Mallorca 17 - 23 November 2022 Issue 1950

WHAM BAM TRAM BOOM

IF you heard a loud boom around 12.30pm on Monday, November 15, it was due to a con trolled explosion by the Technical Specialist in Deactivation of Explo sive Artifacts Depart ment (TEDAX) of the Na tional Police.

The suspicious device was found in vegetation near the beach in Mana cor. A man walking in the area found the ob ject and immediately alerted police. The po lice went straight to the scene along with local public safety officers.

The beach was cor doned off while the de vice was examined and it was discovered it was made from extremely flammable and toxic material, with a risk to the safety of people and a fire hazard.

The TEDAX secured the area and detonated the device on the beach.

FOR years there has been talk, but now a tram line from Palma to Palma Air port, which would make life significantly easier for residents and tourists alike, looks set to become a reality.

The Minister for Trans port, Mobility and the Ur ban Agenda, Raquel Sanchez, has now signed the agreement with the Balearic Islands Presi dent, Francina Armengol, to build the first section

of the new tram line in the Bay of Palma be tween Plaza de Espana and the airport.

The Ministry of Trans port will finance 100 per cent of the deployment of this first stretch, which has already been allocat ed €20 million in the draft General Budget for 2023 for Mallorca.

The infrastructure will have a length of 10.8 kilo metres along the coast, with a stop 300 metres

from the Palacio de Con gresos.

According to the pro ject’s estimates, the tram could meet a demand of 27 per cent of all public transport, with an esti mated 5.3 million passen gers at the beginning of the project growing to 6.5 million in 10 years.

The Balearic govern ment will be responsible for the development of the project in its entirety, including its operation.

Airport tram is now a reality.

CHRISTMAS is nearly up on us, it's time to have some fun! Join in the Christmas party and raise funds for Age Concern, even Santa Claus is mak ing an appearance.

Expect a splendid Christmas raffle and live entertainment with the fabulous Izzy Newman.

The event is on Sunday, December 4, at 7.00pm for a 7.30pm start.

The party is being held at Restaurante Ca’n Ma tias y Miquel, Carretera Manacor No. 4 (just by Hospital Son Llatzer just off the motorway).

There will be a sub

Charity Christmas dinner

lorquina or chicken curry with Basmati rice. For dessert, you can choose between ensaimada with caramelised custard or ice cream or a fresh fruit salad. the menu includes water, wine, beer or a soft drink. The meal is €40 per person and all reservations must be paid in advance.

Bargain stay

IT might not be quite five­star ho tel material but if you are looking for accommodation at a bargain price then look no further than the new municipal Galatzo Hostal.

The old Ses Porqueres building has been renovated to create the hostal and offers 52 places dis tributed across 12 bedrooms.

The hostal also offers a kitchen, dining room and a large multi functional space and will be part of the Mallorca Council Hostal Network.

sidised coach available departing Andratx, Santa Ponsa, Son Caliu, Marineland and the Audi torium for €6 per person.

Enjoy a fabulous fes tive menu of nibbles, bread and ali oli. Fol lowed by pumpkin soup with serrano ham chips

or a Mediterranean seafood salad. The main course will consist of roast turkey with all trim mings or hake a la Mal

For more information or to book contact Jackie at mallorca@agecon cern.org.es or call (+34) 678 352 040.

The Galatzo estate which was acquired by Calvia Town Hall in 2006 has great cultural, historical and natural value including the ‘Ruta de Pedra en Sec’ route which passes through the estate.

New tax incentives

SPAIN’S President, Pedro Sanchez, recently an nounced the approval of two new tax incentives to complete the Balearic Is lands’ Special Regime and promote the strengthening

and economic transforma tion of the islands.

“With these two new tax incentives we are complet ing the Balearic Islands’ Special Regime and we are giving a fair and legitimate

response to the citizens of the Balearic Islands, who see their territorial diversi ty recognised in their tax system, the president con firmed.

“Firstly, the Reserve for investments in the Balearic Islands (RIB) will reduce corporation tax and non­resident income tax by up to 90 per cent of the taxable base when profits are used to finance productive investment and job creation.

“Likewise, the PGE will establish a 10 per cent re bate ­ that may reach 25 per cent where there is an increase in the workforce ­ for the sale of tangible goods produced in the Balearic Islands and de rived from agricultural, livestock, industrial and fishing activities.

“Spain and the Balearic Islands want to compete to strengthen our welfare state and not contribute to its weakening and dis mantling.”

XMAS FUN: Raising funds for charity.

Image: Yulia Grigoryeva/Shutterstock.com

Nomad Visa

SPAIN will be launching its socalled Nomad Visa in early 2023 to allow non-European Union citizens (and Britons) to live in Spain for up to five years and also receive sub stantial tax breaks.

Plastic waters

THE study Quantifying Trans boundary Plastic Pollution has shown that 70 per cent of macroplastics found in Balearic waters are from Alge ria. The study stresses that “cooperation between Mediterranean countries is crucial for implementing ap propriate plans against plastic pollution in their territorial waters.”

Solar boom

ACCORDING to the Balearic Association of Installers, the number of solar installations for private homes has in creased from 547 in 2018 to 7,811 by the end of August 2022. Given the rate of growth, the Association antici pates that there will be over 9,000 by the end of 2022.

Tram v taxi

BIEL MORAGUES, president of one of Mallorca’s Taxi As sociations, said: “Competition from the airport tram to Pal ma is inevitable. The tram journey will take around half an hour and therefore be slower than by taxi but people will use it as it is cheaper.”

Distorted words

MALLORCA’S councillor for Tourism, Andreu Serra, has attacked ‘distorted informa tion’ appearing in the British press. He said: “The Sun dis torted the truth, I did not in any way allude to socioeco nomic criteria to discriminate against types of traveller com ing to Mallorca.”

Welcome news

LORRAINE THOMPSON, the mother of Tobias White-San som, who died at Son Espases Hospital in Palma on July 31, after a night out has wel comed a UK coroner’s investi gation into his death.

WITH C hristmas just around the corner thoughts of Christmas decorations will be on the minds of fes tive fans.

This year, Palma’s Christ mas lighting will see 282 kilometres of garland lights which will be installed on 1,106 trees.

The councillor for Infras tructures, Angelica Pastor, explained: “The energy saving of the LED lights al lows us to consume less electricity than before. During the week the lights will be on from approxi mately 5.30pm until 10.00pm and at weekends until midnight.

Feeling festive

“During the Christmas festivities (December 24, 25, 31 and January 6) they will be on until the early hours of the morning.”

One of the novelties of

Palma’s Christmas decora tions is a 12-metre star, which will be placed at the Puerta de Santa Catalina. There will also be a giant nine-metre-high ball that allows people to pass in side it, and which will be placed either in the area of the Placa de Francesc Gar cia y Orell square. Pastor did point out that these two novelties have not yet arrived in Palma, but he as sured the people of Palma that as soon as they arrive they will be installed.

Flying high

AFTER struggling through the pandemic it looks like the aviation industry is picking up as Palma de Mallorca Airport saw a whopping 3,063,475 pas sengers walk through its doors in October 2022.

AENA (the airport man agement group) closed October with 23,981,550 passengers. This figure is 2.9 percentage points from pre-pandemic levels, meaning that 97.1 per cent of the traffic recorded in October 2019 has al ready been recovered.

IF you enjoy shopping and like a bargain, head to Manacor!

On Saturday, November 19, Manacor’s shops will be offering discounts and exceptional offers, on a day when the town centre will also be offering music and entertainment.

Known as Dissabte Ver mell, the initiative of the Department of Commerce of the town council of Manacor aims to promote Christmas shopping in local commerce.

“We want to turn Mana cor into a place where peo ple come to shop at the

Saturday bargains

usual shops,” explained the vouncillor for Com merce, Maria Antonia Truyols. In addition, the town hall will also be offer ing gifts to shopkeepers who can give them away to its customers with every purchase made.

The Commerce Depart ment has also encouraged bars and restaurants to join the initiative by offer ing a special menu.

If you miss Saturday’s event, Manacor has one of

Be a winner

CALLING all

The works must be original and unpublished; they must also have all the necessary permissions (in the case of using images of people, goods or logos). The works made or scanned in digital format must be sub mitted as a PDF or JPG file via email to regdinam@pal ma.cat before midnight on Friday, November 25.

Hand­drawn drawings may be submitted in person at the Citizen Participation offices from Monday to Friday from 09.00am until 1.30pm until November 25.

The winner will receive a prize of €600 ­ of which 15 per cent income tax will be withheld ­ leaving a winning prize of €510.The town hall may make any modifica tions it deems appropriate to the winning poster, given that it will have all the rights of reproduction, in accor dance with the Law on Intellectual Property, and may also use it as an image for the programme of the 2022 Christmas festivities.

Bus birth

PUBLIC transport users in Palma will be delight ed to hear that the first line of the EMT Palma Eixample-Transversal, which connects the Palau de Congressos and Placa del Progres, has been born!

A dozen neighbour hood organisations sup ported the launch of this new line, which will mean that some 128,609 Palma residents will now have a bus stop less than 300 metres away on foot.

The mayor of Palma, Jose Hila, confirmed: “It is a commitment to a city model that takes into ac count people’s mobility as a right, that takes sus tainability into account. This new line has been very well received by the residents because they can now connect to dif ferent neighbourhoods without always having to pass through the Avin gudes.”

The mayor added: “We have renewed almost 165 vehicles, which is 90 per cent of the fleet. We will also offer free travel for everyone under the age of 18 which will come into force on Jan uary 1. From this date, we will also offer a 50 per cent reduction in fares, which will contin ue until 2023.”

In addition, 208,817 air craft were in operation, which is equivalent to a recovery of 99.3 per cent compared to 2019, while 90,517 tonnes of cargo were transported, repre senting a decrease of 14.5 per cent compared to the same month of 2019.

Of the total number of travellers recorded in Oc tober, 23,923,292 were commercial passengers, of which 16,229,021 trav elled on international flights, 6.1 per cent less than in October 2019. Meanwhile, 7,694,271 passengers travelled on domestic flights, which is 4.5 per cent more than before the pandemic.

In the cumulative peri od up to October 2022, a recovery of 87.2 per cent of passenger traffic was reached compared to the same period of 2019.

the busiest street markets on the island, held every Monday morning and is fa

mous for high-quality wood furniture manufac ture and artificial pearls.

XMAS LIGHTS: Palma’s decorations were explained.

Image: Palma City Council

budding artists! Palma City Council has now opened its Three Kings’ Day (Cabalgata de Reyes) poster competition.

DELVE in to the magic of Christmas at House of Son Amar.

The magic is happening from Decem ber 3 until December 18 on Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.

Walk around whilst enjoying a hot drink and soak up the magical Christ mas atmosphere.

The stalls of the Artisan Market will offer the detail that you cannot miss on your gift list!

Santa Claus will pay a visit and you will have the opportunity to drop your

wish letter and take a photo with him.

There’s also a Skating Rink so you don’t miss that moment of adrenaline! The unique Christmas Show in the Grand Theatre will make for a great end to the day surrounded by friends and family.

Son Amara is at Carretera de PalmaSoller KM 10,8, 07193, Palmanyola.

For more information head to the website: christmas.sonmar.com, email reservas@sonmar.com or call (+34) 971 617 533.

MALLORCA’S Classic Car Club are very happy that one of their favourite ral lies is back. Car Club fans will remember past rallies with the Crows, the last one being in 2018.

The Crows will fly again as Gordon Cox and Chris Blunt have organised a rally for November 20.

The meeting point and finishing point will be at the Las Rias Baixas restaurant, close to Festi val Park. The meeting starts at 10.30am and drinks are available to be purchased from the restaurant. Departure is planned for 11.00am.

Last chance to register! The magic begins

You will be given in structions of the route

and questions to answer along the way if you would like to take part in the quiz.

The drive will be along a mountain and flatlands circular route exploring a central part of Mallorca.

Lunch will be at the same restaurant at ap proximately 1.30pm where an enjoyable three­course meal will be served.

The cost is €40 per per son for Members and for non­Members an addi tional €10 per car will be charged to cover the ad ministration cost.

For more information or to register email: info @ccc­mallorca.com.

Bicipalma break

BICIPALMA is a public bicycle system that provides bicycles for public use to enable you to get around the city. It is a simple, practical and sustainable ser vice. You collect the bicycle from a station and return it to another station.

Due to demand the service will be closed for mod ernisation from Monday, November 14 until the end of December. The old stations will be dismantled and the necessary work carried out to accommodate the updated system. Current subscribers will be contact ed and offered compensation for the time the service will be closed.

Ready to use in the new year, the new Bicipalma will have 85 stations with 930 new bicycles compris ing of 270 electric bicycles and 660 mechanical bicy cles.

The mobility area of Palma City Council works to achieve safe, efficient and sustainable mobility in the municipality of Palma. It is dedicated to mobility on foot, by bicycle or on the different public transport systems.

Importance of eye tests

FOR World Diabetes Day, Specsavers Ópticas highlighted the impor tance of regular eye tests to protect your vision from the effects of dia betic retinopathy. Many people with diabetes do not get any symptoms, however, if it is left un treated it can cause dam age to the eyes, heart, kidneys, and feet.

Around one in three people with diabetes de velop some form of eye health complication, ac cording to the Interna tional Diabetes Founda tion (IDF) . However, a recent Specsavers Ópti cas survey, revealed a quarter of the respon dents were not aware that diabetes can affect your eye health.

Martin Blake from Specsavers Ópticas in Santa Ponça explained: “14.8 per cent of adults in Spain are living with di abetes and almost a third (30.3 per cent) are undiagnosed and at risk of developing serious eye health complica tions, or even sight loss.

“Eye tests with digital retinal photography help to detect any signs of dia betes that might be pre sent by taking a detailed picture of the back of your eye allowing the blood vessels to be mon itored more closely.

“Make sure you get your eyes tested regular ly to protect your vision.”

CLASSIC CAR CLUB: Are setting off on a new drive around Mallorca.

Image: Classic Car Club

Staying open

OVER the past 20 years, considerable public and private investment in Pal ma City has regenerated its neglected areas, archi tecture, its historic monu ments and new boutique hotels have opened.

According to the Palma Hotel Association, the growth in hotel openings has boomed since 2003 when there were 32 ho

IF you fancy some Frank Sinatra fun while raising money for charity, then put a note in your diary for Saturday, November 19, at 7.30pm. The Frank Sinatra tribute concert is in aid of the Association of Parents of Children with Cancer of the Balearic Islands (AS PANOB).

Grab your dancing shoes and head over to the Sa Maniga Auditori

tels throughout the city. Today there are 75 hotels in the city and 30 of them are in Palma’s historic Old Town where they are 26 boutique hotels.

The President of the Palma Hotel Association, Javier Vich, has con firmed that 80 per cent of hotels in Palma will re main open this winter boosted by the demand

from European clients.

The island’s geographical location in the centre of the Mediterranean is only a two/three­hour flight from any major European city, combined with the city’s proximity to Palma’s Inter national Airport, a short 10minute taxi ride away, are major factors in the evolu tion of Palma as a yearround destination.

Charity crooner

um at Carrer son Galta, 4, 07560 Cala Millor, where you will find Pere Dalmau on piano, Steve Bergendy on double bass, Jaume Ginard on drums and the singer Lluci Villalonga.

The running time is ap proximately 90 minutes. For more information or to book tickets look at

the website maniga.es or call (+34) 971 587 373.

ASPANOB aims to im prove the quality of life of children with cancer in the Balearic Islands, pro viding numerous services aimed at meeting the needs of families who have to face this awful situation.

THE Euro Weekly News is still championing the Blue Badge petition, with the is sue being as important as ever as we begin to enter the winter months and looking after the vulnera ble members of our society becomes even more cru cial.

The My Blue Badge = My Freedom campaign aims to push the UK and Spanish governments to work to

My Blue Badge Free train fares

gether to allow disabled UK tourists to be able to use their Blue Badges while on holiday in Spain.

The campaign is also pushing for a compassion ate solution to help UK resi dents in Spain who may have left it too late to apply for their Spanish disabled

badge and are now unable to park accessibly after many areas of Spain stopped recognising UK badges last year.

THE ban on keeping and breeding certain animals in Spain is nothing new. The list of Invasive Exotic Species passed in 2013 banned raccoons, Argentine parrots, Vietnamese pigs, peninsular tortoises, and hedgehogs, among other animals. However, the new animal well­being bill making its way through Parliament has a longer list of prohibited animals.

Spain is one of the few EU countries to not allow UK Blue Badges, making getting around harder for disabled UK nationals living in Spain for up to 180 days a year, for those who did not apply for the Spanish disabled badge in time be fore Brexit, and those visit ing the country.

FREE medium distance (Media Distancia) tickets that will provide two mil lion free tickets to users of the RENFE train service, can now be purchased on line.

The facility to purchase tickets went live on Satur day, November 12, al though they are yet to be come available in Catalonia.

Those that purchase the ticket will be required to make 16 journeys over the next four months for the tickets to be free, with anyone who makes less than the required number losing their ‘deposit’.

The deposit of €20 is payable on purchase of the ticket and are now available on the Renfe website. It can be com

bined with the purchase of other tickets for use on the High Speed, AVE and Long­Distance season tick ets.

According to Renfe, cus tomers must register in advance on the website or by using the Renfe app.

Full information on the Free Media Distancia sea son tickets is available on the Renfe website.

No exotic pets Road safety app

When the law is approved, only animals on the list or which may be approved in the future will be allowed. To start with, it must be scientifically certified that they can live in captivity, that they do not present a risk to humans because they are aggressive, poisonous or too large, and there is no risk that they will escape and breed, harming local animals and causing environmental damage.

This would mean banning rats, hamsters, cobayas, chin chillas, rabbits, tortoises, budgerigars, parrots, lovebirds, snakes, spiders, iguanas, chameleons, geckos, and birds from other countries.

We are still campaigning for this important cause, sign the petition via this link: https://euroweekly news.com/2022/06/16/blu e­badges / or use the QR code.

THE DGT, has just launched an innovative system to reduce accidents, injuries and deaths around road works. Its new ‘con nected cones’, which are fitted with red and green lights, and will be connected to an app called DGT 3.0, accessible by the entire mobility ecosystem to control traffic re motely in real time to improve safety on the roads.

There are more than 10,000 road works on the Spanish roads each year, which cause more than 100,000 traffic management inci

dents such as temporary road and lane clo sures and diversions. All these road and maintenance works must be signposted properly to allow drivers to drive appropri ately and keep road workers safe. In this case, the flashing cones are geolocated and send signals to the authority’s traffic man agement centre with real­time information.

According to the National Register of Road Traffic Accident Victims, in 2021 there were 158 traffic accidents related to road works and maintenance.

TRIBUTES have flooded in for an Iberian lynx named Aura, who passed away in the south of Spain at the record­breaking age of 20. The iron­willed ani mal helped to bring the species back from the brink of extinc tion, birthing a whopping 14 kittens.

Aura was born in 2002 when there were just 94 lynxes left on the entire Iberian Peninsu

ON Thursday, November 10, Spain’s Minister of Defence, Margarita Rob les, confirmed that: “Since February 24, Spain has not stopped helping Ukraine for a single minute. The Spanish Armed Forces have and are working tirelessly in a peace mission. By de

Feline matriarch remembered

la. By her death, the species has had an unbelievable trans formation with more than 1,350 lynxes now roaming the peninsula.

Aura was brought into cap tivity as part of a comprehen sive conservation programme that has also been crucial in

Constant support

fending Ukraine, we are defending peace.”

The Minister empha sised that “everyone is well aware of Spain’s commitment in its sup port for Ukraine in a war

Singles spike

THE number of singletons has soared in Spain according to a new study released in time for Singles’ Day celebrated on November 11. The study found more than 14 million people, or 36 per cent of the population in the country are single.

This report revealed that the average age of single people is also increasing. The average single person in Spain is now over 40 years old. It also showed that the areas of the country with most single, separated, or divorced people are Las Canarias, Murcia and Madrid.

Explaining the trend, sociologists say that changing social habits are driving the phenomenon. With increasingly de manding jobs, people don’t have time for a relationship, while technology is also encouraging people to spend more time alone.

Relationship experts say dating apps are a cause of increas ing numbers of single people. Spain is the third biggest user of dating apps.

in which Putin is the only one to blame. It is a war in which Ukraine is exer cising its legitimate right to defence, protecting its sovereignty and territori al integrity.”

Robles reiterated her gratitude to the Spanish Armed Forces for all the humanitarian aid and de fence material they have provided (a total of 50 logistical and humanitari an transport operations) and for the training programme for the Ukrainian military.

Finally, she added: “It is a harsh winter that the Ukrainians are facing. With pow er cuts and lack of heating, it’s going to be a dark country, especially for the civilian population to whom we feel very close.”

the survival of the species.

Breeding expert, Antonio Ri vas, who is head of the El Ace buche conservation centre in Huelva where Aura previously lived praised her “phenomenal legacy,” saying “she did a good job.”

The incredible dynasty creat

HOP on the bus for free! The buses of the Empresa Munici pal de Transportes (EMT) will once again be free on Novem ber 25, 26 and 27.

From midnight on Friday, November 25, until 23.59pm on Sunday, November 27, travel on any of Madrid’s bus es will be free for passengers.

As on previous occasions, passengers must validate their ticket and, if they do not have one, the driver will pro vide them with a single ticket

superstar, Eva Longoria received an in credible honour in Oviedo on Saturday November 5. The American actress re ceived the Dama del Re al Cuerpo de la Nobleza de Asturias medal of

ed by Aura means that her genes live on in more than 900 lynxes. As well as repopulating the peninsula, Aura’s life is also notable for its length. Lynxes generally live for around 15 years, so Aura’s nearly 21 years means she was the oldest Iberian lynx ever recorded.

Free travel

free of charge. The promotion of the bus is key to the pro motion of sustainable mobili ty in the city of Madrid on days when a high number of journeys are expected due to the lure of commercial dis counts in the capital and for events such as the switching on of Christmas lights.

By activating this measure,

the city council is once again seeking to promote public transport as an alternative to private vehicles.

The free travel has already been activated on nine occa sions, has benefited more than 5.3 million passengers and has managed to signifi cantly increase demand on municipal buses.

Dame Eva Longoria

nobility. She received the award as a tribute to her an cestors from the region and to honour her heritage.

Though Eva’s father couldn’t be with her to see her receive the prestigious medal, her husband, José Bastón and her friend, María Bravo were there to share the special moment. Eva dressed to impress for the occasion in a stunning nude dress cov ered with a cape feature.

Reports suggested that the American actress could have been sponsored in receiving the honour by a distant cousin of King Felipe VI.

The actress couldn’t contain her delight at the ceremony and took to Instagram saying “My dad couldn’t be here but he would have been a very proud LLongoria! (That’s how it used to be spelled here)

Congrats to all the honorees from this region tonight.”

Betty Henderson

An Iberian lynx helped to bring back the species from extinctionn.

Photo credit: Ramon Carretero / shutterstock.com

Eva Longoria received a royal honour recog nising her family heritage in Oviedo.

Photo credit: Featureflash Photo Agency shutterstock.com

MBE Honour

ON Tuesday November 15, David Fernández Jiménez, Deputy Director of the FCDO’s Consular Contact Centre, which is based in Malaga, re ceived the Honorary Member of the Order of the British Em pire (MBE) for his services to British citizens abroad.

The ceremony took place in Madrid at the residence of the British ambassador, Hugh Elliott.

HMA Hugh Elliott said: “David is a first­class public servant, with a very clear ob jective: to improve consular services for British citizens.

“Since joining the FCDO 10 years ago, he has shown inno vation in service delivery, led the consular response to nu merous crises (such as during the Arab Spring, hurricanes in

the Caribbean and airline bankruptcy) and has devel oped new channels of com munication with British citi zens. I am lucky to work with him and to be able to give him this well­deserved medal.”

David Jiménez said: “I am immensely grateful to the UK

for this distinction, which I embrace with pride. This recognition symbolises the dedication and commitment of an entire department to be always at the vanguard of the provision of high­quality con sular services for British peo ple overseas.”

Tribe release tourists

A HOSTAGE group freed in Peru includes Span ish nationals. The release was made after a standoff between Peruvian authorities and an indigenous group. Around 70 riverboat passen gers were released on Sunday November 6 af ter being held for more than a day.

Spanish nationals were on board the boat alongside an international group including Americans, British, and French people. Among the detained were also children and people with disabilities.

Local media explained that the tourists on an

Amazon river cruise had been held by activists from the Cuninico indigenous group due to anger about government failure to act on envi ronmental issues including oil spills.

Chief of the Cuminico group, Watson Trujillo said they will continue to block the passage of tourist boats until the government takes action.

Repeated oil spills in the region including a spill of more than 6,000 barrels by Spanish oil company, Repsol in January have been blamed for various environmental problems. including dead wildlife. Respol later commit ted to a clean­up operation but concerns per sist.

Climate commitment

Henderson

A DEDICATED delegation from Spain are committed to fighting climate change at the COP27 Leader’s Summit which began on November 6 in Sharm elSheik, in Egypt.

President, Pedro Sánchez asked Spanish representa tives to give their maxi mum commitment to fight climate change, saying that the energy crisis from the war in Ukraine could not be a distraction from criti cal climate issues facing the world.

Sánchez attended the conference for one day, highlighting the need for legislation changes “be cause our lives depend on

it,” saying all leaders pre sent at the conference have “a moral duty to act with determination.”

Spain is set to contribute an additional €20 million to the Adaptation Fund eco logical project that is fight ing climate change interna tionally.

Getting all digital

THE Minister of Agri culture, Fisheries and Food, Luis Planas, par ticipated in the Forum for the Promotion of Digital Transforma tion in the Agri­Food Sector on Thursday, November 10.

The country will also give €5 million to the Interna tional Drought Resilience Alliance, an accord be tween more than 30 coun tries to fight drought glob ally.

The climate summit is set to conclude on Friday November 18.

Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Luis Planas,

He stressed that the application of digital technologies is essen

tial for the economic and environmental competitiveness of the agri­food sector, not just in the future, but now.

The minister as sured that: “Innova tion and digitalisation are fundamental for the development of the agri­food sector, a sector that is already a leader in terms of the quantity and qual ity of its products and is recognised for this in world markets.”

He expressed his “pride and recogni tion for the workers of this sector” and stressed the need to continue working to gether to consolidate its growth in the in terests of all .

Betty Henderson

DAVID JIMÉNEZ: Embraces the recognition with pride.

Betty

Spanish President Pedro Sánchez pledged his commitment to fighting climate change in Egypt.

Photo credit: rafapress shutterstock.com

Eggless breakfast

WETHERSPOONS have been hit by more shortages as supply issues continue to affect the restaurant and pub sectors.

This time the bird flu epi demic has caused a shortage of eggs according to a nation al newspaper on Sunday, November 13.

The company has said that there is a temporary issue which means breakfasts may not be available with eggs.

Discussions are said to be taking place between suppli ers, supermarkets and the in dustry to find a solution to the problem that has already seen the price of chickens rise sharply.

Wetherspoons is offering alternatives to diners, but no eggs at present.

Although avian flu is said to be the primary cause of the shortage, the Department of Environment, Farming and

Rural Affairs had said earlier that they were “deeply con cerned” about the scale of chicken mortalities in industri al chicken sheds over the summer.

Wetherspoons boss Tim Martin who actively promot ed BREXIT has complained that major changes have af fected the industry including labour shortages and in creased labour, food and en ergy costs.

Hard cheese

A BRITISH cheesemaker has had to sell his firm to a rival after he lost more than £600,000 worth of sales due to Brexit as re ported on Tuesday, November 15, by a na tional news outlet.

Macclesfield­based Cheshire Cheese Com pany owner Simon Spurell had warned at the time, that the Brexit deal agreed with the Eu ropean Union was not sustainable for small businesses. Spurrell said the costs associated with exporting to Europe were now too high

for small businesses, as a result of which he has sold out to the much larger Joseph Heler Cheese who have a hub and a distribution base in the Netherlands.

Following the deal he said he hoped that it would allow him to recover his market on the continent and that he was thrilled at the prospect of being able to return.

Two years on he said he was still surprised that the government could go for a hard Brexit knowing the damage it would do.

IN a sign of the worsening times in the UK, the coun try has lost its title as Eu rope’s largest stock mar ket.

A report by a financial news outlet on Monday, November 14 said that a combination of a lower pound and concerns over the economy had led to the country losing its place on the stock market leadership board.

The French stock mar ket is now worth US$2.823 trillion, slightly higher than the UK at US$2.821 trillion, the gap having narrowed from pre­Brexit times. Back in 2016, British stocks were collectively worth US$1.5 trillion more than those in France.

Michael Saunders, a for mer Bank of England poli cymaker, said: “The need for tax rises and spending cuts wouldn’t be there if Brexit hadn’t reduced the economy’s potential out put so much.”

But it is not just Brexit that has impacted on Britain’s standing, with the political turmoil hav

Title lost

ing done its bit to reduce the value of the stock market.

The UK losing its largest European stock market ti

tle is more about the UK’s fall rather than France’s rise with currency fluctua tions playing a significant role.

Worst again

A WHICH? guide to the UK’s best and worst hotel chains was published on Wednesday November 9, with the Britan nia topping the latter for the 10th year in a row.

The consumer group’s research takes into account the opinion of thousands of guests, who have rated their stays to reveal the brands still offering value for money, and those not cheap enough.

UK hotel guests are paying £22 (€25) more for a night’s stay, on average, compared with a year ago ­ a 21 per cent hike.

A total of 4,447 people were asked about their experi ences with large and small hotel chains in the UK, rating ev erything from cleanliness to bed comfort, as well as food and customer service.

Guests complained about ‘dire, drab and smelly’ stays, giv ing the Britannia chain just two out of five stars in every cate gory, including cleanliness.

The UK’s best large hotel chain was awarded to Premier Inn and the UK’s best smallest hotel chain to Warner Hotels.

EVERYONE knows that Mallorca is a wonderful destination and the Mallorca Dance Festival is set to take place in the fabulous town of Calvia.

Its landscapes and beaches are a privileged environment to enjoy the best combination of dance and relaxation.

On November 18, 19 and 20,

Dance, dance, dance

the first­ever edition of the Mal lorca Dance Festival will take place. The three days full of dance will transform Calvia into the dance capital of the world.

The Mallorca Dance Festival will take place in Calvia’s Palau d’Esports, Av. des Capdella, 55,

07184.

The festival includes the follow ing events: the Senior III Latin World Championships, Spanish B and A Championships, 22 Interna tional Competitions and two tro phies for the National Ranking.

For further information contact the organisation by email at: in fo@mallorcadancefestival.com.

• November 17, 12am, Fluxia, Shamrock, Palma Mallorca

• November 18, 11pm – 2am, Old Noise, Shamrock, Palma Mallorca

• November 18, 11:45pm, MamaKin, Hogan’s Live Music, Sports Bar & Restaurant, Palma Mallorca

• November 18, 9pm, Julia Medina, Sa Cova de S’Embat, Mallorca

• November 19, 7pm – 12am, The Red Suns and The Hawaiians, Shamrock, Palma Mallorca

• November 19, 11:45pm, MamaKin, Hogan's Live Music, Sports Bar & Restaurant, Palma Mallorca

• November 19, 9pm - 11pm Jigger Band, Three Lions Pub, Palma Mallorca

Jungle round up

TWO new contestants livened up the camp on Wednesday November 9. Comedian Sean Walsh and former Health Sec retary, Matt Hancock MP were welcomed into the jungle with a Beastly Burrow trial consist ing of cockroaches and sludge and after a slow start the duo managed to bag six stars.

A frosty reception was wait ing for Matt in the camp with the celebrities questioning the former Health Secretary on his behaviour during the pandem ic, with mixed views to his re sponses.

The public shared the celebrities’ angst and voted for Matt to do more trials con sisting of the Tentacles of Ter ror and La Cucaracha Café, the latter being an eating trial and due to Boy George being veg etarian, he was given fer mented plums, sticky beans and a fermented duck egg, while Hancock had to swal low a camel penis, sheep vagi

na and cow anus.

Saturday night saw Matt and Owen take on the trial ‘Who Wants To Look Silly on Air’, being asked questions in the same format as Who Wants To Be A Millionaire, while brown sauce, custard and other slimy substances poured down on them.

After stars being deducted for cheating and then help

from phone a friend Sue Cleaver, the celebrities won five stars.

It was more or less a fore gone conclusion that Matt would be chosen to do more trials and after taking on each challenge in a cool and collect ed manner and bagging more stars, his fellow camp mates have started to warm to him.

On Sunday, the battle for

camp leader began with Matt winning the title, he then quipped that this win made up for his loss against Boris John son in the 2019 Conservative leader election.

Matt quickly recruited jour nalist Charlene White to be his second in command and they went about their duties assign ing the daily chores to each camp mate.

Protestors cover statue

THOUSANDS of Albanians took to the streets of Lon don on Saturday, November 12, to protest against the recent statements made by the Home Secretary, Suella Braverman. Reaching Parliament Square, they draped a double­headed eagle national flag over the statue of Winston Churchill that stands there.

The demonstrators started their march on Westmin ster Bridge and continued towards the Palace of West minster. They were arguing the point that not all Albani ans should be considered to be criminals while asking the British government to respect their human rights and general existence as human beings.

Following her remarks made earlier this month in the House of Commons, Braverman came under fire not only from Labour but also from her own Conservative Party members. The Home Secretary had suggested at the time that it was only the Tory Party that was ‘serious about stop ping the invasion on our southern coast’.

According to the Home Office, it was revealed that over the last week out of an estimated 40,000 migrants who have landed on British shores this year, around 12,000 were Albani an nationals.

20 poond fake

A CONMAN from New castle was rumbled after being caught with coun terfeit notes that said ‘Twenty POOND’ instead of ‘Twenty pounds’.

Geordie William Hick son had £820 (€940) in fake notes that gave him away due to the rather apt typo.

They appeared genuine at first glance - they also had images of economist

Adam Smith and pin fac tory workers featured on the reverse side.

But at a closer look, pic tures of the money show the wording of ‘twenty pounds’ has been substi tuted with the geordie slang ‘twenty poond’, re ports a national news out let.

Hickson’s 41 fake notes were found in his sock when he was searched at

Forth Banks Police station in Newcastle following an unrelated arrest 18 months ago.

Hickson, 33, of Gateshead, admitted pos sessing counterfeit curren cy and was sentenced to 23 months imprisonment, suspended for 18 months, with rehabilitation re quirements and a yearlong curfew between 8pm and 6am.

2022 LINE-UP: The stars taking part in the jungle.

Credit: ITV

The Winston Churchill statue in London was covered by a flag.

Fake notes were found in the man’s sock.

Shutterstock.com/Janusz Pienkowski

A SHOW of solidarity as the Ukrainian Or thodox Church announced that it will allow worshippers to celebrate Christmas on De cember 25. The unusual decision was an nounced on November 7 and has been in terpreted as a move to distance the church from the Russian Orthodox Church and to wards the west.

For the first time, congregations in Ukraine will be permitted to celebrate

Religious resistance

Christmas on the western date of December 25, as opposed to the date of Jesus’ birth in the Julian Calendar, January 7. Christmas celebration dates in Ukraine have long di vided opinion in the country, with Decem ber 25 being made a public holiday in 2017

Transport backlash

A SHARP hike in a Ger man public transport pass has caused backlash across the country amid rising inflation rates. The controversial move to change the cost of a pop ular public transport pass was announced on November 3.

Since then, commuters have been voicing their anger and concern about travelling in the media and online. The public transport pass, which previously cost €9 per month was upped to an eye­watering €49 per month.

The scheme had been introduced on a tempo rary basis during the summer to encourage public transport use and to help combat rising in flation rates, but the in crease was a shock to travellers.

Charities and social or ganisations have also criticised the move say ing that the hefty price tag is out of reach for millions of ordinary com muters and public trans port users. Climate ac tivists also said the move is a step in the wrong di rection.

THE Finnish Prime Minister was cleared by an official inquiry on Friday November 4 after a video of her party ing provoked controversy in the country and beyond. Sanna Marin was accused of compromising her abili ties to govern after the video went viral globally.

The report concluded that there was “no reason to suspect the Prime Minis ter of unlawful conduct in the performance of her du ties, or of any neglect of her official responsibilities,” clearing her of any miscon duct.

Justice Minister, Tuomas Pöysti, said his job was to judge the legality of the video and would not com ment on moral decisions.

The video leaked in Au

and the church allowing prayers to be said on the day. Full­scale Christmas services have not however been allowed on Decem ber 25 until now. Prior to the Russian inva sion in February, one third of worshippers wanted to switch to a western Christmas.

Partying PM cleared

ing with friends. Critics said that the videos showed in appropriate behaviour for a Prime Minister, threatening national security.

Marin previously defend ed her right to a social life in a tearful statement saying “I am human,” before the inquiry got underway. She said she was “upset” that the private videos had been made public.

The Prime Minister also voluntarily took a drugs test which came back negative after unsubstantiated claims suggested she had taken party drugs.

Changing priorities

FRANCE has pulled out of a decade­long operation against Islamic fighters in the Sahel region of North Africa. President Emmanuel Macron made the announcement during a visit to a naval base in Toulon on Wednesday November 9.

Macron announced the end of Operation Barkhane, due to changing priorities for the French military. These were described as the war in Ukraine, and changing per ceptions of security threats to France in its ‘National Strate gic Review’.

Operation Barkhane was launched more than 10 years

ago in the Sahel to fight insur gents from radical Islamic mili tary groups. During the opera tion’s peak, around 5,500 French soldiers were sta tioned in the region, but it has largely been paused since a coup in Mali in 2020. France has already pulled out of Mali, but had remained active in other countries in the region including Chad, Niger, Burkina Faso and Mauritania.

Although the operation had some successes in limiting radicalisation, the French gov ernment had been repeatedly criticised for its involvement in the region, which was de scribed as ‘interference’.

TREMORS were felt across Italy and in parts of the Balkans as a 5.5 magnitude earth quake struck on Wednesday November 9.

The quake was felt in parts of Italy includ ing Rome and Bologna and was also felt in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and Ser bia.

Scientists said the earthquake was eight kilometres deep and started off in the re sort town of Rimini at around 7.07am.

After the first tremor, several smaller af tershocks were reported.

Despite properties shaking for several seconds in areas along the Adriatic Coast, only minor damage was recorded, including

No duty

A NORWEGIAN princess has quit royal duties to pursue a business with her self­proclaimed shaman fiancé. Fifty­one year­old Princess Märtha Louise of Norway has gave up her duties for the royal family in a state ment released on Tues day November 8.

Princess Märtha Louise and her spiritual guru fi ancé, Durek Verrett, have split opinion in the Scandi navian nation for their al ternative, and sometimes controversial opinions.

Verett claims to be a sixth­generation shaman and has sparked contro versy repeatedly with claims including that can cer is a choice. Mean while, Princess Märtha Louise says she can speak with angels and formerly lost the ‘Her Royal High ness’ title in 2002 for working as a clairvoyant.

The couple will now fo cus on their alternative medicine business which sells products including a ‘Spirit Optimizer’ that Verett claims cured his symptoms of Covid­19. The Princess explained that now she hoped her personal views will be viewed separately from her royal status.

Seismic shock

trains being suspended in Ancora due to potential track damage. Social media im ages showed fallen stonework at Ancora train station. Local schools in the Marche region were also closed pending structural reviews.

Fire brigades said they had not received any requests for help, despite the alarm caused by the earthquake.

Central Italy is one of the most active seismic areas in Europe, but has not seen major tectonic activity for several years.

Ukrainian Orthodox Church is moving towards western traditions to distance itself from Russia

Photo credit: Mikheyev Viktor / shutterstock.com

gust, showed the Prime Minister drinking and danc

Finland’s youngest ever Prime Minister was cleared of wrongdoing in an official inquiry into a video of her partying.

Photo credit: photocosmos1 / shutterstock.com

The scenic route

A RECORD­BREAKING railway service is set to return for a second winter season after a suc cessful inaugural ski season last year. Europe’s longest railway service will transport skiing lovers all the way from Malmo in Sweden to renowned ski sites in the Austrian Alps.

Railway service operator Snälltåget an nounced the return of its popular service on Thursday November 10, with a route covering a whopping 1,720 kilometres during 22­ hour journeys. The service will only be available once per week and makes its lengthy journey through popular stations in Europe, including many cities in Germany.

The route aims to offer avid skiers an alterna tive to flying to the Alps, with a longer, but scenic journey through Europe. The train boasts admirable sustainability features, run

ning on wind, water and solar energy. A report found that the train emits around 1.2kg of car bon dioxide per passenger, compared with 276kg per flight passenger or 128kg per car pas senger.

The service is set to return from December 22 and will run throughout the ski season until March 11, 2023.

Battle of the brands

COMPETITION has intensified between two huge names in the sportswear industry, Adidas and Puma. A fierce rivalry between the brands was reignited as the former CEO of Puma, Nor wegian Bjorn Gulden was chosen as the new CEO of Adidas on Tuesday November 8. The brands were created by two brothers, Adolf and Rudolf Dassler, during the late 1940s, creating a decades­long rivalry. The sportswear companies remain based in the German town of Herzogenaurach, where they were founded

by the brothers after a disagreement.

Adidas’ decision to hire Gulden, who has worked as the CEO of Puma since 2013, has been seen as the latest development in the heated competition between the two global sports companies.

Explaining the decision to hire Gulden, Adi das cited his lengthy, 30 year experience in the sports clothing industry.

The 57­year­old is set to take over as Adidas CEO from 2023.

Unacceptable error

Betty Henderson

AN appalling advertisement by the German wing of fast food giant, KFC, caused out rage across the country. A distasteful advertisement on November 9 encouraged Germans to mark the an niversary of the antisemitic Kristallnacht with a fast food feast.

The outrageous message posted to the brand’s app read ‘Commemoration of Kristallnacht ­ Treat yourself to more soft cheese and

crispy chicken. Now at KFCheese!’

The blunder appears to have been made by the brand’s semi­automated content creation system which is linked to calendars that include national obser vances. In an apology mes sage posted to the brand’s social media it said “We are very sorry. We will check our internal processes immedi ately so that this does not happen again.” It described the message as “unplanned,

OBSTACLES have been removed for Croat ia’s admission to the Schengen zone as the European Parliament voted over whelmingly in favour of the Balkan nation joining the world’s largest visa free zone.

The vote was passed by Members of the European Parliament on Thursday November 10, leaving the decision in the hands of the leaders of the European gov ernment. The vote passed with a landslide majority of 543 votes in favour to 53 against lifting border controls between Croatia and the Schengen zone.

The president of the European Parlia

insensitive and unaccept able,” saying it will now be investigated.

Kristallnacht was a 1938 persecution against Jews car ried out in vast swathes of Germany and Austria, killing nearly 100 Jewish people. The term refers to the bro ken glass from more than 7,500 Jewish­owned busi nesses that were ransacked during the discriminatory at tack, which foreshadowed the Holocaust later perpe trated by the Nazis.

Clear path

ment, Roberta Metsola took to Twitter to announce the result saying “Croatia’s place is in Schengen. Criteria has been met. The European Parliament has given its green light. Now the EU Council must deliver.”

The Schengen area currently allows passport­free movement between 26 countries. It was last expanded in 2008, with the admission of micro­state Liecht enstein.

Rail operator is offering an impressive sustain able route for skiers heading to Austrian Alps.

Photo credit: Trygve Finkelsen / shutterstock.com

Get your shopping discounts in Calvia!!

ENJOY everything you are looking for in Calvia, with the added bonus of discount vouchers in your favourite es tablishments!

People over 16 years of age can easily apply for discounts at establishments such as restaurants, hairdressers, beauty salons and much more through the winter months ­ even do your Christ mas shopping and receive dis counts!

The campaign aims to sup port small local businesses in Calvia and is a fantastic eco nomic effort from the town halls.

Sound good? Here is all you need to know about this amazing campaign!

• How does it work and where do I get the vouchers?

Every resident in Calvia can purchase four ‘bonos’ each from the town hall website at a cost of €10, with a value of €20. Check the web page com

ercio.calvia.com and keep an eye on the Euro Weekly News for the launch date in the first couple of weeks in Novem ber.

• How do I get my vouch ers?

To get the vouchers, regis ter in the Calvia marketplace website comercio.calvia. com, buy the voucher for €10 and exchange it for a value of €20 in shops that accept vouchers.

To apply, you will need to be a resident of Calvia munici pality and input your ID into the website.

• Where can I use my vouchers?

Many types of establish

ments will be involved in the campaign, including veterinary clinics, health and beauty shops, cafes, book shops, restaurants, opticians, retail shops, bars and more.

You can find out which shops are taking part by checking on the Calvia mar ketplace website, here in the Euro Weekly News, and es tablishments will also display a fuchsia ‘C’ sticker on their door.

• How do I redeem my vouchers?

To make things easier, no physical vouchers will be is sued, so you will not need to download or print anything. The voucher will be a QR code that will be shown at partici pating establishments.

For example, if you get a pedicure costing €20 you will give the business one vouch er, and you will have just paid €10!!!

If you go out for a meal at a

rant and it costs €25, pay with a voucher plus €5, which means the meal has only cost you €15!!

If your neighbour or friend is a resident of Calvia and doesn’t use their vouchers, simply apply with their ID and use them yourself to enjoy the discount!!

These vouchers are limited so make sure you keep check ing on the Calvia marketplace website to see how many are still available. The vouchers will usually be available until January ­ February next year.

Head to the website com ercio.calvia.com, and click on the image to choose your lan guage. We will also be print ing some of the businesses in volved each week in the paper!

Supporting local business.

ImageBobex-73/Shutterstock

Calvia Mallorca

CALVIA, located on the beautiful is land of Mallorca, is one of the most popular destinations for tourists and expatriates to want to either move to or visit for holidays due to its warm climate, stunning white sand beaches, sparkling crystal­clear sea, historical value, and abundance of amenities.

With various beaches to visit all throughout Calvia and more than 10 beaches having been awarded and flying the blue flag for quality from the Foundation for Environmental Ed ucation.

The beach is the perfect place to go to relax and enjoy the sun, sand, and sea while you are visiting.

Go for a walk around the town and experience Calvia in its traditional way. With many of the buildings dat ing back to the 17th cen tury, the homes are a delightful ochre colour and are well­known to the area. The Cruz del De scubrimiento is a beautiful monument to visit with top­class views of the coast surrounding you.

Spend time at the port, with the luxurious yachts and boats coming in and out of the har bour, take the day to people watch and shop.

The adventures in Calvia are end less with the perfect spot for hiking on the CR1 Peguera­Cap Andritxol Trail. With the trail for all abilities, take the afternoon and enjoy what Calvia’s mountains and coasts have to offer. With ideal spots along the coast for snorkelling, enjoy the wildlife and

of the most popular destina tions for tourists.

can spot some of the fish from Finding Nemo while snorkelling and discovering the bays.

Another top spot to visit to get your heart rate going is Jungle Parc Mallor ca. A tree­top adventure park with zip lines and climbs for an unforgettable and once­in­a­lifetime experience in Calvia. A perfect date or family day time activity to keep everyone in high spirits.

With various delicious restaurants and exciting clubs, there is no short age on what to do in the evenings.

best clubs to visit while you are in Calvia is Nikki Beach, this trendsetter club has incredible food, glorious views, the most comfortable cabana beds and day beds to enjoy through out your stay.

The best restaurants to visit all de pend on your taste and what you are hungry for. If tapas, seafood or a real home­cooked meal is on your mind here are just a few of the best restau rants to go to while staying in Calvia.

Many bars also serve creative cock tails and tasty small plates, with nights of live music as the sun is set ting on the terrace. This is a must­do while in Calvia.

Shutterstock Victor torres

Vulcano Shutterstock

One

A Soul Empowerment Coach

DUTCH Soul Empower ment Coach Birgitta Viss er lives in the UK and has a new book released enti tled ‘BE­com­ing Authen tically Me.’

In today’s world, there are coaches for almost ev ery aspect of life, but for those who don’t know what a Soul Empower ment Coach is, Birgitta ex plained the concept to Eu ro Weekly News.

“My role is to help align the inner spiritual

essence of life with the outer life.”

In Birgitta’s case, her outer life has seen diffi cult days and has often been a turbulent journey, having served as a steep learning curve. She’s been a model, bartender, pro mo girl, dog walker, heal er, web designer, created her own organic soap line, designed jewellery, taught holistic workshops and worked many jobs in the corporate world.

“Being a nomad and a seeker, I have travelled the globe extensively, leaving an indelible im pression on all those I met, while making a home wherever I roamed.”

In her new book, ‘BEcom­ing Authentically Me’, Birgitta hopes that by sharing her many life experiences she may pro vide a guiding light to those who’ve had their own challenges in life.

“I keep telling anyone who’ll listen, the most im portant ingredient to suc cess is to always be you, not what the world wants you to be.

“Life is really about be ing your authentic self, and not being led by the opinions and the judge ment of others. Society conditions us and labels us that we are supposed

to be a certain type of person.

“I’m here to tell you, you can be the person you want to be despite what society might be telling you. It doesn’t matter what people think of you or if they even un derstand you. It matters

what you think of you. It matters that you under stand you.

“We’re in this dot.com world,” she said, “and people don’t even under stand what ‘dot.com’ means. Believe it or not, ‘dot.com’ is actually de rived from Latin, meaning

‘being together’.

“The idea of ‘being’ in turn leads back to becom ing the person you truly are. It’s not easy for most of us to be true to our selves. But I’m hoping I can inspire people to take a breath and re­examine the person they are, and give them the tools to be come the person they want to be.”

Birgitta has trans formed her own life expe riences of being abused, both as a child and as an adult, to become a better version of herself. And rather than let it destroy her life, she wrote ‘BEcom­ing Authentically Me’, to help educate peo ple on how to deal with life’s traumas.

“I hope my book helps people. There’s no better feeling than when you're able to give inspiration and guidance to someone and it actually helps them improve their lives. And it all begins with loving yourself. Your ‘authentic’ self. And then you need to live life to the fullest. And not just exist. And you need to live NOW.

“Life is like the sound of music,” she has conclud ed.

“You’ve got to dance before the music stops.”

If you want to make a New Year resolution to be true to yourself, search out her new book on Amazon.

BE TRUE TO YOURSELF: Birgitta with her new book.

Credit: Power Soul Healing Facebook

PRESS EUROPEAN

DENMARK

Safe roads

A REPORT from the International Drivers Association classes Denmark as the fourth best European country to drive in behind Switzerland, the Netherlands and Belgium thanks to good quality roads, few deaths in accidents and car density, but it lost out with high cost of fuel.

THE NETHERLANDS

Sparks fly

MUCH of Holland goes up in flames at midnight every New Year’s Eve, but there will be fewer fireworks available for celebrations or blowing up cash machines this year as German and Dutch police have seized the biggest haul of illegal fireworks in their history.

BELGIUM

Fair cop

A BRUSSELS police chief was rather surprised to see an advert from a man offering his sexual services to women and couples who he recognised as a police inspector and although officers are allowed jobs on the side, they must have them approved in advance.

GERMANY

Digital Red Cross

RESEARCHERS in Germany have been recruited by the International Red Cross to identify whether a digital red cross image might deter hackers from attacking their sites in the same way that the red cross flag on vehicles and hospitals offers some form of protection during wartime.

FRANCE

Building site

THE most famous street in Paris, the ChampsElysées, which attracts millions of visitors every year is currently a shambles as there is a huge amount of building work to lay granite paving stones and create new gardens in the run-up to the 2024 Olympics.

NORWAY

Cash is king

WORRIED that the headlong rush towards a cashless society could leave consumers and banks vulnerable to hackers out to disrupt the economy, the Norwegian government intends to promote the use of bank notes in shops and hospitality outlets rather than demand payment by card.

FINLAND

Russian uranium

ALTHOUGH 42 per cent of electricity is created from renewable sources, Finland relies on nuclear power and despite sanctions on Russia is committed to obtaining its uranium from TVEL, a subsidiary of Russia’s Rosatom and will not be able to change for several years.

IRELAND

McPaper

FAST food chain McDonald’s has announced that it is replacing all plastic cutlery with a new paper-based material in all of its restaurants across Ireland. It says that the new cutlery is made from FSC-certified pressed paper that is strong, renewable and can be recycled or composted.

ITALY

In the soup

AFTER one group threw tomato soup at a Van Gogh painting in London, a second group of climate protestors chose another painting by the same artist, but this time threw vegetable soup over The Sower, doing no damage as the painting was under glass.

PORTUGAL

Going down

WHILST Spain appears likely to reintroduce tolls on some motorways, Portugal is looking the other way and plans next year to reduce some tolls, as it admits that public transport in some parts of the interior is almost nonexistent and driving is the only viable alternative.

UKRAINE

Oscar winner

VISITING Ukraine for the third time, actor and director Sean Penn gave President Vladimir Zelenskyy one of his Oscars as a symbol of support and asked him to hold onto it until his country defeats Russia, at which time he should return it in Malibu.

SWEDEN

Treasure trove

ARCHAEOLOGISTS digging at a known Viking settlement north of Stockholm were amazed to uncover a small pot buried under preserved wooden floors which contained a large amount of jewellery including torques, rings and coins made into pendants in almost perfect condition dating back around 1,000 years.

FINANCE

BUSINESS EXTRA

Whopper truck

LOOKING to outdo competi tors, Burger King Spain has created the Whopper Truck, which is staffed by 20 people and can offer a whole range of food at open air festivals. Its first outing was at the Co ca­Cola Music Experience festival where it reportedly earned €30,000.

Inflation stable

WITH just six weeks left until the end of the year, Spanish Economy Minister Nadia Calviño has indicated that she expects the country’s in flation rate to continue at around 9 per cent, adding that fourth quarter econom ic growth is relatively good.

WH Smith

BACK to travel, back to profit is the mantra for ‘newsagent’ WH Smith which has reported a head line pre­tax profit of £61 mil lion for the year to the end of August compared to last year’s loss of £104 million, thanks to the freedom to travel.

Sustainable Xmas

FIVE sustainable stuffed hedgehogs known as Los Grinpins will be an ideal Xmas gift for the very young. On sale at El Corte Inglés, for every one sold, the depart ment store will add €1 to its existing commitment to plant 2,500 trees near the town of Ejulve (Teruel).

Trade deal

DESPITE the fact that the US government has indicated that a trade agreement with the UK is unlikely until the Northern Ireland border situ ation is resolved, Trade Sec retary Kemi Badenoch left for Washington DC on Mon day November 14 to try to promote UK­US trade.

STAT OF WEEK €3.7 million

Microchip design centre

CHIP manufacturer Cisco is to create a new design centre in Spain following a meeting be tween Pressident Pedro Sánchez and Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins in Madrid on Thursday November 10.

The digital revolution cannot proceed without chips and the European Union Chips Act lays the foundation for an innovation ecosystem in the EU, connecting world­class research, design and testing capacities, creating knowledge jobs and fostering economic growth.

As part of its global strategy to enable a reliable, scalable and sustainable global semiconduc tor supply chain, Cisco plans to set up an engineering design centre to design and prototype next generation semiconductor devices in its existing Barcelona facility.

The commitment has been made following a number of ear lier meetings between the two parties, both in Madrid and at the last Davos Forum in May of this year.

“Spain is on the way to be come a key player in achieving

the EU objective of reaching 20 per cent of the world chip mar ket by 2030.

“We have approved the pro gram PERTE Microchip and have the roadmap, reforms and incen tives in place to attract talent and strengthen the current Span ish ecosystem,” said Sánchez.

“Technology has the ability to help countries further their social and economic development and move even closer to an inclusive

future for all. Today’s announce ment reinforces Cisco’s commit ment to support the digital ecosys tem in Spain and across Europe,” observed Chuck Robbins.

The Strategic Project for the Recovery and Economic Trans formation (PERTE) of microelec tronics and semiconductors will have access to more than €12 billion from European funds made available as part of the Spanish Recovery Plan.

Windfall tax expanded

UNIMPRESSED by ECB criti cism of planned bank wind fall tax, Spain not only in tends to proceed with it, but is actually amending the draft bill in order to in clude more organisations.

The government hopes to earn some €3 billion from charging those Span ish banks which have made more than €800 million profit a special 4.8 per cent tax and this is planned to run for two years.

There is little doubt that the merger of some Span ish banks has created very profitable organisations which have been able to reduce operating costs by closing branches and

shedding staff.

Many have also benefit ed from access to very gen erous loans from official or ganisations such as the European Development Bank as well as having ac cess to cheap Spanish gov ernment funds during the pandemic.

The European Central Bank (ECB) has issued a non­binding opinion that the decision to introduce such a windfall tax could be damaging to the banks’ long term liquidity and could also discourage them from granting loans.

The government re

sponse is that the larger banks are making record profits so can easily afford the temporary tax which will be used to benefit those suffering from the cost­of­living crisis.

Also, since the ECB itself is raising interest rates in order to slow down infla tion as fewer loans will be affordable, the windfall tax would support the ECB if its observations are correct.

Prior to pushing the bill through parliament, the government has realised that it only applied to Span ish banks, so the amend ment will include local units of foreign lenders super vised by the ECB.

Deal scuppered

IN early October, one prime minis ter ago, the British government an nounced that it was planning to strike a 20­year long­term bulk buy deal for gas.

The plan was to ensure that the country secured a safe, reliable and reasonably priced supply from Norway which creates most of its electricity through renewable sources and has North Sea gas ga lore.

Now just over a month later it seems the deal has been cancelled, reportedly due to the proposed fixed price which has shot up and Treasury analysts believe open market gas could become much cheaper in the foreseeable future.

New revenue

IN its Autumn Financial Stability Re port issued on November 11, the Bank of Spain is encouraging Span ish banks to make provisions to en sure that they have sufficient funds to face a possibly uncertain future. Whilst acknowledging that many banks have seen high profits and will benefit in the short term from the increase in interest rates, the ongoing war in Ukraine and the spi ralling cost of living could see many countries continue to suffer from recession with defaults on loans.

The Bank also considers that the Spanish windfall tax on those banks which have made the greatest profits could reduce the sector’s ability to generate new revenue.

Oxfam funding

FOR more than a year, the British government refused to allow char ity Oxfam the right to bid for UK funding as an external investiga tion was carried out into safe guarding allegations in the Demo cratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

Minister for Development An drew Mitchell finally announced on Thursday November 10 that this pause had now been reversed and the charity may once again bid for UK aid funding to carry out life saving work around the world.

This follows confirmation that Oxfam has made significant im provements to its safeguarding systems in DRC, although why the DRC problem stopped it from ob taining funds to assist in other countries is obscure.

is the threshold that must be reached before Spain’s richest residents will have to pay the temporary wealth tax at the end of this year.

Credit: Pedro Sánchez twitter

COMMITMENT: Meeting between the two in Madrid on November 10.

Credit: Creative Commons

3I Group 1.267,00 1.308,50 1.262,00 128,82K

Abrdn 204,90 207,10 203,00 1,45M

Admiral Group 2.070,1 2.075,0 2.037,0 58,04K

Anglo American 3.351,0 3.414,5 3.334,5 479,81K

Antofagasta 1.435,00 1.451,00 1.430,50 140,30K

Ashtead Group 4.966,0 5.114,0 4.962,0 80,01K

Associated British Foods 1.547,0 1.569,0 1.543,5 69,85K

AstraZeneca 10.776,0 10.860,0 10.542,0 251,92K

Auto Trader Group Plc 572,80 576,80 570,40 333,86K

Aveva 3.173,0 3.203,0 3.170,0 1,07M

Aviva 437,48 441,53 436,40 87,77K

B&M European Value Retail SA389,60 394,30 381,30 403,63K

BAE Systems 729,70 731,20 702,20 1,53M

Barclays 156,28 158,74 155,22 4,52M

Barratt Developments 403,60 413,40 402,10 709,71K

Berkeley 3.775,0 3.900,0 3.768,0 40,33K

BHP Group Ltd 2.493,50 2.510,00 2.483,00 280,03K

BP 477,80 483,20 476,50 4,44M

British American Tobacco 3.249,0 3.261,5 3.207,0 291,64K

British Land Company 399,10 405,10 397,90 137,82K

BT Group 122,15 122,20 120,30 1,76M

Bunzl 2.936,0 2.954,0 2.930,0 43,90K

Burberry Group 2.009,0 2.025,0 2.004,0 70,85K

Carnival 776,8 792,8 777,6 167,69K

Centrica 82,82 82,86 81,30 901,31K

Coca Cola HBC AG 2.011,0 2.032,0 2.007,0 36,15K

Compass 1.795,50 1.818,00 1.785,50 284,13K

CRH 3.343,5 3.399,0 3.342,0 93,35K

Croda Intl 7.118,0 7.200,0 7.084,0 53,32K

DCC 4.474,0 4.512,0 4.462,0 14,42K

Diageo 3.640,0 3.660,5 3.608,5 199,04K

DS Smith 316,40 320,30 314,50 364,04K

EasyJet 411,90 414,89 407,20 192,98K

Experian 2.861,0 2.885,0 2.835,0 168,72K

Ferguson 10.245,0 10.325,0 10.195,0 40,97K

Flutter Entertainment 11.595,0 11.775,0 11.580,0 60,87K

Fresnillo 866,60 878,20 863,20 95,99K

Glencore 510,30 515,22 506,70 964,73K

GSK plc 1.340,20 1.343,20 1.315,20 157,91K

Halma 2.361,0 2.382,0 2.347,0 66,72K

Hargreaves Lansdown 935,60 945,60 930,00 171,40K

Hikma Pharma 1.399,00 1.404,00 1.375,50 80,21K

HSBC 474,80 476,70 471,30 2,30M

IAG 135,98 138,26 135,42 3,39M

Imperial Brands 2.047,00 2.052,00 1.993,00 366,48K

Informa 581,20 601,00 563,60 898,19K

InterContinental 4.753,0 4.805,0 4.745,0 30,31K

Intermediate Capital 1.255,00 1.298,00 1.254,50 132,00K

Intertek 4.042,0 4.068,0 4.023,0 27,04K

ITV 76,91 78,16 76,38 550,67K

J Sainsbury 218,75 220,00 217,70 449,64K

Johnson Matthey 2.132,0 2.199,0 2.121,0 23,46K

Land Securities 623,60 630,60 620,80 84,35K

Legal & General 247,00 251,40 246,60 1,18M

Lloyds Banking 43,27 43,97 42,97 10,97M

London Stock Exchange 8.204,0 8.266,0 8.186,0 25,49K

Melrose Industries 124,95 127,70 124,50 419,06K

Mondi 1.577,00 1.598,00 1.571,00 107,20K

National Grid 1.001,50 1.010,00 992,60 470,52K

NatWest Group 247,60 251,60 246,10 986,78K

Next 5.684,0 5.752,0 5.668,0 27,01K

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

Ocado 808,60 824,40 771,80 581,77K

Persimmon 1.325,5 1.365,0 1.324,0 143,73K

Phoenix 564,60 570,60 563,50 42,47K

Prudential 998,40 1.012,00 996,40 426,02K

Reckitt Benckiser 5.640,0 5.642,0 5.544,0 154,10K

Relx 2.243,00 2.264,00 2.230,00 322,36K

Rentokil 535,80 542,80 535,00 428,24K

Rightmove 552,60 563,00 550,80 249,78K

Rio Tinto PLC 5.366,0 5.453,0 5.354,0 230,36K

Rolls-Royce Holdings 89,48 90,72 88,97 4,65M

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

Sage 754,00 762,60 753,90 8,85K

Samsung Electronics DRC 1.165,00 1.171,50 1.162,00 2,68K

Schroders 469,4 479,2 468,3 201,32K

Scottish Mortgage 804,00 827,80 803,28 219,73K

Segro 838,40 861,40 835,80 348,59K

Severn Trent 2.690,4 2.728,0 2.670,0 54,38K

Shell 2.354,5 2.368,5 2.344,5 873,51K

Smith & Nephew 1.066,00 1.069,00 1.059,00 195,73K

Smiths Group 1.581,50 1.593,00 1.573,50 38,26K

Spirax-Sarco Engineering 11.765,0 11.945,0 11.750,0 6,25K SSE 1.625,50 1.633,00 1.618,50 507,69K

St. James’s Place 1.185,00 1.215,00 1.183,50 37,10K

Standard Chartered 568,00 574,00 564,20 640,25K

Taylor Wimpey 102,00 104,80 101,80 2,11M

Tesco 227,80 230,10 227,50 867,46K

Tui 151,45 158,50 151,40 588,89K

Unilever 4.001,5 4.011,0 3.963,5 777,99K

United Utilities 1.012,50 1.015,00 1.003,00 82,03K

Vodafone Group PLC 105,26 105,28 103,72 6,82M

Whitbread 2.551,0 2.594,0 2.549,0 26,01K WPP 868,40 877,20 865,40 487,35K

3M 132,98 133,49 3,42M

American Express 154,89 158,88 154,70 3,71M

Amgen 285,02 289,36 279,62 3,25M

Apple 149,70 150,01 144,37 93,63M

Boeing 177,49 178,03 172,99 8,87M

Caterpillar 236,49 238,40 232,00 3,58M

Chevron 186,46 187,10 183,89 8,41M

Cisco 44,79 45,32 43,92 25,95M

Coca-Cola 61,32 61,45 60,21 18,93M

Dow 53,14 53,44 50,90 9,00M

Goldman Sachs 385,17 387,00 378,75 3,39M

Home Depot 314,94 317,68 310,24 4,92M

Honeywell 212,73 214,96 211,45 4,22M

IBM 143,17 144,13 140,96 5,85M

Intel 30,43 30,63 28,87 49,22M

J&J 169,25 173,11 166,82 11,06M

JPMorgan 135,30 136,17 133,78 10,64M

McDonald’s 271,39 277,00 269,18 4,74M

Merck&Co 97,96 100,81 97,33 13,34M

Microsoft 247,11 247,99 241,93 33,80M

Nike 106,09 107,21 100,14 12,37M

Procter&Gamble 140,97 141,63 139,11 7,17M

Salesforce Inc 157,73 159,92 155,58 6,44M

The Travelers 181,73 185,58 180,21 1,39M

UnitedHealth 522,08 546,28 509,65 7,00M

Verizon 38,30 38,69 37,81 22,91M

Visa A 205,00 206,43 202,15 8,74M

Walgreens Boots 41,26 41,56 39,40 13,06M

Walmart 142,58 143,12 139,99 6,42M

Walt Disney 95,01 95,58 91,10 22,01M

Most Advanced

Most Declined

12.655M

Duolingo, Inc. -13.36% 1.093M

Kinsale Capital Group, Inc. -10.89% 465,835

Cricut, Inc. -9.67% 256,765

ShockWave Medical, Inc. -8.81% 731,361

Flowers Foods, Inc. -8.53% 3.555M

Udemy, Inc. -8.39% 601,297

Teleperformance SE -8.07% 26,783

Luckin Coffee Inc. -7.99% 2.416M

Global Business Travel Group, Inc. -7.46% 380,852

BUSINESS EXTRA

Dominoooos

DESPITE the rather irritating Domino’s Pizza Group yo delling adverts in the UK, the company expects to have a strong fourth quar ter especially as sporting events such as the World Cup Finals which takes place in the latter part of November always see a spike in home deliveries.

Sluggish sales

THE latest report from retail association Acotex reveals that the October sale of clothing items in Spain whilst 4.2 per cent up when compared to 2021, shows a slow down following a 7.9 per cent growth in Septem ber due to the rising cost of living.

Taxi charity

FREE NOW is a mobility ser vice provider which decid ed to match any tips given to black cab drivers through its app in the UK on Re membrance Sunday, November 13 with all such funds being donated to The Taxi Charity for Military Veterans.

Closer ties

SPAIN and the Latin Ameri can development bank CAF will host a meeting be tween the 27 European Union Ministers of Finance and their 33 counterparts from the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States in Santia go de Compostela next year.

As Spain takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union it aims to align interests and strengthen trade relations between Europe and Latin America and the Caribbean.

CAF has set itself the goal of becoming the green bank in the region, promot ing green growth through greater financing of envi ronmental, forestry, ener gy, agricultural, climate and water projects with an ini tial budget of US$25 billion.

Brexit champion unhappy

‘NOT the Brexit I wanted’, according to Brexi teer Lord Wolfson the Chairman of Next in an interview with the BBC about immigration.

He believes that the UK’s current immigra tion policy was a major deterrent to econom ic growth as there are simply insufficient workers available to undertake a number of different jobs and employers are desperate for staff.

Whilst recognising that one of the strong arguments for Brexit was to ensure that British workers were able to find employ ment, he can see that there is shortage of staff in some important areas.

In the interview he told the BBC: “We have got people queuing up to come to this coun try to pick crops that are rotting in fields, to

Aldi buys British

work in warehouses that otherwise wouldn’t be operable, and we’re not letting them in.

“And we have to take a different approach to economically productive migration.”

In order to grow the economy, he believes that Britain’s leaders need to decide whether the UK believed and practised free trade or wanted to become ‘fortress Britain,’ allowing only professionals such as doctors and nurses into the country.

Lord Wolfson’s suggestion is that that busi nesses who need foreign workers should be able to pay a tax of 10 per cent to the gov ernment on foreign workers’ salaries to en sure that only the businesses that really couldn’t find UK workers would recruit over seas.

AN Aldi

4’s Next Big Thing and

Charlie Fermor, 35, and his wife Laurie, 34, landed the contract of a lifetime and their dried fruit snacks for kids named Freddie’s Farm made with only British produce, as much as possible from their own or chards and fields in Kent, are now in stores nation wide.

Hearts melted as the na tion was given an insight in to Charlie and Laurie’s life

at Bramley Mount Farm and their son Freddie, six, after whom the snacks are named and his sister, Ottie aged three.

Freddie’s Farm fought off tough competition from manufacturers of fava bean snacks, kimchi, and even camel milk, to secure a space on Aldi’s UK store shelves.

Co­founder, Laurie Fer mor explained how the healthy snacks came about: “When Freddie was little, we didn’t like the snacks that were out there in the market so we came up with Freddie’s Farm. The drying

process has been perfected over a long time so it’s quite special.

“We try to keep the flavours you get in raw fruit and veg. As a result, we have lower free sugars, which help prevent kids getting sugar highs and crashes, which we certainly like to avoid with our two at all costs.”

With everything grown, dried and packed within metres of the couple’s home, the carbon footprint also appealed to Aldi, which has tough sustainability tar gets and has been a carbon neutral business since 2019.

THE Spanish subsidiary of businesses insurer His cox has introduced a new form of cyber insur ance aimed at small and medium sized (SME) businesses.

According to its research, some 44 per cent of Spanish SMEs suffered at least one cyberattack last year, so they say it is essential that compa nies also take measures both for its prevention and for better management if it occurs.

The same report highlights that only one in four SMEs plan to increase their investment in the coming years, despite the cost that a cyberattack may entail, with an average of around €16,300 for an SME with up to between 49 em ployees and €22,950 for companies employing between 50 and 249 staff.

New cyber insurance Green shoots

GREEN energy is an integral part of Spain’s re covery plan using funds from the European Union and President Pedro Sánchez takes ev ery opportunity to be seen to promote the con cept.

On Wednesday November 9, he was in Grana da Province inaugurating the Caparace­Baza electrical axis which is to be built at a cost of €3 billion, creating some 8,700 jobs and ensuring a reliable power supply in an area which has suf fered from depopulation.

He claims that not only will the power pro duced be renewable as part of the government’s green programme but will have the added bene fit of encouraging industry to invest in the area.

TV show looked for fledgling suppliers to stock their shelves through Chan nel

received hundreds of en tries.

BREXITEER: Lord Wolfson of Aspley Guise.

Credit: Next Media Centre

FREDDIE’S FARM: The winning products comprise dred fruit snacks.

Credit: Freddie’s Farm

LEAPY LEE SAYS IT

OTHERS THINK IT

SOME of the things that render me deeply suspicious of the UK politicians and media programmes are because their decisions and reports often com pletely disagree with thousands of so cial media followers. The latest is a glaring example.

The opinions the left and media have conveyed to the public regarding the recent statement of the Home Sec retary, are probably one of the biggest examples of their anti­right wing rhetoric ever. Ms Braverman stated in the House that the UK was ‘under an invasion from mass immigration’. The dictionary tells us that the word inva sion, describes ‘the arrival of large numbers of people or things at one time’. Sounds about right to me; not however to those trying to use the statement to damage their rivals!

The outcry that issued from the am bitious leftie majority was a positive disgrace; yet another attempt to dis rupt the opposition in their endeav ours to find answers. On social outlets, thousands of people have agreed with the Home Secretary’s description and views. The majority of the country are

Sad state of affairs

becoming desperate to find a solution to something they are fully aware can destroy everything they have ever val ued or stood for. The left and media are using it as a weapon to win the next election.

Even Fiona Bruce recently caused a vast number of viewers to clamour for her dismissal because of her ‘continu ing Conservative biases on the BBC’s Question Time. Over 40,000 immi grants have now arrived, many from Albania of all places. Does that mean that residents from any country not achieving too much success, can send their citizens for succour in the UK? Probably. It’s costing a financially be leaguered UK a fortune. Its people are dreading the winter. Britain is hurtling into recession. Large numbers are living on the streets and obtaining food from charity organ isations. Thousands of immigrants however, are obtaining money, food and hotel accommodation from gov ernment sources ­ and still complain ing! The left love it. The despairing vot ers, desperate to solve the predicament, will they hope vote in another party to take care of their

grievances and problems. They don’t want the present government to solve the crisis in any way, it’s one of the greatest weapons they hold for the next election. The dilemma is, that if immigrants keep arriving before it takes place, it will be impossible for any party to fix.

Recently I read a letter written to a colleague. It described their whole street being taken over by a ‘different culture’. Residents were now littering up the place with cans and bottles and even peeing by their dustbins. The price of their house had plummeted and they can’t even find a buyer from the indigenous population. So if the authorities manage to rehouse these thousands of immigrants, the demise of UK society, once held near and dear, is ultimately relegated to the dustbin. Good luck.

Keep the Faith. Leapy Lee.

Leapylee2002@gmail.com

For more from our columnists please scan this QR Code

Kiss and tell

LINDA HALL

WHEN I came to Spain at the end of the 60s, I tried to avoid all the loveless kissing that went on.

I would murmur “Encantada” while sticking out my hand to be shaken instead, but the hand would be taken and shaken and I’d still be presented with a cheek and the kiss­kiss routine.

Meeting an older man was differ ent. He took your hand, swooped upon it as though about to plant a kiss and then ­ a centimetre before touch­down ­ stopped short as if he’d suddenly changed his mind.

Decades later, there’s still a lot of kissing going on.

Expats of all nationalities kiss one another repeatedly and al though you could once pick out Brits who hadn’t been out here long because they retained the one­cheek technique, they are now dedicated double­kissers on arrival.

No doubt this is because they are at it even on UK television. Not long ago I saw two kisses bestowed

in a series set in the late 50s. Kisses on meeting? Two kisses?

If I see someone perhaps once every six weeks, and usually only in the supermarket, it doesn’t war rant a kiss, let alone two. It’s okay for my friend’s carer to kiss her when she arrives if that’s what they both want, but why include me in the kiss­in?

Then I saw something that put this kissing business into sensible perspective.

A very young man was talking to a very young woman in the street. He was just about to roar off on his motor scooter and bent to kiss her goodbye, somewhat impeded by his crash helmet but where there’s a will there’s a kiss.

So he kissed her again. And again. She giggled and kissed him back.

I politely looked the other way as I drew level with them but had to smile. That’s the way to do it and that’s what kissing should be ­ not foreplay to social intercourse.

LeapyLee’sopinionsarehisownandarenotnecessarilyrepresentativeofthoseofthepublishers,advertisersorsponsors.

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.

POLICING APPLAUDED

I REFER to the article in issue 1947, Oct 27 to Nov 2, headed ‘fined for feed ing’.

Three cheers for Benidorm police who will fine people for feeding stray cats.

I wish Teulada Moraira police would do the same! I have lived here for 26 years and am heartily sick ened by so­called animal lovers who visit Spain for a short while, feed any stray cats they can find and then b****r off back to the UK

By so doing, my nights are ruined by squealing cats and my garden be comes a cat toilet.

Before I am labelled a misery, I have spent many years working with animal charities and have respon sibly had pets.

Ken Langridge

Grumpy old man missed

A FEW weeks ago I read of Mike Senker’s piece saying he was retiring his col umn.

His Grumpy Old Man col umn was a great respite from the usual news and his view on life very re freshing. The dry sense of humour shone through.

I miss turning to his col umn. Have a well earned rest Mike.

Adrian Woodward

Utter rubbish

I HAVE never heard such rubbish uttered from any one ­ why do you give

Leapy such space in your paper ­ surely there should be someone to counter his party political broadcast on behalf of the Conservative party which is ill­informed, narrow minded ­ and sometimes racist ­ I often wonder

why some people like him who probably voted for Brexit and do not want to remain in Europe. wish to remain in this lovely area of Spain?

D Debbage

OUR VIEW

LIVING in Spain, many British passport holders might be uninterested in what is going on in British politics but today, Thursday November 17 may well be one that affects us all in one form or another.

Having seen the fiasco of the short-lived Truss government and the incredible naivety of the planned tax cuts which brought her down, reality is going to hit with a bang as Chancellor Jeremy Hunt presents his own mini budget with promises that everyone in the UK will have to pay more tax.

Supposedly he will be making cuts in expenditure and has indicated that he is looking to plug loop holes rather than raise income tax directly, but looking back to the 1970s, Labour Chancellor Denis Healy said about taxation that he would ‘squeeze the pips until they squeak’ and this could well be the mantra behind the current Chancellor’s think ing.

So how does that affect us here in Spain?

Firstly, many of us receive UK state pensions and having lost out on the triple lock promise because of the pandemic, it could well be that he will decide that he can only afford the minimum pension in crease of 2.5 per cent rather than the 10 per cent that the triple lock promises.

Secondly, some 3.5 million female pensioners, many of whom are living in Spain, continue to fight for recompense for the losses incurred with the rise in pension age, so they are an easy target to ig nore.

Thirdly, the Spanish hospitality industry relies on tourism to a great extent and if money is even tighter in the UK, then fewer Brits will be able to af ford to take holidays here thus hurting the economy.

CAMPING in the winter in Spain can be an enjoyable experience, if you bring the right things and go to the right place. Having the right equipment and a great setup is crucial to your experi ence. Here we round up some top tips from camp ing lovers on how to have the best winter camping set­up!

• Bring the right gear

Depending on where you are going camping, consider taking a four season tent, which has heavier fabrics and more sturdy poles, for a better chance of staying warm and dry. Colder weather might also mean switching up your regular lightweight sleeping bag to

Betty Henderson

Winter ready

larly in windier coastal or mountainous regions. This is important for your cook ing space, camping in a sheltered area means you won’t be fighting the wind to keep your stove lit.

• Interior design

Getting techie

IN the past, campers would ar rive at Spanish campsites with little or no prior notice, includ ing the international market. But like with many things, the pandemic has changed inter national tourists’ and campers’ behaviour.

So, what’s changed?

ly use in­person, phone and email booking systems have registered a decline in interna tional bookings.

With economic instability in many parts of Europe, it seems more international campers are aiming to book in advance to guarantee their holiday.

a more heavy duty, winter version.

• Wind protection

Setting up camp using a

AS winter approaches, many camping lovers in Spain will be preparing to bring out their win ter sleeping bags, designed to keep you warm in lower temper atures. Here we share some ad vice from seasoned campers on how to care for your sleeping bag correctly.

• Keep it clean

Sleep in clean clothes in your

natural wind block such as a hill or a few trees can make your whole experience a lot more comfortable, particu

Pay extra attention to the inside of your tent when camping in winter. Save some space inside for camping gear you don’t want to leave out during the night. Position your sleeping mats further from the walls of your tent to stay dry.

Slumber care

sleeping bag. Wearing dirty clothes you’ve been hiking in can cause an unwanted build­up of dirt, sweat and oils in your sleeping bag. Air out your sleep ing bag each day after using it to dry out any moisture.

• Wash it carefully

Choosing the right sleeping bag can take a lot of time and ef fort, and keeping it in good con dition is key to making it last for a long time. If you need to wash your sleeping bag, follow all of the instructions on its label, making sure to zip it up fully and

Weathering the economic storm

NORAJOHNSON BREAKINGVIEWS

WITH $4,000­a­night hotels opening to much fanfare in Manhattan, and May fair restaurants serving £3,000 steaks wrapped in gold leaf reporting record profits, it’s safe to say the super­rich are weathering the current economic storm just fine.

But should we get worked up about this sort of thing? There are count less ridiculously over priced restaurants intend ed to separate the super­rich from their money, just as there are countless ridiculously overpriced cars, yachts, clothes etc. But as long as the staff and suppliers get paid, should we concern ourselves how obscenely willing idiots get ripped off?

Just think how those hugely expensive

tasting menus with ‘pear poached in sap’ and ‘fragments of yeast’ would keep you hostage for hours, offering endless edible gold leaf and inter minable pauses, and leaving you hungri er when you leave than when you ar rived.

So, why can’t I take this seriously? It certainly puts the Ukraine war, cost­ofliving crisis and NHS waiting lists into perspective. Does it have anything to do with the current levels of inflation and people trying hard to balance eating (and drinking) with heating this winter? Pondering this, though, will at least be a distraction from talk of increased interest rates and recession...

Nora Johnson’s 11 crit ically acclaimed psycho logical crime thrillers (www.nora­johnson.net) are all available online including eBooks (€0.99; £0.99), Apple Books, au diobooks, paperbacks at Amazon etc. Profits to Cudeca cancer charity.

Online campsite bookings have been around for years now, but are experiencing a new surge. A new report by a national camping body found that the option to book online is becoming a crucial factor in international campers’ choice of where to stay. At the same time, campsites that exclusive

close any Velcro that could snag during a wash. If hand washing, soak it for around 30 minutes. If machine washing, make sure the sleeping bag is the only thing in the drum.

• Make repairs If you notice any rips or tears in your sleeping bag, it is impor tant to fix them. Try sewing or sticking a patch on ripped areas or frayed edges.

SALLY UNDERWOOD POLITICAL ANIMAL

WELL in the ever­surprising world of politics, I can honestly say last week was a first for me; watching my former employer eat a camel’s penis on national television (‘just the tip!’).

Yes, Matt Hancock is in the I’m a Celebrity jungle and the wider world seems thrilled about it. Err, perhaps not.

Despite being in the camp with an ex­con vict pop star and a comedian whose ex­girl friend has publicly accused him of toxic ‘daily pain’, judging by his seemingly endless stream of publicly­voted trials, Matt still seems to be far and away the least popular member of camp.

A large part of that anger, understandably, comes from the overall UK government’s handling ­ or at least perceived handling ­ of the pandemic. Those who were unable to see dying loved ones in hospital or hug griev ing relatives at funerals will also doubtless have felt a visceral pain at seeing Hancock locked in embrace with a woman he later left his wife for during Covid restrictions.

The adultery and taking time off while the House is sitting probably haven’t helped ei ther.

So yes, overall there’s a lot, as the politician accepted in the camp, that he wants ‘forgive ness’ for.

What does online booking look like on Spanish camp sites?

Booking portals where campers can view multiple campsites are becoming in creasingly popular. These por tals act like hotel booking sys tems, allowing campers to compare options by location, price and quality ratings left by other campers.

What about campsite own ers?

Digital bookings are also favoured by campsite owners, as they seek stability in book ing rates after the slump in in ternational tourism during the pandemic. Online bookings give campsite owners more se curity about numbers and ac cess to a larger market of tourists.

Jungle cry

But yet even the most hardened member of the Matt Hancock hate club may over the last week have been forced to admit the tini est respect for the person he is in the camp; quite a distance apart from the public per ception of him.

Amid scorpion stings, snake attacks and animal genitalia, Matt seems to maintain a cheerful enthusiasm. Even Boy George seems to be growing a grudging respect for him.

Which sort of begs the question; how close is our perception of politicians to their reality? Is Hancock the person the public saw him as during and after the pandemic, or is the alto gether more human person we’re now see ing the real him?

Certainly, the Matt I remember from my stint working for him eight years ago is closer to the one the public are now seeing.

And if it turns out our elected figures really are just average, occasionally even likeable, people, why doesn’t it translate to the elec torate more often?

Perhaps the answer is just to send all po tential political candidates to the other side of the world surrounded by poisonous beasties and televise the whole thing.

At a minimum it would be compulsive viewing.

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SHELTERED AREA: Where you pitch your tent is key to having an incredible winter camping experience.

Photo credit: simoly / shutterstock.com

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Community with heart

THE community’s paper, the Euro Weekly News, has always at its heart been about serving its English­speaking readers in Spain.

Now, the EWN has teamed up with another communityfocused organisation, the British Benevolent Fund (BBF), to bring some of the issues most important to expats into sharp focus and spread aware ness about this amazing group in their new column every week.

The EWN sat down with the British Benevolent Fund’s chair, Olaf Clayton, to discuss their upcoming column, what they do, and how they can help British expats in Spain.

Olaf explained: “The BBF has been going for at least 100 years. We originally thought we had started in the 1930s but we’ve discovered it was earlier and we’ve been helping Britons in Spain since then.”

The organisation, entirely funded by donations, gives one­off payments to Britons in need in Spain to help with is

sues like those who are be tween jobs or other hardship.

Olaf said: “We don’t and can’t provide regular stipends as we’re not a government or ganisation.

“What we do is provide funding when people desper ately need it. We do it because it’s important that there is somebody there as a last re sort when people have ex hausted all options, including family or friends.”

He added: “We look at things impartially and sympa thetically as these are often is sues that could happen to any one. With Brexit there are a large number of people who were caught in a difficult posi tion and we want to help.”

In the BBF’s upcoming col

umn, Olaf will be dis cussing how some of the most common is sues facing Brits in Spain arise, how to pre vent them, and how the BBF can help when needed.

Olaf will also be discussing some of the difficult decisions the organisation has to make when it comes to funding dif ferent issues.

The chair is also encouraging members of the community to get involved to spread the word about the BFF and help those in need. He said: “We are looking for people with great British common sense and time to dedicate to this.

“We need volunteers, dona tions, members, and we’re looking for people who are happy to host and organise events.”

The first column will be pub lished in the EWN on Thurs day, November 24. To learn more about the BBF visit britishbenevolentfund.org or contact olaf.clayton@british benevolentfund.org

Cutting cleaning costs

SKYROCKETING infla tion has affected many things, from the price of energy bills to basic cleaning products.

Here we share some tips by Spanish domes tic experts to help you

make a saving on shop ping bills, while keeping your home clean and tidy.

1. Use household remedies

Bicarbonate of soda can be used as a great stain remover and whitener, lemon has a dual function as a floor and oven cleaner. Olive oil can also be used as a hydrating product on some types of wood.

2. Buy supermarket own brands

Often own brands in the supermarket are produced in the same factory as branded al ternatives, using nearidentical products. Save money by opting for own brands.

3. Use multi­purpose cleaning products

On many occasions, a multi­purpose cleaning product can do the same job as specific use products and may be at a fraction of the cost.

Take your pick

CASSANDRA NASH

SOME time next May, Spain will hold municipal elections and British resi dents will still be able to vote, despite Brexit.

Who to vote for? For those who don’t have an earthly, here is a very brief rundown of who and what they can expect to choose from.

Socialist ­ the currently governing Partido Socialista Obrero Español or Spanish Workers’ Socialist Party, usual ly written and referred to as PSOE (pro nounce it Paysoee).

Middle­of­the road socialism that sometimes veers to the left owing to the demands of the government’s coalition party, Unidas­Podemos.

Founded in 1879, the fist clenched round a red rose has been erased from the party logo and the Internationale is no longer sung at meetings.

Conservative Partido Popular or Peo ple’s Party (pronounce it Paypay) can be traced back to 1989 and was the re sult of rebranding Alianza Popular, founded in 1977, ready to stand in Spain’s first democratic general elec

tions. Middle­of­the­road conservatism that sometimes veers to the right ow ing to eruption on the scene of the farright party, Vox, which is leaching some of its votes.

Its seagull logo is, naturally, blue.

Further Left Unidas Podemos, a com bination of Izquierda Unida, the former Communist Party and Podemos, creat ed in 2019. They are the junior partners in the Spanish government’s increas ingly fractious coalition but as the two parties are practically divorced, there is some doubt as to whether they will stand separately or together in next May’s elections

Further Right Vox has existed as a party since 2013 but did not enter the Spanish parliament until 2018. It is oldschool right­wing in the Spanish sense and worries the Left for obvious rea sons. It is well­known for its anti­immi gration, anti­LGTB, anti­abortion and anti­EU policies.

Virtually extinct Ciudadanos or Citi zens politicians are still present at some town halls and in a regional gov ernment or too, but unless it switches to phoenix­mode very soon, the party’s days are numbered.

Winter gardening guide

ALTHOUGH November brings some rainy weath er to Spain and cooler temperatures, you can still enjoy time in your garden. Here we share a November garden calen dar of tasks, created by gardeners in Spain. You can do these simple tasks to make the most of your garden now.

• Fertilise Applying a layer of fer tiliser now will help plants to bloom later, in

spring. You can also add composted material in cluding dry leaves that are decomposing to boost the natural lifecycle of soil and to encourage continuing growth.

• Prune trees Now the harvest sea son is coming to a close, this is the ideal time to prepare fruit trees for next year by cutting back branches and pruning them for the new grow ing season ahead.

• Protect delicate

plants

Now is the time to in stall any seasonal protec tion for your plants against the elements, and move any delicate plants that remain outside to a greenhouse or inside.

• Enjoy the colours

As we near the start of winter, enjoy the autumn hues of the plants that do lose their leaves, and the bright seasonal blooms that take place at this time of year, like Azalea and Begonia.

Olaf Clayton of BBF.

Betty Henderson

NOVEMBER: The ideal time to give your plants some added nutrition with a fertiliser to ensure growth throughout the winter.

Photo credit: Iryna Inshyna / shutterstock.com

Photo credit: Katerina Morozova / shutterstock.com

Very pretty polly

Betty Henderson

PARROTS are one of the most popular pets in Spain, and for good reason. They are intelligent and charming pets and are not too expen sive to look after. Here we share some expert advice on how to care for a parrot

1. Diet

Pellets or seed mixes are excellent foods for a parrot and should make up around 50 per cent of its diet.

Experts also recommend feeding your parrot fresh fruit such as orange, pa paya, mango, and pomegranate or vegetables like tomato and spinach.

Parrots also need fresh,

clean water.

2. Cage

Your parrot’s cage is its home, and keeps it safe from harm in your home or

Keep your dog safe

• Keeping close

HAVING a dog as a pet can be a joyful experience for all involved, but if your pet has a tendency to run away, the joy can rapidly turn into fear. Dogs can run away for many reasons including boredom, being scared, ex periencing a shock or even just being on the hunt.

• Entertain your dog Make sure your dog is get ting enough exercise, some dogs need more than an hour of exercise per day to be happy, and without it, they may be escaping to run around. If your dog is alone in the house, offer it a chew toy to stay entertained when you can’t do the en tertaining.

• Improve your fencing

If your dog escapes from your garden to chase small animals, it could be time to check on your fencing to en sure that it is safe in a famil

When your dog runs away, it can be a terrifying experience.

iar environment.

• Comfort your dog

If you move house or your dog is in a new environ ment, giving your dog some comfort and familiarity can help it adjust and to combat the instinctive ‘fight or flight’ reaction, which might see your dog run off. Simply bringing a familiar toy, or spending time to show your dog where its new bed is can be valuable tools in stopping runaway be haviour.

outside. It needs to be big enough so your parrot can move around comfortably. Your parrot should be able to stretch its wings without

hitting the sides of its cage.

3.

Activity

Parrots are intelligent and active animals, and need mental stimulation to stay happy. Consider adding a small game or ex ercise toy to your parrot’s cage to maintain its wellbeing.

4.

Health

Parrots are very hygienic and clean animals. Nonetheless, you should empty waste from its cage every day and clean the cage at least twice a week. It is important to check your parrot’s beak, plumage and claws to protect it against infection.

Terrace time

IF you have a terrace in your property, this can be the perfect space to enjoy some fresh air and a change of scene. This is true for pets as well, spending time on the terrace can bring pets a greater sense of freedom and relax them. Here we share some top tips on how to enjoy your terrace to the full, alongside your pet.

Choose furniture carefully

If you want to enjoy your terrace with a fluffy friend, choose furniture that won’t be easily dam aged. Choose furniture made of resistant materials that can withstand scratch or bite marks, and opt for fabrics that are easy to wipe down, or machine wash if necessary. Alternatively, use protective covers or blankets on your furniture.

Keep breakables inside

As with inside the house, make sure to keep valuable or fragile items out of your pet’s reach. This avoids sentimental or valuable damage as well as potential harm to your pet.

Keep them busy

Your terrace is a space for relaxation. Consider adding some toys to keep your pet busy while on the terrace so you can relax. Adding a scratching post, a chew toy or interactive toys can stop your pet getting into mischief and allow you to enjoy your terrace.

Use these top tips and your parrot will be the perfect companion.

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Toyota Yaris GR Sport - sporting looks with comfort bonuses

ROAD TEST

byMarkSlack

THERE was a time when if presented with a small car and an automatic gearbox you would probably opt for a taxi. They were pretty terrible, a few still are to day, but many small auto matics have moved on much more than people realise. One of the most fun and best small automat ics is Toyota’s Yaris GR Sport.

Priced from €24,549/ £21,460 there is a single powertrain across the lineup, except for the rally in spired GR, a 1.5 litre, threecylinder turbocharged petrol engine and drives through an e­CVT automatic transmis sion. There is the Yaris Hybrid five­door hatch range, the Yaris Cross pseudo SUV and a rally inspired GR.

The focus of my attention is the Yaris GR Sport, which has the standard powertrain

but a more sporting look in spired by the rally bred GR. Three other trim levels are on offer and the GR Sport shares top billing in the range at €27,936/£24,420, and comes with an enviously generous range of standard equipment.

Privacy glass, dual zone air conditioning, smart entry

and start, auto lights and wipers, powered and heated door mirrors, adaptive cruise control, LED lights including high beam assist and particu larly comfortable front sports seats. Fitted with 18­inch al loy wheels and in my test car’s case extra cost, but looked wonderful, pearles cent Scarlet Flare

Second-hand soaring

CHANGES to many as pects of society postpandemic are also fuelling changes in demand in the Spanish car industry. A new report has found that secondhand vehicles in Spain are continuing to soar in value, costing 8.6 per cent more in Octo ber than one year ago.

Data collected on a monthly basis by a major motoring industry forum found that used cars in Spain now fetch a stag gering €19,222 on aver age. The report did sug gest however, that used car value may be slowing down, after the dizzying year­on­year increase of 19.9 per cent last Decem ber

The report also collect ed data by region, finding

that second­hand car val ue is greatest in Asturias, surpassing €21,000 on av erage. Asturias was fol lowed by Catalonia, the Basque Country, Madrid, Valencia and Andalucía, which are all lucrative ar eas to sell used cars.

For drivers looking to buy a secondhand car in Spain, Ex tremadura is the most cost­effec tive choice, where sec ond­hand cars sell for an average of €16,777.

The Balearic Islands and Castilla­La­Mancha also ranked as cheap er regions to buy secondhand cars.

The report also investi gated second­hand elec tric vehicles, finding that they cost almost double the price of second­hand diesel cars, at €34,239. Motoring experts say this is due to the scarce sup ply of electric vehicles and increased demand, which is pushing prices up.

maroon/red paintwork.

The new Yaris has a pres ence! It doesn’t look like your average small urban hatch but on the other hand hasn’t adopted that overly aggres sive look which, in many peo ple’s eyes blights so many otherwise good cars. With GR badging and a sporting stance the GR Sport rides on 40 profile tyres, so although the ride is firm it’s not un comfortably firm.

There is a higher than ex pected level of road noise but it’s not such that it would impede your aural comfort on longer journeys.

It may not be a hot hatch, but it is dynamical ly well sorted and great fun on twisty roads.

The CVT transmission is actually very good, not always the case with e­CVTs, and even under enthusiastic ac celeration makes tidy

progress. Super comfortable seats make this a really good long distance car if needed, and returning an average 59 mpg it’s not going to cost ei ther.

This is a terrific little car and combines the best of sporting looks with economic and comfort bonuses. Per haps surprisingly, as a fan of large engine luxury barges, this Yaris is one I would be very, very happy to have gracing my driveway.

Facts at a Glance

Model: Toyota Yaris GR Sport

Price: €27,936/£24.420

Engine: 1.5-litre turbocharged hybrid petrol developing 116bhp

Gears: e-CVT Automatic Performance: 0-100 km/h (62 mph) 9.7 seconds/Maximum Speed 173 km/h (108 mph)

Economy: 4.4l/100km (64.2 mpg) Combined driving (WLTP)

Emissions: 99 g/km (WLTP)

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

RECENT REPORT: Secondhand cars in Spain are continuing to soar in value.

Photo credit: fongbeerredhot / shutterstock.com

GR SPORT: A terrific little car with great sporting looks.

The next big trend The future’s electric

OWNING a car can be impractical for a number of reasons, including cost, limited space, or environmental con cerns. Subscription services have be come popular in a range of industries including apps on our phones, televi sion and film, and now motoring in dustry giants are increasingly looking towards car subscription services as a viable option.

What is the difference between sub scription services and leasing?

Car leases have been popular for years now, but tend to focus on pro fessional contracts, lasting around two years. Subscription services work on an individual rate, hiring cars for a month at a time.

How do subscription services work?

Subscription services offer users ac cess to vehicles in their catalogue for a set monthly fee which tends to be around €400. Users choose one car that they want to use for the month and pay a flat rate, based on the mod el, which they can then change after one month. For example, with one large subscription site, a Fiat 500 Hy brid would cost €229 per month, while a Jeep Renegade costs €663.

Why is it becoming more popular?

Car subscription services are becom ing popular in Spain, particularly in cities, where users can save on expen sive parking fees, choose from a wide variety of vehicles and be free from the burden of annual car costs such as yearly insurance rates.

WITH the news that the European Union will ban sales of new fossil fuel burning cars from 2035, people are increasingly considering alternatives, such as electric vehicles. With this in mind, we bring you some of the most interesting electric vehicles that will be hit ting the Spanish market in 2023.

Low emission zones are coming in across the country from next year, which means that 2023 could be the biggest year yet for electric vehicles in Spain.

BMW Already trailblazing in the electric vehicle mar ket, the German car­man ufacturing giant is set to bring out two brand­new striking models next year, the sedan­style i7 and the ix1, its SUV shaped offer ing.

Volkswagen

As the brand seeks to redefine itself as a sus

tainable pioneer, it has al so rebranded its iconic ‘hippie van’ to a mod ernised, electric model. The electric version has a range of more than 400 kilometres and its eyecatching looks are sure to get everybody talking!

MG

A big surprise for the motoring industry came in the form of the MG 4 Electric, which, with its modest price tag of €28,280 became a late entry to the affordable electric car category. The

Chinese­owned brand al so offers a second more powerful model with a stunning range of around 350 kilometres per charge.

Volkswagen As the brand seeks to redefine itself as a sus tainable pioneer, it has al so rebranded its iconic ‘hippie van’ to a mod ernised, electric model. The electric version has a range of more than 400 kilometres and its eyecatching looks are sure to get everybody talking!

Pollution policing

Betty Henderson DESPITE the constant focus on the motoring industry to reduce its emissions, a new report has found that the pharmaceutical industry is in fact more polluting. The re port suggests that while it is important to try and reduce emissions in this sphere, the pharmaceutical industry is not receiving the same pressure.

The report which was com piled by researchers at the McMaster University in Cana da found that the “intensity of emissions released from the pharmaceutical industry is sig nificantly higher than that of the automotive industry.”

The report considered the manufacturing side of the pharmaceutical industry, but also the costs of treating con taminated sewage water which cannot deal with medi cal waste.

Pharmaceutical companies also do not face as much pres sure as the automotive indus try to report environmental data. In one year studied, the pharmaceutical industry re

leased 52 megatonnes of car bon dioxide, compared to 46.4 megatonnes released by the automotive industry.

As the motoring industry

steps up to the task of reduc ing emissions to combat cli mate change, the pharmaceu tical industry must do the same.

Most popular

A RECENT report investigated the most popular new car by autonomous community in Spain for 2022, and it had some fascinating results. The data was compiled using reports by the DGT, Spain’s Driving and Licensing Authority.

The study found that the most popular car brand na tionally was Seat, thanks to its huge popularity in Cat alonia. Seat has been the most sold car in Spain for the past four years, and held onto its spot at the top this year.

Seat was closely followed by much of central and northern Spain’s favourite, Peugeot, then Madrid’s top pick, Toyota.

With regards to the south, Andalucía’s favoured car brad was Volkswagen, while Murcia also opted for the same brand. In Valencia, Kia got top marks for populari ty, which also scored top in Extremadura and Cantabria.

Interestingly, in the Balearic Islands and Aragón, Fiat was the most popular new car brand.

The popularity of different car manufacturers is likely to continue fluctuating next year with constantly evolv ing supply and demand trends.

Photo credit: Prostock-studio / shutterstock.com With

Photo credit: meowKa / shutterstock.com

BMW continues on its trajectory to pioneer the electric vehicle industry with two new vehicles to hit the Spanish market in 2023.

Australian ban overturned Sudden passing

AFTER receiving a three­year visa ban in January 2022 for refusing to get vaccinated against Covid, Tennis cham pion, Novak Djokovic, has had the ban overturned by the Australian government.

Immigration Minister An drew Giles ­ whose govern ment came to power in May has overturned the ban and is set to grant Mr Djokovic a visa, according to a national news source.

The tennis champion earlier this year told the national press that he flew into Australia be lieving he had obtained the medical exemptions required, as Australia insisted all players be fully vaccinated against the coronavirus to compete in the year’s first major tennis tourna ment.

But he was detained and questioned by border officials in Melbourne on January 5, and his visa was cancelled in the early hours of the following morning.

Speaking earlier on Tuesday November 15, Tennis Australia boss Craig Tiley said he was

confident that Djokovic would play in next year’s Open.

“I know Novak wants to come and play and to get back to competing,” he told the Australian Associated Press.

“He loves Australia and it’s where he’s had the best suc cess.”

Djokovic has won the Aus tralian Open in 2008, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2019, 2020, and 2021.

Footballer’s prison sentence

A FORMER Premier League footballer has been jailed for tax fraud offences, as reported on Wednesday, November 16.

Former Premier League footballer John Carew, who played for Aston Villa, Stoke City and West Ham, has been jailed after a court in Norway found him guilty of tax fraud.

The former Valencia forward was sentenced to one year and two months in prison in regard to charges of tax evasion.

The 43­year­old was accused of defrauding a total of €520,000 by avoiding taxes between 2017 and 2019, and alongside the prison sen tence, Carew was fined €52,000.

Carew admitted to all the charges against

him, however, he denied doing it on purpose.

Lawyers for the former Norwegian interna tional, who scored 24 goals for his country, said that the case should have been handled as a confession.

According to Carew’s defence lawyer ReissAndersen, although the lesser sentence ap pears to be a reflection that Carew did not act with intent, the sentence from the Økokrim (Norwegian National Authority for the Investi gation and Prosecution of Economic and Envi ronmental Crime) was still an overreaction.

For the intentional act of tax evasion in Nor way, Carew could have received a prison sen tence of two years and seven months.

A CHAMPIONS LEAGUE referee, aged 42, has died after suffering a stroke during train ing.

French referee Jo han Hamel has tragi cally passed away after suffering from a stroke, reported a national news out let.

Mr Hamel, one of France’s elite referees since 2016, was a Ligue 1 and Champions League official whose final match was on November 6, as Lille drew with Rennes.

He was also on duty when Real Madrid beat Celtic at the Santiago Bernabeu on November 2.

Additionally, Mr Hamel had also been the VAR officiator for PSG’s win over Auxerre at the Parc des Princes on Sun day November 13.

Hamel was in charge of 135 Ligue 1 matches and 85 Ligue 2 games, with more than 300 professional games to his name.

He sadly suffered a stroke during routine training exercis es on Tuesday evening , the Union of Elite Football Referees (SAFE) announced on Wednesday November 16.

A statement from SAFE read: “Arbitration is in mourning. We learn of the death of our colleague and friend, Johan Hamel, Ligue 1 referee, at the age of 42.

“To his family, relatives, and friends, the SAFE and the Ar bitrators send their deepest condolences. Johan, we will miss you.”

Shutterstock.com/

Leonard Zhukovsky

BEST SUCCESS: Novak Djokovic has won the Australian Open nine times.

Referee Johan Hamel has died.

Credit:

BORIS BECKER, the disgraced former tennis star is to be de ported from the UK to Ger many, according to an exclu sive report on Saturday, November 12. The 54­year­old is currently seven months into a two­and­a­half­year sen tence that he has been serving in Huntercomb prison, Oxon since April.

A prison source told the publication: “He’s been signed up to a scheme that means he’ll be home in time for Christmas.” This early release scheme apparently allows: “any foreign national serving a fixed sentence who is liable for

Going home

removal from the UK, to be re moved from prison and de ported up to 12 months before the earliest release point of their sentence.”

Becker was found guilty of hiding £2.5million in assets while declared bankrupt but signing up for the scheme means he will probably be home in Germany for Christ mas. By agreeing to be deport ed, foreign offenders can have up to 135 days cut from their

MERCEDES driver George Russell claimed his first­ever F1 victory on Sun day, November 13, as he took the che quered flag in the Brazilian Grand Prix. Remarkably, after a pretty dour season, Lewis Hamilton took second place to give the Silver Arrows a magnificent one­two.

“Woahhh! Come on team, come on! 12 unbelievable. This is just the beginning guys! I knew we could do this! I knew it! I need some tissues!,” exclaimed the elat

sentences.

“Any foreign national who is convicted of a crime and given a prison sentence is considered for deportation at the earliest opportunity,” said a spokesman for the Home Of fice.

“We are pleased for Boris that he may qualify for an early release and be able to travel to Germany, albeit England has been his home for many, many years. I’m sure it will

F1 Victory

ed Russell. “Congratulations to the team, thank you so much for your consistent efforts, this is an amazing result, and congratula tions to George,” a jubilant Hamilton said over the team radio after crossing the fin ishing line.

The 71­lap race was not without its

mean a lot to him and his fami ly to be reunited for Christ mas,” commented Boris’ for mer spokesperson.

share of drama though. Both Mercedes cars started from the front of the grid. Hamilton was in danger of going out when he was once again involved in an incident with his old rival and reigning world champion, Max Verstappen. Fortunately for the Brit, his car was un scathed, while the Dutchman had to pit and have a new wing fitted. Verstappen was also hot with a five­second time penalty which more or less ended his challenge for the day.

Cricket legend tributes

DAVID ENGLISH CBE, the cricket legend who was also a former manager of the pop group The Bee Gees, passed away on Saturday evening, November 12, aged 76. He died as the result of a major heart attack he suffered on November 1, according to a national news outlet.

Since 1986, his famous Bunbury cricket charity raised in excess of £17 million. Piers Morgan is a mas sive cricket fan and was among the first to pay tribute to English. “Had many of the funniest days of my life with this wonderfully ebullient and brilliantly enter taining character,” he tweeted.

A famous tournament held annually by Bunbury Cricket for the best boys aged under 15 in England has resulted in the discovery of more than 100 England cricketers. Among those to have played are Ben Stokes and Joe Root.

“So sad to hear the news of David English passing away,” tweeted Jos Buttler, the England T20 captain.

“One of life’s great characters, so fun to spend time with and producer of some of the best English crick eters through his wonderful Bunbury Festivals. RIP,” he added.

Bunbury Cricket posted on their official Twitter page today to inform fans that after reporting ‘no brain activity’, David’s life support had been removed on Thursday November 10. They explained that he was ‘not going to survive’, but was “in no pain and will pass peacefully when his body is ready to do so.”

Tennis player Boris Becker.