Mallorca 20 – 26 April 2023 Issue 1972

Cracking down

LOOKING GOOD

WARM weather predictions mean that Mallorca has ev‐ery chance of capitalising on the European love for coastal holidays.

There are already signs that even though Brexit has discouraged some British travellers, the Brits are still going to return in force this

summer and no doubt the German holidaymakers will do the same.

There may be a hiccup if Air Europa pilots do decide to strike, but already Ryanair has announced that it plans to not only increase the number of aircraft oper‐ating out of Palma this sum‐

mer but will introduce nine new routes including Belfast.

Whilst the Balearic Gov‐ernment wants to see more control of stag and hen par‐ties (and please don’t just blame boozy Brits) there still seems to be a demand from young groups who

want to travel but equally expect a higher percentage of well‐off travellers want‐ing to take advantage of the more sophisticated and up market hotels and restau‐rants available.

Cruise ships are still arriv‐ing and whilst the passen‐gers may not stay for long,

they also can afford to spend money in Palma itself and the Boat Show which starts on April 27 will once again attract thousands of visitors from the mainland as well as across the world. It rather looks as if 2023 should be a good year for the Island.

PALMA Council is clamp ‐ing down on excess num ‐bers of tables and chairs set out by bars and restaurants in Plaza Sa Llonja and Plaza Dras ‐sanes.

The authorities have or‐dered the removal of 190 tables of the existing 440 from both squares after the establishment owners repeatedly refused to comply with limitations on the occupation of pub‐lic space, which has also triggered ongoing com ‐plaints by residents.

In Sa Llonja, the situa ‐tion had got so out of hand that in some cases the street furniture was pushed up against the historic building that gives the square its name.

Although the official limitation on tables and chairs set out in the mu ‐nicipal Plan Zonal was ap‐proved last year and came into force at the be‐ginning of 2023, it is only now that the dispute be ‐tween the authorities and business owners has real‐ly kicked off.

With the arrival of the tourism season, the spaces authorised for bar and restaurant terraces have been marked in yel ‐low paint, proving that many establishments were literally crossing over the line.

Shark alert!

BEACH‐GOERS at Cala Llombards in San‐tanyi had the shock of their lives on Sunday April 16 when a shark appeared on the shore.

The two ‐ metre ‐ long blue shark was visibly disorientated for several min ‐utes while witnesses rushed to take videos and photographs of the unex ‐

pected visitor, until it finally recovered its bearings and swam off into deeper waters.

It was the latest ‐ and largest ‐ of sev ‐eral sightings of blue sharks in Mallorca over the last few weeks, which are feared could cause concern among visi ‐tors with the arrival of summer.

Occupying public space.

Visitors will flock to Palma International Boat Show next week.

Solar panel application surge

NEARLY 600 households and companies in the Balearic Is‐lands have applied to con‐nect to solar energy supplies so far this year.

The Balearic Energy Insti‐tute (IBE) has received 572 applications for the cut‐price energy connections be ‐tween January and April, with towns such as Arta, Es‐porles and Algaida in Mal‐lorca breaking all expecta‐tions and announcing the creation of new public solar panel installations to deal with the surge in demand.

The vast majority of re ‐

quests, 548, were made by homeowners, with the re‐maining 24 relating to busi‐nesses.

Artaà registered 66 appli‐cations from homeowners

and five from companies to be connected to the existing installations at Pou de sa Lluna school and Es Cargol sports centre, with the IBE announcing the construc ‐

tion of new solar panel in‐stallations at the car park on the Avenida Costa and Colò‐nia de Sant Pere sports cen‐tre.

In Algaida 44 applications were received for the facili‐ties at the municipal Sala Po‐livalente with the town hall suggesting four new sites for solar panels, and in Esporles 45 requests from house ‐holds were processed to join up to the Centre de Forma‐ció solar panel park, with the IBE currently drawing up plans to create a new one at Gabriel Comas school.

Welcoming

MALLORCA is hosting the Spain Tourism Summit 2023 this week to boost visitors from the US and Canada.

Airport access chaos

ACCESS problems contin ‐ue at the Arrivals termi ‐nal of Palma airport.

Large numbers of drivers continue to clog up the access road every day to avoid paying for the car park, which led airport managing body Aena to install barriers to stop vehicles parking on the outside lane. However, the move has not solved the issue as drivers now leave their cars on the inside lane or

the hard shoulder.

The situation has wors ‐ened over the last few weeks with the arrival of the tourist season and is causing complaints among travellers and the authorities responsible, Aena and Palma Town Hall, who are passing the blame on to each other.

According to Aena, they do not have the authority to fine drivers for parking incorrectly and the re ‐sponsibility falls to the

Local Police.

Meanwhile, Palma Council insists that it is Aena’s job to regulate the airport car park with the private security firm they employ.

In addition, the town hall claims that the air ‐port management body has a direct contact to re‐quest the presence of the Local Police during emer ‐gencies, which it has re ‐portedly not done recent‐ly.

Organised by the Spanish Tourism Institute (Turespaña) in collaboration with the Mal‐lorca Island Council and the Balearic Islands Tourism Strat‐egy Agency (AETIB), the event began on Tuesday April 18 and ends today Thursday April 20.

Up to 75 travel agents and tour operators from North America and Canada landed on the island to meet with their counterparts in the Span‐ish tourism sector.

The participants were select‐ed by the Turespaña delega‐tions in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Miami and Toronto. Mallorca Turisme, the tourism department of the Is‐land Council, has taken part in the various workshops and presentations held over the three days and also organised outings for the 75 international participants to discover the is‐land’s most unique spots.

Food price hike continues

FOOD prices in Mallorca continue to rise despite the IVA tax reduction en‐forced by the Spanish government at the end of last year.

Consumers’ union Facua has anal‐ysed the evolution in nearly 1,000 prices of products in eight large super‐market chains this month and has found that four in every 10 ‐ 42 per cent ‐ are now more expensive than before the reduction.

According to Facua, this shows that the measure is insufficient to curb in‐flation as in March the price increase affected one in every three products and in February it was only one in ev‐ery five.

As a result, the consumers’ union has announced plans to extend the of‐ficial complaints lodged with the Na‐tional Markets and Competition Com‐mission against the eight supermarket

chains in question over the first three months of the year ‐ neither of which have yet been answered.

Facua points out that the price hike goes against the regulations set out in the government’s Royal Decree, which reads that “the tax reduction must entirely benefit the consumer and therefore must not be used to in‐crease the profit margin for the com‐pany.”

PALMA AIRPORT: Drivers continue to clog up the access road.

Solar panels at car parks are becoming increasingly common.

Image by Seo Byeong Gon/Shutterstock

Image by Markus Mainka/Shutterstock

Airport fire

THE arrivals area at Palma airport had to be evacuated on Tuesday when a fire broke out in the engine of one of the moving walkways and filled the room with smoke.

Surgery delays

TRANS women in Mallorca are complaining they have not been able to undergo sex change surgery since last August. The holdup is due to the expiry of an agreement between the Balearic Islands Health Service and Barna‐clínic, a private entity in charge of the operations.

Air quality lab

A MOBILE laboratory has been set up in Manacor’s Avinguda del Tren to mea‐sure air quality. The spot was chosen due to being a busy part of the town centre and the data obtained over three months will be used to take any necessary measures.

Rubbish idea

RESIDENTS in Palma’s Calle Jeroni Rosselló who were af‐fected by the burning of rub‐bish containers in the early hours of last Sunday have announced plans to file an official complaint against the council if the town hall de‐cides to install the new bins in the same place again.

Lights, camera..

MALLORCA photographer and filmmaker Pep Bonet goes from strength to strength as Netflix has an‐nounced the purchase of the rights for his short documen‐tary entitled Into the shad‐ows, showing the problems faced by Zimbabwean immi‐grants in Johannesburg.

More flights

RYANAIR has announced nine new flights to Palma this summer: Aarhus (Den‐mark), Belfast, Rome‐Fiu‐micino (Italy), Klagenfurt (Austria), Paderborn (Ger‐many), Warsaw (Poland) and Marrakech, Fez and Nador (Morocco).

Happy Earth Day

AS we celebrate Earth Day 2023 on Saturday, April 22, we are reminded of the impor‐tance of our collective respon‐sibility in safeguarding our planet.

Earth Day is a global event celebrated annually by more than one billion people to raise awareness about environmen‐tal issues and encourage action to protect the planet. The pur‐pose of Earth Day is simple: to promote a greener, more sus‐tainable future for the planet we call home.

This year, we rally behind the theme of ‘Invest in Our Planet’, which reminds us of the impor‐

MANACOR is celebrating ‘Book Week’ un‐til Wednesday April 26.

Organised by the town hall, the event is aimed at promoting reading among resi‐dents of all ages with a series of work‐shops, book presentations, story‐telling sessions, concerts and much more.

The highlight this week is Saint George’s Day on Sunday April 23, known as Sant Jordi and Book Day in Mallorca and Catalo‐

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tance of dedicating our time, re‐sources, and energy to solving the climate crisis.

The EWN suggest four ways you can make a difference:

1. Plant a tree.

2. Reduce your plastic con‐sumption. Try the plastic calcu‐lator at: www.earthday.org

3. Plan your own event. Organise a community cleanup, march,or workshop using the Earth Day 2023 Action Toolkit and register your event on the official Earth Day Map.

4. Donate. Support envi‐ronmental campaigns.

Happy Earth Day to all our readers!

Manacor celebrates Book Week

nia, a regional variant of Saint Valentine’s Day when lovers buy each other a book and a red rose.

In Manacor, activities on Sunday take place in and around the Claustre, with an all‐day book fair, children’s games in the Plaça del Convent from 10am to 2pm, the Ennigulart workshop, an open‐air itinerant

Needle spiking ‘false’

ALL the reports about ‘needle spiking’ in discos and parties in the Balearic Islands last year were false.

More than 20 instances of alleged use of needles to inject substances into women in order to take advantage of them have been investigated by the Guardia Civil and Local Police since last summer.

The news triggered a nationwide scare, as a flood of cases were also reported in other parts of Spain.

However, this week the Balearic police, judicial and Legal Medicine Institute departments in charge of the investigations have concluded that every single report was fake.

Furthermore, they believe their results can be extrapolated to the rest of the country, meaning the scare that swept nightlife hotspots throughout Spain last summer was unfounded.

“Personally, this is the worst method of chemical submission I’ve heard of, as the victim would notice the jab and, as the in‐jections would be intramuscular, the effects would not be im‐mediate,” declared a forensic expert for Palma’s Legal Medicine Institute.

STORIES IN THIS WEEK’S EDITION

Going electric

PALMA’s first electric mu‐nicipal bus is now in service.

The zero emissions, 12‐metre‐long vehicle began covering the L29, L40 and L39 lines on Monday and will cover different routes over the next few days.

show entitled ‘A la fresca’, a story‐telling marathon for children of different ages at several points in the town at 5pm and 6pm, and finally a concert by Manacor String Orchestra at the Claustre at 8pm. But this is all just a taste of everything going on in the next few days, visit Mana cor.org and search ‘La setmana del Llibre’.

Shopping discounts

THE Palma Activa shop ‐ping discount campaign has started up again after it was interrupted by problems with the IT sys ‐tem at the end of March.

Palma Town Hall has announced that the cam ‐paign picked up at the same point it left off, so shoppers are advised to check the website to see which businesses still have coupons left for the first batch of discounts, of which 20 per cent have al‐ready been used.

Shoppers can now claim nine vouchers ‐ with a maximum of three to be used at any one establish‐ment ‐ offering discounts of €10 for every €16 spent.

A maximum of €30 can be discounted from €48 spent at each business participating in the cam ‐paign. Shoppers are re ‐

minded that the offer is available to anyone aged over 16 in possession of a NIE/TIE identity card.

A record 400 local shops and businesses are taking part in the scheme this year.

For further information visit palmaactiva.com.

It was bought with funds from the EU’s Next Genera‐tion plan and is the first of 12 all‐electric buses to join the Palma fleet.

The newly designed ve‐hicles award greater visibili‐ty for drivers and more comfort for passengers, with larger windows that let in more natural light and thus help consume less en‐ergy on artificial lighting.

Each bus has three 430‐kilowatt batteries with an autonomy of up to 18 hours, which will greatly re‐duce carbon dioxide emis‐sions on the island.

They are part of a gener‐al overhaul of the EMT public transport system that will provide 30 per cent more capacity.

NIGHTLIFE: Reports swept throughout Spain last summer.

Image by Dwphotos/Shutterstock

Millions of people take environmental action on Earth Day.

Chicken farm investigated

THE Balearic Islands gov ‐ernment is investigating a poultry farm in Llucmajor following ongoing com ‐plaints about terrible smells and atmospheric pollution.

Residents near the farm have staged several protests about the bad smells and emissions since the problem started in 2019.

Finally, a group of 9,000 affected residents filed an official complaint with the regional authorities, trig ‐gering an investigation by

PROVERB

the Govern.

The first discovery is that the owners of the farm do not have the ‘inte‐grated environmental au‐thorisation’, an obligatory permit for installations with more than 40,000 chickens ‐ the farm in question nearly triples that number with an esti ‐mated 117,700 laying hens on the premises.

As a result, the regional Environment department has launched disciplinary proceedings against the farm owners, although the

final penalty is not yet known as it depends on the severity of the of ‐fence.

In addition, the facilities would also require other special permits given that their size and activity pose a risk of atmospheric pol ‐lution.

Residents complain that the problem with the smells gets worse with the arrival of the heat and that many are suffering severe physical effects such as breathing problems, mi ‐graines and vomiting.

To tip or not to tip

RESTAURANTS in Mallorca have begun suggesting the amount to be left as tips

Leaving everything in order

CANCER Support Mallor‐ca (CSM) have published a book to help patients leave everything ready for the loved ones they leave behind.

“For over two years now we have been putting together a book which could be used to leave a record of all the little things and big things that will help make it easier for those we leave behind,” said CSM Coordinator Rebec‐ca Upton.

on the bill.

Known as ‘American ‐style tipping’, the practice of requesting 10 or 15 per cent of the bill has long been an accepted practice also in the UK.

Spanish bars and restau‐rants had never done so until now, when the vast majority of payments ‐ up to 80 per cent ‐ are done by card or phone, which has led to a sharp drop in tips left by customers.

Traditionally, tips are left in cash, and although it is not uncommon for customers to voluntarily add the amount of the tip to their bill before paying electronically, many tend to forget. The issue is cur‐rently the matter of hot debate in Mallorca and the rest of the Balearic Is‐lands, with the predomi ‐nant opinion being that tips are voluntary and therefore businesses have no right to almost ‘de ‐mand’ the extra payment.

Speaking to a local news source, CAEB busi ‐ness federation president Alfonso Robledo insists that “a tip must always be optional,” before adding that “indicating it on the bill should be a decision for each business.”

“It includes sections such as who we want to be informed of our death, who we would like to be at our funeral or memorial service, log in information for our so‐cial media accounts, etc.”

My Last Wishes is available for free to all Cancer Support patients and available to every‐one for a small donation. Copies can be found at the CSM stalls when the group takes part in dif‐ferent events or can be requested directly by contacting CSM.

“We hope that this book can help everyone to leave their affairs in order, taking some of the pressure off those who have been left be‐hind.”

Cancer Support Group Mallorca can be found on Facebook.

47% of British holidaymakers use sun cream with a factor higher than 10.

TIPS DOWN: Most payments are now done by card.

Image by Jacob Lund/Shutterstock

OF THE WEEK

“Each peddler praises his own needles.”

This is a medieval Spanish saying and is used ironically when someone boasts about his own qualities.

Facing jail

TWO graffiti artists are facing two years in prison and a €5,400 fine each for painting several trains in Marratxi in February 2019.

The prosecution is also asking for the accused to pay the train company more than €1,600 in com‐pensation for the damage caused.

During the court case taking place in Palma this week, the jury heard that the two men, aged 30 and 31, jumped the barriers to get into Es Figueral station in Marratxi on February

22 and 23, 2019.

Once inside they al ‐legedly painted several trains belonging to the Mallorca Rail Services (SMF), with the act being caught by the CCTV cam‐eras at the station.

The Guardia Civil viewed the footage and carried out an investiga ‐tion to identify the cul ‐prits and charge them with damage to public property.

The SMF reported near‐ly 50 incidents of graffiti on trains and in stations that year.

DOG owners in Palma have created an associa ‐tion to denounce the ‘de‐plorable state’ of the local dog parks.

Under the name App ‐cans, the group has filed a complaint with Palma Town Hall about the gen ‐eral abandonment of the local facilities and de ‐manding improvements.

According to Appcans, despite recent improve ‐ments to sa Riera dog park, the way it was built makes it difficult to walk their pets there, and the drinking facilities need ur‐gent repairs to prevent stagnant water posing a threat to the animals.

They are calling for ‘reg‐ular and constant’ mainte‐

A dog’s dinner

Palma road revamp

PALMA City Council has launched several road revamp projects in differ‐ent areas.

nance of the parks, which reportedly attract hun ‐dreds of owners with their pets every day.

But Appcans also turns the spotlight on the own‐ers themselves, admitting that many still fail to clean up after their pets. The association therefore requests that the munici ‐

pal legislation in this re ‐gard should be updated and irresponsible owners should be monitored.

There are currently 90,000 dogs on the official register in Palma, and Ap‐pcans is inviting all own ‐ers to join the association to make their voices heard.

Edging towards salvation

REAL MALLORCA took a vital step towards securing their place in the First Division of La Liga at the weekend. The team beat Celta de Vigo away by 0‐1 thanks to a goal by Senegalese striker Am‐ath Ndiaye, which places Mallorca 10 points above the relega‐tion zone with nine games to go until the end of the season.

Javier Aguirre’s squad is currently in 11th place with 37 points, a comfortable distance away from Valencia CF with 27. However, the job is far from done, and last stretch of the sea‐son is guaranteed to keep fans on the edge of their seats.

Work began this week to improve drainage, re‐place paving, improve lighting and plant new trees in and around Calle Son Alemany in the Son Oliva area.

The roadworks are ex‐pected to take six weeks to complete and will also make the street more accessible, according to the council.

The municipal Infras‐tructure department has also carried out improve‐ment work at CEIP Son Oliva school, including fixing the drainage and planting new trees. Resurfacing work also began this week on sev‐eral streets in Son Peretó. The drinking wa‐ter and drainage systems have also been repaired and renovated.

DOG PARKS: Locals are calling for regular maintenance.

Image by Joy Brown/Shutterstock

Scooter accidents

THE 061 emergency helpline has published the latest figures for accidents involving electric scooters in the Balearic Islands. Over the last three years there have been more than 1,350 ac‐cidents involving personal mo‐bility vehicles on the islands that have claimed three lives.

Between 2019 and last year, Palma Local Police registered more than 820 accidents that left 556 people injured in the capital city alone ‐ the highest figure for all the islands. The re‐port also shows that one in ev‐ery three victims of scooter ac‐cidents sustained head injuries of varying severity, which high‐lights the importance of wear‐

Rental houses

THE Balearic Islands govern‐ment is negotiating the pur‐chase of 120 houses currently owned by the Spanish ‘bad bank’ to make them available for affordable renting.

over ownership of thousands of unfinished and unused housing developments throughout the country.

ing a crash helmet.

Furthermore, half of all scooter drivers who crashed were found to have been un‐der the influence of alcohol or drugs. By age groups, the ma‐jority of accident victims are within the 20‐50 bracket, ac‐counting for 69 per cent of the total last year. And the statis‐tics have been found to in‐crease steadily year by year.

The ‘bad bank’, officially known as the Sareb, was cre‐ated by the Spanish govern‐ment to absorb toxic debt as part of the executive’s efforts to find a way out of the na‐tional crisis of 2008, which was largely caused by the col‐lapse of the property market ‐and therefore included taking

The government has now announced plans to free up a large part of these properties in ‘stress zones’, ie areas where there is a severe lack of affordable housing to rent.

This has prompted the Balearic government to re‐quest the transfer of owner‐ship of 120 flats and apart‐ments on the islands ‐ but the Sareb this week replied that if

the Govern wants them, it will have to pay for them.

The Valencian regional gov‐ernment has already reached a similar agreement for the transfer of 500 properties to be put up for ‘social renting’.

Foreign tourism figures up

INTERNATIONAL tourism figures increased by more than 25 per cent in Mallorca in March compared to the same month last year.

Nearly 413,300 travellers from other coun‐tries landed in Son Sant Joan and other Balearic Island airports last month, according to figures published by Spanish Tourism Institute Tures‐paña. Over the first three months of the year, regional airports registered more than 772,400 international passengers ‐ 32.6 per cent more than in 2022.

Bank balances improving

With regards to Spain as a whole, more than 6.5 million foreign fliers landed last month, 30 per cent more than in 2022 and the second highest monthly figure since the year 2000.

Figures increased for all major countries of origin, with 55.6 per cent of the total coming from the EU and 44.4 per cent from other parts of the world. The UK accounted for the largest number of foreign visitors to Spain in March with 1.4 million travellers landing in Spanish air‐ports ‐ 33.3 per cent more than last year.

RESIDENTS and busi‐nesses in the Balearic Is‐lands are gradually re‐ducing their level of debt with banks while in‐creasing their savings.

According to figures published by the Banco de España, the region closed 2022 with credits pending payment to‐talling €33 billion, a 4.3 per cent drop compared to the previous year, and total savings up by 8.6 per cent and totalling €32.6 billion.

This savings amount is the highest ever regis‐tered for the fourth trimester of any year.

The gradual improve‐ment in general bank balances mirrors the trend registered for Spain as a whole, al‐though the process is taking place much faster in the Balearics.

Analysts suggest that possible reasons for this include the fact that em‐ployment and the econ‐omy of the Balearic Is‐lands are improving much faster than expect‐ed.

The figures also show that spending is still evolving upwards in the region, showing that un‐certainty regarding infla‐tion and the war in Ukraine are not affecting consumption.

However, some ex ‐perts suggest that what may be happening is that investors are more wary to take out loans and are preferring to in‐crease their savings just in case.

THE BAD BANK: Sareb headquarters in Madrid.

Figures have been rising.

Image by Andriy Bilous/Shutterstock

Image by Sareb.

THE British embassy in Spain has issued an appeal to search for the most wanted criminals in the UK, who are believed to be living in Spain.

The list includes seven crimi‐nals, who are believed to be liv‐ing in different parts of Spain.

This includes Asim Naveed, who has been accused of sup‐plying “Class A drugs”.

The second fugitive is named

UK’s MOST WANTED

Mark Francis Roberts, who has been accused of “grievous bod‐ily harm”.

The third fugitive is named John James Jones and is want‐ed for “grievous bodily harm” as well.

Calvin Parris from Cardiff is the fourth fugitive, wanted for “supplying Class A drugs”.

Callum Michael Alan is the fifth fugitive, who is accused of “trafficking in controlled drugs”.

CrimeStoppers stated that

Pensioner holidays

THE Imserso trips for pension‐ers will soon go on sale again in Spain, some with slightly higher prices but with more choices available than in previ‐ous seasons.

There are only a few months left until the application period

for the Imserso 2023/2024 trips opens.

Pensioners who opt for one of the 886,269 places on offer (70,000 more than this year) will be able to choose from a wider range of travel options than before.

Warning of drug shortages

THE Spanish Agency for Medicines and Health Prod‐ucts (AEMPS), which reports to the Ministry of Health, has reported supply prob‐lems with medicine used in the treatment of severe hy‐pertension. Specifically, it is the drug ‘Loniten 10 mg tablets, 30 tablets’, from the company Pfizer.

According to the AEMPS, this drug will have until at least July 1, a ‘controlled dis‐tribution’ through the Medicines in Special Situa‐tions Service due to the fact that there are ‘limited units’ currently available in phar‐macies throughout Spain. Loniten belongs to a group of medicines called

vasodilators. It is used for the treatment of very high blood pressure or severe hy‐pertension.

Although its active sub ‐stance is minoxidil, it is not indicated to promote scalp hair growth. Only the topical form of minoxidil is recom‐mended for this use.

Currently, the AEMPS lists on its website problems with the shortages of around 750 different medicines.

The AEMPS is the body re‐sponsible for taking the nec‐essary measures to ensure that, when such tensions in the supply chain occur, no patient’s treatment is inter‐rupted.

Prices range from €124 to visit the Spanish provincial capi‐tals for four days, to €436 to travel to the Canary Islands for 10 days.

These prices will be 7.5 per cent more expensive in order to maintain the quality of the programme.

The most expensive option for the mainland coastal areas of Andalucia, Catalonia, Murcia and Valencia, with transport in‐cluded, will be the 10 day stay (nine nights) for €290.06.

One per cent of trips are re‐served for people with eco‐nomic resources equal to or less than the amount of non‐contributory retirement or dis‐ability pensions from Social Se‐curity.

In these cases, the Imserso will assume 50 per cent of the cost of the place, while in all other cases, the Imserso con‐tributes 22.5 per cent and the users contribute the remaining 77.5 per cent.

Imserso has appointed sev‐eral travel agents to promote the holidays and to accept bookings.

he is wanted for “supply of co‐caine and possession with in‐tent to supply heroin”.

Jack Mayle is the sixth fugi‐tive and is wanted for “supply

of MDMA, Methyphenidate (a pharmaceutical drug) and di‐azepam”, as per CrimeStop‐pers.

Alex Male is the seventh fugi‐

tive, who is wanted for “supply of Class A drugs”.

CrimeStoppers states “any‐one with information about any of the men is urged to call anonymously on 0800 555 111, while callers in Spain should call the freephone number 900 926 111, which will be answered by CrimeStoppers in the UK.

Unmanned aircraft patrol

THE Mossos d’Esquadra is to deploy an unmanned aircraft to monitor marihuana plantations, train lines and other critical areas across Catalo‐nia.

The Mossos d’Esquadra will strengthen its Drone Unit with a new device, an unmanned, drone ‐ style, fixed‐wing aircraft.

This new aircraft will be used to pa‐trol critical areas such as the AVE train lines, the coastline, and also in water areas to prevent marihuana plantations, which are often connect‐ed to rivers and ponds, due to the need for constant irrigation.

According to a news source on

Thursday, April 13, this unit, made up of a dozen officers and pilots works throughout the territory of Catalonia, as it’s expected to further expand its operational capacity.

Officials have now started a process to issue tenders in order to purchase this fixed‐wing drone.

Police in Spain have decided to start using these drones due to short‐comings in the present multi ‐ rotor devices that they use.

Coastal patrols can also be planned to detect and anticipate dangerous situations such weather phenomena or potential waste spills at sea or on the banks of rivers.

Escape Rooms Magaluf: Can you break free?

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This premium real­life escape game experience can be played in private teams of two to eight people, making it the perfect activity for groups of friends, family, hen dos, stag dos, children’s birthday parties, and team­building exercises. Work together to complete your mission, using logic, hints, clues and communication to escape ­ or risk being locked in forever (only joking, but you will fail the room!)

The first escape room, Prison Break, will take you back to the year 1955, when you have been accused of a crime you didn’t commit and sentenced to life without parole. After your cellmate mysteriously disappears, you and your team must work together or risk suffering the same fate…

House of Mystery is centred around renowned magician Houdini, who has been

charged with fraud. You and your group are investigating the case, but you’ve been kidnapped and woken up in a mystery room that you

must escape by helping the police to find crucial evidence.

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Jacques opens with a bang

A NEW bar has opened at Pirates Theatre in Magaluf with an emotional tribute to one of the island’s bestknown characters.

‘Jacques’ is named after Jacques Sasson, the wellknown founder of the Pi ­

rates Adventure show. The show originated in Benidorm before Mr Sasson brought it to Mallorca.

Mr Sasson, who passed away in 2010, has been credited with the introduction of several innovations

in tourism in Spain including the ‘all inclusive’ concept.

The opening party for ‘Jaques’ included several performances from cast members for the 2023 season including fire dancing, neon body painting, fire breathing, acrobatics, live music, close up magic, and burlesque acts. The bar will be open to both ticket holders and non ­ ticket holders of the shows.

‘Pirates Reloaded’ opens on Friday April 21 with a new­look show for the new

year. “We have kept the high ­ energy show which we are known for, showcasing the amazing talents of our performers and adding to them. We are excited to bring a range of well ­ known DJs to the island to play in the months of May and June including names like Judge Jules and Woody Cook,” said show director Elizabeth Zeiba.

For more information visit piratesadventure.com and follow Pirates Adventure Show Mallorca on Facebook.

Hole in one for animal charity

SOS Animal Calvia is holding a Mini Golf tournament to raise funds for the charity.

The event will take place at Golf Fantasía (Palma Nova) on Saturday April 29 from 11am. Tickets are €15 for adults and €7 for children.

There are three trophies for adults and another three for children, plus a surprise present for the winner.

For more information and to book, contact Renée on 682 891 453 and visit SOS Animal Calvia on Facebook and sos­animal­mallorca­org

HOUSE OF MYSTERY: Centred around magician Houdini.

Legendary musician talks to Euro Weekly News

IT was some 60 years ago that a young Paul Jones hit the limelight as the singer for the hugely successful Manfred Mann group and he is still singing today.

Things have changed in one particular way for Paul and his wife of 38 years, singer and actress Fiona Hendley ‐ Jones and the pair, who are now committed Christians are travelling to Denia in Costa Blanca to entertain and share their Chris‐tian testimony.

Entitled Story and Song ‐ Hear how faith in God has changed our lives they will be appearing at 7pm on Saturday April 29 at the Evangelical Church Bautista de Denia, Calle Erminta de Santa Maria 13, Denia Montgo.

The event will see the couple perform‐ing a number of songs, some of which are from their album Personal and they will of course speak about how they came to Christianity and how it has guided their way of life.

Paul is not a regular visitor to Spain and was last over when the Manfreds (a band made up of some close friends and former band mates) performed a spectacular con‐cert at Benidorm Palace last year and he received a handwritten note from Brenda Muckley asking him about his faith.

It was after several exchanges that Paul and Fiona agreed to come over and not only entertain but promote their view of Christianity.

Many years ago, the then atheist Paul, who formed the Blues Band (which re ‐leased some 20 albums) and also became an actor, songwriter and BBC DJ ap ‐peared on a TV discussion show with Cliff

Richard who was encouraging people to welcome evangelist Billy Graham to the UK.

In his own words Paul explained “Look‐ing back I was quite unkind to Cliff about his religious beliefs and I wasn’t a fan of his music but he was very generous and never turned his back on me.”

Several years later, Paul received a call

from Cliff asking him and Fiona to attend a presentation at the White City Stadium in London being hosted by Argentine evangelist Luis Palau with the promise of a good meal afterwards if they attended. Attend they did and during the event “we both shed tears of joy at the positivi‐ty of the entire evening and it was then that we both gave our lives to Jesus!”

Now 81, Paul who now admits to being a fan of Sir Cliff, doesn’t believe that age should ever be a barrier and said “I in ‐tend to live to at least 120.”

His first musical love, the Blues, attract‐ed many young musicians in the 60s be‐cause it came from a poor working class African American centre and many saw the Blues as a major artistic achievement. Whilst not accepting for a moment that Robert Johnson sold his soul to the devil in order to become a great guitar player, he now recognises that there can be a darker side to some parts of the music which should not be ignored.

Whatever happens, Paul still relishes being a musician and recently played with the Manfreds on a Caribbean Cruise and continues to sing and play his har ‐monica with the band as regularly as pos‐sible.

Paul and Fiona will visit Denia.

Credit: Paul Jones

Back to his roots

Betty Henderson

THE President of the United States arrived in Dublin on Wednesday, April 12, but it’s his visit to his ancestral roots that stole the headlines.

Joe Biden, a proud Irish‐American, returned to the land of his forefathers, and the Irish rolled out the green car‐pet for him. Crowds lined the streets of Carlingford in Coun‐ty Louth, where Biden’s great‐great‐grandfather Owen Finnegan once lived, to catch a glimpse of the presidential

motorcade. Heavy rain could‐n’t dampen the enthusiasm of the locals, who welcomed their long‐lost relative with

open arms. Biden also met with distant relatives in the Cooley Peninsula, where he visited ancestors’ graves.

But it wasn’t just a personal visit. Biden met with political leaders in Northern Ireland be‐fore crossing the border and called for the restoration of the power‐sharing govern‐ment at Stormont.

And he made time for a joke too, telling embassy staff he couldn’t qualify to be a cop, firefighter, or priest, so “here I am.”

Private jet from Portugal

A LUCKY air passenger was left in astonish‐ment when he realised he was the only pas‐senger on board a scheduled Jet2 flight.

As reported in a news outlet, Paul Wilkin‐son, 65, from St Annes, Lancashire arrived at Faro airport in Portugal on March 30, only to be informed that he was the only passen‐ger. Hailed as a ‘king’ by Jet2 staff, Paul was literally treated to a luxury private jet experi‐ence.

On arriving at the airport, Paul’s initial re‐action was panic when he got to the depar‐

ture gate with no queue in sight. Asked if the flight had been delayed or cancelled, air‐port staff told him that he was their VIP guest.

He said "The service was second to none. They did a one‐on‐one safety demonstra‐tion; we took photographs, and the captain came out and spoke to me.

Paul paid £130 for the three‐hour flight, and had three cabin crew at his 'beck and call'. He added, "It was like being on my own private jet.”

President Biden thanked Taoiseach Leo Varadkar for the welcome.

Photo credit: President Joe Biden (via Facebook)

Lower prices

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PRESS EUROPEAN

DENMARK

Staying home

FINLAND

Name-calling

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QUEEN MARGRETHE of Denmark, 82, who recently underwent major back surgery, will not attend her grandson’s Confirmation in Paris next month. She will also miss the coronation of her distant relative King Charles III on May 6, but will be represented by Crown Prince Frederik and Princess Mary.

THE NETHERLANDS

Their choice

ACCORDING to Statistics Netherlands, (CBS) 8,720 requests for euthanasia were approved last year, revealing that 5 per cent of recorded deaths were the result of legally assisted dying 2022. Euthanasia in the Netherlands is allowed only when requested by the patient, not their family or friends.

BELGIUM

Flying high

FIVE US paratroopers were stuck in a tree during a training exercise at the Hechtel-Eksel military base in Limburg province. Two were soon freed using a ladder lorry, but three others who were too high up in the tree had to wait for firefighters using specialist treeclimbing equipment.

GERMANY

Shut down

GERMANY has abandoned nuclear power, taking the last three plants off its national grid after the government decided not to keep them operative. Two thirds of the population opposed the shutdown and advocates of nuclear technology argued that abandoning it was “premature.”

FRANCE

On watch

A 2013-2017 survey by France’s public health service found that two-year-olds spent 56 minutes a day in front of a screen, increasing to 80 minutes by the time they were threeand-a-half. The survey also found that 13.7 per cent of parents admitted ignoring recommendations restricting screen time.

NORWAY On their way

MORE than 30 Norwegian billionaires and multimillionaires left Norway in 2022 after the wealth tax rose by 1.1 per cent, the Dagens Naeringsliv newspaper reported. This was more than the total number of super-rich people who left Norway during the previous 13 years, the newspaper said.

AS in 2021, Olivia and Leo were the first names most often chosen for the country’s Finnish-speaking children in 2022. “There has been little variation in names in recent years, and traditional names continue to be the most popular,” Finland’s Digital and Population Data Services Agency said.

IRELAND Bard on display

THE only copy in Ireland of the first edition of William Shakespeare’s collected plays has been put on public display, 400 years after it was published, at Trinity College Dublin. The exhibition can be visited in the Long Room of the Old Library at the college until June.

ITALY Deadly attack

A BEAR that killed 26-year-old Andrea Papi earlier this month while jogging in woods close to his home in Caldes in northern Italy, has been identified as a 17-year-old female that had previously attacked two people. Papi was the first person to die in a bear attack in modern times.

PORTUGAL

Money spinners

A TOTAL of 59,470 Portuguese families declared incomes of more than €100,000 a year in 2021, a 14 per cent increase on 2020, the country’s tax authority (IRS) revealed. These households declared a combined income of €9.4 billion, amounting to approximately 8.8 per cent of the taxman’s gross 2021 income.

UKRAINE

Ikea helps

UKRAINE has received household supplies worth €9 million from Ikea, the Swedish home furnishing chain, and Ingka, the group’s largest retailer. Approximately 200 lorries have now delivered 850,000 items to UN’s Refugee Agency to assist relief efforts in Kyiv and Lviv.

SWEDEN

Wrong choice

SWEDEN’S biggest pension fund, Alecta, sacked chief executive Magnus Billing after his confidence in failed US lenders Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank left the fund with losses of almost $2 billion.(€1.8 billion). Alecta, said on April 11 that these losses had “seriously damaged confidence” in its investment strategy.

Spend big

THE TUC, which represents 48 UK unions, called for a “radical increase” in investment in public transport. More spending on the trains, trams and buses that are needed to cut down on car use could give the economy an annual boost of £50 billion (€58.6 billion) a union report claimed.

Scant interest

SPAIN’S banks save an annual €1.5 billion by paying lower interest on savings accounts than their Eurozone counterparts, according to the European Central Bank (ECB). As a result, Spanish families lose €924.16 million on their savings accounts, while non­ financial bodies lose €548 million, the ECB found.

Never-never

YOUNG Britons and Millennials aged up to 42 are four times more likely to take on debt to meet rising costs this year, credit broker Credit Karma found. Unlike those aged between 59 and 69 who use credit cards, the young tend to choose an overdraft or a pay now, pay later arrangement.

IT blip

COMPUTER sales are at their lowest in 10 years, falling worldwide by 29 per cent to 56.9 million systems during the year’s first quarter. “Demand has slowed but we expect it to overtake pre­ pandemic levels in the second half,” said Alberto Ruano, Lenovo’s director general in Spain.

Co-op hiccup

CUSTOMERS threatened to leave the Co­operative Bank after its mobile app stopped working for three consecutive Fridays recently. After the latest incident a Co ­ operative spokesperson apologised and said the bank “would put right” any problems clients might have encountered when making payments.

Linda

Hall

ACCOUNTANCY firm Ernst & Young (EY), which is London­ based, has abandoned proposals to restructure its global operations.

Plans to separate the consultancy and audit divisions were scuppered by EY’s New York office following disputes over the future structure of the new businesses.

Spadework for what was codenamed Project Everest began last year, as the big four accounting firmsDeloitte, PricewaterhouseCoopers

KPMG and EY ­ faced increasing criticism regarding conflicts of interest between their two divisions.

Politicians and regulators, particularly those in the UK, questioned whether EY’s ability to challenge audit clients could be conditioned by the possibility of securing juicy consulting, tax and deal­advisory contracts from

THE International Monetary Fund (IMF) predicted that the UK would be one of the world’s worst­performing major economies this year.

Popularly known as the G20, these 20 countries include sanctions­hit Russia.

The IMF expects the UK economy to shrink by 0.3 per cent in 2023 and to grow by 1 per cent in 2024, according to the World Economic Outlook report presented on Tuesday April 11 in Washington.

The IMF had already forecast that the UK would experience a downturn in 2023, descending to the bottom of the G7 group of

Padua exit

ANTONIO CATALAN, chairman of AC Hotels by Marriott, continues to reduce commitments in destinations he does not view as priorities.

Sources close to Catalan confirmed to the Spanish media that he is negotiating the sale of a hotel in Padua (Italy).

This will be his second Italian disinvestment following the 2008 sale of an hotel in Rome to the Spanish chain H10.

The same sources emphasised that the AC Hotels by Marriott sale was not linked to asset rotation but to the strategy of relinquish ownership of a hotel while continuing to run it after reaching agreement with the new owner.

STAT OF WEEK €38 billion

is the amount that Europe’s telecommunications companies have recovered via improved business, a series of mergers and, prompting operators to foresee a slight increase in revenue and new dividends.

BUSINESS EXTRA Chain sold FINANCE

No change at EY

and advisory divisions worldwide.

But, bearing in mind the strategic importance of the now­unhappy US member firm to Project Everest, EY halted the project.

FULHAM SHORE, owner of the Franco Manca and The Real Greek restaurant chains, is selling them for £93.4 million (€106 million).

the same companies whose books they were scrutinising.

The UK’s accounting and audit regulator, the Financial Reporting Council, said that auditing operations should be isolated from the rest of EY’s businesses. In the event, EY went further still with a restructuring operation that would have separated audit

“The global executive remains committed to moving forward with creating two world­class organisations that further advance audit quality, independence and client choice,” explained a note to staff from EY’s global executive committee.

“We will begin taking actions based on what we have learned from the work done over the past year, actions that will both benefit our businesses today and better prepare us for a new transaction,” the executive committee added.

Ups and downs

ic recovery in 2022.

Despite the sobering outlook for UK economy, this latest prediction is rather better than the IMF’s January prediction of a 0.6 per cent contraction.

Buyer is the Japanese giant Toridoll which is listed on the Tokyo stock exchange, owns 5,500 restaurants and has worldwide sales of £1 billion (€1.13 billion).

Toridoll already runs the Marugame Udon, Shoryu and Wok to Walk chains in the UK and is teaming up with Capdesia, the private equity company behind Wasabi Sushi & Bento, for the Fulham Shore deal.

Shares in Fulham Shore soared by a third to 15p (approximately 16 cents) when the deal was announced.

Shared out

countries regarded as the world’s seven most advanced economies. The UK topped this group, which dominates global trade and the international financial system, during the pandem­

Meanwhile the IMF has raised Spain’s 2023 growth forecast by four­tenths of a percentage point to 1.5 per cent but lowered next year’s prediction by another fourtenths, to 2 per cent.

This year’s improved forecast matches those of other organisations, especially af­

Could do better

LADBIBLE GROUP, part of LBG Media, made light of a disappointing financial performance.

The group, which is based in Manchester, pointed out that it is now the leading news publisher on TikTok, and by December 31 last year the number of its followers had grown by 72 per cent compared with 2021.

LadBible’s global audience grew by 39 per cent year­on­year to 366 million, with 98 billion content views, 56 per cent more than the previous year.

Nevertheless, pre ­ tax profits dropped 10 per cent to £7.3 million (€8.3 million) over the same 12­month period, while a 15 per cent revenue increase to £62.8 million (€71.3 million) missed forecasts.

The year’s adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) was also down 6 per cent at £15.7 million (€17.8 million).

ter Spain’s 2022’s strong 5.5 per cent growth. Two months ago the Organisation for Economic Co­operation and Development (OECD) raised its 2023 forecast to 1.7 per cent, while the Bank of Spain upgraded its own from 1.3 per cent to 1.6 per cent.

Despite these reasonably encouraging figures, they fall short of the Spanish government’s overestimate of a predicted 2.1 per cent growth announced in its Budget.

Stepping stone

MULTINATIONAL natural stone company Cosentino continues to diversify production beyond its Silestone brand.

After launching Dekton in 2013, the company has now opened a new €120 million factory covering 40,000 square metres in Cantoria (Almeria).

This brings up to 140,000 square metres the area allocated to Dekton, with everything in place for a fourth production line in the near future.

Despite announcing plans to float the company in the first quarter of 2023, Cosentino said that its board had not made a firm decision.

“All options are on the table but it is not true that this has delayed until next year,” a statement insisted.

ELEVEN top executives at Inditex received 202,500 shares that are worth more than €6 million. This corresponds to the second and last phase of the company’s 2019­2023 incentive plan, which makes up part of the variable salary for senior executives and other personnel and is linked to meeting specified targets.

The volume of this year’s shares was 21 per cent lower than that distributed during the incentive plan’s first phase which ended in April 2022, although each share is worth €30.39, a 20 per cent increase on their 2022 value.

More to go

BARCLAYS announced that it intends to close 15 more branches across the UK this summer.

The high street bank revealed that it will be pulling down the shutters on two locations in Northern Ireland, one in Wales and 12 in England next July.

These latest closures bring a total of 73 Barclays branches that have closed, or will close, this year.

The industry routinely justifies closures by pointing out that fewer people now use branches after learning how to bank from home during the pandemic.

EY LONDON: Headquarters are located near the Thames.

TOBIAS ADRIAN: IMF’s Financial Counsellor and director of the Monetary and Capital Markets department.

Photo credit: CC/Arpingstone

DOW JONES

Stretching it

DISCOUNT shopping

chain Poundstretcher has reportedly hired advisers to look into the possibility of a stock market float after sales boomed during Covid. The group, created in 1981, now has around 350 outlets and announced in February that it would open another 50 stores across the UK in 2023.

Sea change

BANCA is preparing to sell a majority stake in frozen food company Nueva Pescanova. The financial institution, which owns 97 per cent of the fishing group’s capital, is negotiating the transfer of 80 per cent of its shares to Canadian company Cooke Inc, which also specialises in seafood products.

Simply the best

THE Good Money Guide recently held its annual awards ceremony, celebrating the best in financial service organisations.

This year the UK­based guide to trading, investment and currency accounts, welcomed more than 160 guests at Plaisterers’ Hall in the City of London for a black­tie, 20­table gala dinner.

Currencies Direct won Best Currency Broker in recognition of their commitment to a fivestar experience for all their clients. This includes great rates, exceptional services, and

swift, simple transfer solutions. What are the Good Money Guide Awards?

For the last six years, the Good Money Guide has been running an annual awards

Bank branches lopped

BANKS in Spain’s rural areas are becoming hard to find.

Over the past year, Spain’s high street banks left another 121 municipalities without branches despite agreeing to provide financial inclusion for vulnerable groups.

According to the Bank of Spain, 4,618 of the country’s 8,131 municipalities ­ 57 per cent ­ no longer have a bank branch al ­

though in practice, a few still have banking facilities.

Following the Unicaja­Liberbank merger, the Andalucia­based bank has maintained offices under its own name through a franchise system which did not show up in the Bank of Spain statistics.

Meanwhile, the province of Palencia in Castilla­Leon is Spain’s worst­hit province.

A tough year

event to highlight outstanding firms in the financial services sector.

It its own words, “The Good Money Guide Awards aim to champion financial services firms that excel in innovation, product, and customer service.

“Each year thousands of clients tell us what they think to help others make smarter decisions about who to invest, trade and transfer currency with. They also provide valuable feedback to improve the online investing, trading, and currency transfer industry.”

Deciding the winners is based on professional testing, data and pricing analysis, together with customer feedback survey results. This year, 17,000 votes were cast to pick the final winners from the 62 companies that took part.

Currencies Direct is also up for the Business Moneyfacts Awards in April, where they’ve been shortlisted for two more accolades. Will the winning streak continue?

TESCO’S profits halved to £753 million (€852 million) in 2022.

The year was “incredibly tough for customers,” Tesco admitted as it dealt with “significant operating­cost inflation” and wrote down the value of some properties.

The UK’s biggest retailer said sales rose 7.2 per cent to £65.7 billion (€74.3 billion) in the year to February 25. This included a 3.3 per cent increase at Tesco’s UK supermarkets, although it sold fewer items as shoppers chose their products carefully.

UK food sales rose by 4.6 per cent over the last year, led by the group’s own­label ranges, while sales of its premium Finest products increased by 7 per cent and its cheapest ‘Exclusively at Tesco’ items grew by 6 per cent.

The chain said the volume of items sold had fallen, partly because customers wasted less and used up leftovers but once Covid restrictions were eased, they were visiting restaurants and cafes more often, buying less to eat at home.

GALA EVENING: Award-winning Currencies Direct.

BUSINESS EXTRA

Time to read

WATERSTONES managing director James Daunt, a former JP Morgan banker, said the pandemic was both negative and positive for many retailers although it was “fantastic” for booksellers worldwide. “It made people pick up books again,” said Daunt, who has 1,000 bookshops under his control.

Jobs boost

SPAIN’S Cabinet approved a €2.8 billion allocation for the country’s autonomous regions this year to implement employment policies that promote hiring the long­term unemployed. This would be the largest investment of public funds to improve employability since 2011, said Minister of Labour, Yolanda Diaz.

Switchback

ALMOST one million people in the UK switched their current account in 2022, as banks competed to offer the best perks, cashbacks and bonuses. Last year’s 985,000 switches were 20 per cent up on 2021, said the Current Account Switching Service, which simplifies the process of moving to another bank.

Situations vacant

RECORD Easter occupancy accentuated difficulties in finding qualified staff to attend to the needs of Spain’s tourists. The problem, worsened by the pandemic and still unresolved, would become more noticeable as tourists returned en masse, warned Gabriel Escarrer, CEO of Melia hotel chain.

Nectar deal

SAINSBURY’S has taken on Tesco’s Clubcard with key changes to its Nectar loyalty card which include discounts on 300 products.

The supermarket chain has introduced ‘Nectar Prices’ in major stores and online although discounts are not available in Sainsbury’s local stores or petrol stations.

SSE goes deep

Linda Hall

THE world’s deepest wind turbine foundation has been installed off the Angus coast.

The Scottish energy company SSE installed the 2,000­ton foundation ­ or jacket to use the industry term ­ that will support Seagreen’s 112th turbine at a depth of more than 58 metres.

The record­breaking turbine is part of SSE’s £3 billion (€3.4 billion) project in partnership with French energy company Total. Due to be completed this summer, the windfarm’s 114 turbines will be able to power the equivalent of 1.6 million homes.

This latest installation was a significant step towards completing a project

The Seagreen windfarm is included in SSE’s plan to invest £12.5 billion (€14.1 billion) by 2026 in projects that have been designed to speed up the UK’s target of becoming a net zero economy.

By the end of the decade, SSE, which is also developing the world’s largest offshore windfarm at Dogger Bank in the North Sea, intends to invest a total of £24 billion (€27.2 billion) in the UK alone.

London plans

BUSINESSMAN and socialite

Bruce Colley, whose family owns multiple McDonald’s franchises in the US, now plans to open luxury hotels and restaurants in London.

The 69 ­ year ­ old who is cochairman of Park Lane, the company that is leading the project, is joining forces with New Zealand financier Rayo Withanage to raise an initial $200 million (€181.6 million).

that demonstrated how the company was able to innovate and push the boundaries of the technology of change in power production, SSE’s chief executive Alistair Phillips­Davies, said.

SSE, one of the UK’s biggest renewable energy producers, has increased its full­year profit forecast for the financial year ending on March 31 on two occasions, thanks to its money­making gas power plants.

Juan Roig lowers prices

MERCADONA, Spain’s largest supermarket chain, is cutting the price of 500 items by 10 cents to ease the cost­ of ­ living crisis.

The initiative should bring an annual saving of €150 for each client, Mercadona said.

The family­owned company would remain faithful to its commitment to lower retail prices as cost prices fell, Mercadona sources added. These were already falling but because it was a slow process, they explained that the company had decided to get ahead by lowering the price of 500 staple products, which would be singled out in the shops.

The chain also plans to take advantage of market opportunities to lower the price of fresh produce.

The initiative will cost the company around €200 million with a 0.6 percentage point effect on its profit margin, which Mercadona calculates has shrunk by 1.1 percentage points since 2020.

Presenting last year’s accounts and announcing net profits of €718 million, Mercadona president Juan Roig admitted that prices had increased “tremendously” but pointed out that these

AMAZON’S proposed takeover of iRobot, makers of Roomba vacuum cleaner, is under scrutiny from the UK’s Competition and Markets authority (CMA).

Amazon is keen to expand its smart home appliances operation, but the CMA is looking into whether the deal could lead to what it described as a “substantial lessening of competition.”

rose by 10 per cent while the company’s overheads increased by 14 per cent. The discounts were not a temporary measure, Mercadona said. Nor were they a “shopping basket” of products with fixed prices like those of French supermarkets but were permanent reductions.

Checking out

Amazon announced that it was buying Massachusetts­based iRobot last August in a $1.7 billion (€1.5 billion) takeover agreement but a month later the US authorities announced that they would review the deal.

In February 2023, the Financial Times revealed that European competition au­

thorities also planned to examine the takeover.

Both Amazon and iRobot said they were “working cooperatively” with the regulators over the merger.

The CMA is also investigating Amazon’s fake online reviews while another probe centres on anti­competitive practices.

Striking a balance

WHEN anti­Covid restrictions were at their strictest in Spain, three million people began working at home.

They accounted for 16.2 per cent of the working population, compared with 4.8 per cent in 2019, according to Eurostat, the European Union’s official statistics office.

By late 2020 the number of teleworkers had decreased and fell to 9.5 per cent throughout 2021, Eurostat said.

At the same time, the digital transforma­

tion brought work­life balance and co­responsibility to the forefront, with the option of remote working creating a new generation gap.

“The younger generation has embraced the idea that teleworking is a must,” Josep Capell, a lecturer in Human Resources at the Autonomous University of Madrid.

Reconciling work and family life is now recognised as crucial by employees and recruitment experts alike, he said.

They also intend to raise further funds to finance investments in London and elsewhere worldwide over the next two years. Colley and Withanage have already earmarked two London sites, UK media sources revealed.

“The goal is to capitalise on development and consolidation opportunities in the luxury sector,” Colley said.

Scent success

PZ CUSSONS, which owns the iconic Imperial Leather brand, achieved its sixth successive quarter of revenue growth.

Like­for­like sales rose by 6.2 per cent to £166 million (€188.4 million) for the quarter that ended on March 4, boosted by growth in Europe and the Americas thanks to more demand and higher prices.

Despite higher raw material, labour and logistics costs, turnover rose by 13 per cent thanks to favourable currency movements and sales from Childs Farm, the skincare brand that Cussons bought for £36.8 million (€41.8 million) in March 2022.

Power shock

ITALY’S government announced that Francesco Starace, president of Enel, is to be replaced.

The company will now have Flavio Cattaneo as chief executive, while Paolao Scaroni was named president. Enel is the country’s principal electricity producer and also owns Endesa, which is Spain’s biggest electricity supplier. These substitutions were already being discussed in the sector in a change that is expected to have a direct impact on the Spanish company.

Starace had been in charge since 2014 and Endesa has until now played a significant role in the group’s strategy.

SEAGREEN WINDFARM: Jackets waiting at Dundee harbour’s quayside.

Photo credit: Flick/Tobias Verfuss

MERCADONA: Spain’s largest supermarket chain.

Photo credit: mercadona.es

LAST week I had a post removed from my FB pages. The short video was indeed distasteful, but one I felt deserved as much publicity as it could get. The film showed a naked white man being kicked and stoned to death by a number of black youths on a busy street in South Africa. This horrific act was taking place in broad daylight with no assistance whatsoever from any law enforcement or indeed passers­by.

The whole incident made me sick to my stomach and in normal circumstances I would never have dreamt of passing it on to friends and pursuers of my Facebook page, but these are not ‘normal’ times, are they?

Not only did the piece make me wonder how the public, particularly the ‘diversity’ brigade, would have reacted had it been a black man being kicked to death by a gang of whites, but it made me seriously wonder where the priorities of the faceless individuals who control the social media actually lay.

At any given time, on many of

Truly horrified

these outlets you can see women stoned to death and if you delve deep enough the goriest executions imaginable, so why, can anyone enlighten me, do they find the murder of a white man by blacks so abhorrent they deem it necessary to take down?

Would it, I wonder have anything to do with the fact that South Africa has been a democratic disaster and a place of danger and injustices for white people for years, far worse in fact than it was for the black residents during apartheid? I have regular contact with a number of friends, who are among the dwindling numbers of those whites who still try to exist in this most dangerous and blatantly anti­white racist country.

Basically, the terrorists are now in charge and, like Saudi Arabia, which is also run by an undemocratic bunch of cruel dictators, control so many of the world’s natural rich resources, they literally get away with murder on a grand scale and are never brought to book.

I am subsequently truly horrified but not too surprised, by the news

GRUMPY OLD MAN OUR VIEW

that the new series of ‘I’m a Celebrity’ is also coming from that disgracefully run country. No doubt the hierarchy running the TV and advertising will be delighted to show their hugely biased brainwashing diversity propaganda and will gain a wonderful reception from the crooked SA authorities and the relatively small numbers of the British public who are in agreement with their policies, including participants in a show; which will undoubtedly be crammed with diversity.

Personally I think presenters Ant and Dec should have refused to partake at all. Sandy Shaw and I only agreed to an SA tour during apartheid if we could work to mixed audiences. We too were supporting the black citizens, but would never have even contemplated doing so had they been attacking and murdering the white population! Keep

WITH the Coronation of King Charles III just a few days away, it does seem that the new monarch is doing his best not to heal rifts within the family but instead is relying upon protocol to act like a grumpy old man.

First and foremost, whilst Harry has announced that he will be attending his father’s coronation, he will be kept very much on the periphery, is not likely to wear any ceremonial costumes and will be expected to keep a low profile.

It appears that his wife and children will remain in the USA and he will simply make a token appearance before jetting back for son Archie’s fourth birthday.

Prince Andrew who has made a total fool of himself over the past few years (although has not been convicted of any criminal offence) may or may not attend, but if he does, he will be precluded from any official role and although his daughters Beatrice and Eugenie will attend, they may not take part in any official capacity as they are non­working royals.

Sarah Ferguson is not invited although it has been suggested that she, like Prince Andrew was a favourite of the late Queen Elizabeth II.

When one considers that apart from Prince Edward, every other member of the Queen’s immediate family has been divorced or involved in some scandal or other, surely now would be the time to try to bring the family together and present a united front to the world at large rather than continue to highlight the rifts?

NORAJOHNSON BREAKINGVIEWS

BRONZE Age partygoers were getting high on hallucinogenic drugs 3,000 years ago. Sci‐entific analysis of strands of hair from a cave in Menorca give the clearest direct evidence yet of hallucinogenic drug use among ancient civilisations. So, hair today, high tomorrow?

Now, some may complain that this report about ancient civilisations using plant‐derived hallucinogenic drugs is normalising drug use. Well, you may as well say that a report about the Trojan horse normalises war! So, maybe best referred to as ‘plant medicine’? Mind you, one glance at the cave and its eerie sta‐lagmites and even eerier stalactites would convince anyone it wouldn’t take much hallu‐cinogen ingestion...

You have to wonder if these plants and substances played a part in the invention and formulation of religions. A person might have a very vivid hallucination of a stick turning into a snake, and then back into a stick, if they were off their head on mushrooms, for in‐stance. (Though maybe doesn’t sound like the start of Methodism...)

However, trepanned skulls, with holes drilled into the bone, were also found with analysis indicating that the individuals in‐

Stoned Age Man

made out of flint, obsidian or stone. And, hopefully, easy to acquire.

With no bank holiday queues at the local B&Q...

But the real importance of these findings lies in the fact that they challenge our precon‐ceived notions of ancient societies. It’s com‐monly believed that ancient cultures were primitive and lacked the knowledge and so‐phistication of modern societies.

However, this discovery suggests that the people of Menorca were far more advanced and knowledgeable than previously thought. They were able to identify and extract psy‐choactive compounds from plants and use them in a spiritual context, demonstrating a deep understanding of the natural world and the relationship between the physical and spiritual realms.

The discovery of this early use of hallucino‐genic drugs also has implications for us today.

tween the mind, body and spirit than we cur‐rently understand.

Furthermore, their use in a ceremonial con‐text may provide insight into the importance of setting and intention on a therapeutic lev‐el. The rituals and ceremonies associated with their use in ancient cultures may have served to create a safe and supportive environment for individuals to explore their inner worlds and work through personal challenges ‐ like those bank holiday queues at B&Q!

volved survived for months afterwards. Maybe listening to the Grateful Dead? Whilst trepanation was carried out for both medical reasons and mystical practice, trepanation in‐struments were less complex, and commonly

In recent years, there has been a renewed in‐terest in the therapeutic potential of these substances, particularly in the treatment of mental health disorders such as depression, anxiety and PTSD. The fact that they were used in a spiritual context in the past suggests that there may be a deeper connection be‐

Overall, the discovery of the use of hallu‐cinogenic drugs in Bronze Age Menorca is a significant development in our understanding of ancient civilisations and the human experi‐ence. Implications, too, for modern society and the potential therapeutic use of these substances. As we continue to explore the re‐lationship between mind, body and spirit, this discovery serves as a reminder of the pro‐found and transformative power of the natu‐ral world.

Nora Johnson’s 12 critically acclaimed psy‐chological suspense crime thrillers (www.no ra‐johnson.net) all available online including eBooks (€0.99; £0.99), Apple Books, audio‐books, paperbacks at Amazon etc. Profits to Cudeca cancer charity.

HotSprings: The Best Hot Tub Experience

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The stunning island of Mallorca is undoubtedly one of the best places in the world to enjoy outdoor living. With 300 days of sunshine per year, there is no better place to relax and unwind as your cares melt away ‐so why not create your own beauti‐ful garden retreat?

Since 2012, HotSpring Spas Mal‐lorca have been providing the only saltwater system spas and the team boasts more than 24 years of experience in the sector. With up to five years warranty on parts, you can relax knowing that the dedicat‐ed and professional team will be there to support you throughout your ownership experience.

More than just your average hot

tub, every HotSpring spa is built for the reality of daily use and delivers the benefits you want in the most efficient, convenient and reliable way. Whether you are looking for a small tub for you and your part‐ner to enjoy relaxing evenings, larger tubs for family use, or sev‐en‐seater tubs to accommodate friends, HotSpring Spas have

something for everyone.

Many hot tub shoppers wonder if hot tubs could really be that dif ferent don’t they all hold and heat water? Don’t they all have jets? The reality is, what is under the hood can make a big difference in your ownership experience. HotSpring Spas are energy efficient and you can choose from a huge range of

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out your body. Warm water also brings down swelling and loosens tight muscles, and the water’s buoyancy takes the weight off painful joints.

With over 1,000,000 hot tubs sold, HotSpring Spas are the world’s number one selling brand of hot tubs. And don’t just take our word for it, their reviews speak for them‐selves. One customer said: “Our spa has changed our lives. We love get‐ting in after a long day of work. The spa is easy to maintain and clean, and checking the chemical levels is a breeze. Complete upgrade to our lifestyle!”

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HOTSPRING SPA: Perfect to unwind, relax or entertain friends.

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

Nora’s latest thriller.

Noraistheauthorofpopularpsychological suspenseandcrimethrillersandafreelancejournalist.

Wrong context LETTERS

IN your Issue No 1970 (6­12 April) in European Press, you carried a piece on Ireland, with a caption of Welcome Home, which as an Irishman I was very pleased to see.

However we would never use the Gaelic word, Eíre in this context. Instead we would say, Ballina, situated in County Sligo.

Moreover, most people, particularly Irish would not use Eíre, only because most other nationalities wouldn’t recognise it!

On the other hand the name, Ireland, in the caption is very acceptable.

Always enjoy your paper.

Hi Linda,

Regards

Bernard Butler

Many thanks for your speedy reply. Actually whilst on the subject of Ireland. In Mijas Pueblo, on the building beside the Council Offices, wall plaques have been erected to acknowledge various nationalities’ presence in the area.

I recall some years ago, Ireland was one of the first countries to be honoured in this way, however on a recent visit to the Peublo I noticed that someone has removed the plaque. Vandalism no doubt?

Perhaps you might consider following up this matter?

Thank you for you time and attention to this matter.

Kind regards Bernard

Dear Leapy

I take objection to the letter printed re Jeddah. I worked in the King Fahad Hospital there in those years and found the Saudi people nothing but respectful. Please don’t use that term r s for those people Mr Kite. Have you not been to British beaches over the last 50 years? You can hardly sit down without all the rubbish left by selfish people of all nations.

Carole Burton

Dog park

While it is good to see the Euro Weekly News back, I would like to point out an incorrect statement in the news about the dog park. It was not built on waste land, but on a park area that the garden group had spent a lot of time, effort and money to gravel and maintain for the last 20 years. But no one thought fit to liaise with the garden group about where would be the best place for it. Perhaps not near the medical centre and the play park. It will be also interesting to know who is going to maintain it and empty the bins?

Yours sincerely, Marion

Hi Leapy

I am not sure you get to glance through the Sun newspaper where you are situated but I have been following this guy for some time now. His name is Lee Anderson and I am sure what he says in this article (page 16/17 Sunday 16/04/2023) is just what we have been trying to tell people for ages, but do they listen NO!! Because they are all too steeped in woke and human rights etc etc to see the wood for the trees. Now I know you can’t reply because so many people contact you, be it agreeing or disagreeing with your views, but if you can get it up on your screen see what you think. Keep up the good work trying to educate the uneducated.

Joe

Mixed up

Four words used in Loopy Lee’s latest column but used inappropriately in conflicting ways in the wrong order. Firstly he calls the Johnson partying as Mere Bagatelle words meaning petty triviality and unimportance, does he really think that the charlatan who was eventually ousted from office through his law breaking and continuous lies is petty, trivial and unimportant? Try telling that one to the thousands who stayed at home unable to hold the hand of loved ones suffering in hospitals and care homes. Secondly in his continuous weekly bias towards the opposition party he calls, simply because they have more female members, an armoury of Schemes and Skullduggery against the Tories, words of course meaning artful and sharp practice, as I have pointed out he has got the words mixed up and used in the wrong order.

Ramon Osborne, Los Alcázares.

No benefit

Brexit, the gift that just keeps on giving. Still no benefits to Brexit. If you voted for it, you’re part of the problem called, Brexit Broken Britain. The whole world is laughing at the UK!

Andrew Cremona

Big brother

How sad that big brother is bringing such a wonderful historic way of travelling to an end. As for providing education details when travelling ­ what on EARTH has your educational history have to do with travelling to another country. It’s time people stood up to this BS and told the so called authorities what they can do with all this unnecessary data harvesting. It’s just spying on people for no good reason.

Naimah Yianni

PETS

Sitters stay with pets for free!

IT can be reassuring to find pet minders who will care for your pets and maintain their routines. It keeps the pets happy and you can have peace of mind on holiday.

If you are planning a trip later this year, register now to find pet­sitters in time. Even if it’s just a short trip, you’ll know that sometimes you just have to leave pets at home. Young and senior pets in particular benefit from staying in their own home, so they can follow their routines undisturbed. Let us help.

Choose Housesitmatch.com for affordable travel, home and pet care. These are the steps to take:

1. Register as a homeowner on HouseSit Match.com

2. Choose a Premium account (£89 per year) to ensure you can help online when needed

3. Create a profile with photos of your pet and the house

4. Post an advert for the dates when you want to go away. Sitters apply and you choose.

How does it work?

HouseSitMatch can help you find suitable sitters. Join our network for a small annual

Adopting advantages

WITH approximately five to seven million companion animals given to animal shelters worldwide each year let’s have a look at some of the best reasons to adopt your furry friend.

fee. You get ID checked for safety and then build your advert saying when you are going on holiday. House­sitters see your advert, they respond and you choose the sitter who’ll care for your pets.

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I have had nothing but good and helpful service from the people who run this site, and my experience has been excellent. Tristram Cosgrave ­ Dog and cat owner, Malaga

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Edible insect factory

WITH the new ‘I’m a Celebrity’ South Africa spin ­ off soon to air we are already envisioning the famous line ­ up munching on insects. If watching gives you a craving for one of these

tasty morsels then look no further as Spain has opened the largest edible insect factory!

Usually, these edible insects are purchased to feed livestock or our pet lizards and other pets of

this ilk, but recently more and more people are turning to these high ­ protein snacks. They are being promoted as a superfood and those seeking a more sustainable and healthy source of protein are choosing these little critters for lunch.

The company Tebrio created this produce as feed for livestock as a bioconversion tool to produce protein and fat for livestock and so freeing millions of hectares worldwide creating more bio ­ diversity.

Adoption associations are really helpful and they help match families to their pets making sure that everyone will be happy together. You can even ask them if you can foster the pet for a while to make sure you are right for each other.

The cost of adopting your pet is much lower and usually just covers the cost of sterilisation and the vaccinations they have received.

I know puppies are cute but sometimes an older dog can be the right choice as they are usually toilet trained and calmer

LIDL’S famous middle aisle has a new product that all pet owners must have. The perfect accessory if you like to take your loyal sidekicks with you on a bike ride. Somewhere in between socks and garden tools, you will find a new polyester bag that is placed on the front handlebars replacing the usual basket. Inside you will find an integrated short leash to keep your pet safe, it is reflective for extra visibility and has a padded base to make it even more comfortable for our pets. All this for only €24.99

EMERGENCY NUMBERS

and you can teach an old dog new tricks don’t worry!

By adopting you help to reduce the inhumane pet breeding trade.

Usually, mixed ­ breed dogs what people usually refer to as a mongrel, not designer puggles or cock­

apoos, are healthier and less vulnerable to diseases unlike purebred animals or the designer crossbreeds mentioned before. With pet adoptions down 36 per cent since the pandemic think about adopting a pet from a shelter near you.

Most popular pets

THE Spanish have shown the world how devoted they are to their animals by creating a law that states animals are not things but sentient beings and your pet should be considered a member of your family. Not only that they have recently released a new animal welfare law, reported in the last edition of the EuroWeekly News, with strict rules on their care and heavy fines in place for those who do not comply with the law.

With that in mind let’s have a look at the most popular pets in Spain.

Top of the list are dogs, no

surprises there, with the most popular breeds being the Yorkshire Terrier, the Labrador, the German Shepard, and the Bulldog.

Next up are cats, the preferred pet for people living in apartments. After cats, another good option for apartment living is birds with most Spanish pet owners opting for canaries and parrots. Other animals high in the ranking in Spain are turtles, a very popular option for kids. Notable mentions go to hamsters, rabbits, and lizards, all great pet choices for children and very popular in Spain also.

OLDER DOGS: Can sometimes be a better choice.

Spain’s favourite pet.

Puffin loves playing on the beach, the pet minders take her every day.

Photo

Credit: Flickr Jon Sharp

Photo credit: Flickr Jackie Newman

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Hyundai i20 a lot of car for not much money

ROAD TEST

byMarkSlack

WITH the imminent demise of Ford’s Fiesta, the choice of small hatchbacks continues to diminish in favour of an SUV style. Thankfully there are still manufacturers with tempting offers in the sector and Hyundai is one of them. The diminutive i10 might conceivably be a little small for some, but the larger i20 slots in nicely size‐wise for those wanting maximum space in compact form.

A smart looking car, if com‐ments on my test model are anything to judge, the i20 range starts at €22,270/ £19,725 and encompasses the entry level through to the luxury and sporty and finally the very sporting i20N.

My Ultimate model sits at the top of the normal tree with a €27,633/£24,475 price tag and seven‐speed auto‐matic transmission.

Standard fare across the line‐up is very good with alloy wheels, air conditioning, high beam assist, powered and heated door mirrors, cruise control, rear parking sensors and camera, Apple Car Play and Android Auto.

My Ultimate added climate control, heated seats, privacy glass, rain sensing wipers, wireless charging, navigation, keyless entry and start, pow‐er fold door mirrors and a

Facts at a Glance

• Model: Hyundai i20 Ultimate

Bose sound system.

The range uses a three ‐cylinder, 1.0 ‐ litre tur ‐bocharged petrol developing

speeds and automatics a sev‐en‐speed double clutch type of automatic. It’s a very effec‐tive power delivery

ing a 60/40 split folding rear seat and good rear legroom when the rear seats are in po‐sition. Cer‐

being a second quicker to that benchmark speed and arguably allows you a bit more control. That said the automatic isn’t bad and provides a more re ‐fined change than many pseudo au‐tomatics.

• Engine: 1.0-litre, 3-cylinder, turbocharged petrol electric 48V mild hybrid

• Gears: 7-Speed DCT automatic

• Price: €27,633/£24,475

• Performance: 0-100 kph (62 mph) 11.4 seconds/Maximum Speed 185 kph (115 mph).

• Economy: 5.3l/100km (53.3 mpg) Combined driving.

• Emissions: 122 g/km

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

Future of freight

DRONES will be used to deliver packages on remote Scottish islands as part of nine new in‐novative freight projects which have been awarded £1.2m in UK government funding.

The funding is one part of the govern‐ment’s Future of Freight Plan launched last year, setting a strategy to work closely with in‐dustry to deliver a world‐class freight system.

The system is hoped to support economic growth and build on the measures already taken to tackle the global HGV driver short‐age.

UK Roads Minister, Richard Holden, said: “Whether it’s drones for deliveries on remote

islands or zero emission buggies, we want to invest in future technology that could trans‐form how we move goods around the coun‐try while reducing emissions and traffic and creating skilled jobs.

“The Freight Innovation Fund gives innova‐tors the opportunity to test their ideas and help our freight industry become greener and more efficient unlocking better connectivity and boosting growth across the country,” confirmed the Roads Minister.

The Plan is a three‐year £7 million pro‐gramme designed to make delivering freight across the UK more efficient and cleaner.

aided by a 48v battery to make a mild hybrid that ben‐efits emissions, power and economy.

It’s a practical car too with even the lead‐in version hav‐

tainly not a performance model though when 62 mph takes 11.4 seconds, but in normal use the i20 doesn’t feel pedestrian. The manually geared versions fare better

Most i20s will spend their life pottering around towns and cities with the occasion‐al long run. Which is a shame as it handles rather well on cross country roads and especially with the nicely slick manual gearbox that would be my recommendation on the gearbox choice. Overall the i20 is refined, comfort‐able and very well equipped. It offers rather a lot of car for not a lot of money.

Not so smart

NEW smart motorways are to be removed from UK government road ‐building plans

The news comes due to financial pressures and lack of confidence felt by drivers the UK government confirmed on Saturday, April 15, delivering on the Prime Minister’s summer campaign pledge.

New smart motorways ‐including the 11 already paused from the second Road Investment Strategy (2020 to 2025) and the three earmarked for con ‐struction during the third Road Investment Strategy (2025 to 2030) ‐ will be re‐moved from government road‐building plans, given financial pressures and in recognition of the current lack of public confidence felt by drivers.

Initial estimations sug ‐gest constructing future smart motorway schemes would have cost more than £1 billion and can ‐

celling these schemes will allow more time to track public confidence in smart motorways over a longer period.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said: “All drivers de‐serve to have confidence in the roads they use to get around the country.

“Many people across the country rely on driving to get to work, take their chil‐dren to school and go about their daily lives and I want them to be able to

do so with full confidence that the roads they drive on are safe.”

75% of UK adults can’t read a map.

SMART MOTORWAYS: Being removed due to lack of confidence.

DRONES: Investing in future technology while reducing emissions and traffic. Image: metamorworks

Image: phoelixDE / Shutterstock.com.

HYUNDAI i20: Refined, comfortable and very well equipped.

Tragic rally accident Laporta attacks Real Madrid

A DRIVER and co ‐ driver were killed when their car hit a tree during the 42nd Rally Villa de Tineo 2023 in Asturias.

Tragedy struck the Rally Villa de Tineo 2023 in As ‐turias on Saturday, April 15, when a car left the road and crashed into a tree. Julio César Castrillo and his co‐driver, Francis‐co Javier Álvarez were killed in the accident.

JOAN LAPORTA ESTRUCH , lawyer, business‐man, politician, and cur ‐rently the president of Barcelona Football Club is back in the headlines af ‐ter his verbal attack on Real Madrid. In his efforts to defend his club that is caught up in the ‘Negreira Case’ he has lashed out at his rivals.

The ‘Negreira Case’ al ‐leges that between the years 2016 and 2018, Barcelona paid Jose María Enriquez Negreira, the vice ‐ president of the

Technical Committee of Referees (CTA), to tell players how to behave with each individual refer‐ee to give them a better chance of favourable treatment.

With reports coming out that Barcelona may be sanctioned by leaving them out of European competitions next season an angry Laporta has lashed out at Real Madrid saying they also received favours from referees.

Laporta said “I think it is worth remembering that

for seven decades, most of the presidents of the CTA have been ex ‐ part ‐ners, ex ‐ players, or ex ‐managers of Real Madrid. In some cases all of them at the same time. This tri‐al will serve to expose them. It is an unprece ‐dented exercise in cyni ‐cism.”

He went on to attack Javier Tebas, the presi ‐dent of La Liga, accusing him of a lack of profes ‐sionalism with regard to the documentation he has reportedly supplied.

The organisers of the 42nd edition of this com ‐petition immediately took the decision to sus ‐pend the race and called for a minute’s silence in the Town Hall Square at 6.45pm in honour of the two deceased racers. Sat‐urday saw the drivers competing on the second and final day of this year’s rally.

Adrián Barbón, the president of the Principal‐ity, tweeted his dismay at the incident, posting: the socialist Adrián Barbón, has shown on his social

networks his sadness at the news and has indicat‐ed that he has already contacted the mayor of Tineo, José Ramón Feito, to inquire about what happened.

“Very saddened by the news of the death of the driver Julio César Castrillo

and his co‐driver, Francis‐co Javier Álvarez, during the dispute of the penul ‐timate stage of the day Rally Villa de Tineo. My deepest condolences to their families and friends,” he posted. He added: “I have just spoken with the mayor of Tineo, José Ramón Feito. A lot of pain with this ter‐rible news, which leaves us all sunk. I am really sorry.”

The Principality’s Auto‐mobile Federation also offered its ‘immense sup ‐port’ to the families and friends of the two drivers who died after the fatal accident.

A rally car competing in Rally Villa de Tineo 2022.

Joan Laporta speaking on the charges against Barcelona.

Photo Credit: Barcelona’s official website

Credit: YouTube/AV Racing

83.22% wins is the figure for tennis pro Novak Djokovic.

Favourite wins Grand National Paul Ince contract terminated

READING football club an‐nounced on Tuesday, April 11, it has terminated the contract of manager Paul Ince. The former Manch‐ester United and England legend will leave the Cham‐pionship strugglers with im‐mediate effect.

A statement released by the club read: “Reading Football Club can confirm that the contract of first‐team manager Paul Ince has been terminated with immediate effect.

“Ince was appointed ini‐tially on an interim basis with his assistant Alex Rae in February 2022 and, alongside the likes of Academy Manager Michael Gilkes and Under‐18s manager Mikele Leigertwood in the dugout, he did an admirable job in helping the club stave off the threat of relegation with four wins from the fi‐nal 14 fixtures last season.

“Ince took the reins on a permanent basis in the summer and, having to

cope with strict transfer embargo restrictions, he helped to piece together a new squad on a much‐re‐duced wage budget ‐ and with five wins from our first seven home games, the season began brightly.

“However, without a win in our last eight match‐es and with a relegation battle to fight following a six‐point deduction im‐posed last week, owner Mr Dai Yongge has decided that a change is needed.

“Assistant Manager Alex Rae has also departed the club. Our Under‐21s Man‐ager and former Royals striker, Noel Hunt, has been installed as Interim First Team Manager until the end of the season.”

Head of Football Opera‐tions, Mark Bowen, said: “I would like to thank Paul and Alex for their efforts through a frustrating and exceptionally challenging season so far. We would like to wish them well in their future endeavours.”

THE 2023 Grand National at Aintree in Liverpool held on Saturday April 15 was won by the 8‐1 favourite, Corach Rambler, ridden by Irish jockey Derek Fox.

After a delayed start thanks to ani‐mal rights activists staging a protest at the Aintree racecourse in Liverpool, the Grand National was eventually won by the 8 ‐ 1 favourite, Corach Rambler.

The win comes six years after Fox first teamed up with Scottish trainer Lucinda Russell to ride One For Arthur past the finishing post at Aintree.

Last year’s winner, Noble Yeats, had to settle for fourth on this occa‐sion. Second place went to Vanillier while Gaillard Du Mesnil cantered home in third.

The big event was sadly marred by the intrusion of a group of protesters from ‘Animal Rising’ onto the famous track. Merseyside Police finally made a total of 23 arrests, causing the race to start 12 minutes late. Two of the activists went so far as to attach themselves to one of the jumps by applying glue and lock‐on devices.

“We are continuing to work with The Jockey Club and other partners to keep people safe during the Grand National Festival,” said Merseyside

Police. They continued: “We are aware of people who planned to protest at to‐day’s event. This has been factored into our plans. We respect the right to peaceful protest and expression of views, but criminal behaviour and dis‐order will not be tolerated and will be dealt with robustly.”

Peta UK was quick to react and publish a statement after three hors‐es died during this year’s Grand Na‐tional races. Envoye Special died after an incident on Thursday April 13, fol‐lowed by Dark Raven during Satur ‐day’s third race. Hill Sixteen also fell at the first hurdle and had to be put down.

HORSE RACING: A race at Aintree racecourse in Liverpool.

Credit: Google maps - David Stoddart