Euro Weekly News - Costa de Almeria 8 - 14 April 2021 Issue 1866

THE BEST FINANCE NEWS ON PAGES 26 - 29 ISSUE NO. 1866

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8 - 14 April 2021

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NEARING THE END

PEDRO SANCHEZ said that the State of Alarm in Spain will end on May 9 and that 33 million people will be vaccinated by August in a move which could be good news for tourism.

Speaking in Madrid Spain’s president said the government does not intend to extend the State of Alarm beyond May 9.

He said: “The objective is that it is not necessary to extend the State of Alarm. We want May 9 to be the end point of the State of Alarm.”

He added that in the week of May 3 he expected to see five million people living in Spain completely vaccinated, and 10 million in the first week of June.

Pedro Sanchez said: “In total we have contracted more than 87 million doses between April and September. This will allow us to ensure that all citizens can be vaccinated in that period.”

The current State of Alarm was put in place last year for a

well as confinements of certain areas.

Unlike the State of Alarm of the first wave of the pandemic a year ago, the current decree grants more decision-making power to the autonomous communities through the Interterritorial Health Council, where decisions are agreed between the government and the Health councillors of the different regions in what the central government has called “co-governance.”

On May 9 the Interterritorial Health Council will have full powers to establish possible measures against the virus with-

PRESIDENT: Is still calling for people to be careful.

period of six months, until May 9.

The decree establishes restrictions for the movement of

people that the autonomous communities have been applying. Among these limitations have been the curfew to limit

mobility at night and the perimeter closures of autonomous communities, provinces or municipalities, as

out having to abide by the State of Alarm decree.

Sanchez said that despite the planned end to the State of Alarm he was still calling on people to be careful.

The news could see tourism increased to Spain as the government administers more vaccines.

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8 - 14 April 2021

NEWS

Tranquiliser rip-off Post-fire recovery plan A WOMAN was arrested in Almeria for attempting to buy diazepam tranquilisers on a bo‐ gus Social Security prescription.

Noticing irregularities in the prescription, which also lacked a doctor’s stamp, the pharma‐ cist asked for more details,

prompting the would‐be pur‐ chaser to make a hurried exit.

Investigating the incident, Almeria’s National Police found that she was a 39‐year‐ old who had tried on at least three previous occasions to use fake prescriptions to ac‐

quire diazepam.

Sources close to the case suggested that it was likely the woman wanted to pay a sub‐ sidised €3 for the medication on a Social Security prescrip‐ tion and later sell it on the black market for €300.

BERJA Town Hall and Almeria University recently held the first of their Citizens’ Science excur‐ sions.

This was the first opportunity for both institutions to present their Regenera Berja (Regener‐ ate Berja) initiative for the recov‐ ery of Sierra Gador after last year’s fire.

Participants not only from

Berja but also El Ejido and Vicar received explanations before‐ hand on obtaining information and processing their observa‐ tions on the iNaturalist website to provide an overall picture of the progress that vegetation and wildlife are making in the wake of the fire.

These findings will help biolo‐ gists and botanists to assess the

Albox Mayor leaves ICU THE mayor of Albox has been fighting the potentially deadly coron‐ avirus, and his family have now been able to confirm that after 51 long days in ICU, Mayor Francisco Torrecillas has been able to leave the intensive care unit. According to the family the mayor has now been moved to a different ward at the University Hospital Torrecá‐ denas de Almeria.

The family said, “We are very grateful to the hospital staff for their professionalism, closeness and affection with him, and with all the patients who are here.

“We would also like to thank so many people who have been in‐ terested and prayed for his improvement.

“Please be careful, it is not a game, be responsible.

“Long live the Virgen del Saliente and the people of Albox!!!!”

Reservoir levels down THE Beninar and Cuevas del Almanzora reservoirs are only at 11 per cent capacity, halfway through the hydrological year.

In October last year when the hydrological year begins, the reservoirs when combined contained a total of 28.34 cubic hectometres of water.

This figure has now fallen by several cubic hectometres, which means the reservoirs are only 11 per cent full, and it is not long before the Spanish summer begins and temperatures will begin to soar.

environment’s natural response to the disaster and assist them in developing a recovery plan.

The organisers of the Regen‐ era Berja project are currently putting the finishing touches to a programme of activities over the coming months.

This includes collecting seeds in late spring and early summer, a nature walk in May and joint activities with the Almeria branch of the Sociedad Española de Ornitologia (Spanish Bird‐ watching Society).

Essential and non-essential services El EMPUJE, one of Almeria City’s most famous girlie clubs, was closed down by the National Po‐ lice acting on a court order.

The huge building in Avenida de Cabo de Gata, which from the outside appeared to be nothing more than a sprawling villa, was in fact one of the city’s best‐ known bordellos.

This was not the first cordon‐ ing‐off of this type, but followed another two months earlier in Retamar when police closed down a similar ‘Club de Al‐ terne.’

Police sources explained at the time that this was not was shut down for allegedly offering the attentions of prostitutes, but because it remained open when all businesses ‐ except those pro‐ viding essential services ‐ were ordered to close to prevent the spread of Covid‐19.

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NIBS EXTRA Green routes HUERCAL-OVERA has five different routes marked out along the municipality’s Via Verde footpath. They have been created with families in mind as well as sportspeople who want to exercise while discovering all the interesting features that the municipality has to offer, the town hall’s Tourism department explained.

New plant MOJACAR mayor Rosmari Cano has signed the agreement to build a new wastewater treatment plant located inside the town boundaries. The €23.9 project, which will also serve Bedar, Los Gallardos, Garrucha and Turre, will permit replacing the existing facilities which are now 25 years old and obsolete.

Lucky number THE El Pelotazo administration in Carboneras sold the winning number 70,979 which took first prize in the National Lottery drawn on Thursday last week, totalling €300,000 for every entire 10-coupon ticket. The same number was also sold in Caceres, Las Palmas, Leon and Murcia amongst other provinces.

Bad move TRANSFERRING Hospital de Poniente patients to private centres in Granada and Malaga for operations was met with criticism on several counts by medical staff as well as patients.

The decision was questionable, doctors maintained, because it was based on administrative and not medical criteria.

Abuser foiled AN Almeria man received a six-month prison term and a two-year restraining order after trying to enter his ex-partner’s home by climbing the front of the building. Shouting that she was a b**ch and threatening to kill her, he was unable to enter thanks to the window grilles.

Mayor unwell VICAR’S mayor Antonio Bonilla revealed on Facebook that he had tested positive for the coronavirus. Regretting that he was unable to share the ‘grandeur’ of Holy Week with the local population, Bonilla explained that he was following the doctors’ orders but sent a ‘fraternal hug’ to all residents.

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KKAV helps kitties

THE Kitty Kat Almanzora Valley charity (KKAV) is celebrating three years of helping to sterilise ferals and strays in Cantoria and the surrounding areas.

The charity was the idea of Ron and Jean Nield who have worked tirelessly to capture, check, neuter and return cats in the village.

Ron was proud to say that each year they neuter more than 50 cats, mainly in Cantoria, Al-

KKAV: Village volunteers with the charity’s founders, Jean and Ron Nield. banchez and Almanzora.

“If you see a cat with its ear tipped, then it’s been fixed!” he

declared.

Before Easter the KKAV held a raffle and sales stall in Cantoria in

front of the church, raising an amazing €344.

Jean and Ron have been joined in their fundraising by villagers Suzanna, Alicia, Vanessa and Chelo and the charity continues to receive support from the town hall, and Jorge Gonzalez in particular.

KKAV continued its work with a coffee morning at the bar opposite the Cantoria Town Hall earlier this week with a raffle, sales stall and cakes on offer.

The vital role of fostering CHRISSIE CREMORE from PAWS‐PATAS re‐ cently described to Euro Weekly News readers the advantages ‐ and joys ‐ of adopting a res‐ cue dog.

But adopting is a serious responsibility, pointed out Chrissie, who is on the committee of the Los Gallardos‐based shelter and is also acting vice‐president. “It may be wise, if you have not had a cat or a dog before, to initially

foster in order to understand what is required of your time and energy,” Chrissie said.

“PAWS‐PATAS relies heavily on the gen‐ erosity of people who are prepared to offer a temporary home. This could be for several weeks or months until a ‘furever’ home is found.” Many of the PAWS‐PATAS’ animals have suffered and are not used to the care and affection they deserve, Chrissie explained.

“Fostering helps them to adjust to one‐to‐ one association, allowing them to build up their confidence and get used to a normal lifestyle. It is a pleasurable and rewarding ex‐ perience and the charity provides bedding, food, medication and practical support.”

For further details regarding fostering, vol‐ unteering or donating, visit the www.paws‐ patas.org website.

Visiting Almeria changes nationality the past MEMBERS of the public were re‐ cently able to visit the Ciavieja ar‐ chaeological site to view the latest finds.

The visitors were shown round the remains by the director of the excavation project, Carmen Ana Pardo. Culture councillor Julia Ibañez drew attention to the good response to the third of the open days organised to give more prominence to the town’s impor‐ tant heritage by introducing visi‐ tors to the Roman structures and mosaic floors.

“These visits are an instructive way of promoting the remains as well as a subject for future study,” Ibañez said. “We are beginning to make this significant site both ac‐ cessible and visitable while en‐ dowing El Ejido with an important social, cultural, scientific and tourist resource.”

The local government’s sup‐ port for our heritage is “unwaver‐ ing,” the councillor declared: “It is fundamental to know about the past in order to understand our present and future.”

The next Ciavieja open day will be held on April 18 to commemo‐ rate the International Day for Monuments and Sites and May 18 for International Museum Day.

A FILM crew recently spent three days in Almeria City, shooting sequences for the Dutch miniseries ‘BuZa.’ For the purposes of the series produced by BNN/VARA and directed by Frank Ketelaar, the Pescaderia district, the Nicolas Salmeron park, the School of Art, El Acebuche prison and Retamar relocated to the imaginary country of Georgetown during an uprising.

Most of the series four episodes take place

in the Netherlands, centring on a politician with a drink problem who is named Foreign minister after his predecessor’s sudden death.

Netherlands‐born Aty Soesbergen, who has lived in Almeria for 25 years, was respon‐ sible for the Spanish production, working with a crew of 25 Dutch and 21 Spanish oper‐ ators as well as 80 actors and extras from Almeria.

It’s our turn now ALMERIA’S Partido Popular has expelled Gergal mayor Miguel Guijarro from the par‐ ty.

Ignoring orders, he has re‐ mained at the head of the lo‐ cal government ‐ a PP‐Ciu‐

dadanos coalition ‐ despite a 2019 agreement to alternate with Jose Mateo from the Ciu‐ danos party.

Guijarro should have hand‐ ed over on February 21 but when he failed to do so, Ciu‐

Come back another time DESPITE official warnings and announcements, hopeful visitors from outside the province still tried to make an Easter getaway.

In Mojacar, municipal sources revealed that in recent weeks the po‐ lice had handed out a total of seven fines to flouters but numbers were increasing. Most involved residents from other Andalucia provinces or Spanish regions attempting to evade travel restrictions.

The situation was similar in Vera, where police issued around 100 fines between the San Jose fiesta on March 19 and the start of Easter week. Eighty were slapped on non‐residents who hoped to spend the holiday in a second residence.

Vera’s mayor and Public Safety councillor, Alfonso Garcia, called for “a sense of individual responsibility and great prudence.”

dadanos Institutional Relations secretary for Andalucia, Marta Bosquet asked the PP to inter‐ vene.

Rafael Burgos, Ciudanos’ provincial coordinator, also asked the mayor to keep his side of the bargain: “Senor Guijarro is in a dead‐end street and has run out of reasons to justify his stance,” he added.

Meanwhile, Jose Mateo did not mince his words. “Guijar‐ ro’s time is up and his pig‐ headedness is creating unnec‐ essary situations,” he said.

“If won’t listen to his own party when it tells him to give up his seat, he should explain his lack of commitment and sense of responsibility to the Gergal people,” Mateo de‐ clared.

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‘Stop erosion’ plea ADRA wants the cen‐ tral government to take rapid action on the section of coast between La Caracola and Guainos.

This zone has been badly affected by the storms, heavy seas and gales of recent months and all par‐ ties on Adra Council voted in favour of the proposal put for‐ ward at the last ple‐ nary meeting.

Erosion has been a recurring problem there, Adra’s mayor Manuel Cortes point‐ ed out, although the breakwaters built in 2015 in La Caracola and Guainos succeed‐ ed in halting the re‐ gression.

“Without these the beaches would have disappeared,” Cortes said.

“Taking action now is vital for the munic‐ ipality and its coast.

It is also a question of aesthetics and, of course, the environ‐ ment,” the mayor added.

“Above all this is important because the summer season is approaching and the local population and visitors deserve a coast that is well‐ tended and safe so they can enjoy the good weather in idyllic surround‐ ings.”

Cortes also an‐ nounced that the town hall had in‐ formed the province’s Coastal Service of the need to protect the coast in the town’s Levante area.

This was particular‐ ly pressing between the left bank of the River Adra and the Cauce Antiguo, the mayor said.

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Spanish Tax Return THE dreaded process of ‘declaracion de la renta’ or declaration of income begins in Spain on Wednesday April 7, a period marred by confusion and anxiety for many expats living in Spain.

However, for the good or for the bad, the 2021 returns on income tax will be quite different than previous years because of the coronavirus pandemic. For this reason, the Tax Agency has already activated its Renta Web Open site, where users can start uploading the necessary documentation and investigate whether they need to pay income taxes this year.

A major change affecting many taxpayers is that the amount of paid rent may have

been altered during the pandemic if both landlord and tenants have “agreed to some type of reduction in the price of the lease” so that “the amount to be declared by the leaser will be the new amount agreed,” according to the Director of the Fiscal and Tax area of AGM Abogados, Carmen Rodriguez Calvo.

This relates to tenants and landlords who have come up with a new payment scheme together during the coronavirus

pandemic.

According to current legislation there are two ways in which a tenant can deduct rental payments from their income taxes.

The first option is to present a rental agreement that has been in place since before January 1, 2015 and has remained in place since then.

In this case, a tenant would be entitled to 10.05 per cent as long as the payment doesn’t exceed more than €24,107.20 per year.

Morning movement

VALENCIA registered two early morning earthquakes of similar magnitude.

The two earthquakes occurred around 4am on Satur‐ day, April 3, though the Generalitat stressed that 112 had received no emergency calls as a result of the movements.

According to the National Geographic Institute (IGN), the first earthquake occurred at 3.49am in the Gulf of Va‐ lencia, with a magnitude of 2.5 and a depth of nine kilo‐ metres.

Minutes later, at 4.03am, the IGN detected a second earthquake of similar magnitude (2.6) and a depth of 21 kilometres.

IGN also confirmed another earthquake in the Mediter‐ ranean, magnitude 4.9, and further movement in Galicia (2.7), both slightly stronger than those which occurred in the Gulf of Valencia.

NEWS

Almeria Cricket Resort THE Desert Springs cricket resort in Almeria has been awarded two major accolades E urope’s only international award-winning resort with its own bespoke Cricket Ground and Academy, the Desert Springs has been awarded two further accolades to boost its prestige - venue accreditation from the I nternational C ricket C ouncil ( I C C ) to host official One Day International ( O D I ) and T 20 I matches.

The luxury family-friendly resort opened its renowned 18 wicket Cricket G round in 2018, while the Desert Springs Cricket A cademy was founded back in 2013.

Cricket España is responsible for promoting the game throughout S pain, and in supporting the resort’s application has now ensured that it can host a range of official international tournaments in the future.

T he organisation also aims to promote cricket to younger S paniards and non-Spanish residents.

Warning Over Fake Bank Notes THE Guardia Civil has issued a warning over fake bank notes in a bid to ensure those spending and receiving money in Spain are not scammed.

Taking to Twitter, the Guardia Civil displayed a bank note for €39.95 and said: “It may seem funny and obvi‐ ous to you, but some fakes are not as obvi‐ ous as this.”

They added advice on how to avoid fake bank notes. They said: “Touch the relief

Make sure it’s legal. printing… Turn it over to see the holographic band… Look at it against the light.”

The Guardia Civil said: “You will prevent your “money” being worth nothing.”

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Foreign Office Updates

THE Foreign Office has updated its advice for UK nationals visit‐ ing Spain in a move expected to make it easier for expats to see their families.

The FCDO said: “Passenger travel from the UK to Spain is re‐ stricted to EU and Schengen as‐ sociated state citizens, those who are legally resident in the EU or in Schengen associated states, or those passengers who can demonstrate that their jour‐ ney is essential (including on compassionate grounds).”

It added: “Entry restrictions and testing requirements are currently in force for travel from the UK into Spain.”

It added that for those who are not otherwise allowed to en‐ ter the country, “those who can demonstrate through documen‐ tary evidence an essential need to enter Spain, will be allowed to enter the country.”

The news comes after Spain’s government announced on March 31 that vaccine passports will be ready by June. The an‐ nouncement was hailed as a major boost to Spain’s econo‐ my.

TOURISTS: Could return to Spain and continental Europe by summer.

If both the UK and Spain suc‐ ceed in their planned rollout of the vaccine, then the summer

could see British tourists return‐ ing to Spain and continental Eu‐ rope.

New Breast Cancer Jab IN what has been described as a ‘life changer’ a new cancer treat‐ ment that will take just minutes to administer rather than hours will now be available to patients that are fighting breast cancer.

The new treatment will give patients a better quality of life as it means that they will spend less time in hospital accessing treat‐ ment, and it will also free up more time for medical staff.

It is hoped that not only will the new injection give patients a better quality of life, but also reduce the chances of being infected by the potentially deadly coronavirus as patients will be in and out of hospital in record time.

The new treatment is set to be rolled out across England by the NHS and is named Phesgo and the treatment will be on offer to many patients who are currently undergoing chemotherapy dur‐ ing their fight against breast cancer.

It is expected that the treatment will be available to around 15 per cent of breast‐cancer patients, as those with HER2‐positive breast cancer will be able to access the treatment.

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Apartment scam

A COUPLE has been arrested over a €500,000 tourist apartment scam. The man, 35, and woman, 36, were detained for renting apartments for months

using fake documentation and then placing them on the market for day and short term lets to tourists.

According to Barcelona po-

Ski Season

THE Sierra Nevada in Andalucia has just hosted the Andalucian Alpine Skiing Championships and is a stunning place to visit, whether to spectate, enjoy the views or just hit the slopes.

The Sierra Nevada is the most southern ski resort in Europe and the stunning location of the ski resort means that depending on coronavirus restrictions, it can be possible to spend a stunning morning skiing in the mountains and then spend the afternoon on a Costa del Sol beach, enjoying a few drinks and some local cuisine.

A total of 21 clubs took part in the championships with over 350 athletes showcasing exactly what they are capable of. The event was run in collaboration with the Caja Rural Granada, Monachil and White Camps clubs, the Andalucian Winter Sports Federation. It was also supported by Cetursa Sierra Nevada. The event had been scheduled to take place over three days, and two of these days were held.

The resort is also set to host the National Veterans Trophy which has been organised by the Sociedad Sierra Nevada club and the Andalucian Championships in the Absolute and Master categories.

lice, the owners of the apartments have lost almost €150,000 as a result of the con, both for the non-payment of the monthly payments and for the legal costs of recovering the properties.

They had set up a systematic scheme based on a swindle that involved renting several apartments in the Eixample district of Barcelona for months at a time.

The couple then put the apartments on the tourist rental market without the owners’ knowledge and skipped the administrative procedures that regulate this type of activity.

They are believed to have made around €500,000 through the scam due to the higher cost of tourist leases, significantly higher than the cost of private use on the monthly market, in addition to the fact they were not paying any taxes or duties.

The Russian couple, who live in Cambrils, were brought before the courts on Wednesday March 31, and face charges of fraud, document forgery and usurpation of civil rights.

NEWS

Fake Toys worth more than €16m OFFICERS from the Guardia Civil have removed 150,000 toys from sale after finding they were fake or did not meet safety standards.

According to the Guardia Civil, searches were carried out in warehouses, ports, airports and land customs precincts, finding more than 1,900 infractions, including for labelling or safety of toys and resulting in 41 people being investigated.

In a joint action with the Tax Agency, the Guardia Civil carried out 61 inspections in Vizcaya, managing to intervene more than 26,000 counterfeit toys and laser pointers, with the total value of the intervened objects exceeding €36,000.

The Guardia Civil worked with the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office (OEPM) and the Spanish Association of Toy Manufacturers (AEFJ) to investigate.

The Guardia Civil said: “Thanks to the actions carried out in the 24 participating countries (Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy,

Latvia, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Romania , Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, United Kingdom and United States), during this first edition of the Ludus operation, nearly five million fake toys worth more than €16 million have been intervened.”

Counterfeit toys found.

FACEBOOK joins TWITTER

FACEBOOK has taken the decision to join Twitter in letting users choose a chronological feed of content on their home pages.

Facebook will give more context on suggested content by enlarging the ‘Why am I seeing this?’ button, users will also be able to control who can comment on their posts.

The decision has been taken ahead of a first draft of the UK’s new On‐ line Safety Bill, which will most likely give powers to Ofcom allowing them to audit how algorithms work on social media platforms.

Transparency in algorithms has become a focal point for regulators, with companies seen promoting harmful content and creating echo chambers for people sharing conspiracy theories and extreme political and religious beliefs. The move towards transparency comes as the UK’s former deputy prime minister, Sir Nick Clegg, and now Facebook’s vice president of global affairs, published an article addressing ‘common mis‐ conceptions about the algorithms’ impact on users and society.”

Another change Facebook will make is with who can comment on a user’s post, a feature that is used by Twitter.

Your Belgian estate agent at the coast!

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ANDALUCIA becomes the first autonomous community in Spain to have a specialised helicopter designed for emergency care in adverse conditions.

JESÚS AGUIRRE, the Andalucian Regional Minister of Health and Fami‐ lies presented the new fleet of 061 he‐ licopters for Andalucia’s health emer‐ gencies at the Reina Sofía University

Spanish First for Andalucia

Hospital in Cordoba. This means An‐ dalucia has become the first au‐ tonomous community in Spain to have a specialised helicopter, able to be flown in adverse conditions.

Residents in Andalucia will be to make the most of the AW139 heli‐ copter model, which is specially de‐

signed to operate in adverse condi‐ tions such as high temperatures and at high altitudes. It also provides an astonishing cruising speed which al‐ lows emergency services to quickly transfer patients and get to any emer‐ gency in the fastest time possible.

The EPS bases are located through‐

out the community and are located strategically in the Isla de la Cartuja (Sevilla), Jerez Hospital (Cadiz), Cordo‐ ba Airport, Baza Hospital (Granada), Plan Infoca Centre and Forest Defence Centre‐Brica (Malaga).

Throughout 2021 the 061 aerial health emergency teams were activat‐ ed a staggering 1,477 times and have saved many people’s lives.

App To Protect Urban Birds

THE Spanish Ornithological Society (SEO/BirdLife) has just launched the second edition of its campaign aimed at alerting Spaniards and expats alike about the danger to birds in urban ar‐ eas due to the decimation of their nesting sites. Every spring in Spain there are multiple reports of people destroying the tradi‐ tional nesting sites of migrating birds, and the association is work‐ ing to inform the public about the benefits of encouraging wild bird populations, as well as the fines associated with destroying organic nesting sites.

“It can involve the imposition of fines or even constitute a crime against fauna punishable by up to two years in prison and with fines of between €3,000 and €200,000,” a spokesperson for SEO/BirdLife told the Spanish press. Because of the inherent threat to wildlife, the organisation has created a unique phone app that will allow users to identify, and therefore protect, the nests of birds in Spanish towns and cities.

The app is part of a campaign by SOS Nidos, whose main aim is to protect the common swift, which at this moment are flying in their droves from Africa to nest in their old stomping grounds in Spain.

NEWS

Seasonal Flu only

MILLIONS of people around the globe are hoping that between lockdowns and vaccines, the virus that causes Covid‐19 might soon be eradicated from our lives. Now, experts are warning that the virus might be with us forever, howev‐ er, it won’t always be a deadly plague but instead, they expect it to mutate into a seasonal flu type of infection.

“This coronavirus is going to be here to stay,” explained Dr John Brownstein, chief innovation offi‐ cer at Boston Children’s Hospital in the USA. “Eradication of this new coronavirus is basically impossible.

“Eradicating this virus right now from the world is a lot like trying to plan the construction of a step‐ ping‐stone pathway to the Moon.

It’s unrealistic,” says Michael Os‐ terholm, an epidemiologist at the University of Minnesota in Min‐ neapolis.

But even if the virus sticks around, new vaccines and new drugs to fight the virus mean it’s unlikely to cause severe illness in the future. Offit predicts “that eventually, it will cause fewer deaths than influenza.”

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New Flight Routes Illegal Cobras seized

Three new easyJet routes.

EASYJET has announced three new routes connecting the UK and Spain for this summer.

The new routes to Spain will connect Malaga, Ali‐ cante and Palma de Mallorca with the British city of Birm‐ ingham during the summer season.

The route between Mala‐ ga and Birmingham will be operational from June 29 to October 30, with two weekly flights on Tuesdays and Sat‐ urdays.

This new route reinforces the airline’s commitment to Malaga, a city in which it will inaugurate its seasonal base in June with three aircraft, according to easyJet. Meanwhile, the route be‐

tween Palma de Mallorca and Birmingham will operate between July 3 and October 30 with three weekly fre‐ quencies, on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.

The three new routes are now available on the air‐ line’s website.

The news comes as Spain has announced it expects to introduce vaccine passports to help tourism.

THREE venomous and highly dangerous snakes were seized from a private home in Toledo after officers from the SEPRONA section of the Guardia Civil discovered that the owner was not in possession of the correct licensing or safety equipment to own the reptiles. One king cobra - the largest poisonous snake in the world - and two forest cobras have been rehomed in the Terra Natura Park in Benidorm on the northern Costa Blanca.

A herpetologist (someone who specialises in the study and care of reptiles and amphibians) travelled from Benidorm to the capital of La Mancha to supervise the transfer of the snakes, the handling of which is extremely dangerous owing to the high level of venom their bite can deliver.

While two of the reptiles were in good physical condition, Enrique Sánchez, head of animals at Terra Natura said that the third had an abscess on her body which required surgical drainage by a vet. According to the snake expert, while it is not against the law in Spain to keep these reptiles as pets, strict safety measure have to be followed, including having the correct anti-venom on the property, which the former owner did not.

The keeping of exotic reptiles in unsafe conditions unfortunately seems to be on the rise in Spain. Last month, a 31-year-old man living in Central Spain was charged with crimes against animals when he was found in possession of no less than 45 venomous snakes, including cobras and green mambas. His case was originally brought to the attention of the authorities when he claimed to have been bitten by a rattle snake while out walking in a field.

Mass immunisation

MORE vaccines have arrived in Spain, two million doses, than that of the whole month of Jan‐ uary.

If forecasts are met, the pace will not stop increasing over the coming weeks. The majority of autonomous communities are fi‐ nalising the opening of mass vac‐ cination centres to administer more vaccinations and meet tar‐ gets.

The World Health Organisa‐ tion (WHO) has labelled the pace of process in Europe as ‘unac‐ ceptably slow,’ and now Spain is deploying all means necessary to meet the goal of immunising 70

per cent of the population in preparation for the summer.

Madrid is to launch the Wizinik Centre Pavilion for those aged 60 to 65 to get immunised. The Basque Country are to open two more centres to add to the ones they are already operating. Gali‐ cia has prepared over 14 centres throughout the community. The Canary Islands will launch two centres, one in each capital. Cat‐ alonia is awaiting 200,000 weekly doses to arrive and will then open six large infrastructures.

Aragon is currently operating four centres. The Valencian Com‐ munity will wait to have 57,000

doses a day to then multiply its capacity. There will be an installa‐ tion of mobile vaccination cen‐ tres at Rioja. Andalucia and Mur‐ cia will continue to open additional and larger centres to add to the ones they already cur‐ rently have in places such as sports halls.

To achieve the goal of immu‐ nising 70 per cent of the adult population, arrival forecasts have to be met and there needs to be sufficient healthcare capacity to administer the doses.

However, several experts be‐ lieve that this should not be an is‐ sue in Spain.

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NEWS

Food delivery skyrockets FOOD delivery has skyrocketed 60 per cent during the pandemic in Spain and has been attributed for the survival of many businesses.

The demand for home delivered food has soared by 60 per cent since the start of the pandemic in Spain with four out of 10 households ordering takeouts up to twice a week.

And the surge is believed to have saved many businesses from permanent closure.

Pablo Sánchez is one of the creators of dbarrio, an app created to group small busi-

nesses that did not have the facilities to make home deliveries.

“The hoteliers tell us that in the hardest months of confinement, food at home saved them from the final closure,” he told Cope.

Around 1,000 restaurants have joined traditional food delivery platforms, and have seen a steady growth in orders, with Sunday no longer the preferred day not to cook.

HOME DELIVERY: Has seen a steady growth.

Speeding up vaccination SPAIN has come up with a plan to speed up the vaccination process, and will only administer one dose to anyone under 65 who has already had coronavirus.

Another novelty which will lead to changes to the vaccina‐ tion calendar is the arrival of the single dose Janssen vaccine expected in mid‐April, meaning that some people will receive the vaccine before they expected.

This is how the government proposes getting 70 per cent of the population vaccinated by the summer and overcoming the recent delays, including the total cancellation of vaccinations with the AstraZeneca vaccine for nine days while doubts about its safety were resolved.

It will also help to overcome the lack of supply, because of the €69.1 million vaccines agreed for Spain, only 12.3 per cent have arrived.

According to the most recent data, from Tuesday, March 30, so far, 2.6 million people have received both doses of the vaccine.

THE councillor for Culture, Pa‐ tricia del Pozo, reported that the Junta de Andalucia is plan‐ ning to hold an event similar to the Love of Lesbian concert held on Saturday, March 27, at the Palau Sant Jordi in Barcelona with 5,000 people who previously underwent tests to check for Covid.

All of the 5,000 ticket holders provided a negative PCR test

Spain is administering three different vaccines, Pfizer BioN‐ tech, AstraZeneca and Moderna, which require two doses which should be administered with several weeks in between.

No second dose However, the Ministry of Health, based on scientific re‐ search, has decided that people under the age of 65 who have already had the coronavirus will only need one dose.

People who have been in hospital with coronavirus or who have been registered as having had it, with follow‐up calls, by the health authorities, even if they haven’t been in hospital, will not receive more than one dose.

As well as the health problems and deaths following the ad‐ ministering of this vaccine, and despite confirmation that the two things are not linked, people are still wary of it.

It also seems to be the vaccine with most after effects such as fever and pain, in some cases forcing people who have re‐ ceived it to take time off work. Paracetamol is recommended the day before getting it.

Major live event on the spot. Only six people tested positive and were not al‐ lowed to enter.

This comes as the Sevilla Bullfighting fair, amongst other spectacles, are awaiting autho‐ risation based on the capacities which the Junta de Andalucia

decides to allow at such events.

The organisers of the bull‐ fighting fair request being able to hold the event with 50 per cent capacity in a bullring and proposed that the audience present a negative PCR to be al‐ lowed access.

NEWS

www.euroweeklynews.com

8 - 14 April 2021

Rubbish Compensation

A GARBAGE company has had to shell out €24,000 in compensation after a woman suffered a fall in Malaga.

Limasa III, the company that until a few months ago was responsible for cleaning the city streets, has been ordered to pay €24,722.39 in compensation to a woman who slipped and injured her-

self during the 2016 strike.

The court heard that on March 7 the complainant was walking with her daughter ‘and when she entered Calle Francisco de Rioja she suffered a fall due to the slippery surface of the pavement given the existence on the ground of rainwater and oil and other substances from the immense

Labour Reform THE vice‐president of the European Commission, Valdis Dombrovkis, has asked Spain to provide a “broad and ambi‐ tious” labour reform that will “seriously” tackle the “very high” unemployment rate among younger people. Mr Dom‐ brovkis has insisted that new labour regulations must be the “first priority” of the recovery plan which will outline how the €140,000 billion European bail‐out will be spent.

“A broad and ambitious reform is the first priority be‐ cause the country needs to seriously tackle the duality of its labour market and the very high levels of youth unem‐ ployment,” Mr Dombrovkis said.

Spain still has another month before it has to submit the plan, at which point it will be examined by the Community Executive. If all goes well, Spain should receive an advance of €10 billion by the summer, with the rest of the money being provided once certain “milestones and objectives” are met.

quantity of garbage that had accumulated, which practically occupied all the space that pedestrians had to walk on.’

The woman’s legal team also pointed out that on this narrow street there were also several garbage bins overflowing with rubbish that had spilled onto the street. For the injuries she suffered, the woman initially sued Malaga City Council for €49,444.79; this was dismissed by the town hall, but now has been partially upheld to the tune of nearly €25,000.

During proceedings, Limasa argued that although the rubbish had accumulated because workers were on strike, there was more than enough room for the woman and her daughter to pass.

The company also blamed the rainy weather for her accident. In deciding on the amount of compensation, the judge ruled that while the garbage company was responsible, the woman’s own carelessness also contributed to the accident.

EWN 13

NEWS

www.euroweeklynews.com

8 - 14 April 2021

‘Japanese Ikea’

MINISO, a Chinese multinational inspired by Japanese design con‐ cepts already has 27 stores in Spain and shows no signs of

slowing down. Founded by Chi‐ nese businessman Ye Guofo, Miniso has been fondly called the ‘Japanese Ikea’ as it sells ev‐

Milky Way discovery SPANISH scientists have discovered a new star struc‐ ture in the Milky Way. A team of researchers from the Centre for Astrobiolo‐ gy (CAB, CSIC‐INTA), has drawn the most detailed map to date of massive blue stars in the solar neighbour‐ hood, discovering in it a hidden structure they have named the Cepheus spur.

The map is so detailed that it has allowed the scientif‐ ic team to discover something that no one has seen until now: a structure made up of massive blue stars about 10,000 light‐years in length that extends from Orion to‐ wards Perseus, rising above the plane of the Galaxy.

“Massive blue stars (also known as OB stars) have a peculiarity that makes them especially interesting to as‐ trophysicists: as they have a short‐lived life span of a few million years,” said CAB. “Thus, in the same way that the dating of rocks re‐ veals the level of geological activity of a planet, the pres‐ ence of OB stars in the Milky Way is an indicator of activ‐ ity in our Galaxy, since they reveal regions of star formation.

“Where we find them we can say that the Galaxy is ‘alive,’ as new stars are being formed,” added the centre.

erything from larger furniture items to unique and kitsch deco‐ rative pieces. Founded in 2013, the brand now has more than 4,300 stores across 80 countries including Canada, the United States, Spain, Australia, UAE, In‐ dia and Mexico.

Its eclectic mix of products stems from the fact that Miniso collaborates with some of the most diverse and popular brands on the planet, including Coca‐Cola, Hello Kitty and Mar‐ vel.

The company’s motto is: ‘A better life has nothing to do with price’ as it hopes its image will create ‘a feeling of happiness and a feeling of joy.’

Ikea, meanwhile, has warned that its supply chain could be in‐ terrupted following several days in which some 250 boats were trapped in the Suez Canal after the Ever Given ship became stranded. Several containers of Ikea products were left floating in the passage, but at the time the company said it was doing all it could to ensure product availability.

EWN 15

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8 - 14 April 2021

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NEWS

Virtual Festival Tickets on sale

ONLINE FESTIVAL: And wellies will be optional.

Stranded in Morocco

ALMOST 1,200 Spaniards took a boat and a chartered plane on Easter Sunday (April 4), after nearly 4,000 people were stranded in Morocco when the country closed flights to Spain on Tuesday March 30 because of health reasons.

Shortly after 5.30pm Spanish time, Balearia’s ship departed from the port of Tangier Med to Algeciras with 800 passen‐ gers aboard.

Around the same time that afternoon, an Iberia plane car‐ rying 348 passengers left from Casablanca (Morocco) to Madrid.

It is also expected that an Iberia plane transported 200 travellers from Casablanca to Madrid after they were strand‐ ed in the country when flights were closed with France and Spain on Wednesday March 31.

Although passengers had to fork out more money than ex‐ pected on their trip, including new PCR tests, transportation to Casablanca and additional nights in hotels, there is a gener‐ al feeling of relief on returning to Spain.

Iberia has made over 50 repatriation flights from countries including the Philippines and Austria ‐ places it has not previ‐ ously flown to ‐ since the beginning of the pandemic.

GLASTONBURY FESTIVAL is set to return for one night only and this time will be in virtual format and wellies will be optional.

Amid the ongoing Coronavirus global pandemic many events have been cancelled in the last year. Glastonbury music festival is just one of these, and so far the iconic festival has been cancelled for two years running due to the Covid pandemic.

Organisers have now come up with a unique idea, which will allow music fans from Spain and elsewhere in the world to join in too. Tickets have now gone on sale for a one night special of live music, which will take place in May. The online event will include performances from Coldplay, Damon Albarn, HAIM, IDLES, Jorja Smith, Kano, Michael Kiwanuka and Wolf Alice, and will feature landmarks such as the Stone Circle and the Pyramid Field.

Music fans in Spain and across the world will be able to join in online as the event is set to be broadcast for four separate time zones. The live streams will be staggered and fans can select a time zone and payment denomination suited to their location.

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NEWS

First wolf sighting in 100 years

A WOLF has been captured on a hidden camera at a national park in Spain ‐ the first sight‐ ing in 100 years.

A camera hidden by Spain's

Rural Agents in the wild cap‐ tured the first image of a wolf in the Aigüestortes National Park, in the Vall de Boí, Lleida, a situation that has not been

900km away snitch

THE Local Police in the city of Lugo, in north-western Spain in the region of Galicia, fined a man, who was walking in the street, with no mask in sight, while smoking.

They had received the tip-off from someone in Alicante, on the east coast of Spain, almost 900 kilometres away from where the offender was found. This person claimed that they had seen the man in a live video published on social media.

The police received the call while the viewer was still watching the video in which they claimed they could see a man walking around smoking and not using a mask. The police located the man in Avenida de Ramon Ferreiro just as he was finishing the video.

Over the weekend, Local Police in Lugo fined another 30 people for breaching Covid safety regulations, several of them for attending parties in the early hours of the morning without using masks, breaching curfew and failing to abide by rules regarding the number of people who can get together.

recorded in at least a century.

“The snapshot was taken in February and we are looking for genetic samples in the area in order to identify the speci‐ men and its origin,” said Rural Agents.

A wolf has previously been identified in the Alta Rib‐ agorza in Aragonese and, ex‐ perts are now studying whether the image belongs to the same specimen or to a dif‐ ferent one.

Members of the Depart‐ ment of the Environment of the Generalitat have ex‐ plained that until they have genetic samples they will not be able to know.

The photograph was taken as part of Rural Agents’ ongo‐ ing monitoring of the fauna at the national park. Cameras that are activated by move‐ ment have, on other occa‐ sions, captured images of bears in the Pyrenees.

Masks on Beaches

THE Ministry of Health and the autonomous communities have agreed to discuss the law that requires the use of masks in swimming pools, beaches and other public places.

T he new law, whic h was announc ed rec ently , had meant that masks had to be worn in public spaces regardless of whether people could stay 1.5 metres apart, which included beaches and by swimming pools.

However, the government has said it will now review the new law after facing criticism for introducing the move before tourist season.

S pain’s government had on M arch 30 introduced a new law surrounding face masks making them mandatory in all public spaces.

The law was changed 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.

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.

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.

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FEATURE

Advertising Feature

What is the difference between an obituary and a death notice?

WHEN someone dies it is common to put an obituary or a death note in the press. As an ex‐ pat living abroad, you can contact the local En‐ glish‐language press to arrange the publication of a notice to announce the death of a loved one.

Different publications use different terminolo‐ gy, so check first that you are clear about what you’re getting, but generally the differences are: Death notice A death notice is a paid announcement in a newspaper giving the name and age of the de‐ ceased and details of their funeral or memorial service (date, location), and where donations can be made.

A death notice is generally written by the fami‐ ly to be submitted to their chosen publications.

They can include some details about their life, but are typically only a few lines long.

They are usually printed in local and national newspapers, or in publications issued by commu‐ nities to which the deceased belonged, such as churches and associations. They can be both in print or online. The publication will request con‐ firmation of the death.

Obituary An obituary is an article written by a newspa‐

per’s staff with a detailed biography of the de‐ ceased. Families can ask for it to be written and submit the details, but it is ultimately the news‐ paper that decides whether to publish it.

Major newspapers only write obituaries for well‐known people, but local newspapers will probably be open to publishing the obituary of someone prominent in the expat community. So‐ cial groups, associations and religious communi‐ ties may also agree to print an obituary in their newsletters.

An obituary can include details about the fu‐ neral or memorial service and are usually several paragraphs long.

Photos You will probably be allowed to include a photo of the person, which when accompanying a death notice will probably come at an extra charge.

Most newspapers will require digital images not printed photographs.

Helping hand If needs be, find out from the funeral home if they can help to write the death notice and ar‐ range for it to be published. Most will do this, some for free and others for a small fee. This will allow you to avoid the stress of having to contact the newspapers and making payments.

Choosing between them Death notices and obituaries serve different purposes; while the death notice simply informs the community of the death and details of where and when the funeral or memorial service will be held.

An obituary is more of a tribute to the life of the deceased and shares their accomplishments with the community. The choice of which one is best for you to honour your loved one is a very personal deci‐ sion.

Going digital In this digital day and age, many websites have been cre‐ ated which are dedicated exclu‐ sively to obituaries. They can be written and published on the site by relatives of the deceased or written in ad‐ vance by the person themselves to be published at a later date.

Writing an obituary for yourself may seem daunting, but it allows you to highlight your ac‐ complishments, choose how you want to be re‐ membered, express what life has meant to you and explain how you would like your loved ones to honour your memory.

www.goldenleavesinternational.com • enquiries@goldenleaves.com • Facebook: goldenleavesspain

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EUROPEAN PRESS

EUROPEAN NIBS DENMARK

FRANCE

No loitering

Activists

THE head of the Danish Institute for Human Rights, Christoffer Badse says that the Danish government is abusing its power with the continuance of a loitering ban in ‘hippy enclave’ of Christiania, which Copenhagen Police argue is needed to restrict the spread of the coronavirus.

DESPITE the ongoing Covid-19 troubles, France 24 reports that there is a growing number of animal activist groups who rather than protest violently, work to free animals from ‘factory farms,’ peacefully picketing slaughterhouses and filming conditions in which both farm and laboratory animals are kept.

NETHERLANDS

NORWAY

Eurovision

Holiday homes

IT has been confirmed that audiences of up to 3,500 people will be allowed to attend rehearsals, semifinals and the finals of this year’s Eurovision Song Contest being held in Rotterdam this May as part of an experiment to monitor the safety of crowds.

AS health officials contacted residents in upmarket areas of Oslo to arrange appointments for them to have their vaccinations, they were amazed at the number who refused or asked for a different date as they wanted to spend Easter in their holiday homes.

BELGIUM

FINLAND

Window seat

Teen drivers

THE CEO of Belgian Rail company NMBS has threatened to cancel all trains to the coast after the government decided that passengers travelling to tourist destinations may only sit in window seats with all other seats left empty, which officials believe is a recipe for chaos.

ALTHOUGH the official age to obtain a driving licence is 18, it is possible for 17-year-olds to apply to drive and this number has increased dramatically.

According to Finnish traffic police, offences committed by these new drivers in 2020 have risen by 45 per cent.

GERMANY Prehistoric find AN eight-metre-long canoe discovered at the bottom of Lake Constance is believed to date from around 2,400 BC and is being brought to the surface a bit at a time due to the fact that its wood is so soft and fragile.

SWEDEN Alcolock TAXIS in Gothenburg are equipped with alcolocks which won’t allow the driver to start the ignition if there is alcohol detected, but due to a technical problem, some 300 cabs have been immobilised and are unable to operate which caused significant difficulties for local residents.

FINANCE Spanish arrival A SPANISH bound container ship arrived at the port of Algeciras four days late after being held up for six days by the blockage of the Suez Canal. The Mary Maersk vessel has a capacity of 18,000 containers and was the first blockaded vessel to arrive in Spain.

Back to work FOLLOWING in the footsteps of Orange and Vodafone, communications company Telefónica has instructed its work force to return to its call centres and offices, although staff will have the opportunity to alternate with home-working and those over 60 or in charge of dependents may be exempted.

Traffic flow THE volume of traffic on toll roads taken over by the Spanish Government fell by 37 .8 per cent in 2020 compared to a fall of just 31.5 per cent for other toll roads according to the Ministry of Transport.

Satan shoes A COMPANY working with rapper Lil Nas X which adapted Nike trainers by adding a drop of blood and a pentagram and calling them Satan Shoes sold all 666 pairs at around €800 each and has now been served an injunction by Nike to stop manufacture.

Joke backfires SINCE the beginning of the 16th Century, the French have played jokes on friends every Poisson d’Avril, (April Fool’s Day) but a joke by Deliveroo backfired dramatically.

The French team thought that it would be amusing to send bills for non-existent pizza orders costing up to €450 together with a promise of 50 free sachets of sauce.

Later, on the afternoon of April 1, the company made a statement via Twitter simply saying “We confirm that it was an April Fool’s joke. You can enjoy the evening by ordering the pizza of your choice.”

STAT OF WEEK

www.euroweeklynews.com • 8 - 14 April 2021

€70 million

is the amount that Spanish oil giant Repsol invested in research and development during 2020, despite all of the problems caused by the pandemic.

Four-day week

Largest ever investment BARCELONA‐based multi‐ category delivery company Glovo has raised €450 mil‐ lion in a funding round which is the largest in his‐ tory for a Spanish start up.

Glovo will invest in ex‐ panding its footprint in the 20 markets in which it cur‐ rently operates.

It is one of the leaders of the so‐called gig economy which is based on flexible, temporary, or freelance jobs, often involving con‐ necting with clients or cus‐

tomers through an online platform.

So confident are the owners of Glovo in its fu‐ ture that they have allo‐ cated €100 million for the creation of more dark stores (which are often laid out like supermarkets but are not open to the public).

It will also invest some of the latest funding into improving facilities in its Barcelona HQ as well as in the tech hubs in Madrid

LEGALLY SPEAKING

and Warsaw.

The company, which has a strong base of more than 10 million users is paying particular attention to growing its groceries and retail categories through key local partnerships and in its biggest cities, it’s al‐ ready able to provide ul‐ tra‐fast last‐mile delivery within 10 minutes.

To spur on the growth of its groceries category, Glovo will seek strategic partnerships similar to its

deals with supermarkets such as Carrefour, Conti‐ nente, and Kaufland, while also investing in its own in‐ frastructure and fulfilment centres.

This growth compares admirably with the situa‐ tion for Deliveroo which recently launched shares on the London Stock Ex‐ change, but took an imme‐ diate hit as their value dropped by some 30 per cent and investors lost €2 billion.

UK hospitality anger

Can Italian Exceed 90 days?

Credit: Flickr

BUSINESS EXTRA

26

We have had an apartment in Mallorca for over 20 years for our use during hol‐ idays. I have an Italian passport and my wife has an English passport. We have no intention to be permanent residents in Spain. We have been told that because I hold an Italian pass‐ port, I am not restricted by the 90‐day rule.

Does this ruling only apply to myself or is my wife equally entitled?

J C (Baleares)

EU citizens are not ex‐ empt from the 90‐ YOU AND THE LAW day rule. The IN SPAIN tourist stay of 90 days is a European Union rule which applies to EU citizens as well as to citi‐ zens of third nations. An Italian may not stay in France or any other EU country as a tourist for more than 90 days, for example. At the end of the 90 days he must re‐ turn to his home country, his country of tax residence, or leave the European Union completely. He may not re‐ turn to any EU country not his home for 90 days. Strict enforcement of the 90‐day rule is causing problems for many second‐home owners.

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.

A DECISION by the European Union to require Spain to in‐ clude the value of ‘bad bank’ lia‐ bilities still outstanding from the previous financial crisis has in‐ creased Spain’s debt position.

Initially the Bank of Spain re‐ ported that 2020 debt was equivalent to 117.1 per cent of the Gross National Product (ie, Spain owed more than it

PAY UP: But how far will WiFi reach?

AS Britain gets closer to eas‐ ing more lockdown mea‐ sures, those in the hospitality industry are angry about new rules concerning registration of customers from April 12.

Previously, if a group went out together, one person could register on the NHS track and trace site and then if there were any problems of contagion, they would be able to give details of all of those who accompanied them.

The new rules require that every person who wants to have a drink or meal has to either register online or give their details to a member of staff and there are fines for

establishments that don’t en‐ force this.

As initially guests can only be served in the open air on terraces or gardens, there is also a potential problem re‐ garding payment by debit or credit card, as if guests are not allowed inside the estab‐ lishment to pay, WiFi may not be strong enough to reach the exterior and this is yet to be decided.

In a joint statement, UK Hospitality, the British Beer & Pub Association and the British Institute of Innkeeping said the rules would add “more confusion and incon‐ venience for customers and staff.”

Spanish debt increase earned) but with this new re‐ quirement imposed by the EU’s body Eurostat, this has now in‐ creased to 120 per cent.

Much of the reason for this huge debt is the fact that the Spanish Government, like so

many others, has had to in‐ crease spending by way of assis‐ tance to individuals and busi‐ nesses due to the ongoing pandemic, as well as the signifi‐ cant drop in revenue caused by lockdown and lack of tourists.

As so many building compa‐ nies and lending banks had be‐ come bankrupt from 2008 on‐ wards, the Spanish Government in association with major banks created SAREB (known as the ‘bad bank’) to take control of

THE Spanish Government is to invest €50 million in an experi‐ ment to test whether there would be advantages in chang‐ ing to a four‐day working week without damaging the econo‐ my.

According to US news service Bloomberg, the concept has been promoted by left wing par‐ ty Mas Pais and some compa‐ nies in Madrid are already tri‐ alling the concept.

It is anticipated that the gov‐ ernment will invite some 200 companies throughout the country to take part in the three‐ year experiment starting later this year.

The fact that so many people have been working from home thanks to the pandemic has made it easier to trial the con‐ cept.

Boohoo Booboo AS online retailer Boohoo starts to bring all of its recent‐ ly purchased brands such as Dorothy Perkins into the group, price differentials are being discovered.

Most recently, a BBC re‐ porter discovered that both she and one of her friends had purchased the identical coat from two different Boohoo websites, one being Coast and the other being Dorothy Perkins, but on dis‐ cussion they discovered that one coat cost £34 (€38) more than the other.

The company said that each brand worked independently but a spokesperson confirmed that there would be a review and prices would be aligned. properties and debts.

Whilst it has reduced the €50 billion of negative assets it took over since being created in 2012, it still holds huge amounts of debt and as such, the EU be‐ lieved it appropriate to consider it an organisation effectively owned by the government, which is why the debt situation has on paper worsened.

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COMPANY PRICE(P) CHANGE(P) 3I Group 1.173,50 1.177,50 Admiral Group 3.057,0 3.143,0 Anglo American 2.898,5 2.910,5 Antofagasta 1.692,50 1.712,50 Ashtead Group 4.473,0 4.482,0 Associated British Foods 2.451,0 2.459,0 AstraZeneca 7.172,0 7.279,0 Auto Trader Group Plc 560,00 562,00 Avast 459,00 460,00 Aveva 3.504,0 3.556,0 Aviva 409,10 411,20 B&M European Value Retail SA533,60 534,80 BAE Systems 510,40 516,80 Bank VTB DRC 1,080 1,110 Barclays 184,00 190,04 Barratt Developments 764,00 764,40 Berkeley 4.527,0 4.534,0 BHP Group 2.068,00 2.119,50 BP 289,80 296,95 British American Tobacco 2.715,5 2.795,0 British Land Company 509,60 517,20 BT Group 156,45 157,20 Bunzl 2.360,0 2.363,0 Burberry Group 1.927,5 1.930,5 Carnival 1.625,8 1.642,4 Centrica 56,00 56,74 Coca Cola HBC AG 2.314,0 2.332,0 Compass 1.495,00 1.505,00 CRH 3.345,0 3.425,0 Croda Intl 6.418,0 6.418,0 DCC 6.282,0 6.326,0 Diageo 3.007,0 3.024,5 DS Smith 413,60 415,60 EasyJet 1.009,00 1.021,00 Experian 2.546,0 2.557,0 Ferguson 8.946,0 8.986,0 Flutter Entertainment 15.480,0 15.675,0 Fresnillo 894,80 900,20 GlaxoSmithKline 1.277,60 1.297,40 Glencore 285,65 289,40 Halma 2.438,0 2.450,0 Hargreaves Lansdown 1.581,00 1.586,50 Hikma Pharma 2.319,00 2.344,00 HSBC 423,20 427,00 IAG 209,55 209,75 Imperial Brands 1.488,50 1.514,00 Informa 572,00 578,20 InterContinental 5.044,0 5.070,0 Intermediate Capital 1.896,50 1.900,50 Intertek 5.720,0 5.738,0 ITV 121,80 122,35

% CHG. 1.151,00 3.036,0 2.838,0 1.686,00 4.327,0 2.426,0 7.148,0 557,00 451,40 3.433,0 405,30 527,80 508,60 1,072 183,86 749,40 4.449,0 2.061,50 289,80 2.710,5 504,40 154,25 2.321,0 1.896,0 1.610,6 54,10 2.307,0 1.475,50 3.340,0 6.340,0 6.238,0 2.990,5 407,60 984,20 2.506,0 8.624,0 15.460,0 863,40 1.271,60 283,75 2.386,0 1.546,50 2.275,00 421,00 198,94 1.488,50 560,60 4.980,0 1.843,50 5.606,0 120,25

NET VOL 775,49K 448,03K 2,44M 669,24K 791,50K 445,99K 1,52M 1,97M 1,69M 258,10K 5,12M 1,53M 5,38M 1,26M 79,55M 1,76M 233,15K 3,19M 47,49M 3,35M 1,29M 23,01M 457,09K 555,14K 819,24K 23,01M 193,57K 3,22M 871,04K 161,27K 149,27K 1,80M 1,82M 4,17M 1,29M 622,91K 218,26K 984,72K 6,50M 22,75M 722,74K 1,12M 425,82K 13,91M 47,81M 1,68M 1,80M 364,21K 377,16K 261,74K 6,84M

COMPANY

PRICE(P)

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CHANGE(P)

% CHG.

NET VOL

243,90 3.064,0 712,20 285,00 43,04 7.254,0 490,70 177,35 1.894,00 870,40 197,65 8.232,0 31,78 2.095,00 3.029,0 717,60 1.568,00 6.556,0 1.836,50 502,00 598,00 5.602,0 109,84 7,57 1.424,51 1.424,4 1.346,6 683,60 625,80 1.860,00 15,55 3.574,0 1.175,50 949,60 2.322,0 1.378,50 1.566,50 11.640,0 1.463,00 1.295,00 500,60 294,90 182,90 229,05 386,20 4.084,0 931,60 134,12 3.502,0 937,80

238,00 3.013,0 690,80 279,30 42,39 6.988,0 478,00 166,50 1.854,50 858,90 195,30 7.940,0 30,97 2.042,00 2.957,0 703,20 1.538,00 6.466,0 1.816,50 483,90 583,20 5.466,0 105,30 7,32 1.410,20 1.410,2 1.334,0 681,20 611,60 1.830,00 15,10 3.507,0 1.143,00 933,80 2.281,0 1.357,50 1.530,00 11.410,0 1.450,50 1.270,50 487,70 291,10 178,00 226,10 370,00 4.016,0 919,40 132,04 3.417,0 922,20

3,43M 364,41K 1,09M 7,94M 113,06M 1,10M 959,52K 8,26M 637,41K 5,01M 7,69M 321,89K 1,05M 835,43K 606,43K 1,34M 2,91M 0 1,58M 3,21M 2,02M 2,03M 38,88M 4,15M 4,23M 4,23M 5,56M 2,31M 1,63M 24,29K 2,84M 352,84K 3,88M 1,55M 409,16K 1,42M 771,38K 129,93K 1,31M 910,49K 5,49M 3,29M 9,10M 11,24M 3,23M 2,89M 950,49K 36,62M 364,43K 1,63M

0.84854

1.17766 Units per €

US dollar (USD) ......................................1.17455 Japan yen (JPY)......................................129.916 Switzerland franc (CHF) ...........................1.1076 Denmark kroner (DKK) .............................7.4385 Norway kroner (NOK) ...............................10.037

currenciesdirect.com/mojacar • Tel: +34 950 478 914 THE ABOVE TABLE USES THE CURRENT INTERBANK EXCHANGE RATES, WHICH AREN’T REPRESENTATIVE OF THE RATE WE OFFER

DOW JONES C LOSING P RICES A PRIL 5

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 192,70 2.137,75 3.161,00 249,17 123,00 252,96 232,74 105,75 51,98 52,51 298,66 327,64 307,75 216,80 133,23 64,55 162,83 153,71 225,21 77,09 242,35 132,53 134,28 218,72 661,75 367,07 58,30 216,86 135,62 188,97

CHANGE 193,92 2.142,94 3.162,44 250,00 124,18 257,88 235,00 105,86 52,07 53,15 302,40 329,66 308,55 217,97 133,93 64,89 163,84 153,79 226,22 77,46 242,84 134,69 135,48 218,93 692,42 372,69 58,39 217,74 136,89 189,10

CHANGE% VOLUME(M) 190,84 1,90M 2.096,89 1,70M 3.115,55 2,94M 246,41 2,18M 122,49 75,09M 251,31 10,93M 227,59 3,79M 104,21 8,52M 51,35 17,90M 52,46 15,83M 296,60 17,62M 324,16 2,66M 303,89 3,92M 215,49 2,11M 132,27 4,07M 63,58 31,42M 162,26 7,23M 151,55 16,56M 223,28 2,44M 76,82 8,70M 238,05 30,34M 132,21 5,72M 133,33 9,12M 213,37 7,76M 659,42 35,30M 365,76 2,98M 57,74 12,89M 212,30 6,14M 135,33 8,53M 185,59 7,75M M - MILLION DOLLARS

NASDAQ C LOSING P RICES A PRIL 5

COMPANY

CHANGE NET / %

VOLUME

Most Advanced Alphabet Inc. Cl C Alphabet Inc. Cl A Amazon.com Inc. Booking Holdings Inc. Lam Research Corp.

CoStar Group Inc. MercadoLibre Inc. Liberty TripAdvisor Holdings Inc. Series B Broadcom Inc. 8% Pfd. Series A United Therapeutics Corp.

MicroStrategy Inc.

+3.34% +3.26% +2.16% +2.26% +7.40% +4.80% +2.61% +78.85% +1.90% +14.99% +3.65%

3.63B 4.25B 9.29B 591.81M 1.57B 278.66M 878.62M 32.76M 40.08M 326.87M 283.11M

-13.15% -2.09% -1.37% -9.62% -0.93% -1.67% -1.84% -12.81% -3.29% -10.02% -3.78%

38.88M 447.97M 1.00B 102.53M 23.36B 57.06M 899.44M 84.67M 1.61B 13.02M 43.59M

Most Declined Discovery Inc. Series B SVB Financial Group Charter Communications Inc. Cl A U.S. Concrete Inc. Tesla Inc. BeiGene Ltd. ADR lululemon athletica inc.

BioXcel Therapeutics Inc. Futu Holdings Ltd. ADR Vor Biopharma Inc. Kodiak Sciences Inc.

FINANCE, BUSINESS & LEGAL

www.euroweeklynews.com

Woman is UK’s highest paid boss

ONLINE GAMBLING: Bet365 has offices in the UK and operates services in Spain.

THE majority shareholder and CEO of family‐owned gambling firm Bet365 has just been paid a staggering £469 million (€516 million) salary for the last financial year.

Denise Coates CBE and her brother John took over a betting shop business from their father some 20 years ago and since then she has shown herself to be an as‐ tute and successful business‐ woman whose company has benefited from the boom in online gambling.

Bet365 was actually set up in 2000 with a loan from RBS secured by the betting shop business which was later sold to Corals and the company which has offices in the UK operates interna‐ tionally with services in Spain and a small office in Gibraltar as well as opening

in Malta due to Brexit.

According to the BBC, sales for the year ending March 2021 were £2.8 bil‐ lion (€3.1 billion) but profits slumped to £194.7 million (€214 million) as interna‐ tional sporting events were cancelled due to the pan‐ demic.

Despite this, she was able to take the £469 million which is a combination of salary (up 50 per cent from the previous year) and divi‐ dends plus a further £85 mil‐ lion (€94 million) was paid to her charitable foundation.

There has been consider‐ able criticism of the amount that Ms Coates has collected which amounts to £1.2 mil‐ lion (€1.32 million) per day, but the company argues that it was a reasonable remu‐ neration and it had not cut staff salaries, laid off any

Spain and Africa SPANISH President Pedro Sánchez has unveiled his Africa Focus 2023 plan in Madrid saying he wants to see Spain expand its sphere of influence across the continent.

Confirming that there were no significant colonial links, he emphasised the fact that the continent is literally a few kilometres away from the Iberian Peninsula and that Spain already had strong diplomatic and economic links with many North African States.

He will be travelling to visit Angola and Senegal during the second week of April and believes that now is the time for Spanish companies to invest in Africa.

employees or used the fur‐ lough scheme.

BUSINESS EXTRA Japan business THE Japan-Spain Business Association and representatives of Barcelona Port have held discussions to analyse the impact of the EU-Japan Economic Cooperation Agreement (EPA) on economic relations between Spain and Japan, the impact of Covid-19 on trade between the two countries and the need to boost business.

Merger approved SHAREHOLDERS in both Unicaja and Liberbank gave their approval on March 31 for the two banks to merge in July of this year and become the fifth largest bank in Spain by asset with a value of more than €113 billion and 4.5 million customers.

More cancellations DESPITE the intention to hold the Mobile World Conference in Barcelona from June 28, its viability has once again been brought into question as two more tech giants, Google and Intel have decided to cancel, joining Ericsson, Sony, Nokia, Oracle and Facebook.

8 - 14 April 2021

EWN 29

30 EWN

www.euroweeklynews.com

8 - 14 April 2021

FEATURE

Ah well, perhaps they can sort it all out LEAPY LEE SAYS IT OTHERS THINK IT WHATEVER the result of the Derek Chauvin trial, you can put your money on two indisputable facts. If George Floyd’s lawyers gain a favourable result and this police officer is declared guilty of murder, there will be wild celebrations and hysterical jubilations across the land.

Anything less and the rioters and looters, who are probably polishing their pilfering skills as we speak, will join untold millions of screaming hoards, who will spread mayhem, maiming and inevitably deaths all across our Western society. You can rest assured this situation will prevail for months, costing billions to beleaguered governments, who are already trying to manage economies teetering on the brink. And there’s the rub.

The various ruling factions simply cannot allow this to happen; the results would be catastrophic. Militant insurgents are now so numerous and

CONFLICT: Should not be allowed to happen.

the threat of violence so great, that the politicians are petrified of inciting them in any way ‐ it could ultimately cost them their jobs. Therefore, as we see time after time, appeasement is their only viable alternative. (The recent ‘Mohamed cartoon’ school confrontation is a case in point).

Unfortunately, these reactions are,

(correctly) interpreted by the militants as a sign of weakness and subsequently can create an even higher escalation of public disorder and extremism. With all this in mind, in the case of George Floyd, you can rest assured the defendant will be found guilty. I do however feel there is some possibility of a manslaughter verdict, the consequences of which will

be exactly the same as a ruling of not guilty!

So gird your loins for a resulting conflict that could lead to many of the cities, both in the UK and America resembling the worst days of Beirut ‐ an outcome I warned of some 25 years ago! Personally, after closely following this trial on Al Jazeera (without doubt

the channel to watch) and disregarding the fact that this Floyd individual was assuredly a drug taking waste of space; if you watch the previously unrevealed video footage and observe the ‘hand in pocket,’ cold arrogance of the police officer, as he knelt on the neck of this handcuffed criminal for some nine and a half minutes, his actions do appear to be unnecessarily excessive and, as it resulted in his demise, certainly in my opinion merits at the very least a verdict of manslaughter. Good luck everyone.

What with the pandemic, the threat of militant Islam, the ongoing unrest in the Middle East; genocide in parts of Africa, global warming and the diversity farce, it’s not exactly the sort of legacy I would have wished for my children. Ah well perhaps they can sort it all out. One thing is for sure, we certainly couldn’t.

Don’t forget to listen to my ‘alter ego’ on expatradioscotland.com. Also available on Google and Alexa devices.

Monday. Wednesday and Friday 1pm till 4. Join us for a laugh.

Keep the faith Love Leapy Leapylee2002@gmail.com

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

Advertising Feature

Take advantage of Spain’s best free resource SPAIN’S 300 days of sun per year not only provide the perfect cli‐ mate for sunbathing and enjoying the outdoors, they also provide an excellent source of free ener‐ gy.

The sun is such an incredible energy source that in just one hour, more power hits the earth from the sun than the whole world population consumes in a year.

And now, thanks to the re‐ moval of the infamous ‘sun tax,’ business and homeowners in Spain can harness this energy source by installing solar panels on their roofs and generating their own electricity.

Consumers, who install solar panels see an instant and massive reduction in their energy bills and, if they produce more energy than they consume, they even get paid for the surplus they supply to the national grid.

“Installing solar panels is a fan‐

THE TEAM: Helping consumers take advantage of solar energy and will take care of the whole process. tastic investment, which makes consumers long term savings while also reducing their carbon footprint and helping to save the future of the planet,” said Martin Tye, CEO of leading green energy company, Mariposa Energía.

The team at Mariposa Energía has been helping consumers take advantage of solar energy since it added solar PV panels to its range of green energy services last year.

They take care of the whole process, starting with a survey of

the property which is conducted remotely by satellite.

“Due to the accuracy of the satellite technology our team can produce the entire design of the installation without the need to visit the physical prop‐

erty,” Martin explained.

From there the team completes the installation of the panels and handles all the registration paper‐ work on behalf of the consumer.

Complete maintenance support is provided, although according to Martin the panels need very little maintenance. The installation al‐ so comes with a fully comprehen‐ sive 20‐year guarantee, giving consumers peace of mind that their investment will stand the test of time.

“As long as you own your own roof you can take advantage of this environmentally and finan‐ cially beneficial energy source,” Martin said. “The process is in‐ credibly simple and straightfor‐ ward and, thanks to Spain’s re‐ moval of the ‘sun tax’ there are no longer any additional taxes levied on solar panel owners nor any cumbersome legislation, making it a very cost‐effective in‐ vestment.”

To find out more about solar panels contact the friendly team at Mariposa Energía for a no-obligation chat today on +34 951 120 830, by email at info@mariposaenerg.es or visit the website: mariposaenergia.es

FEATURE

www.euroweeklynews.com

Who thinks of all this stuff?

MIKE SENKER IN MY OPINION

Views of a Grumpy Old Man WELL summer here is going to be fun for people that like to sunbathe on the beach as it’s just been announced that they will have to wear a mask at all times! Suntans will be interesting! Enough now - stop.

Spread the beds out and disinfect, like they did last year, take reasonable steps but to expect someone to wear a mask is just barmy. So you can lie on a beach, practically naked, and, on some, completely naked, and finish up getting nicked for having your chin, mouth and nose on display. Really?

Hopefully there will be thousands of people here during the summer. Do the police have nothing better to do? Or perhaps the people that rent the sunbeds will be asked to police it causing the same rows that are happening elsewhere in supermarkets and other public places. Then there will be the punters that sit on their own beds and chairs. It’s just crazy, will not work and will cause chaos. Who thinks of this stuff and what evidence is it based on?

Anyone watch the Panorama programme about Covid testing in a Milton Keynes lab

about the cross contamination and false positives? If not, find it and watch it, it’s scary. Funny enough didn’t see much about it in the press next day. Wonder why?

Mainstream telly is just a waste of time at the moment. I’m fed up watching programmes about baking, cooking and repairing. The BBC is in such a mess it’s now putting BBC2 regulars like Top Gear and Dragon’s Den, both considered a niche product, on to BBC1. I love a quiz, as my daughter always reminds me, but they are even repeating them at prime time. I have to confess my memory is getting so bad I still can’t get the questions right even though I’ve seen it before!

They have already got rid of BBC3 and just announced that BBC4 is now going to be an archive station which is just poncy BBC speak meaning it’s going to be used for showing even more repeats.

Just saw Mrs S reading an article about new euthanasia rules being put in place in Spain. I said to her that she had no need to look at all that sort of stuff as, thank goodness, she’s in extremely good health. She just looked up, grinned and said, with a twisted smile, on her face, “I wasn’t looking for me.” Ouch!

Email: mikesenker@gmail.com

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

8 - 14 April 2021

EWN 31

THURSDAY 8/04 FRIDAY 9/04 SATURDAY 10/04 SUNDAY 11/04 MONDAY 12/04 TUESDAY 13/04 WEDNESDAY 14/04

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Ready, Steady, Cook NewThe Repair Shop Pointless BBC News at Six BBC London News Party Election Broadcast The One Show EastEnders Dragons' Den MasterChef BBC News at Ten

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Queen of Katwe Seven Worlds, One Planet BBC News BBC London News Weather Countryfile The British Academy Film Awards Line of Duty BBC News BBC London News

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Golf: The Masters Highlights Eggheads Flog It! Richard Osman's House of Games Saved and Remade MOTDx Great British Menu Grand Tours of Scotland's Lochs Gardeners' World

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Great British Menu Flog It! Formula E: Rome Live Challenge Cup Rugby League Highland Road Rescue Dad's Army Im Awards Opening Night Top of the Pops: The Story of 1987 NewTupac Shakur: A Life in Ten Pictures

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Rowing: European Championships 2021 Escape to Athena Remarkable Places to Eat Steve Backshall's Extreme River Challenge This Farming Life Climate Change: Ade on the Frontline Australia: Earth's Magical Kingdom

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Butterflies: A Very British Obsession - Natural World Flog It! Richard Osman's House of Games Saved and Remade Your Home Made Perfect Mastermind Mastermind Amazing Hotels: Life Beyond the Lobby

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Top of the Pops: 1990 Top of the Pops: 1990 Live Women's International Football The Old Grey Whistle Test Story The Old Grey Whistle Test: '70s Gold The 80's Pop Map of Britain and Ireland Synth Britannia at the BBC

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Patagonia: Earth's Secret Paradise Voyages of Discovery The Young Montalbano Italy's Invisible Cities Masterworks Top of the Pops: 1990 Top of the Pops: 1990 Patagonia: Earth's Secret Paradise

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Eggheads Flog It! Richard Osman's House of Games Saved and Remade Your Home Made Perfect All That Glitters: Britain's Next Jewellery Star Stacey Dooley: Back on the Psych Ward Live at the Apollo

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800 Words Yellowstone: The Wildest Winter Nature's Microworlds Eggheads Flog It! Richard Osman's House of Games Saved and Remade Your Home Made Perfect Great British Menu

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A Year in an English Garden: Flicker & Pulse The British Garden: Life and Death on Your Lawn The Sky at Night Between the Lines Between the Lines The Mary Rose: A Timewatch Guide A Year in an English Garden: Flicker & Pulse

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Walk the Line The Joy of Painting Fake or Fortune?

An Evening with Peter Alliss A Round with Alliss Art of France The Incredible Story of Marie Antoinette's Watch with Nicholas Parsons The Joy of Painting Walk the Line

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Live Women's International Football Catching Britain's Killers: The Crimes That Changed Us Lights Up: Harm Colour: The Spectrum of Science David Stratton's Stories of Australian Cinema Nolan: Australia's Maverick Artist

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Walk the Line The Joy of Painting A Very British Murder with Lucy Worsley Watergate Watergate Lights Up: Buttercup How to Make: The Toothbrush Peter Rice: An Engineer Imagines The Joy of Painting

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ITV Lunchtime News ITV News London ITV Racing: Grand National Festival The Chase ITV News London ITV Evening News Emmerdale Coronation Street A Touch of Frost ITV News ITV News London

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A Place in the Sun A New Life in the Sun Four in a Bed The Simpsons The Simpsons Hollyoaks Channel 4 News Food Unwrapped Rosie Jones Gogglebox NewThe Circle Final First Dates Hotel

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ITV Racing: Grand National Festival ITV Racing: The Grand National Live ITV News and Weather ITV News London Catchphrase Celebrity Special Game of Talents Alan Carr's Epic Gameshow The Jonathan Ross Show

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Four in a Bed Heineken Champions Cup Rugby Union Grand Designs A Place in the Sun Channel 4 News The Queen's Lost Family The Windsors: Inside the Royal Dynasty Alien: Covenant FilmThe Shallows

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The Borrowers Agatha & Poirot: Partners in Crime Britain's Brightest Celebrity Family?

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The Simpsons The Simpsons The Simpsons How to Train Your Dragon Channel 4 News Escape to the Chateau Johnny English Strikes Again Queen Elizabeth: Politics, Power and Prime Ministers

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The Chase ITV News London ITV Evening News Emmerdale Coronation Street Alan Titchmarsh: Spring into Summer Coronation Street NewToo Close ITV News at Ten and Weather ITV News London

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Four in a Bed The Simpsons The Simpsons Hollyoaks Channel 4 News Low Pay Britain: The Truth about Your Job Dispatches Jamie: Keep Cooking Family Favourites 24 Hours in Police Custody

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Tipping Point The Chase ITV News London Party Election Broadcast ITV Evening News Emmerdale For the Love of Britain Who Wants to be a Millionaire?

NewToo Close ITV News at Ten and Weather

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A New Life in the Sun Four in a Bed The Simpsons The Simpsons Hollyoaks Channel 4 News The Great Celebrity Bake Off for Stand Up to Cancer Snackmasters: Wagon Wheel Naked Attraction

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ITV London Weather Tipping Point The Chase ITV News London Party Election Broadcast ITV Evening News Emmerdale Coronation Street Paul O'Grady: For the Love of Dogs Coronation Street NewToo Close

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A New Life in the Sun Four in a Bed The Simpsons The Simpsons Hollyoaks Channel 4 News Location, Location, Location First Dates Hotel 24 Hours in Police Custody

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Dream House, Nightmare Neighbour Rich House, Poor House 5 News at 5 Neighbours Home and Away 5 News Tonight The Highland Vet Springtime on the Farm Intruder Shoplifters: At War with the Law

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Neighbours Deadly Queen Rich House, Poor House 5 News at 5 Neighbours Home and Away 5 News Tonight The Gadget Show World's Most Scenic River Journeys Churchill: A Gathering Storm

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The Football Show The Football Show Sky Sports News Sky Sports News Masters: The One From November The Masters - LiveThe Masters - Live The Masters - LiveThe Masters - Live Sky Sports News

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Agatha Christie's Crooked House 5 News Update Agatha Christie's Crooked House 5 News Weekend Susan Calman's Grand Day Out in Wales The Med with Jane McDonald Edward VII

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Sky Sports News Sky Sports News Sky Sports News Sky Sports News The Masters - Live Live EFL Live Premier League Live Premier League The Masters - Live Sky Sports News Sky Sports News Sky Sports News

Kate Humble's Coastal Walks Kate Humble's Coastal Walks 5 News Weekend Celebrity Barging Naughty Cats Make You LOL Happy Campers: Brits on Holiday Rich House, Poor House Changed My Life

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8 - 14 April 2021

FEATURE

GO LOCAL

vTHE EUROWEEKLY NEWS is urging its readers to support lo‐ cal businesses in the communi‐ ty by going local through the lockdown and for your all your shopping this year, instead of feeding online giants and su‐ perstores.

During this lockdown, we challenge you to rediscover your local high streets, markets, butchers, greengrocers and all of the wonderfully quirky inde‐ pendent businesses in your area.

Due to the Covid‐19 pandem‐ ic, you may have to support many local businesses by order‐ ing online and making use of any click and collect services they can operate if you are un‐ able to get out due to health reasons or lockdown restric‐ tions.

The joy of shopping local means that independent busi‐ nesses can help support the lo‐ cal community.

Although it may be a euro or two cheaper elsewhere or on‐ line, consider where your mon‐ ey is actually going. By shopping

at an independent store you’re putting food on a local family’s table, and there is no better time than now to give back to your community by making a small gesture and shopping in this way.

Many local stores support lo‐ cal charities, support and spon‐ sor local sports teams and in many cases the small indepen‐ dent stores are actually much more than just a small high street shop, they’re a family’s legacy, often passed down through numerous generations

and support not just the current owner but the generation be‐ fore.

For those stores which are new, that extra couple of euros spent there are supporting someone’s dream and ambi‐ tion, 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 compete with the multina‐ tional and chains.

So be sure to pre‐order your meat from a local butcher and

FEATURE

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SPENDING LOCALLY: Will make a difference to the local economy.

get your spuds from a local greengrocer, let us revive that community spirit and get to know our neighbours again.

You could also consider pur‐ chasing gift vouchers from local businesses to help them over the coming weeks, thinking out‐ side the box can often lead to some fantastic ideas. Why not buy a meal for two, an hour’s tattoo time at a local studio, a hair cut at a local salon or an on‐ line study course for someone looking to change their career path.

As people are struggling with finances thinking about what friends and family may actually need is important too. Whilst it’s nice to give a glamourous gift perhaps pre‐paying a family member’s phone bill for the month would actually be a bet‐ ter gift.

Helping people alleviate stress and worry , give the gift of peace of mind through these difficult times.

Choosing to spend your mon‐ ey 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 econo‐ my in two ways. First, buying lo‐ cal keeps money circulating within the local economy.

Studies have shown that local businesses recirculate a greater share of every euro as they cre‐ ate locally owned supply chains and invest in their employees.

Data shows that local retailers return 52 per cent of their rev‐ enue back into the local econo‐ my, compared to just 14 per cent for national chain retailers.

Money circulating through

the local economy benefits everyone who is a part of each transaction. For exam‐ ple, let’s look at a local farmer growing produce.

First, they sell to a local restaurant, which in turn pre‐ pares the fresh produce and sells it to local customers. The farmer pays its local employ‐ ees and the restaurant uses revenue from sales to buy supplies from a neighbourhood hardware store.

This example illustrates how the recirculation of money in the local economy leads to a stronger financial foundation for our neighbours and communi‐ ties.

Buying local also fuels new employment and job opportuni‐ ties for people within our com‐ munity. Studies show, locally owned businesses employ more people per unit of sales and re‐ tain more employees over time.

A fantastic example of how to support your local community is with a Charity Gift certificate, why not donate to your loved one’s favourite cause.

Just remember to follow the latest government advice and any guidance businesses have to keep everyone safe.

8 - 14 April 2021

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FEATURE

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EWN 41

Advertising Feature AS of April 1, the green card ‐ which verifies the va‐ lidity of Compulsory Liability Insurance for vehicles ‐ will no be longer green and will now be sent by email to policy holders by their insurance provider. In a move that will see more of the sec‐ tor enter the era of digital transformation, drivers will be able to print their own green cards, with black and white prints on standard A4 paper.

This change has been driven within the decision of the Council of Bureaux, the organisation acting for the protection of cross‐border road traffic and coordinating the activities of the different EU mem‐ bers of the Green Card system, to check the validity of Third Party Liability Motor Insurance through a new centralised single platform.

Now, using advanced security measures, its cen‐ tralised web platform will allow insurers of its mem‐ ber countries to generate ‘QR‐coded’ Green Cards, which will then be sent to policy holders as down‐ loadable PDFs. So, these documents no longer need to be printed on the traditional, green‐ coloured paper and as such, the traditional Green Card may simply become black and white.

These changes mean that when you are driving in a Bureaux member country, the authorities will be able to check automatically, through this plat‐ form, if a vehicle is duly insured.

But, despite these changes, Liberty Seguros re‐ minds that when you are visiting countries that are not part of the European Economic Area (such as the UK and Gibraltar), the green card docu‐ ment, although now a printed version, will be

LIBERTY SEGUROS explains the new changes with respect to the so-called Green Card

DRIVING ABROAD: You still need to be insured. mandatory as it always has been.

In the same manner, insured vehicles from coun‐ tries outside the Council of Bureaux and those not part of the European Economic Area (including, UK and Gibraltar‐registered vehicles) will also be re‐ quired to carry the document whilst driving in Spain.

For Liberty Seguros, no longer having to print and post Green Cards in a specified colour and for‐ mat will be a welcome change. For policy holders, Liberty Seguros assures drivers that the new pro‐ cess is as easy as printing an airline boarding pass.

With the changes that surround Brexit, Liberty Seguros understands that there’s a real need for

clear and transparent information regarding changes to driving in Spain, and it remains on‐hand to keep you informed with regard to your obliga‐ tions as a driver.

The expat’s preferred insurer, Liberty Seguros of‐ fers a wide range of covers for car insurance that can be tailored to your individual needs, with ad‐ vantages that stand out against competitors.

For example, with Liberty Seguros, there’s no need to declare vehicle accessories if they have been fitted by the manufacturer; and, in the case of a claim, any luggage or personal belongings are covered up to €500.

Liberty Seguros also offers extended cover in case of Total Loss or Total Theft at 100 per cent of the value ‘as new’ if the vehicle is less than two years old, or at 80 per cent of the value ‘as new’ if the vehicle is between two and three years old. A courtesy car is included as standard for up to 45 days (35 days for vehicle breakdown) and policy holders are free to choose a garage of their choice in the event of a claim.

What’s more, Liberty Seguros has specific cover for electric vehicles too.

There are other benefits as well. With Liberty Se‐ guros there’s no maximum age for drivers ‐ provid‐ ed they have a valid driving licence ‐ and Roadside Assistance is available from Km.0.

Furthermore, with Liberty Seguros you can also take out car insurance for UK‐plated vehicles (except for vehicles registered in Jersey, Guernsey, Alderney and Gibraltar), as well as cover for classic vehicles and Spanish and UK‐registered motorhomes!

With an extensive network of more than 300 ex‐ patriate brokers and agents that speak YOUR lan‐ guage and who are at YOUR disposal for friendly and expert advice that’s tailored to you, it’s easy to see why Liberty Seguros has become expat insur‐ ance provider of choice in Spain with over 175,000 expat clients.

To find the location of your nearest broker/agent, simply visit: www.libertyexpatriates.es. or call 913 422 549.

42 EWN

8 - 14 April 2021

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HEALTH & BEAUTY

Greater demand for respite DEMAND for respite care has increased 50 per cent in the last 10 years in Spain according to data from a leading health care services provider.

The figures were released as summer started, a time when RESPITE CARE: Family get some much-needed time off. request for respite

naturally occurs with families looking for temporary stays in nursing homes, of a weekend, fortnight or even a month, for a family member in order to give the primary caregiver some much-needed time off.

Family respite allows the caregiver to get the physical and psychological rest necessary to avoid what some call the ‘burned-out caregiver syndrome.’ Although this resource is used throughout the year in times of convalescence, hospital recovery and unforeseen travel, it is especially required during holiday times.

Family get the much-needed time off as their loved one is cared for in professional centres receiving all the medical assistance and care they need throughout the day including rehabilitation programmes, occupational therapies or socio-cultural activities.

According to the data from Geriatros-SARquavitae, the average age of respite services is 82 years, and the average length of stay is 15-30 days in the summer and two to four the rest of the year.

PETS

44

www.euroweeklynews.com • 8 - 14 April 2021

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Some pets are not so portable HOW about that staycation? Are you tenta‐ tively planning to get away later this year?

Even if you are planning a short trip you’ll know that you simply can’t travel with some pets, they need to stay behind. So, plan ahead.

Take a moment to plan ahead for pet and house‐sitters, if you have trips planned later this year. Now is the time to get ready. We will help you as much as we can. Our philos‐ ophy is that we are all in this together. These are the steps to take: 1. Register as a momeowner on House SitMatch.com 2. Choose a Premium account (£89 per year) to ensure you can help online when needed 3. Create a profile with photos of your pet and the house 4. Post a house‐sit advert stating your plans for next year’s holiday Covid permit‐ ting.

Do you need a pet‐sitter in 2021? Then get started right now.

How does it work?

HouseSitMatch can help you find suitable sitters. Join our network for a small annual fee. You get ID checked for safety and then build your advert saying when you are going on holiday. House‐sitters see your advert, they respond and you choose the sitter

Some cats love company, it’s true! who’ll care for your pets.

Trustpilot Testimonials ‐ 4.8 / 5 Excellent rating (New Trustpilot rating scale) Here’s what members have said about us ‐ HouseSitMatch found us a perfect house‐sitter…

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

Do you need a house-sitter? Get in touch. House-sitting can be a win-win for both parties, free house and pet-sitting, and the experienced and checked sitters get free accommodation! Register as either house-sitter or homeowner with a 20 per cent discount using coupon code P2020 - an exclusive offer for readers. To find a house or pet-sitter go to www.HousesitMatch.com.

Attacks of Sleep and What’s new pussycat?

Weakness in Dogs NARCOLEPSY and cataplexy are disorders of the ner‐ vous system in the dog. Narcolepsy occurs when an an‐ imal suffers from excessive daytime sleepiness, weak‐ ness, or brief losses of consciousness. The episodes are brief and go away by themselves. Cataplexy is charac‐ terised by sudden muscle paralysis without loss of con‐ sciousness, remains alert, and can follow movement with its eyes throughout the episode.

The episodes of cataplexy also are spontaneous, brief, and reversible. These disorders are relatively common in dogs. The causes are hereditary in Labrador retrievers, poodles, dachshunds, and Dober‐ man pinschers, possible immune system involvement, nerve disorder or Idiopathic (unknown) and pituitary macrotumor (brain).

For diagnosis the veterinary will perform a physical exam, including a blood chemical profile, a complete blood count, a urinalysis, and an electrolyte panel to rule out any underlying diseases. Brain MRI should be strongly considered in sporadic cases of narcolepsy‐cat‐ aplexy because sometimes brain tumours could be the reason.

These attacks can be unpleasant but they are not life‐ threatening. If the episodes are frequent, there may be medications your veterinarian can prescribe to help control the frequency or duration of the attacks.

Neurology and neurosurgery department of Hospital Veterinario Marina Baixa.

CATS communicate in so many ways and the longer you’re with them; you get to understand what they want and what they are trying to communicate.

Every cat, like a human is unique and all of them have different personalities, but there is a general body language that’s useful to know. Cats talk to us through their vocalisations, facial expressions and their body movements.

Cats are languid creatures that lie around for most of the day and can sometimes have you wanting to come back as one in your next life!

They are special animals in their ability to be a mixture of inde‐ pendence but also be a close member of the family, but it is always on their own terms.

Anyway, you can be sure they are content when stretched out on their back and rolling over, but a highly defensive mode can take on this posture with extended claws and sharp teeth, prepar‐ ing to fight, so beware.

When your cat is blinking very slowly, it’s not feeling drowsy and ready for another catnap, it’s being affectionate, so return the af‐ fection by doing the same and your bond will be‐ come stronger. It also shows that they trust you.

UNIQUE: Talk through body language.

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ROYAL BRITISH LEGION Why not make this year the year you volunteer? Call and see how you can help either as a caseworker (with full training) or as a Telephone Buddy. We also visit beneficiaries who are housebound or in hospital. If you feel you could support us here in Spain, and you have a Spanish phone number then why not email us for more info tbuddyhhvisits@gmail.com . If you or your partner served or are serving, and you feel you need help or support then contact us using the details on the card, we are here for the small things as well as the big, sometimes talking to someone is the first step to feeling more in control.

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Korando - a worthy SUV contender YOU could be forgiven for thinking it’s an SUV from a mainstream Eu‐ ropean manufacturer. It has a somewhat old school premium look and although a little ‘heavy’ on the rear styling is obviously no automotive bargain basement.

SsangYong made its name, as all such car makers do, with bargain price vehicles, but it has a long his‐ tory that goes back to the mid‐ 1950s in its native Korea.

The range starts with the Tivoli hatchback, there’s the Korando and Rexton SUVs, plus the Rhino and Musso pick‐ups. Prices for the range start from €15,223 (£12,995) for the Tivoli, the Koran‐ do SUV starts from a modest, by today’s standards, €23,872 (£20,395) and comes very well equipped. Cruise control, auto lights and wipers, powered folding and heated door mirrors, Blue‐ tooth, air con and a safety kit.

In top‐line Ultimate trim the Ko‐ rando tested here (1.5‐litre petrol automatic) is €33,645 (£28,745) and the equipment list climbs dra‐ matically with every possible kind of toy and gadget you’ll ever need.

This includes remote operated power tailgate, nine‐inch touch‐ screen, privacy glass, navigation,

Bluetooth with Apple Car Play and Android Auto, leather upholstery, eight‐way power adjustable front seats, heated seats and steering wheel and more besides.

Power comes from either a 1.5‐ litre turbo charged petrol or 1.6‐ litre turbo charged diesel engine, two and four‐wheel‐drive options and six‐speed manual or automat‐ ic gears.

On the road my 1.5‐litre petrol proved a refined drive with smooth changes from the auto box. Performance isn’t earth shat‐ tering in that a smallish engine pulling a fairly hefty SUV is not a recipe for the SUV grand prix.

Hence 60 mph takes a leisurely 12 seconds and the maximum speed is 117mph. The majority of the time the Korando doesn’t feel slow or underpowered, long hills apart when your right foot re‐ solves the problem albeit with some audible protest.

Inside a modern, nicely laid out dash is dominated by a usefully large touchscreen and buttons.

Generous seat adjustment and space ensures occupants are well catered for and it’s a rather nice place to be with a premium feel.

There are downsides such as

thinly spread dealerships, poten‐ tially larger than average deprecia‐ tion and euro rivals that offer more power and better economy.

The Korando is still a genuinely good entry into the SUV arena and offers tremendous value for money. It deserves a much wider audience.

8 - 14 April 2021

EWN 47

SPORT

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8 - 14 April 2021

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A Barcelona Victory CAMP NOU: Battle is close at the top.

A BARCELONA win on Monday April 5, made sure that the battle at the top of Spain’s La Liga has never been so close, with only three more matches to be played this season, as they scraped to a dramatic 1‐0 victo‐ ry over 10‐man Real Valladolid, thanks to an Ousmane Dembele goal, at the Camp Nou. That single goal saw Barcelona win to move within one point of leaders Atletico Madrid, with Real Madrid in this spot, two points behind Barca, and the El Clasico coming up next

weekend is going to such a crucial game for both teams, with the loser surely then out of the running to win the league.

Real Valladolid came into this match with a record of only one win in their last 11 matches, and were devoid of several injured regulars, plus, had players out through a coro‐ navirus outbreak at the club.

The visitors had what looked a strong penalty shout denied for handball against Jordi Alba, as the home side rode their luck and

stepped up their search for a win‐ ner.

The result was a blow to the visit‐ ing team who had played magnifi‐ cently and held a below‐par Barcelona team at bay, looking good for a draw, even after Oscar Plano was red‐carded in the 79th minute.

But, the winning goal arrived as Ronald Araujo flicked on a cross from Frenkie De Jong and Dembele pounced to volley home at the far post in the last minute of normal time, for a Barcelona win.

Historic win THE evening of Saturday April 3, saw a historic moment in the histo‐ ry of Spanish football as the final of the annual Copa del Rey competi‐ tion took place in the La Cartucha stadium in Sevilla, except that it was the 2020 final, the one that was delayed from last year due to the pandemic.

This very high‐profile clash fea‐ tured two teams from the Basque region of Spain, who are massive ri‐ vals, Athletic Bilbao and Real So‐ ciedad, from San Sebastián, both from Spain’s top level of football, La Liga, with Athletic also in the 2021 final, which is being played in the same stadium in Sevilla, in two weeks time, versus Barcelona.

The victory went to Real So‐ ciedad by a slim margin of 1‐0, thanks to a penalty scored by their 23‐year‐old captain, Mikel Oyarza‐ bal, remarkably, only one of two shots on target from either team during the whole match.

Real’s possession of the Spanish cup will bizarrely only last for two weeks, until this year’s final takes place and they must hand it over,

but they will savour every second of it after not winning a trophy in 34 years, and in fact, only the fifth one in their long history.

The weather could not have been worse as a storm broke min‐ utes after kickoff, and rain lashed down, accompanied by thunder and lightning, with the thunder echoing inside the empty 60,000 seater stadium, as due to the pan‐ demic fans could not attend.

With the match level at half time, the start of the second half produced some drama, as a Martínez handball in the first minute led to a long VAR check for a potential penalty, which was deemed to have been outside the box, but then, a penalty did come.

Again it was Martínez, who seemed to clip the ankle of Portu, and referee Xavier Estrada Fernán‐ dez pointed to the spot and pulled out a red card, which he changed to a yellow after another five‐ minute VAR check, and the penalty remained, which Oyarzabal con‐ verted, and with it, sealed the win for Real Sociedad.