Costa Blanca North 21 - 27 July 2022 Issue 1933

Issue No. 1933

21 - 27 July 2022

COSTA BLANCA NORTH • EUROWEEKLYNEWS.COM

SAFE SUMMER

BENIDORM’S Levante beach saw the July 15 launch of Ali‐ cante Province’s Safe Sum‐ mer Plan.

The presentation was at‐ tended by Benidorm mayor Toni Perez and Public Safety councillor Lorenzo Martinez, together with Araceli Poblador, the central govern‐ ment’s Sub‐delegate, and the provincial police commission‐ er, Manuel Lafuente.

The police presence this summer will be reinforced with an additional 225 police officers seconded to Alicante Province from other parts of Spain.

The majority will be as‐ signed to stations in Alicante City and Benidorm, but others will be allocated to Elda, Al‐ coy, Elche and Orihuela.

During the presentation, Lafuente had words of praise for Benidorm’s SATE office where foreign tourists wish‐ ing to report a crime receive police attention in their own language.

Toni Perez agreed with the commissioner on the impor‐ tance of sending out a mes‐ sage of “safety, calmness, con‐ fidence and approachability.”

The mayor also emphasised that Benidorm was a town which looked after people.

Photo credit: Benidorm town hall

REINFORCEMENTS: Some of the officers seconded to Alicante Province this summer.

“But what we like even more is looking after the peo‐ ple who take care of us,” he said. It was precisely because of this that it was essential for tourists to feel that they were in safe hands.

“Many visitors choose to come here because they feel it is a safe destination, over and above the climate,” Perez said. “And that is something

which requires effort and re‐ sources on a permanent ba‐ sis,” he added, emphasising

the successful collaboration between Benidorm’s National Police and Local Police.

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21 - 27 July 2022

Company move to Oliva LACK of available land for ex‐ pansion has forced the Pons Quimica company to site its new logistics centre in Oliva.

The Javea‐based company which owns the Asevi brand ‐ a Spanish household name in cleaning products and disinfec‐ tants ‐ announced recently that it had chosen Oliva in La Safor for its new logistics centre.

According to sources quoted in the local Spanish media, it was reluctantly making the move owing to the impossibili‐ ty of finding sufficient land in the Marina Alta.

Javea’s Catarrojes industrial estate is allegedly still bogged down by bureaucracy and work on Gata’s industrial es‐ tate is not progressing, the same sources revealed.

In contrast, the firm was able to locate the 7,000 square me‐ tres of land needed at Oliva’s Les Jovades industrial estate.

The La Safor warehouse will be totally computerised with robots to prepare orders al‐ though 20 people will also be working at the centre.

Shopping vouchers ALTEA’S shopping voucher scheme will run between September 5 and October 5.

Financed via a subsidy from the Diputacion provin‐ cial council, the vouchers will be available to all over‐18s registered on the municipal Padron, announced Com‐ merce councillor Miguel de la Hoz. “This will have a €248,428 impact on the local econo‐ my,” he said.

Each person can down‐ load five of the €10 vouchers which will be worth €20 when making a purchase in participating shops or busi‐ nesses.

The vouchers will be downloaded after register‐ ing on an App which, having verified the applicant’s age and Padron status, will make five vouchers available.

De la Hoz explained that Alicante Federation of Shops and Small and Medium Busi‐ nesses (FACPYM) represen‐

Photo credit: Altea town hall

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AUTUMN LAUNCH: €10 vouchers will have a €248,428 impact on the local economy.

tatives will visit Altea’s Third Age Centre to explain how to download or collect the vouchers in person. They will also visit the Plaza del Ayun‐ tamiento in the town centre to explain how to access the scheme to the general pub‐ lic.

De la Hoz added that the town hall had deliberately chosen to launch the scheme after the summer.

“This is a time when families have extra commitments following the holidays and as children return to school,” he said.

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Invaders repelled ALTEA Town Hall’s Environment department is eradicating invasive species from the stream that runs down to La Olla beach.

Last year the town undertook to clear a 900‐metre section of the watercourse, known as both the Braña and the La Olla stream ‐ be‐ tween the beach as far as the CV‐755 road near the nursery.

This followed an agreement with the Confederacion Hidrografica del Jucar (CHJ), which is responsible for all waterways in the River Jucar basin, explained Altea’s Environment councillor Josep Orozco.

Having been cleared of non‐native vegetation, the streambed has been covered with heavy‐duty plastic sheeting to prevent re‐ growth, particularly the giant reeds known as Arundo Donax.

These posed a threat to the ecological quality of the area while impacting on native species. The reeds were also both a fire and a flood risk, although for different reasons, the councillor added.

“What we are doing now will improve the landscape and the function of the stream while providing a refuge for local wildlife and vegetation,” Orozco said.

Hot weather, hard fishing THE Teulada‐Moraira Fishing Club visited Section A2 of the River Jucar for their latest match. “The day began with a temperature of around 28 de‐ grees at 9am but got hotter and hotter as the day went on, reaching 40 degrees,” said club secretary Jeff Richards.

There were only six contes‐ tants, but fishing was hard and the water was cloudy, he added. Nevertheless, there

were no dry nets and between the members caught 18 fish, in‐ cluding 15 carp, which weighed a total of 29 kilos. Best total weight of the day ‐ 10.4 kilos ‐ went to Frank Povey’s seven fish. Steve Hartnell took second place with 4.8 kilos, followed

by Jeff Richards (4.8 kilo) and Graham Sewell (3.8 kilos).

For further information, con‐ tact Frank Povey 966 490 338 or frankpovey1@gmail.com.

NEWS

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NIBS EXTRA Sea rescue A DIVER who saw a man fall from a clifftop lookout in Cala de Finestrat on Monday July 11 removed him from the sea while alerting the Emergency Services. Firefighters who needed two hours to reach the inaccessible zone took with them a paramedic to tranquilise the agitated vic‐ tim.

Fiestas switch TEN days before Villajoyosa’s Moors and Christians celebra‐ tions, which are due to start on July 24, Fiestas councillor Marta Selles temporarily re‐ signed from the post, citing personal reasons. She has been substituted by Isabel Perona, a previous Fiestas councillor who declared that she was “ready for the chal‐ lenge.”

Second life THE old and unused Lloixa high school building in San Juan should be converted into a conservatoire and multipur‐ pose community centre, the Urban Development, Educa‐ tion and Culture councillor suggested. If the €200,000 project goes ahead, the town hall would apply for a subsidy from the Diputacion provin‐ cial council.

Your say LA NUCIA residents can par‐ ticipate in an online poll in Va‐ lenciano focusing on Social Responsibility at https://forms.gle/1aS3rbt3AT F9rMuG8 until July 22. The town hall is carrying out the four‐minute survey to assess local views on social issues and will subsequently add these to its own Social Re‐ sponsibility Promotion Plan.

No tax DENIA’S mayor Vicent Gri‐ malt announced that the mu‐ nicipality has no intention of applying the proposed Tourist Tax once it is law. “This is not the right time to introduce new taxes,” said Grimalt al‐ though he belongs to the same PSPV socialist party that backed the Compromis‐ Unidas Podemost initiative.

AS Britain swelters in record breaking heat, the coastal re‐ gions of Spain are nowhere near as hot at the moment, but it will still be very hot continuously for some time.

Whilst fans are useful, not everyone realises that al‐ though they create air flow, this could cause a false sense of comfort but don’t reduce body temperature or pre‐ vent heat‐related illnesses.

Those who have air condi‐ tioning and can afford to use it would be well advised to do so and wherever possible bring down terrace blinds and pull curtains.

Despite the fact that many elderly Mediterranean ladies wear black all year round, the current view is that you will keep cooler if you wear loose, lightweight, light‐ coloured clothing and take cool showers or baths if you

21 - 27 July 2022

Keeping cool Credit: HUUM on Unsplash.

SUMMER HEAT: Cool down with a cold shower.

get too hot.

Some tips are obvious but still need to be repeated so don’t leave children, the el‐ derly or pets in a car whilst you go shopping, try not to

JAVEA Town Hall is having to repair the Cami dels Castellans road to min‐ imise traffic problems.

The company contracted to extend the main drainage network left the work unfinished and failed to re‐as‐ phalt the road where needed, ex‐ plained Urban Development council‐ lor, Pepa Gisbert.

Following residents’ complaints, town hall employees are removing

use ovens if you can use a hob or eat a salad and al‐ ways keep hydrated with plenty of water and little al‐ cohol.

If you have to go out use

sunscreen and cover your head and if you wear a mask, make sure it’s made from cotton rather than a synthetic material.

Be alert for signs of ex‐ haustion such as soaring temperature, hot dry skin with no sweat, rapid pulse, dizziness or confusion.

If you have an animal then follow simple rules as dogs don’t sweat but pant and should never be given ice cubes as this could cause a very adverse reaction and al‐ ways remember that a dog’s paws are vulnerable to hot surfaces.

Plenty of water and shade will keep most animals com‐ fortable.

Town hall steps in stones and gravel, filling in potholes and levelling the areas that surround‐ ed the raised manhole covers. These were only temporary repairs, Gisbert said, and in the meantime the speed limit has been reduced to 20 kilome‐ tres per hour. Apologising for the in‐ convenience, Gisbert said that the

Plain speaking BENIDORM mayor Toni Perez condemned the “tourist levy” as a euphemism.

Speaking on Thursday July 14 outside Les Corts, the regional parliament building in Valencia City, Perez predicted that it would impact negatively on the tourist industry.

The regional parliament had earlier voted in favour of debating the levy‐fee‐tax, a motion that the PSPV socialists ‐ the largest party in the PSPV ‐ Compromis‐Unidas Podemos coalition ‐ finally agreed to back, despite its misgivings.

A day earlier, Francesc Colomer who heads the re‐ gional government’s Tourism Board, described the decision as a “tactical error,” although he too be‐ longs to the PSPV. Toni Perez pointed out that the actual text of the proposed law referred to the ‘levy’ as a tax and pre‐ dicted that this would punish the Valencia region’s tourist economy.

“The PSPV, Unidas Podemos and Compromis have a deep, ideological aversion to tourism,” Perez continued. “Instead of solving the Valencia region’s serious problems, it seems they only want to create them and, as in this case, generate tourism‐phobia.”

town hall was rescinding its agree‐ ment with the contractors, who had not met the stipulated deadline.

Only 150 of the planned 1,192 me‐ tres of sewage pipes have yet to be in‐ stalled and the town hall will now put the remainder out to tender, Gisbert said.

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Old town restoration Peter McLaren‐Kennedy THE Teulada Town Coun‐ cil has allocated €20,000 in grants that can be used for the restoration of the facades of buildings in the historic town centre.

The grants, which were announced on Wednes‐ day, July 13 will be avail‐ able to help beautify, re‐ store and improve the facades of buildings and houses that meet the re‐ quirements and which are located within the area known as ‘Walled Gothic Teulada’.

These buildings are considered Assets of Cul‐ tural Interest (BIC) and will be eligible for a grant up to a maximum of €2,000 per property.

The council have said that if demand exceeds the overall limit set, they will look to increase the initial allocation.

Details of the grant are available on the Council’s website as are all the terms and conditions.

Promising occupancy figures TEULADA‐MORAIRA’S tourist occupancy rose gradually throughout June.

According to the town hall’s Tourism department, the Gen‐ eralitat‐owned Albergue hostel was 100 per cent full during the June 6‐12 period of the Moors and Christians fiestas. Hotels re‐ ported 61 per cent occupancy and tourist accommodation in registered apartments and villas were at 54 per cent capacity. As June progressed, so did occu‐ pancy, with 73 per cent in hotels and 57 per cent in tourist ac‐ commodation, although the Al‐ bergue fell to 85 per cent.

Visitors last month came mainly from the UK, Nether‐ lands, France, the Valencian Community, Castilla‐La Mancha, Castilla y Leon, the Basque Re‐ gion and Madrid.

Teulada‐Moraira’s Tourism

department expects increases all round in July, predicting 84 per cent for tourist accommo‐ dation, 82 per cent for hotels and 90 per cent for the Alber‐ gue.

Image cc/efisi

Chiesa Vergine de Carmine Teulada.

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21 - 27 July 2022

AT a ceremony held on Friday, July 15, Oliva Town Council appointed four young people to promote social awareness of the need to preserve the natural environment.

The four young people have been tasked with raising

awareness not only in the streets and square, but also amongst the town halls of the municipalities that have joined the environmental ini‐ tiative run by the Mancomu‐ nidad de Municipios de la Safor.

Free car park

IN total, 400 new parking spaces have been created, Gan‐ dia Town Hall has confirmed.

The first car park is located at the entrance of Grau Beach next to the library of the Polytechnic University while the second one is in the plot located on Calle Ribera Baja.

These spaces are already available to users and will help visitors and customers of the shops in the square and Grau Beach to have more facilities when visiting Gandia.

José Manuel Prieto, the mayor of Gandia has ex‐ pressed his satisfaction with the implementation of these spaces and said that the executive’s intention is to con‐ tinue expanding the free services that are available.

“In the coming weeks an asphalt facility will be set up in the facilities area, which will practically double the number of spaces currently available to the public to al‐ most 800,” the mayor confirmed.

Gandia has a high level of socio‐economic develop‐ ment within the central region of Valencia, and offers vis‐ itors a great choice of places to go and see during their stay there.

• Diagnostic imaging and ultrasound Rx • Clinical tests and serological tests, internal medicine, parasitology • Soft Tissue Surgery and Traumatology • Ethology, behavioural disorders and animal behaviour • Physiotherapy, acupuncture, custom recovery and Healing touch • Ophthalmology • Dentistry and dental surgery & more • Import - Export

Councillor of the Environ‐ ment of Oliva, Maria Josep Llorens, said that the young environmental educators will be in place until the end of the year. She added that they will perform the very important function of encouraging tourism that is based on sus‐ tainability and respect for nat‐ ural resources.

Referring to the charity behind the initiative she said: “This act of charity to the Mancomunidad, which we are celebrating today, is

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Environmental awareness

OLIVA BEACH: Respecting the natural resources.

great news because it means that it has become very involved in taking care of the environment and ex‐ tending this attitude and re‐ sponsibility to the citizens with whom it will interact in

the coming months.”

In addition it allows the councils to work together to protect local flora and fauna with the town visited each year by breeding turtles and Kentish Plovers.

Grants available

B E N I S S A City Council are offering grants of up to €4,000 for those SMEs and self‐employed individuals who con‐ tinue to struggle as a result of continu‐ ing supply chain problems caused by the pandemic and the war in Ukraine.

The grants, which have been made available from July 18, through AFIC‐ CREAMA Department of Commerce, are being offered in conjunction with the Alicante Provincial Council.

Applications will be accepted until Ju‐ ly 28 with any small business or self‐ employed individual in Benissa that has

been adversely affected, able to apply.

Claims may be made for general cur‐ rent expenses such as the self‐em‐ ployed fee, consultancy and advice, supplies of electricity, telephone ser‐ vices, rental of the premises and inter‐ est on loans.

To be eligible you have to be a legally constituted individual or legal entity that is an SME, micro‐SME, self‐em‐ ployed person or professional.

To apply or find out more about grants of up to €4,000, you can do so on the CREAMA Benissa website.

NEWS

Local champion THE city of Denia has hon‐ oured one of their favoured daughters, a member of the Spanish U‐19 woman’s squad recently crowned European champions.

The event on Saturday, July 16 saw Fiamma Benítez, for‐ mer player of the Denia Mu‐ nicipal Soccer School, wel‐ comed back home by the mayor of Denia, Vicent Gri‐ malt , and the councillor for Sports, Raúl García de la Reina.

Visiting her old club, Benítez donated her Spain football jer‐ sey by way of a thank you. She was then awarded a certifi‐ cate of recognition for her well‐deserved achievements.

Spain defeated Norway in the final winning 2‐1.

Pedro López, Spain coach, speaking to UEFA.COM said: “I think we did everything possi‐ ble to win the final. We tried absolutely everything, and I think the squad are fully de‐ serving of the victory.”

Benítez played five games in the tournament scoring one goal from her key position in the midfield.

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Residents’ gift card THE mayor of Benissa has launched a new gift card to help subsidise the purchas‐ es of the neediest in the town.

The announcement on Monday, July 18 was made

by Mayor Arturo Poquet along with the President of the Trade Union, Juan Motilla, and the Vice Presi‐ dent, Vanedda Cárdena.

Designed to help both lo‐ cal residents and the local business community, the bond will require anyone taking part to invest €100 in return for which they will receive a €200 bond that can be spent locally.

The council, who have the full participation and support of local unions, will be investing €90,000 in the scheme and its manage‐ ment with a little more than €75,000 going directly in bond subsidisation. That will result in more than €150,000 being invested back into the local econo‐ my.

Poquet said: “This is an initiative that has been worked on for months and that will finally be launched in September in a very operational modal‐ ity with the money cards, facilitating the task both for the citizens as well as businesses adhering to the campaign.”

PEGO City Council has start‐ ed the search for a builder to upgrade an 80s childhood and primary education school for an investment not exceeding €1.2 million.

The administrative pro‐ cess to find a builder began on Friday, July 15 when a tender was issued to cover the proposed works.

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80s school upgrade

Planned in the late 70s, the school was not opened until the early 80s. Additions have been made to the premises since then but it is Image Pego Council

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UPGRADING: Rosalia Bondia School in Pego.

now in need of complete renovation.

Mayor Laura Castellà said: “We have to adapt it to the regulations," with many of the existing buildings no

longer meeting building or education standards.

“All windows also need re‐ placing with more energy ef‐ ficient units and finally reno‐ vation of the infant

classrooms are needed to bring them in line with cur‐ rent regulations. Amongst the changes is the needed for appropriate toilet facili‐ ties.”

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21 - 27 July 2022

NEWS

Font de la Favara

LA NUCÍA Council is to re‐ form the Font de la Favara and the Favara Park at a cost of €493,000.

With a contract awarded recently, the council on Monday, July 18, said that work will begin at the end of September with comple‐ tion expected sometime in the middle of 2023.

Prior to confirmation of the proposed works more than 100 residents were treated to a presentation showing what work will be undertaken and how the site will look when fin‐ ished.

Font de la Favara dates back to 1705 with the pro‐ posal to restore the site coming some 317 years lat‐ er.

The site has gone through various stages of neglect and was even buried in the 70s. It was re‐ discovered this year after it was found during excava‐ tion works near the site’s

Image La Nucia Council

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RESTORATION: The Font de la Favara is to be reformed.

current toilets.

Mayor Bernabé Cano said: “After verifying that

the entire structure is pre‐ sent and that it is in good condition, we have decided

to recover the old Llavador de la Favara. We want to rehabilitate it completely, equipping it with its roof, connecting it with the canal that emanates from the Favara fountain.”

The reform of the area will see new toilets built, a new playground, new re‐ taining walls and paving throughout. Lighting will al‐ so be improved as will the existing fountain and wa‐ terfall.

Climate change study

BENIDORM is working with the University of Alicante to study the effects of climate change of its coastline and the local marine reserve.

The study, which began on the week be‐ ginning Monday July 18, is part of the coun‐ cil’s plan to consolidate the city as a sustain‐ able destination and to help prevent the impact of climate change.

Toni Pérez, Benidorm’s mayor, said: “We collaborate with a prestigious university, es‐

pecially in this field, such as that of Alicante, within the framework of the Benidorm Smart + Safe Tourist Destination Plan, with the aim of analysing how climate change can affect our coastline in the coming decades and mitigate its effects.”

Studying the effects of climate change on its coastline and marine reserve will help it to become a modern greener city that is recognised internationally for a reason oth‐ er than partying and cheap entertainment.

NEWS

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MORE than 5,000 school children in the La Villajoyosa municipality have been pro‐ v i d e d w i t h a n i m a l p r o t e c‐ tion and drug addiction pre‐ vention training that was organised by the Local Po‐ lice.

The programme of training which finished on Wednes‐

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Kids get training

day, July 13 was designed to raise awareness of the need to protect the local fauna, as well as to warn children of the dangers of drug and sub‐

stance abuse.

Sessions were held in 14 different locations with more than 34 talks and training sessions dealing

Dancing thief A 29-YEAR-OLD Swedish man reported that he fell asleep whilst under the influence of alco‐ hol and when he woke up he noted that sever‐ al personal items were missing amounting to thousands of euros.

Officers of the National Police have arrested a woman who worked as an erotic dancer in a discotheque club in Benidorm, Alicante, local press confirmed on Thursday, July 14.

The man received a dance in a private area and whilst he was in the club he fell asleep.

ONDARA’S open‐air public swimming pool is to get a new roof according to the mayor, José Ramiro.

Announcing the award of the tender to complete the works on Thursday, July 14 Ramiro said that the works to cover this pool “are very impor‐ tant.

“It is a smaller facility than the other pool and its height is lower, so it is suitable to be able to develop sports or gymnastic courses in the water through‐ out the year.”

The total cost for the works had risen by more than 10 per cent according to Ramiro due to a rise in the price of raw ma‐

When he woke he noticed his watch val‐ ued at €10,000, a necklace valued at €100 and a bracelet also valued at €100 were missing.

The victim said in his complaint that he was suspicious of a dancer he had hired to enjoy a lap dance in a private room.

The National Police of the Benidorm Police Station, began an investigation, managing to discover that the alleged perpetrator was an erotic dancer at the club.

New roof for pool

Image Ondara.

Ondara’s mayor (right) visits the public swimming pool.

terials. Ramiro remains confi‐ dent that Vegametal SL who tendered €91,000 including VAT to undertake the works, will be able to deliver the work

within budget and on time.

The project is expected to take two months with the work expected to start during the summer.

with everything from caring for animals to identifying and helping drug users get assistance. The Mmayor of Public Safety of Villajoyosa,

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Isabel Perona, said: “These informative talks, carried out with the collaboration of the educational community of Villajoyosa, are a great tool to bring police work closer to the younger sector so that they are aware of the police functions carried out by the K‐9 Unit.

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21 - 27 July 2022 Image - l'Alfàs del Pi

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Erik de Haan and Vicente Arques (middle left and right).

Honorary consul welcomed ERIK DE HAAN, the new honorary consul of the Netherlands in Alicante has been welcomed to l’Alfàs del Pi by the mayor, Vicente Arques.

The meeting held on Tuesday, July 12 in the Alfasino consistory brought together coun‐ cillors and the Dutch community including the president of the Club Los Holandeses,

Gerry Officier, and Vice President, Freddy Mahler.

L’ A l f à s d e l P i h a s a population of 20,500 in‐ habitants of which more than 50 per cent are for‐ eigners, with the Dutch community one of the largest accounting for more than 10 per cent of the town’s residents.

According to the coun‐ cil the first Netherlan‐

ders settled in the town more than 50 years ago, today being very much part of the community having invested in prop‐ erty and businesses.

L’Alfàs del Pi is home to people of more than 100 nationalities with the Dutch being one of the largest groups, re‐ sulting in the new hon‐ orary consul from the Netherlands visit.

New playgrounds open

TEULADA‐MORAIRA’S new play‐ grounds have officially opened to the public after €97,743 was spent on their upgrade.

The playgrounds, which opened in time for the weekend of July 16, include a new shaded area in Plaza VIé Cente‐ nari, the creation of a new park in the landscaped area of Les Platgetes, and the renovation of the floors and parks of the Teulada public library, Plaza Tres‐ mall and Plaza Palangre in Moraira.

The mayor of Teulada‐Moraira José

Antonio Bisquert, pointed out that these improvements and renovations: “Represent an improvement in the vital development of the youngest members of our municipality, as it is an essential service enjoyed daily by the families who live in and visit Teulada‐Moraira.”

The playgrounds have been adapted not only for children to enjoy but also for those adults looking for a good out‐ door space where they can chat and so‐ cialise, with outdoor seating and shade provided.

NEWS

Subsidies for solar

THE subsidisation of solar panel installations with a 50 per cent reduction in the IBI taxes in Calpe was unanimously approved by the city’s council on Tuesday, July 12.

The innovative approach will see those who install solar panels receive a discount of up to 50 per cent of their IBI payments for the first three years. Reductions will be limited to €400 in year one and to a 25 per cent reduction in the following two tax periods up to a maximum limit of €200.

All residential properties that have a minimum of 2kW per 100 m2 of constructed surface area installed with a solar energy system that is not compulsory under building regulations. Essentially the rebate is aimed at existing homes in the city.

The rebate may be applied to a maximum of two dwellings of the same owner.

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21 - 27 July 2022

Taxis for Gandia

THE taxi service in the city of Gandia will be extended for the summer season and for large‐scale events.

Vicent Mascarell and Nacho Arnau, the councillors for Tourism and Mobility, have confirmed that Gandia will extend the taxi service during the summer season and for big events.

The taxi service will be increased from 14 to 20 vehicles in the city and the offer will also be increased in municipalities close to Gandia.

During the announcement on Thursday, July 14, Vicent Mascarell said: “This is very

good news. I think it was a necessity.

“We are aware of the fact that the ser‐ vice was insufficient at certain times.”

According to the Tourism councillor, Na‐ cho Arnau, there was a need to improve communication in Gandia and nearby mu‐ nicipalities.

Nacho said: “The aim, in the end, is that a tourist city needs to have a service that meets its needs.

“It is clear that Gandia is not the same in winter as in summer and, if we have more population, we need better and more ser‐ vice.”

Tennis for Teulada

CONSTRUCTION of the new tennis courts in Teulada has been completed and were available for use from Monday July 18. The avail‐ ability of the courts was an‐ nounced by the Teulada Town Council on Wednes‐ day, July 13, confirming that bookings are now be‐ ing taken.

The courts which are con‐

structed from two layers of resin are low maintenance and are said to offer a com‐ fortable playing surface.

Situated in Calle Valencia, the courts are open Mon‐ day to Thursday, from 9am to 3pm and again from 4pm to 10pm. On Saturdays, the courts are open from 9am to 1pm and then again from 4pm to 9pm.

The councillor for Sports, Luis Caballero, said that this new project: “Has been a necessity for the municipali‐ ty, as it will give use to a sports space for an activity as demanded as tennis.”

The new tennis courts provide additional capacity that should from July 18 make booking a court in Teulada a little easier.

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Witnesses sought Image: Madrugada Verde/Shutterstock.com

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Parents beg possible witness to come forward.

TWENTY‐SEVEN‐ YEAR‐OLD Kirsty Maxwell died in mys‐ terious circumstances after falling from a 10th‐floor balcony at a hotel on Costa Blan‐ ca’s Benidorm in 2017 whilst celebrat‐ ing a friend’s hen par‐ ty.

Kirsty’s parents are now begging for help in tracing a mystery English woman who may have been at the scene a UK media source confirmed, on Wednesday, July 13.

They believe the woman could hold vi‐ tal evidence about the circumstances surrounding Kirsty’s death.

Kirsty’s father, Bri‐ an, said: “Who is this girl and why hasn’t she come forward?

Why were no state‐ ments taken from her?

“We believe she is a key witness. We just want her to come forward and tell us what she knows,” he added.

“Maybe somebody who knows the men [who were in the apartment when she fell] knows her and can tell her we are appealing for her to come forward.”

The Spanish police investigated Kirsty’s death as a homicide but as yet no charges have been brought.

NEWS

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AS reported by the Guardia Civil in a statement on Saturday, July 16, during a drug trafficking search of a private property in the Valencian municipality of Guadassuar, officers uncovered an incredible treasure trove of more than 1,000 archaeological artefacts.

The remains of ceramics, in‐

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Archaeological artefacts found

cluding tiles, pots and bowls were discovered neatly arranged on work tables clearly for classifica‐ tion and restoration. Other items were found already restored and displayed in different areas of the

home. Some of the archaeologi‐ cal pieces were estimated to date back to between the 12th and 18th centuries. A 68‐year‐old man has been arrested by the Guardia Civil for crimes against

historical heritage, against public health ‐ drug trafficking ‐ and ille‐ gal possession of weapons. Dur‐ ing the aforementioned search, officers seized a shotgun and a ri‐ fle, both without the mandatory

“We have signed the Blue Badge = My Freedom cam‐ paign. I have regularly commu‐ nicated with Nerja Town Hall about this matter. Disabled parking is essential for me to provide space for my wife to as‐ semble mobility scooters and to get out of our car.

“I have been in regular com‐ munication with the UK gov‐ ernment (Grant Shapps ‐ Minis‐ ter for Transport and Rt Hon Dr Liam Fox MP) regarding the EU situation regarding Blue badges. “Currently there 20 EU countries who have signed an

IMAGE: Sirtravelalot/Shutterstock.

A good cause

THE Euro Weekly News’ cam‐ paign to push the UK and Span‐ ish governments to work to‐ gether to allow British tourists and other groups to use their Blue Badges while in Spain has prompted an outpouring of personal stories from the expat community.

Many UK expats have been in contact with EWN to share their story. Kenneth Wescott told us: “I am registered dis‐ abled and a British Blue Badge holder. I reside in my villa in Maro for periods up to 90 days as per the Brexit agreement.

EWN 11

British Blue Badges. agreement for blue badge use.”

Many other readers have also contacted the EWN saying that disabled friends and family members will struggle to park now that British tourists cannot use their Blue Badges in Spain without risking a fine.

Please help to push the UK and Spanish governments to work together on this impor‐ tant issue by signing our peti‐ tion at https://euroweekly news.com/2022/06/16/blue‐ badges/ or by scanning the QR code.

documentation. The archaeologi‐ cal remains have been delivered to the Municipal Museum of Alzi‐ ra, which has proclaimed the finding to be of great cultural and economic interest.

euroweeklynews.com

21 - 27 July 2022

UNDER the slogan ‘Future is Now’, Liberty Seguros held its Annual Expatriates Con‐ vention on June 7 in Malaga, bringing together over 50 in‐ termediaries and partners.

The company wanted to give the expatriate sector its own space to share details of its strategy with intermedi‐ aries‐attendees and sought

NEWS

The future is now Major blaze

to highlight the need to lead the transformation of the in‐ surance business.

During the conference ‐ which was the first face‐to‐ face meeting following two years of the pandemic ‐ Lib‐

erty announced the compre‐ hensive and technological overhaul that it has been de‐ veloping for the past two years to completely trans‐ form its structures, process‐ es, and ways of working in order to establish a more competitive and sustainable long‐term model.

The conference was at‐ tended by Jesús Núñez, Ex‐ ecutive Sales and Distribu‐ tion Leader for Europe Markets; Daniel Moreno, Spain Distribution and WEM Partners Director, and Rafael Nadales, Director of Expatri‐ ates of Liberty Seguros. They were accompanied by addi‐ tional partners and collabo‐ rators, such as Carglass, Asitur and PLC Spain.

Jesús Núñez said: “The adoption of new technolo‐ gies and the acquisition of digital competencies are key to continuing to provide val‐ ue to an increasingly de‐ manding and digital cus‐ tomer. For Liberty, it is a priority to accompany inter‐ mediaries in their transfor‐

mation and to ensure we provide them with the tools and knowledge they need to succeed in a future that is al‐ ready here.”

Daniel Moreno underlined the key role of intermedi‐ aries in insurance distribu‐ tion. According to Daniel: “Intermediaries are essential so that we can develop and offer personalised products to our customers in order to ensure they only pay for what they really need. This is a role that is even more rele‐ vant when dealing with ex‐ patriate customers with spe‐ cific insurance and advice needs.”

During the meeting, Liber‐ ty also presented the ‘Pres‐ tige Award’ in the Expatri‐ ates category to the Paul Cunningham Nurses Founda‐ tion (founded and chaired by Jenny Cunningham) for its work supporting terminally ill people with home help from both specialist nursing staff and other resources to help both patients and their families.

Credit: Angel Matt photography

12 EWN

FIRE HEROES: Professionals have worked tirelessly to control the Costa del Sol’s recent fires.

THE Sierra de Mijas in the Costa del Sol suffered a large fire on Friday, July 15 which scorched more than 2,000 hectares of land and blazed for two days before finally be‐ ing declared ‘stabilised’ on Sunday, July 17.

Police are now investigating whether the fire was start‐ ed intentionally or negligently.

Starting in El Higueron, the fire rapidly spread to Alhau‐ rin de la Torre and Alhaurin el Grande.

The Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Sustainable Development of the Junta de Andalucía, Car‐ men Crespo, from the Advanced Command Post, said the forest fire was not due to natural causes.

Meanwhile Junta de Andalucia president Juanma Moreno thanked the more than 400 people who worked to battle the blaze.

Spain’s current heatwave and low relative humidity have made forest fires a recurrent feature of the national news over the last week, with high wind speeds in some places also helping to spread the flames.

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euroweeklynews.com

21 - 27 July 2022

FEATURE

How to stop child maintenance? Judicial success. We analyse the legal grounds to stop the child maintenance set in a Settlement Agreement. Jurisprudence. Won judgements.

IN today’s article we analyse a successful case where we overturned a client’s child sup‐ port obligation. One of the most common effects derived from cases of separation or di‐ vorce is the Settlement Agree‐ ment (Convenido Regulador).

Mandatory for both spous‐ es, this document sets out the rights and obligations of both parties in the long term. Visita‐ tion regime. Attribution of the habitual residence. Custody of pets, etc. We answer one of the questions most frequently

asked in our office: Is it possi‐ ble to stop the child mainte‐ nance? Which are the neces‐ sary requirements to do so?

For how long does child maintenance have to be paid?

The purpose of child sup‐ port is simple. To contribute to the maintenance, clothing, housing, medical care and ed‐ ucation of the children. There is a widespread belief that once children reach the legal age, there is no longer an obli‐ gation to pay child support.

This is not correct.

There is no age limit set by law. In other words, mainte‐ nance continues for as long as there is financial dependency.

Because reaching legal age is not synonymous with finding a stable job that allows one to provide for oneself. For this reason, it is necessary to study the specific characteristics of each case.

How to modify the mea‐ sures adopted in the Settle‐ ment Agreement?

Article 91 of the Spanish

Civil Code establishes that the measures approved in a Set‐ tlement Agreement ‘may be modified when circumstances change substantially’. In order to modify the measures, ju‐ risprudence requires prove that: 1. That there has been an objective change in the situa‐ tion existing when the mea‐ sures were approved.

2. That the circumstances on which the claim is based are subsequent to the divorce decree.

3. That this change is not temporary. It must have a cer‐ tain vocation of permanence, and it must also be unexpect‐ ed and not caused by the peti‐ tioner.

Of course, in addition to all of the above, the most impor‐ tant thing will be to prove that

these new circumstances do exist. And, more importantly, that these changes are signifi‐ cant enough to modify the measures approved at the time.

Real case. Modification of measures to stop child main‐ tenance.

Let’s analyse the case. Di‐ vorce judgement in which both parents, by mutual agreement, ratify a Settle‐ ment Agreement that sets a maintenance allowance. Giv‐ en that the child lives with the mother, in accordance with art. 93 and 142 of the Spanish Civil Code, a maintenance al‐ lowance of €360 per month is agreed. It is stipulated that this alimony will continue when the child reaches the le‐ gal age, as long as the child continues with his studies.

Two years after the divorce decree, our client learns that his son’s situation has changed. He does not live with his mother anymore. He has become emancipated.

And he is financially indepen‐ dent, working full‐time. He has also dropped out of school. In the trial, during the examination of the evidence, all these circumstances are proven by documentary and testimonial evidence.

Therefore, the judge rules in favour of our client, and agrees to stop the child main‐ tenance. If you wish to consult the judgement, you can do so, contact us for information.

If you have to pay child sup‐ port, but the circumstances that led to its approval have changed, contact us. Any sig‐ nificant change (financial ca‐ pacity of the parties, your child’s personal and employ‐ ment circumstances, etc) could allow us to overturn the fixed child maintenance. We will provide you with expert advice on the matter.

The information provided in this article is not intended as legal advice, but merely con‐ veys information relating to legal issues.

Carlos Baos (Lawyer) - White&Baos Tel: +34 966 426 185 • info@white-baos.com White & Baos 2022 - All Rights Reserved.

Spanish Registration & Qualifications, Why are they so important?

By Tracy Storer, Partner & Financial Planner, Chorus Financial.

An award-winning financial services company. Pensions, Investments & Tax Planning.

Chorus Financial is an award-winning, privately owned company helping British families living in Spain with their pensions, savings, investments & tax planning. Tracy Storer provides regulated financial advice as a member of the OpesFidelio network.

Aisa International, s.r.o. trading as OpesFidelio is regulated by the Czech National Bank. The company’s Identification number is 282 24 981 and can be found in the web app at www.cnb.cz. It is authorised under IDD within the EEA, including Spain, and holds a pension licence. Tracy Storer is a member of OpesFidelio network and further information is available upon request.

euroweeklynews.com

IN a landmark ruling, the Mar Menor has been recognised as a legal entity with rights that require the ecosystem be protected by local authorities.

On Wednesday, July 13 the Commission of Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge of the Congress of Deputies ruled that the Mar Menor lagoon and its basin are a legal personality.

The ruling comes after cam‐ paigners filed a legal case on behalf of the ecosystem to have it recognised as a legal entity that has the right to be protected.

Once the legislative process is complete the Mar Menor will be the first eco‐system in Europe to be granted rights as a legal entity.

Juantxo López de Uralde, President of the Congressional Ecological Transition Commis‐ sion described the ruling as: “A historic day for environmental policy in our country.”

The Mar Menor has been under threat from human ac‐ tivity for some time, resulting in successive rounds of envi‐ ronmental collapse that have killed local sea life and made bathing in the waters impossi‐ ble.

European first Image Mar Menor – Victor Torres/Shutterstock.com

MAR MENOR: The move will be welcomed far and wide.

Although there are some is‐ sues to be ironed out in terms of the application of the law, the granting of rights to the Mar Menor is a popular move that will be welcomed far and wide across Spain and the rest of Europe.

Officer saves baby

SPAIN’S Guardia Civil posted the news on Facebook about an officer that had heroically saved the life of a baby on Wednesday, July 14.

The post on Facebook read: “We present to you, Irene, a colleague from Citizen Security in Colmenar Viejo (Madrid).

“Yesterday she saved the life of a baby by performing resuscitation manoeuvres on him until the medical services arrived and he now recovers favourably.

“Today Irene has put on her uniform again, she has reviewed her service and is back at work with the satisfaction of having fulfilled her duty.

“This is our day‐to‐day helping and serving the citizen.”

The public was quick to respond. One post‐

IRENE: Saved the baby boy’s life.

ed: “Thank you for saving that little boy how proud we are of your work.”

Another posted: “Long live the Guardia Civil for the work and effort they do, congratula‐ tions to all of them and thank you for saving lives, long live the Guardia Civil!”

NEWS

Ice cream alert

Credit: Viktor1/Shutterstock.com

21 - 27 July 2022

Image: Guardia Civil Facebook

16 EWN

AESAN, the Spanish Agency for Food Safety and Nutrition is‐ sued a statement on Monday, July 11, warning of Check your vanilla ice cream. the presence of ethylene oxide in some products of a well‐known brand of ice cream.

The Agency learned through the European Food Alert Network (RASFF) of an alert notification sent by the French health authorities regarding the presence of ethy‐ lene oxide in 460 ml vanilla ice cream of the Häagen‐Dazs brand.

The origin of the contamination is reportedly found in the vanilla extract from Madagascar that is used in its preparation.

Specifically, the products in question are the tubs in‐ cluded in batches: 4146758, 4156565, 4157457, 4163546, 4169920, 4172653, 4167054, 4222694, 4240220, 4246885, 4284604 and 4287990 with preferential con‐ sumption dates between July 15 and 20, 2022.

Ethylene oxide is a gas that is classified by the Ministry of Health as a ‘possible mutagen, possible carcinogen, and possible toxic to reproduction’.

It has to be stressed that there is no record of any case being reported in Spain, but the Agency recommends that people who have the products included in the alert at home refrain from consuming them, and return them to the point of purchase.

NEWS

euroweeklynews.com

21 - 27 July 2022

Whatsapp cyber scam

THE Guardia Civil has warned of a scam that is taking place through WhatsApp that several users have denounced in

recent days. Specifically, mobile users receive a message on their phones in which they are invited to be part of a Coca‐Cola

Oldest relative AN archaeological site in the Atapuerca Moun‐ tains near the city of Burgos in northern Spain, which is known for its rich fossil record, has un‐ earthed a jawbone fossil.

The fragmented skull is believed to be the old‐ est of its kind ever found in Europe.

It includes part of the upper jawbone (maxilla) and a tooth of a hominid who lived approxi‐ mately 1.4 million years ago, according to a sci‐ ence publication on Sunday, July 17.

John Hawks, who is an anthropologist at the University of Wisconsin‐Madison, in America, al‐ though not affiliated with the recent dig, said that the new discovery helps give insight into the locals previously in the area.

“We don’t know yet exactly where this piece of the upper jaw is going to fit, and it’s going to take a lot of work and comparison for that team to determine [this],” John Hawks told the publi‐ cation.

“But whatever they determine, this is tied to a site with evidence of behaviour.”

promotion in which they can receive up to €500 for their supposed 130th an‐ niversary, as reported on Saturday, July 16, by Spanish news sources.

As reported by the In‐ ternet Security Office, the user receives a message that seems to genuinely come from Coca‐Cola. It promotes gifts for the drinks company’s 130th anniversary, accompanied by a link where the gifts can supposedly be pur‐ chased.

On this website, it asks the user to answer a sur‐ vey where they can win a mini fridge. The message will always be the same: you have won a prize and in order to claim it you must send the message to 20 friends through What‐ sApp who must fill out a form with personal data.

In reality, it is a sub‐ scription to a service where the user actually agrees to pay €43.50 ev‐ ery 14 days.

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euroweeklynews.com

21 - 27 July 2022

NEWS

FORMER Prime Minister Tony Blair has re‐ newed calls on Friday, July 15 for digital ID cards to be issued in the UK as a means to tackle illegal immigration.

The Institute for Global Change (IGC), Tony Blair’s foundation, said in a report that the weak link in the government’s plans to tackle immigration was its failure to crack down on illegal employment in the UK. It said unscrupulous employers continue to give jobs to illegal migrants and the only way to deal with that was through a ‘digital identity verification’ system.

Such ID cards are already in use all over Europe, with those wishing to obtain an ID card having to prove their right to live and work in the country. Such cards allow au‐ thorities to quickly check a person’s status and track their employment.

Originally proposed while Blair was in of‐ fice, the plan was quickly shelved after David Cameron was voted into power. He buckled under opposition from human rights groups, activists, and IT experts who all spoke out against the plan despite ID cards working well elsewhere.

Public sector pay rise UK public sector workers will apparently be offered a pay rise that averages out at around 5 per cent, in one of Boris Johnson’s last acts as Prime Minister.

According to a Financial Times (FT) report late on Fri‐ day, July 15, unnamed gov‐ ernment ministers said that Johnson is planning to make the offer ahead of annual

pay reviews for more than half of the civil service.

With inflation running close to 10 per cent, the un‐ named source said that John‐ son and the government were likely to accept the rec‐ ommendations of indepen‐ dent pay reviews and award increases of around 5 per cent.

Public sector pay has

lagged behind the private sector with austerity mea‐ sures resulting in consecutive years of low increases, and last year’s 1.5 per cent falling well behind the nearly 8 per cent seen in parts of the pri‐ vate sector.

The latter has been bol‐ stered by one‐off bonuses and other enticements to at‐ tract and retain staff.

THE Rolling Stones Paint ed It Black in Brussels as the Manneken‐Pis was given a weekend make‐ over to welcome the band.

The three main mem‐ bers of the band, cele‐ brating 60 years of music, Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood were in the city to perform before a huge crowd on Monday July 11.

Prior to that and with the participation of the Brussels City Council, their Belgian promoters Greenhouse Talent organ‐ ised for the iconic Man‐ neken‐Pis to be dressed in a specially commis‐ sioned Rolling Stones cos‐ tume in black with the fa‐ mous lips in red and yellow to honour the Bel‐ gian flag, The costume was un‐ veiled on the Saturday prior to the concert (the Stones’ first in Brussels

Credit: Benoit Hellings Twitter

Digital ID cards Paint It Black

DRESSED UP: The Manneken-Pis welcomed the Stones.

for 46 years) whilst tourists and passers‐by were also able to enjoy a rendition of Paint it Black performed by a local marching band.

Sir Michael Jagger will be 79 on July 26, Keith Richards will be 79 on De‐

cember 18 and youngest of the trio Ronnie Wood was 75 this year, so their stamina just to travel to the nine countries on their European tour must be tremendous, let alone playing in 14 concerts to sold out stadiums, which

NEWS

euroweeklynews.com

21 - 27 July 2022

EWN 19

Tragic accident More rail misery

A 16-YEAR-OLD boy died after going swimming with friends and getting into diffi‐ culty in the water at Salford Quays, Manchester, to cool off from the UK heatwave.

In a statement on Sunday, July 17, the Greater Manch‐ ester Police said: “The body of a teenage boy has been recovered from Salford Quays after we were called to reports of a person get‐ ting into difficulty in the wa‐

ter yesterday.

“Sadly, a body was locat‐ ed in the water later that evening and was recovered by specialist partners overnight.

“His family has been kept updated and is being sup‐ ported by specially‐trained officers at this extremely distressing time.

“Enquiries are ongoing but detectives from Swin‐ ton CID are, at this stage,

confident that there aren’t any suspicious circum‐ stances, and a file is being prepared for the coroner.”

Detective Inspector Joanne Johnston, of Swin‐ ton CID, said: “Yesterday evening’s events are noth‐ ing short of devastating and my thoughts are with the friends and family of the young boy who lost his life in such awful circum‐ stances.”

Dance school ballet ban BALLET auditions have been dropped at an English school which dubbed it ‘white’ and ‘elitist’ and rooted in ‘white European ideas’.

The Northern School of Contemporary Dance (NSCD) based in Leeds, England, said: “We review content and have removed bal‐ let from our audition day due to its potential‐ ly contentious nature,” according to the UK media on Sunday, July 17.

Francesca McCarthy, head of undergradu‐ ate studies at the NSCD, said: “It is essentially an elitist form.

“Young people need to pay to take ballet classes as a general rule and for a vast num‐ ber of potential students, they’ve not had ac‐ cess to ballet,” she said.

“It is a very specific form that is built around particular white European ideas and body shapes that are often alienating to young people who do not fit that aesthetic ideal.”

Francesca McCarthy added: “There are is‐ sues relating to body, money, language and movement vocabulary.”

THE RMT Union has an‐ nounced two further days of strikes after rejecting the UK Rail Network offer.

The dates announced on Friday, July 15 will see more than 40,000 staff ‘down tools’ on August 18 and 20 with some 14 rail companies af‐ fected.

The new dates are in addi‐ tion to the 24‐hour strike called for July 27.

Andrew Haines, Chief Exec‐ utive of Network Rail, told the British media: “By announcing even more strike dates, the RMT has dropped any pre‐ tence that this is about reach‐ ing a deal.

“It’s clear the best interests of passengers and our staff are taking second place to the union’s bosses’ political cam‐ paign.”

The RMT’s General Secre‐ tary Mick Lynch countered the claim saying: “The rail in‐ dustry and the government need to understand that this dispute will not simply vanish.

“They need to get serious

about providing an offer on pay which helps deal with the cost‐of‐living crisis, job security for our members and provides good condi‐

tions at work.

“We remain open for talks, but we will continue our cam‐ paign until we reach a negoti‐ ated settlement.”

Pizzas for migrants USING government credit cards, officials spent more than £33,000 (€44,700) of UK taxpayer’s money at a Domino’s pizza branch buying piz‐ zas for migrants over a five‐month period last year.

Last July, the Home Office’s Clandestine Op‐ erational Response Team bought more than 200 pizzas in one go, they loaded them in a van and distributed them to migrants, according to the UK press on Sunday July 17.

“The fact that the Border Force is having to resort to fast‐food takeaways is symptomatic of the large numbers arriving,” the chairman of MigrationWatch UK, Alp Mehmet, told another media source.

MigrationWatch UK is a British think‐tank and campaign group which argues for lower im‐ migration into the United Kingdom.

Founded in 2001, the group believes that in‐ ternational migration places undue demand on limited resources and that the current level of immigration is not sustainable.

20 EWN

euroweeklynews.com

21 - 27 July 2022

NEWS

THE donation of another million doses of the Covid vaccine to Bangladesh follows the four million doses sent last year.

The UK bilaterally donated one million doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine to Bangladesh. The vaccine consignment arrived in Bangladesh on February 23, 2022, the UK government confirmed on Sunday, July 17. This bilateral donation from the UK will reinforce Bangladesh’s fight against the coronavirus pandemic and the country’s economic recovery. Prior to this, the UK donated over four million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine to Bangladesh in December 2021 through COVAX facilities. While welcoming the second consignment of vaccine donations from the UK, the British High

FOUR-HOUR delays were experienced at Dover on Saturday, July 16 with many customers complaining of problems on the UK side.

Ferry company DFDS issued a statement saying that ferries were being delayed up to four hours due to French passport controls.

However, the statement was disputed by passengers

Image: UK Government.

UK donates vaccine Rhod cancer treatment UK donates another million doses of Covid vaccine to Bangladesh.

Commissioner HE Robert Chatterton Dickson said “We welcome the arrival of one million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine from the UK to Bangladesh. This bilateral donation adds to the four million doses that the UK donated through COVAX last year.”

Dover ferry who said the problem was in Dover where insufficient check-in booths were delaying customer processing.

In a scene reminiscent of that in airports, the Port of Dover seems to be struggling to find sufficient staff to process travellers quickly and effectively.

P & O Ferries also experienced similar delays with one customer saying they queued to catch the 4.25am and eventually were put on the 7.50am sailing after severe delays in Dover.

Others said they had sat in their cars without moving for between two and three hours, with seemingly few cars being processed.

IT was revealed on, Thursday, July 14, that top British comedian and television star Rhod Gilbert has been diagnosed with cancer. The legendary Welsh star has not disclosed which type of cancer it is, but he is undergoing treatment.

Rhod confirmed the news via his Facebook page, posting: “As a proud patron of Velindre Cancer Centre, I’ve trekked the world, hosted chaotic quizzes, and star-studded comedy nights. I’ve met and made friends with so many inspirational staff, patients and their families.

It has been a huge part of my life for the last 10 years.

“So while I never imagined that I would be a patient here, I know better than anyone that I am in the best possible hands.

The NHS care I’m receiving is incredible. I wouldn’t wish this on anyone... but who knows,

maybe I’ll come out the other end with a new stand-up show and a 40minute rant about orange squash,” the television star continued.

He concluded: “Thank you, everyone, for your

support over the last few weeks and months (and years). I’ll be disappearing for a while and won’t be commenting further, at least not for now, whilst I focus on my recovery.

Rhod x.”

Gatwick water shortage GATWICK AIRPORT, the UK’s second largest, ran out of water forcing toilets and restaurants to close during the heatwave on Thursday, July 14.

Disgruntled passengers were quick to vent their frustration on Social Media.

One tweeted: “Water shortage at Gatwick Air‐ port.

“No food service at some of the restaurants, pre‐ sumably due to the lack of water, and the terminal is packed. Oh joy.”

Gatwick Airport was quick to respond to the tweet with a post that read: “We’re really sorry that we’re experiencing an issue with the supply of water to Gatwick.

“We’re working closely with SES Water to get this resolved. Thanks.”

Another passenger said: “Gatwick Airport should‐ n’t you be warning your customers that nearly all the loos are shut!

“Watching kids and pregnant women really upset is a bad vibe.”

NEWS

euroweeklynews.com

New easyJet routes

EASYJET announced on Thursday, July 14 that it is adding three new routes to its UK network for winter 2022, with packages from easyJet holidays also avail‐ able.

Brand new winter ser‐ vices to some of Europe’s favourite city, winter sun, and festive destinations, in‐ cluding London Gatwick to Porto Santo, Bristol to Rovaniemi in Finland, and Manchester to Fuerteventu‐ ra, are now on sale at www.easyJet.com, and via the mobile app.

Additionally, as of next winter, the airline will once again offer daily flights from Liverpool to Paris, flights six times a week from London Luton to Madrid, and a twice‐weekly service from Manchester to Rovaniemi in Finland.

Package holidays are available to book for this winter on all the new and returning routes through easyJet holidays, with a range of holiday types avail‐ able from adult and family to luxury and undiscovered.

All easyJet holidays include flights, accommodation, 23kg of hold luggage, and transfers on winter breaks.

21 - 27 July 2022

Wayne’s (new) world F O OT B A L L E R , W ayne Rooney, who has negotiated a role as head coach of the Washington DC football team in America, has decided to leave Coleen and their children in the U K and make the move alone.

Wayne has confirmed that his wife, Colleen, has given him her blessing according to the UK media sources on Wednesday, July 13.

T he R ooney family tried moving to America in 2018, but W ayne R ooney quit playing football abroad sooner than expected because Coleen was desperate to be nearer her family in the UK. T he confirmation comes after Coleen told friends that she has no desire to return to

Image: YiAN Kourt/Shutterstock.com

WAYNE ROONEY: Confirmed he will go to America.

America.

A source close to Coleen told the media source on Monday, July 11: “ S he’s made her views clear to Wayne.

“There’s no way she will want to go to Wash-

ington. T he last time, she absolutely hated it there. !She doesn’t want to live outside the north west of England, never mind live in Washington again.”

Draghi’s resignation

AFTER the Italian government col‐ lapsed on the afternoon of Thursday July 14, Prime Minister Mario Draghi communicated his resignation to President Sergio Mattarella. The country’s head of state reportedly re‐ jected his offer of stepping down and summoned Draghi to appear before Parliament on Wednesday, July 20, where he had to explain his reasons for resigning.

In the days prior to the upcoming meeting, Mario Draghi had apparent‐

ly been tasked with finding a solution to Italy’s political crisis. The coalition that he had formed fell apart follow‐ ing months of political tensions and struggles between the parties in‐ volved, according to the Italian press.

The main protagonist was Matteo Salvini, head of the 5 Star Movement, whose party refused to participate in a vote earlier on July 14, which turned out to be the last straw for Draghi, who promptly announced his resignation.

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euroweeklynews.com

SOCIAL SCENE

Denia Jazz Festival THE Denia Jazz Festival is once again coming to its annual event, already consolidated as one of the benchmark jazz festi‐ vals in the Valencian Community and ready once again to flood the gardens of Torrecremada with the best national and international jazz for the enjoyment of a loyal audience that continues to offer its unconditional support to the event.

This year the event will see the Ellingtonia Jazz Ensemble, the first pro‐ ject conceived and pro‐ duced by the Denia Jazz Festival.

The group, which will perform in Torrecremada on August 14 brings to‐ gether leading figures from the European jazz scene to pay tribute to Duke Ellington.

The eighth Denia Jazz Festival opens on August 4 with the North Ameri‐ can vocalist Carole Al‐

At Torrecremada gardens.

ston, a highly experi‐ enced performer.

On August 11 it will be the turn of Jessie Gor‐

don, the Australian vo‐ calist touring Europe from her native Perth, who will be in Denia ac‐ companied by a trio led by pianist Federico Maz‐ zanti from Buenos Aires.

On Thursday August 25, trumpeter and singer Jerôme Etcheberry from Paris, will close the event with his band, The Hot Berries.

All concerts will start at 10.30pm, although ac‐ cess to the Torrecremada gardens will open at 9pm.

Tickets can be pur‐ chased in advance, at the price of €14, at Notiku mi.com or at the estab‐ lished points of sale: Ale Hop shops in Marqués de Campo and La Marina Shopping Centre, the Chamarel Hotel and Casa Benjamín.

Tickets can also be pur‐ chased at the box office before each concert, at a price of €17.

SOCIAL SCENE

euroweeklynews.com

Fiestas Villajoyosa

THE Moors and Chris‐ tians Festival is held from July 24 to 31 in La Villa‐ joyosa, Alicante. These fi‐ estas have been declared of International Tourist Interest. It features a de‐ tailed recreation of the battle of 1538, when the Barbary pirates attacked and landed in the town.

There are numerous activities over eight days: the entrance of the bands, the parades, the cache, the embassies, the paellas and the pa‐ rade of floats. But the highlight of the festivities is undoubtedly the ‘dis‐ embarkation’. The festi‐ val begins on Sunday July 24 with the ‘Entrada de Bandas’ and continues over the following two days with the parade through the streets of Villajoyosa of the Moor‐ ish and Christian bands to the sound of music.

The Desembarco takes

Image credit: Madrugada Verde/Shutterstock.com

NUMEROUS ACTIVITIES: At the Villajoyosa fiestas.

place in the early hours of the morning of Thurs‐ day July 28. It is a great spectacle illuminated by the first rays of the sun, pyrotechnics and fire‐ works. At the beginning the Moorish army enters the port of Villajoyosa, while the army waits for them on the beach. At sea, ships are preparing to disembark and the battle on the shore is im‐ minent. On the beach the battle ensues with light effects, drumbeats and mock bombard‐

ments.

The Muslims take the castle, and the Christian troops recapture the fortress. It all ends with the defeat of the Moors, who are symbolically thrown back into the sea.

On Friday July 29, a solemn mass in honour of Santa Marta and the subsequent procession take place. The knight bearer guides her through the procession, offering the saint to the public gathered for the occasion.

21 - 27 July 2022

EWN 23

24 EWN

21 - 27 July 2022

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SOCIAL SCENE

English Church Benidorm Tamsin Brown THE English Church Benidorm was established in 1985 and welcomes all residents and visitors. The congregation meets in the Gospel Centre, an attractive building at the heart of one of Benidorm’s chief tourist areas close to the seafront.

The Church is rented from the Scandinavian Con‐ gregation, which owns the building and also worships there. From time to time, where possible, the English Church shares activities and

fellowship with them. The church is overseen by the Paraclete Christian Net‐ work International (PCNI), which is a registered chari‐ ty.

They meet for morning service on Sundays at 11am, for Bible study and prayer on Wednesdays at 11am and for Holy Commu‐ nion on Fridays at 11am.

Usually tea, coffee and re‐ freshments are served after each service.

There are some special guest speakers who will be

visiting the Church from the UK during July and August.

For more information about specific dates, visit https://englishchurch benidorm.com/.

CINE JAYAN JAVEA THOR: LOVE AND THUNDER FRIDAY: 19.00 MONDAY: 22.00 THURSDAY: 19.00

Credit: English Church Benidorm

The English Church, where everyone is welcome.

Ithaca evening concerts ON three Sundays: August 7, 14 and 21 at 8.30pm. Location: Partida Monte Mo‐ lar 78, Altea (La Olla) Dear friends of the poetic evening con‐ certs of ITHACA. Due to the Covid pandemic, we have not been able to hold concerts for the last two years. Several people have al‐ ready called and asked whether the con‐ certs will take place again this year. The answer is YES! But the virus is still alive, so we have to take appropriate mea‐

sures, including limiting the number of attending people.

Therefore, we advise you to book as soon as possible. In any case, as in previ‐ ous years, there will be three beautiful concerts, and it will be a great pleasure for us to see you again.

Reservations: elpoeta@point‐edi tions.com or phone: 965 842 350 See you soon!

Germain and Liliane Droogenbroodt & Vicent Ballester

NEWS

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21 - 27 July 2022

Celebrity Ambassadors

CELEBRITY guests gathered at Kona Kai in London on Thursday July 14 for a star-studded evening to celebrate the announcement of Autoimmune Support Awareness London’s (ASAL) five new Ambassadors.

The Ambassadors include former Strictly star Kristina Rihanoff, Marius Lepure, professional dancer and husband to Oti Mabuse, life coach Tracy Kiss, model Carla Howe, former Love Islander turned professional boxer Idris Virgo, and Melissa Alishahi, advanced aesthetic practitioner.

A S A L founder Asal Shirazi said, “I can’t believe that it’s 18 years since I started campaigning for education and research into autoimmune conditions that combined, result in

Credit: ASAL

KONA KAI: The new Ambassadors with Asal Shirazi.

more loss of life each year than cancer.

“There is still so much to be done, so little is understood and so many people are affected. It’s a natural and important next step to formally launch A S A L with the announcement of Kristina, Marius, Tracy, Carla, Idris and Melissa as ambassadors, all with such generous spirits.

“The number of people impacted by these conditions continues to rise at an alarming rate. I couldn’t be more grateful than I am right now to feel this level of love and support.”

ASAL is a not-for-profit organisation and is being supported by Fulham Football Club Foundation, Oti Mabuse School of Dance, Soo Yoga and Laplandia Vodka.

EWN 25

Melting in the heat

LUTON Airport was closed on Monday, July 18, after a ‘surface defect’ was detected on the runway. Flights had to be diverted with soaring temperatures across Britain creating many problems for travellers.

“Following today’s high temperatures, a surface defect was identified on the runway. Engineers were called immediately to the site and repair works are currently in progress to resume operations as soon as possible. We would like to apologise for the inconvenience caused,” the official Twitter profile @LDNLutonAirport said.

Gogerddan near Aberystwyth in Wales was reported by the Met Office to have recorded a temperature of 35.3C (95.5F) in the afternoon. That exceeds the 35.2C (95.4F) that was registered on August 2, 1990, in the Flintshire town of Hawarden Bridge, which was the highest temperature ever recorded in Wales.

Cambridge was the hottest place in England on Monday, reaching 38C (100.4F) at 4pm.

The city already holds the record for the hottest high ever in the UK when it hit 38.7C (101.7F) in July 2019.

Rail travel was disrupted

between Waterloo and Clapham Junction in London after the tracks buckled in the heat, resulting in a safety inspection taking place. A similar problem halted train travel between Cambridge and Kings Lynn.

Beach too hot LEICESTER City Council in England has confirmed that outdoor attractions are to close temporarily as extreme heat is forecast.

The council confirmed the closure on Twitter on Sun‐ day, July 17, in a tweet that read: “Please note that Le‐ icester’s beach and funfair on Humberstone Gate will be closed on Monday and Tuesday as the Met Office is‐ sues its first ever Red warning for exceptional heat.”

Deputy City Mayor, Piara Singh Clair, said: “In these extreme temperatures, the sand on our beach would be far too hot for children to play in.

“In the interests of our customers’ well‐being and the safety of our staff, we have decided to close these at‐ tractions on Monday, July 18 and Tuesday, July 19.

“While this extreme weather continues, we would advise people to seek out the shade and, weather per‐ mitting, we hope to reopen the City Beach and the fun‐ fair on Wednesday, July 20.”

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21 - 27 July 2022

Fans concern for Danniella A P P EA R I N G on the ITV chat show This Morning Danniella Westbrook had fans concerned about a nosebleed on Wednes‐ day, July 13.

This Morning an‐ nounced the interview in a tweet that read: “Dan‐ niella Westbrook joined us for a raw and honest chat about how she’s still alive at nearly 50, in spite of all the turmoil she’s faced.”

During the interview, aside from advertising her new book, Danniella said: “I’m happy to be

alive after everything I’ve put myself through. I’m waiting to be a nanny, hopefully.

“I’m just so happy with this chapter that I’m in.”

She added: “I’m just hap‐ py with who I am and I

BBC legend dies

Image: Danniella Westbrook Twitter

Fans show concern for Danniella Westbrook’s nosebleed.

needed to learn that.”

In reference to her pre‐ vious cocaine habit, Dan‐ niella confirmed: “You don’t need to go to re‐ hab. All they’re going to do is detox you, you need to get to a meeting.”

BBC radio DJ and mastermind behind hit game show On‐ ly Connect, Chris Stuart, has sadly died after an extensive career at the network, which included providing com‐ mentary on Princess Diana’s funeral, it was confirmed on Wednesday, July 13.

Throughout his stellar career, the 72‐year‐old was coined as ‘one of the true greats’ of British broadcast‐ ing.

Fans were quick to pay tribute. One post on Twitter read: “RIP Chris Stuart. I’m so sorry to hear this news.”

“My deepest sympathies to the family & former col‐ leagues. Chris was a brilliant broadcaster & producer” “Fond memories of listening to him on Radio Wales, Radio 2 & he was the voice of solemnity covering state occasions.”

Another fan commented: “He had the perfect radio voice and was the chief inspiration for my Nostalgia In‐ terviews podcast.”

“There aren’t many of his ilk still left. RIP.”

RMT General Secretary Mick Lynch said on Wednes‐ day, July 13: “The offer from Network Rail represents a real terms pay cut for our members and the paltry sum is conditional on RMT members agreeing to dras‐ tic changes in their working lives.

“We have made progress on compulsory redundan‐ cies, but Network Rail is still seeking to make our mem‐ bers poorer when we have won in some cases double what they are offering, with other rail operators.

“The train operating com‐

NEWS

Pay offer ‘paltry’

A 24-hour strike is planned.

panies remain stubborn and are refusing to make any new offer which deals with job security and pay.”

Image RMT strike - Image Leighton Collins/Shutterstock.com

26 EWN

It is understood that a 4 per cent pay rise backdated to January was offered with a further 2 per cent in‐ crease next year. In addi‐ tion, a further 2 per cent was offered conditional on the achievement of so‐ called “modernisation milestones”.

The latest 24‐hour strike will take place on Wednes‐ day July 27, the day before the Commonwealth Games begin in Birmingham.

Commons chaos BORIS JOHNSON’S penultimate PMQs didn’t go as planned and were actually delayed due to chaotic scenes as two Scottish nationalist MPs were kicked out of the House of Commons.

Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle ordered the re‐ moval of Alba Party MPs Neale Hanvey and Kenny MacAskill for disrupting the start of the session on Wednesday, July 13.

Mr MacAskill, the East Lothian MP, could be heard trying to raise a point of order and appeared to say “we need a referendum” be‐ fore he was drowned out by other MPs, ac‐

cording to UK press sources.

Neale Hanvey and Kenny MacAskill were protesting about the UK government’s refusal to transfer the powers necessary to hold a sec‐ ond Scottish independence vote to the Scot‐ tish government.

The incident comes after the UK govern‐ ment claimed it would be “premature” for the Supreme Court to consider the legality of Scot‐ land’s devolved administration holding an in‐ dependence referendum without London’s permission.

28 EWN

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21 - 27 July 2022 Credit: Guilherme Cunha on Unsplash

FUNDING INCREASE: Skilled workers of all kinds welcomed.

A RECENT Finnish survey, pub‐ lished on July 6, saw the ma‐ jority happy with immigration to protect pensions, as more than 60 per cent responded positively to the Finnish Centre for Pensions enquiry.

With a small growth in popu‐ lation since the 1960s and a massive increase of people liv‐ ing longer, there are fears that the government will be unable

NEWS

Finland welcomes immigrants

to afford to pay the state pen‐ sion at some stage in the fu‐ ture.

In the survey of Finns aged between 18 and 79, three main options were considered.

The most popular suggested that increasing the population, by encouraging qualified immi‐ grants to live and work in the country, would see an influx of

funding for social security and pensions.

Like many other European countries, Finland is suffering from a serious lack of skilled workers in a number of differ‐ ent industries, so work is avail‐ able for those able to take ad‐ vantage of it.

Less popular was a sugges‐ tion that pension contributions

should be increased and many suggested that younger people were already paying a dispro‐ portionally high amount of their income towards the pen‐ sion pot.

The least favoured option was that the pension providers should increase risk taking in order to try to increase the val‐ ue of pension assets held.

Top three health threats

ON July 12, the European Commission’s Health Emer‐ gency Preparedness and Re‐ sponse Authority (HERA) presented a priority list of the top three health threats that require coordination of measures at the EU level.

Stella Kyriakides, the com‐ missioner for Health and Food Safety, said: “This exer‐ cise is the first step in ensur‐ ing that medical countermea‐ sures can be made available and accessible for all Mem‐ ber States swiftly when need‐ ed. HERA has been set up as our watchtower for future health emergencies.”

The first category to pre‐ pare for includes pathogens with high pandemic poten‐ tial, which involves looking in‐ to specific viral families of concern, many of which come from animals. This cat‐ egory includes mainly respira‐ tory RNA viral families.

The second category in‐ cludes chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear threats, which may originate

from accidental or deliberate release and may be related to global geopolitical tensions.

The third category in‐ cludes threats resulting from antimicrobial resistance,

which poses one of the greatest risks to human health, with antibacterial re‐ sistance alone causing an an‐ nual estimate of over 1.2 million deaths globally.

No more gas heating GAS heating systems will gradually become a thing of the past in Germany. As of 2024 they may no longer be newly installed.

This is part of an immediate climate protection pro‐ gramme intended to help achieve the CO2 targets in the lagging sectors of buildings and transport accord‐ ing to NTV on Wednesday, July 13.

Construction Minister, Klara Geywitz, and Eco‐ nomics Minister, Robert Habeck, want to improve cli‐ mate protection with numerous measures. The pro‐ jects are part of an immediate programme to ensure that the building sector no longer emits so many greenhouse gases.

Chief Executive of the Association of Towns and Mu‐ nicipalities, Gerd Landsberg, confirmed that: “Since no one can say exactly how dramatic the development will be, consideration should also be given to providing warmth islands or warmth rooms where older people, in particular, can stay even in very cold weather.”

The news comes just days as the German govern‐ ment discussed the option of warming rooms.

NEWS

euroweeklynews.com

21 - 27 July 2022

THIRTY‐FOUR pharmacies have been accused of Covid‐ 19 test fraud in France with up to €53 million believed to have been fraudulently claimed from the govern‐ ment.

According to French media on Wednesday, July 13 the pharmacies carried out fraud‐ ulent antigen and PCR tests over a period of two years.

Image Sibuet Benjamin / Shutterstock.com

Covid test fraud French pharmacy fraud.

Stop deforestation

ON July 13, the European Parliament’s Environment, Pub‐ lic Health and Food Safety Committee adopted its position on the proposal for a regulation on deforestation‐free products to halt EU‐driven global deforestation.

The new law would make it obligatory for companies to verify that goods sold in the EU have not been pro‐ duced on deforested or degraded land. This would assure consumers that the products they buy do not contribute to the destruction of forests outside the EU, including irre‐ placeable tropical forests.

The rapporteur Christophe Hansen said: “We are seri‐ ous about fighting climate change and biodiversity loss.

Acknowledging that the EU is responsible for around 10 per cent of global deforestation, we don’t have a choice but to ramp up our efforts to halt it.”

The fraud came to light af‐ ter government administra‐ tors became suspicious of the size of the claims, with one pharmacy alone claiming €18 million.

Thomas Fatôme, the Gen‐ eral Director of Health Insur‐ ance, said that the fraud was on an industrial scale with as many as nine out of every 10 claims fraudulent. In all the cases the pharmacy claimed to have distributed the test to a nurse, a doctor, or a physio‐ therapist.

The case is not dissimilar to that of the fraud committed in Madrid where vaccination cer‐ tificates were bought, howev‐ er, the values involved in this case are astronomical by com‐ parison and involve defrauding the government rather than the sale of certificates.

The scale of the fraud in‐ volving the 34 pharmacies is unheard of, although investi‐ gations in other countries like the UK have identified gross wastage and contractual ir‐ regularities.

EWN 29

Lufthansa cancellations

LUFTHANSA has become the latest airline to cancel flights for the summer, saying that it will reduce its schedule by more than 2,000. The airline said on Wednesday, July 13 that the flights would be axed from the Frankfurt and Munich schedules.

Staff shortages at airports, rising Covid‐ 19 infections and industrial action are all given as reasons for the cancellations, with the airline stating: “Lufthansa has imple‐ mented numerous measures and is recruit‐ ing additional staff wherever possible to ensure the greatest possible stability of the

flight schedule and thus offer its passen‐ gers the best possible planning security.”

The cancellations follow the decision to reduce the flight schedule between July 8 and 14 with airports struggling to cope with volumes during peak periods in the afternoon and evening.

Although Lufthansa is the latest airline to cancel additional flights that were sched‐ uled for the summer, the expectation is that it will not be the last airline to do so with airport capacity issues far from re‐ solved.

End attacks on EU values

EUROPEAN values are un‐ der systemic threat in Hungary, says the Civil Liberties Committee of the European Parliament.

In a draft report adopted on July 13 with 47 votes for, 10 against, and two abstentions, MEPs detail their concerns about Hun‐ gary, including the func‐ tioning of its constitution‐ al system; the independence of the judi‐ ciary and other institu‐

tions; corruption; privacy and data protection; free‐ dom of expression; free‐ dom of religion; the rights of minority groups, mi‐ grants, asylum seekers, refugees and the LGBTIQ community; and econom‐ ic and social rights.

The Civil Liberties Com‐ mittee condemns the “de‐ liberate and systematic efforts of the Hungarian government” to under‐ mine European values as

enshrined in the Treaty on European Union (TEU), a situation that has wors‐ ened substantially since 2018.

They deplore the inabili‐ ty of the Council to make meaningful progress. Any further delay in acting to protect EU values in Hun‐ gary, the text warns, would amount to a breach of the principle of the rule of law by the Council it‐ self.

30 EWN

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21 - 27 July 2022

NEWS

British tourist accident A TRAGIC freak accident re‐ sulted in a young British man dying while he was tying up his boat.

The 30‐year‐old was at‐ tempting to anchor his vessel to a rock on the island of Ni‐ mos when he slipped on a rock on Tuesday, July 12.

The young man then disap‐ peared into the water accord‐ ing to the UK press.

A lifeboat was dispatched and took the man to the near‐ by island of Symi, just off the southern coast of Turkey, where he was treated at the medical centre.

Doctors provided first aid and were preparing to trans‐ fer him to a larger hospital

Katho Menden/Shutterstock.com

The 30year-old was attempting to anchor his vessel.

when he died, local media re‐ ported.

Coastguards then returned to tow the ship and the re‐ maining passengers to the harbour in Symi, where the boat is now anchored.

The other three passengers were not injured in the inci‐

dent, which appears to be a tragic accident.

Symi port authorities have launched a routine investiga‐ tion into the death.

The body of the Briton was transferred to the island of Rhodes so that a post‐ mortem can be performed.

Positive list of pets Tamsin Brown THE Netherlands has created a positive list of mammals, a list of species that are legally allowed to be kept as pets in the country. This move will prevent exotic mammals from being kept as pets in unsuitable conditions.

Over 300 mammal species were assessed for the list and just 30 were approved. This reflects the fact that many species commonly kept as pets are unsuited to life in captivity. The list will enter into force on January 1, 2024, and people who currently own such unauthorised animal species will be allowed to keep them until the end of their lives.

In May, at the meeting of the Council of the Eu‐ ropean Union (Agriculture and Fisheries), a posi‐ tion paper that was submitted by Cyprus and co‐ signed by Lithuania, Luxembourg and Malta called for the European Commission to explore the po‐ tential benefits of an EU‐wide positive list. The paper was supported by a vast majority of Mem‐ ber States and demonstrates an understanding of the need to regulate the pet trade.

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21 - 27 July 2022

Trustworthy media

A EUROBAROMETER sur‐ vey published on July 12 takes an in‐depth look at EU citizens’ media habits and attitudes towards dis‐ information.

Citizens trust public broadcast and print media, including their online ver‐ sions, more than online news platforms and social media, with 49 per cent expecting public TV and ra‐ dio stations to give them truthful news. This was fol‐ lowed by the written press, with 39 per cent.

Private TV and radio sta‐ tions are cited by 27 per cent as trustworthy.

Poland was the only country where private TV and radio stations are the most trusted news source, and the most‐trusted news source in Hungary was “people, groups or friends followed on social media.”

Over a quarter (28 per cent) thought that they had been exposed to disin‐ formation often or very of‐

ten over the past week.

Respondents in Bulgaria were the most likely to say that they had (55 per cent), while respondents

in the Netherlands were the least likely to say so (3 per cent said “very often” and 9 per cent said “of‐ ten”).

Unconstitutional quarantine THE Constitutional Court (TC) in Portugal ruled on Wednesday, July 13 that Covid quarantines outside the state of emergency are unconstitutional and ‘represent a deprivation of liberty and are not ad‐ missible outside periods when a state of emergency has been declared’.

The TC ruled that Covid quarantines (confine‐ ments) imposed in Portugal without a state of emergency having been decreed are unconstitu‐ tional. The news comes as a major blow to the Por‐ tuguese government which has reportedly been busy preparing a health emergency law.

Five judges ruled that the confinements outside of a state of emergency ‘represented true depriva‐ tions of liberty and not just mere restrictions on freedom of movement’. Two judges were in favour of allowing quarantines to happen outside of a state of emergency.

Councillor António José da Ascensão Ramos’ rul‐ ing stated that ‘establishing a mandatory regime of confinement in housing (confinement), constitutes a very important interference in the scope of pro‐ tection of the right to freedom’.

EWN 31

Dijon mustard shortage

FRANCE is suffering from a producers in the Canadian shortage of Dijon mustard.

Prairies were estimated by Canada, the world’s main the government to be bil‐ exporter of mustard seeds, lions of dollars. This has is no longer supplying caused the average price of enough to meet the de‐ Canadian mustard seed to mand. Dijon mustard is the double, reaching a record third most popular condi‐ high of $1,700 per tonne.

Mustard is a popular ment in France, being con‐ In France, the season has condiment in France. sumed with everything not been much better. In from hot dogs to salads, April 2021, growers in Bur‐ yet the French are having to make do with‐ gundy faced sub‐zero temperatures, and out it. less than half of all mustard seeds could be Canada, which supplies 80 per cent of all harvested. The war in Ukraine made the sit‐ the mustard seeds imported into France, uation worse, as both Ukraine and Russia suffered a large heat dome last year that are also major exporters of mustard seed, ruined the harvest. The economic losses to causing the price to soar even higher.

Credit: Florival fr, CC BY-SA 4.0

NEWS

Croatia ready to use euro

THE Council of the European Union, on Tuesday July 12, adopted the final three legal acts that are required to en‐ able Croatia to introduce the euro on January 1, 2023. This completes the process which will enable Croatia to be‐ come a member of the euro area and to benefit from us‐ ing the EU’s common curren‐ cy as of next year.

Zbyněk Stanjura, the min‐ ister of Finance of Czechia, said: “I would like to congrat‐ ulate my counterpart, Zdravko Marić, and the whole of Croatia for becom‐ ing the 20th country to join the euro area. Adopting the euro is not a race, but a re‐ sponsible political decision.

Croatia has successfully com‐ pleted all the required eco‐

nomic criteria and they will pay in euros as of January 1, 2023.”

One of the three legal acts sets the conversion rate be‐ tween the euro and the Croatian kuna at 7.53450 ku‐ na per euro. This corre‐ sponds to the current central rate of the kuna in the ex‐ change rate mechanism (ERM II).

SHOCK waves travelled the world following the death of popular young swimmer Mariasofia Paparo, who died following a heart attack just shy of her 28th birthday and on‐ ly a month after getting engaged to be married.

On Wednesday, July 13, Maria‐ sofia Paparo was scheduled to be married. As a tribute, the communi‐ ty of Saint George in Cremano re‐ membered the young swimmer

NEWS

Heartbreak in Italy with a prayer vigil at the church of Saint Anthony in Padova.

The Italian swimmer from the Posillipo Swimming Club died sud‐ denly at the age of 27 after suffering a heart attack in San Giorgio a Cre‐

mano (Naples) on Monday, April 11.

Taking to social media following her death, fiancé and fellow swim‐ mer Matteo Scarpati, who had suc‐ cessfully proposed on March 13,

paid tribute to the woman he planned to marry.

“You were an angel who changed my life by giving me the strength to do things that I never could think about doing,” he said on Facebook.

Died before her wedding day.

On Monday, July 11, Parthenope University held a master’s degree ceremony in her honour.

New credit regulations

NEW EU rules seek to protect online consumers from credit card debt, overdrafts and loans that are unsuitable for their financial situation.

In a text adopted by the In‐ ternal Market and Consumer Protection Committee on July 12, Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) say that legislation should cover credit agreements of up to €150,000, with the actual up‐ per limit to be determined by the relevant national authori‐ ties.

MEPs introduced further requirements to assess the creditworthiness of people taking out a loan, including providing information on their current obligations or cost of living expenses. As overdraft facilities and credit overrunning are increasingly common forms of consumer credit, MEPs want to regulate them to protect consumers.

Consumers should always obtain clear information so they can compare different offers and should understand the legal and financial conse‐ quences of loans and credit

New EU regulations seek to protect consumers from debt.

costs. Credit advertising should contain a clear warn‐ ing that borrowing money costs money and it should not incite over‐indebted con‐ sumers to seek credit.

Parliament negotiators are now ready for talks with the Council and the Commission on the final rules.

Best air quality THE cleanest cities in Europe in terms of air quality during 2020 and 2021 were Umeå in Sweden and Faro and Funchal in Portugal according to the updated European city air quality data viewer published by the European Environment Agency (EEA) on July 11.

Over 340 cities are ranked from the cleanest to the most polluted based on average levels of fine particulate matter (PM2.5). The data was collected from over 400 monitoring stations across EEA member countries over the past two years.

The air quality was good in only 11 cities, meaning that lev‐ els of PM2.5 were below the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) health‐based guideline for long‐term exposure.

In contrast, the European Union’s annual limit value for PM2.5 of 25 µg/m3 was only exceeded in the three most pol‐ luted cities, including Nowy Sacz, Poland, and Cremona and Padova in Italy, highlighting the difference between the WHO guideline and the EU standard.

Instagram Mariasofia Paparo

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21 - 27 July 2022

Credit: Pixabay

32 EWN

FEATURE

euroweeklynews.com

21 - 27 July 2022

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW

Credit: Robin George

Interview with musician Robin George

NEW ALBUM: Robin on ‘Rainbow Ridge’ just outside his Periana studio.

GUITARIST and songwriter Robin George spent lockdown in Periana recording and mastering no less than seven albums.

He explained that “for me it was time when I could simply wander into my home studio and get creative” and this huge body of work has now resulted in a new contract and publishing deal with Angel Air records which had previously released some of his work.

One of the albums consists of rework‐ ings of recordings made over the years with some of rock’s greatest musicians and the album Roxstar Legends includes appearances by such luminaries as Robert Plant (Led Zeppelin), John Wet‐ ton (King Crimson), Glenn Hughes (Deep Purple), Steve Hunter (Lou Reed), Eddie Clark (Motorhead), Phil Lynott (Thin Lizzy) and many more.

Commenting on his career, he told EWN, “I have been very lucky to have worked with so many great musicians during my long career and there are still a number of unreleased recordings gath‐ ering dust with some of the best such as Robert Plant and Phil Lynott, which I hope will see the light of day sometime.”

Robin has had a long career playing with many well‐known bands but has now been settled in Periana in Axarquia with wife Debbie for several years and doesn’t seem to miss the slog of being on the road but enjoys his life in the sun.

Having recorded his first single in 1980, the musician went on to work with such diverse talents as David Byron of Uriah Heep fame, Noddy Holder and

Roger Plant as well as a stint of touring with Roy Wood and Wizzard.

He and Debbie spent some time trav‐ elling through Spain, but when they ar‐ rived in the village with its 3,000 inhabi‐ tants, they knew that they had found a place to stop and enjoy life so after buy‐ ing a property and more or less rebuild‐ ing it, they have become part of the Peri‐ ana community.

Robin says that he can get by in Span‐ ish but is very happy that Debbie is to‐ tally bilingual and is a registered transla‐ tor which makes life a lot easier.

Apart from Roxstar Legends, Robin has a completely new album Dangerous Daze about to be released and for the first time, he has taken on the role of de‐ signing the cover, possibly with some advice from wife Debbie who is herself a recognised artist producing work under the name Fiona Bond.

Another venture sees a video recorded with sister‐in‐law Vix (who used to be part of the band We’ve got a fuzzbox and we know how to use it) Summer Rocking Reggae as well as a very well‐ produced pastiche of vintage dance moves to his new track Funky Rock Groove.

With so many recordings to his name, the singer songwriter from Wolver‐ hampton said that “royalties which are not enormous allow me to continue to be a working musician who is living the dream.”

Find out more about Robin at http://www.robingeorge.co.uk/.

EWN 33

34 EWN

euroweeklynews.com

21 - 27 July 2022

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FINLAND

Snus and lose

In Vino Veritas

AS many Danish smokers start using Snus, a type of snuff, according to a Danish vet in a TV interview, the number of cases of dogs experiencing nicotine poisoning has doubled between 2017 and 2021 as they eat discarded packets in the streets.

MOST shoppers in supermarkets throughout Europe can pick up a bottle of wine to go with their meals, but this is not the case in Finland.

Now a survey has found that 59 per cent of respondents don’t think wine should only be available in state-controlled outlets.

THE NETHERLANDS

MAKE IT EASY: Prepare for any sudden unexpected events with our insurance.

EUROPEAN PRESS

IRELAND

Baggage brainwave

Very hot drink

AS chaos descends on Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam with long waits for baggage, Icelandair is sending two baggage handlers with every flight in order to ensure that they see the cases and bags unloaded from the aircraft and conveyed to the baggage hall.

AN Irish court has awarded compensation of €66,000 to a 15-year-old boy, who four years ago was travelling with Aer Lingus to Malaga.

Having been told to remove the lid of his hot chocolate drink to add milk, some spilled onto his leg causing second degree burns.

BELGIUM

ITALY

Uber questions

Pizza excess

A FORMER Belgian minister is being investigated by journalists following the recent revelations by Uber whistle blower Mark MacGann who has accused the previous management of Uber of being ’too close’ to certain European politicians including President Macron and George Osborne.

AS the Italian government carries out a wild boar cull in parts of Italy, a 57-year-old woman who was enjoying a pizza on a beach in Genoa was horrified that the aroma of her lunch attracted a large wild boar which bit her on the arm.

GERMANY

PORTUGAL

Artistic licence

Drive legally

DURING the time of Protestant Reformation in Germany a painted alter piece in Naumburg Cathedral was removed as being too extravagant. Now a controversial new piece has been installed, painted by Michael Triegel which includes a Jewish Rabbi, an Italian tramp in a red cap and his daughter.

WHILST holders of UK driving licences in Spain continue to wait for some form of agreement to allow them to drive in that country, Portugal announced on July 12 that it would recognise driver’s licences from a number of different countries, one of which is the UK.

FRANCE

UKRAINE

Tough justice

Bojo praise

TWO Belgian tourists who were on a camping trip in France fled up a tree when chased by a wild boar. Having mobile phones, they called emergency services and when officers arrived the boar had wandered off, so they were fined €270.

WHILST press around the world has been quick to suggest that Boris Johnson’s support for Ukraine was part of a ‘Winston Churchill complex’, the government there has responded quickly to thank him for all that he did to support the struggle against Russia.

NORWAY

SWEDEN

Passport control

New musical

AS there is such a huge backlog of people waiting to renew their passports which the Norwegian police can’t tackle, Estonia, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Portugal and Turkey have indicated that they will, during this summer, accept expired passports so that holidaymakers can still travel.

WITH music and lyrics by Björn Ulvaeus and a contribution from former ABBA colleague Benny Andersson, a new musical Pippi at the Circus based on Sweden’s favourite children’s character Pippi Longstocking was premiered at the Cirkus venue in Stockholm on July 12.

FEATURE

euroweeklynews.com

LEAPY LEE SAYS IT OTHERS THINK IT I DON’T often react to mail I receive, particularly those that are non‐ constructive and often downright nasty, but I do feel a couple of recent missives merit a certain repudiation from the ol’ boy. Of course, as usual the wrong end of the stick was firmly seized by at least one of these communications.

My point about Facebook removing my posting of the naked white man being kicked and stoned to death by black youths, without intervention on an SA street, was not that it was actually taking place, but the fact that the FB site seems to allow the most horrendous acts by terrorist groups to remain, but deem it necessary to remove, and subsequently continue to sweep under the carpet, the desperate and totally unacceptable treatment of the white citizens who still live in these African countries.

Contrary to one of your letters, I do in fact know exactly what I am talking about. Not only do I receive weekly updates from friends in Africa, but I have also toured and lived for a while in both SA and Rhodesia/Zimbabwe;

21 - 27 July 2022

I rest my case experiencing the apartheid and also their so‐called liberated eras. Well I remember, during my trip to a then fairly young Zimbabwe, having local black residents furtively sidle up and inform me how much better their lives were under Mr Smith! At least during those far off days these countries prospered. Although the blacks were disgracefully oppressed and reduced to second class citizens in their own land, they did at least reap the benefits of the hard work, efforts and expertise of the white settlers; ie roofs over their heads, food on the table and schools for their children.

Both countries have since descended into utter anarchy under the jackboots of the ANC and the deceased despot Mugabe. Whites are afraid to shop or go into many public places alone. Muggings and robbery are the norm. Abduction, rapes and murders of whites are not even reported. Johannesburg has become the most dangerous city in the world.

Those whites, who have survived, are forced to live in virtual fortresses, with high walls topped by barbed wire and compounds patrolled by dogs,

backed up by armouries of firearms.

Farms seized by the authorities, once productive and highly successful, lie barren and unattended, while the ordinary local black citizens, most living in poverty and starvation, look helplessly on as the privileged few indulge themselves in lives of luxury and decadence, far in excess of the white politicians and leaders of yore.

And the world looks on and does precisely nothing. I rest my case.

Please, if you do feel the need to communicate, either by email or online, can you first make sure you actually understand my point and not merely pluck a couple of lines or phrases out purely to be unpleasant? It really is such an utter waste of precious time and energy. Keep ‘em coming however, I do peruse them all.

Hang in there.

Keep the faith.

Love Leapy leapylee2002@gmail.com

For more from our columnists please scan this QR Code

Leapy Lee’s opinions are his own and are not necessarily representative of those of the publishers, advertisers or sponsors.

EWN 35

FINANCE Another investment

STAT OF WEEK

€7 billion

euroweeklynews.com • 21 - 27 July 2022 is the amount that the main Spanish energy companies earn overseas so they believe that this will be protected from the new windfall tax.

“Too little, too late”

Credit: FESBAL Twitter

BUSINESS EXTRA

36

WHILST a rolling stone gathers no moss, a Spanish billionaire seems to be snapping up international real estate in the same way others buy pick n’ mix sweets. Latest news on Inditex founder Amancio Ortega says he will spend $500 million on a New York skyscraper.

Bitcoin loser

Amazon growth WITH an announcement that it plans to create a further 4,000 permanent jobs across the UK, online retail giant Amazon will move into the top 10 private sector employers in Britian as it brings its total staffing level to 75,000.

Madrid tax THOSE receiving an inheritance in the Autonomous Community of Madrid will pay less tax thanks to a decision by the local government which has extended the 25 per cent discount on inheritance tax to take into account siblings, cousins and uncles/aunts.

Canal success THE main contractor for the Panama Canal expansion works, Spanish company Sacyr, is undertaking its’ fifth contract in Colombia where it has secured a 15‐year contract to build and operate the Canal del Dique concession which is on the Rio Magdalena.

Food is still being distributed through Spanish food banks.

THE Spanish government has been accused of doing “too lit‐ tle, too late” in a critical report published by Human Rights Watch on July 13 with its re‐ sponse to the financial effect of the pandemic.

It concedes that at the start of the pandemic, the Spanish gov‐ ernment expanded existing un‐ employment support pro‐ grammes and introduced a new flagship social assistance pro‐ gramme.

It then says however, despite the government’s stated good in‐ tentions, existing weaknesses and flaws in the social security system, as well as problems in

the design of new forms of assis‐ tance, it meant that support fell short of what was needed.

Most damningly the report claims that as a result, “Spain’s government is failing its obliga‐ tions to protect and fulfil peo‐ ple’s rights to food and an ade‐ quate standard of living.

“The economic storm that came with the Covid‐19 pandem‐ ic wreaked havoc on the lives of people on low incomes in Spain, leaving households unable to af‐ ford food, even before the cur‐ rent cost‐of‐living crisis,” said Kartik Raj, Europe researcher at Human Rights Watch.

“Government efforts to supple‐

ment an inadequate social safety net have offered too little, too late, and to too few, meaning thousands of people still rely on emergency food aid and parents are skipping meals so their kids can eat,” he added.

People’s earnings dried up and they were left unable to afford food and other basic supplies.

Many faced delays receiving pan‐ demic‐linked furlough payments and responses to their social se‐ curity support applications.

There are currently 54 food banks throughout Spain coordi‐ nated by the Federación Españo‐ la de Bancos de Alimentos (FES‐ BAL)

Windfall taxes and more

ON July 12, during a ‘State of the Na‐ tion’ speech in the Cortes, Spanish President Pedro Sánchez announced the introduction of two temporary ‘windfall’ taxes which will hit energy companies and banks.

Intended to raise significant funds in tax years 2022 and 2023, the first tax will hit the extraordinary profits made by large electricity, gas and oil companies and is expected to amount to around €2 billion per each year.

In the case of banks, the exception‐ al additional taxation is forecast to add €1.5 billion per year to govern‐ ment coffers.

According to Sánchez, who will need to call a general election no lat‐

FINANCE

President Sánchez explained his latest plans.

er than December 10, 2023, he in‐ tends to do all he can to protect the middle and working classes.

He also announced discounts of up to 100 per cent for Renfe’s local, Ro‐ dalies and Media Distancia train tick‐ ets and promised that all Renfe mul‐

Credit: Pool Moncloa/Borja Puig de la Bellacasa

ONE of the big losers in the Bitcoin crash which has seen the value half since March is the government of El Salvador which unwisely decided in June 2021 that it would become legal tender in that country and now looks as if it could default on loans.

ti‐journey train tickets would be free of charge from September 1 to De‐ cember 31 this year.

The measure comes after a 50 per cent discount was approved in the last decree of anti‐crisis measures ap‐ proved by the Council of Ministers.

Another positive step for the young was the decision to create a supplementary scholarship of €100 per month for all students over 16 who already enjoy a scholarship, with the aim that no young person is forced to abandon studies out of ne‐ cessity.

Nearly a million students will re‐ ceive this extra financial support from September to December of this year.

Lazy Friday AS people became more used to working at home during the pandemic, the trend continued after the restrictions were lifted in the UK and many companies allowed their staff much more flexibility.

Lord Sugar made it clear that he opposed the con‐ cept of home working as creativity is generated by group interaction, but many companies still allowed staff to stay at home on a Friday.

One of those, Mike Ash‐ ley’s Frasers Group, has just decided that many of its staff appear to see Friday as more of a day for relaxation and posting on social media than for work and has therefore told them that they will have to all return to the office.

Guest workers L AT E S T S p a n i s h g o v e r n ‐ ment figures indicate that some 130,000 Ukrainian refugees have been wel‐ comed to the country since the Russian invasion.

With many of these new arrivals being well educat‐ ed and with a reasonable command of English, if not Spanish as yet, there was hope that many would be ideal to fill many of the roles where employers are desperate for staff.

The same figures howev‐ er reveal that only around 6.5 per cent of those who have arrived have actually found work and online site B u z z Fe e d s u g g e s t s t h a t one of the reasons is that some unscrupulous em‐ ployers are ignoring strict employment laws and of‐ fering long hours with low pay.

to read more FINANCE scan this QR Code

38 EWN

euroweeklynews.com

21 - 27 July 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 J ULY 18

COMPANY PRICE(P) 3I Group 1.202,50 Abrdn 156,95 Admiral Group 1.730,5 Anglo American 2.632,5 Antofagasta 1.033,50 Ashtead Group 3.861,0 Associated British Foods 1.612,5 AstraZeneca 11.244,0 Auto Trader Group Plc 589,80 Avast 522,40 Aveva 2.309,0 Aviva 394,18 B&M Europ Value Retail SA 390,20 BAE Systems 804,61 Bank VTB DRC 0,612 Barclays 154,26 Barratt Developments 479,80 Berkeley 4.011,0 BHP Billiton Ltd 2.122,00 BP 383,15 British American Tobacco 3.494,2 British Land Company 459,80 BT Group 176,50 Bunzl 2.931,5 Burberry Group 1.642,5 Carnival 694,4 Centrica 88,16 Coca Cola HBC AG 1.950,0 Compass 1.837,50 CRH 2.931,5 Croda Intl 6.854,0 DCC 5.250,0 Diageo 3.686,5 DS Smith 289,20 EasyJet 379,60 Experian 2.783,0 Ferguson 9.588,0 Flutter Entertainment 7.810,0 Fresnillo 659,41 Glencore 420,00 GSK plc 1.375,80 Halma 2.113,0 Hargreaves Lansdown 836,60 Hikma Pharma 1.706,50 HSBC 522,50 IAG 112,05 Imperial Brands 1.856,50 Informa 542,00

CHANGE(P) 1.203,00 157,30 1.828,5 2.642,5 1.038,50 3.903,0 1.621,5 11.248,0 592,40 542,80 2.315,0 399,70 390,30 806,80 0,612 154,46 486,70 4.048,0 2.137,00 386,85 3.501,5 462,10 176,70 2.944,0 1.643,0 698,6 89,42 1.961,0 1.861,00 2.956,0 6.942,0 5.286,0 3.687,0 289,30 385,00 2.786,0 9.676,0 7.838,0 659,41 423,41 1.440,00 2.124,0 838,60 1.711,00 524,10 113,48 1.867,50 545,00

% CHG. 1.194,50 154,50 1.691,5 2.604,0 1.020,00 3.843,0 1.606,0 11.044,0 578,20 522,40 2.266,0 392,00 386,60 795,20 0,612 151,46 475,00 3.948,0 2.114,00 380,00 3.460,0 458,00 171,60 2.913,0 1.600,5 686,0 86,30 1.932,0 1.836,00 2.926,0 6.750,0 5.240,0 3.650,0 285,00 375,60 2.754,0 9.530,0 7.726,0 650,78 414,40 1.372,00 2.099,0 824,20 1.694,50 520,00 111,34 1.839,50 540,60

NET VOL 78,12K 866,14K 311,22K 420,95K 239,11K 39,90K 50,77K 264,33K 245,87K 51,03K 16,50K 134,26K 205,74K 1,40M 0 6,93M 293,15K 32,20K 377,76K 3,75M 244,09K 140,23K 3,77M 29,55K 130,62K 103,04K 3,20M 49,31K 175,99K 89,88K 31,86K 38,53K 169,18K 358,55K 495,89K 161,98K 25,77K 23,40K 26,40K 884,93K 1,85M 57,43K 59,18K 25,64K 5,48M 2,02M 125,68K 109,44K

ºCOMPANY

PRICE(P)

InterContinental 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 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

4.689,0 1.381,50 4.399,1 65,54 216,00 2.093,0 677,20 248,30 43,00 7.754,0 789,80 162,55 1.475,50 1.107,00 219,60 6.368,0 1,89 786,80 1.780,0 594,90 1.001,50 6.432,0 2.305,72 514,20 600,20 4.726,5 90,43 0,75 680,60 1.176,50 2.752,0 806,40 1.022,50 2.797,0 2.044,5 1.165,50 1.478,50 10.810,0 1.777,78 1.156,50 565,80 118,85 260,20 130,75 3.916,5 1.028,00 129,96 2.625,0 805,20

CHANGE(P)

% CHG.

NET VOL

4.742,0 1.387,50 4.426,0 65,98 216,00 2.093,0 682,20 248,80 42,66 7.754,0 791,00 163,50 1.482,50 1.112,00 220,00 6.426,0 1,89 789,20 1.803,8 595,80 1.004,50 6.446,0 2.320,00 516,80 604,20 4.764,5 90,60 0,75 681,40 1.177,50 2.754,0 817,00 1.034,50 2.799,0 2.064,5 1.168,50 1.488,00 10.912,3 1.783,50 1.163,50 566,60 119,80 261,00 131,90 3.923,0 1.028,00 130,44 2.646,0 807,40

4.681,0 1.371,00 4.368,0 64,98 213,71 2.063,0 675,20 245,80 42,05 7.550,0 788,40 160,75 1.458,00 1.103,00 218,20 6.326,0 1,89 760,40 1.776,2 590,00 988,00 6.376,0 2.295,00 510,00 594,00 4.680,0 88,41 0,75 671,20 1.169,50 2.712,0 801,60 1.019,50 2.768,0 2.022,5 1.154,50 1.467,00 10.795,0 1.754,50 1.149,50 559,00 118,15 259,00 128,80 3.891,0 1.015,00 128,40 2.620,0 801,00

27,57K 26,22K 19,23K 377,66K 219,97K 31,14K 74,78K 977,45K 7,56M 33,09K 667,31K 2,11M 99,02K 317,27K 107,57K 15,42K 0 82,68K 18,79K 123,71K 438,11K 44,28K 271,24K 335,91K 200,37K 361,49K 2,57M 0 119,96K 1,72K 23,82K 609,49K 127,12K 12,44K 1,48M 195,86K 78,36K 0,45K 18,05K 80,66K 417,54K 566,47K 1,14M 539,18K 335,23K 91,27K 5,10M 22,41K 164,50K

1.17887

0.84808

Units per €

US dollar (USD) ........................................1.0148 Japan yen (JPY) .........................................139.9 Switzerland franc (CHF) ...........................0.9893 Denmark kroner (DKK) .............................7.4422 Norway kroner (NOK) ...............................10.284

currenciesdirect.com/moraira • Tel: +34 966 265 072 THE ABOVE TABLE USES THE CURRENT INTERBANK EXCHANGE RATES, WHICH AREN’T REPRESENTATIVE OF THE RATE WE OFFER

DOW JONES C LOSING P RICES J ULY 18

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 130,13 142,48 248,69 150,17 147,74 173,38 137,65 43,07 62,50 49,55 293,87 292,41 172,80 139,92 38,62 178,23 112,95 255,01 94,96 256,72 104,70 145,07 167,38 156,18 529,75 51,02 210,04 38,03 129,07 95,20

CHANGE +1,82 +6,00 +3,10 +1,70 +0,59 +3,44 +1,71 +0,74 +0,32 +0,65 +12,28 +2,93 +3,29 +0,86 +0,91 +2,55 +4,95 +2,41 +1,08 +2,64 +1,48 -0,20 +6,34 +0,50 +27,32 +0,53 +4,13 +1,17 +1,25 +3,36

CHANGE% VOLUME(M) +1,42% 2,64M +4,40% 3,28M +1,26% 2,80M +1,15% 75,39M +0,40% 7,90M +2,02% 2,28M +1,26% 6,92M +1,75% 19,61M +0,51% 11,35M +1,33% 4,81M +4,36% 3,40M +1,01% 2,64M +1,94% 2,19M +0,62% 4,46M +2,41% 30,16M +1,45% 5,49M +4,58% 18,48M +0,95% 2,62M +1,15% 9,62M +1,04% 29,24M +1,43% 7,63M -0,14% 6,18M +3,94% 5,83M +0,32% 1,56M +5,44% 5,65M +1,05% 12,92M +2,01% 7,21M +3,17% 7,45M +0,98% 6,99M +3,66% 14,39M M - MILLION DOLLARS

NASDAQ C LOSING P RICES J ULY 18

COMPANY

CHANGE NET / %

VOLUME

+175.91% +72.41% +54.60% +40.60% +38.89% +32.23% +31.56% +30.71% +30.00% +29.41% +28.30%

104.36M 73.87M 10.56K 732.37K 9.16M 0.53K 116.68K 25.14M 1.02M 139.54K 2.99M

-44.74% -33.54% -30.04% -28.94% -27.81% -24.96% -22.37% -21.92% -21.38% -19.95% -19.87%

13.15M 504.96K 9.05M 1.84M 1.27M 19.11K 9.18M 8.31K 17.35M 78.39K 1.76M

Most Advanced United Maritime Vertical Aerospace ITHAX Acquisition ITHAX Acquisition Nymox Pharmaceutical Gold Royalty Wnt Vigil Neuroscience Cemtrex Auddia Clever Leaves Holdings Powerbridge

Most Declined Codexis Capstone Green Energy Synthetic Biologics Bimi International Medical Swvl Holdings Austerlitz Acquisition II Wnt COMSovereign Holding COMSovereign Holding Prf A First Wave BioPharma ProKidney ATI Physical Therapy

euroweeklynews.com

21 - 27 July 2022

Inflation fears SPEAKING to radio station RNE on July 14, Spanish Economy Minister Nadia Calviño admitted that the government will have to raise its inflation forecast as June results were the highest for almost 40 years although she believes that it will fall towards the end of summer.

Climate change AS part of its commitment to sustainability, the Span‐ ish government is one of the first in the world to commit money to the newly created Resilience and Sustainability Trust set up by the International Monetary Fund. A total of €1.86 billion will go to help poorer countries address climate change.

Exchange rate CAUSED mainly by energy prices and record inflation in Europe, for the first time since 2002, the euro has fallen in value against the US dollar and stands very close to a one for one level which may help exports to the USA.

CBD sweeties YEARS ago, visitors to Ams‐ terdam used to enjoy Cannabis Cookies in coffee shops, not for the medical advantages but simply to get high.

Now in the UK, subject to strict guidelines, CBD prod‐ ucts which contain signifi‐ cant volumes of CBD which it is claimed is good for your health and no THC which is what gives the cannabis high have been made legal.

Latest fashion for those who don’t just want to put oil on your tongue is CBD sweets which come in a range of sizes, colours, shapes and prices but are only supposed to be used by those over 18, even though manufacturers claim that it is impossible to overdose.

Atlético Madrid deal

WHALEFIN is the new sponsor of Atlético Madrid first team jersey in a deal between the football club and the platform of global digital asset management giant Amber Group.

Amber Group, in addi‐ tion, becomes Official Digi‐ tal Wealth and Digital Lifestyle Partner of the club within the framework of a five‐season agreement for an undisclosed sum.

As Amber Group acceler‐ ates the growth of WhaleFin, its consumer business, the company said that it will benefit from sig‐ nificant branding exposure, extending the influence of Atlético de Madrid from the stadium and into the metaverse.

Through what it calls the ‘Atletiverse’ Amber con‐ firmed that fans can expect one‐of‐a‐kind experiences for the club’s fan commu‐ nity as they will be able to engage with like‐minded fans from all over the world in the metaverse,

Credit: Atlético Madrid Twitter

BUSINESS EXTRA

NEW SPONSOR: Latest signing Axel Witsel with club president Enrique Cerezo.

and discover the utility of digital assets in both the virtual and real world.

Additionally, the Atlético de Madrid Foundation will work with the Amber Group to launch sustain‐ ability and corporate social responsibility initiatives in‐ cluding the implementa‐ tion of local campaigns for

education in sustainability and conservation.

Speaking on July 11, Michael Wu, Chief Execu‐ tive Officer of Amber Group, said: “This multi‐ year partnership is a mon‐ umental moment for Am‐ ber Group, and we are proud to be partnering with Atlético de Madrid,

one of the top football clubs in Spain and Europe.”

Miguel Ángel Gil, Chief Executive Officer of Atléti‐ co de Madrid, said: “Today is a significant day for the future of Atlético de Madrid, as we join forces with a global leading com‐ pany in the digital finance space.”

Consumer Price Increase

AS previously forecast, Spain saw a price increase of 10.2 per cent in the month of June according to a release from the National Statistics Institute on Wednesday, July 13.

Spain’s National Statistics Institute (INE) confirmed the price increase in June was due to sharp rises in petrol, food and electricity prices.

Accommodation and hotels were also included in the reason for the price increase, although they report‐ edly played a lesser role.

The INE validated the data that was already advanced at the end of last month, which also reflected a sharp rise in products with traditionally more stable prices (core underlying prices) of 5.5 per cent, the highest since August 1993.

According to the INE website the Consumer Price Index (CPI) is a “sta‐ tistical measure of the evolution of the prices of goods and services con‐ sumed by the population residing in family dwellings in Spain.”

FINANCE

Credit: Mercadona

40 EWN

NEW DATA: Consumer spend highlights price increases.

The set of goods and services, which make up ‘the shopping bas‐ ket’, are basically obtained from household consumption, with the im‐ portance of each one of them in the calculation of the CPI being deter‐ mined by consumption.

The method of calculation was changed in 2002 and changes intro‐

duced in this system have made the CPI a more dynamic indicator, which is better adapted to market develop‐ ments, as the calculations can be up‐ dated more frequently.

In addition, new products can be included in ‘the shopping basket’ as soon as their consumption becomes significant.

FINANCE

Spanish growth POLISH company Pepco which owns Poundland in the UK has seen consider‐ able growth in the last quar‐ ter and on Thursday July 14 announced its plans for Spanish expansion.

The company said “in March 2022, we launched a trial in Spain offering the full range of Pepco clothing, Pepco GM and FMCG across selected stores.

“The trial has gone excep‐ tionally well, and we have been encouraged by the ini‐ tial response of customers with a significant increase in customer satisfaction.

“We have therefore de‐ cided that this destination format is the best way for‐ ward for our customers in the Spanish market.

“We will be converting our existing Dealz stores in Spain to Pepco stores.”

The company also looks to expand further in the growing Spanish market

Chapter 11 ON June 12, 2022, Celsius Network, an American based cryptocurrency plat‐ form which facilitated in‐ vestment and loans using different cryptocurrency announced that it would pause all withdrawals, Swap, and transfers to sta‐ bilise the business and pro‐ tect customers.

Then on July 14 it an‐ nounced that it was to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection which means that its creditors may not take action to recover debts for a period of time whilst the business at‐ tempts to restructure.

This is not an unusual ac‐ tion in the USA and many large companies including American Airlines, General Motors, Hertz, and Marvel have taken this step and then emerged stronger and able to continue to trade and satisfy cus‐ tomers and shareholders.

to read more FINANCE scan this QR Code

42 EWN

euroweeklynews.com

21 - 27 July 2022

FEATURE

Let’s ban worthless words! words routinely is in order. There must be a James Bond villain capa‐ ble of carrying this out. THAT would BREAKING VIEWS be ‘epic’.

Nora is the author of popular psychological Additionally, I suggest banning the suspense and crime thrillers and a freelance journalist. menu terms ‘pan‐fried’ and ‘oven‐ DO some overused roasted’. Pans and words annoy you? Words ovens are the normal like ‘iconic’? Followed by way to fry and roast ‘legendary’ as in the leg‐ food. If restaurants endary Elton John who, keep this up, we’ll as far as I know, is real soon have ‘waitress‐ unlike the legendary served’ and ‘somme‐ King Arthur and the lier‐poured’.

Knights of the Round Speaking of food, Table. People use these reminds me of an ad words without knowing I saw in the ‘leg‐ what they originally endary’ Exchange meant. and Mart: ‘Pure bred And let’s not forget Bulldog for sale. Will that most sacrosanct of eat anything. Ex‐ words: ‘Epic’. I thought tremely fond of chil‐ Ulysses’ Odyssey was dren’.

Nora’s latest thriller. ‘epic’, but so, too, seem‐ Nora Johnson’s ingly, was Will Smith critically acclaimed slapping Chris Rock. Yes, an epic of psychological crime thrillers two minutes is equal to The Trojan (www.nora‐johnson.net) all avail‐ War of 10 years. Time flies or, ap‐ able online including eBooks parently, does not: it stands still and (€0.99;£0.99), Apple Books, audio‐ still becomes ‘epic’. I think a mind books, paperbacks at Amazon etc. wipe of everyone who uses these Profits to Cudeca cancer charity.

NORA JOHNSON

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

44 EWN

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21 - 27 July 2022

IT’S important to take care of your skin, especially in sum‐ mer when it’s exposed to the sun’s harsh UV rays. It’s also nice to have that golden, dewy glow that’s not just shimmering sweat from the high temperatures! Here are some tips to take care of your skin this summer.

Starting from basics, it’s im‐ portant to have a good face wash that’s appropriate for your skin and the hotter sum‐ mer weather. Consider that humidity causes your skin to produce more oil when shop‐ ping for your daily cleanser.

Those with oily skin natural‐ ly can be prone to more acne during summer because your pores get more clogged. A cleanser that contains salicylic acid will help with this.

If your skin is dry you may

SUNSCREEN Apply at least twice a day if you are outside in the sun.

Image – Suncream: Cast Of Thousands/shutterstock.com

Saving your skin this summer

experience redness and rash‐ es in summer. A non‐soapy face wash will work wonders for you in summer.

And do NOT forget your sunscreen! Excessive UV expo‐ sure can permanently dam‐ age your skin and cause pre‐ mature ageing. Apply an SPF 30 sun cream at least twice a day if you’re outside in the

sun.

Use shade, wear brimmed hats, clothing that covers, and sunscreen with at least SPF 15 for sun protection. Use insect repellent and wear long‐ sleeved shirts and long pants to prevent mosquito bites and ticks. Tip ‐ apply sunscreen be‐ fore insect repellent!

Get up and go! Get at least 150 minutes of aerobic physi‐ cal activity every week and reap the benefits of better sleep and reduced anxiety.

Eat healthy foods like deli‐ cious fruits and veggies, and make sure to drink plenty of water to keep hydrated.

Avoid sugary or alcoholic drinks and, if you are drinking alcohol, alternate it between water. Add slices of fruit to water for a refreshing, low‐ calorie drink!

HEALTH & BEAUTY

By Clinica Britannia

For a brighter, whiter smile ALMOST everyone will tell you that they want to have brighter whiter teeth that makes them exude confidence every time they smile or laugh.

Having tooth whitening treatment with a Dental professional can give you just that.

We all experience some teeth darkening or discolouring at some point, this can be due to food and drink, medica‐ tion, or just general age‐ ing. Fortunately, now it’s easy to reverse these is‐ sues.

Professional tooth whitening is a permanent non‐invasive dental cos‐ metic procedure that can have a powerful impact on your overall appear‐ ance. Giving you that daz‐ zling smile, you are look‐

TEETH WHITENING: Give yourself a boost for summer.

ing for can increase your confidence no end.

The treatment can be performed both in‐office by using a powerful and effective gel or in the comfort of your own home with custom made trays and gel. With pro‐ fessional treatment you will not suffer any dam‐ age or sacrifice the strength of your tooth enamel.

Results can be seen within as little as an hour, you can expect your teeth to become up to 10 shades lighter than the original colour.

If you want to give your confidence a boost now summer is here, then contact your Dentist who can give advice on what tooth whitening method would be best suited to you.

HEALTH & BEAUTY to read more Health & Beauty scan this QR Code

46 EWN

21 - 27 July 2022

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HEALTH & BEAUTY

The science behind freckles

It’s summer and that means it’s freckle season!

THE cute, scattering of brown spots which can occur on your face and other parts of your body are dependent on your skin’s levels of melanin

pigmentation and how much exposure to sun you get. If you are prone to freckles, the more time you spend in the sun, the more freck‐

les you’ll probably have.

Freckles can also be due to genetics. No one is born with freckles, but they are usually most prominent during childhood and more likely to fade as we get older.

The MC1R gene, which is why some people have freckles is the same gene which deter‐ mines people’s red hair colour. This protein sits on the outside of melanocytes where part of its job is to make sure that there is a cer‐ tain balance of pig‐ ments in hair and skin.

This is why those with red hair and fair skin are amongst the most likely to develop freck‐ les.

Freckles or no freck‐ les, it’s still important to wear sun cream and have a good skin‐care routine.

HEALTH & BEAUTY

euroweeklynews.com

By Clinica Britannia

Advanced dental treatment I HAVE recently moved areas and am looking to register with a new Dentist, is this an easy process?

When searching for a new Dental professional it is im‐ portant to take various things into consideration. Look for a Dentist that can offer ad‐ vanced dental treatment at a realistic and affordable price.

It is important that your Dentist can fully explain what treatment plan is necessary, helping you to feel at ease es‐ pecially if you are a nervous patient. Check that the quality of the materials used are of a high standard, and if they of‐ fer a guarantee on work car‐ ried out.

Your Dentist should be able to offer the latest x‐ray tech‐ nology to enable for an in‐ depth check‐up of your teeth, jawbone, and gums, especial‐

DENTAL PROFESSIONAL: To give you that perfect smile.

ly for implant surgeries.

New Dental Check List • Denture repairs within the hour.

• Specialised Dentists working in a team.

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• Amazing quality/price ra‐ tio.

After choosing your Den‐ tist, book for a free first con‐ sultation so you can get to know the team, they can give their professional advice on what dental treatment is nec‐ essary to give you that perfect smile.

Appointments Landline: 965 837 553 / 965 837 851 • 24H/365D Emergency Number: (+34) 607 255 755 • Opening Times: Mon - Fri: 9:00am / 5:00pm

Clinica Britannia Calpe Av. Ejercitos Españoles 16 BIS, 1st Floor, Calpe

21 - 27 July 2022

EWN 47

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21 - 27 July 2022

Silly season is starting MIKE SENKER IN MY OPINION

Views of a Grumpy Old Man I’M so pleased Boris has been kicked out as Prime Minister. What amazes me is how he got the job in the first place. The man has cheated and lied through every single job.

He cheats on his wife, has been nicked for breaking Covid rules that he put in place the list is endless.

When I had my business and had to fire someone, it didn’t matter at what level they were in the company, they were given notice and sent home immediately. No way would they be allowed to stay in the premises for another three months. It’s crazy but that’s politics for you. It will be interesting to see who takes over. The bar has been set pretty low as far as I’m concerned.

Silly season is about to start. Already the parking has become almost impossible on the paseo; it’s hard to get tables in your favourite restaurants, the families walking four across on the pavement, the people using the swimming pool at 11 o’clock at night. A family renting in our block insist on hanging

their washing over the balcony with ample sized underwear tied to the security bars on the windows - lovely. Oh well it’s only for six weeks then back to a bit of sanity.

I’ve had a few emails asking for the story I forgot to tell the other week. Buying a stick of dowel recently reminded me of my first metalwork class at secondary school when I was 11. We had to make a name tag which consisted of cutting a bit of metal, filing it down and punching your initials on it.

I’ve never been very good at this stuff and always looked for shortcuts. In this case, instead of filing it I hit it with a hammer and made a complete mess of it. At the end of the lesson the teacher said I should go and show it to the woodwork teacher and whilst I was there ask for a stick of dowel. Me, like a mug, had no idea what it was.

The woodwork teacher just smiled and gave me this thin stick of wood. I took it back and was promptly told to bend over the anvil and then I realised what was going to happen. The first of many canings I got at school. If that was to happen today they would go to prison, but back then the sadistic b******s got away with it.

Email: mikesenker@gmail.com

Mike’s opinions are his own and are not necessarily representative of those of the publishers, advertisers or sponsors.

FEATURE

New life for furniture UPCYCLING is all about get‐ ting thrifty and doing some‐ thing hands‐on, either as a way to save money or as a form of artistic therapy. In these days of rising costs, it’s becoming necessary to re‐use and recycle, before spending your hard earned cash.

It may sound like a daunt‐ ing word to some, but it cov‐ ers all manner of projects; from simply painting a pic‐ ture frame, to reupholstering an armchair.

If you don’t already have a favourite piece at home to use, check out local charity shops and car boot sales to find a project to work on.

Choose the correct grain of sandpaper depending on your surface ‐ a fine grain will be suitable for a quick rub down, but you may need a medium or very abrasive grain if old paintwork needs to be removed.

Primer can be coated over most surfaces to give it a smooth finish that paint will adhere to evenly. Furniture

Credit: Robert Kneschke/shutterstock

48 EWN

UPCYCLING FURNITURE: The fun way to save money.

or chalk paints are perfect for adding colour to your piece.

To add decorative touches to your piece, consider using stencils to apply a pattern or motif. Look out for vintage or quirky handles for dressing tables and wardrobe doors, to change the look.

Have fun giving new life to old pieces.

Building a happy home MANY people do not think that their home serves their mental and well‐being needs. To clear your mind, it is rec‐ ommended that you clear your space. Banish clutter and throw out anything which is broken, unloved, saved just in case or which we feel obliged to keep because it was a gift.

This process may be difficult, but once done you will feel the benefits.

Start by clearing your wardrobe, and giving anything you haven’t worn, for six months or more, to the local charity shop.

Take four boxes, and label them: rubbish; donate; keep; relocate. Then go through each room, placing everything in the room in one of the boxes. Allocate five minutes each day to go through areas that are the most cluttered, and get rid of unused or unnecessary items.

Finally, take a photo of your room before, and after you have decluttered. Once you see the difference in one ‐ you will want to continue organising the whole house.

LETTERS

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EWN 49

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.

AMAZING DIATRIBE I HAVE just read the col‐ umn penned by Mr Lee in your newspaper (30.06.22) and was amazed at the diatribe this individual had written. He is however a clever man and wrote it in such a way as to give him plausible deniability should any group or individual take offence, all we know is that some ‘UK left wing’ is considered by him as be‐ yond the pale.

He hints at the possibili‐ ty he is talking of the Labour party although he does not say so outright nor mention the election. except to say the elec‐ torate which is anyone over the age of 18 who is a UK citizen. He then casti‐ gates the media, specifi‐ cally television presum‐ ably for showing what is actually happening and not toeing the ‘Brexit is Best’ line. I can only as‐ sume from his comments in the third paragraph that he is happy with the lead‐ er of the British govern‐ ment lying to the house.

Then comes the mo‐ ment we all were expect‐ ing, he mentions the two world wars and the deaths of his UK ancestors seem‐ ingly having forgotten that many more people of oth‐ er nations died for his right to say whatever he likes.

Final comment. If you are proud of the welfare state that Britain has and of the National Health Ser‐ vice and membership of NATO, then thank the Labour government of Clement Attlee who, while they were in power from

1945 to 1951, set these up and much more for the benefit of the British peo‐ ple.

G Harley

George Peretz’, opinions are on the current shambles six years on.

Laurence Patterson.

Cortijo de Raton

View on Brexit

Thank you

I have come across an arti‐ cle from your edition dated March 24 to 30, 2016 entitled Brexit, a view from a QC spe‐ cialising in EU law. In view of the absolute mess Brexit has made to people and busi‐ nesses, both here in Spain and the UK, I was wondering what your correspondent,

Hello again. I don’t sup‐ pose for one minute my let‐ ter had any influence on you but thank you SO MUCH for bringing back the crossword after a gap of many weeks.

I was thrilled to see it pub‐ lished once again this week.

Thank you again Lyn Ferris, Vera Playa

OUR VIEW ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM NOW that the bullfighting season in Andalucia has returned again, with fights in Estepona and La Linea de la Frontera already having taken place it is probably time to consider whether this is a barbaric spectacle or is part of Spain’s Heritage.

It was in 2013 that bullfighting was officially declared as being an important part of the country’s heritage by the then ruling Partido Popular and perhaps surprisingly after declaring that most animals are sentient beings with rights, the current coalition government has done nothing to reverse the official support of bullfighting.

Some autonomous communities have chosen to ban bullfighting completely and some bullrings, such as one in Marbella have been recommissioned as places for entertainment but during the summer, Andalucia, Almeria, Murcia, Palma de Mallorca and many other regions will see bullfights taking place as part of annual fiestas.

This whole matter is controversial and many supporters say that those who have settled in the country or are holidaymakers don’t actually have the right to criticise how Spain is run and just don’t understand the importance it has to the Spanish psyche.

Opponents respond that this is more like the days of the Roman Empire where defenceless Christians were slaughtered in front of baying crowds and to gain pleasure from watching a bull being tormented and then killed is not a spectacle to be allowed.

It does seem, however, that at present bullfighting will keep going for some time.

EUROWEEKLYNEWS.COM

CALL OUR MULTILINGUAL TEAM FOR AN INFORMAL CHAT ABOUT A VERY PERSONAL TOPIC. 966 493 082

FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE SPONSOR GO TO WWW.LINEADIRECTA.COM

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IN January, we saw the first of a number of controversial deci‐ sions in banning players be‐ cause of their beliefs. The Aus‐ tralian Immigration Ministry decided to ban Djokovic, nine times winner and current hold‐ er of the Australian title, be‐ cause he refused to compro‐ mise his body with a Covid vaccination. They issued him a visa, then cancelled it and de‐ ported him during the tourna‐ ment.

While it is true that the play‐ er may have misled the authori‐ ties about his whereabouts in the weeks preceding his arrival in Australia, it was mismanaged badly and effectively handed to Nadal a title that Djokovic would probably have won. Sub‐ sequently and predictably win‐ ning Roland Garros put Nadal two ahead in the Majors race.

But then, once again, Nadal’s health issues intervened and a kind of rough justice (abdomi‐

FEATURE

SPORT, POLITICS AND DISCRIMINATION Credit: Stabroeck News

DAVID WORBOYS

Photo credits: Latintimes

52 EWN

DKOKOVIC AND MEDVEDEV: Banned from Grand Slams for different reasons.

nal pains) left the field clear for Djokovic at Wimbledon.

Discussions about who is the GOAT always focus on who is the MPGSW. But the Most Pro‐ lific Grand Slam Winner is not necessarily the greatest player.

The most obvious reason for this is the issue of health, fit‐ ness and injury. Murray and Del Potro are two great examples of this. And Nadal has had to withdraw from dozens of tour‐ naments including numerous Grand Slam events during his 20 year career. He has thus

been denied several more titles by injuries. From an elbow in‐ jury withdrawal in 2003 to back, wrist, foot, recurring knee and now abdominal problems, he possibly could and should have won almost 30 majors by now.

I have supported Nadal for 20 years because I find him a bet‐ ter player to watch than Djokovic. The Serb’s great de‐ fence and return of service give him mastery at negating his op‐ ponent’s game. This does not make him the greatest player,

although he could well become the most successful in the men’s game.

Over three years ago I decid‐ ed that, when Nadal retires, I will support Medvedev, a highly watchable and engaging player.

And this brings us to Wimble‐ don and the All England Lawn Tennis Club.

He and his compatriot Rublev were banned from the Champi‐ onships, not because of failure to comply with any rules, not because of any misde‐ meanours, but simply on the

grounds of nationality. This is very different from hiding the nationality of Russian competi‐ tors on score sheets. It is also not the same as banning Rus‐ sian teams. And ironically and rightly, the Russian Rybakina was allowed to compete ‐ and she won the title!

The banning of world number one, Medvedev is ill‐conceived and has left the Wimbledon committee looking idiotic. This is blatant discrimination ‐ not racist, but political. While the ATP, WTA and ITF responded fairly by freezing the points sys‐ tem, they are powerless to con‐ trol the award of titles.

It now remains to be seen whether the unvaccinated Djokovic will be permitted to enter the US to try to equal Nadal’s 22 major trophies.

For more from our columnists please scan this QR Code

YOU might love sleeping under‐ fee will conjure up images of neath the stars, but if you wake up golden Californian sunshine every day craving your daily on your first sip and Mt Ha‐ cup’o’Joe, you might be a little gen is reasonably priced worried about how easy it will be and so worth a try for to get your caffeine hit out in na‐ caffeine craving ture without a Starbucks in sight. campers!

Instant coffee is going to be your best friend. I know you might be thinking ‘don’t be ridiculous, that instant rubbish has nothing on my caramel Frappuccino or chai latte’ and you’d be forgiven for your scepticism. Instant coffee can be very hit and miss.

However, innovation in the world of instant coffee recently means there are loads more options for your daily caffeine hit… which are actually nice!

Brands like Alpine Start, created by a climber and foodie offers Dirty Chai Latte and Coffee with Creamer options.

Gourmet coffee company Voila In‐ stant coffee partner with local coffee roasters to match that authentic coffee flavour.

INSTANT COFFEE: Can be very hit and miss.

Verve instant cof‐

Subbotina Anna/shutterstock.com

Perfect campsite coffee

Camp cooking YOU’VE found the perfect spot to pitch your tent, and you’re looking forward to relaxing un‐ der the stars or in the glow of the late after‐ noon summer sun.

The last thing you want is to spend ages cooking an elaborate meal when you’re starv‐ ing and don’t have the resources to whip up a multi‐course feast. Instead, try these quick and easy camping meal ideas.

A great option is nachos, especially if you’re sharing with a bunch of hungry campers! People can even switch up the top‐ ping to suit their tastes.

Pad‐thai is another flavourful option. For ease make the sauce at home beforehand,

CAMP FOOD: Try something different.

then all you need to do is mix the sauce with your choice of meat and veg in a pan and serve with noodles cooked in the sauce.

For something you can just throw in the camping fire, try foil wrapped sweet potatoes served with chilli and herbs for a delicious and pretty hands‐off camping meal!

Camping El Pino, Malaga IF you fancy camping in sunny southern Spain, there are a range of great campsights to choose from. One of the nicest is Camping El Pino in Torrox‐ Costa, and surrounded by avocado groves, perfect for all those hipster trav‐ ellers!

The site is old but well maintained and is sur‐ rounded by gorgeous

views of the countryside.

With 290 pitches, you won’t have to worry too much about getting a spot but it’s still a good idea to book up early. If a tent isn’t really your vibe, there are also 57 mobile homes and chalets to choose from.

The site is open all year round, so it’s a good idea to go off‐season to secure your place. It’s Andalucia,

so no need to worry about it not being sunny, even if it’s not the summer sea‐ son!

The campsite also has facilities on site such as a bar, a swimming pool (per‐ fect for the children), a table tennis and free wifi and electrical points throughout.

Contact: +34 953 530 006

Image – Camp Cooking: Monkey Business Images/shutterstock.com

David Worboys’s opinions are his own and are not necessarily representative of those of the publishers, advertisers or sponsors.

54 EWN

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21 - 27 July 2022

PETS

The domestication of dogs DOGS are an animal that have lived with humans for thou‐ sands of years. Whilst there are many different breeds

and types of dog, all of them belong to the same species.

Numerous genetic studies lo‐ cate the origin of the domesti‐

cation of dogs in south‐east Asia around 33,000 years ago.

Through thousands of years of evolution in this part of

Asia, a subgroup of dogs mi‐ grated towards the Middle East, Africa and Europe.

The domestication of this species has always been pre‐ sented as a two‐stage pro‐ cess. First, the primitive dogs were domesticated from their wild ancestor, the wolf, with which dogs share 98 per cent of their genome.

They belong to a group of

Image – Wolves: Tomas Hejlek/shutterstock.com

DOGS: Have been around for years. carnivores divided into 38 species, which includes wolves, dogs, and jackals, amongst others.

In the second stage, these

dogs were bred to form differ‐ ent breeds with specific abili‐ ties and morphology to be‐ come the household pets we know and love today.

Small pets perfect for you

MANY people would love a pet to keep them company and on whom they can shower love and affection.

However, pets can be quite a big commitment and take up a lot of our time, especial‐ ly animals like dogs which need regular walks and love human attention.

Instead, you could get a pet like a rabbit. They are still social and friendly and love human companionship, but they sleep in their own hutch and tend to take up a lot less space than a dog! They tend to live for around seven to 10 years so make sure you’re sure if adopting a bunny into your home, but they’re great for kids as they’re not too small so as to get scared by excited children and they’ll love being stroked.

PETS PAGE

Birds can also be a nice pet to have and a lovely, colour‐ ful addition to your family, es‐ pecially if you opt for a par‐ rot. Like rabbits, they can be kept in their own enclosure so they don’t have the run of your whole home and they can be a really good compan‐ ions if you want someone to talk to. However, bear in mind that birds are flock ani‐ mals and so they like to live

together. If you’re thinking of adopting one, they’re best kept in pairs.

Hamsters are ideal for those who want a furry com‐ panion but have quite a busy lifestyle. They sleep during the day so they won’t take up too much of your time but will be happy to have a cud‐ dle and a run around in the evening when you get back from work or school!

Advertising Feature

Preventing Bloat in dogs GASTRIC dilation volvulus is a life‐threatening disorder that happens when a dog’s stomach fills with gas and becomes twisted. Also known as BLOAT due to clinical signs.

B: breathing problems L: large stomach O: over production of saliva T: Trying to vomit.

We really don’t know why BLOAT happens, but anxiety and diet are triggers. Exercises are discouraged immediately before or after eating. Any dog can have bloat, but it’s much more common in deep‐chested types. Some breeds are at a higher risk than others, including Great Danes, Gordon Setters, Irish Setters, Weimaraners, and St Bernards.

BLOAT happens when a dog’s stomach fills with gas, food or fluid, making it expand. The stomach puts pressure on other organs. It can cause dangerous problems. The dog’s stomach will rotate or twist and traps blood in the stomach and blocks it from returning to the heart and other areas of the body. This can send your dog into shock. If it is, your dog will have emer‐ gency surgery to untwist it and put it back in its normal posi‐ tion. The vet also will fix the stomach to prevent GSV in the fu‐ ture.

There are ways you can keep it from happening to your dog: ‐ Avoid exercise immediately before or after eating. ‐ Feed several times a day in moderate amounts instead of one large meal. ‐ For predisposed breeds, the stomach can be surgically fixed to prevent twisting. This surgery can be done laparoscop‐ ically avoiding large wounds.

In Costablanca Norte: Anicura Marina Baixa Hospital Veterinario www.veterinariamarinabaixa.com

to read more PETS scan this QR Code

56 EWN

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21 - 27 July 2022

AIR CONDITIONING

AIRPORT TRANSFERS

POOL SERVICES

SOLAR ENERGY

PLUMBERS

SERVICES

SERVICES

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REMOVALS & STORAGE

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REMOVALS & STORAGE

INSURANCE

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SERVICES

SERVICES

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REMOVALS & STORAGE

INSURANCE

TV & SATELLITE

EWN 59

CLASSIFIEDS AIR CONDITIONING

CHARITY

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THE SALVATION ARMY English Speaking Church of Denia Worship Service. Sunday 10.30 am Followed by a time of Fellowship Everyone is welcome. Come as you are!

For more information: Dieter Zimmerer +34 698 609 658 or Barbara Zimmerer +34 652 319 810 Email dieterzimmer er@hotmail.com, www.cen trosaron.com (10008) www.helpbenidorm.org and on Facebook VOLUNTEERS NEEDED, particularly Spanish speakers for interpreter service, and car owners. Tel President 607 387 040, Welfare 607 386 964, Interpreters 607 385 842, Equipment 663 495 396. We are an English speaking charity that assists residents and tourists of all nationalities in times of crisis, we also organise social events for members.

We meet every Thursday at 10.30 in Jose Llorca Social Centre C. Goya s/n. Benidorm.

It is opposite the Foietes Car Park where there is a Wednesday market. Everyone welcome. It is 400m from Benidorm tram station and on bus routes 1 and 8. We loan out mobility and medical equipment including oxygen concentrators on a short-term basis. (288658)

CHURCHES ENGLISH church in Benidorm – check out our website www.eng lishchurchbenidorm.com (294634)

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MOTORING

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21 - 27 July 2022

MOTORING

Audi A1 - an accomplished and entertaining drive ROAD TEST

by Mark Slack WHEN you think of Audi its SUVs, sports cars and luxury saloons spring to mind. However, the renowned German car maker does produce a small hatchback that is arguably a forgotten member of the Audi sales brochures.

The A1 is a five‐door hatchback with just two engine options in three power outputs and four trim levels. The model nomenclature of Audi is without doubt one of the most confusing and bears no resemblance to the engine size. My test model was a 30 TFSi which actually translates into a 1.0‐litre, three‐ cylinder petrol tur‐ bocharged unit.

This 1.0‐litre unit forms

the bulk of the A1 power units and comes in various power outputs and there is also a 1.5‐litre four‐ cylinder unit de‐ veloping 150PS. There are five and six‐speed manual gearboxes plus a sev‐ en‐speed S‐ Tronic auto‐ matic.

Standard fare on the lead‐in model is good with all the essentials provided and priced from €24,582/£20,840 with equipment such as LED lights, powered heated and folding door mirrors, light and rain sensors, air conditioning and smart‐ phone connectivity.

My test model was the Black Edition with 110PS 1.0‐litre power unit mat‐ ed to the S‐Tronic auto‐

MOTORING

Facts at a Glance

Not just another small hatchback.

matic. With optional paintwork and extra cost option packs the price of my test car rises from €31,294/£26,530 to €36,800/£31,195.

Inside the A1 has all the usual Audi qualities with a premium feel, nice finishes on the dash‐ board and despite some hard plastics at lower levels you just know this

is no bargain basement model.

Buttons rather than digi‐ tisation makes a wel‐ come change inside the A1, and another bonus is the ease with which you can switch off the overly interventionist lane‐keep and other supposed driv‐ er assistance features.

On the road the A1 is an accomplished drive with particularly sharp steering so twisting roads can be very enjoyable. In auto‐ matic form the perfor‐

Model: Audi A1 Black Edition 30 TFSi S-Tronic Engine: 1.0-litre, 3-cylinder, turbo, petrol Gears: 7-Speed automatic Performance: 0-100 kmh (62 mph) 10.6 seconds/Maximum Speed 202 kmh (126 mph) Economy: 5.08l/100km (46.3mpg) Combined driving (WLTP) Emissions: 139 g/km (WLTP) Model tested was UK-specification and equipment levels and prices may vary in other markets.

mance is adequate rather than exciting, the manual gearbox offers a slightly more sparkling perfor‐ mance.

That said the automatic is still very entertaining and takes the strain from urban traffic commutes.

Rough roads show up the firmness of the suspen‐ sion but the handling does add to the entertainment on cross country drives.

Overall, this is a really nice, driveable and largely practical, given its size, car. Unsurprisingly, given we’re talking Audi, there’s a premium feel and every‐ thing just works.

Competitors arguably offer better value on price point versus equip‐ ment but those four rings on the grille signify this is‐ n’t just another small hatchback.

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MOTORING

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21 - 27 July 2022

NEITHER inflation nor the continued rise in fuel prices are stopping Spaniards from travelling by car. The Direc‐ torate General of Traffic (DGT) expects 44 million journeys to be made in the month of July alone. This shows that the pri‐ vate car is the preferred means of transport for Spaniards in summer.

To ensure that this large flow of vehicles on the roads and streets of the main cities ‐ both inland and on the coast ‐ does not turn into traffic jams and parking difficulties, the EasyPark parking app suggests some recommendations to help drivers make the most of their holidays.

Checking the condition of your vehicle is a key aspect be‐ fore setting off on your jour‐ ney, to avoid any possible problems that could spoil your days off.

Credit: SCK_Photo/Shutterstock.com

Plan ahead, save fuel

Vehicles parked up in Gibraltar.

Plan your route: if you are clear about the places you most want to visit, you will be able to organise your trip bet‐ ter and make the most of your time.

Applications such as Easy‐ Park, with which you can pay for parking in more than 70 Spanish cities, are very useful for getting around new cities with unfamiliar

traffic regulations.

If you don’t want to give up parking in the shade, this app gives you the option of reserv‐ ing a parking space in the car park of your choice through its website. If you are not lucky enough to park in the shade, use a sunshade to protect your steering wheel from the sun.

This will prevent you from get‐ ting burnt when you get back

into the car.

And above all, enjoy every minute of it, including journeys within the city or to the beach, and even finding parking.

You’ve been looking forward to your days off for a long time and you deserve to make the most of them.

For more information, visit: http://www.easyparkgroup.co m.

Volkswagen looks to Extremadura

HERBERT DIESS, CEO of the German car giant, Volkswagen, announced on Saturday, July 9, that he is looking to locate a plant in the autonomous community of Ex‐ tremadura in Spain.

The company remains immersed in its plan to be a 100 per cent elec‐ tric brand and surpass Tesla in the number of

zero‐emission vehicle sales. A plot in the Casares municipality of Navalmoral de la Mata is apparently suitable.

This was confirmed by local media sources, close to the process, who indicated that: “Volkswagen is looking to locate a cable plant, where it can manufac‐ ture materials necessary

for the production of electric cars, in Ex‐ tremadura.”

They continued: “The move comes after dis‐ carding this region for the construction of the German group’s battery plant, which finally end‐ ed up in the Valencian Community due to its commitment to training, the good connections,

the port of Sagunto, and the proximity to the Seat Martorell and Volk‐ swagen Navarra plants.

“The cost of the opera‐ tion will be financed, in part, by Volkswagen, one of its main clients, and directly affected by the lack of supplies. A change of location that could be temporary,” they explained.

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Vredestein Pinza to Europe AS announced on Thursday, July 14, Apollo Tyres is launching its first dedicated all‐terrain tyre: the Vredestein Pinza. The result of a five‐year global research and devel‐ opment programme, the Pinza has been designed to be the most capable off‐road Vredestein tyre ever, while at the same time offering superior standards of on‐road grip, traction, rolling resistance and refinement.

The result is the best balance of on‐and‐off‐road capa‐ bilities of any all‐terrain tyre on the market. It is particular‐ ly well suited to 4x4s, pick‐ups, and sports utility vehicles (SUVs) that venture off‐road. The Pinza is available to cus‐ tomers from August.

Pinza tyre treads feature a distinctive four‐groove her‐ ringbone pattern and full‐depth interlocking sipes that of‐ fer excellent grip on all surfaces, while minimising on‐road noise. A robust three‐pitched shoulder features aggres‐ sive ‘biting’ edges to further aid loose‐surface grip, and twisted ‘stone ejectors’ have been incorporated into the tread to help clear debris.

The new Pinza features a three‐ply triplex casing for en‐ hanced durability, while a unique sidewall design extends the aggressive tread pattern for a rugged aesthetic befit‐ ting a tyre in this category, as well as providing enhanced protection from rocks and ruts.

The Pinza will be offered in two types of construction: ‘P’ and ‘LT’. The more aggressive ‘LT’ tyre pattern is suited for working vehicles that are primarily used on more de‐ manding off‐road terrain. The ‘P’ variant features a more road‐biased design, making it ideal for fitment to passen‐ ger vehicles.

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21 - 27 July 2022

NEWS broke over the week‐ end that top French cyclist Alexis Renard is due to un‐ dergo heart surgery in Au‐ gust following the premature end of his season.

Alexis Renard, the 23‐year‐ old cyclist from the Cofidis team, is set to have surgery at the Nantes University on Wednesday, August 3, after the sudden onset of a heart rhythm disorder.

“During exercise, I have a heart rate that increases like everyone else,” Renard said.

“But when I stop cycling, the intensity is always the same.”

Image: Facebook Alexis Renard

Undergoing surgery

ALEXIS RENARD: Confirmed to undergo heart surgery.

Following tests from the CHU in Nantes, supervised by the Cofidis team, it was re‐ vealed that Renard needed an atrium removed.

“This feeling of arrhythmia is not compatible with the practice of high‐level sport. I don’t want to take the place of a teammate if I’m not op‐ erational,” he said.

The seriousness of Re‐ nard’s situation has prompted the Cofidis team to move his surgery for‐

SPORT

ward from October.

The young French cyclist had three top 10 finishes this season (on stages of the Sau‐ di Tour, the Circuit de la Sarthe and the 4 Jours de Dunkerque) before his sea‐ son was brought to a prema‐ ture end.

Following the surgery, Re‐ nard’s recovery will take a to‐ tal of three months and the team hope to have him back for next season.

SPORT

FC Barcelona Lewandowski deal IT was reported on Friday, July 15, that Polish international striker Robert Lewandowski is to sign for Spanish gi‐ ants FC Barcelona. According to media and numerous reliable Twitter sources, the player will leave the Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich and he had a medical in Spain on Saturday, July 16.

The Spanish club will pay €50 million (£42.5 million) for the prolific goalscor‐ er, who it is believed will sign a three‐ year contract, subject to his passing a medical. An option of a further 12 months is said to be included in the deal.

German champions Bayern had con‐ tinually denied Lewandowski was for sale, but his departure can now finance their desired purchase of Juventus cen‐ tre‐back Matthijs de Ligt. According to Italian press, the club’s sporting direc‐ tor Hasan Salihamidzic was in Turin on Monday, July 11, negotiating a deal for the Dutch international.

It is thought that De Ligt will cost in the region of €80m (£67.7m) plus add‐ ons. He has apparently already in‐ formed the Serie A giants that he wish‐ es to leave, even though he still has two years of his contract remaining.

Piquet court appearance

BRAZILIAN Formula One legend Nelson Piquet has been ordered to appear in court in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Felipe Costa da Fonseca Gomes of the Distrito Federal court has initiated an investigation into the three‐time world champion.

This comes after the 69‐year‐old was heard using Brazilian‐Portuguese racist lan‐ guage as well as a homophobic slur while talking in a documentary about British F1

driver, Lewis Hamilton. Piquet originally appeared in the podcast last November, where he used the N‐word in reference to Hamilton.

Piquet apologised for his use of the racist slur, attempting to validate that it had been mistranslated and was a word used regularly in his country that did not have any racial connotations. His com‐ ments upset a human rights group which

subsequently pressed charges against him.

They claimed he had caused moral dam‐ age to black and LGBTQ+ people.

The incident in question came while Pi‐ quet was talking about a crash which oc‐ curred in last year’s British Grand Prix at Sil‐ verstone. It involved Hamilton and the Dutch Red Bull driver Max Verstappen, who has been dating the Brazilian’s daugh‐ ter for the last few years.

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