Euro Weekly News - Axarquia 26 August - 1 September 2021 Issue 1886

News

The people’s paper Issue No. 1886

26 Aug - 1 Sept 2021

Supply improved.

Improved electricity installations ENDESA has now completed the work for the channelling and laying of a new kV underground mediumvoltage line which runs for a staggering 11 kilometres. This work is only one part of a €1.8million investment plan which is being carried out in Axarquia this year.

According to Endesa the line begins at the Axarquia substation, located in Torre del Mar, following a path through the centre of Velez-Malaga to El Trapiche, before linking up with the mediumvoltage installations in the area.

This work will improve the electricity supply for around 150,000 customers in the area. It is only one of several projects being carried out by Endesa in the Malaga Province. Over the next few months the company is expected to invest around €11 million in the area.

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La Viñuela at 25%

A SHORTAGE of water has seen supplies at La Viñuela reach 41.22 cubic hectometres, 24.92 per cent of its full supplies.

Reservoirs across Malaga Province have seen a de‐ crease in water over the past week, with levels now at 280.3 hectometres across the area, compared to 286.1 last week.

According to data provided by the Junta de Andalu‐ cia, five of the seven reservoirs in the province have water levels above 50 per cent of their capacity.

Guadalteba has the highest percentage of water, with 66.5 per cent and a volume of 101.96 cubic hectares, fol‐ lowed by La Concepcion with 40.75 cubic hectares at 65.9 per cent.

Casasola and Conde de Guadalhorce are at around 51 per cent.

The Governing Council of the Junta de Andalucia ap‐ proved in mid‐June a decree regulating the indicators of drought and measures for water management across communities. In addition to this region of Malaga, it in‐ volves the province of Huelva and its Corumbel Bajo Reservoir, as well as the Barbate and Celemin reservoirs.

Professor Jose Damian Sinoga called for greater re‐ sponsibility over the use of water and said that the au‐ thorities needed to work to reduce water waste in Malaga.

APPEAL: CAS needs you!

THE Costa Animal Society (CAS) charity, a small, voluntary or‐ ganisation, has been successful‐ ly rehoming and assisting aban‐ doned animals in Nerja and Frigiliana for more than 30 years and has now issued an appeal for volunteers to look after some of the Costa del Sol’s most vulnerable animals.

They are looking for enthusi‐ astic people to join its committee to continue the great work start‐ ed by the sitting committee, some of whom have recently stepped down after many years of service.

The charity said it, “is seeking animal‐loving, energetic people to come on board and join its

volunteers.”

It added: “If you’re a compassionate per‐ son who respects the lives of un‐ fortunate animals who live a treacherous life in the wild, hop aboard.

“There is an occasional heartache, but the rewards in homing animals and receiving videos of these rescue dogs and cats romping about in their for‐ ever homes is something to be‐ hold.”

To get involved, please con‐ tact acting President Mae De‐ laney on 653 557 237.

CAS has also announced it will be hosting its monthly fundrais‐ ing activities again, making it pos‐

sible to treat and home abandoned, homeless or injured animals in their care.

For more information about how to get involved visit the website www.casnerja.webs. com to find out more about their fundraising and their work with animals on the Costa del Sol.

LA VIÑUELA: Is suffering a shortage of water.

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26 Aug - 1 Sept 2021

Visitors up THE Museum of Malaga at the Palacio de la Aduana received 21,700 visitors in the first six months of 2021.

According to data, in January the gallery registered a total of 1,910 visits, with another 1,736 in February. However as the months went by, the numbers started to increase, as March showed a total of 3,105 visits, and in April, visitors amounted to 3,032, then, during May and June, the number of visitors increased dramatically, with the month of May adding 4,157 visits, and 7,788 more in June.

The Malaga Museum has more than 15,000 archaeological pieces on display, and 2,000 fine art works, where Malaga residents and tourists can enjoy works such

MALAGA MUSEUM: Has seen an increase in visitors. as ‘Los Gladiadores’, or ‘La meta sudante’, by Jose Moreno Carbonero, along with one of the most spectacular works: ‘Anatomy of the heart’, by Enrique Simonet, and also paintings like ‘The judgement of Paris’, among others.

This year, the temporary exhibition hall of the Museum of Malaga

Golf for charity NERJA Council has announced a charity golf tournament to raise funds for the Spanish Association Against Cancer (AECC).

The mayor of Nerja, Jos Alberto Armijo, hosted the presentation of the Nerja Costa del Sol Oriental-Axarquia Golf Tournament alongside councillor for Sports Daniel Rivas.

The councillor congratulated the local AECC for combining charity and sport. He said: “We are convinced the event will have a wide participation, consolidating itself as a reference of solidarity and sports, and also of tourist promotion of the Costa del Sol Oriental-Axarquia.”

was inaugurated, which was named after Eugenio Chicano, an artist from Malaga with close ties to this artistic centre.

He will be honoured with his own section in the facility when the new space opens its doors, paying tribute to the painter and printmaker who died in 2019.

Elderly attention NERJA Council have said they aim to pay greater attention to the elders of the town by promoting initiatives and activities for them.

The mayor of Nerja, Jose Alberto Armijo, has told the new director of the Centre for Active Participation, Isabel Lopez, that the council will intensify collaboration with the centre.

They aim to pay greater attention to elders, promoting initiatives and activities aimed at the older generation. During the working meeting held at the mayor’s office, the councillor for the Elderly, Elena Galvez, stressed that: “The health situation already allows the activity to be recovered gradually and progressively, so Nerja Council is going to go into this new stage of collaboration with the Active Participation Centre so that the elderly of Nerja and Maro feel especially cared for by their council and by the Junta de Andalucia.”

NEWS

Occupancy rises 20% MALAGA hoteliers are reporting an increase in turnover of 20 per cent compared to 2020 as a relaxation of both the UK’s and Spain’s travel rules take effect and attract more visitors.

The hoteliers say that the same trend is being maintained throughout the month and the summer season. “It has been the same as we have in the whole of August. The data regarding the year of 2019 was not positive, the turnover has decreased by 25 per cent,” clarified Javier Frutos, president of the Association of Hoteliers of Malaga (Mahos).

The association also confirmed that compared to last year there has been a significant increase in turnover.

“But the circumstances last year were very peculiar,” said Frutos. “We are satisfied the cooperation between public and private organisations, with San Miguel, the Malaga City Council and the Association of Hoteliers, helped the restaurant sector and the establishments to be revitalised,” said the president.

However, the President of Mahos acknowledges that national tourism continues to be the protagonist of the summer in Malaga and on the Costa del Sol. “This is a reason to keep hope for a speedy and rapid recovery,” said Frutos

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NIBS EXTRA Helping animals SIX climbers from Axarquia have committed to undertake a two-day adventure within the Sierra Nevada in order to raise visibility and funds for animal shelter El Refugio de Leo, which is based in VelezMalaga but takes in animals from the entire region.

Shock discovery TRAVELLERS who decided to use the toilets in the Torre del Mar bus station on Monday August 23 were distressed to find the body of a man and immediately called emergency services, who on arrival declared that the 58-year-old was dead, possibly from a heart attack.

Cultural week THANKS to the significant drop in cases of Covid-19 infection in the town, the Iznate Council has announced that it will now approve the anticipated cultural week events which will run until September 4 with a selection of entertainment ideal for all ages.

Treasure hunt ONCE again, the Motril Real Club Náutico in collaboration with the council will be running the regular summer Treasure Hunt this coming weekend on August 28 and 29 with plenty of clues leading to the lost treasure and some great prizes for both adults and children.

Beach cleaning LARGE numbers of volunteers turned out for the second Great Beach Clean of Salobreña which saw some 500 kilos of mixed glass, plastic and other waste removed. One of the worst areas was at the mouth of the Guadalfeo where bottle parties take place.

Health Centre THE Junta de Andalucia has confirmed that it intends to have a new health centre constructed in the area below the Plaza de España parking area in Competa. The work which is expected to cost around €420,000 and have a fourmonth completion date is out for tender.

26 Aug - 1 Sept 2021

2,227 checks on dogs MALAGA police have carried out 2,227 checks on dogs and handed out 443 fines for the animals not being registered.

As well as the checks to make sure the animals were registered, police handed out fines based on the analysis of stool samples, stating that of the 171 samples analysed, 25 have tested positive, allowing officers to identify the animals’ owners.

The Local Police of Malaga carried out almost 1,000 actions in relation to the collection of excrement and DNA census, handing out 103 fines.

MALAGA CITY: Checking up on dog owners.

The Andalucian Animal Identification Registry (RAIA) now has a total of 152,183

POLICE in Malaga have arrested a young man in El Palo district of the city after he al‐ legedly stabbed his family’s dog to death.

The man reportedly stabbed his dog to death at the family home in the city, before going out into the street covered in the blood from his dead dog, and armed with a knife, where he allegedly threatened star‐ tled passers‐by.

Neighbours alerted the Local Police who promptly arrived at the scene, where they

Lux Mundi’s hours LUX MUNDI in Torre del Mar has announced it will go back to its normal opening hours from September 1.

The centre will open on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 10am to 1pm from September 1, after its summer opening hours left the centre only open on Wednesdays and Fridays from 10am to 1pm.

Lux Mundi offers activities including coffee mornings and arts at its Torre del Mar centre.

It also carries out charity work locally, accompanying anyone who has to visit a hospital, doctor, notary, or solicitor.

This service provides not only support, but help with any translation problems.The centre also offers hospital visits and loans to the disabled, including wheelchairs, walking frames and dressers. For more information, contact luxmun di@lux-mundi.org or visit the Lux Mundi centre on Moscatel Avenue, 1 ‘I’, Torre del Mar.

dogs in Malaga.

In May 2017, Malaga City Council approved a new ordi-

Pet stabbed spoke with the mother of the young man, who reportedly informed them that her son had psychiatric problems.

After a quick search of the neighbour‐ hood, the police ‐ now also joined by extra officers from both the Local and National Police ‐ located the young man in a nearby

nance on Animal Welfare, Protection and Responsible Care that established, for all dog owners, the obligation to carry out the determination of the genetic profile (DNA) of their dogs and the registration for each animal in the municipal register of pets, that is managed by the Official College of Veterinarians of Malaga.

Since 2018 it has been a minor violation of the aforementioned ordinance not to comply with this requirement. This infraction carries a penalty of between €75 and €500 in Malaga.

alley, where he was still clearly upset, hold‐ ing a knife with a three‐inch blade, and cov‐ ered in the dead dog’s blood.

Police reportedly asked him several times to drop the blade, which he did even‐ tually, and the Malaga youth was immedi‐ ately disabled and arrested.

Officers from the National Police went with the detainee’s mother to inspect the dog, which was found lying dead on a bed, with a stab wound in one side.

Placido Domingo to perform PLACIDO DOMINGO, the op‐ eratic legend, has been con‐ firmed to perform in Motril in 2022 to celebrate the 140th anniversary of the Calderon Theatre.

Luisa Garcia Chamorro, the mayor of Motril, has proudly announced that the council has confirmed the historical performance. As the mayor explained: “Motril will be‐ come part of the list of the most important cultural

spaces in the world, thanks to the performance of Placido Domingo. The theatre is go‐ ing to be internationalised by the hand of an opera titan.”

She added that the concert had originally been scheduled for December 2021, but given the circumstances of Covid, it was moved to March 2022.

As far as Placido Domingo is concerned, this concert in‐ vitation is “a double honour” for him, because, according

New road open NERJA Council has announced that a new road is open to traffic with Calle de la Amistad running from Calle Condal to the intersection with Calle Olivarillos.

Nerja Council said that the urbanisa‐ tion works have been completed and that the road is now open to cars and pedestrians.

This new street, approximately 70 me‐ tres long, has all the necessary urban ser‐ vices and infrastructures, including two traffic lanes, which allows two‐way traf‐ fic, and parking for 18 vehicles.

As part of the works, new street furni‐ ture has also been added next to the Taller de la Amistad centre.

to the artist, it allows him to celebrate the anniversary of “one of the oldest theatres,” which he describes as a “jew‐ el of Spain.” It also reminds him of his mother, Pepita Em‐ bil, “who worked in this the‐ atre, and travelled around the world with one of the most famous Zarzuelas, the Maestro Moreno Torroba, and La Caramba ‐ Maria An‐ tonia Vallejo Fernandez ‐ who was born in Motril.”

A Place in the Sun TV SHOW A Place in the Sun has visited Nerja’s San Juan de Capistrano urbanisation.

A reader spotted presenter Danni Menzies film‐ ing the show in the luxury urbanisation, with the scenes expected to air later this year.

A Place in the Sun has been a regular on the Cos‐ ta del Sol, with many of Axarquia’s areas popular among property hunters.

San Juan de Capistrano is a premier urbanisation, with properties close to the coast and the town.

Filming in Nerja.

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Anti-vaxxers contacted

©Alvaro Calvo/Getty Images

Vaccinations dropped.

ONLY 0.60 per cent of the Andalucian population has refused to receive the Covid vaccine.

This tiny percentage translates into a total number of 50,791 people who have ruled out taking the jab in the community.

That figure translates to the entire population of Rincon de la Victoria deciding not to receive the vaccine.

The President of Andalucia, Juanma Moreno, said that the Ministry of Health is still trying to contact these ‘non-vaxxers’ to engage in the vaccination process which has already achieved the complete immunisation of 65 per cent of the population of the community.

Despite the good pace achieved so far, the number of weekly vaccinations continues to decline and in the last seven days has reached the lowest figure in a month, with just 420,444 doses being administered.

Between August 5 and 12, there were 463,305 doses, while in the previous seven days, from July 29 to August 5, there were 468,610.

To find the reasons for this loss of interest, several factors must be taken into account, but the most important of all is the drop in the supply of doses of Pfizer, Janssen and Moderna, which are the three drugs that continue to arrive in Andalucia.

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Spanish humanitarian emergency operations BETWEEN January and July 2021, the Humani‐ tarian Action Office of the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AE‐ CID), which is responsible for the management and implementation of Spain’s official humani‐ tarian action abroad, managed 11 emergency aid operations worth more than €6 million, most of which went to vulnerable populations in countries without sufficient resources to treat extremely ill patients or the means to es‐ tablish basic disease prevention measures.

These Covid‐19 responses took place in Lebanon, Bolivia, Brazil, India, Nepal, Guatemala, Paraguay and Tunisia.

Among the crises caused by non‐natural events, the one resulting from the explosion of a military arsenal in the city of Bata, Equa‐ torial Guinea, led to the largest operation for

AECID in 2021.

In March, at Equatorial Guinea’s request, the Agency deployed 14 members of the Spanish Technical Aid Response Team, the Spanish Emergency Medical Team, to Bata. The team supported local health workers in caring for the injured and contributed to the rehabilitation of the affected health facilities.

The bulk of these operations, carried out be‐ tween January and July 2021, amounted to more than €6 million and were carried out ei‐ ther through direct bilateral relations ‐ country to country; through the activation of emergen‐ cy agreements with Spanish NGDOs ‐ or by con‐ tributing to international humanitarian aid or‐ ganisations that assess and estimate the costs of the emergency and make international ap‐ peals for aid adapted to alleviate the effects of

NEWS

Found at last THE father of the two chil‐ dren who went missing in Tenerife was arrested in western Portugal on Tuesday August 24. The children were discovered too, and are said to be in good health.

The two young children, Kristian and Amantia Toska, went missing from Germany in January along with their fa‐ ther. At the time of the disap‐ pearance their mother was not able to report it as he had threatened to kill them.

It took some time before she reported the shocking dis‐ appearance.

Kristian and Amantia Toska went missing in January.

According to Joaquin Amills, the president of SOS Desaparecidos, the father of the children had called the

mother several times and said “if you go to the police, I will kill you, your family and the children.”

Squatter cheek!

POLICE officers were called to a property in the city of Zaragoza on Thursday, Au‐ gust 19, by a squatter who was occupying a home, where she informed them that she was actually living there illegally, and that the owner had just put a pad‐ lock on the entrance and she wanted them to remove it.

The woman asked the offi‐ cers to cut the chain so that she could gain access to her ‘home’, explaining that the owner had earlier snatched the house keys from her in a violent manner, which meant that all her belongings were locked inside and she had no way to access them, includ‐ ing her insulin, as she was a diabetic.

With the help of firefight‐ ers, the police finally man‐ aged to access the building through the balcony, where, once inside, it was found that the owner had put a chain with a padlock to pre‐ vent entry to the squat, so the police proceeded to cut it off, and allowed the squat‐ ter back inside.

It is possible that the po‐

lice could now open pro‐ ceedings against the owner for coercion because the law states that squatters become

the legal residents of a prop‐ erty, and they cannot be evicted without a court or‐ der.

Little people bullfighting

COMICAL SHOWS: But should they be banned?

READERS have responded to a poll by the Euro Weekly News to let us know their thoughts on little people bullfighting in Spain.

EWN readers were asked whether comical shows in bullrings featuring little people should be banned and 41.4 per cent said no, they should be free to choose where they work.

In total, 37.9 per cent of readers said they thought little peo‐ ple bullfighting should be banned, but because of the harm to the bulls, meanwhile 10.3 per cent said it should be banned be‐ cause it is degrading to little people.

A further 3.4 per cent of people said that these shows should not be banned because those involved are paying taxes and should not have to live on benefits.

One reader also argued that the practice should not be banned for one group of people but not others. Ms Ruiz said: “Why should little people be stopped from doing something when taller people aren’t stopped.”

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Kate Garraway heads off AN emotional Kate Garraway took the difficult decision, as she revealed on Good Morning Britain, to head off on holiday for a few days without husband Derek Draper, with Susana Reid returning from her own holiday to cover her.

Susanna has been supporting Kate throughout Derek’s illness.

Kate will be heading off with chil‐ dren Darcy and Billy for a much‐ needed rest.

“Derek’s family are descend‐ ing to take care of Derek while I take the kids away,” said Kate.

30 million vaccinated against Covid SPAIN has 30 million people, 63.8 per cent of the population, fully vaccinated against Covid-19.

In the age group over 80 years, 100 per cent of people have been fully vaccinated; in the 70-79 age group, 99.1 per cent have received at least one dose and 98.2 per cent have been double jabbed; in the 60-69 age group, 97.5 per cent have received at least one dose and 93.9 per cent fully vaccinated.

In the 50-59 age group, 92.9 per cent have received one dose and 89.7 per cent have been double jabbed; in the 40-49 age group, 85.1 per cent have received one dose and 81 per cent are fully vaccinated. In the next age group, 30-39 years, 71.8 per cent have received one dose and 58.5 per cent the full course.

Finally, in the 20-29 age group, 68.4 per cent have had one dose and 35.8 per cent have both, and in the 12-19 age group, 49.1 per cent already have one dose and 9.3 per cent both.

“I want to say a massive thank you to Susanna, she has been very kind.

“I had a very tight window where I could get everybody to come and look after Derek.

“Obviously he’ll have nurses as well, but I also needed friends to help us because I think the three of us are quite emotional about going away without him.”

Kate added: “We wondered whether that would be too strange to do.

“It feels like a bit of a moment.

In fact my son Billy is concerned.

It feels strange to do it, but we need to do it, so we can have a few days and come back re‐ freshed.”

KATE: A difficult decision.

Traffic deaths down SPAIN registered its lowest num‐ ber of traffic accident deaths ev‐ er in 2020. Covid‐19 restrictions prevented people from driving frequently.

In 2020, 1,370 people lost their lives in traffic accidents.

The number also includes peo‐ ple who died within 30 days af‐ ter the accident occurred.

According to the government, “The decrease in the death toll occurred in a context of a reduc‐

tion in long‐distance trips caused by mobility restrictions imposed due to the Covid‐19 pandemic.”

The death rate stood at 29 deaths per million inhabitants, one of the lowest in the Euro‐ pean Union in 2020, only behind Sweden (18), Malta (21) and Denmark (27). The average rate for the countries of the Euro‐ pean Union was 42. In the Euro‐ pean Union as a whole, the mor‐ tality rate per million inhabitants

Help for Tunisia TO help Tunisia cope with the impact of the Covid‐19 pan‐ demic and the worrying health situation within the country, the European Union including Spain continue to mobilise emergency aid via the EU Civil Protection Mechanism.

Close to 1.3 million vaccine doses, and almost eight million face masks, along with antigen tests, ventilators, oxygen con‐ centrators, nursing beds and other vital medical equipment have been already delivered. More deliveries are expected to arrive throughout the month.

Janez Lenarcic, Commissioner for Crisis Management said, “I thank all the EU member states who promptly responded to Tunisia’s request for assistance and the European Civil Protec‐ tion Mechanism that made this possible thanks to a swift co‐ ordination.”

decreased by 17 per cent be‐ tween 2019 and 2020, while in Spain this reduction was 22 per cent.

$100 million for lie detector IAN HALPERIN, the Canadian bestselling author and docu‐ mentary filmmaker, has made an offer of $100 million to Prince Andrew, to take a lie detector test live on television, to try and prove or disprove, once and for all, the allegations of sexual abuse made against him by Vir‐ ginia Roberts Giuffre.

In her recent civil lawsuit against the Duke of York, Ms Giuffre claims to have been the victim of sexual abuse brought about by billionaire paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, who allegedly of‐ fered her to the Duke, who she claims abused her at least three times when she was 17 years old.

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Asylum applications rise EU and Schengen area coun‐ tries, known as the EU+ area, received substantially more asylum applications in June.

A broad range of national‐ ities lodged more applica‐ tions than in May, often ap‐ proaching or exceeding pre‐Covid‐19 levels. In the case of Afghans, Pakistanis and Bangladeshis, the in‐ creases continued a rising trend from previous months.

The top origin countries in June 2021 were Syria, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Mo‐ rocco and Iraq. Afghans lodged over 6,000 applica‐ tions in June, almost 1,000 more than in May and the most since February 2020.

While Afghan applications were still not exceptionally high, they increased for the fourth consecutive month.

This rising trend over time contrasted with most other nationalities but was similar

for Pakistanis and Bangladeshis, who might of‐ ten use the same migration routes as Afghans. Increas‐ ing arrivals of Afghans would likely affect a range of EU+ countries given that in June, many received a substantial number of Afghan applications (100 or more).

Increasing applications by Iraqis (1,800) were partly due to the new irregular mi‐ gration route via Belarus.

Spanish aid to Haiti SPAIN will send 10 tons of medical sup‐ plies by the end of the week to Haiti and the government will contribute €250,000 to the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies appeal to assist with the humanitarian crisis.

The Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID) will provide a direct response in the field of water and sanitation to support the man‐ agement of water purification equipment

previously provided by the Spanish Coop‐ eration to the Haitian National Water and Sanitation Agency, with which it maintains cooperation projects.

“This action will be aimed at providing the most vulnerable population with ac‐ cess to safe water and sanitation and thus prevent the spread of diseases such as cholera, which could aggravate the situa‐ tion of the population,” the government said.

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Cruelty beyond belief A DOG in Jaen has died after being tied up by his owner on a house terrace and left screaming for help in a 43‐degree heatwave, without any water or food.

According to a report by Jaen City Council, residents in the Puente Tablas area, in the capital, alerted police at around 4.00pm on August 15, that the dog had hardly any shade, and was left without food and water.

There was no sign of the owner, al‐ though residents could hear the poor an‐ imal’s screams due to the high tempera‐ tures that afternoon.

When the officers arrived at the scene, they verified, from outside the plot, that the animal was tied to a tree, without any shadow to protect it from the sun and without food or drink to help it cool off.

After ringing the bell several times with no response, they found an open door and discovered the poor animal in the garden of the property.

Shocked at the state of the dog, they immediately contacted the veterinary services of the municipal authorities, who took over. The veterinary doctor re‐ ported that nothing could be done to save the dog’s life and sadly, was eu‐ thanised so as not to suffer any more pain from the severe sunburn.

Praise for Pedro THE President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, has praised Spain’s effort to rescue European and Afghan citizens from Kabul.

Speaking at a joint press conference with President Pedro Sanchez at the welcome hub for evacuated Afghan EU Delegation staff and their families at Torrejon Air Base, she said, “I first of all also want to thank you from the bottom of my heart, dear Pedro, for inviting us to the reception hub here. And I want to thank you for having taken the initiative and I also want to thank the High Representative, Josep Borrell.

“The two of you having taken the initiative, with the respective Minister for Foreign Affairs and Development, to coordinate the reception of incoming Afghans here, who have worked for the European Union, and to coordinate their arrival here with their families.

PRAISE: For Spain’s rescue efforts.

“And indeed, as you said Pedro, you can feel it today: In the times of need, Spain has shown humanity and Spain has proven a great sense of solidarity. So, Spain is here an example for the European soul at its best and I really want to thank you,” she added on August 21.

Morocco to rebuild with Spain THE King of Morocco, Mohamed VI, called on Friday, August 20, for the need to “inaugurate an un‐ precedented stage” in relations with Spain, in his speech delivered on the occasion of the 68th an‐ niversary of the King and People’s Revolution.

Admitting that relations with Spain “have recently gone through an unprecedented crisis, that has

KING: To rebuild relations. strongly shaken mutual trust, and raised numerous questions about

their fate,” Mohamed VI affirmed that, “we have worked with the Spanish side in a climate of total calm, transparency, and responsi‐ bility. In addition to the traditional constant points, which constitute the plinth of relations, today we ensure that they are consolidated, by jointly understanding the inter‐ ests of the two neighbouring coun‐ tries.”

NEWS

Princess Leonor in Wales IN just over one week’s time, Spain’s Princess Leonor will ar‐ rive in Wales, where for the next few years she will study at the exclusive UWC Atlantic College, a boarding school that is one of the most prestigious institutions in Europe.

It means she will be separated from her family for the first time, which means a big change for all concerned for a family that is so closely knit, with her mother Queen Letizia, her father Felipe VI, the King of Spain, and sister, Infanta Sofia, all resigned to Leonor de Borbon making her way alone.

The Princess of Asturias is due to start her studies in Septem‐ ber, and she is looking forward to meeting, and making, new friends from around 100 coun‐ tries at the facility, where, on October 31, she will turn 16, and with the strict rules enforced by this prestigious school, it is very unlikely that she will be allowed any special guests, and will have to celebrate with her new‐found friends in Wales.

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Who should take refugees?

THE Euro Weekly News asked readers in its Sunday Debate whether EU countries should take in Afghan refugees and if not, who they thought should take responsibility for them.

Hundreds of readers got in‐ volved in this controversial is‐ sue to let us know what they thought of where Afghan refugees should go.

In total, 54.5 per cent of readers said the EU should not take in refugees from Afghanistan, while 45.5 per cent said Europe should home them.

Several of those who did think the EU should take the refugees said other countries should instead offer them a place, with the Middle East, Spain, and the rest of the world suggested.

Many readers also ex‐ pressed concerns over condi‐ tions for women and other groups under the Taliban in Afghanistan, however, and said countries involved in the conflict there, including the UK, should take in refugees.

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Driving age limit debate Millions in funding SPAIN is debating whether the driver age limit should be re‐ vised after a spate of fatal wrong direction accidents in‐ volving elderly people have been reported.

On Thursday, August 19, a hit‐and‐run driver in Ponferrada, León, killed a 61‐year‐old wom‐ an and injured three other women. The driver was 85 years old and he was driving in the op‐ posite direction.

Several people believe that at a certain age you should stop driving, although others believe that you have to look at the mental and physical capacity of each person and not the age.

Despite the opposing views, there is still no age limit for driv‐ ing in Spain.

Medical Recognition Centres are those that assess whether or not a person is qualified to drive a vehicle, regardless of their age.

This is measured through psy‐ cho‐technical tests and these tests are the same for all ages and are necessary to renew the driver’s licence.

A total of 15.5 per cent of those with a driving licence in

NO LIMIT: Some people believe you should stop driving.

Spain are over 65 years old, which is equivalent to 4.1 mil‐ lion people. In 2019, 491 elderly people died in a road accident,

according to the General Direc‐ torate of Traffic (DGT) and this figure represents 28 per cent of the total victims.

NATIONAL POLICE are warning of another telephone scam that is mainly being used through WhatsApp and has been taking place throughout the year.

The scam is related to false advertise‐ ments on websites that offer sexual services from women in exchange for payment. The scammers upload fake advertisements to various contact pages showing women of‐ fering sexual services. They contact the vic‐ tims via telephone or through messaging

THE EU will provide €41 million in funding to help low and middle‐income countries facing an unprecedented health, humanitarian and socio‐economic crisis as the Covid‐19 pan‐ demic continues to persist, combined with the imbalance in the delivery of vaccines.

To help countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, the Middle East and Asia tackle the consequences of the pan‐ demic, the EU has allocated €31 million for, among others, health assistance to vulnerable populations, support for the management of Covid‐19 cases, and for building resilience in the local health systems in view of future surges.

In addition, €10 million in funding is allocated to support the United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) in delivering vaccines to children under the COVAX Humanitari‐ an Buffer.

Commissioner for Crisis Management Janez Lenarcic, said, “The EU has been leading the multilateral response against the coronavirus pandemic, in several ways. Team Europe is a leading contributor to the COVAX, which works to ensure that no country is left behind.”

Whatsapp phone scam apps and inform them that because they did not meet the girls they have contacted, they have wasted time so therefore accrued a debt with them. They intimidate the victims by telephone with the aim of generating suf‐ ficient fear for them to accept to pay the

debt they never contracted and request fi‐ nancial compensation. Once the victims make a first payment, there are always sub‐ sequent requests for money. The receipt of the money by the scammers is done imme‐ diately upon entry through ATMs. In case of being contacted by telephone in this way, the National Police has urged not to make any payments and to contact the police via www.policia.es/colabora and their social media pages.

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Village hits back at townie tourists A SPANISH village has hit back at urban tourists who have little to no clue about rural life.

After a small number of tourists rang Ribadesella’s town hall to complain about the noise of roosters, donkeys, and to let the au‐

thorities know that wan‐ dering cows had left a mess behind them, the town hall decided to put up posters around the village warning tourists that country life is noisy and if they cannot handle it, they should leave and holiday somewhere else.

The poster said, “Here we have church bells that ring out regularly, roost‐ ers that crow early in the morning and herds of livestock that live nearby and at times carry cow‐ bells that also make noise. If you can’t handle all this, you may not be in the right place,” it added.

If, however, tourists can appreciate and un‐ derstand rural life the poster added, “If on the other hand you’re one of the privileged ones who can bear all this, you’ll en‐ joy the wonderful sur‐ roundings and the excel‐ lent products made by our fantastic farmers, ranchers or artisans. En‐ joy Ribadesella!”

NEWS

Understanding new electricity bills A CAMPAIGN to help people understand electricity bills has been launched in Malaga by the council, as both Spaniards and expats alike are feeling the pinch with the new elec‐ tricity pricing system which began at the start of June.

The initiative has been designed to set out to help everybody understand the new sys‐ tem and save money by developing a cam‐ paign to help understand the new electricity bill. The aim of the initiative is to clearly ex‐

ELECTRICITY: New pricing system.

Spain misses its vaccination target SPAIN has missed its August 18 vacci‐ nation target as promised by President Pedro Sanchez.

On May 10, President Pedro Sanchez vowed that Spain would reach herd immunity with a target of 70 per cent of the population vaccinated against Covid‐19. However, 100 days later, just 63 per cent are vaccinated, a shortfall of at least three million peo‐ ple.

According to data from the Ministry of Health, 29,968,303 Spaniards have already received their first Covid vacci‐

nation, that is 62.79 per cent of the population.

Spain’s incident rate stands at 398.94 cases per 100,000 inhabitants.

Meanwhile, some autonomous re‐ gions are still waiting for vaccines to be delivered.

The Delta variant currently accounts for 85 per cent of Covid‐19 cases in Spain. Deaths in Spain over the last 14 days are however three times the Eu‐ ropean Union average, according to the European Centre for Disease Pre‐ vention and Control.

plain to people how the changes, which took place to the electricity billing system on June 1, affect them.

According to the town hall: “An information leaflet has been designed and distributed in the 11 districts of the city through the District Councils and the municipal offices for citizen attention (OMAC), as well as the Consumer Office.

“A website https://nuevafacturaluz.com has also been created.”

EU authorises GMO crops THE EU Commission has authorised seven genetically modified crops ‐ three maize, two soybeans, one oilseed rape and one cotton ‐ and renewed the au‐ thorisations for two maize and one oilseed rape crops used for food and animal feed.

All of these GMOs have gone through a compre‐ hensive and stringent authorisation procedure, in‐ cluding a favourable scientific assessment by the Eu‐ ropean Food Safety Authority, the Commission said on August 17.

The authorisation decisions do not cover cultiva‐ tion. Member States did not reach a qualified majori‐ ty either in favour or against at the Standing Commit‐ tee and at the subsequent Appeal Committee.

The authorisations are valid for 10 years, and any product produced from these GMOs will be subject to the EU’s strict labelling and traceability rules.

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€1bn funds MINISTRY of Transport has launched the first call to distribute €1 billion in EU funds and the objective of this line of aid from the Re‐ covery Plan is to decar‐ bonise cities, mitigate noise and improve air quality. A second call is scheduled for next year, to complete the €1.5 billion planned for this line.

The call is aimed at mu‐ nicipalities with more than 50,000 inhabitants and provincial capitals, includ‐ ing the possibility that mu‐ nicipalities with between 20,000 and 50,000 inhabi‐ tants that have public col‐ lective transport services.

The municipalities can apply for the aid aimed at digitising their transport services, the sustainable re‐ newal of the fleet and the promotion of modal change in urban environ‐ ments, prioritising active mobility and collective public transport.

The municipalities have until September 30 at 2pm to apply for the subsidies.

THE EUROWEEKLY NEWS is urg‐ ing its readers to support local businesses in the community by going local through the lock‐ down and for your all your shop‐ ping this year, instead of feeding online giants and superstores.

During this lockdown, we chal‐ lenge you to rediscover your local high streets, markets, butchers, greengrocers and all of the won‐ derfully quirky independent busi‐

Child deportation

NEWS

Electric scooter ban A NEW proposal aimed at limiting the use of electric scooters through the south‐ ern region of Cordoba will come into law next year. Specifically, the new law is aimed at the thousands of scooters that permeate daily by both locals and tourists through the historical centre of the town, taking to the pavements, zip‐ ping past pedestrians at high speed. With this global self‐mobility trend growing all the time, new legislation to protect pedestrians and other road users was in‐ evitable. Personal mobility vehicles such as electric scooters are now officially considered vehicles across Spain and their ‘drivers’ are obliged to comply with national traffic laws in the same way drivers of cars or motorbikes do. Vehicles for people with reduced mobility are not included in this group.

Former MP on fraud charge FORMER MP Jared O’Mara has been charged with fraud by the Crown Pros‐ ecution Service (CPS) in the UK.

YOUNG MIGRANTS: Often suffer abuse in their homeland.

HUMAN rights groups have denounced Spain’s expulsion of unaccompanied chil‐ dren to Morocco, calling the deportations illegal with ministers urging the Spanish government to call an immediate halt to the process.

Amnesty International spokesman Angel Gonzalo said the deportations of minors began on Friday August 12 and continued on Saturday 13 and Sunday 14. The Interior Ministry and Spanish police did not imme‐ diately respond to requests for comment or confirm the exact number of children af‐ fected. Spain is legally obliged to care for young migrants until their relatives can be located or until they turn 18.

Save The Children, meanwhile, urged Span‐

ish authorities to assess the needs of each child and not deport them en masse, about a quarter of the migrant children it interviewed in Ceuta had suffered abuse in their home‐ land, according to the organisation.

Hundreds of unaccompanied minors were among a massive surge of over 10,000 people who tried to enter Ceuta in May by scaling a border fence or swimming around it. Morocco has since taken back the bulk of the migrants.The mass exodus took place after Spain agreed to provide medical treatment for the Sahrawi leader heading the fight for an independent West‐ ern Sahara, which was annexed by Moroc‐ co in the 1970s. Rabat reacted furiously by recalling its ambassador in Madrid.

The politician has been charged over alleged fraudulent expenses made in 2019.

Mr O’Mara was elected an MP in 2017 before stepping down in 2019. His former aide, GERMANY announced that it has re‐ Gareth Arnold, also faces accu‐ moved Catalonia, the Canary Islands, sations of fraud. Rosemary Asturias, Castilla‐La Mancha, and Va‐ Ainslie at the CPS, said: “The lencia from its list of high‐risk travel des‐ CPS made the decision that tinations, but that it will keep the rest the three men should be of Spain in this classification for now. charged after reviewing a file The change means travellers over 12 of evidence from South York‐ years old from these autonomous com‐ shire Police. The news comes munities will no longer have to quaran‐ after Prime Minister Boris tine for 10 days when arriving in Ger‐ Johnson was accused of per‐ many, however, a negative PCR test, or suading Tory donors to pay for a vaccination certificate when entering fiancee Carrie Symond’s the country is still mandatory. £200,000 (€233,800) redecora‐ tion costs.

Germany removes regions

GO LOCAL

nesses 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 unable to get out due to health reasons or lockdown restrictions.

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

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

By shopping at an indepen‐ dent 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 mak‐ ing a small gesture and shopping in this way.

Many local stores support lo‐ cal charities, support and sponsor local sports teams and in many cases the small independent 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 gener‐ ation before.

For those stores which are new, that extra couple of euros spent there are supporting someone’s dream and ambition, and also the courage it took them to step out alone, which is no easy task. It takes quite a large chunk of money to set up an in‐ dependent store and compete with the multinational and chains.

So be sure to pre‐order your meat from a local butcher and get your spuds from a local greengrocer, let us revive that community spirit and get to know our neighbours again.

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

change their career path.

As people are struggling with finances thinking about 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 better gift. Helping people alleviate stress and worry , give the gift of peace of mind through these dif‐ ficult times. Choosing to spend your money locally will really make a difference in the recovery of the local economy. When we buy local, our money stays lo‐ cal, and it strengthens the local economy in two ways. First, buy‐ ing local keeps money circulating within the local economy. Stud‐ ies have shown that local busi‐ nesses recirculate a greater share of every euro as they create lo‐ cally owned supply chains and in‐ vest 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 example, let’s look at a local farmer growing produce. First, they sell to a local restaurant, which in turn prepares the fresh produce and sells it to local cus‐ tomers. The farmer pays its local employees and the restaurant uses revenue from sales to buy supplies from a neighbourhood hardware store.

This example illustrates how the 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 retain 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.

NEWS

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26 Aug - 1 Sept 2021

October London Marathon THE London Marathon 2022 date has been announced for Sunday, October 2, and has been moved from its traditional date in April for the third year running.

Event director Hugh Brasher has announced that the race has been moved to give the “best chances” of an event of full‐ca‐ pacity and crowds.

“The London Marathon is an extraordinary and unique cele‐ bration of the family of hu‐

mankind coming together,” said Brasher.

“We believe that by moving the 2022 event to October we give ourselves the best chances of welcoming the world to the streets of London,” he contin‐ ued.

The 2021 race will take place on October 3 and is due to be the biggest marathon in the world to be staged.

Up to 50,000 runners will compete on the traditional

Blood pressure drug recall THE Spanish Agency for Medicines and Health Products (Aemps) which reports to Spain’s Ministry of Health, has ordered that a batch of Karvezide 300mg is recalled. The drug is a blood pressure medicine and it has been found to contain impurities that are said to be above the acceptable limits. The impurities have been found in the active ingre‐ dient which is called irbersartan.

The Agency warns that batch FT015 of Karvezide 300mg/12.5mg, with an expiry date of 28 February 2023, is affected. The medicine comes in film‐coated tablet packs of 28 tablets.”

Anyone worried about the medications that they are taking should head to see their doctor or their nearest pharmacist.

course and up to 50,000 partici‐ pants will complete the 26.2 miles on a course of their choos‐ ing, BBC Sport reports.

Ryanair launch new routes IN something sure to delight hol‐ idaymakers, Ryanair has an‐ nounced the launch of new win‐ ter routes which mean that its UK winter 21/22 schedule will see holidaymakers head off to more than 400 stunning destina‐ tions on over 2,000 flights each week.

The new routes include Birm‐ ingham to Bucharest, Milan, Turin and Vilnius. Ryanair will also be adding flights from Bristol to Barcelona and Madrid and Bournemouth to Budapest and Wroclaw. Something that is sure to delight many expats who want to see their relatives, is that the winter route from London’s Gatwick to Malaga has also been added.

Exports to USA SPANISH olive oil exports to the USA have soared as the trade barriers have now been lifted. Biden made the deci‐ sion to lift the trade barriers which were put in place pre‐ viously by Trump.

So far this year olive oil ex‐ ports have grown by 37.5 per cent. This amounts to over 57,000 tons of olives and comes at a staggering value of over €150 million. When Trump imposed trade barriers it meant that Spanish olive farmers could not afford to sell to the North American market as it became unprofitable. The market has recovered fantasti‐ cally since Biden took over and removed the barriers.

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Black fly invasion AN alert has been an‐ nounced for Aragon, Catalo‐ nia, the Community of Va‐ lencia and Madrid for an increase in black fly.

According to the National Association of Environmental Health Companies (ANECPLA) Aragon, Catalonia, the com‐ munity of Valencia and Madrid will be the most af‐ fected by plagues of black fly.

The flies reproduce on the banks of rivers and due to the current heatwave that has affected Spain, the direc‐ tor of ANECPLA, Jorge Galvan has explained this could pro‐ duce a peak in the volume of the fly population.

Bites lead to infections.

Because the black fly is in‐ digenous, it is not an invasive species, however, over the last several years attacks on humans have increased, and their bites in the shape of a saw can lead to ‘infections and allergic reactions’ that can, in some cases, require ‘hospitalisation’.

Students visa chaos IT is only weeks before British students are set to begin studying in Spain but many are facing visa chaos. Universities have called on the Spanish em‐ bassy to let students in as they have been prepar‐ ing for months and some undergraduates are said to have waited more than a month to get their ap‐ pointment to get the documents they need to en‐ ter the country.

Both the Spanish embassy and the foreign office

BREXIT: Caused the rules to change. have been approached by UK universities in a bid to convince them the students should be allowed to complete their applications once they arrive in Spain.

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NEWS

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW

Photo cred it: Paul Stath am

Paul Statham describes himself as a sound artist.

PAUL STATHAM is a musical polymath who plays piano, keyboards, drums and guitar and even teaches song writing courses and production at Solent University.

Although he lives in North London where he has his own home studio, he has been a visitor to Spain for the last 20 years and his dream is to own a home in Salobreña in Axarquia.

He is currently staying near Motril after spend‐ ing a week with former flat mate and best friend Rob Downes, guitarist with the band Then Jerico who also lives in Axarquia.

Often musicians tend to stick with one style of music, but Paul certainly embraces a huge range and his career has seen a number of major changes, mostly to his benefit.

He was (and still is) in a band called B‐Movie from his teen years and they obtained a record‐ ing contract which then saw him form Peach with Lisa Lamb and producer Pascal Gabriel and had a sizeable hit in the USA with On My Own which was part of the soundtrack for the movie Slid‐ ing Doors.

From there, he was signed to the Warner Chappell com‐ pany as a songwriter and got together with Dido, co‐writ‐ ing a number of songs for

Paul Statham Multi-talented UK musician her smash hit album No Angel which sold more than 20 million copies.

He was then approached and asked if he would like to write with Kylie Minogue and they spent two weeks together, producing a number of songs, two of which were on her hit album Fever and Paul says “she was a delight to work with.”

From there he has worked regularly with Jim Kerr and Simple Minds as well as writing with for‐ mer Spice Girls Geri Halliwell and Emma Bunton, Sophie Ellis Bextor, Rachel Stevens, Natalie Im‐ bruglia and Will Young.

At the same time, he has recorded no less than seven albums with former Bauhaus singer Pete Murphy and they had some success in the States where Goth music was popular, playing for up to 7,000 people at a time.

Another side is his record label Loki (pronounced Low Key) that came about as he explained “I’m a huge Marvel Comics fan and years ago I thought that it would be great to have a name connected with one of my heroes, so I was lucky enough to snap up lokirecords.com.”

The name laid dormant for some time, but now he releases tracks from some of the bands he plays with as well as selected material from other musi‐ cians.

When asked who his influences are, Paul said “All time favourite is Another Green World by Brian Eno but I’m also very fond of David Bowie, especial‐ ly Blackstar, his album released just before he died.

“Other favourites are Leonard Cohen who taught me how important lyrics are and Tom Waits as well as Bacharach and David.”

We spoke about Spotify (a site to listen to music at a price) and whilst agreeing the concept was good, he explained that on average for every mil‐ lion plays of a number, the record company re‐ ceives around €4,500 and the composer €500 which is being contested at the moment.

In the meantime, he has just released the second Dark Flowers album Radioland featuring Jim Kerr and singer The Anchoress, as well as other top mu‐ sicians which he describes as electro ambient coun‐ try and would love readers to give it a listen on Spo‐ tify.

FEATURE

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26 Aug - 1 Sept 2021

EWN 13

Advertising Feature

EUROPEAN NIBS

THE RIGHT CAR INSURANCE

DENMARK

FRANCE

Fairy Tales

Fake passes

A NEW museum designed to look like the hollow tree in The Tinderbox is now open in the writer’s old home town of Odense and is dedicated to the work of Hans Christian Andersen. Covering some 18,000 square metres, visits are currently restricted due to the pandemic.

FOR those who want to be able to visit bars and restaurants as well as use public transport but don’t want to be vaccinated, there are now a number of online offers of fake passes available for several hundred euros even though vaccination is free.

THE NETHERLANDS

NORWAY

Electric scooters

Tragic accident

IN many Dutch cities it is possible to rent an electric scooter and then drop it off when you are finished with it. Sounds a good idea, but you can’t solve mobility problems by causing mobility problems, as too many people just leave them on pavements blocking pedestrians.

A 78-YEAR-OLD farmer and his 52-year-old son who were moving their free-grazing livestock from one area to another are believed to have been attacked and killed by their own cattle according to information released by the police in Sykkelven investigating the case.

BELGIUM

FINLAND

Free furniture

Fewer police

WHEN the Belgian Government decides that furniture needs to be replaced in its ministries it normally sells it online but rather than do this, it is now donating all of its used furniture to those who lost everything in the July floods.

THE National Police Board of Finland has said that some police departments will be forced to reduce staff if the government does not allocate more funds for law enforcement, as the police budget for 2022 is between €35 and 40 million less than expected.

GERMANY

SWEDEN

Camping not Glamping

Bright idea

IN the centre of Berlin there are some 13 official campsites where owners of vans can park up and enjoy a holiday without all of the normal trimmings of pretty views, grass or even lakes, but there are occasional views of the former Berlin Wall.

IKEA is to sell renewable energy generated from solar and wind parks to Swedish householders who sign up to pay a fixed monthly fee and if they don’t use all of the power that they are contracted for, they will be able to sell it back to the Swedish company.

CHECK IT OUT: Shop around for car insurance and find out what’s included.

BACK ON THE ROAD As Spain eases restrictions due to Covid, many drivers are looking to get their car back on the road. But before turning the key we recommend you check your vehicle is good to go. Fluid levels may have dropped.

Check your oil, windscreen wash and coolant. Before checking the brake fluid, drive your vehicle for a short period, braking several times to fill the system. Top up with more brake fluid if the level is below the minimum. If the battery is flat you may need to jump start your car. Once running keep it turning over for 20 minutes. Check tyre pressures and any abnormal wear and damage. Take your vehicle for a drive and listen to the engine sound for any grinding, grumbling, whining or knocking.

BASIC INSURANCE Shop around for car insurance and find out what’s included. Does your insurance company have a national network of repairers that can collect your vehicle, undertake repairs and then return the car to you on completion? How does your No Claim discount work? If no claim is made against your policy, your re-

newal premium will be adjusted accordingly. If a claim is made, then your No Claims discount may be reduced. Línea Directa’s team of customer service experts can guide you through all your queries and provide clear answers.

OPTIONAL EXTRAS Travel Assistance from Línea Directa provides extra protection when you need it most. On-the-spot emergency repairs will be carried out on the vehicle if it is immobilised. If you run out of fuel, then your vehicle will be towed to the nearest petrol station. In the event of loss or theft of the vehicle’s keys, then Línea Directa will do everything in its power to obtain duplicates and dispatch them as quickly as possible to you.

WHY LÍNEA DIRECTA? Línea Directa has been providing comprehensive car, motorbike and home insurance to British expatriates and residents in Spain for over 20 years. Backed by a leading Spanish financial group Bankinter, with over three million customers nationwide. All services and documentation is in English. Call their English-speaking customer service staff on 952 147 834 and get a competitive quote today.

BEST PRICE. BETTER COVER.

FINANCE BUSINESS EXTRA New boss GLOBAL giant American pharmaceutical company Johnson & Johnson is appointing a new CEO effective from January 3, 2022, as current vice president, Spaniard, Joaquín Duato will replace the incumbent CEO Alex Gorsky. This appointment will make him one of the most powerful international Spanish executives.

Second bite AS the battle to take over UK supermarket Morrisons continues, the Sunday Times has reported that with plenty of money available, whichever US investment fund loses out, there will almost certainly be a bid for Sainsbury’s which could be as high as £10 billion (€11.5 billion).

Redundancy WITH the loss on August 31 of the concessions to collect funds from three toll roads in Catalonia, operator Abertis has managed to come to an agreement with unions concerning termination of employment of 340 staff who worked in the booths and offices.

Borrowing down UK Government borrowing at £10.4 billion (€12 billion) in July 21 was down £10.1 billion (€11.6 billion) on the amount borrowed in the previous July, thanks mainly to the easing of restrictions which saw a boost to the economy, but is the second-highest amount since records began.

New flights LOW-COST Norwegian passenger airline Flyr is introducing new flights from Oslo to Alicante and Malaga. Founded in August 2020 partly in response to the demise of Norwegian Air, Flyr which has its HQ in Oslo and operational base at Gardermoen/Oslo Airport initially only flew within Norway itself.

Currently, the airline has just two Boeing 737-800 aircraft in its fleet, but is confident that it will be possible to add to both the number of aircraft in service and the staff of 70 and is now expanding to fly to European destinations from Oslo.

Effective from August 21, it will operate a weekly flight to Alicante and twice weekly flights to Malaga and Nice.

14

www.euroweeklynews.com • 26 August - 1 September 2021

is the amount of additional tax that the Spanish Government will STAT OF earn this year from the rise in the price of electricity according to €3.3 billion Partido Popular leader Pablo Casado.

WEEK

Morrisons bidding war THE Morrisons bidding war has taken a twist as a US offer arrived worth £7 bil‐ lion (€8 billion) but from a different investment firm.

On August 19, Clayton, Dubilier & Rice whose ear‐ lier bid for Britain’s fourth largest supermarket was rejected, announced that its newly created division, Market Bidco Limited had offered £7 billion to take over Morrisons and that the supermarket’s board

had accepted the offer.

This is now the third of‐ fer that the Board has ac‐ cepted, the first two being from rival US bidders Fortress, which is not nec‐ essarily out of the running.

Any offer has to be ap‐ proved by the majority of the company’s sharehold‐ ers and this latest offer is approximately 60 per cent up on Morrisons’ share closing price on June 19, 2021.

LEGALLY SPEAKING

This values each share at £2.85 (€3.28), but with‐ in 24 hours of the offer be‐ ing accepted by the Board, the share price in London had climbed to £2.91 (€3.35) which suggests that the market believes there is still considerable room for improvement on the offer.

Fortress in the mean‐ while is advising sharehold‐ ers not to take precipitate action and it seems likely

that a further bid could be imminent, but no decision on any bid will be made until a shareholders’ meet‐ ing due to take place in Oc‐ tober.

British companies are at the moment considered by many to be underval‐ ued and there are a num‐ ber of overseas invest‐ ment companies looking to snap up bargains as the UK recovers from the pan‐ demic.

Digital legacies

Are tree roots included?

A root from a tree has damaged a sewerage pipe under my bathroom. I read thoroughly my insurance policy and was frustrated to see that nowhere in its 48 pages does it mention this eventuali‐ ty. So I telephoned them and was told that my policy did not cover removal of roots which block sewers un‐ der my house. I pointed out that the definition of a house in the home insurance policy included the sew‐ ers but they said no. I ask then, what about the risks to your house not described in an insurance policy as ei‐ ther included or excluded?

N S (Costa del Sol) Your frus‐ tration is understandable but YOU AND THE LAW we find that dam‐ IN SPAIN age from tree roots blocking drains and sewers is basically never covered by any home insurance policy. Many complications arise in assigning blame such as whether you have maintained your pipes in good condition and determining where the roots come from. As to risks not listed as included or ex‐ cluded, of course a detailed description of all the thou‐ sand ways things can go wrong would be impossible.

You can be quite sure the insurance company will decide they are excluded.

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.

AS the stadium undergoes com‐ plete refurbishment and the team play at the Alfredo de Ste‐ fanos stadium, the Real Madrid merchandise store at Bernabeu was ramraided.

The attack on the store which saw three vehicles involved took place at 6am on the morning of Thursday August 19 according to eye witness reports.Ironically,

A social media will.

A DIGITAL legacy is anything which a person created or owned in digital format: social me‐ dia profiles, conversations and comments, photos and videos, profiles on online gaming sites and streaming platforms, blogs or websites, downloaded Apps, music, e‐books, documents on the cloud, online banking, etc.

It is becoming more common to make plans for what will hap‐ pen to them after you die.

It is usually handled by giving access to someone you trust, pro‐ viding a list of your accounts with the usernames and passwords, and explaining if you want them closed, cancelled or memorialised.

You should legitimise your digital legacy in a ‘social media will’, ideally kept separate from your existing will so you don’t have to keep updating it every time you create a new account or change your password.

Your digital legacy is something you should consider when pre‐ planning your funeral. With Golden Leaves Funeral Plans, you can arrange your funeral in advance, so that you family will not have to deal with it.

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

Real Madrid ramraid earlier that day, members of the first team had been taken by coach to the stadium to inspect the renovation work which was started some time ago, as no crowds were allowed in the sta‐ dium for live matches.

The two‐storey shop remained

fully stocked during the work and it appears that a single vehi‐ cle drove into the glass doors and then the robbers emerged from two accompanying cars and literally swept the shelves clear of very expensive team clothing and other branded souvenirs.

Spanish success THE latest Spanish business success sees installation of railway signals in Cairo under‐ taken by the Talis Group.

On Friday August 20, the Spanish Ambassador to Egypt, Ramon Gil Casares met with Egypt’s Minister of Transport Kamel El‐Wazir to inspect the work currently being under‐ taken to upgrade the railway signals on the Cairo‐Alexan‐ dria railway line.

In a statement released by the Egyptian Transport Min‐ istry, El‐Wazir said the signals project is being carried out by Talis Group of Spain in Sidi Gaber and Alexandria railway stations and the minister ob‐ served that the work is ex‐ pected to be completed by December 2021.

Copper lines THERE are still plenty of peo‐ ple alive who will remember telephone exchanges and manual switchboards, but as‐ sumed that these had com‐ pletely disappeared.

To some extent this is true and younger people may well have been amazed to see how calls in Spain were handled many years ago if they watched the Netflix series Ca‐ ble Girls. Now, Telefónica has announced that it has closed down 1,000 telephone ex‐ changes which used lines made from copper and these have been replaced by more reliable fibre lines.

The company celebrates its centenary in 2034 and plans to have completely replaced all copper lines by then.

By the time that the police ar‐ rived following an alert from a member of the public, the rob‐ bers had disappeared with their haul.

There is a huge market for this time of branded material and as it is genuine (rather than coun‐ terfeit) it will probably sell quickly and at reasonably high prices.

16 EWN

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26 Aug - 1 Sept 2021

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C LOSING P RICES A UGUST 23

COMPANY PRICE(P) 3I Group 1.321,00 Abrdn 263,90 Admiral Group 3.670,0 Anglo American 2.908,5 Antofagasta 1.419,50 Ashtead Group 5.490,0 Associated British Foods 2.012,0 AstraZeneca 8.678,0 Auto Trader Group Plc 638,60 Avast 596,60 Aveva 4.097,0 Aviva 418,70 B&M European Value Retail 574,80 BAE Systems 575,60 Bank VTB DRC 1,342 Barclays 180,58 Barratt Developments 710,00 Berkeley 4.811,0 BHP Group 2.208,00 BP 293,55 British American Tobacco 2.727,5 British Land Company 520,52 BT Group 167,80 Bunzl 2.688,0 Burberry Group 1.884,0 Carnival 1.458,8 Centrica 50,64 Coca Cola HBC AG 2.654,0 Compass 1.498,50 CRH 3.765,0 Croda Intl 9.222,0 DCC 6.040,0 Diageo 3.534,0 DS Smith 442,20 EasyJet 811,40 Experian 3.198,0 Ferguson 10.185,0 Flutter Entertainment 13.750,0 Fresnillo 833,80 GlaxoSmithKline 1.508,80 Glencore 317,25 Halma 2.987,0 Hargreaves Lansdown 1.476,26 Hikma Pharma 2.536,00 HSBC 395,25 IAG 162,32 Imperial Brands 1.562,50 Informa 530,20 InterContinental 4.500,0 Intermediate Capital 2.177,00

CHANGE(P) 1.330,50 266,80 3.693,0 2.917,0 1.422,00 5.536,0 2.037,0 8.773,0 643,20 603,60 4.135,0 420,40 576,20 580,20 1,348 183,10 726,60 4.937,0 2.219,50 293,65 2.731,5 528,40 174,45 2.704,0 1.902,5 1.478,4 51,20 2.679,0 1.502,00 3.808,0 9.304,0 6.054,0 3.550,0 447,90 821,80 3.225,0 10.256,3 13.805,0 842,00 1.525,60 317,70 3.042,0 1.489,00 2.592,00 399,10 163,12 1.569,23 537,20 4.548,0 2.212,00

% CHG. 1.318,00 263,90 3.659,0 2.881,5 1.403,00 5.480,0 2.012,0 8.674,0 635,20 595,40 4.095,0 416,70 571,60 575,00 1,324 180,48 710,00 4.811,0 2.191,00 291,10 2.712,0 518,60 167,55 2.685,0 1.847,5 1.441,8 50,50 2.650,0 1.490,50 3.758,0 9.220,0 6.024,0 3.529,5 441,30 806,00 3.195,0 10.175,0 13.700,0 829,60 1.508,80 314,30 2.986,0 1.471,50 2.536,00 394,90 160,60 1.560,00 527,40 4.477,0 2.174,00

NET VOL 44,51K 386,92K 16,10K 440,18K 85,53K 37,36K 216,96K 94,03K 186,56K 89,51K 8,11K 1,29M 105,58K 385,45K 62,56K 3,07M 100,27K 12,33K 935,86K 3,77M 244,71K 52,27K 2,78M 24,87K 158,45K 114,66K 736,34K 18,45K 289,89K 16,77K 8,53K 8,09K 269,96K 248,22K 457,75K 50,68K 0,96K 14,54K 160,38K 376,47K 5,50M 22,48K 35,35K 12,75K 2,19M 4,14M 16,05K 196,45K 46,96K 9,03K

COMPANY

PRICE(P)

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

5.256,0 116,25 328,12 2.970,0 709,00 265,50 44,11 8.080,0 839,11 164,10 2.038,00 966,40 212,00 7.960,0 32,00 1.946,80 2.830,0 619,60 1.501,00 5.600,0 2.172,00 583,60 704,60 5.233,0 112,18 7,26 1.410,2 1.410,90 1.404,8 733,00 1.564,50 17,68 3.662,0 1.353,60 1.287,00 2.815,0 1.417,00 1.427,50 15.935,0 1.642,50 1.588,00 448,50 173,73 251,15 313,90 4.105,4 1.064,00 122,52 3.080,0 975,40

CHANGE(P)

% CHG.

NET VOL

5.300,0 117,30 332,00 3.002,0 721,00 266,60 44,72 8.112,0 839,60 167,00 2.059,00 982,00 215,40 8.022,0 32,09 1.949,50 2.890,0 629,00 1.502,00 5.681,0 2.190,00 589,10 712,60 5.277,0 112,80 7,26 1.412,0 1.411,11 1.406,0 738,02 1.565,50 17,73 3.697,0 1.370,00 1.295,00 2.880,0 1.440,50 1.433,50 16.125,0 1.672,00 1.609,50 452,30 177,80 252,15 317,00 4.149,0 1.089,50 123,64 3.105,0 981,40

5.250,0 115,75 302,00 2.968,0 706,00 265,00 44,08 8.040,0 832,20 164,00 2.039,29 965,60 211,80 7.940,0 31,79 1.936,10 2.828,0 617,40 1.486,00 5.594,0 2.167,00 583,00 703,60 5.190,0 111,10 7,19 1.398,0 1.397,75 1.390,4 733,20 1.556,50 17,59 3.655,0 1.351,50 1.283,50 2.810,0 1.415,50 1.425,69 15.920,0 1.635,00 1.587,50 448,00 173,65 247,75 309,60 4.099,5 1.062,00 122,50 3.057,0 973,40

7,98K 343,89K 7,33M 10,80K 91,60K 911,60K 5,03M 34,60K 371,27K 469,42K 3,40K 445,74K 1,34M 5,58K 130,06K 25,03K 52,43K 427,99K 568,94K 78,34K 185,72K 13,16K 75,64K 49,84K 8,01M 54,18K 378,91K 344,59K 832,70K 20,94K 1,64K 271,54K 4,98K 449,94K 87,86K 49,20K 129,22K 8,22K 7,42K 137,21K 48,84K 623,50K 580,13K 3,02M 580,47K 258,80K 114,17K 3,77M 26,39K 137,19K

1.16423

0.85895

Units per €

US dollar (USD) ......................................1.17278 Japan yen (JPY)......................................128.952 Switzerland franc (CHF) .........................1.07285 Denmark kroner (DKK) .............................7.4370 Norway kroner (NOK) .............................10.5085

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

DOW JONES C LOSING P RICES A UGUST 23

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

PRICE 194,16 2.768,7 3.199,95 223,53 148,19 212,67 204,94 94,30 58,22 56,64 359,37 395,87 329,24 227,70 139,11 52,01 179,44 154,72 238,49 78,68 304,36 167,79 145,09 256,13 680,26 429,71 55,52 231,36 151,45 175,12

CHANGE CHANGE% VOLUME(M) 195,13 193,37 2,39M 2.772,3 2.729,3 772,97K 3.207,81 3.175,76 3,32M 226,24 222,01 2,71M 148,50 146,78 59,51M 214,74 210,94 9,16M 207,26 203,59 2,75M 94,88 93,21 9,52M 58,33 56,85 21,83M 57,03 56,58 10,38M 359,99 353,31 8,53M 396,45 391,00 1,57M 329,68 322,47 2,92M 228,73 226,51 2,07M 139,38 137,27 2,63M 52,38 51,42 25,59M 179,92 178,07 5,29M 154,90 153,16 6,76M 239,39 236,32 1,96M 79,20 78,22 5,97M 305,84 298,06 40,66M 168,01 165,42 3,78M 145,98 144,78 5,01M 257,87 252,61 5,47M 692,13 673,70 14,72M 431,36 426,91 2,38M 55,71 55,20 10,61M 232,16 230,30 5,43M 151,72 149,75 6,42M 175,21 172,65 6,12M M - MILLION DOLLARS

NASDAQ C LOSING P RICES A UGUST 23

COMPANY

CHANGE NET / %

VOLUME

Most Advanced Berkshire Hathaway Inc. Cl A NVR Inc. Large Cap Growth Index-Linked ETN due 2028 Cable One Inc. Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. Biglari Holdings Inc. Cl A RH UBS AG FI Enhanced Large Cap Growth ETN Credit Suisse FI Large Cap Growth Enhanced HubSpot Inc. ServiceNow Inc.

0.24% 1.74% 9.92% 1.29% 1.11% 2.26% 2.60% 2.31% 2.25% 2.40% 2.32%

849 11.21K 1.14K 32.5K 124.77K 360 329.34K 277 1.99K 377.78K 1M

-1.05% -4.57% -3.67% -0.72% -1.63% -1.70% -2.10% -3.38% -13.15% -1.58% -1.07%

783.49K 13.19M 4.81M 91.06K 391.22K 761.15K 3.5M 1.42K 754.7K 279.65K 216.62K

Most Declined Shopify Inc. Cl A Snowflake Inc. Sea Ltd. ADR Mettler-Toledo International Inc. Boston Beer Co. Cl A Domino's Pizza Inc. Deere & Co. Colfax Corp. Tangible Equity Un Rafael Holdings Inc. Lithia Motors Inc. Fair Isaac Corp.

www.euroweeklynews.com

First UK class action

Credit: Kārlis Dambrāns flickr

FINANCE, BUSINESS & LEGAL

ANTI-COMPETITIVE: Mastercard to contest class action.

HAVING now lost a final appeal against the validity of the claim, Mastercard is being sued for £10 billion in the first UK class action.

In 2007, the European Com‐ mission declared that Master‐ card’s multi‐lateral interchange fees were anti‐competitive.

These are fees paid by busi‐ nesses when transactions are made using a Mastercard, which the Commission decided resulted in higher prices being charged to consumers.

The then UK Chief Financial Ombudsman Walter Merricks considered that there was clear evidence that British cardhold‐ ers had suffered to the tune of some £14 billion (€16 billion) be‐ tween 1992 and 2008.

Since 2015, he has been bat‐ tling to bring what is known in the USA as a class action where‐ by consumers do not have to be named individually and this

right was granted in the 2015 Consumer Act. Understandably Mastercard have attempted to block this case and have been successful in various UK courts, but now the Supreme Court has ruled in favour of bringing this class ac‐ tion to court saying that the Competition Appeal Tribunal had been wrong in rejecting the claim in the first instance.

The action has been changed in as much as it no longer in‐ cludes claims on behalf of the deceased, but is said to be worth around £10 billion (€11.5 billion) and if the action is suc‐ cessful refunds could be expect‐ ed by around 46 million con‐ sumers who probably aren’t even aware of the case itself.

Mastercard will be contesting the claim according to a report

by City AM and observed “This claim isn’t being brought by UK consumers, but is being driven

Raw material prices AS the world’s economies try to rebuild following the financial problems of the pandemic, a World Bank report suggests that raw material prices are spiralling upwards.

According to this report, prices of some materials such as aluminium have tripled since 2019 whilst others have exceeded the prices forecast to be likely in 2035 already.

Add to this, the disappearance of many workers such as HGV drivers in the UK which is causing shortages and it is clear that consumers are going to experience a barrage of price hikes for a whole range of items for some time to come.

by lawyers, backed by organisa‐ tions primarily focused on mak‐ ing money for themselves.”

BUSINESS EXTRA Currying favour IN a bid to curry favour with its vegetarian and vegan employees, the Volkswagen HQ in Wolfsburg has confirmed the wurst news possible for meat eaters as after the summer holidays, currywurst (German sausage favourite) will be removed from the canteen menu.

Sky Showtime A NEWCOMER to Spain’s online TV supply industry, Sky Showtime which is due to start streaming in 2022 has reportedly signed a series of deals which will allow it to screen thousands of hours of movies, documentaries and kid’s programmes. No prices have as yet been revealed.

UK inflation THE latest figures released by the UK Office for National Statistics shows that inflation in July had fallen from 2.5 per cent to 2 per cent, in line with Bank of England expectations with lower prices for clothing and footwear being a major factor.

26 Aug - 1 Sept 2021

EWN 17

18 EWN

www.euroweeklynews.com

26 Aug - 1 Sept 2021

USA HAS LOST IT

LEAPY LEE SAYS IT OTHERS THINK IT I TRULY do believe America has lost the plot. Bumbling Joe Biden rather reminds me of a movie I once saw. In the film the general is killed. To keep up army morale, his dead body is propped up on a horse with a pole stuck up its back as he leads his troops into the battle.

I think Biden is actually demised and his carefully coiffured body is being worked with a remote control ‐ probably operated

by Kamala Harris! And it’s not in the least bit funny. Because of his, and a few other naive so‐called American leaders’ decisions, hundreds, probably thousands of people will die, and the terrorist will now govern a stronghold which will ultimately prove more dangerous to the West than all the other Islamist countries put together.

It’s also worth remembering that the Saudis (who have been very quiet!) are predominately Sunni, as are the Taliban.

Bin Laden came out of Saudi Arabia ‐ and the Americans have been selling the Saudis the latest military hardware for years! Should we be worried ‐ well what do you think? Personally I believe we need Trump back; he would have made a more intelligent withdrawal than the Biden

JOE BIDEN: Worked by remote control.

administration that’s for sure. Mind you, any one of us with half a brain could have done better than Jurassic Joe! Just recently this man instigated the presentation of the squared off American flag to the relatives of George Floyd, declaring him to be ‘a

fallen hero’! You really couldn’t make it up.

Let me remind you of Floyds ‘heroic’ record. Six burglaries. Two violent home invasions. Three armed robberies, beating four of his victims senseless. Passing counterfeit money and being arrested 23

times. And Biden considers him an American hero! What an insult to the true heroes of the US, whose tearful relatives accepted the folded flag after burying loved ones who had given their lives for the country.

FEATURE

As a further point of interest, after a year of burning the city and tearing down the statues of patriots and Columbus, New Jersey has erected a 700‐pound bronze statue of George Floyd in his ’honour’ outside of City Hall. His family have received over $50 million (you ‘eard) from compensation and ‘go fund me’! And the man, who runs what is purportedly the most powerful nation in the world, thinks this thug is a national hero.

Heaven help us all.

Just to round off this week’s column of utter disbelief. The society of transgender folk have now come up with a real peach.

‘Neopronouns’. Apparently you should now choose how you want to be referred to. For example you may hear ‐ ‘Hello my name is Petal and my pronouns are they/ them. Subsequently, when talking about Petal, you should use the pronouns they, them, their etc. For example Petal is at ‘their’ desk. Before entering ongoing interaction, you should always ask, ‘what are your pronouns at the moment’? But you should avoid asking somebody about their preferred pronouns ‐ it implies their gender is a choice, rather than simply a part of who they are! Confused?

Faith the keep Love Leapy leapylee2002@gmail.com To read more articles from our columnists and to have your say in the comments go to www.euroweeklynews.com

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

FEATURE

www.euroweeklynews.com

26 Aug - 1 Sept 2021

EWN 19

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20 EWN

www.euroweeklynews.com

26 Aug - 1 Sept 2021

FEATURE

A FEW OF LIFE’S IRRITATIONS NORA JOHNSON BREAKING VIEWS Nora is the author of popular psychological suspense and crime thrillers and a freelance journalist.

To comment on any of the issues raised in her column, go to www.euroweeklynews.com/3.0.15/nora-johnson

GOOD morning, class. No talking at the back, please. I’d like to begin with another few moans.

For me, everyday irritants include: sticky price labels that don’t come off, selfies, photographing food in restaurants, people who use an upward inflection at the end of sentences and automated phone systems that claim “your call is important to us” while putting you on hold for an hour.

Calls like: “We apologise for the delay in an‐ swering your call ‐ we are experiencing a higher call volume than expected” seem to greet you ev‐ ery time you have to phone one UK media group I won’t name and shame. When will they adjust their ‘expectations’ and provide more ‘customer advisers’? They then tell you their website more than likely has the answers you need. I mean, where do they think you’ve spent the last 20 min‐ utes looking for the answer to your query before you had to ring them?

ON HOLD: Automated phone systems are just one everyday irritant.

Other irritants include food packets that re‐ quire a magnifying glass to read the instructions.

Getting a new toothbrush out of its packet. Jar lids that you need the strength of Tarzan to prise open. And as for opening ‘child‐proof’ containers,

I’m going to have to wait until the two‐year‐old next door is four before I have a reliable ‘opener’.

Let alone the packaging on scissors that require scissors to open.

In fact, packaging generally. First world prob‐

lems, I know, but even so...

Finally, where are all the UK GPs? A relative re‐ cently called into her GP surgery which has nu‐ merous doctors and health assistants to find it completely deserted apart from one patient wait‐ ing and a receptionist sitting behind a glass screen so massive she couldn’t hear anything, so any chance of patient confidentiality was scuppered.

But try booking an appointment! This involves a 30‐minute wait on the phone to be informed there are no doctors available because the surgery is (still) enforcing the same Covid‐restrict‐ ed service it was a year ago.

Where have all the doctors gone? Gone to golf courses every one.

Nora Johnson’s psychological crime thrillers ‘The Sentinel’, ‘No Safe Place’, ‘Betrayal’, ‘The Girl in the Woods’, ‘The Girl in the Red Dress’, ‘No Way Back’, ‘Landscape of Lies’, ‘Retribution’, ‘Soul Stealer’, ‘The De Clerambault Code’ (www.nora‐johnson.net) available online as eBook (€0.99; £0.99), Apple Books, paperback and audiobook. All profits to Costa del Sol Cude‐ ca cancer charity.

To read more articles from our columnists and to have your say in the comments go to www.euroweeklynews.com

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

DAVID WORBOYS ANYBODY living in London under 70 years old doesn’t know what they were missing. They may have many years ahead of them, but what will be the quality of those years?

We face a future of pandemics, nu‐ clear threat, global terrorism, cyber‐ attacks, drug abuse, human traffick‐ ing, mass immigration, over‐ population, gender confusion, declin‐ ing health and artificial intelligence.

And, of course, climate change.

What the under‐70s missed is life in the 1960s. To have been young in this special decade was to have experi‐ enced life with a bright future. Admit‐ tedly, they were years of excesses and hedonism, but there was freedom and humour. Many people enjoyed a new prosperity as the deprivations of the post‐war years were over and there was full employment.

However, the innocence of the ‘50s was lost forever, as the rock age born, of the late ‘50s with free love, heavy drinking and the in‐ creasing use of drugs, began to take over. There was no nanny state; we

THE SWINGING SIXTIES

The Rolling Stones and Cliff Richard - Symbols of the Sixties fended for ourselves.

The ‘60s started with the cha‐cha and the baby‐doll dress and in 1962 the young Rolling Stones emerged.

Jiving to the traditional jazz bands of Humphrey Lyttleton and Chris Barber was a highly stimulating alternative to the fox‐trot. Girls in pubs drank ‘Baby‐ cham’ or port‐and‐lemon, normally escorted by male company; men drank real ale or malt whiskies.

Many towns had a 16th century inn and every village still had a traditional country pub. There was a plethora of enjoyable films, as varied as ‘Dr No’, ‘Dr Strangelove’, and ‘Doctor Doolit‐ tle’. And even better ones such as ‘Doctor Zhivago’.

Carnaby Street represented ‘Swing‐ ing London’. Lifestyle everywhere was influenced by its fashions for the young and the famous. Appreciative

wolf‐whistles were either accepted with a blush or a smile or ignored with no problem. Girls were elegant and feminine and liked to be compliment‐ ed ‐ all in good humour.

In London, Otto Klemperer had ele‐ vated his Philharmonia to one of the world’s three great classical orches‐ tras. Bill Haley had paved the way for the Rolling Stones. There were Jim Reeves, Cliff Richard and Elvis. On the

literary scene we had Grahame Greene, J G Ballard and an interna‐ tionally respected national broad‐ sheet.

Football fans were generally amica‐ ble while cricket boundaries were greeted with restrained applause.

There were Beatniks but few urban terrorists. Alcohol‐fuelled vandalism rather than drug‐crazed street‐mur‐ ders.

It was a relaxed era, because Lon‐ doners had a sense of humour. The term ‘politically correct’ was not used.

Some comedians were outrageous, none more so than Peter Cook and Dudley Moore, but they were hilari‐ ously funny and only the most sensi‐ tive got hurt.

Because we socialised, often in pubs, we had no need of mobile phones, computers or internet. Cars, cameras and televisions did not have many of the features we take for granted today.

They were the swinging ‘60s, the free ‘60s, the naughty ‘60s. London was the epicentre.

To read more articles from our columnists and to have your say in the comments go to www.euroweeklynews.com

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

THURSDAY 26/08

6:15pm 7:00pm 7:30pm 8:00pm 8:40pm 9:00pm 10:00pm 11:00pm 11:25pm

TUESDAY 31/08

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FRIDAY 27/08

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WEDNESDAY 01/09

11:00pm 5:30pm 6:15pm 7:00pm 7:30pm 8:00pm 8:30pm 9:00pm 10:00pm 11:00pm

Pointless BBC News at Six; Weather BBC London News; Weather Rip Off Britain EastEnders Shop Well for Less Ambulance BBC News at Ten Regional News and Weather

6:15pm 7:00pm

Strictly Amy: Crohn's and Me EastEnders Would I Lie to You? Celebrity MasterChef King Gary BBC News at Ten Regional News and Weather Weather Captain America:the Winter Soldier

5:20pm

Escape to the Country Final Score BBC News BBC London News; Weather Weather Pointless Celebrities Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves Parkinson at 50 Casualty BBC News

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Escape to the Country Garden Rescue Beauty and the Beast Serengeti II BBC News BBC London News; Weather Weather Countryfile Antiques Roadshow Vigil BBC News

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BBC London News; Weather Weather Best of The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo EastEnders Ghosts Vigil BBC News at Ten Regional News and Weather

6:25pm 7:00pm

The Bidding Room Pointless BBC News at Six; Weather BBC London News; Weather The One Show EastEnders Holby City 9/11: Inside the President's War Room BBC News at Ten

5:45pm

The Bidding Room Pointless BBC News at Six; Weather BBC London News; Weather The One Show Lambing Life - Our Lives The Repair Shop Celebrity MasterChef BBC News at Ten

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Flog It! Richard Osman's House of Games The Farmers' Country Showdown Diamond League: Lausanne The Watch The Watch Newsnight Weather When Ruby Wax Met...

8:00pm

Meet the Monkeys: Natural World Flog It! Richard Osman's House of Games The Farmers' Country Showdown Cricket: Today at the Test Gardeners' World The Boleyns: A Scandalous Family I'll Get This

8:00pm 9:30pm 10:00pm 10:30pm

Summer Holiday Athletics: Diamond League Paris Flog It! Porridge Cricket: Today at the Test Dad's Army Super Powered Eagles Parkinson: Billy Connolly and David Attenborough Parkinson: Hollywood Women

8:00pm

Witness for the Prosecution The Boleyns: A Scandalous Family Cricket: Today at the Test Mortimer & Whitehouse: Gone Fishing Chris and Meg's Wild Summer When Ruby Wax Met...

Live at the Apollo Pose

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

BAD PLANNING

From our Facebook

NEW CLUB: How was planning permission given to build on the beach?

Beach Bars I have been coming to Estepona for many years now, and have been impressed by the constant improvements that the Junta has implemented over the years, beautiful flowers and a feeling of a town on the up. One recent change however does not fit into that category. It had been rumoured that a chiringuito was to be built on the Costa Natura naturist beach, the first beach in Spain to be designated as naturist by royal charter in 1979, but before the lockdown I heard that planning permission had been refused.

You can imagine my surprise on visiting again that what can best be described as a beach club (not a chiringuito) had been built, directly in front of the new high end ‘The Edge’ properties, replacing the previous sea views that some of these properties had with the view of a wall, and a constant heavy beat music track for the whole development and the surrounding area. What is worse is that the club is built directly on the naturist beach, will not allow naturists in, or even allow them to hire a sun lounger on the beach in front of their club, and the ‘waiters’ have been telling Spanish families that they have bought the beach, and they should go elsewhere. The beach is actually public land, and cannot be bought.

This seems to me to be a spectacularly bad case of planning,

What happens next?

AT the time of writing, it has become clear that a number of people are worried about which way the British Government is going to jump with regards to Spain and the traffic light system.

Rumour abounds that we could become a red light country and this has clearly resulted in a number of people, both British residents and visitors either curtailing their holidays or bringing forward a return to the UK. Considering that British children start to return to school at the beginning of September, many parents understandably want to make sure

CORRECTIONS

and I cannot understand how this club, which is completely cross threaded with both the Edge development, the neighbouring Costa natura village, and the naturist beach has been allowed to build here. Or am I just being naïve?

Tony Worswick

REFUGEES: Should they be granted asylum in the EU?

I agree!

David Sánchez

I completely agree with the letter entitled ‘Racist propaganda’.

So very noticeable all of a sudden. I believe this was kicked off by the situation in the US when the policeman held the perpetrator down with his knee on his neck. May be wrong, but am sure it was around that time.

Love Leapy’s articles, usually agree with his look on life too.

Regards, DM

It shouldn’t be any debate. They had to leave their home because of an unacceptable war...t he whole EU and the others countries of the world should help them. No debate.

Love the paper Thanks for all the informative and entertaining news, keeping us abreast of changes both here and abroad.

Regards, S Brown

OUR VIEW

that they and their kids aren’t suddenly required to go into quarantine and those living here who want to see their families seem to believe ‘better safe than sorry’.

Looking at the situation dispassionately, there seems little genuine justification for the British Government in effectively penalising Spain, as the number of new infections is clearly on a downward trend and hopefully this will continue to be the case.

Some believe that the British Government wants to encourage British holidaymakers to remain in the UK and to spend their money there

rather than in European hot spots and if that logic prevails, then Spain may well suffer for economic rather than protective health reasons.

Under normal circumstances, such a conspiracy theory would be treated as nonsense, but the British Government hardly has a record of rational thinking as far as the pandemic and travel matters are concerned.

Let’s hope that the status quo remains and that relatively free movement between Spain and the UK is allowed to continue after Sunday August 29, when any change is likely to be imposed.

Tina Fisher This is a bit late as they already have. But yes of course they should. With Spain already overflowing with economic refugees, how could they refuse real refugees in their hour of real need.

Betty Purves All countries, should be a united nations problem.

Mark Spain Yes I’m sure the EU will take many refugees, but the majority should be taken by the USA and the UK.

Patricia Keery All countries should help and not be left to the usual ones.

Agnes Gillespie All countries should help, the men were trained up to be soldiers, they need to stand their ground. Get the elderly out and women and children, the Taliban have no respect for women !!!!!

Margaret Mc If they are people who have worked for another country in whatever role, then yes.

Dominique Ramsey No and they should take responsibility for themselves.

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

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ROAD TEST

by Mark Slack I’M frequently told that all cars look alike nowadays, the only differentiator being the badge on the bonnet. Well there’s no mistaking Hyundai’s latest SUV, the Tucson. It has a very imposing front which reminds me a little of the 1960’s Dodge Charger RT. The lights are shielded at the outer edge of the dominant front grille and provide an excellent level of light in terms of both spread and distance. It’s a neat styling touch that certainly makes drivers do a double take in their rear view mirror.

The range starts with the SE Connect powered by a 150 hp, 1.6‐litre petrol engine, across the range, and priced at €33,746/£28,710. There are petrol and mild hybrid models along with hybrid and plug‐in hybrid versions. More tech op‐ tions include manual or auto‐ matic gears and there’s all‐ wheel‐drive options too.

Standard equipment across the board includes heated and height adjustable front seats,

26 Aug - 1 Sept 2021

EWN 31

Hyundai Tucson - bold styling!

The latest Tuscon has a very imposing front.

Facts at a Glance Model: Hyundai Tucson Ultimate Engine: 1.6-litre, turbocharged, petrol, 48v mild hybrid, developing 150 ps Gears: 7-speed automatic Price: €41,596/£35,390 Performance: 0-100 kph (62 mph) 9.6 seconds/Maximum Speed 188 kph (117 mph) Economy: 6.4 l/100km (44.1 mpg) combined driving - WLTP Emissions: 144 g/km - WLTP Model tested was UK-specification and equipment levels and prices may vary in other markets. .

VW Group on the electrical throne ACCORDING to data from Jato Dynam‐ ics, 26 per cent of all electric cars sold in Europe during the first half of 2021 were from the Volkswagen Group, which is an increase of 4 per cent more than in the corresponding period last year.

The Renault‐Nissan‐Mitsubishi Al‐ liance was the market leader in sales of electric cars in Europe before, but, in the first half of 2021, the Alliance ceased to be the largest European seller of electric cars, overtaken by the Volk‐ swagen Group, thanks mainly to its large supply of electric vehicles in sev‐ eral of its brands.

This result not only put the German consortium on the electrical throne, but also meant increasing its advantage over Tesla, which maintained third place in the European market, with a share of 14 per cent, 3 per cent down on last year, while Stellantis, the con‐ sortium resulting from the merger be‐ tween the FCA Group and the PSA Group, was the second European seller of electric cars with a 16 per cent mar‐ ket share, up by 4 per cent on last year.

The big loser, according to data from Jato Dynamics, was the Renault‐Nissan‐ Mitsubishi Alliance, leader until 2020, but now languishing in fourth, seeing its

VW: Responsible for 1 in 4 electric cars sold in Europe. market share reduced from 23 per cent in 2020 to 13 per cent, who would seem to have lost out while waiting for the launch of their Nissan Ariya, or Re‐ nault’s electric futures, while the Leaf and the Zoe have not been able to com‐ pete against heavyweights such as the Volkswagen’s Model 3, or the ID family, as well as the electric models from Stel‐ lantis.

Despite the success of the Volkswa‐ gen Group and Stellantis, who both surpassed Tesla in total sales, the Model 3 of the Californian brand was by far the best‐selling electric vehicle in Europe, while Volkswagen had their ID 3, the ID 4, and the e‐Up!, along with Audi’s popular e‐tron, the Porsche Taycan, and the Seat Mii elec‐ tric. Elon Musk’s Model 3 saloon car topped the individual electric car sales in the first six months of this year, with 66,010 registered units.

climate, automatic lights and wipers, high beam assist, LED headlights with cornering, cruise, heated and pow‐ ered folding door mirrors, automat‐ ic dimming rear view mirror, parking sensors with rear camera, keyless entry and start, navigation, Bluetooth and wire‐ less charging. It’s an im‐ pressive list.

The test model was an Ulti‐ mate trim with mild hybrid power mated to a seven‐speed automatic gearbox. Priced at €41,596/£35,390, the Tucson carries off this higher price be‐ cause it not only looks quality, but feels it in the way it drives and the interior has an upmar‐ ket aura.

Thankfully in an age of digital

mania Hyundai have sensibly retained traditional dials in the driver display and separate controls for things such as the climate control, rather than burying them in the digital menu of the large 10‐inch touchscreen.

Seating is very comfortable with multiple adjustment, in‐ cluding on the premium model luxuries like heated rear seats, ventilated and heated front seats along with power adjust‐ ment and heated steering wheel. Driver and passengers will not complain about space as there is plenty of room for all along with their luggage.

On the road the Tucson has plenty of power from its 1.6‐ litre engine and is both smooth and refined, but it’s never go‐ ing to set your driving pulses alight. Then it isn’t meant to be a driver’s car, this is a family and work machine capable of everything from the school run to chauffeuring for a black tie dinner.

It’s a very big tick in the box for the Tucson!

Costly illegal reversing WHEN it comes to getting behind the wheel of a ve‐ hicle, it is essential to know in detail the Gener‐ al Traffic Regulations in Spain as there are ma‐ noeuvres as simple and common as reversing that in certain situations can cost us a large fine from the traffic police.

According to the DGT (Director General of Traf‐ fic), the improper use of reverse gear can render the driver with a €500 fine and the loss of six points off the driving li‐ cence ‐ it is considered a danger to both the driver and other road users.

The first and most im‐ portant thing is to know in what situations to use reverse gear ‐ it is not as simple as one may think.

Article 32 of the Law on Traffic and Road Safety is very clear in this regard: It is prohibited to move in reverse, except in cases where it is not possible to

REVERSING: Only legal in two very specific situations. go forward or change di‐ rection or direction of travel, and in comple‐ mentary manoeuvres of another one that de‐ mands them, and always with the minimum neces‐ sary route to carry it out.

Therefore, contrary to popular belief, it is only possible to reverse in two very specific situations.

First, when it is impossi‐ ble to move forward ie

you are blocked in. And, secondly, in those ma‐ noeuvres in which you have to reverse, such as when parking.

Reversing on a motor‐ way or dual carriageway.

So, next time you see someone reversing back from the A‐7 slip road, or back down the ‘calle’, just remember, it is ille‐ gal and they will get fined if caught!

32

SPORT Health Wise package

26 August - 1 September 2021

to read more visit www.euroweeklynews.com

A FIRST RESPONSE COURSE is be‐ ing held on Monday September 6 at the Finca Naundrup for Mala‐ ga WFC. The doctor will check players’ heart rates and stats be‐ fore commencing walking foot‐ ball, then again on completion of the game.

This is part of League Sponsor Hidromaster’s ‘Health Wise’ initia‐ tive whereby providing training for all involved in walking football in the event of someone suffering a heart attack, playing or watching walking football.

The training session will be fol‐ lowed by defibrillator and CPR training in the bar area of the Fin‐ ca. This is called Blended Training.

Players who are injured can still participate in this course which without the medical checks would normally cost €150 to the individ‐ ual.

Gray Salt has agreed a total price of €250 for his Malaga club with a special offer of €10 for Ref‐ erees.

These are excellent offers for Monday September 6 at 6.30pm.

The package is available to other clubs.

Calahonda mount a challenge They have probably more over 65s. In fact Calahonda can field a full team of over 70s. Manager Lesh Brzuzy considered long and hard and discussed with the play‐ ers before deciding to join the B League and it now remains to be seen whether they can field a team to challenge for the B League Title.

Calahonda aim to be up there challenging at the top of the new league and much will depend on where they finish this season as to whether they

will play in the Senior League next season.

They get off to a tough start with a visit to Aston Viñuela but are confident with an entourage of players, officials and supporters making the journey in a 50‐seat bus that they can take something from their first game. They played at Viñuela a few months ago in a friendly and while the 70s were well beaten, the regular team were unlucky not to take the draw and will be confident of coming away with points in the bag.

Little is known about Viñuela at the time of writing with new man‐ agement, who are sure to have re‐ cruited players during the close season. Calahonda wil be watch‐ ing closely this weekend when Malaga make the journey inland to play warm up.

They will receive support from Investtment Interest Manage‐ ment (IIM) who are an Interna‐ tional Wealth Management com‐ pany based in the Isle of Man. Formed over 25 years ago with

Doctor Marcus. Health and Safety Package. a client base stretching globally who benefit from planning in a wide variety of options. They are also part of a UK‐based group with over 2,500 clients.

IIM will support WFS Calahon‐ da in promoting the benefits of walking football and assisting with charity events.

Newcomers Torrox Tornadoes were just too late to enter this sea‐ son’s League Competitions, not being quite prepared and still waiting on confirmation of their venue at the San Roque Municipal Campo just off the A7 Autovia.

An incredible 43 turned up at the Community Centre in Torrox

Calahonda manager in the new Calahonda strip presented

by IIM (represented by Nigel Keable). keen to be playing walking foot‐ ball. Temporary manager Steve Lynton (ex Nerja manager) said he was amazed at the turnout and can’t wait to hold the first session.

Torrox would also like to start a Ladies team, so any football mind‐ ed ladies who would like a game should contact Steve Lynton at Torrox Walking Football Club Face‐ book Page.

The Hidromaster South of Spain Walking Football League will

get underway from August 30 with the following fixtures:‐ Atletico Benahavis v Walking Dead A. Malaga A v Nerja A. See next week’s Euro Weekly News for more dates and results.

Finally Benahavis (Tony Cifaldi contact) Tuesday Night/Saturday and Walking Dead (Darren Canty +44 7579 018635 Martin Tigue +34 622 390 857) Wednesday night are still looking for players.