Euro Weekly News - Costa de Almeria 14 - 20 April 2022 Issue 1919

H A P P Y

14 - 20 April 2022

Flying high again A L M E R I A’ S E l A l q u i a n airport is preparing for 4,800 flights and 700,000 passengers dur‐ ing the 2022 high sea‐ son.

These figures do not match 2019’s but the gradual increase to 80 per cent of pre‐pan‐ demic traffic reflects the principal airlines’ confidence in Almeria as a tourist destination.

Domestic flights ac‐ count for more than 248,700 of these pas‐ sengers, while the 448,300 passengers ar‐ riving from abroad cor‐ respond to 64 per cent of the total, similar to the 2019 high season.

During El Alquian’s peak period, which be‐ gan on March 27 and continues until the last weekend in October, in‐ ternational scheduled and charter flights will connect Almeria with 29 cities in 12 coun‐ tries.

As well as UK flights to and from London, Manchester and Brus‐ sels this summer’s des‐ tinations also include Luxembourg, Poland and Slovakia.

COSTA DE ALMERIA • WWW.EUROWEEKLYNEWS.COM

DEVOTED HELPERS

Photo credit: Chrissie Cremore

Issue No. 1919

EASTER

Turn to page 2 » DEDICATED VOLUNTEERS: Sam Spencer and Vicky Hall with two loyal customers.

FREE • GRATIS

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14 - 20 April 2022

A question of faith SEVENTY per cent of pupils attending Almeria Province’s infants and primary state schools take Religious Instruc‐ tion classes. Sixty per cent of the children choose Catholi‐ cism, a proportion that is 10 per cent above the national average, the Junta’s Educa‐

tion delegation revealed. At the same time, 9 per cent of infants and primary pupils have opted for Islamic studies although they are affected by a shortage of teachers, Ab‐ dallah Mhanna, president of the Almeria Province’s Imams Centre, said.

Photo credit: Diputacion de Almeria

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from Front page »

More books please HEAVY MACHINERY: Diputacion makes its resources available to storm-affected municipalities.

To the rescue PROVINCIAL council, the Diputacion, has made avail‐ able machinery and technical assistance for munici‐ palities 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 villages, towns and cities.

“From the moment the first storm damage was re‐ ported, we have been assisting town halls, especially those of the smallest towns,” said Eugenio Gonzalvez, who heads the provincial council’s Municipal Assis‐ tance Area.

“This is in line with our commitment to attending to the needs of the town halls with fewest resources by providing a rapid response in unexpected situations.”

Gonzalvez described the province’s storm damage as “substantial and of varying kinds” and explained the Municipal Assistance Area was providing a techni‐ cal report with a specific solution for each problem.

He was confident that these could be resolved with‐ out delay, Gonzalvez said.

“Town halls know that they can always count on the Diputacion,” he added.

TEN years ago, cat‐lover and long term PAWS‐PATAS vol‐ unteer Sam Spencer had an idea.

Sam wanted to raise much‐ needed cash to help the chari‐ ty’s Trap, Neuter and Return (TNR) scheme to sterilise feral cats so that fewer abandoned kittens get crammed into box‐ es or crates and left at the shelter gates in Los Gallardos.

Assisted by another pas‐ sionate volunteer, Vicky Hall, Sam started a second‐hand book sale. She held it once a month and initially set up shop with just six boxes of books and raised €20. However, with Sam’s continued dedication and the support of loyal cus‐ tomers, there have been times when she has raised hundreds, often totalling an amazing €400.

The library now has around 50 boxes of books and people are amazed at the diverse se‐ lection on offer. Sam is always on the lookout for books in good condition but since the

pandemic she has noticed that fewer people are coming to Spain, hence a lack of new novels. Thankfully, when the transport van returns from the UK where cats and dogs are rehomed by the DOG‐ WATCHUK charity, it always returns with a fresh batch of publications. The monthly book sale is held on the sec‐ ond Tuesday of each month ‐ except in the heat of August ‐ at Scotty’s Restaurant, El Trop‐ ico (Mojacar) between 10.30am and 1pm.

“Thousands of euros have been raised to help us contin‐ ue with the TNR campaign but sadly there is never enough,” PAWS‐PATAS vice‐resident Chrissie Cremore said.

For further information about PAWS‐PATAS or to fos‐ ter or adopt a cat, visit the www.paws‐patas.org websi‐ teor email the cats@paws‐ patas.org address.

For cases of abandoned or abused animals, please con‐ tact the Local Police.

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NIBS EXTRA Good idea ALMERIA City Hall is dis‐ tributing 100,000 free paper bags to members of the pub‐ lic lining the routes of the of‐ ficial Holy Week processions.

Using these for the husks from the sunflower seeds that they eat as they wait greatly reduced the work of street‐cleaners, Environ‐ ment councillor Margarita Cobos explained.

Tastes good CRISTOBAL MUÑOZ, origi‐ nally from Lubrin and now head chef at a Peñafiel (Val‐ ladolid) restaurant, was named Chef of the Year in Barcelona. Up against seven top chefs, Cristobal created a menu of Shrimps with peas and smoked egg yolk, Skate Meuniere and a Honey, kefir and orange dessert.

May crosses ADRA Town Hall’s Culture department announced its traditional Cruces de Mayo (May Crosses) competition, which as usual has a catego‐ ry for local groups and asso‐ ciations and another for schools. With prize money totalling €1,300, the five awards for associations and three for schools range from €300 to €100.

Trailer failure ALMERIA City Hall’s Parks and Gardens service re‐ moved a rubber tree from the Paseo after it was dam‐ aged by an articulated lorry’s trailer. With the trunk practi‐ cally cut in half, the tree was removed to safeguard passers‐by and will be re‐ placed as soon as possible, municipal sources said.

Library plan THE provincial council will extend and rehabilitate Ve‐ ra’s public library which, once completed, will occupy a 535‐square metre area.

The project, whose €904,459 cost is covered by the Provincial Investment Plan, has now been put out to tender, announced Angel Es‐ cobar, who heads the Diputacion’s Public Works department.

14 - 20 April 2022

Coping with the aftermath THE Environment Ministry announced on April 7 that Almeria Province would re‐ ceive €1.6 million for repairs to storm‐damaged beaches.

Junior Environment minis‐ ter Hugo Moran detailed the allocation during a Zoom meeting with mayors and representatives from Almeria, Granada, Malaga and Cadiz.

The Almeria Province aid, to be shared between Cuevas del Almanzora, Vera, Nijar, Pulpi, Mojacar, Roquetas, El Ejido, Carboneras, Garrucha, Almeria City and Balanegra, would be “immediate” Moran pledged.

Meanwhile Carboneras mayor Amerigo Fernandez

Photo credit: Carboneras town hall

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CARBONERAS: Repairs urgently needed for El Lancon beach.

had announced on April 5 that the town hall would ap‐ proach the Junta, the Diputa‐ cion provincial council and the central government for fi‐ nancial assistance.

Beninar water for Aguadulce AFTER a 10 year wait, Aguadulce growers can once again use water from the Ben‐ inar reservoir.

A 1.5‐kilometre pipeline now substitutes the section of the Beninar‐Aguadulce canal that was damaged during a period of torrential rain in 2010.

Carmen Crespo, head of the Junta’s department of Agriculture, Livestock, Fish‐ eries and Sustainable Devel‐ opment, recently inaugurated the €5.5 million pipeline where work first began in De‐ cember 2020.

“This guarantees water for the Poniente growers belong‐ ing to the Junta Central de Usuarios del Poniente Alme‐ riense who irrigate and culti‐ vate 23,200 hectares of land,” Crespo said.

Work has included reinforc‐ ing the pipeline and its sur‐ roundings to protect against future flood situations, she added.

The Beninar‐Aguadulce project was included in the €166 million that the Junta de Andalucia has spent on pro‐ viding and ensuring water for Almeria Province since the re‐ gional elections of 2019, Cre‐ spo said.

“The drought decree that the regional parliament ap‐

proved on April 6 has autho‐ rised a further €12.3 million allocation that will provide Almeria Province with enough infrastructure to guar‐ antee its water,” she said.

This includes five new pro‐ jects in addition to those al‐ ready begun to assure the Al‐ manzora Valley’s water supply, Crespo added.

“With Holy Week ap‐ proaching we are going to need all available assistance from the different administra‐ tions, bearing in mind the im‐ portance of tourism which is

one of the pillars of our econ‐ omy.”

The town hall’s Urban Ser‐ vices department was prepar‐ ing an assessment of the damage, Fernandez said: “But we already know that beach‐ es like El Lancon, which is al‐ ways affected by Levante east winds, is badly affected.”

The San Andres castle, the Molino de Viento windmill, some streets and the munici‐ pal sports installations all needed immediate attention, Fernandez added.

“Our resources are too lim‐ ited to cope with a situation as complicated as this, as it is beyond the town hall’s eco‐ nomic capacity and means.”

Centre to close ALMERIA City’s Palacio de los Juegos del Mediterra‐ neo vaccination centre is to close at the end of April.

Fourteen months after the sports complex first opened for Covid jabs, it will cease activities on April 29, Junta sources confirmed to the Spanish media.

Until then it will still be possible to be vaccinated there without making a prior appointment.

Chasing up tortoises ENVIRONMENTALIST association Serbal Almeria are carrying out a census of Turre and Huercal‐Overa’s Greek tortoise population.

The group has been collaborating since 2015 with the Tes‐ tudo programme, a long‐term monitoring project which is coordinated by Miguel Hernandez University based in Elche (Alicante) and co‐financed by the university and the Funda‐ cion Biodiversidad.

In Spain, the tortoises which are typical of the western Mediterranean, are largely found between Almeria and Mur‐ cia where their preferred habitat of scrub alternating with traditional, non‐irrigated agricultural land is fast‐disappear‐ ing. The Testudo programme intends to identify the principal threats to Almeria’s tortoises and establish a conservation plan that can ensure their survival.

Meanwhile Serbal volunteers are locating, weighing and measuring tortoises in both locations, while tagging those not monitored on previous occasions. They then photograph them and take blood samples before returning them to where they were found.

“Although temperatures are currently lower than on previ‐ ous occasions, the tortoises are already active,” a Serbal spokesperson said. “So far we have found 12 tortoises in Turre and 14 in Huercal‐Overa.”

The Palacio de los Jue‐ gos Mediterraneo, the last of Andalucia’s mass vaccination centres to re‐ main open, has until now administered a total of 420,327 vaccines to adults and children, not only for Covid but also seasonal flu.

The 407,635 Covid jabs were split into Pfizer (225,523 doses), Moderna (106,800), AstraZeneca (69,194) and Janssen (10,118) vaccines.

In all, the sports centre was responsible for a quar‐ ter of Almeria Province’s total of 1,569,804 shots.

Once the Palacio de los Juegos Mediterraneo has closed, Covid vaccinations will still be available at the province’s primary care health centres.

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Getting it straight ALMERIA Province’s College of Physicians is preparing a list of members who wish to declare themselves con‐ scientious objectors to eu‐ thanasia.

The move was recently adopted at a meeting of the region’s College presidents and Ethics Committee rep‐ resentatives organised by the Council of Andalucia’s Colleges of Physicians (CACM).

“It is necessary to respect the law but it is also neces‐ sary to respect conscien‐ tious objection,” Dr Francis‐ co Martinez Amo, president of the Almeria College, said after the meeting.

Many doctors ‐ amongst whom Dr Martinez included himself ‐ believed that eu‐ thanasia was not medical treatment, he explained.

“No subject in my degree course taught me how to take a person’s life, but in‐ stead showed me how to cure and try to save them.”

He admitted that there were extreme cases of intu‐ bate, terminally ill patients where “any doctor” would agree that it was humane to remove the mechanical procedures that were keep‐ ing them alive.

In other cases, Dr Mar‐ tinez said, Andalucia’s Col‐ leges of Physicians recom‐ mended that doctors whose principles would not allow them to participate in euthanasia should declare beforehand, “clearly and unmistakeably” that they were conscientious objec‐ tors.

and finally...

ANTONIO FERNANDEZ PEREZ, an Almeria Province schoolteacher, wants to take early retirement at the age of 60. Working throughout his career on temporary contracts, he started legal proceedings to establish his right to stop working at this age and recently received notification that the courts had accepted his case. Given a date and a time, Anto‐ nio was disconcerted to learn that his case would be heard in 2026 on January 26. By then he will be five months short of the official retirement age of 65 for temporary teachers, as he celebrates his birthday in July. Assuming that the courts find in his favour, he should be able to retire earlier, Antonio pointed out, but only by a matter of months.

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14 - 20 April 2022

NEWS

Missing expat found New Covid treatment The body of a missing British expat Denis Walker was discovered in Almeria’s Albox on Monday, April 11.

The Guardia Civil is currently investigating the death.

The Briton had gone missing from Albox on March 24 and Denis’

daughter Joanne Walk‐ er later took to social media to share the news of her father’s death.

Joanne commented: “Thank you so much for your love and help try‐ ing to find my father.

“Unfortunately Denis was found today.

“RIP Dad.” On April 1, Joanne had shared the news that the father had gone missing and called on locals to help find him. Her Facebook post read: “Good morning.

“My father Denis Walker has been miss‐ ing from La Parilla Ho‐ tel in Albox for the past week. He suffers with dementia. He never wanders off and is usu‐ ally quite happy to sit in the bar or outside watching the day go by.

“Please let me know if you have seen him.

He is officially a miss‐ ing person with the po‐ lice.

“Thank you.”

ON Tuesday, April 12, the UK government revealed that: “Thousands more vulnerable people in Eng‐ land are now eligible to re‐ ceive 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 to those whose immune systems mean they are at

Oral antiviral treatment.

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 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 ef‐ fective way and is crucial in ensuring clinicians have the full information to pre‐ scribe antiviral treatments to patients in future.”

UK flights cancelled M O R E than 100 flights were cancelled from the 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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14 - 20 April 2022

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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NEWS

Britney pregnant Andrew ‘useful idiot’ BRITNEY SPEARS, fresh from court proceedings to free her from her conser‐ vatorship, 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 Asghari, ac‐ cused her of being food pregnant. She said: “So I

Arms for Ukraine

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 President Zelenskyy to discuss the economic and military assistance that the UK can offer to Ukraine.

According to the UK government Mr Johnson: “reit‐ erated that the UK will do everything in its power to support Ukraine’s brave fight against Russia’s brutal and unprovoked invasion and ensure its long term se‐ 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 continues. This is in addition to the £100 million worth of high‐grade military equip‐ ment already announced, including more Starstreak anti‐aircraft missiles, another 800 anti‐tank missiles, and high‐tech loitering munitions for precision strikes.”

got a pregnancy test... and uhhhhh well... I am having a baby.

“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 anoth‐ er 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 al‐ so stopped by her con‐ servators, one of whom was her father Jamie Spears.

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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14 - 20 April 2022

Scotland’s forests

R E S 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

Future pandemics SCOTLAND is preparing for pandemics in the future and on April 7, the government announced that Professor Andrew Morris had been appointed as Chair of the Scot‐ tish 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 commented: “I look forward to working with my fellow committee members to address these important issues. We will engage with clinicians and the wider scientific community in Scotland to en‐ sure that our work is informed by a range of expertise.

“We will also look to international experience to en‐ sure our report reflects the global nature of pandemics and the international learning that will help us best pre‐ pare Scotland 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 compli‐ cated science and disparate views into clear and succinct advice to the Scottish government.”

growing varieties in the 1980’s having proven more sustainable.

Scotland has been cov‐ ered by forests ever since the end of the ice age some 11,000 years ago, but deforestation had al‐ ready 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 government 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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14 - 20 April 2022

NEWS

NATO debate

MAGDALENA ANDERSSON, the Prime Minister of Sweden, and the mem‐ bers of her Social Demo‐ crat Party, on Monday, April 11, met to begin a serious internal debate about joining NATO. Previ‐ ously, this was a move that had been opposed by the party.

Following Russia’s inva‐ sion of Ukraine, every‐ thing is changing in coun‐ tries bordering the nation.

Neighbouring EU state Finland is also said to be considering joining the al‐ liance, with both Baltic nations now evaluating their strategic situation on the international front.

This debate will be a “broader discussion than just a yes or no question on NATO membership,” commented Tobias Baudin, the party’s deputy leader. “We have to seek a broader understanding of what is happening in the world around us, and understand the advan‐ tages and disadvantages of the current security policy line,” he declared.

In a statement, Baudin added that the “security policy dialogue” should be finalised before the sum‐ mer. In a total U‐turn last month, Magdalena Ander‐ sson confirmed that she was no longer ruling out a possible bid to join NATO.

SWEDEN: The party members began a serious internal debate.

High demand DEMAND for British passports is at an all‐time high and the government has urged people “not to leave their application to the last minute.”

On Monday, April 11, the government warned: “Since April 2021 HM Passport Office has been advis‐ ing people to allow up to 10 weeks when applying for their passport. This remains the case.

“Due to Covid‐19, HM Passport Office saw a signifi‐ cant drop in the number of people applying for pass‐ ports, with over five million people delaying their ap‐ plications throughout 2020 and 2021.

“But with international travel returning to normal, more and more people are applying for a new pass‐ port.”

Commenting on the waiting time the Director Gen‐ eral of HM Passport Office Abi Tierney, said: “Now that international travel has resumed, we know peo‐ ple will be looking at going away on holiday and yet many people are leaving applying for a passport too late.

“The summer holidays are fast approaching so if you need a new passport, we urge you to apply now.”

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NEWS

Will banned Stuffed animals found 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.

S E P R O N A officers in Valencia have uncov‐ ered the biggest‐ever collection of stuffed animals to be found in Spain.

Officers of the Guardia Civil’s Nature Protection Service (Se‐ prona), made the dis‐ covery in Betera on Wednesday, April 6.

During the search of a property, they un‐ covered a total of 1,090 pieces of taxi‐ dermy and complete stuffed animals. These items were, in some cases, already packed

and prepared for smuggling to clients.

The full collection has an estimated value of €29 million and is one of the biggest finds of its kind ever in Eu‐ rope.

As a result, they have placed one of the sons of the well‐ known late Valencian businessman Francisco Ros Casares under in‐ vestigation for a possi‐ ble crime against wildlife. The accused has not been de‐ tained.

According to police, of the specimens found, 405 belonged to CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flo‐ ra). Some of them are even extinct, such as the oryx dammah, or practically extinct, such as the addax, or the Bengal tiger.

TAXIDERMY: The full collection has an estimated value of €29 million.

and finally...

IN the lead up to Earth Day on Friday April 22, Lind‐ sey Cole travelled to Denmark’s capital to share ad‐ venture 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 Copenhagen at around 4pm on Sun‐ day April 17 and will then sit on the side and give a free talk to those who turn up.

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NEWS

Pink Floyd’s new song A F T E R a break of 28 years, Pink Floyd will re‐ lease a new song, in aid of Ukraine The track which came out on Friday, April 8 is ti‐ tled ‘Hey Hey Rise Up’.

Two original members of the iconic band feature on the song, 76‐year‐old Dave Gilmour, and 78‐ year‐old Nick Mason.

They are joined by regu‐ lar band member, Guy Pratt on bass, and Nitin Sawhney on keyboards.

You have to go back to 1994’s ‘The Division Bell’ for Pink Floyd’s last origi‐ nal material release. Join‐ ing them on the record‐ ing are Andriy Khlyvnyuk, the vocalist from the Ukrainian rock band Boombox.

An Instagram clip of him singing in Sofiyskaya Square in Kyiv will be used to involve him.

‘Hey Hey Rise Up’ is a translation from the last line of a patriotic protest song that Khlyvnyuk sang

on that occasion. Ac‐ claimed director Mat Whitecross was involved in the production of the

video made to promote the song. It shows Andriy singing on the screen while the band plays.

Wales independence B O R I S J O H N S O N has been accused of push‐ ing Wales closer to an independence with his policies, echoing warn‐ ings in Scotland.

The recent backing down on his promise to ban all conversion therapy has prompted criticism from across the spectrum in Wales, with some calling the move undemocratic.

Such has been the backlash that Mark Drakeford, the Welsh First Minister, said he had requested “urgent legal advice” on how Wales could proceed with its own conver‐ sion therapy ban that protects the entire

LGBT+ community.

Shash Appan, Media Officer with Trans Aid Cymru, said: “It is in‐ credibly frustrating to have things like healthcare devolved b u t t h e e q u a l i t y a s‐ pects of that health‐ care dominated by Westminster.

“In Wales, we voted for Labour, and we are governed by the To‐ ries. It’s downright un‐ democratic for us to have the Tories make these decisions for us.

They should not have the ability to dictate which human rights Welsh trans people can and cannot have access to.”

Europe’s largest solar farm ON Wednesday, April 6, Kyriakos Mit‐ sotakis, the Prime Minister of Greece, inaugurated the country’s new solar farm.

Located in the northern town of Kozani, the huge 204‐megawatt pho‐ tovoltaic plant be‐ came Europe’s largest such project to use bifacial pan‐ els.

Built by Greece’s biggest oil refiner Hellenic Petroleum, in the next few weeks the new plant will connect to the national power grid.

Ev e n t u a l l y , e n o u g h electricity should be generated to provide 75,000 households with power.

As he inaugurated

the park, Mr Mitso‐ takis said, “This pro‐ ject reflects our na‐ tional goals for cheap and clean en‐ ergy from the sun, from the wind, and f r o m t h e w a t e r . ” At the same time, he promised to speed up the time it takes to issue permits for renewable energy projects.

Following the con‐ flict in Ukraine, more and more countries are looking at elimi‐ nating their depen‐ dence on Russian gas. Costly imported fossil fuels, which al‐ so create pollution, could all be things of the past as govern‐ ments look at new ways of providing cleaner, and cheap‐ er, energy.

NEWS

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€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.

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Covid linked to clots

COVID has been linked to a dramatic increase in the risk of potentially fatal blood clots, ac‐ cording to new research published in the British Medical Journal.

The virus has been linked to a fivefold risk in‐ crease in deep‐vein thrombosis DVT. It has also been linked to a 33‐fold risk increase for blood clots in the lungs. These risk factors are said to last for one month after having caught the virus.

After this time the risk factors decrease but are still present for several months.

This latest data shows again the benefits of getting vaccinated against the coronavirus. Vac‐ cinations have a risk of blood clots, but this is considerably less than having a clot from Covid.

The University of Glasgow’s Dr Frederick Ho commented: “The degree of complications asso‐ HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN has reportedly given trusted aide Angela Kelly extraordi‐ nary 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 an‐ nounced on Monday, April 11, that Angela’s book, ‘The Other Side of the Coin: The Queen, the Dresser and the

VIRUS: Increases the risk of blood clots.

ciated with Covid‐19 is much stronger and lasts for much longer than what we might be getting after vaccination.

“Even those people with mild symptoms who do not need to be hospitalised might have a small increase in the risk of [blood clots].”

Queen’s book

Wardrobe’, which was pub‐ lished 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 per‐ mission,” explained a spokesperson for Harper‐ Collins.

Angela’s latest offering will go head‐to‐head with Prince Harry’s forthcoming alleged ‘tell‐all’ book. She will appar‐ ently cover the death of Prince Philip, and tell of HMS Bubble.

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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NEWS

Entry requirements

ENTRY TO SPAIN: There was a misunderstanding of the new rules.

ON Wednesday April 6, the Spanish Tourist Board in London announced that British visitors would be able to travel to Spain without needing to be vaccinated against Covid‐19 and would only need to have a negative pre‐departure test.

But hours later, the Tourist Board said that the official state bulletin had been inter‐ preted incorrectly and that holidaymakers from the UK aged 12 and over still need to show that they have been fully jabbed or have a Covid‐19 recovery certificate.

The Spanish Tourist Board’s Deputy Direc‐ tor in the UK, Pedro Medina, apologised for

the miscommunication. He said: “We apolo‐ gise unreservedly for the miscommunication earlier today which was due to a misunder‐ standing of the new entry requirements.”

The only exception to the vaccination rule is for those aged 12 to 17 who can show a negative Covid test, PCR or similar, taken within 72 hours before arriving in Spain.

Travellers need to make sure that their vaccinations are up to date. According to the Spanish Tourist Board: “If more than 270 days have passed since the final dose, certifi‐ cation of a booster vaccination is also re‐ quired.”

Queen left exhausted THE Queen has revealed dur‐ ing a video call to the Royal London Hospital that Covid left her “very tired and ex‐ hausted.”

In February, Buckingham Palace revealed that the Queen had Covid and was suffering from ‘mild cold‐like symptoms.’ During her virtual visit to the official opening of the Queen Elizabeth Unit hos‐ pital on Wednesday, April 6, the Queen commented: “It

[Covid] does leave one very tired and exhausted, doesn’t it?”

The Queen spoke to Asef Hussain and his wife Shamina.

Asef had been admitted to hospital in 2020 with Covid.

During his time in hospital two members of his family had died, but despite weeks on a ventilator, he beat the virus.

Speaking to the couple the Queen said: “This horrible

pandemic. It’s not a nice re‐ sult.”

Hospital staff revealed to the Queen how they had coped with a large number of patients. Senior Sister Mireia Lopez Rey Ferrer explained: “As nurses, we made sure that they were not alone.

“We held their hands, we wiped their tears and we pro‐ vided comfort. It felt at times that we were running a marathon with no finish line.”

Russia suspended

IN a controversial move, the UN expelled Rus‐ sia from the Human Rights Council on Thurs‐ day, April 7.

The General Assembly of the United Nations Organisation (UN) made the controversial deci‐ sion to suspend Russia from the Human Rights council. Its consequences though raised con‐ cern among many of the 193 members of the institution, with many considering that it may be a dangerous precedent.

A total of 93 countries voted in favour of the proposal to remove Russia from the entity, for ‘systematic violation of human rights’. Another

24 voted against, with 58 abstaining, and 20 more not participating in the vote. To win the decision, a total of two‐thirds was required, not counting abstentions. When the result was an‐ nounced, there was no sign of congratulations, perhaps showing the extent of division the con‐ flict in Eastern Europe has raised.

The decision was presented by the United States, with the support of several dozen coun‐ tries. It was the second occasion on which this mechanism has been used. In 2011, Libya was suspended, however, that country received its membership again later that same year.

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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

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.

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.”

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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Open doors

Truth Social disaster

FORMER US President Donald Trump’s would‐be rival app to Twitter has been branded a disaster.

Trump, who was banned from Twitter over his al‐ leged incitement of protesters who stormed the capitol buildings, launched the app on Presidents’ Day, February 21, but it has yet to go live with a waiting list of nearly 1.5 million unable to use it. Twitter’s decision was taken over the false claims by Trump who had

App branded a disaster.

said the election had been “stolen.” The platform banned him for life.

Joshua Tucker, Director of NYU’s Centre for Social Me‐ dia and Politics, said: “It’s been a disaster.”

THE EU is preparing for public health risks such as chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear threats and is building up “strategic reserves” of response capacities.

Janez Lenarcic, Commissioner for Crisis Man‐ agement, said: “We are taking concrete mea‐ sures to increase Europe’s preparedness in the face of potential threats. We are setting up both a decontamination reserve and a new stockpile of equipment tailored to chemical, biological or nuclear emergencies. 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.”

Trump’s followers are frustrated and technology experts baffled as to what is going on. Those that have signed up complain of being on a waiting list but nothing is or has happened, while experts wonder what the problem may be.

Trump is said to be furi‐ ous, asking why more peo‐ ple are not using Truth So‐ cial with his more than 750,000 followers not hav‐ ing heard any of his “truths” for more than a month.

War ready

“Health security needs preparedness. Prepar‐ ing for chemical, biological, radiological and nu‐ clear threats is an essential element in keeping our citizens safe, and a key element 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 preparedness support to Ukraine and our Member States,” added Commissioner for Health and Food Safe‐ ty, Stella Kyriakides, on Wednesday April 6.

NEWS

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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Disney diversity

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

NEWS

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.

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 necessarily referring to events of a sexual na‐ ture. By the end of 2022, approximately half of the characters 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 ex‐ plaining that since last summer the company has eliminated gendered pronouns from its theme parks. “Let’s not say any more ladies and gentlemen, girls and boys, only a ‘hello every‐ one’ or ‘hello friends’. Hello, everybody and hel‐ lo friends, which in English do not specify gen‐ der,” 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-YEAR-OLD man had to be rescued after a tree trunk fell on him while he was garden‐ ing 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 at‐ tached to the Regional Ministry of the Presi‐ dency, Public Administration and the Interior of the Junta de Andalucia.

The emergency services received a call re‐ questing vital assistance at 1pm on Saturday, April 9. According to the Junta de Andalucia: “The 061 Health Emergency Services were quickly mobilised 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 evacuated 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 SOUTH

Ball is in the Generalitat court

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

COSTA BLANCA NORTH

Digitising Catalan

Important €944 million aid plan THE regional government announced a €944 million package to counteract the energy and fuel emergency and reboot the economy.

Generalitat president Ximo Puig explained on Thursday April 7 that the 45‐point Plan Reactiva has been created to provide a “forceful adminis‐ tration response” to the situation resulting from the Ukraine war while minimising its effect 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 accelerate 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‐em‐ ployed who have been hit the hardest by the en‐ ergy crisis and another €50 million for compa‐ nies that depend on gas, but have not been included in central government aid.

Valencia’s Finance Institute (IVF) will provide €100 million to assist companies suffering from loss of income while the Generalitat also intends to cut regional taxes by at least 10 per cent, bringing savings of €71 million to families as well as businesses. Fishing fleets will no longer need to pay for using Valencian 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 au‐ tonomous community,” Puig said.

NEWSDESK

PALM MARKET: Carlos Mazon discussed the viability of bringing the tram to Elche.

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 April 9, the provin‐ cial council president said that the Diputa‐ cion wants to see a first phase linking the Avenida de la Libertad with other districts inside the city and the Business Park.

This would be followed by future phases connecting the city with Torrellano and the airport in one direction and Santa Pola 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 equivalent to a Cabinet, Mazon added.

Instead, the Generalitat had yet to carry out a feasibility report or analyse the pos‐ sibility of bringing the Tram to Elche, de‐ spite repeated requests from the business sector and the city’s groups and associa‐ tions.

“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 it was incompre‐ hensible that Elche still did not have this service and that in the meantime, the Con‐ sell merely made “ordinary” investments.

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.

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EUROPEAN PRESS

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.

EUROPEAN PRESS

www.euroweeklynews.com

EUROPEAN PRESS FINLAND

Summer holidays

Artwork seized

WITH the reduction in restrictions on travel, Finavia which manages Finland’s airports has announced a number of summer destinations from Helsinki and other airports which will see flights to Alicante, Barcelona, Malaga and Palma de Mallorca operated by a range of different airlines.

FINNISH Customs have seized artworks said to be worth €42 million which were bound for Russia all under the sanctions the European Union has brought in against Russia following the invasion of Ukraine. Stored safely, the items were being returned from museums around the world.

IRELAND Oops

Art nouveau

RED faces in the Ministry of Health where after wishing a Dr Holohan all the best in his new job at Trinity College, Dublin, it was two weeks before Minister Stephen Donnelly discovered it was a secondment and his ministry would continue to pay the €187,000 salary.

KNOWN as a country that always supports the arts, the Irish government has announced that it will pay 2,000 selected artists a basic income of €325 per week for three years in a bid to encourage a rebirth of different arts in the country following the pandemic.

ITALY Carbonara Day

Lady menus

ROME’S top pasta dish, spaghetti carbonara, has celebrated its own special day since 2017 when April 6 was designated International Carbonara Day by the Italian Food Union and the International Pasta Organisation and top chefs presented a series of online culinary events.

AUSTRALIAN minor celebrity Abbie Chatfield has caused a storm in Italy after commenting on Instagram that she found a practice in some restaurants of giving women a menu without prices as being sexist, with men generally deriding her and women agreeing that so called ‘lady menus’ are demeaning.

PORTUGAL Three billionaires

EU action

THE first Henley Global Citizens Report has revealed that there are 55,400 people in Portugal who are worth more than $1 million (€900,000) but of those, just three can be classed as dollar billionaires and this compares badly with the USA, where there are 810 billionaires.

THE European Commission said it has exhausted other ways of getting Portugal to comply with its rules by recognising ‘foreign qualifications’ of civil engineers and has therefore brought an action against the Portuguese government before the Court of Justice of the European Union.

UKRAINE Pontiff’s plea

Free lessons

POPE Francis raised a battle-stained Ukrainian flag rescued from the city of Bucha during his weekly public audience in the Vatican on April 6, before inviting refugee children who had fled Ukraine on to the platform with him as he called for peace.

LONDON and Madrid based Busuu, a leading language learning app, announced on April 7 that its decision to offer free access to Ukrainians (who have been forced to leave that country) to 13 languages, including Polish, has seen more than 100,000 people sign up already.

SWEDEN Stockholm Youseum

Bad Guy

THERE’S a museum in Stockholm that has nothing hanging on its walls and exists basically as a backdrop with different rooms decorated for visitors to take selfies or videos to post on Instagram or TikTok which is why it calls itself a Youseum.

KNOWN as a bad guy as an actor, Swedish star Alexander Skarsgard promoting his new movie, confessed to The Times that some time ago he almost hit a teenager whilst riding his bike in Stockholm and later realised it was climate activist Greta Thunberg.

14 - 20 April 2022

EWN 27

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

www.euroweeklynews.com • 14 - 20 April 2022

30

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.

32 EWN

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14 - 20 April 2022

LONDON - FTSE 100

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

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/mojacar • Tel: +34 950 478 914 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

www.euroweeklynews.com

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

34 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

www.euroweeklynews.com

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 35

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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Live Snooker: The World Championship Rick Stein's Long Weekends Hidden Canoe Man Wogan: The Best Of A Life on the Box: Arthur Lowe Sacred Songs - The Secrets of Our Hearts A Slow Odyssey

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BBC Young Dancer 2022 The Gondoliers Opera Italia Opera Italia Opera Italia David Stratton's Stories of Australian Cinema BBC Young Dancer 2022

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ITV News and Weather ITV London Weather Ainsley's Good Mood Food The Masked Singer US In for a Penny Live FA Cup Football ITV News and Weather ITV News London Britain's Got Talent The Thief, His Wife and the Canoe

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Live Snooker: The World Championship Brian Cox's Adventures in Space and Time Maxwell A Day in the Life of Earth Tomorrow's Worlds: The Unearthly History of Science Fiction Science and Islam Brian Cox's Adventures in Space and Time

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ITV Lunchtime News ITV News London Shrek Lingo Tipping Point ITV Evening News ITV News London The Chase Emmerdale Coronation Street The Thief, His Wife and the Canoe

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Live Snooker: The World Championship Novels That Shaped Our World Being Bridget Jones Margaret Atwood Sylvia Plath: Life Inside the Bell Jar The Beauty of Books Science and Islam Novels That Shaped Our World

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Dickinson's Real Deal Lingo ITV London Weather Tipping Point The Chase ITV News London Party Election Broadcast ITV Evening News Emmerdale Happy Birthday Bill The Thief, His Wife and the Canoe

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Live Snooker: The World Championship Putin, Russia and the West Murder in Soho Charley Boorman: Ireland to Sydney by any Means Charley Boorman Science and Islam Putin, Russia and the West

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Countdown A Place in the Sun A New Life in the Sun Sun, Sea and Selling Houses The Simpsons Hollyoaks Channel 4 News Hotel Chocolat at Easter Grayson's Art Club Gogglebox

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Ugly House to Lovely House with George Clarke Channel 4 News Grand Designs Matt Baker: Our Farm in the Dales Titanic: Building the World's Largest Ship A Lake District Farm Shop Captain Marvel

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The Great Celebrity Bake Off for Stand Up to Cancer Escape to the Chateau Channel 4 News One and Six Zeros Grand Designs Inside the Superbrands SAS: Who Dares Wins Gogglebox First Dates

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A Place in the Sun A New Life in the Sun Sun, Sea and Selling Houses The Simpsons Hollyoaks Channel 4 News Dispatches Kirstie and Phil's Love It or List It: Brilliant Builds Travel Man: 48 Hours in Cyprus

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Find it, Fix it, Flog it Countdown A Place in the Sun A New Life in the Sun Sun, Sea and Selling Houses The Simpsons Hollyoaks Channel 4 News The Great Celebrity Bake Off for Stand Up to Cancer Derry Girls

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Countdown A Place in the Sun A New Life in the Sun Sun, Sea and Selling Houses The Simpsons Hollyoaks Channel 4 News The Great Home Transformation Grand Designs: The Street

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Our Yorkshire Farm The Ten Commandments Entertainment News on 5 The Ten Commandments 5 News Weekend Greatest Chocolate Ads of All Time Happy Campers: Brits on Holiday Jane McDonald's Caribbean

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5 News at 5 Neighbours Eggheads Dream Kitchens and Bathrooms with Mark Millar 5 News Update Springtime on the Farm 5 News Update Rob & Dave's Big Texas Rodeo

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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

www.euroweeklynews.com • 14 - 20 April 2022

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

FEATURE

www.euroweeklynews.com

Advertising Feature Next House Almería

14 - 20 April 2022

Property of the week

EWN 43

Ref. NHA517

Exclusive to Next House Almeria! Reduced 109,950 euros for a quick sale! Book your visit now!

CHARMING independent two‐storey country house with two bedrooms and one bathroom, terraces and land, for sale on the outskirts of the city of Seron, in the province of Almeriía.

Seron is located in an incomparable setting, situated between the Sierra de Filabres and the Almanzora river valley in the province of Almeria, where you can enjoy nature to the fullest.

The town of Seron enjoys an enviable climate, with fresh mountain air and pleasant temperatures in summer. This microclimate is perfect for curing ham, and in the town there are half a dozen companies dedicated to salting hams and curing them naturally in their cellars to transform them into the famous Ser‐ rano ham from Seron.

The property is located in a small hamlet with several houses, in a very quiet area with stunning views of the mountains.

Upon entering the property there is a large front garden with various flower‐

FANTASTIC SETTING: Where you can enjoy nature to the fullest.

ing plants and trees that leads to the two terraces, one of which is fully cov‐ ered and currently transformed into a living room with a modern wood stove and specially designed to enjoy the wonderful views in winter too.

From the covered terrace we enter a

hallway that leads to the har‐ moniously fur‐ nished living/dining room, also featur‐ ing a wood burning stove, a bathroom with shower and a spacious fully mod‐ ernised independent kitchen.

The access to the first floor is through a set of stairs that leads directly to the two double bedrooms.

The house has two entrances, one through the area of the ter‐ races and anoth‐ er on one side of the house which also has a cov‐ ered parking.

A spacious house with lots of light and a very good vibe perfect‐ ly prepared to move into.

Do not miss this offer and contact us now to book your visit! We have your Next House in Almeria!

Calle Salvador Madariaga, 1, 04800, Albox • info@nexthousealmeria.com • www.nexthousealmeria.com • Tel.: +34 645 066 139 - +34 950 500 060

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

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.

44 EWN

www.euroweeklynews.com

14 - 20 April 2022

CONSULAR MATTERS YOU may have heard that the Spanish consulates and Em‐ bassy in Great Britain are on strike and sadly at the time of writing there is no date for the strike to end.

At Just Law Solicitors we conduct residency or residen‐ cia applications for clients looking to move to Spain in 2022.

How are clients affected by the strike? First of all, if you’re applying for residency in Spain you need to obtain and submit several official documents. For example, one of the docu‐ ments you need to submit is your medical certificate which states that you don’t have a serious contagious infectious disease.

This document and other documents are only valid for three months from the date of issue. Once you have the docu‐ ments; we then need to obtain

FEATURE

The Spanish Consulate strike in Great Britain matters and we will keep you updated.

It’s worth remembering that prior to Brexit these con‐ sulates were doing far less work, and the third country visa requirements have been added to their duties post Brexit. This we understand is one of the reasons for the strike. Of course, we will up‐ date you once we have more information. As always this isn’t legal advice. If you’re thinking of living in Spain or buying a property in Spain, get in touch with ourselves before you sign or pay anything.

ON STRIKE: The Spanish authorities are working to resolve matters.

an appointment for our clients but due to the strike appoint‐ ments are not available and the documents will eventually

expire as they are only valid for three months from the date of issue.

We are of course concerned,

and at the time of writing there is no solution. We under‐ stand that the Spanish authori‐ ties are working to resolve

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

Marisa Moreno Castillo Lawyer and Consul for Denmark. Since 1992 www.justlawsolicitors.com • Malaga - Fuengirola - Marbella & online.

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

Coming for you 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, 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‐ 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 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.

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.

46 EWN

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14 - 20 April 2022

HEALTH & BEAUTY

Control high blood pressure Paracetamol and ibuprofen HIGH blood pressure is a significant indicator of car‐ diovascular risk. Although the causes are not entirely clear, lifestyle and diet are essential. Without taking them into account, it is very difficult for medica‐ tion to be effective, and in milder cases, changing cer‐ tain habits may even help to regulate blood pressure without the need for med‐ ication.

Reduce sodium intake Reducing your sodium in‐ take can significantly lower your blood pressure. Try using vinegar, garlic, spices, onions or herbs instead of salt. Avoid foods rich in sodium, such as cold meats, pre‐cooked foods or bottled sauces.

Watch your weight Try to have a balanced diet that is low in saturated fats and rich in fruit, veg‐ etables and low‐fat dairy products. Being overweight significantly increases the risk of developing high blood pressure.

BLOOD PRESSURE: Changing your habits may help.

Reduce stress Stress reduction and good‐quality sleep are key to lowering blood pressure levels. If relaxation tech‐ niques and physical exer‐ cise fail to help with stress and anxiety, speak to a pro‐ fessional to assess the best treatment options.

Moderate alcohol and caffeine consumption Moderate to heavy alco‐ hol consumption (especial‐ ly outside of meals) is sig‐ nificantly associated with hypertension. Caffeine causes a short‐lasting but drastic increase in blood

pressure and should be avoided by those with hy‐ pertension.

Stop smoking Smoking interacts with high blood pressure and in‐ creases the risk of cere‐ brovascular and/or cardio‐ vascular disease.

Exercise Finally, the benefits of regular physical exercise for healthy ageing and re‐ ducing the risk of high blood pressure are well‐es‐ tablished. Despite this, less than 25 per cent of older people are physically active at least three days a week.

M O S T people have ibuprofen and paraceta‐ mol in their medicine cab‐ inets, and although both are used as painkillers, they have different in‐ dications and side ef‐ fects.

• Ibuprofen Ibuprofen is a nons‐ teroidal anti‐inflammatory drug (NSAID) and has an analgesic, anti‐inflamma‐ tory and antipyretic effect.

This means that it can re‐ duce pain, inflammation and fever.

There is some evidence that consuming ibuprofen frequently over time may increase cardiovascular risk, and people with car‐ diovascular disease should speak with their doctor before taking it.

It should not be taken on an empty stomach and is generally not recom‐ mended for pregnant women.

• Paracetamol Paracetamol does not reduce inflammation, but it does relieve pain and re‐

duce fever. It is mainly used to allevi‐ ate flu symptoms, headaches, toothaches, back pain, etc.

Unlike ibuprofen, parac‐ etamol does not cause gastric side effects, so it can be taken on an empty stomach. However, it is important not to exceed the maximum dose, even if the pain is very bad.

• Can I alternate parac‐ etamol with ibuprofen?

When in doubt regard‐ ing which painkiller to take, consult your doctor.

Generally speaking, how‐ ever, ibuprofen is best for inflammation and severe

Pain killers.

pain, and paracetamol should be enough when there is fever, but no pain.

It is best not to alter‐ nate between paraceta‐ mol and ibuprofen, as this may increase the risk of hypotension and kidney damage. Therefore, if you have a fever, it is best to choose one and take it as recommended. However, if the fever persists, you can alternate between ibuprofen and paraceta‐ mol. This is an emergency method that can never be prolonged for more than three days.

HEALTH & BEAUTY

www.euroweeklynews.com

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‐ cous membrane of the stom‐

AVOCADOS: A low-fructose food, so unlikely to cause gas.

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.

14 - 20 April 2022

EWN 47

48 EWN

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14 - 20 April 2022

FEATURE

GO LOCAL THE EURO WEEKLY NEWS has urged its readers to support local businesses in the com‐ munity by shopping local‐ ly 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 community. You may find something a euro or two cheaper online but

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

have you considered where your money is actu‐ ally going?

By shopping locally you’re putting food on a local family’s table and there is nothing better than giving back to the communities that have giv‐ en us so much. Local stores support charities and they sponsor local sports teams.

In many cases, they are much more than just a business, they’re a legacy.

They may have supported generations of the same family. Likewise, brand new local stores and bars may help the generations of the future fulfil their

dreams and ambitions.

Remember, your local store is going up against multinationals and chains.

They can’t win that battle on their own. So give them your support.

Spending your money lo‐ cally will make a real differ‐ ence to the local economy.

Local businesses recircu‐ late a greater share of ev‐ ery euro they receive at lo‐ cal level. They create locally owned supply chains and they invest in their employees.

So remember.

When you go shopping ‐ go local!

www.euroweeklynews.com

FEATURE 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?

14 - 20 April 2022

EWN 49

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.

PETS

50

www.euroweeklynews.com • 14 - 20 April 2022

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Cats are just as smart A NEW study at a Japanese university is once again backing up the age‐old cat lovers’ theory that felines are just as clever as dogs.

Forty‐nine domestic cats were used for the study at Kyoto Univer‐ sity, which tested their ability to remem‐ ber which food bowl

they had eaten out of after 15‐minute inter‐ vals.

The cats, reported psychologist Saho Tak‐ agi, appeared to re‐ member exactly which bowls should still con‐ tain food, suggesting

they had what is re‐ ferred to as episodic memory.

“Cats may be as in‐ telligent as dogs, as opposed to the com‐ mon view of people that dogs are much smarter.

Also, an interesting speculation is that they may enjoy actively re‐ calling memories of their experiences just like h u ‐ mans,” the scientist said.

SMART CATS: May be just as clever as dogs.

14 - 20 April 2022 • www.euroweeklynews.com

51

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52 EWN

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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.

14 - 20 April 2022

EWN 53

DGT Easter operation

EASTER is almost upon us, and many drivers are prob‐ ably already planning their trips. The General Direc‐ torate of Traffic (DGT) has announced its special oper‐ ation to monitor the roads of Spain during this holiday period.

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 Easter holidays monitoring operation at 3pm on Friday,

EASTER HOLIDAY: A special operation will be undertaken to monitor the roads.

April 8. It will end on Mon‐ day 18, at 11.59pm. This de‐ ployment 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 section, and the new velo‐ laser, also known as invisible radars. Fines for speeding

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 le‐ gal is to have radar detec‐ tors installed in the car. Even more illegal are signal in‐

hibitors that have the ability to cancel the speedometer, so that a radar does not reg‐ ister the vehicle’s speed.

This infraction is very serious and carries fines of up to €6,000.

SPORT

www.euroweeklynews.com

14 - 20 April 2022

LeClerc wins Australian GP

FERRARI driver Charles Leclerc won the Australian Grand Prix on Sunday, April 10, his second win of the sea‐ son. He now leads the driver’s championship with two victo‐ ries already from the first three races.

Sergio Perez brought his Red Bull home in second, with Mercedes’ new driver, George Russell taking the third spot on the podium. World champion

FERRARI DRIVER: His second win of the season.

Vader in induced coma

DUTCH cyclist Milan Vader, from the Jum‐ bo‐Visma team, is reportedly in an induced coma after his serious crash on Friday, April 8. His accident occurred during the fifth and penultimate stage of the Itzulia Tour of the Basque Country 2022, where the 26‐year‐ old left the road and went over the crash barrier.

According to dpa reports, the teammate of Olympic champion Primoz Roglic had to undergo an operation at the Cruces Hospi‐ tal due to the fall he suffered less than 100km from the finish line of the 163.8km stage between the towns of Zamudio and Mallabia.

The Dutch rider reportedly had affected

carotid arteries, as well as fractures to the clavicle, shoulder blade, and several verte‐ brae, plus a collapsed lung, among other in‐ juries.

On Friday night, a spokesperson for the Jumbo‐Visma team offered the first news on their cyclist’s condition, “We want to in‐ form you that Milan Vader’s situation is stable. Milan is receiving very good medical care at the Bilbao University Hospital.”

On Saturday April 9, they issued another brief statement, “A short update from the Basque Country: Milan will remain in the University Medical Hospital in Bilbao for the next days for observation and until fur‐ ther recovery.”

Max Verstappen again failed to finish, retiring about two‐ thirds of the way through the race, with a technical failure.

Russell’s finish has elevated him into second place in the championship, a brilliant achievement so far in his first season with Mercedes. Lewis Hamilton seems to be strug‐ gling, finishing this race in fourth.

The French driver was im‐ posing from start to finish, hav‐ ing secured pole position by a very big margin in qualifying.

His task was made a little easi‐ er after Verstappen was in‐ structed over the team radio to stop immediately after complaining he could “smell some weird fluid.” At this point, he was already seven seconds in front of the rest of the field.

F1 returns to Europe for the next race, for the Italian Grand Prix at Imola, in two weeks’ time. The timing could not be better with Ferrari being in such commanding form, with the opportunity of a win on home soil in the offering.

EWN 55

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.