Costa de Almeria 27 October - 2 November 2022 Issue 1947

FINISHING TOUCH

CAROL NEWTON, one of the Mojacar FaXtor organisers, re cently contacted the Euro Weekly News with a surprise postscript.

The successful Ukraine fundraiser, which concluded with a €5,001 cheque for the Red Cross, included a raffle with a first prize of a sevennight break for two in a studio apartment at the San Antonio four­star hotel in Malta.

This was available because Carol had recently been diag nosed with breast cancer and, aware that they could not take their usual holiday, she and her partner instead added the holiday to the raffle prizes.

“Let someone else enjoy it,” she declared when the Eu ro Weekly News first spoke to her in June.

The Mojacar FaXtor initia tive followed on from Carol’s head shave that raised €2,011 and which she handed over to the Ukrainian Refugee Relief Fund.

Then came an even brighter idea.

Why not organise a talent contest to help the victims of the war­torn country?

This evolved into Mojacar

FaXtor, with heats held in multiple venues in Mojacar and the surrounding area throughout the summer. Each heat winner secured a place in the Grand Finale that was held at the Miraflores Bar in Los Gallardos, with runnersup entering a local semi­final.

The overall winner was Julie Marshall, although there were also prizes for those in second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth place.

The €500 prize money, raised from the raffle, was in creased to €660 to ensure a cash prize for the six finalists

and, after deducting minor as sociated expenses of €80, the Mojacar FaXtor was able to hand over €5,001 to the Red Cross.

There was also a heartwarming and unexpected se quel to the project, whose beneficiaries were nearer home.

“Good news!” Carol told us on October 22, shortly after returning home following her cancer operation at HuercalOvera hospital.

“The Malta holiday was donated back by the winner who was unable to use it,”

Carol said.

“It was run as a separate raffle for the Vera and District Lions Club at separate events at the New Bar International in Arboleas and at the Mi raflores Bar in Los Gallardos.”

This raffle, which raised a total of €700 for the Lions was drawn on Tuesday October 18 and went to a Miraflores resident, owner of ticket number 408, Carol said.

go back one hour at 3am

Linda Hall

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED: Carol Newton waiting to leave Huercal-Overa hospital.

Photo credit: Carol Newton

Crystal clear

THE Costa de Almeria destination was the cen tre of Spain’s geological tourism industry be tween October 18 and 22.

More than 150 experts and sector represen tatives converged on Pulpi for the eighth edi tion of the Tourist Caves and Mines Confer ence, Cuevatur, the country’s leading gathering of this kind.

They were also drawn by the Geoda, one of the world’s largest crystal caves and indis putably the largest that can be visited.

“It is a matter of pride to be an epicentre for national investigation,” confirmed the presi dent of the Diputacion provincial council, Javier

Aureliano Garcia Molina.

The Diputacion are fully committed to pro moting the Geoda and other zones of geologi cal interest. Boosting their full potential trans lates into prosperity and employment for municipalities, areas and the entire province,” Garcia Molina added.

Almeria was an ideal location for the Cue vatur conference, he continued, owing to its natural diversity and characteristics that made it unique.

“In short, this conference makes clear that Almeria has a close relationship with nature,” he concluded.

All-round improvements

WORK began on a €400,000 roundabout in Huercal­Overa’s Monte castillo district.

The oval­shaped traffic island at the Calle Colon, Avenida Dr Jimenez Diaz and N­340 intersection will improve traffic flow at one of the town’s busiest points.

The roundabout will not only benefit Huercal­

Overa but also the Alman zora towns, Levante and Los Velez, said Antonio Je sus Rodriguez, who heads the Infrastructure depart ment at the Diputacion provincial council.

“Hundreds of people from neighbouring areas come here each day on business or to attend the La Inmaculada hospital,” Rodriguez pointed out.

“This project is going to improve conditions on one of Huercal’s principal thoroughfares for many people.”

Local mayor Domingo Fernandez added that the town hall would continue to perfect communica tions inside the municipal ity while improving road safety and reducing the number of accidents.

Clocks back

ON Sunday October 30, at 03.00, Daylight Saving Time ends and the clocks will be turned back one hour to 02.00. There will be more light in the morn ing, however the dark nights will be drawing in.

Grassed up

HUERCAL­OVERA’S Local Police seized 490 kilos of hashish from an industrial estate warehouse and ar rested a 35­year­old man, following a tipoff about a suspicious car on October 12. Having intercepted his Mercedes on false plates, they searched the area, later discovering the drugs in a nearby industrial unit.

Unusual trips

ALMERIA City Hall is organ ising a series of visits to municipal installations, in troducing residents to the work carried out on their behalf. Visits for parties of 20 to the wastewater treatment plant, desalina tion plant, municipal nurs eries and the local rubbish dump will take place be tween November and next June.

Shameful stat

THERE are currently 275 Almeria Province men ac cused of sexist violence who have been issued with restraining orders and must wear electronic tags. This accounts for more than a quarter of all the tags that are currently worn in Andalucia, re vealed the central govern ment’s Sub­delegate for Domestic Abuse.

Green light

ANDALUCIA’S Upper Court of Justice (TSJA) gave the go­ahead to Pechina’s plans for a re sort and golf course on 176 hectares of land be tween Sierra Alhamilla and the Tabernas Desert. Pechina has now been given 18 months to incor porate the project into the PGOU town plan.

Bins for awareness

Betty Henderson

AN unconventional recy cling initiative is raising awareness about breast cancer in Almería. Launched to coincide with World Breast Cancer Awareness Day on Octo ber 18, the ‘Recycle for them’ glass recycling cam paign launched for the eighth consecutive year in the region.

The initiative has been organised by a partner ship between breast can cer charity, the Sandra Ibarra Foundation, and the national recycling agency, Ecovidrio. The

campaign raises aware ness about breast cancer and funds for charities with painted glass collec tion bins placed in promi

Day Centre bar

ALBOX Town Hall is seeking an individual or business interested in running the bar at the new Day Centre for the elderly.

The Centre will be located in the building gen erally referred to as ‘the Sindicatos building’ which is municipally-owned and has recently un dergone exhaustive renovations, ready for its new role.

The bar concession has been set at €200 a month, announced Albox mayor Francisco Tor recillas, although whoever takes it on will be ex pected to carry a certain amount of work on the bar premises before these are ready for use.

Breast Cancer History

EVERY year countries across the world observe Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October.

The month is marked with events to raise awareness about breast cancer and its detec tion. Breast cancer can occur throughout any stage of life, including in men and pregnant women. Do you know all of the symptoms to be aware of?

Symptoms include thickening or swelling in a part of the breast or the armpit, irritation or dimpling of breast skin, pain in the nipple area, discharge from the nipple, redness or flaky skin in the nipple area and changes in the shape and size of the breast.

There is no exhaustive list of breast cancer symptoms and self­examinations can be tricky, so make sure to check out any concerns you might have with a medical professional and at tend any breast examination appointments you are offered.

Early detection of breast cancer can save lives, so don’t delay in checking out any potential symptoms.

nent locations and a raf fle of a ‘recycling bin tree’ where participants can win their own mini pink recycling bin designed by

illustrator, Sara Herranz.

Environmental council lor, Margarita Cobos, ex plained “The theme of this year’s Breast Cancer Awareness Day is ‘I promise to take care of myself’, so this is the per fect campaign to remind women to take care of their bodies and health in the same way that we do with the planet.”

The campaign, which is in its eighth year has now spread to more than 170 cities throughout Spain, encouraging women to check their breasts and prevent breast cancer.

Mojacar runners

Back with a bang

ALMERIA hosts a bonanza of Halloween themed ac tivities, and with 15 themed events, there is something to appeal to all tastes! The council is bring ing ‘La Noche en Negro’ Halloween event back with a bang after two years of restrictions and cancella tions due to the pandemic.

The activities will be spread out to seven differ ent locations in the city and involve something for all age groups to get involved with. Exciting activities in clude a themed ‘enchant ed’ market and a mystery ‘time machine’ exhibition.

LOS BANDIDOS is a local group, set up by Kevin Rowe in June 2018. The group start ed with a small number of regulars and has grown with runners, joggers and walkers, from permanent residents to regular visitors, covering the 5k Mojacar Paseo. All ages, nationalities and speeds are welcome! There is also a road cycling group, a triathlon group and a group of sea swimmers.

Five Los Bandidos runners travelled to Laujar de Andarax to participate in the 16th race in the Circuito de Carreras Populares Diputación de Almeria 2022 on Saturday Oc tober 22.

The 9.9km course went through the town and sur rounding countryside of Lau jar de Andarax, situated in the Alpujarras, so the furthest dis tance away in the series.

An early race start with warm and humid conditions

affected the breathing pat terns of some of the runners, and, as a result, finish times were slightly slower than was expected.

Mark Ratcliffe was the first male Los Bandidos runner to finish with a time of 49:54 and Kirsty Ratcliffe the first female with a time of 57:27.

One of the most antici pated events is a scary show at the Teatro Apolo where actors take to the stage for a terrifying perfor mance. The extensive Hal loween calendar also fea tures a costume contest for locals to show off their most terrifying and hilari ous creations, a themed terror trail and ghost walk, as well as a rock concert with astonishing special ef fects and even a firework show.

The local mayor, María del Mar Vázquez, said “We have organised so many ac tivities, costume or not, there’s no excuse to not be out in the streets, celebrat ing Halloween on October 31!”

Photo credit: Ayuntamiento de Almería

LOCAL GROUP: The five Los Bandidos Runners who took part.

Celebrating the elderly

LOOKING after the elderly is a priority for the mayor of Almeria, Maria del Mar Vazquez, who held a meeting with the users of the Oliv eros Senior Citizens’ Centre on Saturday, Octo ber 22.

Vazquez, who was accompanied by council lors Paola Laynez and Ana Martínez Labella, re iterated the city council’s commitment “to con tinue facilitating a more active and healthy life for the elderly in our city”. She also praised the work of “this centre of reference, which has

2,600 members and always welcomes with en thusiasm all the initiatives that are put for ward.” The meeting also paid tribute to Mari Hernandez, a volunteer at the centre who has reached the end of her 14 years of service as a gym instructor. She was presented with a bou quet of flowers and a gift for her involvement and good work.

The centre has begun its journey towards its 15th anniversary, which will be celebrated next year, as one of the main assets of the city.

Phenomenal fashion

A DAZZLING fashion show saw models strutting their stuff and the hard work of lo cal young designers from Vera on October 15. More than 100 outfits from 13 local busi nesses were showcased dur ing the exciting catwalk.

Plaza Mayor in Vera hosted the third edition of ‘Vera is Fashion’, which is organised annually by the local Cham ber of Commerce to promote local businesses in a historical part of the town. Professional and amateur models took to

the catwalk in an impressive setting, at the foot of the Nuestra Señora de la Encar nación de Vera Church to dis play the designers latest col lections that are available for sale now.

Local councillor for Busi

ness, Ana Lourdes Ramírez, explained that the audience enjoyed a truly magical evening, in the historical cen tre of Vera at an event which is now an integral part of the social calendar in Vera and is only getting bigger each year.

Until they return

A BLUE beret and a Legion naire’s forage cap have been placed at the feet of the Nazarene statue in Vera’s Encarnacion church.

They were put there dur ing a Mass that preceded imminent peacekeeping missions which soldiers from the Rey Alfonso XIII brigade, based in Viator, will be carrying out in Iraq and Lebanon.

This was arranged by Vera’s Nuestro Padre Je sus Nazareno brotherhood, as the brigade’s Second Field Ar tillery Group accompanies the Nazareno statue during the Good Friday procession each year. The Group is also an hon orary member of the brotherhood.

An enormous handmade candle bearing the emblem of the Spanish Legion will be kept burning in the church “until the last Legionnaire has returned,” the brotherhood said.

Betty Henderson

Locals and visitors gathered to see the latest fashions in Almeria.

Photo credit: Kittibowarnphatnon / shutterstock.com

VIATOR OFFERING: Spanish Legion soldiers will shortly leave for Iraq and Lebanon.

Photo credit: Archicofradia de Nuestro Padre Jesus Nazareno

INFORMATION at your fingertips is now possi ble as Cuevas del Almanzora has installed two interactive information panels as the town hall increasingly digitises the municipality.

Mayor, Antonio Fernandez, accompanied by Culture and Tourism councillor Maria Is abel Ponce, recently inspected both the pan els, which provide a 24­hour service each day of the week in the Parque del Recreo and in front of the Cine Teatro Echegary.

Residents and visitors can now obtain in stant information about the municipality’s places of interest, museums, monuments and archaeological sites together with tourist and hiking routes.

They are also able to consult not only timetables and Google Maps, but details of tourist accommodation, restaurants and

Anna Ellis

PEOPLE in glass houses should not throw stones!

Now, Almeria accounts for almost 90 per cent of the greenhouse area in eastern Andalucia. The Andalucian councillor for Agriculture Livestock Fisheries and Sus tainable Development, Car men Crespo Diaz, highlight ed “the great commitment of the Andalucian agricultur al sector to social, economic

Info 24-7

THERE is trouble in the air between between the PSOE and Turre para la Gente par ties and the coalition is in danger of crumpling.

Turre mayor Maria Isabel Lopez expressed her disap pointment at what she termed the latest snub from the two councillors.

On the rocks

excuses for not complying with the agreement we signed and torpedoing the work that we are doing.”

shops with information about local fiestas and events. Antonio Fernandez also pointed out that the panels answer the need of sus tainable tourism as they reduce waiting times in Tourist Information offices and save paper.

Greenhouse leaders

and environmental sustain ability.”

She added: “This among other measures, is reflected in the great efficiency of wa ter use that characterises the Andalucian countryside and, especially, the wintering area.”

By way of example, she explained that “the water

footprint of the agricultural sector in Almeria, which is closely linked to greenhous es, is 20 times lower than the national average”; and she recalled that these agri cultural production infras tructures are “an important CO2 sink whose plastic cov ers are 100 per cent recy cled.”

“It’s unacceptable that they continually put spokes in the wheels of solutions to the town’s problems out of electoral and party inter ests,” Lopez said.

“The councillors come up with increasingly farfetched

THERE will be no glitches or hitches for this year’s Christ mas celebrations as Almeria City Hall is already making sure that this year’s festive plans will be even better than last year.

With one contract already awarded for the Christmas lights, on Friday October 21 city hall’s Local Government Board (JGL) approved a pro posal to put out to tender a €102,247 contract to pro vide 11 floats for the tradi tional Three Kings proces

The mayor detailed recent plans to spend €600,000 on solving important problems in Avenida de Almeria with a project that was already drafted and had been re vised by the Diputacion provincial council’s engi neers.

“Just before voting was due to begin, the two Turre

para la Gente councillors de cided to get up and leave without voting, meaning that there were insufficient people present for a valid meeting,” Lopez said.

Had the project gone through, the flooding that routinely affects Avenida de Almeria would have been improved with new storm drains, as well as upgraded water pipes and main drainage, the mayor lament ed.

Festive plans

sion on January 5.

The JGL also gave the goahead for the Culture and Education department’s terms and conditions for the Villancicos (Carol Singing) and Belenes (Nativity Scene) competitions.

The Carol Singing compe tition, with prizes totalling €4,290 will be held on Sun day December 18 at the Maestro Padilla municipal

auditorium.

A jury will judge the Nativ ity Scenes on show at the premises of institutions, as sociations, groups, shops, schools, parish churches and private homes on December 14, 15 and 16.

City hall also added that the Nativity Scenes should be “reverent and conform to minimum standards of pop ular and liturgical tradition.”

Linda Hall

INFORMATION PANELS: Antonio Fernandez and Maria Isabel Ponce visit Cuevas’ latest initiative.

Photo credit: Cuevas del Almanzora town hall

Sporting challenge

IF you are an extreme challenge fan then La Desertica is just the event for you. The event which took place in Almeria on Sat urday, October 22, attracted more than 6,300 participants (plus 500 children in the children’s race) from all over Spain.

There was a great atmosphere at the start of the Rambla of the city which fin ished in Roquetas after crossing 10 munic ipalities in the province.

Athletes faced the extreme challenge of covering 72 kilometres on foot or 105 kilo metres by bicycle.

VIRAL success for Carbon eras Town Council as a pro motional tourism campaign gets over 950,000 impres sions in just one month. A promotional video showcas ing tourist attractions and leisure opportunities cap tured the interest of global audiences after launching on September 15.

Publicity content released to social media site, YouTube, Facebook and Instagram cap tured audiences with exciting videos and photos of the ex

La Desertica has become a reference point for ultra­distance running with the arrival of walkers and cyclists from all over Spain, and has the support of the whole of society.

The mayor of Almeria, María Vazquez, confirmed that: “For the city, it is an hon our to collaborate in this activity. I am convinced that Almeria is an ideal city for holding sporting events both indoors and outdoors. The presence of more than 6,300 participants represents a boost for the city’s economy.”

Internet hit

tensive tourist opportunities in Carboneras.

The September campaign showcased the coastal excel lence of the city region with kilometres of unspoiled beaches, as well as opportu nities for leisure activities and sports such as diving.

Planned campaigns for the off­season will attract tourists based on the cultural her

itage of the region with activi ties for visitors to discover a rich and varied history. The autumnal campaign also highlights the delicious local cuisine and nature­based ex periences such as hiking trails. The October campaign released just two weeks ago is similarly having success, reaching nearly 200,000 peo ple by October 16.

High-speed chuffer

JUMP on board as Almeria City Council has now given the authorisation and disposi tion of €8 million in favour of the ‘Sociedad Almeria Alta Velocidad SA’, to meet the ex pense of phase II of the inte gration of the railway in the city.

The councillor for Urban Planning and Infrastructures, Ana Martínez Labella, con

firmed that: “Once again the city council becomes the first administration to adopt definitive agreements for the execution of this transcenden tal project.

“This is for the future arrival of High Speed and the urban development of the city.”

The second phase of this project involves the burying of the railway access channel

from El Puche to past Avenida del Mediterraneo, the execu tion of a new cross­connec tion road; the setback of the beach track that aligns with the current passenger build ing, the dismantling of the cur rent workshop facilities and the transfer to another loca tion, and the construction of a two­storey underground car park.

Rainy days

Betty Henderson

YOU may have your brollies and packa­macs at the ready for a spot of rain but are you ready for a downpour?

The Almeria City Council with the An dalucian Regional Government have put in place a comprehensive action plan introducing measures to combat the effects of heavy rainfall. The council met with representatives from the regional government on Oc tober 18 to prepare for rainy fore casts at the end of the month.

Collaboration between the authori

ties means that further steps can be taken to mitigate against the effects of rainfall on private and public prop erty. Almeria mayor, María del Mar Vázquez was present at the meeting along with local emergency services and delegates from the Andalucian government.

The plan contains preventative measures such as an intensive clean ing programme of the city region’s drainage network to prevent block ages which could cause flooding if left alone.

Spain’s 2023 budget and tax plans

The Spanish state and autonomous community regional governments have been busy planning their bud gets for 2023. There have been vari ous statements over recent weeks, so here we summarise the key tax ele ments.

While Andalucía hit the headlines first with the announcement that it was effectively abolishing wealth tax in the region, this was quickly followed by the national government outlining its plans to introduce a new state ‘soli darity tax on large fortunes’ for the next two years.

With inflation continuing to im pact households, businesses and the economy, the Spanish government is looking to redistribute wealth by in creasing taxes on the very wealthy and reducing taxation for those on low in comes.

Solidarity tax on large fortunes

The biggest announcement so far is the proposed introduction of the new impuesto de solidaridad a las grandes

By Jon Pemberton, Partner, Blevins Franks

fortunas. The bill has not been pub lished yet and details of how it will work are limited, but the key points we know so far are:

• It is proposed as a temporary measure for the 2023 and 2024 tax years.

• It will be imposed on those with a net wealth over €3 million.

• Progressive tax rates will range from 1.7% to 3.5%.

• Taxpayers will not pay both wealth taxes in full – the amount paid in the regular wealth tax will be de ducted from the solidarity tax liability.

• This tax is being imposed at state level

This all still needs to be debated and passed by parliament, so it is pos sible these proposals may change or it does not get approved.

Savings tax to be increased

Another key proposal to improve tax revenue next year is to increase the rate applied to high levels of savings income. This covers interest, divi dends, capital gains made on the sale or transfer of assets, income derived from life assurance contracts and pur chased annuity income.

If approved, the progressive rates applied to savings income above €200,000 will increase from 26% to 27%, and income over €300,000 will be taxed at 28%.

This measure is included in the

General State Budget Act for 2023 which will be debated, amended and approved by Parliament.

Tax cuts at state level

The Budget Act also includes re ductions in personal income tax rates for low earners for 2023 and 2024.

If approved, the reduced rate of in come tax will apply to individuals earning under €21,000 a year, an in crease from the current €18,000. Those earning less than €15,000 will be exempt from income tax (currently €14,000).

Corporate income tax will reduce from 25% to 23% for businesses with net annual turnover under €1 million.

Andalucía

On 20 September the Andalucía government announced that, with immediate effect, it will apply a 100% relief for wealth tax.

Nonetheless, if your wealth amounts to over €3 million, you will

pay the new state solidarity tax for the next two years, presuming it goes ahead.

Andalucía also modified the general income tax scale rates, so that most tax payers earning over €12,450 should see a small improvement in their tax bill, and increased the “mínimo personal y familiar” to reduce the tax burden for lower income residents.

These annual budgets are a good prompt to review your tax planning each year. Consider what rules have changed and check whether you are making the most of all the available al lowances and tax-efficient opportuni ties. For the best results, and to make sure you have not missed anything, take specialist, personalised advice.

Tax rates, scope and reliefs may change. Any statements concerning taxa tion are based upon our understanding of current taxation laws and practices which are subject to change. Tax infor mation has been summarised; individu als should seek personalised advice.

Square transformation

Chris King

THE British Netflix series ‘The Crown’ turned Plaza de Francesc Macià in Barcelona into a film set for scenes of the sixth season on Satur day, October 22. Filming had originally been in terrupted in September due to the death of Queen Elizabeth II.

Specifically, scenes were being shot in which a replica of the car in which Lady Di died in Paris in 1997 appeared. It was recreating a pa parazzi chase of the princess, played by the actress Elizabeth Debic ki.

There were more than 20 cars, four motorcy cles, and a bus from the era, as well as other props that transformed the street into a boule vard in Paris, along with extras dressed as French police officers.

The filming caused traffic cuts in a part of Plaza de Francesc Macià, in the uphill lane of Avenida Pau Casals, and

in some sections of the adjoining streets.

Filming continued on Sunday October 23, until late in the evening.

Disaster alert test

THE Spanish government is to test its disaster alert system by sending messages to mobile phones over the next three weeks.

The Civil Protection service said from October 24 to November 16, that it would start the ES­Alert system tests in different regions on different days.

They have assured residents they should not be alarmed by the test nor should they think that it is a scam, but they should take note of how the test will work.

Phones that receive the alert will hear their de vice whistle and vibrate until the user confirms re ceipt of the message. The alert will contain a writ ten message which once acknowledged, the alarm and vibration will stop.

Apart from acknowledging receipt, you don’t have to do anything else.

The government initially considered using text messages, however, they settled on a cell broad cast which has better, faster and wider coverage.

The only downside of the system, is that it only connects to smartphones.

AGE IN SPAIN: Moving across Spain

IT’S one thing to move to Spain, find your dream home, and stay put. Learning all the ins and outs of an area is exciting and frustrating at the same time. Eventually, it becomes like muscle memory, and you barely have to think about it.

But what if the first place you land in Spain is n’t your forever home? If you thought moving to Spain proved interesting, moving to another Span ish region will throw you for a loop. Because now you have experience and expectations.

Moving to Galicia from Valencia meant we need ed to relearn all those things we took for grant

ed. Changing the address on our driving licences was almost more chal lenging than getting the permit in the first place. And locating peanut but ter in an unfamiliar gro cery store chain? Good luck. But the most diffi cult is completing our visa renewals in an area where we struggled to find the correct office to begin the process.

After determining how to submit the paper work, we celebrated our visa approvals. But our revelry would be shortlived. We needed the fin gerprint appointment with the National Police and to determine what we should bring to the meeting to obtain our new NIE cards. Each re gion is different.

I turned to Google, found the office, and made the cita previa on line. Even criminals leave Google reviews for the police in Spain. And I was pleasantly surprised to see they gave the place 4.3 stars. I eat at places and stay in hotels with fewer stars. Welcome news since the province where we lived previous ly had an Oficina de Ex tranjeria with a wellearned rating of 1.9 stars. Personally, I would have gone lower.

At last, the day arrived, and our NIE appointment in Galicia lived up to the Google hype. Who knew bureaucrats could laugh? Surely, the quickest and friendliest appointment in Spanish bureaucratic history.

Age in Spain. www.ageinspain.org Email: info@ageinspain.org - Tel: +34 932 209 741

Pipeline plans

PEDRO SANCHEZ, the Spanish President, announced on, Thursday, October 20, that an agreement had been reached between Spain, Portugal, and France to construct a pipeline between the Iberian peninsula and the rest of Europe.

This decision sees a huge U­turn by French President Emmanuel Macron, who had until recently refused to admit the need for such a pipeline to be built.

The new project has been dubbed a ‘Green Energy Corridor’ by President Sanchez. Speaking on his arrival at an EU en

THE government of Catalonia on Thurs day, October 20, fined budget airline Ryanair €40,000 for making it difficult for users to reimburse flights that were cancelled due to the coronavirus pan demic.

Sources from the agency confirmed that following a complaint by the Feder ation of Urban Areas of the Canary Is lands (Facua), the fine was imposed by the Agencia Catalana del Consum (ACC). The autonomous body explained that the sanction responds to ‘unfair’ com mercial practices by action or omission practised by the airline that caused, or

ergy crisis summit on Thursday October 20, Mr Sanchez explained: “We have agreed to a new project to be called the Green Energy Corridor to link the Iberian peninsula to France and therefore to the European ener gy market between Barcelona and Mar seille.”

These facilities are an asset that will now help the rest of Europe boost imports once the link is completed. France already has a large network of gas connections through out Europe but Spain currently only has two low­capacity connections to that network.

Airfare fines

may have caused, economic issues for users that they would not otherwise have had.

Facua denounced Ryanair in March 2020 for ‘excessively stretching’ the maximum term for the refund of the amounts. This came after the airline in formed them that it could take up to 28 days after the refund request, despite the fact that European regulations (Arti cle 8 of European Regulation 261/2004) require it to be done within seven days.

Restrictions scrapped

THE Spanish Ministry of the Interior announced on Thursday, October 20, that from 00.01am on Fri day October 21, all re maining Covid restrictions for travellers from nonEuropean Union/Schen gen Area countries enter ing the country are now scrapped, as reported by SchengenVisaInfo.com.

A spokesperson for the Spanish Ministry of Health said that such a decision had been made after taking into consider ation the Covid­19 situa tion in the country and further in the world, as

well as the vaccination rates.

“Taking into account the evolution of the pan demic at a global level and the epidemiological situation, it is advisable to leave without effect the sanitary control measures for people from countries not belonging to the Euro

pean Union or with the consideration of countries Schengen partners,” the Ministry stressed.

With the UK half­term holidays this week, it means that holidaymak ers were free to come and go at liberty without the need to be vaccinated, prove their vaccine sta tus, or present a Covid test.

Most of Europe had al ready done away with en try requirements, leaving Spain as one of the few destinations still asking for entry requirements post­pandemic.

SPAIN: No more Covid requirements.

When Dolly met Dolly

A BRITISH tribute act laud ed by Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers love to per form in Spain, but their last tour was cancelled due to

the pandemic.

Married couple Sarah Jayne and Andy Crust were delighted when Dolly said “I wish them the best and

appreciate them doing Dol ly and Kenny so well for so long,” whilst Kenny said “Europe’s leading Dolly and Kenny.”

Speaking to Euro Weekly News , Sarah Jayne ex plained that she had sounded a lot like Dolly since she was a child and joined the great legends show aged 17 in Jersey and has been perfecting her style ever since.

After several years as a solo Dolly tribute, she started working with her husband Andy as a duo and then expanded the act to create the Country Su perstars fronting a sevenpiece band who between them pay their respects to their favourite country su perstars.

“For some of the Christ mas shows, our 11­yearold daughter Lucy who loves to perform will be joining us on stage as the young Dolly Parton,” the proud Sarah Jayne ex plained.

They are so popular that their current UK tour is

confirmed until Christmas 2023 and they are already taking bookings for 2024.

“We enjoyed our solo dates in Spain and were so looking forward to coming back, but the current de mand for the show in the UK means that we just don’t have any spare time at the moment and whilst it is relatively easy to tour with the band here in Britain, the difficulty and cost of bringing the whole show over is prohibitive,” Sarah Jayne told us.

Dolly met Dolly as she and Andy performed for her on the BBC One Show a few years ago and since then, they have been spon sored by the Tennessee Tourist Board in the USA and raise funds for several charities including the Dol ly Parton Imagination Li brary.

When Dolly was growing up the family was poor and she realised that her father could not read and write and as she became wealthy, she decided to do

what she could to help chil dren learn to read.

From a local Tennessee programme started in 1995, the library has grown to include Australia, Cana da, Republic of Ireland, United Kingdom, and the United States of America and amazingly, the Library has for some years been sending books to every child up to the age of five living on the remote vol canic island of Tristan da Cunha.

Having been the voice and face of Dolly for more than 28 years, Sarah Jayne recalled that one of the many highlights in her pro fessional life was to be in vited to the O2 in London to be part of Dolly’s Better Day tour in 2011 and Blue Smoke tour in 2014 meet ing and greeting guests.

In the words of one of Dolly and Kenny’s song You Can’t Make Old Friends, but it’s clear that Sarah Jayne and Andy are spend ing their time making plen ty of new ones.

PAYING RESPECTS: The Country Superstars on stage.

A royal tour

KING CHARLES is said to be planning the biggest­ever world tour undertaken by the royal family following com ments from a number of coun tries that question the role of the monarchy in their future.

According to an exclusive re port by a national news outlet on Saturday October 22, sources at the palace said the monarch is proposing two years of trips to “extend a hand of friendship and support.”

It is understood that King Charles will focus initial efforts on those countries where the future of the monarch is at most risk, including Australia,

New Zealand and countries in the Caribbean.

The Prince and Princess of Wales are said to be included in the plans, as are a number of solo trips for the king. Un dertaking solo trips will allow the Queen Consort to under

take more engagements for those projects that she is per sonally involved in.

King Charles is said to be keen to help the country re build ties across the world in cluding with its neighbours fol lowing Brexit.

Stripping off

‘CAR CANNIBALISM’ is the latest crime wave to hit England’s streets according to a report by a national broadcaster on October 20. Cars are being broken into and then stripped of body and en gine parts, with Yorkshire and the Midlands said to be worst hit.

Most commonly broken into and stripped are Vauxhall Corsas and Toyota Yaris’ according to information obtained by the broad caster.

Although a dedicated police unit has been set up there have been no arrests or charges so far.

According to a spokesperson for the National Police Chiefs Council: “The force is aware of the incidents in the West Midlands and Scotland, but it isn’t something we’re seeing as a significant emerging trend on a national level at this stage, but we are moni toring the situation closely.”

The police have asked for anyone with any information about car cannibalism to come forward. In particular, they are keen for anyone offered car parts to contact them.

King Charles with Camilla.

Jazz Festival It’s Magic

THE International Festival ‘Almerijazz’ will celebrate its 30th anniversary from Saturday, October 29, until Monday, November 14, with a top­class pro gramme.

This year the event in volves more cultural themes than ever, with the collaboration of the Junta de Andalucia and the Clasi jazz Association.

Among the concerts in cluded in the programme, the international presence of the Kyle Eastwood Quin tet, on November 11, and the Kenny Garrett Quintet, on November 12, both in

the Maestro Padilla Munici pal Auditorium, stand out.

Two exceptional events that have generated a great deal of expectation and are this year’s highlights.

All the information relat ing to the artists performing and the dates and venues are on the Almerijazz web site https://almerijazz. com/.

AN evening of being wowed and amazed awaits at the fourth Festival of Magic ‘Ciuda de Vera’ that will take place on Friday, Octo ber 28, at the Auditorio Ciudad de Vera at 8pm. The opening perfor mance will feature the genius illusionist Jorge Blass.

At just 19, Jorge won the Golden Wand of Monte Carlo, and for 20 years he has contin ued to win the top awards from critics and the public. His magic has captivated icons of illusionism such as David Copperfield and Penn & Teller.

He regularly appears on TV and radio pro moting the art of mag ic.

Jorge is a patron of the prestigious Abra cadabra Foundation, which brings magic to hospitals and under privileged groups.

Two exceptional events.

Image: Shutterstock.com/AfricaStudio

LPL Commercial embraces new generation

EXPERTS in all Worldwide Debt Recovery related issues including the recovery of out standing Community Fees in Spain, Cyprus and Portugal. The respected 45­year­old UK debt collection agency enters a new digital era under the new management of founder’s sons. Following the untimely demise of founder Alan Levene and retire ment of business partner Stephen Lewis, respected Essex­based commercial debt collection agency LPL Commercial Investiga tions is resurgent under the leadership of Alan’s sons Gavin and Richard. Trading as LPL Commercial Investigations, the new en tity is not only maintaining the legacy of transparency and integrity the brand is known for, it is also undergoing a major modernisation of the company’s processes and systems, and a greater shift online.

Personal touch + new tech “Dad and Stephen established the busi ness in 1978 and were brilliant at their jobs. Having been mentored and trained in their ethos whereby the approach of a profes

credit policy procedure, ensuring ‘the cash flow cogs continue to turn’ for our clients,” comments Gavin Levene, Director. “While the personal touch and relationships LPL is known for will remain, we have invested heavily in a new website and customer rela tionship management systems that will mean our growing customer base will have an even speedier resolution to their aged debtor requirements.”

Continuing the legacy

The brothers may be new company di rectors, but they are not new to commer cial debt collection. “Gavin has been in the industry for 30 years, and I’m still the new boy with ‘only’ seven years’ service,” laughs Richard. “But in reality, this business has al ways been part of our lives and it is an hon our to continue our father’s legacy.”

PRESSEUROPEAN

DENMARK

Flight tax

IT appears that the Danish people are in favour of a green air strategy as a recent survey by Epinion on behalf of DR Nyheder showed that the majority are happy to pay the new tax of 13 kroner (€1.75) with more than half prepared to pay even more.

THE NETHERLANDS

Polly gone

ALMOST as bizarre as the Monty Python dead parrot sketch, a court in Den Bosch fined a balloonist €55,000 plus costs as compensation to the owner of three rare parrots which died of fright as the balloonist fired up his burner just 50 metres above their aviary.

BELGIUM

Car sharing

IN order to try to reduce car ownership in the centre of Brussels, the city council now allows short term rentals (locally referred to as car sharing) of up to 14 days rather than the previous three and is encouraging new companies to offer their fleets.

GERMANY

Royal visit

HAVING had to postpone their state visit to Germany planned for last year due to the pandemic, King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia finally arrived to a wet welcome in Berlin on Monday October 17, where they met with both the German President and Chancellor.

FRANCE

Red card

REPORTS have appeared in French media that Qatari owned football club Paris St Germaine appointed an agency to recruit expert hackers and Twitter users in order to carry out a campaign against anyone who criticised the club and targets included PSG’s own Kylian Mbappé.

NORWAY

Shaman shame

THERE is controversy in the Norwegian Royal Family as Princess Martha Louise, fourth in line to the throne, has been accused of exploiting her title to help promote the work of her American fiancé Durek Verrett, a selfproclaimed healer and shaman who sells a coronavirus ‘cure’.

FINLAND

Raking it in

IGNORING Halloween, there is another tradition in Helsinki where volunteers are invited to the pretty Kaivopuisto Park between 11am and 3pm on Sunday October 30 where they will be issued with garden rakes and bags and asked to rake up the tons of dead leaves which have fallen.

IRELAND

Safer Xmas

IN anticipation of a cold winter, the Irish government has introduced a ban on evictions should tenants fall into debt and although notice of termination may be issued now, the earliest date that tenants will be required to leave will be April of next year.

ITALY

Cemetery shock

LUCKILY there were no visitors to the Poggioreale cemetery in Naples on Monday October 17 after a huge wall collapsed (said to be caused by vibrations from subway work) and left a number of coffins literally hanging in mid-air for the second time this year.

PORTUGAL

Showtime

NO need for a dish as SkyShowtime, which arrived in Portugal on October 25 allows those who pay a flat fee of €4.99 per month to view a whole raft of different content including popular series and blockbuster films from a range of studios online.

UKRAINE

No arms

IRANIAN Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani has publicly declared that Iran takes a stance of “active neutrality” in the Ukraine war and was opposed to the continuation of the war from the beginning. In addition, he denies that Iran is sending arms to Russia.

SWEDEN

Green shock

THE new right-wing government in Sweden has decided to reduce the power of the Ministry of Environment and the green movement by scrapping it (previously its minister sat in the cabinet) and making green matters subject to control by a department within another ministry.

Richard Levene

Commercial Investigations rlevene@lplgroup.com

Brian O’Sullivan Daredevil brian.osullivan@daredevilpr.com

is the amount that Credit Suisse hopes to make through the sale of its shares in Spanish investment company Allfunds.

BUSINESS EXTRA Power surge

Pandemic funds not frozen

Wooing Madrid

WITH an eye not just on Spain but also the potentially lucrative Latin American mar ket, a group of business peo ple representing 20 compa nies from Monaco visited Madrid for two days to ex plore avenues of cooperation following a recent meeting between Prince Albert II and King Felipe VI.

Foreign workers

THE number of foreign work ers registered with the social security system in Spain con tinues to rise and by the end of September totalled 2,439,668, an increase of 19,791 on the previous month which represents slightly more than 12 per cent of the total of registered workers.

Zara seconds

FOLLOWING a trend set by a number of other clothing companies, Zara has an nounced that with effect from November 3, customers in the UK will be able to take advantage of an in­store ser vice to sell, repair or donate second­hand clothes to help the environment.

Profits down

INSURER Línea Directa’s in come from premiums charged increased by 4.1 per cent in the first nine months of 2022, to €710.7 million but net profit of €58.3 million was 32 per cent down from the previous year, caused in part by increased repair costs.

Sephora returns

IT was 17 years ago that French retailer of personal care and beauty products Sephora exited the UK, but it now intends to return to one of the top three European markets for these products, firstly online and then by opening a flagship store.

CLAIMS that the EU has frozen Span ish pandemic funds are false accord ing to EU Commission spokesperson Veerle Nuyts. For more than a week, there were claims on social media and even through some news outlets that because Spain had not complied with certain audit deadlines, the Euro pean Union had decided not to make any further payments from the Re covery Fund. It is suggested that re spected US news outlet Bloomberg had inadvertently fuelled the rumour after publishing the fact that Spain had missed a deadline last month to implement a new auditing system re

ORDINARY investors can see which banks have green roots and which are continuing to invest in environmentally un friendly operations.

There is a fine line to follow when one consid ers that regardless of long­term plans for the future, there is still a cur rent need for companies to produce petrol and diesel for vehicles and heating as well as for those who still wish to fly.

Some of us don’t really care about the affect on the environment whilst others want to take a stand and try to support green initiatives wherev er possible and a new website MotherTree has just created a ranking of

quired to unlock money from the EU’s Pandemic Recovery Fund.

Each country is required to supply evidence that they are using the mon ey received in a manner in accor dance with agreements put in place to ensure that they are complying with the laid­out procedure.

In the event that they don’t then the Commission has the power to freeze the funds until such time as the terms have been met.

According to a statement by Veerle Nuyts, Spain has so far received all of the money that it has requested al though when it asks for the third

tranche of payment, the European Commission will review the situation at the time.

Her actual words were “Spain has satisfactorily fulfilled all of the mile stones and targets linked to all pay ment requests submitted to date, and the financing linked to these has been disbursed, after approval by the Member States.”

It is currently expected that the next request will be placed before the EU sometime in the second week of November and that is when a deci sion concerning payment will be made.

Green roots

and is also the equivalent of the emissions caused if you ate a cheeseburger every day for a year.

MUCH has been said and written about Bitcoin over the years and the price has risen from the cost of a pizza to that of a decent luxu ry car and then bounced back.

Its latest problem comes from the European Commission which is considering inviting Member States to ban the mining of Bit coins (this is done using linked computers to create new Bitcoins) as there is a tremendous use of electricity to do this.

Energy consumption world wide in this mining has more than doubled in the last two years and some miners have resorted to tapping into public cables to steal electricity thanks to the energy cri sis.

Meta sale

GIANT social media group Meta (owner of Facebook) appealed a decision by the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) which instructed them to sell American company Giphy as it ar gued that the takeover would lim it other social media platforms’ ac cess to GIFs. Having taken an in­depth review of the situation, the CMA is sticking to its guns con cluding that by denying or limiting other social media platforms’ ac cess to Giphy GIFs it could push people to Meta­owned sites.

In addition, it could require Gi phy customers, such as TikTok, Twitter and Snapchat, to provide more data from UK users in order to access Giphy GIFs.

Britain’s banks and their green credentials.

It might seem strange to accuse a bank of being a creator of CO2, but it’s all to do with where they invest or lend the money that they look after for their customers and it turns out that according

to MotherTree, Barclays Bank creates the equiva lent of 0.29 tonnes of car bon a year for every £1,000 in a current ac count with them.

To put this into con text, flying from the UK to Rome and back seven times produces less CO2

Most of the big banks fare badly and in fairness, the free service does pre sumably receive some form of financial advan tage when it highlights green investments, which it says can offer better interest rates than the ‘big four’.

It should also be noted that MotherTree makes it clear on its website that it does not offer fi nancial advice, but sim ply points out options that exist.

IF you are irritated with all of the ads that pop up on Facebook and other social media platforms, the next step will be when you are being transported by Uber.

The ‘mini cab’ company is up grading its software to create Journey Ads which will target your mobile application prior to the arrival of your car as well as during your journey with differ ent adverts from a single compa ny. This coupled with other new advertising formats means that the company hopes to increase annual worldwide advertising revenue to $1 billion by the end of 2024.

EU FUNDING: Pedro Sánchez and Ursula von der Leyen agreed terms.

3I Group 1.085,50 1.105,50 1.084,50 101,60K

Abrdn 149,75 152,50 148,85 590,97K

Admiral Group 1.949,0 1.975,0 1.943,5 57,06K

Anglo American 2.663,0 2.717,5 2.647,5 336,09K

Antofagasta 1.103,00 1.145,50 1.096,50 47,62K

Ashtead Group 4.253,0 4.347,0 4.234,0 48,56K

Associated British Foods 1.317,5 1.348,5 1.314,5 69,19K

AstraZeneca 9.660,0 9.747,7 9.630,5 8,14K

Auto Trader Group Plc 502,60 505,40 493,10 540,54K

Aveva 3.143,0 3.154,0 3.139,0 70,51K

Aviva 408,40 417,50 407,10 717,54K

B&M European Value Retail SA301,39 308,90 300,60 369,08K

BAE Systems 802,00 813,40 799,20 808,33K

Barclays 146,88 150,50 145,44 5,38M

Barratt Developments 350,90 359,90 349,90 608,71K

Berkeley 3.340,0 3.412,0 3.330,0 42,77K

BHP Group Ltd 2.158,00 2.193,00 2.146,00 323,74K

BP 461,05 467,85 458,29 403,37K

British American Tobacco 3.330,0 3.347,5 3.314,5 234,18K

British Land Company 342,80 353,50 341,50 297,36K

BT Group 124,20 126,55 124,03 630,63K

Bunzl 2.720,0 2.741,5 2.724,0 4,30K

Burberry Group 1.830,5 1.839,5 1.805,5 103,08K

Carnival 622,4 636,6 620,6 60,24K

Centrica 67,34 68,80 66,96 1,73M

Coca Cola HBC AG 1.935,0 1.950,0 1.930,5 30,12K

Compass 1.841,00 1.853,00 1.829,50 198,62K

CRH 2.980,5 3.023,5 2.962,5 73,92K

Croda Intl 6.606,0 6.652,0 6.554,0 27,41K

DCC 4.766,0 4.822,0 4.752,0 8,57K

Diageo 3.589,0 3.624,5 3.581,0 259,45K

DS Smith 282,40 285,30 278,30 403,87K

EasyJet 320,90 332,20 319,37 163,06K

Experian 2.704,0 2.735,0 2.699,0 128,10K

Ferguson 9.226,0 9.308,0 9.166,0 38,48K

Flutter Entertainment 10.665,0 10.880,0 10.625,0 16,04K

Fresnillo 704,20 724,40 700,60 172,87K

Glencore 492,30 501,60 489,45 5,43M

GSK

1.373,70

89,09K

Intermediate Capital 999,40 1.018,50 993,40 50,83K

Intertek 3.709,0 3.744,0 3.697,0 16,06K

ITV 65,36 66,70 65,05 242,81K

J Sainsbury 185,35 189,80 184,70 434,11K

Johnson Matthey 1.917,0 1.942,0 1.903,0 104,23K

Land Securities 527,40 545,40 526,00 248,76K

Legal & General 230,00 235,60 229,50 637,83K

Lloyds Banking 42,05 43,01 41,94 26,70M

London Stock Exchange 7.370,0 7.516,0 7.318,0 58,28K

Melrose Industries 103,95 106,50 103,35 3,04M

Mondi 1.473,50 1.479,00 1.447,00 85,14K

National Grid 905,00 916,20 902,00 1,01M

NatWest Group 237,70 242,70 236,00 3,86M

Next 4.790,0 4.897,0 4.783,0 33,15K

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

Ocado 478,30 495,80 472,80 473,29K

Persimmon 1.241,5 1.268,0 1.227,0 338,94K

Phoenix 537,20 546,00 536,40 228,97K

Prudential 828,80 867,60 820,00 1,87M

Reckitt Benckiser 5.909,0 5.964,0 5.888,6 4,81K

Relx 2.241,00 2.255,00 2.222,00 282,40K

Rentokil 508,00 510,20 503,60 477,90K

Rightmove 470,20 472,70 464,80 259,37K

Rio Tinto PLC 4.710,0 4.765,0 4.674,0 32,52K

Rolls-Royce Holdings 73,26 75,94 73,10 3,54M

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

Sage 712,60 720,00 710,00 103,38K

Samsung Electronics DRC 987,40 996,00 986,00 1,88K Schroders 380,0 386,9 380,0 8,17K

Scottish Mortgage 732,29 748,98 731,00 309,69K

Segro 734,40 753,20 731,40 766,44K

Severn Trent 2.348,0 2.396,0 2.329,0 136,96K

Shell 2.290,0 2.308,5 2.268,2 204,00K

Smith & Nephew 1.007,50 1.016,50 1.004,00 171,24K Smiths Group 1.509,50 1.523,00 1.501,00 66,81K

Spirax-Sarco Engineering 10.480,0 10.530,0 10.370,0 5,82K SSE 1.472,50 1.489,50 1.467,50 283,66K St. James’s Place 1.001,50 1.025,00 1.000,50 51,63K

563,20 552,00 154,13K

88,90 2,89M

3M 116,81 116,94 3,34M

American Express 140,04 141,32 132,21 11,67M

Amgen 251,94 252,38 247,01 3,53M

Apple 147,27 147,85 142,65 85,64M

Boeing 141,32 141,33 136,62 5,35M

Caterpillar 190,22 190,41 179,21 3,47M

Chevron 173,19 173,84 168,85 7,96M

Cisco 42,80 42,97 41,81 23,27M

Coca-Cola 55,96 56,10 54,99 14,90M

Dow 46,87 46,92 44,95 7,43M

Goldman Sachs 325,10 325,77 309,49 3,49M

Home Depot 275,53 275,71 268,00 3,43M

Honeywell 182,81 183,31 176,52 2,96M

IBM 129,90 130,85 127,59 7,18M

Intel 26,97 27,05 25,79 52,05M

J&J 168,71 169,37 164,43 8,12M

JPMorgan 122,23 122,39 116,33 20,37M

McDonald’s 254,55 255,36 249,50 3,25M

Merck&Co 95,67 95,96 92,64 10,23M

Microsoft 242,12 243,00 234,50 25,91M

Nike 88,50 88,78 86,71 7,85M

Procter&Gamble 128,58 128,95 126,48 6,30M

Salesforce Inc 160,17 160,43 154,82 6,13M

The Travelers 176,23 176,38 171,10 1,47M

UnitedHealth 533,73 536,53 518,01 2,80M

Verizon 35,35 35,70 34,55 50,20M

Visa A 190,37 190,95 185,05 7,57M

Walgreens Boots 34,30 34,54 33,21 9,80M

Walmart 136,80 137,41 134,00 6,04M

Walt Disney 102,04 102,30 97,89 9,82M

LMF Acquisition Opportunities -27.48% 4.84K

Sientra Inc -26.40% 7.24M

SVB -23.95% 5.60M

Starry Holdings -22.72% 1.55M

Xos

-21.33% 11.68K

Windfall tax

FORMER Spanish Minister of the Economy and now Vice­President of the Euro pean Central Bank, Luis de Guindos has called in a team of experts to study the sol vency of Spanish banks and expects to issue a non­bind ing opinion on the proposed banking windfall tax.

Greenwashing

IN what is believed to be the first action against a bank for so­called green washing, the UK Advertising Standards Authority has told HSBC that it may not run advertisements claim ing it is active in reducing harmful emissions as it ‘omitted material informa tion’ about its activities.

Fishing aid

ALTHOUGH announced ear lier in the year, the granting of aid totalling €49.5 million to compensate Spanish shipowners and aquacul ture companies for the ad ditional costs they have had to face due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine will now be allocated to those eligi ble.

Baking money

INSURANCE companies in the UK will be worried about an initial Court find ing in favour of a claim by Greggs the Bakers against Zurich.

The claim revolves around business interrup tion insurance and the amount that should be paid out due to closures during the pandemic.

Zurich argued that there should be a one­off payment under the policy with a maximum of £2.5 million, but lawyers for Greggs successfully con tested this, claiming that each time there was a change in government pandemic policy that a further £2.5 million claim should be accepted.

The next step is to agree the final pay out but this could be as high as £150 million.

Wasting energy

ON Sunday October 30, Spain will waste €300 million by putting the clocks back by one hour according to calculations by the Institute for the Diversification and Saving of Energy (IDAE).

By abandoning this move from Summer Time to Winter Time, the evenings (when people are more ac tive) would remain lighter for one hour and could ensure a reduction in energy consumption of around 5 per cent.

In theory the decision to intro duce Summer Time was to give more light to farmers at the height of their sowing and harvesting times, but there are two interest ing facts about Spain, as during the Civil War, both sides observed dif ferent time zones and even today, the Canary Islands are one hour

ahead of the rest of Spain.

Well before the current energy cri sis, the European Union had studied the time changes and in 2018, the

European Parliament voted to give each country the right to decide if it wished to continue to change time zones twice a year.

Good and bad news for Spain

With Spain championing a green energy revolution, investing billions in subsidising energy costs and cur rently rumoured to be about to withdraw from the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT), which protects invest ments in fossil fuels and other ener gy infrastructure, a simple decision to stay in Summer Time would be another way of saving energy.

There is a move in Italy to take the same action and a petition on web site change.org which concentrates on the Spanish situation already has nearly 250,000 signatures.

There is also a health issue as ac cording to US medical research, the number of people suffering heart at tacks on the day following the start of Summer Time can jump by 25 per cent compared to other Mondays in the year.

New stores

UK supermarket Asda plans to open some 30 Asda Express stores during the next year which will create some 500 new jobs.

Until now Asda has not owned any stan dalone convenience stores, but believes that there is a market for small shops situated in convenient neighbourhood locations and each will stock around 3,000 products.

Customers will also enjoy a range of hot and cold ‘food for now’ options from Asda and partner brands as well as ‘food for later’ choices such as ready meals and a selection of £10 meal deals for two people.

Stores will also offer parcel collection and return services and shortly after the first two are opened this year, they will also offer a rapid delivery service through Uber Eats.

Royal visit

SPANISH exports and imports both reached record highs in the period January to August 2022 according to a recent statement by Xiana Méndez, Secretary of State for Commerce.

Compared to the previous year, exports increased by 25 per cent to €252 billion and Méndez said “Spanish foreign trade continues to show dy namism despite the uncertain ty in a less favourable global context, reaching historical fig ures in the value of exports and imports.”

Conversely and equally im

portantly for the economy, im ports rose by 40.5 per cent to €298.5 billion so there is a sig nificant negative balance of trade which needs to be ad dressed especially as the cost of living continues to rise.

The bulk of the statement was devoted to information concerning exports with the biggest market being the Euro pean Union (62 per cent of the total) which was up by 26.1 per cent.

It was notable that the bulk of growth was to other mem bers of the euro zone with

much lower growth to those in the European Union who still keep their own currencies al though in August the situation had started to reverse.

The main positive contribu tions to the annual variation rate of exports came from the sectors of energy products, capital goods, food, beverages, tobacco, automobiles.

The autonomous communi ties with the highest year­onyear growth in their exports were the Canary Islands, the Balearic Islands and the Com munity of Madrid.

KING FELIPE VI visited the European Central Bank in Frankfurt on Wednesday October 19 during his State Visit to Germany.

Accompanied by Spanish Minister for the Economy and Digital Transformation, Nadia Calviño, Minister for Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares Bueno, and the Governor of the Bank of Spain, Pablo Hernández de Cos he met President of the European Central Bank, Christine Lagarde.

After discussions concerning the current state of the world’s economy and its impact on the eurozone, the king accompanied Christine Lagarde to the ‘Holocaust Memorial’, which is located under the offices of the European Cen tral Bank and is a basement in which Jews were held before they were to be taken by train to the extermination camps.

ADJUSTING CLOCKS: Changing time zones also affects the body.

Credit:

XIANA MÉNDEZ: Issued a statement regarding Spanish foreign trade reaching record highs.

TYPICAL Labour attitude; always attack adversaries when their prob lems run high. Rather like a boxer endeavouring to compete in the ring after his rival has sprained a wrist or twisted an ankle. They are actually fully aware that their chances of winning a general elec tion on their own are virtually nonexistent. The best result they could possibly expect is a coalition with a couple of other parties, all piling in to number 10 in an effort to gain as much power as possible.

They accuse the Conservatives of ‘in fighting’; believe me, if a coali tion occurred it would be akin to WW3! You could forget the poor old British public. Things would be crumbling around them for years.

Can you imagine this whole mob of power happy, cross party individu als, screaming at each other around the number 10 ministerial table, or brawling for positions in the house as the country went to the dogs?

Give us a break. The lefties don’t actually care of course. They are in reality, at this present moment, ful

Complete chaos

ly prepared to let the country sink into chaos while they concentrate their whole resources on at least three months of electioneering. Starmer has stated that should he be elected they could fix some of the worst problems in one day!

How ridiculous to expect the long suffering British public to vote them in because they offer to repair many of the enigmas which are ac tually affecting the whole global economy, in 24 hours? Typical left wing propaganda slurry of course.

The last time they won an elec tion they took the country and its public for mugs and ultimately fin ished up on the floor. That same re sult of a left wing communistic atti tude, which is also as we speak crushing the American constitution under the Biden administration.

That is of course one of the rea sons he keeps decrying the UK. They too want a lefty government to prevail as political partners in global affairs; making it easier to adopt the attitude of Republican crook George Bush when he sided with ‘New Labour’ Blair to nick the

Iraqi oil. This resulted in thousands of our troops dying in a war that finished up precisely nowhere.

Don’t get me wrong, as stated re cently I don’t really give a toss for any of them. Having stated that I wouldn’t have minded Penny Mor daunt, already leader of the house getting in; I truly do enjoy the pre sentations of highly intelligent beautiful ladies. If I had the oppor tunity and was 30 years younger, I probably would have voted to elect her. Ah well, dream on Leapy. Sunak is in. Never fancied him of course! Ah well. Keep those mails arriving; I promise I do read every one.

Keep the faith. Love Leapy. leapylee2002@gmail.com expatradioscotland.com Mon. Wed and Fri. 1pm till 4. (Noon UK time)

Power is within you

DISCOVERING EMOTIONS WITH

VON HOHENDORFF

THE power to create your dreams in your life with your words and your faith that you are going to achieve it is in you.

We desire many things, we have goals and dreams but many times we don’t believe we are worthy and we doubt ourselves.

Asking the Universe or Prayer is like going to an International Restaurant.

You have many choices and you de cide for what you want.

You place your order and wait until it comes to you with no doubt that you will receive it.

But the restaurant is easier than the reality.

Why?

Because having faith in what we call God or the Universe is more difficult than we usually believe. Believing in Di vine Providence, believing that there is a powerful energy that can make reali ty your dreams is so distant from you.

Your limiting beliefs prevent you from having faith in this invisible en

ergy.

All universal religions and philoso phies speak about faith. Ask and you shall receive if you have faith.

Your words can build both, positive and negative realities.

My advice: Find out in your memories where your limiting beliefs began.

Look in the mirror and speak posi tively to yourself about yourself.

I love myself and I am grateful for who I am.

Betina www.mindovers.com 0034­699 327 363

Ask and you shall receive if you have faith.

Menopause motivation

Betty Henderson

THIS Menopause Aware ness Day we share some tips on how to exercise to feel your best during the menopause. Exercise can reduce the effects of symptoms, fatigue, in somnia, anxiety and de pression and the loss of muscle mass.

Exercise can also be a valuable tool to cope with mental pressure during the menopause, releasing endorphins to boost confidence and re duce stress levels.

1. Exercise in short ‘bursts’

Exercising frequently for short amounts of time can give your metabolism the boost it needs during the menopause. Try exer cising for less than 20 minutes regularly, take a 10­minute stroll or a 20minute swim.

2. Try mobility exercis es

Mobility exercises can help to counter the re

duction in range of mo tion many of us experi ence as we get older. Try a gentle yoga, pilates or tai­chi class to stay mo bile and improve balance and stability. Yoga can al so help to limit pelvic floor dysfunction.

3. Try weight­bearing activity

Many women lose mus

cle mass and bone densi ty during the menopause. Maintain your muscle mass by doing weightbearing activity such as walking, using a cross trainer or weight lifting several times a week.

Supplement this by eat ing a protein­rich diet to fight symptoms such as low energy.

STAY ACTIVE: To reduce discomfort caused by symptoms.

credit:

Property of the week

Casa Olive in the Huercal-Overa area for

AN absolute ‘One­Off’ property with amazing rental income po tential... A recently and lovingly renovated and maintained six bedroom three bathroom village house split into a three bed, two bath main house and a three bed, one bath apartment plus 8.5m x 4m swimming pool, H&C air con and large garage on a big, plenty of car park space and a private garden (urban land) with mature fruit trees of 980m2. Walking dis tance to two bar / restaurants, medical centre and school in the popular village of Urcal.

Three minutes drive to the A7 motorway and 10 minutes drive to the main market town of HuercalOvera with numerous shops, super markets, bars, restaurants, squares, parks, sports and leisure facilities, historic building and hospital. Thir ty­five minutes drive to the coast at Vera, Garrucha and Mojacar.

On the ground floor the main house

consists of a large covered veranda which makes a great extra living room

and dining room. The front door leads into the huge kitchen with plenty of

euros

cupboard and worktop space plus fireplace. A doorway leads into the separate dining room.

Next is the family bath/shower room and a corridor to the main dou ble bedroom with built­in wardrobes and recently modernised ensuite shower room. From the dining room is the large L­shaped living room with feature log burning fireplace. Also from the living room is a large double bedroom, plus another double bed room which is currently used a hob by room.

To the side of the house is an ex ternal staircase leading up to a large sun terrace with amazing views and the large, light and airy upstairs apartment which consists of a living room with feature fireplace, large fit ted dining kitchen with larder / stor age room.

There are also three double bed rooms and a family bathroom.

The villa has mains electricity, water and internet connected.

LOCAL

Voss Homes is a British family-run business with offices in the local, thriving, market town of Huercal-Overa and La Alfoquia village (Zurgena). We focus on selling properties around Huercal-Overa, Zurgena, La Alfoquia and Taberno. For more information or to arrange a viewing of VH2011, please contact Voss Homes on 0034 950 616 827 or email on enquiries@vosshomesspain.com.

maintained large village house.

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.

TAXI FIASCO

WE went to Frigiliana on October 20, by bus.

Being our first visit there we went sightseeing, had lunch and decided to re turn to our hotel by taxi.

We waited for over one hour and not one, I repeat not one taxi came.

The couple in front rang all the numbers suggested on the rank board.

And was told “he’s on his way.”

“He’s a minute away,”

What sort of service is this?

Very angry. A good day spoiled

We shall not be return ing.

Steve Wagstaffe

Fed up

Absolutely fed up and shocked by Leapy Lee’s continued enabling of the racist LL. Presumably you will justify this hate speech all in the name of free speech.

Your disclaimer does not convince.

A Fowles

Correcting confusion

Am glad you printed Alan Robinson’s letter cor recting the confusion which some people seem to have regarding the re strictions that have arisen since Britain left the EU. Previously you printed an earlier letter (30 June this year) in which it offensive ly accused Spain of ‘pig headedness’.

Clearly, this person has still not got the message! Please do not print any more of the informed let ters... it would be much more helpful to use the

Our View column to set the record straight and prevent further misunder standings.

OUR VIEW

FACT NOT FICTION

OLDER readers will probably remember TV comedy The New Statesman starring Rik Mayall as Conservative MP Alan B’Stard which ran from 1987 to 1994.

According to Wikipedia, B’Stard was a selfish, greedy, dishonest, lecherous, ultra-right-wing Conservative back bencher who intentionally mismanaged a Tory election campaign so Labour would be blamed for an economic crisis.

During the period that the comedy was first on TV and then took to the stage, almost anything and everything happened to take the rise out of the Tory Party and politi cians in general, but even the writers Laurence Marks and Maurice Gran would have been hard pushed to dream up what has now become reality.

In 1865, politician and reformer John Bright said “Eng land is the mother of parliaments” and certainly until re cently, Westminster was considered a beacon of democra cy around the world for centuries, but sadly no longer.

The last 10 years or so have seen so many scandals and misjudgements by the UK parliament especially with the Brexit referendum that for many of us it reinforces the fact that we are lucky to have found a new home in our adopted country of Spain.

Naturally, not everything is perfect here and there have been plenty of allegations of corruption, nepotism and simple mismanagement, but things don’t appear to be as bad as they are in the UK.

There will be a general election in Spain before the end of 2023 and there could well be some changes, but whilst many are calling for a British general election now rather than another leadership competition, it seems unlikely when so many Conservative MPs face losing their seats according to opinion polls.

Hispanophile Cabopino

FAMILY three bedroom home located in a sought after part of the village, with everything on your doorstep.

Do you want to live in front of the swimming pool, just a short walk from the town centre and the beaches?

This fabulous semi­detached home in perfect condition, furnished with style, first phase of the Calas del Pinar, next to the wonderful beaches of San Juan de Los Terreros.

This is a spacious three­bedroom home with large side and front terraces, drive way parking, a private solarium, commu nal swimming pool in front of the house, landscaped gardens and terraces in the secure, quiet and enclosed area.

When you step inside this home you feel the light and space. Lounge with a good dining area, independent and fully equipped kitchen with plenty of work and storage space, which has direct access to the patio. The first bed room is on the ground floor. The two remain ing are on the first floor, the main bedrooms have nice views of the communal areas and swimming pool. All bedrooms have fitted wardrobes. From the solarium, you can enjoy the views of the sea and Terreros. Call us now to view this property before it sells 950 466 112, in person or on a live link call.

Open all year round, San Juan de Los Ter

ALONG with exercise and mental health, diet has the most significant impact on your dog’s well­being. A healthy diet can be the differ ence between a long, fulfilling life and life­limiting health conditions. So what should

the daily needs, schools, medical centre, bars, shops and restaurants, and town hall. Numer

ous bars and beachfront bars (chiringuitos), gym facilities, classes of pilates, body fitness, running club, local clubs for all ages and more. Well located close to all good road networks and a rail network, offering a

train ride to any destination you wish, including Pulpi, Aguilas, Murcia and beyond with their di verse commercial centres and range of services associated with much larger towns, a short car journey away. Airports, within 55 minutes decide between, Corvera Region of Murcia, Almeria or an hour and a half, Alicante. A whole host of beaches, blue flag beaches, as well as coves safe for the whole family and disabled people.

Golf courses, you are never far from golf along this coastline, Aguilón Golf is just 3km away from the town centre, whilst Desert Springs, Marina de la Torre and Valle de Este Golf can all be found not too far away.

Finally, this town is home to the largest Geo da in Europe, crystals under the ground in a cave, which is now visitable, the largest in Eu rope and the only Geoda possible to visit. San Juan de Los Terreros, a real gem of an area al ready enjoyed all year round by a very multina tional community and still very Spanish, par adise, not to be missed.

you be feeding your fourlegged friend for the best quality of life possible?

Try out different things. No

two dogs are the same, and the same goes for diets.

Some dogs do better on meat­based diets and others

on plant­based diets. Speak to your vet and research diets for your breed of dog. Introduce fresh foods. Fruits and vegetables can give your dog a new burst of energy. They contain en zymes and nutrients crucial

for digestion and energy lev els. But avoid citrus, grapes and onion which can be toxic for dogs.

Avoid processed foods. Just like for humans, processed food is not nutritious for your pet. Dry food can be a more convenient and affordable option for your dog, but try to supplement it if you can with

some fresh food or raw meat.

Doris Rämisch, a canine nu tritionist based in Mallorca said “You notice the differ ence of feeding your dog a natural diet, their hair shines more and they are more ac tive among other benefits.”

Rämisch recommends meat­based natural diets for optimal dog health.

ALMERIA BUILDERS : Fully Legal, Fully Insured, All Work Guaranteed. 659 685 133 www.almeriabuilders. com (253556)

TURRE EVANGELICAL CHURCH We meet every Sunday at 10.30. For wor ship. We believe you’ll find us ‘relaxed’, welcoming’ and ‘informal’. Find us on Turre’s main street, to wards the motorway at the far end on the left. To know more contact 617 914 156 (10021)

PRIVATE collector will buy your Gold, Rolex & Patek Philippe Watches Tel - 678 716 693 (288662)

ROYAL BRITISH LEGION - Why not make this year the year you volunteer? Call and see how you can help either as a caseworker (with full training) or as a Tele phone Buddy. We also visit beneficiaries who are house bound or in hospital. If you feel you could support us here in Spain, and you have a Spanish phone num ber then why not email us for more info tbuddyhhvis its@gmail.com. If you or your partner served or are serving, and you feel you need help or support then contact us using the details on the card, we are here for the small things as well as the big, sometimes talking to someone is the first step to feeling more in control. It can be a personal need or some help with your home or information on what or who to speak to on a medi cal issue, we help with sign posting if we cannot help di rectly, just call and have a chat with Pam who will try to guide you to where you need to be. If you would like to go to a branch meeting

then find your nearest one at, www.britishlegion. org.uk/counties/spain-north ZURGENA Branch meeting on the first Thursday, Coffee Morning on the third Thurs day and Buffet & Quiz Night on the last Tuesday of the month all at Bar Trinidad, Arboleas, for fur ther details please email zurgenarblchair man@gmail. com - (253989)

ESTATE AGENT

VOSS HOMES are a profes sional, British family-run Es tate Agents with an office in Huercal-Overa town. They specialise in selling and rent ing properties in the Huer cal-Overa, La Alfoquia, Zur gena & Taberno area. Andy, Anna, Jess, Adele, Hannah, Amy & Karen look forward to helping you buy, sell or rent your ideal property. Please call 678 002 006 for more information (283824)

FOR SALE

WANTED Gold, Silver, Rolex & Patek Philippe Watches Tel – 678 716 693 (288662)

GARDENING

save as much as 30% and you can transfer your exist ing no claims bonus. Call Linea Directa on 952 147 834 for motor insurance with a human voice in English from Monday to Friday 9am to 6pm and save money now! (200726)

STAY SAFE! Abbeygate Insurance Call 971 277 455 For your security www.abbeygateinsure.com

LANGUAGE CLASSES

fleet insurance. Since we started out in 1995, our phi losophy has always been to offer an excellent service with the best prices in the market. For the most com petitive quotes in English, call Linea Directa on 952 147 834. (200726)

OTHERS

Male/Female viagra, cialis, kamagra jelly, mixed trial packs available, all ar eas mail order. 604 385 476. viagra4you19@gmail.com

PETS

ABBOTT ELECTRICS . From a Light Fitting to a Full Rewire. Tel: 950 137 208 / 638 010 691 (294388)

MOTOR INSURANCE . For the most competitive quotes in English call Linea Directa on 952 147 834, you could

PROPERTY FOR

LOCAL ANGLICAN (C of E) church services at Mo jacar Los Llanos Del Peral and Alhambra. Commu nion every Sunday in Mo jacar at 11am. Commu nion at Los Llanos every Sunday except the last Sunday in the month when there will be Prayer and Praise all at 11am. The services that were being held in the South American church Albox have now returned to the chapel and Communion is held on the second Thurs day of the month at 11am. Priest in charge Rev Canon Alan Bennet telephone number 680 243 436. For further in formation, please go to The Anglican Chaplaincy of Costa Almeria and Cos ta Calida web page. Or contact Tony Noble 950 069 103. (10002)

GOLD & SILVER Bought & Sold, Rolex & Patek Philippe Watches Tel – 678 716 693 (288662)

MISCELLANEOUS MOTORING

FOR SALE

WE ARE currently the mar ket leader in our country in the sale of direct car, motor bike, home and company

THE FIVE BONE HOTEL, TURRE. Little dogs €7.75, medium dogs €8.50, big dogs €9.25, cats from €7.00 a day. 630 234 556 / the5bonehotelturre@gmail. com fivebonehotel.com (296266)

Ifyoucanreadit,socanyourclients. Contactusandhaveyourbusiness growat+34951386161

stallation

PLUMBERS

KNOWLES

SOLAR

byMarkSlack

WHEN you find the flagship model of a range is priced from just under €29k/£25k you’re looking at a manu facturer who knows how to package cars. When you find out we’re talking Skoda it comes as no surprise. The Scala sits between the Fabia and Octavia in terms of size and is a five door hatchback that looks a little bit more like an estate than tradi tional hatch.

My test model was the Monte Carlo finished in op tional, and rather smart, Race Blue Metallic. Add the standard panoramic glass roof and extended glass of the tailgate and this is an unusual and rather stylish bargain.

The range starts at €23,210/£20,120 and comes with a good range of standard equipment, al though not navigation, but you can link your smart phone. The Monte Carlo

Skoda Scala Monte Carlo

counter are almost identical, so a quick glance can be con fusing. Thankfully there is a digital speedometer and you can remove the rev counter with one of the view changes.

The build quality on the Scala is excellent and it feels and drives like a more ex pensive car. With superbly comfortable seats and a spacious interior for both

passengers and luggage, it makes the Scala a bit of a bargain. If you don’t need the slightly larger frame of the Octavia, then the Scala fits the bill perfectly.

I’m lucky to be able to drive a different car every week, and some very nice cars, but the Scala Monte Carlo is definitely one I’d be happy to keep in my garage.

Facts at a Glance

Model: Skoda Scala Monte Carlo

including 18­inch black al loys, powered, heated and folding door mirrors, priva cy glass, navigation, air con ditioning, rear view camera and very comfortable sports seats that look the part for a car bearing a Monte Carlo badge. It’s a very nice place to be seat ed.

choice of 1.0­litre, threecylinder turbocharged petrol engine or, as in my test car, a 1.5­litre fourcylinder petrol. Mated to a six­speed manual gearbox, with nicely slick gear change, it’s a pleasant drive that rides well with rather decent handling too.

Despite the Monte Carlo

certainly pick its feet up when required, yet returns around 50 mpg.

The interior, unlike so many VAG cars, has a pleas ing number of buttons and sensible digitisation. One mi nor issue with the instru ment panel, which has a multitude of optional views, is the speedometer and rev

Prices: €30,356/£26,315

Engine: 1.5-litre 4-cylinder turbocharged petrol developing 150PS

Gears: 6-speed manual

Performance: 0-100 kph (62 mph) 8.2 secs

Maximum Speed Petrol 223 kph (139 mph)

Economy: Petrol 5.6 l/100km (50.4 mpg) WLTP

Emissions: 133 g/km WLTP

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

Motoring market shifts gear

PORSCHE became the most valuable car brand in Europe on October 6, overtaking its parent company, German giant Volkswagen. Porsche reached the coveted posi tion with its value rising to €92.6 billion, as Volk swagen reached a value of around €82 billion.

The change in stock markets also propelled Porsche to become the fifth most valuable Ger man brand. The brand outperformed expecta tions by market experts in overtaking its parent company so significantly.

The change came just one week after Volkswa gen was forced to sell 12.5 per cent of Porsche due to a grim economic forecast. VW raised €9.4 billion with the sale.

Experts remarked that the change echoed the phenomenon when Ital ian sports car brand Fer rari surpassed the value of its parent company, Fi

at in 2015.

The third most valuable car brand in Europe is Mercedes­Benz, followed by BMW with values of €57.03 and €47.5 billion respectively.

Today’s motoring mar ket does not follow the same rules as in the past. Brands’ value corre sponds with more subjec

tive measures, such as their equity rates.

For example, despite producing a fraction of the cars of European car manufacturers, pioneer ing American brand Tesla is worth more than the top five European car brands combined, with a market value of around €766 billion.

PORSCHE: Now Europe’s most valuable brand at almost €93 billion.

ASTON VILLA, on Mon day, October 24, con firmed 50­year­old Spanish coach Unai Emery as their new manager replacing Steven Gerrard. He will join the club from LaLiga side Villarreal, but will re portedly not start his new role until Tuesday Novem ber 1.

The Midlands club is be lieved to have paid the £5.2million release clause in Emery’s Villarreal con tract to secure the services of one of Europe’s most accomplished coaches.

A statement on Aston Villa’s official site read: “Aston Villa is delighted to announce the appoint ment of Unai Emery as the club’s new Head Coach. Unai joins from Villarreal, whom he led to Europa League success by beating Manchester United in the final in 2021 as well as the semi­finals of the Champi ons League last season.”

It continued: “A highly

Out with the old New leadership

RICHARD GOULD has been announced as the new England and Wales Cricket Board CEO.

The 52­year­old will take up the post at the end of January 2023 moving from his current role as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Bristol City Football Club.

starts in January 2023

He brings significant leadership experience from major organisations across sport, having served as CEO at first Somerset County Crick et Club and then Surrey County Cricket Club before taking up his current role in 2021, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) confirmed on Sunday, October 23.

The Nominations Committee unanimously recommend ed Mr Gould to the ECB who ratified the decision. Clare Connor will continue as Interim CEO until Mr Gould’s ar rival.

experienced top­level coach who has managed over 900 games, Unai has also previously managed

in the Premier League dur ing a spell with Arsenal, leading the Gunners to a Europa League final. Unai

will take over from November 1 after his work permit formalities are completed.”

As CEO, Mr Gould will work to deliver the vision set out by ECB Chair Richard Thompson to make cricket the most inclusive sport in the country.

Richard Gould said: “I am honoured to have been given the opportunity to lead our game forward in England and Wales.”

UNAI EMERY: The Midlands club paid the £5.2 million release clause.