its roots in the opposition of racism, sexism and discrimination as well as the ‘othering’ of vulnerable in society. Today, there are two distinct sides to the horseshoe left and right which over time will through intertextuality draw closer together, until a point is reached where there is no disparity between the two. Best regards Paul Arthur

Double Thanks Leapy for your latest article, the problem also lies with us the white race for putting up with this sh**. Unfortunately, as we seem to not want to fight back we are as a race doomed and Europe won’t be white anymore in a short time, slow but sure white suicide. Imagine if the non-whites started their own everything like black Grammys etc and instead of taking they actually built something for themselves they could then stick with that and won’t have to put up with racist whites, what a pleasure if they just left us alone. Peter W

Spring Forward WITH Easter literally upon us, the atmosphere is quite different from last year when we were at the beginning of lockdown and perhaps more people were praying than usual. As it was the real start of the State of Alarm, much was unknown but there were clear and understandable rules concerning what could and couldn’t be done and they were quite rigorously enforced. This year is somewhat different as there is an element of freedom of movement although each autonomous region is allowed to create its own rules provided that they don’t clash

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90 days Europeans are allowed to stay in the UK for six months. As a property owner in Malaga, since 2002. I am a pensioner who is financially secure, gutted that I will only be allowed to stay for only 90 days in 180 days. Do you think the Spanish government will, in time, reciprocate and be more flexible in allowing us to stay for longer periods? As you know there are thousands of people in the same situation as me. After all we are spending our hard earned money not scrounging on the system. Bill W

Rejected Syrians Dear mam/sir. I live in Denmark, and I just read the article from March 3 on Danish policy of refusing to prolong the asylum for groups of Syrian refugees. As a mother it is horrible to witness the fear of the Syrian children and parents in Denmark. As a human being it is unacceptable to witness, how the majority of political parties support the rejection of refugees, insisting that parts of Syria are safe, despite the UN, EU and many, many NGO’s warnings. I made an open letter for the government and parliament last week, and signed it together with more than 500 other people, and more than 30 groups/organisations. We insisted, that this policy must end, and the co-signers are from all over the country, different kinds of education/religion, including priests and bishops, a rabbi, known actors, writers... It was all sent to the major newspapers. The television channels. But not a word has been printed. Anemone Samy

Retiring in Spain We sold our home in the UK on January 14 this year. We moved into holiday rental accommodation paying £350pw as we had no furniture. We planned to ride out the lockdown before we moved to Spain to retire, little did we realise what we were in for. Though we feel for those who lost their lives, being in rented accommodation will ultimately cost us thousands. We do have a property in Spain we can go to we just need Spain to allow us to travel there. We have had one vaccine jab and if we passed a PCR test surely we should be allowed to travel? Surely it should be practicable to permit the entry of those with a nota simply, we can self isolate in our property safer than in the UK truth be told. Before mass tourist drinking in bars be allowed entry surely our group is a ‘very safe bet.’ Turkey, Greece and Australia are advertising in the UK for tourists, Spain could lose out this year if they delay. Bruce V

OUR VIEW

with the overall intent of the existing State of Alarm which is still in place. Although there are still to be no Easter processions, some religious ceremonies are taking place in churches subject to social distancing and because the children are out of school, there are more people out and about. Although it is generally not allowed to move from one autonomous province to another, evidence suggests that not everyone is obeying the rules and certainly on the Costa del Sol for example there are quite significant numbers of Madrileños in bars, restaurants and supermarkets.

There is the clear anomaly of overseas visitors being allowed to enter the country and although the hospitality sector needs tourists, the situation in Mallorca which had been seeing a dramatic downturn in those being infected started to rise again even before the ‘mass arrival’ of German tourists. We can only hope that Easter doesn’t generally bring a further spike in contagion across Spain and that we can start to look forward to a better spring and summer with even fewer restrictions and increased vaccinations in place.

Anne Thornhill You have to stand up to bullies. Had they not threatened us and remembered, we are all equal, even if their lumbering system is so slow, especially to under order AstraZeneca, it is way down the queue. Not to mention, totally trashing the vaccine for no clinical reason, to the point that many EU citizens, are scared to have it. I would have said, send our spare, to our friends and neighbours. Now I think, we need to say no way bullies, we acted quickly and invested in developing it, plus we way over ordered every vaccine in development, to back every horse in the race. We are going to send our spare, to countries that can’t afford to buy it and can’t afford, to stay in lockdown. You reap what you sow and the EU commission has shown its true colours, bullies that they are. I just feel sorry for Joe Bloggs citizen, who is and will suffer because of them. Question why are they only threatening/trashing, the non profit AstraZeneca and not, the expensive German Pfizer BioNTech? Makes you wonder.

Stewart Mclean No access to our vaccines we need to make a stand against these clowns.

Murray Wasik Not going to be much left of a United Kingdom.

Garry Turner What jingoistic nonsense one world one human race.

Adeline Mccannon Disgraceful that it has come to this.

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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THE TIME TO ADAPT OR DIE IS NOW! 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

LAST time I wrote about the impact of the pandemic on British retail. However, it’s not just a UK problem. Spain’s retail giant El Corte Ingles department store group has launched the first collective lay‐off plan in its entire his‐ tory. Just like UK department stores Debenhams and House of Fraser, this iconic Spanish brand that started as a small tailor’s shop in the late 19th century is now facing numerous chal‐ lenges such as the rise of online sales and the difficulty of attracting younger customers. Corporate graveyards are full of former in‐ dustry leaders unable to adapt to changing times. Finnish telecoms giant Nokia, once the world’s biggest handset manufacturer, failed to develop an operating system able to compete with Google and Apple, was spectacularly knocked from its perch by rivals and ultimately bought out by Microsoft. And Kodak lost out to

EL CORTE INGLÉS: Is hoping to reinvent itself through new lines of business. digital photography, filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2012. El Corte Ingles, the largest department store group in Spain (and Europe), is still far from such an outcome. It remains one of the coun‐

try’s biggest employers, but the bad news can’t be brushed aside. Bricks and mortar businesses must adapt or die. After all, if a firm can’t or won’t adapt, it’s straight to the dustbin of business oblivion. As

for Marks & Spencer, it’s now selling other peo‐ ple’s clothing brands online. This M&S venture into third‐party labels is less radical than Next’s push of its ‘total platform’ unit (more like a full‐ service Amazon‐style operation for outside la‐ bels) but taking a risk seems the right ap‐ proach. With physical sales down, El Corte Ingles hopes to reinvent itself through new lines of business. It’s already contracted with a mobile phone company to launch an online mobile and fibre operator. Other opportunities include home alarm systems, property renovations and merging its travel division. But here’s a thought: with all the stresses and strains of the pandemic etc, how about in‐ troducing family relationship counselling? On‐ line via Zoom, of course, so that those in Mon‐ tecito, California and London can participate. Well, just a thought... 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.no ra‐johnson.net) available online as eBook (€0.99; £0.99), Apple Books, paperback and audiobook. All profits to Costa del Sol Cudeca cancer charity.

Nora Johnson’s opinions are her own and are not necessarily representative of those of the publishers, advertisers or sponsors.

PETS

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Let those sleeping dogs lie THE structure of a dog’s sleep is very similar to a human being’s sleep. There are stages of wakefulness, rapid‐eye‐ movement REM sleep and non‐rapid eye‐movement sleep. While asleep, the dog’s brain is trying to find shortcuts or connections between things that they have experi‐ enced. The events of the day are put into categories, when in non‐REM sleep. In REM sleep there is an opportunity for the dog to explore, in an environment that’s free of conse‐ quences. Dogs enter REM sleep about 20 minutes into a snooze session and might stay there for two to three minutes. People and dogs dream in both stages of sleep mentioned, but most dreams are remembered through REM sleep. Dogs, of course, dream about things that dogs normally do, while small dogs have more frequent but shorter dream periods and larger dogs have less frequent but longer dreams. Dogs probably also have nightmares, they can get nar‐ colepsy, which is a disorder that causes the brain to fall in‐ to a sudden state of sleep. Unlike some of their human owners, they don’t suffer from sleep paralysis, which is when someone becomes conscious, but are unable to move their body. When dogs sleep, they quiver, make leg twitches and even growl or snap at something chasing them in their dreams. If dogs are having trouble sleeping, it may also be due to pain or fear, which they express through anxiety at night.

Why Do Dogs Sneeze? HERE is a list of possible causes: Allergies: Sometimes sneezing can be an indicator of underlying environmental allergies. You may notice sneezing in addition to other allergy signs, such as tearing, scratching or licking their fur.

Airborne Irritants: Certain dogs can be sensitive to irritants, such as dust, pollen, smoke, scented candles, cleaning prod‐ ucts, perfume or air fresheners. Reverse Sneezing: This is an in‐ teresting phenomenon that usu‐ ally occurs in response to excite‐

ment, irritants, or inflammation and they exhibit sudden, repeat‐ ed inhalations through the nose that sounds like a goose honking. Foreign Body: Occasionally, dogs will get a piece of foreign material stuck in their nose, such as blades of grass, foxtails, or sticks. This is extremely irritating, so you will see sneezing and dis‐ comfort. Nasal Infection: Normally you will usually see additional symp‐ toms, such as a bloody or mu‐ coid discharge and lack of ap‐ petite. Nasal Tumour: In older dogs (usually above six/seven years of age), nasal tumours are a possi‐ ble cause of sneezing. Brachycephalic or flat‐faced dogs: These dogs are more prone to sneezing due to the anatomical compression of their nasal passages. Occasional sneezing in dogs does not usually require a vet vis‐ it but if you see increased fre‐ quency, nasal discharge/blood, nasal swelling, itching, licking, scratching, sometimes it is nec‐ essary to resort to endoscopy, CT or MRI for diagnosis.

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A NEW MONTH, NEW HOPE? WITH April and Easter now arrived, spring brings new hope that some competitive walk‐ ing football can take place before the season ends in May. As reported last week plans are going ahead for a 65 years of age and over Recruitment Open Day on Sunday May 16. This will take place at the Finca Naundrup and already there is an amaz‐ ing response from all clubs on the Costa del Sol/Nerja who have play‐ ers wanting to take part. This is encouraging for the organisers Walking Football Association Iberia as one of their aims is to get more ‘Se‐ niors’ taking part. It is hoped this will be a prelude to a Seniors League which would run parallel to the Main League. Watch this space

Calahonda Seniors will play Benalmadena Seniors soon. for further details. Before the above event the Seniors of Be‐ nalmadena and Calahon‐ da are preparing for a re‐ turn match with the men from the Pueblo looking for revenge for a 3‐0

home defeat a few weeks ago. Dates are being dis‐ cussed but it is hoped to play around mid April. If restrictions are eased after Easter and no fourth Covid wave, there

may well be a flurry of friendly matches in April. Another WFAI aim will be launched this week when letters are sent to the Regional Health Board and Inmerso, a government backed body tasked with care for the elderly including welfare and social activities. Recommendations from both these bodies that walking football is a suitable exercise for over 50s would be a strong ar‐ g u m e n t f o r t h e W FA I i n their efforts to gain affil‐ iation from the Andaluz Futbol Federation and the Real Federation Es‐ paña Football. We will keep readers updated here in the Euro Weekly News and / or the new WFAI website at www.walkingfootballas sociationiberia.com which is now up and run‐ ning after staff training.

British cyclist Adam Yates wins Vuelta a Cataluña BRITISH cyclist Adam Yates has won the Vuelta a Cataluña. This is the first victory of the year for Yates, who is with Ineos team, af‐ ter coming second in the UAE Tour last month. Following the seventh and last stage of the Vuelta a Cataluña on Sunday, March 28, which started and ended in Barcelona, the British cy‐ clist was crowned champion, although the stage winner was Belgian cyclist Thomas de Gendt. Yates came second in the Volta 2019, which was won by Colombian Miguel Angel Lopez, and was delighted to have won this year, which is the 100th time it has been held. Last year it was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic. The Ineos team filled the podium, with Australian Richie Porte coming second, 45 seconds behind the winner, and another Welshman, Geraint Thomas is third place, 49 seconds behind Yates. Yates said it had been a “marvellous day.” The fourth place was for Spanish Mo‐ vistar rider Alejandro Valverde.

ADAM YATES: His first victory of the year.