Euro Weekly News - Costa Blanca South 20 - 26 January 2022 Issue 1907

THE BEST FINANCE NEWS ON PAGES 32 - 35 Issue No. 1907 20 - 26 January 2022

Elche helps ELCHE ‘Let’s fill the Crib’ cam‐ paign collected 350 kilos of food supplies and personal hy‐ giene items left at the city’s municipal Nativity Scene in the Hort del Xocolater gardens throughout December. This was donated to Caritas for dis‐ tribution amongst those cur‐ rently in a difficult situation.

COSTA BLANCA SOUTH • WWW.EUROWEEKLYNEWS.COM

OBJECTION TO PLANS

Photo credit: Orihuela city hall

Turn to page 2 » EMILIO BASCUÑANA: Orihuela will continue to oppose the Generalitat’s Vega Baja Plan.

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20 - 26 January 2022

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from Front page »

EMILIO BASCUÑANA, Ori‐ huela’s mayor, vowed that city hall would continue opposing the Vega Baja Territorial Plan (PAT).

The PAT is the regional gov‐ ernment’s roadmap for territo‐ rial and urban expansion

“meeting the needs and de‐ mands of the Vega Baja’s pop‐ ulation, bearing in mind the area’s environmental fragility.”

This, at least, is the Generali‐ tat’s view but Bascuñana an‐ nounced that Orihuela City Hall will present a new objec‐

tion to the plan, whose “con‐ tradictions and absence of pro‐ posals” can only impoverish the Vega Baja. When the Vega Baja PAT was first put on dis‐ play, Orihuela City Hall made 68 objections. Only three, cen‐ tring on the Derramador stream, the Palmeral palm for‐ est and protection for the Huerta de Orihuela agricultural area, were not rejected.

“They haven’t accepted 90 per cent of the objections we presented,” Bascuñana said.

“But we are going to continue insisting that they take into considieration the proposals of a municipality which covers one third of the Vega Baja’s area,” the mayor declared.

“When we talk about a Ter‐ ritorial Action Plan we want to see how we are going to struc‐ ture our land and develop hu‐ man activity,” Bascuñana ar‐ gued. “It is difficult to programme an area without knowing what hydraulic infras‐ tructure will be installed so our land no longer floods and we no longer miss opportunities for progress or investment.”

Clean machines ELCHE’S Refuse Collection department has begun us‐ ing 12 new gas‐powered lorries.

These first vehicles are still at the testing phase but a total of 30 ‐ all gas‐ powered ‐ will be incorpo‐ rated into the municipal fleet between now and March, substituting the old lorries that have been in use for 20 years. “These gas‐powered vehicles will

Photo credit: Elche city hall

Vega Baja Territorial Plan

NEW ARRIVALS: Hector Diez views the new gaspowered vehicles.

allow us to reduce carbon dioxide emissions,” said Hector Diez, the councillor responsible for Refuse Col‐ lection.

“They are also quieter, safer and they reduce by 44 seconds the time taken to empty each rubbish container,” Diez added.

Catches caught up TORREVIEJA fishing guild’s turnover and catch‐ es improved in 2021, following a complicated 2020.

Many of the crews from local boats were on the government’s ERTE furlough scheme dur‐ ing 2020 and sardine catches plummeted in comparison to other years, fishing guild sources told the Spanish media.

Last year was different, however, with a turnover of €3.8 billion and 1,857 tons of fish sold at the harbourside Lonja auctions, com‐ pared with 2020’s sales of €2.5 billion and

catches of 1,555 tons. Sardines were one rea‐ son for the improvement, the same guild sources said. In 2021, the Torrevieja boats caught 597 tons which fetched €1 billion at the Lonja. Sardines are a principal standby but so, too, are the anchovies which accounted for half of the local boats’ sales, with 906 tons landed last year that fetched €2.3 billion.

Anchovies are the most‐valued catch of all, reaching €2.8 a kilo at auction, compared with sardines which command a maximum of €1.9 a kilo.

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NIBS EXTRA Good figures ALICANTE Province’s 34 fatal traffic accidents in 2021 were down on 2020 when mobili‐ ty was reduced to a mini‐ mum for months during lockdown. Worst blackspots for deaths last year were roads near to Pilar de la Ho‐ radada, Crevillent, inland Vil‐ lena and Gata de Gorgos in the Marina Alta.

Danger money LAST year, Elche City Hall collected 2.4 tons of illegal‐ ly‐dumped fibrocement and uralite roofing, both of which contain contaminat‐ ing asbestos. Most was found in outlying rural ar‐ eas and had to be re‐ moved by specialist opera‐ tives wearing protective hazmat suits and breath‐ ing apparatus, revealed Refuse Collection council‐ lor Hector Diez.

Drink up THE Valencian Community recycled a record amount of more than 100,000 tons of glass in 2021, the Generali‐ tat’s Environment depart‐ ment revealed. More than 8 per cent than in 2020 and 2 per cent above 2019, this in‐ cluded glass deposited in green recycling igloos as well as rubbish collections.

Extra hours AN Elche court ordered Benejuzar to pay its Local Po‐ lice officers €11,000 owed in overtime worked in March and April 2020. The town hall refused to pay although, as the PP opposition party said, they worked tirelessly “putting their own lives, and those of their families at risk.”

Traffic pact FOLLOWING an agreement with Orihuela City Hall, the regional government has au‐ thorised the Local Police to attend to traffic and parking in the roads adjoining the Ve‐ ga Baja hospital. This permis‐ sion was needed as the roads do not come under the municipality’s control but that of the Generalitat.

20 - 26 January 2022

Age Concern Costa Calida FORTY-SEVEN swimmers braved jellyfish, donned fancy dress and took to the sea for Age Concern Costa Calida’s annual fundraiser in Mazarron.

All sponsorship monies should be in by January 31 and Age Concern will announce the total in midFebruary.

Upcoming Age Concern Costa Calida events include the Annual General Meeting in the Social Centre garden on January 25 at 1pm, followed by their Vintage Store sale on January 28 from 10am to 1pm.

The Menu del Dia lunch on January 26 at Piccolo’s sold out in two days, and Age Concern’s Gail advised members to keep their eyes peeled for the next.

February 14 sees the Valentine’s Dance in Puerto de Mazarron with further details to be announced later.

The Social Centre organises activities every week-

Photo credit: Age Concern Costa Calida FUNDRAISING SWIM: Age Concern member prepare to take the plunge.

day between 10am and 1pm, with a Men Only session on Fridays.

“There’s always some-

one available to chat or answer queries, so just drop in and say hi,” Gail said.

Age Concern Social Cen-

tre, 2B Avenida de los Covachos, Camposol Sector C, Murcia Enquiries (634 344 589); Lifeline (Mazarron and Puerto de Mazarrón 634 325 408); Camposol (634 312 516) For equipment loan call 634 306 927 between 10am and 4 pm, Monday to Friday Email: ageconcerncosta calida@gmail.com Facebook: Age Concern Costa Calida.

Parking paradise ORIHUELA no longer has Blue Zone ORA paid parking.

City hall’s contract with the company that managed the service has expired and as this has not yet been put out to tender once more, motorists are currently parking free of charge on all Orihuela streets.

The concessionary’s four‐year contract, which began in January 2016, included the option for two 12‐month extensions but

these have now been used up and city hall’s Infrastructures department has taken no steps to find a replacement.

Councillor Jose Aix, also spokesman for the Ciudadanos party, explained during a SER radio chat show that city hall had in‐ tended to renew the contract until the mu‐ nicipal auditor pointed out that this possi‐ bility had not been not included in the original conditions.

Help for pets in need Somewhere to meet DESPITE the challenges of the pandemic, Cruz Azul Murcia con‐ tinued to help pet‐owners who needed assistance throughout 2020 and 2021.

Cruz Azul Murcia is a registered charity which provides vet‐ erinary care for the sick and injured pets of people in need and promotes responsible pet ownership.

Charities have faced a very hard time over the past two years but Cruz Azul’s volunteers have risen to the challenge, Cruz Azul president Lyn Baines told the Euro Weekly News.

“Thanks to an understanding landlord, our generous support‐ ers and our trusted vets, no animal in need was turned away.

Thankfully, the Cruz Azul donation centre in San Javier (next to Yorkshire Linen) was able to resume usual opening hours and we got back on track, planning fundraising events for 2022.”

The first is a fun day on February 9, organised by Jilly Roberts, at Le Petit Bistrot in Calle Rio Nalon in Los Alcazares.

“Enjoy a quiz, raffle, bingo, auction and entertainment from Spangles Ladies’ Harmony Chorus as well as Jilly’s home‐made Irish stew!” Lyn said.

“This will be a popular event, so please pre‐book your table/food to avoid disappointment by calling now on 603 285 123,” she added.

“We are a small team and always welcome offers of help with fundraising, so please get in touch if you have any ideas for an event.” If you or someone you know needs help, or you would like to volunteer or donate, please call 693 017 616, email: info@cruzazulmurcia.com or visit the www.cruzazul murcia.com website.

ORIHUELA Costa is a step near‐ er to building a new civic centre in Calle Madreperla in La Zenia.

Orihuela City Hall has put out to tender the contract to draft plans for the €2.5 million multi‐ purpose building that will in‐ clude spaces for workshops, a gym with dressing rooms, an administration area and a func‐ tion room seating 400.

The 6,000‐square metre pro‐ ject occupying a 12,298‐square metre plot was the outcome of several meetings with different Orihuela Costa groups and as‐ sociations, explained Citizens’ Participation councillor, Almu‐ dena Baldo.

Here they discussed the fea‐ tures they wanted for the much‐needed and much‐re‐ quested centre, Baldo said.

“The site will have a 1,000‐ square metre parking area and, in order to host big events, all involved agreed that the centre should have an open‐air audi‐ torium for at least 2,000 people

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with an area of around 2,500 square metres and a covered stage,” the councillor revealed.

A 980‐square metre, one‐ storey building with a 400‐ square metre basement, will be at the heart of the complex, with the remaining area turned into gardens and pathways, Orihuela mayor Emilio Bascuña said. “We should congratulate ourselves because now we know what we want and we trust that before long this can become a reality which meets everyone’s expectations.”

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Torrevieja turns exotic A FA M I LY o f V e g a Baja agricultural growers are now cultivating exotic dragon fruit, also known as pitaya.

“In 2014 we re‐ alised that the ex‐ isting production model was outdat‐ ed,” said Rogelio Rios.

“There was com‐ petition from all countries and ev‐ eryone was produc‐ ing the same things.”

The Rios family, who live in Torre‐ vieja, looked for al‐ ternatives and came up with dragon fruit, usually found in Mexico, South‐ east Asia, India and throughout the t r o p i c a l a n d s u b‐ tropical world.

A type of cactus, it needs less water than the Rios’ citrus fruit trees, although pollination is more complicated, Roge‐ lio said.

Dragon fruit, which is distributed by the Mercalicante and Mercamurcia wholesalers and the Orihuela Lonja agri‐ cultural market, can fetch up to €8 a kilo at source, although prices have recently stabilised and cost the consumer be‐ tween €10 and €12 a kilo.

and finally...

COUNCILLOR WANTS A SOLUTION. Pilar de la Horadada’s Mil Palmeras and Pinar de Campoverde no longer have their own health centres.

Pilar’s Health councillor Nieves Moreno has complained in writing to the management of Torrevieja hospital ‐ which normal‐ ly provides medical during emergencies ‐ to provide cover for both centres without delay.

Moreno explained that she wrote “because nobody answers the telephone or even emails.”

The councillor commented that staff who were off sick, reor‐ ganising the appointments system and staff timetables were causing a significant deterioration in health care which was direct‐ ly affecting Pilar de la Horadada’s population.

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Commission-free banks TO avoid paying commissions to banks, the HelpMyCash comparison website has drawn up a list of Spanish banking entities that have commission‐free current accounts.

HelpMyCash states: “The ranking of the best accounts with‐ out commissions is led by BBVA, Openbank and Abanca, al‐ though the offer is very wide and other entities such as Imag‐ in, Santander, Liberbank or N26, among others, also offer free accounts without a payroll requirement.”

The BBVA Online Account has no commissions and the card, and the transfers are free. You just must be a new cus‐ tomer and set up your account online. Openbank Open Cur‐ rent Account also has no commissions and a free card and transfers. It must also be set up online. Also offering zero com‐ missions, free cards and transfer is the Clara de Abanca ac‐ count. This account must be contracted and operated online.

Sanchez hails Spain P E D R O S A N C H E Z , the President of Spain, paid a visit to the Rovi pharma‐ ceutical company’s facilities in Granada on January 15. During his tour of the fa‐ cility ‐ where the Moderna vaccine is manufactured ‐ Mr Sanchez praised Spain for being one of the leading coun‐ tries in the world in producing the vac‐ cine.

Accompanied by Carolina Darias, the Minister of Health, he highlighted his Ex‐ ecutive’s commitment to science and in‐ novation. This is evidenced by the 19 per cent budget increase for 2022 in this sec‐ tor, compared to 2021.

Pointing out that it is almost double the figure for 2020, the President re‐ ferred to Spain’s vaccination strategy as a “great collective success.” He also high‐ lighted the fact that Moderna has chosen Spain to consolidate its presence in Eu‐ rope, as one of the main producers of the Covid‐19 vaccine worldwide.

FACILITY TOUR: Sanchez paid a visit.

As reported by the government, the Moderna vaccine production line, in col‐ laboration with Rovi in Granada, once approved by the Spanish Agency for Medicines and Health Products (AEMPS), will be the first to produce a messenger RNA vaccine in Spain.

NEWS

Fish slow to bite ROUND FIVE of the Carp‐ R‐Us Winter‐Spring series was fished on the Eden Two section of the Rio Se‐ gura.

This stretch has around 14 pegs but unfortunately five or six are now unus‐ able due to the large amount of debris that has collected along its length, explained Carp‐R‐Us sec‐ retary Steve Fell.

“The day started, and remained, quite cool, and rain earlier in the week meant that, for a change, the water level was quite good,” Steve said. “How‐ ever, possibly due to the influx of cold water, the fish were slow to feed.”

Steve Fell won the match from Peg 2, taking 6.78 kilos of carp using method feeder. Second on Peg 1 was Dave Hutchin‐ son with 3.37 kilos caught on pole with Nick Bastock just behind with 3.02 kilos.

Terry Screen from Peg 7 came fourth with 1 kilo.

For more information, visit the www.carp‐r‐us. weebly.com website.

All together now!

TORREVIEJA’S Municipal Choir School, which closed during the last legislative term, has resumed activities.

The Agamed water supply company has allocated €14,192 to the choir and signed a collaboration agree‐ ment with the town hall’s Education department to promote choral singing and Torrevieja’s own Habaneras tradition amongst the young.

Auditions for children and young people aged between four and 25 will be held be‐ tween 10am and 1pm on January 29 at Torrevieja’s Palacio de la Musica.

There will no registration fee for the classes which will be held on Friday evenings and Saturday mornings and are due to begin in February.

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20 - 26 January 2022

Repsol and Uber energy deal agreed A JOINT statement released

by Repsol and Uber says that the companies have signed a strategic agreement that will see them work together on

electric mobility.

The agreement, which seeks to advance the use of electric vehicles, will see Repsol become the pre‐

Google’s UK investment THE tech giant Google has reaffirmed its commitment to the UK with an investment of £762 million to pur‐ chase the office building they currently rent. The building is next door to the site where they are build‐ ing their new offices in London.

Google, who currently employs 6,400 staff in the country, says the purchase will enable them to em‐ ploy an additional 10,000 people. The facility will cre‐ ate flexible workspaces that foster innovation, cre‐ ativity, and inclusivity according to the company.

The office will undergo a multi‐million‐pound refur‐ bishment, with attention given to hybrid working spaces, meeting rooms and outdoor covered areas for people to work in the fresh air.

Google has said that it expects around a fifth of its staff to work remotely because of changes to the world of work following the pandemic.

ferred energy supplier for Uber drivers using 100 per cent electric and plug‐in hy‐ brid vehicles.

Included in the agreement is the requirement on Repsol to provide all the electricity from renewable sources.

Currently Repsol has more than 2,000 recharging points in operation across Spain, with more than 350 public access points and over 100 fast‐charging points. The ma‐ jority are located at Repsol service stations.

In signing the agreement, the two companies have said they will work to accel‐ erate the shift of Uber drivers to electric vehicles, with Uber committing to have 50 per cent of the aver‐ age kilometres driven cov‐ ered by electric vehicles in the seven European capitals, including Madrid, by 2025.

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Teen flies solo round world Most Wanted campaign

A 19-YEAR-OLD teen has be‐ come the youngest woman to circumnavigate the globe solo beating the previous record set by 30‐ year‐old American Shaesta Waiz.

Zara Rutherford set out from Kortrijk, Belgium, 150 days ago. During her trip she

encountered almost every hurdle imaginable including squeezing between North Ko‐ rean airspace and dodging a massive cloud threatening to cut off passage for her ultra‐ light plane.

Crossing northern Califor‐ nia, she headed into the huge

wildfires blighting the area.

She had to climb to 10,000 feet to avoid the smoke.

Coronavirus also got in the way with her plans to fly over China to South Korea having to be changed after China re‐ fused permission citing Covid‐ 19 restrictions.

Zara started flying at the age of 14 and had about 130 hours of solo flights under the belt before her record at‐ tempt. She hopes her record will enthuse young women and girls worldwide with the spirit of aviation.

Currently only 5 per cent of commercial pilots and 15 per cent of computer scientists are women. Rutherford said: “The gender gap is huge.”

Hopes to enthuse others.

A NEW appeal has been launched to track down 12 of the UK’s most wanted fugi‐ tives believed to be hiding in Spain.

The offenders are wanted for crimes including murder, large‐scale drugs trafficking and supplying firearms and ammunition.

The NCA’s Most Wanted campaign is run in conjunc‐ tion with independent chari‐ ty CrimeStoppers, Spanish law enforcement, UK policing and comes on the back of the extremely successful Opera‐ tion Captura fugitives’ cam‐ paign, which resulted in 86 arrests.

Steve Rodhouse, the NCA’s Director General of Opera‐ tions was joined by the Secu‐ rity Minister Rafael Pérez Ruiz of Spain’s Interior Min‐ istry, British Ambassador to Spain Hugh Elliott and Mark Hallas, CEO of CrimeStop‐ pers, at the launch in Madrid.

Steve said: “Spain is not a safe haven.

“We have a brilliant rela‐ tionship with the country’s

CAMPAIGN: The 12 fugitives are believed to be hiding in Spain.

various law enforcement agencies and work together daily to protect the public.

“With 86 offenders arrest‐ ed in our last campaign, crim‐ inals know we will never give up and we’re never far be‐ hind them.

“Our Spanish partners were crucial to many of those arrests, and in 2021 ar‐ rested and returned more than 25 wanted UK fugitives.

“Fugitives usually continue offending while on the run and these men will be known in criminal circles wherever they are.

“The last thing the fugi‐ tives’ associates will want is the combined determination

and capabilities of the UK and Spanish law enforce‐ ment focusing on them.

“Many of these fugitives will be trying to blend into the large British communities who have made their homes in Spain, and if you are resi‐ dent, you may know one of them from your town or vil‐ lage.

“Loyalties change over time, and we urge anyone with information about these men to help us find them.”

All the men featured in the campaign are believed to have links to mainland Spain and the Canary Islands.

Visit our website for full details.

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Malware warning MILLIONS of people are running their computers on outdated software and running the risk of leaving their devices open to malicious mal‐ ware attacks that could

see them lose all their personal details to hack‐ ers. This comes from a German study by the se‐ curity company Eset, which was published on Saturday January 15.

NHS staff ruling UNVACCINATED NHS staff who are set to lose their jobs on April 1 will be sacked with no exit payment, an official document has shown. Frontline workers must be fully vaccinated with two doses against Covid‐19 by the April 1 deadline or they will lose their jobs. This means they will have to take their first shot by February 3.

Healthcare employers have said that after the initial deadline for the first jab, workers should be called into meetings to discuss their status. The document states that they should be made aware that the potential outcome could be dismissal. It also says that the meetings can be held in person or virtually.

There have been multiple protests regarding the mandatory jab for unvaccinated NHS workers. A Depart‐ ment of Health and Social Care spokesperson said work‐ ers in the sector are “responsible for looking after some of the most vulnerable people in society, many of whom are more likely to suffer serious health consequences if ex‐ posed to the virus.”

Most of the unsafe sys‐ tems are running on Win‐ dows 7. This piece of soft‐ ware, along with outdated versions of Windows Vista, Windows XP, and Windows 8, are not cov‐ ered by the current securi‐ ty features of Microsoft and leave ‘backdoors’ into people’s personal devices.

Windows version 8.1 also expires in a year.

“The use of outdated software is grossly negli‐ gent,” said Thorsten Ur‐ banski, security expert at Eset when speaking to Berliner Zeitung. For pri‐ vate users and especially companies, the use of outdated system soft‐ ware can be expensive in the event of damage.

“One vulnerability, for ex‐ ample in an operating system that is no longer supported, is enough for attackers to have a foot in the door and perma‐ nent access to the vic‐ tim’s computer.”

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Prince Harry bodyguard demand No security provided.

PRINCE HARRY has de‐ manded his bodyguards be returned when he is in the UK and has started legal ac‐ tion against Her Majesty’s government.

Harry’s lawyers have sent a ‘pre‐action protocol’ let‐

ter to the Home Office. The letter states that a judicial review will be sought if Prince Harry and his family are not given security when visiting the UK. If security is not returned to the Duke of Sussex, then a High Court

battle will ensue.

A source said: “Harry’s ar‐ gument in a nutshell is ‘You got the law wrong.’ He feels the decision to remove his security was wrong. Pre‐ac‐ tion protocol was sent by Harry’s lawyers to the Home Office a couple of months ago. This is essen‐ tially a precursor to a judi‐ cial review.”

They added: “When Harry came back last April for Prince Philip’s funeral, he was given security. But when he came back in the summer, he wasn’t.”

NEWS

Spotted in Mallorca FOLLOWING the suspension of filming for the Netflix movie The Mother, award‐winning British actor Joseph Fiennes has flown home to Mallorca to be with his family.

The filming (in Gran Canaria) was halted a few days ago due to an outbreak of Covid among members of the crew. Fiennes flew straight back to Mallorca to be with his family, where they have lived for the past few years, and where he is busy with the construction of his new home.

The home is an impressive structure located in a lux‐ urious development on the island, in which Fiennes and his wife María Dolores Diéguez are deeply in‐ volved.

Fiennes is regarded as the ‘go‐to actor for English cultural history,’ and is well‐known for his versatility and period pieces. His numerous accolades include a Screen Actors Guild Award and nomination for a British Academy Film Award.

New autonomo rates IN what will be welcome news for many, the Spanish government wants to re‐ form the social security payment system and bring in new rates for ‘au‐ tonomos’ (the self‐em‐ ployed). The current sys‐ tem has the same rate irrespective of income and has been criticised for be‐ ing unfair.

The proposal would see rates for those who earn be‐ tween €184 and €1,267 per month fall to a more mean‐ ingful and affordable amount. A source said: “A

real income contribution system has been proposed for self‐employed workers.

“We start from an unfair system where, for example, a self‐employed person with income of €400 pays the same as another with €6,000. This model corrects that inequality and is fairer.”

A ‘flexible system’ of 13 sections has been proposed, covering income ranging from less than €600 per month to more than €4,050, with the possibility of moving between brack‐ ets during the year.

The changes could ac‐ cording to the source, see the lowest paid saving up to €1,300 per year and those between €600 and €900 per month almost €600 a year.

The latter is known to cover a very large number of workers.

It is understood that the system would be phased in over a nine‐year period, with a re‐evaluation every three years. The change it is hoped will make contribu‐ tions fairer, but also make it easier for people to start up their self‐employment.

resolution • Eat more vegetables.

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NEWS

Swimmers set historic record A TEAM of six swimmers from Ireland have braved the Irish Sea to set a historic record, completing the North Chan‐ nel swim from Ireland to Scot‐ land, without wet suits, and in the middle of winter. The swim was undertaken to raise money for the Gavin Glynn Foundation which supports families fighting childhood cancer.

The epic journey took the Walrus Swim Team (Niamh McCarthy, Declan Bradshaw, Vincent Donegan, Ger Kennedy, Colm Morris and Dave Berry) just under 13 hours. The team completed the journey on hour‐long ro‐ tations.

The swim is considered one of the toughest of the seven ocean sea swims, more tough than the English Channel and the Cook Strait between North and South Islands in New Zealand. It is usually un‐ dertaken during the summer months.

To make sure swimmers were safe, the Irish Long Dis‐ tance Swimming Association placed strict medical condi‐

Swimming for charity.

tions on all swimmers whose core body temperatures dropped to dangerous levels.

Mr Berry said: “It was great, but it was tough. Core body temperatures dropped as low as 28ºC, but we had our rou‐ tine and full medical support.

That all worked with military precision.”

Hostage taker was British THE British Foreign Office has confirmed that the Texas synagogue hostage taker was British, after live stream recordings picked up his British accent.

The man had entered the Congregation Beth Israel in Colleyville, Texas, taking a rabbi and three others hostage.

The recordings from the synagogue’s live stream captured the suspect entering the facility and picked up his threats to the hostages.

The hostage situation ended around 9pm USA time on Sunday January 16 after a 10‐hour standoff, with the FBI freeing the hostages and shooting the suspect who was named as 44‐year‐old British citi‐ zen Malik Faisal Akram.

STATS

600

There are over 600 muscles in the body.

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NEWS

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW

OUTLANDER STAR, SCOTT KYLE

WHEN internationally known actor Scott Kyle’s now‐wife first suggested he try drama school as a 21‐year‐old super‐ market worker, he didn’t know his career would take in working with director Ken Loach, and a role in one of the world’s most successful TV shows, Outlander.

From humble beginnings in a single parent family in Glas‐ gow, Kyle, 38, told the Euro Weekly News it was watching the work ethic of his mother ‐ who had four jobs ‐ that gave him the drive to succeed in one of the world’s most com‐ petitive industries.

Within his first year of dra‐ ma school, while still working night shifts to continue to sup‐ port his mother ‐ and after learning fast that a regular in‐ come was far from a given in the acting world ‐ Kyle had set up his own theatre company, NLP, which still tours today.

He said: “I went to college as a mature student and saw how difficult it was to get jobs, even for really talented ac‐ tors.

“I wanted to know how I could make a career out of acting and I found out what a theatre company was and set one up as a first‐year stu‐

dent.” Now, alongside his ca‐ reer working with some of the world’s biggest names, Kyle’s passion is to help others in the way others have helped him throughout his life.

His company NLP, which runs a children’s theatre workshops programme, is gearing up for its tour of North America later this year, while Scott regularly offers acting classes and workshops to vulnerable children across the world.

He is also working with a journalist on his first book ti‐ tled ‘It’s Not Where you Start’.

Taking in his childhood and

Kyle talks acting, community and his new book.

some of his biggest roles, the book explores how his career began and includes interviews with his mother, a former neighbour who used to look after him, and the father who

left the family when Kyle was three.

Speaking to EWN about his career, Kyle explained that his time playing Ross the smith in the interna‐ tionally acclaimed Outlander helped him to publicise some of the works close to his heart.

He said: “Growing up, I did‐ n’t have a dad but there was a lot of people in the communi‐ ty who helped out.

“My mum used to work multiple jobs but there were lots of kind people who used to look after me and a local company even sponsored our football kit. I now sponsor that team.”

He explained this commu‐ nity support is what inspired him to help others, adding, “I think you should try to be the hero that you would like to turn up at your door.”

Kyle went on: “Outlander changed everything, it opened lots of opportunities.

I’m now trying to pass that on to give opportu‐ nities to others.”

As part of his work in the community, Kyle runs an an‐ nual Highlander Fling event which raises funds to support NLP and his children’s theatre work. This year, the Fling has events planned in several countries, including in Florida in April, Canada in June, and Glasgow in September.

Kyle told the EWN this five‐ hour showcase of Scottish tal‐ ent, with gallic singers and dancing, is “essentially a par‐ ty,” and features acting work‐ shops for both children and adults.

To get involved with the Highlander Fling, or for more about Scott Kyle’s career, visit https://www.scottkyle.co.uk/ shows‐tours.

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NEWS

Sinead O’Connor hospitalised THE tragic death of her son has seen Sinead O’Connor hospitalised, as the star “blames only herself” for the teen taking his life. The Noth‐ ing Compares 2U singer has been sharing with fans on so‐ cial media the struggles she has had in the aftermath of

Shane’s death. She has told them what a special and in‐ comparable bond they had together.

Sinead, 56, posted on Twit‐ ter on January 13 that she felt “Shane’s death was no one’s fault but my own” and re‐ vealed to her followers she Struggling after son’s death.

Brexit red tape mayhem HGV drivers are waiting for up to two days to get through customs checks in Calais due to Brexit red tape. The delays are affecting deliveries.

Experts are blaming government systems after new rules came into force this month. Imports from the EU have to be processed by HMRC; however, lorry drivers are reporting problems getting reference codes accepted.

Challenges have also been caused by new customs decla‐ rations, requiring rules‐of‐origin documents on goods im‐ ported from the European Union to be completed.

One customs consultancy firm director said that a client with 20 lorries full of food products for the UK was stuck for almost two days last week.

Drivers have taken to Twitter to air their anger, with one driver tweeting: that he had been forced to wait for over eight hours “for a f*** bar code,” describing the situation at the port as “mental.”

was in hospital after consider‐ ing also ending her life.

Her tweet last night read: “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that. I am with cops now on way to hospital. I’m sorry I up‐ set everyone. I am lost without my kid and I hate myself. Hos‐ pital will help me a while. But I’m going to find Shane. This is just a delay.”

Shane was found dead on January 7 after going missing from hospital. Sinead O’Connor had attacked the mental health authorities who had been in charge of looking after her son, before apologising and taking back her comments.

resolution • Go for a health checkup with your doctor.

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NEWS

Fugitive caught after Covid hits A US fugitive who faked his own death to escape sexual assault charges has been found and arrested at a Scottish hospital where he was being treated for Covid‐ 19.

Nicholas Rossi, who also goes by the aliases of

Nicholas Alahverdian and Nicholas Alahverdian Rossi, is wanted in connection with an alleged sex assault in Utah in 2008 and an at‐ tack in Ohio in 2018, the Utah County Attorney’s Of‐ fice said.

The 34‐year‐old man was Rossi faked own death.

Outdoor masks suspended in Paris MANDATORY masks outdoors were suspended by the Paris administrative court on Thursday January 13 after a similar decision was passed through the courts of Versaille the day before. The need to wear protec‐ tive face coverings while in the open air had been in place since December 31.

The decision came after the ruling in the Adminis‐ trative Court of Versaille agreed with the case brought forward declaring the measure to be “exces‐ sive, disproportionate and an inappropriate interfer‐ ence on individual freedom.” The case in the region close to Paris was the first of its kind brought forward on French soil.

The decision concerning this prefecture order, ini‐ tially instigated to deal with the emergence of the Omicron variant, was published on January 14. When asked for comment on the ruling, the police head‐ quarters reserved its right to comment.

caught while using another alias, Arthur Knight, at a Glas‐ gow hospital and is being watched by local police, offi‐ cials in Utah have explained.

The severity of Rossi’s illness meant he had to be intubat‐ ed while under the care of Queen Elizabeth University hospital.

Utah County Attorney David O Leavitt admitted that if the UD fugitive had not contracted coronavirus and required medical care, he would probably still be liv‐ ing “off the grid.”

Rossi has been charged with one count of alleged rape, in the attack on a 21‐ year‐old woman on Septem‐ ber 13, 2008, according to a prosecution statement.

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NEWS

Prince stripped of honours BUCKINGHAM PALACE is‐ sued the bombshell an‐ nouncement on January 13, that the Queen has stripped Prince Andrew of all his mili‐ tary honours. This action comes after Andrew was told he will now face a court hearing over the sexual as‐ sault charges brought against him by Virginia Guiffre.

All his royal patronages, and military titles, have forth‐ with been returned to the Queen. He has been in‐ formed that he can no longer be referred to in any capacity as HRH and must now face

PRINCE ANDREW: Will be treated as a private citizen.

the lawsuit in New York as a private citizen.

This action by the Queen must be seen as the royal family trying to distance itself from the humiliating media attention that the court case

is bound to bring upon them.

Andrew, who as a member of the armed forces, served as a helicopter pilot, an instruc‐ tor, and as the captain of a warship, in the Falklands War, is ninth in line to the British throne. A statement from the Palace read, “With the Queen’s approval and agree‐ ment, the Duke of York’s mili‐ tary affiliations and Royal pa‐ tronages have been returned to the Queen. The Duke of York will continue not to un‐ dertake any public duties and is defending this case as a pri‐ vate citizen.”

Safe to return home

THE Home Office has told two more asylum seekers from some of the world’s most danger‐ ous conflict areas that it is safe to return home, contradicting their own advice.

The refugees are a 36‐year‐old from Yemen and a 21‐year‐old from Afghanistan who have both had their asylum claims rejected by gov‐ ernment officials. The new cases follow the rev‐ elation that a 25‐year‐old man from Syria was also told it was safe to go home. According to the government’s own guidance, there are

huge dangers involved in returning refugees to countries such as Syria, Afghanistan and Yemen. The Syrian man fled to avoid forced conscription into Bashar al‐Assad’s army. He said if he is returned, they would seek him out as a draft evader and kill him. The Home Office said: “It is not accepted that you will face a risk of persecution or real risk of serious harm.”

However, they later retracted their decision.

They told the man from Yemen they “do not accept that there are problems in Yemen.”

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NEWS

Now that’s fast food!

A P O P U L A R Mexican restaurant has taken fast food to a whole new level, serving dish‐ es to the table in a

record 13.5 seconds.

Ka r n e G a r i b a l d i i s a n award‐winning group based in Guadalajara, Mexico.

Treasurehunting badger IN what is being called an exceptional discovery more than 200 Roman‐era coins were discovered in Spain thanks to a treasure‐hunting badger.

The badger is thought to have been foraging for food when it unearthed the coins and dis‐ carded them in front of its den. In January 2021, Spain was hit hard by storm Filomena.

It is believed that the storm and the cold weather made the badger dig deep, which led to the discovery.

The Roman coins were discovered in La Cuesta cave in Grado, Asturias. Scientists from Madrid’s Autonomous University have revealed their findings in the Journal of Prehistory and Archaeology. The find is exceptional as the coins are dated from between the third and fifth cen‐ turies AD and were originally made in Con‐ stantinople

The restaurant chain has held onto the Guin‐ ness World Record since 1996 despite competi‐ tors’ attempts to beat it.

The restaurants serve tra‐ ditional Mexican dishes that take hours to cook.

All the dishes are pre‐ pared in time for when diners arrive and then it is simply a matter of taking their order and getting it to the table as fast as possible.

Ka r n e Garibaldi’s Daniel Flores said: “It began as a game be‐ tween the waiters to see who could bring the food to each table the fastest. That competi‐ tion led to us attempt‐ ing the Guinness Record.”

Not everyone is served in such a record time, but most people are served within around one minute of their orders being tak‐ en.

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NEWS

Scottish help for EU citizens THE Scottish government has relaunched the Stay in Scotland campaign which aims to help EU citizens liv‐ ing in Scotland easily prove their immigration status on‐ line.

The Scottish government

are continuing to push the government in the UK to provide EU citizens with physical proof of immigra‐ tion status.

According to the Scottish government it is “concerned that many people are strug‐

Jet2 changes JET2.COM and Jet2holidays have launched a series of operational changes in another step to being carbon neutral. The company is cutting its carbon footprint and aims to beat the net zero target of 2050 set by the gov‐ ernment.

Jet2 chief executive Steve Heapy explained: “The launch of our carbon offsetting scheme marks the first major step in our journey to net zero. It is our responsi‐ bility to pay for every tonne of carbon we emit and to‐ day’s announcement makes this a reality, meaning that our customers can be assured that Jet2.com and Jet2holidays have their carbon covered.”

He went on to add: “This, however, is just one mile‐ stone in our journey to reach our sustainability targets.

The year 2022 also marks the realisation of our carbon neutral ground operations, and we are also powering our offices with 100 per cent renewable energy.”

As part of the changes, the company will be purchas‐ ing around 75 new A321 NEO aircraft. This will help re‐ duce the emissions produced for each passenger that travels with the company.

gling to use this system to prove their immigration sta‐ tus, putting them at risk of losing work, accommoda‐ tion and access to benefits.”

Europe Minister Jenny Gilruth said: “We value the contribution EU citizens make to our country and we are concerned that many people are experiencing dif‐ ficulties with the UK govern‐ ment’s ‘view and prove’ ser‐ vice. Vulnerable citizens are finding it challenging to prove their status to service providers and employers.”

“We’ve now updated our resources to help EU citizens navigate the UK govern‐ ment’s digital‐only system and ensure they have ac‐ cess to work, accommoda‐ tion and benefits.”

Helping EU citizens.

NEWS

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Pig heart transplant A M A N in the US has become the first person in the world to get a heart transplant from a genetically modified pig.

David Bennett, 57, is said to be recovering well after the experi‐ mental seven‐hour pro‐ cedure in Baltimore.

The transplant was considered the last hope of saving his life; however, it is not yet clear what his chances of survival are long‐ term.

“It was either die or do this transplant,” Mr Bennett explained the day before the surgery.

I know it’s a shot in the dark, but it’s my last choice,” he said.

The US medical regu‐ lator granted a special dispensation to doctors at the University of Maryland Medical Cen‐ tre to carry out the transplant, on the basis

that Mr Bennett would have died otherwise.

He was not deemed

eligible for a human transplant due to poor health.

Rutland sea dragon DURING landscaping work being undertaken at the Rutland Nature Reserve near Leicester, workers have found a huge fossilised ‘sea dragon’. The worker who first saw the fossil said: “I saw something unusual poking out of the mud.”

Joe Davis said: “I rang up the county council and I said I think I’ve found a dinosaur.” It turned out it wasn’t a di‐ nosaur, but the fossilised remains of a 10‐metre long sea predator called an ichthyosaur. The fossil is the largest of its type ever discovered in the UK. “I looked down at what seemed like stones or ridges in the mud and I said this looks a bit organic, a bit different,” Mr Davis said. “Then we saw something that looked almost like a jawbone.”

A team of palaeontologists were sent to investigate after the Rutland County Council told Davis: “We don’t have a di‐ nosaur department at present, so we’re going to have to get someone to call you back.”

They concluded it was an ichthyosaur, warm‐blooded, air‐ breathing sea predators not unlike dolphins, that could grow up to 25 metres long. They lived between 250 million and 90 million years ago.

STATS

400

An office desk has 400 times more bacteria than a toilet.

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s ’ e n i t n e l a V A spectacular from the Benidorm Palace

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FEATURE

LOVE is in the air at the Benidorm Palace with the world-famous venue gearing up for a spectacular weekend of entertainment this Valentine’s.

ELO AGAIN: The hits keep on coming.

The highest quality performers.

HOSTING both their new show Terra and the world’s best ELO tribute band, ELO Again, on the same weekend, Benidorm Palace is offering its guests a romantic weekend of electrifying entertainment and world‐class food.

Offering all the glitz, glamour and enter‐ tainment Benidorm Palace is famous for, their latest show Terra, on Saturday, Febru‐ ary 12, is an amazing event for all ages.

A new production uniting artists from all over the world together on one stage, Terra pays tribute to planet Earth and Mother Na‐ ture.

Choreographed by David Moore under the direction of Joanna Climent, Terra takes the spectator on a journey to some of the most emblematic places across five continents.

A dinner show with live music, visual at‐ tractions, comedy, and magic, Terra is the perfect night to mark Valentine’s.

Meanwhile, band ELO Again, who are per‐ forming on Sunday, February 13, will be rock‐ ing the house with classic hits from one of the world’s best‐loved bands.

Back with their stunning ‘Re‐Discovery Tour,’ ELO Again are celebrating the truly uni‐ versal music of Jeff Lynne and the Electric Light Orchestra.

Giving you a dramatic taste of what a leg‐ endary ELO concert would have been like back in their heyday, the whole experience is professionally re‐enacted with a great sound reproduction, light show and visual effects.

As the UK’s number one tribute show, ELO Again provides the spectacular live effect of

Spectacular costumes, great music.

ELO’s famous orchestrations, soaring strings and vocals. They certainly know how to en‐ tertain too, as the hits just keep on coming, while their version of Mr Blue Sky is stunning.

A night at the Benidorm Palace not only of‐ fers the highest quality performers, spectacu‐ lar costumery and great music, it also serves up beautiful food.

On the menu for Terra is marinated chick‐ en salad with bacon, crunchy croutons and Gran Palace sauce, pumpkin cream soup, Iberian pork steak with five pepper sauce, potato gratin and sautéed vegetables, as well as the Chef’s special dessert and wine.

Or for Menu Gran Palace Plus ticket hold‐ ers, a main course of grilled fillet steak with port sauce, potato gratin and sautéed veg‐ etables is on the menu Meanwhile, for ELO Again a meal of chick‐ en or fish and chips is available.

The Euro Weekly News caught up with ELO

Enjoy the perfect night’s entertainment.

Again’s lead singer Colin Smith, who per‐ forms as the legendary band’s frontman Jeff Lynne, ahead of the show.

He told the EWN: “I love Spain and I’ve been there many times.

“We’re excited to be coming over and looking forward to a big crowd and getting ready to rock and roll.”

Colin added: “We normally do a lot of UK theatres and outdoor festivals and do about 70 shows a year. It’s a great team along with our sound and lighting technicians and we have fun performing together.”

Speaking about coming to Spain, he said: “We’ve performed across Europe in Ger‐ many and Poland and I’d heard about the Benidorm Palace from other great acts who had performed there before, who said what an amazing place it is.”

He added: “People said it’s an exciting place to play and the people are fantastic and

always have a good time.”

Explaining more about the band, he said: “We’re in our 10th year now and have trav‐ elled everywhere.

“It’s a seven‐piece line‐up with drums, bass guitar, two keyboards and a cellist.

“We put on a big production with lighting and screens. It’s an exciting and energetic show.”

Colin added: “We have a good range of players in ELO Again and we always put out our A Team.

“Everybody comes to hear Mr Blue Sky, but people love all their hits. A lot of people get up and dance because it’s a great rock and roll show.”

Colin added: “We’re really looking forward to coming out and performing to an amazing audience and a great venue and having a great night.”

ELO Again are performing on Sunday, February 13 at 8.30pm.

Tickets are available from the Benidorm Palace Box Office for €30 with an option available for chicken or fish and chips for €8.

Terra takes place on Saturday, February 12 at 8pm. Tickets are €34 for the show, €54 for the show and dinner, and €64 for the show and the menu Gran Palace Plus.

Benidorm Palace is also offering a special Valentine’s promotion of tickets to both Terra and ELO Again for just €55 for show-only tickets, while meals are available with a ticket upgrade.

For more information, visit www.benidormpalace.com or contact 965 851 660.

NEWS

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20 - 26 January 2022

Armed conflict risk FOLLOWING talks with Russian officials, the secretary‐general of Nato has warned there is a “real risk” of new armed conflict in Eu‐ rope over the amass‐ ing of Russian troops on the Ukrainian bor‐ der. Jens Stoltenberg was speaking after the meeting in Brussels between the alliance

and representatives of Russia, as fears grow that the latter could be preparing to invade Ukraine. Over the last few months, Russia has moved around 100,000 troops near the border with the former Soviet republic, although it denies any plans to cross over in‐ to the country.

3rd jab for over 18s S P A I N’S Ministry of Health has agreed to ad‐ minister the third dose of the Covid vaccine to everyone over 18 years of age.

The announcement was made by the Ministry of Health on Thursday January 13. The vaccines are already authorised for those over 40.

According to regional sources, the general di‐ rectors of Public Health of the Ministry and the Communities have agreed to open this new age group, meaning that all adults can now receive the booster dose.

The vaccines will be Pfizer or Moderna ‐ re‐ gardless of the one received in primary vaccina‐ tion.

Moscow has issued a set of demands it wants to be met be‐ fore it will move back from the country lines, however. These in‐ clude a ban on Ukraine joining the alliance, a ban on further expan‐ s i o n o f N AT O , a n d a n end to the alliance’s activity in the central and eastern European countries that joined it after 1997, reported Sky News.

The demands have previously been called ridiculous and were not welcomed by NA‐ TO after four hours of talks by the NATO‐Rus‐ sia Council on January 12.

Mr Stoltenberg said there is a “real risk for a new armed conflict in Europe” but that the alliance “will do what we can to pre‐ vent any such sce‐ nario.”

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NEWS

Two fake nurses jailed A COUPLE of former paramedics who posed as nurses to steal morphine and painkillers from terminally ill patients have been jailed for five years.

Ruth Lambert and Jessica Silvester from Margate in the UK, who were engaged, pretended to be nurses, and preyed on terminally ill patients across Kent during lockdown to gain access to their homes and steal their medication.

Lambert, 33, and Silvester, 29, were able to access patient records on the NHS com‐

puter systems because of their jobs as paramedics with the Southeast Coast Am‐ bulance Service.

Investigations found that they had car‐ ried out 29 burglaries, with Silvester find‐ ing the possible targets on the NHS database and Lambert carrying out the raids. The couple pleaded guilty to conspir‐ ing to burgle and commit theft ‐ having al‐ so stolen a £14,000 ultrasound machine from the NHS. They were each sentenced to five years in prison.

Record-high fuel prices AS record‐high fuel prices con‐ tinue to rise and the cost of liv‐ ing worsens, the boss of the UK’s biggest energy supplier has said the issue could last for up to two years. Chris O’Shea, chief executive of British Gas owner Centrica, said “the mar‐ ket suggests” high gas prices will continue “for the next 18 months to two years.”

Mr O’Shea has pointed to‐ wards the green policies of moving away from coal and oil as one of the reasons for

High prices will continue.

the hike. “As we move to‐ wards net zero, gas is a big transition fuel,” Mr O’Shea

said. “As you turn off coal‐fired power stations in other coun‐ tries, there isn’t an abundance of gas that you can just turn on quickly.”

The record‐high fuel prices come amid an energy crisis that has seen many smaller suppliers go bust, as the price for wholesale gas rises steeply.

The rises have been blamed on many reasons, including a reduction of supplies from Russia and high demand for liquified natural gas from Asia.

NEWS

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Firearms seized A TOTAL of 1,534 firearms have been seized in an inter‐ national law enforcement op‐ eration targeting the illegal trade of converted alarm and signal weapons.

These blank firing pistols have become a weapon of choice for criminals as they can easily be converted to dis‐ charge live ammunition. A weapon like one of the firearms by Europol is believed

to have been used to kill the Dutch crime reporter shot in Amsterdam in July of last year.

This operation, known as Conversus, was led by the Ro‐ manian National Police (Poliția Română) in the framework of the European Multidisciplinary Platform Against Criminal Threats (EMPACT). It focused around an action week coordi‐ nated by Europol between De‐ cember 13 to 17, 2021 and in‐

volved law enforcement from 24 countries, alongside Euro‐ just and the European Com‐ mission.

During the operation, there were more than 260 house searches conducted with 1,534 firearms seized by Eu‐ ropol. More than 17,000 pieces of ammunition and 6,500kg of pyrotechnics were also recovered during the work.

Old red boxes adapted OLD telephone boxes in the UK are being giv‐ en a new lease of life and being transformed by telecommunications firm BT into life‐sav‐ ing services for just £1.

The BT Adopt a Kiosk website states the scheme “has been successful in transforming unused payphone kiosks and preserves the heritage of the red kiosk, particularly in rural locations. We allow red kiosks to be adopt‐ ed, subject to certain criteria such as low use and those not required for our own future plans.”

Councillor Dickon Fetherstonhaugh said of a transformed phone box located in

Abergele, North Wales: “The box had been disused for many years and now it is a life‐ saving device for the village, which is brilliant.

“Thankfully it has never been used but should we ever need to it could be vitally im‐ portant.” The Adopt a Kiosk scheme is open to the following bodies: Recognised local authority (eg District/Bor‐ ough Council) Parish/Community/Town Council or equivalent Registered charity Private landowner (anyone who has one of the telephone boxes on their land)

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NEWS

New species found in Scotland A NEW species has been dis‐ covered by Spanish scientists in Scottish waters. The scien‐ tists have been collaborating with the Scottish govern‐

ment. Together they have dis‐ covered a new species of deep‐water soft coral in the seas to the west of Scotland.

According to the experts, the

Isolation period now cut THE health secretary, Sajid Javid, announced on Thursday January 13 that the self‐isolation period for fully vaccinated people in England who have Covid will be reduced from seven days to five.

Citing data from the UK Health Security Agency, he said: “Two‐thirds of positive cases are no longer infectious by the end of day five.”

Currently, fully vaccinated people who test posi‐ tive for Covid can end their isolation period if they test negative on a lateral flow test on days six and seven. The test must be taken 24 hours apart. If they still test positive, they must stay in isolation for 10 days.

This change was made just before Christmas, however, there have been calls for the government to cut the isolation period further because of con‐ tinuing pressure on businesses and the NHS amid staff shortages due to the spread of the Omicron variant.

discovery shows that there is still plenty to learn about the oceans.

According to the govern‐ ment the: “Specimens were recovered from the continen‐ tal slopes and plains of the Rockall Trough at depths of up to 2,000 metres over a pe‐ riod of almost a decade up to 2019.”

Scientists including the renowned Dr Pablo Lopez‐ Gonzalez from the University of Sevilla have been analysing the samples which led to the discovery. The new species has been called Pseudumbel‐ lula scotiae.

Environment and Land Re‐ form Minister Mairi McAllan commented: "This is an im‐ portant and exciting discovery made by combining tradition‐ al and modern scientific tech‐ niques and I would like to congratulate the teams in‐ volved.

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EUROPEAN PRESS

EUROPEAN PRESS DENMARK

50th Anniversary

Vegan beef

THREE coins were released on January 13 to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of Queen Margrethe’s accession to the throne, one is to enter circulation and the other two being collector’s pieces but the public celebrations have been postponed until September due to the pandemic.

ALTHOUGH full details of the reason have not been revealed, the co-founder of the Vegan political party Veganpartiet, (which will contest the next general election) Henrik Vindfeldt has been expelled for abusive behaviour which was not apparently of a sexual nature.

THE NETHERLANDS Gold Carriage

Signal App

CONSIDERED by some to be a racist salute to Holland’s colonial past, King WillemAlexander has said that he will not use the Gold Carriage until the country is ready explaining that it will remain in the Amsterdam Museum until discrimination is a thing of the past.

HAVING seen messages from the past reappear to embarrass politicians and celebrities, BNR radio reports that more and more Dutch politicians as well as Council officials are using messaging App Signal, which automatically deletes messages after a period set by the user.

BELGIUM Skippy hops it

Ghost Town

IMAGINATIVELY named wallaby Skippy who made a hop for freedom from a children’s zoo in Antwerp Province known as Noah’s Ark was on the run for around 36 hours before being spotted near to his home which he was clearly missing and gave himself up.

THE centre of Brussels is like a ghost town as office staff are required to work from home four days a week and few tourists are arriving so many normally busy bars, hotels and restaurants are empty which means that they are closing their doors.

GERMANY Supporting diversity

Standing alone

FOR the first time in the country's history, Germany has appointed a commissioner for the acceptance of sexual and gender diversity.

Green Party lawmaker Sven Lehmann will oversee a LGBTQ+ national action plan and says that it is his duty to fight ‘queerphobia’.

A FARMER makes last ditch stand against forcible eviction from home that has been his families for the past four generations as RWE power company buys out everyone in village of Lützerath to create open cast coal mine and he has now attracted support from ‘tree huggers’.

FRANCE Seaweed attack

Baguette wars

SOME of the 6,000 inhabitants of little-known French possession Saint-Pierre-and-Miquelon, an island off the coast of Canada’s Newfoundland, were so incensed by the recent introduction of the French covid passport that they pelted their French MP Stephane Claireaux with seaweed and ripped off his mask.

FRENCH supermarket Leclerc is offering to sell their baguettes at the low price of 29c undercutting all other supermarkets but independent bakers are up in arms saying that the daily tradition of buying your baguette from your local boulangerie is under threat..

NORWAY Aiming high

Controversial plan

HAVING decided that he’s too young to retire, former Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg who is due to step down as Secretary General of NATO has set his cap on taking over as Governor of the country’s Central Bank but opponents say he is too political.

ENVIRONMENTALISTS will be unhappy that Parliament is considering repealing some regulations concerning the use of protected rivers and waterfalls in order to expand the amount of hydro-electricity available in order to meet rising demand and to keep ever increasing consumer cost down.

EUROPEAN PRESS

www.euroweeklynews.com

EUROPEAN PRESS FINLAND

Lightning strikes

Nasal spray

ACCORDING to research undertaken by scientists at Finnish environmental company Vasala, global warming could be responsible for the fact that there were 7,278 lighting strikes in the North Pole during 2021 which was nearly double the previous nine years combined.

IN an attempt to provide additional protection against coronavirus, a team at the University of Helsinki is in the early stages of testing a nasal spray on mice exposed to the virus. Mice who received the spray were protected for up to eight hours.

IRELAND Birth right

Truffle harvest

IRISH law allowed those who were adopted to apply to the authorities for details of their birth parents, but the parents had a right of veto. Now, the Irish Government has changed the law meaning that anyone aged over 16 has the automatic right to see their birth certificate.

FIVE Irish farmers have been taking part in an experiment to grow truffles (one of the world’s most expensive foods) for the past 10 years, having planted oak trees with truffles growing on the root system and this year the first truffles have been harvested.

ITALY Funeral shock

Referendum decision

PRIESTS who officiated at the funeral of a member of the neo-fascist Forza Nuova group were shocked to later discover images of the coffin being draped with a Nazi swastika flag and an honour guard giving the right arm salute once they had left the church.

ON February 15, Italy's constitutional court is set to rule whether eight proposed referendums should be allowed. Six are concerned with matters of justice reform whilst the other two are more contentious with one focusing on legalising cannabis and the other euthanasia.

PORTUGAL Covid fines

IKEA sick pay

THE Portuguese Government has announced that between December 1 and January 10 more than 2,200 passengers were fined, for trying to enter Portugal through air borders without submitting a negative Covid test or recovery certificate as were 41 airlines for allowing them to travel.

ALTHOUGH IKEA in the UK has announced that workers who are unvaccinated and have to take time off to self-isolate will receive only much reduced statutory sick pay, this is not the case in Portugal as there is no legal precedence for this to occur.

RUSSIA Floating research

Frostbitten tiger

AS the amount of ice in the Arctic continues to decline, the Russian Government has decided that it can no longer introduce new research stations onto ice floes so has created a new North Pole floating research platform which should start a two-year expedition in 2023.

THERE are still an estimated 600 wild tigers in Russia and fishermen who rescued an emaciated female tiger cub aged around five months which was suffering from severe frostbite and injuries in the Primorye region alerted the Amur Tiger Centre where it is now recovering.

SWEDEN Golden number

Illegal employee

A NEW promotion by McDonald’s in Sweden started with hints about a gold number and then ratcheted things up by inviting customers to enter the McDonald’s jingle on the keypad of their phones to win a golden card loaded with money to be used at their restaurants.

FOLLOWING an alarm sounding in the house of Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson, police attended and discovered that there was a Nicaraguan cleaner working there who should have been deported in 2020. Although employed by a cleaning company, this is proving embarrassing for Ms Andersson.

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EWN 31

FINANCE BUSINESS EXTRA Aerospace Madrid AIRBUS CEO Guillaume Faury has told a Spanish newspaper that the company is committed to strengthening its Madrid factory’s strategic contribution to priority European defence programmes and European Next Generation funds will support the entire Spanish aerospace sector as it increases relationships with the European Space Agency.

Young business LONDON is more popular with young entrepreneurs than anywhere else in the world according to a recently published Forbes list which records that there are more new businesses created by young people than even New York, and the UK as a whole came second in the list.

Netflix Spain MANY were surprised when Netflix signed a distribution deal with Movistar (which is owned by telecom giant Telefonica) in 2018, but so successful has the arrangement been that a new agreement has been signed extending the relationship for a further five years.

Huge sale THE Arora brothers who helped to make variety store B&M a hugely successful brand in the UK (with some 635 outlets which employ 32,000 people) have taken advantage of a boom in its share price and sold some 4 per cent of their shareholding for £234 million.

Meta sued A BRITISH lawyer, Dr Liza Lovdahl Gormsen, has tweeted she is suing Meta (parent company of Facebook) in a class action valued at £2.3 billion claiming it wrongly abused its market dominance to impose unfair terms and conditions on users, gaining valuable personal information. One person tweeted in support “privacy is a right. If you don’t pay for a service then YOU are the product and property being sold”. The action will argue that consumer rights were abused by the ‘take it or leave’ rules to join Facebook.

32

www.euroweeklynews.com • 20 - 26 January 2021

is the estimated amount that North Korean hackers stole STAT OF from cryptocurrency platforms in 2021 according to WEEK €300 million Blockchain analysis company Chainalysis.

Australia’s largest ever takeover THE Bank of Spain has facilitated Australia’s largest ever takeover by approving a bid for Afterpay by digi‐ tal payments company Block.

Whilst it may seem strange that a €25 billion business transaction on the other side of the world should hang on a decision made in Spain, the actual reason is relatively straightforward.

Afterpay was set up in Australia as a ‘buy now pay later’ business which allows in‐store and online customers to purchase a product immediately and pay with four equal interest free fortnightly re‐

payments.

All risk passes from the supplier to Afterpay but they charge a commis‐ sion to the supplier for the service and if customers don’t make the re‐ payments on time, then they re‐ ceive a penalty charge.

Having seen the model work in Australia, the business quickly ex‐ panded to take in the UK and parts of Europe with a new business called Clearpay being set up in Spain following the takeover of Spanish fintech Pagantis in 2020.

Having received a licence to oper‐ ate from the Spanish authorities,

LEGALLY SPEAKING

Can he stop smoke?

Please advise me what can be done with the problem of a neighbour burning wood or trash in the evening that comes into my house and breathing it affects my chest and eyes. I don’t know what they are burning but it is fumes rather than smoke, so proving this would be difficult. I can’t live peacefully in my home and I don’t know who to report it to, let alone someone coming in the night to investi‐ gate.

D G (by email)

Let’s keep this as sim‐ DAVID SEARL ple a possible.

YOU AND THE LAW Your town certainly IN SPAIN has Local Police for the municipality.

Next time you see a police car, take note of the num‐ ber. Don’t be shy; call a cop. Next time your neigh‐ bour is making fumes or smoke, call the police. Say: hay humo. The H is silent in both words. The police will come and smell the fumes. Your town has rules about when it is permitted to make a fire to burn brush. If your neighbour is infringing these rules, he can be fined or at least, warned, by the Local Police.

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

TOURISM is one of the mainstays of the Spanish economy and industry association Exceltur believes it will bounce back over the next two years.

This non‐profit association, counts 33 of the most important Spanish companies involved in all aspects of travel as well as accommodation, travel agencies and tour operators who between themselves operate in 40 countries and have a turnover of

this allowed the company to expand into other parts of the European Union on the back of that licence.

At the same time Block (who were previously known as Square), had snapped up the Spanish pay‐ ments application company Verse, so again the Spanish authorities had a further interest in the deal.

In order for the acquisition of the entire operation to go ahead, it was imperative that the Bank of Spain give its approval and this was re‐ quested last December with a final positive decision being announced on Tuesday January 11.

Your funeral plan with Golden Leaves WHILE many people buy a new home or car when they move to Spain, a lot do not think about what happens when it comes to their funeral, which is why a Find the right plan. pre‐paid funeral plan from Golden Leaves is essential.

Having a pre‐paid funeral plan from Golden Leaves ensures that when the time comes your wishes are carried out in full and your loved ones are not left to organise a funeral in a different country and another language.

Golden Leaves offers three types of funeral plan, including the Opal Plan, Pearl Plan and Golden Plan.

The Opal Plan is designed for those who just want a simple cremation service and provides a funeral service that covers the essential items, including the removal and disposal of the deceased.

Meanwhile, the Pearl Plan is designed for those who would like a traditional funeral service for cremation or burial and the Golden Plan is for those who would like their funeral in the UK. To find the right funeral plan for you, contact Golden Leaves today.

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

Tourism forecast positive more than €30 billion.

In their end of year report which in‐ cludes a review of the potential mar‐ ket for 2022, they are very bullish about a recovery, subject of course to the recent surge in Covid infections as well as current travel restrictions.

Despite all of this, they forecast

that starting in April of this year, there should be a boom in travel to the coast and country areas, fuelled in part by many Spaniards taking holi‐ days in different parts of Spain rather than travelling abroad.

Major tourist cities such as Barcelona and Madrid are less likely

Revolut bank Spain REVOLUT, the global financial super‐app with more than 18 million customers worldwide, has obtained European spe‐ cialised banking licences in 10 European markets.

Customers in those Euro‐ pean countries including Spain who upgrade to Revo‐ lut Bank for additional ser‐ vices will now have their de‐ posits protected under the deposit guarantee scheme.

Deposit protection up to €100,000 is guaranteed by the Lithuanian State company De‐ posit and Investment Insur‐ ance.

According to a survey car‐ ried out by Revolut at the end of 2020, on average, almost 50 per cent of respondents in‐ dicated that they would de‐ posit their salary on Revolut and 54 per cent would spend more via the app if they had their deposits insured.

Indian free trade deal FORMAL talks are being un‐ dertaken in person in New Delhi between the govern‐ ments of India and the UK to discuss a potential free trade agreement between the two countries.

Indian trade minister Piyush Goyal and his UK coun‐ terpart Anne‐Marie Trevelyan said there could be a limited agreement in the next few months according to a BBC re‐ port.

The Indian economy has been on the rise for some years so is an ideal target for post‐Brexit Britain, but there will no doubt need to be a number of concessions made by the UK in order to double its current level of exports. to welcome hoards of foreign visitors this year although as restrictions in‐ evitably relax, so there should be an influx of tourists in 2023.

In hard cash terms, the Exceltur re‐ port expects to see 2022 income for the hospitality industry to reach around 88 per cent of that achieved before the outbreak of the pandemic and by 2023 the figures should ex‐ ceed those of 2019.

34 EWN

www.euroweeklynews.com

20 - 26 January 2022

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

LONDON - FTSE 100

See our advert on previous page

C LOSING P RICES J ANUARY 17

COMPANY PRICE(P) CHANGE(P) 3I Group 1.432,00 1.437,50 Abrdn 243,90 246,30 Admiral Group 3.241,0 3.257,0 Anglo American 3.371,5 3.371,5 Antofagasta 1.436,50 1.445,50 Ashtead Group 5.740,0 5.768,0 Associated British Foods 2.123,0 2.152,0 AstraZeneca 8.770,0 8.781,0 Auto Trader Group Plc 692,00 699,20 Avast 602,00 603,80 Aveva 2.951,0 2.996,0 Aviva 439,60 440,30 B&M European Value Retail SA563,80 567,60 BAE Systems 590,40 593,20 Bank VTB DRC 1,174 1,186 Barclays 214,80 218,95 Barratt Developments 679,00 685,00 Berkeley 4.467,0 4.483,0 BHP Group 2.412,50 2.412,50 BP 393,75 395,10 British American Tobacco 3.144,0 3.144,0 British Land Company 555,40 555,80 BT Group 181,05 183,30 Bunzl 2.730,0 2.730,0 Burberry Group 1.753,0 1.759,5 Carnival 1.523,6 1.538,8 Centrica 74,10 75,24 Coca Cola HBC AG 2.663,0 2.691,0 Compass 1.737,00 1.765,00 CRH 3.942,0 3.952,0 Croda Intl 8.534,0 8.608,0 DCC 6.274,0 6.282,0 Diageo 3.733,5 3.745,5 DS Smith 395,50 395,50 EasyJet 639,80 646,20 Experian 3.094,0 3.113,0 Ferguson 12.530,0 12.590,0 Flutter Entertainment 11.125,0 11.370,0 Fresnillo 804,20 813,00 GlaxoSmithKline 1.707,80 1.737,00 Glencore 411,30 411,80 Halma 2.670,0 2.729,0 Hargreaves Lansdown 1.356,50 1.363,50 Hikma Pharma 2.069,00 2.092,00 HSBC 519,00 519,20 IAG 166,92 169,00 Imperial Brands 1.732,00 1.736,00 Informa 576,60 580,20 InterContinental 4.902,0 4.946,0

% CHG. 1.414,00 242,40 3.123,0 3.331,0 1.406,00 5.668,0 2.109,0 8.557,0 685,20 599,00 2.940,0 436,30 560,00 580,20 1,136 214,15 673,20 4.439,0 2.381,00 389,40 3.043,0 542,00 179,85 2.683,0 1.718,5 1.508,8 73,70 2.637,0 1.726,00 3.892,0 8.318,0 6.230,0 3.705,0 392,80 636,60 3.063,0 12.380,0 11.115,0 801,00 1.692,00 404,45 2.641,0 1.340,50 2.066,00 516,30 165,36 1.712,50 560,00 4.882,0

NET VOL 629,74K 2,11M 335,69K 2,16M 749,39K 413,00K 1,14M 2,51M 1,87M 2,67M 222,45K 5,56M 1,51M 4,19M 1,11M 23,94M 1,45M 167,80K 5,93M 54,53M 3,85M 953,36K 13,51M 523,16K 725,76K 440,93K 31,62M 336,57K 2,12M 444,42K 376,25K 513,97K 2,24M 1,44M 3,92M 760,40K 434,68K 320,84K 694,35K 13,52M 49,32M 841,72K 398,13K 168,04K 26,45M 19,21M 1,07M 5,90M 257,01K

COMPANY

PRICE(P)

Intermediate Capital 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 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

1.935,50 5.408,0 120,40 292,60 1.950,0 813,00 300,00 55,13 7.432,0 742,20 169,40 1.883,50 1.080,60 253,40 7.626,0 28,64 1.458,50 2.578,0 686,00 1.312,50 6.397,0 2.249,00 521,80 690,20 5.393,0 125,90 7,76 1.842,8 1.845,4 810,20 1.625,50 13,56 3.461,0 1.149,50 1.296,00 2.893,0 1.257,50 1.629,00 13.510,0 1.583,00 1.652,00 527,00 160,40 289,45 257,40 3.662,0 1.064,50 118,88 3.151,0 1.217,50

CHANGE(P)

% CHG.

NET VOL

1.950,50 5.490,0 121,50 294,00 1.978,5 818,20 300,30 55,96 7.540,0 745,60 171,90 1.893,00 1.080,80 253,70 7.634,0 29,75 1.479,00 2.588,0 689,20 1.324,50 6.443,0 2.253,00 526,00 703,60 5.444,0 126,98 7,99 1.844,0 1.845,6 812,40 1.627,50 13,68 3.484,0 1.153,50 1.302,50 2.917,0 1.287,50 1.642,00 13.780,0 1.593,00 1.659,00 535,40 161,00 290,90 259,40 3.788,5 1.069,00 119,98 3.188,0 1.221,50

1.928,50 5.358,0 118,80 290,00 1.944,0 788,40 298,20 54,93 7.402,0 740,00 169,20 1.881,00 1.066,20 249,80 7.460,0 28,30 1.421,50 2.540,0 679,40 1.307,50 6.258,0 2.195,00 517,20 686,80 5.374,0 125,44 7,55 1.813,2 1.815,4 797,00 1.620,50 12,85 3.443,0 1.139,50 1.276,00 2.875,0 1.256,00 1.608,50 13.315,0 1.578,50 1.642,00 526,20 155,75 286,80 254,20 3.602,0 1.058,50 118,48 3.108,0 1.192,00

275,09K 155,78K 9,04M 2,30M 1,28M 2,33M 13,01M 224,90M 823,33K 2,16M 3,77M 416,24K 2,50M 15,84M 229,77K 1,43M 913,72K 966,38K 1,38M 3,16M 1,55M 2,42M 1,44M 1,82M 2,85M 12,65M 2,20M 9,93M 12,22M 1,22M 5,13K 19,28M 123,50K 4,39M 1,09M 530,55K 1,12M 518,84K 142,71K 3,38M 360,50K 5,77M 29,52M 14,60M 2,79M 13,10M 497,59K 83,46M 852,62K 1,80M

1.19634

0.83585

Units per €

US dollar (USD) ........................................1.1411 Japan yen (JPY)........................................130.79 Switzerland franc (CHF) ...........................1.0430 Denmark kroner (DKK) .............................7.4422 Norway kroner (NOK) ...............................9.9468

currenciesdirect.com/la-zenia • Tel: +34 965 994 830 THE ABOVE TABLE USES THE CURRENT INTERBANK EXCHANGE RATES, WHICH AREN’T REPRESENTATIVE OF THE RATE WE OFFER

DOW JONES C LOSING P RICES J ANUARY 17

COMPANY 3M American Express Amgen Apple Boeing Caterpillar Chevron Cisco Coca-Cola Dow Goldman Sachs Home Depot Honeywell IBM Intel J&J JPMorgan McDonald’s Merck&Co Microsoft Nike Procter&Gamble Salesforce.com The Travelers UnitedHealth Verizon Visa A Walgreens Boots Walmart Walt Disney

PRICE 178,74 168,40 235,36 173,07 225,96 228,94 128,96 61,36 61,39 60,74 380,94 372,00 217,65 134,21 55,70 167,84 157,89 257,71 81,38 310,20 148,18 159,81 231,23 163,21 468,69 53,28 214,67 54,30 145,06 151,94

CHANGE 180,86 168,71 235,80 173,78 226,20 229,64 129,20 61,50 61,45 60,83 384,39 382,01 217,97 135,14 55,77 168,65 161,03 261,24 81,85 310,82 148,84 160,49 233,29 163,51 473,17 53,70 218,24 54,39 146,63 152,62

CHANGE% VOLUME(M) 177,67 2,26M 164,71 6,46M 229,99 2,99M 171,09 78,73M 220,25 7,60M 223,58 3,85M 126,76 13,19M 60,94 18,70M 60,36 18,84M 59,29 6,79M 375,00 4,64M 371,50 6,19M 215,36 3,33M 133,30 5,24M 54,53 29,95M 167,15 5,83M 156,90 39,75M 257,16 3,16M 80,76 8,45M 303,75 39,64M 146,85 5,97M 157,56 9,67M 227,61 5,79M 161,19 1,26M 465,08 3,28M 53,08 18,69M 213,71 8,80M 53,45 4,47M 144,22 8,82M 148,41 16,75M M - MILLION DOLLARS

NASDAQ C LOSING P RICES J ANUARY 17

COMPANY

CHANGE NET / %

VOLUME

Most Advanced Berkshire Hathaway Inc. Cl A Shopify Inc. Cl A NVR Inc. MicroSectors U.S. Big Oil Index 3X Leveraged Nabors Industries Ltd. Onto Innovation Inc. ServiceNow Inc. Graham Holdings Co. VanEck Oil Services ETF Mettler-Toledo International Inc. Pioneer Natural Resources Co.

0.31% 3.62% 0.46% 7.86% 12.41% 11.35% 1.87% 1.55% 4.39% 0.60% 4.05%

2.01K 2.22M 22.2K 333.91K 237.76K 662.33K 3.24M 26.86K 1.26M 145.59K 2.82M

Danaher Corp. 5% Mand. Pfd. Series B -4.99% Bio-Rad Laboratories Inc. Cl B -6.68% Danaher Corp. 4.75% Mandatory Conv. Pfd. -1.97% Boston Beer Co. Cl A -8.11% BlackRock Inc. -2.19% Texas Pacific Land Corp.

-1.43% Wells Fargo & Co. 7.5% Non-Cum. Perp. Conv.-1.07% Home Depot Inc. -3.87% AutoZone Inc. -0.73% HubSpot Inc. -2.79% Estee Lauder Cos. Cl A -3.69%

1.13K 3.69K 2.05K 1.18M 1.24M 51.76K 3.11K 6.34M 123.18K 1.5M 2.55M

Most Declined

FINANCE, BUSINESS & LEGAL

www.euroweeklynews.com

Ovo Energy founder Fitzpatrick apologises

Credit: Ovo Energy Media Centre

SINCERE APOLOGY: Stephen Fitzpatrick, the founder of Ovo Energy.

FOR once a company that clearly made a major mistake had the sense to put their hands up and say sorry!

Too often, large companies prefer to make a bland state‐ ment of defence which only goes to irritate customers even more rather than simply apologise and move on.

For several days, social me‐ dia as well as press, radio and TV laughed at an email and website post from energy company Ovo which advised customers how to stay warm and save money.

The list included stopping draughts, encouraging chil‐ dren to have hula hoop com‐ petitions, cleaning the house, wearing more clothes and cuddling a pet brought a com‐ bination of derision and anger from consumers facing ever increasing bills.

Very quickly, the company issued a tweet stating “You might have seen OVO and SSE in the news today. We recent‐

ly sent an email to customers with energy saving tips that linked to a blog post.

“This blog should never have been written or sent to customers ‐ it was embarrass‐ ingly unhelpful and poorly judged. We are sincerely sor‐ ry.”

Following this, the compa‐ ny’s founder Stephen Fitz‐ patrick (said to be worth £675 million according to the Sun‐ day Times Rich List) appeared on radio and TV to personally apologise for the blunder and to admit that he was embar‐ rassed by the whole thing.

Speaking to the BBC he said “We’re a large company and somebody had a bad day” but admitted that someone in his organisation should have spotted this before it was ever issued.

Those who commented on his appearances said that he appeared to be both sincere and was generally contrite over what had happened.

Money laundering ACCUSED in the past of being an unregulated tax haven, the Gibraltar Government has made sure that its regula‐ tions generally align with those in place throughout the UK and European Union.

Its latest action was to organise through the Office of Fair Trading on Tuesday January 11, a virtual training pre‐ sentation aimed at estate agents and high value goods dealers on recognising possible money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism.

The presentation covered various topics including ben‐ eficial ownership, politically exposed persons, record keeping, targeted financial sanction (TFS) and checks on both Terrorist Financing (TF) and Proliferation Financing (PF).

BUSINESS EXTRA Rain in Spain ONE of the, until now, overlooked problems of climate change according to the journal Nature is the fact that heavier than usual rainfall is hurting the economies of coun‐ tries like Spain, because the infrastructure is un‐ able to cope with pro‐ longed heavy torrents which cause disruption.

Gold plated REPORTS from his in‐ vestment office suggest that Spanish billionaire Amancio Ortega has agreed to buy the Royal Bank Plaza in Toronto which has gold plated windows for around €1 billion, which could be the largest commercial property sale in Canada since the outbreak of the pandemic.

Wind power DESPITE the fact that the electricity price in Spain continues to rock‐ et, the country’s wind association AEE has re‐ vealed that wind power was the largest source of electricity generated in 2021, producing some 23 per cent of the nation’s electricity needs.

20 - 26 January 2022

EWN 35

36 EWN

20 - 26 January 2022

LEAPY LEE SAYS IT OTHERS THINK IT DELIGHTED with Australia’s decision to deport Djokovic. In my opinion this man has always exuded a certain arrogance and was undoubtedly under the impression that because he could get away with just about anything in his own country, he would be able to manipulate the Australian authorities in the same way.

He reminds me of Oscar Pistorius; another sportsman who also thought his prowess in the arena placed him above the law. Well both of these men have now had their egos firmly brought down to terra firma. I just couldn’t imagine Nadal or Federer trying to get away with this flagrant disrespect of another country’s regulations ‐ two true gentlemen of a sport this man has sullied with his egotistical disregard for the authorities that govern law and order.

All this of course comes after ‘others’ were also under the impression the laws of the land didn’t apply to them. To be honest a bit of illegal boozing at Number 10 didn’t bother me unduly, but unfortunately Boris has been caught lying to the House; consequently, as Profumo and others have discovered in the past

www.euroweeklynews.com

Delighted (and Blair didn’t!) this is unacceptable and in my opinion his position is now untenable. Who should take his place?

Don’t ask me ‐ I certainly have my opinions of who shouldn’t!

Second delight of the week is the decision by culture secretary Nadine Dorries to freeze the BBC licence fee for the next two years. This almost unbelievably biased operation simply must be curbed. To think they expect a British public should pay even more for their diatribes of left‐wing propaganda simply defies the imagination. Their saturated coverage of the ‘garden party’ affair has been a positive disgrace. Their edited extracts, carefully selected to show the prime minister in the worst light and the incredible amount of airtime given to his political enemies, (apparently a ratio of five to one of their featured speakers have been in favour of his resignation) reveals an attitude more arrogant than Djokovic and Pistorius put together.

This prejudice of course is only matched by the reports they decide to suppress.

How many of us were aware that their current hero Kier Starmer was actually

caught on camera drinking beer with his colleagues in a Durham constituency office during lockdown last May? I personally hadn’t seen this event chronicled in any BBC reports at all.

Starmer’s actions were in blatant disregard of the lockdown laws and should have received at least some retributory publicity. Some chance. Pots, kettles and throwing stones in glass houses come to mind.

This of course goes even further to reinforcing my opinion that the whole unethical biased organisation is not fit for purpose and should have their licence revoked all together. I think the lot of them are a disgrace. Pity the poor old Queen. Not much to celebrate for this precious lady in what is supposed to be her celebratory Jubilee year. Stick ‘em in the tower ma’am, where they all belong.

Keep the faith.

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

TV & Film Review by Laura Kemp

Boiling Point

FANCY FACADE: But will it come crashing down?

STEPHEN GRAHAM plays a commanding head chef at a most sought‐after restaurant in London in the gripping dra‐ ma Boiling Point, currently streaming on Amazon Prime.

Amid professional and per‐ sonal crises, Graham’s charac‐ ter Andy tries to keep it togeth‐ er as everything seems to be going wrong in the run‐up to Christmas. A disastrous health and safety visit, double book‐ ings, a celebrity guest and drug and alcohol abuse threaten to destroy his reputation.

From the beginning, there is an ominous feeling that the night will not go well for Andy who is pushed and pulled from all angles. As staff prepare for

one of their busiest nights, the audience can feel the energy.

Close‐up, over‐the‐shoulder camera shots transport the au‐ dience into the stressful kitchen environment.

This film keeps you gripped from the start, capturing the sweat and tears that goes into running a kitchen and the dy‐ namics between the front of house staff and the chefs run‐ ning the show behind the scenes. Things come to a head when one of the chefs makes a mistake with a food order that results in an emergency call‐ out. As staff begin to turn on each other, the question is ‐ will the restaurant’s fancy fa‐ cade come crashing down?

FEATURE

www.euroweeklynews.com

It’s a purely political decision MIKE SENKER IN MY OPINION Views of a Grumpy Old Man SO Novak Djokovic got deported from Australia and, in my opinion, it was an absolute dog’s dinner. If they had any health concerns they should have just declared that if he was not vaccinated he could not enter the country for any reason whatsoever (which is a nonsense too). But someone somewhere decided to let him in. Unfortunately for Novak, and tennis fans round the world, it got political and after much toing and froing Australian Immigration Minister Alex Hawke cancelled the visa, just three days before the tourney was set to begin.

Now if Hawke had said Novak lied about not quarantining or posing for photographs in Spain, whilst allegedly breaking Covid rules maybe, but he didn’t. Novak was deported because “it serves the public interest”, Hawke said. And this is what really worries me. Djokovic’s presence in Australia may be a risk to the health and ‘good order’ of the Australian people. How? He hasn’t got Covid. Scott Morrison, the Australian PM welcomed the court’s decision, saying, “it will

help keep our borders strong and keep Australians safe.” For me, it all sounds wrong and is a purely political decision and in line with the whole Australian panic rules over the last two years.

Finally got my new iPhone from my service provider so I could pay for it monthly as it’s just under half of what I paid for my first house! I bought a flip over case which allows you to keep a couple of credit cards and also acts as a stand. Got it home, put the case on and after a bit noticed the ‘phone stopped vibrating on silent mode. I took it to Apple - he took it out, fiddled about for a few minutes, fixed it and put it back in the case. But when I got home I noticed it wasn’t working again.

Mrs S got involved and started doing some searching online and found out it was a common problem and was caused by the magnets in the case interfering with the magnet in the ‘phone. Out of the case the ‘phone worked fine so I took that case back and got my €20 back. I set off back to the Apple store to get a new case and, of course, that’s where you get conned as it cost me another €90 for a case plus screen protection.

I think Apple do all these things so you have to buy their products only.

Email: mikesenker@gmail.com

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

20 - 26 January 2022

EWN 37

THURSDAY 20/01 FRIDAY 21/01 SATURDAY 22/01

4:45pm 5:30pm 6:15pm 7:00pm 7:30pm 8:00pm 8:30pm 9:00pm 10:00pm 5:30pm 6:15pm 7:00pm 7:30pm 8:00pm 8:30pm 9:00pm 9:30pm 10:00pm 11:00pm 5:30pm 6:15pm 6:25pm 6:30pm 6:35pm 7:10pm 7:55pm 8:50pm 9:30pm

MONDAY 24/01

SUNDAY 23/01

6:00pm 6:05pm 6:10pm 7:10pm 8:00pm 9:00pm 10:00pm 11:00pm 11:20pm 5:30pm 6:15pm 7:00pm 7:30pm 8:00pm 8:30pm 9:00pm 9:30pm

WEDNESDAY 26/01

TUESDAY 25/01

10:00pm 4:45pm 5:30pm 6:15pm 7:00pm 7:30pm 8:00pm 8:30pm 8:50pm 9:30pm 4:45pm 5:30pm 6:15pm 7:00pm 7:30pm 7:55pm 8:00pm 8:30pm

The Farmers' Country Showdown Antiques Road Trip Pointless BBC News at Six; Weather BBC London News; Weather The One Show EastEnders Dragons' Den The Apprentice

6:15pm 7:00pm

Antiques Road Trip Pointless BBC News at Six; Weather BBC London News; Weather The One Show A Question of Sport Would I Lie to You? EastEnders Death in Paradise BBC News at Ten

6:15pm 7:00pm

Final Score BBC News BBC London News; Weather Weather Superman & Lois The Weakest Link The Wall Versus Celebrities Pointless Celebrities Michael McIntyre's The Wheel

2:30pm

BBC London News; Weather Weather Countryfile Around the World in 80 Days The Green Planet Call the Midwife The Tourist BBC News BBC London News; Weather

12:45pm 1:15pm 3:40pm 6:15pm 7:00pm 8:00pm 9:00pm 10:00pm

Antiques Road Trip Pointless BBC News at Six; Weather BBC London News; Weather The One Show Panorama EastEnders Kelvin's Big Farming Adventure The Responder

2:00pm 2:45pm 3:15pm

The Farmers' Country Showdown Antiques Road Trip Pointless BBC News at Six; Weather BBC London News; Weather The One Show EastEnders Holby City Garden Rescue

4:15pm

The Farmers' Country Showdown Antiques Road Trip Pointless BBC News at Six; Weather BBC London News; Weather Party Political Broadcast The One Show We Are England

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FEATURE

www.euroweeklynews.com

A S calls for Boris Johnson to resign get louder and the pile of wrong doings gets larger, I do find myself wondering how we ever got here in the first place. Johnson has never been a shining light of decorum and common sense, for those who never read his offensive columns or awful literature, a buffoon would have probably been the closest descriptor most people would have come up with.

B ut a buffoon should not a prime minister make.

So much more is at play than what is sitting on the surface. T he insidious media campaigns filled with misinformation obviously did their job in the same way they did for Brexit, and the proven way that people swing to the right when faced with personal hardship is how the C onservatives usually gain power. But Johnson? Really?

A large part of how many people who are completely unqualified for their jobs end up

CLAIRE GORDON FINDING BALANCE IN AN UNEVEN WORLD way above their head is implicit bias. Unsupported assumptions we make about people or groups, with implicit, or unconscious bias being ones we hold without even knowing we do.

They can be based on many factors such as age, race, gender, socioeconomic status, or class.

While these biases aren’t always negative, they’re shaped by either a survival instinct that causes people to associate with people they perceive to be like them, or they are caused by the information we consume telling us some things are ‘better’.

In the case of Johnson, he is moneyed with a good education, a posh voice and he is a man.

All things people have been programmed to see as competent and commanding, even if the individual evidence

20 - 26 January 2022

Complicit bias deems otherwise. The accent is incredibly interesting as a social scientist on TikTok showed with a very enlightening experiment.

She audio described a speech by J ohnson, repeating every word, pause, umm and ah, but in a woman’s Geordie accent.

Suddenly, the rambling address the prime minister had given, which some people had said was a stand-up piece of oration, became a mass of run-on sentences that most people would struggle to wait for the end of.

The same implicit bias showed its face when TV broadcasters started to speak in regional accents.

Although the mix better reflected the people watching the shows, there was uproar from those very same people saying folk on the T V should always speak ‘The Queen’s English’

To read more articles from our columnists and to have your say in the comments go to www.euroweeklynews.com Claire Gordon’s opinions are her own and are not necessarily representative of those of the publishers, advertisers or sponsors.

because it is ‘better’.

While accent bias seems to be a smaller issue, as we can see from the clown that is running the U K, all these biases

can add up to catastrophe.

It also is a smaller part of the bigger issue I spoke about last week, which is systematic op-

EWN 39

pression. If someone has made their mind up about how competent you are before you’ve even started, then that bias has put you on the back foot, and that only perpetuates the prejudice through lack of representation. People need to be aware of this.

40 EWN

www.euroweeklynews.com

20 - 26 January 2022

FEATURE

GO LOCAL THE EURO WEEK‐ LY NEWS has urged its read‐ ers to support local business‐ es in the com‐ munity by shop‐ ping locally in recent times.

Now things are heading back to normal, we challenge you to maintain that habit by supporting local high streets,

markets, butchers, greengrocers and all of the wonderfully quirky independent business‐ es in your area.

Local businesses make our villages, towns and cities what they are. They add unique character. They are convenient. And they offer excellent produce from known suppliers. The joy of shopping locally means

BUY LOCAL: By shopping locally, independent businesses can help support the local community.

that independent busi‐ nesses can support the local community. You may find something a euro or two cheaper online but have you considered where your money is actually go‐ ing?

By shopping locally you’re putting food on a local family’s table and there is nothing better than giving back

to the communities that have given us so much. Local stores sup‐ port charities and they sponsor local sports teams. In many cases, they are much more than just a business, they’re a legacy. They may have supported generations of the same family. Likewise, brand new local stores and bars may help the generations of the fu‐ ture fulfil their dreams and ambitions.

Remember, your lo‐ cal store is going up against multinationals and chains. They can’t win that battle on their own. So give them your support. Spending your money locally will make a real difference to the local economy.

Local businesses recir‐ culate a greater share of every euro they re‐ ceive at local level.

They create locally owned supply chains and they invest in their employees.

So remember.

When you go shopping ‐ go local!

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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.

TECHNICALLY CORRECT? From our Facebook

COMMON LANGUAGE: Where has the use of English come from today_

I agree with your observations (David Worboys – Issue 1906 ), but would add why is it now common practice to punctuate statements (usually every sentence) with YOU KNOW, or addressing a group of women as GUYS. Where has this nonsense come from (possibly USA) but IS it now mandatory?

Confused,

credibility and to head off the numpties who might think you are an empty vessel who likes the sound of his own voice/seeing his words in print.

Carry on telling it like it is - it makes my week, I only wish I could access your e-mail inbox, it would give me hours of enjoyment!!

Kind regards, Mark

Barry

History Notes Agree with Leapy Sir, Without blowing smoke where the sun doesn’t shine, I would like to say how much I enjoyed your last article ( Issue 1906 ). Sometimes one has to reinforce their views with a small back story to add

Dear Editor, As a regular weekly reader of your well produced informative paper, it is regrettable you discontinued publishing the factual historical items.

Will you reconsider??

Thanks.

Kind regards, Joe

FACE MASKS: Which kind do you prefer to wear?

Julie Abedin Maybe it’s time to ditch them, say no to this crap and breath fresh air.

Halldor Laxdal Are people really that stupid to think you can protect yourself from virus with face mask. If dust you can see enters your nose with it the virus will.

Kevin Williams Most people will know that but the sheep won’t, it’s the new normal for them unfortunately.

Michael Crabtree The mask is just to show compliance.

TIME FOR CHANGE? THE ongoing saga of the wealthy and privileged flouting pandemic protocols seems never ending.

Boris Johnson and No 10 are back in the headlines for partying again, with the Metropolitan Police saying that they are waiting for evidence to emerge from the Sue Gray inquiry, although a former Chief Constable told the BBC that it was the role of police to find evidence, not wait for someone else to do it for them!

Sue Gray as a Civil Servant in the Cabinet Office has a record of investigating political scandals and has a reputation of not holding back when in-

CORRECTIONS

OUR VIEW

volved with Damian Green, Liam Fox, Andrew Mitchell and Hazel Blears.

The problem however is that the Prime Minister seems to have the equivalent of ‘Sovereign Immunity’ meaning that if she does declare that he has breached the rules, then he is allowed to decide whether he should be referred to Lord Geidt, the current independent adviser on ministerial interests.

It seems that those of us who are not politically influential have no option other than follow all of the requirements laid down by the powers that be with regards to face masks, social distancing

and vaccination, whilst others can do what they like and generally get away with it.

It is now nearly two years since the first lockdown and despite all of the precautions dictated, the incidence of infection in Britain, Spain and most of the world seems to be increasing rather than diminishing, although the severity of infection seems to be lessening.

Perhaps now is the time to be allowed to treat coronavirus on the same level as other illnesses and be able to enjoy a meal with friends without having to show a passport to enter a bar or restaurant.

Ruma Jordan Ie which gimp mask is your favourite in this game of subservience and control !!!

William Kay They took their time to tell us that. However I use a multi layered style of mask, so I offer the view it has to be better than a single layer one.

Annie Burton Who gives a fly? Ditch the mask and get on with life.

Diana Picken Lol I have said that all long and I’m no expert.

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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IF YOU DO NOT WANT TO WAIT UNTIL NEXT WEEK GO TO WWW.EUROWEEKLYNEWS.COM FOR THIS WEEK’S ANSWERS

48 EWN

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20 - 26 January 2022

DEO VOLENTE

TONI C. EASTWOOD OBE, MBA

#TheWomanBeyond I’M continuing the theme from last week as we weave our way through January and the beginning of 2022.

It brings to mind one of my favourite Latin phrases, Deo volente.

It’s Latin for ‘God willing.’

The ancient Stoics told us that it’s important to have clear goals, but they suggested that we also need to qualify those goals with something along the lines of ‘if fate will have it.’

‘I will travel by ship to Athens. If fate will have it.’

‘I will do x, y, or z. If fate will have it.’

They called it the ‘reserve clause.’

I love that, a reserve clause. It’s one thing to be super clear on what we’re after and super committed to making it happen.

But (very important but!), we need to remember the fact that, ultimate‐ ly, the results of our actions are al‐

ways out of our hands.

What are your goals for this year, or do you have what I like to call a BHAG (Big Hairy Audacious Goal) ‐ do share them with me, I’d love to hear.

We’d be wise to remember that the patron god of philosophy was Apollo.

If you remember your Gods, Apollo was an archer. The archer does his very best to shoot the arrow straight toward its target but, once the ar‐ row is released, he knows that the outcome is out of his control.

Same with us.

We need to focus on the process (pick a wise goal, shoot the arrow straight!) and let the outcome be what it is.

It’s similar to reaching for the stars and if we get to the moon, well that’s great.

So, Deo volente in the beginning when we share our goals with our‐

selves and co‐creators.

And then (for me, anyway), ‘Thy will be done.’

We don’t hit the target. OK. It is what it is. Thy will be done.

It’s time to love what is.

The Stoics called this the ‘art of ac‐ quiescence.’

W h a t e v e r i s , I S . A s B y r o n Ka t i e says, it doesn’t make a lot of sense to argue with reality. We’ll lose. On‐ ly EVERY TIME. Accept what is. (Love it!) Get clear on the next target. Shoot straight.

Enjoy the process.

The best way to get on top and en‐ sure you are going to make 2022 your best year yet, is to ensure you put self‐care at the top of your prior‐ ity list!!! I’ve made this super easy for you with my 10 Day Self‐Care Challenge, my FREE E‐Book, so why not join me and my team and loads of our clients for our New Year Self‐ Care Challenge.

FEATURE

I challenge you to show yourself some love to set you on track for a great time of growth and develop‐ ment!

I challenge you to try a new self‐ care activity for 10 days straight. I’ll provide you with easy self‐care strategies to try from day one through 10 that are suitable for a busy lifestyle ‐ like yours. ‐ for more info and to receive your FREE copy straight to your in box, head on over to https://quantumvantage.co.uk/10 dayselfcarechallenge Don’t hold back another moment.

You could be just one step away…

Prepare yourself to receive the good things you are after. Here’s to a successful 2022.

Stay Focused, Keep Positive and Choose to +1 in Every Moment.

Toni x Toni Eastwood OBE, MBA #TheWomanBeyond To read more articles from our columnists and to have your say in the comments go to www.euroweeklynews.com

Please do get in touch if you have any questions. Follow me, chat and share your thoughts and network with other fabulous women in my Visionary Women Facebook Group.

@tonieastwood

@SixSecretsToSuccess @VisionaryWomen

tonieastwoodobe

sixsecretstosuccess

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HEALTH & BEAUTY WE all know we should keep a frequent eye on our health, whether it is to monitor ex‐ isting conditions or ward against potential problems.

Among the most frequent‐ ly‐heard health advice we may have come across the phrase, ‘know your numbers.’

This motto is often used to refer to cholesterol or blood sugar figures, but there are in fact a series of numbers it is helpful to keep a check on.

Many Spanish pharmacies of‐ fer quick and cheap tests, of‐ ten with results while you wait. So which are some of the most common tests and what can they tell us?

First up is cholesterol,

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20 - 26 January 2022

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EWN 49

non‐cancerous tissue in the prostate and testing its levels can help with early detection of any issues such as an en‐ larged or inflamed prostate and prostate cancer.

For men and women, mon‐ itor your kidneys with uric acid and creatinine tests, both of which can help give an in‐ sight into how well they are functioning.

50 EWN

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20 - 26 January 2022

FEATURE

The digital nomad visa in Spain many obstacles because, al‐ though they will not enter the Spanish labour market, they will continue to work for a foreign company or offer their services to international clients while living in Spain.

A non‐lucrative visa is an option that is best suited in these cases if they wanted to live and work in Spain, but it had the disadvantage that from the outset it did not al‐ low any type of economic activity to be carried out and there is no clear criterion in the interpreta‐ tion of the rule in this regard But when this new law is ap‐ proved (at the present time we do not when) all these foreigners will now have it easier, because with the new visa under the start‐ up law, they will find the perfect way to work in Spain.

CONSULAR MATTERS THERE is a new law currently be‐ ing proposed that is good news for foreigners who wish to telecommute from Spain, partic‐ ularly citizens of the United King‐ dom who wish to move to Spain following Brexit, but also Canadi‐ an, USA citizens, or any other non‐EU citizens or residents.

It seems that in a very short time we will have a new law for start‐ups in Spain, and this one brings with it important develop‐ ments in immigration matters for the teleworkers.

This future law aims to pro‐ mote the creation of new tech‐ nology companies, attract invest‐ ment and foreign talent, and turn the Spanish territory into a refer‐ ence centre for international en‐ trepreneurship.

To achieve these goals, the

WORKING IN SPAIN: Will much be easier once the new law is introduced.

government proposes to offer a large number of tax incentives to start‐up companies and foreign

workers and create a new visa for digital nomads or teleworkers re‐ located to Spain.

Until now, many foreigners who want to telecommute or work from home in Spain face

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

Marisa Moreno Castillo Consul for Denmark and Senior Lawyer at Just Law Solicitors . www.justlawsolicitors.com • contact@justlawsolicitors.com Advertising Feature

Neater Heater. A style to suit everybody NEATER HEATERS have been warming Spanish homes for over a decade. In that time, they have made great improve‐ ments in design, diversity and technolo‐ gy, while still keeping the original simplicity that has given them the edge over their rivals in both economy and efficiency. Using the conductive efficiency of extruded aluminium, their cleverly designed elements make Neater Heaters among the most efficient wall, or floor mounted electric convection radiators on the market.

Recognising the varied needs of their customers, particularly when it comes to controls, Neater Heater offer a wide range of operating sys‐ tems that should suit everybody from the world’s most devout technophobe to the most up to date techno‐wizz. All Neater Heaters can just be plugged in and turned on with a light indicating that they are working, and the desired thermostati‐

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20 - 26 January 2022

Russian Imperial Ballet THE world‐acclaimed Imperi‐ al Russian Ballet presents the Grand Tchaikovsky Gala, which brings together the most outstanding fragments of ballets: the white act of Swan Lake, the magical party of the Nutcracker and the wedding of Princess Aurora from Sleeping Beauty.

Bolero is the most spectac‐ ular and most requested work in the entire world of the repertoire of the Imperial Russian Ballet. This choreog‐ raphy was created by Nikolay Androsov especially for the Imperial Russian Ballet and its first soloists: Maya Plisetskaya and Gediminas Tarandá. It

was released in Japan (Tokyo) in 1998.

You can enjoy the must see ballet at the Teatro Principal de Alicante, on Thursday, Jan‐ uary 27 at 8.30pm. Tickets start at €50 and are available from the theatre’s booking site and most reputable on‐ line booking agents.

Cervantes & Shakespeare: Geniuses AN exhibition honouring the two renowned writers is be‐ ing held at the María Moliner Municipal Public Library, which will remain open to the public until March 14.

The display “explores, through a series of illustrative panels, the international tran‐ scendence and literary legacy of these two great writers of modern Western literature, and how their work, even to‐ day, inspires writers of diverse tendencies,” said Orihuela’s councillor for Culture, Mar Ezcurra. The exhibition, pro‐ duced by the University of Ali‐ cante, is divided into three main blocks: The historical

context developed by Profes‐ sor María del Carmen Irles; Cervantes, son of his works,

by Professor José María Ferri;

and Global Shakespeare, work carried out by Professor and curator of the exhibition José Manuel González.

Harlem Globetrotters THE ‘Spread the Game Tour’ is headed to Alicante and to Murcia on May 13 and 14 respectively. The fun starts at 7pm with tickets available directly from www.harlemglobe trot‐ ters.com or most online booking sites with tickets starting at €20.

If you don’t already know the Globetrotters are pioneers and innovators of the game. You will get to see the stars ball live, with ball spinning that defies gravity, high‐flying dunks and new on‐court characters guaranteed to energise the ac‐ tion and bring the laughs.

Get ready for full‐court fun for the whole family!

SOCIAL SCENE

A great influence THE American singer Randy Greer is undoubted‐ ly one of the best male jazz singers on the inter‐ national scene. Gifted with an exceptional voice, he is considered one of the few inheritors of the vocal style of the inimitable Nat King Cole, who Greer lists as one of his greatest influences along with Cab Calloway, Billy Eckstine and others.

Greer has an extensive collection to his name and is, without a doubt, one of the most out‐ standing jazz vocalists in his style. He has an exquisite repertoire, and is considered by many to have perfected and mastered his vocal style.

He has added extraordinary warmth and a per‐ sonality of his own that works so well with his voice and his sense of rhythm that are 30 years in the making.

You can see Randy Greer on Friday, February

Randy Greer sings Nat King Cole.

18, at 9.00pm in the Palace of Music. Entry to the one and half hour show is free with pre‐reg‐ istration with the Virgen del Carmen CC.

Buster’s Golf Society THE society who is welcoming new members (membership is free) held their opening game for 2022 at the Alicante Golf Course. The day was attended by 17 members who got to enjoy the superb conditions.

Many of the players took advantage of the course’s good condition with five of the courses six par threes being hit in one, with those who managed the feat taking home bottles of wine.

Winning the day was Vice President Ian Allison

who managed to score 36 points.

With the 19th hole facilities being provided

by Little Leia’s bar, the evening ended with Ter‐ ry Sharley being named Player of the Year 2021.

The next game will be held at Font de Llop in February with all welcome, simply email busters golfsociety@hotmail.com stating your phone number, and handicap, and they will get in touch.

PETS IF you are planning a trip later this year you still need to plan early for pet and house‐sit‐ ters. Perhaps you are already making plans for a staycation get away. Even if you are planning just a short trip, you’ll know that you simply can’t travel with some pets.

Young pets in particular may benefit from staying behind so they can follow their rou‐ tines at home. So, plan ahead.

Take a moment to plan ahead for pet and house‐sit‐ ters, if you have trips planned later this year. Now is the time to get ready. We will help you as much as we can. Our phi‐ losophy is that we are all in this together. These are the steps to take:

52

www.euroweeklynews.com • 20 - 26 January 2022

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Pine processionary caterpillars BETWEEN the months of February and April the pro‐ cessionaries (pine caterpil‐ lars) migrate from their nests (bags) in the pines to their burial area to form the chrysalis that will rise to the butterflies at the end of summer. Sometimes it can happen earlier, so from January you have to be careful.

The fact they go in pro‐ cession on the ground at‐ tracts dogs, not so much cats. The hairs released by caterpillars contain a cap‐ sule with a toxin called ‘taumatopein.’ Hair in con‐ tact with the skin or mu‐ cosa of dogs releases the toxin causing severe swelling, generally on the face, lips, mouth and tongue, in these cases caus‐ ing the dog to scratch its face and salivation. If the

contact with the toxin has been intense, it can cause severe necrosis and infec‐ tion of the tissues with loss, for example, of part of the tongue. It can sometimes cause severe laryngeal ede‐ ma that can even lead to death. Eye injuries can also occur. This can occur not only by getting close to the caterpillars but also by the release of hairs into the en‐ vironment from the bags of the pines by the wind.

If you live near pine trees or after a walk in a pine for‐ est, observe these symp‐ toms in your dog, if possi‐ ble wash your dog’s mouth thoroughly with water. Use gloves since there may be hairs without releasing the toxin which can cause irri‐ tation to your hands and arms. Go to the vet for treatment.

In Costa Blanca Sur: www.resonanciaveterinaria.es Centro Veterinario de Diagnóstico por Imagen de Levante C/Los Arcos 23 Ciudad Quesada, Rojales. Tel: 609 779 109

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CAMPELLO CONTRA CANCER in conjunction with AECC Association Español Contra Cancer.

Please support your local Cancer charity and if you wish to obtain literature or simply talk to someone. Please contact Mina or Trisha. Tel 650 071 278 or 610 921 413 e-mail aecc_campello@hotmail.com (95475) CANCER SUPPORT GROUP (MABS) MURCIA/MAR MENOR Help and support is just a phone call away, Avda Rio Nalón, Tel: 693 275 779 (95462) CHURCH SERVICE IN ENGLISH Tel: 950 617 549 www.givinglight.com.(10006) FREEMASONRY. Are you aware that Freemasonry is thriving on the Costa Blanca?

There are various Lodges meetings up throughout the Valencia region. If you already are a Mason or simply wish to know more about Freemasonry in Spain please contact sec@glpvalencia.com Tel 600 841 064 (95477) HELP VEGA BAJA. We are a non-profit making organisation that helps and supports anyone, without prejudice, in times of need or crisis within the Vega Baja area. Our offices are based in San Miguel at Calle Lope de Vega 46 (Tel 966 723 733), Torrevieja at Rambla Juan Mateo Garcia 4 (Tel 965 704 282). We are online at www.helpvegabaja.com and also on Facebook. You can email the San Miguel Centre at office@helpvegabaja.com. We also have a 24-hour Emergency helpline which is available to both members and non-members on 966 723 733 (95456) INTERNATIONAL CHRISTIAN ASSEMBLY, TORREVIEJA Calle Urbano Arregui, 23, Torrevieja 03185, Alicante Evangelical non-denominational church. Sunday morning Services at 11:00am. All national-

CARS WANTED CHARITY ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS IS ALCOHOL COSTING YOU MORE THAN MONEY? Drinking to excess not only affects your health it can spill over into every other aspect of your life – damaging everything that is important to you. English-speaking AA meetings are held throughout the Costa Blanca from Valencia City to Murcia. Anyone wishing to attend a meeting or discuss a possible drinking problem contact Costa Blanca North: 648 169 045 or Costa Blanca South: 625 912 078 or Costa Calida 679 385 105 All calls are treated in the strictest confidence. AA in German: 645 456 075; Spanish: 679 212 535; Flemish: 635 047 053; and Scandinavian: 659 779 222. www.aa-costablanca.org (93323)

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ities welcome - Contact 966 752 543 / 966 799 273. For other church matters phone: 966 799 273 / /617 215 463 www.icatorrevieja.org (95476) LA SIESTA EVANGELICAL CHURCH on Urbanisation La Siesta, Torrevieja is a friendly, English speaking church. For more information, including details of our services, see our website www.lasiestaevangeli calchurch.org (10005) PHILIP SCOTT LODGE No 10671 of the RAOB. Please call the secretary, Colin Bird on 693 287 614 for further information. (95459) PILAR CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY CHURCH. All welcome from any church background or none. For further information, www.pilarchurch.org Reg No: 2009-SG/A (95463) ROYAL Air Force Association Costa Blanca Registered Members Group: The RAFA Costa Blanca RMG replaces the RAFA Costa Blanca Branch 1359 which is now closed. The RMG is a social group of caring people and remains affiliated to the parent Association. Contact with the Royal Air Force Association and the RMG can be made via the RAFA website rafa.org.uk. Tel:0044 800 018 2361. (238593) ROYAL BRITISH LEGION Why not make this year the year you volunteer? See how you can help either as a caseworker (with full training) or as a Telephone Buddy. We also visit beneficiaries who are housebound or in hospital. If you feel you could support us here in Spain, and you have a Spanish phone number then why not email us for more info tbuddyhhvisits@gmail.com. If you or your partner served or are serving, and you feel you need help or support then contact us using the details on the card, we are here for the small things as well as the big, sometimes talking to someone

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If you would like to go to a branch meeting then find your nearest one at, http://branch es.britishlegion.org.uk/branch es/orihuela-costa - covering from Punta Prima to San Javier. More info can be found on branch website www.ori huelacostarbl.co.uk. (95457) ROYAL BRITISH LEGION Gran Alacant & La Marina Branch.

For info, contact the branch Secretary at granalacant.sec retary@rbl.community ROYAL MARINES ASSOCIATION (Costa Blanca) The aim of the Association is to bring together not just ex Royal Marines, but ex Service personnel with an affinity to the Royal Marines. For further details Hon Sec 692 938 664.

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ROYAL NAVAL ASSOCIATION For information please contact Chairman Paul Edwards on 618 644 934, Vice Chairman Danny Kay on 966 716 274 or Secretary Margaret Forshaw on 966 921 996. (95455) STROKE ASSOCIATION Spain (formally known as Torrevieja stroke support) Our aim is to help and support stroke survivors and their carers. With rehabilitation, speech therapy, OC therapy and a very active social group. For info please contact 654 801 260 or email strokesupportgroup@hotmail .com, website: torreviejas trokesupport.org. We are always looking for volunteers who have the skills and knowledge to support. (95473)

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THE SPIRITUALIST CENTRE, Benijofar will be closed for the immediate future due to Covid-19. To join the centre on ZOOM on a Tuesday evening at 7pm download the ZOOM App. To enter use ID Number 8451471869, then Password 3uf5TE. Identification Fiscal G54713789 (95454)

THE BAKER Foundation Spiritual Centre Playa Flamenca.

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New DGT drones AS the General Direc‐ torate of Traffic (DGT) increases its purge on road safety, they have revealed a new tool that will be used to monitor the roads of

Spain in 2022. The en‐ tity has reported that 2021 was a good year in which the number of fatalities between Jan‐ uary 1 and December 31, dropped by 9 per cent in comparison to 2019.

That statistic appar‐ ently means that 2021 was the year with the second‐lowest death toll on the roads since records began. A total of 921 fatalities is still a concerning figure though. As a result, a new road legislation has been drawn up that aims to go one step further, adapting the law to current times.

The DGT has many in‐ struments to prosecute offences and danger‐ ous driving, and its in‐ tention is to eventually eliminate speeding and the use of alcohol or drugs by drivers. Smart radars have already

been introduced, com‐ bined with a loss of more points from driv‐ ing licences for various offences.

A new device that the DGT will be hand‐ ing to Guardia Civil traffic officers is a camera that will be fit‐ ted to the existing drones. This camera can apparently snap pictures of vehicles ‐ and more importantly, their number plates ‐ from distances up to 500 metres.

In addition to the he‐ licopter that the DGT uses to monitor the road systems, these drones will be able to fly over the areas where concentrations of vehicles, accidents, or the maximum speed of movement can be easily exceeded, while taking clear snapshots of the offending drivers.

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Renault all-electric by 2030

Dedicated to electrification.

RENAULT is not the first brand, neither will it be the last, to announce that it will stop selling combustion‐only cars in Europe in 2030. The need to adapt to the race for electrification will see the di‐ amond brand dedicate itself to selling purely electric or hybrid vehicles within eight years.

This was announced on Fri‐ day, January 14, by Luca de Meo, the CEO of the French company. He spoke of “the obligation to participate in de‐ carbonisation,” to adapt to the demanding European reg‐ ulations.

De Meo acknowledged

that Dacia ‐ which offers more affordable vehicles ‐ will have greater flexibility in the group to respond to market de‐ mand. Until 2030, it will con‐ tinue to manufacture and sell vehicles with combustion en‐ gines.

To deal with electrification, there are still pending issues, such as the lack of infrastruc‐ ture in many European coun‐ tries, especially in the east and south. De Meo considered that “it is a problem” for the development of electric vehi‐ cles. The price is also an issue, which is higher in electric than in combustion models.

The company has decided

on using the north of France for the production of 100 per cent electric cars. The idea is to start manufacturing nine models in the 2022‐2024 peri‐ od, with the intention of pro‐ ducing more than 400,000 by 2025.

According to Jose Vicente de los Mozos, Renault’s indus‐ trial manager, the Spanish plants will focus on producing hybrid cars. “This is where we have seen that there is a value chain. The technology of hy‐ brid engines is transitional,” he said. In the longer term, the Spanish plants will be re‐ converted to produce electric cars.

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ROAD TEST

by Mark Slack AT one time you could look at the badge on the back of a car and immediately know the model. It’s no longer the case.

Take Audi for example, my re‐ cent test car was the A4 Avant 40 TDi quattro S line S tronic.

Nothing so simple as telling you what trim level is or its engine size. The Avant signifies, in old fashioned parlance, estate, the 40 relates to the engine’s power (although how 40 relates to 201 hp is somewhat of a mystery), the TDi Turbo Diesel in‐ jection, quattro equals four‐ wheel‐drive, S line the trim and s tronic alludes to the car’s au‐ tomatic gearbox.

What isn’t a mystery is why the A4 Avant would be a wel‐ come addition to any driveway.

The range starts from €43,106/£36,030 and my 40 TDi quattro weighs in at €50,329/£42,070, and with op‐ tions including a panoramic sunroof totalled €57,704/ £48,240.

Standard fare includes sports suspension, LED lighting, high

20 - 26 January 2022

Audi A4 Avant 40 TDi quattro the ideal family wagon or sporting holdall beam assist, leather front sports seats, brushed aluminium trim, powered heated folding door

mirrors, auto dimming rear view mirror, three‐zone climate control, keyless entry and start,

Ideal family wagon.

Facts at a Glance Model: Audi A4 Avant 40 TDi quattro S line S tronic Engine: 2.0 Turbocharged diesel developing 204PS Gears: 7-Speed DSG Automatic Performance: 0-100 km/h (62 mph) 7.6 seconds/Maximum Speed 210 km/h (130 mph) Economy: 5.4l/100km (52.3 mpg) Combined driving (WLTP) Emissions: 141 g/km (WLTP) Model tested was UK-specification and equipment levels and prices may vary in other markets.

power tailgate, cruise control, navigation and front and rear floor mats and the list goes on.

For a German car, where op‐ tions usually include everything, the A4 has an excellent stan‐ dard specification.

Diesel is not the fuel of favour, even less so than petrol, but econo‐ my is good and low d o w n torque im‐ pressive.

The sports suspen‐ sion certainly helps the A4 go around corners with alacrity.

Despite the S line’s reputation for a ride that’s on the firm side of firm the Avant soaks up the bumps well. The seats are somewhat of a different matter in that they stick to the suspen‐ sion’s reputation of being on the firm side of firm. Or perhaps I’m just getting old!

The instrumentation is a

paragon of clarity and there’s not too much in the way of digi‐ tisation, although a full return to buttons by all manufacturers would be a welcome, if unlikely,

EWN 63

step. You see, I am getting old!

With the high quality build you would expect from Audi, the A4 is not only a nice place to be but it’s practical too. You don’t have to have an SUV, es‐ tate cars may not be in vogue as they once were, but get the right one eg the A4 Avant and it’s darned close to being the ideal family wagon or sporting holdall.

SPORT

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Costa Blanca walking football Mayor of Madrid league season extended wants Djokovic

R E S T R I C T I O N S which vary from area to area have prevent‐ ed some teams from training while others have managed to train and play friendly matches.

Fortunately, the league has not had to be postponed with some teams being able to play their fixtures, while others whose training facilities are closed will have to play ‘catch up’ with some flexibility being applied during the season ex‐ tension.

Other clubs have managed to play friendlies in an effort to keep their players fit and all clubs are looking to recruit new players.

If you are over 50 and over ‐

WALKING FOOTBALL: Looking good in Moraira. indulged during the festive sea‐ son, why not give walking foot‐ ball a try and shed some of the extra kilos. Don’t be fooled,

you’ll be surprised how fast you can walk! Run and you concede a foul. Live the dream again and get back in shape again.

Sessions and venues: Hondon ‐ Mon & Thurs 9.15am to 11.30am (Polideportivo Juan Bonmati 03658) Pinoso ‐ Thurs 11 to 12.30pm (C/Los Olivos,Pinoso 03650) Moraira ‐ Thurs 10.30am to 12pm (P/Dportivo Les Sorts, Moraira 03724) Portobello ‐ Thurs 3.45 to 5.00pm (Poliesportiu, Pilar de la Horadada) Formentera ‐ Wed 10 to 11.30am (C/el Panatano, Formentera del Segura 03179) For further info email CBWFL at info.cbwfl@gmail.com or www.wfai.info.

JOSE LUIS MARTINEZA L M E I DA, the mayor of Madrid, spoke to the media on Monday, January 17. He highlighted how he believed it would be a huge scoop if Novak Djokovic could play in the Mutua Madrid Open tennis tournament.

Almeida was subsequently quizzed about the fact that there are already promo‐ tional posters for the Mutua Madrid Open ‐ which will be held from April 26 to May 8 ‐ in which Djokovic appears.

The world No 1 was this week expelled from Aus‐ tralia after losing a legal battle for not being vacci‐ nated, after travelling there to participate in the Aus‐ tralian Open. It was also confirmed today that he will n o t b e a l l o w e d t o p a r t i c i‐ pate in the French Open at Roland Garros in Paris if he

MAYOR: Would be a scoop. does not get vaccinated.

“Novak Djokovic’s stay conditions are state regula‐ tions, and therefore in his case, it will be the govern‐ ment of the nation which, at the time he enters Spain, will have to determine whether or not he meets the requirements and crite‐ ria that have been estab‐ lished,” was Almeida’s re‐ sponse when asked if the Serb’s presence in April was in doubt.