Euro Weekly News - Costa Blanca South 24 February - 2 March 2022 Issue 1912

THE BEST FINANCE NEWS ON PAGES 34 - 37 Issue No. 1912 24 Feb - 2 March 2022

ORIHUELA’S shop and business‐owners’ asso‐ ciation ACMO launched an internet petition to restore Blue Zone paid parking.

There is currently no charge for parking on the city’s streets since the concessionary’s contract to run the scheme expired in Jan‐ uary.

Shops, cafes, bars and restaurants in the city centre are losing mon‐ ey, explained ACMO president Asension Perez, because there is practically no rotation of vehicles which are parked for hours at a time.

“It denotes a lack of common sense,” Perez said, referring to city hall’s failure to remedy the situation.

“Once the good weather arrives, this will go crazy,” he pre‐ dicted.

NOT-SO-MAD MAD HATTERS Photo credit: Mary Chambers

Blue Zone blues

COSTA BLANCA SOUTH • WWW.EUROWEEKLYNEWS.COM

Turn to page 2 » PLUCKY SWIMMERS: Braving the January sea to help Butterfly Children.

FREE • GRATIS

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24 February - 2 March 2022

Miraculous escape in a metre‐deep hole below her ground floor property, explained the Orihuela fire‐ fighters who went to her rescue.

It was the second acci‐ dent of this kind in Alicante

Province within a week, the Emergency Services re‐ vealed.

A woman whose age was not revealed fell through the floor of her Cocentaina house to the storey below after unsafe wooden beams gave way on Febru‐ ary 14. She was less fortu‐ nate than the Callosa nona‐ genarian, as she later needed both medical and psychological assistance.

from Front page »

Good 2022 start for DEBRA Photo credit: Bomberos de la Diputacion

A WOMAN of 95 was miraculously unhurt after falling through the floor of her Callosa home on Satur‐ day February 19.

The tiled surface had col‐ lapsed and she was trapped

NEWS

CALLOSA RESCUE: Ninety-five-year-old woman was unhurt after her floor collapsed.

Unexpected find GUARDIA CIVIL officers recently noticed a pottery amphora in a Santa Pola property during a routine investigation.

Suspecting it was Roman, they asked the homeowner, who was present at the time, to hand it over. He did so immediately, explaining that he had been unaware of its value.

The Guardia Civil’s Policia Judicial unit, equivalent to the CID, contacted Santa Pola’s museum, where archaeologists identi‐ fied it as first century AD Roman pottery, produced in southern Spain.

The regional government has now been notified and mean‐ while the amphora remains in the museum. As Guardia Civil sources explained afterwards, archaeological finds are state property and cannot be legally bought or sold.

LA ZENIA beach was once again the setting for the Mad Hatters’ annual New Year’s Day sponsored swim.

“They raised €3,206 for the DEBRA charity,” Mary Chambers told the Euro Weekly News. “What a start to the New Year!” Mary is the manager of the DEBRA Spain charity shop in La Marina, which raises money for children with Epidermolysis Bullosa (EB), the extremely painful condition known as Butterfly Skin.

“It was a sunny day and the Mad Hatters and cus‐ tomers of the Pint Depot wore Men in Black suits,” Mary said. By 2pm a crowd had gathered at La Zenia beach to take photos and cheer the swimmers on as they entered the sea. All participants had to remain in the water for a minimum of 15 minutes, which they managed with ease, while Shirley was on hand with her tin for gratefully‐re‐ ceived donations. The swim completed, and the Men in Black suits back on, there was time for the Jerusalema dance to applause from the watching crowd.

“The Mad Hatters returned to the Pint Depot to per‐ form the dance in their suits again for all their customers, which went down a storm,” Mary said. “Everyone showed their appreciation and the donations kept on coming.” Charlie Osborne, aged 12, had overheard his mum and dad talking about the sponsored swim and de‐ cided to enter. He set up a Go Fund Me page for sponsor‐ ship and contributed more than €1,600.

“DEBRA would like to thank the Mad Hatters for all their hard work in organising this event and their contin‐ ued support,” Mary declared. “Thanks must also go to the Pint Depot customers, and the friends who support them, for giving so generously to our cause.”

NEWS

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NIBS EXTRA More trains ELCHE’S mayor Carlos Gonzalez announced that Spain’s rail operator, Renfe, will increase the number of AVE high speed trains linking the city and Madrid. Currently there are two trains in each di‐ rection on weekdays, with one at the weekend, but demand would increase with more trains Gonzalez argued.

Better year THERE was a 50 per cent in‐ crease in the number of for‐ eign tourists visiting the Cos‐ ta Blanca in 2021 compared with 2020, revealed Spain’s National Statistics Institute (INE). Totalling just over four million, they spent €2.6 bil‐ lion when visiting the area, 66 per cent more than in 2020.

Invaders out TORREVIEJA’S Beaches and Environment department has removed 18 cubic me‐ tres of the Uña de Gato (Cat’s Claw) plant known as Hottentot Fig in English.

Native to South Africa and regarded here as an inva‐ sive species, it was colonis‐ ing dunes in the Molina del Agua park and La Mata.

Wider road THE Diputacion provincial council intends to spend €615,000 on widening the CV‐873 on a two‐kilometre stretch of road through offi‐ cially protected land be‐ tween Albatera and Hon‐ don de los Frailes. This is the only road that provides a di‐ rect link from the Vega Baja apart from the A‐31 motor‐ way.

Five-year term THE Elche youth, who con‐ fessed to shooting dead his parents and younger broth‐ er after his internet connec‐ tion was cut off as a punish‐ ment, is to spend the next five years in a young offend‐ ers’ centre. Following this, he will be released on pro‐ bation for the following six years.

24 February - 2 March 2022

Hugely successful fundraiser SPANGLES HARMONY CHORUS has performed alongside Motown singer, Barrington, for over 10 years.

Hearing that he had been in an induced coma for 10 weeks and unable to earn a living, Spangles knew they must do something.

“Barrington is a caring and generous soul who helps local charities whenever he can,” said Chorus manager Lyn Baines. “He loves our a cappella four-part harmony style, and it was our turn to give him something back.”

Spangles held a special concert in Sucina’s Restaurante La

Photo credit: Spangles Ladies’ Harmony Chorus

SPANGLES CHORUS: The ladies as they prepare to take the stage.

Mario for Barrington, with a raffle and silent auction.

They have already exceeded their initial target of €1,000, raising €1,290 so far, and dona-

Animal abuser fined A NORWEGIAN from Torrevieja has been fined €11,110 for ill‐ treating seven cats.

He threw three of them from a first‐floor balcony of an apart‐ ment in Calle San Emigdio on the morning of January 18 and was seen kicking and injuring another. “Cats always fall on their feet,” he allegedly told horrified residents.

They immediately contacted the Local Police, supplying enough evidence, including a video, to show the man flouting several by‐ laws. When the Local Police officers arrived in Calle Emigdio, the Norwegian explained he had rented the apartment to a tenant, now deceased, who had lived there alone with her seven cats.

He wished to clear the apartment, he said, but avoided closer questioning by claiming he did not know enough Spanish to an‐ swer the police officers’ questions. The animal abuser also made it clear he was unable to understand why the Calle Emigdio resi‐ dents or Local Police should be criticising him for his actions. It took personnel from Torrevieja’s animal shelter several days to locate five of the cats, hidden under parked cars and on open land.

tions are still coming in. “Of course Spangles couldn’t have done it without the support of local businesses,” added Musical director, Valerie Lynch.

Justice after 81 years FANI DE HARO MON‐ TESINOS is closer to giv‐ ing her grandmother, Soledad Amoros Girona, a decent burial.

Fani, together with her sisters Sole, Maria and Fi‐ ni knew that their grand‐ mother, who had lived in Almoradi was buried in a common grave in the Ali‐ cante cemetery. Forensic archaeologists are cur‐ rently disinterring the re‐ mains of 18 Vega Baja victims shot by Franco's regime between Decem‐ ber 1941 and February

A Valentine’s to remember SUPPORTERS of the San Jose Obrero chil‐ dren’s home organised a Valentine’s din‐ ner‐dance in Los Narejos (Murcia) on Sat‐ urday February 12.

“It was a fabulous evening at the A Es‐ tribor restaurant enjoyed by 120 peo‐ ple,” said Lesley Eburne, one of the group of friends who support the home.

Volunteers had decorated the tables with chocolates and a rose for the ladies and there was also an amazing array of raffle prizes.

Following the dinner with music pro‐ vided by Ian Durrant, Chloe Leigh soon had everyone dancing, Lesley said.

“And my word, some beautifully‐ dressed ladies and their dashing partners were enjoying a long‐awaited dance,”

“We are so grateful to our audience and to all the people who donated prizes and money. Everyone pulled together to help Barrington in his hour of need.”

Barrington has finally woken up from his coma but, after three months in hospital, he has lost weight and muscle tone. He is having to learn to walk again and the road to recovery will be long and arduous, but Spangles will be there to help.

Readers who would like to donate to the fund can do so at info@spangelschorus.com via Paypal.

she added. “The feedback was terrific,” agreed Lesley Armson who helped to decorate the venue.

“Everyone was happy, joining in with the raffle and auction and they were thrilled with the extra touches like our beautiful balloon arch at the entrance.”

At the end of the evening, thanks were given to Bill Zygmund, Abigail Hitch and Graham Lomax for the auction prizes which raised over €500. The raffle and donations raised almost €1,000, totalling a fantastic €2,444. “Our heartfelt thanks to everyone for supporting our events and giving so generously,” said another of the organisers, Marie Gooch, as she thanked the volunteers and A Estribor for such a special evening.

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1942. “Soledad will be easy to identify as she was the only woman,” archaeologist Jorge Gar‐ cia explained to the provincial Spanish media.

The sisters’ grand‐ mother, who was 25 when she was executed, had belonged to Almora‐ di’s first trade union for women who worked at the local canning facto‐ ries. When war was de‐ clared in 1936, Soledad joined the women’s mili‐ tia, effectively signing her own death warrant five years late, although she could not be linked to any war crime.

She was shot on Febru‐ ary 3, 1942, for joining the women’s militia, holding mass meetings and “belittling with foul langue the Movimiento’s glorious generals, espe‐ cially the Caudillo (Fran‐ co),” according to the ev‐ idence against her.

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More Covid restrictions lifted COVID passports are no longer necessary.

The regional govern‐ ment’s latest inter‐de‐ partment meeting agreed to phase them out from February 22, Generalitat president Xi‐ mo Puig announced on Monday February 21.

The 1.5‐metre separa‐ tion is no longer needed between restaurant ta‐ bles and the 10‐per‐ table restriction has also been lifted, although the ban on smoking on out‐ side terraces remains.

Face masks are still re‐ quired in all interiors and wherever social dis‐ tancing cannot be main‐ tained out of doors, the Generalitat president said.

“The pandemic is not over, but tomorrow is the start of a new chap‐ ter,” Puig declared.

“This is the moment for economic, social and emotional recovery.”

The passports are necessary until February 28 in care homes for the elderly as well as senior citizens’ social centres, the regional president clarified.

After this date, the Generalitat will apply to the Valencian Commu‐ nity’s Upper Court of Justice for an extension, Puig added.

“Vaccination, masks and common sense will be our best defences in this new cycle which still cannot be regarded as normality,” the presi‐ dent emphasised.

and finally...

ORIHUELA is supporting protests from agricultural growers in Alicante, Murcia and Almeria.

On February 16, Orihuela’s mayor Emilio Bascuñana and Agriculture councillor Victor Valverde joined demonstrators as they marched through the centre of Murcia, calling for “A fu‐ ture and respect for the countryside.”

The agricultural sector was suffering, Basuñana said: “The ad‐ ministrations should be protecting growers and farmers, but in‐ stead we are having to come out in their defence to counteract the blows they are receiving.”

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NEWS

Queen suffers from Covid THE monarch tested posi‐ tive for Covid on Sunday, February 20.

According to one palace source, multiple cases of Covid have broken out at Windsor Castle.

The Queen has been self‐isolating at Windsor since she tested positive for Covid at the weekend.

On Tuesday, February 22, the Queen was forced to cancel all her virtual en‐ gagements for the day.

The Queen is said to be suffering from mild cold‐ like symptoms.

Buckingham Palace an‐ nounced on Sunday that the Queen had tested positive. The Palace re‐

THE QUEEN: Has been self-isolating at Windsor.

vealed that the monarch would carry on light du‐ ties while at Windsor Cas‐ tle. She would also carry

out virtual audiences while self‐isolating.

On Tuesday morning a spokesperson for Bucking‐

ham Palace said: “As Her Majesty is still experienc‐ ing mild cold‐like symp‐ toms she has decided not to undertake her planned virtual engagements to‐ day, but will continue with light duties.”

It is possible that en‐ gagements that are set to take place in the next few days could also be can‐ celled.

According to reports, the Queen is triple jabbed. Her initial vaccina‐ tion was in January 2021.

She received her second shot in March. It is thought that she has re‐ ceived her booster shot too.

FOR THE LOVE OF JAGUARS OUR St Valentine’s celebration was held on Mon‐ day February 14 at the hotel Meridional in Guardamar del Seguro where 22 rooms were oc‐ cupied by our Jaguar Enthusiasts club members.

The evening started at 6pm with drinks on the hotel’s roof terrace at the Sky bar, to allow every‐ one to meet and greet while enjoying the wonder‐ ful front line sea views.

Organised for 8pm was the Gala dinner in the events room, where a duo of vocalists had been hired for the entertainment. The two ladies played background music while members were dining, A RECENT study by Invattur has found that the price of scheduled flights to Alicante‐ Elche had risen for the re‐ maining weeks of February as international demand had increased.

The analysis, which was undertaken prior to the change in the vaccination re‐ quirement for children trav‐

then eventually they turned it up and went into their full act, with beautiful singing voices and mu‐ sic for dancing which created a fantastic atmo‐ sphere that encouraged everyone to keep the dance floor full of dancers.

The last dance of the night was the conga which brought a hilarious end to a fabulous night!

A wonderful event was enjoyed by all who at‐ tended having spent special time with the loves of their life, their Jaguar big cats, partners and wives .

If you are interested in the club contact Presi‐ dent Mike Brook on +34 640 866 711.

Flights up elling from the UK, showed that the price of flights had increased for all destinations bar the UK. According to sources from Hosbec, Visit Benidorm and Invattur the increase in prices

was relative to the number of travellers, as the demand goes up so does the interest in travelling.

The research found that in some cases prices had more than doubled with Norway at €200 and Belgium at €184 be‐ ing the most expensive.

Conversely prices for the UK had dropped at the time of the analysis, but are known to be rising since the regula‐ tions were changed.

Hosbec initially recorded many UK cancellations, but it is believed that the corner has been turned since the govern‐ ment relaxed the vaccination requirement for minors.

NEWS

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24 February - 2 March 2022

Haemorrhagic virus THE haemorrhagic virus that causes Crimean‐ Congo fever has been found in some areas of Spain.

A study published by the National Centre for Microbiology confirms that the virus has been detected in five autonomous communi‐ ties: Andalucia, Extremadura, Madrid, Castilla y Leon, and Castilla‐La Mancha. Viral hemor‐ rhagic fevers give rise to diseases that can be fatal, and are caused by different viruses such as arenaviruses, filoviruses, bunyaviruses, to‐ gaviruses and flaviviruses. Among these dis‐

eases is the one that causes Crimean‐Congo fever, until now considered an exotic disease in Spain, but which is already present in sev‐ eral areas of the country. The first case was detected in 2013, and the virus was transmit‐ ted by a tick, although other animals such as deer, wild boar or roe deer are also transmit‐ ting agents.

Among the most frequent symptoms caused by this disease are fever, muscle pain, dizziness, neck pain and stiffness, lumbago, headache, eye irritation and photophobia.

Flooding and more rain THE Environment Agency issued more warnings for flooding in the north of England and parts of the West Midlands earlier in the week, saying that more rain is likely to hamper recovery efforts.

With three storms hav‐ ing passed over the UK within a week, thou‐ sands have been evacu‐ ated, millions left with‐ out power and at least

three people have died.

There were around 90 flood warnings in place including two “severe warnings” for the River Severn, possibly endan‐ gering life, with some homes already having been evacuated as the water levels rise.

Clean ups began across the country including in Matlock, Derbyshire, where the town’s high

street was submerged, the third time it has been hit by devastating floods in three years.

Efforts to restore pow‐ er continued throughout the country.

More flooding was forecast as the waters made their way down the rivers and more rain falls, which will continue to hamper recovery ef‐ forts.

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Los Alcázares Camera Club THE club commenced their series of field trips for 2022 with a visit to the Torremendo area to pho‐ tograph the almond blos‐ som and the amazing turquoise blue of the reservoir there. After, members repaired to

‘Restaurante Casa Andreu’ in Torremendo for an ex‐ cellent lunch. The Club’s next field trip will be to the Marina at San Pedro del Pinatar where there will be plenty of opportu‐ nities to photograph dif‐ ferent subjects such as the

salt flats, waterfowl, beaches and boats.

Los Alcázares Camera Club is always looking for new members, who can be permanent residents in Spain or ‘swallows’, as the Club meets on the first Tuesday of the month on ‘Zoom’ at 10.30am (Spain) or 9.30am (UK).

At this meeting mem‐ bers discuss their monthly photo competition and usually watch a photogra‐ phy workshop video. On the third Tuesday of the month, the Club has a field trip to take photographs, followed by a meal to which family and friends are also invited.

Anyone interested in joining Los Alcázares Cam‐ era Club should have a look at the website http://www.los‐alcazares‐ camera.club/ or contact the Chairman, John Dorsett on 0034 966 762 715 or mobile 0034 606 452 445 or contact the Sec‐ retary, Pip Shail on mike shail45@googlemail.com .

NEWS

Prince Andrew snubbed

STRIPPED: Of all his military honours.

COUNCILLORS in York in the north of England have announced that they are taking steps to remove the Freedom of the City honour awarded to Prince Andrew in 1987, in what is further humiliation for the disgraced son of the queen.

The Liberal Democrats who are the largest party on the City of York Council have said they will submit a motion to begin the process at the next full council meeting on March 24, a motion that will also call for Andrew to give up his title of the Duke of York.

The move comes amid widespread calls for the senior royal to give up his dukedom, one of the last titles he holds having been stripped of all his military honours. He already is unable to use the HRH (His Royal Highness) title following the affair and court case with Virginia Guiffre.

Rachael Maskell, the Labour MP for York Central, has made repeated calls for the prince to give up his dukedom saying that his continued use of the title the Duke of York caused ‘deep hurt and embarrass‐ ment’ to the people who live there.

NEWS

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24 February - 2 March 2022

Frantic travellers

H O L I D AY M A K E R S at Heathrow airport who were desperate to get their flights ended up walking down the M4, according to witnesses. A key airport tunnel had become blocked on Mon‐ day, February 21.

The Oxford Bus Compa‐ ny had taken to Twitter to confirm that a bus had broken down. Heavy de‐ lays were caused after the bus broke down in the Heathrow CBS Tun‐ nel.

Heathrow Airport had urged people not to walk down the motorway. One witness stated: “People walking along hard shoul‐ der with suitcases ‐ it’s lethal.” One couple re‐ turning from holiday told MyLondon how they had been stuck for two hours.

Speaking to the UK press a Heathrow spokes‐ person stated: “Our col‐ leagues responded to a broken down bus earlier today which caused tem‐

AIRPORT: A key tunnel had become blocked.

porary congestion in the central terminal area tun‐ nel. The vehicle has now

been removed and traffic is flowing freely again through the tunnel.”

Facebook spies ACCORDING to one publication, the UK government has launched an internal enquiry to identify ‘Facebook spies’ that may have leaked secret details about its plans to regulate social media to Facebook.

Former Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, who recently be‐ came Meta’s new president of Global Affairs, is reported to have been fed sensitive information that will affect the company and its dominance in the market.

It is understood that the search will cover the Treasury, For‐ eign Office, and Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, with the probe launched last week after a Financial Times article on the government’s upcoming Online Safety Bill. That bill aims to police social media platforms.

An unnamed source has told the publication that fears about a potential leak had been raised as early as June 2020, when Clegg apparently cited classified information from one such let‐ ter during a Zoom call with government officials.

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UK ‘living with Covid’

BRITISH Prime Minister Boris Johnson re‐ vealed his ‘Living With Covid’ plan in the House of Commons on Monday, February 21.

This news finally puts England on a path towards normality, with the last remaining lockdown restrictions set to be axed in the next few days.

From today Thursday February 24, the mandatory self‐isolation period of five days will be removed, allowing people to stay at work without having to quarantine. Even so, the government advice is still for anybody

who has the virus to preferably stay at home to avoid passing it on to their workmates.

The free Covid handout of £500 that was being paid to those in financial difficulties while self‐isolating is due to be scrapped on March 24.

Free coronavirus tests will be gradually phased out from April 1, but will still be avail‐ able to those in the most vulnerable of health positions, or age groups. The emer‐ gency rule allowing local councils to make decisions in response to outbreaks will also be removed.

Brit mauled by great white A BRITISH man, Simon Nellist, 35, has become the first person to be killed in a fatal shark at‐ tack in Sydney in almost 60 years when he died on Wednesday, February 16.

Nellist had been in training for a charity ocean swim when he was attacked by a great white shark at Buchan Point, near Little Bay in Sydney.

Terrified onlookers watched helplessly as the swimmer was eaten alive, and one recorded the whole event on video.

Reportedly Simon had a girlfriend in Australia and had family in the UK. A spokesperson for the NSW Ambulance ser‐ vice stated: “Unfortu‐ nately this patient had suffered catastrophic in‐

juries and there was nothing paramedics could do.”

Police officers con‐ firmed that human re‐ mains had been located.

The police said: “Officers attached to Eastern Beaches Police Area Command, with assis‐ tance from the Marine Area Command and Surf Life Saving NSW, attend‐ ed and located human remains in the water.”

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NEWS

Priceless art find

A DRAWING bought at a yard sale for around €26 in 2017 has been valued at in excess of €9 million according to Agnews Gallery ‐ the London auction house in posses‐ sion of the artwork.

Boston‐based art col‐ lector Clifford Schorer, who is a consultant to the gallery, told one me‐ dia outlet that he came across the rare artwork, thought to have been completed in 1503, by chance on the way to a party in Massachusetts

DRAWING: Rare artwork is thought to be from 1503.

in 2019.

He had forgotten to bring a gift to the party and so took a detour to a bookstore, which sold

A ONE-YEAR-OLD girl in a critical condition after hitting her head was saved by National Police officers in Sevilla on Friday, February 18. The infant had fallen at home and struck the back of her head on the floor, and was in a critical condition. The incident occurred in a property located on Calle Feria. An emergen‐ cy call was put out via the 091 services re‐ questing immediate assistance from any pa‐ trols in the vicinity. A National Police patrol that was in the area responded to the loca‐ tion, where they found the father holding his

collectable volumes, en route.

The artwork had been purchased at a yard sale at the home of an archi‐ tect who had been gifted the piece from his art dealer father.

The 16th century drawing by Albrecht Dür‐ er, who died in 1528, is regarded as both the greatest German artist of his time and as one of the most important artists and intellectuals of the European Renais‐ sance.

Hero cop motionless daughter in his arms. They verified that the child was having serious difficulties breathing on her own, with very weak vital signs and unresponsive to cognitive stimuli.

The officers immediately performed CPR on the baby and made the decision to trans‐ fer the baby and her father in the police vehi‐ cle to the hospital, where doctors were able to save her life.

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NEWS

Avian flu spreads TWO farms in Andalu‐ cia have detected four birds showing symp‐ toms of avian flu.

According to a report on Monday, February

21, from the Ministry of Agriculture, Fish‐ eries and Food (MAPA), Spain has now regis‐ tered a total of 16 cas‐ es of avian flu in poul‐

Pele struggling after chemotherapy BRAZILIAN football legend Pele is ‘struggling to eat or sleep’ after chemotherapy. He is still in hospital and is suffering from a urinary tract infection. The 81‐year‐old was admitted to the hospital on Febru‐ ary 13 for a chemotherapy session for his colon tu‐ mour. Due to a urinary tract infection though he has had to remain in hospital. Heis said to be in a stable condition though reportedly ‘struggling to eat or sleep’. Last week he received an endoscopy which left him in a weakened state.

Pele is battling tumours in his lung, liver and intes‐ tine. It is hoped that in the next few days he will be able to head home. No date for his hospital dis‐ charge has been set yet though.

Back in December last year football fans were wor‐ ried when Pele suffered from a health scare. Luckily though he was discharged before Christmas and was able to celebrate with his family.

try farms across the country.

As a preventative health measure against the worst wave of bird flu ever recorded in Spain, an estimated 670,000 birds have al‐ ready been slaughtered on farms.

Four more cases have been detected in the autonomous communi‐ ty of Andalucia.

They have occurred within the restriction zones marked due to the outbreaks of the previous weeks.

Specifically, these cases are in the Sevil‐ lian municipality of Carmona, and the Huel‐ va municipality of Niebla.

In Carmona, a new farm with 195,800 lay‐ ing hens is affected, the largest location to date, along with anoth‐ er one used for rearing 30,450 animals.

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Cancer research

EL CORTE INGLES has donated €279,258 to cancer research in Spain and is holding a commemorative exhibition in Madrid. This money comes from the proceeds of a campaign organised by El Corte Ingles last autumn, to mark the occasion of World Breast Cancer Day, which is celebrated every October 19.

The company and the association have also inaugurated an exhibition at El Corte Ingles in Sanchinarro, Madrid, to mark the Association’s 50th anniversary of cancer research.

El Corte Ingles has been working closely with the Spanish Association

Against Cancer for many years, the result of which is their joint project in favour of research into breast cancer.

The initiative has progressed very positively and has so far funded four projects at various Spanish research centres. The current project, which has an estimated duration of five years, focuses on personalised immunotherapy and involves a multidisciplinary team from the hospitals Clinic de Barcelona, Doce de Octubre (Madrid), Vall d’Hebron (Barcelona) and the University of Navarra, under the direction of doctor Aleix Prat.

NEWS

The myth of middle age WITH science evolving, meaning people are living longer, when exactly is mid‐ dle age and have the goal‐ posts changed?

Britannica states: “middle age, period of human adult‐ hood that immediately pre‐ cedes the onset of old age.”

But this also begs the ques‐ tion ‐ When does middle age end and old age being?

Old age used to mean somewhere around 60, how‐ ever many in their 60s and 70s now enjoy a quality of life to rival those in their 20s, thanks to improvements in healthcare technology, and let’s face it some impressive

MIDDLE AGE: People are living longer thanks to improvements in healthcare technology.

saving over a lifetime of work giving them better funding in later life than previous gener‐ ations.

But not only are older peo‐ ple now enjoying increased quality of life, our mind set

around ageing has also changed.

Cast your mind back to your teens and remember thinking middle age was around 30 years old ‐ mean‐ ing we would all be dead by 60 if that was the case.

Anyone in their 30s was considered a ‘proper adult’, yet now vast swathes of mil‐ lenials still live at home, are yet to buy their home, or have any of the other traits traditionally seen as ‘adult’.

If you factor in rising life ex‐ pectancies in much of the world, slower maturity rates amongst young adults, and those in their 60s and 70s now enjoying a better quality of life, does this mean middle aged has suddenly been moved back by 20 years?

What do you think? Are you prepared to yet be la‐ belled old age, or do you still consider yourself middle aged?

Replacing Piers Morgan ACCORDING to reports, bosses at Good Morning Britain are set to give up on replacing host Piers Morgan on a permanent basis.

The ITV show uses a roster of guest hosts at the moment.

Morgan made his controversial exit from the show after arguing with weatherman Alex Beresford over Meghan Markle and her mental health. Piers stormed off the show and is said to have turned down many jobs since then. When he signed a deal with The Sun, Piers revealed that he was “coming home”.

GMB has been working with guest hosts such as Richard Madeley, Adil Ray, Martin Lewis, and Ed Balls since Piers left.

Speaking to one publication, a source stated: “Replacing Piers was always going to be tough, but no one thought that almost a year on they still wouldn’t have found anyone.

“It is one of the biggest shows on TV, so it really shouldn’t have been this hard.”

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Madrid roof collapse PART of the auditorium roof at the Madrid Amusement Park collapsed on Saturday, Febraury 19 while a private event was being held, injuring 13 people.

It is understood none of the injuries are life threatening, although eight were taken to a lo‐ cal hospital for treatment.

The firefighters of the Madrid City Council are reviewing the installation and securing the area, while the Municipal Police have taken charge of the investigation of the event.

It is not known what happened or whose event it was with police yet to issue any details.

The collapse of the roof is the second acci‐ dent at the park with 33 people injured in July 2017, when two rides collided on the

THE much reported storms that have caused devasta‐ tion in the British Isles and large parts of northern Eu‐ rope have not arrived as ex‐ pected, as Spain’s anticy‐ clone that has been sitting over the peninsula holds them off.

According to Spain’s weather agency AEMET, un‐ til such a time as the anticy‐ clone starts to lose power the storms will be held at

PRIVATE EVENT: Eight taken to hospital.

Tren de la Mina.

On that occasion 27 people had to be trans‐ ferred for evaluation to different hospitals in the capital, with the Park assuring then that the attraction “had passed all the controls” that are made daily in the enclosure.

Spain’s anticyclone helps bay and the much‐needed rain won’t arrive.

Some rain is expected in the Canary Islands and later in the week throughout most of the peninsula a light sprinkling with up to five litres per square metre in the middle of Spain, and up to 20 litres per square metre in An‐ dalucia. Weather forecasters however say that the predic‐

tion could change between now and then due to the presence of the anticyclone.

Certainly the expected rains will bring little drought relief with less than normal snowfalls and minimal rain‐ fall.

So not good news as Spain’s anticyclone holds the storms back and the drought continues.

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Secret coronation plans BUCKINGHAM PALACE has reportedly started drawing up plans in secret for Prince Charles and Camilla’s corona‐ tion following the Queen’s stated wish that the latter be named as Queen Consort when Charles succeeds her.

Insiders suggest the plans dubbed Operation Gold Orb include a ceremony that will be significantly less lavish than the Queen’s, which reported‐ ly cost £1.5 million, roughly the equivalent of £46 million in today’s money. Charles is to be crowned King alongside Queen Camilla and it is thought that he is hoping for a ‘shorter’ and ‘far cheaper’ cer‐ emony than that of his moth‐ er's, which took place in 1953.

Reports also suggest that the number of guests attend‐ ing the event will be slashed by three‐quarters, with one royal insider saying that Harry and Meghan may not even join Charles on the balcony of Buckingham Palace after the historic event.

Healthiest city

VALENCIA: Spain’s third largest city.

A STUDY by a British magazine has voted Valencia to be the healthiest city in the world Spain’s third‐largest city by population was chosen from a long list of cities located around the world. The publication produced an extensive report to choose the 20 cities where the health of citizens is paramount.

Their study analysed multiple factors in each city, including life expectancy, the cost of being healthy, air quality, obesity rates, city safety, and the number of hours of sunlight per year in each city.

Spain has been recognised by the World Health Organisa‐ tion (WHO), as the country with the sixth‐highest life ex‐ pectancy in the world. Although Spaniards and many foreign tourists know the great virtues of this Mediterranean city, the municipality is usually behind Barcelona or Madrid on the list of Spanish destinations.

The study highlighted that Valencia was in third place in the life expectancy index of the 20 cities analysed. According to the report, this is mainly due to the Mediterranean lifestyle of its inhabitants, which favours greater longevity.

A LEAK revealed on Sun‐ day, February 20, by me‐ dia outlets around the world has exposed the accounts of 30,000 clients of the Swiss bank Credit Suisse with money from questionable operations owned by personalities from around the world.

One of the most promi‐ nent names included in the list is that of the Philippine dictator Ferdi‐ nand Marcos, and his wife Imelda Marcos. They are estimated to have

THE women’s curling team led by Eve Muirhead crushed Japan in the finals held on Sunday, February 20.

Team GB can hold their head high and will leave the Olympics with two medals. The men’s curling team won a silver medal.

It was Muirhead’s fourth Olympics. Teammates Vicky Wright, Jen Dodds, and Hailey Duff walked away with a gold medal on their first endeavour.

An emotional Muirhead cried on the podium.

NEWS

Black money stolen $10 billion during the three terms that Mar‐ cos was in charge of the country, until 1986.

Among the politicians included is Pavlo Lazarenko, Ukraine’s prime minister from 1997 to 1998. A month after resigning, he opened the first of two Credit Suisse accounts with almost eight million Swiss francs.

GB gold Speaking to the media she commented: “It’s a dream come true.

Transparency Interna‐ tional estimates that Lazarenko stole $200 mil‐ lion, collecting half of his profits from businessmen in the country. He was convicted in Switzerland for money laundering in 2000 and subsequently sentenced to nine years in prison for corruption in the United States in 2006.

“That was my third semi‐ final, and the two I lost were hard but I bounced back and here we are. We are Olympic champions. It’s such a special moment.”

and finally...

LOCAL POLICE in Valencia fined a man €800 after he went to report that a prostitute had not completed her services. When he went to make his complaint the ‘John’ was informed that the local ordinance re‐ quired that he be fined for soliciting the services of a prostitute.

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NEWS

Birmingham earthquake L O C A L S were terrified and took to Facebook to share their stories after an 3.2 magnitude earth‐ quake hit the West Mid‐ lands on Monday, Febru‐ ary 21.

According to the Euro‐ pean Mediterranean Seis‐ mological Centre (EMSC), the earthquake was recorded at a depth of 10 kilometres. It hit short‐ ly before 10.30pm, 7km north west of Birmingham.

One person took to social media and said: “We were just getting into bed and thought there had been a crash or explosion near by.

“Confused by the rum‐ bling we checked in doors and went to make sure all was okay outdoors. Five of our neighbours were out there too, quite confused by the whole thing.”

A Willenhall resident revealed: “I was in bed just nodding off to sleep and felt the house shake.

I thought it was someone trying to get into the house.”

The quake was also felt in Wolverhampton, Wednesbury and Dudley.

Vodafone fined 6,000 euros A COURT in Zaragoza has fined Vodafone €6,000 for illegiti‐ mate interference in a man’s right to personal pri‐ vacy, by making continu‐ ous and repeated phone calls even though he had told them he did not wish to be called by them.

In a ruling that will please many, the ruling dated Febru‐ ary 10, instructs the company to cease making calls of this nature as it is a violation of the right to privacy.

Vodafone can appeal before the same court with‐ in 20 days following notification of the judgement.

The individual concerned was bombarded with calls trying to sell Vodafone services to him, so on on September 12, 2020, he sent an email to the company requesting the cancellation of his data so that the telephone calls would cease and he would not be disturbed, since they interrupted his hours of rest.

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Dog owner changes THE Government Coun‐ cil of Ministers has ap‐ proved an amendment to a bill that sees the sale of pets in stores banned, and prison sen‐

tences up to two years for animal abuse.

I m p o r t a n t l y t h e r e‐ vised amendments to the bill extends cover‐ age to include wild ani‐

Harry ‘still British’ W I T H the row continuing over police protection for Prince Harry and his family when in the UK, the royal has said the country will always be his home, even though he now lives in the USA. Lawyers told the High Court in the first hearing of his action against the Home Secretary, that Prince Harry did not feel safe visiting his home country under current arrangements and that he wanted to pay the police for their protection.

Government lawyers have however said his of‐ fer was ‘irrelevant’ to how officials took decisions over Royal Family security.

Prince Harry’s barrister Shaheed Fatima QC con‐ firmed that his ties to the UK remained strong saying: “It goes without saying that he does want to come back to see family and friends and to con‐ tinue to support the charities that are so close to his heart.

“Most of all, this is and always will be his home.”

mals who until now were not covered, the law in the past having dealt with domestic ani‐ mal abuse only.

It also lists distribut‐ ing animal abuse videos or images online as an aggravating circum‐ stance, with previous atrocities including ‘drowning a baby wild boar’ or ‘burning a fox alive’ and then upload‐ ing it to social networks.

In what is a significant step forward, the law adopts a zero sacrifice approach prohibiting the sale of pets in stores, wild animals in circuses, eliminates the list of potentially dan‐ gerous dogs, penalises leaving a dog unattend‐ ed for more than 24 hours, commits to pro‐ fessional breeding and includes sterilisation in case of not being able to keep males and females separated.

NEWS

Sandy Hook compensation IN a landmark case, the oldest gunsmith in the USA has reached a settlement to compensate the relatives of those victims who lost their lives in the Sandy Hook massacre.

The nine families reached a historic $73 mil‐ lion settlement in their lawsuit against Reming‐ ton, the maker of the AR‐15‐style gun the gun‐ man used in the shooting.

That type of rifle, designed for military as‐ sault operations in the Vietnam War, is the same firearm that was used against civilians in a movie theatre in Aurora, Colorado, in San Bernardino, California, and at the Parkland High School (Florida). The settlement, reached with the families of five of the chil‐ dren and four of the adults slain, is the largest of its kind involving a weapons manufacturer

A JUDGE has ordered Don‐ ald Trump and his two eldest children to testify in the New York fraud inquiry that is looking into his affairs.

The former president is however expected to appeal the court ruling, which he’s branded a “continuation of the greatest witch‐hunt in history.”

The ongoing investigation into alleged fraudulent busi‐ ness practices by State Attor‐

MASSACRE: Victims who lost their lives.

and relatives of mass shooting victims.

The agreement is seen as a major setback for the firearms industry, with lawyers for the liti‐ gants basing their strategy on the advertising they made of the gun in order to circumvent the strict federal law that protects these com‐ panies from these litigations.

Trump ordered to testify ney General Letitia James has received support from New York judge Arthur En‐ goron who directed Mr Trump, his son Donald Trump Jr and daughter Ivan‐ ka to give evidence within 21 days to her civil inquiry.

Judge Engoron said Ms James had “the clear right” to issue her subpoenas and question the Trumps after

having uncovered “copious evidence of possible financial fraud.”

He wrote that failing to is‐ sue subpoenas “would have been a blatant dereliction of duty.”

Ms James is investigating whether Mr Trump inaccu‐ rately represented his finan‐ cial circumstances to secure loans.

FEATURE

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EWN 19

European court rules against Spain’s Modelo 720 penalty regime Since 2013, residents of Spain have been obliged to submit an annual declaration reporting the assets they own outside Spain – Modelo 720 (Form 720). To discourage people from non-compliance, the regulation imposes very high penalties for failing to file Modelo, filing it late, or including false or inaccurate data.

After several complaints were submitted, the European Commission reviewed its legality and opened an infringement procedure against Spain in 2015. After this was ignored, the Commission issued another notice in 2017. Now the European Court of Justice (ECJ) has ruled that Spain infringed the European principle of free movement of capital, and Spain will be changing its regulations.

Note that this ruling is just against 720’s penalty regime, not against Modelo 720 itself.

and disproportionally high when compared to those applied for failing to report Spanish domestic assets and income. In many cases the penalties and fines amounted to more than 100% of the value of the assets in question.

The Spanish authorities will now change their penalty regime to make it more proportionate and less severe.

By Fiona Keogh, Private Client Manager, Blevins Franks

Yes. The obligation to declare your offshore assets and what you need to report was never called into question. If you are a resident of Spain and own assets abroad, it remains compulsory to accurately submit your Modelo 720 each year, if you meet the criteria. There is no sign that this will change in future.

What has changed?

Do I still need to submit Modelo 720 each year?

The ECJ ruled that the penalties were extremely repressive

The ECJ also ruled that the absence of application of the statute of limitation to the tax obligations derived from Modelo 720 infringes the European law principles. From now on, the statute of limitation will be applicable to those tax obligations derived from Modelo 720. Taxpayers will be able to rely in the principle of legal certainty and if four years elapses since they failed to submit, or incorrectly submitted, Modelo 720, the Spanish tax authorities will have lost their right to tax audit the taxpayer and impose penalties.

Will previous penalties be refunded?

If you were fined in the past for submitting your Modelo 720 late or failing to submit one, you may be able to claim some of the penalty back. This is not automatic; refunds will be determined on a case-by-case basis.

Talk to a Spanish tax lawyer.

Who needs to submit Modelo 720 and when?

Modelo 720 is not a tax return as such, but simply an annual requirement to report information about assets. It’s compulsory for those who meet the criteria to be resident in Spain for tax purposes.

It is due by 31st March each year, declaring the offshore assets you owned outside Spain at the end of the previous year.

You have to report all assets in a particular category if the value of your total assets in that category amounts to over €50,000.

The three reporting categories are: 1. Accounts held with financial institutions (banks)

2. Investments 3. Immovable property If you have already submitted Modelo 720 in recent years, you only need to report again if: • The value of an existing asset grew by more than €20,000, or • You sold an asset/closed an account, or • You obtained new assets.

It’s worth noting that Spain can be a more tax-efficient country to live in than many people realise, particularly for your investment capital and income.

Ask a financial adviser to review your assets to make sure they are held in the most tax-efficient, compliant arrangements for Spain. This could reduce your tax liability and provide peace of mind that your tax planning is legitimate in Spain and that submitting Modelo 720 is nothing to fear.

Keep up to date on the financial issues that may affect you on the Blevins Franks news page at www.blevinsfranks.com

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Public debt up AS with most nations affect‐ ed by the pandemic, public debt in Spain continued to skyrocket during 2020, but at a rate lower than the gov‐ ernment expected. Accord‐ ing to the Bank of Spain, the country’s debts amounted to €1.427 trillion in Decem‐ ber last year, €81.98 billion above the figure with which it concluded 2020 (€1.346 trillion).

As is to be expected the bulk of the debt, €1.245 tril‐ lion, is owed by the State.

Spain’s national debt level does appear to have peaked, even though it in‐ creased to an all‐time high in 2021. Debt fell in the final quarter of the year by €4.5 trillion, the first drop since the start of the pandemic.

Debt owed by the au‐ tonomous communities rose to €313 billion and that of local authorities by €220 billion. Of most concern is the €99 billion debt owed

by Social Security with the remaining government or‐ ganisations owing €55 bil‐ lion.

NEWS

Children offered vaccine Gambling ban FOLLOWING the announcements that Wales and Scotland will be offering the coronavirus vaccine to children aged five to 11, it is now confirmed that England and Northern Ireland will be doing the same.

Health Secretary Sajid Javid confirmed that the UK government’s vaccine advisory body, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Im‐ munisation (JCVI), had advised that the roll‐ out be extended to ensure everyone in the age group is eligible for the jab. Ministers he said have taken on board this recommenda‐ tion.

He added that the NHS in England will “prepare to extend this non‐urgent offer to all children during April.”

Meanwhile, Northern Ireland’s health min‐ ister Robin Swann announced that the coun‐

VACCINE: Will be given to children.

try would be carrying out the same move.

Mr Javid said: “I have accepted the advice from the independent Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) to make a non‐urgent offer of Covid‐19 vac‐ cines to all children aged five to 11 in Eng‐ land.”

Spanish actress investigated AN award‐winning Spanish actress is be‐ ing investigated for allegedly buying a fraudulent Covid pass. Other big names have been implicated in the scandal too.

Officers from the National Police are in‐ vestigating actress Veronica Echegui after she reportedly bought the fake Covid pass from a criminal organisation that was busted last month in Madrid.

The gang reportedly infiltrated Spain’s National Health System and

used an ‘insider’ nurse.

The nurse had allegedly entered data on the Spanish National Health System to enable certificates to be issued that were ‘real’ but had not involved an actual vacci‐ nation taking place.

Echegui is not the only name to have been implicated in the scandal. Ana Ca‐ meno and Omar Montes have also re‐ portedly been linked to the fake Covid passes.

NHS England has announced that it will from April 1 no longer take money from the gambling industry to fund specialised addiction ser‐ vices, instead the organisa‐ tion will fund these from its own resources.

This as the organisation faces record demand for its specialist support.

The health service’s Na‐ tional Mental Health Direc‐ tor, Claire Murdoch, has writ‐ ten to the grant‐making charity GambleAware to say the NHS will be fully funding its own gambling services across England.

The decision she said was

“heavily influenced” by pa‐ tients who were uncomfort‐ able about using services paid for by the industry.

She added: “Additionally, our clinicians feel there are conflicts of interest in their clinics being part‐funded by resources from the gambling industry.”

Accounts for GambleAware show that it collected £16 mil‐ lion (€19 million) between April and December last year from voluntary donations by the gambling industry to fund treatments, including £1.2 million (€1.44 million) which was given to NHS specialist clinics.

and finally...

EPIC FAIL: A woman tried to make a ‘skylight’ party entrance in Alicante. The woman ended up falling 15 metres. She broke her leg and possibly her hip too in the fall. The rescuers used ropes to climb down to the injured woman.

Fortunately, the rescue mission was completed in the space of a few hours and the woman was rushed to hospital where she received medical attention.

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Trapped passenger blasts Ryanair

Problems out of its control.

ONE Ryanair passenger has blasted the company after she was charged for water after being trapped on‐ board.

The flight had been head‐ ing from Cork to London but due to Storm Eunice, it was diverted to Edinburgh.

Bikini ad banned ONLINE fashion retailer Boohoo has had an ad in the UK banned for showing a model wearing thong‐style bikini bottoms by Britain’s advertising regulator for objectifying and sexualising women.

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) said the ad was irresponsible and likely to cause serious offence, noting that neither the partial nudity nor the bikini bottoms were relevant to the product and that the images did not show the product as it would usually be worn.

A statement issued by the watchdog said a series of poses in the listing were “sexually suggestive”, and another emphasised the model’s exposed skin rather than the product. London‐listed Boohoo, which has sought to improve its reputation after negative publicity over supply chain failings, told ASA that the images were part of its swimwear cat‐ egory and this was why the model wearing the t‐ shirt was in a bikini.

The passenger told one publication: “They gave us two options when we land‐ ed in Edinburgh, they said that we could get off the plane and find our own transport out of our own pockets, or stay on the plane and wait.

“About nine people got off the plane. We landed in Scotland at 2pm and left at about 5pm. We were just sit‐ ting there for three hours, they wouldn’t let us off.

“They had the front door open for air but they were still charging people for wa‐ ter and food.

“When it had tried to land in London earlier people were getting sick, they ran out of sick bags and even then people needed water and they were charging for it.

Ryanair claimed that the problems were out of its control and reportedly emailed passengers and said it had: “made all reasonable efforts to prevent and re‐ duce the flight delay, and un‐ derstand the inconvenience it may have caused.”

NEWS

Poland loses EU funding THE European Court of Jus‐ tice on February 16 ruled against Hungary and Poland, who effectively lost their court challenge to an EU rule that allows billions of euros of funding to be conditional on democratic standards.

In its judgement the Court said that complying with rule of law was a con‐ dition of enjoying mem‐ bership of the EU, dealing a blow to the govern‐ ments in Hungary and Poland who have been widely accused of back‐ sliding on standards in re‐ cent years.

Hungary’s governing party condemned the rul‐ ing as a political decision, arguing against the court ruling that “sound finan‐ cial management of the EU’s budget” could be se‐ riously compromised by breaches of rule of law.

They added that EU member states signed up to common values such as rule of law and solidarity

and the EU “must be able to defend those values.”

Both countries have been investigated for un‐ dermining the indepen‐

dence of courts, media and non‐governmental or‐ ganisations and both are key recipients of EU fund‐ ing.

Met Officers charged THE CPS in the UK has confirmed that two serving Met Police Officers and one former officer are being charged with sharing ‘racist and misogynistic mes‐ sages’ via WhatsApp with Sarah Everard’s killer Wayne Couzens.

The charges follow an investigation by the Indepen‐ dent Officer for Police Conduct with all three accused of sending grossly offensive messages on a public com‐ munications network contrary to section 127 of the Communications Act 2003.

The three are due to appear at Westminster Magis‐ trates’ Court on March 16. The CPS said it cannot con‐ firm the names of the officers for operational reasons.

Rosemary Ainslie, head of the CPS special crime divi‐ sion, said: “Following a referral of evidence by the In‐ dependent Office for Police Conduct, the CPS has au‐ thorised charges against two serving Metropolitan Police officers and one former officer.”

STATS

799

The Vatican is the country with the smallest population: 799.

NEWS

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Player of the Year Johnny Depp honoured SPANIARD Jon Rahm, the world’s number one golf player, has been voted

the 2021 Player of the Year for the second time in three years by profes‐

Google privacy improved THE recently announced plans to limit data tracking on Google’s Chrome browser, making it more private, is to be extended to cover apps on its Android based smartphones in a boost for consumer privacy rights.

The so‐called Privacy Sandbox project aims to curb the amount of user data that advertisers can gather, in a move that will please many users and brings the company more in line with Apple.

Apple has for some time forced app developers to ask per‐ mission from users before tracking them and their usage.

While the move will be welcomed by users and privacy promoters, the news will be a big blow to firms like Meta, who rely on putting their code on apps to track consumer be‐ haviour.

Meta said this month that Apple’s changes would cost it $10 billion (£7.3 billion) this year, however the loss is to be substantially more as Google’s Android operating system is used by about 85 per cent of smartphone owners worldwide.

Google have said that third‐party cookies, which use peo‐ ple’s browsing history to target adverts, will be phased out on their Chrome browser by 2023, but no date has been giv‐ en for smartphones.

sionals on the DP World Tour, picking up the Seve Ballesteros Award named after his fellow Spaniard, organisers said on Wednesday February 16.

The 27‐year‐old fin‐ ished as Europe’s leading points scorer at the 2021 Ryder Cup, with 3.5 points from his five matches, and has spent an overall of 27 weeks as world number one.

The acknowledgement of Rahm’s contribution to the game comes in the year that he secured his first major at the US Open, becoming the first champion from Spain and just the fourth Spaniard to win any major.

The Player of the Year award is named after the late five‐times major champion Ballesteros, and, for the first time this year, incorporates the former Golfer of the Year award into one singular award, voted for by play‐ ers.

PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN ac‐ tor Johnny Depp was presented the state medal of honour for pro‐ moting the country in his films by Serbian President Aleksandar Vu‐ cic during a Statehood Day cere‐ mony in Belgrade on Tuesday, February 15.

The medal is awarded for “out‐ standing merits in public and cul‐ tural activities, especially in the field of film, art and promotion of the Republic of Serbia in the world,” according to Balkan In‐ sight.

Receiving the honour Depp said: “I truly, sincerely thank you, Presi‐ dent Vucic, and this medal of mer‐ it, if I am given the honour to walk away with this, I thank you for be‐ ing kind enough to bestow it upon me.”

He added: “I’m right now on the verge of a new life and I like it, I like a re‐beginning. And I would love for that beginning to start here.”

Depp has participated in several projects connected to Serbia in re‐ cent years, having shot scenes in Belgrade for ‘Minimata’ and voic‐ ing a lead character in the animat‐ ed series ‘Puffins’, which is pro‐ duced in the country.

DEPP: Has participated in several projects in Serbia.

Spanish eggs TWO European agencies, the EU Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and the EU Food Safety Authority (EFSA), have announced that they are investigating an outbreak of salmonella linked to Spanish eggs.

The outbreak has so far affected 272 people in six countries since it was first identified in September 2021, resulting in 24 people being hospitalised and the deaths of two men.

The report, first published on February 10, states that the cases have been traced back to ‘restaurants serving eggs distributed by a common supplier, Spanish Packing Centre A’, without directly identify‐ ing the supplier.

The report said the eggs originated “from three Spanish farms, with one testing positive for the out‐ break strain.”

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‘Supersonic boom’ LOCALS in the north west of the UK feared they had been hit by a mini earth‐ quake on the morning of Tuesday, February 15. It is believed that an anti‐sub‐ marine surveillance RAF jet caused a sonic boom.

According to the British Geological Survey (BGS), no tremors had been recorded but they had recorded sig‐ nals consistent with an air‐ craft going supersonic. The BGS commented: “We do have signals that may be consistent with an event of a sonic origin.

“British Aerospace con‐ firmed they did have air‐

RAF JET: Residents heard a blast.

craft airborne at the time and two RAF aircraft, but cannot confirm at this time if any had gone superson‐ ic.”

Flightradar24 also record‐ ed an Air Force jet in the area at the time.

Residents heard the blast at around 11am in Mersey‐

side, Cheshire, Lancashire and Greater Manchester.

A local told one publica‐ tion: “There was a loud bang and the whole house violently shook.

“We went upstairs to see if a wardrobe or something had fallen but couldn’t see anything out of place.”

British ambassador meeting THE UK ambassador to Spain and the mayor of Adeje, Tenerife, met on Tuesday, February 15 to discuss Brexit and the future of British tourism in the Canary Islands.

Ambassador Hugh Elliott, and Mayor Miguel Rodriguez Fraga also met representa‐ tives from the tourism and ho‐ tel sectors. The UK ambas‐ sador said: “The Canary Islands continues to be the favourite destination of the British tourist. Prior to the Covid pandemic, five million British visitors picked the Ca‐ naries as their holiday destina‐ tion, and we are hoping to see those numbers again as soon as possible, and believe we will. During 2021 the archipelago was already a des‐ tination in demand for the British holidaymaker.”

According to the mayor of Adeje, José Miguel Rodríguez Fraga, “Adeje and the UK have a long history from a tourist, a residential and economic point of view.”

NEWS

Robinho extradition PROSECUTORS in Italy’s Milan have requested an arrest warrant and the extradition of the former Brazilian foot‐ baller Robson de Souza ‘Robinho.’ The Italian Supreme Court has sentenced Robinho to nine years in prison for rape. He was convicted of raping a 23‐year‐old girl in a Mi‐ lan nightclub in 2013 with a friend and other men.

The requests have been submitted to the Italian Justice Ministry by the prosecutors for both Robinho and his friend Riccardo Falco. Notifications will be sent to the Brazilian au‐ thorities. However, it is believed that Brazil will not agree to the extraditions. According to local media reports, the Brazilian constitution will not allow for citizens to be extra‐ dited.

Once the international arrest warrant has been granted the former Manchester City and Real Madrid player could be detained if he leaves Brazil and enters another country that has an extradition agreement with Italy.

and finally...

COCA-COLA, who has not been very successful in introducing new flavours, is experimenting again. This time with the launch of a completely new and different flavoured drink known as Starlight. Starlight is the first beverage from Coca‐ Cola Creations, a new innovation platform, that has not yet said what the new limited edition tastes like, other than to say it will be available in regular and sugar free versions.

The launch of the new line, expected this month, has got everyone guessing as to what the galaxy inspired drink may taste like.

NEWS

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Thai prison teen warning A FACEBOOK page has been set up to raise aware‐ ness of the plight of Ashley Oosthuizen, a young South African student facing a death sentence in a Thai prison and as a warning for travelling students.

The 22‐year‐old from George in the Western Cape of South Africa had no criminal record when she finished school in 2018 and moved to the island of Koh Samui.

After meeting a man who ran a drug dealing business, Ashley became embroiled in an MDMA dealing scan‐ dal when she unwittingly signed for a package con‐ taining the drugs while working at his restaurant.

Police were following the trail and she was immedi‐ ately detained and sen‐ tenced to death. That was later reduced to life impris‐ onment.

A website and Facebook page have now been set up with Ashley’s case serving as a warning for travelling students.

ASHLEY: Serving as a warning to travelling students.

Mask removal THE Spanish Society of Gen‐ eral and Family Physicians (SEMG) have called on the government to maintain the usage of the mask in‐ doors until the cumulative incidence drops below 50, with the government cur‐ rently considering a propos‐ al from paediatricians to eliminate the usage in schools from the end of February.

Quique Bassat, ISGlobal Epidemiologist, Paediatri‐ cian and Coordinator of the Working Group of the Span‐ ish Association of Paedi‐ atrics (AEP) for the Reopen‐

ing of Schooling, said that it is ideal to eliminate mask usage when the au‐ tonomous communities have a cumulative incidence (AI) as low as possible.

However he continued saying: “For the general population, I would not ad‐ vance ‐ to this extent ‐ until we have an incidence be‐ low 50 cases per 100,000 in‐ habitants at 14 days.

“So it is foreseeable that it will be around Easter: If we continue at this rate, at least we will be close, but it is dif‐ ficult to hone in on the pre‐ diction.”

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NEWS

NHS therapy dog

RUBY: Works in hospitals.

AN NHS therapy dog called Ruby and a mini toy town were just some of the ways the NHS encouraged children to keep calm while they were vaccinated at half term.

According to the NHS: “Ru‐ by, the eight‐year‐old Briard who has worked in hospitals

Jet2 boosts capacity SINCE the Spanish government decided to relax coronavirus travel rules for children, a strong demand for flights to Tener‐ ife has returned. Jet2.com and Jet2holidays have responded and added additional flights and holidays to the popular Spanish island. Since February 14, children aged between 12 and 17 years old no longer need to be fully vaccinated to be able to fly into Spain. Between late February and late May, Jet2 will offer an additional 7,000 seats. Flights will be avail‐ able from East Midlands, Edinburgh, Leeds Bradford, Glas‐ gow and Manchester airports. The chief executive of Jet2 Steve Heapy revealed: “With Spain scrapping vaccination certification rules for 12 to 17‐year‐olds and international travel starting to return to normal, families are really jump‐ ing at the chance to enjoy a much‐needed holiday in Tener‐ ife, and we have seen an increase in bookings.”

as a therapy dog for seven years, has been helping ease any nerves for teens in the Midlands with regular clinics in Nottingham.

“Meanwhile in the Black Country, the local trust ran a ‘mini toy town, where at‐risk five to 11‐year‐olds could take part in a range of fun games on their way to getting jabbed, including hop‐scotch and a treasure hunt, with a game of snakes and ladders while they waited for 15 min‐ utes post‐jab.”

GP and Deputy Lead of the NHS Vaccination Programme, Dr Nikki Kanani, said: “The half‐term offered the perfect opportunity to get your child protected, with a range of ini‐ tiatives up and down the country, that helped children feel at ease when getting their vaccine.

“From furry friends like Ru‐ by, the much‐loved therapy dog, the sheep at a pop‐up petting zoo and a mini toy town ‐ the NHS did everything it could to get your loved ones protected.”

Putin’s Valencia connection VLADIMIR PUTIN’S now‐fa‐ mous six‐metre‐long (20ft) white table, at which several world leaders have been pic‐ tured sitting in recent weeks, was manufactured by a com‐ pany in the city of Valencia.

This enormous piece of fur‐ niture has become famous in its own right after images and memes flooded social media.

It played a central role in im‐ ages of the Russian leader’s meetings with the likes of French Prime Minister, Em‐ manuel Macron, and, more re‐ cently, Olaf Scholz, the Ger‐

FAMOUS TABLE: Was designed by a resident of Valencia.

man Chancellor.

The splendid table was de‐ signed by Vicente, a resident of the Valencian town of Alcass‐ er. “Until I saw her packed and loaded, I did not rest. You can‐ not imagine the suffering that table was for me,” the furni‐

ture manufacturer assured one publication.

Scholz and Putin sat at this very table in Moscow on Tues‐ day, February 15, to talk about the crisis in Ukraine, in an at‐ tempt to avoid any military es‐ calation in the region.

HIV woman cured AN American leukaemia patient has become the first woman ever, and only the third per‐ son to date, to be cured of the AIDS‐causing Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV/AIDS).

According to researchers, the 64‐year‐old woman received a bone marrow transplant from a naturally resistant donor.

Her treatment is the first to involve umbili‐ cal cord blood, a newer approach that may make treatment more accessible, and avail‐ able for more people.

Since receiving blood from the umbilical

cord to treat her acute myeloid leukaemia ‐ a cancer that begins in the blood‐producing cells in the bone marrow ‐ the woman has shown remission to the virus. She has report‐ edly remained virus‐free for 14 months, with‐ out the need for any anti‐HIV drugs treat‐ ment, known as antiretroviral therapy.

The two previous cases of recovery had oc‐ curred in men, one white, and one Latino, who had both received adult stem cells, which are most often used in bone marrow transplants.

28 EWN

www.euroweeklynews.com

24 February - 2 March 2022

NEWS

Amazon Visa deal Covid counting chaos A GLOBAL deal has finally been reached between online giant Amazon, and credit card com‐ pany Visa with the retailer now accepting credit card pay‐ ments from Visa card users.

Last year, due to the fees that Visa was charging to process credit card payments for online purchases, Amazon had threat‐ ened to stop accepting their

CREDIT CARD: Customers had been hit with surcharges.

cards.

Customers in Australia and Singapore had also been hit

Second Brexit referendum A PROPOSAL for a second Brexit referendum has been put forward by the European Parliament in a report. The report looked at Article 50 and how member states leave the block. It claims that Brits were not given all the essen‐ tial information before the referendum was held in 2016 and MEPs have suggested that a second referendum would be a “demographic safeguard” now that all the facts are known. The report said: “[The Committee] believes that, given the nature of the decision to leave the Union and its fundamental impacts on citizens of the departing Member State, the holding of a referendum to confirm the final decision to leave can be an important democratic safeguard.

“It considers that the confirmation of this final choice by its citizens is also crucial in case negotiations of a withdrawal agreement fail to conclude, provoking a no‐deal scenario.”

with surcharges when using Visa to pay for goods on Ama‐ zon. From Thursday, February 17, Visa removed this surcharge in those countries.

While negotiations were on‐ going, Amazon had already lift‐ ed the ban on using Visa cards from the UK for payment.

“We’ve recently reached a global agreement with Visa that allows all customers to contin‐ ue using their Visa credit cards in our stores,” said a statement from Amazon.

“This agreement includes the acceptance of Visa at all Ama‐ zon stores and sites today, as well as a joint commitment to collaboration on new product and technology initiatives to en‐ sure innovative payment expe‐ riences for our customers in the future,” Visa said in response.

A PUBLICATION in Spain is alleging that some regions across the country have been miscalculating the number of Covid deaths they report.

At least eight regions across Spain are thought to have inflated their Covid death figures by up to 20 per cent, with some com‐ munities accused of adding deaths for people who died from other causes, but had given a positive test result for Covid.

The Centre for the Coor‐ dination of Alerts and Health Emergencies (CCAES) was reportedly not even aware of the chaos and did not know that the different autonomous com‐ munities were counting Covid deaths in different ways.

A source in the CCAES re‐ vealed: “We have always understood that the ACs only counted deaths due to Covid, not Covid and deaths due to other caus‐ es.”

EXPAT ULTRA

The autonomous com‐ munities have been com‐ plaining to the CCAES. It has now been acknowl‐ edged that issues have been found with counting

methods.

Not only are different au‐ tonomous communities us‐ ing different criteria but there is also a delay in shar‐ ing data with the Ministry.

Flight attendant goes potty A FLIGHT attendant allegedly hit an unruly passenger with a coffee pot aboard a flight to Washington DC after they re‐ portedly tried to enter the cockpit.

The American Airlines Flight 1775 had been heading to the capital when an ‘unruly passenger’ caused chaos, forcing the plane to be diverted to Kansas City. According to the airline crew members and passengers were involved in subduing the passenger.

Passenger Mouaz Moustafa took to Twitter and shared videos of the incident and claimed that the passenger had tried to gain access to the cockpit and also open another door. He also revealed that a flight attendant had hit the un‐ ruly passenger with a coffee pot.

Moustafa took to Twitter and alongside one video he com‐ mented: “More FBI agents in the plane speaking to passen‐ gers, you can see the flight attendant cleaning up the scene.

“The individual who caused the incident was bleeding as the plane made the emergency landing. #AA1775 from #LA to #DC is currently still on tarmac in Kansas City #Missouri.”

STATS

7.5

7.5 million toothpicks can be created from a cord of wood.

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Banned airline passenger BODYCAM footage by the Orlando Police De‐ partment has shown a 32‐year‐old woman on a motorised suitcase leading police on an air‐ port chase.

Chelsea Alston appeared to be drunk and had been banned from boarding a flight to New York.

Footage showed how Orlando police officer Andrew Mamone got involved and tried to re‐ solve the situation after Alston became argu‐ mentative.

Alston then used her electric suitcase to speed away through the airport. Officer Ma‐ mone was surprised at the speed the mo‐ torised suitcase had and jumped on his bike and a chase began.

The officer commented: “We’re going to have a bike pursuing a suitcase in a minute

AIRPORT: Woman banned from her flight.

“Oh man, that thing kind of goes fast.”

On the video footage laughing could be heard from other people in the airport as the chase ensued.

Alston was finally caught by the police and taken away in handcuffs. She became violent and according to reports was charged with bat‐ tery of a police officer.

UK cyber security sector THE UK’s cyber security sec‐ tor generated £10.1 billion in revenue in the last financial year, having reached record levels of investment.

New government data has revealed that companies in the cyber security sector in‐ creased their revenue by 14 per cent from the year before.

The government said: “Employment across the in‐ dustry rose by 13 per cent, with more than 6,000 new jobs created, opening up new opportunities for peo‐ ple up and down the UK to join the sector and share its wealth. This brings the to‐ tal number of people work‐

ing in cyber in the UK to 52,700.”

Cyber security has become an increasingly pressing issue for governments and com‐ panies across the world fol‐ lowing a series of high‐pro‐ file cyber attacks against bodies including the NHS in the UK.

Heart-warming tale GISELLE, a one‐legged disabled dog has been given a new lease of life in Kent thanks to Natalia George, the woman who saved her life as an 11‐month‐old puppy.

The incredible German shep‐ herd cross was the victim of a hit‐and‐run incident last Febru‐ ary that left her at death’s door but has now been nursed back to health thanks to a specially‐ constructed prosthetic leg and a four‐wheel cart which has

GISELLE: Given a new lease of life.

helped her to walk again.

Giselle was spotted on a traffic security camera, lying at the side

Step forward on 5G SPAIN has taken a step forward on rolling 5G out across the country after reorganising the telecommunications opera‐ tors working on a frequency band needed for its introduc‐ tion. According to the government, the main objective of this reorganisation is to facilitate more efficient provision of 5G wireless broadband services, to fully take advantage of all the possibilities provided by 5G technology and, ultimate‐ ly, to reduce the costs of deploying mobile communications networks in this band.

The high‐speed of 5G technology will improve communi‐ cations across Spain and will have a direct influence on the transformation of broad sectors of the economy such as manufacturing, natural resource management, agribusiness, health and education; and also on the mobility and logistics sector.

of the road. As a result of the ac‐ cident, the unfortunate pooch had two legs and one paw am‐ putated.

Natalia, the founder of Flori’s Friends Rescue in Kent, nursed the stricken dog back to health.

Eventually, after 10 hard months, she couldn’t bear to be separated from her, so she adopted Giselle. “The amount of blood, sweat, and tears we went through meant everything,” said the new owner.

When Giselle was rescued her spine had actually been broken and fused together. It seemed an impossible task for Natalia’s charity to save the dog’s mobili‐ ty, and she became known as “the charity’s hardest challenge to date.”

EWN 29

30 EWN

24 February - 2 March 2022

www.euroweeklynews.com

EUROPEAN PRESS

EUROPEAN PRESS DENMARK

Catching up

Near beer

ACCORDING to Danmarks Statistik, men are living longer on average than they used to at 79.6 years whilst for women, their lifespan has dropped slightly to 83.4 years.

In the past 30 years, the difference between men and women has fallen from 5.4 to 3.8 years.

RESEARCHERS from the University of Copenhagen say that they have worked out how to infuse the smell of hops into nonalcoholic beer so that it actually tastes like beer. Not only does it taste better but it is greener as hops aren’t transported to the brewery.

THE NETHERLANDS Treasure trove

Brexit boom

THERE was an amazing find by amateur archaeologists who were digging around the Springendal country estate in Twente when they discovered a hoard of gold and silver coins dating back to the 6th century as well as jewellery which may have been buried at a religious site.

THE Dutch foreign investment agency NFIA assisted almost 500 foreign companies to set up offices in Holland in 2021 and believes that part of the reason is thanks to their fear of basing themselves in the UK now that it is no longer part of the European Union.

BELGIUM Good Move

Naked cyclops

AS part of a green programme called Good Move, the Brussels Council has decided that with effect from August 16, 2022 that it will be impossible for traffic to cross the city centre although residents will have camera recognised number plate access.

THE 8.5-metre naked Cyclops who had been amusing drivers for several years has found a new home after being sold for €30,000 by his current owner who is moving to Portugal. He will now stand proud outside a kitchen factory just down the road in Flanders.

GERMANY Golden Bear

Cold bus

THIS year, in a reduced ceremony due to the pandemic, the Golden Bear Award for best film at the Berlin International Film Festival was given to a Catalan film director Carla Simon for Alcarras which tells the story of peach farmers threatened with eviction.

BERLIN can be particularly cold during the winter and a group of volunteers nightly man their Cold Bus which drives around the city offering blankets and hot food to those most in need and even a seat on the bus to allow them to ‘thaw out’.

FRANCE Looted artwork

Mali withdrawal

AS part of the French Government’s programme to return looted art to its rightful owners, it has instructed art galleries such as the Louvre and Musée d’Orsay to return 15 pieces of art including a Gustave Klimt painting to descendants of owners of art stolen by the Nazis.

DESPITE opposition from African leaders, President Macron announced on Thursday February 17 that he planned to withdraw French troops from the former colony of Mali which had been propping up the country against incursions by Islamic jihadists as he no longer supports the government there.

NORWAY Nursing shortage

Holiday fears

ALTHOUGH Norway is anxious to increase the number of new nurses entering the health service, a recent call for young people to fill 500 study places, rather than being oversubscribed, saw just 361 places being taken up, fewer than ever before.

A SURVEY of 230,000 Norwegians undertaken for insurance company Fremtind showed that due to fears of the pandemic and restrictions on ease of travel, just 15 per cent of those responding planned to take an overseas winter holiday whilst the balance were content to remain in Norway.

EUROPEAN PRESS

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EUROPEAN PRESS FINLAND

Damp squib

Unexpected shot

THE city of Tampere has announced that it will no longer use fireworks in council sponsored celebrations such as Independence or New Year’s Days in order to try to help the environment. Instead, it is investigating use of light and music shows to mark special occasions.

FINNISH skier Jon Sallinen surprised himself and an official photographer whilst competing in the Winter Olympics half-pipe skiing qualifiers as during an attempted backflip he veered off course and knocked the camera from the photographer’s hands, although neither was reported to have been injured.

IRELAND More flights

Pride Rainbow

CORK airport will be the base for a third Ryanair aircraft this summer as the airline looks to increase the number of flights operated, resulting in 120 flights per week to 25 destinations including seven new ones as it believes there is an increased desire to travel.

WITH the intention of promoting the city as an inclusive destination for work and vacation, the Limerick City Council has installed its first Pride Rainbow Street crossing alongside a somewhat faded zebra crossing as part of its expanding cycle route.

ITALY Pot luck

Novak welcomed

ON Wednesday February 16, Italy's constitutional court said that it could not allow a referendum concerning legalisation of cannabis as a change in the law would be in breach of existing international agreements despite the fact that 630,000 had signed the petition calling for a public vote.

ITALIAN sports minister Valentina Vezzali has said that controversial tennis star Novak Djokovic who will not be vaccinated even if he has to miss tournaments will be welcome to take part in Rome’s Internazionali d'Italia, although under current regulations he would be banned from hotels and restaurants.

PORTUGAL Get the picture

Chicken Kiev

A PORTUGUESE judge in charge of a case against 89 international Hell’s Angels has demanded that their lawyers supply photographs of all of their tattoos (except those on their private parts) for identification purposes, five months into their trial for allegedly planning to ambush a rival biker.

A PLANE which took off from Funchal in Madeira on February 13 en route for the city of Borispyil in the Ukraine carrying 175 passengers was diverted by its owners at the last minute and landed in Moldovan capital Chisinau and the journey carried on by road.

RUSSIA Strange find

Golden visa

A LOCAL resident of the Libyan coastal town of in Al-Marj was surprised to discover a total of 323 blocks of hashish each bearing the image of Russian President Vladimir Putin washed up on the beach. Police assume that they were from a sunken vessel.

A BBC report suggests that due to the Ukraine crisis and fears of Russian arrivals, UK Home Secretary Priti Patel is planning to scrap the so called ‘golden visa’ plan that allows foreign passport holders to reside in the UK provided they invest £2 million in the country.

SWEDEN Metal minister

Daesh disclosure

SPEAKING to Swedish radio station, Bandit Rock, the country’s first female Prime Minister, Magdalena Andersson revealed that she is a huge fan of American heavy metal band System of a Down and plays their music regularly at home as well as when she holds parties.

HAVING kept the results of a 2019 internal enquiry quiet until now, Borje Ekholm the CEO of Swedish telecom giant Ericsson admitted on February 15 that it may have paid money through intermediaries to Daesh (ISIS) in order to gain access to the market in parts of Iraq.

24 February - 2 March 2022

EWN 31

FINANCE BUSINESS EXTRA Cash machines THE Catalan government wants to see a law introduced whereby banks are required to install cash machines in every municipality as more and more branches are closed and there are 10,000 fewer machines across the country than there were before the financial cri‐ sis.

Super bonus HAVING deferred bonuses for five years (2016 to 2020), the main di‐ rectors of Santander Bank have been granted a special package which includes an additional 2021 bonus of 2.86 million shares, val‐ ued on February 15, (the day it was agreed) at more than €10 million.

Ulster Bank THE decision by NatWest to close its Ulster Bank subsidiary in the Re‐ public of Ireland is expected to cost £900 million due to the cost of withdrawal and losses on loans but it will release much needed capital to inject back into the Group.

Bounce back IT would appear that the hit that UK retail took from Omicron in De‐ cember was short lived and after a 4 per cent drop in sales prior to Christmas, the retail sector bounced back with a better‐than‐ expected jump of 1.9 per cent in January 2022.

Inditex tests Bizum AS an initial experiment, fashion group Inditex has confirmed to the Spanish Press that it will accept payment via Bizum from cus‐ tomers purchasing online from their Stradivarius, Massimo Dutti and Oysho brands. Bizum is a speedy online payment system owned by 23 Spanish banks which is attracting large numbers of new users within Spain.

It seems to be a natural step for the Spanish fashion giant as other major shopping outlets such as El Corte Inglés already accept this op‐ tion and assuming the trail is suc‐ cessful then expect the option to roll out to the Zara stores.

www.euroweeklynews.com • 24 Feb - 2 March 2022

34

STAT OF WEEK

€2.5 billion

is the record profit reported by Spain’s leading oil company Repsol for 2021 which will allow it to substantially increase shareholder dividends.

Passengers won’t pay THE International Air Transport As‐ sociation (IATA) believes that a pro‐ posal from Aeropuertos Españoles y Navegación Aérea (AENA), to recov‐ er their €2.3 billion losses by raising airport charges was not in the best long‐term interest of the travel in‐ dustry.

IATA considered that while Covid‐ 19 had a catastrophic impact on travel, it did not have a substantial impact on the financial viability of AENA, as reflected by their 2020 fi‐ nancial statements and their results for the first nine months of 2021.

With the AENA forecast of cash

and credit availability for the coming years, airlines believed that their re‐ quest was not only unjustified but also irresponsible.

“We welcome that the DGAC and the Ministry of Transport have re‐ jected an unjustified request for a cost increase that would have put the recovery of air travel at risk.

“This is a logical decision based on solid financial evidence and it sends a strong message to other airports and air navigation service providers tempted to follow a similar ap‐ proach, that such monopolistic be‐ haviour will not be accepted.

LEGALLY SPEAKING

“Passing on the burden of finan‐ cial recovery to your customers, is not the way to incentivise travel, re‐ establish air connectivity and start putting the Covid‐19 crisis behind us once and for all,” said Rafael Schvartzman, IATA’s Regional Vice President for Europe.

Spain’s framework for air travel, so important to the hospitality in‐ dustry, includes the freezing of charges for the next five years, but still guarantees the future develop‐ ment needs and investments in sus‐ tainable aviation infrastructure in Spain.

The Opal funeral plan

Can she get permission?

I am not resident in Spain but I have visited my flat in Mallorca twice a year since 1981. When I bought the flat, the seller informed me that he paid com‐ munity fees for one and a half apartments. This was due to an earlier error of measurement that was never for‐ mally rectified. I have continued to pay fees at this rate since 1981. Later I realised that I actually had more square metres which I wanted to register with the catas‐ tral office of the town hall and include a new‐build studio apartment as well. The town hall said I needed approval from the community first. The community wants me to pay for two flats, to pay them €15,000, and cover all ex‐ penses for changing every owner’s property share. Can you clarify?

C S (Baleares) You need DAVID SEARL the commu‐ nity’s permission to YOU AND THE LAW register your new‐ IN SPAIN build studio. Their price for this seems rather high and I don’t know how they get a figure of €15,000. It seems to me that your best course of action is to give up your plan for a new stu‐ dio and wait. You are now paying community fees for less property than you actually own. At some point in the future all of these non‐regulation patches will have to be cleared up.

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

DURING the pandemic generally and the lockdown specifically, exercise brand Peloton simply couldn’t keep up with orders for its static bikes and running machines, as consumers all over the world including the UK wanted to keep fit.

But now with gyms opening and many finding other options for spend‐ ing their money rather than on the four figure Peloton machines, income

Golden Leaves takes away the pressure.

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It’s not something any of us like to think about but it is es‐ sential to plan ahead to alleviate some of the stress for loved ones.

Particularly for those living abroad, a Golden Leaves fu‐ neral plan takes away the pressure of having to arrange a funeral in a different country and a different language.

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Let’s go Peloton has dropped dramatically for both hardware and enrolment in the exer‐ cise classes.

Once valued at around $50 billion on the US stock exchange, it dropped to $10 billion as share prices were slashed, although there has been a slight rally following the announce‐

ment that John Foley, co‐founder chief executive of the firm will step down.

Corporate shareholders are said to be very unhappy in the way that Fo‐ ley managed the company and some appear to want to see it either put up for sale or receive a takeover bid, with

Lack of skill ALTHOUGH Spain is second only to Italy in receiving the most post pandemic financial support from the European Union, it is now facing a prob‐ lem of lack of skilled workers.

There are still significant numbers of unemployed but one industry that suffered dramatically following the 2008 financial crisis was that of commercial building with many workers moving to oth‐ er jobs and not being re‐ placed. Now as large new building projects are being considered, many companies find themselves in the unenvi‐ able position of being unable to bid for work as they simply don’t have a sufficient num‐ ber of trained workers capa‐ ble of taking on the increasing number of new projects.

Mango commits SPANISH fashion brand Man‐ go has taken one step further in its journey towards envi‐ ronmental and social sustain‐ ability. The company, one of the leading groups in the Eu‐ ropean fashion industry, has reviewed the targets set in early 2020 as part of its sus‐ tainability strategic plan and has decided to bring them for‐ ward and now intends that 100 per cent of the polyester used will be recycled by 2025.

Similarly, the firm also plans that by 2025, 100 per cent of cellulose fibres used will be of controlled origin and trace‐ able, bringing forward its orig‐ inal commitment by five years whilst cotton will be only ob‐ tained from sustainable sources. speculation that the company would be an ideal acquisition for Apple, al‐ though other names to be linked in‐ clude Amazon, Nike and Disney.

The other problem is that whilst the concept was fresh, sales were al‐ most guaranteed but there are now other competitors in the market who were able to learn from Peloton’s mistakes and offer possibly slicker and cheaper alternatives.

36 EWN

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CHANGE(P) 1.324,50 236,70 2.991,0 3.594,5 1.423,00 4.837,0 1.933,5 8.991,7 636,80 622,60 2.549,0 438,20 594,80 605,00 1,096 195,14 608,00 3.982,0 2.607,50 393,45 3.415,0 545,00 198,25 2.751,0 2.062,0 1.516,0 78,22 2.457,0 1.767,00 3.679,0 7.140,0 6.208,0 3.692,0 371,30 692,20 2.872,0 11.245,0 10.780,0 692,00 1.578,80 427,20 2.314,0 1.294,00 1.982,50 555,50 168,10 1.788,00 612,00 5.018,0

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NET VOL 66,36K 293,34K 12,98K 259,54K 45,80K 92,20K 67,94K 18,25K 3,03K 93,72K 24,38K 1,07M 196,18K 353,05K 214,94K 5,36M 94,97K 8,61K 894,93K 5,41M 29,28K 154,91K 1,85M 20,59K 126,60K 68,68K 892,22K 72,95K 98,60K 106,87K 18,62K 8,64K 279,58K 130,61K 519,24K 79,63K 45,80K 47,41K 174,20K 683,13K 4,37M 38,25K 71,09K 23,11K 2,63M 5,11M 280,80K 220,43K 55,99K

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% CHG.

NET VOL

1.758,50 5.206,0 118,20 278,60 1.804,0 808,20 276,20 51,88 6.686,0 747,00 156,00 1.953,00 1.090,60 240,30 6.908,0 28,13 1.309,50 2.449,3 652,00 1.186,00 6.355,0 2.265,00 494,60 618,20 5.768,0 119,40 6,93 671,80 1.559,50 12,84 3.263,0 1.019,00 1.275,00 2.861,0 1.972,0 1.211,00 1.523,00 11.785,0 1.622,50 1.538,50 590,00 150,30 295,70 278,30 3.874,0 1.066,00 138,00 3.150,0 1.196,50

1.725,00 5.178,7 116,70 276,60 1.784,0 800,80 273,80 51,28 6.634,0 745,00 153,75 1.928,00 1.084,00 233,60 6.820,0 27,14 1.292,50 2.416,2 648,40 1.163,50 6.250,0 2.233,00 487,90 609,20 5.669,0 117,67 6,59 666,80 1.543,50 12,27 3.241,0 987,60 1.253,00 2.844,0 1.952,6 1.192,50 1.508,50 11.505,0 1.612,00 1.526,50 581,60 149,05 294,35 269,80 3.847,0 1.057,50 137,08 3.119,4 1.190,00

22,69K 0,53K 382,61K 137,17K 47,02K 69,70K 734,58K 16,71M 36,55K 39,67K 628,85K 132,20K 418,06K 4,71M 15,73K 207,42K 115,25K 20,43K 132,47K 298,47K 106,94K 277,52K 173,60K 81,48K 583,87K 903,76K 451,79K 117,72K 5,15K 2,23M 5,24K 982,14K 301,09K 13,45K 1,63M 127,96K 58,15K 5,98K 185,18K 49,33K 1,38M 398,28K 779,83K 2,00M 21,42K 56,18K 4,72M 5,11K 138,43K

1.19956

0.83346

Units per €

US dollar (USD) ........................................1.1362 Japan yen (JPY)........................................130.55 Switzerland franc (CHF) ...........................1.0442 Denmark kroner (DKK) .............................7.4398 Norway kroner (NOK) ...............................10.187

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 F EBRUARY 21

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 147,62 194,88 220,77 167,30 209,03 191,95 133,42 57,21 62,54 60,59 346,04 346,87 182,13 124,35 45,04 163,36 152,14 250,60 76,37 287,93 142,95 159,90 196,84 170,63 467,81 53,83 222,69 46,61 137,99 151,36

CHANGE 149,71 197,75 223,98 170,54 214,73 195,62 133,91 57,69 62,82 61,32 350,00 350,60 185,06 125,44 46,21 165,36 154,14 252,29 76,86 293,86 143,94 161,06 202,60 172,01 474,92 53,96 225,74 47,37 139,59 153,68

CHANGE% VOLUME(M) 147,24 5,01M 194,20 2,77M 219,79 2,79M 166,19 81,01M 208,60 6,92M 191,18 4,38M 132,05 10,59M 55,38 35,25M 61,99 21,90M 60,19 5,04M 343,37 2,87M 344,10 5,44M 181,39 4,50M 123,61 4,54M 44,51 75,49M 162,94 6,26M 151,13 11,55M 250,01 2,81M 75,89 8,65M 286,30 33,96M 141,81 5,13M 158,82 8,00M 195,79 6,54M 169,45 1,16M 466,83 2,96M 53,28 20,25M 221,84 8,08M 46,24 4,59M 137,16 10,33M 150,05 10,66M M - MILLION DOLLARS

NASDAQ C LOSING P RICES F EBRUARY 21

COMPANY

CHANGE NET / %

VOLUME

537.78% +48.38% +39.71% +24.00% +23.81% +22.54% +20.82% +20.74% +19.83% +19.21% +17.05%

132.00K 19.69M 6.45M 68.70M 277.44K 827.76K 15.29M 15.67M 17.71M 1.68M 1.51M

-57.14% -50.35% -45.73% -43.42% -32.09% -29.97% -29.31% -28.70% -27.17% -23.62% -22.29%

991.53K 2.07M 37.71M 4.03M 1.19M 8.66M 3.75M 1.31M 5.61M 60.84K 66.59M

Most Advanced Blue Water Vaccines Sky Harbour RISE Education Cayman Hookipa Pharma Universal Security Instruments Cyngn Amplitude Maris Tech Karyopharm vTv Therapeutics Inc Datasea

Most Declined Cepton Inspirato Guardion Health Anghami De QualTek Services Doma Holdings Guardforce AI Backblaze Smart for Life China Natural Resources Roku

FINANCE, BUSINESS & LEGAL

www.euroweeklynews.com

World Trade Center Gibraltar

Credit: World Trade Center Gibraltar

FIFTH ANNIVERSARY: Scene from the opening ceremony in 2017.

THE World Trade Center Gibraltar celebrated its fifth anniversary on Tuesday February 15 in a slightly less exuberant manner than in 2017.

At that time, there was no inkling of coronavirus and the brand‐new lobby was crowd‐ ed with people pleased to see the arrival of this new office facility on the Rock.

Within just one month of that ceremony, the building was 98.5 per cent occupied, with nearly 48 per cent of those occupants being new investors to Gibraltar.

Five years on and despite a global pandemic, the building is 100 per cent occupied and is home to a wide array of busi‐ nesses, ranging from estab‐ lished gaming companies with leading global brands and reputations to fast growth start‐ups and trailblaz‐ ers to the new industries that Gibraltar is welcoming.

World Trade Center Gibral‐

tar has also delivered signifi‐ cant benefits to the local com‐ munity, generating an annual sum of £65 million to the Gibraltar.

Throughout these first five years, World Trade Center Gibraltar has been involved in raising £152,590 for several charitable causes and has fielded teams in several sport‐ ing initiatives, from golf to paddle to beach volleyball, all in the name of charity.

Internationally, at the end of 2021, World Trade Center Gibraltar was involved in funding Operation Magic Car‐ pet, a humanitarian rescue of 92 people from Kabul, in Afghanistan and 78 remain in rental accommodation in Is‐ lamabad, Pakistan.

Most of those remaining are women and young chil‐ dren ‐ donations are still sought via the Operation Magic Carpet page on the Go‐ FundMe website https://go fund.me/a8655716.

Scam warning BANKING App Revolut has sent a message to customers warning that criminals are targeting victims by pretend‐ ing to be from Revolut.

These scams often involve fraudsters telling you to move money into a new account due to a fraud or secu‐ rity issue. They usually make it sound urgent to pressure you.

They can also change their phone numbers to make it look like you’re getting a call from a genuine company, so you need to stay vigilant.

Revolut will never contact you over the phone without verifying ourselves first by sending you a message via your Revolut app.

If someone calls you claiming to be from Revolut, hang up immediately then contact their in‐app chat.

BUSINESS EXTRA Brexit result A REPORT by Reuters suggests that the fallout from Brexit has not ad‐ versely affected the Spanish economy with exports to the UK down slightly, but imports down by a significant 26 per cent in 2021 and this is likely to remain the case without an EU trade deal.

ECB support REVIEWING the situation of the Spanish economy at the height of the pan‐ demic, BBVA Bank re‐ search suggests that al‐ though the country suffered the eurozone’s worst slump it was kept solvent thanks to the Eu‐ ropean Central Bank (ECB) support of buying bonds and helping with liquidity.

Clegg promoted FORMER Deputy Prime Minister and leader of the Liberal Party, Sir Nick Clegg, has done well since being voted out of the UK Parliament as he has just been made pres‐ ident of global affairs at Meta, the newly named group that owns Face‐ book.

24 February - 2 March 2022

EWN 37

38 EWN

24 February - 2 March 2022

LEAPY LEE SAYS IT OTHERS THINK IT BY the time you read this, the attack by Russian forces on the Ukraine will probably have already taken place.

The observation, paraphrased by Winston Churchill, that those who ignore the lessons of history are bound to repeat them, has never before rung so true.

If you compare the actions of Adolph Hitler to the activities of Russian president Putin, the parallels are unrelenting.

Hitler built up his forces and developed a dictatorship with absolute control over his citizens. Hitler assured European leaders he had no intention of invading Poland. Hitler falsely accused neighbouring countries of aggressive acts, including the persecution of German immigrants as an excuse for retaliation.

Hitler arrogantly ignored all threats of far‐reaching sanctions and retribution ‐ and more importantly Hitler believed he was absolutely correct in his view that fascism and dictatorship was the only answer.

To me one of the most disturbing events over the last few weeks was the meeting with Putin and China’s president Xi Jinping. Many years ago, in this very

www.euroweeklynews.com

I told you so column, I warned that if Russia ever aligned with China, the World could be in serious trouble.

In the usual way of course the cynics dismissed this as another ‘Leapy rant’.

Well I hate to say I told you so, but I truly believe that China is in full accord with the actions of Russia and the only concession they asked for at their recent meeting was that he wait until the Chinese Olympics were over before launching an attack .

Another factor that Western leaders don’t seem to take on board is that threats of sanctions cut no ice whatsoever. Russia is completely self‐ sufficient, as is China. Between them they have vast reserves of oil, gas, coal and minerals and you only have to walk around a Chinese shop to see they can manufacture just about every commodity under the sun.

They both also produce enough foodstuffs to feed the whole sum of their citizens and can access enough brainwashed and slave workers to grow and produce it. They are both nuclear countries and probably control more warheads than the whole of NATO

members combined.

Well here is my own prophesy ‐ hopefully wrong. Russia will attack. The scale will be disastrous for the whole of the Ukraine. Casualties will be catastrophic. The West will not dare to intervene. Russia will subsequently install its own puppet government.

A dangerous cold war will then prevail, which could last for years. All we can hope is that this is as far as it goes.

If one nuclear weapon is utilised, it could be the end of the civilised world as we know it. Will they be mad enough to do it? I think they possibly could be. They are powerful arrogant fanatics who are convinced democracy is not the answer.

If they are also confident they could actually win such a devastating conflict, we can all put our heads between our legs and kiss our existence goodbye. All this woke and PC nonsense rather pales by comparison, don’t you think!?

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

Series review: Holiday turns into nightmare for Sheridan Smith in No Return A FAMILY holiday takes a turn for the worst in ITV’s four‐part drama series No Return, which is set in Turkey but filmed in locations on the Cos‐ ta del Sol including Nerja, Malaga and Benalmadena.

This series scored a 6.4 out of 10 on IMDB and is definitely worth a watch.

This story of a parent’s worst nightmare is another powerful ITV drama, starring the faultless Sheridan Smith (The Royle Family) as the mother, Kathy, the premise follows the battle between a British family and the Turkish legal system.

Parents Kathy and Martin, played by Michael Jibson (Les Miserables), take their teenage children on an all‐in‐ clusive holiday to Turkey ‐ their big yearly getaway ‐ when their dream holiday plunges into a nightmare as 16‐year‐ old son Noah is dragged away

in handcuffs after being ac‐ cused of sexual assault against another young boy.

The shots of the idyllic beaches and streets filled with flowers make a stark contrast to the narrative of the series as tension is built ahead of Noah’s trial and Kathy and Martin scramble to find a lawyer to help.

Smith’s performance is as powerful as ever, with the typ‐ ical scenes of her puffing away on her cigarette (this time she’s moved onto e‐cigarettes) that we have come to know and love. This dramatic series with a few twists and turns, an unexpected affair and some humour thrown in is a horrify‐ ing but plausible look at legal systems in foreign countries and how one decision can change your life.

The full series of No Return is available to stream on the ITV Hub.

THURSDAY 24/02 FRIDAY 25/02 SATURDAY 26/02

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Garden Rescue Antiques Road Trip Pointless BBC News at Six; Weather BBC London News; Weather Party Political Broadcast The One Show EastEnders Dragons' Den

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Garden Rescue 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

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Final Score Superman & Lois BBC News BBC London News; Weather Weather Celebrity Mastermind The Wall Pointless Celebrities Casualty Casualty BBC News

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Muppets Most Wanted The Green Planet BBC News BBC London News; Weather Weather Countryfile Extraordinary Portraits Fantastic Beasts: A Natural History Antiques Roadshow

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Garden Rescue Antiques Road Trip Pointless BBC News at Six; Weather BBC London News; Weather The One Show Panorama EastEnders Holby City This is Going to Hurt

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Escape to the Country Garden Rescue Antiques Road Trip Pointless BBC News at Six; Weather BBC London News; Weather The One Show Match of the Day Live: The FA Cup BBC News at Ten

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Escape to the Country Garden Rescue Antiques Road Trip Pointless BBC News at Six; Weather BBC London News; Weather Match of the Day Live: The FA Cup The Repair Shop BBC News at Ten

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The Heights Heir Hunters Further Back in Time for Dinner Flog It! Richard Osman's House of Games Great Coastal Railway Journeys Yorkshire Firefighters Great British Menu We are Black and British

8:00pm

Heir Hunters Further Back in Time for Dinner Flog It! Richard Osman's House of Games Great Coastal Railway Journeys Saving Lives at Sea Inside Culture with Mary Beard Your Garden Made Perfect

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To be Announced Flog It! Britain's Ancient Capital: Secrets of Orkney Kelvin's Big Farming Adventure Amazing Hotels: Life Beyond the Lobby The Perfect Morecambe & Wise TOTP2 - Bruce Springsteen Special

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Live Women's FA Cup Football Around the World in 80 Days Flog It! Six Nations Rugby Special Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy Wonders of the Celtic Deep Chris Packham: The Walk that Made Me

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Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is The Heights Murder, Mystery and My Family Further Back in Time for Dinner Flog It! Richard Osman's House of Games Marcus Wareing's Tales from a Kitchen Garden

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Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is The Heights Murder, Mystery and My Family Alaska - Earth's Frozen Kingdom Flog It! Richard Osman's House of Games Marcus Wareing's Tales from a Kitchen Garden

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Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is The Heights Murder, Mystery and My Family Alaska - Earth's Frozen Kingdom Flog It! Richard Osman's House of Games Marcus Wareing's Tales from a Kitchen Garden

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Gareth Edwards' Great Welsh Adventure Fred Dibnah's Made in Britain The Third Man Coast I, Tonya Storyville: Price of Gold Gareth Edwards' Great Welsh Adventure

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Dickinson's Real Deal Lingo ITV London Weather Tipping Point The Chase ITV News London Party Political Broadcast ITV Evening News Emmerdale Losing Your Home - The True Cost: Tonight Emmerdale

An Evening with Sammy Davis Jr TOTP: 1992 TOTP: 1992 St David's Day at the BBC Tom Jones at 80 Manic Street Preachers: Radio 2 Live BBC One Session: Duffy TOTP: 1992 TOTP: 1992

3:00pm 4:00pm 4:59pm 5:00pm 6:00pm 7:00pm 7:30pm 8:00pm 8:30pm 9:30pm 11:20pm

Dickinson's Real Deal Lingo ITV London Weather Tipping Point The Chase ITV News London ITV Evening News Emmerdale Coronation Street Vera ITV News

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Lost Cities of the Ancients Arctic with Bruce Parry The Promise The Promise Wogan: The Best Of Yes, Prime Minister Keeping Up Appearances A Garden in Snowdonia Arctic with Bruce Parry Lost Cities of the Ancients

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Simply Raymond Blanc ITV News and Weather ITV London Weather ITV Racing: Live from Kempton Six Nations Live Ant and Dec's Saturday Night Take Away Starstruck Paul Sinha's TV Showdown ITV News and Weather

2:30pm 3:00pm 3:30pm 4:00pm 4:30pm 5:30pm 6:35pm

The Birth of British Music Winter Journey: Schubert's Winterreise Jonas Kaufmann: Tenor for the Ages Arena - Delia Derbyshire: The Myths and the Legendary Tapes Inside America's Treasure House: The Met

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ITV London Weather Marley and Me Six Nations Live Tipping Point: Best Ever Finals ITV News and Weather ITV News London Dancing on Ice The Good Karma Hospital Trigger Point ITV News and Weather

Fred Dibnah's Made in Britain Gareth Edwards' Great Welsh Adventure Cornwall's Red River Thomas Chatterton: The Myth of the Doomed Poet The Romantics and Us with Simon Schama Desperate Romantics Desperate Romantics

1:30pm 2:30pm 2:55pm 3:00pm 4:00pm 4:59pm 5:00pm 6:00pm 7:00pm 7:30pm 8:00pm 9:00pm

Loose Women ITV Lunchtime News ITV News London Dickinson's Real Deal Lingo ITV London Weather Tipping Point The Chase ITV News London ITV Evening News Emmerdale Coronation Street

4:00pm 5:00pm

Fred Dibnah's Made in Britain Gareth Edwards' Great Welsh Adventure Hidden Wales with Will Millard Patagonia with Huw Edwards Bridging the Gap: How the Severn Bridge Was Built Cornwall's Red River

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ITV Lunchtime News ITV News London Dickinson's Real Deal Lingo ITV London Weather Tipping Point The Chase ITV News London ITV Evening News Live FA Cup Football Britain's Busiest Airport Heathrow

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Fred Dibnah's Made in Britain Gareth Edwards' Great Welsh Adventure Great Barrier Reef Digging for Britain Writing with Fire: Storyville The Secret History of Writing Fred Dibnah's Made in Britain

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ITV Lunchtime News ITV News London Dickinson's Real Deal Lingo ITV London Weather Tipping Point The Chase ITV News London ITV Evening News Emmerdale Live FA Cup Football ITV News

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Countdown A Place in the Sun A New Life in the Sun: Where Are They Now? Four in a Bed Come Dine with Me The Simpsons Hollyoaks Channel 4 News The Dog House Extraordinary Escapes First Dates

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Countdown A Place in the Sun A New Life in the Sun: Where Are They Now? Four in a Bed Come Dine with Me The Simpsons Hollyoaks Channel 4 News Unreported World George Clarke's Amazing Spaces

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Four in a Bed Four in a Bed Four in a Bed Four in a Bed A Place in the Sun Grand Designs Location, Location, Location Channel 4 News Escape to the Chateau Matt Baker: Our Farm in the Dales

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The Simpsons Patrick A Place in the Sun Chateau DIY Channel 4 News Grand Designs The World's Most Luxurious Holidays The Great Pottery Throw Down Celebrity Hunted The Curse

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A Place in the Sun A New Life in the Sun: Where Are They Now? Four in a Bed Come Dine with Me The Simpsons Hollyoaks Channel 4 News The Great Cookbook Challenge 999: What's Your Emergency?

3:15pm

Countdown A Place in the Sun A New Life in the Sun: Where Are They Now? Four in a Bed Come Dine with Me The Simpsons Hollyoaks Channel 4 News 24 Hours in A&E Emergency 2021 Gogglebox

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Countdown A Place in the Sun A New Life in the Sun: Where Are They Now? Four in a Bed Come Dine with Me The Simpsons Hollyoaks Channel 4 News Kirstie and Phil's Love It or List It: Brilliant Builds Emergency 2021

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Obsession: Stalked By My Lover Celebrity 5 Go Camping 5 News at 5 Neighbours Eggheads Digging Up Britain's Past: War Horse Special 5 News Update Today at the Caravan Show

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Cradle Abduction Celebrity 5 Go Camping 5 News at 5 Neighbours Eggheads World's Most Scenic River Journeys 5 News Update Susan Calman's Grand Day Out 5 News Update

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Today at the Caravan Show 5 News Weekend The Markles vs the Monarchy Tony Robinson's History of Britain Secrets of the Royal Palaces Dunkirk: Mission Impossible When Pop Stars Go Wrong

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Sweet Home Alabama Clueless 5 News Update Clueless 5 News Weekend 101 Years of Tesco Filthy Garden SOS Bargain Loving Brits in the Sun Jane McDonald's Yorkshire All Inclusive

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You Can't Take My Daughter Fishing Scotland's Lochs and Rivers 5 News at 5 Neighbours Eggheads Police Interceptors 5 News Update Traffic Cops 5 News Update Police After Dark

10:00am

Set Up By My Lover Fishing Scotland's Lochs and Rivers 5 News at 5 Neighbours Eggheads Dream Kitchens and Bathrooms with Mark Millar 5 News Update Dogs Behaving (Very) Badly

12:00pm 1:00pm 2:00pm 3:00pm 4:00pm 5:00pm 6:00pm 7:00pm 8:00pm 8:30pm 11:15pm

The Football Show Sky Sports News Sky Sports News Sky Sports News Sky Sports News Sky Sports News Sky Sports News Sky Sports News Gillette Soccer Special Live EFL Soccer Special PostMatch

5 News Lunchtime Home and Away Neighbours My Mother's Darkest Secrets Fishing Scotland's Lochs and Rivers 5 News at 5 Neighbours Eggheads The Gadget Show 5 News Update

1:00pm 2:00pm 3:00pm 4:00pm 5:00pm 6:00pm 7:00pm 8:00pm

Sky Sports News Sky Sports News Sky Sports News Sky Sports News Sky Sports News Sky Sports News Sky Sports News Scottish Premiership Live Sky Sports News Sky Sports News

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FEATURE

www.euroweeklynews.com

CLAIRE GORDON FINDING BALANCE IN AN UNEVEN WORLD “IF the penalty for a crime is a fine, then that law on‐ ly exists for the poor” is a phrase that I have repeat‐ edly thought about while reading this week’s news.

It is something I have al‐ ways thought true, but that has taken on extra meaning as we have watched various versions of this so‐called deterrent play out across different scenarios.

Kurt Zouma has been fined €250,000 for abus‐ ing his cat, but not once has been taken out of contention for West Ham’s starting XI. He is still getting paid his wages and he is still play‐ ing football in front of thousands of people ev‐ ery week.

His cats have been tak‐ en from him, but I can’t believe he really cared for them, so I very much doubt that he is both‐ ered. The amount he has been penalised equals two weeks wages. It has‐ n’t broken his bank and other than this small fi‐

24 February - 2 March 2022

Unjust justice nancial blip, his life has carried on as normal. So has the punishment acted as a deterrent for him, or indeed put off others with his level of funds? I wouldn’t think so.

Fines and fees are in‐ herently unjust in that the effect they have on people’s lives is com‐ pletely unbalanced de‐ pendent on how much money they have. Charg‐ ing everyone the same price for any infraction seems fair on the surface, but when you look closer at the consequences up‐ on the life of the person paying, the difference is clear.

Fines threaten poor people with financial ruin while letting rich people break the law without meaningful repercus‐ sions. Equity requires punishment that is equal‐ ly felt by all offenders.

Fines also fail to meet basic goals of punish‐ ment, like retribution and

deterrence. Punishment is partly an expression of a society’s desire to inflict a relative level of discom‐ fort on those who break the law.

But giving wealthy of‐ fenders a slap on the wrist makes a mockery of that objective and while any punishment is sup‐ posed to prevent undesir‐ able conduct from hap‐ pening in the first place, fines deter the wealthy less than everyone else.

The step beyond this is when the wealthy can take an offence that shouldn’t be able to be resolved with a payout and turn it into one, as seems to be the case with Prince Andrew and his out‐of‐court settle‐ ment.

The claims brought against him are serious and should be assessed fully but, instead, he has been able to dispense money and avoid his mis‐ deeds being exposed.

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.

Before we even get into where the money he has used has come from, we should be outraged that

the suggestion of crimes of such magnitude can be washed away with a stream of cash. Settle‐

EWN 41

ments, when they deal with issues of public in‐ terest, mean the public never knows about it.

They also mean that for those who can afford to pay out, a crime has no real dissuasion either and while this is the case, there is no real barrier to the rich doing whatever they please.

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24 February - 2 March 2022

NORA JOHNSON BREAKING VIEWS

A FEW MORE TV IRRITATIONS

Nora is the author of popular psychological suspense and crime thrillers and a freelance journalist.

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

EVERY new crime drama these days seems to take place in designer houses with bi‐fold doors and fitted kitchens.

Have 1960s kitchen sink dramas been re‐ placed by millennium kitchen island ones now?

Dramas set in schools, hospitals, church‐ es and other places of specialist activity are always found wanting by teachers, nurses/doctors, clergy and receive com‐ plaints about the lack of accuracy. If you really want to know what life is like in, say, a submarine (as in the TV show ‘Vigil’) and what it looks like inside, there are many avenues open to you. If you want to watch a crime drama, never mind where it’s set, enjoy the plot, the characters and the tension ‐ and work out whodunnit.

Having said that, the number of pro‐ grammes of this nature, women getting beaten up, kidnapped, traumatised, mur‐ dered etc seems to be the go‐to theme for lazy programming. Tasteless thrillers re‐ volving around women being attacked by serial killers? There’s just so much of it.

Nora Johnson’s opinions

FEATURE

soaps (love or hate the concept, they’re mostly great actors). But come the ‘9 o'‐ clock’ dramas, we increasingly get tight‐ mouthed, rapid mumbling. It’s starting to sound like bad ventriloquism.

Maybe it’s trendy in drama schools not to project your voice. Maybe many actors going straight into TV or movies haven’t the onstage experience of having to clear‐ ly project their voices to an audience, whatever the dramatic situation. Bottom line: we, the viewers, end up resorting to subtitles.

OK. Rant over. Next scandal, please!

CRIME DRAMAS: Have the writers run out of creative ideas?

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

Have writers or the people commissioning nonentities making fools of themselves. programming run out of creative ideas? Have they no self respect or is the remu‐ Can’t they think of something uplifting to neration too good to resist? show us? I could go on... and on.

I can’t understand either why we can To read more articles from our columnists Steer clear, too, of any programme with hear every word in news bulletins, every and to have your say in the comments go the word ‘celebrity’ in the title. This seems word in adverts (they’re trying to sell you to www.euroweeklynews.com to be the last resting place of out‐of‐work something), every word in the various are her own and are not necessarily representative of those of the publishers, advertisers or sponsors.

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FEATURE

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24 February - 2 March 2022

EWN 47

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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.

HEART-WARMING LITTLE STORY? A FRIEND, John, has a Dog Rescue at his home, currently with 53 dogs, all having been abandoned. Last week one of them, Betsy, was found to have large cancerous tumours, which needed immediate chemotherapy if there was to be any chance of saving her life. To raise funds to pay for this treatment, John and my son, Joseph, volunteered to do a 24-hour, non-stop, cycle ride. It was all live-streamed, through which viewers sent many messages of support and encouragement, which were very helpful in maintaining spirits, especially in the early hours of the morning! I think this is a fantastic achievement, for which they raised over €3,000!

Kendall

Electricity prices Re your article on the huge rise in electricity prices in Spain.

Spain is a country of blue skies and bright sunshine for most of the year, so I’m constantly amazed how few people and organisations use solar panels to generate electricity and solar heat exchangers to produce hot water.

RESCUE DOGS: Many messages of support were received.

In countries with a similar climate, such as Israel, these systems are seen everywhere and save bill payers a huge amount as well as reducing the need for electricity generation provision. So why not Spain? All very strange!

Alan

Schengen rules Dear Editor, In reply to your reader Lesley regarding Brits and Schengen rules, I would like to say that all countries in the Schengen area have the right to travel for unlimited time between the Schen-

HOPE FOR PEACE AT t h e t i m e o f w r i t i n g t h i s , i t h a s j u s t b e e n confirmed that Russian troops have entered the two rebel-held regions in eastern Ukraine, after recognising them as independent states.

In retaliation, the UK has declared that it will impose sanctions on Russia which was to be followed by similar actions by the EU and USA. Time will tell whether this will escalate into a more violent conflict, but surely after all that has happened to the world in the last two years of the pandemic, this really isn’t the time to be considering invasion and potential mayhem?

Clearly President Putin sees that now is the time to take advantage of a situation whereby he can move to recover land that once belonged to the USSR and his actions place the

CORRECTIONS

From our Facebook

gen countries and Britain has never been part of this union.

Although being in the EU has facilitated travel within the union, Britain no longer wants to be part of it.

As there are no border checks between EU countries, even those with British passports, my husband for example, legally resident in an EU country could travel for over three months anywhere in the EU. We never get checked travelling between France and Spain where I do a monthly shop and where we spend a few weeks in winter.

Kind regards Rose

OUR VIEW

West in a very difficult situation.

Should it sit back and hope that economic restrictions on a huge country which has enormous reser ves of gas and oil and ready markets in countries like China actually make Russia take a step back?

The bleak alternatives in the event that sanctions don’t work is to do nothing and allow the Russian Bear to gobble up everything that it sets its mind on or alternatively throw NATO troops into a war against the invaders in order to protect democracy.

H o p e f u l l y, t h e r e i s a n e l e m e n t o f b l u f f o n P u t i n ’s p a r t a n d t h a t h e w a n t s t o m e e t w i t h President Biden from a position of power so that he can pull back after gaining internationa l k u d o s a n d m a k i n g s u r e t h a t N AT O d o e s n ’ t accept any new members.

DOG OWNERS: May now have to take a course before ownership.

Frances Duncan I’m happy to read about sterilisation having to be implemented. But I do hope that rescue centres get support ie with financing, from local authorities as I think there will be a rise in animals being abandoned until these reforms settle into being the norm.

Edith Farminer Wonder what will happen with hunting dogs. Lots kept locked up together continuously all the time. Will that be illegal?

Keith Boyce It’s a good start, but will need reinforcing ASAP to protect the animals already being discarded around the country. Owners must be held responsible for the well-being of animals in their care.

Tim McMahon When I went to Jersey with our dogs, residents kept taking pictures of them. An elderly lady asked me if I was a rich person or a tourist and obviously it was the tourist answer, certainly not a rich person. She then told me that only rich people living there can afford a dog or cat as it took years of trying with official laws if you wanted a pet.

Graham Edward Ingledow Good!!!

Paula Reich Great idea.

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

HEALTH & BEAUTY

Help to stop snoring SNORING can be an unpleas‐ ant problem for both the per‐ son who suffers from it and anyone they share a room with ‐ here are some tips.

When we are asleep, all the muscles in our body become more relaxed, including the muscles of the throat and windpipe. Snoring occurs be‐ cause the air is forced to pass through a narrower opening and this leads to vibration of the soft structures of the mouth and throat.

Tips to help you stop Avoid consuming alcohol or muscle relaxants at night to stop the muscles in the throat from becoming excessively re‐ laxed.

Lose weight if you are over‐ weight. If you are at an ideal weight, losing weight will not make any difference and the problem lies elsewhere.

Try sleeping on your side or keeping your head elevated during sleep.

Consult your doctor If none of these tips helps, the best thing to do is to see your family doctor.

www.euroweeklynews.com

24 February - 2 March 2022

EWN 49

50 EWN

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24 February - 2 March 2022

DAVID WORBOYS THINKING ALOUD IT’S almost three years since my first thoughts appeared in Euro Weekly News in the form of an ar‐ ticle entitled UTOPIA, in which I rambled on about the good old days. Since then, my observations have appeared regularly in the Axarquia edition and occasionally in other issues as well.

If a thought comes into my head, whether amusing, trivial or earth‐shattering, I make a note of it and, maybe later, just burst into print expounding on a theme. So, here goes!

I first saw the sea just after the war when I was seven (at Bognor Regis). I didn’t set foot abroad until I was 19 (Calais). By contrast, my first granddaughter flew to Malaga before her second birthday. How the world has changed!

Childhood memories include the books of Enid Blyton, Just William, Arthur Ransome and Big‐ gles; collecting postage stamps, trainspotting and staying at Youth

FEATURE

THINKING ALOUD

In retirement I am enjoying thinking aloud in Axarquia.

Hostels during cycling trips around England.

At school, I discovered the joys of Latin and Algebra before gradu‐ ating to more serious matters, such as dating girls, traditional jazz and pints of Greene King bitter.

Leaving school was celebrated

with an aborted attempt to hitch‐ hike with my soul‐mate John Prior from Calais to Zurich. As we only got one lift (20km) we gave up, backtracked, and finished up in Torquay. It’s a long story.

My career in the financial world took me to many varied parts of

the world, offering the opportunity to get to know different people, their countries and customs.

During the 60s, I lived in Barnes, southwest London before moving to Zurich for two years with Price Waterhouse. The Swiss had a high standard of living and I was able to ski at the weekends and take up photography. Life outside the of‐ fice was one big jolly and we could spend weekends in Austria, France, Germany and Italy.

In the 70s, I lived on Wimbledon Common. During the Fortnight, I would leave work early and drive the seven minutes to watch the tennis, featuring the likes of Ken Rosewall and Jimmy Connors. I re‐ call the Crooked Billet as a second home, dispensing Young’s bitter and Carlsberg Special Brew. I soon joined Avis Rent‐a‐Car and there was extensive business travel in Europe. I was also despatched to Japan, Australia and New Zealand on a special project.

The 80s saw me in Frankfurt for three years as Finance Director of Avis Car Leasing. I missed the trav‐ el, bought a property in Nerja and returned to England. The next company duties involved world‐ wide business travel, opening up new adventures and experiences.

On a trip to Sao Paulo, I met Mar‐ garete and we now have three daughters and three granddaugh‐ ters.

In the early noughties, I wrote my book ‘The Middle‐Class Code’ and, having retired, contributed a regular column on random topics for Nerja’s top magazine, ‘Market Place’.

We are now enjoying retire‐ ment in Axarquia.

Just thinking aloud!

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

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

GO LOCAL

THE EURO WEEKLY NEWS has urged its readers to support local businesses in the community by shopping 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, green‐ grocers and all of the wonderfully quirky independent businesses 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 lo‐

cally means that independent businesses can support the local community. You may find something a euro or two cheaper online but have you considered where your money is actually going?

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 support 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 future fulfil their dreams and ambitions.

Remember, your local 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 dif‐ ference to the local economy. Local busi‐ nesses recirculate a greater share of ev‐ ery euro they receive at local level. They create locally owned supply chains and they invest in their employees.

So remember.

When you go shopping ‐ go local!

SOCIAL SCENE

www.euroweeklynews.com

In Search of Romanticism THE acclaimed Torrevieja Sym‐ phony Orchestra will be perform‐ ing Chopin’s Piano Concerto No. 1 Op. 11 and Schubert’s Symphony No. 3 in D major, D 200, with guest soloist Jenny Soonjin Kim, at their concert titled In Search of Romanticism. The concert will take place at 7pm on Saturday, February 26.

Tickets cost between €10 and €25 can be bought at the OST of‐ fice (Calle Blasco Ibáñez, 23, 10am to 1pm on Mondays only), the Vir‐ gen del Carmen Cultural Centre (Wednesdays 11am to 2pm and Fridays 5pm to 6.30pm) and the auditorium box office (two hours before the concert). Tickets can‐ not be bought online.

Ballet at the theatre!

THE Municipal Theatre in Torrevieja will be showing the Russian State Ballet’s Giselle on March 11 at 9pm. Set in medieval Germany, Giselle’s story is in‐ spired by the play De l’Allemagne that Heinrich Heine wrote in 1835. This piece, premiered in 1841 at the Paris Opera, is a masterpiece of romantic bal‐ let and is considered a fundamental work of classical dance both for its treatment of romantic ideals and for its use of the most refined theatrical technique of the century.

The Russian State Ballet is directed by the presti‐ gious director and choreographer Viacheslav Mi‐ hailovich Gordeev, and has a clear artistic ideal ‐ the care, safeguarding and dissemination of the legacy of classical choreography. Gordeev is a brilliant dancer and a privileged choreographer. With classical tech‐ nique and a powerful stage presence, he has estab‐ lished himself as a deeply expressive dancer known throughout the world.

Tickets from €15 at www.entradasatualcance.com

Knowing the Birds exhibition THIS photographic exhibition has been jointly organised by the Joaquín Chapaprieta Municipal Institute of Culture and the Ornithological Group of Torrevieja. Visitors to the Knowing the Birds exhibition can also see the Natural Architecture exhibition, a recreation of nests made by birds that can be found in the nearby Natural Park of La Mata and Torrevieja.

The exhibition is open to the public until Sunday, March 6, from 8.30am to 8.30pm Monday to Friday and from 9am to 1.30pm and from 4pm to 8.30pm on Saturdays and Sundays at the Vir‐ gen del Carmen Cultural Centre in the city of Torrevieja.

24 February - 2 March 2022

O Sister! Swing Group THIS swing sextet from Sevilla has performed in countries in‐ cluding the United States, Italy, Malaysia and Greece. The group is inspired by the popular jazz music of the 1920s and 30s in North America and has now released its fifth album, Nobody Cares.

On March 4, the group will be performing with a live band at the Palace of Music in Torrevieja at 9pm.

Entry is free of charge but places are limited. Invitations can be collected from the Virgen del Carmen Cultural Centre.

Help to feed the needy FOR those looking to grab a bargain while doing a good deed, the AAN Charity is selling a variety of pieces of furni‐ ture and other large objects to raise money to feed the needy of San Fulgencio and La Marina.

The next sale will take place from 10.30am to 1.00pm on Thursday, March 23, in the lower part of the Catholic church on Justo Antonio Quesada (just past the marketplace) in Ur‐ banización La Marina.

For more information, call 634 301 070.

EWN 51

Turn back time GO along and enjoy an after‐ noon of a wide range of musi‐ cal genres including swing, reggae, classical, ballads, pop and rock ‘n’ roll from the amazing voice of Leroy Morales at Twilight Bar and Café in La Marina on Sunday March 13.

The kitchen is open from noon to 4pm and entertain‐ ment is provided from 1pm.

Reservations are essential and cost €10 per person, which covers the ‘Fiesta Menu’. Call 664 113 226, send a message on Facebook or pop into the bar in person to make your reservation.

PETS

52

www.euroweeklynews.com • 24 Feb - 2 March 2022

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BUILDING SERVICES J & J PAINTERS. Inside outside - clean - fast - low cost. Torrevieja - Orihuela Costa and surrounding areas. Tel: 650 363 159 (290728) BUILDER, ARCHITECT, NEW HOUSES, EXTENSIONS, PLANNING PERMISSIONS, 697 834 934 (295169)

BUY & SELL PRIVATE collector will buy your Gold, Rolex & Patek Philippe Watches Tel – 678 716 693 (288662)

CARS FOR SALE

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. w w w. a a - c o s t a b l a n c a . o r g (93323) 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)

CARS WANTED CARE HOME

INTERNATIONAL CHRISTIAN ASSEMBLY, TORREVIEJA Calle Urbano Arregui, 23, Torrevieja 03185, Alicante Evangelical non-denominational church. Sunday morning Services at 11:00am. All nationalities 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

24 February - 2 March 2022 • www.euroweeklynews.com SPONSORED BY

you or your partner served or are serving, and you feel you need help or support then contact us using the details on the card, we are here for the small things as well as the big, sometimes talking to someone is the first step to feeling more in control. It can be a personal need or some help with your home or information on what or who to speak to on a medical issue, we help with signposting if we cannot help directly, just call and have a chat with Pam who will try to guide you to where you need to be.

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.orihuelacostarbl.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.

(10004) 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)

CHARITY

CHARITY

THE PATIENCE LODGE No 2177 of the R.A.O.B Please call Secretary Dave Tonge on 688 704 091 for further information. (253807) 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)

CLEANING SERVICES RELIABLE, experienced home and deep cleaning service including key handovers plus many other services. Call +34 634 679 668 (292081)

ELECTRICIAN MR FIXIT. For all your electrical, plumbing, general & appliance & boiler repairs. No call out charge. 698 320 434 (287514)

FOR SALE/WANTED WANTED Gold, Silver, Rolex & Patek Philippe Watches Tel – 678 716 693 (288662)

INSURANCE

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.c om, website: torreviejastroke support.org. We are always looking for volunteers who have the skills and knowledge to support. (95473) THE AIRCREW ASSOCIATION COSTA BLANCA BRANCH. Former & serving aircrews of the UK or Allied Armed Forces are welcome to join this convivial & friendly organisation, now in its 21st year. www.acacostablanca.org or call the Secretary on: 966 495 042 (95465)

CARE home in Torrevieja, family run, reasonable rates.

Carers available for your home. 697834934 (294568)

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. Englishspeaking 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

60

THE ANGLICAN CHURCH, La Fustera. For more info: contact Frank Bentley on 966 495 188.

(95461) THE BAKER Foundation Spiritual Centre Playa Flamenca.

Calle Luis Gordillo, 1 Playa Flamenca Alicante 03189. You can join us on Facebook, The Baker Foundation spiritual centre. Or contact Linda Schug Tel. 606 990 665 for more details (95458)

TESTIMONIALS

GOLD WANTED

HOME IMPROVEMENTS BATHROOM & KITCHEN Conversions Costa Blanca, contact 698 320 434.

(289486)

INSURANCE FED UP OF NOT BEING SENT YOUR RENEWAL? CUT YOUR INSURANCE COSTS AND STILL HAVE 100% COVER. YOU HAVE TRIED THE REST NOW TRY THE BEST WITH SOS INSURANCE. WE CAN EVEN INSURE YOU FOR UPTO A €1,000 OF WATERLOSS. CALL 686 116 297 (WHATSAPP TO) OR VISIT www.sosinsurancein spain.com or email tracey@sosinsurancein spain.com (294938)

CLASSIFIEDS

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BENEFICIAL INSURANCE SERVICES. Car, Home, Business, Travel, Life, Funeral, all insurances available. Policies in English.

BEST rates, covers & service. Immediate quotes. Tel 961 129 215 / 622 275 561, (WhatsApp) info@benefi cialinsuranceinspain.com or visit www.beneficialinsur anceinspain.com for online quote. (295006)

PERGOLAS TAILOR-MADE in durable canvas, pergola covers cushions, sails, car port, umbrella, spa and CAR COVERS. Mazarron based, and delivery to Costa Blanca. Also online and mail ordering 667 879 399 krugercanopies@yahoo.co.uk (291448)

PET CHARITY

STAY SAFE! Abbeygate Insurance Call 971 277 455 For your security www.abbeygatein sure.com

EASYHORSE CARE RESCUE CENTRE. We aim to rescue HORSES. If you would like to DONATE please call 965 967 033 or sales@easyhorsecare .net www.easyhorsecare.net or call Sue 652 021 980 (95706)

LAWYER/SOLICITORS SOLICITOR. CRIMINAL LAW, drug cases, Private investigations, debt collection.

30 years’ experience. Mob 697 834 934 office 865 970 169 spancrimlaw@outlook.com (294976)

LOCKSMITHS ALARMS TORREVIEJA, Install & Repair all types of Alarms & CCTV. Call/Whatsapp 600 933 667 www.alarmastorrevieja.com (294577)

MISCELLANEOUS GOLD & SILVER Bought & Sold, Rolex & Patek Philippe Watches Tel – 678 716 693 (288662)

MOTORING CARS WANTED Quality LHD & RHD Vehicles bought & sold.

All paperwork undertaken quickly & professionally. Immediate payment for all purchases. Mobile / WhatsApp +34 600 726 221 Office +34 965 687 976 www.fwreuro cars.com info@fwreurocars .com (294576)

INSURANCE

FOR SALE WE ARE currently the market leader in our country in the sale of direct car, motorbike, home and company fleet insurance. Since we started out in 1995, our philosophy has always been to offer an excellent service with the best prices in the market. For the most competitive quotes in English, call Linea Directa on 902 123 309. (200726)

MUSIC TUITION PIANO, Keyboard, Organ, Qualified Teacher. Please call 606 984 535 (290217)

NAUTICAL INTERNATIONAL SKIPPER LICENCE, VHF/DSC-Radio or Radar Courses held in English individual or small groups starts soon. 626 245 098 (294950)

GATAMI ORGANISATION, to help kittens and cats, looking for good homes, also spaying wild cats in the community. Kittens require adoption, fully vaccinated, de-wormed, de-flead. volunteers to Tel Anna: 966 806 976 / 654 729 977 (95709) P.E.P.A. VOLUNTEERS & FOSTER HOMES URGENTLY NEEDED. By fostering an abandoned dog or spending a few hours each week on our telephone helpline, you could help save the lives of many animals.

Please call: 650 304 746. For more information browse our website: www.pepaspain.com (95708)

MOTORING

24 February - 2 March 2022

SPAMA GANDIA SHELTER. Dog and cat rescue registered charity, La Safor area. 500 animals awaiting re-homing. Phone Gail 962 896 118. Visit our website for directions. www.spama.org and view our new blog at www.spama-sa for.blog.com.es PLEASE HELP US TO HELP THEM (95707)

SPAS & JACUZZI

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MONTHLY FEES, NO CONTRACT. WWW.TELITEC.COM TEL: 902 889 070 (2001)

WANTED

PLUMBERS MR FIXIT. For all your electrical, plumbing, general & appliance & boiler repairs. No call out charge.

698 320 434 (287514)

POOL MAINTENANCE POOL MAINTENANCE Repairs, Spares and Leak Testing. Call 965 725 565 / 676 945 360 www.pooltechspain.com (286740)

PROPERTY FOR RENT RENT Long Term. Playa Flamenca.

Ground floor with garden. 2 bedrooms. 1 bath. Comunity pool. Parking. carobrlo@yahoo.es (294118)

REMOVALS

SITUATIONS VACANT LOCAL Financial Adviser in Benijofar are looking for an admin assistant. The position is part time 10am until 2pm, three days a week. The applicant must be computer literate.

Please apply to Con t a c t @ S e a g a t e We a l t h . e s (295356)

SPANISH LESSONS LEARN SPANISH. Group lessons or one to one. Also available online. learnspanishi nenglish@gmail.com (294492)

TELECOMMUNICATIONS FED UP PAYING TOO MUCH FOR YOUR MOBILE PHONE CALLS? THEN CONTACT TELITEC TODAY. CALLS TO SPAIN 7C PER MINUTE INCLUDING MOBILES. CALLS TO UK 5.3C PER MINUTE. NO

XXX RELAXATION Please note that in Spain there is NO legislation banning adverts in this section. Neither regional nor national governments are able to pass such a law due to rules governing freedom of publication and printing.

READERS OF A SENSITIVE DISPOSITION MAY FIND SOME OF THE ADVERTISEMENTS IN THIS SECTION OFFENSIVE.

XXX FEMALE SOPHIE naughty, slim, elegant, sexy French lady. 3 languages spoken. Visit all areas 693 357 526 (291686) EXPERIENCE the best with a 1hr unique massage with Veronica.

Shaving or permanent hair removal available. For appointments call 679 292 678 (293296) SPANISH lady - classic. Playa Flamenca, private house, 40 years, attractive. All erotic services, massage, sexy lingerie. From €40. Ana 657 603 495 (294823) TORREVIEJA CENTRE Girls big ass, tits & transvestite big cocks.

Credit cards accepted. 24hr appointments 691 128 099 (293695) ATTRACTIVE, Girlfriend, Escort, Professional Masseuse. Tel: 693 357 526 (293267)

XXX MALE RELAXING MASSAGE FOR MEN - Mario qualified masseur in Alicante - Special Massage for Men - 7 days 10AM to 10PM - APPOINTMENTS visit: www.masajeyrelax.es/en or WHATSAPP 649 761 607 (294722)

XXX MASSAGE LA ZENIA 49yrs old, English male offering full body massage, guaranteed happy ending Outcalls (within 15km of La Zenia area). Incalls also +44 7889 490451 (whatsapp) (295379)

XXX VARIOUS Male/Female viagra, cialis, kamagra jelly, mixed trial packs available, all areas mail order. 604 385 476. viagra4you19@ gmail.com KAMAGRA Gold 100mg plus Kamagra Jellies. Collection or Delivery. Roy – 602 579 481 (289485)

62 EWN

24 February - 2 March 2022

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MOTORING

Where you will need to pay your toll fee SPAIN will from 2024 rein‐ troduce a network of toll roads but unlike those of the past, you will need to

pay your toll fee before‐ hand. The reintroduction of tolls comes as part of the agreement with the EU who have provided funds to help the country recover from the Covid‐19 pandemic.

Although no specific plan has been agreed, there is a model that the government is likely to follow with the Provincial Council of Guipúzcoa having launched an electronic toll system without booths on the sec‐ tion of the A‐636 between Beasain and Bergara.

The system known as ‘Free Flow’ was introduced a month ago and is based on those in use elsewhere, with countries as diverse as Portugal, South Africa and the United States using the prinicipal.

The system uses an electronic toll gate to de‐ tect whether drivers have paid the cost of the jour‐

ney or not.

So instead of toll booths the road now has arches equipped with electronic toll cameras that detect the number plates of the vehi‐ cles in real time and check with the database of the Guipuzcoan Infrastructure Agency if they are regis‐ tered.

All drivers who are going to drive on this section of motorway must previously request the Abiatu device, which the Guipuzcoan In‐ frastructure Agency makes available to all registered drivers in Guipúzcoa. It is very similar to the Via‐T sys‐ tem, and can also be used in the rest of Spain, as well as in France and Portugal.

If you are looking to travel around Spain and will be us‐ ing toll roads it’s best to check beforehand whether you will need to pre‐register or to pay in advance.

MOTORING

www.euroweeklynews.com

ROAD TEST

by Mark Slack WHEN it comes to cars not everyone is after a sleek, sporty or uber‐luxurious model designed for the fashion‐conscious motorist.

Some people just want a nice car, decent amounts of stan‐ dard equipment and the space to carry the family, and capable for runs to the gar‐ den centre and maybe a bit of work‐related trav‐ el in there as well.

With those thoughts in mind, I have been driving a perfect candidate for the role.

Suzuki’s relatively new Swace is a comfortable and very well‐equipped estate that looks smart and comes with more than a degree of practicality. Based on Toy‐ ota’s Corolla Touring the Suzuki incarnation has some subtle styling tweaks and a straightforward range of two trim levels, one engine choice and few options.

24 February - 2 March 2022

Suzuki Swace

a likeable, comfortable and practical choice

A first-class family holdall.

Standard fare on the lead‐ in version includes climate, heated front seats, heated steering wheel, main beam assist, auto lights, keyless start, Apple Car Play and An‐ droid Auto, intelligent cruise control and rear parking camera. There’s no built‐in navigation, but you can use the maps app on your iPhone or Android smart‐ phone.

The 1.8‐litre petrol engine

is mated to a self‐ charging system for the on‐ board battery to provide a hybrid drive that ensures low Co2 emissions, great fu‐ el economy and three drive modes. The Swace is no per‐ formance machine, it isn’t meant to be, but has no problem nipping past slower traffic. The CVT automatic transmission occasionally becomes rather audible, it’s a trait of these systems that

on hard ac‐ celeration the revs rise while the forward motion takes a second or two to catch up, but otherwise it’s a very smooth and efficient sys‐ tem.

As one might expect from Suzuki the build quality is good and there’s a general premium feel throughout, along with particularly com‐ fortable seats. It’s fair to say that the graphics on the

touchscreen do look a little dated and some of the ac‐ companying buttons are a tad fiddly. However, the good news is there are but‐ tons, as opposed to a touch‐ screen for everything, and those on the touchscreen apart they are clear and well laid out.

Prices for the Swace start at €32,753/£27,499 and for

EWN 63

the level of standard equip‐ ment and space represents particularly good value. It’s a very likeable, comfortable and practical choice that doesn’t stint on features and doesn’t bewilder with numerous options, largely because of the high levels of standard equipment. It makes a compelling case as a first‐class family holdall.

SPORT

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24 February - 2 March 2022

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PORTOBELLO SEE OFF LEAGUE LEADERS Man Utd dressing room leaks

IN a very closely contested Costa Blanca League en‐ counter Portobello playing their first league match af‐ ter Covid and other issues prevented them playing fix‐ tures, their season got un‐ derway with a resounding 3‐0 win over Hondon Valley Flyers at home in San Pe‐ dro del Pinatar.

The ‘Yellows’ got off to the best possible start in the opening minutes with a well worked free kick opening the scoring. The Hondon keeper had several good saves midway in the game but couldn’t prevent Porto‐ bello taking a 3‐0 lead which they held on to de‐ spite late pressure from the ‘Flyers’.

This result took Portobel‐ lo to within a point of Hon‐ don at the top of the league.

Moraira have two big games this week which could have a bearing on the top of the league table.

They entertained Portobello

CLOSE CONTEST: Portobello vs Hondon Valley Flyers. on Tuesday and are home again on Friday February 25 to Formentera. Two wins for Moraira will see them go top while if Portobello win they will top the League.

Formentera will be looking for a win to get away from bottom place.

So the Costa Blanca League is becoming really hot as it gets towards half way point.

Camposol WFC newcom‐ ers to WFAI (Walking Foot‐ ball Association of Iberia) made the trip ‘across the border’ from Murcia Region to Turre (Mojacar), Almeria to take on local team Los Amigos in what was Cam‐

posol’s first ever match.

The experience of Los Amigos showed when they won three of the six games played with two drawn and one loss.

Camposol’s party of 17 enjoyed the experience and looked forward to ‘crossing another border’ when they travelled to the Alicante Re‐ gion where they played a friendly against Esquina Park Rangers at Rojales on Tuesday February 22. EPR will use this match as a warm up for their visit to the Torrox Tournament on Saturday February 26.

In other friendlies For‐ mentera defeated San Ful‐

gencio 5‐1 in a local ‘derby’.

On Sunday February 27, San Pedro Amigos del Pinatar, WFAI’s other recent addition to membership from Murcia, play in a ‘cross border’ friendly with neigh‐ bours Portobello from Ho‐ radada.

So plenty of Walking Football on the Costa Blan‐ ca and in Murcia, so if you’re over 50 and think you still have these ‘magic touches’ why not drop in on a session at one of the above clubs? No running, no physical contact. A gen‐ tle paced game with like‐ minded people with a re‐ freshment and some banter afterwards.

Go on ....Give it a go!!

Check out club Facebook pages or for more informa‐ tion go to www.wfai.info.

Whatever, make sure you get your copy of the Euro Weekly News who are great supporters of Walking Foot‐ ball. The fastest growing sport in Europe.

PLAYERS from Manchester United have been told to ‘grow up’ after information was reportedly leaked from the dressing room on more than one occasion. Players are said to have compared one of the coaching assistants with a comedy football manager.

Gary Neville slammed the “disgusting and disrespectful nature of the comments.” Micah Richards called on the team to “grow up.”

Commenting in his Daily Mail column he stated: “The dressing room should be the most secure place a foot‐ baller can spend time professionally, somewhere that is‐ sues of trust should never be doubted.

“So the idea that things could leak out of a dressing room ‐ and be detrimental to your own club ‐ is a concept I cannot get my head around.

“It is why I am flabbergasted by the constant cycle of news that keeps coming out of Manchester United, one that consistently puts them in a bad light.

“Whoever has come up with that [Armas/Lasso com‐ parison] will think it is funny but, really, it is beyond a joke.

“It is totally disrespectful and says more about them than it does Armas.”

He went on to add: “You do not undermine a manager or his staff, you do not invite criticism to your door. If this season is going to be turned around, United’s squad would do well to remember those golden rules.”