Euro Weekly News - Mallorca 16 - 22 September 2021 Issue 1889

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The people’s paper Issue No. 1889 16 - 22 Sept 2021

Terrace disagreement PALMA Council has indicated that due to numerous complaints from members of the public and businesses it plans to stop bars and restaurants using parking spaces as terraces.

It would appear that the City Council expects the restriction on the number of people able to utilise the interior of hospitality businesses will continue to be eased, which means that these extended terraces will become unnecessary.

Parking is often problematic in the city and therefore whilst it may not be good news for those who have expanded onto the roads, it will be welcomed by those who need to park their cars.

In complete contrast, the mayor of Llucmajor Éric Jareño has announced that his council has decided to maintain its commitment to allow 100 per cent of the terraces of bars and restaurants that occupy parking spaces and other spaces on the public road to remain until December 31.

This measure, explained Jareño, “is a commitment made to the hospitality sector, one of many that has been severely affected by the pandemic.”

He added that “now that it seems that the situation is improving and we are gradually returning to normal, it is time to really bet on economic recovery and support them as it is our responsibility now to support those who make efforts to create jobs and those who have a small business and have had such a bad time for so long.”

Owners who take advantage of this offer, will however continue to pay an agreed rate for occupation of the public road.

MALLORCA • WWW.EUROWEEKLYNEWS.COM

BACK TO NORMAL Credit: Balearic Government

LOOKING FORWARD: President Armengol addresses Parliament.

ON September 14, the President of the Balearic Government, Francina Armengol told the Balearic Parliament that the Is‐ lands will achieve a full economic and employment recovery dur‐ ing 2022.

She praised all of those involved in public life as well as individuals who had worked together to face all of the struggles caused by Covid‐19 and the pandemic which is now giving way to recovery.

Making it clear that this crisis, unlike the financial disaster of 2008, will not last 10 years and that the Balearics will be in the happy position of bouncing back within two years since the start of the pandemic.

Reports suggest that the Balearics will be the fastest recov‐ ering Autonomous Community in Spain with a forecast increase in

local GDP of 12.1 per cent and al‐ ready unemployment is falling to a level which is far better than across the mainland whilst also seeing more self‐employed.

In no way did the President overlook the fact that 934 people have died on the Islands due to in‐ fection caused by Covid‐19 and she called for a one‐minute silence within the Parliament chamber in memory of those victims of the disease.

One reason that the situation is looking so much better, she sug‐ gested, is because of the success of the vaccination programme which in turn has seen creation of a general herd immunity to the benefit of all, although not until every person has been fully vacci‐ nated will hospitals be able to ded‐ icate themselves to attack general waiting lists.

Naturally, the President re‐ ferred to the importance of the European Recovery Fund and the fact that whilst the Balearics had been waiting for this massive in‐ jection of money, the National Government, the PSOE, which is the party she belongs to, had with ERTE and other financial support ensured that the country weath‐ ered the storm.

Now it is time to look forward to a prolonged return to social and economic normality she said.

Members of the opposition parties in the Parliament however criticised Armengol for appearing to be unaware of the true situa‐ tion of those who had suffered so much during the pandemic and they believed that in her speech she was overly optimistic and also triumphalist, claiming success for herself which was not warranted.

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THE Mallorca Hospitality Industry doesn’t exist on tourist visits alone and for years, Palma Palau de Congressos has attracted a large number of professional visitors to specialist conferences.

These are particularly important as they attract people in the category of senior executives and medical practitioners, for example, who have the ability to spend significant amounts of money without causing the noise and mayhem that younger groups can be responsible for.

The pandemic saw a very quick cancellation of conferences and exhibitions as flights were controlled, the pandemic was raging, hotels were closed and people were scared to travel.

Slowly but surely however the congress business is beginning to return and although so far this year, these are mainly aimed at Spanish nationals, their money is as good as anyone else’s.

As the Balearic Government encourages members of the hospitality industry to stay open and extend the season until at least November, the Congress Palace has confirmed that it will be hosting three medical congresses during September and October.

Each will last between three and four days with a combination of virtual and face to face events with an expected total audience of around 5,000 medical professionals taking part.

That is certainly a large number of beds being filled, taxis being booked and meals being consumed, generating money for Palma and not forgetting the gifts that have to be taken home for partners.

If as we all hope, the pandemic is now to a great extent under control, these international congress meetings can only increase in number during 2022, filling a very useful hole when the summer tourists are not in Mallorca.

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16 - 22 September 2021

Heavyweight pumpkin title THE town of Muro is very proud of its pumpkin fair which traditionally runs over the first weekend of November and one of the highlights is the competition to find the heaviest pumpkin grown in the area.

This year however, Cinderella will be disappointed if she needs a coach to take her to the ball as the competition has been advanced to Sunday September 26 due to the weather.

Because it has been so warm, there are fears that if allowed to wait until the weekend of November 6 and 7, many of the pumpkins would start to rot as they are maturing very quickly.

This means that if you want to enter the competition, you must do so by contacting Muro Council by September 24.

Pumpkins have to be delivered to the Sa Nau d’Equipaments de l’abrigada d’obres between 7am and 11am and the competition will be judged from noon on September 28.

NEWS

Palma airport expansion

AU T O N O M O U S bodies across Spain are in a difficult position with regards to the expansion of major airports.

On one hand, they are desperate to see tourism increase and this means more capacity at major airports such as Barcelona, Madrid and Palma but on the other, they are faced with the dilemma of overcrowding and environmental damage.

Now GOB Mallorca (Grup Balear d’Ornitologia i Defensa de la Naturalesa) has revealed that it has obtained access to a planning document from airport manager AENA which it believes the relevant Ministry plans to approve on September 30.

The content requests the ability to increase the number of flights handled by the airport and the consequential rise in the number of passengers received.

G O B insists that A E N A proposes that by 2026 Pal-

ma airport should be able to accommodate 29 million passengers, just slightly less than the record number of passengers in 2019, T hey demand that the Government of the Balearic Islands, the Consell de Mallorca and the City Council of Palma give a clear, public and unanimous position against this expansion of ca-

pacity and also ask the other municipalities of Mallorca to urgently approve motions against the enlargement.

Finally, they call on all the citizens of Mallorca to come to a rally on Saturday, September 19, at 12 noon on the steps of Palma Cathedral, to express their opposition to this project.

Credit: GOB Marllorca

A DILEMMA: Palma airport expansion opposed.

Marratxi mobility week

AS European Mobility Week takes place from September 16 to 22, Marratxi Council has scheduled two activities to promote sustainable mobility and good cycling practices.

On Saturday September 18, children will be able to visit the road education park of the Marratxi Local Police and take part in the bike circuit.

Traffic will be guided by the officers, who will use the parkis bicy-

cles and will explain the rules in a friendly manner so that the boys and girls understand the road rules.

T his activity is for children between six and 10 years of age and parents must reserve a place in one of the three time slots available on the website mobilitat.marratxi.es.

On Sunday September 19, a family cycling route will be held with a starting point and arrival at the P arc de S a V inya in S on V erí ( C /

Ricardo Ankerman), which will help cyclists to get to know the Marratxi cycle path and how to ride safely.

The route will cover a distance of 10 kilometres and will be carried out along the bike lane, with the help of Local Police officers.

The journey should last approximately one hour and there is a limit of 100 participants with reservations required and a minimum age of six.

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47th Annual Pilgrimage to Lluc

NIBS EXTRA New service

Unequal spend RESIDENTS in the area of Pere Garau argue that the area is not being brought up to the standard of other areas in Palma and they now claim that the council is to spend an average of €350 per square metre in Nuredduna, but just €50 in Arquebisbe.

Nations Trophy

THE proposed new restaurant in Portal Nous next to the historic Portal Oratory was refused per‐ mission as the court upheld Calvia Council’s decision.

Completed in 1865, the Ora‐ tory is an important historic reli‐ gious building within the munici‐ pality but for several years, the local parish has been fighting to build a new restaurant adjacent to the church. Local residents have demonstrated against the concept of the restaurant and Calvia Council refused to give planning permission, so the mat‐

Designer clothes OFFICERS from the Guardia Civil as well as representatives of a number of high-profile fashion brands visited a number of shops in Cala Egos and Sa Coma which were reportedly selling expensive designer clothes at discount prices. Some 1,400 items were seized during the operation.

security measures,” he said and mentioned that participation has been limited to 3,000 marchers in Palma, 2,000 in Inca and 200 reg‐ istered other municipalities.

ter was appealed to a local court.

Its decision backed the Council which had argued that the con‐ struction of a new building would have an adverse effect on the surrounding landscape, would potentially damage the environment and that there was no plot of building land available which had access to electricity and other basic facilities, nor would there be room to park.

The case will cost the local parish €1,000 in costs and it still has the right of appeal against the decision.

Online registration is open and more infor‐ mation on the Covid protocols and regulations can be obtained by visiting https://desguellal lucapeu.com.

Bank closures FURIOUS with the decision by banking organisations to with‐ draw completely from the town of Deia, the mayor Lluís Apesteguia invited representa‐ tives of eight councils to meet with him to discuss the situation.

Although the Bank of Spain likes the concept of Spanish banks merging to make them stronger on the international market, it does mean that nu‐ merous branches around Spain are closing and smaller munici‐ palities in Mallorca seem to be hit

Creative Recycling of Clothing Photo credit: Consell de Mallorca

Catamaran fire

THE Tardor Association in Palma exists to ensure that families without funds are fed and are able to continue their lives despite financial difficulty.

This is a charity which relies on volunteers and donations so if you can help visit their Facebook page.

A HEALTHY MARCH: Francisco Bauzá speaks about the pilgrimage.

New restaurant refused

FOUR yachts based in Mallorca are participating in the Nations Trophy of yacht builder Nautor’s Swan organised by the Real Club Náutico de Palma which runs until Saturday September 18 attracting 29 boats from 13 countries, all racing in yachts built by the Finnish boatyard.

Volunteers needed

Photo credit: Consell de Mallorca

ON July 17, 1974, a group of friends decided to march from the now closed Bar Güell to the Lluc Monastery to thank the Virgin (who as patron saint of Mallorca is venerated there) that a girl who was involved in an acci‐ dent emerged unhurt.

So, one day later around 30 people under‐ took the journey and from then it started to gather momentum with pre‐pandemic figures exceeding 40,000 walkers.

It is supported by all of the major political parties and government organisations and this year, despite a great deal of work to en‐ sure safety, the 47th Pilgrimage will set off on Saturday September 18. The president of the Güell Group, Francisco Bauzá, gave details of the safety protocol to ensure safety which has been adapted to the health situation.

“We want it to be a healthy and joyful march, so we ask participants to comply with

FERRY company Trasmed will be running daily services between Barcelona, Alcudia and Mahon (Menorca) with effect from September 20, using the vessel Volcán del Teide which means that the north of Mallorca is now better served, so that passengers no longer have to travel to Palma.

THERE was another fire in a Mallorca marina, this time a 15-metre catamaran tied up in Palma unexpectedly went up in flames in the early morning of September 13 and although initially brought under control, the flames were rekindled and the vessel eventually sank.

16 - 22 September 2021

THE Deixalles Foundation, the School of Higher Art of Design of the Balearic Islands and the Department of Sustainability and the Environ‐ ment are or‐ ganising the s i x t h Marathon of Creative Recy‐ Plenty of shapes and sizes for the challenge.

cling of Clothing in Mallorca.

The event, which will take place on Friday October 1 at the Flassaders Centre, consists of a nine‐hour marathon in which participants must design, with imagination and creativity, pieces of clothing based solely on select‐ ed pre‐worn clothes. There will be 10 new mannequins of vari‐ ous sizes which have been pur‐ chased thanks to a grant from the Ministry of Environment and

A LONG‐TERM programme to protect bats across the Balearics had been introduced by the Forest Health Service of the Ministry of the Environment and Territory, in collaboration with the Balearic Islands Biodiversity Research Initiative (IRBI).

Initially 60 nest boxes are to be installed in trees in both Formentera and Ibiza during 2021 and this programme is to be expanded to Mal‐ lorca and Menorca later this year or early next.

Bats are an insectivorous species and this is a

Territory, with the aim of repre‐ senting the diversity of shapes and sizes that occur in reality. Al‐ though everyone is encouraged to take part, the actual number of contestants has been reduced from 20 to 15 to ensure safe dis‐ tance between those entering as the pandemic is still active.

The rules and the link to the registration form can also be found on the Deixalles Founda‐ tion website: www.deixalles.org.

Bat boxes key element in ensuring the natural control of forest pests, such as the pine processionary caterpillar (Thaumetopoea pityocampa) as well as mosquitoes and other unsavoury insects.

The installation of nest boxes therefore al‐ lows the increase and stabilisation of the popu‐ lation of bats, which act as a natural control of forest pests.

badly. The meeting on Monday September 13 in Deia saw dele‐ gates from Manacor, Esporles, Costitx, Lloret, Fornalutx, Soller, Bunyola and Montuïri arrive to consider what they could do to reverse the banking situation.

There are two problems, with banks in some cases withdrawing completely from some towns or closing previously competing branches in others, such as Soller where CaixaBank and Bankia were previously both represent‐ ed.

Following this initial get to‐ gether, the mayor of Costitx, An‐ toni Salas has arranged a further meeting, this time in Palma on September 20 where the nine municipalities hope to discuss the matter with government dele‐ gate in the Balearic Islands, Aina Calvo.

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Demand for councillor to be sacked ANDRATX Ciudadanos councillor Ángel Hoyos announced on Sunday September 12 that at the next plenary session of the council he will de‐ mand that councillor for Culture, Ruth Mateu be sacked.

He claims that this is because “she has granted a subsidy to a related as‐ sociation under conditions contrary to what is estab‐ lished in the rules govern‐ ing this type of benefit.”

Hoyos explained that “the council had planned in its budgets to grant in 2021 a subsidy of €45,000 to a cultural association involved with theatre in accordance with existing regulations which estab‐ lishes the possibility to grant an advance of 50 per cent.”

However, the governing board held on May 21, ap‐ proved, as proposed by Mateu, that the advance should equate to 80 per cent of the subsidy, an in‐ crease of €13,500 above what was allowed.”

In addition, Hoyos pointed out, “as a result of that agreement, Ruth Mateu herself issued a de‐ cree on June 6 by which she granted that advance for a value of 80 per cent, something equally con‐ trary to the regulations, which fixes it at 50 per cent.”

and finally...

BROTHERS IN BAND. On Saturday October 2, the Palma Audito‐ rium will welcome back Brothers in Band presenting their Very Best of Dire Straits show which faithfully reproduces the sounds of one of Britain’s most successful bands.

Dire Straits are unlikely to preform again due to the much‐publi‐ cised disagreements between various members, especially as Mark Knopfler has become a regular composer of film sound‐ tracks, his brother David Knopfler simply had enough and bass player John Illsley has his own band which recently played in Port Adriano.

The nine Spanish musicians in Brothers in Band have however spent years honing their performance so that if you close your eyes, you think that you are back watching the real thing.

High spots include, Sultans of Swing, Love over Gold, Romeo and Juliet and naturally, Money for Nothing.

Tickets cost from €35 to €40 from the Auditorium box office.

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16 - 22 September 2021

NEWS

Nightlife restrictions ending AYUSO: Limited capacity is to end.

MADRID is lifting the ban on clos‐ ing times for hotels and nightlife from September 20. The president of the Community of Madrid, Is‐ abel Díaz Ayuso, has announced the limited capacity in cinemas and theatres will also end.

The president said she will put an end to the time restrictions due to Covid‐19 that affected the hospitality and nightlife sectors in the region. The number of din‐ ers in a group permitted on ter‐ races will also go up from eight

to 10 people.

Ayuso also announced there will be no cap on capacity in cine‐ mas and theatres. She stressed her intention to “continue ad‐ vancing” to relax restrictions “if the situation continues to im‐

prove,” in reference to decline in coronavirus cases.

She made the announcement from Milan (Italy) where she had been awarded the ‘The Flame of Freedom’ award from The Bruno Leoni Institute.

More Covid-19 Cancer hospital planned waves unlikely FERNANDO SIMON, the director of the Centre for the Coordination of Health Alerts and Emergencies, said it is unlikely that Spain will have more large waves of Covid‐19. Speaking on Thursday September 9, he explained: “there may be a sixth, seventh, eighth, or ninth wave, but they will not be like the previous ones.”

Simon made these statements to the media before presenting at the congress of the Spanish Society of Epidemiology (SEE) in Leon.

Simon insisted that until everyone in Spain is vaccinated, the coronavirus will not end. He also highlighted the importance of a global cooperation, stating: “Spain is important, but it is not the navel of the world.” Yet, he also gave a positive message, claiming: “Spain right now is very favourable, and this makes it possible, little by little, to normalise the situation.” He also conformed the government is working to develop a new public health agency, but could not confirm if he would be the director or even apply for the role.

Regarding a third booster dose, Fernando Simon said the matter was under dis‐ cussion. On the topic of vaccinating children under the age of 12, he said the re‐ sults of clinical trials and authorisations from the regulatory agencies would be known soon.

C A N T A B R I A is set to have the first public hospital in Spain of‐ fering proton therapy for the treatment of cancer. The treat‐ ment will be offered by San‐ tander’s Marques Valdecilla Uni‐ versity Hospital in 2024.

Proton therapy is a technology used for treating long‐lasting tu‐ mours, including in children.

Pablo Zuloaga, the vice presi‐ dent of the regional government, along with Miguel Rodriguez, the Minister of Health, announced the news that the contracting specifications for the installation and start‐up of the centre will be released in the near future.

It is hoped, the unit will be op‐ erational in 2024 when it will have the capacity to serve up to 500 patients per year. Valdecilla

PROTON THERAPY: A first for Spain.

will become the first hospital in the Spanish public network, and the third in the entire country, to have this therapy.

Zuloaga and Rodriguez de‐ scribed the move as “a new mile‐ stone in the long history of excel‐ lence and progress of the hospital centre, which has always

been characterised by being at the forefront in cancer treat‐ ment.”

Both men exalted the health benefits of this technology, which generates less damage to adjacent tissues, and, according to estimates by the Spanish Soci‐ ety of Radiation Oncology, could be used in 11 per cent of all can‐ cer patients, which would repre‐ sent around 15,000 patients a year.

Mr Rodriguez explained that the aim in Valdecilla is to initially treat 500 patients a year, also from neighbouring autonomous communities. Mr Zuloaga also highlighted the value from a re‐ search and training point of view and its ability to generate wealth and employment.

Expats share thoughts on British monarchy EXPATS in Spain have been sharing their thoughts on the future of the British monarchy after one writer claimed the royal family could be gone in two gen‐ erations.

In its Sunday debate on September 12, the Euro Weekly News asked read‐ ers whether they thought the royal family was a wor‐ thy institution or an out‐ dated relic, and replies showed a mixture of feel‐ ings.

One reader, Stephen Proctor, said: “Not a fan of them personally for a num‐

ber of reasons, but England is a monarchy at its heart and soul, so they will be around for a while yet.”

Another reader, Linda McGarry, told the EWN: “They are a waste of space.”

Author Hilary Mantel had claimed that she thought the British monar‐ chy would only last anoth‐ er two generations.

She said: “It’s very hard to understand the thinking behind the monarchy in the modern world when people are just seen as celebrities.”

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16 - 22 September 2021

Sanchez electricity promise

PRESIDENT Pedro Sanchez has promised electricity bills will average out by the end of the year. “When 2021 is over, consumers will have paid the same for elec‐ tricity as they did in 2018,” he said.

“The government is taking charge of the concern among citizens. And we are working on a plan to reach a concrete commitment. By the end of 2021 Spaniards will look back and see that

they have paid a similar and comparable amount on their electricity bills as they did in 2018,” he added.

Sanchez continued: “It is important to clarify in this debate that one thing is the progress of the wholesale price in the market and an‐ other is your electricity bill.

We pay our bills monthly.

What doesn’t make sense is to look at the debate on a daily basis, because we don’t pay our bills daily. What the

government can do is to cushion the changes in that wholesale price. First, with structural reforms, and with a solid commitment to re‐ newable energies ‐ not just due to issues of climate change, but also because they are cheaper.

“The electricity future markets are already saying that, thanks to renewables, Spain will have lower prices than France or Germany in 2022 and 2023.”

Social Security scam warning THE General Treasury of Social Security took to its official Twitter account on Mon‐ day September 13, to warn people not to download any application, or click on any links or attachments included in SMS mes‐ sages purporting to have been sent by them.

This problem with cybercriminals became more prevalent since a lot of businesses moved online. Social Security has expanded its online services in recent months, some of which only require the user to identify them‐ selves by an SMS message.

This gives criminals extra opportunities to

try and scam people by sending fake SMS messages or emails pretending to be from the official entity, which is how they ulti‐ mately gather your sensitive information.

According to Social Security, this latest at‐ tempt to scam the public involves a message informing people that they are owed a reim‐ bursement of €945.76. The message states: “Our invoice management system detects that you are entitled to receive this pay‐ ment. To accept quick payments online, click on the following link.” People are being urged to ignore this message in order to avoid being scammed.

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Fifth wave decline

THE fifth wave of the coron‐ avirus pandemic continued to decline according to for data from many of Spain’s au‐ tonomous communities. The vaccination programme in Spain is progressing well across nearly the entire country.

Andalucia is making good progress with the vaccination programme and so far more than 12 million doses of the various vaccines have been giv‐ en. This means health authori‐ ties have used over 90 per cent of the vaccines received. In An‐ dalucia alone, over six million people are now fully vaccinat‐ ed.

In Catalonia, the figures on September 12 fell from nearly 1,000 positive cases the previ‐ ous day to just 620 new cases.

Zero deaths were reported in the previous 24 hours, but 700 people still remained in hospital due to the virus.

Andalucia also began to vac‐ cinate immunocompromised patients with a booster jab. It is expected that across Andalucia over 13,000 patients will fall in‐

to this category. It is preferred that the booster vaccine is the same make as that which was originally given. This move is

part of the updated vaccination strategy approved by the Public Health Commission on Wednesday September 8.

Scotland battles climate change

COMMUNITIES across Scotland will battle against climate change as part of Scotland’s COP26 community engagement programme which aims to encourage communities to join the fight against cli‐ mate change.

In November, Glasgow welcomes the UN Climate Change Confer‐ ence of the Parties, COP26. It is hoped that communities who have not engaged previously in tackling climate change will be encouraged to join the effort. According to the government: “The scheme also in‐ cludes activities for young people, including schools and youth groups such as the guide and scout movements, to help ensure young people from all backgrounds can participate.”

and finally...

WEAPONS fine. An elderly man in Germany has been fined after the authorities found his stash of Second World War weapons.

The 84‐year‐old man is accused of possessing several weapons from the war and has been fined €250,000 and ordered to hand sev‐ eral of the weapons over to a museum or collector. The authorities charged the man after finding the weapons during a search in 2015.

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16 - 22 September 2021

Emoji communication EMOJI characters could particu‐ larly enhance interaction with young children, people with dis‐ abilities, and patients who speak other languages, a physi‐ cian has claimed.

The opportuni‐ ty exists for medical soci‐ eties and physi‐ cian committees to proactively shape emojis that best represent their fields, then work with the standards‐ setting body for emojis to get them approved and put into practice.

“The need to listen to patients is at the core of our mission as

physicians, and the use of emojis is a great opportunity to take communication to another level,” said Dr Shuhan He. “Emoji characters could be particularly

EMOJIS: From Japan.

important in treating children with still‐developing language skills, people with disabilities that impair their ability to communi‐

cate, and the many patients who speak a different language.”

Emojis (which mean ‘picture characters’) originated in Japan over a decade ago and today an estimated five billion are used daily on Facebook and Facebook Messen‐ ger alone. The doc‐ tor added: “It’s tempting to dismiss emoji as a millennial fad, but they possess the power of standardisation, universality and familiarity, and in the hands of physicians and other health care providers could represent a new and highly effective way to com‐ municate pictorially with pa‐ tients.”

ONE Afghan journalist is still fighting the Taliban even though she had to flee her country and leave behind her husband and children. Refugee Khadija Amin initially became a journalist in Afghanistan to be “the voice of women.”

She spent many years help‐ ing women gain equality. She even worked in television until the Taliban took over again in

NEWS

Spain Gas reserve increase THE Spanish government is preparing for winter and the high energy prices that are expected by forcing an increase in gas re‐ serves to avoid blackouts. The m i n i s t e r o f Ec o l o g i c a l T r a n s i t i o n , Teresa Ribera, is hoping to avoid shortages of natural gas like those seen when storm Filomena hit.

The Ministry of Ecological Tran‐ sition has made the decision to modify the Winter Plan, which has not been updated since 2017. The plan is to ensure that gas suppli‐ ers have to increase their reserves by more than 20 per cent next January.

Suppliers are currently obliged

to store 3.5 days’ worth of re‐ serve gas and this will increase to 4.5 days for January. It is also possible that once the National Markets and Competition Commis‐ sion’s report is released the re‐ serve quantity obligations will be increased even further.

It is hoped that these new re‐ serve quotas will ensure that problems seen last winter do not occur again. It is also expected that these measures will help re‐ duce the risk of gas supplies being cut. Additionally, it is possible the increased reserves may help regu‐ late prices in the electricity mar‐ ket too.

Speaking out against Taliban August. As soon as they took power she was banned from continuing with her career on television. Amin explained how she had to flee her homeland, leaving behind her family. She has spoken out against the hardships that women are fac‐ ing in Afghanistan now.

She said: “Women are not al‐ lowed to go out on the streets alone. They can’t even go to the doctor if they are ill unless they are accompanied by a man. It’s very hard.”

Amin was at the public broadcaster’s newsroom when the Taliban took over. She ex‐ plained: “The Taliban held a press conference and said that women would be allowed to work, so I spoke to them face to face and asked them to let me continue. They said no.

There was no more room for us women on state television.”

Luckily, Amin was evacuated on one of the 17 flights that brought people to safety in Spain.

Job outlook PROGRESS with the vacci‐ nation roll‐out in Spain has triggered job optimism in Spain as over 50 per cent of managers plan to ex‐ pand their workforce this year.

In Spain, economic re‐ covery is predicted for 2021 and the Gross Do‐ mestic Product (GDP) is ex‐ pected to rise by up to 6.8 per cent this year.

The excellent progress of the vaccination pro‐ gramme in Spain has reached over 74 per cent of the population. Both these factors have boost‐ ed hiring expectations among managers. Country Manager of Manpower Group Spain, Francisco Ribeiro, said: “It is excel‐ lent news that Spanish employers expect to ex‐ pand their teams by 32 per cent, or even 58 per cent in some sectors, before the end of the year.

“We cannot overlook two realities associated with this figure: firstly, the construction, catering and manufacturing industries are reversing a trend seen in the last quarters of the study. Secondly, optimism has yet to be transformed into real employment op‐ portunities for profession‐ als."

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16 - 22 September 2021

New Spanish Covid test

A NEW low‐cost test that detects immu‐ nity to coronavirus with a skin reaction has been created in Spain. Immunologist Yvelise Barrios, and his team of re‐ searchers from the Hospital Universitario de Canarias in Tenerife, have developed the new easy‐to‐use test that offers in‐ formation on a person’s immune re‐ sponse to Covid‐19.

It is one thing to test if we have anti‐ bodies or not, but it is another to measure the neutralising capacity of the antibod‐ ies. And the amount of antibodies gener‐ ated after the vaccine or infection begins to decline, as has happened after six to seven months. To do this, it is necessary to look for T cells, which are the ones that activate memory B cells, the cells that generate a more stable immune response in the body.

Dr Barrios is also a member of the Spanish Society of Immunology (SEI), and, together with the allergist Victor Matheu, his team has presented the results of their new test that detects specific T lymphocytes for the Spike (S) protein of the new coronavirus.

NEW TEST: Detects immunity to Covid.

As explained by the Canarian re‐ searchers, these tests are easy to per‐ form, low‐cost, and their reliability is al‐ most 100 per cent. This was shown by the result of tests carried out on immunocom‐ petent health personnel from the Hospital Universitario de Canarias who had already been infected and/or had been vaccinated with the two doses of Pfizer two weeks before.

Now, six months after vaccination, they are re‐evaluating the test with the first test group, with tests also to be conduct‐ ed on personnel vaccinated with other vaccines.

Spain and Portugal cooperate THE Minister for Work and Social Economy, Yolanda Diaz, has reinforced her commitment to the Social Economy in the Portuguese city of Coimbra, through the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding and Cooperation in the field of Social Economy with her Portuguese counterpart, Minister Ana Mendes.

It is a proposal “that puts

people at the centre, even more so in the current context of recovery after the serious health, social and economic crisis of Covid-19,” said Díaz in the framework of the Iberian Social Economy Summit.

“We have the opportunity to build a different world and the Social Economy, with its values of equality, social cohesion and improved working

Travel companies take on global warming AS travel companies across the world begin to reopen to travellers, Euro Weekly News readers have said that they think these companies should also do more to reduce global warming.

Of the readers who replied to the EWN on the issue, 100 per cent said they thought travel companies should be doing more for the environment.

One reader, Brian Rae, said: “the sea and rainforests… are crucial to life.”

Earlier this year, on Earth Day,

companies including Insight Vacations signed up to an environmental pledge to achieve carbon neutrality by 2030, and to source 50 per cent of power from renewable sources by 2025.

Meanwhile, travel company Hopper also announced it will donate tree-planting funds for every booking it receives, planting up to four trees for every booking.

The company said it plans to plant around six million trees around the world this year.

conditions, gives us the path, the ideas and the possibility to do so,” she said.

Facebook smart glasses FACEBOOK has launched its long‐rumoured smart glasses, built in partnership with Ray‐ Ban. Marketed as Ray‐Ban Stories, they will be available in 20 variations, including the classic Wayfarer design.

Users can operate the two built‐in cameras by pressing a button on the temple. The device has the capability of snapping a 2592 x 1944 pixel photograph, or recording 30 seconds of video. A ‘Hey Face‐ book’ voice command can al‐ so operate the cameras.

Once an image or video has been captured, it can be shared onto Facebook, Insta‐ gram, and other social media networks using a new app called Facebook View and can operate for up to six hours a day, for three days when fully charged.

EWN

7

Spain tourism PCR boost IN what is being hailed as a mas‐ sive boost for Spain’s tourist indus‐ try, double‐vaccinated travellers will no longer need to take expen‐ sive PCR tests when returning to the UK. Many British expats, their friends and family, and even holi‐ daymakers to Spain delayed their holiday plans due to the cost and the hassle of the tests required on their return to the UK. This barrier is now being re‐ moved, potentially in time for the October school half‐term holidays.

Health secretary, Sajid Javid, con‐ firmed that he wants to remove the PCR test requirement, for those returning from some foreign coun‐ tries “as soon as I possibly can.”

On September 13, he said he was aware of the cost for families taking foreign holidays and that the testing measures should not be in place “for a second longer than is absolutely necessary.”

A new survey asked questions to more than 500 people who trav‐ elled outside the UK from January to August. The research found 97 per cent of 486 people said nobody asked to see their day two or day eight PCR test on returning to the UK. It also showed 97 per cent of travellers believe PCR testing

should be removed for fully vacci‐ nated travellers returning from green list countries. While 86 per

cent of travellers think it should be removed for amber list countries and 13 per cent for the red list.

Gender violence suspected GUARDIA CIVIL officers in the Alicante municipality of La Villa‐ joyosa are investigating a possible case of gender violence. On September 13, a 51‐year‐old man is alleged to have killed his 38‐ year‐old wife by cutting her throat before committing suicide by jumping off a bridge into the Amadorio riverbed.

It is reported that the local school had notified the Guardia Civil when the woman failed to turn up to collect her children. Officers went to her home and after breaking down the door, discovered a woman’s body with her throat cut. The man’s body was discov‐ ered in the riverbed. Municipal sources said that the residents of the town are “shocked and very surprised” by what happened, be‐ cause the Local Police had no previous complaint of mistreatment.

The victim was not in the comprehensive monitoring system for cases of gender violence (VioGen).

and finally...

MARATHON winner disqualified. A marathon winner was dis‐ qualified from a race in Austria for wearing the wrong shoes.

Ethiopia’s Derara Hurisa thought he had won the race after cross‐ ing the finish line three seconds faster than the next runner.

But he was later disqualified after it was discovered that the soles on his shoes were one centimetre thicker than the maxi‐ mum permitted for the race.

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New Ryanair winter routes RYANAIR have announced their 2021 winter schedule including 10 new routes for Barcelona. The new connections will link Catalonia to a stunning variety of destinations starting in October.

The new routes include Agadir (Morocco), S tockholm- A rlanda A irport ( S weden), B rindisi (Italy), Bristol (United Kingdom), La Palma (Spain), Lisbon (Portugal), U chda ( M orocco), Palermo (Italy), Rabat (Morocco) and Tallinn (Estonia).

Eddie W ilson, C E O of Ryanair, said: “We are delighted to announce our 2021 winter schedule with a total of 73 routes, including the 10 new connections from Barcelona.”

“As Spain’s largest airline, R yanair is committed to the recovery

RYANAIR: Have announced their winter schedule. of Catalonia’s tourism industry, jobs and connectivity as we grow across Europe and bring air travel back to precrisis levels.”

He also boasted of the firm’s deal to take delivery of 55 new B oeing 737-8200 aircraft this winter. This move will boost Spanish air traffic this winter as Ryanair operates flights from Catalonia to 73 destinations in 25 dif-

ferent countries.

Eddie Wilson hoped the move would prompt authorities to reduce Spanish airport charges.

“Reducing charges at Spanish airports and introducing long-term incentives for air traffic recovery would facilitate a rapid recovery in tourism and employment thanks to R yanair’s low fares and our growth plan for the coming years.”

NEWS

Choking baby saved in Madrid MADRID emergency services saved the life of a 13-month-old baby who was choking on a plastic bottle top while trapped inside a lift with her parents.

Firefighters arrived just seven minutes after receiving the message from the couple who were stuck inside the lift. After the crew had rescued the family, the medical teams of the Madrid

Sealth Service, who had also been mobilised to the incident, took over and treated the baby girl.

The minor was admitted to the 12 de Octubre Hospital in Madrid. Maria Isabel Lopez, the doctor in charge of the operation, said: “The baby is fine.”

She stressed, however, the importance of calling emergen-

cy services as soon as possible, “The faster they call us, the sooner we arrive. The obstruction of the airway produces a stop in the breathing, so you have to call as soon as possible.

If they had gone to the hospital in their car, they could have found a traffic jam, and with the condition of the minor, his arrival would have been worse.”

Designer brand accused

Microsoft chooses Spain

A TIKTOK user accused Spanish designer brand Balen‐ ciaga of cultural appropriation over a pair of €1,000 sweatpants. The ‘Tropme‐L’oeil’ grey sweatpants with the hefty price tag come complete with an exposed boxer short which is built in over the waistband. This is something made famous during the 90s in hip‐hop cul‐ ture. The item can be spotted at high‐end UK depart‐ ment store Selfridges and caught the attention of a Tik‐ Tok user (@mr200m__) who took to social media to complain. The user, whose real name is Josiah Hy‐ acinth, commented on the sweatpants: “This feels racist. This feels very racist, guys.” He added, “they have woven these boxers inside the trousers.”

The video has been viewed over one and a half mil‐ lion times and was captioned: “You know when some‐ thing feels racist. I have questions.” One user took to social media to back up Hyacinth’s views and said: “Black men being discriminated against and devalued for sagging pants and Balenciaga is profiting off the style.

Crazy how it’s ghetto until they put a price on it.”

MICROSOFT has chosen Barcelona for a new Artifi‐ cial Intelligence research centre. The hub will focus on the research and development of Artificial Intelli‐ gence models and will be the first of its kind in the country. Crucially, the centre will initially house 30 people but it is expected the number of staff will grow to over 100 employees.

The Barcelona site is expected to be one of eight research centres across the world that will be home to a web experiences team. According to Microsoft, the team will focus “on the development of ad‐ vanced user experiences based on the use of Artificial Intelligence and deep learning technologies.”

The hub will be led by Microsoft’s Search & AI team, headed by Microsoft’s corporate vice presi‐ dent in the United States, Jordi Ribas, who comment‐ ed: “I am convinced that setting up this hub in Spain will add a lot of value to Microsoft’s proposition worldwide.”

Judge authorises child vaccine A S P A N I S H judge has au‐ thorised a mother to vacci‐ nate her children against coronavirus despite the protests of their father.

This is one of the first rul‐ ings handed down in Spain regarding children being vaccinated when divorced parents disagree over the course of action to be tak‐ en.

The 51st Court of First In‐ stance of Barcelona ruled in favour of the mother who wanted her two teenage children to be vac‐ cinated. Her ex‐husband did not want the children to be vaccinated with any of the vaccines that are available at the moment.

He also wanted them to miss out on any diagnostic Covid‐19 tests carried out by their school.

Judge Eva Atares made the decision to prioritise

the children’s health and that of society over the wishes of the father and the children. The children are aged 15 and 16 years old and had been con‐ vinced by their father to not get vaccinated.

The father claimed there

was uncertainty surround‐ ing vaccines. According to the court report: “Their fa‐ ther had been gathering in‐ formation for many months about the side effects of the various vaccines, with‐ out specifying which ones, beyond generalities.”

Start to ease off

THE Euro Weekly News has asked its readers whether they think Spain should begin easing its Covid restrictions after it emerged that the country had left the ´high risk´ level. In total, 63.9 per cent of readers said they thought that Spain has had restrictions for long enough and that they should be eased.

A further 34.4 per cent said they felt it was too soon. According to a Spanish Health Ministry report released on Thursday, September 9, the 14-day cumulative number of coronavirus cases per 100,000 inhabitants now stands at 140.43, having fallen below the high-risk level of 150 for the first time since July 1.

On a national level, the figures are also at medium risk in terms of the ICUs, with less than 14 per cent occupation by Covid-19 patients, and low in regular wards, with less than 5 per cent occupation due to the disease.

10 EWN

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NEWS

Phil Collin’s health admission British expats face expulsion

E I G H T I ES pop icon Phil Collins went on B B C Breakfast on Thursday September 9 to talk frankly about his declining health, saying he can “barely hold a drumstick.”

The Genesis singer has been suffering with health issues for 15 years, including nerve problems caused by a damaged vertebrae in his neck.

Collins talked about how his health has restricted his ability to perform and prevented him from joining his son on stage playing the drums. Yet, he is carrying on with his tour.

“I’m kind of physically challenged which is very frustrating because I’d love to be playing up there with my son,” he said.

When asked: “Are you able to do any drumming at all these days?” He replied, “ N o. N o, I would love to but, you know, I mean I can barely hold a stick with this hand.” The iconic singer was then re-

Talked about his health. minded: “You said that this tour is putting it to bed.” Collins replied,

“We’re all men of our age, and I think to some extent, it probably is putting it to bed.”

T he singer had surgery in April 2009, following an injury sustained during the 2007 Genesis tour and lost feeling in his fingers.

In 2010, he battled depression and considered suicide. However, he said he didn’t go through with it because of his children.

easyJet autumn flight sale LOW-COST airline, easyJet, has put its autumn flights on sale across Europe. Nearly 100k flights went live on the company’s website on September 9, serving over 127 destinations across Europe and providing over one mil‐ lion low‐fare seats.

The sale gave early‐bird customers the opportunity to book a much‐needed getaway or be reunited with friends or family. The launch included 72,709 flights to and from the UK, departing between October 2021 and September 2022.

Ali Gayward, easyJet’s UK Country Manager, ex‐ plained: “We have some very special prices we hope pas‐ sengers will take advantage of. Our autumn sale will of‐ fer our customers in the UK more opportunities to reunite with friends and family across Europe.”

SOME British expats living in Spain must leave the coun‐ try within 15 days or risk be‐ ing classed as living there il‐ legally, according to legal documents. The order from Spain’s Immigration Office was given to Brits who had their residency applications rejected.

The document read: “You will be advised that, unless you have a qualifying docu‐ ment to stay in Spain, you must leave the Spanish terri‐ tory within 15 days from the

notification of this resolu‐ tion, unless exceptional cir‐ cumstances occur and you justify that you have suffi‐ cient means, in which case you may extend your stay up to a maximum of 90 days.”

Staying longer than the 15 days is considered a “serious offence” by the Spanish au‐ thorities and can lead to fines of up to €10,000.

It could also mean expul‐ sion from Spain and a poten‐ tial ban from the Schengen area for six months to five

years. Anne Hernandez, head of citizens help group Brexpats in Spain, said: “Ap‐ plications are being rejected on the grounds of insuffi‐ cient evidence of legally re‐ siding in Spain before 2021, such as a town hall certifi‐ cate, medical insurance or other proof.”

If an expat’s residency is rejected in Spain, it is possi‐ ble to appeal against the de‐ cision. However, correct doc‐ umentation must be provided.

Free holiday Covid-19 tests Holiday giant, On the Beach, is restarting holiday packages with free Covid‐19 tests for British travellers jetting off to Spain and Greece to enjoy the last of the sum‐ mer sunshine.

All bookings to Spain and Greece made before September 30 for departure in 2021 will qualify for the free tests. The holiday company has collaborated with testing provider Collinson.

Tests will be automatically ordered fol‐ lowing the customers’ holiday bookings,

and delivered at least 48 hours prior to departure. One antigen test must be tak‐ en on holiday before return to the UK and one PCR test must be taken on or be‐ fore day two following arrival back in the UK. Company CEO, Simon Cooper, said the “time is now right” to restart holidays af‐ ter they had “carefully monitored the on‐ going travel updates, the data at home and in key destinations, and the senti‐ ment among our customers.”

NEWS

www.euroweeklynews.com

16 - 22 September 2021

Royal Family documentary ON September 22, for the first time on television, more than a dozen members of the Royal Family, including Prince Harry, will offer their personal thoughts and reflec‐ tions as they pay a historic trib‐ ute to the extraordinary life of His Roy‐ al Highness Prince Philip Duke of Edinburgh.

All the children PRINCE PHILIP: A historic tribute.

of the Queen and the Duke, along with their adult grandchildren and other members of the Royal Fam‐ ily, have agreed to take part in this unique portrait of the longest‐serving consort in royal history. The Queen, however, is not interviewed. Nor is Meghan Markle.

Originally conceived to mark Prince Philip’s 100th birthday, this landmark BBC documentary features interviews filmed both before and after the Duke’s death in April. The documentary‐makers have been inside Buckingham Palace to meet the Duke’s long‐ serving staff and to capture his study, private office and library, exactly as they were during his seven decades at the heart of royal life.

“There are poignant recollections, plenty of hu‐ mour and numerous fresh insights into the charac‐ ter and legacy of this royal pioneer,” the BBC said.

“With special access to the Queen’s private cine‐ film collection, this film is an unrivalled portrait of a man with a unique place in royal history by those who knew him best,” the corporation added.

Driver neglects ITV POLICE in Navarra were stunned to discover a driver

Cadiz asks for tourist tax CADIZ City Council is study‐ ing the possibility of asking the Junta de Andalucia to implement a tourist tax for the area’s hotels.

This tax is already in force in Catalonia and Mallorca, and now in Cadiz the local government is studying the measure in its Strategic Tourism Plan. The tax is nor‐ mally used by councils to put money into the devel‐ opment of tourism in their own locality, improving its infrastructures or acting on the historical culture.

The council has said it will now hold a meeting to ap‐ prove the plan.

GUARDIA CIVIL officers in Grana‐ da Province caught a 59‐year‐old man as he was in the process of trying to dump his dead dog that he had earlier hanged.

The perpetrator was surprised on August 11 when a patrol from Pinos Puente barracks intercept‐ ed the van he was driving. After identifying him, they searched the vehicle and found a lifeless greyhound dog in the loading area, with apparent signs of abuse, and a rope with a slip

they stopped had not carried out a Technical Inspection (ITV) on his vehicle since May 31, 2012. When quizzed, the man’s classic response was: “I’ve had no time.”

Even the officers couldn’t re‐ sist seeing the funny side of the situation and took to Twitter to post an image showing the re‐ sults of their vehicle search. They joked he might forget to ITV the car for a week, but that after nine years he should have noticed the lapse.

The man was stopped in Ollo‐

ki, Navarra although his car was registered in Sevilla. In his de‐ fence, he did have the car in‐ sured, but was fined the compul‐ sory €200 for not having the ITV. The tweet prompted a lot of humorous replies from Twitter users, most commenting on how smart the driver was, that he was fined €200 but had not paid for any ITV since 2012, potentially saving up to €250 at the higher rate of €50 per test.

Others users noted he could save even more by paying the fine early at a €100 reduction.

NO TIME: The ITV was nine years out of date.

Animal abuse

knot around the neck that pre‐ sumably caused its death.

Although the dog lacked a mi‐ crochip, the investigator recog‐ nised that the animal belonged to the man, and from that mo‐ ment, the Environmental Police team of the Nature Protection Service of the Granada Guardia

Civil (Seprona) took charge of the animal, and launched an investi‐ gation into its death.

After the post‐mortem of the dog, a veterinarian certified that he had been dead for several hours by the time the officers found him, and that the cause of its death was hanging. After con‐ firming the violent death of the greyhound, investigators brought the owner of the dog to court for an alleged crime of ani‐ mal abuse.

EWN 11

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12 EWN

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16 - 22 September 2021

DiCaprio’s diamond factory

EUROPEAN NIBS DENMARK

FRANCE

Afghan interpreters

Paris pedestrians

DANISH newspaper Berlingske has discovered that the Danish Government has secretly paid the UK the equivalent of five years of social benefits for accepting 23 interpreters (which it shared with British Forces in Afghanistan) into Britain, but by June had accepted just five former interpreters itself.

A SURVEY by a pedestrian group has damned Paris with its 15,000 e-scooters on the prowl and nearly one million cyclists as ‘mediocre’ when assessing ease of walking in the capital and marked it 8.07 out of 20 for pedestrian safety and comfort.

THE NETHERLANDS Health minister ill

NEWS

NORWAY Biden blast

CARETAKER Minister of Health and Sport, Tamara van Ark has ironically resigned on health grounds as she announced on Twitter that she had been trying to recover from chronic neck problems, but has not regained her health sufficiently to return to work.

THE Norwegian Government doesn’t agree with US President Joe Biden that the withdrawal of NATO forces from Afghanistan last month was the “extraordinary success” that he claimed. Indeed, Foreign Minister Ine Erik Søreide suggests more “humility” from NATO about how it spent the past 20 years.

BELGIUM

FINLAND

Mobility week

Water is ours

AS part of the annual mobility week events, Brussels will ban the majority of two, three and four-wheel private vehicles from its streets on Sunday September 19, so the public transport company MIVB has confirmed that its entire bus, tram and underground Metro railway network will be free of charge.

WITH 89,000 signatures, a citizens’ petition entitled ‘Water is ours’ which demands that Finland’s water supply is not privatised has been unanimously approved by the Finnish Parliament and is the first to be unanimously approved by MPs, although two previous initiatives did find favour.

GERMANY

SWEDEN

Nurses strike

Google Doodle

HUNDREDS of nurses have gone on strike for better conditions in Berlin’s Charité and Vivantes hospitals, which are part of the public health service. They will accept emergency admissions, but some 1,500 hospitals beds will remain empty and the majority of appointments have been cancelled.

SWEDISH DJ Tim Bergling, better known as Avicii who killed himself in 2018 was the recent subject of a Google Doodle (set to his Wake Me Up track) which was unveiled ahead of the performer’s birthday which happened to coincide with this year’s National Suicide Prevention Week.

LEONARDO DICAPRIO’S diamond factory is set to bring 300 jobs to Extremadura. The Hollywood actor starred in the film ‘Blood Diamond’ in 2006, and subsequently became an activist against the way diamond mining was carried out

in Africa, using semi-slavery to fund armed conflicts.

As a result, he decided to invest in the Diamond Foundry, a Silicon Valley company that produces Synthetic diamonds.

Trains for Europe THE Secretary of State for Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda, Isabel Pardo de Vera, welcomed at the Principe Pio station in Madrid the Connecting Europe Express, in what is a celebration of trains in the European Year of the Railway.

She said she is confident that the investment commit‐ ment of Europe and Spain in this means of transport will allow a new centre of Mobility, reaching a second Golden Age of the railway.

“Connecting Europe Express is a symbol that represents the values and objectives pursued by the European Union since its creation. A free, educated, united and connected Europe, a cohesive Europe and a green and sustainable Europe,” said Pardo de Vera in reference to this initiative, adding that railways are also exceptionally safe and allow people and companies to connect all over the Union through the increasingly wide, coherent and coordinated Trans‐European Transport Network.

the gem synthetically.

In a recent interview, cofounder Martin Roscheisen, explained the reasoning behind the company’s decision to open a 30,000m² facility in the Extremaduran municipality of Trujillo: “The availability of solar energy is quite high, and we want our foundry to be powered by renewable energies.”

This new factory will be located on the Arroyo Caballo industrial estate and will be equipped with plasma reactors which will operate 24 hours a day, along with a 120megawatt solar power plant and storage infrastructure producing 60 megawatts of power.

Mr Roscheisen emphasised that the factory will not only be used for jewellery. The diamonds have other industrial purposes and a fraction of the production will also go to the so-called mid-tier diamond industry, driven by large buyers in India that serve the rest of the industries which need diamonds, including jewellery.

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

FEATURE

www.euroweeklynews.com

16 - 22 September 2021

EWN 13

Advertising Feature

Two Week Review

S O M E big announcements have been shaping major currencies over the past few weeks, with supply constraints and cheap money the main news items.

It was the same old story for sterling, with Brexit and pandemic related woes putting the pound on the back foot. Fears around the UK job market as the furlough scheme ends haven’t helped, as well as worker shortages in key industries and bottlenecks in global shipping affecting confidence.

The decision to increase National Insurance also caused the pound some losses.

But, the Bank of England came to its rescue, with Governor Andrew Bailey suggesting an interest rate hike could be coming in the first half of 2022. The Monetary Policy Committee will likely want to see an end to quantitative easing in December before raising rates, but four of eight members now believe that minimum conditions for a rate rise have been met.

T he U S Federal R eserve reported in

their ‘Beige Book’ that the US economy “downshifted slightly” in August amid renewed Covid-19 concerns. The surge in Delta-variant cases reportedly hit the already struggling US labour market, as job openings hit a record high due to worker shortage.

A s a response, in part, to the labour market issues, President Biden announced new vaccine mandates requiring the vaccination of many workers. The new requirements are estimated to apply to as many as 100 million people in the U S and are expected to be implemented within weeks.

As expected, the ECB kept interest rates unchanged and decided to begin reducing their Pandemic Emergency Purchase Programme (PEPP). But ECB president Christine Lagarde emphasised that while a Eurozone economic rebound could be achieved with less monetary help, they are not out of the woods just yet. The euro dropped to a three-week low in response.

In other euro news though was some positive data. European shares climbed to near record highs, spurred by technology stocks which surged to their highest levels this year thanks to the rise in German factory orders.

Canadian jobs numbers came in close to expectations, with the Labour Force survey showing a gain of 90k jobs in August, with unemployment down from 7.5% to a 16-month low of 7.1%.

As expected the Bank of Canada left its key rate unchanged at 0.25%, while also delaying any tapering of its quantitative easing programme by continuing to buy bond at a target pace of C$2 billion per week.

The Royal Bank of Australia’s decision to keep the official cash rate (OCR) steady at 0.10% - a record low - provided some relief. The RBA’s plans to begin cautiously winding back its bond-buying programme remain in place - indicating a level of confidence that the Australian economy will bounce back.

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mallorca@moneycorp.com.

Despite Australia seeing record Covid19 cases fuelled by the Delta variant, the A ustralian government yesterday announced plans to ease Sydney’s lockdown from next month, provided a 70% vaccination threshold is reached.

Investors managed to contain their excitement at the 0.3% monthly rise food prices for August for New Zealand. Building consents also increased by a monthly 2.1% in July.

The kiwi prospered by keeping a low profile. Helped by the prospect of continued low interest rates in the United States and higher rates at home, the Kiwi led the major currencies for a brief spell of time.

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FINANCE BUSINESS EXTRA Production falls INDUSTRIAL production in Spain fell in July for a second consecutive month, due it appears to an ongoing shortage of raw materials or components. June and July each saw a drop of 1.1 per cent in production, although the year-to-date figures are still up on 2020.

Covid tests CONSIDERING the flack that members of the British Government have received for perceived cronyism over Covid matters it probably isn’t surprising that the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has said that the Government needs to apply tougher standards to its list of approved Covid travel test providers.

Carolina Herrera SPANISH perfume company Puig which purchased the Carolina Herrera fashion brand in the late 1980s is seeing significant growth in sales of the CH handbag range throughout Europe and Latin America by offering high quality product at affordable prices supported by competitive positioning.

Pingdemic THE UK economy is still 2.1 per cent below its pre-pandemic peak, said the Office for National Statistics (ONS) as it revealed that in July growth was a measly 0.1 per cent. This is partially because of the ‘pingdemic’ with so many people told to self-isolate.

5G continued expansion SPAIN was one of the earliest adopters of the 5G network, but expansion has slowed due to the pandemic. Currently Vodafone, Orange, Masmovil, and Telefonica all offer limited 5G contracts and a disagreement over pricing of new bandwidth between the regulator and operators saw a further delay.

An auction in July of this year saw the government earn around €1 billion, even though Masmovil decided not to bid as it was in takeover talks. Now it appears another bandwidth will be offered either later this year or early next.

14

STAT OF WEEK

www.euroweeklynews.com • 16 - 22 September 2021

£2.2 billion

(€2.5 billion) is the amount that the 888 Group has paid to take over the European arm of the William Hill betting company.

Rumours about EG Group THERE are rumours con‐ cerning the future of UK based EG Group owned by the Issa Brothers who took over ASDA supermarkets for £6.8 billion (€7.8 bil‐ lion).

The EG Group is now one of the largest indepen‐ dent owners of petrol sta‐ tions in the world and was only formed in 2001 when the brothers purchased a single petrol station in Manchester.

By 2015 when a minority shareholding was taken by British private equity com‐ pany TDR the business was valued at more than £1 bil‐ lion (€1.15 billion).

Since then, the two par‐ ties worked together to take over the ASDA super‐ market chain from Wal‐ mart of the USA, but the UK Competition and Mar‐ kets Authority was unhap‐ py with the fact that the EG Group and ASDA owned so

LEGALLY SPEAKING

How to elect president?

I’m president of my community of 75 owners, for the second time. My concern is that Spanish law only allows for nomination of the next president if that person agrees to accept. Unfortunately, 80 per cent of the owners aren’t here all of the time. The owners who are here all of the time are unwilling players.

1) Could we put all of the names in a hat, and keep drawing until we get a full time resident?

2) Could I call an EGA, to request a ballot, to assign presidency to one of the full time resident owners?

many petrol stations.

The new owners offered to sell about 5 per cent of the ASDA sites in order to stall any major delay and ironically, it still looks as if the purchaser could be the EG Group.

Just a few days ago, it was announced that fol‐ lowing a successful trial at five of the EG petrol sta‐ tions, it was anticipated that more than 200 conve‐ nience stores branded AS‐

DA on the move would be opened and that ASDA would act as a wholesaler to supply them with goods.

Now, a report from Bloomberg in North Ameri‐ ca suggests that the ‘con‐ sortium’ is considering plac‐ ing EG Group on the stock market with an estimated value of £10.8 billion (€12.4 billion) which would show a very tidy return for the bil‐ lionaire brothers and their partners.

Inform the DGT

DAVID SEARL

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

SPAIN’S La Liga moves into the digital age with football collector cards which can only be obtained and kept online.

For decades, companies around the world have been making fortunes out of the production of collector cards depicting famous sportsmen.

In the UK and Europe, the most popular have been footballers whilst in the USA it’s baseball and American

ON September 10, two directors of the Bank of England (BOE) Prudent Regulation Authority wrote to the chief executives of British banks and buildings soci‐ eties reminding them of their obligations.

This stemmed from the near collapse of the Co‐Operative Bank and in 2019, the Bank of England told these financial insti‐ tutions that they should supply the BOE on a regular basis.

The Bank required a number of reports containing informa‐ tion on their assets, capital and operations to allow for checks on any evidence of risk of desta‐ bilisation.

Having obtained independent reviews on a number of these fi‐ nancial institutions, the BOE in‐ dicated in its letter that it was disappointed to find that a num‐ ber of reports did not accurately or reliably show the institutions’ real position.

Startup Olé Provide proof of death.

S M (Costa Blanca)

Yes to both your ideas.

Note that a member YOU AND THE LAW who wants to refuse IN SPAIN election as president must give valid reasons for his refusal and he may be called before a judge who can rule to accept or reject them.

Now we have several options. Many Spanish communi‐ ties simply take it in turns to be president. In your case a member’s turn would only come up every 75 years. To miti‐ gate the absentee owner situation, you could vote to em‐ power a resident vice president with all powers needed in a suddden emergency.

Prudent regulation

IF a person dies and has a vehicle which will no longer be used you will also need to inform the General Traffic Depart‐ ment (DGT) if you want to take it out of circulation. If you de‐ cide to definitively take it out of circulation, it will be taken to the scrapyard. The DGT should inform the local town hall so they no longer charge you road tax, but be prepared to pro‐ vide proof the person has died. They may still get a bill, if, for example, the deceased normally paid their road tax in May and they pass away in February, they will be billed as normal, but you can go to the town hall to get them to return the money for the period during which the car was not used.

Generally, only the direct heirs (spouse or children) of the deceased can take their car off the road, unless another heir is named. In any case, all heirs must agree for this to be done.

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

Digital collector cards football which are the most in de‐ mand and some rare cards have fetched significant amounts in the collector market.

Now it’s time to move into the digi‐ tal age and Spain is leading the way as La Liga has entered into an agree‐

ment with French fantasy football company Sorare to allow collectors and fans to build digital card collec‐ tions online using the firm’s blockchain‐powered platform.

These are described as collectible digital assets created in small quanti‐

WITH tech startups becom‐ ing increasingly more popu‐ lar and valuable, there was even more reason for new companies to take part in the seventh edition of Start‐ up Olé which was held in Salamanca from September 6 to 10.

The first two days were held online and the last three saw several hundred key investors consider whether there were any new businesses that they could invest in.

There were ‘pitch compe‐ titions’, networking cocktails and face to face meetings at a time when the Spanish Government has made a commitment to promoting and investing in new tech‐ nology. ties, whose ownership is verifiable through blockchain technology.

Under the agreement, fans will be able to trade the cards of players for Spanish top and second‐tier league clubs, according to a La Liga press re‐ lease.

Part of the money earned will be distributed to clubs in Spain and La Liga is the first major national league to agree to sign up with the company.

16 EWN

www.euroweeklynews.com

16 - 22 September 2021

LONDON - FTSE 100

FINANCE, BUSINESS & LEGAL MAKE THE MOST OF YOUR MONEY WITH US See our advert on previous page

C LOSING P RICES S EPTEMBER 13

COMPANY PRICE(P) 3I Group 1.305,00 Abrdn 259,75 Admiral Group 3.536,0 Anglo American 3.086,5 Antofagasta 1.461,20 Ashtead Group 5.852,0 Associated British Foods 1.925,7 AstraZeneca 8.217,0 Auto Trader Group Plc 636,80 Avast 586,20 Aveva 4.005,0 Aviva 410,75 B&M European Value Retail 587,20 BAE Systems 551,20 Bank VTB DRC 1,384 Barclays 183,17 Barratt Developments 697,60 Berkeley 4.673,0 BHP Group 2.089,00 BP 299,25 British American Tobacco 2.666,5 British Land Company 521,60 BT Group 160,45 Bunzl 2.586,0 Burberry Group 1.913,0 Carnival 1.507,0 Centrica 50,84 Coca Cola HBC AG 2.459,5 Compass 1.444,50 CRH 3.770,9 Croda Intl 9.238,0 DCC 6.220,0 Diageo 3.542,2 DS Smith 460,20 EasyJet 584,80 Experian 3.344,0 Ferguson 10.645,0 Flutter Entertainment 14.610,0 Fresnillo 838,40 GlaxoSmithKline 1.429,60 Glencore 340,30 Halma 3.073,0 Hargreaves Lansdown 1.462,50 Hikma Pharma 2.532,00 HSBC 378,75 IAG 145,82 Imperial Brands 1.543,50 Informa 530,00 InterContinental 4.557,0 Intermediate Capital 2.220,00

CHANGE(P) 1.308,00 260,10 3.536,0 3.104,5 1.465,00 5.868,0 1.979,5 8.221,0 645,40 590,60 4.059,0 411,80 592,40 554,80 1,386 183,70 697,60 4.680,0 2.096,50 299,50 2.667,5 522,20 160,65 2.587,0 1.935,0 1.513,6 51,06 2.480,0 1.453,50 3.771,0 9.248,0 6.222,0 3.543,2 464,10 595,00 3.361,0 10.660,0 14.665,0 844,00 1.431,20 341,45 3.083,0 1.465,50 2.546,00 380,85 146,72 1.543,50 531,80 4.572,0 2.273,00

% CHG. 1.297,50 258,00 3.500,0 3.065,0 1.449,00 5.814,0 1.891,7 8.175,0 635,00 584,00 3.998,0 405,00 585,80 548,60 1,370 181,30 686,00 4.605,0 2.073,50 297,00 2.630,5 518,00 158,45 2.569,0 1.909,5 1.488,8 49,85 2.454,0 1.436,00 3.715,0 9.168,0 6.164,0 3.515,6 458,10 553,00 3.328,0 10.595,0 14.460,0 828,20 1.424,60 336,00 3.061,0 1.451,64 2.518,00 376,85 142,00 1.529,50 527,00 4.535,0 2.197,00

NET VOL 144,49K 772,82K 56,90K 627,82K 137,31K 84,95K 130,50K 222,81K 278,49K 389,74K 60,75K 1,94M 291,28K 1,79M 227,44K 7,21M 364,08K 44,80K 651,26K 4,85M 705,65K 337,05K 2,96M 32,46K 108,69K 145,24K 4,58M 157,75K 454,68K 89,94K 21,54K 22,82K 46,34K 440,79K 5,39M 285,31K 24,14K 22,25K 97,76K 801,95K 12,99M 69,99K 26,45K 29,81K 3,60M 9,94M 156,48K 252,54K 43,29K 76,28K

COMPANY

PRICE(P)

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

5.464,0 111,95 294,60 2.867,0 705,02 279,40 43,41 8.160,0 731,80 180,20 1.998,00 960,30 210,70 7.836,0 33,63 1.884,00 2.796,0 643,20 1.494,50 5.744,0 2.199,00 594,60 741,20 5.264,0 109,99 7,49 1.438,2 1.437,50 1.444,8 746,60 1.628,00 17,77 3.804,0 1.398,53 1.269,00 2.835,0 1.348,49 1.435,50 16.450,0 1.635,50 1.651,00 446,20 171,65 256,03 290,85 3.989,5 1.062,50 118,00 3.270,0 978,80

CHANGE(P)

% CHG.

NET VOL

5.492,0 112,80 296,70 2.867,0 705,80 280,10 43,47 8.178,0 735,60 180,70 2.023,00 961,50 210,80 7.966,0 33,68 1.917,00 2.800,0 644,60 1.499,50 5.744,0 2.199,00 597,60 753,60 5.279,0 110,86 7,50 1.439,8 1.439,75 1.446,8 747,80 1.628,00 17,89 3.873,0 1.399,00 1.274,00 2.835,0 1.350,00 1.445,00 16.595,0 1.638,50 1.655,00 447,70 171,60 256,35 293,00 3.990,5 1.062,00 118,14 3.292,0 980,20

5.434,0 111,25 294,20 2.823,0 697,20 275,90 42,85 8.122,0 730,00 176,30 1.977,00 939,90 208,10 7.772,0 33,31 1.867,00 2.747,0 633,20 1.474,50 5.678,0 2.185,00 594,40 738,00 5.226,0 109,20 7,38 1.421,4 1.423,00 1.425,0 742,40 1.616,00 17,68 3.792,0 1.385,60 1.262,00 2.807,0 1.343,38 1.425,50 16.430,0 1.613,50 1.643,00 442,70 168,80 254,35 288,20 3.960,0 1.048,50 116,75 3.257,0 972,40

28,49K 958,40K 555,54K 52,63K 120,92K 1,22M 30,51M 77,22K 400,88K 1,00M 277,06K 1,23M 2,08M 100,02K 9,73K 142,80K 133,80K 463,44K 502,08K 120,58K 274,26K 277,59K 368,10K 386,32K 5,23M 84,12K 805,07K 356,59K 1,79M 540,98K 2,48K 430,10K 29,62K 423,52K 262,44K 57,59K 54,24K 52,25K 8,08K 338,21K 126,87K 2,01M 1,02M 1,65M 187,97K 446,60K 256,49K 1,48M 55,87K 395,96K

1.17206

0.85175

Units per €

US dollar (USD) ......................................1.17754 Japan yen (JPY)......................................129.665 Switzerland franc (CHF) ...........................1.0877 Denmark kroner (DKK) .............................7.4362 Norway kroner (NOK) ...............................10.188

currenciesdirect.com/mallorca • Tel: +34 687 906 226 THE ABOVE TABLE USES THE CURRENT INTERBANK EXCHANGE RATES, WHICH AREN’T REPRESENTATIVE OF THE RATE WE OFFER

DOW JONES C LOSING P RICES S EPTEMBER 13

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

PRICE 184,55 2.838,4 3.469,15 213,75 148,97 210,30 205,01 96,07 57,89 55,61 378,69 403,48 331,95 222,37 137,02 53,84 166,97 157,36 239,18 73,45 295,71 163,59 144,13 257,20 736,27 403,91 54,23 224,91 145,89 184,12

CHANGE CHANGE% VOLUME(M) 187,23 184,50 2,21M 2.920,4 2.834,8 1,63M 3.508,45 3.462,91 2,37M 216,99 213,55 2,20M 155,48 148,70 140,09M 215,89 210,12 6,85M 207,88 204,82 2,54M 97,70 95,89 10,41M 58,95 57,82 13,51M 56,13 55,51 10,55M 383,79 378,26 11,07M 409,79 403,16 1,94M 335,23 331,45 3,14M 225,19 222,21 2,34M 139,37 137,00 3,95M 54,98 53,81 20,09M 169,09 166,87 6,68M 160,72 157,22 8,11M 241,32 239,04 2,01M 74,21 73,12 11,04M 299,92 295,38 19,56M 165,66 163,44 4,20M 144,46 143,32 5,69M 261,59 256,50 5,23M 762,61 734,52 14,91M 416,00 402,59 3,79M 54,67 54,22 15,85M 230,04 224,82 6,70M 147,24 145,43 5,24M 187,10 184,01 5,47M M - MILLION DOLLARS

NASDAQ C LOSING P RICES S EPTEMBER 13

COMPANY

CHANGE NET / %

VOLUME

Most Advanced Danaher Corp. 5% Mand. Pfd. Series B 2.96% NVR Inc. 0.66% Penumbra Inc. 3.96% Danaher Corp. 4.75% Mandatory Conv. Pfd. 0.42% Bio-Rad Laboratories Inc. Cl A 1.15% Mettler-Toledo International Inc. 0.58% Deckers Outdoor Corp.

2.24% NorthShore Global Uranium Mining ETF 10.85% U.S. Bancorp Dep. Pfd. (Rep. 1/1000 Interest 0.51% Inspire Medical Systems Inc. 2.00% Boston Beer Co. Cl A 0.84%

25.07K 15.81K 215.84K 3.28K 126.52K 101.77K 260.61K 1.05M 524 197.36K 461.39K

Most Declined Berkshire Hathaway Inc. Cl A RH Shopify Inc. Cl A Humana Inc. Markel Corp.

Anthem Inc. RingCentral Inc. Cl A Teleflex Inc. UBS AG FI Enhanced Large Cap Growth ETN Credit Suisse FI Large Cap Growth Enhanced Bill.com Holdings Inc.

-0.55% -4.21% -1.33% -3.63% -1.20% -3.75% -5.69% -3.37% -1.57% -1.54% -4.10%

940 801.92K 502.41K 1.28M 24.88K 1.9M 2.7M 289.98K 253 242 1.47M

FINANCE, BUSINESS & LEGAL

www.euroweeklynews.com

Taking prudent measures

CARLOS CUERPO: Recently appointed as Secretary General of the Treasury.

AS has previously been observed, the Spanish Government has lost a number of senior Civil Servants particularly in the area of Finance.

Most recently, Carlos Cuerpo was appointed as Secretary Gen‐ eral of the Treasury and Interna‐ tional Financing to replace Carlos San Basilio who moved to the Eu‐ ropean Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).

Now as the European Central Bank (ECB) appears ready to re‐ duce the amount of Government Bonds that it purchases to sup‐ port the borrowing of countries like Spain, it is his job to ensure that there is no panic in the bond market or the economy.

Happily, he announced via Twitter that a new Green Bond was oversubscribed by a mar‐ gin of times 12 and raised €5 billion without the need for sig‐

nificant ECB support.

What he and the Spanish Gov‐ ernment must hope however is that the ECB doesn’t simply ‘turn off the financial tap’ but reduces support on a planned and steady basis.

The European Central Bank started the pandemic emergency purchase programme, or PEPP, in March 2020 and it allows the ECB to purchase different types of as‐ sets in financial markets.

By doing this, the prices of those assets go up and, by exten‐ sion, market interest rates go down. All of this supports the economy by making borrowing cheaper for people, businesses and governments.

Spain has been a major benefi‐ ciary of PEPP but recognises that this support cannot go on forever and is currently in the process of

Takeover grounded EASYJET has rejected the unwelcome takeover bid which it says undervalues the airline despite huge losses caused by the pandemic.

In order to protect its position, it plans to raise more money both by way of a new loan and also by a call on shareholders for £1.2 billion (€1.4 billion) which will also help it to accelerate its recovery plan.

An unconfirmed report from Bloomberg suggests that the predator is Hungarian low-cost airline Wizz Air. Clearly, it is in easyJet’s best interests to see the skies opening up again so that it can start to recover some of its lost income as soon as possible. easyJet has rejected a takeover approach and announced plans to raise £1.2 billion from shareholders to help its recovery from the pandemic.

getting ready by extending matu‐ rities on bonds and introducing fiscal policies which are aimed at reducing the need to borrow.

BUSINESS EXTRA Four-day week SPANISH clothing retailer Desigual is to ballot its 500 plus office staff in Barcelona to see whether they would like to reduce their working week. The offer is to spend three days at the office and one day working remotely in return for a 6.5 per cent drop in salary.

Going down BRITAIN has been in the top 10 of suppliers to Germany since 1950, but figures for the first half of 2021 released by the German Government show that imports from the UK are down by just under €16 billion which suggests that it will drop to 11th place.

HBO Max HBO Max, the new streaming service from Warner Media, comes to Spain on October 26 and will replace HBO España. It brings together all of the major Warner brands in one place and it will develop new Spanish language product in time.

16 - 22 September 2021

EWN 17

18 EWN

www.euroweeklynews.com

16 - 22 September 2021

Order of the day

LEAPY LEE SAYS IT OTHERS THINK IT HOMOPHOBIA is now rife. Racism is rampant and public frustration almost at saturation point. Why? Because these titles have been concocted to discourage the frank discussion of either subject.

The conception is subversive but quite brilliant. Have no doubt, when this piece goes out I will probably be accused of both.

Well I could care less. One of the most frequent observations I receive from readers I meet up with is that they peruse this blurb because I discuss opinions they are not allowed to! Not allowed to? How offensive is that?

The woke and PC brigade can now do just about anything they choose ‐ and the public are afraid to even talk about it! Lives and culture are being changed forever, by minorities that wield such power it appears they can not only ruin reputations, but also devastate law abiding citizen’s livelihoods with impunity.

It only takes one woke to be at the head of a department or company (or University!) and with the threat of dismissal or worse, they can basically control the politics, opinions and even thinking of their subordinates. All they

SPEAKING OUT: The public are afraid to talk about anything they chose. need to do is report any adverse ‘findings’ to a fellow woker high up in law or politics and the target of their vitriol can suddenly find themselves at best on benefits and at worst in the dock. People are petrified to

voice their true opinions in case they lose everything. Personally I think it is already too late.

I recently read of a decision to rethink the advertising of certain shampoos

because it could be offensive to bald people! If it wasn’t all so dangerous it would be comical. Well unfortunately it’s not funny at all. The clear thinking majority are now being manipulated in ways that

FEATURE

would have brought as a smile to the lips of MaoTse Tung himself. Any organsation that disagrees with these cancel culturists, or tries to bring their wholly unacceptable practices into the public domain (ie the scores of heavily guarded hotels now accommodating thousands of illegal immigrants, all paid for by the British tax payer!) is immediately vilified and pilloried in concerted attacks from all sides.

In fact one such operation has had all their requests for political status ignored or denied for years. This of course means the public are not even being given the opportunity to cast a vote in their direction. When you consider that Screaming Lord Such and his monster Raving Looney Party were actually granted this status, you get some idea of how afraid the lefties are of giving a voice to anyone who endeavours to bring some common sense into the equation.

Democracy is dead.

Gagging or destroying any opposition is now the order of the day.

Keep the faith Love Leapy leapylee2002@gmail.com expatradioscotland 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.

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THE BIN OF SHAME ETC! Hi Leapy, Having just read your last four articles, I wish you were a British politician and could air your thoughts to millions of voters who would agree with your every word! You’re never afraid of telling the truth, which is what Britain badly needs!

Regards, W Ramos

From our Facebook

180 days in Spain online group As a regular, long-term visitor to the Costa del Sol I am an avid reader of Euro Weekly News and have found it invaluable in keeping up with current local affairs and locating tradesmen and businesses via the classified advertising section.

As the current, much curtailed, tourist season draws to an end and your business advertisers face the prospect of lean winter months ahead, I felt you might be interested to hear of a recently formed online group which is dedicated to improving the current 90 in 180 days restrictions now placed BRITISH POLITICIANS: They need Leapy to tell the truth. on British visitors and which will deprive local businesses of much-needed custom throughout the low season.

British property owners and long-term visitors are now trying to This is causing real problems for the thousands of British owraise awareness amongst Spanish business owners and local poners of Spanish property along with those who choose Spain as liticians of the unnecessary problems they are now facing and butheir temporary winter homes. Both groups do not come to Spain siness cards are currently being distributed all along the coast and to work, therefore do not deprive Spaniards of much-needed emin the Balearics. ployment, they come here to SPEND... in restaurants, bars, superIf you require any further details of the online group (180 days markets and just about any other retail outlet you can think of. in Spain) and its activities or would like to be put in touch with its By sticking rigidly to the terms of the Schengen Agreement, founder, Mr Andrew Hesselden, please let me know. whilst not legally obliged to do so, Spain is depriving its small buMeantime, I look forward to enjoying many more editions of sinesses of much-needed income from British visitors, whilst your newspaper. neighbouring countries such as Portugal are actively taking steps to relax the rules and allow greater flexibility to the British and in A Gawan doing so attract revenue that would otherwise come to Spain.

The current situation is a confusing mess with southern European countries applying different standards and the UK allowing Europeans 180 days visa-free travel to Britain and Northern IreGood day Leapy. land, whilst the obvious solution is for us all to be able to visit Celebrity Gogglebox on Channel 4 on 10/09/21. each other’s countries for up to 180 days without using up our I watched part of the above programme a short time ago and Schengen allowance of 90 days. was astonished that there was not one single Caucasian celebrity The losers in all of this are the British, who are no longer able in the line-up. Whose idea of diversity is this? to visit their Spanish homes at will, and the Spanish who are loRegards, sing income by the restriction of time the British are allowed to coP Gidney me here to Spain (and spend money).

Diversity

KINDNESS OF STRANGERS AS the majority of the world mourned those who tragically lost their lives on 9/11 20 years ago, stories continue to come out concerning the dedication of the emergency services during that time.

All of these heroes, both living and sadly departed deserve every iota of praise that is applied to them and those responsible, whilst probably believing that they were striking a blow for so called freedom, were nothing more than terrorist scum.

Looking closer to home, the past few days saw an incredible inferno on the Costa del Sol with some-

CORRECTIONS

OUR VIEW

thing like 45 kilometres of land burned and it is believed that more than one fire was started deliberately. It is hoped that the perpetrator/s will be caught and severely punished if this is true.

In the meantime, it has been so impressive to see how the local community, many of them expatriates from across Europe, have rallied round to offer help and support for those who were evacuated from their homes.

Across local social media were numerous offers of accommodation in safe areas, not only for families but for pets as well and one kind

person said that they could house horses or donkeys if needs be.

Collective Calling, the Marbella charity got together a gang of cleaners who would be ready to assist in cleaning any property that was covered in ash and one or more people went to local beaches and spelled out the word Gracias for firefighter pilots of aeroplanes and helicopters to see as they flew overhead.

Finally, everyone has mourned the death of experienced firefighter Carlos Martínez Haro from Almeria who was tragically killed when the fire blew back on him.

CARLOS MARTINEZ: Lost his life fighting the Sierra Bermeja blaze.

Yolanda Cano RIP you gave you life to save others, what a brave person.

Keith Boyce RIP Carlos, who gave his life in the protection of others.

Beryl Rees-Smith How sad for this young man and sad for his family, friends and work colleagues... RIP Carlos fly high you have earned your wings ...

Hilary Robinson How sad. Rest peacefully Carlos and thank you for your service to your people. Condolences to his family and friends.

Patricia Gray We so often underestimate the bravery of our firefighters, but now and then we are reminded of how they risk their lives in carrying out their job... Our thoughts and deepest sympathy must be with his family and friends... a very brave man.

Mary Kavanagh Kirby Rest in peace Carlos. Condolences to your family and friends.

Vic Parker RIP Carlos your life was cut short saving lives of others, a true hero. X

Susan Trowman RIP, so sad my thoughts are with your family.

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

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FEATURE

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16 - 22 September 2021

EWN 27

MORE OF MY PET PEEVES OF THE SMALL SCREEN to realise that EVERYTHING on TV is fake on one level or another (most celeb ‘game shows’, for instance, are scripted) unless we want to see camera/sound/continuity peo‐ ple and others. Basically, they’re all trying to make TV reasonably realistic within the limits of production.

Finally, on a completely different note, many thanks to all of you who’ve purchased my just‐published thriller, ‘The Sentinel’, now available in audiobook format narrated as before by my good friend Rayner Bourton who created the role of ‘Rocky’ in the origi‐ nal London production of ‘The Rocky Horror Show’.

Happy reading and viewing!

NORA JOHNSON BREAKING VIEWS

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

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

WELL, where to start with all the clichés of TV shows? How about characters getting out of taxis and not paying; running through street markets knocking over vegetable stalls; going to pubs where the barman is al‐ ways drying a glass with a tea towel; order‐ ing ‘a beer’ and not specifying which one; never watching the road when driving and presenters knocking on doors with: “Let’s see if he’s in.” Of course he is. Would they be broadcasting it otherwise?

As for detective/cop shows, the person be‐ ing questioned inevitably ends the interview saying: “Are we done here?” Do you really believe anyone ever says that when being questioned in a murder investigation? Again, no one in real life says: “I’ll see you out” when a guest/visitor/detective is about to leave the house. But they say it endlessly in films.

Weirdly, too, even the most competent

TV CLICHÉS: Going to a pub where the barman is always drying a glass. detective seems to have to respond to a killer asking for a few moments alone with “Yes, of course.” Or a late‐night telephone call to discuss an urgent matter with “Come to my office tonight.” However smart, they never seem to learn...

Plus people drinking tea or coffee from

cups that are quite clearly empty and carry‐ ing supposedly heavy suitcases that are equally empty. Want to make a suitcase look heavy? Put something in it! But that would be asking for an H&S injury claim. “Ooh me back, guv’nor.”

The problem for viewers like us is we fail

Nora Johnson’s psychological crime thrillers ‘The Sentinel’, ‘No Safe Place’, ‘Be‐ trayal’, ‘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), Ap‐ ple Books, paperback and audiobook. All profits to Costa del Sol Cudeca cancer charity.

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

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

LETTER FROM

CANARIES

DEAR reader, we’re through August and on the home straight into cooler times.

Hopefully. Who really knows, in this interesting new weather? My partner, back in California after his USA passport got the EU thumbs down, gives nightly reports of raging fires, abandoned towns and flooding. Is this divine retri‐ bution for Trump’s climate change de‐ nial?

News that by 2050 chunks of Spanish coastline’ll be under water and the Ca‐ naries arid, due to the Trade Winds that keep us cool ‘diminishing’, can’t be blamed solely on Trump, comforting though scapegoats are.

My latest grandson’s now three weeks old. The other little dears are three and six. By 2050, I’ll be long gone, but what about them? What about all the world’s kids? Can anybody explain why political correctness andhealth & safety are obsessions, whilst we still wantonly trash the planet? We worry about perfect kids’ car seats and traffic accidents, then continue to ignore the mega‐accident being imposed on their

It’s getting cooler now LIFE GOES ON: An endless stream of Africans arrive, if they’re lucky.

whole future well‐being and planet?

Meanwhile, life goes on. The end‐ less stream of Africans arriving, if they’re lucky, continues. The casual‐ ties are horrific. So far this year, 7,000 have made it, amongst them 2,666 minors. Ninety‐six per cent of the 2,170 who didn’t make it had a watery

grave. Their bodies were never recov‐ ered.

At the other extreme of the wealth scale, the Atlantic between Africa and the Canaries is in the news with the in‐ stallation of a submarine Canalink cable connecting us and Morocco to main‐ land Spain, providing ultra fast, fibre op‐ tic communication.

“Worldwide, there are more than a million kms of submarine cable already functioning, 3,500 of which belong to this company,” explains Canalink CEO Carlos Suarez. Tenerife’s island Cabildo and Vodafone are 50/50 owners of the

new 2Africa connection Submarine cables are apparently un‐ der ‘permanent shark attack, causing recurring damage’. Do sharks know something we don’t? Of prime concern, however, is security and protection against military or terrorist attack, given our increasing dependence on cable‐ connected data processing centres. An attack, or failure, could paralyse a coun‐ try’s vital communication systems.

You’ve perhaps heard about the Royal Navy’s proposed Multi Role Ocean Surveillance ship, in service in 2024 to ‘ protect undersea critical na‐

tional infrastructure’.

Will crews of such surveillance ships commissioned to protect our new sub‐ marine cable close their eyes as Africans drift past on small boats, I wonder?

More science and high tech news: the world’s largest robotic telescope (NRT) is to be sited at La Palma’s Roque de Los Muchachos Observatory, fruit of collaboration between Oviedo Universi‐ ty, the Instituto de Astrofísica de Ca‐ narias and Liverpool’s John Moores Uni‐ versity, which will invest £4 million in the project.

Ending on a Covid note, check your genetic ancestry, dear readers of Euro‐ pean ancestry. Should your OAS1‐3 genes be of Neandertal haplotype, re‐ lax. You’re less susceptible to a severe reaction.

A last, and ingenuous, question: how can our species, blessed with such inge‐ nuity and inventiveness, not trouble it‐ self to protect its extraordinary, endan‐ gered natural environment as priority?

Barbara Belt. barbarabelt@gmail.com

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

PETS

28

www.euroweeklynews.com • 16 - 22 September 2021

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Pet-sitters for your favourite dogs IF you are planning a trip later this year you still need to plan early for pet and house‐sitters. Perhaps you are already making plans for a staycation get away.

Even if you are planning just a short trip, you’ll know that you simply can’t travel with some pets. Young pets in particular may benefit from staying be‐ hind so they can follow their routines at home. So, plan ahead.

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Leaders of the pack NEW research has suggested that those who own dogs are less at risk from developing se‐ rious illnesses than those who don’t.

Scientists studying heart dis‐

ease came to the conclusion af‐ ter examining data from more than 3.4 million Swedish nation‐ als between the aged of 40 and 80.

As registering a dog and going

to the hospital both require Swedes to present their national identification number, scientists were able to analyse the records of people over a 12‐year period to see if there was any correla‐ tion between the two factors.

They discovered those who had registered a dog in the sys‐ tem were less likely to be treat‐ ed for heart disease in the long run if they had not shown any previous symptoms of the ill‐ ness.

Although the research did not draw any conclusions why this was the case, scientists suggest‐ ed that it might have something to do with the fact that having a dog gives people more motiva‐ tion to do exercise.

They also encourage people to be more social and are known to improve happiness levels, all of which has a positive impact on physical and health.

It has also been suggested that being in constant exposure to dog’s germs could help to boost the immune system which helps to keep serious ill‐ nesses at bay.

Much ado about purring

PURRING: Is a method of communication among cats.

IF you’ve ever wondered why your cat purrs, you might be in for a surprise.

Research carried out by pet nutritionists Purina has revealed that cats purr when they’re distressed or afraid, not just when they’re happy.

While purring is a method of communication among cats, especially needed by kittens to communicate with their mother and littermates because they are born blind and deaf, it’s also shown to be a defence mechanism

and a way to keep calm in stressful or painful situa‐ tions.

A cat’s purr has a low fre‐ quency which causes a series of vibrations inside the body; that can act as a form of pain relief and heal in‐ juries, ease breathing and build muscle.

However, it is believed that humans could also ben‐ efit from these good vibra‐ tions, as studies have shown spending time with cats and hearing their purrs lowers

blood pressure.

Therefore, those who own cats have a 40 per cent low‐ er risk of having a heart at‐ tack.

The researchers also iden‐ tified a new kind of purr called the ‘solicitation purr,’ which sounds more urgent ‐ not dissimilar to a crying ba‐ by ‐ so owners instinctively come to their aid.

So the next time you take your purring cat to the vet, it may be more stressed than you realised.

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16 - 22 September 2021

EWN 31

Dacia Sandero - a star in the affordable price league My driving week involved a lengthy journey as well as commuting and the Sandero proved comfortable and very economical.

When you look across the board, in purely price terms, at the range of cars available to buyers, the Sandero offers keen pricing and the back‐up of a large dealer network plus gener‐ ous equipment. It’s most definitely transport, rather than a car enthusiast dream, but nonetheless it’s a car that wholeheartedly deserves the praise that has been directed its way.

ROAD TEST

by Mark Slack WE have all seen new, low price entrants into the car market over the years, but one which is currently mak‐ ing headlines is Dacia. Part of Renault, Dacia was origi‐ nally a Romanian company building models like the Re‐ nault 12 under licence from the French manufacturer in the 1960s. Renault took a majority stake in 1999. Fast forward and we now have a modern, keenly priced, three vehicle range and a new seven‐seater that has just been announced.

Our focus for this test is the Sandero that has recent‐ ly been launched in second‐ generation guise. To say it has moved on is somewhat of an understatement as in both looks and the drive it feels like a more expensive car than is actually the case.

There are cheaper non‐ tactile interior plastics, as one might expect at this price point, but material trim adorns the fascia, and in Comfort trim as tested the standard equipment list is generous. Keyless entry and start, Bluetooth with Apple Car Play and Android Auto, cruise control, naviga‐ tion, air conditioning and powered door mirrors all come in the price of €13,979/ £11,995. This

SANDERO: A car that deserves the praise given to it.

Facts at a Glance Model: Dacia Sandero Comfort Tce 90 Engine: 0.9 turbocharged, 3-cylinder, petrol developing 90 hp Gears: 6-speed manual Performance: 0-100 kmh (62 mph) 11.7 seconds/Maximum Speed 178 kph (111 mph) Economy: 5.3 l/km (53.3 mpg) WLTP Emissions: 120 g/km Model tested was UK-specification and equipment levels and prices may vary in other markets.

makes it somewhat of a star in the affordable price league. The Sandero range starts from just €10,482/£8,995 for the Es‐ sential model.

There is just one engine size ‐ 1.0‐litre, three‐cylin‐ der ‐ in three different pow‐ er outputs including an LPG

bi‐fuel version. The natural‐ ly aspirated lead‐in engine has just 65 hp, so unless you are purely driving in an ur‐ ban environment it’s proba‐ bly one to avoid. The tur‐ bocharged power unit develops a much more use‐ able 90 hp and the LPG bi‐ fuel 100 hp. A CVT automat‐

ic is offered and manual five and six‐speed gearboxes.

The Sandero looks good and with the 90 hp power unit it drives well and feels perky under acceleration, easily keeping up with traffic on A‐roads and motorways.

There’s the characteristic thrum from the three‐cylin‐ der engine but it really is a refined and smooth drive.

and finally...

THE largest robots in the history of SEAT SA join the more than 2,200 others that work together to build the company’s latest models. They stand more than two and a half metres tall and are responsible for assembling the heaviest parts of the vehicles with millimetric precision. There are two units in the plant, each with a payload capacity of up to 400 kilos and software that enables pre‐ dictive maintenance to be carried out.

SPORT

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16 - 22 September 2021

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Fantastic achievement for Raducanu EMMA RADUCANU became the first British tennis player to win a ma‐ jor tennis title in 44 years on Satur‐ day, September 11, after beating the 19‐year‐old Canadian teenager Leyla Fernandez in straight sets, to win the US Open at Flushing Meadows in New York.

In front of 24,000 tennis fans in the Arthur Ashe Stadium, 18‐year‐old Radu‐

canu made double history by being the first British player since Virginia Wade at Wimbledon in 1977 to win a Grand Slam, as well as being the only qualifier to ever win a major tennis tournament, in either the men’s or women’s game.

Speaking just before walking out on the court, Raducanu said, “The time has flown here in New York. I’ve just been taking it one match at a time and

EMMA: Won the US Open.

Ronaldo’s triumphant return CRISTIANO RONALDO made a magnificent return against Newcas‐ tle United to Old Trafford on Satur‐ day, September 11, as the crowd welcomed him back with a thunder‐ ous cheer even from the moment he left the team bus, and as he first

walked out onto the pitch, but when the Portuguese legend opened the scoring in the 47th minute ‐ 12 years on from his first goal at the iconic sta‐ dium ‐ the noise was deafening around the ground.

It was not his most memorable goal as far as technique goes, but from a statement point, it was mas‐ sive, after Mason Greenwood’s shot was fumbled by Newcastle keeper Freddie Woodman, Ronaldo had the simplest of tap‐ins.

Javier Manquillo pulled the visitors level on 56 minutes, his first goal for the Magpies since joining from Liver‐ pool, but it was the debutant who

latched onto Luke Shaw’s pass to fire through Woodman’s legs for United’s second, after 62 minutes, sending the crowd even wilder.

Portugal teammate Bruno Fer‐ nandes smashed in the best goal of the match after Paul Pogba had teed him up, curling a magnificent shot from the edge of the box into the top corner of the Newcastle goal after 80 minutes, for 3‐1, with Jesse Lingard, on as a sub, finishing the scoring in the 92nd minute, to seal a convincing win, which to be fair to Steve Bruce’s side, didn’t re‐ flect the way his men had played at times.

it has got me to the final. I’m going to go out there and enjoy it today. It’s so exciting in my second grand slam to be in the final. I can’t really believe it, but I can’t wait to get stuck in. I’m sure the crowd will be great so it will be a really positive experience.”

Picking up a winner’s cheque for £1.8 million (€2.1m), she moves from 150th up to 23rd in the women’s rank‐ ings, and won the tournament with‐ out losing a single set, although the first set was impossible to call as the two girls battled fearlessly, going from deuce back to advantage, and then back again to deuce, with some excel‐ lent rallies in between, ending the first set with a 6‐4 scoreline. Fernandez somehow seemed to lose her way in the second set, and the British girl cap‐ italised on some erratic serving from the Canadian to pile on the pressure before ultimately taking the set 6‐3, and the title of US Open champion.

With an all‐star fan base in her cor‐ ner, including the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, and Boris Johnson, the UK Prime Minister, Emma Raducana has done Britain proud, and at only 18, who knows what else her career holds in store.

Max Verstappen found guilty MAX VERSTAPPEN will serve a three‐place grid penalty after being found to be the guilty party in the collision that took place between his Red Bull and the Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton during lap 26 of Sunday’s September 12, Italian GP at Monza.

His punishment for being found ‘predom‐ inantly to blame’ for the incident will be served during the Russian GP that takes place on Sunday, September 26, in Sochi, but the Dutchman stays top of the driver’s table by five points from the British seven‐ time world champion.

In a nasty‐looking crash, the two rivals entered the chicane with neither seeming to wish to yield, resulting in both cars leav‐ ing the track, and Verstappen’s car being launched into the air, with all four wheels off the ground, and coming to rest with its rear end parked on top of the Mercedes, with one tyre actually touching onto Lewis’ crash helmet.

Both drivers have had a continual battle this season, with varying incidents taking place to fire the situation between them, and they were summoned to the stewards to face an inquiry into what had happened, with neither of them apparently wanting to shoulder the blame for the incident.