Costa Blanca North 8 - 14 December 2022 Issue 1953

AKIRA’S ANGELS

ON December 1, Akira held an event at Moraira restaurant, No Nonsense, to launch an ambitious project to significantly im prove life for the dogs that spend time at its shelter on the La Pedrera industrial estate.

The idea is to build a Zone to Roam area and provide other therapeutic services for six trauma tised pets. A large group of dog lovers, board members, media repre sentatives and friends gathered to hear the or ganisation’s plans to raise €50,000 and transform the land adjacent to the centre. Once complete, the organisation will have exercise and treatment facilities to give these dogs the best possible chance at a healthy, hap py life.

Now comes the hard task of raising the money, but Akira trusts in the compassion and generosi ty of all dog lovers to help. To start with, Ger man art welder Christine Engelmann revealed a fabulous wood and metal sculpture representing nature and strength in the Tree of Hope. Located in the Akira shop, the Tree of Hope has hooks where donors can hang tags. To launch the cam paign, attendees were in vited to write a wish or message on a dog tag to personalise it and hang it

on the tree for posterity (in exchange for a dona tion). The tags will be available in the Akira shop and at future fund raising events.

Akira already benefits from the generous sup port it receives from do nations and events to cover running costs, but AKIRA’s Angels has been created as a dedicated fundraising source for the project with its own web

site, https://akira an gels.org . Supporters can make regular or one off donations on the site and a range of merchandise will be available soon.

HAPPY LIFE: Give these dogs the best possible chance.

CREDIT: Akira Facebook page.

The Tree of Hope.

Fantastic fundraising

FIDDLERS pub, in Moraira, ‘From Lisa with love’ fundraising event, in sup port of El Preventoria de Gandia Children’s home, was held on Sunday November 27 and was a fabulous success.

The fundraising was orig inally started by the pub landlady Lisa Le Mehaute who sadly passed away and now Lisa’s husband Tim O’Brien and adminis trator Chris Lee are contin uing the fundraising in her

memory, ‘From Lisa with love’.

Their aim is to provide milk, breakfast and a daily snack for each of the chil dren, any additional mon ey raised on the day will be used to buy other essential items the children may need, especially at this time of year.

Tim and Chris would like to thank all those who con tributed to make the event a success by providing vari ous activities and live mu

IN readiness for Christmas, Alicante City Council is once again enhancing the Christ mas decorations with real plants in different areas of the capital.

The Palacio Consistorial has been adorned with garlands of plants framing the door ways of the town hall. At the beginning of the Explanada and on the Avenida de la Esta cion, visitors are welcomed with Merry Christmas and Bon Nadal signs, as well as stunning decorations at the entrances to the TRAM in the Plaza de los Luceros.

All these decorations are made up of real plants, branches of junipers, boxwood and eucalyptus, together with the traditional

sic. The total raised on the day was €1,755, which will provide the children with a fantastic Christmas.

Tim would also like to thank all the customers who attended the event, these are the heart of the pub. Without their gen erosity and support for “the love of Lisa” this could not have been achieved.

The Fiddlers look forward to continuing our support for El Preventoria de Gan dia Children’s home.

Adorning Alicante

poinsettias or Christmas flowers, which are displayed in the main streets and squares.

Christmas trees are also on display in the Plaza del Mar and a nativity scene with plant decorations and LED lights has been installed in the Plaza Calvo Sotelo.

The councillor for the Environment, Manuel Villar, commented: “We want to contribute to adorning the city by providing plant based Christmas decorations that gives the city a more traditional and welcoming touch.”

Handmade Christmas

SURPRISE your loved ones with handmade Christmas presents from the Amata craft fair in Altea on Decem ber 9, 10 and 11. You’ll find an arts and crafts fair featuring authentic handmade goods sold by the artisans them selves. They can even make something special for you when you can’t find what you’re look ing for!

Everything sold is made by the stallhold ers. There will be around 30 stalls selling original pieces with something for every one. Ceramics and pot tery, colourful leather bags, silk scarves, wooden and soft toys, original paintings and lamps made from pumpkins, jewellery in different materials, and even handmade gui tars! You won’t find

these treasures any where else.

There will also be some stalls with sweets, sausages, cheeses, and Glühwein. Bring the kids along to enjoy craft workshops, board games, a Christ mas photocall, and much more. In the af ternoons there will be

live music.

The fair opens on Fri day, December 9 at 6pm; opening times for Saturday and Sunday are from 11.00am to 9pm uninterrupted.

A full programme and photos from last year are at https://www.puebloart esano.es/altea.html

Image: Paco Luthier

CRAFT FAIR: Beautiful handmade guitars.

Alicante plans

ALICANTE is investing almost €1,200,000 in a plan to restore and upgrade cultural assets in the Marina Alta and Marina Baixa in towns with fewer than 75,000 inhabitants. The area’s valuable historical her itage is invaluable and an enormous tourist attraction.

Stuck in lift

LOCAL POLICE acted efficient ly to rescue a mother and two children trapped in a lift in Benissa on Saturday night, December 3. The lift, in a building in Calle Capitan Cabrera, was stuck on the fourth floor. The police acted so swiftly that there was no need to call the fire brigade.

Zero-km food

LLIBER held an event on Sun day December 4 to promote zero km food and wine, and local traditions. Professional chefs and social groups pre sented wines and traditional foods with tasting sessions, cooking workshops and fun activities and workshops for children.

Culture for kids

CHILDREN in Teulada were treated to a fun family game on Sunday with a life sized mascot called Marco the Mole, who took them on a tour of Teulada Old Town, which is classified as an Asset of Cultural interest.

New store

SUPERMARKET chain Mer cadona has opened a new €5 million store at 95 Paseo de Germanies in Gandia. The state of the art store has a new concept counter selling a total of 35 ready to eat dishes prepared on the premises and chilled drinks.

Positive steps

EACH year, on December 1, the world commemorates World AIDS Day. With 400 HIV positive patients in its care, this year, staff at Denia Hospital got together for a panel discussion to talk about innovations in the field and destigmatise the disease.

Festive fun

Teulada Moraira Town Council has announced that its traditional Christmas Market in Avenida Santa Catalina and Plaza de la Con stitución in Teulada will have some great innova tions this year.

There will be a Christmas atmosphere full of light and colour, with stalls and activi ties for all the family.

The market will be open on December 17, from 10.00 to 2pm and from 5pm to 9pm; and on Sunday, De cember 18, from 10.00 to 2pm and from 5pm to 9pm. This time the stalls will be made

AN 11 year old Norwegian boy died in an Alicante hospital on Sunday, December 4, after suffering a fall from the fifth floor of a hotel on the Costa Blanca. The boy was admitted to Marina Baixa de la Villa joyosa hospital after the inci dent at a hotel in the Alicante municipality of L’Alfas del Pi.

It is believed that the boy was performing parkour, with

ed

Tragic fall

a dome collapsing after the boy stepped on it, causing him to fall around 50ft. After receiv ing an emergency call at around 3pm the CICU operator immediately deployed two ambulances to the Hotel Sun

Palace Albir & Spa.

Medics from the SAMU and SVB emergency services at tended to him and stabilised him at the scene. According to official sources, the wounded boy had multiple injuries. He

and will sell everything from typical products and tradi tional handicrafts to goods made by individuals and lo cal associations.

There will also be fun pho tocalls, a children’s area and exhibition booths.

The attractions for chil dren will include a juggling elf, traditional local music, an elf on a ball, an elf twist ing balloons, puppets, the Three Wise Men, a concert by the youth band, Father Christmas with his eco sleigh, a letter to Santa’s Workshop and much more.

was rushed in the advanced life support ambulance to the Marina Baixa de la Villajoyosa hospital.

The assistance of La Villa joyosa Local Police force was requested to assist with the swift transfer by escorting their vehicle to the motorway. Once on the motorway, the Guardia Civil took over. Sadly, the boy passed away from his injuries.

Public projects Crop drones

A START-UP in Valencia has developed a drone with multiple uses in agriculture. FlyDronAir has devised a precision system in collabo ration with the Polytechnic University of Valencia that is already treating crops and performing reforestation tasks.

The manager of this innovative company is Pedro Lucas, a 28 year­old entrepreneur who has always been fascinated by drones. Working with operations manager David Blanco (30) and María Martínez (33), their start up now has five employees and is provid ing services such as remote detection of infestations, aerial treat ments and even sowing. They already have around 20 clients.

Lucas says that drones are the most effective way to identify wa ter stress, insect infestations and other abnormal situations, and the firm is now protecting fruits, grain, and vegetables.

We hope you never need it, but this Christmas the Euro Weekly News would like to remind all readers of Spain’s emergency services number for police, fire, ambulance and coastguard.

ONCE again, Denia Town Council invited citizens to vote on projects they would like for their town and will spend €400,000 on making these wishes a reality.

This year, the most popular project was one to build sports facilities for ball games in dif ferent parts of the municipali ty, which received a total of 580 votes.

The second most popular proposal, with 494 votes, was to create a pedestrian route on the slopes of the Montgó, while the third, which received 340 votes, was to install public drinking fountains all over the town.

trees, pavements, and an art installation to cover a wall with graffiti, lighting for the Marine ta Cassiana promenade (253 votes) and the improvement of the facilities and paving of the Via Verde (205 votes) are the next proposals that re ceived the most votes.

All included

THE United Nations In ternational Day of Per sons with Disabilities is observed every Decem ber 3 to raise awareness that disability inclusion is an essential condition to upholding human rights, sustainable de velopment, and peace and security.

La Vila Town Council, social associations and public education centres in the town organised events to promote the rights and welfare of people with disabilities and raise awareness of their social situation.

Unfortunately, due to the rain the Walk with Us march was post poned until Wednesday December 14, but this week the local schools are holding their ‘1st In clusive Sports Day of La Villajoyosa’, where stu dents from different schools were able to participate in a wide range of sports for peo ple with disabilities.

The mayor highlight ed the importance of events like this to demonstrate and ac knowledge the prob lems that people with disabilities experience in their daily lives.

The people of the town are invited to take part in the march‘Moute amb nosaltres’ on December 14.

OFFICERS speak English, as well as many other European languages, and are your first port of call in an emergency.

These are not the only pro jects that will be carried out us ing municipal funds. For exam ple, 318 people voted to install sunshades over children’s play grounds, 267 voted for im provements to the Joan Fuster pavilion with green areas and

of wood and decorat

with Christmas motifs

CHRISTMAS MARKET: Traditional decorated wooden stalls.

Shutterstock.com/Smileus

End-of-year bash

Linda Hall

THE Teulada Moraira Fishing Club visited Section B2 of the River Jucar on November 30.

Temperatures started at a cold 10 degrees at 9am but reached 18 degrees later, al though water temperature was low and clearer than on other occasions. Club mem bers also saw signs of a previ ous competition.

“Maybe this was why fish ing was the poorest for a long time. There were four dry nets today out of nine competitors,” Jeff added.

Peter Shephard had best weight of the day with 6.8 ki los but best fish, weighing 2.8 kilos, went to Graham Sewell.

“We held our end of sea son bash on November 25

and a great time was had by all,” Jeff said. “We also pre sented the medals for the past year’s winners.”

The Summer League was won by Frank Povey, with Jeff Richards and Ray Turvey tying for second place.

Biggest fish of the season went to Ray Turvey.

Graham Sewell won the Winter League with Ray Tur vey taking second place as well as winning the season’s biggest fish.

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

Tinsel and baubles

L’ALFÀS has launched its 2022 Christmas crib, tree and shop window competition. Anyone registered in L’Alfàs is eligible to take part and the deadline for submitting entries at the Casa de Cultura is December 16. The town hall wants to encourage everyone to decorate their doors, window and businesses to celebrate Christmas with nativity scenes and Christmas trees, filling the town with sparkle and excitement.

After the two difficult years of the pan demic, it is hoped that this year will be a special one. Prizes range between €350 and €400, and there are five prizes for the nativity scene competition, which is cele brating its 25th anniversary this year.

There are also four categories or prizes for the 18th edition of the shop window display contest.

All nativity scenes, trees and shop win dows in L’Alfàs may enter. The prizes will be awarded on the basis of artistic origi nality, the meticulousness of the crib con structions and the decorative value of the Christmas trees and shop windows.

The prizes will be handed out at 8pm at the Casa de Cultura.

MEDAL WINNERS: Frank Povey, Jeff Richards, Ray Turvey and Graham Sewell.

Photo credit: Jeff Richards

Image: shutterstock.com/ Pefkos

Christmas shop window competition.

Benidorm LED bulbs

BENIDORM Town Council announced on Friday De cember 2 that it is upgrad ing one of its most recog nisable sights, the iconic catenary of lights along the Levante beach between Plaza del Torrejó and Avenida Europa.

Forty new columns will be built, spotlights on the seafront promenade will be replaced, and 1,566 new light bulbs will be in stalled. The lights in the new system will be re motely controlled, decora tive, state of the art multi coloured LEDS.

This major upgrade will be paid for from the town’s coffers and will cost an estimated €1,972,200. However, being a sustain able project, it will reduce the energy consumed by this infrastructure by a massive 33.65 per cent. Ev erything is expected to be finished and operational by Easter week.

All the luminaries on the columns will be replaced because the installation dates to the 90s and is in a poor state of repair, with cracks and fissures in the column attachments and signs of rust in the steel ca bles. Worse still, the elec trical panels, housed in some alcoves under the beach, are in danger of be ing damaged by the sea.

More raised

A TOTAL of 64 members attended the U3A Marina Baixa’s final meeting of the year on Monday November 28. A raffle for three Christmas hampers raised €460, and a craft display increased the mon ey raised for local charities to more than €500.

U3A members and friends of Almafra Camp ing had donated around 100 Christmas gifts for children of families using the Food Bank in Alfaz del Pi to make Christmas spe cial for many children and U3A also donated €520 to the Food Bank.

The meeting was fol lowed by lunch at Yang Hu Restaurant in La Nucia, and many are looking for ward to the pre Christmas

Dining Out at the Kaktus Hotel in Albir on Wednes day December 14.

The next meeting of U3A Marina Baixa will be the AGM on January 23.

Membership is €10 and meetings are held in the

Auditorium at the Casa de Cultura Alfaz del Pi on the fourth Monday of every month (except August and December) at 11.00AM.

New members are al ways welcome.

Lights, camera, action

LAVILLAJOYOSA is now featuring in two premiere Spanish productions on video streaming platforms Disney+ and Amazon. The first is a series entitled ‘La última’ star ring singer Aitana Ocaña and Miguel Bernardeau, and the second is a comedy film called ‘Mañana es hoy’ starring Car men Machi and Javier Gutiérrez. They were filmed on the l’Esparrelló beach and the Paseo de la playa Centro, among other spots in the town.

The series, ‘La última’ is a generational portrait of maturity, the struggle to find a

path in life, love, and the power of friend ship, with scenes filmed on location on the Esparelló beach and the Montiboli hotel. The film, in the meantime, has an amusing plot that starts with a family spending a holiday on the coast in 1991 when a thun derstorm catches them on a pedal boat. When they get back to dry land, they dis cover they have travelled to 2022.

La Villajoyosa is a town with many possi bilities, with beautiful landscapes that have been the backdrop for multiple ad vertising pieces, series and films.

CHRISTMAS GIFTS: For children of families in Alfaz del Pi.

ALICANTE is giving many of its areas a facelift and the mayor of Alicante, Luis Bar cala, visited the newly reno vated Plaza Antonio Mi nano in the Tombola neighbourhood on Monday, December 5.

The upgraded plaza now has paved walkways, new playgrounds and bio healthy areas, new street furniture, improved land scaped areas and shade trees, following an invest ment of €107,000.

Luis Barcala emphasised that “a very important re modelling has now been carried out for the neigh bourhood. We have reno vated the previous dirt paths where puddles used to form for paved ones, as well as landscaping areas and creating the children’s bio healthy games.

“This work is in addition to other work that has been carried out in the neigh bourhood, such as the reno vation and improvement of

the accessibility of the Plaza del Progreso and the fitting out of the passage through the Vía Parque from the San Agustin neighbourhood, all of which are very important for the residents of the neighbourhood, which in terests and concerns us all, with an overall investment of over €600,000 in the last two years.”

Pip Utton returns!

PIP UTTON is bringing two more characters to Javea Players’ Studio Theatre on January 25 to 28 in the production of Dylan.

Pretty plaza unveiled Calpe stamps

Sometime in the imaginary future it’s Bob Dylan’s final concert, and you have a backstage pass. Pip provides an intimate, revealing ‘final reckoning’. Dy lan settles old scores, spins a few tall tales and re flects on over 60 years in the public eye. In his inim itable style, Pip connects Dylan with the audience, removes the mask of a legend and reveals the man you thought you knew.

Box office opens December 18, so book before Christmas to avoid disappointment. Tickets cost €14, the performance starts 7.30pm. See www.javeaplayers.com for booking details.

Mobile U-turn

VALENCIA’S Department of Education has done a U turn on students and teachers using smartphones in schools to allow their use for educational purposes. However, digital misbehaviour will not be tolerated.

The change comes in the wake of the decree law on equality and coexistence in schools approved by the Edu cation Department in November. According to the Gener al Director for Inclusion in Education, teachers should be allowed to use their phones to search for information, take photos and so on, for educational purposes. From now, each school can decide the extent to which phones can be used during school hours and impose rules that will apply to families, students and teachers alike.

Penalties for abuse have also been outlined, banning unauthorised filming, recording and posting of images that infringe the right to privacy or which contain humili ating or aggressive content. The consequences of break ing the rules include exclusion from extracurricular activi ties and services such as school meals, a change of class, suspension and even permanent exclusion.

The law also deals with aspects such as punctuality, health and safety and measures to encourage a good at mosphere, as well as a conciliation procedure for stu dents.

THE Exhibition Hall at Calpe Town Council is hosting the 27th edition

of EXFICALP. In Decem ber 1795, Sir Rowland Hill, the father of the postage stamp, was born in England, and for years, stamp enthusi asts in Calpe have spent the month of December putting the town on the philatelical map.

Every year, Calpe be comes a Mecca for stamp collectors in Ali cante, not only because of the exhibition, but also because of the many activities held to interest fans of this area of culture.

This year, as usual, there will be exhibi tions of stamps from the four corners of the world, both local from Alicante and areas like Santander, Portugal and Galicia, offering visitors a multifaceted overview of stamp col lecting today.

The official opening was attended by local authorities and philatelists from all over the province of Al icante, as well as by the Directors of the Federa tion of Philatelic Asso ciations of the Valen cian Community (FASFILCOVA).

Upgraded plaza.

Image: Alicante City Council

Javea Players’ Pip Utton.

Image: Javea players

Global volunteering Coastline threatened

BENISSA NATURA , the developer behind the con troversial Patmore Resort, intends to go ahead with its building project, de spite Benissa Town Coun cil’s decision to withdraw its building permit and or der a new landscape study. The company is planning to build a hotel on the last remaining stretch of undeveloped coastline, demolishing a pine forest in an area known as Tossal de l’Asprar’ between La Llo bella and Els Pinets.

All political parties have joined forces in an effort to halt a project that has met widespread opposi tion from the community.

If the developer suc ceeds, Patmore Resort will occupy 55,000 square me tres of land already classi fied as eli gible for devel opment with nine luxury villas and a 76 room ho tel.

The developer has stat ed that it is “continuing to work normally on the pro ject”, and is “waiting to comply with local require ments to obtain the build ing licence”.

It disputes the resolu tion passed during a ple nary session of the council to withdraw permission to build in the area, which it says lacks a legal foundation and will be struck down by the courts.

VOLUNTEERING is im mensely important to both the volunteers and those they seek to bene fit. That’s why United Na tions Volunteers com memorate IVD on December 5 annually to recognise and promote the tireless work, not just of UN Volunteers, but of volunteers across the globe.

This year, eight volun teers in La Nucia were featured at an event to in spire others to donate their time and expertise to help others. A repre sentative of each group of volunteers explained their personal experiences and what this totally altruistic activity contributes to them for the benefit of

society. The event ended with the volunteering tree, where each person stuck a leaf with a word that summarises their view of solidarity, such as ‘companionship’, ‘happi ness’, ‘help’, ‘solidarity’, ‘positivity’, and more.

This year’s event in La Nucia was a tribute to all the invisible volunteers

who give up their free time and weekends to col laborate in events, acts or helping others with the Food Programme.

There are around 200 volunteers in the town working in different areas and associations for ani mal protection and sports, youth and social services, etc.

Modern bridge

JAVEA Town Council revealed on Wednesday November 30, its initial concept for a new, modern bridge in Calle Génova, which will span the River Gorgos and connect it with Calle Manuel Bordes. The infrastructure will make it easier to get about the neighbourhood. The specifications launched by the local authority require it to be a single span bridge with two 3.50 metre wide lanes, two three metre wide pavements, as well as a two metre wide cy cle lane.

The infrastructure will be built to connect as naturally as possible with Calle Génova without increasing the slope and to affect the hydraulic section as little as possible so as to minimise the impact on the Gorgos riverbed. Everything will be organised to ensure that residents have proper access to their homes while the work is being carried out.

As for the structure, a deck of prefabricated pre stressed beams supported on reinforced concrete abutments has been chosen for this urban improvement project.

The town council has launched an invitation to tender for the works.

• Diagnostic imaging and ultrasound Rx

• Clinical tests and serological tests, internal medicine, parasitology

• Soft Tissue Surgery and Traumatology

• Ethology, behavioural disorders and animal behaviour

• Physiotherapy, acupuncture, custom recovery and Healing touch

• Ophthalmology

• Dentistry and dental surgery & more

• Import - Export

TIRELESS WORK: Inspiring each other to volunteer.

Image: Shutterstock.com/ Rawpixel.com

Respiratory infections

SPAIN’S health centres and hospitals are being flooded with cases of bronchiolitis, a virus that affects the respira tory tract of children under 24 months of age, especially be tween two and six months.

Gandia’s Francesc de Borja

Hospital has been seeing a sig nificant number of children, however, the facility only ad mits the youngest children or those with risk factors, such as premature babies.

The wave of bronchiolitis began in Gandia the week of

November 7, earlier than usu al, but it has not yet peaked. Babies who have suffered from bronchiolitis may be more likely to present respira tory distress in the following catarrhal processes (bron chospasm).

Bronchiolitis starts with typ ical common cold symptoms, but can evolve to cause a re duction in the size of the bron chioles which causes difficulty in the passage of air. Symp toms of respiratory distress appear: rapid breathing, with respiratory effort, coughing, refusal of food, fever, etc in severe cases, compromising gas exchange, which results in lack of oxygen and lack of elimination of carbon dioxide.

It is difficult to know if your child has bronchiolitis at first sight, so if you suspect a respi ratory infection you should consult a paediatrician. Al though there is no treatment aimed at the cause, support measures such as oxygen therapy, antipyretics, respira tory support, etc, may be re quired.

Winter tourism booming

THE Costa Blanca economy is getting a boost from the extended December bank holiday this year. Against the odds, even the rain has not kept the holidaymakers away, and 70 per cent of hotel beds in the area have been occupied during the December super long weekend.

That’s 15 per cent higher than it was in 2019 before the pandemic. With temperatures grazing 20ºC and despite this time of year being asso ciated with ski stations rather than the coast, the sun and the sea are still proving big attractions.

The temperature of the sea has dropped, but drinks or lunch in an outdoor café or catching some rays

on the beach at midday are massive attractions for those who choose to spend their free time with us. The Postiguet beach in Alicante and the Levante in Benidorm have seen an upturn in mainly Spanish visitors in late November and early December.

Sources at the hoteliers association say they are delighted and surprised with bookings over the long week end, and many hotels are already ful ly booked for Christmas and New Year. Benidorm is expecting to fill al most 74 per cent of beds. According to regional tourism secretary Francesc Colomer, this end of year success shows that tourism is still the major driver of our economy.

Beautiful Costa Blanca coastline.

The UK Autumn Budget

Having taken the decision to scrap the September mini budget, UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt released his Autumn Statement 2022 on 17 November, with key aims to promote stability, growth and public services.

This budget focused on stability and fiscal sustainability – with plans to ensure the national debt falls over the medium term. The reduced debt should allow for more significant in vestment in public services, support the Bank of England’s efforts to curb inflation, and give greater confidence to businesses as they continue to in vest and grow in the UK.

Income tax, National Insurance Contributions and other relevant tax rates

The income tax personal al lowance, higher rate threshold, na tional insurance contributions (NIC), upper earning limit and upper profits

By Mathieu Edwards, Partner, Blevins Franks

Freezing allowances and thresholds is often referred to as ‘tax by stealth’ since it increases taxation without putting up tax rates. Thousands more people will now pay more tax as wages increase alongside inflation. The NIC threshold was raised from £9,880 to £12,570 in July, and

As previously confirmed, from April 2023 corporation tax will in crease to 25% for businesses with profits over £250,000.

Additional tax rate threshold, dividend allowance and capital gains

The autumn budget states that “the fairest way to restore the public fi nances is to ask everyone to contribute a little, with those on the highest in comes and those making the highest profits paying a larger share”.

With this principle in mind, the additional rate tax threshold will re duce from £150,000 to £125,140 from 6 April 2023.

The Dividend Allowance will re duce by half – from £2,000 per tax year to £1000 from April 2023 – and halved again to £500 in 2024.

The Capital Gains Tax Annual Ex empt amount will be more than halved – from £12,300 to £6,000 on

would allow you to take advantage of the higher threshold.

Inheritance tax

The inheritance tax thresholds will also remain frozen for a further two years until April 2028. The general nil rate band remains £325,000 (un changed since 2009) and residential nil rate band at £175,000. More fam ilies will get caught in the IHT net and lose more of their inheritance to tax.

Property considerations

The cuts in Stamp Duty Land Tax announced in September in creased the threshold from £125,000 to £250,000 for residen tial property purchases in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and to £425,000 for first-time buyers. These changes have now been de clared temporary and will end on 31 March 2025.

ATED is an annual tax typically paid by companies that own UK residen tial property above £500,000.

Looking ahead

With a new Prime Minister, new Chancellor and a fresh budget de signed to tackle the various economic challenges, hopefully these tough measures will achieve the growth and stability the government is aiming for. It will, however, be a difficult winter for many.

With regards taxation, even if tax rates do not go up over the coming years, the fact that so many al lowances and thresholds are frozen will have long-term implications. Getting reliable financial advice is more important than ever.

Tax rates, scope and reliefs may change. Any statements concerning tax ation are based upon our understand ing of current taxation laws and prac tices which are subject to change. Tax

Hello campers

LOOKING for like minded campers to share tips and have fun? If you have a mo torhome, caravan or tent and enjoy meeting new friends, you may be interested in join

ing the ACE group.

Dotted about Spain, the group is made up of mostly British expatriates, but all na tionalities are welcomed with open arms.

The best part is that there are no joining or membership fees whatsoever and to join the group all you have to do is attend a rally, which they try to have on a monthly basis. After being with the group for a year it is requested that you volunteer to host a rally, which can be done jointly with other members.

If you are interested in re ceiving more details about the group, please contact Pauline by email on acerallies@ gmail.com or by mobile /WhatsApp on (+34) 617 114 933.

Real or fake

TURRÓN, an almond based Christmas treat, is a Mediterranean tradition. It has its own Des ignation of Origin (DO) controlled by the Con sejo Regulador Jijona y Turrón de Alicante. However, farmer’s association COAG is chal lenging whether some products can even claim to be made in Spain. They have analysed the current honey and almond season in the markets of origin, and the numbers don’t add up.

They say that some turrón advertised as 100 per cent Spanish is made with Chinese honey and almonds imported from the US. According to COAG, in 2021 2022, Spain imported almost 120,000 tonnes of almonds, primarily from the US, far more than the 95,000 tonnes produced by Spanish farmers in 2020, and that Spanish production is down by 70 per cent.

‘Turrón de Xixona’, a soft turron, takes four

THE English Church Benidorm is hosting an extensive programme of activities planned for this Christmas season. All of these are headed ‘The King Has Come’.

This year the UK saw a new King as cend to the throne, but our emphasis will be on the King who descended to earth, to deal with our sin problem and give us a new life.

The church is International, Evangelical and Non Denominational and situated

TURRÓN: Contains honey and almonds.

days to make from scratch and involves grind ing, toasting and compacting processes. The farmer’s association is asking the government and regions to make it mandatory to list the origin of the ingredients in this and other tradi tional Christmas products, particularly since their costs have increased by 40 per cent.

Blessed celebration

in the Rincon area of the town. Full de tails of the church’s programme can be seen on the website www.en glishchurchbenidorm.com.

Pastor Trevor Ramsey and his wife Maggie have been in the church for well over a year now and love the town and

its people. He said “I especially want to invite everyone to our wonderful carol service on Sunday December 11 at 4 pm. We will sing the traditional carols and en joy refreshments afterwards. More im portantly we will consider together what it means that ‘The King Has Come’.

Shutterstock.com/Nick

Alias

Glittering business event

THE Euro Weekly News is marking the end of another busy year with a sparkling business event in collaboration with the British Cham ber of Commerce in Spain at Puente Romano, Marbella, on Friday December 16.

Bringing together their clients from across Spain, the Andalucia business event will see guests served canapes and cocktails alongside live entertainment, a rare moment for the business community to come together and simply celebrate the year’s achievements.

The Euro Weekly News is a proud member of the British Chamber of Commerce in Spain, an organisation which works tirelessly to pro mote vital trade links between Spain and the UK.

Founded in 1908 as an initiative of the British Embassy, the British Chamber of Com merce in Spain is one of the largest chambers of commerce in the world.

It is the only independent British Spanish business organisation in Spain, and still works with the British Embassy, holding regular meetings with British Ambassador to Spain Hugh Elliott, as well as British commercial ser vices (UK Trade and Investment) and Spanish comercial abroad (ICEX).

The chamber has offices in Barcelona, Madrid, Marbella, and most recently Bilbao, and a total of 300 members, including multi national companies as well as SMEs.

Its work includes organising business events, publishing research studies,creating

committees to support the interests of mem bers, and promoting the business activity of its members through media platforms and communication channels.

British Chamber of Commerce Regional Vice President Derek A Langley said: “We greatly look forward to welcoming you to our very enjoyable event, where you can meet old and new business contacts and friends from across the Costa del Sol business com munity, and have a chance to mingle, net work, and celebrate the end of a successful business year at one of Spain’s most glam orous locations.”

DEREK LANGLEY: The regional vice president works to promote business across Andalucia.

SPAIN are pioneers in gender equality as the country registered the fourth largest proportion of female inventors in Eu rope, setting an impres sive precedent. Figures released on November 30 revealed almost 24 per cent of people registering

Female first

new patents in Spain are women, soaring ahead of most European countries.

In data collected by the European Patent Office,

women register just 13.2 per cent of patents on products, but Spain stood apart with a rate of 23.2 per cent. Data revealed

that Lithuania topped the list of female inventors, with more than 30 per cent of new patents regis tered by women. Portugal came second with 27 per cent, followed by Croatia with 25 per cent, before Spain in fourth place.

Analysts explained that although this is good news for gender equality in Spain, there is still a re markable gender dispari

ty in patent registrations throughout the continent. There has been a signifi cant growth in women registering patents since 1978, when just 2 per

cent were requested by women.

The organisation say more must be done to ‘promote inclusion’ in in vention.

Pope’s physio

POPE FRANCIS is currently receiving care from a top physiotherapist from Atlético Madrid’s medical team. The head of the Roman Catholic church reportedly sought help from the football medic for an arthritic knee at the end of Novem ber.

The Pope’s knee had been causing him increasingly severe mobility issues dur ing the last few months, which caused him to cancel a trip to Africa. Pope Fran cis has opted to use a wheelchair or walk with a stick since the issues intensified in June.

Speaking about the treatment, Atléti co Madrid head medic, José María Vil lalón described the Pope as “very nice” but also “stubborn”, as he refused to have knee surgery.

Villalón has an extensive history of treating footballers’ injuries as he has been with the club since 1995, and ex

pressed his optimism that the Pope’s knee condition will improve.

The Argentinian Pope is famously a big football fan, but for his home team of San Lorenzo, from Buenos Aires.

Betty Henderson

Spain in fourth place for women registering new patents.

Photo credit: ALPA PROD / shutterstock.com

POPE FRANCIS: The football fan enlisted the help of an Atlético Madrid doctor for his arthritic knee.

Photo credit: neneo shutterstock.com

Suspicious packages

THREE more suspicious letters con taining animal eyes were intercepted in Spain on Monday, December 5. Po lice sources confirmed that they were detected by the security systems of Post Offices, who subsequently in formed the National Police.

The shipments were reportedly ad dressed to the Ukrainian Consulate in Malaga, along with the Ukrainian em bassies in the cities of Barcelona and Madrid.

It was verified by the police that each envelope contained animal eyes,

but they ruled out the presence of ex plosive or explosive substances. These packages bore similar characteristics to those received on Friday December 2 they added.

Other envelopes intercepted and containing gunpowder and small shrapnel balls were sent to Pedro Sanchez, the president of the govern ment; Margarita Robles, the Defence Minister; the embassies of Ukraine and the US, Torrejon de Ardoz air base, and to the arms manufacturing company in Zaragoza Instalaza.

Sources indicated at the weekend that these six envelopes came from Valladolid and from the same author, although he has not yet been identi fied, as reported by the Spanish news.

Antibiotic shortage

THE Spanish Agency for Medicines and Health Prod ucts has announced on the online drug information cen tre CIMA that there are 22 shortages of different amoxi cillin drugs in tablets, powder, and hard capsules.

Amoxicillin oral suspension has arrived at pharmacies in

Alicante such as Malluguiza, while amoxicillin plus clavu lanic acid in suspension, also for children, has been out of stock for two days, reported local Spanish press.

The antibiotic is one of the 627 medicines that are suffer ing from supply problems in pharmacies amid a wave of

respiratory viruses, especially among children, with short ages also reported in Portugal and France. Amoxicillin is a broad spectrum antibiotic medication widely used to treat bacterial infections, such as sore throat, sinusitis, tonsil litis, pharyngitis, and pneumo nia in children.

Laboratories are beginning to release batches, especially for children, although it will still take time for the situation to normalise after weeks of shortages of the drug in phar macies, this has coincided with the wave of bronchiolitis in Spain, which is collapsing hospital emergencies.

SECURITY BREACH: More suspicious packages have been intercepted.

OVER the years, the European Parliament has issued numer ous regulations to promote cooperation and the smooth functioning of relations be tween the countries of the Union. We have analysed some of them in the past (Reg ulation 655/2014, Regulation 1215/2012, etc).

In today’s article we focus on a very interesting tool for

serving documents abroad: Regulation 2020/1784.

• Entry into force of the Regulation and objectives Regulation 2020/1784 on the Service of Documents en tered into force on July 1, 2022, with the purpose of im

proving and speeding up the transmission of documents between EU countries, thanks to the new technologies. It aims to facilitate, for example, the notification of a lawsuit filed before the Spanish courts, to a person located in another EU country.

• Material and territorial scope of application, entry in to force, etc

It applies to all EU countries (including Denmark, which confirmed its commitment in December 2020). However, this Regulation will only be used for serving judicial and extrajudicial documents in civil and commercial matters. The notification of tax, customs, or administrative documents, falls outside the scope of this Regulation.

• Competent transmitting and receiving authorities in each country

Each member state must appoint the competent au

thority to deal with the sub mission and reception of these documents. A list of the trans mitting and receiving agencies designated by each country can be found in the European e Justice Portal Search Engine. **In Spain, both the transmis sion and reception of these documents is entrusted to the ‘Letrados de la Administración de Justicia’. **

• How does the notification system work in practice?

The first step is to provide the competent transmitting agency with all the documents to be notified. Applicants must also attach ‘Standard Form A’ (included in Annex I of the Regulation). This form must include all the details neces

sary to conduct the notifica tion: transmitting and receiv ing authority, address of the recipient, document to be no tified, etc. Depending on the country, this form may be sub mitted in one language or an other. **For example, in Spain, Standard Form A can be submitted in English, French, Portuguese and Spanish. **

• Is it compulsory for the documents to be notified to be apostilled and translated?

According to Art. 8.3, when serving documents abroad there is no need for them to be legalised or apostilled. However, the situation is not the same for the translation. The documents to be served must be in a language under stood by the addressee, or in the official language of the country in which service is done. Otherwise, the recipient may refuse to receive the doc uments, within two weeks, on the condition that he or she

does so in writing.

• Conclusions

The decentralised, secure, and reliable electronic system foreseen by the Regulation (e CODEX) is not expected to en ter into force until May 2025. Therefore, we will have to wait until that date to be able to take advantage of all the benefits that this new regula tion brings with it for serving documents abroad.

The notification of docu ments (lawsuits, summons, etc) is one of the most impor tant parts of any process. At White Baos Abogados we are experts in Legal Claims in real estate law, contracts, banking law, insurance, etc. Do not hesitate to contact us. We will study your case and offer you expert advice.

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

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

All Rights Reserved.

Serving documents abroad. How can it be done? European Regulation 2020/1784. Civil and Commercial Matters. Judicial and extrajudicial documents. European Union. Legal advice.

Anne Hernandez of Brexpats in Spain International

BREXIT had repercussions for all Brits in Spain, from holidaymak ers to residents and business owners to snow birds.

This is why Anne Hernandez MBE, founder of Brexpats in Spain (now Brexpats in Spain Interna tional) wanted to create a place to tackle some of that misinforma tion and help those whose lives and livelihoods had been affected by Brexit.

The Euro Weekly News sat down with Anne to discuss the inspira tion behind the group which now has more than 40,000 members what it does, and its plans for the future.

Anne explained: “I came here in 1999 with my mum and daughter.

“My mum used to go to a local social group in Mijas and over time she would pass queries people had in the group about living in Spain on to me. I ended up with so many I created a Facebook group to help people.

“After my mum died, Brexit hap pened. I was never political, but I wanted to do something to help and I went to speak to former Mi jas mayor Juan Carlos Maldonado, who said we should set up a local

group, which became Brexpats in Mijas. Within a month, we had 1,000 enquiries from across the country, so we made it Brexpats in Spain.

“When we first started, we sought experts in different fields including taxation, insurance, med ical, legal, education, to help tackle misinformation and give people the help they needed.”

After helping expats with issues with everything from driving li cences to residencia, Brexpats has for the last year been campaigning

hard on local voting rights for for eigners.

She explained: “For many of us, if we’ve been out of the country for 15 years we can’t vote in UK, EU, Spanish national elections. For many this will be the only election they can vote in.”

While British residents in Spain will now be able to vote in next year’s local elections, Anne warned: “You had to have proof of residency at the time of register ing. If you don’t, we know that some people are being sent away

and told to go to the National Po lice station to get extra documen tation. We have forms to prove you are a permanent resident.

“The problem is the window to register is only until January 15. Keep an eye on the group for up dates as the window is short.”

The group is also now joining to gether with other international ex pat groups to push to get the UK’s Votes for Life bill through to secure life long voting rights for expats.

Alongside voting rights, Brexpats is continually innovating and find

ing ways to bring the expat com munity together; as well as to tack le some of the biggest issues facing Britons in Spain.

She told the EWN: “Many peo ple can find themselves isolated here, which is why we now have seven groups overall for all sorts of different issues, including a sup port group.”

The organisation also now has Brexpats Buddies following the tragic death of an elderly expat who was not found for several days.

The WhatsApp group asks mem bers to check in every day before 12pm just with a simple emoji or hello. If not, a local represenata tive will be sent to check if they are in need of help. The initiative has even spawned an offshoot group in Nerja, where locals are now meeting regularly as a social group.

Speaking about the work of Br expats in Spain, Anne said: “There are groups to help with all kinds of things. We’re also in regular con tact with the British Embassy and can pass on your concerns for you.

“If you’re looking for support or information, join us.”

ANNE HERNDANEZ: Created Brexpats in Spain following queries after Brexit.

No more lords

THE Labour Leader Sir Keir Starmer has pledged to abolish the House of Lords in his first term if he is elected, saying that the institution is inde fensible in its current form.

Speaking to a national news outlet on Mon day, December 5, Starmer said the abolish ment of the House of Lords was one of the rec ommendations contained in the report by Gordon Brown, who he had asked to look at how the economy and British politics could be fixed.

He said: “It’s one of the recommendations, as you know, in today’s report.” The report forms part of Labour’s blueprint for a ‘New Britain’, put together by a commission under the leadership of former Prime Minister Gor don Brown.

When asked directly whether that means the House of Lords will abolished, he replied:

INCREASED strike action on the UK’s rail system was an nounced on, Monday, Decem ber 5. RMT union boss Mick Lynch said additional industrial action will start from 6pm on December 24, and end 6am on December 27.

Speaking at a press confer ence, Mick Lynch stressed that an improved pay offer had not

“Yes, I do.”

Not everyone is sold on the idea, however, with Tory peer Lord Norton urging caution in a recent interview with a national news outlet: “The nation’s got problems, people must come up with constitutional reform because it’s a fairly simple, straightforward proposal, rather than actually getting down to the real issues.”

More action

been presented to his union. This gave them ‘no choice’ but to continue with the industrial action. He described the reject ed offer from the train operat ing Rail Delivery Group as ‘ex tremely detrimental'’

“I am sure the travelling

public will be really disappoint ed, irritated and angry,” he said, while reaffirming the strikes by Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union mem bers for January 2023. The two 48 hour strikes planned for next week will still go ahead.

Parliament could be very different.

Richie Chan

Sweeping the UK

A 12-YEAR-OLD boy from a school in Lewisham, South East London, is the first pupil of secondary school age to die from the Strep A bug that is currently sweeping the UK. He is reported to have con tracted the more seri ous invasive Group A Strep bacteria which caused blood poisoning.

An illness which usu ally only causes a mild sore throat and temper ature has now claimed the lives of at least six children since Septem ber, as confirmed by UK

health officials.

The previous deaths occurred in pupils of pri mary school age. Health chiefs in the UK have urged parents to be on the alert for symptoms, and to act promptly if they believe their child is affected.

Kids being shut away at home during the pan demic lockdowns is one factor being blamed in many quarters.

This has subsequently lowered their immune systems, making them more susceptible to in fections.

FORMER Chancellor and Tory leadership candidate

Sajid Javid announced on Friday December 2, that he will step down as an MP at the next general election.

The shocking announce ment from the MP for Bromsgrove in Worcester, on the outskirts of Birming ham, came just hours after the Labour party won a his toric majority in the Chester by elections.

It also came after reports that the Conservative party told its MPs to decide their future and declare whether or not they intended to run by Monday December 5 with former Prime Minister Boris Johnson having de

Stepping down

clared his intention to stand again for his Uxbridge and South Ruislip con stituency in London.

Current Prime Minister Rishi Sunak invoked Star Wars in paying tribute to his ‘good friend’, saying “May the force be with you, Saj”.

Announcing his decision not to stand in the next general election, which is to be held at some point be fore January 2025, the 52 year old said it had been “an incredible privilege” to serve his constituents.

Arrests made

OFFICERS have arrested a 58 year old Russian busi nessman on suspicion of money laundering, conspir acy to defraud the Home Office and conspiracy to commit perjury.

According to a national news outlet on Saturday, December 3 the National Crime Agency (NCA) arrest ed the unnamed man along with two others be lieved to be co conspira tors. The first is a 35 year old who is believed to have worked in the Russian’s multi million pound home in London and the second a 39 year old was arrested at his home in Pimlico.

Officers pounced after

the 35 year old was seen leaving the home with a bag containing thousands of pounds in cash. He is al so accused of obstructing an officer.

Some 50 officers were involved in the raid under taken by the Combatting Kleptocracy Cell, which re sulted in a large amount of cash and a number of digi tal devices being seized.

The men have since been released on bail and will be required to appear in court at a later date. They are according to the NCA the latest to be target ed in the efforts to disrupt activities of corrupt inter national business.

SAJID JAVID: Will not run for MP at the next election.

Haka greeting In the mire

THE UK's Defence Minister Ben Wallace was greeted with the haka by Ukrainian defence force trainees dur ing a visit to inspect a train ing camp. The Ministry of Defence shared the video on Wednesday, November 30 showing the traditional Māori welcome.

The Ukrainian soldiers are being trained by a team from New Zealand in prepa ration for combat back home, as they fight to de fend their homeland from the Russian invaders.

Following the trainer’s ex ample around 100 trainees completed the haka to wel come the minister.

Although what appears to be an aggressive ap proach, the haka is a well known greeting that has been made world famous by the All Blacks rugby team. With England rugby struggling at the moment it’s possible the haka is the last thing Wallace wanted to see, but no doubt he was more than pleased with the training that is taking place.

Best mates

ROD STEWART has lost two of his brothers, his ‘irreplace able buddies’ just two months apart, with older brother Bob dying on Tuesday November 29.

Stewart announced his death on Wednesday, Novem ber 30 in an Instagram post. The singer lost his other older brother Don, he is the youngest of five, in September.

He said: “It’s with great sad ness that I announce the loss of my brother Bob last night, who joins my brother Don on the great football pitch in the sky.

“Rest in Peace.”

Stewart added: “I’ve lost two of my best mates in the space of two months. RIP Don and Bob ‘irreplaceable bud dies’.”

The 77 year old, who still has two surviving sisters Peg gy and Mary, always spoke very highly of his brothers, who he said had been instru mental in his career.

Many in the business have come out to express their condolences to Stewart, who himself has had his own pri vate battle with prostate can cer.

McLaren Kennedy

BUCKINGHAM PALACE is once again mired in con troversy after a staff mem ber had resigned after making ‘unacceptable’ comments at a palace event.

A national news outlet reported on Wednesday, November 30, that Ngozi Fulani, the founder of Sis tah Space, a charity that supports African and Caribbean women affect ed by domestic violence, was asked “where she re ally came from.”

The incident arose after Fulani told the palace staff member at the Queen Consort hosted event, that she was born in the UK.

The conversation was posted in full on Twitter, however, she did not iden tify the person involved.

Allegedly, the person concerned was Lady Susan Hussey, one of the new ‘ladies of the household’.

Hussey is not new to the

EASYJET has announced that it is set to launch a new ‘beach route’ from Manch ester to Murcia in south east Spain.

Flights will commence on May 2, 2023, and will operate twice weekly on Tuesdays and Saturdays, with seats on sale from De cember 7. The new Airbus A320neo aircraft will also bring significant improvements in environmental and operational efficiencies compared to the previous generation of air craft. The aircraft’s arrival will create around 40 local job opportunities at the airport.

Last year easyJet added 16 new routes and now offers customers a total of 77

palace having worked for Queen Elizabeth II in the past and was, some be lieve, the ‘number one head girl’.

Such controversy in Buckingham Palace is un usual where experienced staff are concerned, but with an apology made and the lady having resigned, hopefully that will be the end of the story and any future such slips.

New route

routes to choose from. Ali Gayward, easy Jet’s UK Country Manager, said: “I am de lighted to be announcing our plans for ex pansion at Manchester airport today.

“This will help us to deliver growth in Manchester and offer customers an even wider range of destinations.”

easyJet has had a base at Manchester for more than 15 years and has since flown more than 25 million passengers to and from the airport.

Peter

IRREPLACEABLE BUDDIES: Rod Stewart has lost his two brothers.

Instagram

Making it on Broadway

Peter McLaren Kennedy BROADWAY is for many people the pinnacle of a career in theatre, but to master that when you come from a disadvan taged background is quite an achievement.

Sheldon Epps, speaking exclusively to Euro Weekly News about his new book, said that the theatre busi ness had and was continu ing to evolve both in the USA and abroad. This he said was in large part being driven by money with the cost of staging a produc tion having risen dramati cally, running into millions

on Broadway and in Lon don’s West End.

That he said meant benefactors were increas ingly difficult to find and those that are still willing to fund productions, need and want to know that their investment is safe and will bring a return. In that respect he said the atre had become like cine

ma, but maybe more wor rying is that the high costs are pushing top theatre out of the reach of the av erage person, as ticket prices rise along with costs.

Sheldon is, however, not daunted by the challenge. As a black man in an elite world, he has risen to the top and has many awards and successes to his name, including three Tony Award nomi nations.

Speaking about his own career, he said it has taken a desire to suc ceed, hard work, creativi ty and perfec tion. But he said it has all been worth while with the industry now fully integrated and providing more and more opportunities for people from all backgrounds.

Although staging main stream theatre had be come more costly and risk averse, he said there re mained many opportuni ties for other forms of the atre and for exploring new topics. Speaking about the future he said he will be bringing new, previously uncovered stories to the

atres, an area that he said is bursting with opportuni ty as audiences evolve.

Sheldon’s book ‘My own directions A black man’s

journey in American the atre’ is a must read for its insight into American cul ture and for what it takes to be successful in the cre

ative world of theatre and film.

The book is out now and available online, you won’t be disappointed.

SHELDON EPPS: Spoke exclusively to Euro Weekly News.

NEW BOOK: An insight into American culture.

credit Jonathon White PR

EXPONADAL, festive fun for kids and youngsters, will take place for the 27th time at Ali cante’s exhibition centre, IFA, from December 26 to 30 and January 2 to 4, 2023 from 10.30 to 8.30.pm.

The exhibition will occupy two halls on the trade fair site containing fairground at tractions, the latest in video games and simulators, gymkhanas, a ‘castle of ter ror’. There will also be sport, craft and cooker workshops, board games, competitions, a beauty and relaxation area and many more surprises.

There really will be some

THE Harley Bar will be the jol liest place in Moraira on Sun day, December 11. It will also be the only place you’ll find a big crowd of bikers dressed up in Santa outfits! This event is organised to benefit chil dren in care homes looked af ter by the Make a Smile or ganisation by donating

thing for everything at this in door event, with entrance and use of all the attractions and activities included in the ticket price.

A perfect activity for fami lies and groups of friends, you’ll find food trucks, a café,

A fabulous fair Santa on a Harley

slippers, pyjamas and dress ing gowns.

Everyone is invited to meet at 9.30am at the Harley Bar. The would be Santas will jump on their bikes and do a lap around the town to get

sweets, waffles, popcorn and candy floss for a wonderful day out. Tickets at the door during the event are €24 for kids aged two to 14 and €15 online. Buy in advance for €12. For adults and the over 14s entrance is €2.

Medieval magic

THE historic centre of Teulada will be the backdrop of a traditional performance of the ‘Cant de la Sibil la’ and ‘El Senyal del Ju dici’, a traditional medieval Christian chant that is performed before Christmas. Ac cording to councillor for culture Hector Morales, “This is one of the most impor tant events in our town, not only because of its musical and scenic beauty but also for many people and associations that partici pate in it. We invite everyone to enjoy this event, which is local intangible heritage.”

The central theme of the liturgical drama is the end of time and the beginning of a

new world; the Last Judgement. This event will take place on Friday December 23.

‘El Cant de la Sibil la’ will begin at 8pm in the Porches square for the torchlight pa rade, at 8.05 with the group Dansaires de la Mort de Teulada. At 8.15 there will be the second tempest and the ‘Dansa de la Mort’ in the church square. Then, at 8.25, the performers will enter the Church of Santa Caterina through the door of the Div ina Pastora. Finally, at 8.30, the third tem pest will be sounded and the musical opera ‘El Senyal del Judici. El Cant de la Sibil la’ will begin.

The Filatelic Walk

everyone in the spirit before meeting back at the bar to hand over the gifts and cele brate.

For more information, write to info@makeasmile. com or check facebook.com/

FANCY doing something completely different on Sun day December 11? Join Exficalp on an entertaining and educational walk through Canelles and La Cantera de la Mola between Benissa and Calpe on December 11 start ing at 10.30am. The meeting starting point is Zona de Acampada de Oltá, Partida Oltamar, 1, 03710 Calpe and the walk will take between two and three hours to com plete.

On this occasion, José Luis Luri Prieto will be there as your guide to explain matters of archaeological, anti quarian, historic and artistic interest.

FAIRGROUND: A perfect activity for families and friends.

Photo: IFA

Gloves are on

BOXING fans are in for a treat on Friday, December 9 when Irish and Spanish box ers will fight in aid of charity.

A professional boxing team from Ireland will face Spain at a Solidarity Charity Boxing Gala in the Multies pai L’Androna hall in the Baleària Port building. The beneficiaries will be two lo cal associations that help people and pets: Extiende tu Mano and APAD.

THE Els Magazinos dis trict of Denia is glittering under its spectacular Christmas lights and ev erything is ready for a month of great food and culture, arts and crafts. It’s a large facility, cover ing more than 3,000 square metres, and with more than 20 stalls.

Every year, the APROSDECO association brings the Christmas spirit to this exciting

There are four people be hind the initiative, namely Aart Jan Dross, manager of restaurants Basta and Fuego restaurants; Irish boxing trainer and promoter Paddy Brennan, Mladen Garcevic, manager and trainer at Oa sis Fitness gym; and Marcelo Camargo, boxing coach at the Oasis gym, father of Ariel ‘León’ Camargo, a promising young boxer who was killed in a cycling acci

dent a year ago. The event will be dedicated to his memory.

Dinner will be available during the tournament be tween Ireland and Spain, the proceeds of which will go to these charities. Tickets can be purchased at the Oa sis Fitness gym (camí Pou de la Muntanya in Dénia) and in the Basta Marina restau rant. For more information, call 606 099 028.

Els Magazinos

food court and market area, adorning every thing with handcrafted decorations, giving ev erything a nostalgic, vin tage look.

The theme this year is ‘Reasons to Celebrate’ but everything is focused on sustainability, gas tronomy, zero kilometre ingredients and inclu

siveness.

The lights were switched on officially on Saturday December 3, and the Els Magazinos Christmas market is now ready to welcome every one to enjoy the festive atmosphere.

Come along! You’ll love it. Open from 11.00am to 5.00pm.

• December 8, 1-4pm, Christmas Fayre, Stray Sod Irish Bar, Centro Commercial La Fuente

• December 9, 6:30pm, Karaoke Nights, Kats Sporting Life

• December 10, 10pm, Astrosonic Rock the Universe, Stray Sod Irish Bar, Centro Commercial La Fuente

• December 12, 10pm, Kenny Rodgers tribute, Peter Warke, The Pub, Benidorm

• December 12, 11.00pm, Kenny Rodgers tribute, Peter Warke, Tom my’s Bar

• December 14, 7pm Costa Blanca Male Voice Choir, Christmas Carol Concert, Benitachell Church Free entry - collection on exit

• December 31, Stevie Spit, Welcome to 2023, The Picton House

Merry Beni-Christmas

Hola Nadal!

ON Friday December 2, Javea released details of its holiday activities for the Old Town, Port and Arenal. On December 10, the atmospheric old town will be decked out for a Christmas fair with stalls by local and charitable organisations, including the Red Cross. There will be children’s games in Plaza Celestino Pons from 11.00 to 1.30pm and a travelling show entitled ‘Balls de Poble’ from the Placeta del Convent to the Church starting at 5pm.

CHRISTMAS 2022 in Benidorm will be an extravaganza of shows, magic, dance, concert, nativity scenes and more. The lineup of activities has already been announced, with plenty of events and performances ready to bring festive spirit to the streets. Why not visit Christmas House at the Casa Museu l’Hort de Colón and the nativity scenes at the ACR La Barque ta. C/ Tomás Ortuño 62 and the Casa de Andalucía en C/ Mer curio Nº4?

Throughout the Christmas festivities, the Christmas Plaza will host numerous activities such as the traditional ice rink, Christmas market and fair attractions, as well as children’s shows, entertainment, magic, and dance performances.

On December 31, the action will move to Levante Beach for a fabulous New Year’s Eve party; and the following day, at 7pm, in the Rafael Doménech Pardo auditorium of the cultur al centre, the Benidorm Musical Union Orchestra will give its New Year’s Concert accompanied by Marlene Aquino.

The traditional Christmas market or ‘Porrat Navideño’ is al ready open in Parque de Elche, where it will continue until January 8, 2023.

On the same day there will be music on the Arenal with German Elul Trio in Paseo David Ferrer with a taster for next year’s Arenal Blues Festival starting at 12 noon. On Saturday, De cember 17, a storyteller will be by the Christmas tree at 11.00 to entertain kids with ‘Las luces’.

THE U3A Calpe has long been a destination for those looking to learn and socialise on the Costa Blan ca.

The group’s meetings and coffee mornings are held on the third Thursday of every month and take place at the LAFMA Club, Edificio Santa Marta, Avenida Rosa de los Vientos 15, Calpe, at 10.30am. Tables will be available for admin, travel

Meet and greet

events, and to places of in terest both in Spain and all over the planet. They have a Far East cruise coming up, which is already fully sub scribed.

Come and join in

DON’T be alone this Christmas. Join Costa Blanca Anglican Chap laincy for their Carol Services and Christmas Day celebrations.

December 13, After noon tea and Carols at La Fustera Church. Avin guda Fustera, 33/39. 03720 Benissa.

Tuesday December 13, 4.30pm Carol Ser vice at Javea Church Carretera de Jesus Po bre 160. 03737 Javea.

Friday December 16, 2.00pm Carols on the Beach, Albir and 19 De cember 3:00pm at Albir Church Calle de Marte 8, 03581 Albir.

Sunday December 18, 12:00 noon. Carol Service at the Ducal Palace, Gandia.

and membership.

The Calpe U3A also or ganises trips, to local

To learn more, visit u3acalpe.com or become a member by completing their online application form.

Tuesday December 20, 6:00pm Carol Ser vice at La Merced Church Av. Jaime 1 El Conqueridor. Calpe.

Comic Pepe Viyuela will give a poetry reading and music recital on Sunday December 11 at 8.30pm in the San Bartólomé church, and there will also be a market in aid of Cáritas on Friday afternoons and Saturdays at Carrer en Forn, No. 10.

Javea reveal all their holiday activities.

U3A CALPE: Meets on a monthly basis.

XMAS HOUSE: Enjoy various Christmas festivities.

Photo: benidorm.org

Football fraud

THE Ukrainian bid for the 2030 World Cup has been scup pered, as top officials from the country’s football association have been arrested after accu sations of money laundering and fraud.

The President of the Ukraini an Football Association, Andriy Pavelko and the General Sec retary, Yuri Zapisotsky, were arrested on November 29 for the ‘embezzlement’ of nearly €700,000.

The funds were allegedly laundered under the guise of building an artificial grass facto ry, when the officials moved money sent to their associa tion from a company in the UAE without permission.

Pavelko and Zapisotsky are being held on bail following their arrests in Kyiv, and are barred from communicating with witnesses.

Last week as the charges were announced, the Ukraini an Football Association had ac cused investigators of acting on behalf of Russia.

Football experts expect the development to end the coun try’s bid to hold the World Cup in 2030 with Spain and France.

German goal

GERMANY has signed a new 15 year contract with Qatar for a supply of liqui fied natural gas. German in dustrial experts signed the deal with the Gulf nation for approximately two million tonnes of gas, as they rush to reduce dependence on Russian pipelines.

State owned Qatar Ener gy announced the partner ship at the end of Novem ber, saying that supplies would begin from 2026.

American company, ConocoPhillips will be re sponsible for transporting LNG deliveries from Qatar to the German LNG termi

nal at Brunsbüttel.

There have already been mixed reactions to the poli cy, with some saying the de cision undermines Ger many’s criticism of human rights abuses in Qatar and what this means for Ger many’s environmental stance.

In response, German Eco nomic Minister and Green Party Member, Robert Habeck said in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and Germany’s de cision to stop relying on Rus sian gas, the country needs to take gas from a variety of energy sources.

Medieval revival

AN ambitious proposal will see a team of French historians and designers team up to create a re construction of William the Conqueror’s boat that was used by the monarch when he arrived in Eng land in 1066.

The La Mora project was launched at the end of November with a bud get of €13 million to recreate the ship.

The vessel was memori alised in the famous Bayeux Tapestry, which depicts the events which followed William of Nor mandy’s arrival in England from France, and the en suing Battle of Hastings.

William of Normandy was victorious during the battle, becoming King William I of England just days later.

The boat was thought to have been a 34 metre long longship, modelled on Viking longships. An is sue that designers will

face is creating a sturdy boat that complies with current seafaring regula tions.

Members of the project want to see the boat sail

in time for the anniver sary of William the Con queror’s 1,000th birth day, in 2027. It would then become a tourist at traction.

Germany is set to take deliveries of gas from Qatar in a new 15-year contract.

Photo credit: dragancfm / shutterstock.com

Electric car ban

THE Swiss government an nounced on, Friday, December 2, that it will ban electric cars from the country’s roads if the

energy crisis worsens. In the event of Switzerland running out of energy this winter, then ‘non essential’ journeys using

electric vehicles will be prohib ited. Because the country is de pendent on imports, the gov ernment fears there could well

be a shortage of energy in the coming months. Around 60 per cent of Swiss energy is gen erated via hydroelectric power stations. Another 30 per cent comes from nuclear facilities but the government is already committed to phasing this out as an energy source. Wind farms and traditional fossil fu els provide the remainder of Switzerland’s energy.

Although, as statistics show,

enough energy is produced an nually to keep the lights on, the fluctuation of the country’s seasons leads to an unpre dictable situation. An excep tionally dry summer in Europe has caused the levels in lakes and rivers to drop, resulting in

less energy being generated by the hydro plants as a result.

Further measures could in clude sporting facilities and sta diums being forced to shut and Christmas lights being turned off, as reported by a national news outlet.

Betty Henderson

A BLANKET ban on more plastic products is set to advance the European Union’s environmental policy. In a new move announced at the end of November, the EU wants to ban plastic products including disposable cups in restaurants and cafes and mini shampoo bottles in hotels.

The ban is set to fight excess waste in Europe, but will need to be approved by the European Commission as well as EU member states.

Other new measures have also been pro posed, including to introduce compulsory de posit and return points for single use plastic bot tles and metal cans, and a ban on excess packaging on online purchases. The EU also

Purge on plastic

wants to make recycling easier by simplifying the system for the public.

The Executive Vice President for the European Commission, Frans Timmerman, explained the policy, “The way goods are packaged can and should be done a lot better. Such overpacking is a nuisance to us and is increasingly damaging to our environment.”

The move follows a 2019 ban from the supra national body on disposable cutlery, straws and coffee stirrers, as packaging waste continues to rise across the continent.

NO CHARGING: If there is a shortage of energy.

Credit: Smile Fight/Shutterstock.com

Fine failing Corruption crackdown

THE EU is seeking to block more than €13 billion of funding destined for Hungary due to persisting cor ruption issues in Victor Orbán’s government and holes in the country’s democracy.

The measure was first suggested in September, and Hungarian officials received a deadline of November 19 to fix the issues. The EU announced on November 30 that the measure would proceed to the next stage of a vote between member states after its 27 requirements were not met.

The 27 measures included 17 ways to reduce cor ruption and 10 ways to strengthen democracy through institutions including the country’s supreme court and National Judicial Council. The Hungarian economy is currently in decline, which could push President Orbán into accepting the mea

sures quickly, to avoid losing out on billions of euros in funding. Hungarian officials have repeatedly clashed with fellow European Union members in re cent months over issues including corporate tax rates, the EU stance in solidarity with Ukraine and the use of sanctions against Russia.

SPEAKING on an Italian radio station on Friday December 2, Italy’s Minis ter of Health, Orazio Schillaci said he believes fining those who refuse to receive Covid vaccinations does more harm than good and that re questing fines could cost the State more than what could result from them.

Schillaci, just two months into his new job as Italy’s Minister of Health in Giorgia Meloni’s right wing gov ernment, cited Greece and Austria as the only two countries in Europe which had introduced fines for members of the public who fail to get their vaccination.

In November last year, the Greek

government announced that those over 60 would be fined €100 a month if they failed to get vaccinat ed or book an appointment for vac cination by mid January 2022.

Health officials in the country re ported that this announcement saw the take up in vaccinations in Greek pensioners skyrocket to 90 per cent.

In Austria, meanwhile, adults in the country were threatened with fines of up to a staggering €3,600 if they refused to have their Covid jab.

However, 56 year old Schillaci in sisted that neither Austria nor Greece had acted on their threats to fine unvaccinated members of the public.

Betty Henderson

FUNDS WITHDRAWAL: The EU is considering with drawing billions of euros in funding for Hungary after the country failed to take action on corruption.

Photo credit: frantic00 / shutterstock.com

PRESS EUROPEAN

DENMARK

Netflix deal

FOLLOWING almost a year of hard negotiation, Netflix has reached an agreement with Danish film and TV producers which will ensure that the global giant will purchase Danish produced productions again after a dispute over payment which has cost the industry some €200 million.

THE NETHERLANDS

Friendly wolf

WOLVES are a protected species in Holland and a court has ruled that a plan by authorities to use paintballs to try to frighten an apparently tame juvenile wolf from approaching humans in the Veluwe national park is unacceptable following an appeal by conservationists.

BELGIUM

Harry Potter

THE Magical Music of Harry Potter tour came to Liège late November and was well received thanks to an exceptional performance by the Ukrainian Khmelnitsky Orchestra and actor Chris Rankin (who played Percy Weasley in the films), who was the presenter and host.

GERMANY

Dearer holidays

GERMANY is likely to become a more expensive destination for tourists from nonEU countries if they book holidays from local travel agents, as from January 1, those operators will have to charge VAT on their invoice and make tax returns in Germany.

FRANCE

Heritage bread

AS French as a man on a bicycle with a string of onions, the baguette, the Eiffel Tower of French bread has gained UNESCO recognition after being named on its list of Intangible Cultural Heritage for ‘artisanal know-how and culture of baguette bread’.

NORWAY

Not spruce

THE aptly named Richard Wood, British Ambassador to Norway has taken to Twitter to say that this year’s Christmas tree sent to Trafalgar Square was perfect when it left the country in response to criticism by other Twitter users, including Larry the Cat, calling it tatty.

FINLAND

Internet use

INTERNET supplier Valokuitunen Oy commissioned a poll of internet users to see how aware they were of the environmental effects of using the internet and some 70 per cent of those contacted admitted that they hadn’t even thought about it, let alone reduced usage.

IRELAND

Strange reward

A WHISTLEBLOWER who revealed information about Irish Rail eight years ago is still employed by the rail company at a salary of €121,000-a-year, but complains that because his work load has been reduced so much, he spends most of his time reading and eating sandwiches.

ITALY

Leaning Tower

THE iconic landmark in Tuscany, the Leaning Tower of Pisa isn’t leaning as much as it used to according to a new report from the local heritage protection agency. Its tilt was last corrected in 2001 and since then has straightened by four centimetres.

PORTUGAL

Welcoming city

LISBON has been named the second happiest city in the world for expats according to the latest German organisation Internations Expat City Ranking 2022. It came fourth overall when compared to 49 other cities around the world thanks to the welcoming locals, weather, culture and nightlife.

UKRAINE

UK assistance

THE UK and Ukraine have entered into a groundbreaking new Digital Trade Agreement (DTA) that will help Ukraine rebuild its economy. This deal is the second such agreement and follows a decision to cut tariffs on all goods from Ukraine to zero.

SWEDEN

Greta Thunberg

TEENAGE Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg intentionally chose Black Friday to join with more than 600 young environmentalists to bring a class action against the government of Sweden alleging that it has failed in its Constitutional duty to take positive action to tackle climate change.

FINANCE

BUSINESS EXTRA

More jobs

SPAIN’S unemployment fell by 33,512 people in Novem ber to 2,881,380, the lowest figure in a month of Novem ber since 2007 and the main beneficiaries of the drop have been women and young peo ple who have been the two sectors most affected by un employment.

Inflation slows

THE news that Germany, Spain and Belgium reported that inflation in November appeared to be slowing down could be good news for con sumers in the eurozone as apart from anything else, it may well encourage the Euro pean Central Bank to recon sider new interest rate hikes.

Lorry drivers

THE Spanish Ministry of Transport has approved the National Road Transport In spection Plan for 2023, which confirms that carriers work at a fair price, that the driver does not carry out, in general, the loading and unloading of merchandise and receive prompt payment.

HSBC closures

EUROPE’S largest bank by as sets, HSBC, has announced that it will close another 114 branches in the UK starting next April, as customers using them have fallen significantly since the pandemic and whilst it will try to redeploy staff, some 100 will lose their jobs.

Digital success

DIGITAL restaurant Vicio, which was founded in Barcelona by a former Mas terChef winner during the pandemic, offers a range of gourmet burgers with side dishes delivered to cus tomer’s doors and in its first year has generated a turnover of €4 million.

STAT OF WEEK €5 billion

Brexit food bill

BREXIT cost UK households an extra £5.8 billion for food ac cording to a report issued by the Centre for Economic Perfor mance (CEP) at the London School of Economics on Thurs day December 1.

This only covers the period from January 1, 2020 until the end of 2021 and according to the report, this was the equiva lent of £210 per British house hold.

It goes on to say that because low income households spend a greater share of their finances on food than richer families, these Brexit driven price rises had a proportionately greater impact on the poorest people.

The latest study confirms that food prices increased by 6 per cent and finds that for the poor est households, this equates to a Brexit induced rise in the overall cost of living of 1.1 per cent, which is 52 per cent more than the 0.7 per cent rise felt in the top 10 per cent of house holds.

While the Trade and Coopera

tion Agreement, which came in to force in January 2021, en sures that trade between the UK and the EU remains tariff free, post Brexit, there are more non tariff barriers (NTBs) be tween the UK and the EU which include new comprehensive cus toms checks, rules of origin re quirements and sanitary and phytosanitary measures for trade in animals and plants.

The study concludes that it is

these NTBs that have affected prices. The rise in consumer prices was driven only by prod ucts with high NTBs and there was no significant rise in prices for products with low NTBs.

The changes have benefited domestic producers of food, who now have less competition from European imports, but un like regular tariffs, NTBs do not generate any revenue for the government.

Competition for Amazon

WATCH out Amazon, Mi ravia is out to beat you in Spain as the Alibaba sub sidiary opened its website on Thursday December 1.

The unveiling ceremony took place in the Reina Sofía Museum in Madrid the pre vious day and was a mix ture of hard sell and musical entertainment.

Alibaba is one of China’s biggest online presences and was set up in 1999 to offer a huge range of goods initially to the Chinese mar ket.

Since then, it has gone from strength to strength and is now said to be one of the largest companies in China, but it has fallen foul of US regulations and in or

der to operate in Europe, it needed to be more trans parent and also offer an effi cient speedy service.

Thus, Miravia was born and chose Spain as the first country in which it will oper ate and CEO Yann Fontaine, when speaking at the launch (according to Mar

keting4Commerce), said “Spain is one of the Euro pean markets with the greatest potential in the e commerce sector.

“It has great penetration on the internet and in mo bile technology, which means enormous potential for a platform like Miravia.

“We hope to cover all the needs of Spanish con sumers, while offering local and international brands greater tools to sell and en gage with their customers.”

Apparently, what makes it different to Amazon and other online shopping out lets, is that Miravia will not only be working closely with influencers and Artificial In telligence to create exclu sive content, but will also al low brands to design their own virtual stores and even operate affiliate pro grammes.

Time will tell, but to en courage customers to visit the new site, there will be introductory discounts for new clients.

Diversification

THE John Lewis Partnership has agreed a £500 million multi decade joint venture with global investment company abrdn to de liver around 1,000 new homes across three UK communities.

It will use part of its existing port folio of properties which are no longer in use to provide 1,000 new homes in Bromley and West Ealing where stores will be redeveloped to allow for housing and in Reading it will convert a disused ware house. The build to rent sector has a key role to play in addressing the shortfall in rental homes, which is set to increase further with the government’s help to buy scheme now coming to end and in London alone there is a shortfall of 75,000 rental properties.

Fewer iPhones

WITH consumers around the world gearing up for Christmas and other holidays, Apple Inc continues to appeal to many looking to either buy phones as gifts or hoping to use money given to them to make a purchase. It rather looks howev er that there will be a shortage of iPhones this year as workers at the Foxconn factory in Zhengzhouin, China who produce these products have been protesting about their conditions and walking out.

Whilst they have now reported ly been offered a better deal, there is still likely to be a holiday shortfall which consulting firm UBS suggests could total 16 million phones.

ITALIAN energy company Plenti tude is looking to invest €1 billion in Spanish renewable projects over the next four years, according to recently appointed CEO Stefano Goberti.

The first step has been to ac quire 100 per cent of PLT (PLT Ener gia Srl and SEF Srl), another Italian company subject to approval from the relevant authorities which is al ready installing wind farms on the Spanish mainland.

The existence of the European Recovery Fund has seen both Italy and Spain receiving the lion’s share of funding either as direct grants or low cost loans which is allowing ac celerated investment in renewable energy in both countries.

is the amount that energy company Cepsa will be spending using Spanish government Recovery Fund Money to finance a huge hydrogen production project in Andalucia.

SPENDING UP: Food price rises hit every UK household.

3I Group 1.320,50 1.324,50 1.306,50 112,65K

Abrdn 205,31 206,20 201,40 1,97M

Admiral Group 2.031,0 2.037,0 2.018,0 66,12K

Anglo American 3.396,5 3.401,7 3.313,5 81,64K

Antofagasta 1.456,50 1.463,50 1.439,00 177,14K

Ashtead Group 5.034,0 5.044,0 5.006,0 51,38K

Associated British Foods 1.660,0 1.676,0 1.650,5 155,72K

AstraZeneca 11.174,0 11.232,0 11.162,0 190,67K

Auto Trader Group Plc 581,00 581,60 574,00 268,63K

Aveva 3.185,0 3.188,0 3.183,0 50,32K

Aviva 446,25 448,80 442,30 467,68K

B&M European Value Retail SA420,90 422,90 418,30 216,21K

BAE Systems 812,00 815,40 806,00 673,07K

Barclays 158,38 158,42 156,06 4,71M

Barratt Developments 411,80 413,20 405,80 374,45K

Berkeley 3.858,0 3.864,0 3.832,0 41,01K

BHP Group Ltd 2.611,00 2.619,00 2.577,50 340,30K

BP 481,85 482,00 477,40 5,51M

British American Tobacco 3.414,4 3.434,5 3.401,5 257,58K

British Land Company 405,40 406,30 399,00 171,21K

BT Group 121,38 121,65 120,60 1,43M

Bunzl 3.044,0 3.050,0 3.022,0 25,63K

Burberry Group 2.141,0 2.161,0 2.135,0 188,88K

Carnival 713,4 714,2 701,2 210,97K

Centrica 95,58 95,84 94,70 1,36M

Coca Cola HBC AG 1.997,7 2.035,0 1.996,5 77,48K

Compass 1.870,00 1.877,50 1.854,00 223,24K

CRH 3.295,5 3.299,0 3.260,5 65,63K

Croda Intl 6.920,0 6.998,0 6.910,0 15,56K

DCC 4.413,0 4.421,0 4.376,0 14,12K

Diageo 3.810,0 3.850,5 3.809,5 214,13K

DS Smith 308,60 309,20 305,70 386,64K

EasyJet 392,30 399,40 391,50 290,16K

Experian 2.960,0 2.966,7 2.944,0 22,63K

Ferguson 9.590,0 9.620,0 9.501,5 10,24K

Flutter Entertainment 12.105,0 12.125,0 11.985,0 52,23K

Fresnillo 931,47 933,20 900,80 245,39K

Glencore 570,20 571,80 561,70 7,20M

GSK plc 1.405,94 1.413,80 1.403,80 109,63K

Halma 2.244,0 2.258,0 2.221,0 81,56K

Hargreaves Lansdown 867,20 871,20 858,00 216,07K

Hikma Pharma 1.542,00 1.543,00 1.518,00 78,32K

HSBC 499,79 500,49 494,85 328,57K

IAG 133,22 134,30 132,78 1,59M

Imperial Brands 2.108,00 2.117,00 2.090,00 220,19K

Informa 621,60 623,40 619,80 247,52K

InterContinental 4.767,0 4.783,0 4.744,0 35,04K

Intermediate Capital 1.255,50 1.262,50 1.240,00 80,30K

Intertek 4.131,0 4.152,0 4.109,0 42,65K

ITV 77,50 77,58 75,66 1,75M

J Sainsbury 224,40 224,60 220,80 370,25K

Johnson Matthey 2.130,8 2.134,0 2.097,0 30,55K

Land Securities 630,00 630,20 620,00 109,51K

Legal & General 258,70 259,20 253,60 1,34M

Lloyds Banking 46,72 46,84 46,31 8,20M

London Stock Exchange 8.122,0 8.268,0 8.120,0 94,37K

Melrose Industries 126,95 128,55 126,05 1,71M

Mondi 1.555,50 1.560,00 1.542,50 110,28K

National Grid 1.025,27 1.025,50 1.018,00 632,70K

NatWest Group 262,30 262,70 260,30 2,24M

Next 5.877,6 5.886,0 5.824,0 13,16K

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

Ocado 683,80 685,60 663,40 231,25K

Persimmon 1.289,0 1.293,0 1.245,0 229,44K

Phoenix 602,00 602,60 593,40 218,63K

Prudential 1.099,50 1.109,50 1.048,50 2,88M

Reckitt Benckiser 5.976,0 6.040,0 5.970,0 116,68K

Relx 2.329,00 2.335,00 2.313,00 385,77K

Rentokil 540,20 543,40 539,40 570,64K

Rightmove 568,00 568,60 560,74 23,19K

Rio Tinto PLC 5.784,0 5.790,0 5.651,0 497,75K

Rolls-Royce Holdings 89,24 91,07 89,22 4,10M

Sage 796,20 800,40 793,40 168,76K

Samsung Electronics DRC 1.158,00 1.163,50 1.154,00 3,28K Schroders 466,2 467,9 459,9 163,09K

Scottish Mortgage 792,79 796,60 786,00 340,85K

Segro 831,00 832,20 817,00 381,72K

Severn Trent 2.745,0 2.748,0 2.720,0 30,27K

Shell 2.377,0 2.378,5 2.344,0 1,50M

Smith & Nephew 1.086,23 1.093,50 1.079,00 234,07K

Smiths Group 1.592,00 1.594,00 1.582,00 97,58K

Spirax-Sarco Engineering 11.420,0 11.435,9 11.357,8 1,21K SSE 1.729,00 1.730,50 1.718,75 25,74K

St. James’s Place 1.183,50 1.194,00 1.181,00 84,06K

Standard Chartered 596,60 597,20 588,40 545,37K

Taylor Wimpey 105,75 105,90 104,20 1,38M

Tesco 229,95 230,00 227,00 280,77K

Tui 145,51 146,75 144,95 431,47K

Unilever 4.138,0 4.177,0 4.138,0 423,73K

United Utilities 1.053,00 1.053,50 1.048,50 203,67K

Vodafone Group PLC 91,68 93,18 91,04 17,06M Whitbread 2.608,0 2.622,0 2.599,0 47,96K WPP 877,80 879,40 869,40 345,82K

3M 126,99 127,25 1,82M

American Express 156,75 157,28 155,00 2,28M

Amgen 285,51 286,12 283,19 2,25M

Apple 147,81 148,00 145,65 65,30M

Boeing 182,87 183,45 172,85 10,50M

Caterpillar 236,13 238,47 233,59 2,21M

Chevron 181,03 183,63 179,93 6,78M

Cisco 49,70 49,84 48,92 12,31M

Coca-Cola 64,35 64,52 63,40 13,56M

Dow 51,55 51,70 50,43 4,85M

Goldman Sachs 380,58 382,52 378,40 1,92M

Home Depot 327,99 328,48 320,33 3,63M

Honeywell 219,08 219,86 214,72 2,18M

IBM 148,67 149,16 147,73 2,87M

Intel 29,41 29,43 28,71 31,49M

J&J 178,88 178,96 176,96 5,79M

JPMorgan 135,16 135,35 133,34 8,92M

McDonald’s 273,40 273,45 269,62 2,79M

Merck&Co 110,04 110,09 108,71 6,89M

Microsoft 255,02 256,06 249,69 21,33M

Nike 112,20 112,71 108,34 5,87M

Procter&Gamble 150,61 150,77 148,08 4,90M

Salesforce Inc 144,56 145,21 142,78 15,04M

The Travelers 189,54 189,94 187,79 1,28M

UnitedHealth 536,16 538,61 532,44 2,33M

Verizon 38,18 38,30 37,70 21,57M

Visa A 217,66 218,48 214,24 5,13M

Walgreens Boots 41,48 41,63 40,85 4,85M

Walmart 153,22 153,24 151,48 6,88M

Walt Disney 99,43 99,69 97,01 12,60M

Most Advanced

Most Declined

Cracker

CEMEX, S.A.B. de C.V. -11.58% 915,309

Zscaler, Inc. -10.73% 9.665M

Asana, Inc. -10.45% 12.786M

Veeva Systems Inc. -8.63% 2.551M

HF Sinclair Corporation -7.26% 4.431M

PBF Energy Inc. -7.08% 5.982M

CVR Energy, Inc. -7.00% 868,001

CyberArk Software Ltd. -6.96% 446,395

Polestar Automotive Holding UK PLC -6.51% 4.155M

Graham Holdings Company -6.42% 73,694

BUSINESS EXTRA

Genuine leeks

WELSH leeks have become the latest addition to the UK Geographical Indication (GI) Scheme, which protects the name, authenticity and characteristics of regional products. Shoppers will be able to clearly see a logo on the label showing they are buying the real thing,

Dearer mortgages

ALTHOUGH the Spanish government has indicated that it will make the cost of mortgages affordable, de spite increase in base rates, CaixaBank has raised the in terest rate on its 30 year fixed mortgage from 4.31 per cent to 4.79 per cent making it the most expen sive Spanish lender.

New law

MONEY from fines handed out to water companies in the UK that pollute rivers and seas will now be re in vested in schemes that ben efit the natural environ ment. Since 2015, the Environment Agency has concluded 56 prosecutions against companies, gener ating fines of over £141 mil lion.

Primark expands

PRIMARK, the international fashion retailer, has con firmed its commitment to Spain by announcing a capi tal investment of €100 mil lion in its Spanish business. The investment includes €80 million in eight new stores and one store exten sion and €20 million invest ment in upgrades and refur bishments in stores.

Over 1,000 jobs will be created over the next two years as part of the compa ny’s ambitious growth plans in the market.

Primark opened its first store in Spain 16 years ago in May 2006, in Plenilunio, Madrid and today has 56 stores across the country which makes it the second largest market for the Irish group.

Spanish State Deficit

THE Spanish State Deficit contin ues to head in the right direction after being a major bone of con tention with the European Union for many years.

In essence, prudent fiscal poli cy should see a country earn more than it spends on an annu al basis, but this has been a real problem for successive Spanish governments since the 2008 eco nomic crisis.

Clearly the pandemic didn’t help the current position as so much money was spent on sup porting business and families in need, but since 2021, Spain has seen a downwards turn as indus try started to recover after strict lockdown and isolation rules were relaxed.

According to Minister of Fi nance Maria Jesus Montero, in October 2021, the deficit stood at 4.93 per cent of Gross Domes tic Product (GDP) and totalled €59.468 billion, but at the end of October 2022 this had dropped

Comparing the inflation impact

INFLATION, Covid 19, and the Ukraine war have affected consumer behaviour in Eu rope, according to new data.

But there’s good news for people living in Spain, where people are spending less, and saving more, despite record inflation.

To mark World Savings Day, online bank N26 sur veyed customers to find out how Europeans are dealing with the impact of inflation.

The data shows which countries are still spending big on vacations and restau rants, whose incomes are growing, and the changes to spending habits.

Spending data and saving data of over 380,000 con sumers in five European mar kets (Spain, Germany, Aus tria, France, and Italy) were surveyed between January and August 2022.

Despite record inflation, customers in Spain saved the

most between March and August this year. Of all the countries studied, Spain ex perienced the highest infla tion rates overall.

Despite this, customers in Spain increased their savings, on average, from 4.6 per cent (of their average income) in January and February to 7.2 per cent from March on wards a relative increase of 57.2 per cent.

Following the overall EU trend, Spanish users were al so able to save the most in March 11.1 per cent of their

income, or €177.89 on aver age.

Of all the markets studied, customers in Spain have the highest savings ratio overall, setting aside, on average, 6.6 per cent of their income be tween January and August.

Elsewhere in Europe, signs of inflation were especially noticeable in the ‘food and groceries’ and ‘transport and cars’ categories but Spain saw a downward trend with Spaniards spending 1 per cent less of their average in come in this category.

by a significant 69.7 per cent to a much healthier €18.016 billion, equivalent to 1.37 per cent of GDP.

This has mainly been achieved by a combination of a 25 per cent increase in sales of non fi nancial products and a much smaller growth in expenditure of just under 2 per cent.

Tax collections on both pro duction and imports have helped considerably with VAT collec tions rising by 18 per cent in the period under review and Income Tax for both residents and non residents shooting up with tax on dividends making a big contri bution.

As companies earn more, so they pay more and the sale of shares and other assets has added to the amount of Capital Gains Tax being collected as well.

The payments to Spain from the European Recovery Fund have also helped the country to invest for the future.

Toy story

IN 2020, the Spanish government undertook a study into the way that children’s toys were advertised and whether they promoted gender stereotypes.

The conclusion was sufficient for the government to introduce strict new rules, effective December 1 this year, in time for Christmas and Three Kings.

The intention is that adverts should not target girls with traditional toys such as dolls, make up and cook ing, whilst there should be little use of the colour pink which is also associated with young females.

Equally, blue should not be used when promoting traditional boy’s toys, such as cars and similar ‘ma cho’ goods, as the intention is to ensure that young sters feel equal and not directed down one particular road.

Stop bullying

TUC figures show that nearly a third of people (29 per cent) in the UK believe that they have been bullied at work, with more than one in three (36 per cent) leaving their job because of it.

Research by employment and partnership law spe cialists Fox & Partners, reveals the number of cases heard by the Employment Tribunal which contain alle gations of bullying has increased 44 per cent from 581 in 2020/21 to a record high of 835 in 2021/22.

Some of those who claim to have suffered from such bullying are now lobbying MPs and Parliament to have workplace bullying recognised as a crime in UK law as is the case in countries such as Sweden.

President Sánchez with Minister Montero following 2023 Budget approval.

Credit: La Moncloa flickr

SURVEY: Euros real value continues to shrink.

Credit: Alexandra Koch CC

LEAPY LEE SAYS IT

Friend and foe

DELIGHTED to not be mentioned in the recent Diana Dors TV documen tary. I knew her extremely well for many years, probably better than anyone. We were very close during her difficult times, when she was struggling to keep her financial head above water, including the upkeep of her two young sons she had organ ised for her ex husband Richard Dawson; also an out of regular work actor, to look after in America.

This was of course later rectified, when in 1965 he obtained a starring role in the highly successful series Hogan’s Heroes, but his was also a terrible struggle before he clinched the role. She had engaged a new, fairly low key agent who began to book her in cabaret dates, mainly in the north of England.

This was some years before this ol’ boy cracked it with Little Arrows, so I was free to accompany her to many of these venues, which were spring ing up all over the country. After she had completed the appearance, we would leave for the hotel which she always booked for one! I would sub

sequently then sneak in and share the room for the night. She was earning £100 to £150 an appearance, out of which my share would be around 15 quid. Although that does n’t sound particularly copious, in those far off days it meant I could at least provide my own family with some security.

As a struggling actor myself, I was also discovering showbiz optimisms fraught with difficulty. She would then send most of what she could af ford to her husband in America. This went on for a number of years, dur ing which she occasionally managed to pick up a cameo role in a movie or TV appearance.

We shared some great times, until one day she told me she had been offered a starring role in a new West End play entitled ‘Three months Gone.’ Apparently, she wasn’t sure whether to accept it as she hadn’t been offered a wage, but only a per centage of the door. It was only after I had almost twisted her arm up her back with the insistence that she simply had to take on the role due to

the amount of publicity that could ensue, that she finally accepted.

The show was a resounding suc cess and suddenly she was back, earning really well. Life was good again and our friendship and social life grew even stronger. One day she told me she had met a ‘wonderful man’ named Alan Lake, who was al so appearing in the production, and thought she could be falling in love. She introduced me and frankly, I did n’t like him at all.

A few years later she conspired with him in an injustice, which ulti mately cost me my freedom and al most my career. It’s all in the books. Available on Amazon.

Keep the Faith Love Leapy leapylee2002@gmail.com expatradioscotland.com Mon, Wed, Fri. 1pm.

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OIL OR ELECTRIC OUR VIEW

IN order to combat climate change, the perceived view is that the world should ban diesel and petrol engines and re ly on electricity. In theory this seems like a sensible idea, but there are a few problems with this, the foremost currently being the West’s ability to generate electricity and the prob lems that may occur in creating and later disposing of bat teries that will be strong enough to power vehicles.

With the European Union and other countries deciding to place a cap on the value of Russian oil that can be import ed and Russia’s indication that it just won’t supply those countries that implement such a ban, it immediately focus es our attention on how it will affect us.

The USA still has huge underground reserves and allows fracking which rightly or wrongly means it can generate even more oil so it won’t be hurt by the ban.

Some Scandinavian countries generate huge amounts of power using hydroelectrics and Norway of course has both oil and natural gas in abundance, but what of the others?

Already Switzerland has indicated that if it is short of elec tricity then it will seriously consider banning electric vehicles from its roads and other countries are advising owners of electric cars to stagger charging for fear of overloading their electric grids. This is hardly an encouraging start to the ush ering in of a new age of transport, especially when currently the costs of electric cars are higher than petrol or diesel and the vehicles themselves still don’t have the same range and take longer to charge.

At the moment, it seems that the safest way to proceed is with a hybrid vehicle which hopefully gives the best of both worlds.

WITH more than 20 years of experience in the real estate market on the Costa Blanca, Orange Villas has built their reputation as a trusted and honest estate agency for buying or selling property in the areas of Moraira, Benissa, Beni tachell, Javea, Calpe or Teulada.

The team of qualified and experienced agents have extensive knowledge of the properties in the area and a catalogue of hundreds of beautiful country homes, fincas, apartments, premium villas, townhouses and plots of land so you are sure to find the ideal property for your needs and budget.

Priding themselves on matching the right property with the right buyer, whether you are looking for a brand new build to move straight into or a home that you can make your own, Orange Vil las are the best in the area to find you the perfect property. The multilingual team will make the process as easy and stress free as possible, translating all of

the relevant documents into your lan guage and helping you on every step of the buying journey.

Around a decade ago, Orange Villas’ owner Ton Visser had a vision that would forever change the construction of new homes on the Costa Blanca. In addition to traditional houses with rounded ele ments, it was time for a new house mod

el slim, minimalist, modern and luxurious. Now, Orange Villas will help you to find the perfect plot of land and, together with their archi tect, will help you design a property ex clusively to your taste and your lifestyle.

Orange Villas are also a certified and official property appraiser and a member

of various national and international or ganisations, giving you the peace of mind that they will follow all of the required Spanish rules and regulations. As an es tablished agency in the area, their exten sive knowledge and expertise will ensure your confidence throughout the buying or selling process.

If you would like to speak to the friendly team about buying or selling a property, they welcome you to visit the team in their office in the centre of Moraira where they will be happy to answer any questions about your re quirements.

You can also use the easy search en gine feature on their website to view their range of incredible properties!

LeapyLee’sopinionsarehisownandarenotnecessarilyrepresentativeofthoseofthepublishers,advertisersorsponsors.

New Dutch

GOOD news for the English speaking community in Benidorm! After a hiatus of a couple of years, Euro Clinica La No ria, in Centro Comercial La Noriahe Avenida Europa in Benidorm, is reopen ing with an English speaking doctor from the Netherlands.

Dr Rosa Negenborn is a general practi tioner, who after working for years in several clinics in the Netherlands decid ed to follow her dream and move to Spain to practise medicine.

Dr Rosa Negenborn said of the move to Spain: “My first impression of Benidorm is a bit overwhelming. Every where you go you see British establish ments and English seems to be the Lin gua Franca around town. Being a tourist, or even a resident, in Spain there is always a language barrier, espe cially if you are seeking medical atten tion.

Speaking about her work in medical care, Dr Negenborn said: “My goal is to

provide the best possible medical care for the British population in their native language. This ranges from little chil dren with ear infections from being in the swimming pool all day to more seri ous conditions.

“Furthermore, we are in partnership

Practitioner opens

gives me the opportunity to consult with different medical specialists to make sure every patient I see gets the best medical care available in Benidorm.

“You never wish to see a doctor, but it is good to know they are there if you re ally need them.”

The Dutch speaking Euro Clinica Rin con opened its doors in Benidorm in 1999 and has since treated many holi daymakers, tourists, winter visitors and residents of Benidorm and the sur rounding areas.

with the Euro Clini ca Rincon Medical Clinic in the Rincon de Loix area, which is a well established international clinic for over 23 years. There they offer a vast array of medical specialties and diagnostic tests. This

Almost all medical services are avail able through the clinic and they also of fer a complete package of high quality diagnostic tests, which are carried out within 24 hours of request without waiting time.

Their outpatient clinic works together with the hospitals in Benidorm and Ali cante, so that you can have the peace of mind that your health is in the best hands.

By Clinica Britannia

Non-surgical Mesotherapy

I RECENTLY saw a Dermatologist, due to developing dark spots on my skin since the summer, he assured me that it was noth ing to worry about and gave advice on skin protection. Any advice on eliminating these ugly marks?

Yes, now available is an effective and harmless non surgical treatment called Mesotherapy that can help with this.

Mesotherapy can be used alone or alongside other aesthetic treatments to combat many skin problems and even hair loss. The procedure is performed with the use of micro injections of plant based vitamins, serums, and nutrients, that per meate the skin for nurturing and rejuve nation.

Main benefits of Mesotherapy treat ment include:

• Removal of skin pigmentation and age spots.

• Smooth fine lines and wrinkles.

• Tightening of the skin on face and neck area.

• Revitalise skin by stimulating the pro

Many benefits to this treatment.

duction collagen and elastin.

• Even and fresh complexion.

• Removal of acne and scarring.

• Treatment for hair loss.

One of the other significant Mesothera py face benefits is skin hydration, it keeps the skin hydrated by increasing the mois ture in the skin. Consequently, your skin will look more healthy, hydrated, and ra diant.

If you want perfectly glowing skin with out surgery, then contact your Aesthetic specialist to check if this treatment is the right choice for you.

DR NEGENBORN: Wants to provide the best possible medical care.

Suicide prevention

SADLY, suicide is one of the biggest causes of death in Spain and since overtaking road traffic accidents as the most common violent cause of death, suicides have been increasing. Winter can in crease feelings of depression, with springtime being the most dangerous time for sui cide.

While it is crucial to be aware that suicide can hap pen at any point of the year, some mental health condi tions such as seasonal affec tive disorder can increase in winter, increasing the risk of suicide. Here we share some top recommendations from experts on how you can boost mental health.

Exercise

Boost your mental health over the Christmas period by making time to exercise or simply to get outside. Nature and exercise can both reduce feelings of stress or anger and reduce symptoms of anger and depression. Know when to get help

Spending time outdoors over the festive period can significantly reduce feelings of depression and anxiety that can contribute to suicidal feelings.

If you are feeling depressed, don’t leave it too late. The Spanish free suicide helpline is 024 and is manned by Red Cross workers 24 hours per day. There are also lots of on line resources to help you or others through difficult times and therapists working online internationally can help with suicidal thoughts.

Check on people

Data in Spain shows that men die by suicide at three times the rate of women dy ing by suicide. Mental health professionals highlight the need to reach out to people who might be struggling, par ticularly men, even if it doesn’t seem that way. Mak ing human connections can significantly reduce feelings of depression.

By Clinica Britannia

Problematic veins

NOW the weather has cooled down and winter is on its way, it’s the per fect time to treat those ugly veins most of us have on our legs. Make an appointment with your GP to check the veins, as apart from looking un sightly, they can increase the risk of developing Deep Vein Thrombosis in the future.

Common symptoms of problem veins:

• Aching, heavy, and uncomfort able legs.

• Swelling of feet and ankles.

• Burning or throbbing in your legs.

• Muscle cramp in your legs, partic ularly at night.

• Dry, itchy, thin skin over the af fected vein area.

Available now is a highly effective, safe, non surgical treatment in which veins are obliterated by simply inject ing a specialised medication into the affected vein. The procedure has a minimum recovery time with both

aesthetic and health benefits.

Results of the treatment are opti mum, often after a single treatment, the area is left free of highly visible and swollen veins, which in turn helps in regaining lost self confi dence, as well as relief from pain. Post treatment, patients are encour aged to walk, and strenuous activities should be avoided for up to two weeks.

Don’t hesitate, book an appointment for further advice on whether this treatment is suitable for you.

Treat those ugly veins on your leg.

Photo credit: encierro / shutterstock.com

Aromatherapy

Try some aromatherapy with candles or essential oils with these beneficial scents to boost your wellbeing over winter.

Winter fitness

AS we spend more time in doors during the winter, take this opportunity to in vest some time in your health and wellness. Aro matherapy is one excellent way you can unwind at home and take a break from all of the seasonal activity. Practise some winter well ness with these seasonal aromatherapy scents by lighting a candle or burning some essential oil and feel your best over the holiday period!

• Peppermint

This scent is well known

for its invigorating proper ties, giving you the perfect energy boost when you might be feeling a little run down. Peppermint can also be soothing, reducing in flammation and stress.

• Cinnamon

This essential holiday scent can also improve our well being by improving cir culation. Scientific research also suggests that cinnamon can help cognitive function and memory, all while bring ing a cosy, Christmas scent into our homes.

• Frankincense

Another seasonal scent is also known to have relaxing effects when used in our homes, reducing stress while improving concentration. Frankincense also helps to strengthen the respiratory system giving it a needed boost against colds and sea sonal sicknesses.

• Lemon

Aromatherapy blends us ing this citrus fruit can help to clear congestion and colds. They also create a cosy, comforting atmo sphere in your home, perfect for winter warmth.

DECEMBER is now upon us, and with it comes cold weather and seasonal colds and flus. It’s easy to get under the weather during this month with ev erything that goes round, but it is more important than ever to keep your fit ness levels up. Here we share some top tips on how to build exercise into your daily routine, even when your schedule is packed!

• Online classes

Platforms like YouTube offer thousands of fitness videos of varying lengths and styles, so whatever time you have and what ever type of exercise inter ests you, you can try it from the comfort of your home. And the best part, it’s free!

• Aim to do something

Even if you don’t have time for your usual fitness routine, aim to do at least 50 to 75 per cent of it. Re member, any exercise is

better than no exercise, so take opportunities when they arise.

• Adapt your activities You can still enjoy all your seasonal plans, while staying fit! Activities like Christmas shopping are great ways to get your steps in, while Christmas parties are great opportu nities to dance and stay ac tive. Where possible, you can also opt to take a walk rather than getting a taxi or driving.

If you’re struggling for time to exercise, try an online fitness video, there are plenty of options and even Christmas themed workouts!

Photo credit: White bear studio / shutterstock.com

Photo credit: Andrew Angelov / shutterstock.com

Footballers and aristocrats

LINDA HALL

WHENEVER Spain wins an important footballing event, the Spanish say, “We knew all along we were going to win.”

If they lose they say, “We knew all along they were going to lose” be cause football fans are demanding and fickle lovers.

Whichever way you look at it, though, football is Spain’s national sport in a way that bullfighting rarely was and never will be again.

That doesn’t mean that every Span ish man is or was football crazy, but although my husband can take foot ball or leave it, he still remembers that two Real Madrid players, Jose Santamaria and Hector Rial, lived just round the corner from them in the La Properidad district in the early 1960s.

Fabulously rich Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid players now live in exclusive urbanisations on the out skirts of the city, the same way that fabulously rich Manchester United and Manchester City stars generally live in Cheshire mansions.

In contrast, Santamaria and Rial lived in unremarkable apartments, al though they earned a great deal more than a labourer like my late father in law.

Some Madrid districts had devel oped on rather eccentric lines, so it was not unheard of for a working class family like the one I married into to live in a modest house next door to the modestly opulent residence of a Borbon duke.

And in those undemocratic times, it was considered quite normal for said duke’s grandchildren to play in the street with my future husband and his hordes of brothers and sisters.

That was when they were pre ado lescent, of course.

Once they began to grow up, class reared its head and off they went to school, never to be seen or socialised with again.

Ironic to think that if Santamaria and Rial were around now they would be earning salaries that resem bled telephone numbers. They would also be members of the new aristoc racy, giving much more tone to a neighbourhood than any number of Borbon dukes.

Awe-inspiring

SALLY UNDERWOOD POLITICAL ANIMAL

THE first time I ever visited the Houses of Parliament I was going to see my dad in court in the House of Lords (back when it was England and Wales’s highest court and before the Supreme Court we have now).

I bought a pack of colouring pencils with teeny portcullises on before immedi ately leaving them in the chamber, caus ing a minor bomb scare.

There were men in long wigs (“daddy, why’s that man dressed as a spaniel?”), the place seemed mystical and ancient, and everything just felt as if I was part of something… well, big. The half day off school didn’t hurt either.

In short, I fell in love with parliament that day.

Fast forward 14 years and I was once again in the same building for my very first job interview for a researcher posi tion, starting a career that lasted several years.

In that time I can genuinely say that

however long the hours, however diffi cult the boss or however weird the work (and some of it was pretty weird), I never had a bad day in that extraordinary build ing.

From the very spot where the trial of Charles I took place (one for republicans) to the robing room where every monarch since Queen Victoria has donned the crown we see at the state opening of par liament, every corner of the Houses of Parliament is steeped in awe inspiring history. They also serve some of the best sausage sandwiches around (in one of their approximately 57,000 cafes).

Yes, parliament really is one of the most remarkable buildings in the world.

And better still, it’s all ours.

House of Commons debates are open to members of the public for free and you don’t even need tickets for most of them in advance. You can also book tours.

If you still have UK voting rights and write to your MP, they may even invite you for tea on the terrace.

So whenever you’re next in the UK, please go. You’re unlikely to regret it.

Oh and if you do visit, enjoy a sausage sandwich for me.

Sally’sopinionsareherownandarenotnecessarilyrepresentativeofthoseofthepublishers,advertisersorsponsors.

LETTERS

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.

FOUL PLAY

I WAS stopped on the week end by the police for walking my dog along the beach. They said that they could see that I was a responsible dog owner as I had my bottle filled with water and washing up liquid and poo bags so I was sent on my way without any penalty. I do not have a problem with this and applaud them, it is just a shame that there aren’t more areas along the beach which are dog friendly.

David, Costa Blanca

Another con

I’M a long time reader and lover of your column and have emailed you in the past. Might I suggest a commen tary about the fraud that is the man made global warm ing con? Please see https://cli matediscussionnexus.com / for some down to earth facts. Either way, keep up the great work!!

Your fan

Not a supporter

SO Lee is not a supporter of the Conservative party but would support any others apart from Labour. I find this very strange that anyone who is not a supporter of a Tory government chooses to attack week after week the only credible opposition and not the party he purports not to support who are in government, and has never once condemned them.

try is drowning in, these anti Labour rants should be aimed in a different direc tion.

Ramon Osborne, Los Alcázares

Freedom of speech

Kite

His obsession of hate for the left is currently very much in the minority as Labour are miles ahead in the polls. His latest pathetic comment that their new idea of scrapping the House of Lords is a bumbling effort to gain popularity shows how completely out of touch he is as Labour promised this proposal 12 years ago if they ever got back into govern ment. Perhaps as he says the swamp of despair the coun

FULL marks to your newspa per for giving Leapy Lee the freedom to express opinions with which, I believe, most open minded people would agree. It takes courage these days of woke to tell it as it is when, according to the so called rules of today, you should avoid upsetting any one at all costs! Reading the bleeding heart criticism from some of your respondents, I truly wonder which fairy tale planet they presently occupy! Please keep telling it as it re ally is, and is likely to be come, Leapy.

Ken, San Fulgencio

Max

DOG FRIENDLY: It’s just a shame there are not more dog friendly beaches.

Here to help

THE British Benevolent Fund tries to help British nationals in Spain who have found themselves in very difficult financial sit uations.

Often this is compound ed by difficulties with a challenging social security and health system.

One such case was John.

John lives in rural Spain. He moved there af ter his wife died and en joyed the tranquillity.

He quickly settled in, made friends, learned the language and found part time work.

He also registered as an official resident and had a modest income freelanc ing.

On a routine medical check up, they discovered a suspected tumour and needed to do more tests.

As a legal resident he was covered, but he had n’t reckoned with the bu reaucracy and the long

waiting list.

The doc tors ad vised surgery to re move a malignant tumour close to his spine.

Within weeks the dam age caused to the spine left him with debilitating back pain and mobility is sues. He was soon finding it very difficult to walk.

As an official Spanish resident, he was entitled to healthcare and disabili ty payments.

However, he had to wait nearly six months for the surgery and was un able to work.

His savings were soon depleted.

Local social services contacted the local British Consulate who referred the case to us.

The BBF was able to pay for mobility and a

modest sum to cover liv ing and travel expenses to and from the hospital.

The surgery was a suc cess and John was able to receive disability pay ments.

He wrote to us after ward to say he was back to living a full life and to thank us.

“Thank you from the bottom of my heart for the help you have offered me. After having fallen ill with cancer I was in a very dark place. I now have help from social se curity after a long wait. The BBF lifted a heavy weight.”

John is now working again and, in every sense back on his feet.

Riding high

CASSANDRA NASH

PEDRO SANCHEZ, president of the Spanish government, is riding high on the crest of a wave that has swept him to reassuringly shal low waters and the safe shores of a voted through 2023 Budget.

Sanchez has now heaved and strained to pass three Budgets on the trot since June 2018 when he first entered the Moncloa palace following a vote of no confidence in his beleaguered Partido Popular predecessor, Mariano Rajoy.

Budget approval came at a price, as always happens with political arm twisting, and re quired the support of MPs from 11 different parties.

This gave the PP leader Alberto Nuñez Fei joo, the opportunity of dragging up Basque party Bildu’s past as the political arm of the now extinct, disbanded and decommis sioned ETA terrorist group.

As for the Catalans, the government con cessions were just a few steps short granting them independence, according to the oppo sition, with extreme right wing Vox galloping at their head.

Feijoo, the former, and very successful,

president of the Junta de Galicia, accused Sanchez of giving in to separatist demands. If he had said “nationalist” he would have been nearer the truth, and he was also choosing to forget that those MPs’ 11 parties represented 12 million voters.

And they will come in handy after Sanchez goes to the country in December 2023.

(In)Trans(igent) Law

EQUALITY minister Irene Montero is not having much luck with her hobby horse laws.

First the Sexual Liberty law has retroac tively reduced the sentences of sexual abusers and now the PSOE socialists are re fusing to back her Trans Law unless there are legal safeguards for under 16s who want to transition.

Montero, who represents Podemos in the Unidas Podemos alliance that governs Spain, the PSOE, refuses to budge.

In fact, with an average fortnight’s wait for a primary care appointment in some re gions, many of those gender questioning teenagers will probably be in their 20s and could have changed their minds by the time they actually manage to see a consultant.

DINNER PARTIES FROM HELL

NORAJOHNSON BREAKINGVIEWS

‘VLEATHER, we’re told, is still one of the hottest trends. In other words, ve gan clothes made of oil industry plas tics, with PVC the world’s third most wide ly produced synthetic plastic polymer. Great! That’ll help the climate and the oceans. The irony! No animal died making these clothes, but many will when the clothes are discarded. Plastic particles are killing animals that are choking on the stuff.

Virtue signalling clothes made by people jetting across the world, made in sweat shops by children, like most of the fashion industry prod ucts. And inevitably, VLeather’s found its way into all the major fast fashion stores. Plastic

shoes? Just call them vegan and they’ll be fashionable! Just don’t ask about the Greta Footprint...

But let’s get to the meat (sorry, couldn’t resist) of the issue. The prob lem with veganism (and vegetarianism) is that it seems to turn what sim ply amounts to a food choice into, basically, a religion. One which appar ently requires its adher ents to try to make con verts of the rest of us in a humour free, hector ing fashion with about as much warmth and brio as a dinner party jointly hosted by (poli tics aside) Nicola Stur geon, Keir Starmer and Theresa May.

Nora Johnson’s 11 critically acclaimed psy chological crime thrillers (www.nora johnson.net) all avail able online including eBooks (€0.99; £0.99), Apple Books, audio books, paperbacks at Amazon etc. Profits to Cudeca cancer charity.

NoraJohnson’sopinionsareherownandarenotnecessarilyrepresentativeofthoseofthepublishers,advertisersorsponsors.

Noraistheauthorofpopularpsychological suspenseandcrimethrillersandafreelancejournalist.

Nora’s latest thriller.

Olaf Clayton of BBF.

HomeEspaña celebrate 20th anniversary

THERE is no doubt that perseverance and en trepreneurial vision are foundational factors when establishing the main pillars of a suc cessful business. This is definitely the case with HomeEspaña a reputable real estate agency that emerged in Orihuela Costa, where the company has just celebrated its 20th anniversary.

The anniversary celebration was the per fect opportunity to bring together all its em ployees and review the trajectory of a real es tate company that keeps growing along with the European demand for property in the Costa Blanca, Valencia and Murcia. The cele bration was attended by more than 60 guests, including the company’s founder, Kieran Byrne.

HomeEspaña was founded in 2002 by Irish brothers Kieran and Noel Byrne, who both came from a background in financial services and media. They both shared a vision of im proving customer service and modernising the Spanish property market. As a result, HomeEspaña has been providing professional real estate services and advice to its national and international clients for the past 20 years,

with a company policy based on transparen cy, integrity and great customer service.

HomeEspaña has offices based in the Costa Blanca: La Zenia, Los Dolses, Benidoleig and Denia and in Valencia, consolidating its posi tion as a reference in the sector. With a wide range and diversity of properties, Home España has sold more than 5,000 properties

to thousands of clients and receives more than 150,000 monthly visitors to their web site.

The economic changes and the pandemic have had a significant impact on the real es tate market. However, one of Kieran’s many strengths is knowing how to keep calm, keep clients informed and put a plan in place to be

able to protect jobs and livelihoods, and help clients get back to their dream of owning a home in Spain. The company’s philosophy has been one of the main reasons for Home España’s success. So this celebration was not only for the company’s 20th anniversary, but also to maintain and strengthen the relation ships within the company. HomeEspaña has always had a friendly and enjoyable working environment, with an energetic, positive and optimistic team. Kieran continuously strives to keep his team happy and long lasting.

Indeed, HomeEspaña’s ethos is charac terised not only by maintaining the total con fidence of all customers by providing excel lent service, but also by giving back to the community by collaborating with various charities. HomeEspaña believes this is a pow erful way to invest in the people and places that make up our daily lives.

Joining HomeEspaña at the celebration were its sister company HomeFinance Spain, the Spanish financial services specialist and a specialist mortgage broker, Hipoteken, which helps national and international clients buy property throughout Spain.

More than 60 guests attended the event.

Betty

Henderson

CATS are independent, and less demanding and easier to care for, but they can be cold towards peo ple. Dogs are intelligent, affectionate and playful, but they require a lot of attention and time.

Ever wondered how people around the world choose between the popu lar pets? A new study has revealed the popularity of cats and dogs as pets in each European country, and had some fascinating results.

Cat loving countries:

Cats are more popular in more European countries than dogs, with 27 coun tries choosing cats as their favourite pet. Top Euro pean countries for cats in

clude Italy, Portugal, Ger many, Switzerland, Scan dinavian countries, Switzerland, Greece and, Romania.

Dog loving countries: Dogs were the pet of choice in 11 European countries including Spain, the UK, Ireland, France, Croatia, Serbia, Albania, and the Czech Republic.

So, it looks like cats have the popularity vote in Eu rope. Reasons for the re sults include factors such as people living in apart ments without space to exercise a dog, or working long hours, making cats smarter choices for a pet.

Global data similarly re vealed that cats were more popular pets than dogs in 91 countries, with dogs more popular pets in 76 countries. But trends are changing all the time and the debate over which pet is our favourite is far from over!

Taking good care of their eyes

IT is important not to neglect the eye health of dogs and cats as it can lead to a serious loss of their visual ability.

Owners must be vigilant and recog nise the symptoms of impaired eye health. These are the most common symptoms: Redness of the eyes.

Eye discharge Swelling eyelids. Cloudy appear ance of the eye Signs of pain: eyes closed, scratching the face

Recognise

Signs of anxiety or hesitation when in new places Your dog stumbles with objects and suddenly does not want to go up or down stairs or jump on furniture, which he nor mally did.

It is important to visit the vet regularly and especially if you observe any of these signs.

Preening our pets

THE winter brings particular challenges for pet owners thanks to wet weather and muddy puddles. Keeping your pet clean and well groomed is crucial to its overall well being and happiness. Follow these tips from pet lovers to keep your pet having fun while keeping it clean and healthy.

1. Bath your pet

A bath can help your pet to feel refreshed, just as we do after taking a bath or shower. Not all breeds love bathing but it is still important for your pet’s hygiene and to prevent parasites like ticks going un noticed.

Regular baths can keep your pet’s fur from getting matted and can help you to catch shedding hair, as well as helping you to keep your home clean!

2. Tend to paws

Paws are particularly sensi tive to cold weather, wet sur faces, and fallen leaves. Tend ing to your pet’s paws with a cloth and some warm water can help you to catch dried or cracked skin, which could end up being painful for your pet if left untreated.

3.

Brush their fur

As well as giving your pet regular baths, brushing their fur is a quick and easy way to keep your pet feeling fresh and clean. A quick daily brush of the fur can keep it looking glossy.

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ROAD TEST

byMarkSlack

AS marques go, few can match Sir William Lyon’s Jaguar, especially when you consider he began building sidecars in Blackpool. In its mod ern incarnation Jaguar is now one of the companies that’s leading the charge to electrification. Their range already encom passes pure electric, plug in hybrid and mild hybrid models, including a mild hybrid diesel power unit.

The lead in XF is the R Dynamic S which is priced from €40,909/£35,100 with a 2.0 litre, four cylin der, mild hybrid diesel power unit. Even in this entry level model Jaguar don’t stint on the standard equipment with adaptive cruise control, front and rear parking and rear cam era, LED lights, auto lights and wipers, auto dimming

Refined with a sporting stance

an eight speed

automatic

I’m a fan of more tradi tional, lighter and arguably more British interior style rather than the dark hues of many modern cars.

Facts at a Glance

• Model: Jaguar XF R-Dynamic S

• Engine: 2.0-litre, turbocharged diesel with mild hybrid assistance developing 204PS Gears: 8-speed automatic

• Price: €40,909/£35,100

• Performance: 0-100 kph (60 mph) 7.1 seconds/Maxi mum Speed 235 kph (146 mph)

• Economy: 4.99l/100km (56.6 mpg) combined driving –WLTP

JAGUAR XF:

This car is a delight and still retains a special feel that some German marques lack.

rear view mirror, powered front seats, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, heated and powered door mirrors and more. Of course consult the options list to say it’s big is some what of an understate ment and the price can escalate dramatically.

Although only a 2.0 litre,

four cylinder mild hybrid diesel propels the XF past the benchmark 60 mph in 7.1 seconds and returns very decent fuel economy. The XF can also be speci fied with all wheel drive rather than the standard rear wheel drive along with a range of petrol en gines. All the XF range has

Much to their credit Jaguar offer a range of both light and dark interiors at no extra cost.

I criticised the original XE and XF for what I saw as a drop in quality. That has certainly been recti fied and the XF feels like it is back where it belongs on that side of the quality equation. There’s also a lesson for digitisation ob sessives in car design, it doesn’t have to be compli

• Emissions: 131 g/km – WLTP Model tested was UK-specification and equipment lev els and prices may vary in other markets.

cated and can be intuitive, as the XF demonstrates perfectly.

On the road the XF doesn’t disappoint and despite a mere four cylin ders retains a commend ably refined air. With ride options ranging from sport to waft mode it’s a delight and still retains a special feel that some

German marques lack..

On the debit side the XF isn’t that spacious consid ering its size. There are al so still traces of cheaper plastics that should never be allowed inside a Jaguar! Overall though this is a car that acquits itself with considerable aplomb and which can happily park on my drive anytime.

Hello hybrid

THE hybrid car market in Europe is bigger than ev er before, with more and more people thinking about switching to elec tric power without the high costs of a fully elec tric vehicle. As more in frastructure goes in across Spain to support the electric transition, hybrid cars are also get ting more affordable.

Here we share the three most cost effective hybrids in Spain right now. These three cars all made the category B for sustainability in Spain.

• Renault Clio E Tech

Similarly at the top of the list for affordability is the Clio E Tech, Re nault’s answer for a compact hybrid car. With two separate elec tric motors this car is al so particularly powerful. The car starts at the af

fordable €21,192, mak ing it slightly cheaper the others in this catego ry.

• Toyota Yaris

After becoming a pio neer in the market, Toy ota sits at the top of the list for affordability and efficiency with hybrid cars. The Toyota Yaris hybrid model starts at €21,350 in Spain, which

is one the cheapest on the market for a car of its kind.

• Honda Jazz

The most spacious hy brid making the list is the Honda Jazz. The car has a large fuel tank as well as lengthy electric capability. In Spain, the car starts at €21,950, lower than many compa rable models.

WINTER is coming, and that means some extra car care is in order! Although Spain doesn’t get as cold as many other countries, common winter issues in cluding low temperatures, frost, and heavy rainfall can take a toll on your car. Here we share some top tips from mechanics on how you can ensure your car runs without a hitch during the winter.

1. Consider parking solu tions

Moving your car to an indoor garage is a smart choice during the winter. Inside, your car won’t be exposed to the elements which can speed up the wearing down process of your car. If you can’t store your car indoors, consider a cover which can protect the windshield from frost and stop your engine flu ids from freezing, saving you time.

2. Prepare for frost In the coldest months of January and February, frost can appear in many regions in Spain. Be pre pared by stocking up on anti freeze and purchasing

Winter ready

a scraper so you can get going in no time!

3. Tyre care If you live in a moun tainous area or plan on travelling to a snowy or icy area, consider switching to

winter tyres, or ensuring that you have all seasons tyres ready to go. These tyres are better equipped for wintery weather, pro tecting you against acci dents.

Photo credit: Ground Picture / shutterstock.com

RENAULT CLIO: Their compact hybrid car.

Highest paid

CRISTIANO RONAL

DO is to sign for Saudi Arabian team Al Nassr in a deal worth a re ported €200 million per season making him the highest paid athlete in the world.

According to a sports newspaper, the Portuguese footballer has decided to leave European football for the Middle East and will join Al Nassr in the Saudi capital of Riyadh from January 1, 2023.

The 37 year old, from the Portuguese island of Madeira, is said to have agreed a two and a half season deal with the Saudi team currently sitting second in the Saudi Pro League.

Ronaldo, currently playing at the FIFA World Cup in Qatar, left his former club Manchester United just two days before the tournament, fol lowing a controversial interview with Piers Morgan in which he criticised both the way the club was run as well as Dutch manager Eric ten Hag.

It is also reported that the father of five’s contract at Al Nassr, with additional payments and adver tising revenue, will be worth around €200 million per season making him the high est paid athlete in the world.

The astronomical salary will dwarf both Lionel Messi and Ney mar’s seasonal wages at French club Paris St Germain, at €75 mil lion and €70 million re spectively.

He will play under French manager Rudi Garcia at Al Nassr, alongside Colombian goalkeeper David Os pina, Brazilian Luis Gus tavo and Cameroonian Vincent Aboubakar.

AFTER an impressive perfor mance against Senegal, Eng land set up a mouthwatering clash against current world champions France.

On Saturday, December 10 at 8pm, Gareth Southgate’s Eng land square up against a French side led by arguably the star of the World Cup so far, Kylian Mbappe.

With highly sought after mid fielder Jude Bellingham power ing the Three Lions with his lung busting displays and goals flowing freely among an im pressive attacking front line, the clash with France is a must see.

If England can beat the

French, their next match would be on Wednesday, December 14, where they will face either Spain, Morocco, Portugal or Switzerland.

On the other side of the draw, Argentina and Brazil are one match away from setting up a potential ‘clash of the ti tans’. However, Netherlands and Croatia will be looking to prevent this.

In fact, the Netherlands have been one of the surprises of the tournament and will be hoping to cause an upset against Mes si’s Argentina on Friday, De cember 9 at 8pm.

Prior to the Netherlands vs Argentina match, Brazil take on

a Croatia side fresh off of a dramatic penalty win over Japan.

Brazil strolled past South Korea and established them selves as the team to beat.

Croatia will aim to stop Neymar and co when the two sides meet on Friday, December 9 at 4pm.

A semi final between two of the aforemen tioned four teams will take place on Tuesday, December 13 at 8pm.

The Qatar World Cup final is scheduled for Sunday, December 18 at 4pm.

Will the lions roar Grand Prix cancelled

NEXT year’s Chinese Grand Prix has been can celled due to continuing strict Covid measures imposed in the country.

The Formula 1 race was due to return to the country’s most populous city of Shanghai in April next year for the first time since 2019, in the fourth round of a record 24 race season.

But Chinese President Xi Jinping’s continu ing zero Covid policy, which has seen the country in perpetual lockdowns since the be ginning of the pandemic, has caused F1 to de cide the race will no longer go ahead.

In a statement released on Friday Decem

Dire times

IT is alleged that warrants are being prepared by Ital ian prosecutors for the former Juventus president Andrea Agnelli and Tottenham Director of Football, Fabio Paratici.

Following the news earlier this week that the entire board of directors has resigned from Italy’s Serie A gi ants, Juventus, it was reported on Thursday, Decem ber 1 that arrest warrants are allegedly being pre pared for two of those involved.

Former club president Andrea Agnelli, and Fabio Paratici now Tottenham’s Managing Director of Football are believed to be on the verge of being in dicted by Italian prosecutors. The two are said to have been part of a total of 16 people who have been un der investigation by the authorities since November 2021.

Despite the fact that Agnelli, along with vice presi dent Pavel Nedved and the rest of the board quit the club on Monday, November 28, Juventus as an enter prise has reportedly been accused of market manipu lation and false accounting, according to an Italian news outlet.

Juventus are not the only club affected. Other Ital ian sides including Napoli, Parma, Empoli, Sampdoria, and Genoa, are also apparently under investigation.

ber 2, a spokesperson for Formula 1 said: “Formula 1 can confirm, following dialogue with the promoter and relevant authorities, that the 2023 Chinese Grand Prix will not take place due to the ongoing difficulties presented by the Covid 19 situation.

The cancellation of the Chinese Grand Prix, held at the Shanghai International Circuit, re duces next season’s schedule to 23 races still a record number for F1. Meanwhile, the up coming season will also see the debut of a race on the strip in Las Vegas, in the western state of Nevada in the United States.

Match-fixing

SPAIN’S National Police force launched the second phase of the ‘Coniferous’ operation at the end of November, which was origi nally launched to investigate allegations of match fixing in football leagues in Spain and Gibraltar to facilitate illegal betting.

The indictment of about 20 people is scheduled to be added to the 27 that were already being investigated by the Sanlucar de Barrameda’s No4 court in Cadiz Province. The individuals face charges of belonging to a criminal organisation and corruption among individuals in the sports field.

It is believed the network could have ma nipulated the results of more than 30 first, second and third division RFEF matches, as well as games in the Gibraltar National League. A total of €500,000 is estimated to have been profited.

The main focus was reportedly placed on active players who could have executed the fixes on the pitch. Various other individuals who sold their personal data to the leaders of the group so that they could open ac counts with no prior records in different bet ting operators were also placed under inves tigation.

ENGLAND: Play their next match against France.