Euro Weekly News - Axarquia 19 - 25 May 2022 Issue 1924 by Euro Weekly News Media S.A.

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19 - 25 May 2022

AXARQUIA - COSTA TROPICAL • EUROWEEKLYNEWS.COM

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PUPPY LOVE Laura Kemp

A GROUP of Nordic ladies in Nerja have made a beautiful patchwork blanket for APAA cat and dog res‐ cue this month, raising an incredible €200 when sold at auction. The blanket has now been delivered to the buyer, with charity treasurer Sue Kiff say‐ ing of the fundraising: “They did such a lovely job on the blanket… each lady doing a few squares each… lovely thing to do for APAA”, as well as thanking the group of crafty sewers. APAA Nerja has been raising funds to build its own animal shelter in the Nerja area. It is planning to raise around €200,000 to help look after the large number of aban‐ doned cats and dogs it receives. Sue Kiff, Treasurer of the charity, told the Euro Weekly News that it has been receiving large amounts of ani‐ mals. She said: “We have had 10 dogs come

PROJECT PLANS: The plot has now been located.

More parking

BEAUTIFUL BLANKET: The patchwork quilt raised €200 for APAA.

Health boost for local patients V E L E Z - M A L A G A Council has launched a new project to help pa‐ tients to improve their health using exercise. Managed by the Sports Depart‐ ment of Velez‐Malaga in collabora‐ tion with the Health Area of East Malaga‐Axarquia, the new Physical Exercise Units will give personalised help to patients as a complement to medical treatment to improve their quality of life.

Improving health through exercise.

in in one day, people keep bringing them in.” She added: “There have been some awk‐ ward dogs this year, in‐ cluding an amputee, which have been very difficult to find foster‐ ers for.” The APAA Nerja is a registered animal res‐ cue charity whose goal is to rescue and re‐ home abandoned dogs and cats in the Nerja area. To foster or donate, or to get in touch with the charity, contact 643 406 591, or visit t h e A P A A’ s c h a r i t y shop on Calle el Cha‐ paril 7, Nerja.

THE town hall of Nerja has begun drafting a preliminary project for the construction of an underground car park, with more than 800 parking spaces, as well as a bus sta‐ tion, on a plot located next to the future health centre, in the area of Avenida. de Pescia. The mayor of Nerja, José Alberto Armijo, made the announcement on Monday May 16 and said: “This am‐ bitious project will allow us to provide a solution to the lack of parking spaces in our municipality, especially in the summer season, and also provide it with a strategi‐ cally located bus station that meets the needs of our residents and visitors.” The mayor said that this will be the fourth car park to have been constructed by the town hall, under the lead‐ ership of the Partido Popular. The new one will join those of the Balcón de Europa, the Verano Azul Park and Burriana Beach to give Nerja more than 2,000 pub‐ lic parking spaces.

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19 - 25 May 2022

ON Friday May 13, the mayor of Rincon de la Victoria, Fran‐ cisco Salado, met with the ath‐ lete Paula de Santos, her coach and the councillor for Sports, Antonio José Martín, to announce the sponsorship from the town hall. Paula de Santos, aged 21, is

Sponsorship for promising athlete one of the most promising athletes in the municipality. She is the current 10,000m champion of Andalucia in the under‐23s category and was also recently runner‐up on a

national level. Salado said: “We are proud that Paula is from Rincon. She works very hard and has a long way to go. We commit to immediately supporting the

athlete with a personal spon‐ sorship that will be signed shortly, and then to do the same with the club.” The councillor of Sports highlighted “the effort and

sacrifice” of the athlete, who is “already among the best of Spanish athletes.” Paula de Santos welcomed the sponsorship, saying: “I am delighted that the town hall is supporting me and the club to which I belong, Málaga Bahía. It is an honour for me.”

Almuñecar food fair

Velez-Malaga charity walk ON May 13, the first deputy mayor of Velez‐ Malaga and councillor for Beaches, Jesús Pérez Aten‐ cia, presented the third edition of the ‘Sueña tu camino’ charity walk or‐ ganised by the Genaro Rincón Primary School in

La Caleta de Velez. The headteacher of the school, Dulce Chicano, said that there were currently 800 people registered for the walk. She invited the families of the students and the people of La Caleta de Velez to take part and

thanked the town hall and the Parents’ Association for having obtained more than 100 sponsors from different companies. The secretary of the school, Diego Morales, said: “The walk is for all levels and will take place on Sun‐ day May 22, starting at 11am from the esplanade of the port of La Caleta in the direction of Torre del

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CHARITY WALK: More than 100 sponsors obtained.

Mar. We will walk about three or four kilometres to the Nautical Club, where we will turn back.” He also

said that at the finish line, there will be games and ac‐ tivities involving the whole educational community.

Torrox Vista Petanca Club THE Torrox Vista Petanca Club has re‐ cently run several successful competi‐ tions. The club wishes to thank Martin Cook for organising the competitions and Paul Quinn for arranging meals for the members afterwards. The results of the competitions are as follows: for Ladies’ Day, the winner was Alicia Metzger and the runner‐up was Alison Burns; for Men’s Day, the winner was Nigel Kind, with two wins and +10 points, and the runner‐up was Dave Tomlin, with two wins and +8 points; and for the Spotlight Trophy, the win‐ ners were Christina Schriener and David

RESULTS: Competition winners.

MacKenzie, with three wins and +20 points, and the runners‐up were Rose Dawes and Bryan Plowright, with three wins and +19 points.

ON June 10, 11 and 12 the 23rd edition of the Al‐ muñecar food fair will be held in the magnificent scenic setting of Parque el Majuelo. The event has been or‐ ganised by the Hotel As‐ sociation of the Tropical Valley of Almuñecar (AHVT), with the support of the Municipal Tourist Board, department of Commerce of the city council from Almuñecar and Cruzcampo. The objective of the event is to promote the hospitality sector of Al‐ muñecar‐La Herradura based on the quality of its products, highlighting the richness of the gastronom‐ ic offer in the area. The town council said: “Once again, this fair will highlight the variety and importance of local gas‐ tronomy as an attraction for visitors, and what it brings to the local econo‐ my directly and indirect‐ ly”.

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NIBS EXTRA Breakdancing and graffiti THE Youth Department of the Rincon de la Victoria Town Hall has organised breakdancing and graffiti ex‐ hibitions for Saturday, May 21, from 7pm to 9pm in the Plaza de la Constitución. It will involve participation from successful local artists and there will be free work‐ shops for beginners.

Street lighting WORK has begun on the in‐ stallation of new street light‐ ing with LED technology in the centre of Nerja. The aim is to improve energy efficien‐ cy and save more on electric‐ ity consumption. The new LED lamps have longer lifes‐ pans than the current ones and are fully recyclable.

New store THE Italian lingerie brand In‐ timissimi, part of the Calze‐ donia Group, has opened a new store in the El Ingenio Shopping Centre in Velez‐ Malaga. Also at El Ingenio, the bed linen company Tra‐ mas has carried out major re‐ furbishments and the popu‐ lar clothing brand Stradivarius is currently doing the same.

Upcoming concerts THE choir Coro Ciudad de Al‐ muñecar will be celebrating their 35th anniversary with a concert on Saturday May 28 at 8pm in the Almuñecar Au‐ ditorium (€7). On May 29, at 7pm, there will be a grand gala concert in aid of the Red Cross in the Auditorium of the Casa de la Cultura (€5).

Civil Protection headquarters THE Civil Protection Volun‐ teers Group of Nerja is to be given its own headquarters following the recognition it received from the Junta de Andalucia for its work during the pandemic. The head‐ quarters will be built on a mu‐ nicipal plot selected for its lo‐ cation, size and accessibility.

19 - 25 May 2022

Rincon basketball

THE Local Public Administrative Agency for Sports (APAL) of the Rincon de la Victoria Town Hall has announced the first-ever ‘Full of Life’ Basketball Tournament, to be held from May 20 to 22. The mayor of Rincon de la Victoria, Francisco Salado, presented the event on Thursday May 12 with the councillor for Sports, Antonio José Martín, the vice-president of the Andalucian Basketball Federation (FAB Málaga), Ricardo Bandrés, the sports director of Rincón Basket, Francisco del Pino and the president of CB Novaschool, Susana Aragonés. The tournament will bring together 342 players aged between 10 and 15 from nine

No smoking T O R R OX C o u n c i l h a s announced a range of activities to promote its non‐smoking month in May. The aim of this fun and dynamic initiative is to reach out to fami‐ lies, providing infor‐ mation on the harmful effects of smoking. On Sunday May 29, there will be a day of games and activities that explore some of the myths around smoking. The aim is to educate all members of the family about passive smoking and other issues. Throughout the month, there will also be workshops given to schoolchildren to teach them about the effects of tobacco and their right to demand that adults do not smoke in their pres‐ ence. The month of June will be dedicated to healthy eating, and the healthy lifestyle project will resume af‐ ter the summer, with October focusing on emotional well‐being.

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Quality of life for kidney disease patients

FULL OF LIFE: At presentation of the event.

clubs in Andalucia and Melilla: Rincón Basket Club, CB Novaschool, Ciudad de Córdoba, Puerta Oscura, EBG Málaga, Torre Basket Club, CB Alhaurín de la Torre, CB La Goleta, and La Salle Melilla. The councillor for Sports

said: “This is one of the tournaments with the largest number of players held in the province of Malaga. During the championship, the teams will stay in hotels in the municipality, which will help tourism, hospitality and local commerce.”

Calima cleaning Tamsin Brown ON Friday May 13, the coun‐ cillor for Environmental Sus‐ tainability at Rincon de la Victoria Council, Borja Ortiz, announced a special plan for eliminating the after effects of the Saharan dust in the municipality as well as for general cleaning. The work will be carried out by the new municipal company, Greencón. Ortiz said that this cleaning opera‐ tion is being implemented a few weeks earlier compared to other years because “there are quite a few pave‐

ments where weeds have grown on the edges due to the spring rain, so we are go‐ ing to totally eliminate them.” The mayor of Rincon, Francisco Salado, said: “Our objective as a council team is to ensure the peace of mind of our residents and visitors so that they can enjoy a clean and safe municipality.” He also said that they have been working on dealing with the after effects of the Saharan dust for weeks, and it has not been easy. He ex‐ pressed his gratitude to the residents for their patience.

Family bookshop improves THE new Librería Fenicia in Almuñecar, run by Antonio Gamero, has opened its doors. The new bookshop is very close to where it previously was but is twice as big. To mark the oc‐ casion, the much‐loved bookshop was visited on Thursday May 12 by the councillors for Culture, Alberto García Gilabert and Luis Aragón, who congratulated the Gamero family for the important move. Antonio Gamero was very happy and excited with the re‐ sults of the refurbishment of the premises. He said: “Now we have managed to get a bookshop like Almuñecar deserves: large, spacious, with all the necessary services and more that we will be introducing soon.” Librería Fenicia is also expanding its staff, with the incorpora‐ tion of Antonio’s son David, who has decided to return to his hometown of Almuñecar after studying in Granada and Mur‐ cia to be a part of the family business, which was created 13 years ago. His goal is to offer the best bookshop in Almuñecar.

PROMOTING PROJECT: Improving quality of life.

THE Malaga Provincial Council, through the Dele‐ gation for the Elderly, Non‐Profit Sector and Inter‐ national Cooperation, is promoting a project be‐ ing carried out by the Association for the Fight against Kidney Diseases (ALCER) to improve the quality of life of people suffering from chronic kidney disease and their families. The announce‐ ment was made on Friday May 13. The project is being carried out in the munici‐ palities of Ardales, Alcaucín, Pizarra, Benaoján, Casares, Arriate, Riogordo, Archidona, Canillas de Albaida and Cortes de la Frontera, all of which have fewer than 20,000 inhabitants. The initiative will provide people diagnosed with CKD (chronic kidney disease) with tools to promote self‐care and personal autonomy through healthy lifestyle habits. For years, ALCER has been working to bring such services to kidney patients and their families in the small towns of the province. Also, as they are aware of the increasing importance of digital services, they have developed an app for psycho‐ logical, social, nutritional and physiotherapeutic services, which also includes workshops and on‐ line training sessions.

and finally... AWARENESS-RAISING CAMPAIGN ON DOGS. Almuñecar Council, through its Department of the Environment, has car‐ ried out a campaign in the schools in the municipality with the aim of teaching children about having dogs as pets. Almost 100 students participated at each school. The children were given a presentation on the benefits of having pets and had a visit from Ira and Luffy, two dogs that have been trained for educational purposes by Sebas from Huellitas. Maria Contreras, a volunteer from the Almuñecar Associa‐ tion for the Protection of Animals and the Environment (APA‐ MA), also took part, explaining what an animal shelter is and the importance of being a foster home for dogs. She also told some very moving stories. The Department of the Environment will now continue with its campaign to raise awareness about responsible dog owner‐ ship and respectful behaviour in the urban environment, con‐ sidering the high number of complaints about dog droppings on public roads.

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19 - 25 May 2022

Quality beaches

THE Blue Flag will fly this sum‐ mer on three beaches in Ner‐ ja, Malaga. Maro beach joins the Nerja town beaches of Burriana and Torrecilla, which since last year have held this distinction awarded annually by the Con‐ sumer and Environmental Ed‐ ucation Association (ADEAC) in recognition of the quality of bathing water, the condition

of the beaches and the ser‐ vices offered to its users. Mayor of Nerja, José Alber‐ to Armijo, said the Blue Flags were “recognition of Nerja as a tourist destination of distinc‐ tion on the Costa del Sol, and the work done by the Depart‐

ment of Beaches to improve the quality of services on our beaches.” Councillor for Beaches, María del Carmen López, said: “This recognition encourages us to continue working with the aim of adding new distinc‐

tions that certify the quality of our beaches.” The Blue Flags are awarded after inspections and audits by ADEAC to those municipal‐ ities in Spain that request it. A series of criteria including wa‐ ter quality, information, envi‐ ronmental education, envi‐ ronmental management, safety and services must be met.

TORRE DEL MAR’S pop‐ ular ‘Street Work Out’ park located on Playa de Levante de Torre del Mar is being expanded with a Ninja Warrior style work out zone. New equipment will in‐ clude battle ropes and a Ninja Warrior phase 1 area. The space is hugely popular with expats and Spanish alike, with many using the beach gym area to get buff or keep fit.

The council said: “Since this sports space was created, dozens of peo‐ ple have gathered every day to practise sports in one of the largest beach gyms in the province. “That is why we be‐ lieved it was important to expand the equipment in this area.

“It will undoubtedly be another attraction for those who decide to play sports on the beach. “In this latest expan‐

sion we have created a Ninja Warrior circuit, combining agility, dex‐ terity, strength and coor‐ dination.”

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San Juan

Ninja Warrior Committed to tourism

THE Municipal Tourist Board of Almuñecar‐La Herradura has carried out a promotional campaign on the Malaga Metro. Daniel Barbero, councillor for Tourism and Beaches, said: “It is to promote not only the longer holidays we can offer, but also weekends away, which have had such an impact on the tourism industry in general.” According to Barbero, the campaign involves a total of 20 large‐format billboards that promote Almuñecar ‐ La Her‐ radura. The campaign includes different images of the area’s gas‐ tronomy, beaches, nautical activities, and heritage to inspire and encourage people to visit and enjoy Almuñecar and La Herradura at any time of the year.

FESTIVAL PLANS: Will feature iconic band Fangoria.

VELEZ-MALAGA’S councillor for Tourism, Jesús Pérez Atencia, has announced the plans for this year’s popular San Juan festival on Saturday, June 25 following muted events during the pandemic. This year’s plans will feature a performance by iconic band Fangoria, The Return of the Decade (El Regreso de la Década) and Sau Dj & Jvni. Councillor Perez noted the night will “undoubtedly mark the beginning of a summer full of activities and events in our town. “We will start with the music of the Return of the Decade, which brings us the best songs of the 60s, 70s and 80s. We will also hand out traditional sardine skewers, with 350 kilograms of fish planned. “Later we will have on stage one of the most outstand‐ ing artists of the national scene. The beach of Torre del Mar will have the presence of Fangoria, an icon of Spanish music that will share with us the magical night of San Juan.”

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Tamsin Brown THE Local Police Headquar‐ ters of Rincon de la Victoria has created a new Cyber Po‐ lice unit to help reduce cyber crime and to support resi‐ dents locally with their online safety. The councillor for Public Safety, Borja Ortiz, said that the initiative arose “due to the significant increase in the number of cybercrimes that are occurring, the most com‐ mon being fraud and identity theft, as well as the increase in the number of young people who suffer cyber‐bullying.” The new unit will be run by a Local Police officer from the town who has extensive train‐ ing in cybersecurity, cyber‐ crime, personal data protec‐ tion, computer forensics and other such areas related to the digital environment. The mayor of Rincon de la Victoria, Francisco Salado, praised “the professional work” of the Local Police force, “which never ceases to expand and improve the ser‐ vices it provides to the public. The creation of the Cyber Po‐ lice unit marks a before and after for stopping cyber‐ crimes.”

19 - 25 May 2022

Cyber safety LOCAL POLICE: Supporting residents locally. Ortiz announced that there is a new email address (ciber policia@rincondelavictoria.es)

for victims of cybercrime or those who want more infor‐ mation.

La Noche en Blanco Laura Kemp UNDER the motto ‘La Paz’, Nerja will celebrate the 10th edition of the Noche en Blanco festival on Sat‐ urday, May 21, with more than 20 free cultural ac‐ tivities throughout the municipality. First deputy mayor Francisco Arce said: “The De‐ partment of Culture has organised a very varied programme with interesting new events, including performances, concerts, theatre, dance, visits to the museum and the caves.” The councilor for Culture Gema Laguna said that activities will begin at the Balcon de Europa from 11am and will take place throughout the day at the Villa de Nerja Cultural Centre, Municipal Library, Museum of Nerja, Church of El Salvador, ground floor of the town hall, Cueva de Nerja and Plaza de España.

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19 - 25 May 2022

More licence changes

SPAIN has announced that it will introduce changes in 2022 that makes over the 65’s driving licence renew‐

able every five years. Currently, Spain re‐ quires people over the age of 65 to undertake a

test every 10 years, but with the DGT working to improve road safety they have brought that period

Spain is still top

SPAIN has maintained its top spot world‐ wide for the most blue flags of any country. With 729 blue flags, Spain has held the top position since 1994 along with Greece and Turkey. The awards were announced on Tues‐ day, May 10 with Spain being granted blue flag status for 621 beaches, 103 marinas and five tourist boats. Fernando Valdés, Secretary of State for Tourism, said that blue flags are good for tourism, with 250 municipalities making the grade. He continued, saying that the government had invested €150 million in 2021 in upgrading and promoting beaches and that the number of blue flags was tes‐ tament to the value of the investment. In total, 89 per cent of the applications re‐ ceived achieved recognition, 15 more than the previous year. Of the 18 beaches that

BLUE FLAGS: Spain has 729.

achieved recognition for the first time, sev‐ en of those are inland. The organisation is paying special atten‐ tion to inland beaches as the popularity of these grows.

down to five years. Announcing the change, the DGT said: “We want to increase the frequency of medical and aptitude checks so that continuing to drive is safe for every‐ one.” Drivers of buses and lorries (types C, C1, D, D1, EC, EC1, ED, ED1, etc.), who are over the age of 65 will only have their li‐ cence issued for three years at a time. Although the renewal period has been reduced the evaluation criteria will not change, with the same test carried out on all drivers. The DGT has also indicat‐ ed that where warranted, driving licences could be is‐ sued for shorter periods in cases of illness, disability or frailness. The usual fee for renew‐ ing licences, €24.58, will be lower and those over the age of 70 will not have to pay.

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Masks still mandatory

FLIGHTS: Still require masks to be worn.

MASKS continue to be mandatory on public transport including flights confirmed Spanish Health Minister Carolina Darias on Thursday May 12. Many thought that this requirement would be done away with, at least on flights, following a change in European Union guidelines, but each country is able to set its own rules. In this case, the minister clarified the fact pas‐ sengers will not be required to wear masks whilst at airports, bus terminals or train stations but for all travel (and this must include taxis), masks are still required. This decision was made following a meeting with health officials from across Spain although it is not known at this stage whether the ruling on aircraft covers just internal flights or whether airlines will be required to enforce the rules on international flights as well. The European Union decision has not in any way affected the need for individuals to continue to wear masks in hospitals, health centres, phar‐ macies, nursing and doctor’s offices.

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19 - 25 May 2022

Lowest inflation in EU

ECONOMISTS in Brussels suggest that Spain will experience the lowest rate of inflation of all the countries in the EU, in 2023. The report, released on Monday May 16, suggests that the current rate of inflation in Spain is roughly equal to the average across the European Union (EU) but that it will fall to the lowest of all countries in the bloc by 2023. Brussels expects inflation to fall back to normal levels in 2023, with

the rate’s highest for many decades, fuelled by the combination of the war in Ukraine and the pandemic. That combination has seen energy prices at record highs and shortages of basic supplies, as well as key components used by manufacturers worldwide. The EU forecast that Spain will expe‐ rience the lowest rate of inflation in 2023 will be good news for the coun‐ try, which has been hit by high infla‐ tion and a third year of lower than usual number of tourists.

Digital information

OV E R half of Spaniards feel uncertainty when they put their personal da‐ ta in the digital environ‐ ment, saying they are aware of what can happen when information is shared. And yet three out of four citizens, 74 per cent, admit that technolo‐ gies are ‘extremely impor‐ tant’ in their lives. This is what was discov‐

ered in a survey carried out by the DYM Institute jointly with WIN Interna‐ tional (the world’s leading association in market re‐ search and opinion stud‐ ies) on the role of technol‐ ogy in our lives. The survey was answered by more than 33,000 people from 39 countries, 1,000 of them in Spain. According to this report,

more than half of Spaniards (52 per cent) are concerned about shar‐ ing personal information via mobile or computer, 4 per cent more than the world average percentage. Both men and women show this uneasiness equally, although it is slightly higher in the case of women (53 per cent compared to 50 per cent).

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19 - 25 May 2022

Butane prices high Chris King THE price of a bottle of bu‐ tane gas reached an all‐time record in Spain on Tuesday, May 17. Another consequence of the conflict in Ukraine is the price of butane gas cylinders which reached €19.55 each, the result of a 4.94 per cent in‐ crease. A combination of the sharp rise in the cost of raw materials, transportation costs, and the weak strength of the euro against the dollar is to blame for this record price in butane bottles. According to sources from the Ministry of Energy Transi‐ tion, this maximum price in‐ crease has been tempered because it is capped at a maxi‐ mum of 5 per cent. If this limi‐ tation did not exist then the bottle would have increased by 8.19 per cent. Every two months the price of bottled liquefied petroleum gases (LPG) in containers of between eight and 20 kilos is reviewed. Their price is then fixed based on the costs of the raw material (propane and

butane) in international mar‐ kets, freight rates, and the

evolution of the euro‐dollar exchange rate.

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Advertising Feature

MISSING SOCKS AND INSURANCE

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19 - 25 May 2022

Record-breaking EuroMillions A SINGLE ticket‐holder from the UK has come forward to claim a record‐breaking Eu‐ roMillions jackpot of £184 mil‐ lion. Camelot said that the win‐

ner came forward on Wednesday May 11, and that the claim will now go through a validation process to make sure terms and conditions are met.

New £1 coin THE Royal Mint has announced that the UK is to get a new £1 coin in 2023, marking 40 years since the modern version first came into circulation. Retaining the new security features added in 2017, the coins will feature the fifth effigy of Her Majesty the Queen on the back and new designs on the front. The new coins, which will enter circulation in 2023, have been designed by Kenyan born British artist Michael Ar‐ mitage. Included in the release will be a special collector’s edition. The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak, speaking at the official opening of the RCA’s Rausing Re‐ search and Innovation Centre, said: “I am delighted that Michael will lend his vision to the creation of this new £1 coin design in its 40th anniversary year. “This coin will symbolise the rich tapestry of modern Britain and honour our deep heritage and history.”

The winnings have beat the previous record of £170 mil‐ lion won by an anonymous ticket‐holder in October 2019, it was reported, and the win‐ ner is set to receive a huge £184,262,899.10. The winning EuroMillions numbers were 3, 25, 27, 28 and 29 and the Lucky Star numbers 4 and 9. Camelot’s senior winners’ advisor at The National Lot‐ tery, Andy Carter, said: “This is absolutely incredible news. Last night saw history made with the biggest ever National Lottery prize won by a single UK ticket‐holder, and we’re ecstatic that we’ve now re‐ ceived a claim. “Our focus now is on sup‐ porting the ticket‐holder through the process and help‐ ing them start to enjoy their truly life‐changing and record‐ breaking win.”

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19 - 25 May 2022

A FLUID EXPERIENCE

DAVID WORBOYS

THINKING ALOUD AN invitation to lunch is one of life’s plea‐ sures, assuming good company, a good setting ‐ and good food. And so I had great hopes when we both arrived at a friend’s house in Belgium to celebrate a family birthday. We were the guests of Jean‐Pierre and Isabelle (our chef) for the 20th birthday of their daughter Susanne. The proceedings started well enough with vol‐au‐vents, wal‐ nuts and slivers of Parmigiana, accompa‐ nied by chilled Campari, Fino or Muscadet and relaxed small‐talk. Then the time came to sit at the table. We were confronted by oysters with lemon juice, cracked black pepper and crispy French bread. I like oysters but only if they are alive and kicking. I can recognise a dead one from half‐a‐dozen goose‐steps away. Everybody started to tuck in but, after trying my first one, I noticed an unfamiliar taste. I sniffed at a second one. This was definitely an ex‐ oyster. The other guests had already downed several of them.

It then emerged that Jean‐Pierre had de‐ cided, unbeknown to Isabelle, that they should be frozen then thawed. I explained that freezing raw oysters kills them and they cannot then be consumed raw. Other‐ wise, escape from stomach gurgles was about as likely as Mick Jagger becoming an operatic baritone. No more were consumed but it was too late. Before the foie gras appeared, Isabelle eased her way from her chair and, strode purposefully from the room. There followed a concerted family as‐ sault on the three lavatories. The rest of the meal remained untouched, including the Meursault. Conversations had to be inter‐ rupted throughout the afternoon as ‘na‐ ture’ repeated its calls. Fortunately, I had consumed only one oyster. Most of my recent enjoyable meals out have been lunches. This is partly because, becoming more health‐conscious, I try to eat more lightly in the evenings. And I avoid oysters on the Mediterranean.

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EUROPEAN PRESS

EUROPEAN PRESS DENMARK

FINLAND

Firestarter

Bizarre fact

ALTHOUGH he denies being responsible, the head of the local fire brigade in the town of Egtved has appeared in a local court charged with starting 11 wildfires and if found guilty may be charged with starting more, as an additional 29 were started in the past two months.

A STUDY by the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare highlighted a strange fact in that of 2,400 suicides which occurred between 2016 and 2018, 21 per cent of suicide victims attended a health care appointment in Finland on the day of the suicide.

THE NETHERLANDS

IRELAND

Beached whales

Vegetable fuel

DEAD beached whales should be left where they are because they improve biodiversity, a study by the infrastructure ministry and Wageningen Marine Research has shown after they recorded the results over seven months of a cadaver washed up on the uninhabited Wadden island.

IN a bid to go green, the Irish postal service has introduced a number of electric vehicles, but there are no electric options for its lorries so it is trialling the use of specially treated vegetable oil in Co Galway in order to reduce diesel usage.

BELGIUM

ITALY

Royal stock

New blood

TRAIN buffs will be pleased to follow in the footsteps of King Filip and visit the latest exhibition at the national rail museum Train World in Brussels to view the story of the Belgian Royal Family and their trains which is open until January 2023.

ACCORDING to a report by CNN, 80 per cent of those who ended up purchasing 26 houses being offered for sale at €1 to €2 in Sambuca di Sicilia are from America and the plan to reinvigorate the town by bringing in ‘new blood’ has proven successful.

GERMANY

PORTUGAL

Mighty Mann

Tuk Tuk

NOW aged 81 years old, the first internationally acclaimed rock star from South Africa, organist Manfred Mann is back on the road again having reformed his Earth Band and will be in and out of Germany during 2022, performing no less than 21 concerts.

VISITORS to Thailand will recognise the name tuk tuk as it is the tiny three wheel ‘taxi’ that transports people precariously through its streets, but a Dutch company which manufactures electric tuk tuks there is relocating production to Santo Tirso, Porto to save transport costs for European sales.

FRANCE

UKRAINE

Less privileged

Gas cut

DESPITE the fact that France moved very quickly to ensure that refugees from Ukraine would be admitted to the country and given help and support, this is not the case for around 1,000 French speaking African students who were at universities in Ukraine who want to continue their education.

A SIGNIFICANT amount of Russian gas is still being pumped through Ukraine to Europe, but to add to the problem of inflation and higher energy costs, it has been announced that due to Russian presence the Sokhranivka gas distribution station is going to stop transmission.

NORWAY

SWEDEN

Not welcome

Security pact

NORWAY celebrated Veterans and Liberation Day as usual on May 8, with one major difference as Russian officials were not invited to ceremonies in the city of Kirkenes, even though it was liberated from Nazi German occupation by the Red Army of the former Soviet Union.

BRITISH Prime Minister Boris Johnson signed a mutual security agreement with Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson on Wednesday May 11 which could result in Britain sending troops to the country in the event of an invasion by Russia or any other belligerent.

FEATURE

euroweeklynews.com

So misguided

LEAPY LEE SAYS IT OTHERS THINK IT AT long last a touch of common sense emerges to strike back at the murky mire of dangerous woke indoctrination. After complaining to management of what they considered ‘controversial content’ in their Closure series production, a number of Netflix employees have been told that, ‘if they don’t agree with the broad spectrum of the company output perhaps it would be better to seek employment elsewhere’. Apparently this woke inspired Trans segment of the corporation planned to stage a walkout in protest of the crime series ‐ which has been one of the most successful programmes in Netflix history. The bosses subsequently issued a statement, which read in part that the company would ‘not censor specific artists or voices, even if some employees do find them ‘harmful,’ and will never allow these people to ‘silence artistic expression’. This ultimately led to the sacking of the leader of the group of employees ‐ Yaay! It’s money of course, which has actually triggered these actions of common sense. They have finally

19 - 25 May 2022

realised that to pander to 3 per cent of dissenters and ignore the 97 per cent of viewers who consider their protests nonsense, is not good business at all! ‘Go woke, Go broke’ is the new battle cry echoing around the corridors of this highly successful media company. Let’s just hope that other large and influential organisations take up the same cry and put this misguided and often highly dangerous bunch, back down to the bottom of the priority list where they all belong. Left wing minorities have been given far too much credence and credibility over the last few years. Because the simpering media has given them such disproportionate attention, they have become drunk with power, they are also totally undemocratic. People of this ilk are generally insecure and often angry to be part of a minority. In their efforts to become the majority they will basically stop at nothing (their ‘cancel culture’ is a nothing less than pure malicious evil!) The more appeasement they get the more they’re encouraged; give them an inch and they’ll take a mile. Well let’s just hope the sooner rather than later the woke species of our societies are

given enough rope to hang themselves (metaphorically speaking of course!) ‘Go woke, Go broke’. Dontcha just love it? Great result for Ukraine in the Eurovision song contest. Of course the song was absolutely ghastly, but the lift for the citizens of this beleaguered land must have been magical. This competition has always been influenced by politics and it was interesting to see the UK finally coming out of the wilderness and into second place. Although I felt the British entrant was pretty good, I couldn’t help feeling that the recent actions of the UK government, with its overwhelming support of the Ukrainian nation, had something to do with it. The only problem now is where to hold next year’s event? Let’s just hope it’s in Kyiv! Keep the faith Love Leapy. leapylee2002@gmail.com. Expatradioscotland.com Mon. Fri. 1pm till 4.

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EWN 11

Supermassive black hole ON Thursday, May 12, as‐ tronomers unveiled the first image of the supermassive black hole at the centre of our own Milky Way galaxy, produced by a global re‐ search team called the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) Col‐ laboration using observa‐ tions from a worldwide net‐ work of radio telescopes. The EHT said: “overwhelm‐ ing evidence that the object is indeed a black hole and yields valuable clues about the workings of such giants, which are thought to reside at the centre of most galax‐ ies.” “We were stunned by how well the size of the ring agreed with predictions from Einstein’s Theory of General Relativity,” said EHT Project Scientist Geoffrey Bower from the Institute of Astrono‐ my and Astrophysics, Academia Sinica, Taipei. “These unprecedented ob‐ servations have greatly im‐

proved our understanding of what happens at the very centre of our galaxy, and of‐ fer new insights on how these giant black holes inter‐ act with their surroundings.” The EHT team’s results are being published in a special issue of The Astrophysical Journal Letters. The eagerly‐anticipated picture of Sagittarius A* ‐ which is roughly 4.3 million times the mass of our sun and is located about 27,000 light‐years away from the Earth. “Although we cannot see the black hole itself, because it is completely dark, glowing gas around it reveals a tell‐ tale signature: a dark central region (called a ‘shadow’) surrounded by a bright ring‐ like structure. The new view captures light bent by the powerful gravity of the black hole, which is four million times more massive than our Sun,” EHT said.

Advertising Feature

From lonely and broken to happy and fulfilled, a story of hope AIDEN (53) describes his life before Alco‐ holics Anonymous as frightened, lonely, and broken. He now says he has purpose, motivation, clarity, and faith. To anyone struggling with alcohol he says, give AA a go. It is possible to have a happy, healthy, and fulfilling life without the use of alcohol. “I come from a family of drinkers, my fa‐ ther also used and dealt in drugs. I first start‐ ed drinking at age 12, during dinner with the family. By 15 years old I was stealing alcohol and mixing it with drugs. At 18 I was regular‐ ly drinking to excess and driving whilst over the limit. “I attended my first AA meeting aged 21 because my ex‐wife had suggested it would help our relationship. I went, identified com‐ pletely, and proceeded to the pub to discuss it. I then embarked on a 15‐year journey to prove I was not an alcoholic, … turns out I was!

If you have a problem, seek our help.

“Over the following years, my drinking and using just got worse. I was scared, dazed, and confused, both on the inside and the outside ‐ I couldn’t deal with my life or my behaviour. I used relationships, sex, gambling, eating, work, exercise, in fact any‐ thing I could to change the way I felt. “My rock bottom came aged 35, I was

frightened, lonely, and broken. I had gotten myself in some trouble and there was a very real threat of violence towards myself and my family. My marriage was in tatters, my kids feared me. I was overworked and finan‐ cially insecure. I was using drugs and alcohol daily ‐ in the morning to get me going and then in the evening to slow me down. It was insanity ‐ finally when the rehab called, I went. “I went to my second AA meeting in September 2004. This time it was different, I was different. I liked AA; the meetings made me feel safe. I related to other people and what was being said. I felt like I belonged, and I had a place to be part of something positive. I also believed it would keep me out of prison. “I have been clean and sober since late October 2004, I still go to meetings each week and I help others. AA is a process that

helps the alcoholic overcome more than just a drink problem. It has given me so much more. I no longer need an outside ‘thing’ to fix my feelings. “My life now is fabulous, all the relation‐ ships that matter are in good shape ‐ includ‐ ing the one I have with myself. I have pur‐ pose, motivation, clarity, and faith. I accept that even though humans both endure and cause pain and suffering there is an enor‐ mous amount of good in this world. “To anyone struggling with alcohol I would say, give AA a go. It is possible to have a happy, healthy, and fulfilling life without the use of alcohol.” There are meetings of Alcoholics Anony‐ mous, with friendly people who will under‐ stand, held daily throughout the Costa del Sol. Meetings are free to attend, and any‐ one who thinks they may have a problem with alcohol is welcome.

Call the English-speaking AA helpline for support: +34 600 379 110 or visit the website for help and information: www.aacostadelsol.com

BUSINESS EXTRA Final countdown ALTHOUGH Spanish banks Unicaja and Liberbank legally merged 10 months ago after initially, severing ties, it is only now following, a number of further disagreements, that the 1.8 million Liberbank clients will by the end of May have their accounts transferred to Unicaja.

euroweeklynews.com • 19 - 25 May 2022

STAT OF WEEK

(€2.33tn) was the value of Saudi oil and gas producer Aramco on May 12, making it the most valuable company in the world after trailing Apple for two years.

$2.44 trillion

War in the air

Bitcoin battered

Credit: Heathrow Airport

FINANCE

BIBA conference GIBRALTAR FINANCE has been attending and exhibiting at the British Insurance Brokers’ Association (BIBA) annual conference and exhibition at Manchester Central. The BIBA conference is one of Europe’s largest insurance gatherings and was last held as an in‐person event in 2019 when more than 8,300 visitors attended.

Shein shines NOW valued at more than Inditex and H&M combined at just short of €100 billion,Chineseonlinefashioncompany Shein attracted more downloads on its App in the first few months of 2022 than Amazon Shopping and saw a 50 per cent increase in customer visits.

McColl’s rescued ALLIANCE PROPERTY HOLDINGS LIMITED, part of the Morrisons Group has agreed a rescue deal for struggling retailer McColl’s that will see all 16,000 staff transferred, alongside more than 1,100 outlets with the added bonus that Morrisons will take over its two pension funds which have 2,000+ members.

RENFE investment SPANISH train giant RENFE is committed to innovation and supporting new technology and in 2018 launched TrenLab, a call to startup companies to carry out different challenges in areas such as logistics, transport or accessibility. Now it has announced it is to move a step further and plans to make its first financial investment in an undisclosed start up company sometime this year according to Business Insider Spain. Also in September it will launch its mobility platform to allow access in a single app to journeys by train, commuter trains, buses and other types of public and private travel.

One way of earning extra income.

THERE’S war in the air as Heathrow and UK flag carriers fall out over the cost being charged per passen‐ ger travelling. A report, commissioned by Virgin Atlantic, British Airways and IATA from WPI Economics blasts both the management of Heathrow Air‐ port and the Civil Aviation Authori‐ ty (CAA) over proposed increased charges. Understandably during the lock‐ down and suspension of interna‐ tional flights caused by the pan‐ demic, Heathrow as the UK’s main airline hub suffered a significant loss of income as fewer flights meant fewer travellers and less

airport revenue. Anxious to start to recoup some of its lost income, Heathrow pro‐ posed increasing the amount charged per passenger from £19 to £43, a huge 117 per cent hike and in the event, a temporary rise to just over £30 (56 per cent) was ap‐ proved by the CAA to give it a chance to consider the long‐term situation. Britain’s two major flag carriers oppose this increase arguing that as the UK economy is already in a difficult position and the airlines are struggling to recover their own lost income, it would be un‐ feasible to increase prices signifi‐

cantly to passengers. They argue that the end result will be to make the UK’s global avi‐ ation industry less competitive, un‐ dermine the hub operation at Heathrow and reduce the domestic and international connectivity that is vitally needed to achieve Global Britain. Not unsurprisingly, Heathrow Airport which is owned by a con‐ sortium of overseas investors from Canada, China, Qatar, Spain and the USA dispute the airline claims as well as the suggestion that it is deliberately underplaying the cur‐ rent number of travellers in order to try to justify increased charges.

Spanish inflation anomaly EXPERTS at Caixa Bank spotlighted an anomaly in Spain’s inflation calcula‐ tions which suggests that the figure is regularly overstated. Spain and Portugal have been work‐ ing together to persuade the European Union to accept their proposals on cap‐ ping energy prices and the two coun‐ tries share a wholesale electricity mar‐ ket according to Reuters. Although the April inflation figures show a drop from almost 10 per cent to 8.4 per cent, this is still higher than neighbour Portugal which calculates its electricity costs in a different way. In simple terms, Spain assumes that all consumers are contracted on a vari‐

FINANCE

Casting light on inflation calculations.

able rate, so that if the price of electrici‐ ty rises so does inflation but this is real‐ ly not the case anymore as a significant number of individuals and more im‐ portantly companies have opted for fixed rate contracts.

As is the case with Portugal, it means that even if the price of energy contin‐ ues to surge, those in fixed rate con‐ tracts continue to pay the agreed rate and would only lose out if the whole‐ sale price dropped below that amount. In April of this year, the Bank of Spain said government plans to reform public pensions so that they increased annually in accordance with the Con‐ sumer Price Index (CPI), would cost €1.8 billion extra for each 1 per cent in‐ crease. Assuming that inflation is overstated by 2 per cent (then this year will mean that the government will need to find an extra €3.6 billion for pensions alone.

ALMOST since the first up‐ turn in the value of cryp‐ tocurrency, the Bank of Spain has been warning investors to be very aware of the risks of investment. For more than a year, the leading cryptos have seen a huge increase in value and investors have been jumping in, buying and selling and making really good profits. However, like the 17th cen‐ tury Black Tulip disaster in The Netherlands and 18th century pricking of the South Sea Bubble, Bitcoin suddenly this May saw a dramatic halving in value from its all‐ time high of around €58,000 to just over €26,000. It has dropped and bounced back before, so time will tell whether the de‐ cision by El Salvador and the Central African Republic to make it legal tender was a wise one.

Charge to return goods THE lockdown saw a huge growth in shoppers in the UK purchasing fashion online and this has to some extent contin‐ ued even though shops are now open and easily accessible. One problem however for re‐ tailers is that it appears con‐ sumers have got used to order‐ ing more than they actually require and then returning un‐ wanted items in larger volumes than if they bought in store. Now, Spanish fashion giant Zara has joined Uniqlo and Next in making a returns charge (in Zara’s case £1.95) for items sent by post, although there is no penalty if goods purchased on‐ line are returned to one of their stores.

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14 EWN

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19 - 25 May 2022

FINANCE, BUSINESS & LEGAL MAKE THE MOST OF YOUR MONEY WITH US

LONDON - FTSE 100

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C LOSING P RICES M AY 16

COMPANY PRICE(P) CHANGE(P) 3I Group 1.321,00 1.323,00 Abrdn 188,85 189,15 Admiral Group 2.251,0 2.252,0 Anglo American 3.387,0 3.389,5 Antofagasta 1.392,32 1.393,00 Ashtead Group 3.922,0 3.955,0 Associated British Foods 1.659,0 1.666,0 AstraZeneca 10.292,0 10.322,0 Auto Trader Group Plc 557,80 558,80 Avast 493,20 499,90 Aveva 2.104,2 2.119,0 Aviva 401,05 401,35 B&M European Value Retail SA464,20 468,30 BAE Systems 753,60 754,40 Bank VTB DRC 1,000 1,000 Barclays 151,36 151,54 Barratt Developments 481,30 485,60 Berkeley 3.970,0 4.001,0 BHP Billiton Ltd 2.611,50 2.612,50 BP 414,41 415,55 British American Tobacco 3.435,0 3.445,5 British Land Company 505,60 506,00 BT Group 183,85 184,85 Bunzl 2.924,0 2.930,0 Burberry Group 1.566,5 1.574,5 Carnival 1.077,0 1.080,5 Centrica 79,72 79,90 Coca Cola HBC AG 1.752,5 1.762,0 Compass 1.829,50 1.829,50 CRH 3.183,5 3.189,5 Croda Intl 6.852,0 6.872,0 DCC 6.228,0 6.230,0 Diageo 3.824,5 3.847,0 DS Smith 308,20 312,40 EasyJet 489,70 498,70 Experian 2.660,0 2.664,0 Ferguson 9.752,0 9.794,0 Flutter Entertainment 8.900,0 9.036,0 Fresnillo 744,80 744,80 GlaxoSmithKline 1.762,06 1.764,60 Glencore 476,00 477,09 Halma 2.196,0 2.210,0 Hargreaves Lansdown 876,20 892,80 Hikma Pharma 1.734,50 1.737,50 HSBC 501,86 502,20 IAG 122,00 123,24 Imperial Brands 1.699,00 1.707,00 Informa 544,40 544,60 InterContinental 4.840,0 4.862,0

% CHG. 1.296,50 187,00 2.234,0 3.237,5 1.339,00 3.849,0 1.650,0 10.136,0 553,00 492,50 2.088,0 384,00 456,90 736,00 1,000 148,94 480,00 3.964,0 2.559,50 407,05 3.404,0 497,80 179,80 2.897,0 1.552,0 1.054,5 77,70 1.735,5 1.796,00 3.127,0 6.790,0 6.176,0 3.816,0 307,50 483,10 2.624,0 9.648,0 8.790,0 719,80 1.747,00 458,75 2.167,0 862,40 1.699,00 495,45 120,04 1.688,50 537,40 4.788,0

NET VOL 202,46K 408,57K 50,89K 277,88K 34,54K 72,19K 46,10K 204,74K 151,14K 63,25K 34,29K 2,34M 339,64K 513,22K 0 6,16M 84,54K 9,43K 425,86K 5,48M 422,29K 183,10K 2,24M 52,34K 79,18K 65,36K 1,40M 98,48K 297,71K 104,51K 22,50K 17,81K 240,58K 1,18M 741,28K 132,27K 67,87K 23,17K 125,57K 422,30K 1,01M 83,27K 141,60K 164,85K 3,77M 5,59M 204,06K 172,72K 35,87K

ºCOMPANY

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

1.439,50 4.922,0 69,80 241,06 2.335,0 733,80 249,01 43,58 7.238,0 775,60 115,90 1.551,00 1.215,00 210,30 6.456,0 1,89 814,20 2.093,0 631,20 971,40 6.362,0 2.300,00 515,00 564,60 5.381,6 81,99 0,60 676,20 1.294,00 0,0453 2.864,0 798,50 1.119,50 3.088,0 2.308,5 1.278,50 1.495,50 10.950,0 1.865,78 1.244,50 587,60 125,25 283,32 240,90 3.688,5 1.116,00 121,66 2.665,0 982,80

CHANGE(P)

% CHG.

NET VOL

1.441,00 4.946,0 69,86 242,10 2.358,0 734,00 249,50 43,87 7.270,0 776,80 116,20 1.561,00 1.223,00 210,70 6.488,0 1,89 816,80 2.119,0 633,00 972,20 6.458,0 2.300,00 519,00 565,00 5.384,6 84,25 0,60 688,60 1.300,00 0,0453 2.868,0 800,40 1.121,00 3.097,0 2.316,5 1.280,00 1.497,00 11.185,0 1.871,50 1.247,50 588,20 126,10 284,10 241,10 3.706,0 1.123,00 122,80 2.668,0 984,00

1.410,00 4.875,0 68,68 238,00 2.326,0 726,40 244,70 43,20 7.210,0 772,20 114,30 1.535,00 1.210,00 207,80 6.388,0 1,89 794,80 2.087,0 623,00 940,00 6.328,0 2.270,00 508,80 557,60 5.226,0 81,34 0,60 673,20 1.292,00 0,0453 2.832,0 792,80 1.105,00 3.063,0 2.292,0 1.265,50 1.487,00 10.895,0 1.848,00 1.230,00 572,80 124,25 279,70 234,90 3.653,5 1.110,50 121,06 2.642,0 971,40

77,96K 17,03K 1,52M 398,59K 35,99K 107,38K 361,75K 15,88M 19,34K 39,91K 529,94K 226,59K 430,45K 2,18M 32,09K 0 128,80K 30,94K 880,77K 564,81K 102,48K 343,18K 260,37K 222,88K 23,54K 4,99M 0 202,97K 3,34K 0 15,48K 588,99K 212,59K 28,90K 2,38M 136,01K 49,22K 8,48K 269,55K 71,95K 1,21M 1,32M 2,22M 586,13K 515,40K 72,49K 17,25M 33,86K 203,64K

1.17394

0.85245

Units per €

US dollar (USD) ........................................1.0544 Japan yen (JPY)......................................158.332 Switzerland franc (CHF) ...........................1.0468 Denmark kroner (DKK) .............................7.4413 Norway kroner (NOK) ...............................10.207

currenciesdirect.com/marbella • Tel: +34 952 906 581 THE ABOVE TABLE USES THE CURRENT INTERBANK EXCHANGE RATES, WHICH AREN’T REPRESENTATIVE OF THE RATE WE OFFER

DOW JONES C LOSING P RICES M AY 16

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 149,30 158,75 243,40 147,11 127,20 204,33 167,87 49,56 65,72 67,56 306,99 296,03 193,53 133,60 43,60 176,85 119,09 245,04 90,41 261,12 113,01 153,62 166,91 172,78 485,40 48,18 199,23 43,55 148,05 107,33

CHANGE 150,35 160,09 245,00 148,10 130,80 206,46 168,79 49,63 65,80 68,32 309,63 299,42 194,95 133,80 43,84 178,89 120,25 247,18 91,05 263,04 113,11 153,73 168,68 174,23 487,00 48,45 200,54 43,71 148,38 107,69

CHANGE% VOLUME(M) 147,97 2,73M 155,88 3,33M 241,29 2,63M 143,11 113,99M 122,38 20,82M 202,92 2,32M 164,88 9,20M 48,53 18,77M 64,12 15,46M 67,26 3,89M 303,57 2,10M 288,45 3,92M 190,93 3,23M 131,05 4,18M 42,97 31,99M 175,80 7,26M 117,96 10,33M 242,28 3,25M 89,26 10,10M 255,35 34,67M 108,67 9,57M 150,42 5,65M 162,01 6,18M 171,37 1,19M 475,81 2,40M 47,61 20,67M 196,50 6,68M 42,97 5,74M 146,14 6,58M 105,31 16,64M M - MILLION DOLLARS

NASDAQ C LOSING P RICES M AY 16

COMPANY

CHANGE NET / %

VOLUME

+154.87% +49.60% +44.51% +43.96% +42.77% +38.70% +38.38% +37.21% +34.58% +34.51% +34.45%

180.55M 14.40K 78.25M 108.91M 20.47M 7.87M 1.45M 18.15M 2.02M 25.78M 1.39M

-45.36% -40.00% -36.44% -33.63% -26.67% -26.41% -25.39% -24.98% -20.89% -20.00% -18.71%

6.69M 3.92M 2.70M 2.29M 21.04K 1.39M 1.29M 22.42M 2.85K 0.15K 7.97M

Most Advanced ShiftPixy Epiphany Technology Acquisition Polarityte Veru Calithera Biosciences Inc View Inotiv Amyris Leap Therapeutics Molecular Data Expensify

Most Declined LiqTech Actelis Networks Jupai Holdings Ltd Brilliant Earth Immuron Tenon Medical Vallon Pharmaceuticals Figs Otr Acq Lixiang Education Armstrong Flooring

euroweeklynews.com

19 - 25 May 2022

Lazy gits NEVER one to mince his words, business guru and presenter of The Appren‐ tice Lord Sugar took a snipe at working from home as accountancy firm PWC an‐ nounced that their accoun‐ tants could take Fridays off in the summer, tweeting “This is a bloody joke. The lazy gits make me sick.”

Fixed price WITH sales of more than €8 billion in the first quarter of 2022, Spanish energy company Naturgy has de‐ cided to offer its gas cus‐ tomers a supply at a fixed price for relatively long‐ term periods, emulating what it did with electricity in 2021.

Gold standard IN an unusual step to try to avoid the impact of the rise in the cost of living, the CEO of e‐money provider Tally‐ Money, is offering his 20 staff the option of being paid in gold rather than sterling although they will be taxed as if paid in cash.

Financing Cabify SUCCESSFUL Spanish start‐ up Cabify is a ridesharing company which provides vehicles for hire via its smartphone mobile app. Set up in 2011, its busi‐ ness is aimed at supplying vehicles to self‐employed drivers and is gearing up for the move to greener driv‐ ing. It has created a wish list in order to purchase 1,400 new electric vehicles for its fleet and estimates the likely cost as €82 million. Thanks to the sustain‐ ability of the project, it made a successful ap‐ proach for funds to the Eu‐ ropean Investment Bank which has confirmed that it will provide financing of €40 million to help the company achieve its aim.

David and Goliath D AV I D A N D G O L I AT H lawsuits make fools of large corporations and history is littered with pointless actions seemed destined to not only make money for lawyers but to make corporations look extremely stupid. Previous examples include the attack in the UK on a Chinese take away called McChina which did Mc‐ Donald’s no favours es‐ pecially as they lost, then there is the cor‐ ner shop owner in Newcastle who was made to change the name Singhsbury’s but seems to be ok with the new moniker of Morrisinghs. Latest to feel the pain of a lawyer’s let‐ ter, according to Corn‐ wall Live, is a pub go‐ ing by the name of The Star Inn at Vogue which has been open in the village of Vogue for

Credit: Star Inn Facebook

BUSINESS EXTRA

200-YEAR-OLD: The Star Inn at Vogue.

200 years or more. According to Vogue magazine, there is a fear that their readers might get confused by the name which doesn’t really say much for the compa‐ ny’s opinion of the in‐ telligence of its read‐ ers. One of the most pub‐ licised arguments be‐ tween large companies saw Marks & Spencer

launch launched an in‐ tellectual property claim in the UK against supermarket giant Al‐ di, citing alleged simi‐ larities between its Colin the Caterpillar cake with Aldi’s Cuth‐ bert the Caterpillar. In this case, the two parties agreed in November of last year to a secret deal where‐ by the lawsuit was dis‐ continued.

Although M&S intro‐ duced the first cater‐ pillar cake some 30 years ago, they could be in for an expensive time, considering that there is Calli the Cater‐ pillar from Tesco, Wig‐ gles the Caterpillar from Sainsbury’s, Cecil the Caterpillar from Waitrose, Charlie the Caterpillar from the Co‐op and Clyde the Caterpillar from ASDA.

Flexible office space from Tesco T ES CO i s o f f e r i n g o f f i c e s p a c e and a shopping option in one location as it has partnered with flexible working company Regus, part of the IWG Group. In an experiment to utilise un‐ used space and earn money from its properties now that more people are shopping on‐ line, the Tesco Extra store in Beverley Way, New Malden, Surrey has seen a transforma‐ tion to its mezzanine floor. Ef f e c t i v e f r o m M o n d a y M a y 23, those who prefer not to work at home but equally don’t fancy a long commute, will be able to rent flexible office space at this large property which has plenty of parking and business‐ es can even rent meeting spaces by the hour. There is a lot going on around the area, so users can enjoy all of the facilities offered by Tesco or pop out for coffee or lunch

FINANCE

Credit: Regus

16 EWN

EXPERIMENT: A typical Regus workspace.

and then return to the newly refurbished office space. Clearly if this proves to be a success then more stores will have rooms converted as it ap‐ pears that the concept of flexi‐ ble working space gathers mo‐ mentum following the recovery

from the pandemic. According to the BBC, a sur‐ vey from the Chartered Insti‐ tute of Management found more than 80 per cent of firms had now adopted hybrid‐work‐ ing since the end of the pan‐ demic.

NEWS

Cheaper electricity IT was confirmed on Friday May 13 by Min‐ ister for Territorial Policy, Isabel Ro‐ dríguez, that the Span‐ ish government was now able to formally cap the price of natu‐ ral gas. This follows a special agreement reached by the Portuguese and Spanish government with the European Union for the two countries to move out‐ side of the normal col‐ lective decisions made by the EU. It now seems likely that users of electrici‐ ty in all areas in Spain will be able to expect a reduction of up to 30 per cent in the amount that they have to pay, although this agree‐ ment may be reviewed should wholesale gas prices fall.

Call for help SPEAKING on the Pe‐ ston Show on ITV on May 11, Dame Sharon White who was at one time a senior civil ser‐ vant in the UK Treasury called on government to do more. Now the Chair of the John Lewis Group which also owns Wait‐ rose, she explained that something has to be done to help all of those who are currently suffering from the huge jump in the cost of liv‐ ing. Comparing the prob‐ lems with those faced during the pandemic, Dame Sharon said “The time has absolutely come for action whether it is an emer‐ gency budget or whether it is another vehicle.”

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LETTERS

EW YOUR PAPER - YOUR VOICE - YOUR OPINION Letters should be emailed to yoursay@euroweeklynews.com or make your comments on our website: 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.

LICENCE DEMANDS

LICENCE EXCHANGE: Not as easy as it’s made out to be.

HAVING read your article on licence demands. I moved to Spain in Novem‐ ber 2020 unaware that you had to register with the DVLA about intending to change your licence for a Spanish one. I’ve been trying to exchange my licence since January 2021 and been told by my solicitor and agents who would nor‐ mally help you exchange your licence that they are no longer able to help and I like thousands of others are stuck in this situation, it’s not that we have had plenty of time to do it. We haven’t been allowed to do it. Thank you. Rita

Dear Mr Leapy Lee (Assuming you are more than a pseudonym): YOU must undoubtedly be right: among conspiracy the‐ orists, as well as anti‐con‐ spiracy theorists, there must be sufferers of rampant in‐ security or inferiority com‐ plexes. Yes sir. But what does that have to do with the truth or falsity of their claims? Recommended reading: Introduction to logic, Macmillan Publishing, Co.

Inc, New York, 1953. By the way: Lord Bertrand Russell, Nobel Prize winner, was a conspiracy theorist about the John F Kennedy

assassination… Do you find Lord Russell a typical case of inferiority complex… or just ‘dangerous people’? Jose

OUR VIEW ERRATIC POSTAL SERVICE BACK in 2020, the Spanish Post Office, Correos launched a campaign under the title Live Where You Want in which it promised to recruit 6,000 new postal delivery officers to ensure that those who live in rural areas would have their post delivered. Nowadays, a huge amount of correspondence is undertaken via email, WhatsApp and the like, but there is still a large amount of traditional mail that needs to be delivered through the post. To a great extent, mail delivery appears to be erratic even at the best of times, with mail from the UK often taking up to a month to arrive even in relatively large towns and cities but what is more difficult to understand is how Correos decides who to deliver to and why. In some urbanisations, communal mailboxes for streets of houses have been done away with and each resident required to obtain their own individual mail box with delivery taking place every few days. In other areas and suburban Madrid is a good example, Correos has decided to suspend home delivery and residents are required to travel to their local post office to see if there is any post to collect. Not a major problem one might think, but a large number of post offices are only open from 8.30am to 2pm on weekdays, so if you work and commute, then there is a problem, especially as mail is generally only held for 15 days before being returned or disposed of. There is a petition on Change.org which has already collected several thousand signatures asking Correos to change its mind otherwise, in theory, everyone affected would need to either take time off from work or arrive late twice a month.

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T H I N K I N G of getting a dog but can’t decide on the breed? Of course, there are so many dogs in rescue centres that need loving homes and it is always best to adopt rather than shop, but it is still possible to choose

Most trainable dogs the breed of dog if you do decide to go down the adoption route.

So, here is a list of some of the most train‐ able dogs ‐ whether you are looking for a small lapdog or a dog you can train for commands. Goldendoodle

A favourite breed across the world, the Goldendoodle looks like a teddy bear, comes in all shapes and sizes and has an amazing temper‐ ament ‐ being a cross

between a golden re‐ triever and a poodle. This breed is highly trainable and can learn new commands and be‐ haviours quite quickly. German Shepherd

WORKING DOG: The German Shepherd is one of the most trainable and loyal breeds.

PETS

One of the most highly trainable dogs in the world, German Shep‐ herds originated in Ger‐ many as working dogs. German Shepherds are also confident, loyal, in‐ telligent, obedient, watchful and sometimes stubborn! Because of their intel‐ ligence and desire to please, as well as have a purpose, puppies can be trained to understand basic commands and house training within two to three months. Border Collie Another highly train‐ able dog that was also bred for herding is the Border Collie, which is considered a more ener‐ getic breed and softer in nature German Shep‐ herd. Because they are so trainable, Border Collies are also used for search and rescue missions, narcotics, and bomb de‐ tection by law enforce‐ ment.

My super moans NORA JOHNSON BREAKING VIEWS Nora is the author of popular psychological suspense and crime thrillers and a freelance journalist.

GOOD morning, class. No talking at the back, please. I’d like to begin with another few moans. I did a straw poll among my friends (only the finest of scientific and journalistic meth‐ ods for this column, folks) about their biggest gripes. Top of the list came no‐ choice tasting menus ‐ with dishes as local and seasonal as a polar bear in a bikini. This is currently my pet hate. And then there’s estate agent jargon, a language you never learned at school. Take this: ‘Charming three bedroom with garden and period features’ that turns out to be a total wreck with one bedroom qualifying only because you can just about squeeze a single bed into it. Thanks to the use of fish‐ eye lens photography to make the rooms look HUGE. The estate agent? An18‐year‐old in a cheap, badly‐fitted suit who knows abso‐ lutely nothing. And the cost? “Price on ap‐

PET HATE: No-choice tasting menus.

plication to wesawyoucoming.com. We will append the appropriate number of zeros when we reply to you.” Basically, buying a house in the UK is like internet dating. The pictures are selling you Nicole Kidman or Ben Affleck but when you get there it’s Nurse Ratched or Billy Bunter waiting for you... Next scandal, please! Nora Johnson’s critically acclaimed psy‐ chological crime thrillers (www.nora‐john son.net) all available online. Profits to Cude‐ ca cancer charity. Email: norajohnson3@ hotmail.com.

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