Costa Blanca North 13 - 19 October 2022 Issue 1945

EUROVISION HEROES

Linda Hall

STATE broadcaster Radio Television Española (RTVE) has received a top award for this year’s Benidorm Fest, which helped to se lect Spain’s Eurovision Con test act.

The series of galas, tele vised live from Benidorm earlier this year, was or ganised to select Spain’s 2022 entry for the contest.

The Premis Turisme Co munitat Valenciana awards, now in their ninth year, recognise events and campaigns which stand out for their originality, both from the standpoint of the companies or the tourist destinations involved.

Benidorm’s mayor Toni Perez, who was present in Valencia City for the cere mony, said this was clearly the case with RTVE’s ‘Tourist Promotion and Communication’ award.

“The alliance between BenidormFest and Benidorm brought togeth er the town’s potential with the concept of Eurovi sion, increasing Spain’s participation in the Eurovi sion Song Contest,” Perez said.

“It changed the proce dure for selecting Spain’s

song and its representa tive, increasing interaction with a young public and choosing Benidorm as the setting for this new chal lenge,” he added.

“BenidormFest has set a benchmark for Spanish music in our country and outside it,” declared RTVE’s Communications and Participation director Maria Eizaguirre as she ac cepted the award, accom

panied by Pro duction and Me dia director Jose Luis Muñiz.

Credit: Shutterstock.com/Ben Houdijk

Eurovision is one of music’s most popular events.

TOURISM AWARDS: Toni Mayor, Toni Perez, Maria Eizaguirre and Jose Luis Muñiz.

Photo credit: Benidorm town hall

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COSTA BLANCA hoteliers’ as sociation Hosbec urged the central government to include a new Imserso model in the 2023 Budget. These state­sub sidised pensioners’ low­sea son holidays are vital to the Costa Blanca, allowing more hotels to remain open during the low season, keeping staff in their jobs and boosting the local economy.

In a letter sent last month, Hosbec president Toni Mayor, reminded the president of the Spanish government, Pedro Sanchez, and Social Policies minister, Ione Belarra, of their pledges to restructure the programme.

“At present there is a €63 million allocation for 820,000 packages with hotels charging €22 per person per day for full board including wine and wa ter with meals, or €24 if we in clude IVA,” Mayor pointed out. To break even, hoteliers needed between €34 and €35, bearing in mind that en

ergy costs have risen by 300 per cent, representing 27 per cent of a hotel’s overheads, he said.

“Who really gains is the state, which receive €1.6 for every €1 it invests in Imserso in taxes and social security payments, plus savings on un employment benefits.”

Ambitious River Algar plans

ALTEA Town Hall will spend approximately €850,000 on an ambitious River Algar project.

Environment and European Projects council lors, Jose Orozco and Mari Lavios, accompanied by environmental expert Toni Mulet, recently revealed the far­ranging scheme, which has re ceived €810,652 ­ 95 per cent of the total cost ­

from the Environment Ministry’s Fundacion Biodiversidad foundation.

The River Algar is one of northern Alicante’s few wetlands and is also vitally important as an environmental corridor which supports wildlife in an urban setting by linking different habitats, Orozco explained.

Fly tippers beware

Linda Hall

ALFAZ’S Local Police imposed 10 fines for fly tipping in less than a week.

Town hall spokesman Toni Such thanked local residents for sending in photos and videos that had been ‘funda mental’ in identifying people and local firms who insisted on ignoring local regulations.

“In other words,” Such said, “they got rid of rubbish wher ever and whenever they chose, sometimes at 4am.”

The town hall would con tinue to keep a close watch on uncontrolled rubbish disposal throughout the town, Such said.

“We shall be implacable with certain antisocial habits whose repercussions affect us all,” he warned, adding that infringements carry fines of between €600 and €1,500.

The town has a Punto Limpio site for recycling household items in Alfaz’s Calle Reino as well as Calle Tauro in Albir, Such pointed out.

The town’s rubbish collec tion concessionary SUV could also be reached on the 900 102 952 freephone to answer

queries, clear up doubts and also make an appointment to pick up large and bulky goods.

Frank Abrams tribute

AN outpouring of tributes have been made to an incredi ble musician, Frank Abrams, who sadly died in hospital on Monday, October 3, after a sudden ill ness.

In honour of Frank several musicians and his family got to gether at the Ope Discoteca in Moraira on Tuesday, October 11 to celebrate his remarkable life. The event started at 3pm and ran until late.

Frank Abrams at Ope Moraira.

Frank Abrams, a very talented saxophonist originally from Swindon, England, made a great name for himself in the local bars and restaurants on the Costa Blanca.

As an incredibly popular of the community, Frank will be sorely missed by all who knew him.

The Euro Weekly News family are saddened to hear of Frank’s death and offers his friends and family our thoughts and prayers.

Image: Frank Abrams/Facebook

WINTER HOLIDAYS: More hotels stay open thanks to Imserso.

Photo

Denia’s coastal cleaning day

Blue and yellowBad comms

BENIDORM Town Hall will prosecute the telecommuni cations company responsible for a mammoth traffic holdup at the roundabout where Avenida Comunidad Europea, Avenida Comunidad Valen ciana, Avenida Alfonso Puchades and Avenida Eu ropa meet. Technicians began working without prior permis sion on October 4 at midday when traffic was at its height.

Summer love

NINETY‐SIX per cent of the foreign tourists who visited the Costa Blanca this sum mer ‐ approximately six mil lion ‐ were ‘satisfied’ or ‘very satisfied’ with their stay, while 55 per cent intended to return within the next 12 months. Commerce and Tourism minister Reyes Maroto said this summer was “extraordinary.”

Low earners

MARINA ALTA towns of De nia, Javea and Calpe are list ed amongst the 100 munici palities with populations over 20,000 with the lowest incomes, according to Spain’s National Statistics Office (INE). Calpe families have the lowest wages, with a yearly average of €24,546, followed by Javea (€26,153) and Denia (€27,163).

Heavy metal

A PIECE of metal that fell from a lorry on the AP‐7 in Villajoyosa punctured the tyres of 20 vehicles on Octo ber 4. After finding the met al object, the Guardia Civil’s traffic police located the stopped lorry, taking its de tails in case affected drivers wished to make claims.

Slow down

CALPE intends to install three radars giving a speed readout in Avenida Diputacion, Aveni da Ejercito Español and Aveni da Juan Carlos I, the town’s principal access roads. These radars do not involve fines but are used as a traffic‐calming solution, raising drivers’ awareness by informing them of their speed.

DENIA’S councillor for Eco logical Transition, Maite Perez Conejero, is inviting locals to join in the coastal clean‐up day Per una mar neta that will take place on Sunday, October 16.

The event will start at 8am in the fishing area of the port of Denia. Partici pants will have free parking in the car park provided by the Fishermen’s Guild of De nia.

At the entrance, partici pants will be given cleaning tools which can be used walking, by boat or by div ing.

The event will take around 90 minutes and af terwards, everything that has been collected will be weighed.

At noon, a sculpture made by artist Rafa Cheli using the scrap metal col lected in the port of Denia in previous editions of Per una mar neta will be pre sented.

Anyone interested in tak ing part in the event should register by sending an email to: voluntarios@eucrante. org or pop along on Sunday, October 16, and register at the meeting point.

Persistent anglers

TEULADA‐MORAIRA FISHING CLUB vis ited the River Jucar’s Section B2 for their latest winter competition.

“Temperatures started at a mere 17 degrees at 9am, but gradually rose to 24,” said club secretary Jeff Richards.

“The water was still very cloudy and the river looked as if we could do well,” he added. “A shower early on and an overcast sky should have been perfect fishing weather, but fishing has not been easy on any section lately. I don’t know why, but we will persist!”

There were nine contestants and one dry net while Peter, who came

Cancer awareness

OCTOBER is Breast Cancer Awareness month and World Breast Cancer Day is on Wednesday October 19, an international campaign to raise awareness for the detection and treatment of breast cancer, raise funds for research, treatment and survival. To mark the occasion, we found some facts and figures about breast cancer in Spain and the UK.

Breast cancer is the most common cancer in wom en in both Spain and the UK. In Spain, there are 35,000 new cases of breast cancer a year, in the UK the figure stands at around 55,000. Breast cancer rates have risen by around 18 per cent since the ear ly 1990s.

However, breast cancer has higher overall survival rates than some other cancers. In Spain 87 per cent of women survive breast cancer for more than five years after diagnosis, in the UK 88 per cent of wom en survive for five years.

Breast cancer can also be prevented, in up to 23 per cent of cases in the UK. Breast Cancer Aware ness month is crucial in raising awareness about early detection.

first the previous week, caught his on ly fish just 10 minutes before the final whistle.

Best weight of the day of 11 kilos on Peg 4 ‐ the end peg ‐ went to Derek Jones, followed by Frank Povey (8.6 ki los) and Ray Turvey (5.9 kilos).

The anglers caught a total of 21 of which 19 were carp, weighing a total of 39 kilos.

For further information about the Teulada‐Moraira Fishing Club contact Frank Povey on 966 490 338 or by email at frankpovey1@gmail.com.

Requests answered

REPRESENTATIVES from lo cal groups met on Thurs day October 6 for the third meeting of the Patients’ Council.

This was opened by the director of the Denia Health district, Dr Javier Palau, who answered the requests submitted at the last meeting in July.

These included a chang ing room for adults with disabilities, which Dr Palau explained is now located in the Outpatients depart ment on the ground floor.

Another request centred on a document setting out all of the health resources that are available in the Marina Alta, which Dr

Palau said can now be found on the www.marina salud.es webpage.

THE facade of the town hall of La Nucia was lit up in blue and yellow to commemorate World Mental Health Day.

Every evening from Thursday, October 6, until Monday, October 10, the lights were switched on from darkness until 10.00pm (in compliance with the energy saving measures currently in force). The town hall has confirmed the aim was to make the event visible and to raise awareness in society that mental health is everyone’s busi ness.Monday, October 10, was officially World Mental Health Day and, as a reminder, a banner was hung on the facade of the town hall with the slogan ‘mental health is everyone’s business’.

The Association of Families and People with Mental Illness of the Ma rina Baixa (AFEM) along with the town council of La Nucia and the Depart ment of Social Welfare of La Nucia organised vari ous activities which took place throughout the day. Relatives and people with mental illness in La Nucia are welcome to contact AFEM, appoint ments must be made in advance at the Social Welfare Department at (+34) 966 897 330.

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CLEANING TOOLS: Can be used walking, by boat or by diving.

Image: Denia Town Hall

Linda Hall

Help for students

FINESTRAT’S university students stand to receive grants of up to €120 a month from the town hall.

“Our objective is to help cover some of our young un dergraduates’ most important overheads, like food, rent, textbooks or travel expenses,” explained Finestrat’s may or Juanfran Perez Llorca.

All students under 30 will receive the payments, with out having to specify what it is used for.

These range from a monthly €30 for students enrolled at a Marina Baja university campus.

Students attending a Valencian Community university are in line for €100 a month, while those at universities outside the region will receive €120.

“This is a pioneering scheme for Finestrat and we want to help all families whose children are studying,” Perez Llorca said.

“We have never done anything like this before, but in the current financial situation obliges us to do something.”

The town hall has allocated €40,000 for the scheme which will benefit students enrolled for the 2022 academic year.

The terms and conditions can be consulted on the town hall’s www.ayto‐finestrat.es website.

GIVING4GIVING

IN July and August of this year, fundraiser charity Giv ing4Giving donated €6,000 to six local charities, giving each one €1,000 respective ly.

The charities which bene fited were Caritas Finestrat, Altea Red Cross, Men’s shel ter Gandia, Corazon Expres, Busy Bees and Chums.

In September of this year, they made three more dona tions of €1,000 each, to the Pauline Pope foundation can cer support, AACC, and Anemona, making a total of €249,000 that they’ve man aged to donate to local chari ties.

Giving4Giving, ‘the charity that keeps on giving’ is run on goodwill and is always look

ing for willing volunteers at all of its shops. It has stores lo cated in various towns throughout Alicante, such as in La Nucia, Altea, Villajoyosa, Benidorm, and Albir.

If you can spare four hours a week and fancy doing something for the communi

ty and that will make you feel good, please call Gary on 603 137 697.

The charity are also con tactable via the email ad dress: g4giving@gmail.com.

Giving4Giving also want to say “thank you” for any help and support they’ve received.

Uncovering La Vila’s Roman past

WORK has begun in Vil lajoyosa on turning the remains of the Roman baths into an open‐air museum.

The baths, which ar chaeologists said date from 85AD, were dis covered by chance in 2006 when soundings were carried out prior to building a hotel in the centre of La Vila’s old quarter.

Part of the site was excavated and subse quently covered over to protect the remains un til a wide‐ranging pro ject could be launched.

Since then, the baths that were built when Villajoyosa was called Allon were concealed beneath a weed‐cov ered plot of land. Now, 16 years later, the site is being cleared and the baths will once again be brought to light.

A €3 million Master Plan for the baths, drawn up between Vil lajoyosa Town Hall and the Diputacion provin cial council, established six separate phases for creating the museum.

The €157,837 cost of the first two phases will be split evenly between both bodies. Once the site has been cleared, preliminary excavations can begin.

Future phases will in clude installing a roof to protect the remains, un covering the initial find ings and creating a mu seum for public use.

Villajoyosa’s Historic Heritage councillor Xente Sebastia revealed that the town hall is now waiting for infor mation regarding fund ing for the third phase.

DURING October mosquito preven tion will be carried out in Teulada. The mosquito control service in the municipality is divided into two dif ferent services, catalogued mosquito breeding sites in the mu nicipality and scuppers to control tiger mosquitoes.

The treatment of the scuppers and catalogued points will take place on Thursday, October 20.

On Friday, October 14, all chil dren’s playground furniture will be disinfected.

Preventive treatments are also being carried out to avoid the ap pearance of pine processionary caterpillars. Work will be carried

out spraying biological products in the municipality’s large pine groves, including outside the San Vicente Ferrer public school in Teu lada, Sendera Portitxol, Platgetes, Calle Rio Jalon, Calle Oviedo, Camino Viejo del Portet, Calle Ifach and Calle Tarragona.

Experts will also use endothera py, which consists of drilling holes in the trunk of the pine tree and then injecting systemic products that are dispersed through the tree’s sap.

The larvae of the pine proces sionary caterpillars feed on the needles of the tree and die when they are ingested.

IF you fancy doing something differ ent, Teulada Moraira Lions are holding an exciting treasure hunt event on Saturday Octo ber 23 around Moraira. The event will raise funds for a charity chosen by the Lions.

Treasure hunters will meet at Saxo’s at 10.30am and will enjoy a warm‐up by Pam Small and her FitSteps ladies to get everyone ready for the hunt.

Teulada Moraira Lions are offering two routes of vary ing difficulty, so the event is sure to appeal to every one.

There is a longer route of five kilo metres, and a shorter route of three kilometres.

The event has an entry fee of €5 but under 12s go free and all proceeds will be donated to charity. There will also be prizes avail able to winners.

Lions Treasure HuntTeulada pest control Charity walk

ON Sunday, October 16, Finestrat is going on a Charity Walk for the Span ish Association Against Cancer. The event will co incide with World Breast Cancer Day which is marked on Wednesday, October 19.

With a minimum contri bution of €5 for the Span ish Association Against Cancer, the event is open to all those who want to spend a Sunday enjoying nature and helping charity.

If you would like to par ticipate you can register at the headquarters of the Associacio de Dones de Finestrat, located at Carrer Nou, n 5 in Finestrat (his toric centre).

This year the walk will start at 9.00am from the crossroads of La Fonteta. The route will pass through the Cantereria, the Camí de La Vila, the old Camí de l’Alfas and then go back up to the his toric centre.

PEST CONTROL: During October.

Image: Teulada-Moraira

Council

WALK: Raising funds for cancer charity.

Finestrat Town Hall

THE work to improve road safety on the Villena‐Salinas road has been completed. The project started last July with a total budget of €300,000.

The mayor of Villena, Fulgencio Cerdan, accompanied by his counter part from Salinas, Isidro Monzo, vis ited a section of the road where the work has been carried out and saw considerable improvements in traf fic. The road is very busy for the owners of rural properties and as a connection between the two munici palities.

The work consisted of resurfacing the most damaged sections and im

THE Department of Agricul ture of the town council of La Villajoyosa, in collaboration with the Association of Young Farmers of Alicante (ASAJA), has organised a basic level phytosanitary course.

Phytosanitary relates to the control of plant diseases, es pecially in agricultural crops.

The course will allow the obtaining of a handler’s li cence to be able to buy and carry out the treatments cor responding to a basic level.

The course will take place on October 17, 18, 19, 24, 25 and 26, in Hall A of Vilamuseu,

Improved safety

the event of rain.

Also carried out was the repainting of surface markings and changing the signage. Some stretches of verges and ditches have also been improved with the aim of improving traffic safety.

proving the areas and watercourses with the greatest risk of flooding in

Fulgencio Cerdan confirmed that the municipality of Villena is one of the largest in the Valencian Commu nity and has a very complex network of roads.

Looking after crops

located in C/ Colón nº 57 and will run from 4.00pm to 8.30pm and will cost €30 for ASAJA members and €50 for non-members. The deadline for registration is Friday, Octo ber 14. To register interested parties should go to the Agri culture Department of the town Hhll of La Villajoyosa (C/ Cristóbal Galiana nº 2), where they can formalise their atten dance at the course and pay the registration fees.

ROAD SAFETY: Resurfacing works.

Image: Villena Town Hall

PHYTOSANITARY COURSE: Controlling plant diseases.

Image: La Vila Joiosa Town Hall

Classics rally

THE 250‐kilometre Rally Cla sicos Territorio Borgia, used Gandia as the start and fin ish line for the event on Sat urday, October 8.

Around 30 classic vehicles travelled through 37 em blematic municipalities of the Borgia family in the Va lencian Community.

Borgia country is a unique experience that traces the splendour of the most pow erful Valencian family in Eu rope in the 15th and 16th centuries. The route takes in art, landscape, history and culture.

The first Borgia Territory Classics Rally coincided with the launch of the Jubilee

Year in honour of Sant Francesc de Borgia. The Gandia Automobile Club started this innovative pro ject in the hope of uniting their enthusiasm for motor sport with the history of the city’s avant‐gardists.

The race, timed by the

company Rabbit Rally, start ed from the Plaza Mayor of Gandia at 10.45am and end ed at approximately 7.30pm in the same place.

The trophy ceremony took place at 8.30pm in the Ducal Palace’s Patio de Ar mas.

Martial Arts Of pressing concern

A KENDO martial arts competition was held on Gandia on Saturday, October 8 and Sunday, Oc tober 9, on the pavement of the Raval de Gan dia.

Kendo is a modern Japanese martial art, de scended from kenjutsu, that uses bamboo swords as well as protective armour.

David Martínez, the representative of the Gandia Kendo Club, said he hoped the event created interest from locals. He said: “We hope this year following the competition we have more inscriptions in the entire history of the club.”

Councillor for Sports, Lydia Morant, con firmed: “The competition hosted a total of 100 people.” She added: “Admission was free throughout the event.”

ALTEA Town Hall is once again providing facili ties for pressing locally‐grown olives.

Agriculture and Environment councillor Jose Orozco explained that pressing would be carried out at the former Agricultural Cooperative build ing which, together with the adjoining land, is now publicly‐owned.

“This means that the press, which has always belonged to the municipality, can return to its former location,” Orozco announced. “For al most 10 years, Altea Town Hall was able to help property owners and smallholders whose olive crop did not meet the minimum amount re quired for processing at the province’s olive presses,” he said.

History fun

ON Friday, October 7, there was a great opportunity for schoolchildren to learn about the history of the Va lencian Community with the ‘Correl lengua’, an event that brings togeth er hundreds of children to a his torical reenact ment of the entry of James I into the city of Valencia in 1238.

The event took place just two days before the Valen cia Community cel ebrated its official day on Sunday, Oc tober 9.

Each year a dif ferent school is in charge of the per formance about James I and this year it was the turn of Fabraquer public school who put on an amazing show.

The celebrations took place in front of the castle of the Moors and Chris tians with teachers and pupils both in attendance.

UNIQUE EXPERIENCE: The Borgia Classics Rally.

Image: Gandia Town Hall

DEPUTY MAYOR and head of the Alicante City and Beach Tourist Board, Mari Carmen Sanchez, attended a tourism convention by Turespana which ran until Wednesday, October 5, in Barcelona.

This year the convention

was dedicated to the ‘Gover nance of Tourism’.

Mari Carmen Sanchez held meetings with Turespana advi sors from Germany, Sweden, the Netherlands and Japan.

Sanchez confirmed that “these meetings are important for the

planning of the promotion of Alicante abroad. Turespana is the one who coordinates the national action of the different Spanish destinations.”

Different Turespana advisors gave presentations on markets in Europe, America and Asia.

Prior to this convention, the

Alicante City and Beach Tourist Board had already held meet ings with Turisme Comunitat Valenciana to prepare the Op erational Plan for next year in terms of foreign promotion, and this forum will help both administrations to finalise the proposals.

Food fair

THE first ever ‘Gastro Fest Oliva’ is now a real ity after the town hall announced its start date on Thursday, October 6.

The presentation cer emony, which took place at 11am at the Casa de Cultura‐Museu de Maians was attended by the councillor for Tourism and Beaches, Joaquin Calafat.

and a demonstration of different types of show cooking, all prepared with local products and honouring traditional cuisine, but with innova tive flavours.

Image: Alicante Town Hall Mari Carmen Sanchez meeting Turespana advisors.

Tourist meeting in Barcelona Charity cup

The council explained GastroFest is a clear commitment to Oliva's gastronomy, amid an at mosphere of live music,

This initiative from the Department of Tourism aims to revi talise the hospitality sector in Oliva and will be held from Friday, Oc tober 14, until Sunday, October 16, in the Parc de l’Estacio. It will run from midday until mid night.

THE Montgo Golf Soci ety played for tThe Cap tains’ Charity Cup on Fri day, October 7, raising €225.20 for Javea Can cer Care Nurses.

The charity has pro vided essential care to several of the club’s past members and the

Montgo Golf Society has agreed to match the amount raised, bringing the total donation of €450.

They will be present ing the charity with the funds on Friday, October 28.

Their winner with 39

Stableford points was John Day, in second place was Ian Bonsor with 38 points, beating Francien Knoops on count back in third place. Prizes went to Nigel Siddall, Gerian Van Ooijen and Sally Bur rowes.

Parking confusion

City Council

Hotel occupancy

THE month of September ended with a high hotel oc cupancy rate in the town of Altea. Ac cording to the data registered in the dif ferent establish ments of the town, 78 per cent of the hotels were full.

DESPITE bringing into force its colour zone parking scheme in October, locals are con cerned that Benidorm Coun cil’s inititave is still causing confusion.

For several years, Benidorm has had car parks controlled by the Parking Regulatory Ordinance (ORA), known as the blue zone. However, since 2022 new colours and regulations have been included in these park ing spaces.

Visitors are not allowed to park in any of the 1,694 or ange spaces. These spaces are reserved exclusively for

residents and registered with the Council. If you park here a permit card needs to be on display. Before the lines were white.

You will find the orange ar eas mainly in Foietes­Colonia Madrid, Els Tolls, Rincon de Loix, El Campo and La Cala.

Tourists need to pay for green spaces which are free for residents. In total there are 1,586 spaces.

The green areas are located mainly in Mercasa, El Campo, Levante and Rincon de Loix.

The blue zone is charged for in the summer months and some spaces are free in

winter. In the high season months you can park in one of the 1,400 blue spaces for a maximum of two hours and on weekends and holidays it is free. Most of the blue zones are concentrated in the Lev ante area.

Parking machines are often covered up during the winter months, indicating free park ing in certain areas of the Blue Zone in Benidorm.

Always refer to any parking signs before selecting a space however, to check the rules, and if in doubt contact the town hall for guidance on where is free to park.

The councillor for Tourism, Xelo Gon zalez, confirmed that: “78 per cent is a great figure for a month like Septem ber. This is proof that the Tourism Council’s commit ment to de­season alising tourism is translating into re sults.

“As in previous months, national and European tourists are the pre dominant ones, and therefore, the ones to whom our cam paigns continue to be directed,” he added.

Between the tourist information point in the Placa de l’Esglesia and the Tourist Info, the Tourism Council recorded 2,141 visi tors which is twice as many as in the same period last year, when there were 1,099. As on other occasions, lo cal and regional in formation, culture, festivals and gas tronomy were the main enquiries.

As far as the origin of the visitors ac cessing these infor mation points is concerned, most of them are from Spain, mainly from the Valencian Com munity, Madrid, Murcia and the Basque Country.

International visi tors came mainly from the United Kingdom, France and Holland.

New regulations in Benidorm.

Image: Benidorm

New historical memory law

Betty Henderson

THE Spanish government approved another landmark historic memory law on Wednesday October 5. The legislation builds on laws originally created from 2007 and aim to bring justice for the victims of the Spanish Civil War and subsequent dictator ship under Franco.

Measures contained in the law in

clude a national DNA bank and a purpose‐made census to facilitate easier location and identification of victims’ remains.

The ‘Valley of the Fallen’ area where Franco’s body lay for 44 years prior to its exhumation in 2019 will also be ‘redefined’ to provide a more comprehensive historical account of the Civil War and dictatorship. The law also bans any glorification of the

Trees in Barcelona

Franco regime or the dictator him self.

President, Pedro Sánchez’s PSOE, who praised the move on Twitter saying, “we have taken another step towards justice, reparation and dig nity for all the victims.” The Spanish Civil War and its commemoration re mains a polarising topic in Spain due to differing accounts of historical memory and political opinion.

Rare literature

A RARE collection of 17th century work by Spanish literary great, Miguel de Cer vantes will go to auction later this year where stories could fetch more than €900,000 combined. The collector’s edi tion books will go to the auction hall in December in Paris, 400 years after being printed.

A unique third edition of literature clas sic, Don Quixote, is set to fetch an impres sive €500,000‐ €600,000. It is made partic ularly unusual due to manuscript‐style notes made by Cervantes as he revised tales from the first and second editions of the book.

MORE than 8,000 trees are to be planted around Barcelona’s city dis tricts between now and the end of 2023.

The planting campaign began on Thursday, October 6, with teams from Parks and Gardens to get sup port as part of the city’s maintenance plan Cuidem Barcelona.

The campaign comes in addition to an exercise to plant over 55,000 plants and flowers in the spring earli er in the year.

Citywide checks were carried out in the last quarter of 2021 with a view to reducing the number of emp ty tree beds. The exercise counted 8,911 empty beds, 465 of which will be paved over due to services run ning underneath them or other im pediments making it unfeasible to plant trees in them. Planting cam paigns are organised according to the time of year and type of tree and fac tor in the removal, replanting and availability of specific trees.

Another item by Cervantes up for auc tion is a first edition collection of stories, Novelas ejemplares, also from the 17th century. The books also have a fascinating story of their own, having been sought out by Bolivian diplomat, Jorge Ortiz Linares in the 1930s. One antique book dealer described it as the “rarest and best example to have reached the market in decades” and a “miracle find.”

Cervantes’ classical works have inspired generations of Spanish literature lovers. And for collectors, the works are priceless.

PLANTING: Around the city’s streets.

Image: Barcelona City Council/Parks and Gardens

ALTHOUGH it may seem strange, in Spain there are many properties that are not registered in the Land Registry. How is this even possible? Could a property that has been paying Prop erty Tax (IBI) for several years not be registered? In today’s article we answer all these questions. We also analyse the most common

mechanism for registering a property that does not ap pear in the Land Register, for the first time.

Registration by double ti tle. Article 205 of the MA Re quirements

The Mortgage Act (MA) contemplates three differ ent procedures to register a property for the first time. However, given the com plexity and extension of the matter, in this article we will put our focus on the most common method. The in scription ‘by double title’, regulated in art. 205 of the MA. What are its specific re quirements?

1. Firstly, naturally, it is necessary that the property has not been previously reg istered in favour of another person.

2. Secondly, two public deeds transferring the prop erty must be presented to the Land Registry. This means, two notarial deeds. It can be a deed of sale, a deed of inheritance, etc. But it is mandatory that they are public deeds. Private con tracts are not valid.

3. At least one year must have elapsed between the

two.

4. Finally, the description of the property in the two deeds must be identical to the one in the Cadaster.

Further steps in the proce dure: registration, notifica tion to adjoining neighbours, edicts, etc.

Once all the documenta tion has been presented to the Land Registry, if every thing is in order, the proper ty will be registered for the first time. After this, there are only two more steps:

On the one hand, the owners of the adjacent land registry and cadastral prop erties must be notified. That is to say, the owners around the property to be regis tered. They all must be in formed of the inscription.

On the other hand, the registration must be made public. This will be done through the publication in the Official State Gazette (by means of edicts).

Effects of the inscription: Is it definitive? Art. 34 and 207 MA

Very important. Two years must elapse after this first registration for it to be ‘definitive’. During this peri od, the person who regis tered the property will be considered its owner and will be able to transfer it. However, if during this peri od a third party, with a bet ter right to the property ap pears, he or she could attack the inscription.

Practical example of in scription by double title

Let us use a practical ex ample. John inherits a prop erty from his deceased fa ther. During the inheritance, he discovers that it is not registered in the Land Reg

istry. A year and a half later, he decides to sell it to a third party. Could the buyer regis ter the property in the Land Registry? In principle (and assuming the descriptive identity coincides with the Cadastre) the answer is yes. The first title would be the public deed of acceptance of inheritance. The second ti tle, the public deed of sale. However, the buyer would not see his right ‘consolidat ed’ until two years had elapsed.

At White­Baos we are ex perts in real estate and civil law. If you have any queries regarding land registry in scriptions, purchases, sales, etc, please do not hesitate to contact us. We will study your case and offer you ex pert advice on the subject.

The information provided in this article is not intended to be legal advice, it simply conveys information related to legal issues.

Help for Ukraine

SPAIN’S Defence Ministry is sending a new convoy to Ukraine with light all‐terrain vehicles, ambu lances and medical equip ment.

The shipment will cover logistical and medical needs of the highest pri ority for the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence. A further 12 heavy vehicles will be shipped by sea in the coming days.

The Minister of De fence, Margarita Robles, attended the departure from Alcala de Henares on Thursday, October 6, of a land convoy trans porting eight light vehi cles, two ambulances and five tonnes of various medical equipment to Poland.

The vehicles and medi cal equipment were pro vided by the Army, the Navy and the Spanish Emergency Military Unit and were prepared for transport by the Projec

tion Support Group (GAPRO), a unit that pro vides logistical support for operations and exer cises both on national ter ritory and in operations abroad.

Robles explained that

Higher education

ON Wednesday, October 5, Spain and Germany signed an agreement to intensify relations in higher education.

The Minister for Universities, Joan Subirats, met with his counterpart, the Minister for Education and Research of the Federal Government of Germany, Bettina Stark‐Watzinger, during the German‐Spanish Summit.

During the meeting, the two ministers agreed to sign a Declaration to raise the profile of the commitment to strengthen ties in the field of higher education, recognising training as a basic pillar for the advancement of both coun tries.

Joan Subirats confirmed: “We welcome the fact that the Declaration of Intent we are signing today will allow us to learn in situ about Germany’s policies, programmes and ac tions on common challenges.”

Germany has extensive experience and a proven track record in areas that are of great interest to Spain, such as the retraining of the working population, dual university education and the university model at the service of social needs.

Repsol promotion

AN offer to get one gas cylin der free was announced on Tuesday, October 4 by Repsol and is available to anyone who buys at least 10 units (12.5 kgs) using the company’s website or mobile application.

The offer is limited to one per person and is valid on the main land and in the Balearics until the end of the year.

Respol currently offers an ad ditional discount to anyone who buys petrol through its mobile payment app, which al so needs to be used to get the benefit of the gas cylinder offer.

Once the order is placed, the cylinder will be made available.

In addition, anyone who pur chases more than 10 cylinders will receive a coupon that is valid in‐store for three months.

The offer comes ahead of winter and at a time when gas prices have fallen from their earlier highs this year of €19.95.

Although the free butane gas cylinders offer can be seen as a gimmick, for those hard‐pressed to pay for gas supplies the offer does have value.

“these are the priorities that Ukraine has at the moment and this is what they are asking us for, the war is being very cruel, there are many wounded people and they urgently need medical material.”

Image: Spanish Government/Ministry of Defence Margarita Robles and the departure of logistical vehicles.

Sophisticated fakes

ON September 21, Europol lead a joint operation with the Spanish National Police and the Catalonian Mossos d’Esquadra to dismantle an organised crime group in volved in printing and dis tributing counterfeit €500 notes.

During the operation a clandestine print shop was dismantled and 12 people were arrested. Nine loca tions were searched in Ali

BUSINESSES and schools closed in order to join in the celebrations for Spain’s National Day on Wednesday October 12.

Spain’s National Day commemorates the ar rival of Christopher Columbus in the Americas and is also sometimes known as Dia de la His panidad (Hispanic Day).

Italian‐born Christopher Columbus set off from Pa los de la Frontera in south west Spain in 1492 on Au

cante, Barcelona, Malaga and Valencia. €4.3 million in fake €500 banknotes were seized and a large amount of equipment (several printing presses, an insulation ma chine, a hot stamping ma chine, a paper guillotine and raw materials).

Investigators identified the main suspect behind the print shop as an individual al ready known by authorities detained for similar criminal

activities in 2009. These counterfeits were of better quality but had similarities to the 2009 counterfeits, which lead to the same suspect.

The investigators estimate that in as little as three months, the criminal net work printed more than €8 million.

The fake money was used for different criminal activi ties including drug traffick ing.

Spain’s National Day

gust 3. Just over two months later he arrived in the ‘New World’.

Columbus, who was sponsored by the Spanish monarch, Ferdinand of Aragon, was actually look ing for a western route to India, but instead stum bled upon the Americas, a continent that had been largely unknown to Euro peans.

The discovery led to a period of rapid explo ration of the continent.

Día de la Hispanidad was first celebrated in Madrid in 1935 and was made an official public holiday in 1981. In 1987, its name was changed to Fiesta Nacional (Spain’s National Day), removing any reference to Spanish colonialism.

Face-to-face banking

A MEETING between the First Vice‐President of the government, Nadia Calvino, and the banking associations was held on Friday, October 7, in which a roadmap was agreed upon. The

roadmap comes with the aim of ensuring that cred it institutions guarantee access to face‐to‐face fi nancial services for all cit izens of Spain. This commitment comes in the hope that it

Spanish inflation controlled

NEW figures have revealed that inflation in Spain slowed during September to 9 per cent.

This follows August’s inflation rate of 10.5 per cent and inflation increases for four successive months. Statistics released by the INE at the end of September were confirmed last week.

The September figure is the lowest inflation rate since May this year, inflation in the country had reached double‐digit figures not seen since the 1980s in June.

The fall in inflation is being attributed to falls in electricity, gas and transport prices, some of it due to government subsidies.

Core inflation also fell slightly to 6.4 per cent, a decrease of 0.2 per cent, notable due to previous 14 month consecutive increases in the indicator, since June 2021.

News of falling inflation rates comes as a relief for consumers, particularly as we head towards winter.

will favour the fight against depopulation and contribute to an appro priate territorial structur ing.

The agreement estab lishes a framework for action that will be articu lated with full respect for competition regulations to guarantee at least one point of access to face‐to‐face banking services through different modali ties for the more than 660,000 people residing in the 3,230 municipali ties that do not have this service. Measures are al so included to ensure the maintenance of face‐to‐face banking services in those municipalities that currently have only one access point.

The associated entities will have a period of six months, extendable by a further six months, to en sure the implementation of at least one access point.

Top retirement destination

Betty Henderson SPAIN ranked in the top 10 best countries to retire in 2022 in a report released by a lifestyle magazine this October. The report ranked Spain at number nine globally due to its warm climate, high level of security and beautiful coastal regions.

Retirement is a universally popular concept, but that doesn’t mean everywhere is an ideal retirement destination. The report used a ‘glob al retirement index’ to rank countries, consider ing aspects of quality of life thought to be key to retirement living.

Other countries in the top 10 included Pana ma at number one, Portugal at number four and France at number seven.

Spain ranked as number nine on the list due to its 300‐plus days of sunshine annually, af

SPAIN: One of the world’s top destinations for retirees.

fordability of property, excellent healthcare fa cilities and healthy Mediterranean eating op tions. The report also cited historical and cultur al heritage throughout the country as a factor in its high ranking. Other services that con tributed to the top 10 ranking include reliable and affordable public transportation options, internet stability, having potable tap water, de cent electricity and good council services.

Sports budget increase

THE government will allocate €1,804 million to Culture and Sports policies in 2023, the Spanish government confirmed on Friday, October 7.

This allocation compared to the budget for 2022, is an in crease of 13.5 per cent. The Minister of Culture and Sport, Miquel Iceta, who presented

the accounts at a press confer ence confirmed that “these are budgets designed to strengthen the cultural industries.

“They are designed to con tribute to the creation of new audiences and to protect the workers in the cultural sector. This is in line with the aim of this government to protect the so

cial majority in the face of the crisis caused by the war in Ukraine.”

Iceta said “the budgets ear marked for Culture and Sports are, for the first time, consid ered to be public goods of a preferential nature, due to their nature as the backbone of soci ety, as Health and Education.”

Photo credit: Daniel Myjones / shutterstock.com

A DESPERATE DAN has tak en to advertising on a mo torway billboard in an effort to get himself his first date after all previous attempts didn’t work out.

According to a news out let, Ed Chapman, 23, from Leeds, West Yorks, has been single all his life. Having failed to secure himself any dates by traditional meth ods or from dating apps he decided to step outside of the box and try something different in his bid to find love.

The plan has apparently worked for Chapman who has received an influx of messages from people aged between 18 and 48. He is now busy arranging his firstever date, which he hopes will go to plan.

He said: “I had tried some dating apps, but it didn’t go well for me at all, so I decid ed I needed to try some thing different and thought having my own billboard would be a good way of meeting people.”

Chapman designed the billboard and it can be seen on the M621 on the way in to Leeds.

Dating apps didn’t work.

Billboard dating More costs

REBEKAH VARDY has received another blow as she was or dered to pay Coleen Rooney’s legal costs which could amount to as much as £1.5 million (€1.722 million).

The order handed down on Tuesday, October 4 follows the court’s finding that she had ‘deliberately deleted or destroyed evidence’.

Judge Justice Steyn said Vardy must pay 90 per cent of Rooney’s costs, adding that a down payment of £800,000 (€918,000) must be paid by 4pm on November 15.

Vardy has also been ordered to pay a portion of the costs of seven journalists. They were potential witnesses but did not ac tually give evidence.

The affair in which Rooney posted claims on social media that Vardy was leaking stories to the press about her, led to the court case and the judge ruling in her favour. Vardy’s evidence was la belled ‘manifestly inconsistent... evasive or implausible’.

Mortgage rate high

THE average mortgage rate in the UK has risen above 2008 levels following the market turmoil caused by the ‘growth’ mini‐budget presented by Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng.

According to financial data firm Mon eyfacts on Wednesday, October 5 the average mortgage rate has risen above 6 per cent to 6.07 per cent. Fixed inter est rates have seen a similar rise hitting 5.97 per cent and the average mort gaged household is now shelling out as much as 27 per cent of their income on repayments.

That is the highest‐burden since 2009 following the credit crises and the col lapse of the housing market.

Experts have expressed concern that the sharp rise in rates from around 2.5 per cent to over 6 per cent will see many unable to afford their repay ments. That they say could result in a market correction and the reduction in the average price of homes by as much as 10 per cent.

They are also concerned that the fast rise and continuing turmoil in markets will see rates rise even further.

UK negotiations

SPEAKING on Wednesday, October 5, Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney said that the ‘mood music’ from the British govern ment had changed ahead of talks to resolve issues around Northern Ireland.

With talks set to resume after seven months, Coveney told reporters: “Both sides have agreed to

engage this week” al though “It remains to be seen whether this new look British government is will ing to make compromises to get a deal done, but cer tainly the mood music has changed quite fundamen tally.”

Earlier reports had sug gested that the new For eign Minister James Clever

ly, who took up his post last month under new Prime Minister Liz Truss, had a more pragmatic ap proach to international re lations.

Sources say that he is less about headline‐grab bing figures than he is about achieving practical results that work for the UK and its partners.

Bill Diamond’s first novel

AUTHOR, Bill Diamond, left school at 15 with little formal education and served a full ap prenticeship as a bricklayer. After educating himself he learned most facets of the building industry and property development. He started a property management com pany in 1979 which is still go ing strong.

During the early months of Covid, with no golf to occupy him, Bill started to write his first novel on an iPhone as he had no laptop or tablet to use.

He lives in Javea, Costa Blanca and has had a long‐time love affair with Spain and lived in Denia for many years before moving to an apart ment on the Arenal in Javea four years ago.

His writing is carried out in Javea on the balcony of his apartment overlooking the Mediterranean Sea and it is the sound of the waves and the beautiful ambience of Javea which gives him so much inspiration for his books.

Bill has a passion for horses and has ridden the Badminton and Gatcombe Park courses on his competition horses, many of whom he bred him self.

Bill also has a passion for golf and through practice and dedication has managed to achieve a single figure handi cap.

Recently he had the privi lege of flying in a Spitfire over the white cliffs of Dover which remains one of his most mem orable experiences.

As an avid reader of spy/ thriller novels, Bill has often criticised books that have too much “padding out,” even though the storyline may be strong and entertaining so with this in mind Bill has creat ed a gripping novel packed with adventure, intrigue, dan ger and romance on every page.

His first novel due to be re leased shortly, Max Catt ‐ The Beginning, is the first in a hoped series. The novel fol lows Max‐Catt who was born with a silver spoon in his mouth but broke away from the easy life of the landed gen try.

He became a one‐man killing machine whose skills and rouge modus operandi at tracted MI5, the anti‐terrorist unit and MI6 who all wanted to recruit Max, but it was the SAS that he

chose. An expert with a sniper rifle coupled with his animal instinct, he caused havoc with in terrorist groups so much so

that a huge bounty was put on his head by the newly formed and dangerous Islamic Repub lican Front

From a young age danger and death have followed Max from a family hostage crisis to blackmail and murder!

Author, Bill Diamond.

Image: Bill Diamond

Oktoberfest in La Nucia

Linda Hall GERMAN consul Dorothea von Drahosch and La Nucia’s mayor Bernabe Cano broached the first keg of Okto berfest beer on October 5.

The opening ceremony for the beer festival’s 34th edition included the crowning of this year’s Oktoberfest queen, La Nucia resident Vanessa Hoff man.

Visitors will get through 20,000 litres of beer and can choose from six types of sausage, pork knuckle and sauerkraut amongst other German favourites. Live music is provided by the award‐win ning nine‐strong Steinsberger Party Band.

The event is held in a huge marquee in the car park at the Estadi Olimpic sports stadium and continues October 16. There is also a 500‐square me tre open‐air terrace and a games area for children.

This is the second time that the Oktoberfest, which is Spain’s oldest and the Valen cian Community’s largest, has been held in La Nucia.

The marquee is open from

6pm until 12.30am on week days and between 6pm and 1am on Saturday. Sunday, from 12 noon until 12.30.

Entrance is free but capacity is limited and the organisers recommend making reserva

tions for groups on 685 997 808 or https://ccc‐calpe.es/ok toberfest/reservas/.

This year’s new reservations system reveals the event is at tracting visitors also from Poland and Holland.

Spooky mystery tours

ALCOY has a programme of spooky Halloween events at the end of October. A local tourist organisation is hosting special edition ‘mystery tours’ on the last weekend of October and November 5.

Participants will join their tour guide for a mystery tour that covers three different stories, spanning several centuries of history and mystery. Tour guides will take visitors around the old town of Alcoy and to four different destinations crucial to the stories told.

Historical events described during the tour will include the Spanish Inquisition in Alcoy, exorcisms that have taken place over the years and a special edition semi‐fictional ‘Jack the Ripper’ story, detailing his escape from London and through rural Spain.

Organisers describe the event as a “tour never seen be fore” and an “unmissable opportunity to discover the most gruesome stories that have happened over the centuries in this apparently calm and peaceful town in rural Alicante.”

Thrill seekers can book tickets online at: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/entradas‐rutas‐de‐misterio‐en‐alcoy‐2022‐344115678257?aff=ebdssbcitybrowse& keep_tld=1.

Guests are asked to wear dark clothing if possible.

Vibrant kite festival

GANDIA beach will cele brate International Kite Day with a special kite festival on October 15. Locals and visitors can get involved in a special pro gramme of events that will bring an injection of colour to the beach. The festival will be promoting values of peace, friend ship, the environment and living in harmony.

OSOW Kite Festival 2022 will kick off in Gan

dia from 11.30am and will last until nightfall on the beach. The festival will see vibrant coloured kites take to the skies across the beach carrying mes sages of peace for the world.

Kite flights, stunt flights, and family fun ac tivities will take place all day long as well as the main event at 1.30pm, when participants can add messages of peace to

kites and see them flown on the beach.

The kite festival is held annually in international locations typically on the second weekend of Octo ber. The festival is organ ised to ask for world peace under the slogan of ‘One Sky, One World’.

The event in Gandia is organised by Asociación Milotxes Club in collabo ration with Gandia Tourism Department.

Who Dunnit?

JAVEA PLAYERS are proud to present The Mousetrap. Agatha Christie was indeed a mas ter crime writer, with The Mousetrap being one of her most popular and perhaps most dif ficult to solve.

As news spreads of a murder in London, a group of seven strangers find themselves snowed in at a remote countryside guest house. When a police sergeant arrives, the guests discover ‐ to their horror ‐ that a killer is in their midst! One by one, the suspicious char

acters reveal their sordid pasts. Which one is the murderer? Who will be the next victim? Can you solve this world‐famous mystery be fore Detective Sergeant Trotter?

Claire Schoonover‐Brown, a professional ac tress, offered to direct the play, together with Penny Grant.

Performances on November 22‐26, 29, 30 and December 1 at the Javea Players’ Studio Theatre at 7.30pm. For tickets €12.00 see: www.javeaplayers.com

A family friendly bar and restaurant

LOCATED on Avenida Garrofer in Pedreguer, Black Flame Bar & Grill is a family friendly bar and restaurant that opens every day from 10am all year‐round, providing its international clien tele with classic English break fasts, a wide selection of bot tled beer including Guinness on draught, live sports on TV, as well as a pool table, where afi cionados can enjoy a game with their favourite drink.

Their carvery provides a mouth‐watering classic English roast on Thursdays and Sun days with a choice of roast beef and roast pork served with a se lection of unlimited fresh veg etables, crispy roast potatoes and home‐made Yorkshire pud dings.

Their acclaimed all‐day En glish breakfasts include eggs, bacon, sausage and toast with the option of turning the break fast into the bigger ‘Greedy Boy option’ by adding mushrooms,

hash browns, black pudding, as well as extra ingredients, ensur ing that customers are full and happy with a traditional full‐En glish at any time of the day.

Customers can also enjoy a tasty three‐course menu served from Monday to Saturday 12pm ‐ 4pm that includes bread and ali oli and a glass of rioja

wine or a soft drink or a small beer or mineral water. The winter menu will begin on November 2, and run from 12.30pm until 8pm.

A wide variety of other deli cious menus including fish and chips, home‐made pie, burgers, pasta, jacket potatoes, ribs and

much more, with vegetarian op tions, are also available.

To top it off, they also pro vide mouth‐watering desserts including apple crumble, banof fee pie, toffee meringue glacé, vodka sorbet, brownie toffee sundae and oreo cheesecake.

Every Friday night the estab lishment provides live music, giving customers the perfect

with a cool bucket of beer, seeing no shortage of options as Mahou, Estrella, Amstel, Heineken, Budweiser, and Desperados are all on offer.

On Monday October 31, Black Flame will be hosting a Halloween fundraising party with a 70s disco, fancy dress, raffle, hot and cold halloween buffet.

Tickets are €25 of which €10 go to APROP animal shelter, a registered charity that cares for and rehomes abandoned cats and dogs in Pego.

No permission

THE closing speech by Liz Truss has managed to upset more than just the voters, the Tory faithful and the markets.

Her closing message on Wednesday, October 5 made use of the M Peo ple song ‘Moving on up’ without the band’s per mission.

In another spectacular own goal that emulates the mistake of other prime ministers and presidents, the song gen erated much discussion but for all the wrong rea sons.

M People founder Mike Pickering has ex pressed outrage at the use of their song at the Tory party conference without the band’s per mission and that “They (the band) are livid.”

Tony Blair and Labour used the same song in the 1990s, which con tains some interesting lyrics that perhaps best

explain her policies.

These include ‘You’ve done me wrong’, and ‘Move right out of here, baby, go on pack your bags’.

Pickering said the band had contacted their lawyers but been advised there was little that could be done.

Christmas carnage

THE National Farmers Union (NFU) said on Monday, October 3 that more than three million birds have had to be culled so far with Avian Influenza Prevention Zones introduced in Norfolk, Suffolk, parts of Essex and the whole of the south west of Eng land.

So far the disease has been detected at more than 155 sites across the UK and is now at risk of infecting the country’s turkey population, with the wild bird population severely affected.

James Mottershead, Chair of the NFU Poultry Board, told a news outlet: “It is a risk.

“If bird flu, for example, gets into turkeys that could cause holy carnage; that could cause real supply chain issues in the run‐up to Christmas time.”

Bird farmers with populations of more than 500 in the areas affected are required to restrict access for non‐essential people on site, whilst in some areas, farmers have had to cull their popu lations as a preventative measure.

Liz Truss error.

Fury at alcohol ban

Betty Henderson

A PROPOSAL to ban French hunters from drinking while out in the fields provoked a furious response from the country’s hunting lobby. Leg islation proposed on Monday October 3 aims to reduce hunting accidents which re sulted in seven deaths last year.

The proposal was drafted based on the findings of an in quiry. The inquiry was held in response to petitions demand ing tighter hunting regulations after 25-year-old British Mor gan Keane was accidentally killed by a hunter in 2020.

Legislation would subject hunters in France to the same

rules as drivers on blood alco hol levels. Penalties for intoxi cated hunters would be the same as for motorists.

But hunting organisations criticised the report and

lamented its ‘stigmatisation’ and ‘caricaturing’ of hunters.”

The French hunting lobby is powerful and counts on Presi dent, Emmanuel Macron as a vocal supporter.

Danish cull controversy

DENMARK will hold a gen eral election on November 1, seven months before the scheduled end of Mette Frederikson’s term as Prime Minister. Frederik son called the election on October 6 after facing mounting criticism for a controversial mink cull poli cy.

Frederikson is under fire for a Covid‐19 policy which saw the government order a cull of the country’s en tire captive mink popula tion over fears of Covid‐19 mutation which could have rendered vaccines ineffec tive. The policy has harmed Denmark’s previously world‐leading furs indus try.

A commission found al though the cull was illegal, he did not mean to break the law.

The election was trig gered when opposition party, the Social Liberal party issued an ultimatum demanding elections. Fred erikson, who previously became Denmark’s youngest Prime Minister, aged 41, responded by call ing elections for Novem ber, avoiding an increasing ly likely vote of no confidence.

Pollsters anticipate a tie between Frederikson’s left‐leaning Social Democrats and a right‐wing bloc made up of Liberal, Conservative and nationalist parties.

Microchip man

TV presenter 44‐year‐old Busuttil Naudi has a chip that uses the same tech nology which is found in bank cards and smart phones implanted in his left hand. The hand now acts as a contactless card so he can simply swipe his hand over card ma chines when he is shop ping.

Busuttil Naudi, who hosts the technology television programme Gadgets, is among one of the first people in Malta to implant a credit card chip for purchasing items.

”I love technology, I feel that this is the fu ture, and I want to be part of it as it starts,” he said.

“I’ve been interested in the technology since 2008, but now it’s be come useful enough for me to use it. The chips will become more popu lar in the medical indus try,” Busuttil confirmed.

Busuttil paid more than €199 for the chip, plus a little extra to have the procedure carried out under a local anaes thetic. The surgeon made a small incision on his hand and placed the chip between the bones connecting his little fin ger and ring finger.

NO DRINKING: The proposal would see the same rules apply to hunters and motorists.

Neutral names

THE European storm‐naming group was first launched by Met Eireann and Britain’s Met Office in 2015 to raise aware ness about severe weather and avoid confusion caused by storms being given different names in each country.

Head of Forecasting at Met Eireann, Evelyn Cusack, con firmed the move is an attempt to reflect the changing atti tudes towards gender in soci ety, the British press con firmed on Friday, October 7.

Evelyn confirmed: “Hurri canes used to only have fe male names up until the late 1970s and have swapped be tween boys’ and girls’ names since then.”

Evelyn confirmed that alter ing the storm names to ac commodate gender neutrality made no difference to the storm or the weather, it just reflects the changing attitudes in society towards gender.

The three gender‐neutral names decided upon by the group are Sam, Val, and Elliot.

Happy homes

THE home is directly con nected to the happiness of Finnish people, accord ing to Asuntosaatio’s Hap piness at Home survey. Home was brought up as the second most im portant source of happi ness, right after health. The importance of health has decreased slightly from last year as the coro navirus pandemic subsid ed.

According to the recent survey, the general happi ness of Finns is on the de cline, and the feelings ex perienced at home have undergone a change.

The barometer measur ing general happiness is still high, as almost three out of four respondents say that they are happy with their lives. However, compared to last year’s Happiness at Home sur vey, the happiness of Finns is on the decline.

Feelings of peace, hap

piness and joy are experi enced the most at home.

Compared to last year, positive feelings are expe rienced slightly less, and feelings of anxiety, de pression and insecurity have become more com mon. The experience of loneliness has also in creased.

Although a clear majori ty of Finns (71 per cent) report that they are most comfortable by them selves or with their family, the Happiness at Home survey shows that com munities are also an im portant source of happi ness.

Digital nomads

A DIGITAL nomad is a professional who works remotely and who takes advantage of the situa tion to live in several dif ferent places.

The lifestyle has be come increasingly popu lar. Even more so with the increase in remote work opportunities in the world, there are many professions in which it is possible to live as a digital nomad.

A new ‘digital nomad visa’ in Portugal comes in to action on Sunday Octo ber 30 and Portugal is ex pecting an influx of remote workers to take advantage of it.

To be able to live and work in the country, you must have a visa for digi tal nomads in Portugal, unless you have European citizenship.

The digital nomad visa has been approved and is now part of the Foreign ers Law.

It is a visa specifically intended for foreign pro fessionals who provide their services remotely, either as a subordinate worker or as an indepen

dent worker.

Any foreign profession al who fits into this situa tion and wants to live in Portugal can apply for a digital nomad visa.

Finnish home happiness.

Sustainable dairy farming

EUROPEAN dairy coopera tive, Arla, announced pay ment bonuses for farmers that comply with its new sustainability targets on milk production.

More than 8,900 mem bers of the cooperative will be eligible for bonuses of €0.003 per kilogram of milk produced in a sustainable way. Farmers produce around 1.2 million tonnes of milk per year. Farmers can meet targets by using sustainable animal feed and renewable energy among other criteria an nounced in Arla’s ‘sustain ability initiative’.

The programme aims to help the dairy cooperative

reach its targets of net zero carbon emissions by 2050 and reducing emissions on farms by 30 per cent per kilogram of milk produced.

Announcing the initia tive, Arla’s chair, Jan Toft Nørgaard, said “The milk price Arla farmers will re ceive for their milk will not only depend on fat, protein and quality, it will also de pend on their activities on sustainability.”

This adds to Arla’s grow ing list of sustainability measures in recent years. The move represents a step towards sustainability being a focus of Europe’s food and agriculture indus tries.

Search and rescue

MORE than 90 refugees have been rescued from the Aegean Sea after two migrant boats sank within hours of each other on Wednesday October 5.

In both incidents, dinghies were travelling from Turkey to wards Europe carrying refugees. The boats capsized due to weather conditions and overcrowding. At least 16 women and one boy lost their lives off the coast of Lesbos and a fur ther boat capsized off the coast of Kythira with at least five ca sualties and 15 more feared dead.

Spokesman for the Greek coastguard, Nikos Kokkalas, ex plained the complexity of the operations saying strong winds “raging relentlessly” were disruptive to rescue work.

Greek authorities lamented the loss of life with migration minister, Notis Mitarachi, urging the EU to act.

Fendi sister passes away

ITALIAN fashion house heiress, Franca Fendi, died aged 87 on Wednesday October 5 in Rome. Fendi along with her four sisters transformed their parents’ small family‐run leather and fur business to a globally coveted fashion house, Fendi.

A lucrative deal signed between the sisters and German designer Karl Lagerfield in 1965 became the longest‐run ning collaboration between a designer and a fashion house in the industry’s history, lasting 54 years.

Franca worked as purchasing manager for Fendi, and latterly in Fendi’s boutiques in Rome until the company was sold in 1991. The fashion house was acquired by French LVMH in 2001, but one member of the Fendi fami ly still works at the luxury brand.

Figures in the fashion industry paid tribute to Franca Fendi, and her achievements in propelling the family busi ness to become one of the most iconic fashion houses in the world. Franca Fendi is survived by her four children.

PRESSEUROPEAN

DENMARK

Bargain capital

ACCORDING to a survey carried out by UK price comparison site Confused.com, Copenhagen is the best city in Europe for those seeking bargains, be they antiques, collector’s items, food or clothes from street and flea markets, as well as antique and specialist shops.

THE NETHERLANDS

Stowaway

A WOMAN, said to be Russian, outwitted security controls at Rotterdam airport and managed to board a Transavia flight headed for Malaga as a stowaway, although when flight crew discovered her presence, the plane was diverted to Madrid where she was removed and arrested.

BELGIUM

Short temper

A COACH for Futsal team Herental, is in trouble with the Belgian Football Association when, in a fit of temper over decisions made by the referee he pulled the ref’s shorts down, resulting in the game being abandoned and his team losing.

GERMANY

Dreary Munich

DESPITE the fact that it was cancelled for two years due to the pandemic, Munich’s Oktoberfest (which actually runs for two weeks in September) didn’t attract the expected high numbers with a reported 5.7 million people downing just 5.6 million litres of beer due to bad weather.

FRANCE

Football protest

THE City Fathers in Paris have decided they will not allow the broadcasting of World Cup matches on giant public screens due to perceived violations of foreign workers’ rights in Qatar and as a protest about the environmental impact of the tournament with air-conditioned stadiums.

NORWAY

Bhangra style

A NORWEGIAN dance group Quick Style has taken the internet by storm as a video of the members dancing to a 2018 Bollywood hit song Kala Chashma at a wedding has received millions of views and spawned numerous versions by dance groups around the world.

FINLAND

Lenin removed

FOLLOWING the Russian invasion of Ukraine, local residents in the city of Kotka called for a statue of Vladimir Lenin (the last on public display in Finland) to be removed and on Tuesday October 4, it was taken to a warehouse.

IRELAND

Epic voyage

FORMER rugby player Damian Browne became the first Irishman to row from New York to Galway, but after 112 days at sea and just short of his final destination, he ran aground on some rocks just outside of the port and was helped ashore.

ITALY

Iran protests

TWO art institutions based in Milan and Rome have invited visitors to cut off and tie up a small lock of hair to place in containers as a symbolic mark of respect following the death of 22-year-old Iranian woman Mahsa Amini and the demonstrations in Tehran.

PORTUGAL

Motor homes

AS more people take advantage of vehicle tax reductions on gas guzzling motor homes, the Portuguese government has proposed that the 30 per cent reduction on new vehicles and the zero rate on those built before 1970 should be scrapped from January 1, 2023.

UKRAINE

Gift for Putin

SET up in the Czech Republic, a website called 'A Gift for Putin' has reportedly raised more than $1.2 million through crowd funding which will allow it to purchase for Ukraine a number of upgraded T-72 battle tanks originally supplied by the Russians to the Czech Army.

SWEDEN

IKEA House

SUPERGROUP, the Swedish House Mafia have worked with designers at IKEA to create and market OBEGRÄNSAD, a limited edition of furniture designed to appeal to and help inspire those starting off in music and digital arts, allowing them to build the perfect home studio on a budget.

More money

THE Spanish government’s 2023 budget looks to in crease the amount spent on the Tax Agency to €1.4 billion which is an overall growth in funding of 15.2 per cent when compared to the 2021 figures and takes into ac count cost of collecting the temporary wealth tax.

Mortgages up

THE cost‐of‐living crisis in Spain is now hitting mort gages and although Euribor rates (to which three quar ters of Spanish mortgagees are linked) are comparatively low when compared to the UK, it will now rise from 2.363 per cent to 2.47 per cent.

Pension fragility

THE Deputy Governor of the Bank of England Sir Jon Cun liffe has told Parliament that without the Bank stepping in to buy long term bonds fol lowing the mini‐budget it is perfectly likely that a number of Britain’s pension funds could have gone under.

Building woes

DESPITE protestations that they were unable to obtain sufficient numbers of skilled workers to meet the demand in the UK and with excep tional order books, the over all feeling from Britain’s con struction sector according to a report by S&P is that reces sion is just around the cor ner.

Most customers

NOW that the merger be tween CaixaBank and Bankia has been completed it can claim to have almost five mil lion more customers than nearest rival Santander de spite the fact that it may have lost as many as one mil lion accounts who banked with both organisations

2.33 billion

the forecast profit to be made by Spanish Government owned organisations such as the State Lotteries in 2023.

Musk moves FINANCE

Fishing restrictions

THE ‘will he, won’t he’ conundrum over Tesla Boss Elon Musk and his takeover of Twitter for $44 billion has taken a new turn as after back ing out and being hit with a $1 bil lion lawsuit he has now confirmed that he wants to go ahead at the original price.

Twitter shares jumped some 25 per cent on the US stock exchange and at the same time, the billion aire has been dumping Bitcoin (al though a single piece is still valued at around $20,000 compared to its record high of $68,000).

He is now supporting crypto cur rency newcomer Marscoin which has been issued to help fund a mis sion to Mars and currently a single piece is valued at around 5c.

Shoppers down

FISHING is an important aspect of the Spanish economy as well as play ing a part in the menu of the average household.

For this reason, the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Luis Planas confirmed on October 5 that Spain will appeal to the European Court of Justice over new restrictions concerning fishing rights.

The European Commission has put a stop to fishing in 87 areas con sidered vulnerable marine ecosys tems, which the minister says “is ab solutely disproportionate and unfair” as he believes that data used

in making the decision is out of date and the decision should comply with economic, social and environmental points of view.

No sooner had he had made this announcement but he returned the following day, Thursday October 6, to confirm that following discussions with the European Commission, Spanish fishermen were to be per mitted continued access to 41 of the 87 fishing areas in question.

The minister said “this is good news,” although he made it clear that Spain will still go ahead with the presentation of the appeal to the Eu

ropean Court of Justice concerning the entire edict as previously an nounced.

Commenting on the way forward, he added “The government under stands that we all must protect the seas and oceans, but we have to do it in such a way that fishing activity can continue to be carried out, re spectfully and selectively.”

He also announced that at the be ginning of July 2023, the Spanish Presidency of the European Union will organise an informal Fisheries Council in Vigo to promote the coun try’s leadership role in fishing.

Reason for financial turmoil

UNDER‐FIRE Chancellor, Kwasi Kwarteng blamed the Queen’s death for the bud get shambles as he tried to shift the blame for the finan cial turmoil.

PM Truss has signalled she still wants to scrap the higher rate, while rumours continue to circle that she intends to cut benefits and pensions by extending the retirement age.

Explaining the run‐up to his September 23 statement, Mr Kwarteng claimed: “It was a very quick time that we did it, and you have got to remember the context.

“What was extraordinary about that month was that

we had a new government and also we had the sad passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, so we had a nation in mourning

and then literally four days, I think, after the funeral, we had the mini‐budget.

“It was a high‐speed, high‐pressure environment.”

So, for the time being, the decision to reverse the cut of the top level of income tax in the UK from 45p to 40p has been reversed, although time will tell whether the Conservative government manages to slip it in to the next financial statement due on November 23 (or possibly earlier as he tries to save face).

There was little mention of the economic problems triggered by the mini‐budget during the recent Conserva tive Party Conference but Liz Truss, slipping into Tony Blair language said that her target was “Growth, growth, growth.”

UK shops continue to see a reduc tion in footfall with September fig ures just 6.8 per cent up on the same month in 2021, but this has been dropping since July blamed mainly on the cost‐of‐living crisis.

These figures were released by retail analysts Springboard who note that up to 50 per cent of em ployees still work from home at least part of the time, so that they are not then commuting or visiting shops during lunch hours or after work.

Even though Christmas buying should act as a fillip to the econo my, it is feared that continued in flation, higher interest rates as well as energy costs will mean less visits to high streets and a subsequent reduction in spending.

AMERICAN Fintech company Square which has had some suc cess in Spain with its easy to access payment systems and credit card readers is using its Spanish experi ence to target Hispanic businesses and consumers in the USA.

Last month it bit the bullet and translated all of its documentation and websites into Spanish to offer a seamless and understandable service within Iberia and has now transferred all that information to its targeted marketing campaign.

Para Tu Proximo Paso (For your next step) is being run on TV, YouTube and social media in Dal las, Houston and Miami and if suc cessful will be rolled out further.

MINI-BUDGET: PM Truss and Chancellor Kwarteng finalised their plans on September 22.

PROMOTING

Minister Planas at Conxemar

Vigo.

3I Group 1.129,00 1.147,50 1.128,50 1,72M

Abrdn 136,55 138,45 135,75 1,48M

Admiral Group 2.011,0 2.039,0 1.999,0 106,50K

Anglo American 2.763,0 2.880,0 2.752,0 786,26K

Antofagasta 1.117,75 1.157,00 1.115,50 757,05K

Ashtead Group 4.378,0 4.417,0 4.340,0 531,51K

Associated British Foods 1.266,0 1.298,0 1.263,5 217,84K

AstraZeneca 9.802,0 10.000,0 9.789,0 585,71K

Auto Trader Group Plc 541,00 549,60 539,40 824,99K

Aveva 3.160,0 3.171,0 3.148,0 255,51K

Aviva 404,20 409,50 403,00 2,01M

B&M European Value Retail SA316,00 323,66 314,30 88,23K

BAE Systems 820,00 830,60 816,40 4,70M

Barclays 144,80 149,20 144,54 12,47M

Barratt Developments 352,67 360,90 350,75 527,87K

Berkeley 3.391,0 3.436,0 3.361,0 391,82K

BHP Group Ltd 2.303,04 2.340,00 2.298,00 220,26K

BP 452,10 460,80 450,57 14,43M

British American Tobacco 3.260,0 3.333,0 3.262,6 1,38M

British Land Company 341,90 347,00 338,90 764,99K

BT Group 125,78 127,47 125,15 751,68K

Bunzl 2.751,0 2.812,0 2.748,0 177,63K

Burberry Group 1.906,5 1.940,0 1.906,0 372,15K

Carnival 567,2 573,6 553,4 527,21K

Centrica 68,91 71,28 68,82 8,44M

Coca Cola HBC AG 1.912,5 1.931,5 1.900,0 27,24K

Compass 1.818,00 1.848,50 1.816,00 1,95M

CRH 2.977,0 3.060,0 2.977,0 457,92K

Croda Intl 6.720,0 6.776,0 6.694,0 62,92K

DCC 4.773,0 4.827,0 4.773,0 46,54K

Diageo 3.747,9 3.817,0 3.746,7 107,93K

DS Smith 249,00 251,70 246,90 1,87M

EasyJet 295,00 298,40 289,30 1,63M

Experian 2.745,0 2.779,0 2.742,0 2,28M

Ferguson 9.994,0 10.095,0 9.914,0 274,52K

Flutter Entertainment 10.520,0 10.602,2 10.459,0 7,76K

Fresnillo 815,80 829,00 808,80 144,68K

Glencore 490,72 506,70 487,95 17,32M

GSK plc 1.317,40 1.335,80 1.316,00 4,69M

Halma 2.152,0 2.174,0 2.150,0 107,02K

Hargreaves Lansdown 899,20 925,20 897,40 407,85K

Hikma Pharma 1.275,50 1.311,50 1.273,00 200,13K

HSBC 469,95 478,45 469,75 25,88M

IAG 99,91 102,20 99,64 1,29M

Imperial Brands 1.938,00 1.987,00 1.930,50 883,43K

Informa 541,40 544,20 532,60 1,27M

InterContinental 4.459,0 4.527,0 4.459,0 345,10K

Intermediate Capital 1.085,50 1.097,50 1.067,00 679,18K

Intertek 3.791,0 3.817,0 3.790,0 104,46K

ITV 58,80 59,44 58,42 2,00M

J Sainsbury 170,90 174,90 170,70 2,10M

Johnson Matthey 1.898,0 1.922,5 1.887,5 61,89K

Land Securities 514,00 518,80 510,60 702,55K

Legal & General 225,50 229,80 224,30 9,17M

Lloyds Banking 42,40 43,54 42,37 60,64M

London Stock Exchange 7.710,0 7.850,0 7.706,0 340,75K

Melrose Industries 102,45 105,20 102,45 6,18M

Mondi 1.374,50 1.395,50 1.373,50 259,67K

National Grid 919,00 927,37 917,73 239,21K

NatWest Group 228,40 231,50 227,70 4,09M

Next 4.712,0 4.867,0 4.709,0 101,54K

Norilskiy Nikel ADR 9,10 9,10 9,10 0

Ocado 457,90 471,70 456,70 814,51K

Persimmon 1.261,0 1.296,0 1.251,5 534,08K

Phoenix 536,20 548,60 536,20 3,17M

Prudential 945,00 952,40 929,65 209,13K

Reckitt Benckiser 5.932,0 6.032,0 5.914,0 796,81K

Relx 2.268,40 2.305,00 2.268,00 1,14M

Rentokil 492,80 501,80 492,20 31,49M

Rightmove 483,00 489,65 481,15 47,11K

Rio Tinto PLC 5.026,0 5.145,0 5.016,0 955,72K

Rolls-Royce Holdings 71,49 75,23 71,44 2,85M

Rosneft DRC 0,20 0,20 0,20 0

Sage 719,40 724,00 716,20 325,94K

Samsung Electronics DRC 995,20 1.005,00 990,20 4,20K

Schroders 388,5 397,2 388,5 674,55K

Scottish Mortgage 788,19 793,60 784,80 506,91K

Segro 745,60 751,20 731,80 4,44M

Severn Trent 2.357,0 2.394,0 2.354,0 105,06K

Shell 2.270,0 2.323,0 2.259,0 8,19M

Smith & Nephew 1.043,00 1.049,50 1.033,50 652,94K

Smiths Group 1.552,50 1.579,50 1.551,50 371,79K

Spirax-Sarco Engineering 10.830,0 10.935,0 10.760,0 161,57K

SSE 1.513,00 1.545,00 1.511,50 699,24K

St. James’s Place 1.008,00 1.040,00 1.004,00 418,60K

Standard Chartered 570,60 591,80 570,40 3,79M

Taylor Wimpey 93,22 95,00 92,26 5,12M

Tesco 200,30 205,10 200,20 5,90M

Tui 113,10 116,75 110,70 2,01M

Unilever 3.932,0 3.989,5 3.929,5 685,69K

United Utilities 875,00 889,20 874,40 303,11K

Vodafone Group PLC 102,28 102,78 101,46 46,62M

Whitbread 2.501,0 2.534,0 2.474,0 467,70K

WPP 776,80 782,60 774,00 725,11K

DOW JONES

3M 114,58 114,92 138,95K

American Express 144,33 145,04 142,40 149,83K

Amgen 232,64 233,14 231,24 82,37K

Apple 147,08 147,36 145,81 6,92M

Boeing 132,49 133,30 130,66 509,20K

Caterpillar 179,75 180,98 176,89 248,01K

Chevron 160,22 161,12 157,28 961,47K

Cisco 41,97 42,06 41,58 1,03M

Coca-Cola 55,86 56,10 55,84 916,40K

Dow 45,86 46,10 45,58 255,33K

Goldman Sachs 307,48 309,08 305,47 80,82K

Home Depot 289,15 289,97 287,85 191,20K

Honeywell 176,43 177,69 176,29 155,23K

IBM 124,98 125,25 124,55 308,04K

Intel 27,59 27,76 27,29 2,69M

J&J 163,63 165,00 163,63 358,16K

JPMorgan 109,24 110,19 108,96 787,83K

McDonald’s 238,76 239,88 238,15 139,37K

Merck&Co 87,69 87,94 87,49 499,84K

Microsoft 249,40 250,34 247,99 1,95M

Nike 91,75 92,62 90,58 1,11M

Procter&Gamble 128,29 129,06 127,97 306,60K

Salesforce Inc 156,85 158,23 155,60 507,12K

The Travelers 159,48 159,84 158,73 42,28K

UnitedHealth 526,62 528,33 523,90 107,07K

Verizon 39,36 39,66 39,15 4,02M

Visa A 187,38 188,05 186,51 391,27K

Walgreens Boots 33,20 33,25 32,93 354,54K

Walmart 134,31 134,46 133,14 418,09K

Walt Disney 101,08 101,45 100,14 465,93K

Most Advanced

Code Chain New Continent Ltd +119.45% 32.36M

Statera Biopharma +106.78% 33.06M

Motus GI Holdings +44.18% 4.38M

Pineapple Holdings +37.68% 26.41M

Revelation Biosciences +31.72% 4.36M

Heartbeam +31.02% 19.35M

Provention Bio +28.48% 3.15M

Green Giant +27.78% 2.87M

Healthcare Triangle +16.67% 31.23K

Wisekey International Holding AG +19.11% 3.52M

Clever Leaves Holdings +22.39% 0.13K

Most Declined

Avanti Acquisition -85.00% 480.75K

Cyclerion Therapeutics -32.68% 415.40K

Chardan Nextech Acquisition 2 -29.63% 157.13K

UWM Holdings -22.53% 1.37K

Top Ships -21.26% 1.52M

Crown Electrokinetics -21.05% 1.19M

FingerMotion -17.74% 1.43M

Applied Therapeutics -17.81% 205.95K

Chardan Nextech Acquisition 2 -16.15% 0.49K

Gold Royalty -15.55% 639.48K

Gold Royalty Wnt -14.73% 2.70K

2023 budget

ADDRESSING the House of Deputies on October 5, Spanish President Pe dro Sánchez explained that the 2023 budget in creases social spending by 35 per cent compared to 2018, reinforces the sustainability of the pub lic pension system and raises regional financing to an all‐time high.

Best bars

THIS year’s World’s 50 Best Bars list was an nounced at a live awards ceremony held in Barcelona on October 5 with the host city not only winning Europe’s best bar and coming first with Par adiso, but had two more bars placed in the top 10.

Libyan problems

THE Governor of the Cen tral Bank of Libya, Al Sidiq Omar Al Kabir, for mally received the Am bassador of Spain to Libya, Javier Qarsa Larac ci to discuss a number of matters including the dif ficulties facing Spanish companies who want to resume their operations in Libya.

Deliveroo HOP

FOOD delivery company

Deliveroo seems to have turned the tables upon it self by opening a store in partnership with Morrisons situated in London’s New Oxford Street.

Although it will employ some 19 staff dedicated to preparing groceries to be delivered, it will also wel come members of the pub lic to browse its shelves but on Monday October 3, just two people were waiting for the Deliveroo HOP store to open its doors for the first time.

Deliveroo say that situat ed where it is, those visiting other nearby shops and de partment stores will be able to pop in and pick up groceries to go.

Bad debt provisions

BANK OF SPAIN Governor encour ages new bad debt provisions by commercial banks in order to en sure that they are not caught out if economy falters.

Although not quite as dramatic as the apparent rift between the Bank of England and the UK Gov ernment, there appear to be signs of disagreement between Spain’s economy minister Nadia Calviño and Bank of Spain Gover nor Pablo Hernandez de Cos.

He delivered a long speech at the El Economista Forum on Tues day October 4 in which he warned banks against the possi bility of defaulting loans due to high energy costs and the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

On the same day Minister Calviño suggested that there were currently no signs of an eco nomic slowdown even though on

the previous day, the forecast for 2023 growth had been reduced from 2.7 per cent to 2.1 per cent.

One of the highlights of the

Governor’s speech was this state ment “We find ourselves in a highly complex macro‐financial situation, characterised by high

Greenwashing in the UK

inflation, tightening of financial conditions, and increased uncer tainty, which has already led to a slowdown of economic activity.”

He highlighted the fact that there would be a downturn in economic growth, later forecast ing a 2023 growth of just 1.4 per cent due to the cost‐of‐living cri sis and the unresolved situation with Russia and Ukraine.

Although he accepted that the current debt situation in Spain is good, he anticipates the situation deteriorating should there be higher inflation, as well as soaring interest rates since the majority of mortgages are at variable rates.

Some Spanish banks have strengthened through mergers, but could still be vulnerable to in creasing bad debts and significant increases in operating costs.

Dearer fuel

AS the world economy enjoyed some respite from the rising cost of living thanks to a drop in the price of crude oil, members of the main oil producing nations group OPEC+, which includes Russia, have announced that they will reduce production.

With two million less barrels being produced each day, this decision has been made in order to push the price back up again and is of course of spe cial interest to the Russian Govern ment.

This is the largest cut in production since 2020 and comes despite the knowledge that most of the world is facing economic crisis fuelled in part by the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

GREENWASHING is a viable mar keting plan for businesses who want to persuade the public that their product is environmentally friendly.

As consumers become more alert to the need to preserve the environment, many companies have come up with PR strategies which range from ‘varnishing the truth’ to simple fabrication and this process is known as green washing.

In late September 2022, Envi ronmental Social and Governance (ESG) communications agency, Clearly PR polled 1,500 senior UK executives asking whether they

understood their sustainability aims and whether they were achieving them.

Astonishingly almost half (44 per cent) of these UK businesses admitted that they are failing to deliver on their sustainable com mitments, with nearly one in five (18 per cent) admitting to publicly exaggerating their green creden tials.

A further one in four (24 per cent) admit they do not know if their sustainability efforts are making any positive difference at all, and 20 per cent were even un aware as to whether their busi ness had any system in place to

measure the effectiveness of their environmental initiatives in the first place.

To put this into perspective, just 19 per cent of respondents be lieved that their business was making genuine progress on its sustainable initiatives.

The findings of the poll could suggest that the rise in businesses guilty of greenwashing may partly be the result of a lack of under standing among businesses of how to measure the impact of their sustainability initiatives in the first place but equally a good num ber cynically distort the truth in or der to benefit their companies.

Tesco figures

BRITAIN’S largest supermarket chain Tesco has seen an increase in turnover, but a significant drop in profit in the first half of 2022.

It has announced that profit before tax plummeted by 64 per cent to £413 million during that period, but still ex pects to hit the low end of forecast for the year at around £2.4 billion thanks to recent innovations.

In addition, it is to increase staff hourly rates for the second time this year from November to help staff cope with the rising cost of living, bringing their annual pay rise to 8 per cent and increasing club card discounts.

GOVERNOR PABLO HERNANDEZ DE COS.

GREENWASH DEMONSTRATION: Many companies fabricate the truth.

MANY moons ago, when I began writ ing for this wholly unique, free think ing publication, I often wrote of the impending national disaster should the UK continue to allow immigra tion, particularly from countries out side of Europe, to continue virtually unchecked. This resulted in the emer gence of the phrase ‘Another Leapy Rant,’ which became one of the most oft uttered observations in a whole multitude of derisory mail that subse quently found its way into the EWN postbag.

Although many agreed with my sentiments, laughter and derision was, at that time, very much the or der of the day. Well, they’re not laughing now are they? I can quite categorically state that Great Britain as we knew it has changed ‐ forever. Sure, the country areas are, for the time being, reminiscent of our great culture and heritage, but in the cities, particularly parts of London, British values are virtually non‐existent.

Don’t take my word for it. These are a few observations from an article recently published by a female jour

Prophecies proved right

nalist who has, for 17 years lived in Acton Vale, London, one of the areas most affected by immigration.

She writes. “So many Muslims in the area insist on their separateness there are not even any attempts to in tegrate into British society.” She goes on to say that her neighbours ‘flap by’ in full niqab, so heavily veiled she can’t see their eyes. When she smiles and tries to communicate, they won’t even look her in the eye.

She claims most of the shops have been taken over by Muslims and even her fish and chip shop has become Halal. A nearby shop, which advertis es ‘no alcohol’, has recently added that alcohol is also banned in streets near the shop!

Muslim patrols are also allegedly in creasing, with white ‘normally clad’ Western girls, being admonished for ‘exposing themselves’ near a mosque. The members of these ‘patrols’ have also been heard shouting ‘this is a Muslim area’ at other white Britons. Openly gay men have reportedly been attacked on the streets. The list simply goes on and on.

So, despite wishful thinking from multi culturists, wilful segregation has

resulted in, among other unaccept able practices, the term ‘White Flight’. Nearly two million white Britons have left London over the last 10 years.

Furthermore, police have apparent ly been ordered not to enter certain areas in uniform and advised it is also considered unwise to wear any part of their uniform (ie blue trousers) anywhere at all when off duty.

Most of the old Leaper’s ‘rantings’ have been realised. So, all you snowflakes out there, despite your well‐intentioned, but unbelievably naïve aspirations for us all to all live side by side as one big happy family, the unforgivable fault is mass uncon trolled, alien immigration. An error of judgement that unfortunately is mak ing reluctant cynics of just about ev eryone.

Keep the faith.

Love Leapy leapyee2002 @ gmail.com

Good times run dry on avocado plantations

NORAJOHNSON BREAKINGVIEWS

A SPANISH Stonehenge has been discov ered in Andalucia on farmland near the border with Portugal after the owners presented plans to convert potentially one of the largest me galithic sites in Europe in to an avocado plantation.

The site, dating back at least 7,000 years, contains more than 500 standing stones and two stone cir cles similar to the one on Salisbury Plain. Nonethe less, should Spain allow these avocado plantations given that every kilo of av ocado fruit requires 2,000+ litres of water?

With avocados viewed as ‘green gold’, farmers in Andalucia and many other parts of Spain will be sorely tempted to rip out orange trees to plant this ‘lucra tive’ fruit.

But with water shortages exacerbated by drought, it’s no stretch of the imagina tion to foresee they’ll soon be fighting, literally, over water supplies.

Orange trees have already been ripped out in Valencia, replaced by pomegranate trees. Now farmers there want avocados, too, but are currently be ing refused, presumably because of wa ter usage costs.

A final thought: if you look at what’s happening in Australia due to over production, prices have crashed. Maybe that’ll happen here, too. And they’ll start putting all those traditional, less‐thirsty orange trees back. Result!

Nora’s latest thriller.

Nora Johnson’s critical ly acclaimed psychologi cal crime thrillers (www.nora‐johnson.net) all available online in cluding eBooks (€0.99; £0.99), Apple Books, audiobooks, paper backs at Amazon etc. Profits to Cudeca cancer charity.

NoraJohnson’sopinionsareherownandarenotnecessarilyrepresentativeofthoseofthepublishers,advertisersorsponsors.

Noraistheauthorofpopularpsychological suspenseandcrimethrillersandafreelancejournalist.

By Clinica Britannia

For a better night’s sleep

MY husband’s snoring has become increasingly worse, and he often complains of waking up with a headache. Could there be a more se rious underlying issue than just sim ple snoring?

Tell your husband to visit his GP as he could be suffering with a disorder called Sleep Apnoea. This is a poten tially serious sleep disorder in which breathing repeatedly stops and starts, causing you to gasp for air. This pattern can repeat itself up to 30 times or more an hour, impairing the ability to reach the deep, restful phases of sleep we need. Also, if left untreated can lead to heart prob lems and other complications.

Now available is the world’s small est wireless nanotech device which when attached to your fingertip can conduct a detailed sleep study in the comfort of your own home to diag nose a variety of sleep disorders by detecting body movement, heart

rate, and the amount of oxygen in the blood.

Your specialist will then receive a detailed report about your sleep pattern, the source of the snoring can be identified, and appropriate steps taken to eliminate the prob lem. Often a simple personalised device made by a dentist that is worn in the mouth at night­time can alleviate the sleep apnoea, allowing for all to have a better quality of sleep.

SNORING: Could be sleep apnoea.

Tips for mental well-being

WITH World Mental Health Day being cele brated on October 10, UNICEF have highlight ed the importance of looking after mental health even if you don’t have a problem. We share some guidance on how to maintain good mental well­being with just a few simple steps.

• Eat healthily

Food and drink affect our bodies and minds, a balanced diet containing lots of fruit and vegetables is essential. Spain has plenty of fresh seasonal produce you can enjoy that can boost vitamin intake, particularly at this time of year.

• Learn new skills

Learning something new is an excellent way to engage the brain and can make daily

routines more exciting. Learning new skills can also be a great way to socialise, especially by joining a club. From baking to gardening, there are plenty of options!

• Make plans

Having something to look forward to can improve mood and decrease stress. Plan to visit a new place or spend time with friends or family. Studies showed people were 12 times happier when they spent a day with friends or family.

• Spend time outdoors

Experts have found links between good mental well­being and spending time outside. It can improve mood, self­esteem, reduce feelings of loneliness, help with relaxation and connect you to your local community.

By Clinica Britannia

For brighter whiter teeth

MANY of us try to hide or are embar rassed of our smile due to having dark or discoloured teeth. This can be due to ‘lifestyle’ habits such as drinking coffee, red wine, smoking or medication that we need to take. Now available is an amazing FLASH PEARL cleaning system which may be the answer you are looking for, to rid your teeth of those nasty stains.

FLASH PEARL cleaning is a safe, gentle, and effective way of removing stubborn lifestyle stains from your teeth helping to make them appear whiter, brighter and feel cleaner than they ever have before.

Your Dental specialist will use this sys tem to gently remove these stains, restor ing your natural smile. The spherical shape of FLASH PEARL cleaning powder is designed to roll smoothly over the tooth surface, penetrating all corners for a per fect cleaning.

The advantages of the FLASH PEARL treatment are:

• Cleans down to the enamel shine, leaving teeth whiter and smoother.

• Erases residue and stains on teeth.

• Reduces the acidity of saliva.

• Inhibits bacteria development.

Contact your Dentist now for a check­up to see if this amazing cleaning treatment is suitable for you, your teeth are guaranteed to look whiter and feel cleaner than ever before.

FLASH PEARL: A safe and gentle cleaning system.

Learning

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.

CLOCKS CHANGE

WE will soon have to turn the clocks back an hour, on October 29/30.

It is time to say enough is enough and say “No more changing of our clocks.”

Let us at least have one thing in this troubled world stay as it was meant to be .

I don’t know who con trols these clocks, but we should let them know that there are many out here who do not agree with them.

Inga Mojacar

Thank you

Hello, yet again EWN we would like to thank you for getting the FULL answers to the Nonogram into your solutions page. I know we’ve been asking for a while and you have always told us that you’d try and you have eventually man aged to do it.

Many thanks from us (and maybe a ‘few’ others that may have wanted the same).

It’s nice to know that you do actually take notice of your reader’s comments and also take action when you can.

Again, many thanks for providing that extra bit of information. We obviously will continue to collect and enjoy your paper each week, as we have done for many years.

J & S & Friends

UK’s choice

I still find it difficult to

comprehend why some people still don’t under stand Brexit, Susan Han nah’s letter complaining about the ridiculous 90 ‐day rule.

I wholeheartedly agree with her except one thing, it was the UK that insisted

and introduced it not Spain, we are a third country now totally our choice, maybe English ex ceptionalism is still alive and kicking.

Alan Robinson Moraira

OUR VIEW

NOBEL PEACE PRIZE

ALTHOUGH there was some talk of cancelling this year’s Nobel Peace Prize Awards, due to the ongoing invasion of Ukraine and other smaller yet still deadly conflicts taking place, this was soon discounted.

The actual shortlist for those nominated is a closely kept secret which is not revealed until 50 years after the event but perhaps unsurprisingly, the 2022 Awards are associat ed with the Ukraine but not as directly as might have been expected.

One of the three recipients is the Ukrainian Centre for Civil Liberties which was established in 2007 to promote human rights values and has played an important part in trying to gather support for Ukraine and the rights of its citi zens following the invasion.

As an interesting side line, the team governing the or ganisation is almost exclusively made up of women, although this may be because so many male members have been conscripted or volunteered to fight.

Next on the list of recipients is a Russian organisation Memorial also dedicated to the support of human rights which was founded some 30 years ago in memory of the millions of Russians who suffered during the Soviet era.

Last of the Peace Prize winners is Ales Bialiatski, a hu man rights advocate from Belarus, an outspoken supporter of democracy and was for many years associated with the now banned Minsk based Viasna Human Rights Cen tre.

Bialiatski has been in jail since July 2021 having been found guilty of ‘tax evasion’.

Hopefully by the time next year’s Peace Prize is awarded the Ukrainian situation will be resolved and the current winners will have a greater measure of freedom.

Looking after your pets as part of the family

ARE you looking for a trusted, car ing and reliable veterinary centre to look after your pets? At Animalets Veterinary Centre, they will look af ter your animal like it is their own, offering treatment, advice and a range of other services to keep your pet healthy and happy!

Taking your best friend to the vets can be a stressful and worrying time ‐ for you and your pet ‐ but the team at Animalets will provide you with a relaxed environment, using techniques and handling of your cat, dog, bird, reptile or exotic animal that will make your visit as comfortable as possible. The team has been taking care of and treat ing animals for the past 19 years, so you can be sure that your pet is in the best possible hands.

Collaborating with various spe cialists such as neurologists, derma tologists, ethologists (specialising in behaviour), traumatologists, oncol ogists and ophthalmologists, you can be sure your animal will receive

the highest level of care and diag nosis as quickly as possible for your peace of mind. Animalets also has a laboratory for all types of analysis, two operating rooms, as well as di agnostic imaging facilities to deter mine the best treatment needed.

It is impossible to predict when our pet will become sick or need treatment urgently, that’s why Ani malets has 24‐hour emergency

care so that you can be sure your animal will be cared for at any time of the day, including public holi days. The services at Animalets in clude:

• General internal medicine

• Ultrasound dental cleaning

• Vaccines for disease prevention

• Pet Identification: microchip ping, pet passports etc

• Travel certificates, CEXGAN,

sanitary certificates

• X‐ray and ultrasound equip ment

• Exotic medicine

• Hospitalisation

• Surgery

What we feed our pets is really important and affects their skin, coat and weight. Animalets has a large stock of specialised food for the treatment of the most com mon pathologies such as urinary or kidney problems, gastrointestinal problems, allergy problems and food intolerances.

For older pets or animals that

have had an accident and now find it difficult to move around and enjoy their walks like they used to, Animalets provide phys iotherapy treatments to make them more comfort able, prevent injuries, rein force and maintain physical fitness, restore movement and improve welfare.

Animalets also collaborate with the Javea Feral Cats As sociation, Catland, APASA and Ra ma, treating sick animals and, im portantly, sterilising wild cats to try to control the population of Javea ‐contributing to lowering the num ber of cats living on the streets.

The practitioners at Animalets have continued with regular train ing, using the most advanced tech nology in their field, including the best and latest diagnostic technolo gy. Your best friends deserve the best treatment, and that is what they will have at Animalets!

Top gardening tips this autumn

HAVING a healthy, green gar den adds value to your prop erty and makes it a more en joyable place to be. As autumn approaches, take some time to prepare your garden for the coming sea son and keep it in top condi tion.

Tidy up

After a summer spent out doors, lots of us accumulate things in our gardens that need tidying away when winter comes. It might sound simple, but investing in some garden storage can make your outdoor space look much neater.

Rake up leaves

Maintaining a grass lawn in Spain can be a particular challenge with long, dry sum mers but rotting leaves can cause problems too. Rake up leaves to avoid them decom posing and attracting unde sirable bugs.

Bring in plants

If you have potted plants outdoors, check which ones can survive winter outdoors and which would be better inside.

Keep your garden hydrat ed

Weather experts forecast a drier­than­usual autumn in Spain. Ensure your plants and lawn get enough water by keeping track of rainfall and watering them if neces sary.

Save energy costs

AS energy costs soar across Europe, many homeowners are concerned about paying bills over the winter. Here we provide some expert tips to save costs around the house on electricity and gas bills.

It can be tempting to switch the heating on when it feels cooler. But experts warn against keeping heating on for too long, heating your home more than 20 minutes in advance is a waste of energy. Other simple measures in clude buying a pair of curtains for large windows and sealant tape are cost­effective ways to prevent energy loss.

You can also invest in an intelligent thermostat which can be controlled through an app on your smartphone or device and allow you to control energy use around the house more accurately.

Experts recommend using lower temperature cycles on your washing machine. Clothes will still be cleaned, but with less energy wasted.

Energy­saving LED lightbulbs are another simple way to reduce energy wasted on inefficient older bulbs which lead to higher energy bills.

Moving delicate plants inside for winter means you can enjoy them longer. Photo credit: New Africa

How to welcome a rescue pet

HEART-BREAKING figures released this summer revealed that Spain has the most abandoned pets in Europe, at nearly 300,000. As shelters encourage people in Spain to rescue a pet rather than buying a new one, we share three top tips on how to welcome a rescue animal into your home.

1. Prepare in advance

If you are prepared for your new pet, this can avoid issues if anything unexpected comes up later. Decide where your pet will be sleeping, eating and playing and prepare these areas ahead of time. Stock up on food only once you know what your pet likes to eat.

2. Be patient

Rescue animals often have experienced lots in their lives, in cluding trauma, and it can take them time to adjust to a new home. Introduce friends and family slowly, to avoid overwhelm ing your pet.

3. Prioritise exercise

It can be difficult to recognise signs of anxiety or depression in pets, but ensuring they get enough exercise can help them to let off steam. If you are adopting a dog, consult your vet to find out how much to walk it, if you choose a cat, make sure it has access to an outdoor space or somewhere to exercise.

THE Spanish government announced legislation to make pet microchipping a legal requirement, but many people still have questions about how the process works. Here we explain the process to ease any anxieties or doubts for pet owners.

Microchipping has multiple benefits, name ly to increase the likeli hood of being reunited if your pet gets lost, but al so to help vets keep upto­date with your pets’ details and vaccinations.

But what actually hap pens during the process?

Pets can only be mi crochipped by a trained professional, so speak to your vet to book an ap pointment to ensure that the chip will be officially registered. Pets need to be older than four months old in Spain to be microchipped. You will need to take your pet’s health record (car tilla sanitaria) with you and proof of rabies vacci nation.

At your pet’s microchip appointment, the vet

How does microchipping work: a guide to put your mind at ease

will use a special im planter to place a tiny chip under your pet’s skin with a needle. Chips contain a unique 15 digit number that can be iden

tified by vets when scanned. The procedure may be uncomfortable for your pet, but doesn’t last long.

In most cases, your pet

won’t need to recover af ter the appointment, but contact a vet immediate ly if you believe your pet is having an allergic reac tion to the chip.

Urinary problems in dogs and cats

HERE are some signs that may lead you to think that your dog or cat has a urinary tract problem:

Change in urine colour and increased turbidity

Presence of blood in urine

Strong smell of urine

Straining or pain when uri nating

He urinates at home or in the case of the cat outside the litter box

Needs to be let out more often (Increased amount or frequency of urination)

Licking the vulva or penis Fever

Lethargy

Higher water consumption.

Vomiting

Changes in appetite

Weight loss

What Causes Urinary Tract Problems in Dogs?

There are many causes of lower urinary tract problems, such as:

Inflammation or infection of the bladder or kidneys

Presence of stones, crystals, or cellular debris in the blad der or urethra

Trauma, congenital anoma lies or cancer in the kidneys, ureter, bladder or urethra.

Prostate disease

Spinal cord abnormalities

Diagnosing urinary tract problems requires your vet erinarian to do a physical ex am that includes checking the kidneys and bladder. They will also likely perform a urinalysis. A urine culture, blood tests, ultrasound, or X­rays may also be neces sary, depending on findings. Sometimes it is even neces sary to perform a CT scan for more complex patholo gies.

WINDOW TINTING

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Subaru Outback - the thinking drivers’ choice

lead­in model more than ac ceptable.

byMarkSlack

SUBARU have not had much luck with sales of late despite arguably having one of the most interesting range of cars. Having reinvented them selves as an SUV brand their sales have improved consider ably with new dealers also added to the network.

In addition to a new all­EV shortly, Subaru have two well established self­charging hy brids with XV and Forester.

My particular focus is on the Outback that is essentially a large estate car with raised ride height and all­wheeldrive. Even the lead­in model of the three trims on offer is loaded with standard equip ment and prices start from €41,037/£35,995.

Power comes from a 2.5litre, four­cylinder petrol box er engine that is a wellknown Subaru powertrain

and delivers good perfor mance via a CVT automatic transmission. While, as with all CVT gearboxes, the char acteristic high revs while the gearbox and speed catch up is present, the Subaru box is one of the best of this type that I have driven.

The Outback’s premium

build quality means you are well insulated from the out side world but nonetheless the CVT characteristic engine revs are still heard.

The equipment levels, even for a car at this price point, puts many others to shame with everything you might ex pect, from keyless entry and

start and dual zone air condi tioning, through to things you might not expect, such as heated rear seats and steering adaptive lighting.

Three trim levels ­ Limited, Field and Touring ­ offer an increasing range of features as standard but in all honesty most people would find the

Apart from an excellent load space the biggest plus point of the Outback is practi cality. With increased ride height, and protection on the wheel arches and bumpers, it is capable of much more than rutted tracks and fields.

Space is plentiful inside the car and fold the rear seats and it becomes a mobile dance hall. There are plenty of nooks and crannies to store your incar detritus and the smart

phone integration is quick and easy, something that isn’t al ways the case.

Subaru have always been a sophisticated, thinking drivers’ choice, in a similar manner to that which applied to Saab, but they have started gaining back some of the mass market appeal they had when the Impreza ruled the rally stages. Long may it con tinue because Subaru is a brand with real character in an automotive landscape that seems all too similar.

Facts at a Glance

Model: Subaru Outback Touring

Price: €47,304/£41,495

Engine: 2.5-litre, 4-cylinder, Boxer, petrol

Gears: CVT automatic

Performance: 0-100 kmh (62 mph) 10.2 seconds/Maximum Speed 193 kmh (120 mph)

Economy: 7.17l/100km (32.8mpg) Combined driving (WLTP)

Emissions: 193 g/km (WLTP)

Model tested was UK-specification and equipment levels and prices may vary in other markets.

PRACTICAL OUTBACK: Even the lead-in model is loaded with standard equipment.

AS reported by the Porsche Newsroom, the iconic Cayenne is turning 20 and its influence has been great. It has helped to define the brand as well as combining comfort and off­road qualities with sportiness. As an allrounder, it has also been met with enthusiasm by Porsche customers.

It’s not very often that 20year­olds change the world. At the very least, the Cayenne has managed to turn the Porsche world upside down. The sports car manufacturer had high hopes for the ‘third Porsche’ ­ after the Boxster and 911 (type 996) ­ when it launched in 2002.

The Cayenne was designed to tap into new markets and

The 20th anniversary of the Porsche Cayenne is approaching

thus secure the company’s fu ture over the long term.

Twenty years later, we now know that the Cayenne far ex ceeded these high expecta tions. The Porsche SUV helped shape the segment of ultrasporty off­roaders that was still young at the time, and its impressive success has opened up new options for the market itself.

In addition to two­door sports cars, there’s now also a range of highly dynamic fourdoor vehicles to choose from: the Cayenne was followed by

the Panamera, the Macan, and the all­electric Taycan.

With the third generation launched in 2017, the Cayenne is available in a vari ety of variants and has proven

itself to be a family­friendly travel vehicle, robust off­road er, and spacious sports car. And it can do so much more.

The sky’s the limit. See for yourself!

Credit: Porsche Newsroom

Porsche Cayenne.

Verstappen champion again

RED BULL driver Max Ver stappen was crowned as the F1 world champion on Sunday, October 9, for the second consecu tive season. The Dutchman total ly domi nated a rainy Japanese Grand Prix in Suzaka, although his title came under dramatic circum stances.

His crown was not im mediately guaranteed af ter the race ended as there was confusion over the actual length of time the drivers had spent racing due to the rain causing a shortened race.

FIA awarded the drivers full points as re duced points would only have been applied if the

race had been suspend

The difference in point reduction would have left Verstappen still short of the title. When in formed that he had just become champion again, a bemused Verstappen even asked: “Are you sure?” He now heads to the USA Grand Prix with his second world title safe ly in the bag. Verstappen said: “It’s crazy, very mixed emo tions. Win ning the champi onship, what a year we’ve had. It’s incredi ble!”

Boxing ban lifted

THE International Boxing Association (IBA) announced on Wednesday, October 5 that it voted in favour to cancel its previous decision and allow boxers of Russia and Belarus to com pete at the IBA events with immediate ef fect,” the Internation al Boxing Associa tion said.

“The IBA strongly believes that poli tics shouldn’t have any influence on sports. Hence, all ath letes should be given equal conditions.”

International Boxing Association (IBA) makes major announcement concerning Russia and Belarus fighters.

It added: “Respect ing its own autonomy as the international sports federa tion, the IBA shall remain politically neutral and indepen dent. IBA calls for peace and remains a peacemaker in any conflicts.

“Moreover, the IBA has obligation to ensure equal treat ment towards the athletes and competition officials, re gardless of their nationality and residence.

“Both Russian and Belarus teams will be able to perform under their flags, and the national anthems will be played in case they win a gold medal.”

According to the decision, “the technical officials of Rus sia and Belarus will also be back in the competitions.”

VERSTAPPEN: Champion for the second time after win in Japan.