THE BEST FINANCE NEWS ON PAGES 26 - 30 14 - 20 April 2022
Turning deaf ears TORREVIEJA councillors ignored an Environment Ministry call to invalidate permission for two tower blocks adjoining the Doña Sinforosa park. The majority of council‐ lors, with the exception of the PSOE socialists, Los Verdes (Greens) and the Sueña party, voted in favour of disregarding the Ministry’s request to halt the project at the last plenary meeting on Friday April 8. The Ministry’s coastal authority Costas main‐ tains that the proposed apartment blocks en‐ croach on the state‐ owned maritime strip on the shoreline and has warned that flouting the order will lead to legal proceedings.
EASTER
COSTA BLANCA SOUTH • WWW.EUROWEEKLYNEWS.COM
TRAM PLAN
Photo credit: Diputacion de Alicante
Issue No. 1919
H A P P Y
Turn to page 2 » ELCHE VISIT: Carlos Mazon visits craftspeople making traditional Easter palms.
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Ball is in Generalitat court DIPUTACION president Carlos Mazon will commission an Alicante University study into the viability of bringing the Tram to Elche. Visiting the traditional Palm Market in Elche’s Plaça de Baix on Saturday April 9, the provincial council president said that the Diputacion wants to see a first phase linking the Avenida de la Libertad with other districts inside the city and the Busi‐ ness Park. This would be followed by future phas‐ es connecting the city with Torrellano and the airport in one direction and Santa Po‐ la in the other without ruling out Alicante City itself, Mazon said. The Diputacion president revealed that the Alicante University study will be car‐ ried out as soon as possible although he admitted that the project was not within the provincial council’s remit.
Any decision would rest with the Con‐ sell, the regional government’s equiva‐ lent to a Cabinet, Mazon added. Instead, the Generalitat had yet to car‐ ry out a feasibility report or analyse the possibility of bringing the Tram to Elche, despite repeated requests from the busi‐ ness sector and the city’s groups and as‐ sociations. “We couldn’t be making it easier for the Generalitat. But they are running out of excuses for not recognising that they owe a debt to Elche,” Mazon said. “So we shall bring to the table a study enabling them to tell us if they will or won’t pay this historic debt.” Mazon went on to say that it was in‐ comprehensible that Elche still did not have this service and that in the mean‐ time, the Consell merely made “ordinary” investments.
Storm damage repaired ORIHUELA Costa’s 11 beaches are ready for the influx of Easter visitors despite recent bad weather. “We had two storms in less than a fort‐ night, with the coastline affected by high tides that damaged access to the beaches and
washed away sand,” said the Beaches and Street‐cleaning councillor Damaso Aparicio. “But we began clearing seaweed from the beaches at the beginning of the month and had already made a head start,” Aparicio added.
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NIBS EXTRA Easter parade PUPILS were again able to hold their own Easter proces‐ sions through Orihuela’s streets. Rafael Almagro, Mari‐ ola Rocamora, Victor Valverde and Victor Bernabeu, respec‐ tive councillors for Culture, Fes‐ tivities, Sport and Infrastruc‐ tures attended the different processions organised by the Raiguero, Nuestra Señora del Carment, Santo Domingo and Oratorio Festivo schools.
Otter puzzle OTTERS recently returned to the Valencian Community, in‐ cluding Elche’s El Hondon na‐ tional park, but researchers have now discovered the first case of Covid‐19 in an otter liv‐ ing near an unnamed reser‐ voir in the region. The animal had probably come into con‐ tact with the virus via contam‐ inated wastewater, they said.
Quiet parade ONE section of the La Pasion Easter procession held in Crevil‐ lent on April 13 was carried out in silence. President of the Fed‐ eration of Brotherhoods Jose Antonio Macia had explained beforehand they wanted all members of the public to en‐ joy the procession, including those on the autism spectrum.
Airport plan ALICANTE‐ELCHE airport hopes to resume North African flights, principally to Algeria but also Morocco, an‐ nounced airport director Lau‐ ra Navarro. Although the 270,000 passengers flying to Algiers and Oran in 2019 were not a significant number, it would be “interesting” to of‐ fer these destinations once more, Navarro said.
Off PAT LIKE Orihuela, Redovan is op‐ posing the regional govern‐ ment’s Vega Baja Territorial Action Plan (PAT) introduced to coordinate municipal ex‐ pansion. Calling on the Gen‐ eralitat to annul the plan, the town hall pointed out that the municipality stands to miss out on €195 million in invest‐ ments involving three resi‐ dential and industrial develop‐ ments.
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Cala Mosca fight continues OPPONENTS to the Cala Mosca development demonstrated on the nearby Playa Flamenca promenade on Sunday April 10. Around 100 people from the Salvemos Cala Mosca (Save Cala Mosca) association banged on saucepans and blew whistles, brandishing placards that condemned Orihuela City Hall for granting planning permission for more than 2,000 properties. This was the first demonstration from Salvemos Cala Mosca, which describes itself as a social neighbourhood and movement without any political affiliations.
Photo credit: Orion Righard, Salvemos Cala Mosca
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NO DEVELOPMENT: Salvemos Cala Mosca demo on April 10.
Salvemos Cala Mosca maintains the development will destroy Orihuela Costa’s only remaining stretch of unbuilt coastline, one kilometre of virgin
Busters Golf Society APRIL saw the return to Alto Real to compete in the Alto Real Trophy for the 10th time. Seems only yesterday since those early days when Busters started over a couple of beers at Alto Real golf course. The course had taken a bashing due to the previous two to three weeks of heavy rain, but with the cama‐ raderie of the locals everyone still enjoyed competing for the winning place. After the game, everyone headed to a local bar to award the prizes. Prior to teeing off, new member Michael Lindstroem turned up with eight boxes of balls that he had gotten stamped with the Busters’ lo‐ go, giving all the players a sleeve of balls which was a very nice gesture. The NTPs were won by THE Royal British Legion Concert Band is giving a charity concert at the Car‐ denal Belluga Theatre, San Fulgencio on Friday April 29 at 7.30pm. Well‐known local singers Stevie Spit BEM and Lucinda O’Connell will also be ap‐ pearing. “After two very difficult years for many people, with the band having to cancel concerts and rehearsals, it will be really good to cele‐
Terry Sharley with his win.
Chris Soane on the 6th, Keith Loughrey took the 8th with Daniel Lindstroem winning hole 17, none of our mem‐ bers managed to hit the 10th green with their tee shot. Those who returned to the bar took home wine that had been donated by sponsor, Ian the boss of Little Leias. In sec‐ ond place and taking home bottles of red and white wine was Chris Soane who lost out to the winner Terry Sharley by one point. No‐one had a two so the two’s money went to the so‐ cial fund.
land, and home to protected species. There was also criticism for Orihuela City Hall’s failure to provide better services and in-
All change in Orihuela CIUDADANOS councillors in Orihuela will help the PSOE socialists and Cambiemos Ori‐ huela to remove the city’s mayor, Emilio Bascuñana, on Monday April 25. Until now the five Ciu‐ dadanos councillors were part of the local government, con‐ tributing their votes to a coali‐ tion with the Partido Popular (PP). If the vote of no confidence is successful, the PSOE’s Caroli‐ na Gracia will take over from Basucuña just over a year be‐ fore the next municipal elec‐ tions scheduled for 2023. Ciudadanos’ Jose Aix will no longer head Orihuela’s Educa‐ tion department but retains his position as deputy mayor. While the Valencian Com‐ munity’s PSOE party has ap‐ proved the move, Ciudadanos ‐ headed nationally by Ines Ar‐
It’s concert time brate playing once again,” said the Concert Band’s Gra‐ ham Robinson. “There will be a good se‐ lection of music including Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture, Elgar’s Pomp and Circum‐ stance, shows including The Greatest Showman, while ev‐ erybody can join in with the Vera Lynn songs from the
frastructure for Orihuela Costa although the area has a growing number of year-round residents of all nationalities. “More people mean fewer resources and more traffic bottlenecks,” the association said. The Ministry of Transport has put forward a similar argument, which opposes the project on the grounds that the development will saturate the N-332 main road. Valencia’s Upper Court of Justice recently rejected the Ministry’s application to halt the development as precautionary measure although the court has yet to rule on the case itself.
Second World War. Proceeds from the con‐ cert will go to the DFC‐ Ukraine Appeal, Mens Shed and the Royal British Legion. Tickets are available from The Card Place at Punta Pri‐ ma, Benimar, Jason’s Cards and More, La Marina, or telephone 603 160 791 or 646 031 584.
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rimadas and regionally by Javier Gutierrez ‐ has made it clear they have not autho‐ rised the councillors’ decision to cross the council chamber floor. Although Cambiemos will support the no‐confidence motion, none of the party’s three councillors will hold po‐ sitions at the new city hall, al‐ though their votes will be vital on April 25. Added to the six PSOE votes and five from Ciu‐ dadanos, they will outnum‐ ber the PP’s nine votes and Vox’s two. Meanwhile, the Partido Popular in Orihuela con‐ demned the PSOE‐Ciu‐ dadanos‐Cambiemos Ori‐ huela manoeuvre as “senseless” and “based on personal interests.” A statement went on to maintain that the no‐confi‐ dence motion would serve no purpose except to “sow insta‐ bility and chaos.”
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Town hall closes beach bar PILAR DE LA HORADA‐ DA Town Hall has re‐ voked the licence for the Varadero bar on the Higuericas beach. The courts recently approved the town hall’s application to withdraw the permit for the first‐line instal‐ lation, which occupies public land and opened in 2018. The chiringuito ini‐ tially came under scrutiny after resi‐ dents complained about the noise, lead‐ ing to the town hall in‐ vestigation. According to munic‐ ipal sources, the beach bar did not comply with the terms of the original conces‐ sion to run a sports and leisure centre. Nor did it build the stipulated two‐storey structure that should have been completed in January 2014. Instead the compa‐ ny extended the in‐ stallation that was originally authorised by the previous town hall, and has func‐ tioned as a beach bar with terrace. The town hall now intends to return the seafront site to its original state and build a sports installa‐ tion, town hall spokesman Rufino Lancharro said.
and finally... AP‐7 put to the test. The capacity of the toll‐free AP‐7 is being put to the test over Easter. This is the first high season holiday break since the start of the pandemic, but even though travel was re‐ stricted during much of 2020 and part of 2021, there was more traffic on the AP‐7 than in 2019 when drivers were paying to use it. The motorway was used last year by an average 21,878 vehicles each day, 27 per cent more than in 2019. With all pandemic restrictions lifted, it now remains to be seen whether the AP‐7 will be saturated at peak holi‐ day periods as many predicted in early 2020 before the pandemic struck.
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New Covid treatment ON Tuesday, April 12, the UK government revealed that: “Thousands more vulnerable people in Eng‐ land are now eligible to receive the UK’s second oral antiviral treatment for Covid.” The government com‐ mented on the ground‐ breaking antiviral treat‐ ment Paxlovid and explained that the drug: “has been added to the PANORAMIC national study, the UK’s fastest‐ev‐ er recruiting clinical trial of its kind, which is run by the University of Oxford in close collaboration with GP hubs. “It is already available directly through the NHS
GROUND-BREAKING: Oral antiviral treatment.
to those whose immune systems mean they are at higher risk of serious ill‐ ness who test positive for the virus ‐ including those who are immunocompro‐ mised, cancer patients, or those with Down’s Syn‐ drome.”
The government added: “The PANORAMIC study
UK flights cancelled M O R E than 100 flights were cancelled from the
Summer of gardening CAMPOVERDE Church prides itself on taking the word of God out of the Church and into the wider community. This has result‐ ed in a unique programme of activities that run all year both inside the Church and outside in the wider com‐ munity. But now, after a two‐year absence they are launching back into summer activity. Gardening is partic‐ ularly important to us as it is the best way to connect with God’s creation and marvel at the wonder of it. They are welcoming back ‘Campoverde Open Garden Day’. This will give everyone an opportunity to visit some of the interesting gardens in the village. It is open to all
makes antivirals available to a large number of pa‐ tients, whilst collecting further data on how the antivirals work where the majority of the adult pop‐ ulation is vaccinated. “It ensures antivirals are being used in the most effective way and is crucial in ensuring clini‐ cians have the full infor‐ mation to prescribe an‐ tiviral treatments to patients in future.”
gardens from small terraces to large plots. The overall aim is to share your garden and the joy of gardening with others on May 28 from 11‐4pm. In past years Open Gar‐ den Day has been a great success and helped raise funds for Campoverde Church and its work in the community. There is no cost to participating gardeners and all we ask is that visitors make a small donation to‐ wards the work of the Church. If you would like to participate or just enquire, then please contact James McAllister at: james samuelmcallister@hot mail.co.uk or tel: 623 016 229.
UK on Monday, April 11, as Brits face more travel chaos. Queues continued at air‐ ports including Manch‐ ester, Heathrow and Gatwick, with flights being affected due to a shortage of staff because of Covid and slow recruitment. British Airways suspended at least 64 flights to and from Heathrow, which in‐ cluded UK domestic routes as well as European flights. Among the international routes affected were ser‐ vices to and from Berlin, Dublin, Geneva, Paris, and Stockholm. easyJet also cancelled at least 25 flights to or from Gatwick, affect‐ ing European and national routes such as Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Glasgow, and Milan. easyJet said cancella‐ tions were made “in ad‐ vance to give customers the ability to rebook on to alternative flights.” John O’Neill, North West Re‐ gional Industrial Officer for Unite has warned that Brits can expect that the current holiday disruption is likely to be repeated in the summer. The transport expert even warns that conditions will be worse then due to the high vol‐ ume of passengers expect‐ ed to travel.
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Spangles on tour SPANGLES LADIES Harmony Chorus trav‐ elled to Valencia city last week, to join two choruses from San Antonio, Texas, for a con‐ cert in the magnificent Iglesia San Esteban. The group travelled by train from Murcia and Alicante, proud to wear their new ‘walking out’ uniforms, kindly sponsored by A1 Mortgages UK, Paul’s Places in the Sun and Insurance Agents from Los Alcázares. “We are so lucky to have such wonderful sponsors and many people have remarked on how smart our new uniforms are,” said Chorus Manager, Lyn Baines. “After over two years of restrictions, this trip to Valencia was a much‐ needed boost and the new uniform just topped it off.” With several new Spangles members, the trip was great for everyone to get to know each other. Travelling together, staying at the same hotel as the other choruses, dining and enjoy‐ ing some singing with them. Members were able to see quite a bit of the city and, for some, enjoy a true Valenciana paella! The concert at the Iglesia San Esteban was an experience every Spangle will remember and cherish. The setting was spectacular, they received a standing ovation after their perfor‐ mance. “It was an honour and privilege to be a part of this experience in such a beautiful setting” said Spangles Musical Director, Valerie Lynch.
CONCERT: Was held in Iglesia San Esteban.
Spangles is a ladies’ a cappella chorus, singing in four‐part harmony. They rehearse every Thursday, from 10.00am to 1.00pm at Centro Municipal Las Claras, Calle Helena, Los Narejos, Los Alcázares and visitors are always welcome. If you’d like to book the chorus for an event or you are thinking about joining them, you can find out more on their website: www.spangleschorus.com or email info@span gleschorus.com
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Arms for Ukraine Future pandemics UKRAINE has achieved ‘the greatest feat of arms of the 21st century,’ according to UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson. During a surprise trip to Kyiv on Saturday, April 9, Mr Johnson pledged the UK’s unwavering support to Ukraine and met with Presi‐ dent Zelenskyy to discuss the economic and military assistance that the UK can offer to Ukraine. According to the UK gov‐ ernment Mr Johnson: “reit‐ erated that the UK will do everything in its power to
Boris met Zelenskyy.
support Ukraine’s brave fight against Russia’s brutal and unprovoked invasion and ensure its long term se‐
A COUPLE who went on a diving expedition off the coast of Malaysia were found drifting at sea on Friday, April 8 after going missing more than two days earlier. The British man and French woman were spotted by fisherman at around 1am a consider‐ able distance away from where they were last reported. The couple Adrian Peter Chesters, 46, and Alexia Alexandra Molina, 18, are said to be in a stable condition according to Cyril Edward Nuing, the Mersing District Police Chief. A search is still underway for Mrs Chester’s 14‐
curity and prosperity. “The Prime Minister set out new military assistance of 120 armoured vehicles and new anti‐ship missile systems, to support Ukraine in this crucial phase while Russia’s illegal assault con‐ tinues. This is in addition to the £100 million worth of high‐grade military equip‐ ment already announced, including more Starstreak anti‐aircraft missiles, anoth‐ er 800 anti‐tank missiles, and high‐tech loitering mu‐ nitions for precision strikes.”
Lost at sea year‐old‐son who is still missing with the search area now having been expanded to cover a much wider area. Two planes, 18 boats and about 90 individuals are involved in the search for the missing boy. The diver instructor, Kristine Grodem, 35, from Norway, was rescued on Thursday after a training dive near Tokong Sanggol, a small island off the southeastern town of Mersing.
SCOTLAND is preparing for pandemics in the fu‐ ture and on April 7, the government announced that Professor Andrew Morris had been appoint‐ ed as Chair of the Scottish Government’s Standing Committee on Pandemic Preparedness (SCoPP). The committee has been designed to ensure that “Scotland can be as prepared as possible to meet future pandemics.” Professor Morris com‐ mented: “I look forward to working with my fel‐ low committee members to address these impor‐ tant issues. We will en‐ gage with clinicians and the wider scientific com‐ munity in Scotland to en‐ sure that our work is in‐ formed by a range of expertise. “We will also look to in‐ ternational experience to ensure our report reflects the global nature of pan‐ demics and the interna‐
tional learning that will help us best prepare Scot‐ land to face the future.” Health Secretary Humza Yousaf said: “We are very pleased that Professor Andrew Morris has
agreed to be the Chair of the SCoPP. He is adept at distilling complicated sci‐ ence and disparate views into clear and succinct ad‐ vice to the Scottish gov‐ ernment.”
Spain’s error THE Spanish Tourist Office has offered up an ‘apology’ for saying Spain was open to unvaccinated Brits on Wednesday, April 6 before later reversing its an‐ nouncement. The mistake came down to a misinterpretation of Spain’s official state bul‐ letin with the government saying that British visitors would be able to head to Spain, without needing to be jabbed. The tourist Board said that travellers would only need to have a negative pre‐departure test. Only hours later though
the tourist board said that the official state bulletin had been interpreted in‐ correctly. This means that holidaymakers from the UK aged 12 and over still need to show that they have been fully jabbed or have a Covid recovery cer‐ tificate. The Spanish tourist office in the UK’s deputy director Pedro Medina apologised for the miscommunication. He said: “We apologise un‐ reservedly for the miscom‐ munication earlier today which was due to a misun‐ derstanding of the new en‐ try requirements.”
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Andrew ‘useful idiot’ ROYAL biographer Tina Brown has claimed that Jeffrey Ep‐ stein considered Prince An‐ drew to be a ‘useful idiot.’ In her new book, ‘The Palace Papers,’ the royal biographer said: “International diplomacy rarely offers encounters with angels. But Prince Andrew’s ad‐ hesive contacts with reprehen‐ sible foreign riff‐raff went far beyond what was explicable, or acceptable. “He hosted lunches at Buck‐ ingham Palace for the insalubri‐ ous relatives of Middle Eastern tyrants, invited a Libyan gun smuggler to Princess Eugenie’s wedding, and Princess Beat‐ rice’s 21st birthday party, and went goose‐hunting with Kaza‐ khstan’s then‐president, Nur‐ sultan Nazarbayev. “Privately, Epstein told peo‐ ple that Andrew was an idiot, but ‐ to him ‐ a useful one. A senior royal, even if tainted, is always a potent magnet abroad. “Epstein confided to a friend that he used to fly the Duke of York to obscure foreign mar‐ kets, where governments were
obliged to receive him, and Ep‐ stein went along as HRH’s in‐ vestment adviser. With Andrew
as frontman, Epstein could ne‐ gotiate deals with these (often) shady players.”
New superband MEMBERS of Nirvana, Soundgarden and Pearl Jam have come together to form a new band, dropping a surprise de‐ but album on Monday, April 11. Music legends including Nir‐ vana bassist Krist Novoselic, Soundgarden guitarist Kim Thayil and Soundgarden/Pearl Jam drummer Matt Cameron formed the band called 3rd Secret. According to one publica‐ tion, the album is: “A self‐titled affair, the 11‐track effort sports a broad tonal palette ‐ it leans heavily on classic grunge and alt‐rock flavours, but adds diversity with hints of laidback folk and indie‐rock, swampy blues and stomping hard‐rock.” The band released the album independently and it is available to stream on multiple platforms. The 3rd Secret website revealed: “Get in on the secret! “3rd Secret by 3rd Secret “New album on your favourite streaming service!”
and finally... A GOOGLE Earth image has been responsible for the detec‐ tion of a notorious bicycle thief, located in the Oxfordshire city of Littlemore in the UK. Thanks to this satellite software, a 54‐ year‐old man is under investigation by the police, after more than 500 allegedly stolen bikes were found in his back garden.
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Britney pregnant BRITNEY SPEARS, fresh from court proceedings to free her from her con‐ servatorship, revealed on Monday, April 11 that she is once again pregnant. Announcing the news on Instagram, she said she took the test after her partner, Sam As‐ ghari, accused her of be‐ ing food pregnant. She said: “So I got a preg‐ nancy test... and uhhhhh well... I am having a ba‐ by. “Four days later I got a little more food preg‐ nant.” Spears, a mother of two, revealed during court proceedings that she was forced to take birth control depriving her from having another child, something she longed for. Spears was released from the controversial conservatorship last November, which con‐
trolled her personal and financial affairs. During proceedings the court was told how her life was controlled, even down to the choice of whether she had more
children. Her decision to marry partner Asghari was also stopped by her conser‐ vators, one of whom was her father Jamie Spears.
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Art seized
Vaalimaa border post.
FINLAND, who are adhering to the EU sanctions regime against Russia, have seized Russian art worth more than €40 million.
Cats labelled pests THERE are growing calls in New Zealand by conservation groups to have cats included in the government’s ambi‐ tious plan Predator Free 2050 to rid the island nation of its pests. The action plan, Predator Free 2050, currently includes stoats, ferrets, weasels, rats and possums as pests. With 1.4 million domestic cats, the north island of Aotearoa has one of the highest cat ownership rates in the world ‐ at least 40 per cent of households have at least one. feral cats are also reported to be in the millions. Estimates from conservation group, Forest and Bird, sug‐ gest New Zealand’s pet cats kill at least 1.12 million native birds a year, in some cases helping to propel them towards extinction. Tamsin Orr‐Walker, chair of the Kea Conservation Trust, said: “The problem relates specifically to our relationship with cats. I’m not anti‐cat. There are so many people who have cats as pets. But a lot of people can’t see their pet as a hunter, which all cats are,” she said.
The seizure is of art that was being returned to Russia after being loaned to museums in Japan and Italy. The works of art, including sculptures, paintings and an‐ tiques, were seized at the southern border post of Vaali‐ maa. Sanctions imposed by the EU after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine include the ban of imports and exports as well as asset freezes. Artworks owned by either persons or compa‐ nies on the sanctions, as well as Russian state owned assets are covered by the ban. As a result, Finland has start‐ ed an investigation to under‐ stand how the artworks came to be in Finland and why they were being transported back to Russian in contravention of sanctions. Asset seizures across Europe have so far included mega yachts, properties and bank account freezes.
STATS
69
The longest bout of hiccups lasted nearly 69 years.
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Scotland’s forests
R ES EA R C H released by Our World in Data shows that Scotland’s forests have recovered to levels last seen nearly 1,000 years ago, as they reach their largest size in 900 years.
In just under a century forest coverage north of the border has grown from around 6 per cent to nearly 18 per cent with a shift to planting faster growing varieties in the 1980’s having
proven more sustain‐ able. Scotland has been cov‐ ered by forests ever since the end of the ice age some 11,000 years ago, but deforestation had already claimed large parts by the time the Romans arrived on the British Isles some 2,000 years ago. The first real attempts to build the country’s forests came after the First World War, when shortages of many basic commodities resulted in the government planting pine trees across large swathes of countryside. Pine trees however, proved bad for Scottish biodiversity prompting the shift in the 80s to faster growing species like Sitka Spruce. Whilst those species are helping the govern‐ ment achieve its goal of 21 per cent coverage by 2032, they are harming local woodlands.
THIS April you can observe what is commonly known as the ‘Pink Moon’, or in Spain, the ‘Easter Moon’ on Saturday, April 16. The full moon in April is called pink because it is in this month that the mossy phlox begins to bloom. This is a flower with pink tones that is native to North America. In Spain, the full moon in April is also known as the Easter moon, because it is the one that always coin‐ cides with the celebration of the Holy Week festivi‐ ties. Other names dedicated to this full moon around the world are the ‘egg moon’, or the ‘hunter’s moon’, although this name is familiar mostly in the countries of the southern hemisphere. That is because it is the full moon that follows af‐ ter the harvest moon. In New Zealand, this lu‐ nar month is called Paen‐ gawhawha, or Haratua, which indicates that the time has come to collect the harvest. This April moon, which
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Pink moon FULL MOON: Also known as the Easter moon in Spain.
is in the constellation of Vir‐ go, is especially bright and has more illumination, not
only on Saturday April 16, but also during the days be‐ fore and after.
and finally... THE Runaway Bride Race in Belgium is expected to raise €15,000 for charity Stand Up to Cancer and the Breast Clinic at the Jan Yperman hospital in Ypres. The original idea for this particular raise came to cele‐ brate the 10th anniversary of the opening of the bridal shop Els‐Lucienne in 2019 which is based in Leper and around 150 runners raised €7,500 for the Think Pink charity. Els herself wanted this event to benefit the fight against cancer, because in the beginning of 2019 her mother died of pancreatic cancer at the age of 66.
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Will banned AFTER the slapping inci‐ dent involving comedian Chris Rock on stage at the recent Oscars ceremony on Sunday, March 27, Will Smith has been banned from the Oscars for 10 years. He will however be allowed to keep his award for Best Actor. A decision was reached by the 54‐person Board of Governors of the Academy on Friday, April 8. Furious debates had surrounded the event in which Smith reacted badly to a joke about his wife Jada Pinkett Smith’s shaved head. Moments after slapping
Chris Rock, Smith’s name was read out as the recipi‐ ent of the Best Actor award for his role in ‘King Richard’. The emotional ac‐ tor collected his Oscar and apologised to the Academy and all those present for his actions earlier. Smith then posted a long apology on Instagram the following day. Many had insisted that Will Smith should be stripped of his golden statuette, while others preferred to believe it was a staged incident. He eventually made the decision to resign from the Academy.
SEPRONA officers in Valencia have uncovered the biggest‐ ever collection of stuffed ani‐ mals to be found in Spain. Officers of the Guardia Civ‐ il’s Nature Protection Service (Seprona), made the discovery in Betera on Wednesday, April 6. During the search of a prop‐ erty, they uncovered a total of 1,090 pieces of taxidermy and
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Stuffed animals found complete stuffed animals. These items were, in some cases, already packed and pre‐ pared for smuggling to clients. The full collection has an esti‐ mated value of €29 million and is one of the biggest finds of its kind ever in Europe.
As a result, they have placed one of the sons of the well‐ known late Valencian busi‐ nessman Francisco Ros Casares under investigation for a possible crime against wildlife. The accused has not been detained. According to police, of the
specimens found, 405 be‐ longed to CITES (Convention on International Trade in En‐ dangered Species of Wild Fau‐ na and Flora). Some of them are even extinct, such as the oryx dammah, or practically extinct, such as the addax, or the Bengal tiger.
Queen’s book TAXIDERMY: The full collection has an estimated value of €29 million.
HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN has reportedly given trusted aide Angela Kelly extraordinary permission for her book to reveal her Covid lockdown secrets in a book. Ms Kelly has served the Queen loyally for the past 28 years, and isolated at Windsor Castle with the monarch. Publisher HarperCollins announced on Monday, April 11, that Angela’s book, ‘The Other Side of the Coin: The Queen, the Dresser and the Wardrobe’, which was published back in 2019, will have a new chapter added to it and is scheduled for release next month, in time for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. “The Queen personally gave Angela her blessing to share their unparalleled bond with the world, and Angela is the first serving member of the Royal Household to be given this extraordinary permission,” explained a spokesperson for HarperCollins. Angela’s latest offering will go head‐to‐head with Prince Har‐ ry’s forthcoming alleged ‘tell‐all’ book. She will apparently cover the death of Prince Philip, and tell of HMS Bubble.
and finally... IN the lead up to Earth Day on Friday April 22, Lindsey Cole travelled to Denmark’s capital to share adventure stories, read her book The Mermaid and the Cow and teach youngsters science so they are able to monitor the health of their favourite local body of water. She plans to be swimming around the statue of the Little Mermaid situated on the Langelinie promenade in Copen‐ hagen at around 4pm on Sunday April 17 and will then sit on the side and give a free talk to those who turn up.
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Nuclear attack defences MARGARITA ROBLES, Spain’s Defence Minister, an‐ nounced on Friday, April 8, that the Military Pharmacy
Centre in Madrid is working on developing defences to possible nuclear, biological or chemical attacks.
Richest woman SINGER Rihanna has found herself on the latest Forbes list, becoming the richest woman in the music industry with a total worth of €1.56 billion. Back in 2017, the music recording superstar launched her make‐up and skincare brand, Fenty Beauty. In recent years, there have been many singers who have decided to combine their musical careers with business, creating their own businesses and firms related to cosmet‐ ics. Jennifer Lopez created JLo Beauty in 2020, Selena Gomez joined this world last year with Rare Beauty, and the last to join a similar project was Ariana Grande. The incredible entrepreneur from Barbados has out‐ done them all though, and earned herself a place on the prestigious Forbes list. A total of 2,668 people appear in this ranking, with Ri‐ hanna ranked at 1,729. Her fortune amounts to a total of €1.56 billion, almost approaching the wealth of colleagues such as Jay‐Z, and Kayne West.
After visiting the San Pedro de Colmenar Viejo Base in Madrid, which is operating as a logistics hub, the minister admitted that there is a con‐ cern, both within NATO and the European Union about the possibility of an attack from Russia. She said that due to the cruelty of the war in Ukraine, “it is a scenario that cannot be ruled out,” while asking for alarm not to be raised ahead of time. However, the minister has stressed that the Military Pharmacy Centre has “mag‐ nificent” skills as well as pro‐ fessionals who are working on defences in order to be able to respond to a nuclear, bio‐ logical or chemical attack. It offers “peace of mind,” she added, highlighting that the risk only exists because Russia has these capabilities.
STATS
1,800
At any given time, there are 1,800 thunderstorms.
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FEATURE
Advertising Feature
Dance Delight at
e c a l a P m r Benido
A TIME TO SHINE returned to Benidorm Palace on Sunday, April 10, after a long ab‐ sence due to the pandemic, reuniting an en‐ thusiastic dance community in a day of dance, drama and delight. Sponsored by Euro Weekly News, the Palace was packed with excited dancers, emo‐ tional coaches and an enthusiastic crowd as performing arts and dance schools from along the Costa Blanca joined together for this dance spectacular. The stunning event was organised and led by Lucy Glister from Spotlight Productions who meticulously oversaw all aspects of the event, from initial contact of the schools to re‐ hearsals and the main showcase. Each of the team’s coaches praised Lucy for all her efforts and revealed how special the event was the children and dance community as a whole. “Lucy is brilliant,” said FootWork Dance Stu‐ dio’s Principal, Erica Dorrill. “She has been wonderful. From her initial invitation email to the organisation of the show.” The return of the showcase clearly meant a lot to Erica and her students. “It’s emotional, I’ll be crying,” the principal of the Los Montesinos dance school said ahead of her student’s performance. “It’s an honour for kids to perform on this stage,” she told EWN. “I always tell the parents to really savour the oppor‐ tunity to see them up there.” She added: “It has been won‐ derful meeting all the teams and everyone has been so supportive of each other. “It’s been a
Footwork Dance Studio has students of all ages.
Students from Star Studios Dance and Stage School enjoyed their day.
hard time since the break, but the support has been amazing,” she said, “we even have peo‐ ple flying over especially [for the show].” Among the schools performing was the Spanish team of Escuela de Danza La Nucia run by Beatriz Vaello. The classical ballet and Spanish dance school spoke to Euro Weekly News and ex‐ pressed their gratitude for the event. “This has been a wonderful opportunity to get to know the other schools,” the Benidorm dance school said. “It is brilliant practice for our own
festival and a great venue for the young chil‐ dren to showcase what they have learnt.” Lucy stressed the importance of the event and shared her excitement at its return. “It is important for the children to gain expe‐ rience at a big venue and it’s wonderful to see so many young dancers get the opportunity to showcase their talent, without it being com‐ petitive,” she told EWN. It was the ninth show at Benidorm Palace for Spotlight Productions, giving young per‐ formers their time to shine on Europe’s largest stage.
Following the success of the event, Lucy now hopes ‘A Time To Shine’ can return stronger than ever. “Before the pandemic, teams would travel from the UK and across Europe to take part in the event,” she said. “I am now hoping that the success and ex‐ posure of the event will help bring in more teams and we can start to run more big shows a year.” The following schools performed at the Eu‐ ro Weekly News’ sponsored event: Academia de Danza Babylon, Careline Performing Arts and Dance Academy, Endanza, Escuela de Danza La Nucia, Escola de Danza Lorena Moll, Footworks esquela de danza, FootWork Dance Studio, Escuela de Danza Pirouette, Star Studios Dance and Stage School. While the wonderful event was well received by the thor‐ oughly entertained Palace audience, it was the 320 dancers, both young and old, who gained the most encourage‐ ment and enjoy‐ ment from their time to shine on the big stage ‐ with the hope of more shows to come in the future. Escuela de Danza Nucia performed for large crowds at Benidorm Palace.
If any dance or performing arts school would like to be part of the next fabulous event, please contact Lucy on 671 967 150 or Lucy@spotlightproductions.es.
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NEWS
Open doors Opened childhood home.
SIR PAUL MCCARTNEY has opened his childhood home to allow unsigned and new artists to perform. The house, 20 Forthlin Road in Liverpool, is owned by the National Trust who have al‐
Diplomats out THE government has expelled a group of Russian diplomats and staff of the Embassy of the Russian Federation in Spain. According to the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Jose Manuel Al‐ bares, there were some 25 people who represented “a threat to the security interests of our country.” The decision is also a response to crimes that cannot go un‐ punished and must be thoroughly investigated, he said. Albares said that the images of the massacre of civilians in the Ukrainian town of Bucha following the withdrawal of the Rus‐ sian army are “unbearable” and “outrageous,” and represent a turning point in the face of which the international community cannot remain impassive and must demand a forceful response. “Spain demands that war crimes be investigated immediately and that those responsible be punished for them,” he added on April 6. The move is part of an ongoing process in Europe that has al‐ ready been joined by Belgium, Poland, the Czech Republic, Ire‐ land, the Netherlands, France, Germany, Denmark, and Italy, in addition to the European External Action Service headed by the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Spain’s Josep Borrell.
lowed the home to be used for the Forthlin Sessions, where artists selected by Sir Paul, his brother Mike and local part‐ ners will be able to work and perform. The home is where Sir Paul and John Lennon wrote hits such as I Saw Her Standing There and When I’m 64, a his‐ tory that they hope will help feed the creative juices of oth‐ er artists. Mike, who witnessed the rapid success of his brother and his friends, said: “This house to me, is a house of hope. And I hope it will be for the young people that come through the doors. “I would be in the other room learning photography, but whilst I’m doing all that, I could hear guitar noises com‐ ing from this room. In there were what turned out to be two of the world’s greatest songwriters, McCartney and Lennon. They were rehearsing from a school book on the floor, that’s why this house is so unique,” he added on Wednesday April 6.
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NEWS
€10bn for Ukraine
EUROPEAN COMMISSION President Ursula von der Leyen announced on Satur‐ day April 9, that €10 billion has been pledged in support of Ukraine and its refugees from an international fundraising drive. Making the announce‐ ment in Warsaw, von der Leyen said that the event, called ‘Stand Up For Ukraine,’ had generated €9.1 billion that will go to‐ wards rebuilding the country and to helping its more than four million refugees recov‐ er. She also said that the Eu‐ ropean Bank for Reconstruc‐ tion and Development (EBRD) is adding another €1 billion bringing the total up to €10.1 billion. The event was convened jointly by von der Leyen and Canadian Prime Minis‐ ter Justin Trudeau, and was put together to prompt po‐ litical leaders and global celebrities to provide fund‐ ing and other donations for
the people of Ukraine. Polish President Andrzej Duda joined the event along with von der Leyen, while
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Justin Trudeau joined re‐ motely.
Maradona’s £4m shirt FORMER England midfielder Steve Hodge looks set to earn more than £4 million at auction for the shirt he swapped with Diego Maradona after the famous ‘Hand Of God’ 1986 World Cup game in Mexico. Hodge, 59, has been the shirt’s ‘proud owner’ ever since. Following Maradona’s death in 2020 Hodge re‐ sisted offers to buy the shirt, but has now had a change of mind. The number 10 emblazoned Argentina strip will be sold by Sotheby’s at an online auction opening on Wednesday, April 20. It is currently on display at the auction house’s Lon‐ don offices and is expected to sell for more than £4 mil‐ lion. Hodge said: “The Hand of God shirt has deep cultural meaning to the football world, the people of Argentina and the people of England and I’m certain that the new owner will have immense pride in owning the world’s most iconic football shirt.”
STATS
95%
The jellyfish is 95% water.
NEWS
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Times Square explosion TOURISTS were seen run‐ ning from Times Square on Sunday, April 10 after a manhole exploded at around 7pm. One resident described how their “whole apart‐ ment” shook after three manhole fires possibly caused the explosion. The New York Fire De‐ partment has not re‐ vealed what caused the manhole explosion fires. According to reports car‐ bon monoxide levels were elevated in the area after the blast. Taking to Twitter one lo‐ cal said: “Feeling relieved. With it being the start Holy Week, I was very scared. When I say my whole apartment shook, my goodness! Hoping to get more details on the manhole explosion. Two in two years. Wild.” An electrical company spokesperson comment‐ ed: “One manhole explod‐ ed in the Times Square area this evening due to
cable failure, and a second manhole was smoking. “At this time, there have been no customer out‐
ages, and no reports of in‐ juries or property damage. Our crews remain on loca‐ tion.”
J Lo engaged JENNIFER LOPEZ has confirmed she is engaged to actor Ben Affleck after fans spotted a large green diamond ring on her wedding finger. The ‘Jenny From The Block’ singer shared the news in a ‘major an‐ nouncement’ via her newsletter, On The JLo, on Friday, April 8. Fans subscribed to her newsletter, which Lopez, 52, describes as her “in‐ ner circle,” received an email containing a video of herself crying and looking down at her sparkling diamond ring. A rep for the singer and actress confirmed the happy news on Fri‐
day. The singer’s sister shared the video on Twit‐ ter, writing: ‘Major an‐ nouncement!!!!’ In the video, she gushed: “So I have a real‐ ly exciting and special story to share...” The mum of two added a diamond ring emoji to her Twitter handle as well, further teasing the engagement. She and actor, Ben, 49, famously dated nearly two decades ago and got engaged for the first time in November 2002. They split in 2004 but resparked their romance, much to the surprise of fans, in 2021.
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NEWS
Kinder surprise CHOCOLATE company Fer‐ rero has recalled batches of its Kinder Surprise eggs after more than 60 cases of salmonella poisoning were reported in the UK. Around 40 of these cases are be‐ lieved to have been in chil‐ dren under the age of five. The incident was an‐ nounced by the Food Stan‐ dards Agency, with the chocolate treat being re‐ moved as a precaution, due to a ‘potential link to a salmonella outbreak’, while further investigations are car‐ ried out. There have been 63 cases of salmonella linked to the eggs, although no deaths are involved, and there has been no indication of how ill any of the patients are. A statement from Ferrero, regarding its product manufactured in Belgium, said, “Ferrero is co‐ operating with the UK Food Standards Agency and the Food Safety Authority of Ire‐ land on a possible link to a number of reported cases of
salmonella.” The batch affected are 20g eggs in three‐packs, with a
best‐before date between Ju‐ ly 11, 2022, and October 7 2022.
Divorce shakeup NEW rules in the UK will allow for no fault divorces and an end to the ‘blame game’. Under the Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Act, introduced on Wednesday April 6, couples will now find it easier to get divorced without having to list a reason for the marriage’s dissolution. Many people believe that they will benefit financially if they can prove that the di‐ vorce is the other person’s fault. However, Amanda Phillips‐Wyld from Stowe Family Law said: “The reality is that blame in a divorce achieves very little. In actual fact, taking away the blame is what will help people focus on the important issues and has no impact on the finan‐ cial or child settlements. “The rise in divorce enquiries shows how deeply the blame game is embedded in our culture, and in many instances, ap‐ portioning blame is part of a person’s catharsis when filing.” The new law has been brought in to “help reduce the emo‐ tionally traumatic process of going through a divorce.”
STATS
11
The youngest pope was 11 years old.
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War ready THE EU is preparing for public health risks such as chemical, biological, radiological and nu‐ clear threats and is building up “strategic reserves” of re‐ sponse capacities.
Janez Lenarcic, Commission‐ er for Crisis Management, said: “We are taking concrete mea‐ sures to increase Europe’s pre‐ paredness in the face of poten‐ tial threats. We are setting up
both a decontamination re‐ serve and a new stockpile of equipment tailored to chemi‐ cal, biological or nuclear emer‐ gencies. I am thankful for member states in this effort. Our aim is to provide rapid response capabilities for our citizens if such an emergency ever occurs.” “Health security needs preparedness. Preparing for chemical, biological, radiolog‐ ical and nuclear threats is an essential element in keeping our citizens safe, and a key el‐ ement of a strong European Health Union. The Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority is our watchtower and has been working around the clock to support EU actions through the Civil Protection Mechanism to provide pre‐ paredness support to Ukraine and our Member States,” added Commission‐ er for Health and Food Safe‐ ty, Stella Kyriakides, on Wednesday April 6.
NEWS
Advert ban THE UK’s Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) is to ban footballers and celebrities from advertising gambling and betting services from October 1. The new rules, which also include showing teams’ kits and stadiums in adverts and in video game content, are being introduced to protect children under the age of 18 and other vulnera‐ ble groups. The ban will be in place in time for the 2022 Qatar World Cup and includes sports personalities, celebrities, social media influ‐ encers, film and TV characters, and anything that can be associated with youth culture. Shahriar Coupal, Director of CAP, said: “The days of gambling ads featuring sports stars,
FOOTBALL: No to advertising gambling.
video game imagery and other content of strong appeal to under‐18s are numbered. “By ending these practices, our new rules in‐ vite a new era for gambling ads, more particular to the adult audience they can target and more befitting of the age‐restricted product they’re promoting,” Coupal added on Tuesday April 5.
Broadband piped THE UK is planning to deliver full fibre broadband using drinking water mains pipes in Yorkshire. Nearly 10,000 homes and businesses are expected to benefit. Digital Infrastructure Min‐ ister Julia Lopez said: “Dig‐ ging up roads and land is one of the biggest obstacles to rolling out faster broad‐ band, so we’re exploring how we can make use of the
existing water network to accelerate deployment and help detect and minimise water leaks. “We’re committed to get‐ ting homes and businesses across the country connect‐ ed to better broadband and this cutting‐edge project is an exciting example of the bold measures this govern‐ ment is leading on to level up communities with the
very best digital connectivi‐ ty,” she added on April 6. The new proposal will see fibre‐optic cables deployed through 17 kilometres of live drinking water mains be‐ tween Barnsley and Penis‐ tone. Broadband companies could then tap into the net‐ work to deliver gigabit‐capa‐ ble connections to an esti‐ mated 8,500 homes and businesses along the route.
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Disney diversity DISNEY has embarked on a diversity drive with its General Director of Entertainment, Karey Burke, announcing that by the end of 2022 half of all future characters in their animated films will be from ethnic minorities or LGBTQ+. “I speak as a mother of two queer one trans‐ gender and one pansexual, and as the head of the department, I was dismayed to learn that we only had a handful of LGBTQ+ characters,” she said on Wednesday March 30. “Today, however, we have many for our sto‐ ries, we just lacked the proper narrative lines where they could just be characters, without nec‐ essarily referring to events of a sexual nature. By the end of 2022, approximately half of the char‐ acters in our animated films will be LGBTQ+ and from ethnic minorities.”
THE government is aware of the ‘uncertainty’ affecting families and small and medi‐ um‐sized companies, Presi‐ dent Pedro Sanchez said. Speaking on April 6, he called for support for the Na‐ tional Plan to respond to the economic and social impact of the war in Ukraine. The plan is a demonstration that the government is protecting
THEME PARKS: Now say ‘hello everyone’.
Disney executive, Vivian Ware, who deals with diversity and inclusion, joined Burke explaining that since last summer the company has elimi‐ nated gendered pronouns from its theme parks. “Let’s not say any more ladies and gentlemen, girls and boys, only a ‘hello everyone’ or ‘hello friends’. Hello, everybody and hello friends, which in English do not specify gender,” she said.
National plan the middle and working class‐ es instead of cutting the wel‐ fare state, laying off health professionals or approving tax amnesties, Sanchez said. “This is a coalition govern‐ ment, we are two political groupings with different sen‐ sibilities, but we are united by
the fundamental thing: to give a determined response, with maximum unity and sol‐ idarity. “Spain and Europe will move forwards thanks to the determination, solidarity and united effort that the govern‐ ment will deploy,” he added.
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COSTA DEL SOL
Air lifted by helicopter A 64- Y E A R - O L D man had to be res‐ cued after a tree trunk fell on him while he was gardening in Alozaina, a municipality in Malaga Province situated just above Coin. The man had been pruning trees on his land when a tree trunk fell on top of him, according to Emergencias 112 Andalucia, a service attached to the Regional Ministry of the Presidency, Public Administration and the Interior of the Junta de Andalucia. The emergency services received a call requesting vital assistance at 1pm on Saturday, April 9. According to the Junta de Andalucia: “The 061 Health Emergency Services were quickly mo‐ bilised by the coordination centre, which sent a helicopter to the scene.” Officers from the Guardia Civil were called in and the Mountain Rescue and Intervention Team (Ereim) swung into action. When the medics reached the scene of the accident, they discovered that the man was suffering from injuries to his back and his head, so was evac‐ uated by helicopter to the Hospital Clínico Universitario in Malaga. No further details are known about the man’s state of health at the time of writing.
News from our editions With six editions and read by more than half a million people, EWN is Spain’s largest free local English-language newspaper COSTA BLANCA NORTH
Generalitat aid plan is important news
AXARQUIA
Civil Protection Medal of Merit THE Almuñecar Volunteer Association of Civil Protection was presented with the Civil Protection Medal of Merit on Saturday April 9 by the Junta de An‐ dalucia for its active collaboration dur‐ ing the most difficult moments of the pandemic. The Almuñecar Association was one of the 55 groups in the province of Granada to receive the award. The cer‐ emony took place at the Science Park in Granada and was presided over by the deputy minister of the Junta, Antonio Sanz. He expressed “the pride of the Junta de Andalucia” in the 55 groups and more than 1,000 volunteers in the province of Granada. He thanked them for actions such as “handing out masks, accompanying dis‐ abled people to health centres, provid‐ ing comfort at cemeteries, helping with the disinfection of public spaces and in‐ forming people of the risks at markets and beaches.”
MALLORCA
Digitising Catalan
COSTA DE ALMERIA
To the rescue PROVINCIAL council, the Diputacion, has made available machinery and technical assistance for municipalities recovering from the recent storms. During and immediately after the latest bout of bad weather, the Diputacion began repairing and clearing the 1,200 kilometres of roads that link the the province’s 103 vil‐ lages, towns and cities. “From the moment the first storm dam‐ age was reported, we have been assisting town halls, especially those of the smallest towns,” said Eugenio Gonzalvez, who heads the provincial council’s Municipal Assistance Area. “This is in line with our commitment to at‐ tending to the needs of the town halls with fewest resources by providing a rapid re‐ sponse in unexpected situations.” Gonzalvez described the province’s storm damage as “substantial and of varying kinds” and explained that the Municipal As‐ sistance Area was providing a technical re‐ port with a specific solution for each prob‐ lem. He was confident that these could be re‐ solved without delay, Gonzalvez said. “Town halls know that they can always count on the Diputacion,” he added.
NEWSDESK
XIMO PUIG: Plan Reactiva is the most important aid plan that has been launched.
THE regional government announced a €944 million package to counteract the energy and fuel emergency and reboot the economy. Generalitat president Ximo Puig ex‐ plained on Thursday April 7 that the 45‐ point Plan Reactiva has been created to provide a “forceful administration re‐ sponse” to the situation resulting from the Ukraine war while minimising its ef‐ fect on the Valencian Community. More than a third of the total ‐ €342 million ‐ is to be used to introduce new measures while €602 million will accel‐ erate investment. The Plan Reactiva cash is coming from the Generalitat itself, EU funds and the European Commission’s Recovery and Resilience Facility, Puig revealed. Allocations include €45 million for the self‐employed who have been hit the hardest by the energy crisis and another €50 million for companies that depend
on gas, but have not been included in central government aid. Valencia’s Finance Institute (IVF) will provide €100 million to assist compa‐ nies suffering from loss of income while the Generalitat also intends to cut re‐ gional taxes by at least 10 per cent, bringing savings of €71 million to fami‐ lies as well as businesses. Fishing fleets will no longer need to pay for using Va‐ lencian Community ports and public transport, including the Tram, will be cheaper. “Plan Reactiva is the most important aid plan launched by the Generalitat or any other autonomous community,” Puig said. “This surpasses our €500 mil‐ lion Plan Resistir and the €647 million Plan Resistir Plus.” Puig added that the Plan Reactiva was an emergency plan that was also open to “new actors and supplementary measures.”
THE governments of Catalonia and the Balearic Islands will work together in the promotion of digital technologies applied to the Catalan language. One of their major areas of cooperation is in the promotion of the AINA, the project based on data technologies and Artificial Intelligence to make it possible for ma‐ chines to understand and speak Catalan in order to ensure its survival in the digital age. Both governments also announced on Monday April 11, their collaboration on cy‐ bersecurity and 5G research and technolo‐ gy projects, promoting policies and good practices. The Government of the Balearic Islands will encourage the promotion, communi‐ cation and dissemination in the Islands of ‘Our language is your voice’ with the aim of collecting as many voices as possible to feed the first version of the Catalan voice corpus, essential to teach the machines to understand and speak the language. It has also agreed to make a donation of the voice content archive of IB3 (the Public Broadcasting Entity of the Balearic Islands) so that these can be used for the training of the neural networks of the Artificial In‐ telligence system of the AINA project. These announcements coincided with a tour of northern Catalonia, the Valencian community and Mallorca to explain and promote the AINA project.
EUROPEAN PRESS
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EUROPEAN PRESS DENMARK
Turbine trouble
Architectural Capital
THE rotor and three blades fell off a turbine that’s part of the Anholt Offshore Wind Farm off the coast of Denmark on Wednesday April 6 according to Orsted, the world’s largest developer of offshore wind farms which asked authorities to stop maritime traffic near its sites.
NEXT year, the Danish capital will present its tourists and residents with a variety of events and activities focusing on architecture, after Copenhagen was chosen to be the World Capital of Architecture for 2023 by UNESCO and the International Union of Architects.
THE NETHERLANDS Ministry fined
Cheese Gromit!
AN investigation by the Dutch Data Protection Authority (AP) has found that there was insufficient internal security in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and has fined it €565,000 for possible breaches of the privacy of people making visa applications going back years.
INVESTIGATORS in Holland may need to call in Wallace and Gromit to track down thieves who have been plaguing cheese manufacturers over the last few months, undertaking ‘cheese heists’ around the country with the latest seeing the theft of 1,600 kilos of cheese worth €21,000.
BELGIUM Thrifty royal
Mopeds GO
AFTER jokingly telling a customer at his thrift store in Avelgem that the quality of the goods was so good that King Filip was due in, the manager wrote to the king and invited him to the shop and at the beginning of April the king turned up.
A LARGE number of e-mopeds owned by Dutch company GO Sharing which opened in Brussels last winter have been stolen, as it appears that someone has worked out how to bypass the renting system and has been selling the secret online for €20.
GERMANY LIDL Lines
Alleged spy
SUPERMARKET Group LIDL has confirmed that it has set up Tailwind Shipping Lines and plans to purchase container ships in order to get around the supply chain delays which have been adversely affecting retailers around the world. Perhaps next step will be cruise ships.
A FORMER security guard at the British Embassy in Berlin, 57-year-old David Ballantyne Smith was extradited from Potsdam by German police on April 6 and appeared at Westminster Court accused of nine counts of collection and communication of information useful to the Russian state.
FRANCE Medical Deserts
Possible fraud
ALTHOUGH the quality of the French healthcare system is admired by many, it appears that there are severe shortages of doctors in certain parts of the country which the French now call Medical Deserts and it could take 10 years to train enough new medics.
FRANCE'S financial prosecutor revealed on April 6 that it had opened a preliminary investigation into the role of private consultancy firms such as McKinsey used by the Macron Administration and possible tax fraud, just days ahead of the first round of France's presidential election.
NORWAY Long ship
Radical reform
ALTHOUGH not due to ravish settlements on the British coast any time soon, the world’s longest reconstructed Viking ship, the 30metre-long Havhingsten (the Sea Stallion) returned to the water on April 9, having spent the winter on land for its safety.
IN an effort to save money, the Norwegian government has decided to effectively halve the number of counties in the country and to merge many existing counties into one. Whilst some councils are quite happy about this, some 13 have indicated that they will fight the decision.
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FINANCE Digital investment ACCORDING to a statement made by President Pedro Sánchez on Tuesday April 5, the Spanish government plans to earmark €11 billion to develop the country’s microchip and semiconductor industry as part of his vision of transforming the country’s economy and making the nation a world digital leader.
STAT OF WEEK
€48 million
is the amount that Greenval Technologies plans to spend in constructing four reclamation plants in Spain in order to reduce mountains of worn-out tyres.
Relations between Spain and Morocco reinstated Credit: Pool Moncloa/Borja Puig
BUSINESS EXTRA
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Pay rise SAINSBURY’S has said it is raising the pay for some of its London staff following pressure from share‐ holders so that workers at outer London stores will be paid the same £11.05 hourly rate as inner London colleagues meaning they will receive the voluntary Real Living Wage.
Social Security THE Spanish government is considering having to close many Social Security offices due to shortage of staff and the prognosis is bad, as a large proportion of staff are nearing retirement age and the department has lost 20 per cent of its workforce in the last 10 years.
Speedy delivery WAITROSE has announced it is working more closely with Deliveroo in the UK and is adding more than 70 new Waitrose locations this summer so that even more of its customers can benefit from speedy home or office delivery from a range of 1,000 products.
Shell and Russia AFTER being heavily criticised for purchasing cheap oil from Russia even after the invasion of Ukraine, Shell has announced that it will dispose of its assets in that country as soon as it can. It currently has short term contracts with different organisations in Russia which it says it is bound to honour, but has undertaken not to buy any more oil from there or enter into any new contracts until the British government indicates this is possible. The company which has joint ventures with energy giant Gazprom as well as investments in liquid gas, an oilfield and an energy project told the BBC that the withdrawal would cost around £3.8 billion.
Meeting with the King in Rabat.
MOROCCO’S King Mohammed VI welcomed Pedro Sánchez to Rabat on Thursday April 7 as years of deadlock were put to the past. The main bones of contention between the two neighbours con‐ cerned perceived smuggling into the Kingdom from Spanish en‐ claves of Ceuta and Melilla and recognition of Morocco’s posses‐ sion of the former Spanish Sahara. Whilst those living there and who named the area the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic are complete‐ ly opposed to this recognition and the Spanish government has taken a pragmatic view that Spain will benefit from a closer relationship
with the Moroccans. By also agreeing the progressive recovery of full normality in the movement of goods and merchan‐ dise at the border crossings of Ceu‐ ta and Melilla, including the appro‐ priate customs and people control devices at land and sea level, Spain will benefit economically. Since the outbreak of the pan‐ demic, ferry services between Spain and Morocco were can‐ celled (although they were al‐ lowed between France and the Kingdom) which means that im‐ ports and exports will now be easier to arrange and the annual migration across Spain by Moroc‐
can nationals will return. This new relationship provides for the setting up of working groups for coordination in all those areas of common interest, such as the already existing permanent group on migration, the creation of others in the economic field, infras‐ tructure, education, professional training, culture and sport. “We are embarking on a new journey in our long‐shared history that should allow us to confidently face the challenges, but also the multiple opportunities for the fu‐ ture: A true partnership for the 21st century,” said Sánchez following his visit.
Chancellor’s wife non-dom status RISHI SUNAK’S wife Akshata Murty has denied claims that she’s a tax dodger and has defended her non‐ domicile tax status. The Chancellor has faced questions over his wife’s tax status as she holds a multi‐million‐pound stake in her fa‐ ther’s firm Infosyss, but most of Mr Sunak’s wife’s finances are based overseas according to the Treasury. The Treasury confirmed though that this was declared when the Chancellor took on the job, (accord‐ ing to the British press on Thursday April 7) although some have suggest‐
ed that the situation is similar to hav‐ ing a fox guarding the hen house. The simple explanation is that she remains an Indian citizen and there‐ fore is able to claim non‐dom tax sta‐ tus for 15 years after returning to the UK and therefore is only required to pay tax on her UK interests, not on any money earned overseas (al‐ though she may pay tax in India). Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng has defended her non‐dom tax status and he believes that the criticisms against her are “completely unfair”. Speaking to BBC Breakfast he ex‐
plained: "I think she's been very clear, she's been very transparent, the Chancellor's been very transparent, and this non‐dom status has been part of the UK tax system for more than 200 years." Whilst what she is doing may be perfectly legal, there is no obligation for her to choose non‐dom status and presumably is doing so for tax reasons which the Labour Party find objectionable when she resides in the UK especially as her husband is re‐ sponsible for setting rules on taxa‐ tion.
Mighty Mercadona THE Valencian Institute of Economic Studies (Ivie) has said that Spanish grocery chain Mercadona generat‐ ed the equivalent of just over 2 per cent of Spain’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and accounted for 3.7 per cent of employ‐ ment in 2021. The report published by Ivie estimates that the su‐ permarket paid more than €9 billion in tax from a turnover of €27.4 billion a n d w h e n t a k i n g i n t o a c‐ count all operating costs including staff wages, pay‐ ment to suppliers and in‐ vestments in building and other support areas, it con‐ tributed €25.1 billion to the Spanish economy. Considering that this pri‐ vately owned company was only founded in 1977 as a small butcher’s shop, it has grown to be one of the largest in Spain in less than 50 years.
€35 billion for Russia THE EU has paid Russia €35 billion for gas and oil since the start of the inva‐ sion of Ukraine admitted Josep Borrell, the EU’s high representative for foreign policy, in an inter‐ view with PBS America on Thursday April 7 which compares with €1.2 billion given to Ukraine in emer‐ gency aid. In fairness, much of the payment to Russia has been frozen by banks in the EU and G7, but at some stage the money in hard currency will end up in Russia once some form of peace settlement is reached. In the meantime, the EU is banning the impor‐ tation of Russian coal, but the value of this is negligible when com‐ pared to oil and gas which is still needed by European nations.
28 EWN
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C LOSING P RICES A PRIL 11
COMPANY PRICE(P) CHANGE(P) 3I Group 1.362,50 1.383,50 Abrdn 207,10 208,50 Admiral Group 2.573,0 2.581,0 Anglo American 4.099,0 4.149,0 Antofagasta 1.708,00 1.712,00 Ashtead Group 4.626,2 4.710,0 Associated British Foods 1.652,2 1.684,5 AstraZeneca 10.783,8 10.950,0 Auto Trader Group Plc 634,40 642,00 Avast 557,00 565,40 Aveva 2.414,0 2.441,0 Aviva 429,05 430,30 B&M European Value Retail SA540,20 542,60 BAE Systems 751,98 752,58 Bank VTB DRC 0,010 0,010 Barclays 146,10 147,27 Barratt Developments 517,00 524,20 Berkeley 3.940,0 3.996,0 BHP Billiton Ltd 2.959,00 2.976,00 BP 390,55 391,90 British American Tobacco 3.269,2 3.302,5 British Land Company 532,84 535,00 BT Group 191,65 192,15 Bunzl 3.092,0 3.106,0 Burberry Group 1.580,0 1.598,5 Carnival 1.271,5 1.289,0 Centrica 81,14 81,74 Coca Cola HBC AG 1.587,6 1.619,5 Compass 1.628,00 1.645,00 CRH 3.030,0 3.049,0 Croda Intl 7.800,7 7.890,0 DCC 5.786,0 5.786,0 Diageo 4.007,5 4.023,5 DS Smith 308,44 309,99 EasyJet 526,44 530,40 Experian 2.853,9 2.897,0 Ferguson 9.830,0 9.903,7 Flutter Entertainment 8.500,0 8.586,0 Fresnillo 776,80 780,00 GlaxoSmithKline 1.773,57 1.786,80 Glencore 532,80 534,10 Halma 2.472,6 2.519,0 Hargreaves Lansdown 1.005,50 1.026,50 Hikma Pharma 2.081,00 2.092,00 HSBC 530,50 532,20 IAG 133,58 135,02 Imperial Brands 1.675,43 1.677,50 Informa 614,00 619,00 InterContinental 4.866,0 4.927,0
% CHG. 1.361,50 205,90 2.551,0 4.044,0 1.670,50 4.611,0 1.648,0 10.782,0 630,40 555,00 2.400,0 424,40 538,60 739,71 0,010 145,09 514,40 3.923,0 2.939,00 387,60 3.262,0 528,80 190,70 3.077,0 1.567,8 1.251,0 80,44 1.581,5 1.625,50 2.987,5 7.724,0 5.736,0 3.991,5 304,98 514,00 2.854,0 9.838,0 8.332,0 773,00 1.770,80 520,40 2.469,0 1.001,50 2.061,00 528,50 130,60 1.660,00 608,80 4.846,0
NET VOL 95,97K 444,18K 36,04K 478,01K 115,90K 97,22K 204,21K 27,50K 243,56K 157,68K 69,28K 1,45M 173,72K 211,79K 0 2,38M 407,22K 15,29K 388,29K 5,40M 477,09K 108,80K 1,92M 89,04K 41,42K 120,40K 1,18M 121,59K 164,87K 201,47K 19,13K 7,78K 385,21K 124,45K 569,06K 210,59K 0,67K 74,80K 105,21K 1,10M 8,73M 38,39K 84,89K 50,02K 5,73M 4,23M 372,67K 281,82K 53,30K
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
1.664,50 5.144,0 79,08 249,15 1.943,0 781,76 270,10 45,20 8.484,0 766,23 118,30 1.427,00 1.223,00 218,00 6.006,0 1,89 1.210,00 2.179,9 629,60 1.078,51 5.887,6 2.442,45 524,20 637,80 6.138,0 93,96 0,60 716,20 1.366,00 0,5000 3.200,0 948,55 1.362,00 3.078,0 2.162,7 1.225,00 1.424,50 12.509,5 1.788,00 1.419,50 510,60 132,04 271,30 236,08 3.508,7 1.149,00 131,14 2.811,0 973,60
CHANGE(P)
% CHG.
NET VOL
1.694,50 5.188,0 79,52 253,40 1.962,5 788,20 273,00 45,49 8.546,0 770,60 120,05 1.431,50 1.232,50 219,80 6.068,0 1,89 1.246,00 2.202,0 632,18 1.099,00 6.010,0 2.454,00 528,40 647,60 6.156,0 94,62 0,60 723,20 1.374,00 0,5000 3.230,0 963,60 1.374,50 3.121,0 2.176,5 1.236,50 1.427,50 12.620,2 1.788,00 1.433,50 512,80 133,72 274,10 241,30 3.519,5 1.166,00 131,16 2.830,0 982,60
1.650,00 5.128,0 78,34 249,10 1.937,5 778,60 268,80 44,69 8.464,0 766,00 117,05 1.401,50 1.217,50 216,90 5.966,0 1,89 1.209,50 2.166,0 627,80 1.071,00 5.880,0 2.435,00 519,40 633,00 6.021,0 92,16 0,60 714,60 1.363,50 0,5000 3.202,0 939,80 1.355,00 3.078,0 2.145,5 1.219,50 1.406,50 12.455,0 1.739,27 1.407,50 507,00 131,22 271,30 232,00 3.479,0 1.147,50 129,14 2.784,0 968,40
44,89K 16,75K 1,83M 657,81K 114,22K 109,74K 1,85M 7,64M 69,82K 37,71K 1,29M 122,74K 550,09K 1,76M 52,41K 0 570,25K 163,82K 102,42K 912,90K 190,00K 25,71K 399,62K 178,47K 473,26K 8,46M 0 98,63K 3,63K 0 2,14K 1,06M 270,63K 69,47K 1,73M 300,34K 97,96K 1,46K 141,02K 109,57K 884,49K 640,80K 2,49M 339,58K 70,96K 171,13K 10,17M 32,75K 594,68K
1.19375
0.83723
Units per €
US dollar (USD) ........................................1.0904 Japan yen (JPY)......................................136.662 Switzerland franc (CHF) ...........................1.0194 Denmark kroner (DKK) .............................7.4378 Norway kroner (NOK) ...............................9.5405
currenciesdirect.com/la-zenia • Tel: +34 965 994 830 THE ABOVE TABLE USES THE CURRENT INTERBANK EXCHANGE RATES, WHICH AREN’T REPRESENTATIVE OF THE RATE WE OFFER
DOW JONES C LOSING P RICES A PRIL 11
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 149,81 183,70 252,02 170,09 175,20 217,03 169,93 54,28 63,83 61,68 321,39 311,11 190,16 127,73 47,02 182,12 133,49 251,46 87,68 296,97 128,15 160,10 197,17 184,86 545,96 53,53 216,98 45,42 157,41 131,87
CHANGE 151,65 186,72 253,88 171,78 178,13 217,88 171,10 54,91 64,04 62,28 323,68 312,29 193,39 128,78 47,58 183,19 133,90 255,07 87,83 301,12 129,93 160,53 200,14 185,22 548,97 53,68 219,40 45,79 158,41 133,12
CHANGE% VOLUME(M) 149,38 2,78M 181,93 3,07M 250,54 2,73M 169,20 75,61M 174,24 6,50M 214,03 2,41M 167,02 10,74M 54,01 17,85M 63,16 12,46M 61,32 3,91M 313,00 3,17M 301,28 5,63M 189,81 2,87M 127,27 3,11M 46,85 21,58M 180,43 6,94M 131,49 12,96M 250,92 2,53M 86,26 11,06M 296,28 23,70M 127,88 4,71M 158,92 5,93M 196,62 3,69M 182,16 1,12M 538,10 3,91M 52,50 24,75M 213,08 5,39M 44,75 6,14M 156,21 7,75M 130,63 6,42M M - MILLION DOLLARS
NASDAQ C LOSING P RICES A PRIL 11
COMPANY
CHANGE NET / %
VOLUME
+159.18% +39.01% +24.54% +22.22% +21.30% +20.54% +19.79% +18.99% +18.52% +18.06% +17.98%
120.98M 194.34M 3.63M 5.23M 86.26M 1.26M 231.28K 334.19K 17.61K 831.79K 186.19K
-81.76% -69.23% -50.57% -45.56% -37.91% -37.81% -37.60% -37.51% -36.05% -30.02% -27.39%
18.46M 11.19M 10.89M 8.38M 452.77K 37.07M 2.17M 91.06M 2.35M 3.79M 75.39M
Most Advanced Phio Pharma Medavail Holdings Bicycle Therapeutics Lyra Aterian Eastside Distilling 9F Paysafe Zanite Acquisition TSR Pershing Square Tontine Holdings
Most Declined Kaleido Biosciences Genocea Bio C4 Rubius Therapeutics Axcella Health BioCryst Integrated Media Tech Sunshine Biopharma Singularity Future Tech Zentalis Pharma ENDRA Life Sciences
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14 - 20 April 2022
Recovery funds SPANISH Minister of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda, Raquel Sánchez, confirmed on Wednesday April 6 that €9 billion of European funds to finance the Re‐ covery, Transformation and Resilience Plan (PRTR) have already been dis‐ tributed (or will be shortly after being approved) to autonomous communi‐ ties and councils.
P&O Ferries THE fact that P&O Ferries suspended all of its Dover to Calais sailings after sacking all of its marine staff has added to the problems of import and export of goods, but sub‐ ject to inspection by the Maritime Coastguard Agency it hopes to have two vessels back in service shortly.
Saudi visit DURING an official visit to Spain, the Saudi Minister of Economy and Planning, met his Spanish counter‐ part Nadia Calviño on April 5 to discuss matters of common interest and ways to enhance econom‐ ic and trade relations be‐ tween the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Spain.
Recovering gold AFTER Gordon Brown when Chancellor made the colossal mistake of selling off much of the UK’s gold reserves at low prices, the Royal Mint has now announced that it plans to recover gold from the circuit boards of elec‐ tronic waste to use in making sovereigns.
Restaurant prices rise A PIZZA costs 10 per cent more to eat in a Spanish restaurant than in 2020 ac‐ cording to a report compiled by Barcelona based Artificial Intelligence company Delec‐ tatech. The CEO of the company Xavier Mallol suggests that the increase in raw materials has caused restaurant menu prices to increase, so, using the example of the pizza this has been borne out by the jump in price of dairy, flour and toppings. Setting aside running costs such as rent and utility bills, taxes and staff costs, the in‐ gredients for the average piz‐ za cost no more than €2 so the margin of profit is signifi‐ cant and the extra costs are certainly being passed on to the consumer. With inflation shooting up, particularly thanks to the cost of fuel and energy, the aver‐ age price increase in restau‐ rants is considered overall to be around 8.5 per cent, but
Credit: Delectatech Twitter
BUSINESS EXTRA
COMPANY CEO: Xavier Mallol with microphone at a recent industry fair in Madrid.
this doesn’t yet take the Ukraine effect into account. Consumers currently have less money to spend due to the same inflationary pres‐ sures affecting restaurants but because they were held back from eating out for so long due to the pandemic, there is still an urge to visit
restaurants more regularly. Add to this, the fact that due to the lockdown, more people started to order food for delivery and it can be seen that the hospitality industry can expect a reasonable year ahead, especially with the ex‐ pected surge in tourism in the Costas.
This is of course a double‐ edged sword as more staff will be taken on and leave the ranks of the unemployed, but due to new labour laws it will cost employers more to re‐ cruit kitchen and front of house staff, which in turn is likely to increase costs as well.
Morrisons to raise funds AMERICAN owners of Morrisons plan to sell property worth £500 million just months after the takeover. One of the undertakings that Clayton Dubilier and Rice (CD&R) gave in order to gain approval of its £7 billion takeover was that it wouldn’t sell off and then leaseback its valuable store portfolio at least in the early part of its ownership. The bid document said: “Bidco [the company formed by the firm to imple‐ ment the deal] recognises that the high proportion of freehold ownership of the Morrisons store estate is a particu‐ lar strength of the business which has been carefully preserved over many years and will continue to be a corner‐ stone of Morrisons. “Bidco does not intend to engage in any material store sale and leaseback
OFTEN seen as being on op‐ posite sides of the economic and political spectrum, Spain and the Netherlands present‐ ed a joint document to pro‐ mote the reform of European fiscal rules on April 4. Appearing with the Dutch Finance Minister, Sidrid
Morrisons profits take a dip.
transactions.” According to the British press, whilst bearing this in mind, CD&R are looking to appoint advisers to arrange the sale of many of its manufacturing and distri‐ bution facilities across the UK in a bid to recover some of its investment. In the meantime, a spokesperson for
Morrisons indicated that it experienced a fall in earnings in the three‐month pe‐ riod ending on January 30, with under‐ lying quarterly profits falling almost 10 per cent to £316 million due to infla‐ tionary pressures and this could be made worse by the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Promoting fiscal reform Kaag, in Luxembourg, Fi‐ nance Minister Nadia Calviño agreed that it was important to the integration of finan‐ cial markets, by adapting the Stability and Growth Pact to
current challenges, the cul‐ mination of the Banking Union and the Union of Capi‐ tal Markets. “We must leave behind the divisive debates and build on
NEWS
Primark online PRIMARK shoppers can now check out available stock online in the UK as the company unveiled its new website on April 7. The new website comes with a traffic light system to help shoppers know when and where stock is available. The website also comes complete with improved photos and allows shop‐ pers to look for items by colour, size and style. Paul Marchant, Pri‐ mark’s chief executive ex‐ plained: “We know our customers love the expe‐ rience of shopping with Primark and the surprises they pick up when they come into our stores ‐ it’s what makes Primark spe‐ cial.” It is expected that the new website will soon be extended to its business‐ es in 13 other countries by September.
Bank of Spain Credit: Morrisons Press Centre
30 EWN
the basis of the strong exist‐ ing consensus on actions with priorities to strengthen the European economy and face the challenges of the present and future,” she said.
THE latest supervisory report from the Bank of Spain published on April 7 covers the situ‐ ation with the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the direct exposure of Spanish banks to possi‐ ble default from Rus‐ sian borrowers. Ev e n t h o u g h t h e amount involved is considerably less than €1 billion, the Gover‐ nor Pablo Hernandez de Cos warned the commercial banks to keep a close eye on customers who did trade with Russia as their situation could become difficult. In addition, in order to cope with possible hardship caused by spi‐ ralling energy costs ex‐ perienced by industry and consumers in Spain, banks were ad‐ vised not to write down existing provi‐ sions at this time.
FEATURE
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LEAPY LEE SAYS IT OTHERS THINK IT WITH the British media’s almost fanatical fixation on interviewing minorities for their opinions on almost every subject under the sun, would it be too much to ask that, among all the disquiet and griping, they could select at least one or two that are happy with their lot and satisfied with their often adopted country of residence? Not much chance of that of course. The BBC in particular is hell bent on disproportionately promoting and inciting discontented minorities, purely because they are fully aware that by encouraging their dissatisfaction of the present government they may just garner enough votes to scrape a favourable left wing victory in the next election. It’s for the same reason they pander to the youngsters by giving maximum publicity to their antigovernment demonstrations and environmental protests. This left wing, woke infested bunch, actually set out on the campaign trail within months of Corbyn’s Marxist marauders rout in the last election. They were fully aware that the more mature and experienced indigenous population was never going to vote in a
14 - 20 April 2022
BBC HELL BENT party whose tenures ALWAYS ended in utter failure. The only reason Tony Blair was a brief success was because he was more right wing than many of the opposition, and even that term culminated with Brown selling off over 50 per cent of the UK’s gold reserves and hijacking the people’s pension fund! They know they need to court the youngsters and ethnic population who have never experienced the incompetence and failures of the left. They have blatantly honed in on the naïve innocents, those who have never seen the hypocritical bully boys of the unions smirking on the steps of Downing Street, or paralysing the country with their strikes and walkouts before returning to their multi‐million dollar villas on the Costas. Rest assured the economic policies and subsequent empty coffers of a left wing government would never have managed to provide the assistance and financial aid to companies and the public to get the country through the recent Covid pandemic. Margaret Thatcher was absolutely correct when she observed that the problem with socialists was that they always ultimately ‘ran out of other
people’s money’. And while we’re on the subject of filthy lucre, irrespective of the so‐called moral implications this latest furor over the wealth Rishi Sunak’s wife has created, it does bring to mind the old adage of stones and glass houses. While Kier Starmer is gleefully spouting off about the ‘arrogant hypocrisy’ of the Chancellor and his wife, perhaps he would also like to tell us all how he truly understands and feels the ‘pain’ of the ordinary man in the street as he appraises the £8 million fortune he has in the bank or relaxes in the £2 million luxury home he is driven home to every night! I’ve prattled on so much this week that I have no space to relate the ‘revenge’ of our much maligned ‘plastered’ bridegroom. Just have to linger another seven I’m afraid. Ah well, worth the wait I can assure you. Keep the faith Love Leapy leapylee2002@gmail.com expatradioscotland Mon. Fri. 1pm till 4pm. 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.
EWN 31
TV & Film Review by Laura Kemp
Now Streaming - Jimmy Savile: A British Horror Story ONCE one of the UK’s most beloved television personali‐ ties, this Netflix true‐crime mini‐series delves into the bizarre and horrifying life of Jimmy Savile and how he in‐ filtrated the hearts of the public as well as politics and the royal family. This two‐part documen‐ tary exposes the frightening reality of how one of the UK’s most famous and well‐ loved TV personalities hid in plain sight and how show‐ business and the political es‐ tablishment allowed him to abuse hundreds of people over decades. This docu‐ mentary has an 86 per cent critic rating and a 54 per cent audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes and, at times, can be triggering for some. The first part of the docu‐ mentary explores how Savile won over both the public and the ruling classes, ap‐ pearing on the BBC regularly, raising millions for charity, spending time with politi‐ cians such as Margaret
Thatcher and even giving ad‐ vice to the royal family. The second part of this mi‐ ni‐series explores how Savile used his charity work to prey on the most vulnerable peo‐ ple in society. Volunteering at hospitals and raising mon‐ ey for children gave him ac‐ cess to abuse these people behind closed doors, hiding behind his facade of blonde hair, shell suits and cigars. His victims were terrified to expose Savile, one of the most famous men in Britain who appeared on Top of the Pops regularly and made children’s dreams come true in Jim’ll Fix It. Throughout his career, Savile even hinted at his true self on camera and in public, but the huge red flags were ignored. This mini‐series is worth a watch for true crime lovers and those interested in delv‐ ing deeper into this disturb‐ ing tragedy, with some infor‐ mation released that has not been previously shared with the public.
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14 - 20 April 2022
FEATURE
Travel Feature
Tourism is looking up FRANCESC COLOMER, who heads the Valencian Community’s Tourism Board, predicted high occupancy over Easter. He attributed the increase to the return of international tourists and the regional government’s Bono Vi‐ atgem vouchers bringing discounts of up to 70 per cent ‐ or €600 ‐ on hotel bills inside the region between January 17 and May 31. Available to all residents regis‐ tered on a Valencian Community Padron, this year’s edition has a €15 million budget that will benefit an estimated 100,000 users. The Generalitat first introduced the scheme in 2020 to assist the be‐ leaguered hotel industry after the first lockdown came to an end in May that year. The Tourism Board now foresees encouraging results for this year’s vouchers, Colomer said. “Some Easter destinations are practically fully‐booked already,” he revealed on Saturday April 9. The vouchers have been used to make more than 4,000 bookings for
Photo credit: GVA.es
34 EWN
FRANCESC COLOMER: Tourism chief predicted high Easter occupancy.
the days coinciding with national holidays throughout the region. Ali‐ cante Province accounted for 2,676 reservations, followed by Castellon (993) and Valencia (461). Colomer also stressed the impact of international tourism, which he described as the pandemic’s “great‐ est outstanding issue.” As always, Britons make up the bulk of the foreign tourists making for the Costa Blanca this Easter, al‐ though those from France, Belgium, Holland and Germany were also demonstrating their loyalty, Colomer said.
FEATURE
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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
LIKE an essential riposte to the contin‐ uing waves of appalling global events, crime novels have seen a sales boom since lockdown, a trend unforeseen even by hard‐bitten crime fiction de‐ tectives. Understandably anxious about volatility in the real world, read‐ ers now seek reassurance in stories where baddies get their just deserts. Crime writer David Baldacci said readers turned to his novels to see the good guys win. “When times are stress‐ ful and it looks like the bad is winning out over the good, along comes the genre of crime novels to put the bal‐ ance back in life. People inherently don’t like folks who do bad to get away with it. In real life they do all the time, because of a variety of factors. But in novels, evil’s punished, and the good guys mostly win, after solving the puz‐ zle.” People face many challenges in life and crime fiction lets readers forget
14 - 20 April 2022
EWN 35
The comfort of crime: Crime fiction sales boom is no mystery
LATEST NOVEL: Death in Windermere investigating a chilling cold case.
about their own struggles. They like a ‘formula’. There’s a death. A detective investigates. The perpetrator is un‐ masked in a plot involving cunning clues, red herrings and final justice. No mystery at all! In Death in Windermere, the latest in my own psychological crime thriller se‐ ries featuring investigative journalist Al‐ ice Myers, DI Barbara Forster is investi‐ gating a chilling cold case, but what at first seems an isolated child’s death soon becomes a conspiracy of secrets and lies. Within days, three young women are found dead in suspicious circumstances leaving behind suicide notes. But it is only when Barbara and Alice begin working together that the truth starts to emerge. And it is Alice who puts her life at risk going undercover in her search for the truth and justice for the victims confronting, amongst oth‐ ers, a famous TV soap opera star ‐ with harrowing consequences.
Murder and mystery, drugs and sex, secrecy and sensationalism, all unfold‐ ing against a background of small‐town ambitions and big‐time egos in a fraught tale of wrecked lives, family tragedy and moral consequences as the gradually building nightmare gathers steam, keeping you guessing right up to the explosive double twist climax. Nora Johnson’s other psychological crime thrillers ‘The Sentinel’, ‘No Safe Place’, ‘Betrayal’, ‘The Girl in the Woods’, ‘The Girl in the Red Dress’, ‘No Way Back’, ‘Landscape of Lies’, ‘Retri‐ bution’, ‘Soul Stealer’, ‘The De Cleram‐ bault Code’ (www.nora‐johnson.net) available online as eBook (€0.99; £0.99), Apple 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.
THURSDAY 14/04 FRIDAY 15/04
4:45pm 5:30pm 6:15pm 7:00pm 7:30pm 8:00pm 8:30pm 9:00pm 10:00pm 4:45pm 5:30pm 6:15pm 7:00pm 7:20pm 7:25pm 7:30pm
MONDAY 18/04
SUNDAY 17/04
SATURDAY 16/04
9:00pm 4:00pm 6:45pm 7:15pm 7:25pm 7:28pm 7:30pm 8:00pm 8:50pm 9:35pm 2:15pm 2:50pm 5:20pm 6:20pm 6:35pm 6:40pm 6:45pm 8:10pm 9:00pm 10:00pm 5:30pm 6:15pm 7:00pm 7:20pm 7:25pm 7:30pm 8:30pm 9:00pm
WEDNESDAY 20/04
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The Repair Shop Bridge of Lies Pointless BBC News at Six; Weather BBC London News; Weather The One Show EastEnders MasterChef Gordon Ramsay's Future Food Stars
4:00pm
The Repair Shop Bridge of Lies Pointless BBC News at Six; Weather BBC London News; Weather Weather Dinosaurs: The Final Day with David Attenborough MasterChef
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Match of the Day Live: The FA Cup Garden Rescue BBC News BBC London News; Weather Weather Celebrity Mastermind The Wall Versus Celebrities Pointless Celebrities Casualty
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Songs of Praise Live Snooker: The World Championship The Invictus Games BBC News BBC London News; Weather Weather The Lion King Doctor Who Countryfile Gentleman Jack
1:15pm
Antiques Road Trip Pointless BBC News at Six; Weather BBC London News; Weather Weather The Invictus Games EastEnders Mary Berry's Fantastic Feasts The Split
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Antiques Road Trip The Bidding Room Pointless BBC News at Six; Weather BBC London News; Weather Party Election Broadcast The Invictus Games EastEnders MasterChef
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FEATURE
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CLAIRE GORDON FINDING BALANCE IN AN UNEVEN WORLD THERE is a famous saying by Holocaust survivor Martin Niemoller about apathy in the face of per‐ secution that unfortu‐ nately seems to be more relevant than ever cur‐ rently. “First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out ‐ be‐ cause I was not a social‐ ist. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out ‐ be‐ cause I was not a trade unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out ‐ because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me ‐ and there was no one left to speak for me.” While he cut a contro‐ versial figure, these words cannot be denied. If people allow groups to be oppressed and say nothing, they are com‐ plicit in the maltreat‐ ment because they have not stood up for them. Then when the oppres‐ sors turn against them, there will be no one left to help protect them,
14 - 20 April 2022
Coming for you and the oppressors WILL turn. People do not seem to realise that there are very few peo‐ ple that right‐wing fanat‐ ics actually accept, therefore there are many characteristics that will be suppressed under their tyranny. This week, the UK gov‐ ernment has been flip‐ flopping over a ban re‐ garding conversion therapy, a barbaric prac‐ tice that tries to ‘cure’ people under the LGBTQ+ umbrella of their sexuality or gender expression. At first, they assured that a ban would cover everyone, then changed their minds to exclude Trans people from the ruling. This decision comes amid a flurry of anti‐ Trans sentiment in the news and on social me‐ dia, which is not at all a coincidence. Due to pressure from LGBTQ+ groups, parliament has now said they will look
into a full ban once more. This is how people should stand up for each other when things such as this happen. For les‐ bian, gay and bisexual people to stand aside while Trans people are attacked is wrong, espe‐ cially as Trans people have done so much to advance the rights of LGB people in the past. It should be for selfless reasons that we stand up for each other, but even if that does not stir peo‐ ple to action, the thought that you’ll be next should. As activist Charlie Craggs has high‐ lighted, we are seeing the effects of people standing by while Trans people are persecuted in the high courts, the me‐ dia and the streets in Hungary. With no one defending Trans people, their right‐wing govern‐ ment has moved on to attacking LGB people’s rights, banning same‐sex adoption and imple‐
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.
menting a section 28 style law that prohibits the ‘promotion’ (men‐ tion) of homosexuality. If more resistance had
been given in the first in‐ stance, it may not have gotten to this point. While my discussion this week is about
EWN 37
LGBTQ+ rights, the senti‐ ment should not be held into that sphere alone. The more separation and discord oppressors can sow, the more they know people don’t have each other’s backs, then the more they will take away from us all. Before you know it, you’ll be losing too.
Advertising Feature
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EW YOUR PAPER - YOUR VOICE - YOUR OPINION Letters should be emailed to yoursay@euroweeklynews.com or make your comments on our website: www.euroweeklynews.com Views expressed and opinions given are not necessarily those of the EWN publishers. No responsibility is accepted for accuracy of information, errors, omissions or statements.
INCREASE AT THE PUMP From our Facebook
PETROL PRICES: There seems to be confusion and it isn’t what the government intended.
FILLED up with petrol today in Torrevieja. Guess what, the price per litre has been increased by the 5c per litre reduction in the last week. So all we are getting is the 15 per cent vat reduction. Is that legal? It certainly isn’t what the government intended. Tony
MESSAGE TO SOLDIERS Soldiers, tell your mothers of the truth in the Ukraine Tell them what you saw, the destruction and the pain
Tell them how a mother and her unborn baby died When the hospital was bombed and the world in sorrow cried How mothers and their children fled their land in fear Their homes no longer standing, losing all that they held dear Tell about the theatre that protected many more Until an air strike killed them as they sheltered on the floor Think of what you’re doing before you end up killing more There must be something you can do to end this dreadful war ©Tricia Gabbitas 2022
MASK OR NO MASK? A LOT of people were very excited about the fact that the wearing of masks indoors (except for public transport, medical centres and residential homes) was to be removed on April 19 in Spain. There is a slightly uncomfortable feel however that the government wanted to delay the implementation until after the Easter celebrations which suggests that it feared that there would be a sharp increase of infections if people were ‘unmuzzled’ at one of the busiest times of the year. There seems to be a real difference of opinion not just from the public at large, but from ‘experts’ about the effectiveness of masks in the first place as some believe they are the cause of different chest infections for those wearing them for a full shift. On the other hand, many believe that they do cut down the spread of Covid-19 infection and the
CORRECTIONS
Post Brexit My wife and I have lived in Spain for 15 years . We tried to get residencia but we don’t qualify as we are living on my state UK pension and don’t have enough money going into our bank account every month. Does anyone know what would happen at the airport if we tried to go back to England? Would we be detained at passport control for not having a TIE card? I would welcome any information. Many thanks, Peter
OUR VIEW
Junta de Andalucia wants to persuade the national government to allow employers to make the wearing of masks compulsory for staff if they want to. The reality is that whilst people have in the past been fairly scrupulous in wearing masks, the last month or so appears to have seen many become less rigorous, especially in small establishments. There are plenty of customers walking in and out of bars and restaurants who are not wearing masks and fewer people are wearing them when walking on busy streets. Certainly, for those who want to continue to wear masks, there is nothing to stop them and for those (possibly the majority) who don’t, they will be free to leave them off. Time will tell if there is a sudden spike, but we can only hope there isn’t.
COVID-19: Are you going to keep wearing your mask?
Jenny Church Can’t wait to go to Mercadona after masks are not needed. Mercadona customers seem to be most brainwashed, cleaning trolleys, hands, then plastic gloves etc. Even seen two people spraying everything in the trolley before putting it in their boot. I shall enter the shop smiling at last, mask free...
David Wardell I think it’s up to every individual as to whether they continue wearing masks. I would still wear mine in certain circumstances, better to be safe than sorry.
Sandra Russell Of course we were fed up wearing masks right from the start. But it made sense so we did it. The UK and Ireland incidents rose enormously when they stopped wearing masks, but I don’t know if the death rate did. I will stop gladly, but with reservations.
Dawn Veitch It’s personal choice. We still wear ours on the bus, taxi and supermarket. Being a bit lax last week in Weymouth resulted in both of us just getting over Covid. Both have had three jabs. Both will be more careful and keep our masks.
Helen Clark I will decide when and where to wear a mask, especially during flu months. For the last two years I haven’t had a winter flu.
Gill Reynolds Still wear one in shops and markets etc, but not in our local bars xxx
At the EWN, we pride ourselves that reports are accurate and fair. If we do slip up, we promise to set the record straight in a clear, no-nonsense manner. To ask for an inaccuracy to be corrected. Email: editorial@euroweeklynews.com
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FEATURE
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Advertising Feature
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14 - 20 April 2022
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HEALTH & BEAUTY
Paracetamol and ibuprofen MOST people have ibupro‐ fen and paracetamol in their medicine cabinets, and al‐ though both are used as painkillers, they have differ‐ ent indications and side ef‐ fects. • Ibuprofen Ibuprofen is a nonsteroidal anti‐inflammatory drug (NSAID) and has an analgesic, anti‐inflammatory and an‐ tipyretic effect. This means that it can reduce pain, inflam‐ mation and fever. There is some evidence that consuming ibuprofen fre‐ quently over time may in‐ crease cardiovascular risk, and people with cardiovascular disease should speak with their doctor before taking it.
Pain killers.
It should not be taken on an empty stomach and is generally not recom‐ mended for pregnant women. • Paracetamol Paracetamol does not re‐ duce inflammation, but it does relieve pain and reduce fever. It is mainly used to alle‐ viate flu symptoms, headaches, toothaches, back pain, etc. Unlike ibuprofen, paraceta‐ mol does not cause gastric
side effects, so it can be taken on an empty stomach. However, it is im‐ portant not to ex‐ ceed the maximum dose, even if the pain is very bad. • Can I alternate paraceta‐ mol with ibuprofen? When in doubt regarding which painkiller to take, con‐ sult your doctor. Generally speaking, however, ibuprofen is best for inflammation and severe pain, and paracetamol should be enough when there is fever, but no pain. It is best not to alternate be‐ tween paracetamol and ibuprofen, as this may in‐ crease the risk of hypotension and kidney damage. There‐ fore, if you have a fever, it is best to choose one and take it as recommended. However, if the fever persists, you can al‐ ternate between ibuprofen and paracetamol. This is an emergency method that can never be prolonged for more than three days.
HEALTH & BEAUTY
www.euroweeklynews.com
14 - 20 April 2022
7 Superfoods that help digestion ALL foods nourish us in some way, but superfoods have more vitamins, minerals, an‐ tioxidants and essential fatty acids than other foods. Here are seven superfoods that help digestion. 1) Avocado Avocados are rich in both soluble fibre, which supports gut flora, and insoluble fibre, which helps to prevent and relieve constipation. Fibre also helps to make us feel full for longer. Avocado is also a low‐ fructose food, so it is less likely to cause gas. 2) Probiotic yoghurt Yoghurt is fermented milk obtained using two types of bacteria, Streptococcus ther‐ mophilus and Lactobacillus bulgaricus. Our digestive sys‐ tem is colonised by many dif‐ ferent types of bacteria, and eating foods with probiotics maintains this delicate bal‐ ance. 3) Oats Oats can be good for con‐ stipation because they have a lot of fibre. They contain mu‐ cilage, which softens the mu‐
AVOCADOS: A low-fructose food, so unlikely to cause gas.
cous membrane of the stom‐ ach and intestine, making them suitable for people with sensitive stomachs. 4) Pineapple Pineapple contains a pro‐ tein‐digesting substance called bromelain, which helps the pancreas and stomach do their jobs. While protein is an essential macronutrient, foods such as meat can take between six and nine hours to digest, whereas pineapple on‐ ly takes between 20 and 30
minutes. 5) Olive oil Extra virgin olive oil acts as a mild natural laxative. It boosts muscle contractions in the intestines, promoting the flow of bile and helping to maintain regular bowel movements and prevent constipation. 6) Garlic Garlic is a source of prebi‐ otics, which are non‐digestible substances that promote the activity of beneficial bacteria
in the gut. They are not bro‐ ken down during their transit through the upper digestive tract and they undergo bacte‐ rial fermentation once they reach the colon. 7) Tiger nuts Tiger nuts are actually tu‐ bers, not nuts. Thanks to their insoluble fibre, they add vol‐ ume to the stools and prevent constipation, and may also contain certain enzymes that break down food in the intes‐ tine.
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14 - 20 April 2022
DAVID WORBOYS IN the last few weeks, we have seen and heard countless heartbreaking situations in Ukraine. Innocent men, women and chil‐ dren weeping as they describe their or‐ deals, often in English. I have noticed that frequently they describe harrowing experi‐ ences with resignation, and occasionally even with a smile, while we TV viewers may be in tears at their plight. These are very brave and resolute people. There are also currently millions of peo‐ ple with serious financial problems caused by general inflation and increased fuel costs. The situation of many of them is tru‐ ly tear‐jerking. They have to choose be‐ tween eating and heating, there are no hol‐ idays or treats for the children and they face a complete change in lifestyle. Then there are Covid and climate change. In all parts of the world, we see truly tragic scenes of suffering and loss, depriva‐ tion and destruction. When interviewed on television, the victims often express their grief naturally by weeping. As they are of‐ ten too distressed to relate fluently their ordeals, is this not an invasion of privacy? Should they not be given the chance to communicate with dignity?
FEATURE
IT’S A CRYING SHAME
Both the causes and manner of crying are many and varied.
Seventy years ago, when there were two sexes, crying was associated with women and grief, rather than emotional joy or frus‐ tration. Except in the case of bereavement, separation or other tragedy, a man crying looked slightly unnatural and men were not expected to cry in public. Television was in its infancy. A friend in Germany said: “Englishmen meet for a pint; German women meet for a
coffee and Americans meet for a cry.” And, indeed, Americans do seem more prone to tears in public than most. And not just tears caused by a tragedy or a desperate situation. The tears may start flowing when they recall how proud they are to be American, when they look at an American flag or when their children achieve something to make them proud. If the thing a person can
feel most proud of is the accident of his na‐ tionality, does this suggest a life of success? But it’s not only Americans. Many of us will recall the spectacle of Roger Federer sobbing during the court interview when Rafael Nadal beat him in the final of the Australian Open of 2009. Since the advent of television, we regularly see intervie‐ wees, including sportsmen, crying with emotion of one sort or another. Crying may be of the ‘smoke gets in your eyes’ variety. Or there could be sniffling, weeping, sobbing, howling with anguish or roaring with rage. It is widely believed that ‘it’s better to let the grief flow than to hold it in’. But when interviewers probe with tactless questions and comments about a deeply tragic situa‐ tion, inducing their subject to break down in front of the cameras, this seems to me an unnecessary intrusion. They should in‐ terview with tact and, as far as possible, at the right time. 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.
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Advertising Feature
Why choose Seagate Wealth Management? S EAG AT E W EA LT H M A N AG E M E N T provides Independent Financial Advice working with a number of regulated companies offering a comprehensive range of services. However, we are very different to your typical Financial Adviser. The Seagate team has a wealth of ex‐ perience in providing advice on all as‐ pects of investments and savings op‐ tions. All our advisers used to work for High Street Banks in the UK. Whether you are new to the world of savings or have an existing investment portfolio, we are here to help you. With banks offering low interest rates, simply putting surplus money in‐ to a standard savings account will not see a return above the rate of inflation. As financial advisers we provide a range of flexible, cost effective savings schemes from some of the world’s leading product providers, such as Pru‐ dential International and Quilters. The products offered by these companies allow you to achieve the growth you want, but just as importantly are fully
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simply leaving money in your UK bank account can create complex reporting requirements that can easily be avoid‐ ed. For many expats, their pension in‐ come is the key to living the retirement lifestyle of their choice. Whether you are a current UK resi‐
dent on the verge of retiring, or an ex‐ pat who has already made the move, Seagate provides all the help and sup‐ port you need to ensure the seamless transfer of your pension assets. Pension provision for a spouse on the death of a member is often at the fore‐ front of our client’s mind. With a final salary scheme, the loss of a spouse also results in a loss of income, ordinarily 50 per cent. With a pension transfer it is possible to pass on 100 per cent of the fund to provide a spouse pension. We offer a range of pension solutions that offer our clients flexibility and con‐ trol to ensure the best outcome for their pension fund. As your pension is likely to be your second largest asset after your home, this is vitally impor‐ tant. Our values are simple ‐ to be inde‐ pendent, transparent, supportive and straightforward. If you want your mon‐ ey to work harder or you have a UK pension fund and need advice on your options, then please contact us today. Our friendly team is here to help.
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FEATURE
GO LOCAL THE EURO WEEKLY NEWS has urged its readers to support local businesses in the community by shopping locally in recent times. Now things are heading back to normal, we challenge you to maintain that habit by supporting local high streets, markets, butchers, greengrocers and all of the wonderfully quirky inde‐ pendent businesses in your area. Local businesses make our villages, towns and cities
what they are. They add unique character. They are convenient. And they offer excellent produce from known suppliers. The joy of shopping locally means that independent businesses can support the local communi‐ ty. You may find something a euro or two cheaper on‐ line but have you consid‐ ered where your money is actually going? By shopping locally you’re putting food on a local fami‐ ly’s table and there is noth‐
ing better than giving back to the communi‐ ties that have given us so much. Local stores support charities and they BUY LOCAL: By shopping locally, sponsor lo‐ independent businesses can help support cal sports the local community. teams. In many cases, they are much your support. Spending your more than just a business, money locally will make a they’re a legacy. They may real difference to the local have supported generations economy. Local businesses of the same family. Likewise, recirculate a greater share brand new local stores and of every euro they receive at bars may help the genera‐ local level. They create local‐ tions of the future fulfil their ly owned supply chains and dreams and ambitions. they invest in their employ‐ Remember, your local ees. store is going up against multinationals and chains. So remember. They can’t win that battle on When you go shopping ‐ their own. So give them go local!
FEATURE
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Press Release
Lobster’s new plan LO B S T E R the ‘all‐in‐English’ mo‐ bile network has launched a new mobile plan that gives cus‐ tomers in Spain even more great options with Lobster for them‐ selves, their families and for business. Lobster’s new ‘Just Spain’ plan has unlimited calls in Spain and 18GB of data for only €10. It is aimed at customers who pre‐ dominantly make calls only in Spain, want lots of data, and want to enjoy a service that’s provided completely in their own language. The new mobile plan offers the same great Lobster all‐in‐English experience (the website, the bills, and a friendly customer service in native English), with no contract or commitments. Lobster wants its customers to stay because they’re happy with the great service. Lobster has built a reputation on providing a first‐class mobile service for English speakers in Spain. Its customers have rated
4.6 out of 5 stars on Trustpilot, and 4.8 out of 5 stars on Google, and have given great reviews on its Facebook page, making it one of the best valued mobile net‐ works in Spain. With Lobster multiple SIMs can be managed from one single ac‐ count, making it easy for fami‐ lies and businesses to manage multiple phones. People interested in the new plan should go to lobster.es or call Lobster on 1661. Lobster will take care of moving them over from any other Spanish provider whilst keeping their Spanish mo‐ bile phone number, or they can provide a brand‐new Spanish number. The new ‘Just Spain’ plan com‐ p l e m e n t s L o b s t e r ’ s t h r e e p o p u‐ lar international plans (Small, Medium and Large) that offer unlimited calls and texts in Spain, to the UK and other coun‐ tries, starting from €12 and all with Lobster’s unique all‐in‐En‐ glish experience.
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SUZANNE MANNERS T H I S week, hearty pat on back, deafening sounds of cheers and ticker tape falling like snow from the Sierra Nevada, I have complet‐ ed my and my son’s tax returns. The dreaded Renta. All online, not a gestor or visit to the good folk at the Hacienda in sight. My son will receive a rebate (hooray) but I, however, owe them money (Boo! How? I have one job which is taxed at source.). True it is a nominal sum but still… Thankfully the process for filing tax returns online in Spain is now much easier than it was 15 years ago. When I first filed my own returns one had to download a complicated bit of software and try to negotiate a dense, terminological jungle of scary and impenetrable tax speak… in Spanish. Now, however, one can even file the return in English. I kid you not. English! In the past the thought of filing made me sweat with terror and consider the pros and cons of
FEATURE
Death and Taxes
SAVING: For our own retirement.
faking my own death. Death and taxes, as the saying goes, can never be avoided, and for the most part nor should they (al‐ though, I would much prefer not to be in the room when it happens, as Woody Allen once said) tax is there
to pay for the infrastructure of our privileged lives; hospitals, schools, pensions etc. We who work pay tax to save for our own retirements and pay for the pensioners and those less able than us who cannot work. We pay to educate the next generation who will then in turn pay for our pen‐ sions. We pay for light, security and health. Spain is the country I have chosen to live my life in and the country in which I shall retire, having earned the right to enter into its pension system. So while my taxes support today’s pensioners, so will the taxes of the next generation support my own retirement. Neat and decent and thoroughly human. We work to live and to look after those less for‐ tunate…unless you are a ‘nom dom’. Billionaires, oligarchs, overpaid and over entitled movie stars, sports stars, CEOs, politicians and their spouses and hedge fund for‐ agers savagely guarding their piles of unimaginable wealth.
They earn more than they will ev‐ er spend in their lifetimes and pay less tax than a sloth minding its own business in a rapidly defenestrated rainforest. You and I cannot avoid tax, but it seems that the more you earn the more you can slip by it unnoticed, by taking the dark and dubiously le‐ gal pathways open by extreme wealth. We plebs then are forced to listen while a pampered politician who inherited Daddy’s billions tells us all to stop putting on the heating and wear more jumpers and maybe just get up off your a**e and work; this last a quote from someone born into privilege who’s idea of work is sitting in front of a camera preen‐ ing. Ultimately and unavoidably, Death, my friend, comes for us all… dressed as a tax collector. To read more articles from our columnists and to have your say in the comments go to www.euroweeklynews.com
Suzanne Manners’ opinions are her own and are not necessarily representative of those of the publishers, advertisers or sponsors.
SOCIAL SCENE
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Tapas Route T H E 11th edition of the Los Montesinos Tapas Route will take place at 15 participat‐ ing bars and restaurants in the municipality over the weekend of April 15 to 17. The Tapas Route will offer the chance to taste up to 30 different dishes, ranging from the most traditional local dishes to Indian, En‐ glish or Mexican cuisine. The price of each tapa plus a drink is €2.50, or €3.00 for the gourmet tapas. Par‐ ticipants can vote for their favourite tapa by completing the leaflet provided at the es‐ tablishments with stamps from six of the 15 participating bars and restaurants and en‐ tering it into a prize draw. The prize will be dinner/lunch for two people at one of the local restaurants and the winning restau‐ rant will receive a commemorative plaque. For more information, visit http://www.losmontesinos.es/en/x‐ruta‐ de‐la‐tapa‐en‐los‐montesinos.
GOURMET TAPAS: Taking place this weekend.
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Guys & Dolls STUDIO 32 are pleased to an‐ nounce that rehearsals are well underway for their summer show Guys & Dolls. The main storyline follows gambler Nathan Detroit, played by Bill Nicholson, who has few options for somewhere to host his big craps game. Needing $1,000 to pay a garage owner, Nathan bets fellow gambler Sky Masterson that he cannot get the virtuous Salvation Army sergeant Sarah Brown to go out on a date. Despite some resistance, Sky ne‐ gotiates a date with her in ex‐ change for bringing people into her mission. Meanwhile, Nathan’s long‐time fiancée Adelaide, played by Donna Waters, wants him to go legit and marry her. The big come‐ dy number that they perform is ‘Sue Me’. Studio 32 believes that they have assembled one of the best vocal casts that they have ever had for this performance and do not want anybody who enjoys musicals to miss out. For this reason, they are offering groups of 20 or more who book using their online booking ser‐
Rehearsals are underway.
vice for the performances of May 18 and 19 a discount of €24, which will be refunded on the night of the performance in exchange for the ticket receipt at front of house. There will also be a complimen‐ tary drink upon arrival and at the in‐ terval. For further information, call 679 062 272 or 636 020 547. To book tickets online, visit www.studiothirtytwo.org. For fur‐ ther advice on how to use their on‐ line booking service, email stu dio32shows@gmail.com.
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Rojales Pantomime Group needs you! ROJALES PANTOMIME GROUP are looking for new members. They need them not only to help them fill the roles of various principal characters for Treasure Island, but also to join in the fun chorus or help out backstage and front of house. “Or simply join a very hap‐ py social group who enjoy lots of events organised by our very enthusiastic Social Secretary,” said Valerie O’Reilly. The Annual General Meeting will be held on Tuesday April 26 at The Oa‐ sis, San Lui, at 12 noon, Va‐ lerie added. “So if you are looking for something different and ex‐ citing in your life why not come and join us? It’s a great way of meeting new friends.” The amateur group also raises funds for local chari‐ ties. “Interested? Then you are
very welcome to join us on April 26 and enjoy a lunch after the meeting, should you wish,” Valerie said. Auditions will be held in May with the performances scheduled for the first week in December at the Cardinal Belluga Theatre in San Ful‐ gencio: “We really need you, oh yes we do!” Readers wishing to attend the AGM or join the group for lunch should email the rojalespanto@yahoo.com address. “You will be made very welcome, oh yes you will!” Valerie promised.
PETS
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www.euroweeklynews.com • 14 - 20 April 2022
SPONSORED BY
Leave your pets with trusted pet-sitters IT’S been rather quiet for us for a year or so, but many people are begin‐ ning 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 sim‐ ply can’t travel with some pets. Young and senior pets in particular benefit from staying in their own home, so they can follow their routines undis‐ turbed. Let us help. Take a moment to plan
ahead for pet and house‐ sitters, 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 philosophy is that we are all in this to‐ gether. These are the steps to take: 1. Register as a home‐ owner on HouseSit‐ Match.com 2. Choose a Premium account (£89 per year) to ensure you can help on‐ line 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 next year’s holiday Covid permitting 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 annual fee. You get ID checked for safety and then build your advert saying when you are going on holiday. House‐sitters see your advert, they re‐ spond and you choose the sitter who’ll care for your pets. Trustpilot Testimonials
Leave your pets in the safe hands of a HouseSitMatch sitter.
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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 de‐ lighted with the care and attention that HouseSsit 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 membership plan ‐ Please note prices go up soon so sign up now on subscription to secure these prices: • Standard (DIY option) = £69 pa • Premium (with sup‐ port 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.
Advertising Feature
A small tear in a dog’s nail can be very painful WHY do nails break? Dogs break their nails when they jump off a chair, sofa or from owner’s arms and land on a toe in such a way that the nail bends back and breaks, by snagging them on the carpet, furniture, etc. Sometimes, the nails of older pets are so dry and brittle and break very easily. Longer nails tend to get caught on things more than short ones. Regardless of the reason, a broken nail hurts and bleeds, so it requires immediate at‐ tention. The nails of dogs contain blood vessels and nerves cov‐ ered by a layer of hard material called keratin, which sur‐ rounds these sensitive structures to protect them. What do I do if my dog has a broken nail? Safely restrain your dog. A helper and a muzzle may be necessary. Control bleeding by wrapping the foot in gauze or a towel and applying pressure to the injured toe. If the bleeding doesn’t stop in five‐10 minutes, go to the vet. The damaged or broken part of the nail needs to be carefully removed. Your veterinarian may prescribe pain medication for a few days to keep your dog more com‐ fortable and an antiseptic because prevention of infec‐ tion is crucial. How do I help my dog avoid broken nails? To avoid the pain of a broken nail, keep your dog’s nails trimmed. In Costa Blanca Sur: www.resonanciaveterinaria.es Centro Veterinario de Diagnóstico por Imagen de Levante C/Los Arcos 23 Ciudad Quesada, Rojales. Tel: 609 779 109
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TV & SATELLITE
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SERVICES
REMOVALS & STORAGE
TV & SATELLITE
WINDOW TINTING
CLASSIFIEDS ARCHITECTS
BUILDING SERVICES J & J PAINTERS. Inside outside - clean - fast - low cost. Torrevieja - Orihuela Costa and surrounding areas. Tel: 650 363 159 (290728) BUILDER, ARCHITECT, NEW HOUSES, EXTENSIONS, PLANNING PERMISSIONS, 747 438 225 (295169)
BUY & SELL PRIVATE collector will buy your Gold, Rolex & Patek Philippe Watches Tel – 678 716 693 (288662)
CARS FOR SALE
CHARITY ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS IS ALCOHOL COSTING YOU MORE THAN MONEY? Drinking to excess not only affects your health it can spill over into every other aspect of your life – damaging everything that is important to you. English-speaking AA meetings are held throughout the Costa Blanca from Valencia City to Murcia. Anyone wishing to attend a meeting or discuss a possible drinking problem contact Costa Blanca North: 648 169 045 or Costa Blanca South: 625 912 078 or Costa Calida 679 385 105 All calls are treated in the strictest confidence. AA in German: 645 456 075; Spanish: 679 212 535; Flemish: 635 047 053; and Scandinavian: 659 779 222. www. aa-costablanca.org (93323) CAMPELLO CONTRA CANCER in conjunction with AECC Association Español Contra Cancer. Please support your local Cancer charity and if you wish to obtain literature or simply talk to someone. Please contact Mina or Trisha. Tel 650 071 278 or 610 921 413 e-mail aecc_campello@hotmail .com (95475) CANCER SUPPORT GROUP (MABS) MURCIA / MAR MENOR Help and support is just a phone call away, Avda Rio Nalón, Tel: 693 275 779 (95462) CHURCH SERVICE IN ENGLISH Tel: 950 617 549 w w w. g i v i n g l i g h t . c o m . (10006)
CARE HOME CARE home in Torrevieja, family run, reasonable rates. Carers available for your home. 747 438 225 (295552)
If you can read it, so can your clients. Contact us and have your business grow at + 34 951 386 161
FREEMASONRY. Are you aware that Freemasonry is thriving on the Costa Blanca? There are various Lodges meetings up throughout the Valencia region. If you already are a Mason or simply wish to know more about Freemasonry in Spain please contact sec@glpvalencia.com Telephone 600 841 064 (95477)
CHARITY
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HELP VEGA BAJA. We are a non-profit making organisation that helps and supports anyone, without prejudice, in times of need or crisis within the Vega Baja area. Our offices are based in San Miguel at Calle Lope de Vega 46 (Tel 966 723 733), Torrevieja at Rambla Juan Mateo Garcia 4 (Tel 965 704 282). We are online at www.helpvegaba ja.com and also on Facebook. You can email the San Miguel Centre at office @helpvegabaja.com. We also have a 24-hour Emergency helpline which is available to both members and non-members on 966 723 733 (95456) INTERNATIONAL CHRISTIAN ASSEMBLY, TORREVIEJA Calle Urbano Arregui, 23, Torrevieja 03185, Alicante Evangelical non-denominational church. Sunday morning Services at 11:00am. All nationalities welcome - Contact 966 752 543 / 966 799 273. For other church matters phone: 966 799 273 / /617 215 463 www.icatorre vieja.org (95476) LA SIESTA EVANGELICAL CHURCH on Urbanisation La Siesta, Torrevieja is a friendly, English speaking church. For more information, including details of our services, see our website www.lasies taevangelicalchurch.org (10005) PHILIP SCOTT LODGE No 10671 of the RAOB. Please call the secretary, Colin Bird on 693 287 614 for further information. (95459) PILAR CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY CHURCH. All welcome from any church background or none. For further information, www.pilarchurch.org Reg No: 2009-SG/A (95463) ROYAL Air Force Association Costa Blanca Registered Members Group: The RAFA Costa Blanca RMG replaces the RAFA Costa Blanca Branch 1359 which is now closed. The RMG is a social group of caring people and remains affiliated to the parent Association. Contact
14 - 20 April 2022 • www.euroweeklynews.com SPONSORED BY
with the Royal Air Force Association and the RMG can be made via the RAFA website rafa.org.uk. Tel:0044 800 018 2361. (238593) ROYAL BRITISH LEGION Why not make this year the year you volunteer? See how you can help either as a caseworker (with full training) or as a Telephone Buddy. We also visit beneficiaries who are housebound or in hospital. If you feel you could support us here in Spain, and you have a Spanish phone number then why not email us for more info tbuddyh hvisits@gmail.com. If you or your partner served or are serving, and you feel you need help or support then contact us using the details on the card, we are here for the small things as well as the big, sometimes talking to someone is the first step to feeling more in control. It can be a personal need or some help with your home or information on what or who to speak to on a medical issue, we help with signposting if we cannot help directly, just call and have a chat with Pam who will try to guide you to where you need to be. If you would like to go to a branch meeting then find your nearest one at, http://branches.britishle gion.org.uk/branches/ori huela-costa - covering from Punta Prima to San Javier. More info can be found on branch website www.ori huelacostarbl.co.uk. (95457) ROYAL BRITISH LEGION Gran Alacant & La Marina Branch. For info, contact the branch Secretary at granala cant.secretary@rbl.commu nity ROYAL MARINES ASSOCIATION (Costa Blanca) The aim of the Association is to bring together not just ex Royal Marines, but ex Service personnel with an affinity to the Royal Marines. For further details Hon Sec 692 938 664. (10004) ROYAL NAVAL ASSOCIATION For information please contact Chairman Paul Edwards on 618 644 934, Vice Chairman Danny Kay on 966 716 274 or Secretary Margaret Forshaw on 966 921 996. (95455) STROKE ASSOCIATION Spain (formally known as Torrevieja stroke support) Our aim is to help and support stroke survivors and their carers. With rehabilitation, speech therapy, OC therapy and a very active so-
cial group. For info please contact 654 801 260 or email strokesupportgroup@hot mail.com, website: torrevieja strokesupport.org. We are always looking for volunteers who have the skills and knowledge to support. (95473)
CLEANING SERVICES RELIABLE, experienced home and deep cleaning service including key handovers plus many other services. Call +34 634 679 668 (292081)
THE AIRCREW ASSOCIATION COSTA BLANCA BRANCH. Former & serving aircrews of the UK or Allied Armed Forces are welcome to join this convivial & friendly organisation, now in its 21st year. www.acacostablanca .org or call the Secretary on: 966 495 042 (95465)
MR FIXIT. For all your electrical, plumbing, general & appliance & boiler repairs. No call out charge. 698 320 434 (289282)
THE ANGLICAN CHURCH, La Fustera. For more info: contact Frank Bentley on 966 495 188. (95461)
WANTED Gold, Silver, Rolex & Patek Philippe Watches Tel – 678 716 693 (288662)
THE BAKER Foundation Spiritual Centre Playa Flamenca. Calle Luis Gordillo, 1 Playa Flamenca Alicante 03189. You can join us on Facebook, The Baker Foundation spiritual centre. Or contact Linda Schug Tel. 606 990 665 for more details (95458)
ELECTRICIAN
FOR SALE/WANTED
FUNERALS CREMATION plan. 2575 euros. One-time payment. Full paperwork. Call 747 438 225. (295351)
GOLD WANTED
THE PATIENCE LODGE No 2177 of the R.A.O.B Please call Secretary Dave Tonge on 688 704 091 for further information. (253807) THE SPIRITUALIST CENTRE, Benijofar will be closed for the immediate future due to Covid-19. To join the centre on ZOOM on a Tuesday evening at 7pm download the ZOOM App. To enter use ID Number 8451471869, then Password 3uf5TE. Identification Fiscal G54713789 (95454)
INSURANCE
HOME IMPROVEMENTS BATHROOM & KITCHEN Conversions Costa Blanca, contact 698 320 434. (290268)
CLASSIFIEDS INSURANCE FED UP OF NOT BEING SENT YOUR RENEWAL? CUT YOUR INSURANCE COSTS AND STILL HAVE 100% COVER. YOU HAVE TRIED THE REST NOW TRY THE BEST WITH SOS INSURANCE. WE CAN EVEN INSURE YOU FOR UPTO A €1,000 OF WATERLOSS. CALL 686 116 297 (WHATSAPP TO) OR VISIT www.sosinsuran ceinspain.com or email tracey@sosinsurancein spain.com (294938) BENEFICIAL INSURANCE SERVICES. Car, Home, Business, Travel, Life, Funeral, all insurances available. Policies in English. BEST rates, covers & service. Immediate quotes. Tel 961 129 215 / 622 275 561, (WhatsApp) in fo@beneficialinsurancein spain.com or visit www.ben eficialinsuranceinspain.com for online quote. (295006) STAY SAFE! Abbeygate Insurance Call 971 277 455 For your security www.abbey gateinsure.com
LAWYER/SOLICITORS SOLICITOR. CRIMINAL LAW, drug cases, Private investigations, debt collection. 30 years’ experience. Mob 747 438 225 office 865 970 169 spancrimlaw@outlook .com (295578)
LOCKSMITHS ALARMS TORREVIEJA, Install & Repair all types of Alarms & CCTV. Call/Whatsapp 600 933 667 www.alar mastorrevieja.com (294577)
MISCELLANEOUS GOLD & SILVER Bought & Sold, Rolex & Patek Philippe Watches Tel – 678 716 693 (288662)
MOTORING
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WE ARE currently the market leader in our country in the sale of direct car, motorbike, home and company fleet insurance. Since we started out in 1995, our philosophy has always been to offer an excellent service with the best prices in the market. For the most competitive quotes in English, call Linea Directa on 952 147 834. (200726)
MOTORHOMES MOTORHOME / Campervan wanted. Left or right hand drive. Cash waiting for right van. Tlf 650 722 905
SPAMA GANDIA SHELTER. Dog and cat rescue registered charity, La Safor area. 500 animals awaiting rehoming. Phone Gail 962 896 118. Visit our website for directions. www.spama.org and view our new blog at w w w. s p a m a - s a f o r. b l o g .com.es PLEASE HELP US TO HELP THEM (95707)
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POOL MAINTENANCE POOL MAINTENANCE Repairs, Spares and Leak Testing. Call 965 725 565 / 676 945 360 www.pooltech spain.com (287790)
SOPHIE naughty, slim, elegant, sexy French lady. 3 languages spoken. Visit all areas, also private apartment in Villamartin. 693 357 526 (291686)
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.
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PROPERTY FOR RENT INTERNATIONAL SKIPPER LICENCE, VHF/DSC-Radio or Radar Courses held in English individual or small groups starts soon. 626 245 098 (295374)
PERGOLAS
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14 - 20 April 2022
ROAD TEST by Mark Slack I T was one of the most eagerly anticipated launches in recent years, it follows on from a truly iconic predecessor that had a worldwide follow‐ ing and its history back in the immediate post war years. The new Defender had a lot to live up to, and there can be few who envied their task, when it was launched last year. It’s worth saying that this new Defender is nothing like its predeces‐ sor, it’s a whole world apart and better de‐ scribed as a modern in‐ terpretation of the iconic original. Since the new Defender launched it has met with almost universal praise and a short spell behind the wheel provides the explanation. Immediately visible in the new Defender are the heritage cues from the previous model. With short and long wheelbase models, known as 90 and
MOTORING
Land Rover Defender - object lesson in how to produce a car for all seasons Facts at a Glance Model: Land Rover Defender 110 D250 SE Engine: 3.0-litre 4-cylinder turbocharged diesel with mild hybrid assistance Gears: 8-speed automatic with all-wheeldrive Performance: 0-100 kph (62 mph) 8.3 secs Maximum Speed Petrol 188 kph (117 mph) Economy: Petrol 8.6 l/100km (32.8 mpg) WLTP Emissions: 230 g/km WLTP Model tested was UK-specification and equipment levels and prices may vary in other markets. NEW DEFENDER: A car for all seasons and all occasions.
110 respectively, diesel and petrol engines with all bar one having mild hy‐ brid assistance, a 5.0‐litre V8 petrol and a plug‐in hybrid power unit, there is plenty of choice. Prices start from €54,667/£45,690 for the commercial Defender 90 Hard Top. The first thing you no‐
tice climbing into any new Defender ‐ and you do climb in ‐ is visibility. It’s excellent! Looking for‐ ward you can see the front corners and it essen‐ tially ends at the back window. To help matters you have a 3D surround camera and 360‐degree parking aid. Moving to the standard
range prices start at €69,029/£57,695 for the 90 models and €70,234/£58,700 for the 110, with a plethora of optional extras. The stan‐ dard specification across the range is good and the interior looks and feels special. There’s lots of space, an open dash in‐ corporating a central
touchscreen and storage, and also buttons. Hallelu‐ jah! The touchscreen pro‐ vides near perfect clarity and is intuitive in its oper‐ ation, not something one can say about many such systems fitted in cars. The Defender is big! However its large size, es‐ pecially in 110 form as
tested, means it’s a sur‐ prise to find out just how easy it is to pilot it through any situation whether on or off‐road. Part of that ease is un‐ doubtedly the excellent visibility and on‐board as‐ sistance tech, however it’s also down to the steering and confidence inspiring ride. My 110 SE test model at €67,428/£56,355, and its 3.0‐litre diesel engine and smooth changing eight‐ speed automatic trans‐ mission proved immense‐ ly capable. Point the Defender in any direction, quite literally as roads not necessarily required, and it’s an impressive and comfortable cruiser, off‐ roader and load carrier. It should be, given the pricing, but the Defender is an object lesson in how to produce a car for all seasons and all occasions.
MOTORING
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Fuel prices highest THE discount of 20 cents per litre came into force in Spain on April 1 for all con‐ sumers. Fuel prices have dropped on average by around 11.27 per cent this week as a result, but, it will still be the most expensive Easter on record for drivers. According to data from the European Union Oil Bul‐ letin, the average price of a litre of petrol has dropped to €1.613, its lowest level since the end of February. Diesel has fallen by 10.34 per cent compared to seven days ago, going back to €1.647 per litre, similar to the price at the start of March. Be‐ tween April 8 and 18, ac‐ cording to data from the General Directorate of Traf‐ fic (DGT), an estimated 14.6 million long‐distance jour‐ neys are expected in the country, 2.10 per cent less than in the Easter week of 2019. For these dates, the aver‐ age price of petrol and diesel will be 22.2 per cent, and
38.4 per cent respectively, more expensive than Easter 2021. Thus, filling a 55‐litre tank with petrol now costs around €88.71, which is €16.11 more than during Easter last year. In the case of refuelling with diesel, the filling of a 55‐litre tank amounts to about €90.58, about €25.13 more than last year. The price of unleaded ‘95 petrol in Spain is below the average of the European Union, standing at €1.855/ litre. In the eurozone, petrol is an average price of €1.918/litre. In the case of diesel, the average price in Spain is €1.861, and €1.891 in the eurozone. These lower levels of prices with respect to sur‐ rounding countries in the EU are due to the fact that Spain, despite VAT, higher taxes, and levies on biodiesel, continues to have lower fiscal pressure, in gen‐ eral, than the community av‐ erage.
EASTER is almost upon us, and many drivers are proba‐ bly already planning their trips. The General Direc‐ torate of Traffic (DGT) has announced its special opera‐ tion to monitor the roads of Spain during this holiday pe‐ riod. An estimated 14.5 million journeys will be made throughout the national ter‐ ritory between April 8 and 18. This is only 2.1 per cent less than in 2019. The DGT will begin its East‐ er holidays monitoring oper‐ ation at 3pm on Friday, April 8. It will end on Monday 18, at 11.59pm. This deploy‐ ment will include heli‐ copters, drones, seat‐belt control cameras, and radars, among others. Top of the list for Guardia Civil traffic cops will in‐ evitably be watching for speeding drivers. To assist with this, the DGT will have around 3,000 radars located on the roads around the country. Of this total, 1,887 are fixed, 545 mobile, 92 sec‐ tion, and the new velolaser, also known as invisible radars. Fines for speeding
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DGT Easter operation this Easter could be as much as €600. A map showing the exact location of its fixed radar de‐ vices on the road systems of Spain is made public to drivers, and is displayed on the DGT website. Drivers us‐
ing applications to check traffic are not committing any illegality either, but, be aware that holding the mo‐ bile device in your hand can now incur a fine. However, what is not legal is to have radar detectors in‐
stalled in the car. Even more illegal are signal inhibitors that have the ability to can‐ cel the speedometer, so that a radar does not register the vehicle’s speed. This infrac‐ tion is very serious and car‐ ries fines of up to €6,000.
SPORT THE invitation Mini Tourna‐ ment hosted by local club Es‐ quina Park Rangers was played in the much welcome sunshine at Rojales on Wednesday, April 6 and in‐ cluded Camposol and the Red Lions of Fortuna who had travelled up from Murcia. The other team competing was EPR’s local rivals Formentera. The format was a ‘Round Robin’ with all the teams play‐ ing against each other in an opening round. The local side and hosts, re‐ splendent in their new strips, kicked the tournament off against Fortuna who found the experience of EPR too much and went down 3‐0. Formentera took on Cam‐ posol in the other first round of matches and came out on top by three goals to one. Next up EPR played For‐ mentera and were met with a tough challenge in this ‘local derby’ from their much‐im‐ proved local rivals. This was re‐ flected in the 0‐0 score. After the first round of matches, all teams having played each other, the play off for third and fourth place
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RANGERS LIFT THE CUP
WALKING FOOTBALL: Teams together before the kick off. was contested by the visi‐ tors from Murcia with Cam‐ posol sealing third place beating the Red Lions of For‐ tuna 3‐2 in a tightly contest‐ ed match. The final saw the old rivals face each other again with host side Esquina Park Rangers edging out For‐ mentera by two goals to one in a tough but sporting match to lift the cup. Thanks go to 2Let2Buy2Sell estate agents who sponsored the tournament. All teams agreed it was an
outstanding enjoyable success with the teams from Murcia gaining competitive experi‐ ence against teams who are playing in the Costa Blanca Walking Football League. It is hoped these teams, along with several other clubs in the vicinity will be joining the new expanded league next season. Thanks went to EPR for pro‐ viding the after‐match buffet and drinks. The CBWFL has faltered in recent weeks due to pitches not being available and the
still present Covid taking its toll of players. The league is confident that the second half of the season can continue after the Easter holiday. For more information on Walking Football visit www.wfai.info or Club Face‐ book pages or contact apal mar2011@hotmail.com For all the Costa Blanca South walking football news, fixtures and results make sure you get your copy of the Euro Weekly News... supporters of walking football.
Shock at Grand National SAM WALEY-COHEN rode Noble Yeats, a 50/1 outsider to vic‐ tory in the Randox Grand National at Aintree racecourse on Saturday, April 9. This was the jockey’s final race, and what a fairytale way to go out. In a thrilling climax, the seven‐year‐old Emmet Mullins‐ trained horse managed to fight off the challenge from Any Sec‐ ond Now, the 15/2 favourite. Delta Work finished third, with Santini filling the fourth position. Gordon Elliott’s Delta Work was pushing the pace but fell short when it mattered. This left Noble Yeats with a one‐on‐ one with Any Second Now. Early casualties included Rachael Blackmore, the defending champion, riding Minella Times. Snow Leopardess was anoth‐ er fancied runner that left the race in the early stages. “He ran for me! He couldn’t go the early pace and I just found a pocket to give him a bit of space to run into. As soon as I asked him, he went,” said an elated Waley‐Cohen after the race.
OUTSIDE WINNER: The jockey’s final race.