Issue No. 1918
7 - 13 April 2022
Easier renting THE Valencian Communi‐ ty’s Finance Institute (IVF) will smooth the path for Ukraine‐based companies relocating to the region. Generalitat President Ximo Puig said on Friday April 1 that the IVF will facilitate guarantees for employees wishing to rent properties. The announcement came as Puig accompa‐ nied President Pedro Sanchez on his visit to Al‐ icante City’s Ciudad de la Luz complex, now used as a Ukrainian reception centre. “Welcoming refugees humanises society while strengthening democracy and the values that unite Europe,” Puig said. “We suffered in the past and now it is time to show that we understand those who suffer.”
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HEROIC MARINE Turn to page 2 RICHARD McENERY: Has led a party of heroic volunteers on an emotional journey.
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Less of a climb CALPE’S Old Town has another escalator. Contractors installed the first 35‐metre section in Calle Murillo on Friday April 1, putting the final 12 metres in place three days later as work con‐ tinues on making the town’s steep streets easier to negotiate. “What we are currently carrying out in Calpe’s historic centre is aimed not only at renewing and improving services like lighting, street furniture or drainage,” said Pilar Cabrera, the councillor re‐ sponsible for the Old Town. “We also want to make these streets more ac‐ cessible, which will also make them more used and visited.”
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from Front page » EXCLUSIVE
Hero expat Marine saves 21 Ukrainian refugees FORMER Royal Marine Commando, Richard McEnery, has led a party of heroic volunteers on an emotional journey to the Poland‐Ukraine border, safely bringing back 21 Ukrainian refugees for relocation in Spain. The team of volunteers from the or‐ ganisation Hope4U Ukraine, which was founded by Richard, his wife Lau‐ ren and the two directors of BayRadio Andrew Stammers and Daniel Sanders, set off to Krakow, Poland, on March 25 and arrived back in Spain on March 29. Kal Sutherland, one of the volun‐ teers, said: “We set off with a list of people we were going to collect, but we knew that list was fluid, that’s the nature of the situation. The take home is that 21 people are now safe and that is incredible.” When asked about his motivation to create the organisation, McEnery said: “I had considered fighting due to my former profession, but realised I could do more to assist by offering this kind of help. Our organisation is contacted by three to five families every day. The uniqueness of our charity is the ongo‐
ing support we provide, especially when it comes to accommodation. Key donations are accommodation, medi‐ cal supplies and financial support.” Daniel Sanders said: “This is some‐ thing happening close to home, people can see how their donations make a difference. “Five euros, driving someone to an appointment, anything you can do to help really makes a difference,” added Sutherland. Hope4U is in the process of obtain‐ ing the necessary licensing that will al‐ low them to relocate refugees from anywhere in the world. They are also setting up a clothing centre, a commu‐ nity centre and a youth centre in the Vall de Pop region. For those interested in housing refugees, Hope4U can provide the nec‐ essary legal contracts for a three‐ month period, as well as making sure the refugees are fully vetted. To find out more about donating or volunteering at Hope4U please visit the following website: www.bayradio. fm/donate.
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NIBS EXTRA Benidorm calling SPAIN’S votes for the 66th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest in Turin be‐ tween May 10 and 14 will be submitted from Benidorm this year. The ju‐ ry from Spain’s state broad‐ caster RTVE will cast their votes in a programme headed by Nieves Alvarez that also showcases the re‐ sort.
Raging river FIREFIGHTERS and a moun‐ tain rescue group evacuated a family trapped for three days in their home that ad‐ joins the swollen River Guadalest. They were heli‐ coptered to Callosa on Thursday March 31 where they would have to stay with relatives until the river has subsided sufficiently for them to return.
Wrong time MARINA BAJA nispero grow‐ ers had hoped that March rain would increase the size of fruit that had ripened too quickly owing to February’s mild temperatures. Instead, March’s torrential rain has spoiled up to 25 per cent of the crop, affecting the higher prices paid for unmarked early nisperos.
Roman site CALPE’S Banos de la Reina Roman remains, considered one of the Mediterranean’s most important sites, will be‐ come an open‐air museum. Diputacion president Carlos Mazon and Calpe’s mayor Ana Sala revealed a €15 mil‐ lion project divided into three phases, the first of which will take two years to complete.
Rubbish spat THE consortium of Marina Alta and Marina Baja munici‐ palities that send their rub‐ bish to Campello’s Les Canyades landfill site have not paid their fees for each ton processed since 2019. The town hall is now threat‐ ening to charge interest for late payment on top of the annual quotas.
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Safer this summer JAV EA will have additional fire prevention measures this summer, with a sub-station operating between July 1 and September 30. The town hall has made available a municipal property for a fourstrong team of firefighters provided by the Diputacion provincial council. They will be based there permanently during the period when Javea is most at risk from forest fires. Javea mayor, Jose Chulvi recently accompanied Diputacion president Carlos Mazon to inspect the new premises, strategically located in the Pla zone and close to the heliport.
Photo credit: Javea town hall
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JAVEA VISIT: Mayor Jose Chulvi and Carlos Mazon visit the future fire sub-station.
The sub-station is also within easy reach of the centre, port, Arenal and the town’s heavily wooded areas furthest from Denia’s fire station.
Help from Akira THANKS to supporters’ generosity, the Akira animal sanctuary has been able to donate bedding and warm clothes for Ukraine. Akira is also providing essential items like bedding and kitchen equip‐ ment for refugees who are being housed locally. “I am sure you will have seen images of dogs roaming the streets in Ukraine’s bombed‐out cities,” Akira’s president Lin Di Stefano said. “Many wear collars, a sign that they have been used to a loving home.” Polish animal shelters are over‐ whelmed with the number of dogs and other animals that are arriving and they will need help in rehoming them. The association is now exploring with dog charities in Poland and Eastern Eu‐ rope ways of rehoming dogs that have made it out of Ukraine. “Akira is planning to offer accommo‐ dation at the shelter for a few dogs who will stay there until they can be rehomed,” Lin said. “We will keep you informed on our progress with this.”
The building belongs to the municipally-owned water supply and main drainage company, Amjasa, and originally housed electrical infrastructure, Chulvi told Mazon. The mayor thanked the Diputacion for responding to the town hall’s frequent requests for its own fire station which is essential for the town’s safety, bearing in mind the succession of serious forest fires in recent years. Chulvi also stressed the great work and rapid response from Proteccion Civil, the Balcon al Mar volunteer firefighters and the Local Police in the past while waiting for the arrival of the Denia fire brigade.
Water supply topped up THE Guadalest sluice gates had to be opened on March 28 once the reservoir had reached its safety level. After releasing five cubic metres of water per second over two days, the reser‐ voir’s levels fell to 70 per cent, the Marina Baja Water Consortium’s board of di‐ rectors heard at an Extraor‐ dinary General Meeting held at the Diputacion provincial council’s Alicante City headquarters on Wednesday March 30. By the first week of April, the reservoir would return to maximum capacity, pre‐ dicted Benidorm’s mayor Toni Perez, who is also a board member. The area’s depleted subterranean groundwater was also re‐ plenished, rising to “practi‐ cally to 100 per cent.” Much of the rain that has filled both the Guadalest
and Amadorio reservoirs as well as the Marina Baja aquifers fell between March 4 and 9, followed by more torrential rain between March 17 and 28. “Before these unexpected and intense episodes, the area was on pre‐alert for imminent drought,” Perez said. “Recovering these re‐ serves is great news and means that water is guaran‐ teed throughout the year for an area that is always fo‐ cused on resources that nevertheless need immedi‐ ate investment from the re‐ gional and national adminis‐ trations.” The recent rain also gave some breathing space to the municipalities belonging to the Consortium at a time when rising energy prices meant extra expense that ran into millions, Perez said.
Room for everyone
VILLAJOYOSA Town Hall sup‐ ported International Transgen‐ der Day of Visibility on March 31 with three different initiatives. A bench outside the Tourism Office was painted in the trans‐ gender colours while the Vila Diversitat grou, to‐ gether with the Social Services and Equality de‐ partment, draped a blue, pink and white flag on a balcony at the Barbera dels Aragones centre. Social Services and Equality councillor Asun Lloret also presented La Vila’s high schools with
copies of Mar C Llop’s book, Construccions Identitaries (Identity Constructions). “This is an important day for people who identify with a type of sexuality that does not correspond to the gender assigned to them at birth,” said Villajoyosa’s mayor, Andreu Ver‐ du. Meanwhile, Asun Lloret declared that her department would continue working to ensure that “all ways of existing and feeling have a place in society.”
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Supplies for Corazon Expres ALFAZ’S Rotary Club has set aside the proceeds from its recent flamenco concert for Corazon Ex‐ pres. The concert at the Casa de Cultura, which fea‐ tured Alicante singer Ro‐ cio Montoya and musi‐ cians Esteban Davila and Elias Madrigal, raised €1,150 which the Rotary Club used to buy essen‐ tial provisions for the charity. Sharon Nilsson, presi‐ dent of Alfaz’s Rotary Club, accompanied by as‐ sociation members, has now presented the sup‐ plies to the Corazon Ex‐ pres president and vol‐ unteers. Alfaz’s Culture Council‐ lor, Manuel Casado, thanked both the Rotary Club for helping the vul‐ nerable in this way and the local population who supported the flamenco event. Corazon Expres con‐ nects available resources with those in need of them, linking the vulner‐ able with the organisa‐ tions that can help them. The charity also provides occasional financial aid, when required and col‐ laborates with the Social Services departments in several Marina Baja town halls while provid‐ ing advice and help for the elderly and those in emergency situations.
and finally... AFTER a break of nearly three and a half years, the U3A Moraira‐Teulada Dining Out group met for a special Greek evening meal. They were welcomed by a glass of cava followed by Greek meze for all to share. “Of course, moussaka was one of the choices for the main course and one diner said it was the best she had ever tasted,” said Communications officer Sharon Taylor. “Greek‐style sea bass and lamb kleftiko were equally good and the home‐made baklavas were oozing with honey.” For more information about the Dining Out group and general information, visit the www.u3amoraira‐teulada.org website.
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Javea ‘Early’ Easter Triples Support when needed A F T E R many inclement days, all our prayers came true, and the weather was kind for the Javea Green Bowls Club Early Easter Triples. It was an excellent turnout, with 28 teams (that’s 84 players!) and their supporters. In this two‐day event, it was a wonderful sight to see all seven rinks full of players doing battle for the prime spot ‐ it has been a very long time since we have witnessed an Open Compe‐ tition so well supported and enjoyed in the best of sporting spirit. Each team were asked to play six matches spread over the two days and with some ex‐ cellent bowling on show, the Leader Board made for some interesting reading. When it came to the crunch, there was one outright winner with 38 points and three teams equal on 33 points and they could only be separat‐ ed on shot difference. Fortunately, there were four prizes on offer, so none of these teams went home empty handed. Congratulations to the winners The Lily‐ whites (this refers to the Tottenham Hot‐
The winners receiving their trophy from Gemma.
spur FC nickname for those who were won‐ dering), with Jan and Alan Phillips with Nige Thomas who proudly received the Trophy from Gemma of Telitec, our spon‐ sors for this competition. Our thanks went to our long‐term spon‐ sors Telitec and the lovely Gemma. To Brian, Carol and staff for keeping us all fed and watered for two days and to all those who took part and made this a GREAT competition!
JALON VALLEY HELP (JVH) and Cancer Care announced the offi‐ cial launch of Cancer Care the Val‐ leys. This will be confirmed at the Showtime charity concert at 7.30pm today, Thursday April 7 at the Casa de Cultura in Benissa, where The Entertainers provide an evening of pop and show classics. To book tickets, contact Pam on eventsjvh@gmail.com or ring 634 310 415. JVH have recognised for many years Cancer Care’s specialist knowledge, their close links with the Denia hospital’s Oncology de‐ partment and their strong connec‐ tions with the medical profession as a whole. The two charities have worked together on an ad‐hoc patient ba‐ sis and Cancer Care the Valleys now extends this cooperation by
offering weekly consultations. These are available to anybody af‐ fected by cancer concerns, from initial diagnosis through treat‐ ment into respite care and family after‐cancer support. This new initiative aims to pro‐ vide more localised and accessible opportunities to anyone in the Valleys, Jalon, Orba and the sur‐ rounding area whose life has been affected in any way by cancer. The overall aim is to improve quality of life by supporting and advising people on their individual concerns. Weekly Cancer drop‐in sessions begin on Thursday April 14, be‐ tween 11.30am and 1.30pm at the JVH Animo Centre in Alcalali. Sessions will be led by a nurse, registered here in Spain and a member of the Alicante’s College of Nursing.
Benidorm knows the SCORE BENIDORM is one of 10 Euro‐ pean municipalities taking part in the EU’s million Coastal Liv‐ ing Lab (CCLL) initiative. Ireland, Italy, Poland, Portu‐ gal, Slovenia and Turkey as well as Spain are participating in these CCLLs which are part of
Europe’s SCORE (Smart Control of Climate Resilience in Euro‐ pean Coastal Cities) project to address climate change. Like the other municipalities with CCLLs, Benidorm will evaluate the evolution of its coastline and the impact of human activ‐
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ity, seeking solutions to the challenges of extreme weather events, coastal erosion and ris‐ ing sea levels. Benidorm’s Beaches and Innovation coun‐ cillors Monica Gomez and Aida Garcia Mayor were present at the presentation of the scheme on Thursday March 31 at the El Torrejo municipal centre in front of the Levante beach. “We are taking part in this SCORE project because it is fully in line with our philosophy of climate resilience and commit‐ ment to reducing impacts,” Gomez said. “We want to ensure that Benidorm continues to be a happy place for the millions of Spanish and European tourists who choose us for their holi‐ days.” The councillor also drew at‐ tention to Benidorm’s sustain‐ able urban development mod‐ el and its excellent beaches. “Taking part in the study and analysis of coastal zones links us even more closely to this project, aware that Benidorm’s findings could interest other coastal tourist destinations.”
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Barbarians looking for promotion to Division 1 THE Barbarians senior’s rug‐ by team won a hard‐fought match against Akra on Sat‐ urday, April 2 to progress to the playoff finals for promo‐ tion to Division 1 for the 2022‐23 season. The visitors started off strongly and for
15 minutes, the BaBas struggled to get out of their own half and had to defend against a very hard and ag‐ gressive Akra forward pack. Once the home team set‐ tled into their game, they started to exert pressure,
with the three quarters opening up the Akra line with some very impressive handling and back play. Tries started to flow with both backs and forwards getting on the score sheet, the Barbarians finally run‐
Giving4Giving update
Caritas Finestrat.
HERE are the details of Giving4Giving’s March donations. The first was to Caritas in Finestrat village for food and supplies to the less fortunate. The second was to a charity event at Joker’s Bar in Benidorm for aid for Ukraine. The third was to the Red Cross in Altea. Each donation was for €1,000 and they have now donated €228,000 to local charities. Giving4Giving always needs volunteers at their shops so call Gary on 603 137 697.
DONATION: Made to the Red Cross, Altea.
ning out 44‐3 winners. With Castellon losing at home to San Roque 17‐5 on the Sun‐ day, it now means the BaBas will entertain San Roque in Denia on Satur‐ day, April 9 at 5pm. If past meetings are any‐
thing to go by, it should be a cracking game and we look forward to welcoming sup‐ porters to the ground to cheer on their local team. The Barbarians run Acade‐ my teams from under 14s to 16s to 18s and through to
seniors and welcomes ev‐ eryone to come and train and join the club. Free quali‐ fied coaching is available at all levels. Please call Santi (Spanish) on 676 612 357 or Mac (English) on 609 646 349 for more information.
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Celebrate Easter at the SCAN barbecue SCAN (Society for the Care of Animals in Need) are holding an Easter
barbecue on Sunday April 17 at their El Verger shelter.
“Prepare for an after‐ noon of friendship, fun, good food and live music to celebrate the spirit of Easter,” said Chris Fel‐ lows from SCAN’s events team. “Get your Easter hats on for the Easter bonnet parade and competition and test your balance skills in our Easter egg and spoon obstacle race.” Visitors will also be able to enjoy a golden afternoon of live music from Showaddywaddy Gold, as well as a bar and sizzling barbecue with vegetarian options. “To assist with catering please let us know if you are attending by calling or WhatsApping 711 081 095, email scanevents costablanca@gmail.com or register on our Face‐ book page,” Chris said.
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100 years old
I R E N E KEMP celebrated her 100th birthday recently surrounded by fami‐ ly and friends at Benimeli Residential Care Home. In 1941, during the Second World War, she joined the RAF as a plotter and was stationed in Swansea. Her sweetheart was a crew member on Lancaster Bombers and in 1942 was shot down and captured and spent the next three years as a POW. He was the only member of the crew to survive. When he was repatriated in May 1945 Irene was given a week’s leave and her CO said “If you get married next week there is no need to return to duty,” and that is exactly how she got demobbed. At very short notice they married on May 5, 1945 with ev‐ eryone’s sugar rations for the cake and a borrowed dress for Irene. Neither of them remained in the RAF but worked in the Manchester area until, in 1952, their first daughter was born followed by a second the next year. She always played an active part in Ladies Circle and subsequently Tan‐ gent, whose charitable works helped the local community and provided her with many friends for life. Being a very keen Bridge player, she
IRENE KEMP: Celebrating 100 years.
continued playing well into her 80s. When they moved to Spain in 1998 they settled into a happy retirement. They played Bridge, worked as trea‐ surer and helper for the La Xara Help shop and sold tickets for the Castle theatre. Irene moved to Benimeli on her hus‐ band’s death and since then has en‐ joyed the comfort and support of the wonderful staff there.
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Time To Shine
AFTER a long break due to the pandemic, Spotlight Productions is back up and running and is delighted to present, ‘A Time To Shine’ 2022, sponsored by the Eu‐ ro Weekly News. Dance and Performing Arts schools from along the Costa Blanca and beyond join together at the world‐ renowned Benidorm Palace, for a dance spectacular on Sunday, April 10, 2022, a show not to be missed! This will be the ninth show at Benidorm Palace for Spot‐ light Productions, giving young performers their time to shine on Europe’s largest stage. The show is always a dy‐ namic performance, includ‐ ing classical ballet, street dance, Flamenco, high ener‐ gy tap, contemporary/lyrical jazz, musical theatre and much, much more. With fabulous costumes, music and professional production, it’s an evening for all the family. Spotlight Productions, the production team behind the event, told the Euro Weekly News: “We specialise in pro‐ viding young amateurs with the opportunity to perform
DANCE SPECTACULAR: Including classical ballet.
YOUNG PERFORMERS: Giving their time to shine on stage.
on world class stages in a fun, non‐competitive envi‐ ronment. “Our dance and musical theatre spectaculars are of the highest quality, so that performers of any ability can
relish their moment in the spotlight. Now more than ever, it is so important to get our youngsters back on the stage and to provide confi‐ dence and to nurture their passions and dreams.
“We know that the young‐ sters are so excited and will provide an electric perfor‐ mance, it’s going to be a very special night!” Lucy Glister and Aydin Hasirci formed the company because they saw an oppor‐ tunity to provide the realisa‐ tion of a dream to those with dance and musical the‐ atre aspirations. They knew that, far too often, children would get to adulthood without ever stepping foot on a professional stage or experiencing the marvellous reality of performing along‐ side accomplished and sea‐ soned sound and light tech‐ nicians and backstage staff., Sponsored by Euro Week‐ ly News, the following schools will be performing: Academia de Danza Baby‐ lon, Careline Performing Arts and Dance Academy, Endan‐ za, Escuela de Danza La Nu‐ cia, Escola de Danza Lorena Moll, Footworks esquela de danza, FootWork Dance Stu‐ dio, Escuela de Danza Pirou‐ ette, Star Studios Dance and Stage School. Do not miss your opportu‐ nity to support young talent and experience a night at the theatre!
Tickets available from the box office on 965 851 660. For more information, visit www.spotlightproductions.es.
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Will not rest
BARBARIC CRIMES: The perpetrators will be brought to justice. THE UK will not rest until Putin fails and Ukraine prevails, Foreign Secretary Liz Truss has warned. Speaking at the British Embassy in Poland on Monday April 4, Truss said: “What we have seen on the streets of Irpin and Bucha are scenes we will never forget. We have seen butchery, evidence of rape and sexual violence as well as the indiscriminate killing of civilians. “We will ensure that the perpe‐ trators are brought to justice for these barbaric crimes. And togeth‐ er with our allies we will step up our efforts to stop Putin’s appalling war. Three weeks ago, the UK led 41 states to refer these atrocities
to the International Criminal court. The UK military and police are pro‐ viding technical assistance to the investigations. And the Metropoli‐ tan Police War Crimes unit has commenced the collection of evi‐ dence. We are working very closely with the Ukrainian government on this,” she said. The UK is also launching a £10 million civil society fund to support organisations in Ukraine, including those helping the victims of con‐ flict‐related sexual violence. “We will not rest until these criminals have been brought to justice,” the Foreign Secretary added.
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Royal move PRINCE W I L L I A M and Kate are considering a move to Windsor as soon as this summer to be nearer the Queen. The royal couple are said to have first looked at various royal mansions at Windsor, includ‐ ing Prince Andrew’s Royal Lodge. And, a source said on Monday April 4 that the reasons for the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge to move to Windsor are mounting because Andrew “spends a lot of time with the Queen.” “There is not a man, woman or child who would not say he had every right to be at Philip’s thanks‐ giving. But the family have been adamant there’s no way back. There are real fears that despite being banished from The Firm in January, he is using his closeness to the Queen as a springboard back into public life,” the source added. Andrew has been forced to step back from public life over his asso‐ ciation with late paedophile Jef‐ frey Epstein. Earlier this month it was report‐ ed that the Queen had decided to make Windsor Castle her perma‐ nent home and main residence.
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Employment growth
THE number of national insurance contributors in seasonally adjusted terms stood at 19,958,479 peo‐ ple in February, an in‐ crease of 23,998 or 0.12 per cent more compared to the previous month.
This is the highest level in Spain’s historical series, after 11 consecutive months of growth. The first quarter of 2022 closed with the creation of 119,000 jobs, despite the uncertainty generated by
the war in Ukraine. Com‐ pared to the previous quarter, employment has grown by more than 170,000 jobs, exceeding the growth recorded in the pre‐pandemic years. March figures exceed the 472,615 people em‐ ployed in February 2020, the month prior to the start of the Covid‐19 health crisis. Growth in employment compared to the pre‐pandemic level is widespread across sectors, with most sectors at high‐ er employment levels than in March 2020. There has been a particularly strong increase in innovative sec‐ tors such as Information and Communications with 12.4 per cent and Scientif‐ ic and Technical Activities up by 6.8 per cent. “The first quarter of 2022 closes with signifi‐ cant employment growth, with little impact from the uncertainty of war,” the government said on Mon‐ day April 4.
SCAMMERS are contact‐ ing women who they manage to swindle by pretending to be their children asking them ur‐ gently for a sum of mon‐ ey to deal with an im‐ mediate problem, Spanish police warned on Monday April 4. To perfect the scam, the fraudsters claim that they cannot communi‐ cate directly with their usual phone due to problems with their ter‐ minal and that they are unable to receive calls. Faced with this situa‐ tion, the victims agree to make the immediate cash transfers as re‐ quested. Finally, when the transaction has been made and the victims actually manage to talk to their children, they realise that they have been victims of a scam and can no longer can‐ cel the transfer. In recent weeks, sev‐ eral scams have been detected in different parts of the country with which criminals
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Targeting mothers
PERFECT SCAM: Involving cash transfers.
have managed to de‐ fraud amounts ranging from €2,000 to €26,000. In the event of receiv‐ ing a communication of this type, the National
Police recommend re‐ maining calm and mak‐ ing sure before any pay‐ ment that the person you are contacting is re‐ ally a relative.
and finally...
HEARTTHROB John Travolta wowed shoppers and punters at a bar in Norfolk when he mingled with locals days after present‐ ing at the Oscars. The 68‐year‐old Hollywood actor appeared at the Fakenham branch of the Morrisons where he was happy to pose for snaps with fans. Security guard Gary Middleton told the Eastern Daily Press: “I didn’t even go up to him. He just came up to me and shook my hand. “He looks a bit different to the way people remember him from the 1970s and 80s, or with his long, dark hair from Pulp Fiction. But you could tell who it was from the smile in his eyes. We had a really nice chat,” Gary added.
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New sanctions THE European Union has condemned “in the strongest possible terms” atrocities in Bucha, Ukraine, and is preparing further sanctions against Russia “as a matter of urgency.” Josep Borrell, the EU’s foreign policy chief, said: “The European Union condemns in the strongest possible terms the reported atroci‐ ties committed by the Russian armed forces in a number of occupied Ukrainian towns, that have now been liberated. “Haunting images of large numbers of civil‐ ian deaths and casualties, as well as destruc‐ tion of civilian infrastructures show the true face of the brutal war of aggression Russia is waging against Ukraine and its people. “The massacres in the town of Bucha and THE EU has grant agreements of €1.1 billion with seven large‐ scale projects via the EU Inno‐ vation Fund including a project in Spain. The grants are funded by revenues from the EU’s Emis‐ sions Trading System. The pro‐ jects aim to dramatically re‐ duce carbon emissions during the first 10 years of operation. The seven projects are de‐ ploying innovative low‐carbon technologies at industrial scale, covering key sectors such as hy‐
EU: Preparing sanctions against Russia.
other Ukrainian towns will be inscribed in the list of atrocities committed on European soil. The Russian authorities are responsible for these atrocities, committed while they had ef‐ fective control of the area. They are subject to the international law of occupation,” he added on Monday April 4.
Innovative plant drogen, steel, chemicals, ce‐ ment, solar energy, biofuels, and carbon capture and stor‐ age. Ecoplanta, located in El Morell, in Catalonia will deliver a first‐of‐a‐kind commercial plant for the European market, using waste that would other‐ wise end up in landfills. Executive Vice‐President for
the European Green Deal, Frans Timmermans, said on April 1: “This is a smart investment into the decarbonisation and resilience of our economy; it boosts European industry’s po‐ sition as global leaders in clean tech, creates local jobs, and helps to accelerate our green transition.”
MORE than 97 per cent of offenders on sobriety tags have stayed off al‐ cohol, a year after they were introduced in Eng‐ land following a suc‐ cessful pilot in Wales. Since the tags were launched as part of gov‐ ernment plans to curb drink‐fuelled crime, 3,121 offenders have been monitored by the tags, with more than 3,000 staying sober. Alcohol plays a part in 39 per cent of all vio‐ lent crime in the UK, and the social and eco‐ nomic cost of drink‐re‐ lated harm is estimated to be around £21.5 bil‐ lion per year. As a result of the scheme’s success, the Ministry of Justice will roll out alcohol‐moni‐ toring tags to other of‐ fenders once they are released from prison in the summer. By 2025 it is estimat‐ ed that 12,000 offend‐ ers will have had their drinking monitored by the tags as part of the government’s £183 mil‐
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Alcohol tags lion expansion of elec‐ tronic monitoring. Minister of State for Crime and Policing Kit Malthouse said on Mon‐ day April 4: “It is not on‐ ly protecting the public
from the scourge of al‐ cohol‐fuelled crime, it also gives probation of‐ ficers the chance to work with offenders to help them turn their lives around.”
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Britney’s version of life Britney Spears.
POP star Britney Spears will write a new memoir of her turbulent life, she has re‐ vealed. Writing on Instagram, she said: “I’m writing a book at the moment as it’s actu‐ ally healing and therapeutic. “It’s also hard bringing up past events
in my life. I’ve never been able to express openly.” She added on Monday April 4: “I can only imagine that I do sound childish, but I was extremely young when those events took place and addressing it now, I’m sure it seems irrelevant to most. I’m completely aware of that. But instead of using my heart I’m using the intellectual approach.”
Her fiance Sam Asghari, 28, comment‐ ed on her post, saying he would be “buy‐ ing the first copy.” Britney escaped a controversial conser‐ vatorship, which controlled many aspects of her life including her finances, last November. She was placed under the le‐ gal arrangement in 2008 amid concerns about substance abuse and her mental health.
EU-China summit THE European Union and China held their 23rd bilateral Summit via videocon‐ ference on Friday April 1. President of the European Council, Charles Michel, and President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, held the Summit meeting with China’s Prime Minister Li Keqiang, followed by exchanges with China’s President Xi Jinping. “As major global powers, the EU and China must work together on stopping Russia’s war in Ukraine as soon as possi‐ ble. We have a common responsibility to maintain peace and stability, and a safe and sustainable world. Key international norms and principles must be respected.
“We count on China’s support to achieve a lasting ceasefire, to stop the unjustifiable war and address the dra‐ matic humanitarian crisis it has generat‐ ed,” President of the European Council, Charles Michel. President of the European Commis‐ sion, Ursula von der Leyen, added: “Chi‐ na, as a permanent member of the UN Security Council, has a special responsi‐ bility. No European citizen would under‐ stand any support to Russia’s ability to wage war. We also discussed how to co‐ operate on several issues like global food security, climate change and the fight against Covid.”
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Ambassador’s meeting PRESIDENT Pedro Sanchez, has met with the Ukrainian Ambassador to Spain, Serhii Pohoreltsev, to discuss Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the situation of Ukrainian refugees in Spain. Sanchez expressed his condo‐ lences for the loss of human lives to Ambassador Pohoreltsev on Tues‐ day April 5, as well as the horror and indignation of Spanish society at the terrible images reaching us from the Ukrainian town of Bucha. Spain is among the 40 countries that have requested an investigation by the In‐ ternational Criminal Court. The President reiterated that the war crimes being committed in Ukraine cannot go unpunished and confirmed that Spain will continue to provide political support, humani‐ tarian and financial assistance and military equipment to Ukraine. Spain has established three recep‐ tion centres for Ukrainian refugees, including Malaga, Barcelona and Ali‐ cante. Millions of Ukrainians, forced to flee their homes, have entered the EU with Poland bearing most of the humanitarian load.
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Blown it
Have moved to the US.
SAMANTHA MARKLE said Meghan and Harry will nev‐ er win Brits’ affections back if they return to the UK.
Easter in Spain
SPAIN is among the world’s most sought‐after destinations for tourists this Easter, according to ForwardKeys, a leading global Spanish travel analytics company. Air arrivals from abroad to Spain are expected to be only 13 per cent below Easter 2019 values, while domestic air travel is on par with pre‐pandemic values, just 1 per cent be‐ low. “Throughout the pandemic, we have seen a lot of frustrat‐ ed demand, which has translated into renewed interest from travellers whenever restrictions allowed travel again; in this new phase of the pandemic, Spain is rapidly recovering to pre‐crisis levels. This Easter we expect traditional source mar‐ kets such as the UK and Germany to exceed pre‐pandemic levels of arrivals,” said Juan A Gomez Garcia, Head of Market Intelligence at ForwardKeys on Friday April 1. “The data ahead of the summer season could not be more encouraging, with 197 per cent more bookings for interna‐ tional arrivals between June and August than at the same time last year,” he added.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle stepped down as se‐ nior working royals in 2020. Samantha, Meghan’s es‐ tranged sister, said: “I can’t speak for the British people but from what I’ve heard, the pulse of the people is not likely. “Their actions against the Royal Family and the racial mudslinging that took place in the media was so hurtful and egregious that you can’t take back the spoken word. “There are some things that you can forgive, but it seems to be an ongoing thing. It’s one insult after the other and people can only take so much before the impression is solidi‐ fied. “You might be able to for‐ give but you don’t forget,” she added on April 2.
STATS
350
A flea can jump a distance that is 350 times longer than its own length.
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FEATURE
Spanish Wills. Why we must have one if we have assets in Spain. BEING an owner of a prop‐ erty or any other asset; bank account, invest‐ ments, car, etc in Spain, is reason enough to have a Spanish Will drafted irre‐ spective of your nationali‐ ty as there are many addi‐ tional advantages to
having a Spanish Will. At White Baos Abogados we can advise you in all matters related to making a Will in Spain. You could find more information in our website: in our service about Wills, Probate and IHT in Spain.
Some of these advan‐ tages are: 1.) The existence of a Spanish Will is a cost effec‐ tive means of simplifying the handling of your affairs. Many people rely upon their national Wills or even worse, on their national In‐ testacy rules where there is no Will at all to deal with their Spanish estate. Unfor‐ tunately however, without a Spanish Will no action can be taken in Spain until the Grant of Probate of your English estate has been fi‐ nalised (or the equivalent in another countries). This can take a very long time, there will be more expens‐ es in translation and imple‐ menting a foreign Will in Spain for your Spanish as‐ sets. 2.) As per the European Regulation 650/2012 you can choose your national law to apply to your succes‐ sion. By making a Will you will be able to choose your national law to apply for
your inheritance in Spain, and that is good, as you can avoid Spanish Law to gov‐ ern your Spanish inheri‐ tance, as the Spanish Law forces to leave the majority of the assets (2/3) to the descendants, not being able for example to leave them to your spouse. 3.) A closely related topic is Inheritance Tax. Having a Spanish Will will allow you to fulfil your tax obligation in the six months, that as per the Spanish law you have to pay the IHT in Spain. Without a Spanish Will it is possible that it takes more than six months to get the Grant of Probate, so, mak‐ ing a Spanish Will will save you from paying delayed in‐ terest on the taxes. Also, with a proper Will explanation and tax strate‐
gy, you can minimise the future Inheritance Tax for your beneficiaries. As per our last articles, and bear‐ ing in mind the last court precedents of the Spanish Supreme Court, even after Brexit, the UK citizen will be able to enjoy the same inheritance tax benefits like the residents in Spain, so, bearing in mind the new courts interpretation, a Spanish Will could be done minimising the IHT, without the need for setting up companies or other IHT tax advice that long term are not tax efficient. 4.) Sometimes (due to the amount of the estate etc) when an English per‐ son passes away there is NO need to get a Probate as long as he has a valid Spanish Will BUT if this per‐ son does not have a Span‐ ish Will then normally the Spanish authorities will need to see the Grant of Probate before dealing with the Spanish estate.
5.) You can also use the Spanish Will to name a Spanish Albacea, equiva‐ lent to the executor, this could help your Will to be executed properly and to make sure that your wishes are fulfilled, and will simpli‐ fy the whole process, as for example if your heirs are out of Spain, the executor could prepare all the docu‐ ments, and get all the cer‐ tificates ready for the in‐ heritance to be signed by your beneficiaries, without the need to come to Spain several times to get the documents required. If you want real expert advice about making a Spanish Will and how to minimise IHT in Spain, as per the Spanish Law and the last court precedents, con‐ tact us and we will help you. The information provided in this article is not intend‐ ed to be legal advice, but merely conveys general in‐ formation related to legal issues.
Carlos Baos (Lawyer) - White&Baos Tel: +34 966 426 185 • info@white-baos.com White & Baos 2022 - All Rights Reserved.
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Routes to Spain
WITH the pan‐ demic and the ac‐ companying restric‐ tions on travel a thing of the past in Scandinavia, demand for international travel has led SAS to increase its sum‐ mer routes and in partic‐ ular to Spain. SAS have announced that they have added more than 200 direct routes, covering more than 100 destinations, to their schedule. Demand for holidays in Spain are proving the most popular with the company planning up to
SAS AIRLINE: Increasing its summer routes.
350 weekly departures be‐ tween its Scandinavian
bases and airports in Spain over the summer. The increase is in stark contrast to British Airways which continues to experi‐ ence a number of opera‐ tional difficulties. The news follows the an‐ nouncement that Norwe‐ gian and SAS are to re‐ move the requirement for masks on all its flights bar those to China, the USA and Italy. A statement issued by the company said: “Due to further relief in most Euro‐ pean countries, the compa‐ ny is removing require‐ ments for the use of face masks on board all flights, regardless of destination.” This is the first time the company has lifted the re‐ quirement for all flights since it was introduced on June 17, 2020.
NEWS
Help for pets
THE British government has put in place new emergency support for those fleeing Ukraine with their pets. Us‐ ing an emergency licence, refugees can bring their pets to the UK with any quar‐ antine costs met by the government. The Animal and Plant Health Agency is providing quick licence approvals and quarantine arrangements to avoid creating additional bur‐ dens or delays. The govern‐ ment will also be covering their vaccination, microchip‐ ping and quarantine costs, recognising that many in‐ dividuals from Ukraine will not have been able to com‐ plete the full health prepara‐ tions required for their pet on arrival. The maximum stay in quar‐ antine for a pet which has re‐ ceived no rabies vaccination is four months. Pets will be con‐ sidered on a case‐by‐case ba‐ sis, with a shortened quaran‐ tine period for those that are vaccinated. A new rabies blood test that will be able to detect ex‐ isting rabies vaccinations will also be introduced to help in instances where refugees have travelled without vacci‐ nation paperwork. Animal Welfare Minister Lord Goldsmith said on April 5: “People having to flee Ukraine are in an appalling sit‐ uation. I’m pleased that Ukrainian refugees will be able to bring their pets to the UK with any quarantine costs paid for by the government.”
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Tourism recovery
IN February, Spain re‐ gained 71 per cent of the international tourists who arrived in the pre‐pan‐ demic period prior to February 2020, reaching
nearly 3.2 million trav‐ ellers, and the level of ex‐ penditure stood at 78 per cent, exceeding €3.7 bil‐ lion. The United Kingdom is
Spain and France
CITIZENS of both Spain and France will be able to acquire the other nationality without having to renounce their nationality of origin as of April 1. France is the first country outside Latin America with which Spain has signed such an agreement. The new rules also affect all Spanish and French citizens who, prior to 2022, have acquired the nationality of one or the other country and renounced their previous nationality, since from now on they can benefit from the provisions of this new agreement and enjoy their dual nation‐ ality from the date on which they apply for it. “The agreement, signed in the French city of Montauban a year ago, settles a historical debt with the Republican exiles, while reinforcing the citizenship rights of Spaniards living in France and French citizens in Spain, which means an im‐ provement in their conditions in their country of residence,” the Spanish government said on Fri‐ day April 1.
the main source market with nearly 580,000 tourists, representing 18.3 per cent of the total, while tourists from France spent more on their trip than two years ago, according to data from Frontur sur‐ veys and Egatur released on Monday April 4. “In February, the trend of recovery in internation‐ al tourism has been con‐ solidated, with growth of more than 670,000 trav‐ ellers compared to the previous month, which shows the perception of Spain as a safe destina‐ tion. A trend that we ex‐ pect to intensify signifi‐ cantly in the run‐up to the first milestone in the 2022 holiday calendar, Easter. “Our forecast is that in April we will be able to re‐ cover around 80 per cent of international tourists from before the pandem‐ ic,” said the Minister for Industry, Trade and Tourism, Reyes Maroto.
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Crucial parts
RUSSIA’S war effort is be‐ ing hampered as the coun‐ try runs low on crucial spares and parts for its missiles, helicopters and tanks, because they are made in Ukraine factories no longer supplying the country. This includes engines for helicopters, ships and cruise missiles and a sub‐ stantial portion of fighter jet engines, as well as ground‐to‐air missiles and many tank components. Estimates are that Rus‐ sia has lost more than 2,000 tanks and armoured vehicles and that the lack of parts will have affected the production of their T‐ 72 tanks, which have been at the centre of the inva‐ sion. Parts for their mis‐ siles are understood to be made in Izyum, an eastern Ukrainian city that Russian forces have failed to cap‐ ture.
SPARE PARTS: Are made in Ukraine factories.
and finally... ON Sunday, April 4, Alex Beresford was crowned the winner of the hit show All Star Musicals. Commenting on his win Alex re‐ vealed: “It felt absolutely amazing. It was surreal. We were all standing there on stage and waiting for them to call a name and when I heard Al.. I was like ‘oh my God, it’s me’ and it was just the best feeling in the world. I’ve never won anything like that before.” Alex had competed against Jacqueline Jossa, Michaela Strachan, Coronation Street’s Lisa George, Colin Salmon and rugby star Danny Care.
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First energy independence LITHUANIA has become the first country in the EU to break free from Russian gas imports. All domestic gas consump‐ tion will be fed by imported liq‐ uefied natural gas via the termi‐ nal in Klaipeda, the government announced on April 2. President Gitanas Nauseda tweeted: “From this month on ‐ no more Russian gas in Lithua‐ nia. If we can do it, the rest of Europe can do it too.” Klaipeda port was completed in 2014 to end Russian gas im‐ ports. The president at the time, Dalia Grybauskaite, called Lithuania’s dependency on Rus‐ sian gas an “existential threat”. In making the announce‐ ment, the Baltic state said it is fi‐ nally free from Moscow’s de‐ mands and threats. According to the Lithuanian Energy Ministry: “Under the cir‐ cumstances, Russia’s demand to pay for the gas in roubles be‐ comes meaningless, because Lithuania is no longer ordering gas and does not expect any fur‐ ther payments.”
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Win for workers
A LONG running battle to form a union within Amazon has finally resulted in a win for workers, the first time the technology gi‐ ant will be compelled to recog‐ nise a trade union in the US. Workers at a New York ware‐ house, led by Chris Smalls, voted 55 per cent in favour of joining the Amazon Labour Union on Saturday April 2. Smalls made a name for himself during the Covid‐19 pandemic by protesting against safety conditions. Smalls’ victory is a major de‐
feat for Amazon and perhaps a turning point, with the company having fought fiercely against unionisation and at times being accused of underhand tactics. Smalls told supporters: “We did whatever it took to connect with these workers. I hope that everybody’s paying attention now, because a lot of people doubted us.” Amazon said it was disappoint‐ ed by the loss in New York and that it was evaluating how to proceed.
AMAZON: Will be forced to recognise a trade union in the US.
Shanghai lockdown woes
ON Tuesday, April 5, Shanghai residents saw re‐ strictions extended due to the coronavirus. The number of cases of the virus in the city has surged to more than 13,000 people. No one is sure when the lockdown will end. Transportation restrictions were put in place on Tuesday, according to the lo‐ cal British press. The city had hoped to minimise the economic impact of the virus but in recent days restrictions have been increased. Authorities are having issues controlling the outbreak and more than 25 million
people are now in lockdown. Restrictions in Shanghai’s western districts have now been ex‐ tended with no date in sight. An official from the municipal health commis‐ sion commented: “Currently, Shanghai’s epidemic prevention and control is at the most difficult and most critical stage. “We must adhere to the general policy of dy‐ namic clearance without hesitation, without wa‐ vering.” After testing positive, many residents are being
quarantined in ‘central quarantine facilities’. Michael Hirson from Eurasia Group consultancy commented: “What is most striking in Shanghai is the difficulty that the authorities are having in managing logistics, particularly conditions in cen‐ tralised quarantine facilities.” He went on to add: “Given that Shanghai has a highly capable government, current problems pose a warning for local governments across China where capacity is not as high and major outbreaks could stretch resources further to the limits.”
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NEWS
Strike suspended AFTER 20 days of demon‐ strations, the Platform for the Defence of the Road Transport Sec‐
tor agreed on Saturday April 2 to “temporarily suspend” the strike action which began
ARMED FORCES: Will receive government funds.
Norway’s defence NORWAY’S Minister of Defence has said that the country will seek to strengthen its capabilities in the north after re‐ considering its situation in light of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The country will allocate around €210 million to the armed forces in the north of the country, with the funds to be spent on radar, artillery and infrastructure. The funds will, according to the government, help the country to defend it‐ self in the event of an attack from its eastern neighbour. Minister of Defence Odd Roger Enoksen said: “We will up‐ grade Værnes and Porsanger and strengthen the Army with more artillery. With these changes, the defence capability and especially the combat capability of the Army will in‐ crease.” The first phase of the upgrade at Værnes, which in‐ volves modernising and adapting the facilities, will be com‐ plete by 2024. The second phase at Porsangermoen is planned for completion in 2025.
on March 14. The decision was reached after consulting with around 100 transport sector work‐ ers who attended an assem‐ bly at a service station in the Madrid town of San Fernan‐ do de Henares. Manuel Hernandez, the president of the Platform had assured earlier in the day that the assembly would serve to “make the corresponding decisions.” Even though the strike has been suspended, a new one can still not be ruled out, he said. Hernandez said it is time to “be smart, and know how to manage the strength that the group has harvested in recent weeks, to strike the second blow, which is going to come. “We have to organise our‐ selves even more in the provinces and prepare our‐ selves, so that, in a short pe‐ riod of time, we can return to act with more force,” he added.
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NEW figures show many British state pen‐ sioners could be missing out on Pension Credit, a vital financial boost that can be worth over £3,300 a year. The Department for Work and Pensions said up to £1.7 billion is being left un‐ claimed. Minister for Pensions Guy Opper‐ man said: “We recognise the challenges some pensioners will be facing with the cost of living which is why promoting Pen‐
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Pension Credit
sion Credit is a priority. “That’s why we’re calling on everyone with retired family, friends and loved ones to check in with them and see if they can
Cats for health
A RECENT study has re‐ vealed that owning a cat is good for your health and may even prevent their owners from having a heart attack or a stroke. The study, published in the Journal of Vascular and Interventional Neu‐ rology, found that cat owners are at a de‐ creased risk of dying from a heart attack or stroke, with the authors saying: “Acquisition of cats as do‐ mestic pets may repre‐ sent a novel strategy for reducing the risk of car‐ diovascular diseases in high‐risk individuals.” The researchers re‐ viewed data from the US National Health and Nu‐ trition Examination Study, following up with participants who report‐ ed any kind of allergy to see if they ever owned or currently own a cat or dog. After adjusting for risk factors like age, gender, blood pressure, smoking,
diabetes, high choles‐ terol, and heart related diseases, the researchers found that study partici‐ pants with a history of cat
ownership had a notably lower risk of dying from cardiovascular disease than those who had nev‐ er owned cats.
Donut blush THE Dunkin’ Donuts chain has launched a donut and coffee in‐ spired make‐up collec‐ tion in collaboration with Elf Cosmetics, a company that has made unconventional collabo‐ rations with food brands in the past. The line, which went on sale on Sunday April 3, will initially only be available to members of their loyalty pro‐ gramme. The general public will be able to buy the unusual range from Ultra Beauty stores and from ultra.com. Kory Marchisotto, Di‐ rector of Marketing for
Elf Beauty said: “This collaboration is all about your morning must‐ haves.” The collection dubbed the “wake up make‐up collection” includes a va‐ riety of donut and coffee inspired shapes, colours, textures and aromas. To top the deal off, the items come boxed in the same way donuts are. Elf joined forces with Chipotle last year to hold an online‐only lim‐ ited‐edition make‐up sale inspired by the in‐ gredients on its menu. The collection sold out in 72 hours.
get this extra financial support,” he added on Sunday April 3. Pension Credit can be claimed by phone and online, ensuring that older people can
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apply safely and easily, wherever they are. Caroline Abrahams, Charity Director at Age UK, said: “Pension Credit is something of a well‐kept secret, many people have simply not heard of it.” She added that the credit can “make a big difference if you’ve reached State Pension Age and haven’t got much money coming in. With prices rising rapidly at the moment it’s more important than ever to claim what’s rightfully yours.”
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NEWS
Call in the army Opium cultivation RYANAIR boss Michael O’Leary has called on the Irish government to draft in the army to tackle lengthy security queues at Dublin Airport. Travellers at Dublin Air‐ port have been hit with massive queues and some travellers have even missed flights. The airport is hoping to hire new workers, but the Dublin Airport Authority (DAA) contracts are said to be unfair and low paying.
AFGHANISTAN: Cultivation of the poppy is now strictly prohibited in the country.
THE Taliban banned opium cultivation with immediate effect on Sunday April 3. Afghanistan is one of the world’s biggest opium producers and is a major revenue earner for a country that is suffering from se‐ vere financial hardship. The Taliban’s Supreme Leader Haibatullah Akhundzada is‐ sued an order that said: “As per the decree of the supreme leader of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, all Afghans are informed that from now on, cultivation of poppy has been strictly prohibited across the country. “If anyone violates the decree, the crop will
be destroyed immediately and the violator will be treated according to the Sharia law.” Included in the ban is the production, use or transportation of other narcotics. Afghanistan is in dire financial straits after the west implemented sanctions against the country after the Taliban’s coup last year. The Islamist group is seeking formal international recognition, with the international communi‐ ty making a number of demands before agreeing to the winding back of sanctions, one which has been the control of the drug trade.
O’Leary said: “We’ve been calling on Minister Ryan, who’s the Transport Minister, firstly to direct the DAA to hire and train not 250, but 400 additional se‐ curity staff over the next six weeks. “In the meantime, we want to see 250 army per‐ sonnel called out, just for Fridays, Saturdays and Sun‐ days, for the next eight weeks. They will help do the frisking at the security
points and it will enable the airport to open all of the x‐ ray scanner machines in both Terminal 1 and Termi‐ nal 2 and keep the queues down,” he said on April 2. “We need that combina‐ tion of a dramatic recruit‐ ment drive by the DAA, we need the army in there at weekends and in reasonably small numbers, 250 army personnel would allow the DAA to open up all the secu‐ rity things,” he added.
Italian dreams
A MAN who bought a house in Italy for €1 was forced to give it up. Danny McCubbin, who pre‐ viously worked with Jamie Oliver, had bought the house as part of the ‘Casa 1 Euro’ cam‐ paign. Conditions on the sale meant that he had to renovate it within three years but Danny was unable to find workers and could not meet the strict deadline. When he was unable to renovate his home within the short time frame, he had to resell the house to the estate agent. Danny said: “It was very difficult to find a
builder and over time the house deteriorated. “By the time I did find a building company, it was double the cost to renovate it. I decided it was not worth it for me anymore.” The Italian town only has 11,000 people living in it. Since giving up the first house Danny has bought another property that only required a lit‐ tle work. He is now settled in his new home and helps vulnerable families from his community kitchen. “I moved here at the end of December 2020, because I wanted to live in Italy when Brexit happened,” he added on April 3.
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Monkey joy
BARCELONA Zoo was very proud to announce the ar‐ rival of a spider monkey on Thursday March 31, a criti‐ cally endangered species which are included on the red list of the International Union for Conservation of Nature. The young monkey, who is one of only 69 in the world, is said to be in excel‐ lent health, however it has at this stage not been sexed. Its mother Perla is said to be highly protective, limiting zookeepers’ ability to check it out. Barcelona currently has a troop of nine individuals with the remaining primates spread over 16 different in‐ stitutions, 32 males, 35 fe‐ males and two that have yet to be sexed. The spider monkey is one of the largest primate species inhabiting South America and is charac‐ terised by having a prehen‐ sile tail that they use as an additional limb to move
through the treetops. Populations of the animal have been declining due to deforestation, with its usual habit having been reduced to a mere 20 per cent of its size. Hunting also remains a problem for these monkeys.
The proud arrival.
No to Charles AUSTRALIANS do not want Prince Charles as king, according to the Australian Republican Movement (ARM). ARM director Sandy Briar said: “With the Queen’s reign drawing to an end, we’re about to see some dramatic change in Australia. We’ll have Charles as King of Australia and that’s something that Aus‐ tralians clearly don’t want. We would make sure that there’s no overlap between the responsibilities of the prime minister and the head of state. “That’s quite a difference from now, where there is a tension between the governor‐general as the Queen’s representative and the prime minister, with both of them involved in the passing of laws. We should have an Australian chosen by Australians as their head of state,” she added on April 3. The Republicans believe that Australians should be able to choose their next head of state.
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NEWS
Algerian threat Microchip outrage Prices have skyrocketed.
ALGERIAN state oil company Sonatrach promised on April 1 to maintain current gas prices for all of its clients with the exception of Spain. The company has threatened to review the prices charged to
its Spanish client, Naturgy. The move appears to be sparked by the diplomatic crisis between the two coun‐ tries after Madrid changed its position on the dispute over Western Sahara. Toufik Hakkar, the exec‐ utive director of Sonatrach said: “Since the beginning of the crisis in Ukraine, gas and oil prices have sky‐ rocketed. Algeria has de‐ cided to maintain relative‐ ly correct prices for all its customers. “However, it is not ruled out to carry out a recalcu‐ lation of prices with our Spanish client.” The contract between Naturgy and Sonatrach is currently undergoing an ordinary review process. Algeria is also engaged in dialogue with Italy which is highly dependent on gas from Russia but could increase the amount of gas it uses via the Transmed gas pipeline from Algeria.
THE sale of the UK’s largest microchip factory, Newport Wafer Fab in Wales, to a Chinese company has caused outrage among Con‐ servative MPs. The factory’s sale to Nex‐ peria, a subsidiary of Wingtech, a Chinese tech‐ nology firm, was approved on Friday April 1. There is currently a world‐ wide shortage of microchips, also known as semiconduc‐ tors, due to the Covid‐19 pandemic. These electronic components are a vital part of smartphones and other everyday devices. The Chairman of the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee, Tom Tu‐ gendhat, said: “It’s not clear why we haven’t used our new powers under the Na‐ tional Security and Invest‐ ment Act to fully review the takeover of one of our lead‐ ing compound semiconduc‐ tor companies. “This is an area where Chi‐ na is sinking billions to com‐
SOLD: The Welsh factory sale has been approved.
pete. The government has no clear strategy to protect
what’s left of our semicon‐ ductor industry,” he added.
Covid entry requirements THE Spanish Ministry of Health has announced an extension until April 30 of Covid‐19 entry requirements for travellers wishing to enter the country. Only fully vaccinated people will be allowed to enter Spain before April 30, or those who can produce a certificate to prove recovery from Covid‐19. Also, all arrivals from an EU or European Economic Area risk coun‐ try are officially required by the Spanish Ministry of Health to fill out the Health Control Form. “If you come from a country at risk in relation to Covid‐19, you must present a certificate or document proving vaccina‐ tion, diagnostic test for active infection, or recovery from Covid‐19,” the Ministry said. To be classed as fully vaccinated to enter Spain, travellers must have had their second jab within 270 days of arrival. If not, and the second jab was received more than 270 days ago, then travellers must show that they had a booster dose of the vaccine.
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FURIOUS passengers have branded Manchester Airport a “disgrace” after they en‐ dured “dangerous” condi‐ tions while queueing on Fri‐ day April 1. Travellers also claimed they were hit with flight delays as the airport struggled to cope with the number of passengers. One holidaymaker tweet‐ ed to Manchester Airport: “You are an absolute dis‐ grace! It was dangerous to‐ day. People will get hurt if you do not improve things.” Another passenger said: “As far as bad experiences
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Airport chaos
go this goes to the top. There was such complete chaos at the Security B Lane of Termi‐ nal 1 that passengers were either dehydrated or almost urinating themselves in a never‐ending queue that al‐ most turned into a mob due to Manchester Airport’s ne‐ glect. “It took us four hours to walk 300 metres, squeezed in like cattle in the biggest Covid breeding ground in
the UK. Passengers were jumping over the barriers scared of missing the flights and these were either can‐ celled or severely delayed.” The traveller added: “Our flight was delayed by nearly three hours and we were the lucky ones. There was so much tension that police had to step in several times and I am surprised that no violence broke out or medi‐ cal emergencies happened.”
Double standards
THE Argentine government has angered the United Kingdom by saying Britain has “double standards” for supporting Ukraine against Russian aggression while refusing to negotiate over the Falkland Islands. The contentious claim was made by Guillermo Carmona, Ar‐ gentina’s Deputy Foreign Minister for the Antarctic, Malvinas and South Atlantic, on April 1. April 2 marked the 40th anniversary of the start of the Falklands War. Carmona said in both the Falklands and Ukraine there had been an illegal military seizure of the sovereign territory of one state by another. “The British government has perhaps been
one of the governments that have con‐ demned most vehemently this violation of Ukraine’s territorial integrity by Russia and it’s very good that the British government does this,” he said. “But what is happening is that the British government, at the same time that it condemns the violation of Ukrainian territo‐ rial integrity, has persistently maintained, for 189 years, a violation of the territorial integrity of Argentina,” he added. The UK has consis‐ tently refused to negotiate with Argentina over sovereignty of the Falklands, arguing that the 3,200 residents of the Falkland Islands have a right to self‐determination.
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Best passport THE best pass‐ port to own is one from Lux‐ embourg based on five major factors, not just travel, accord‐ ing to a new re‐ port. The Sixth An‐ nual Passport In‐ dex produced by tax and immigration consultancy Nomad Cap‐ i t a l i s t w a s , i t s a i d , d e‐ signed to educate aspir‐ ing global citizens about the true value of the world’s citizenships. The index takes into account a number of fac‐ tors based on visa‐free travel, taxation, percep‐ tion, dual citizenship and personal freedom gathered from sources such as the International Air Transport Associa‐ tion, the World Happi‐ ness Report and 18 oth‐ er international sources.
Photo credit: Pixabay
NEW REPORT: The best passport for many reasons.
Based on the concept that citizens of different countries deal with dif‐ ferent requirements to pay tax, live freely, com‐ ply with regulations and avoid scrutiny when travelling, the report analyses the true value of each passport. The majority of high scoring countries are based in Europe with Luxembourg coming first, narrowly beating Sweden, Ireland, Bel‐
gium and Switzerland. Spain is ranked at 24 and the UK at 26, with neither of them making it into the top 20. The self‐proclaimed ‘Land of the Free’, the United States of America, comes in at number 41, well beaten by Canada and Chile as well as be‐ ing only three places above Hong Kong. Unsurprisingly, the three worst passports to own come from Yemen, Iraq and Afghanistan.
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Company closed
PRESENTER Kate Garraway has shut her ill husband’s company after it racked up nearly £200,000 in debts. With 54‐year‐old Derek Draper incapacitated and unable to continue work‐
ing because of Covid‐19, his psychotherapy compa‐ ny Astra Aspera Ltd is £184,000 in debt. A liq‐ uidator has been appoint‐ ed to break up the compa‐ ny’s assets.
Kate’s husband contract‐ ed Covid‐19 back in 2020 when the pandemic first started. As a result of his continuing illness, Kate was appointed as a direc‐ tor of Derek’s firm. She has had to juggle her on‐ screen duties with the con‐ stant care of her husband since he returned home from hospital. Last November, the GMB presenter revealed that she had secretly flown with Derek to America to participate in a ground‐ breaking new medical trial in the hope of curing his ailment. In January, Kate an‐ nounced that her husband was still not progressing as she had hoped. Finding Derek, a documentary made about Kate’s ongo‐ ing life caring for her hus‐ band, won an NTA award. A follow‐up to this pro‐ gramme, Caring For Derek, was broadcast earlier this year.
NEWS
Iberdrola cyberattacked
IBERDROLA has suffered a cyberattack in which the personal information of 1.3 million customers was stolen. The attackers have gained access to data such as the ID, address, telephone number and email address, but not to “financial data (current account or credit card) or data on electricity con‐ sumption,” the company said. Iberdrola has contacted those affected and has reported the events to the Central Technological Investigation Brigade of the Police. The breach took place on March 15 at I‐DE Re‐ des Electricas In‐ teligentes, the group’s electricity distribution company. “As soon as we became aware of the attack, the necessary measures were put in place to stop it im‐ mediately and prevent its repetition,” the company
said in its statement to those affected, which has also brought the facts to the attention of the Data Protection Agency. The following day, Iber‐ drola’s systems suffered ‘massive attacks’ that
they were able to stop. The company links it to a campaign of cyberattacks that affected other com‐ panies and Spanish and European public institu‐ tions, such as the Congress of Deputies.
Step by step
HEALTH Minister Carolina Darias said Spain is going “step by step” towards relaxing Covid‐19 measures. “It will be decided when the experts who advise us al‐ so propose it, we are going to go step by step, taking measures from prudence, from progressiveness and from gradualness,” she said at a meeting of European health ministers in Brussels on Tuesday March 29. She also defended the “strategic response” with which Spain has faced the pandemic, pointing to the high vaccination rate. However, she avoided offering any precise timeframe upon being asked when the government plans to lift the mandatory use of masks.
STATS
1/5
Every year, Americans create around 1/5 of the world’s rubbish.
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Moroccan electricity MOROCCO and Britain are in‐ volved in a project to lay a submarine cable that will pro‐ vide electricity to the UK from a solar and wind farm located in the Guelmim‐Oued Noun region of the North African country. The ambitious Xlinks project is already underway and a ship that will be used to lay the cables is in the process of being designed. Alan Mathers, head of UK cable manufactur‐ er XLCC, said, “Our ship will be, at the time of delivery, the most sophisticated, efficient and environmentally friendly cable ship in the world. With this capacity, we will be able to meet the growing global demand for the deployment
WIND FARM: Ambitious project to lay a submarine cable.
of high current, direct current tension cables to fill a current and future gap in the market.” In collaboration with Salt Ship Design, the XLCC team is developing the basic design of the ship while working on the selection of a suitable shipyard for its construction. “We are delighted to be
part of this exciting project, which will bring more renew‐ able energy to the world. The design is at an advanced stage, and we are continuing to de‐ velop the project to refine the details,” added Tor Henning Vestbostad, Commercial Di‐ rector of Salt Ship Design, on Friday April 1.
Crowdfunded drones A SPECIALISED Ukrainian drone unit that has destroyed more than 100 Russian tar‐ gets is financed by crowdfunding. The Aerorozvidka division was created in 2014 following the Russian annexation of Crimea. Its systems have advanced thermal imaging cameras, and according to published videos and photos. To date, they have managed to destroy around 100 key targets. Made up of 30 specialists, the unit com‐ prises members of the Ukrainian special forces, and drone pilots. Aerorozvidka is financed through a system of crowdfund‐ ing, and acquires many of its systems through personal contacts. In this man‐ ner, it tries to get the best technology while circumventing export controls that prevent these types of products from reaching Ukraine. The inventory of the drone unit ranges from cheap commercial models to octo‐ copters that have been modified to
A COMMERCIAL pilot has been sentenced for offences of fraud, making false entries and altering entries in his pilot’s logbook in order to obtain employment with BA CityFlyer, a subsidiary of British Airways. Craig Butfoy, 49, claimed to have flown 1,610 hours as a captain on a job applica‐ tion before getting a job with BA CityFly‐ er, faking documents to back up his appli‐ cation. Fabricated documents included a training course certificate. Butfoy, from Matfield in Kent, made the false claims between April 2016 and March 2018. He was sentenced to 12 months in prison at Snaresbrook Crown Court on Fri‐
SPECIALISED UNIT: Use advanced systems.
launch anti‐tank grenades. Kiev‐based Aerozvidka commander Yaroslav Honchar said Russian forces stop moving at night and usually position their tanks between village houses where con‐ ventional artillery cannot hit them. Ukrainian authorities warned on Friday April 1, that despite the withdrawal of Russian troops from Kyiv and Chernihiv, Moscow is likely planning a new offensive through which to conquer Ukraine before Monday May 9, Victory Day in Russia.
Pilot jailed day April 1 after pleading guilty to four charges of fraud at an earlier hearing. Commenting on the case, Jonathan Spence, General Counsel at the UK Civil Aviation Authority said: “The Civil Avia‐ tion Authority’s prosecution and the sen‐ tence imposed showed that offences of this kind are taken very seriously by the Civil Aviation Authority and the Courts. “Pilot integrity is at the heart of avia‐ tion safety and we will take all steps nec‐ essary to maintain that position,” he added.
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NEWS
Beckhams burgled
A MASKED burglar broke into the Beckham’s home in west London, stealing thousands of pounds worth of items. The burglar managed to force their way into a spare bedroom at the mansion in Holland Park, which is worth £40 million, and stole the valuables while David, Victoria and Harper slept. The theft, on February 28, was only noticed when Cruz, 17, returned from a night out to find the bed‐ room upturned and saw broken glass from a win‐ dow. David, 46, apparently called 999 and he and Cruz began searching the home for the perpetrator while 47‐year‐old Victoria and 10‐year‐old Harper waited for the police to arrive. Although no one was hurt, the family were said to be “shaken up” by the incident. The thief stole thousands of pounds worth of design‐
er clothes, accessories and electrical goods that were in the spare bedroom. Two other properties in the upmarket enclave were
also targeted, however, one of the houses was empty and the thief did not manage to force entry into the other.
Masks in motion A PLENARY session of the Congress of Deputies approved on Thursday, March 31, a motion asking the government to end the use of masks indoors. PSOE, Ciudadanos and Vox voted in favour of the proposal, the Partido Popular, Partido Nacionalista Vasco and the Coali‐ cion Canaria voted against, while Podemos abstained. A re‐ sult of 184 votes in favour, 91 against, and 57 abstentions was achieved. Approving this motion urges coalition partners PSOE and Podemos to eliminate the mandatory use of masks indoors “in line with scientific evidence, with the epidemiological situ‐ ation and with comparative perspective.” Being a motion, the initiative is not binding. However, Ed‐ mundo Bal, spokesman for Ciudadanos, said at a press con‐ ference after the plenary session: “The government will not want to disobey what its own parliamentary group insinu‐ ates.”
STATS
6
A stamp that you lick gives you 6 calories.
NEWS
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ExoMars postponed THE European Space Agency (ESA) has sus‐ pended its scheduled September launch of the ExoMars rover as it is unable to work with its Russian counterpart, Roscosmos, following the invasion of Ukraine. A new launch window is under considera‐ tion while the ExoMars’ components remain in storage in Italy. David Parker, the ESA’s Director of Human and Robotic Exploration, said: “I hope that our member states decide that this is not the end of ExoMars, but the rebirth of the mis‐ sion. Perhaps it will serve as a trigger to de‐ velop greater European autonomy. “We count on brilliant teams and expertise across Europe and with international part‐
LAUNCH: New window being considered.
ners to reshape and rebuild the mission. The team is dedicated and focused on setting out the next steps to ensure we bring this incredi‐ ble rover to Mars to complete the job it was designed for,” he added on March 28.
Spanish gastronomy THE Minister for Industry, Trade and Tourism, Reyes Maroto, has presented ‘SpainFoodNation’, a new programme to promote Spanish gastronomy around the world. “Gastronomy is a strategic priority for the government, not only for its enormous val‐ ue as a tourist attraction, but
also for its capacity to combat depopulation of the territory and the demographic chal‐ lenge, and its potential to pro‐ ject the Spain brand interna‐ tionally,” Maroto said. “Spain is a world leader in gastronomy because Spanish gastronomy is a product of the high quality of its raw ma‐ terials. It is also talent because
of the high level of training of all workers in the sector. And it is innovation, going beyond the conception of something pleasurable to be considered as an experience in connec‐ tion with culture and crafts‐ manship. ‘SpainFoodNation’ will help to reinforce this leadership,” she added on March 29.
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BRITAIN has enacted new legislation to prohibit main‐ tenance on aircraft or ships belonging to sanctioned Russian oligarchs or their businesses. Through these new pow‐ ers, laid in parliament through a Statutory Instru‐ ment, the UK can now pro‐ hibit sanctioned oligarchs from benefiting from the
NEWS
Luxury toys Challenge Anneka
UK’s aviation and maritime industries and engineers. The new laws have been used immediately to sanc‐ tion Russian businessmen Eugene Shvidler and Oleg Tinkov.
Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said: “There is no doubt that Putin and his elite have been surprised by the strength of our sanctions. “We will continue to ramp up the pressure so long as Russian troops are in Ukraine, targeting not only the businesses of oligarchs but also their assets and in‐ ternational lifestyles. “Tough sanctions will help Ukraine get the best possi‐ ble peace settlement and ul‐ timately ensure Putin’s inva‐ sion fails. That is our focus,” she added on March 30. Secretary of State for Transport Grant Shapps said the legislation “adds new routes at our disposal to de‐ prive oligarchs’ access to their luxury toys.” Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24, the UK has sanctioned banks with £500 billion of global asset value and more than £150 billion of net worth from oligarchs and their family members.
LEGENDARY television show Challenge Anneka, featuring Anneka Rice, is reportedly lined up to make a comeback. The 63‐year‐old presen‐ ter, famous for her jump‐ suits, is in talks with Chan‐ nel 5 about a reboot of the BBC 1 hit show from the 1990s. Challenge Anneka ran from September 8, 1989, through to October 15, 1995. Each programme saw her facing a series of tasks, that were usually to earn money for charity. A deadline was set for each task of between two or three days, with Anneka having no prior knowledge of the challenge in hand. The energetic presenter would then set off in search of local people and businesses who she would persuade to offer their help free of charge. An integral part of this show was Anneka’s cam‐ era team and sound guy
ANNEKA RICE: She faced a series of tasks for charity.
who would follow her in the large blue lorry. Ten‐ sion gripped each episode as viewers waited to see whether Anneka would complete the task or not, as not every challenge
was a success. “The affection for it is epic. It is overwhelming on a daily basis,” Anneka pre‐ viously said of the show in 2019, on its 30th anniver‐ sary.
STATS
42
It takes 42 facial muscles to frown.
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Magnum Productions present ‘Dostone’ a fabulous cabaret show in aid of local charities ON Sunday, April 24 Peter Johnson’s Magnum Productions will be presenting a spectacular charity show featuring the duo ‘Dostone’ who he has flown in from Germany especially for the performance. This will be a superb musical extravaganza from two very talented professional artists and choreographers. The show has been updated to include songs from many popular musical theatre shows including Jesus Christ Superstar, Cabaret, Disney Classics, Chicago, Grease and many more.
Also included in the repertoire are some all-time greats from Frank Sinatra, Elaine Paige, Abba, Queen, the list goes on and on. This promises to be once again a great show in Espai La Senieta, Moraira, a lovely theatre, and all profits will go to local charities including the Teulada Alzheimer’s centre. Tickets are priced at €20 and can be reserved by contacting Peter on 618 017 201 or by emailing: magnum.concerts@gmail.com. You can also join our mailing list by emailing magnum.concerts@gmail.com.
Radiation sickness
DOZENS of Russian troops sta‐ tioned at Chernobyl have left the nuclear plant, some suffer‐ ing from “acute radiation sick‐ ness.” Yaroslav Yemelianenko, a council member of the State Agency of Ukraine for Exclu‐ sion Zone Management, claimed that troops were
rushed across the border to a medical facility in Belarus after exposing themselves to dan‐ gerous levels of radiation. He wrote on Facebook: “Another batch of Russian irradiated terrorists who seized the Cher‐ nobyl zone was brought to the Belarusian Radiation Medicine Center in Gomel to‐
day. “There are rules for deal‐ ing with this area. They are mandatory because radiation is physics, it works without re‐ gard to status or shoulder straps. With minimal intelli‐ gence in command or soldiers, these consequences could have been avoided,” he added on March 30.
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TELITEC is organising Adopt a Dog Day on Sun‐ day April 10 at 11am in Moraira’s dog park. “This will be a day out for all ages as there is al‐ so a park for kids and Ian Bennett will also be there, playing music all day!” Telitec said. The first Adopt a Dog
Every dog has its day thanks to Telitec Day event in Torrevieja in 2017 was so popular that Telitec held another in Moraira in April 2019.
This was a huge suc‐ cess and, more impor‐ tantly, dogs were adopt‐ ed and the charities involved raised aware‐ ness about what they did and where they were, as well as obtaining much‐ needed funds. Owing to lockdown, April 2020’s Adopt a Dog Day was an online virtual event, although people could also view videos of the dogs on the Teletec website over the follow‐ ing months. As things were still very much up in the air with Covid restric‐ tions, there was no Adopt a Dog Day in 2021. Eight local charities will be attending this year’s event, each bringing three or four dogs so that people can meet them with a view to adopting. Home visits will be needed before any of the
dogs can be adopted but this will be a great oppor‐ tunity for potential own‐ ers to meet the dogs. Akira, the local dog charity, has completed all the necessary formalities for the event, which has the use of the entire area in and around the dog park, as well as the chil‐ dren’s play area and toi‐ lets. The association is al‐ so organising a dog show, where dogs can be en‐ tered up to 2pm. An Akira stall will sell cakes and drinks throughout the day, and there will also be other stalls. Bo Insure is giving away one‐year free pet insurance for one of the adopted dogs and Canino Les Cutes will give away the first three sessions of training free for any dog that is adopted.
NEWS
Spanish welcome IN just one month, Spain has welcomed more than 11,000 Ukrainian refugees, with the fig‐ ure increasing each day. The Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration has created two new general directorates to resolve the avalanche of re‐ quests for temporary protection for refugees who are arriving in Spain. More than 11,000 people have been assist‐ ed in approximately four weeks. The mass flight of Ukrainians to neighbouring countries began on February 24, after Russia’s decision to attack and invade Ukraine. Within days, Spain began to formalise the status of refugees. The first beneficiaries were Ukrainians who were surprised by the war on a trip or temporary stay in Spain and were unable to return to their country. In addition to welcoming Ukrainians who have fled due to the war, a welcome has been extended to Ukrainians who were in Spain in an irregular situation and nationals of third countries with temporary residence in Ukraine.
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Sanchez meets Rutte PRESIDENT Pedro Sanchez has received the Prime Minister of the Nether‐ lands, Mark Rutte, on his first trip to Spain since his re‐election in January 2022. Before the meeting, Sanchez introduced Rutte, who was giving the 16th Commemorative Lecture of the Carlos de Amberes Foundation, A European response to the new reality, at the Prado
Museum. During the meeting in Moncloa, the leaders dis‐ cussed bilateral relations, NATO, the war in Ukraine and issues on the Euro‐ pean agenda such as strategic autonomy, cli‐ mate, energy, the new Migration and Asylum Pact, fiscal rules and the rule of law. “We are increasing our bilateral contact and liais‐ ing on issues on the Euro‐
Picasso anniversary APRIL 8, 2023, will mark the 50th anniversary of the death of Pablo Pi‐ casso, and a Spanish‐ French committee will coordinate a series of events and exhibitions to commemorate it. The celebration of Pi‐ casso 1973‐2023 will be structured around some 40 exhibitions and events to be held mainly in Europe and North America. It will also be an opportunity to develop a historio‐ graphical study of ap‐ proaches to Picasso’s work. “This bi‐national committee will vindi‐ cate the figure of Picas‐ so as a universal and pro‐European artist, who embodies the
Greatest anti-war symbol of our modern history.
founding principles of Europe, made up of democratic states, de‐ fenders of human rights and freedom of expres‐ sion,” the Spanish gov‐ ernment said in a state‐ ment. “His work, Guernica, has become the great‐ est international anti‐ war symbol of our mod‐ ern history. To this day, Picasso’s legacy and his commitment to the cause of peace are a great reference point for European citizens,” it added on March 29.
pean agenda, where we should continue to identi‐ fy shared positions, as we did in the field of open strategic autonomy,” Sanchez said on Wednes‐ day March 30. Sanchez and Rutte also discussed the fight against climate change and energy prices. “These months have shown that we do not have an elec‐ tricity market prepared for stressful situations such as the one we are experiencing, as it is right now damaging con‐ sumers, SMEs and the in‐ dustrial sector,” Sanchez added.
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EUROPEAN PRESS
EUROPEAN PRESS DENMARK
Nature reserves
Over consumption
THE Danish government has decided to create a further 10 new national nature reserves in addition to the five previously announced in 2021 which between them will cover 25,000 hectares across the country at a cost of at least €12.5 million.
AS of March 28, Denmark had used its supply of naturally-produced resources for 2022, according to think-tank Global Footprint Network, which divides the world’s total output by its population to work out which countries are overconsuming and it was the 15th country in 2022 to reach that landmark.
THE NETHERLANDS High times
Tax meat
ANYONE would think that the authorities were too stoned to do anything about introducing the plan, created five years ago, to study legal production of marihuana in order to reduce the role of organised crime, especially as it has now been postponed until 2023.
DETERMINED to see the Dutch eat more healthily, a government investigation is being undertaken to discover whether it would be feasible to introduce a tax on meat and if so whether that would be likely to reduce the amount of meat consumed in the country.
BELGIUM Royal faux pas
Leaving litter
PRINCE LAURENT, brother of Belgium’s King Filip hasn’t been protected by his royal blood as he is due in court on April 22 for driving a car which had not passed the local equivalent of the MOT test and could face a fine or time in prison.
IN order to make residents realise how unpleasant it is to be faced with mountains of rubbish because people are too lazy to take it away, the council in Ghent has decided to leave litter uncollected in certain parts of Citadelpark.
GERMANY Human rights
Biogas
ON March 30, German Human Rights Watch Director Wenzel Michalski heavily criticised both the International Olympic Committee and world football's governing body FIFA over countries such as China and Qatar being allowed to host two of the world’s most prestigious sporting events.
IN order to become less dependent on gas from Russia, Green supporters are suggesting that the German government should look to cows who create abundant amounts of manure, which is already being turned into biogas by some farmers and scale this production up commercially.
FRANCE Alleged torture
Sniffer ants
FRENCH prosecutors have opened an enquiry into alleged torture and acts of barbarism supposedly committed by General Ahmed Nasser Al-Raisi of the United Arab Emirates who was appointed head of Interpol last November even though these allegations were known prior to his appointment.
IN a Sorbonne University laboratory in Paris, scientists conducted experiments using more than 100 ants, who were rewarded with sugared water (when successful) to detect cancerous cells in a series of experiments which proved to be 95 per cent accurate in their first phase.
NORWAY Stoltenberg resigns
Bug news
NORWEGIAN politicians may well breathe a sigh of relief as former Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg has resigned from his controversial new job as Governor of Norway’s Central Bank even before he started, so that he can remain as NATO secretary general for another year.
THANKS to the introduction of new, more efficient insect traps, a two-year investigation into the insect population of Norway which used DNA findings discovered that of the 16,000 species of insects caught, 400 had never been recorded in the country before.
EUROPEAN PRESS
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EUROPEAN PRESS FINLAND
Empty properties
Not guilty
ACCORDING to the Finnish Broadcasting Company (YLE), richer parts of Helsinki are experiencing high percentages of unoccupied accommodation, caused it said, by the fact that a number of wealthy Finns are purchasing second homes in the capital, but living in other parts of the country.
ON March 30, the Helsinki District Court dismissed all charges against MP, Päivi Räsänen, a committed Christian who was charged with incitement against a minority group based on three statements against homosexuality. The court found them offensive but did not consider them hate speech.
IRELAND Fossil burrows
Backing up
UNLIKE dinosaurs who had numerous hard parts that could become fossils, creatures such as shrimps (which predate them by millions of years) were mainly soft and knowledge of them comes from fossilised burrows with the latest find in limestone rock on the coast of Doolin, Co Clare.
AS people are starting to fly in numbers, airports are finding it difficult to cope and the latest is Dublin Airport which has warned passengers to expect weeks of long delays due to staff shortages and the amount of time it will take to train new security workers.
ITALY Papal events
Roman holiday
WITH the easing of Covid-19 restrictions on April 1, it is now possible for the Vatican to resume papal events in St Peter’s Square after more than two years. Huge crowds are expected for the Palm Sunday Mass which takes place on April 10.
ALTHOUGH both Romulus and Remus are traditionally connected with Rome, the city was founded by Romulus after killing his brother and according to tradition the date was April 21, with this year being the 2,775th anniversary. It will be celebrated with numerous historical reenactments until April 24.
PORTUGAL World Champion
Doubling up
REPRESENTING Switzerland where he works, Portuguese chef Tiago Jesus, won the prestigious title of top chef in the sixth World Championship of Seafood Preparers, held in the French city of Nice. Based in Lausanne, the home of the International Olympic Committee, he chose an Olympic theme.
FROM time to time, it is necessary for councils to remove trees or shrubs from the urban environment, but in an effort to increase the amount of greenery in the city, Lisbon Council has passed a resolution that two specimens should replace any one removed.
UKRAINE No war
No applause
ACCORDING to American news organisation The Intercept, in order to comply with Russian regulations, Google has emailed its Russian translators saying not to use the word ‘war’ when referring to Russia’s incursion in Ukraine, but instead use terms like ‘extraordinary circumstances’.
THE Easter Concert on Saturday, April 11 in St David's Cathedral, Cardiff will include two popular Requiems highlighting consolation and comfort. The audience at the performance by the Côr Dyfed Choir will be encouraged not to applaud, but to donate money for Ukraine.
SWEDEN Winter testing
Kyiv Soloists
THE latest Rolls Royce model, the company’s first electric model, the new Spectre has been undergoing extensive winter testing in Arjeplog, Sweden, but still has hundreds of thousands of kilometres to go before it is delivered to dealers and the public in the fourth quarter of 2023.
ON a European tour when Russia invaded Ukraine, string ensemble the Kyiv Soloists performed at a concert to raise funds for that country on March 27 in the Stockholm Concert Hall accompanied by ABBA’s Benny Andersson and in the presence of the King and Queen.
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FINANCE Strong words ON Tuesday March 29, Spain banned firms which get state aid to deal with the economic impact of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine from firing workers over rising energy prices. Labour Minister Yolanda Diaz said “When social protection mechanisms exist... we must not lay off.
Take care THE Gibraltar International Bank is warning of a Facebook page that appears to be advertising loans using images of the bank without authorisation. It says it has no affiliation with this page and advises people not to provide it with any information.
Inflation jumps PRELIMINARY figures released by the National Institute of Statistics (INE) on Wednesday March 30 indicate that Spanish inflation continues to rise and is up by 9.8 per cent compared to March last year, caused in part by the knock‐on effect of the invasion of Ukraine.
AENA optimistic SPANISH airport management company AENA has been working on how best to recover income following the lockdown due to the pandemic and now cancellation of flights to Russia, but says in its latest strategic plan that it is optimistic for the future.
Oil price THE cost of crude oil is likely to continue to drop over the next week and the Biden administration confirmed that it will release a significant amount of oil from its strategic reserves in order to combat the rise in price caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
STAT OF WEEK
€8 billion
is the amount that Spanish oil and gas company Cepsa plans to invest in Spain and Portugal by 2030 as part of its energy transition strategy.
Treasury sells NatWest shares Better service
THE UK Treasury has disposed of NatWest shares worth more than £1.2 billion reducing its share‐ holding to 48.1 per cent. So, for the first time since the financial crisis, NatWest Group plc (formerly Royal Bank of Scot‐ land Group plc) is no longer under majority public as the bank agreed to buy back shares for £1,212,421,779. This is the government’s fifth sale of its NatWest shareholding bringing its level of ownership down to less than 50 per cent and is considered a landmark in the government’s plan to return to private ownership the institutions brought into public ownership as a result of the 2007‐2008 financial crisis.
Credit: HM Treasury flickr
BUSINESS EXTRA
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John Glen using a NatWest cash machine.
The Economic Secretary to the Treasury John Glen MP autho‐ rised the sale of approximately 550 million shares in NatWest at 220.5p per share raising just over £1.2 billion. Commenting on the sale, John Glen said: “This sale means that the government is no longer the majority owner of NatWest Group and is therefore an impor‐
tant landmark in our plan to re‐ turn the bank to the private sec‐ tor. “We will continue to prioritise delivering value for money for the taxpayer as we take forward this plan.” At the height of the banking cri‐ sis in 2009, the Labour Govern‐ ment under Prime Minister Gor‐ don Brown owned 84 per cent of the bank’s shares and with the share price rising during 2022, the current value of the shares still owned is in excess of £12 billion. As it has returned to profit, NatWest has been paying divi‐ dends to shareholders and sub‐ ject to approval its April AGM payment for 2021 should be in the region of 10.5p per share.
Help when you need it most HAVING to think about what will happen after you die is not something many of us like to do, however Golden Leaves knows that living abroad can pre‐ sent various obstacles to your loved ones when it comes to your funeral, including dealing with a lan‐ guage barrier. A Golden Leaves funeral plan offers multiple bene‐ fits, including allowing your wishes to be set out ahead of time as well as the benefits of a Spanish‐ speaking team who will take care of all the arrange‐ ments for your family. When you have a Golden Leaves plan, all your fam‐ ily members need to do when you die is make a call to them and their team will put in place your wishes immediately, arranging exactly the service you want‐ ed. Golden Leaves have three funeral plans available, the Opal Plan, Pearl Plan, and Golden Plan.
Deficit smaller than expected FUNERAL PLANS: There are three plans available.
To make sure that your wishes are carried out as you want, and that your loved ones are not left with costly funeral expenses, contact Golden Leaves to‐ day.
Contact Golden Leaves at info@goldenleavesinternational.com 966 49 30 82 • www.goldenleavesinternational.com
IKEA store closure IKEA UK announced on March 30 that it proposed to close its Tot‐ tenham store as part of the busi‐ ness’ transformation plan for the capital. The decision came as the re‐ tailer committed to investing more than £1 billion in London over the next three years to bet‐ ter meet the needs of its cus‐ tomers. The proposal to close the Tot‐
SPANISH IT project company Sighore is working with on‐ line booking company The Fork to offer better services to the hospitality industry. The key to this strategic agreement lies in the integra‐ tion of the Sighore‐ICS POS system in The Fork Manager site which will allow partner restaurants to improve their digital functionalities. As an added bonus, it will now be possible for restau‐ rants to be able to under‐ stand the tastes and prefer‐ ences of diners based on information collected when they book. Darío Méndez of The Fork said,”as a leading technology company and online booking platform, with more than 60,000 associated restau‐ rants, our mission is to al‐ ways be at the forefront of the latest trends.”
tenham store follows an exten‐ sive assessment of IKEA’s pres‐ ence in London in line with changing shopping behaviours. Last year, online represented almost half of the retailers’ total sales and the demand for differ‐ ent services as well as conve‐ nient deliveries accelerated. This, combined with the rede‐ velopment of the area where the store is located, prompted the
retailer to assess the long‐term viability of the site. IKEA will now enter a period of collective consultation with the 450 workers affected by this pro‐ posal and is committed to retain‐ ing as many as possible. The business will create over 600 vacancies in London before the proposed store closure, which as a priority will be of‐ fered to those workers.
THE overall 2021 deficit over GDP in Spain was far better than anyone forecast at 6.7 per cent which equates to €81.5 billion ex‐ cluding Financial Aid. This reduction in the deficit was greater than that communicated by the government to the Euro‐ pean Commission in the Budget Plan (8.4 per cent). It also compares well to the estimates of all the na‐ tional and international or‐ ganisations such as the IMF (8.6 per cent), the OECD (8.1 per cent), the Commis‐ sion itself (8.1 per cent) and even the Bank of Spain (7.5 per cent). This is a reduction of 27.9 per cent when compared to 2020, so in other words, de‐ spite the fact that the health emergency due to the pandemic continued last year, the deficit de‐ creased by 3.31 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
38 EWN
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7 - 13 April 2022
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C LOSING P RICES A PRIL 4
COMPANY PRICE(P) CHANGE(P) 3I Group 1.387,00 1.394,50 Abrdn 213,50 214,90 Admiral Group 2.550,5 2.585,5 Anglo American 4.064,5 4.106,0 Antofagasta 1.670,00 1.718,50 Ashtead Group 4.797,0 4.825,0 Associated British Foods 1.668,2 1.672,8 AstraZeneca 10.132,0 10.232,0 Auto Trader Group Plc 645,20 645,20 Avast 562,20 563,60 Aveva 2.484,0 2.487,0 Aviva 438,40 442,40 B&M European Value Retail SA550,92 551,40 BAE Systems 730,80 741,00 Bank VTB DRC 0,010 0,010 Barclays 147,12 150,04 Barratt Developments 550,20 550,60 Berkeley 3.913,0 3.921,0 BHP Billiton Ltd 2.978,00 3.008,00 BP 375,40 379,40 British American Tobacco 3.228,5 3.259,5 British Land Company 523,40 529,00 BT Group 183,00 185,00 Bunzl 3.026,0 3.028,0 Burberry Group 1.673,5 1.687,0 Carnival 1.361,5 1.381,0 Centrica 79,22 79,38 Coca Cola HBC AG 1.592,8 1.600,5 Compass 1.607,80 1.608,26 CRH 3.073,5 3.076,5 Croda Intl 7.832,5 7.986,0 DCC 5.926,0 5.990,0 Diageo 3.903,6 3.919,0 DS Smith 320,15 321,90 EasyJet 548,69 560,71 Experian 2.929,0 2.956,0 Ferguson 10.275,0 10.315,0 Flutter Entertainment 8.808,0 8.850,0 Fresnillo 757,20 761,20 GlaxoSmithKline 1.655,80 1.668,20 Glencore 506,50 511,70 Halma 2.522,2 2.523,0 Hargreaves Lansdown 1.015,35 1.016,00 Hikma Pharma 2.085,00 2.085,00 HSBC 523,80 527,20 IAG 139,70 143,12 Imperial Brands 1.626,00 1.634,50 Informa 604,40 607,00 InterContinental 5.130,0 5.180,0
% CHG. 1.379,50 212,40 2.546,1 4.045,5 1.667,00 4.769,0 1.647,5 10.128,0 634,20 560,40 2.447,0 437,50 537,20 718,60 0,010 145,56 517,60 3.720,0 2.973,50 374,55 3.217,0 519,40 181,65 2.990,0 1.649,0 1.349,5 77,90 1.563,9 1.579,80 3.030,0 7.796,0 5.898,0 3.851,0 318,10 540,51 2.913,0 10.145,0 8.688,0 745,00 1.655,00 505,50 2.489,0 989,80 2.044,00 522,90 138,48 1.620,00 597,60 5.054,0
NET VOL 236,03K 1,08M 24,77K 641,58K 145,07K 128,67K 32,65K 242,09K 361,98K 80,82K 44,07K 2,04M 345,06K 1,77M 0 14,38M 1,34M 120,19K 693,59K 5,90M 554,20K 179,41K 2,52M 186,31K 116,99K 137,05K 3,26M 58,45K 293,41K 157,93K 74,27K 13,78K 604,58K 764,62K 505,55K 155,50K 164,05K 60,13K 174,66K 821,31K 4,96M 63,61K 205,85K 120,55K 4,23M 5,65M 208,22K 333,48K 62,97K
COMPANY
PRICE(P)
Intermediate Capital Intertek ITV J Sainsbury Johnson Matthey Land Securities Legal & General Lloyds Banking London Stock Exchange Meggitt Melrose Industries Mondi National Grid NatWest Group Next Norilskiy Nikel ADR Ocado Persimmon Phoenix Prudential Reckitt Benckiser Relx Rentokil Rightmove Rio Tinto PLC Rolls-Royce Holdings Rosneft DRC Sage Samsung Electronics DRC Sberbank Schroders Scottish Mortgage Segro Severn Trent Shell Smith & Nephew Smiths Group Spirax-Sarco Engineering SSE St. James’s Place Standard Chartered Taylor Wimpey Tesco Tui Unilever United Utilities Vodafone Group PLC Whitbread WPP
1.812,50 5.264,0 82,96 252,00 1.906,0 773,60 272,07 46,79 8.144,0 762,60 126,20 1.510,50 1.165,54 215,90 6.174,0 1,89 1.194,30 2.261,0 621,20 1.130,00 5.975,7 2.408,50 521,80 660,00 6.157,5 99,93 0,60 727,40 1.425,00 0,5000 3.219,5 1.033,92 1.349,50 3.097,0 2.108,5 1.227,12 1.441,00 12.760,0 1.735,00 1.442,00 501,00 137,54 282,25 235,42 3.525,2 1.128,50 125,12 2.856,7 1.000,00
CHANGE(P)
% CHG.
NET VOL
1.815,50 5.274,0 83,37 253,10 1.908,0 780,00 273,30 47,71 8.142,0 771,20 126,30 1.518,00 1.174,00 217,00 6.182,0 1,89 1.201,00 2.266,0 624,40 1.133,50 6.016,0 2.408,50 526,20 660,60 6.240,0 101,84 0,60 727,80 1.428,50 0,5000 3.252,0 1.045,50 1.364,00 3.114,0 2.126,0 1.236,00 1.458,50 12.765,0 1.755,50 1.446,50 510,60 138,10 282,90 244,70 3.553,0 1.134,50 127,56 2.892,0 1.014,00
1.793,00 5.210,0 82,04 250,60 1.877,5 769,60 270,50 46,78 8.046,0 761,00 123,05 1.485,50 1.162,50 213,70 6.078,0 1,89 1.176,50 2.138,0 619,80 1.118,00 5.952,0 2.371,00 519,60 642,00 6.144,0 98,06 0,60 716,20 1.420,50 0,5000 3.200,0 1.031,50 1.348,50 3.082,0 2.102,0 1.219,00 1.431,50 12.600,0 1.732,00 1.426,00 501,00 130,80 278,00 234,60 3.514,5 1.125,00 124,84 2.826,0 987,20
17,30K 31,15K 816,56K 458,91K 96,59K 171,07K 2,48M 57,33M 54,07K 120,71K 897,23K 205,40K 832,51K 6,88M 73,92K 0 229,28K 498,92K 497,45K 841,87K 140,44K 47,10K 497,97K 463,62K 999,85K 13,79M 0 228,37K 2,52K 0 63,15K 1,39M 308,40K 86,67K 3,04M 464,19K 343,42K 14,54K 285,79K 157,50K 1,77M 12,15M 1,68M 715,35K 706,70K 170,08K 15,91M 17,97K 899,11K
1.19167
0.83938
Units per €
US dollar (USD) ........................................1.1008 Japan yen (JPY)......................................135.704 Switzerland franc (CHF) ...........................1.0209 Denmark kroner (DKK) .............................7.4384 Norway kroner (NOK) ...............................9.6168
currenciesdirect.com/moraira • Tel: +34 966 265 072 THE ABOVE TABLE USES THE CURRENT INTERBANK EXCHANGE RATES, WHICH AREN’T REPRESENTATIVE OF THE RATE WE OFFER
DOW JONES C LOSING P RICES A PRIL 4
COMPANY 3M American Express Amgen Apple Boeing Caterpillar Chevron Cisco Coca-Cola Dow Goldman Sachs Home Depot Honeywell IBM Intel J&J JPMorgan McDonald’s Merck&Co Microsoft Nike Procter&Gamble Salesforce.com The Travelers UnitedHealth Verizon Visa A Walgreens Boots Walmart Walt Disney
PRICE 149,69 187,17 243,12 174,31 190,76 219,77 164,22 55,66 62,87 64,18 330,22 301,89 196,03 130,15 48,11 178,19 135,31 249,25 83,52 309,42 133,52 155,09 212,25 185,25 512,59 52,12 226,36 43,86 151,01 137,00
CHANGE 149,86 189,42 243,95 174,88 192,62 225,52 165,95 56,19 62,95 64,93 334,16 303,37 196,11 130,27 49,90 178,43 137,41 249,43 83,58 310,13 135,28 155,46 214,03 185,45 514,78 52,19 226,63 44,77 151,27 138,10
CHANGE% VOLUME(M) 146,85 2,15M 186,28 2,64M 240,73 1,87M 171,94 75,62M 188,78 4,82M 218,16 2,61M 162,33 8,79M 54,88 16,64M 62,08 12,46M 63,44 3,31M 327,57 2,42M 298,90 5,46M 193,50 2,22M 128,06 4,00M 47,33 46,34M 175,60 6,50M 133,80 15,60M 246,18 2,02M 81,64 10,03M 305,54 25,02M 132,75 5,79M 152,06 5,70M 210,04 5,75M 182,59 1,06M 506,60 2,30M 50,81 30,34M 222,23 6,56M 43,18 14,84M 148,84 6,92M 135,53 10,08M M - MILLION DOLLARS
NASDAQ C LOSING P RICES A PRIL 4
COMPANY
CHANGE NET / %
VOLUME
+61.78% +43.80% +40.40% +36.27% +33.95% +28.83% +27.22% +23.76% +23.60% +22.63% +21.44%
34.41M 2.97M 2.15M 49.28M 20.64M 21.45M 1.00M 52.10M 1.89M 14.35M 316.13K
-37.87% -36.04% -28.66% -26.95% -24.74% -20.98% -19.01% -18.66% -18.52% -18.28% -17.77%
4.44M 11.79M 3.26M 775.02K 3.67M 253.72K 179.00K 198.97K 555.54K 969.97K 178.53K
Most Advanced Takung Art Chicken Soup Manning&Napier Hudson Capital Greenidge Generation Holdings Weidai Aeroclean Technologies LLC Clovis Oric Pharma Evolve Transition Infrastructure LP Unt Leju Holdings
Most Declined Sellas Life Sciences Cyren Redwire Pulse Biosciences Digital Brands Group Shapeways Holdings Pineapple Holdings Vivos Allego US Spero Therapeutics Greenbrook TMS
FINANCE, BUSINESS & LEGAL
www.euroweeklynews.com
Currency outlook: Conflict in Ukraine stokes volatility in currency markets
STERLING: Took a hit in the wake of the Bank of England’s interest rate decision.
ASK THE EXPERT Peter Loveday
Contact me at euroweekly@currenciesdirect.com
Euro EUR/GBP: Unmoved at £0.83 EUR/USD: Down from $1.13 to $1.10 The euro was infused with significant volatility through the past four weeks as the war between Ukraine and Russia rocked currency markets. EUR exchange rates are highly sensitive to the crisis in Ukraine amidst fears the Eu‐ rozone is particularly vulnerable to any eco‐ nomic fallout which could arise as a result of the war and sanctions imposed on Rus‐ sia. This lead to the single currency fluctuat‐ ing through March. Stumbling amidst re‐ ports the Russian offensive may be intensi‐ fy, and rallying on any reports of positive progress being made in peace talks. Elsewhere the European Central Bank’s (ECB) announcement it would wind down its asset purchasing programme by Q3 2022 helped to buoy EUR exchange rates, before ECB President Christine Lagarde quashed hopes the bank could raise inter‐ est rates before the end of the year. Looking ahead, it seems safe to assume the situation in Ukraine will continue to act as a major source of volatility for the euro. The longer the conflict drags on the more pain it is likely to cause the single currency. Pound GBP/EUR: Up from €1.19 to €1.20 GBP/USD: Down from $1.35 to $1.32 The increasingly risk‐sensitive pound also traded in a wide range over the past month as a result of uncertainty over the war in Ukraine. GBP investors are particularly concerned about the potential for the conflict to fan inflationary pressures in the UK, exacerbat‐ ing the current cost‐of‐living crisis.
Sterling took a notable hit in the wake of the Bank of England’s (BoE) March interest rate decision. While the BoE hiked rates to their pre‐pandemic levels as forecast, the bank’s forward guidance proved more dovish than hoped, prompting a sharp slump in GBP exchange rates. This left the pound exposed to losses in the wake of the UK’s latest consumer price index. As a sharp rise in inflation was seen as piling more pressure on UK consumers. Going forward, the pound could struggle to hold its ground as the reduced odds for more BoE rate hikes leaves the currency vulnerable to additional selling pressure. US Dollar USD/GBP: Up from £0.73 to £0.75 USD/EUR: Up from €0.88 to €0.90 The US dollar has trended broadly higher through March, with the safe‐haven cur‐ rency attracting considerable risk‐off flows as the Ukraine crisis rattled markets. The start of the war saw the US dollar strike multi‐month highs against both the euro and pound amidst concerns over how the sanctions placed on Russia could im‐ pact the global economy. While peace talk optimism has tem‐ pered some of the ‘greenback’s gains in re‐ cent weeks, the currency still remains well above the levels it was trading at prior to the war. The upside in USD exchange rates has been aided by the Federal Reserve, which delivered its first rate hike since 2018, whilst also signalling plans for up to six ad‐ ditional hikes through 2022. Looking ahead, the Fed’s aggressive monetary tightening plans and the ongoing war in Ukraine are likely to underpin de‐ mand for the US dollar in the weeks to come. Currencies Direct have helped over 325,000 cus‐ tomers save on their currency transfers since 1996. Just pop into your local Currencies Direct branch or give us a call to find out more about how you can save money on your currency transfers.
Visit us at our Spanish offices in Costa del Sol, Costa Almeria, North Costa Blanca and South Costa Blanca. Telephone UK +44 (0) 207 847 9400 SPAIN +34 950 478 914 Email euroweekly@currenciesdirect.com • www.currenciesdirect.com.
7 - 13 April 2022
EWN 39
40 EWN
www.euroweeklynews.com
7 - 13 April 2022
LEAPY LEE SAYS IT OTHERS THINK IT IN these worrying times of doom and gloom I thought this week I’d just lighten it all up a bit by reiterating a true story I scribed here some years ago. Hurray! It concerned a young Irish lad, happily looking forward to his impending marriage. The night before the ceremony, his friends organised a stag night, which in true Irish fashion basically meant visiting as many Dublin pubs as physically possible. This they duly did, until finally, after making sure the future groom was ‘feeling no pain’, they all staggered back to his apartment where he promptly passed out stone cold on the settee. It was at this point the dastardly scheme, already devised by his drinking buddies, sprang into action. Two of these friends were actually male nurses at a local hospital. Naturally they were au fait with the art of administering plaster of Paris to broken bones. With all the ingredients, previously imported from the hospital, and with their ‘victim’ in a complete alcoholic stupor, they surreptitiously proceeded to plaster up one of his arms. With the operation completed, they quietly slipped away into the night. The next morning the best man was
A Joke telephoned by an absolutely panic‐stricken groom. Displaying feigned amazement as to why the poor man ‘couldn’t remember a thing’, his friend explained that he had slipped and fallen outside one of the pubs and broken his arm. They had all finished up in the hospital where the break had been fixed and plastered, after which they had simply taken him home and left him sleeping. It was around this point the best man was supposed to reveal the truth and subsequently remove the cast before continuing with the groom’s special day. Wrong! Seeking to prolong the ‘joke’ he once again neglected to reveal their devious plot. Some hours later, the congregation, bride and somewhat surprised ex stag party members, were treated to the extraordinary sight of a bemused groom arriving at the church with an awkwardly bent arm, cast in a sling where it stayed through the entire wedding ceremony and reception. By this time, the scheme had lasted for so long, the rest of the perpetrators decided that discretion was the better part
of valour and decided to leave it to the best man to reveal all when he deemed fit. He never did. The bride, with the groom ‐ still plastered up and totally unaware ‐ actually embarked on their Caribbean honeymoon. Not until their return was the whole sordid truth finally revealed. Naturally our hero was incensed, I’m surprised he didn’t commit murder, and broke off all interaction with his so‐called pals for some time. Not being of a vindictive nature however, he did finally make it up and appeared to put it all behind him. A couple of years later, lo and behold, it was the best man’s turn to enter into holy wedlock. Next week I’ll tell you about our hero’s revenge. And I can assure you ‐ ‘It’s a cracker!’ Keep the faith Love Leapy leapylee2002@gmail.com expatradioscotland.com Mon. Fri. 1pm till 4. To read more articles from our columnists and to have your say in the comments go to www.euroweeklynews.com
Leapy Lee’s opinions are his own and are not necessarily representative of those of the publishers, advertisers or sponsors.
FEATURE
TV & Film Review by Laura Kemp
Now Streaming - Trust No One: The Hunt for the Crypto King THE fascinating Netflix docu‐ mentary Trust No One: The Hunt for the Crypto King, delves into the baffling true story of how a cryptocurren‐ cy trader mysteriously disap‐ peared, sending millions of currency into the abyss and prompting conspiracy theo‐ ries about his supposed death. Luckily, you don’t need to know much about cryptocur‐ rency to follow Trust No One: The Hunt for the Crypto King, which investigates the story of Gerald Cotten and the many people who ended up with empty bank accounts af‐ ter investing in his cryptocur‐ rency exchange QuadrigaCX. This documentary has a mediocre 42 per cent audi‐ ence rating on Rotten Toma‐ toes, but at just 90 minutes long, it’s worth a watch par‐ ticularly for those interested in cryptocurrency, scams and conspiracies. Simply put, Cotten’s QuadrigaCX took invest‐ ments, converted them into
Bitcoin and traded the cur‐ rency with the hope of re‐ turning a profit, taking a per‐ centage of each transaction. His business started pretty lu‐ cratively, riding off the boom of Bitcoin’s sky‐rocketing share values. At the time of Cotten’s death when he was travelling with his girlfriend in India at the age of 30, QuadrigaCX was Canada’s largest Crypto exchange and was holding over $200 million worth of clients’ money. However, nobody but Cot‐ ten could access the keys and passwords for the company’s accounts, meaning all of the money was locked away and everyone who had invested was left with an empty bank account. Investors band together via an internet forum to try and figure out what has really happened with Cotten ‐ did he fake his own death? Or is the story of him dying in India due to complications with his Crohn’s disease true?
THURSDAY 07/04 FRIDAY 08/04
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BBC News BBC London News; Weather Weather The Hit List Celebrity Special Celebrity Mastermind The Wall Versus Celebrities Pointless Celebrities Casualty Killing Eve
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Dynasties II BBC News BBC London News; Weather Weather Countryfile Antiques Roadshow Dynasties II Gentleman Jack BBC News BBC London News; Weather
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The Repair Shop Bridge of Lies Pointless BBC News at Six; Weather BBC London News; Weather The One Show EastEnders Panorama Clean It, Fix It The Split
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Dusty Dusty Sounds of the Sixties TOTP: 1992 TOTP: 1992 BBC Four Sessions The Old Grey Whistle Test Cardiff Calling: 6 Music Festival 2022 Highlights Stewart Copeland's Adventures in Music TOTP: 1992
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FEATURE
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CLAIRE GORDON FINDING BALANCE IN AN UNEVEN WORLD THIS week, Louis CK was awarded the hon‐ our of best comedy al‐ bum at the Grammy music awards, despite apparently being can‐ celled four years ago due to admitted sexual misconduct forced up‐ on women he worked with or knew personal‐ ly. The album that won the award even refer‐ ences his so‐called can‐ cellation and the con‐ troversy surrounding the events that only came to light after five brave women came for‐ ward. He at first tried to di‐ minish their recollec‐ tions. Then he tried, with some success, to derail their careers. Then, finally, he admit‐ ted all he had done and apologised. He was dropped by his agent, had a film he was to star in shelved and lost a production deal with a TV channel. His fans raged against the response but they
7 - 13 April 2022
Uncancelled culture needn’t have raged long. By the next year, he was up on stage in New York once more, touring the United States the year after that, and has now reached the pinnacle of the scene by picking up his third Grammy. It seems as if cancel cul‐ ture for famous men has a shelf life, even though they are the people who decry it the most. Maybe this can be of some relief to Will Smith, who is on the receiving end of similar calls after his ill‐fated walk up the stairs of the Dolby Theatre last week, to slap Chris Rock across the face af‐ ter the latter made a crass joke about Smith’s wife. I some‐ how doubt it though, as it seems the shelf life on cancellations is only reserved for men who are violent to women. The Academy Awards have said they
do not condone vio‐ lence after last week’s events, yet abusive people such as Harvey Weinstein, Roman Polanski and Jared Leto are still in possession of their Oscars, even if the former two have been stripped of their Academy membership. Critics called the Smith slap “the most shocking Oscars inci‐ dent ever” while for‐ getting that John Wayne had to be held back from storming the stage to attack an In‐ digenous American ac‐ tivist named Sacheen Littlefeather who was collecting Marlon Bran‐ do’s award on his be‐ half. Littlefeather was then also mocked and belittled by Clint East‐ wood, a man who has still gone on to receive many more trophies and widespread ac‐ claim. It seems that male on male violence carries more weight than any other.
To read more articles from our columnists and to have your say in the comments go to www.euroweeklynews.com Claire Gordon’s opinions are her own and are not necessarily representative of those of the publishers, advertisers or sponsors.
Even away from Hol‐ lywood, we have Prince Andrew, fresh from paying his way out of a court case that would have seen his un‐
savoury secrets out in the open, already back on the arm of the Queen at a public func‐ tion. Mere months have gone by and we
EWN 43
are being asked to act as if nothing has hap‐ pened and accept his involvement in royal matters once more. All of this does not sit well with me, as it reeks of there being lit‐ tle consequence for large actions. That is, if you are a famous or rich man, of course.
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FEATURE
Rowling slams “cancel culture” comparison 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
YOU could be forgiven for thinking that, by now, you’d read or heard just about every possible comment, statement, explanation and wider cultural analysis of the war in Ukraine. And you’d probably be right. Ev‐ erything possible that could be thought or said about the war has now definitely been thought or said. Time and again, in fact. And then you read about Putin’s outburst that the West is trying to “cancel” Russia for its traditional views, much as it did to JK Rowling for her views on trans rights. Well, really. Putin’s comparison of criticism of the au‐ thor to the backlash against his invasion is even more pathetic than Boris’s comparison of Brexit to the Ukranian fight for freedom. I clearly missed the bit where JKR invaded a country and massacred civilians. How care‐ less of me. Voldemort Putin has lost the plot
POTTER vs PUTIN: What a feeble attempt to divert attention from his war crimes.
entirely here. No one does make‐believe, fantastical fiction quite like Vladimir Putin every time he speaks. The difference is, fundamentally, that JKR voiced an opinion. Some people don’t agree with it but she has the right to it, to publish it and speak about it. And those who don’t
agree with her have the same rights. In Rus‐ sia, we are told, if you don’t have the same opinion as Putin you risk imprisonment. So, is Putin simply trying to distract from the downscaling of his ‘special military oper‐ ation’ from regime change with this pathetic trolling, playing the victim card? Is he now
looking for sympathy from the West? Or is he preparing a scenario that the whole world is so against Russia he’s now backing down honourably, a situation he can then present to his own people? If so, what a feeble attempt to divert at‐ tention from his war crime atrocities, the gross strategic misstep of his ‘special military operation’ and malfunctioning armed forces. Vlad, if it’s any help, Tolstoy’s ‘Special Mili‐ tary Operation and Peace’ is still my favourite novel. And Dostoyevsky’s Crime and Punishment isn’t bad either. I’m not sure you’ll ever face punishment for your many crimes though. 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 Cler‐ ambault 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.
Advertising Feature
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FEATURE
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EWN 49
Advertising Feature
An education from Elian’s British School of La Nucia
ELIAN’S British School of La Nucia, based in La Nucia in Alicante, boasts excellence in English with a British and Spanish Curriculum and a variety of exciting activities for a well-rounded education. Elian’s British School, located on Av. El Copet, 5 03530, La Nucia, teaches pupils from a wide area including Alicante, San Juan, Campello, Benidorm, Villajoyosa, La Nucia, Altea and Calpe for children between the ages of one to 18 years old. With its idyllic surroundings and interconnected playgrounds and sport fields, Elian’s British School fosters their pupils’ self-confidence, their individual talents and their ability to work together within an international environment. Children are encouraged to develop as honest, responsible and happy individuals, provided by Elian’s with the tools they need to succeed any-
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Elian’s British School is open weekdays from 9am until 4pm. To find out more about their fees or to enrol, consult their website iepgroup.es.
EW YOUR PAPER - YOUR VOICE - YOUR OPINION Letters should be emailed to yoursay@euroweeklynews.com or make your comments on our website: www.euroweeklynews.com Views expressed and opinions given are not necessarily those of the EWN publishers. No responsibility is accepted for accuracy of information, errors, omissions or statements.
SADNESS IN UKRAINE From our Facebook
THINKING OF YOU: And the many other people facing the war in Ukraine.
My heart aches today And it’s just war and Sadness all day and Nobody knows it’s painful But me oh yes me And sadness in our eyes As our little children cry All through the cold, dark, lonely Night and snow is falling tonight And a bitter chill in the air And the worst pain is yet to come And I want to cry tonight but I’m holding my baby so tight And there’s no longer any more Tears to roll down my sad Lonely old face and I’m in a horrible blown up Place and it’s just war and
Destruction, disaster and hate And I’ve sat and cried and I’m Holding my baby so tight as my Loved ones died tonight And Lord Jesus Christ I want to break Free and move on But sadness lives on And we are drowning in a River of blood and we Can’t catch our breath And a lonely tear rolls down My baby’s face We are already dead In this blown up sad, lonely place.
David P Carroll
ENJOY HOLY WEEK EASTER is almost upon us and the fact that the annual parades, missing for so long, are returning to the streets is another sign that we appear to be coming out of the two-year nightmare that was the pandemic. There is no doubt that Covid-19 still exists in some form or other, but we have had time to adjust to the inconvenience and cope with what now generally amounts for most people as a slight cold or dose of the flu. For so many in Spain, the Easter activities are an important part of their life and although society is becoming much more secular, especially as more revelations emerge over the activities of priests in the past, it is true to say that there is comfort in tradition. Many still belong to local brotherhoods and are ready to join with their friends and neigh-
CORRECTIONS
OUR VIEW
bours to carry the richly decorated and very heavy statues through the streets, applauded by what are bound to be large crowds of onlookers. Even if you are not religious by nature, the sights and sounds of religious parades across the nation do show a feeling of unity, although for some, the ever-present involvement of the Guardia Civil, still part of the military, in these parades may be slightly discomforting. Perhaps the most attractive sight for many is the involvement of the very young who often embarrass their parents and delight the crowds when they don’t behave or take the ceremonies as seriously as perhaps, they should. Enjoy the sights and sounds of the Holy Week and be pleased that at least it is possible to celebrate the events once again.
TORY MP: Complained about his salary - is this correct?
Christine Norton It’s not just the salaries, it’s all the extra add ons they receive, legally or otherwise.
Lyn Gaskell How many would say they don’t deserve any pay?!!
Valerie Goodey They should get a normal living wage, not the disgusting amount they are paid.
Sheila Bowman If they were paid what they’re worth, they’d all be bankrupt!
Thelma Dance The Tories shouldn’t bother to campaign at the next election, anyone who votes for them should be sectioned.
Mervyn Sanders Why isn’t an MP’s salary related to the country’s average earnings?? If they do it, they must do it for commitment not greed!
Brian Francis I vote for a pay drop, preferably to zero.
Pauline Churchard Gritt They do not deserve the salary they get as they do not do a very good job. Always slow and always blowing their own trumpet about how much money they have put into different things. What can you expect from a government that has a liar as Prime Minister?
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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CONSULAR MATTERS YOU may have heard that the Spanish consulates and Em‐ bassy in Great Britain are on strike and sadly at the time of writing there is no date for the strike to end. At Just Law Solicitors we conduct residency or residen‐ cia applications for clients looking to move to Spain in 2022. How are clients affected by the strike? First of all, if you’re applying for residency in Spain you need to obtain and submit several official documents. For example, one of the docu‐ ments you need to submit is your medical certificate which states that you don’t have a serious contagious infectious disease. This document and other documents are only valid for three months from the date of issue. Once you have the docu‐ ments; we then need to obtain
FEATURE
The Spanish Consulate strike in Great Britain matters and we will keep you updated. It’s worth remembering that prior to Brexit these con‐ sulates were doing far less work, and the third country visa requirements have been added to their duties post Brexit. This we understand is one of the reasons for the strike. Of course, we will up‐ date you once we have more information. As always this isn’t legal advice. If you’re thinking of living in Spain or buying a property in Spain, get in touch with ourselves before you sign or pay anything.
ON STRIKE: The Spanish authorities are working to resolve matters.
an appointment for our clients but due to the strike appoint‐ ments are not available and the documents will eventually
expire as they are only valid for three months from the date of issue. We are of course concerned,
and at the time of writing there is no solution. We under‐ stand that the Spanish authori‐ ties are working to resolve
To read more articles from our columnists and to have your say in the comments go to www.euroweeklynews.com
Marisa Moreno Castillo Lawyer and Consul for Denmark. Since 1992 www.justlawsolicitors.com • Malaga - Fuengirola - Marbella & online.
It couldn’t possibly happen MIKE SENKER IN MY OPINION Views of a Grumpy Old Man I WATCHED a film a while ago called Don’t Look Up. I thought it was a load of rubbish. It’s all about greed and how it could finish the world. Others went to lengths to explain how brilliant it was and what a great message it sent out. It was even up for an Oscar. So, I’ve come up with an idea for another film script. Here’s the storyline. It opens with a group of very rich and influential men and women sitting round a large boardroom table discussing how could they take control of all the money in the world. One comes up with the idea that if you could stop people using cash and make everything payable with digital currency and use a credit-information gathering card they could control it and everything will be controlled by apps on your phone. One of the others says that sounds like a great idea and that it will be easy to convince youngsters because they use phones and computers for everything, but how do you convince all the
old, frail and disabled people that they have to use apps and computers when they much prefer cash? There’re a few moments silence and then someone says, it’s easy, we just get rid of them. There are a few gasps but then someone looks up and asks, how? Simple, is the reply. I know a lab that has found a new virus that is particularly fatal for old and weak people but the young and fit will not be badly affected. We can introduce rules for travel so we can keep an eye on where they are all going and maybe come up with a vaccine which will help our pharmaceutical friends too. Those that have the vaccine can travel and the ones that don’t will be banned from travelling. The room goes silent again. Then William Fence, the chairman, says it’s a good idea. Governments will save billions on pensions and healthcare and we can control how and where people spend. And if that doesn’t work, we can make everything so expensive the poor and old will not be able to buy fuel or food and they will all die leaving us with a few rich old people and a world full of youngsters we can control. This, of course, is only a storyline so far and it couldn’t possibly happen in real life? Email: mikesenker@gmail..com
Mike’s opinions are his own and are not necessarily representative of those of the publishers, advertisers or sponsors.
HEALTH & BEAUTY
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7 - 13 April 2022
EWN 53
Living with arthritis
EASY TRICKS: Define eyebrowns and apply eyeshadow as well as eyeliner.
Conceal dark circles under eyes DARK circles under the eyes are extremely common and are not necessarily caused by a lack of sleep. The skin under the eyes is thinner than on the rest of the face and veins can sometimes be seen, which creates a purplish tinge and makes us look tired. Fortunately, these circles can be concealed with make‐up using a few easy tricks. 1. Prepare skin with eye contour cream Preparing the skin with a moisturising eye contour cream will prevent make‐up from crack‐ ing and keep it intact throughout the day. These creams also help to prevent signs of ageing and reduce dark circles and puffiness. 2. Apply concealer After preparing the skin, apply a concealer one shade lighter than your foundation to the undereye area, in the shape of a triangle down
to your cheek. Use a sponge or brush to apply the product and dab to blend thoroughly. 3. Apply foundation Apply a matte‐finish foundation gently to the entire area. Avoid using a luminous powder or foundation on the dark circles under your eyes, as this will draw more attention to them. 4. Use copper‐coloured eyeshadow Using eyeliner on your waterline can accentu‐ ate puffy eyes. Instead, apply a coppery shade of eyeshadow to your eyelids and just under your eyes and blend well. You will get a striking look while hiding bags. 5. Define eyebrows Complement your make‐up with full and well‐ defined eyebrows, which will draw attention to the upper part of the eyes and away from dark circles and bags.
By Clinica Britannia
Finding the perfect dentist MANY of us have had a bad experience with a den‐ tist or know someone that has in the past, but the good news is that not all dentists are alike. Finding the perfect professional for the job makes all the differ‐ ence. Remember that although you should be guided by your Dentist, they should al‐ so listen to you, and aim to prevent dental problems rather than having to fix them. Stay away from Dentists that offer quick fixes as this is not generally the best so‐ lution, working out more ex‐ pensive in the long run. One common problem treated is oral hygiene which is extremely impor‐ tant, and the earlier one be‐ gins to take care of it the better. Even someone that pays fastidious attention to detail can fail to clean the hard‐to‐reach places in their
CHECK-UPS: Are essential for your mouth hygiene.
mouth, so regular checks and cleans are essential. Also, your Dentist should have all the up‐to‐date x‐ray technology and equipment, necessary to perform the highest standard of work. Other important points to consider are: Dental Check list: • Strict Protocol against infections • Denture Repairs within the hour • Specialised Dentists
working in a team • High‐tech Equipment • All types of services pro‐ vided • Easy access to the surgery • Painless Procedures • Emergency 24h/365d • State of the Art Tech‐ nology • Fluent in English, Dutch, Spanish, French, German, Flemish and Romanian. • Amazing quality/price ratio
ARTHRITIS is the inflam‐ mation of one or more joints. The most frequent cause of arthritis is the wear and tear of the car‐ tilage that protects the joint and prevents fric‐ tion between the bones. The weakening of the cartilage can cause the bones to come into con‐ tact with each other, re‐ sulting in symptoms such as pain and reduced mo‐ bility of the joint. The fluctuating tem‐ peratures that are typi‐ cal of spring can make the symptoms of arthri‐ tis worse. Fortunately, there are a few things that can help with the pain and stiffness. • Maintain a constant body temperature Sudden changes in body temperature can make symptoms worse as the body’s tissues can expand and put more pressure on the nerves.
KEEP WARM: Improving circulation and reducing pain.
Keeping warm improves circulation and helps to relax joints, reducing stiffness and pain. • Exercise regularly Going for a walk or a bike ride can help to keep joints warm and re‐ duce symptoms, but if you are going to make changes to your normal exercise routine or have any questions about the best type of exercise for you, consult your doctor. • Get enough vitamin D
Vitamin D helps keep bones strong and re‐ duces inflammation. You can take supplements, get some sun for a few minutes every day or eat foods rich in vitamin D, such as fish, dairy prod‐ ucts or eggs. • Stay hydrated Drinking enough water is essential for good health anyway, and for people with arthritis, be‐ ing dehydrated can in‐ crease joint pain due to lack of lubrication.
54 EWN
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HEALTH & BEAUTY
Food allergies and intolerances
FOOD allergies are often confused with food intol‐ erances, but there are some clear differences. A food allergy causes a set of adverse reactions that occur as a particular‐
ly strong response from the immune system when the organism perceives a normally harmless food as a threat. The sub‐ stances that cause aller‐ gies are not the food it‐
self, but some of the pro‐ teins in it, called aller‐ gens, which lead the body to mistakenly produce an‐ tibodies. The main food allergens are milk, eggs, tree nuts, peanuts, fish, shellfish, wheat and soy‐ beans. Food intolerances are different. The adverse re‐ action does not usually involve the immune sys‐ tem. The problem is relat‐ ed to digestion and is due to the lack of certain en‐ zymes required for metabolising and using a particular substance in food. For example, lac‐ tose intolerance is caused by a lack of the enzyme lactase. Although allergies and intolerances may share some symptoms, allergies cause a much more im‐ mediate immune re‐ sponse, with symptoms occurring within two hours. Digestive reactions may include abdominal
PEANUTS: Are just one food allergen that can cause an adverse reaction.
pain, bloating, diarrhoea, nausea and vomiting, and non‐digestive reactions may include hives, itch‐ ing, respiratory problems, and, in the most severe cases, anaphylactic shock. In the case of food in‐
tolerances, reactions are usually delayed and in‐ volve only the digestive system. Symptoms are less acute, recur fre‐ quently over time and are unlikely to cause death. Food allergies are often
inherited, although there are other factors in‐ volved, such as age, the state of the intestinal mu‐ cosa and the amount of food ingested. Intoler‐ ances may be genetic or developed over time.
By Clinica Britannia
Be sweat free with Botox DO you suffer with excessive sweat‐ ing of your underarms or find you must constantly wipe your hands even when the weather is not hot? Here is a solution. You could be suffering with Hyper‐ hidrosis; this is the medical term used for excessive sweating. Your nervous system usually activates your sweat glands when your body temperature rises, this is how your body automati‐ cally cools itself. In people with Hyper‐ hidrosis, however, the nerves that sig‐ nal the sweat glands are overactive, causing you to sweat excessively. This can be embarrassing, uncom‐ fortable and affect your personal and work relationships. With the help of Botox, you can be sweat free in no time at all. Botox injections are predominantly known for the treatment of wrinkles but are also a very effective tool in treating Hyperhidrosis. When injected into the affected area it blocks the
SWEATING: Caused by nervous system.
nerves responsible for activating your sweat glands muscles, stopping the sweating. If you want to be embarrassment and sweat free, then check with your GP as you may be a candidate for Botox. The treatment is quick and ex‐ tremely effective, you can resume your normal activities immediately. The sweating should stop within a week with total dryness expected within a two‐week period.
Appointments Landline: 965 837 553 / 965 837 851 • 24H/365D Emergency Number: (+34) 607 255 755 • Opening Times: Mon - Fri: 9:00am / 5:00pm
Clinica Britannia Calpe Av. Ejercitos Españoles 16 BIS, 1st Floor, Calpe
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SOCIAL SCENE
Bazaar and Rummage
THE next production from the Javea Players is Bazaar and Rummage by Sue Townsend, who also wrote The Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13¾. It is set in a church hall in Acton, where Gwenda, an ex‐ agoraphobic volunteer, and Fliss, a trainee social worker, rummage through items of clothing and bric‐à‐brac whilst sorting out the troubles of the world. They are plan‐ ning a rummage sale but need more help, so they persuade three agorapho‐ bic women to leave their homes and assist them. Gwenda is played by the experienced and versatile Rosemary Brown, and Ara‐ bella Wallace is making her début with the Players as Fliss. Katrina is a former songstress, played by Can‐ dida Wright, who pro‐ duces most of the Pan‐ tomimes at the Careline Theatre in Alcalalí. Mar‐ garet is a working‐class character with a fondness
JAVEA PLAYERS: Sorting out the troubles of the world.
for swearing, played by Lesley Davies, who discov‐ ered her love for acting when she joined the Play‐ ers a few years ago. Dutch member Helma Hermans plays the cleaning‐ob‐ sessed Bell Bell, and there is also a brief appearance from a policewoman, played by Pauline Mc‐ Gough who acts, sings and plays the guitar, although not all in this production. The production will run at 7.30pm at the Javea Players’ Studio Theatre
from April 27 to 30 and from May 4 to 7. There are some adult themes and strong language. Tickets cost €12 and are only available online, at www.javeaplayers.com/jp /box‐office/. Pre‐ordered drinks will be served at long tables to avoid crowding at the bar and masks must be worn. Requests for seating to ac‐ commodate disabilities can be made by emailing boxof fice@javeaplayers. com.
SOCIAL SCENE
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Stock outlet fair THE local Department of Commerce, through the non‐profit organisation Creama in Denia, has organ‐ ised a new edition of the Denia Stock outlet fair, to take place over the week‐ end of April 9 and 10 on Calle La Via. A total of 46 commercial establishments from the city are taking part in the initia‐ tive aimed at boosting local commerce, 39 of which will have a stand at the fair on Calle La Via. The remaining seven will be participating from their own premises. The Denia Stock outlet fair will offer shoppers a wide variety of items, in‐ cluding clothing and shoes for men, women and chil‐ dren; jewellery and other accessories; pet supplies; home decorations and food products, all with discounts of 30, 40 or even 50 per cent. The fair will be open from 10am to 8pm on Saturday, April 9, and from 11am to 7pm on Sunday, April 10.
MARKET: A wide range of exhibitions and activities.
Ojos Rojos photo festival THE Ojos Rojos Photogra‐ phy Festival is once again or‐ ganising a photography mar‐ ket where photographers can sell their work directly, which is an excellent oppor‐ tunity for interaction be‐ tween artists and the gener‐ al public. There will also be stands with photobooks and second‐hand photographic material. The market will take place between 10am and 2pm on Saturday, April 16, on Calle Marqués de Campo in De‐ nia. The date coincides with the Easter holidays, which means that it is expected to be a lively event. The fourth edition of the Ojos Rojos Photography Fes‐ tival is on until April 24 and
has a wide range of photo‐ graphic exhibitions and activ‐ ities. The Festival is commit‐ ted to diversity in terms of photographic techniques and genres that it showcas‐ es, and the special guest country this year is Chile. Ojos Rojos has organised 14 exhibitions in nine public and private spaces in Denia, Javea and Jesús Pobre, as well as a series of street exhi‐ bitions. In addition to the ex‐ hibitions and the market, Ojos Rojos 2022 offers talks, workshops, portfolio view‐ ings, presentations of photo‐ books and family activities, as well as some online events, so that people who cannot attend can also par‐ ticipate in the Festival.
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Health Matters: In your bedroom ANNUAL LUNCH: A thank you to all the members.
U3A Denia treats its Group Leaders to lunch! U3A Denia held the annual lunch for its Group Leaders at Restaurant DeniArroz to thank them for all their hard work throughout the year. Thirty‐two members at‐ tended and enjoyed being pampered and having to do nothing except have a good time. They have a wide vari‐
ety of groups which, al‐ though supported by the Committee with funds and assistance when necessary, could not operate without a group leader to plan and or‐ ganise the meetings. A raffle was held with the proceeds given to the Red Cross Ukrainian Fund.
CLUB CLAUDIA is situated above Casa Claudia’s in the Jalon Valley and hosts local events and small gather‐ ings. They are offering a se‐ ries of informal presenta‐ tions and fun conversations called ‘Health Matters’, which aim to discuss impor‐ tant health‐related topics and help people prioritise looking after themselves. Their last Health Matters event was on the topic of menopause, but this time hormones can be put to one side, as their next event, to be held on April 26 from 1pm to 3pm, is about Feng Shui and how to set up your bedroom for emotional har‐
CLUB CLAUDIA: Offers a series of informal presentations.
mony and balance. They will be joined by the therapist and expert Brenda McCole. Those wishing to attend are kindly asked to let them
know in advance via the Casa Claudia Facebook page. The price of €6.50 in‐ cludes coffee and cake.
SOCIAL SCENE
‘Allegrock’ by Allegro Choir AT 8pm on Saturday, April 9, the Allegro Choir of the Spanish National Organisation of the Blind (ONCE) in Valencia will be performing their concert titled ‘Allegrock’ at the Auditori Teulada Moraira. The Allegro Choir is made up of young peo‐ ple, 50 per cent of whom have some kind of visual impairment. It has been a pioneer in the field of mu‐ sical education for the dis‐ abled for 35 years, having given performances around Europe and recorded six albums: ONCE Años Allegrando (1996), Hair (2000), ONCE temas de Beatles (2004), ONCE noches sin dormir (2006), Allegro de Cine (2009) and Allegro entre amigos (2015). Tickets cost €7 and can be purchased online at auditoriteuladamoraira.e s or instanticket.es or in person at the box office.
SOCIAL SCENE
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SPRING CONCERTS: To include performances of different styles.
Musical spring
FROM April 10 to May 15, the municipali‐ ty of Benitachell is hosting the 16th Cycle of Spring Concerts with performances of different styles, including the typical fes‐ tera music, percussion and chamber mu‐ sic. Benitachell’s ‘Musical Spring’ 2022 will kick off on Sunday, April 10, with a con‐ cert from Santa María Magdalena, a local group that usually manages to pack venues to full capacity with local residents who are proud of their artists. It will take place at 6pm in the Plaza de la Iglesia. This year’s highlight will take place at 6pm on Sunday, April 24, at the Santa María Magdalena Church, with a concert
from the Chamber Orchestra of Valencia, which is notable for its energy and musi‐ cal excellence. They will be performing Pergolesi’s Sabat Mater and A Scarlatti’s Salve Regina. The next concert will be held on Sun‐ day, May 8, with an original performance titled ‘Urbà'21’ by the regional percussion group Conecta, in the Plaza de la Iglesia at 6pm. Finally, at 7pm on May 15, the Marina Alta Orchestra will bring this year’s Spring Concerts to a close with their perfor‐ mance at the church. Admission to all concerts is completely free of charge.
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DAVID WORBOYS WE have seen numerous cases where the perpetrator of a heinous crime against an‐ other human shows no remorse ‐ for mur‐ der, torture, life‐changing bodily harm or robbery of life savings. Are these people incapable of imagining how they would have felt if they had been the victim? What defines us as a good or bad person is determined, more than anything, by our perception of others. If we follow the sim‐ ple Christian principle of ‘love thy neigh‐ bour’, we would not inflict harm on others. If we understood that we are all connect‐ ed, how could we hurt or humiliate them? How could we fail to feel their pain and their distress as our own when they suffer? A majority of humanity is good rather than bad. The ‘good’ may be lazy, inconsid‐ erate or intolerant but, if also generous and law‐abiding, not bad people. Meanwhile, the ‘bad’ may have some virtues such as diligence, courage, and care for their fami‐ ly. But they could also be selfish, arrogant or cruel to strangers and animals and are therefore not good people. Most of us are near the dividing line, 45‐55 per cent of the extremes. On the subject of extremes, one main
FEATURE
Extremes of the human spirit
Mother Teresa and Putin are both members of the human race.
difference between the genocidal Hitler and Stalin is that Hitler destroyed and mur‐ dered beyond his national borders where‐ as victims beyond Stalin’s borders were ‘merely’ subjugated ‐ unless they rebelled. The distinction between Putin and Kim Jong‐un is also defined by national borders. The terrible crimes of Kim are, as I write, confined within his borders. On a brighter note, let’s look at Mother
Teresa, who devoted her life to helping the poor. This Albanian woman moved to In‐ dia, a totally alien environment, to care for some of the most deprived people on Earth. Risking disease in the slums of Cal‐ cutta, she comforted and provided the best she and her sisters could for thousands of desperately sick and needy people. For her it was not a sacrifice so much as a commit‐ ment. She is an extreme example of mil‐
lions who make personal sacrifices for the betterment of their fellow humans. The Europeans who welcomed refugees from Syria into their homes and are now accommodating Ukrainians are an inspira‐ tion. It is a huge commitment to share your home, your lifestyle and your assets with total strangers. Those who risk their lives for others and those who support charities with more than they can afford, often anonymously, are good people. Whoever threatened to slit the throat of Lelde Vasa, the Latvian owner of a Russian sauna in Wolverhampton, just because she has Russian clients, must be a racist looking for any excuse for violence against any‐ body not like him. It would probably be the same if Leide were Ukrainian or black. But even this cannot compare with the relent‐ less slaughter unleashed by Putin in Ukraine. Mother Teresa and Putin are extreme members of the human race. To read more articles from our columnists and to have your say in the comments go to www.euroweeklynews.com
David Worboys’s opinions are his own and are not necessarily representative of those of the publishers, advertisers or sponsors.
PETS
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SPONSORED BY
Holidays mean more for your pet IT’S been rather quiet for us for a year or so, but many people are beginning to make plans again for travel. Are you? If you are planning a trip later this year register now to find pet‐sitters. Even if it’s just a short trip, you’ll know that you simply can’t travel with some pets. Young and senior pets in particular ben‐ efit from staying in their own home, so they can fol‐ low their routines undis‐ turbed. Let us help. Take a moment to plan ahead for pet and house‐sit‐ ters, whether your trips are already in the diary or a firm idea. Now is the time to get ready. We will help you as much as we can. Our philos‐ ophy is that we are all in this together. These are the
steps to take: 1. Register as a Home‐ owner on HouseSitMatch. com 2. Choose a Premium account (£89 per year) to ensure you can help online when needed 3. Create a profile with photos of your pet and the house 4. Post a house‐sit ad‐ vert stating your plans for your next holiday Covid per‐ mitting Do you need a pet‐sitter in 2022? Then get started right now. How does it work? HouseSitMatch can help you find suitable sitters. Join our network for a small an‐ nual fee. You get ID checked for safety and then build your advert saying when
Not all pets can come with us on holiday - find sitters with HouseSitMatch.
you are going on holiday. House‐sitters see your ad‐ vert, they respond and you
choose the sitter who’ll care for your pets. Trustpilot Testimonials ‐
4.8 / 5 Excellent rating (New Trustpilot rating scale)
Here’s what members have said about us ‐ HouseSitMatch found us a perfect house‐sitter… HouseSitMatch found us a perfect house‐sitter while we were away in Canada and we were delighted with the care and attention that HouseSit Match took in helping us find the right person. Ros Morris ‐ Dog owner How do you join? Please register online via our website www.Housesit match.com ‐ Choose a member‐ ship plan ‐ Please note prices go up soon so sign up now on subscription to secure these prices: • Standard (DIY option) = £69 pa • Premium (with support at each step) = £89 pa
Do you need a house-sitter? Get in touch. House-sitting can be a win-win for both parties, free house and pet-sitting, and the experienced and checked sitters get free accommodation! Register as either a house-sitter or homeowner with a 50 per cent discount using coupon code SUPER50 – an exclusive offer for readers. To find a house or pet-sitter go to www.HouseSitMatch.com.
FEATURE
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Advertising Feature
Heart diseases in dogs What causes heart disease? THERE is no a single cause. Factors that can cause it: Nutritional problems can play a major role in heart condi‐ tions. Ageing is the most common reason dogs develop heart conditions, but other factors like heartworm can also lead to heart disease. Other factors which can contribute in‐ clude: Body condition: Overweight dogs are more likely to de‐ velop heart disease. Breed: In dogs, chronic valvular disease is more common in small breeds such as Yorkshire terriers, Pomeranians, Miniature Poodles, Schnauzers, Cocker Spaniels. In large and giant dogs Myocardial disease is more common. The following symptoms may indicate a heart problem in your dog: • Shortness of breath • Tired or lack of energy • Collapsing • Frequent coughing • Refusal to exercise • Swollen abdomen • Reduced appetite and/or noticeable weight gain or loss. A proper diagnosis begins with a thorough physical exam‐ ination and history. A presumptive diagnosis of a heart disease can often be made this way, however other testing, such as an echocar‐ diogram, is required for a definitive diagnosis. In Costablanca Norte: Anicura Marina Baixa Hospital Veterinario www.veterinariamarinabaixa.com
SMALL and relatively cheap and easy to keep, hamsters have been a popular pet for many years. Unlike mice, hamsters are not particularly interested in having company apart from making more hamsters, so can be kept individually with‐ out any major problems. They are nocturnal and tend to sleep most of the day before racing about at night. Essential equipment for hamster owners consists of a cage, exercise wheel, water bottle, food dish and bedding. While snazzy cages with mazes of plastic tubes look cool and are loved by chil‐ dren, they are not the best bet as they are difficult to keep clean and can also cause problems if a chubby hammy gets stuck in a narrow tube. Exercise wheels should be made of solid plastic, rather than old‐fashioned wire ones which can easily cause injury. Grass hay, hamster pel‐ lets and fresh veg are all a hamster needs to stay well‐fed and healthy. Beware, however, that they love to stash food away which can quickly lead to rotting vegeta‐
Could your pet give you salmonella? INVESTIGATORS at Valen‐ cia’s CEU‐Cardenal Herrera university have warned of the possible dangers of keeping turtles as pets. In a study led by veterinary pro‐ fessor Clara Marin, investi‐ gators discovered the pres‐ ence of salmonella in 29 per cent of 96 privately‐owned turtles kept as pets. The reptiles show no symptoms, yet this consider‐ able number of carriers is ex‐ tremely likely to pass the bacteria on to its owners, es‐ pecially children, the elderly or people with weak im‐ mune systems, Marin said. This should be taken into account by parents who choose turtles as pets for their children due to their small size and convenience, and pet shops should warn of the dangers, the investiga‐ tors said. In Europe 100,000 cases of
salmonella are diagnosed each year and although most are due to contaminat‐
ed food, it’s estimated about 6 per cent are from contact with turtles and reptiles.
7 - 13 April 2022
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Pocket-pet care bles, so take care to search out and remove these stashes frequently. Sticks or chew toys are vital as the rodents’ teeth grow constantly and need wearing down and, like all pets, a constant supply of fresh water is vital. There are many different types of bedding available, but be aware that litters which clump can cause diges‐ tive problems and softwood shavings can cause respirato‐ ry disease. As hamsters do
Hamsters are easy to keep.
not tend to be smelly animals, shredded paper is the best option for bedding. Hamsters generally keep themselves well‐groomed so only those with long hair will need occasional grooming
with a soft brush. Gentle han‐ dling from an early age will be enough to train a hamster as an affectionate pet, but avoid waking them up during the day to stop them from getting grumpy.
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AIR CONDITIONING
CONSTRUCTION
AIR CONDITIONING
PLUMBERS AIRPORT TRANSFERS
SERVICES
SERVICES
www.euroweeklynews.com REMOVALS & STORAGE
PLUMBERS
POOL SERVICES
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REMOVALS & STORAGE
TREE FELLING
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REMOVALS & STORAGE
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SERVICES
SERVICES
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7 - 13 April 2022 TV & SATELLITE
INSURANCE
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CLASSIFIEDS APPLIANCE REPAIRS WASHING MACHINE BROKEN? Call Bluesky Repairs for ALL your domestic appliance repairs. 626 430 671 (Whatsapp) (287254)
ARCHITECTS
BUILDING SERVICES BUILDER, ARCHITECT, NEW HOUSES, EXTENSIONS, PLANNING PERMISSIONS, 697 834 934 (295169) CONSTRUCTION Small to big Projects. Feel great at home. Call 657 933 356 (295557)
BUY & SELL PRIVATE collector will buy your Gold, Rolex & Patek Philippe Watches Tel – 678 716 693 (288662) I BUY RECORDS 50’s to the 90’s. Best prices for good records. Tel: 622 750 117 / 962 851 809 (293823)
CHARITY EL CAMPELLO CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY - Life and Family Sunday Service in English at 10.00 a.m. and a Spanish Service at 11.45am. C / San B a r t o l o m é 3 5 b a j o, N o. 6
BUY & SELL
campellocc@gmail.com www.elcampellochristian community.org For more information call Juan Zuniga – 686 203 183 (Spanish) or Sue Bishop - 610 63 94 26 (English)
68
CARS FOR SALE
CHURCHES English church in Benidorm – check out our website http://www.englishchurch benidorm.com (292088)
HEALTH & BEAUTY CHIROPODIST/PODIATRIST, Philip Mann, clinics in Benissa, Moraira, Javea, Calpe and Albir. 686 912 307 (245054)
3. We also have Scrunchies, Extensions, Ponytails. Catalogue orders. Private appointments after 3pm. 681 049 502 (294518)
CLEANING SERVICES COSTA BLANCA AREA. EXPERIENCED & RELIABLE CLEANERS. WEEKLY & DEEP CLEANS, KEY HANDOVER, LAUNDRY SERVICES. 634 176 318 (292066)
COMPUTERS COMPUTER REPAIRS – Laptops/PCs Qualified Technician –6 4 8 0 6 5 2 2 4 No Call Out Charge No Fix No Fee andy@wizard-computers.biz (290467)
ELECTRICIAN MB ELECTRICS. Approved electrician. Any electrical repair. Iberdrola paperwork. Affordable prices. Miquel 655 282 175 www.mbelectrics.es (291516)
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WIGS
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MOTOR INSURANCE. For the most competitive quotes in English call Linea Directa on 952 147 834,
LAND FOR SALE
FOR SALE/WANTED
CAMPING
HANDYMAN
7 - 13 April 2022 • www.euroweeklynews.com
INSURANCE
THE SALVATION ARMY Engl i sh Speak i ng Chur ch of Denia Worship Service. Sunday 10:30 am Followed by a time of Fellowship Everyone is welcome. Come as you are! For more information: Dieter Zimmerer +34 698 609 658 or B a r b a ra Z i m m e r e r + 3 4 6 5 2 319 810 Email dieterzimmer er@hotmail.com, www.centro saron.com (10008) www.helpbenidorm.org a n d o n Fa c e b o o k V O L U NTEERS NEEDED, particularly S p a n i s h s p e a ke r s fo r i n t e rpreter service, and car owne r s . Te l P r e s i d e n t 6 0 7 3 8 7 040, Welfare 607 386 964, Interpreters 607 385 842, Equipment 663 495 396. We are an English speaking charity that assists residents and tourists of all nationalities in times of crisis, we also organise social events for members. We meet e ve r y T h u r s d ay a t 1 0 . 3 0 i n Jose Llorca Social Centre C. Goya s/n. Benidorm. It is opp o s i t e t h e Fo i e t e s C a r Pa r k where there is a Wednesday market. Everyone welcome. It is 400m from Benidorm tram station and on bus routes 1 and 8. We loan out mobility and medical equipment including oxygen concentrators on a short-term basis. (288658)
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LAND for sale near Lliber. 4000sqm of terraced south facing land. Electricity on site water nearby. This is not a building plot. €20,000 ono. Tel: 619 074 700 (295524)
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METALWORK
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MOTORING
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7 - 13 April 2022 WE have buyers for Villas in Denia. Contact André on 629 185 343 Stirling Ackroyd (295312)
REMOVALS/STORAGE
PAINTERS/DECORATORS
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SITUATIONS VACANT
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TRANSLATIONS
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XXX RELAXATION Please note that in Spain there is NO legislation banning adverts in this section. Neither regional nor national governments are able to pass such a law due to rules governing freedom of publication and printing. READERS OF A SENSITIVE DISPOSITION MAY FIND SOME OF THE ADVERTISE-
RELAXATION
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ROAD TEST by Mark Slack YOU tend to get a sense of whether a car is different from what has gone before, whether it is likely to be a game changer, whether it is a sense of the future. BMW’s not uncontroversial iX is without doubt such a
MOTORING
BMW iX - controversial, but an immensely driveable and impressive machine car. It’s not only a statement as to the future direction for the famed German car mak‐ er, but also gives a sense of what is to come as far as our
personal mobility is con‐ cerned. The looks are Mar‐ mite in that people tend to either love or hate them. Whatever way your design thoughts veer there’s no doubt that the iX is a stand‐ out car. While the exterior style may polarise opinion the in‐ terior garnered almost uni‐ versal approval from those who looked at my test car. Unsurprising since it’s a pre‐ mium, clean and modern design. I’m not a fan of the current trend for digitalisa‐ tion, but BMW have man‐ aged to produce one of the most useable and intuitive. You still have to dive into menus to operate most functions, but it manages to make life much simpler than most. Seat controls are on the door panels and to open the door there’s a button rather than a traditional handle. On the road the iX handles remarkably well
BMW iX: Whatever your design thoughts, it’s a stand-out car.
considering it’s a large and heavy car, and even though my test model was the smaller battery pack it still produces impressive accel‐ eration. It’s also a very quiet and refined car, even allow‐ ing for the fact it is electric there’s little in the way of road or wind noise. If there is a problem, it is two‐fold; range and price. The smaller battery has a quoted range of up to 257
miles, which in reality means a limited long‐distance abili‐ ty, but in larger battery form the range is much more use‐ able at 380 miles. Price is probably more of a factor in that the iX is very expensive before you even begin to look at options. The range starts from €82,533/£69,905 and it’s not difficult with options to tip the €118,070/£100k mark. Open the doors and the rear
tailgate and you can see the carbon fibre structure of the iX, which may go some way to explaining that price level. Will people buy it? I think so because despite the limit‐ ed range on the entry model, and that high price tag, this is an immensely driveable, likeable and impressive ma‐ chine. It will always be a lim‐ ited sight on our roads but one which will attract more admirers than detractors.
SPORT
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7 - 13 April 2022
Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz becomes youngest tennis player to win the Miami Open
AT just 18 years, 11 months old, Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz has won the Miami Open on Sunday, April 3, at the Hard Rock Stadium in Mia‐ mi Gardens, Florida. In do‐ ing so, Alcaraz is not only the youngest tennis player to ever win this Masters 1,000 title, but he is also the first Spaniard. Only a few months ago the young star from the province of Murcia con‐ fessed that his goal in 2022 was to get into the Top 10 of the world rankings. This win brings him one step closer to that target, as he moves up to No11. A straight‐sets, 7‐5 and 6‐ 4 win against the 23‐year‐ old Norwegian, Casper Ru‐ ud, currently the world No7, was achieved in 1hr 53 min‐ utes. None of the great Spanish tennis stars has ev‐ er managed to win this Flori‐ da tournament. Bruguera, Moya, Ferrer, and even the legendary Nadal, all failed.
CROWNED CHAMPION: Carlos Alcaraz won the match in straight sets. Ruud also has little experi‐ ence in the Masters 1000, but the way he started the match it looked as though he had been involved in high‐profile games all his life. His play was faultless, with both his serve and forehand working perfectly, and showing great aggres‐
sion. So much so that he was quickly 3‐0 in front. Alcaraz then embarked on a comeback, eventually squaring the set at 4‐4, and the Norwegian was sudden‐ ly no longer in control. Ruud saved two set points in the 12th game, even going to set point, but the Spaniard
foiled him, finally gaining a 7‐5 win. The second set was still a difficult period for the young Spanish star. Incredi‐ bly, from 1‐4 down, he turned the match around to win the set 6‐4, and be crowned champion in Mia‐ mi.
EWN 71