Mallorca 3 - 9 November 2022 Issue 1948

HAPPY ENDING

IT’S heartwarming to have a happy ending just like in the movies!

In good news, a 50‐year‐old, cave diver who went missing in Mallorca on Sunday October 30, has since been found alive and well.

The location he went miss ing in is one of the largest un derwater caves in Europe and is more than 10 kilometres long and up to 25 metres deep.

The Mallorcan firefighters found the cave diver on Mon day, October 31, after he went missing in the Sa Gleda Cave in Manacor while on a scheduled excursion with two other divers. They reportedly en tered the cave system in the morning with only two of

them eventually leaving the caves around 4.30pm, but the third man had disappeared.

It was at this point that the alarm was raised. Firefighters were deployed to the location from the Manacor fire station, along with members of the In

ca Mountain Rescue Group. They were joined in the search by highly‐trained members of the Guardia Civil’s Special Un derwater Activities Group (GEAS).

The president of the govern ment, Francina Armengol, ex

pressed her satisfaction that “everything has ended well” and celebrated the “magnifi cent work’ of the operation, with firefighters, Guardia Civil, National Police, Civil Protec tion, SAMU, Maritime Rescue and Emergencies 112.

Tourists making different choices

THE Balearic Islands counted a total of 1,573,521 overnight stays in non‐hotel accommodations (tourist flats, rural houses and campsites etc) in September 2022, which is 59.5 per cent more than the same month last year, when 986,105 were recorded.

Mallorca was the second most popular location on the Islands for overnight stays counting 698,352

bookings, while Ibiza and Formentera had 375,833 overnight stays.

Mallorca achieved an average oc cupancy rate in non‐hotel tourist ac commodations of 56.5 per cent of bed places booked, according to Spain’s Institute of National Statistics (INE). The Balearic Islands were also the favourite destination for rural tourism last September, with a total

of 204,272 overnight stays, which is 19.8 per cent more than in the same month the previous year.

A total of 55,157 travellers stayed in the non‐hotel type of accommoda tion with 46,795 of the travellers be ing foreign tourists.

In addition, rural tourism prices in the Balearic Islands rose by 10.7 per cent compared to a year ago.

Record breaker

THE great news for Mallorca’s tourist industry is that hotels have a record‐breaking pre‐booked November counting on 70 per cent occupancy.

The summer season is lasting longer than expected in Mallorca with half of the island’s hotel accommodation deciding to remain in operation throughout the month.

Playa de Palma, Cala Millor, Alcudia‐Can Picafort, Playa de Muro, Paguera and Palmanova‐Magaluf are the areas with the highest influx of foreigners, with peaks of high demand, especially at weekends.

TUI, Alltours, FTI, DER Touristik, Jet2 and easyJet Hol idays have all exceeded their forecasts and have all re ported high occupancies for their German and British flights.

ALIVE AND WELL: The diver was found by the rescue teams after going missing.

GOOD NEWS: Many of the island’s hotels are going to remain open throughout the month of November.

Image: Megapixeles.es/Shutterstock.com

Grow your own

ARE you a keen gardener who fancies growing your own fruit and vegetables, but just don’t have the space? Palma has come up with a so lution!

The new communal gardens of Son Flor are now open to the public with 16 new plots of land and 16 accessible cultivation plots up for grabs.

Over the last few months, work has been carried out to create the communal gardens, which have been equipped with a watering system with 22 water sources located between the plots so that they can be shared. The exist ing drainage system has also been planted with jasmine plants along the entire length of the ex isting drainage system, and there are bags next to the plots for storing the material needed to create an urban garden. In addition, this space has been equipped with an accessible toilet.

ANYONE who has spent time looking at the stunning views in Palma will know the value of shade cannot be underesti mated! The Department of In frastructures confirmed on Sunday October 30, that the minor works to renovate dif ferent elements of the Joan Miro street gazebo have now been completed.

To be eligible for an urban garden plot you must be over 65 years old or be a non‐profit making association or organisation. Applica tions are processed through the Citizen’s Ad vice Bureau and all the documentation is avail able on the city council’s website.

In the shade

The Department of Infras tructures and Accessibility re cently began work to reno vate and improve different elements of the viewpoint lo cated on Carrer de Joan Miro, in the Terreno neighbour hood.

Some €1,760 has been in vested in repairing the handrail at the viewpoint in Palma, work also involved damp and water proofing the foundations and clearing the gutters that overhang the viewpoint.

NOW OPEN: The new communal gardens.

Image: Palma City Council

Seeking tourists

MALLORCA and its munici palities will attend the World Travel Market inter national travel event in Lon don from Monday, Novem ber 7, until Wednesday, November 9, in a bid to pro mote Mallorca. The aim is to raise awareness of the is land’s wealth of cultural, culinary, sports and outdoor experiences.

Property payouts

PROPERTY is scarce and fi nancial incentives are being offered to finders of proper ty for sale. The API Associa tion of Estate Agents has condemned this as “unfair competition.” In addition, they believe that this pro motes the black economy as there will be no tax on this payment.

No cruising

DATA provided by the Balearic Port Authority indi cates that this year 340 cruise ships have visited Pal ma, which is 20 per cent less than at the same time in 2019. The number of pas sengers has fallen by 40 per cent because many ships have come with fewer pas sengers.

Overpopulated islands

TOO many folks is one of the greatest challenges that Mallorca is now facing. Fore casts are reckoning that the population of the Balearic Is lands will grow by around 300,000 over the next 15 years which President Ar mengol said is “simply un sustainable.”

Flying high

BETWEEN January and September, the three Balearic airports ‐ Palma, Ibiza and Mahon ‐ generat ed 20 per cent of the AENA airports authority’s operat ing profit. The AENA net work in Spain comprises 46 airports (plus two heliports). The three airports registered 33.9 million passengers over nine months.

IF you fancy a ride then Mallorca is the place to be. Owning the title of being Europe’s leading destination for cycling tourism, Mallorca ex pects approximately 200,000 cyclists to head to the Balearic Islands between now and April 2023.

The tourism councillor for Mallorca, Andreu Ser ra, confirmed that the is land has the infrastruc ture, hotels, and services to meet the needs of this type of tourism.

On your bike

has been passed by the Spanish parliament, which enables all non-EU citizens to apply for this special visa and be able to work in the country for more than five years.

Mallorca intelligence

PALMA DE MALLORCA is bidding to be Spain’s fu ture headquarters for Arti ficial Intelligence (AI) Su pervision and it has plenty going in its favour to win the bid.

Mallorca has also be come the latest European country to launch a pro gramme designated to entice Digital Nomads, through which non-Span ish residents can live and

SHOE lovers will be sad to hear that after 86 years in Sindicat, Palma, the emblematic shoe shop, La Elegancia, has closed its doors.

On Monday, October 31, owner, Toni Fuster, confirmed that: “It’s the end of an era. The rea son we are closing is not an economic issue, but due to personal issues.”

Fina Gonzalez, the owner’s wife and third generation of a family of shoemakers has been in charge of the shop for

work remotely from Spain. The Startup Act

Sad farewell

the last 20 years, she said: “It’s a mixed feel ing. We still have the original sign.”

Toni Fuster added: “In the 1940s it was the main axis of Palma on the first pedestrian street. My grandfather made shoes in the back room until my father, En rique Fuster, took over the reins.”

After the death of En rique Fuster this sum

Going green

ELECTRIC cars seem to be the hot topic of conversation for helping the environment and now Palma is going a step further setting its eyes on a full fleet of zero‐emis sion electric buses.

Palma joined the petition, at the end of October, that calls on EU legislators to take measures to prevent com bustion buses from being placed on the market due to the increasing demand for electric buses. The letter, which was sent to several members of the European Commission last week, warns of the need to set a com mon target to give confidence to manufacturers to en sure low prices and greater availability of zero‐emission buses.

The head of the Sustainable Mobility battle, Francesc Dalmau, confirmed that “the industry is committed to ensuring that the renewal of the bus fleet to zero‐emis sion vehicles remains affordable.”

Zero‐emission vehicles accounted for 23 per cent of urban buses registered in the European Union in 2021, up from 16 per cent in 2020. Cities say this growth rate shows that a possible transition to zero emissions is pos sible if the vehicles are available.

mer, his three children had to consider what to do with the building that housed the premises.

Moreover, about a 25 per cent rate of income tax will be down to 15 per cent for the first four years that digital nomads are based in Spain, pro vided that no more than a fifth of their income comes from organisa tions outside the country.

“The opportunity arose and the building was sold. There was no conti nuity. My sons have tak en up a career and will not continue the busi ness,” Fuster confirmed.

Setting sail

A NEW campaign has kicked off to study the ef fects that climate change has had on the ecosys tems of the Mediter ranean.

The environmental monitoring programme Radmed of the Spanish In stitute of Oceanography (IEO) set sail from Palma de Mallorca on Saturday, October 29, aboard the oceanographic vessel Francisco de Paula Navar ro. The vessel will travel along the Spanish Mediterranean coast, from Barcelona to Malaga, including the Balearic Is lands.

The voyage will end in Malaga on November 20 during which the cam paign will have carried out environmental monitoring of the Mediterranean to assess its state and the ef fects of global change on its ecosystems.

The coordinator of the Radmed monitoring pro

gramme, Maria Carmen Garcia, explained that this monitoring system makes it possible to implement data banks, characterise the environmental state of the sea, generate time series, establish ocean cli matologies, study oscilla tions, trends, anomalies and their relationship with global warming and cli mate change.

The president of the Balearic Islands, Francina Armengol, confirmed on Thursday October 27, that the Balearic government will work together with the Palma City Council on this project. He said: “This headquarters would al low positioning the Balearic Islands in an area as important as Artificial Intelligence, as well as bringing benefits in terms of employment and the economy.

“If Palma were to host these AI headquarters, the Balearic capital would have 25 state officials working in the agency. All of this would generate an expansive effect on the rest of the Balearic Artifi cial Intelligence system.”

The president also stressed that “digitalisa tion and innovation are the cornerstones of the Balearic Islands’ future.”

Palma de Mallorca will compete in the process with other cities such as Alicante and Granada, which have also shown their commitment to hosting the headquarters of the Agency.

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CYCLING TOURISM: Mallorca is the place to be.

Bar barredParty to celebrate

ANY reason to celebrate is a good one, and the opening of a new green area in Palma certainly falls under that umbrella.

The city council has in vested €2.1 million in ren ovations on Carrer de Nuredduna and the Placa de Francesc Garcia i Orell and on Friday, October 28, the residents of the area celebrated with full force.

Celebrations began at 7.00pm with activities for young children, sports ac tivities and entertain ment in the form of a dance troupe and a pop group.

The street which is oc cupied by a tunnel into a walkway has seen a trans formation with the addi

tion of 55 trees, children’s playgrounds, a new foun tain, new lighting, bench es and shaded areas.

The mayor of Palma, Jose Hila, confirmed: “Nuredduna was, until now, a street full of cars. Now, it is a new meeting point for the citizens and

residents of Pere Garau. It is a new space for pedes trians young and old.

“We wanted to cele brate with a party so that everyone could enjoy the new area of the city which proves that the transformation of Palma is underway.”

Flag a cab

NEW timetables have been imposed by Palma City Council on taxi drivers which have left the drivers somewhat divided.

The city council’s plan means 20 per cent of the drivers will not be required to work every day, with the remaining 80 per cent being divided into two shifts of 12 and a half hours. A morning shift from 1.45am until 2.15pm and an afternoon shift of 1.45pm until 2.15am. This regulation, identical to the one imposed last winter, does not convince a large part of the sector and in fact, in 2021 two lawsuits were filed in this re gard, one by a taxi driver who runs a radio taxi station and the other by an associate of the Confederation of Business Associ ations of the Balearic Islands (CAEB). CAEB’s representative, Antoni Bauza, strongly criticised the measure on Monday Oc tober 31, since, in his opinion, “this winter there will be a greater demand for vehicles because 80 of the hotels in the municipality have already announced that they will not close.” He also confirmed that he was “totally against the reg ulation since mistakes of the past are being repeated.”

Winter time

Anna Ellis

AVID public transport users will know that as of Tuesday, November 1, the new winter timetable for the Mallorca in tercity bus service came into force. The good news is that in comparison to last year’s win ter season, the areas with the highest demand and Palma are increasing the number of frequencies and extending their timetable.

The 501 line that connects

Manacor, Felanitx, Campos and Llucmajor with Palma will have seven additonal return journeys on weekdays and five more on weekends and holidays. In addition, between 12.45pm and 7.20pm there will be a bus every 30 minutes between Palma and Llucma jor. Line 401 Cala Millor sud ‐Palma will maintain the bus service between 2.35pm and 5.40.pm with departures from Palma every 30 minutes.

The new timetable also in troduces improvements in the connections with the two hospitals in Palma. The Lluc major and S’Arenal de Lluc major districts will have a di rect connection to Son Llatzer hospital on the 508 line that connects Sa Rapita with Pal ma.

For bus times and prices vis it www.tib.org.

THE Calvia Town Hall has closed a leisure es tablishment in the tourist area of Magaluf, in Mallorca, for one year due to the pres ence of a 12‐year‐old girl who was drunk, as well as for exceeding the permitted capacity. These two offences on their own are conse quential but combined together they are con sidered very serious.

In addition, a fine of €115,000 was imposed on the owner for the sanctions. The name of the premises has not been made public, but it is in Cami de sa Por rassa de Magaluf, as re ported by a local news source on November 1.

The sanctioning pro ceedings stem from a joint inspection at the end of April by the Guardia Civil and the Lo cal Police of Calvia, who found the premises had far exceeded the per mitted capacity, endan gering people’s safety. For this reason, they evicted them.

Specifically, there were 254 people and eight workers, almost double the permitted capacity of 173 cus tomers.

In addition, there was a drunken 12‐year‐old minor inside who was drinking a mixed drink containing alcohol.

GREEN AREA: A space for pedestrians young and old.

Image: Palma City Council

You’re on camera

DO you ever feel like big brother is watching you? Llucmajor Town Council announced on Monday October 31, that it has now acquired a drone for the town in the hope it will carry out a variety of tasks.

In the midst of the era of technological ad vances, Llucmajor’s drone will be able to carry out surveillance which will enable the control of flooding and its prevention, the search for people and the exploration of areas of diffi cult access.

The drone will also help the Department of Urban Planning and the Environment have more control over illegal buildings, the De partment confirmed: “Drones are a great help in checking compliance with the law and in monitoring works being carried out.”

Drones have great potential as they can move quickly over uneven terrain and over come any type of obstacle, providing images from a bird’s eye view and relaying informa tion collected from the different sensors.

Llucmajor Town Council’s aim is to con stantly improve and modernise its services.

Conserving water

THE Commission for the Pro motion of Sustainable Tourism (CITS) approved on Friday Oc tober 28, 27 projects to be fi nanced with €138.3m from the proceeds of the Sustain able Tourism Tax. Of the 27 projects approved, more than half (14) have a direct or indi

rect impact on all the munici palities of the Balearic Islands.

One of the approved pro jects has been put forward by Calvia to extend their regener ated water network which is produced at the plant of Santa Ponsa and will involve an in vestment of €3,530,010.

Calvia Town Council is devel oping a package of actions to optimise its water resources.

Reuse of treated wastewa ter can be considered a reliable water supply, quite indepen dent from seasonal drought. This can be very beneficial to farming activities.

NEW DRONE: Will enable more control.

Image: Llucmajor City Council

Ukraine gives thanks

UKRAINE’S Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov has thanked Spain’s Defence Minister Margarita Robles for the new support from the Spanish mil itary.

Speaking at a news video conference meeting between the two on Thursday, Octo ber 27, Reznikov and Robles discussed the current situa tion in Ukraine and various aspects of the Spanish mili

tary support provided to the war‐torn country since the beginning of the Russian inva sion.

Spain’s Robles gave an up date on current shipments of material and equipment and detailed the forecasts for fu ture deliveries over the com ing weeks.

She said that Spain would maintain “all the necessary effort, as it has been doing

Accidental fall

THE death of a schoolboy who fell from a seventh‐floor window on an exchange trip in Cordoba has been ruled ‘ac cidental’ at an inquest held on Monday October 24, at Avon Coroner’s Court.

Max McMullen, aged 15, fell out of his host family’s apartment on October 19, 2019 while on an exchange trip in the Andalucian city, an inquest heard.

It is understood that the pupil, from Beechen Cliff

School in Bath, might have been trying to fix a window shutter before he fell to his death. The court heard how Max seemed to be a happy young man who loved sports and had met with friends in a local park the night he died.

Max’s family said in a state ment outside Avon Coroner’s Court that he was an “amaz ingly talented and special per son” but added that they will “never forgive” what hap pened.

throughout these eight months of war” and revealed that Spain “feels very proud of the courage of the Ukraini an people and armed forces.”

Reznikov shared his grati tude to Spain for its support over the past eight months.

He added that he “greatly appreciated the speed of Spain’s reaction to the new needs that have arisen on the ground.”

ACCIDENTAL: Death of schoolboy who fell from 7th floor window in Córdoba.

They added “The trauma of the past three years preparing and waiting for the inquest has been more emotionally draining than ever imagin able. Max will never be for gotten by everyone who knew him.”

Credit: JustGiving.com.

Forecast fortunes

SPAIN’S famous weather boy, Jorge Rey, has released his weather predictions for the upcoming winter. And we don’t have long to wait for rainfall and even snow, which is due in November according to the aspiring me teorologist.

Appearing on Telecinco on October 24, Rey announced that he expects ‘significant’ rainfall during November that will put an end to months of drought in some areas of the country. He also expects some snowfall in

medium to high altitudes during November.

He expects further snow fall in December and Janury, hinting at the possibility of a repeat of 2021 Storm Filom ena which brought unusually high snowfall to Spain and Portugal.

The 16‐year‐old from a small town near Burgos has

A FUTURISTIC aero‐taxi ser vice was tested in a town in Jaen on October 26. The air taxi prototype is part of the European Uspace4UAM pro ject, which advocates for sus tainable and alternative forms of public transport. The drone‐like air taxi has been developed by Umiles Next and Tecnalia technology com panies and took its maiden

a passion for the weather and has been rapidly gaining fans from all over the coun try with fascinating predic tions.

His methods of prediction are not scientifically‐sound, opting to use the traditional cabañuelas system of pre dicting the weather by ob serving nature, but that has n’t stopped him from amassing more than 14,000 social media followers.

Rey learned the ancient system from a local shep herd and has been develop ing his passion ever since.

Flying taxi

public flight at the Atlas Exper imental Flight Centre in Vil lacarrillo. Air taxis could speed up journeys and could be par ticularly useful for emergency services. The aero‐taxi has been developed with invest ments from the European Horizon 2020 fund as part of the European U‐Space system

Persistent prices

THE Spanish property market defies European trends of property value, as values in Spain remain high despite European dips in value.

Economists at the Eu ropean Central Bank re ported a general fall in house values in the Euro zone in early October, but Spain is flouting the trend as property values remain stable.

The news comes as a report revealed that non‐resident foreigners are still keen to spend

money on Spanish prop erty, and pay a lot more than foreign residents or Spanish nationals on property.

Furthermore, property experts in Spain say that supply of properties is likely to remain below demand, so a steep drop in property value will be avoided in Spain.

A report by the Span

ish Notary Council re vealed that foreign non‐residents spend an aver age of €2,522 per square metre on property in Spain, compared with foreign residents who spend an average of €1,622 per square metre, and Spanish nationals who pay €1,560 per square metre for proper ty.

Traveller arrested in Iran

which is investigating ways that drones could be used in urban environments for ev eryday tasks. Representatives from technology and trans port industries watched the aero‐taxi launch alongside members of the regional gov ernment, including Luis Miguel Carmona, who high lighted that safety is a priority with the inventions.

A MISSING Spanish ad venturer was reportedly found in an Iranian prison on Wednesday October 26. Santiago Sánchez Cogedor was allegedly arrested alongside his translator after visiting the tomb of Mahsa Amini, the 22‐year‐old Iranian woman murdered at the hands of the country’s morali ty police.

The Real Madrid fan was undertaking the epic journey from Madrid to Doha on foot, to watch the World Cup in November, when he went missing around three weeks ago.

Sánchez Cogedor was thought to have gone missing on the border between Iraq and Iran

A national TV channel then broke the news of his arrest, saying he was arrested in Saqez, a bor der city in Iranian Kur distan.

Reporters later al leged that the adven turer had been taken to the Sanandaj Prison near to the border, “which is where they usually send foreign ers.”

Betty Henderson

Weather boy is forecasting significant rainfall.

A MILESTONE was reached on Oc tober 26, as Spain announced it has now welcomed more than 150,000 Ukrainians fleeing war fol lowing the Russian invasion.

The announcement means that Spain has been one of the most welcoming countries to Ukrainian refugees in Europe.

More than 64 per cent of the

Landmark for Ukrainians

Ukrainian refugees granted asy lum in Spain are women, and al most 35 per cent are children ac cording to figures from the Spanish Ministry of the Interior. A total of 150,078 asylum applica

tions have been processed and granted in the eight months since the scheme opened on March 10.

Statistics revealed that the Va lencian Community led in terms of numbers of Ukrainian refugees re

settled with 38,873. Catalonia closely followed with 34,070, then Madrid with 22,002 and Andalucia with 21,305 Ukrainians wel comed. An emergency scheme to deal with asylum requests created

in March has been responsible for the rapid resettlement. Authori ties have a maximum of 24 hours to decide the outcome of asylum applications from Ukrainian refugees which has sped up the process.

Temporary protections granted to successful applicants include residency and a work permit.

Cancer breakthrough

Betty Henderson

A MONUMENTAL moment was achieved for cancer re search on October 27 as sci entists in Barcelona devel oped a drug that successfully targets a cancer

causing gene. The drug showed promising results in phase one clinical trials.

The drug targets the gene ‘MYC’, which causes and maintains most common types of cancer, including

breast, lung, ovarian and prostate cancers.

Scientists at the Vall d’Hebron Institute of Oncol ogy in Barcelona developed a mini‐protein called OMO‐103 which can reach the nu cleus of cells. It entered clin ical trials in April 2021 and was tested on a range of cancers.

Dr Elena Garralda, Direc tor of the Early Drug Devel opment Unit at the oncolo gy institute explained why the finding was significant saying, “To date, no drug that inhibits MYC has been approved for clinical use.” The drug will now progress to phase two clinical trials, which is unprecedented.

The drug does not have any significant side effects except one case of pancreas inflammation which will be further tested.

Scientists said that cancer is most effectively targeted through a ‘multi‐pronged approach’ and a drug like this could be revolutionary.

Get your shopping discounts in Calvia!!

ENJOY everything you are looking for in Calvia, with the added bonus of dis count vouchers in your favourite establishments!

People over 16 years of age can easily apply for discounts at establish ments such as restaurants, hairdressers, beauty sa lons and much more through the winter months ‐ even do your Christmas shopping and receive discounts!

The campaign aims to support small local busi nesses in Calvia and is a fantastic economic effort

from the town halls.

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

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

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

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

• How do I get my vouchers?

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

To apply, you will need to be a resident of Calvia

municipality and input your ID into the website.

• Where can I use my vouchers?

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

You can find out which shops are taking part by checking on the Calvia marketplace website, here in the Euro Weekly News , and establishments will al so display a fuchsia ‘C’ sticker on their door.

• How do I redeem my vouchers?

To make things easier, no physical vouchers will be issued, so you will not need to download or print anything. The voucher will be a QR code that will be shown at participating es tablishments.

For example, if you get a pedicure costing €20 you

will give the business one voucher, and you will have just paid €10!!!

If you go out for a meal at a participating restau rant and it costs €25, pay with a voucher plus €5, which means the meal has only cost you €15!!

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

These vouchers are lim ited so make sure you keep checking on the Calvia marketplace web site to see how many are still available. The vouch ers will usually be avail able until January ‐ Febru ary next year.

Head to the website comercio.calvia.com, and click on the image to choose your language. We will also be printing some of the businesses involved each week in the paper!

Getting all festive

HEAD to Palma’s city centre on Saturday November 19 at 8pm, for the switching on of the Christmas Lights, a week earlier than last year.

Live music and lots of exciting entertainment will liven up the streets of the vibrant city.

There will be plenty of festive fun starting at 5.30pm, especially for children.

The switching on of the Christmas lights, which will take place at the Plaça de la Reina, is the inaugural event of the Christmas festivi ties and the main theme this year is ‘movement’, as an analogy of collective re covery and activation, especially after the last few years of restric tions due to the Covid‐19 pandemic.

The show continues until January 7. Shops will stay open seven days a week, most until 8pm (except on Sun day when they close a little earlier), and the Christmas markets start as early as mid‐November, so plenty of time for some Christ mas shopping in Pal ma!

Cathedral’s spectacular display

THE Cathedral of Santa Maria is the main reli gious emblem of the is land with millions of visi tors each year. Built in front of the sea between the 14th and 16th cen turies, it is the jewel of the island’s Gothic archi tecture, and it houses 59 windows and five rosettes that come to gether to create a unique visual experience.

If you are in Mallorca on Friday November 11, (or February 2) you can’t miss the light show put on by the sun’s position in the sky and the rosettes in the Cathedral.

Just twice a year, the two rose windows of La Seu become aligned, forming a magical and mysterious figure of eight.

Experts believe that the rose windows were not purposefully constructed to create this phe nomenon, but this only heightens public interest. The first rays of morning sunshine which illuminate the main facade trigger an explosion of colour from the 1,116 pieces of stained‐glass.

For more information or to buy tickets: https://cat edraldemallorca.org/en/.

Cycling Champions League

THE UCI Track Champions League (UCI TCL) is an international track cycling championship open to the best riders from around the world, who will compete to determine who is the world’s best sprint and endurance rider. The race format will be simplified to include the fastest and most exciting disci plines. Riders will compete for UCI points, prize money and the UCI TCL winners trophy. The Velòdrom Illes Balears, Palma will host round one, on Saturday November 12 at 6.45pm.

Magical rose windows.

Out of fashion

SPANISH fashion retail group Inditex has sold its Russian stores after sus pending sales in March of this year following the inva sion of Ukraine.

It has now written to the National Securities Market Council advising that it has reached an initial agree ment for the sale of its busi ness in the Russian Federa tion to Daher group based in

the United Arab Emirates.

Daher has significant in terests in the retail and real estate industry and the cur rently unreleased full terms of the transaction, which is subject to government ap proval, will enable the preservation of a substantial number of jobs generated by Inditex Group in Russia.

This is not a simple way of ‘white washing’ continued

trade in Russia by supplying branded goods to Daher and the agreement anticipates the takeover of the 515 stores and their staff.

Daher will (subject to agreement of landlords of the properties where leases are being transferred) re name the stores and stock their own brands which are completely unrelated to In ditex.

Economic excitement

SPAIN is set to eventually recover pre‐pandemic economic activity levels, in 2024. The Independent Authority for Fis cal Responsibility (Airef) announced its forecast on Monday October 24, as part of its macroeconomic analysis and bud get report.

The authority predicts that the Span ish economy will enter a technical reces sion in the fourth quarter of this year, and will continue to experience a falling GDP in the first quarter of 2023.

However, it expects the economy to make a recovery to end 2023 with a 1.5

per cent growth rate in GDP and recover pre‐pandemic economic activity levels by 2024.

The Director of Economic Analysis, Es ther Gordo explained that the technical recession does not mean that the Span ish economy is actually in recession, highlighting that employment is increas ing and GDP has grown this year.

With falls in GDP being forecast for other European countries in 2023, in cluding Germany and Italy, Gordo added that it will be hard for Spain to avoid the trend.

PRESSEUROPEAN

DENMARK

Green question

THE European Union has granted €8.5 million to researchers from the University of Copenhagen to help them investigate how long-ago Greenland was actually green as by drilling deep ice cores, they can gauge when there were forests and what trees they consisted of.

THE NETHERLANDS

Asian invader

MODERN technology is being used in the Dutch Government’s fight against the invading Asian hornet which kills and eats honey bees and other insects, as for the first time ever scientists managed to attach a tiny transmitter to an individual that returned to its nest.

BELGIUM

Chip crisis

INFLATION has hit one of the nation’s favourites as the president of the Belgian Frites Association has announced that the price of a single portion of frites will probably rise by between 10 and 20 per cent by the end of this year.

GERMANY

High time

TAKING over from Holland as the most liberal country with regards to cannabis in the European Union, the German government has announced that it will legalise the possession for personal use of up to one ounce of cannabis as well as allow its sale from regulated shops.

FRANCE

Supermarket sweep

POLICE in the south-west town of Lons were called to a supermarket where staff had discovered that a 47-year-old Parisian man had stayed there overnight, consuming prawns, crisps, sausages and a bottle of whisky before trying to abscond with six computers worth €3,000.

NORWAY

Suspected spy

POLICE have arrested an academic working at the University of Tromsø in the Arctic Circle on suspicion of secretly spying for Russia and they have told Norwegian broadcaster NRK that although he claims to be Brazilian, they believe he is a Russian with fake papers.

FINLAND

Gender equality

THE most recent index compiled by the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE) has ranked Finland fourth in the European Union trailing Sweden, Denmark and the Netherlands, but still significantly higher than the EU average and a significant advance on 2010 results.

IRELAND

Open all hours

A SUDDEN decision reportedly made by the Irish Justice Minister to recommend that nightclubs in the Republic be allowed to remain open until 6am without apparently any consultation with the Gardai (police force) is causing significant concern as officers fear that they will be under resourced.

ITALY

Cliff hanger

PERHAPS he was watching the movie Speed but a bus driver on Rome’s 32 bus service has been suspended without pay by public transport company ATAC after a passenger posted a video of the driver watching a film as he manoeuvred through Rome’s busy streets.

PORTUGAL

Brewers droop

BREWERS and beer drinkers are not happy with the Portuguese government as beer currently carries a 23 per cent tax as opposed to wine which is 13 per cent, but a 2023 proposal sees a further 4 per cent added to beer prices whilst wine escapes.

UKRAINE

Twin towns

VISITING Kyiv and having to spend time in an air raid shelter due to fear of attack, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier announced that the Bavarian town of Waldkirchen, would become twinned with Koriukivka in Chernihiv as a sign of German support and friendship with Ukraine.

SWEDEN Snakes alive

PROBABLY the most venomous reptile in the world, a King Cobra initially named Sir Vas (Sir Hiss) and now known as Houdini has escaped from the Skansen Aquarium in Stockholm after discovering that newly installed low energy bulbs were not too hot to squeeze past.

STAT OF WEEK €4.84 billion

is the amount that Spanish bank BBVA earned in the first nine months of 2022, an increase of 46 per cent over the previous year.

ECB rate hike FINANCE

BUSINESS EXTRA

50p coin

THE UK Royal Mint has start ed producing the first coin featuring the effigy of King Charles III to be put into gen eral circulation. The 50p coin which carries the same de sign as the Queen’s Corona tion coin of 1953 on its re verse will start to circulate in December.

GDP stalls

THE initial forecast from the National Institute of Statis tics (INE) suggests that busi ness growth in the third quarter of 2022 has almost stalled and Spain’s GDP has increased by just 0.2 per cent even though the summer saw a large influx of tourists.

Empty shops

ALTHOUGH some UK High Streets especially in the North and Wales are a little like ghost towns, a report by BRC and Local Data Compa ny suggests that there are slightly fewer empty shops in the third quarter with the figure standing at 13.9 per cent.

Saudi relations

THE third Saudi‐Spanish Joint Committee meeting in Madrid ended with a com mitment from both govern ments to continue to work together to allow Spanish companies to assist Saudi Arabia in increasing its indus trial and technological base and for Saudis to increase in vestment in Spain.

M&S news

THE ongoing question con cerning the flagship Marks and Spencer building in Ox ford Street continues as the company has now warned an enquiry that it will close its shop location if its plans to demolish and rebuild the property are refused, accord ing to the BBC.

Spain’s 2023 budget

THOSE with money to invest in the eurozone will be pleased that on Thursday October 27, the Eu ropean Central Bank (ECB) decid ed to raise interest rates again to try to stem the problem of infla tion.

Adding 0.75 per cent to make the new loan rate of 1.5 per cent the highest since 2009, the ECB in dicated that there is likely to be at least one further increase before the end of the year.

In addition, and as forewarned by the Governor of the Bank of Spain, the bank is also trying to call in loans taken at low rates by commercial banks throughout the 19 eurozone member states.

Girl’s best friend

SPAIN’S 2023 Budget overcame its first approval hurdle on Thursday October 27 when proposed amendments were rejected by the Lower House.

Having to rely on the support of po litical parties that do not form part of the government is to some extent a gamble but it appears that at the mo ment the government can rely on support from the minor parties.

In Parliament the Minister of Fi nance and Public Administration, María Jesús Montero, thanked the political groups that voted against the amendments to the public accounts and said that she would continue,

during the coming weeks, to negoti ate with those parties in order to en sure approval of the Budget, incorpo rating any improvements that may be agreed upon during the process.

During the full debate that took place in Congress, Minister Montero argued that the 2023 General Bud gets are essential to send a message of economic stability in a context of uncertainty due to the Russian inva sion of Ukraine.

It prioritises social justice, by strengthening the Welfare State and will allocate six out of every €10 to so cial spending and economic efficiency

that will promote inclusive growth, the creation of quality employment and the transformation of industry thanks to the European Recovery Fund.

During her speeches, the minister made it clear that the 2023 Budget valued as €274.445 billion include measures that benefit the middle and working class, protect vulnerable groups and help the productive fabric.

At the same time, the accounts maintain the commitment to fiscal consolidation by reducing the deficit and public debt, which will continue their downward path.

Quirky idea that might sell

A UNIQUE new sparkling wine will be available in Spain in the New Year as it comes in three forms, Sin gle, Married and Divorced.

This is a new private label sparkling wine from France created by Irene Patar who believes that everyone should be encouraged to celebrate their relationship status.

Launching first in the USA for the Holiday Season and New Year, Patar said “I con ceptualised Single Married Divorced as a way for all of us to raise a glass to cele brate who we are. I know it’s not easy out there. I know. I’ve been married to my husband for almost 20

years and sometimes I feel like all three in one day!”

She laughingly added “Nobody’s perfect. But de spite all that, I believe it’s

time for all of us to live it up and celebrate who we are and be proud of it!”

Speaking about the jour ney to create the label, she

explained “In the last 20 years, I’ve evolved so much.

“In the beginning of my marriage, I lived my life through my husband’s eyes. I wasn’t being me. Eventual ly I had an awakening and started taking control of my life and the person I wanted to be. And I celebrate that every day.”

Regardless of your rela tionship status, if you need to celebrate or commiser ate, then you can choose to enjoy being Single, Married or Divorced with the fizz which will be available in Spain from Bodega Maes trazgo in Barcelona from next year.

THE two words ‘blood diamonds’ brings to life the horror of coun tries such as Liberia and Sierra Leone torn apart by civil war, with diamonds being one of the main targets of rebels.

In theory, a code exists where by jewellers can trace the history of a diamond to ensure it hasn’t been extracted by slave labour, but a company in the UK Opsydia is now able to use its invention to penetrate the surface of any dia mond and micro engrave its provenance.

This is even more important now that man made diamonds are so good that they can easily confuse all except for experts.

Taking off

DESPITE all of the doom and gloom forecast by airlines dur ing the pandemic, the latest fig ures from IAG which owns Aer Lingus, British Airways, Iberia and Vueling make good reading for shareholders.

Leisure travel has bounced back in the first three quarters of 2022 and the group has de clared an operating profit of €770 million as opposed to a loss of €2.487 billion in the same period of 2021.

Income continues to grow even though it has been restrict ed in the number of flights that it can run out of London Heathrow and many of the Asia‐Pacific routes are still closed.

YOU: Minister Montero in black dress celebrates the vote.

3I Group 1.177,50 1.179,46 1.162,00 21,31K

Abrdn 155,30 155,75 153,55 371,25K

Admiral Group 2.013,0 2.013,0 1.970,5 37,99K

Anglo American 2.715,5 2.730,0 2.674,0 312,88K

Antofagasta 1.218,50 1.230,50 1.203,50 169,14K

Ashtead Group 4.516,0 4.560,0 4.429,0 92,48K

Associated British Foods 1.371,5 1.374,0 1.360,0 79,90K

AstraZeneca 10.010,0 10.097,6 9.984,0 10,57K

Auto Trader Group Plc 528,60 528,60 515,40 151,82K

Aveva 3.143,0 3.147,0 3.128,0 31,08K

Aviva 416,10 416,80 412,70 493,83K

B&M European Value Retail SA328,10 328,10 321,70 191,89K

BAE Systems 807,41 818,60 807,20 294,52K

Barclays 150,20 151,30 148,94 3,83M

Barratt Developments 382,20 382,40 373,80 352,18K

Berkeley 3.593,0 3.591,0 3.526,0 18,09K

BHP Group Ltd 2.174,50 2.202,50 2.172,00 267,45K

BP 473,70 478,80 466,45 7,90M

British American Tobacco 3.442,5 3.456,0 3.417,5 205,61K

British Land Company 370,00 370,00 361,80 345,50K

BT Group 126,50 127,10 125,95 843,24K

Bunzl 2.851,0 2.850,0 2.815,0 33,84K

Burberry Group 1.885,2 1.884,0 1.866,5 44,56K

Carnival 674,7 676,4 664,0 204,09K

Centrica 70,00 70,16 69,46 446,32K

Coca Cola HBC AG 1.903,0 1.907,0 1.875,0 61,88K

Compass 1.844,00 1.847,00 1.830,50 140,37K

CRH 3.075,5 3.080,5 3.049,5 40,63K

Croda Intl 6.932,0 6.954,0 6.866,0 15,91K

DCC 4.937,0 4.944,0 4.889,0 18,09K

Diageo 3.588,5 3.603,5 3.557,0 200,33K

DS Smith 294,81 295,70 291,80 684,61K

EasyJet 340,95 341,30 331,00 460,09K

Experian 2.797,0 2.800,0 2.766,0 102,87K

Ferguson 9.562,0 9.668,0 9.514,0 62,73K

Flutter Entertainment 11.580,0 11.605,0 11.325,0 16,42K

Fresnillo 748,00 749,40 736,00 46,35K

Glencore 510,50 515,60 508,70 3,81M

GSK plc 1.394,39 1.398,00 1.388,00 291,86K

Halma 2.189,0 2.197,0 2.168,0 82,86K

Hargreaves Lansdown 774,00 780,60 772,00 23,43K

Hikma Pharma 1.256,50 1.256,50 1.244,00 38,90K

HSBC 447,75 448,65 442,50 3,68M

IAG 119,93

116,98 1,68M

Intermediate Capital 1.071,00 1.071,50 1.043,50 75,90K

Intertek 3.843,0 3.846,0 3.756,0 29,42K

ITV 69,06 69,12 67,62 885,17K

J Sainsbury 195,65 195,80 191,80 468,03K

Johnson Matthey 2.038,0 2.043,0 2.016,0 37,21K

Land Securities 580,60 580,60 564,40 230,06K

Legal & General 233,70 233,80 231,20 1,44M

Lloyds Banking 41,91 42,32 40,87 43,09M

London Stock Exchange 7.524,0 7.536,0 7.473,0 2,75K

Melrose Industries 112,65 112,85 111,10 1,02M

Mondi 1.515,00 1.522,50 1.507,00 64,36K

National Grid 934,80 936,12 925,40 36,26K

NatWest Group 243,60 244,50 240,00 1,10M

Next 5.150,0 5.156,0 5.062,0 26,66K

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

Ocado 503,40 506,00 495,20 181,27K

Persimmon 1.329,0 1.331,0 1.297,5 148,82K

Phoenix 550,00 550,40 544,80 257,72K

Prudential 822,60 822,60 807,60 389,70K

Reckitt Benckiser 5.610,0 5.702,0 5.597,5 13,38K

Relx 2.332,00 2.334,00 2.307,00 223,00K

Rentokil 542,00 543,60 535,40 802,72K

Rightmove 507,00 507,00 500,60 203,53K

Rio Tinto PLC 4.722,5 4.785,0 4.709,5 361,68K

Rolls-Royce Holdings 75,17 75,23 73,88 3,44M

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

Sage 739,60 741,80 735,40 111,92K

Samsung Electronics DRC 1.041,50 1.043,50 1.034,00 4,23K

Schroders 398,3 398,9 394,6 81,28K

Scottish Mortgage 748,30 750,00 740,60 177,83K

Segro 808,20 809,80 784,40 438,23K

Severn Trent 2.466,0 2.466,0 2.437,0 21,36K

Shell 2.370,0 2.401,0 2.293,5 428,61K

Smith & Nephew 1.019,50 1.021,00 1.012,00 101,91K

Smiths Group 1.554,00 1.560,00 1.547,50 85,72K

Spirax-Sarco Engineering 11.115,0 11.130,0 10.890,0 12,11K

SSE 1.523,59 1.529,00 1.510,00 133,56K

St. James’s Place 1.070,50 1.073,00 1.053,50 136,03K

Standard Chartered 534,20 535,20 523,40 748,68K

Taylor Wimpey 97,16 97,41 95,22 578,31K

Tesco 214,80 214,80 211,00 1,17M

Tui 130,35 131,30 129,40 389,15K

Unilever 3.868,5 3.908,0 3.849,0 464,88K

United Utilities 931,80 931,80 918,60 133,47K

Vodafone Group PLC 98,97 99,57 98,43 7,48M Whitbread 2.605,0 2.613,0 2.567,0 54,59K WPP 755,60 760,60 750,00 408,72K

DOW

3M 122,70 123,29 4,62M

American Express 146,88 149,50 146,47 3,36M

Amgen 266,66 267,98 261,51 3,00M

Apple 149,35 151,99 148,04 87,53M

Boeing 133,79 150,14 132,21 29,31M

Caterpillar 196,96 199,58 194,57 3,54M

Chevron 177,09 178,48 175,17 6,85M

Cisco 44,38 45,23 44,28 20,04M

Coca-Cola 59,39 59,78 58,86 15,81M

Dow 47,99 48,55 47,89 6,02M

Goldman Sachs 335,69 338,67 334,14 2,17M

Home Depot 290,15 291,87 286,17 2,61M

Honeywell 190,27 192,95 189,76 4,20M

IBM 135,01 135,86 132,81 5,10M

Intel 27,21 27,80 26,99 36,93M

J&J 172,21 172,57 170,52 6,11M

JPMorgan 124,11 125,20 122,88 10,74M

McDonald’s 256,61 260,69 256,12 3,58M

Merck&Co 98,41 99,28 98,00 10,37M

Microsoft 231,32 238,30 230,06 82,20M

Nike 92,39 94,35 90,70 8,54M

Procter&Gamble 131,78 132,57 130,40 6,60M

Salesforce Inc 159,91 164,12 158,70 6,54M

The Travelers 176,40 177,24 174,10 1,93M

UnitedHealth 543,17 547,64 540,21 2,70M

Verizon 36,43 36,71 36,20 20,24M

Visa A 203,33 206,37 196,50 15,45M

Walgreens Boots 35,51 36,13 35,44 5,66M

Walmart 141,14 142,04 139,82 6,91M

Walt Disney 104,63 107,43 103,53 9,15M

Most Advanced

ESSA Pharma +180.23% 115.17M

SVF Investment +47.95% 48.71K

Natural Order Acquisition +46.00% 65.53K

Oneconnect Fin +45.78% 5.72M

RLX Technology +42.98% 68.24M

Cipher Mining +42.56% 2.50M

Epiphany Technology Acquisition +39.64% 46.13K

Loyalty Ventures +39.60% 4.39M

Eqonex +38.24% 2.87M

Mobileye Global +37.95% 27.97M

Freight Tech +37.44% 11.94M

Most Declined

Golden Falcon Acquisition -53.57% 74.86K

Thermogenesis Holdings -49.56% 14.71M

Fednat Holding Co -30.98% 7.26M

Stride -29.35% 4.42M

Taysha Gene -27.52% 8.64M

Y mAbs Therapeutics -27.42% 2.10M

Sierra Metals Inc. -27.42% 1.76M

Meiwu Technology -22.27% 914.38K

Healthcare Triangle -21.50% 1.44M

Revelation Biosciences -21.41% 4.42M

Starry Holdings -19.64% 3.37M

Currency outlook: Pound rocked by UK fiscal and political turmoil, Euro undermined amid escalating Ukraine conflict

Euro

EUR/GBP: Down from £0.89 to £0.86 EUR/USD: Up from $0.96 to $0.98

The euro has struggled to attract support over the past month amid renewed concerns over the conflict in Ukraine.

Given the pressure the war has already placed on the Eurozone economy, EUR in vestors were unsurprisingly spooked by the ap parent escalation of the conflict in recent weeks.

Also weighing on EUR sentiment were fresh concerns over European energy security, follow ing an apparent attack on the Nord Stream gas pipelines.

However, helping to temper the euro’s losses has been the expectation that the European Central Bank (ECB) will deliver another aggres sive interest rate hike at the end of October.

Looking ahead, the immediate focus for EUR investors will be the ECB’s upcoming interest rate decision. With a 75bps hike largely priced in, any movement in the euro is likely to be tied to the bank’s forward guidance. Signals the bank will continue to raise rates aggressively could bolster the single currency.

Pound GBP/EUR: Up from €1.11 to €1.14

GBP/USD: Up from $1.08 to $1.13

It’s been an eventful few weeks for the pound, which traded with extreme volatility since the unveiling of the government’s much criticised mini-budget.

The initial fallout of the budget saw GBP/USD strike a new record low, with a full-blown Ster ling crisis only being narrowly avoided following a timely bond market intervention from the Bank of England (BoE).

A series of U-turns regarding the budget in fused further volatility into GBP exchange rates through the first part of October. As the govern ment sought to calm market jitters.

The sacking of Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng and the scrapping of almost the entire budget by his successor Jeremy Hunt, offered some respite for the pound. Before Liz Truss’s resigna tion as PM injected fresh volatility into the cur rency.

The coming month is likely to see trade in the pound remain highly erratic. Political uncertainty remains a key risk to Sterling, while an oversized interest rate hike from the BoE could also infuse volatility into GBP exchange rates.

US Dollar

USD/GBP: Down from $0.87 to $0.88 USD/EUR: Down from €10.3 to €1.01

UK Budget postponed

In work

THE number of people em ployed in Spain increased by more than 514,00 during the last year and by 77,700 in the third quarter, which allowed employment to reach 20,545,700 workers, the highest since 2008.

Keep calm

WORRIES about how to pay for essentials, let alone luxu ries in the UK has, according to ITV and the Retail Trust, led to reports of a rise in abuse by the public on shop workers with some 70 per cent of employees saying things were getting worse.

Expansion

THANKS to booming turnover and profits, Span ish energy company Repsol continues to expand and has just announced it has ac quired a 27 per cent stake in the waste management company Acteco.

NO scary UK Halloween budget as it is postponed until November according to a release from Downing Street on Wednesday October 26.

Clearly new PM Rishi Sunak who has decided to continue to support Jeremy Hunt as Chancel lor won’t fall into the trap of a hurried budget, but wants to en sure that he will have input into the plans.

Having spent so long as Chan cellor himself and having stood against Liz Truss as the tax pru dent face of the Conservative Par ty, he will want some input espe cially as Jeremy Hunt has no background in finance, but is gen erally thought to be in favour of orthodox Treasury thinking, look ing to balance budgets and follow fiscal discipline.

Following confirmation that he would remain Chancellor, Hunt tweeted “It is going to be tough. But protecting the vulnerable ‐and people’s jobs, mortgages and bills ‐ will be at the front of our minds as we work to restore sta bility, confidence and long‐term growth.”

The decision to postpone the

autumn statement until Novem ber 17 was announced at the first full Cabinet meeting with the Chancellor sitting next to the Prime Minister, where it was also confirmed that there would be a new set of economic forecasts from the Office for Budget Re sponsibility.

Whilst this decision gives the government breathing space to

tweak the plans, which may in clude a review of stamp duty cuts as well as affordability of the triple lock pensions, it has put the Bank of England in a slightly diffi cult position.

Their next interest rate review is due today, Thursday Novem ber 3 and will have to be decided without the benefit of knowing all of the government’s plans.

The US dollar continued to draw support over the past four weeks, as skittish investors continued to favour the safe-haven currency.

This souring mood was attributed to the UK’s fiscal chaos, ongoing global recession fears and concerns over the war in Ukraine.

Federal Reserve interest rate hike bets also continued to underpin demand for the US dollar in recent weeks. USD investors expect the Fed to continue raising rates aggressively through the end of 2022.

However, it wasn’t all plain sailing for the ‘greenback’, with some underwhelming US data releases weighing on USD exchange rates at certain points throughout the month.

Going forward, the US dollar is likely to re main well supported as global recession fears continue to dictate market sentiment, with the prospect of another 75bps rate hike from the Fed also likely to underpin USD exchange rates.

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Back to Africa

Accompanied by Spanish Minister for Industry, Trade and Tourism, Reyes Maroto and a delegation of business men, this was a two‐nation whistle stop tour to promote friendship and the interests of Spanish companies.

On Wednesday October 26, the Spanish delegation met with Kenyan President William Ruto and expressed their joint support, signing several memorandums of un derstanding.

Then off to a meeting with President Cyril Ramaphosa as the following day they were in South Africa, an impor tant market for Spanish companies as 150 have invested in that country and bilateral trade between South Africa and Spain has almost quadrupled in the past 10 years.

Coping with prices

SPEAKING at a conference run by Spanish supermar ket chain Consum, Bernardo Rodilla, retail business di rector at Kantar which specialises in data analysis said that just over two thirds of Spanish households are ac tively trying to save money due to the cost‐of‐living crisis.

With prices on average increasing by 12.7 per cent so far this year, Rodilla indicated that in the grocery world, companies are trying to make foodstuffs as af fordable as possible and the cost of around half of all basic necessities has only risen by around 8 per cent.

Another way in which Spaniards are approaching the problem is to try to ensure that less food is wasted thus reducing their spend.

PRESIDENT Pedro Sánchez visited Kenya and South Africa as he continued to attempt to align Spain with countries across the continent.

Rishi Sunak and Jeremy Hunt at the first Cabinet meeting.

Credit: Simon Walker / No 10 Downing Street flickr

SINGLE CURRENCY: Could be bolstered by continuing to raise rates aggressively.

BY the time you read this British poli tics will probably have completed half dozen new triple somersaults. Re selecting Boris, whose ambi tions were quashed by the Covid pan demic, would of course have been one of the best decisions the Conser vatives ever made. Gleefully support ed by the BBC, they actually managed to rid themselves of the biggest dan ger the Labour party would have had to contend with in the next election.

Have no doubt; this antigovern ment media rhetoric is all a part of the left wing hierarchy plot to achieve victory. Their incensed bias reporting has become relentless. Sub jects and situations they can plausibly blame on the government, are filling their analyses to such an extent, that any news item capable of possibly raising optimism among the British public, is relegated to the bottom of a barrel of leftie gluttony, that can only be scraped up after all its contents of doom and gloom are totally dished out.

Don’t get me wrong, I believe the whole system is in complete chaos.

No vote from me

Frankly I wouldn’t vote for any of them. As an almost lifelong follower of spiritualism, I have always be lieved that the whole misinformed process of guiding and cultivating the inhabitants of our planet is wrong.

I believe we are still in the dark ages of human evolution; the solu tions of which will probably, assum ing we last that long, not be accom plished for at least another thousand years.

British TV has of course, just about hit rock bottom. Recently I watched repeats of ‘The Kenny Everett Show’, ‘Till Death Do Us Part’ and a number of others. These brilliant presenta tions, showed just how low the pre sent offerings have now sunk. All that you see for your licence fee these days are a multitude of quiz pro grammes, cooking twaddle, garden ing manure, housing purchases and utterly racially influenced vote seek ing adverts, screening mixed mar riages living in luxurious homes.

Almost unbelievably last week the long running series ‘Loose Women’ was substituted by ‘Loose Men,’ actu ally presented by four men!

Just how much longer are we going to put up with all this objectionable twaddle, which continually insults and demeans the majority of UK citi zens that are allowing themselves to be lured into surrendering their much loved country to the left wing hierar chy by a bunch of shadowy traitorous individuals, fully aware the majority of the British public are right wing supporters?

This power mad squad are utterly mindful that the only possible way to reverse the destruction the Conserva tive party inflicted in 2019 was to get shot of Boris and subsequently turn the country into a mixed culture soci ety they can inveigle into voting for the left.

Keep the faith. Love Leapy. leapylee2002@gmail.com. Expatradioscotland.com. Mon. Wed. Fri.

Big, splashy weddings

NORAJOHNSON BREAKINGVIEWS

THE average cost of a British wedding last year was £17,500, according to wedding website Hitched, while the average house price was around £300,000 this April, according to the Office for National Statistics.

Post‐lockdown, ev eryone deserves a party but if, with the cost‐of‐living crunch, it’s now a choice between a big wedding or house de posit, I know what I’d choose.

Expensive weddings are a rip off. The bride and groom are a sales person’s dream and the more add‐ons they can sell you the better their bonus. Who needs bits and pieces on the tables and fancy chairs. None of that will make you

happier or the day more memorable. Unless you can easily afford the ex pense, keep it small and simple and make sure it’s relaxed and fun.

Anybody who considers a big, splashy party to be more important than a roof over your head is bad news. A wedding day only lasts 24 hours. A marriage can last a lifetime (though frequently doesn’t). It makes far more sense to spend potentially limited funds on property as the length of marriage is invariably inversely proportional to the amount spent on the wedding itself. Sim ples!

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

NoraJohnson’sopinionsareherownandarenotnecessarilyrepresentativeofthoseofthepublishers,advertisersorsponsors.

Noraistheauthorofpopularpsychological suspenseandcrimethrillersandafreelancejournalist.

Nora’s latest thriller.

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PLEASE COVER UP

CAN somebody in authori ty in Mallorca explain to me why it is legal for Ger mans to strip naked on beaches in front of chil dren! Surely indecent ex posure is a crime !

Mallorca has nudist beaches all over the island. This obscene practice is to tally outrageous. Spain is beating the drum for peo ple to dress ‘appropriately’ ie no bikinis whilst walking around certain areas, yet these people stand there naked and I mean MEN AND WOMAN!

I have owned property on the island for 40 years and have watched this practice increase every single year.

Is indecent exposure in Mallorca a crime ? If not, WHY NOT?

Susan Farrell Hannah

Do the sums

His maths are as accu rate as Johnson, his 102 was actually 60 and Leapy Lee claims thousands of our soldiers were killed in Iraq, 179 British service personnel died, but that gets in the way of his rant.

Garry Turner

Just saying

I totally agree with the comments made in your article Complete chaos. I find your views honestly refreshing. You are not scared to say what most of us are thinking. Maybe if politicians adopted your policy of saying it

how it is, and not worry ing about political cor rectness, the UK would be in a far better national

and global position. Keep up the good work.

Bill Johnstone

OUR VIEW

NATIONAL HOLIDAYS

WORKERS in Spain enjoy 12 National Holidays, plus some extras depending on which Province, City, Town or Pueblo they live in.

Of the National Holidays, eight are religious holidays based on Catholicism, which in today’s multi-cultural society may seem to be somewhat outdated.

Most European countries celebrate Easter and Christmas, but for Spain to add the Three Kings, As sumption of Mary, All Saints’ Day, and the Immacu late Conception may appear to be somewhat unbal anced in what is heading towards being a secular society.

No-one (except perhaps some employers) wants to reduce the number of days people can take off, but in a modern industrial country to then have additional days off for local Saints and to practise the concept of puente (bridge) to make an extra-long weekend can’t be beneficial to the economy.

The Spanish love to party and of course there is nothing wrong with that and they have now adopted Halloween, so at least they can recover on All Saints’ Day!

This leads us to Christmas and in this time of everincreasing costs as well as potential electricity shortages, one must consider whether councils should put up their Christmas lights and if they do whether they should only keep them on for a limited number of hours each night.

Families are finding it difficult to cope, yet many children now expect a Christmas present as well as one on Three Kings night and will be disappointed if they don’t receive both.

This year, as in the past, many charities and con cerned individuals will be collecting toys for those chil dren whose parents genuinely can’t afford them, so please help if you can.

Entertaining pets

A leopard gecko is one of the easiest reptiles to look after and make friendly and fascinating pets. They do not require a great deal of space and are happy liv ing in a size appropriate terrarium.

They do like a warm cli mate so you will require a

schedules is needed.

You will need to put a substrate (reptile carpet) on the floor of the terrari um and have a hiding place, climbing material and rocks in order for the terrarium to feel more like home.

Leopard geckos eat main

along with a reptile multivi tamin once a week for younger geckos and twice a month for adults.

Leopard geckos drink water from a large shallow dish and will also bathe in their dish to maintain hy dration. Be sure you empty, clean

every day.

Some interesting facts: they can live for as long as 20years and can grow to 10inches in length. They don’t have ‘sticky’ fingers and toes like other geckos and they are not able to climb or walk on oth er vertical sur

Doggie dental care

IT is recommended you clean your dog’s teeth at least once a day, although research sug gests only a third of owners bother to do so.

Two‐thirds of vets say that owners are risking their dogs’ health by neglecting to keep their teeth clean, with one in seven suggesting a twice daily brushing.

This may seem extreme, but fewer than 30 per cent of own ers say they brush their four‐legged friend’s pearly whites at all, which can lead to problem atic, and expensive, doggy den tal care.Although many dog owners assume that halitosis comes with the territory, it is often the first sign of tooth and gum disease, and can be easily prevented via regular brushing and an improved di

et, according to vets.

Poor nutrition is the leading cause of periodontal issues, which can induce more serious issues such as tooth loss, blood poisoning, and even disease in other organs.

It seems that many owners believe that a chew stick is a suitable alternative to getting stuck in with the toothbrush and paste, of which specialised products are available, while others say that the process is too time‐consuming, or that their dog only receives dry food so there is no need.

Please ensure you buy tooth paste and brushes that are dog gie friendly as human tooth paste can contain fluoride, sodium lauryl sulfate and a sug ar substitute called Xylitol, all can be toxic to your dog.

Insect supper

IF you are a cat owner in Spain, chances are you have seen your beloved pet chase, maim or even consume a cockroach or two along the way.

The UN may encourage the human race to eat in sects to help save the planet, but just how good are creepy crawlies for our four‐legged companions?

Cats have a prey instinct that encourages them to chase down and often eat creatures that draw their attention and the fact that cockroaches are mainly active at night means that there is often little we can do to prevent this occurring.

A vet said:

“It is normal for a cat to chase down and eat its prey. It is their hunting instincts from their feline cousins. They might eat cockroaches and vomit the exoskeleton. It can be gross to look at, but it’s al right. All in all, you should not be worried about your cat.”

It is advised that you use insecticide sprays spar ingly, but if your feline has consumed a roach which you believe to be poisoned, you should take them to the vet to be on the safe side.

Smile for the camera.

Image: Shutterstock.com/DWI YULIANTO

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ROAD TEST byMarkSlack

THERE was a time when driving a Korean car meant most drivers would look at you with either pity or the view that you don’t have much money or taste in cars. Move for ward and today

Kias are trendy, cutting edge with hybrid and elec tric vehicles and a well‐deserved reputation for reliability and build quality.

The Kia look has evolved into one which is striking and head turning with many less informed drivers thinking they are far more expensive than is actually the case.

Kia’s range is a wide one with everything from a small city car in the Picanto through to a large SUV in the Sorento and the won derfully named Stinger that looks like a futuristic GT car with added practicality.

In the latest Sportage

Kia Sportage - head turning

sion offers enough equip ment to make you feel comforted, but at a price that doesn’t break the bank.

ward and unnecessarily fussy.

Kia’s mid‐size SUV strikes a head turning pose and of fers a myriad of power op tions which encompass petrol, diesel, mild hybrid (even in diesel form) and plug‐in hybrid along with manual and automatic gears plus two and all‐wheel‐drive.

Prices start from a mod est €32,343/£27,750 and in lead‐in form comes with LED lighting, front and rear parking sensors, auto lights

and wipers and more.

My mid‐range ‘3’ with manual gears and two‐wheel‐drive doesn’t benefit from hybrid power but does have an impressive ar ray of standard equipment that includes heated front and rear seats, heated steering wheel, multi‐zone climate control, cruise con trol and neat little touches like hooks on the back of the front seats. Priced at €37,239/£31,950 this ver

On the road the Sportage’s 1.6‐litre petrol engine offers useable perfor mance and mpg with a nicely slick six‐speed manual gearbox. Soaking up the worst of the bumps the Sportage is never going to live up to its sport moniker, but nonetheless it’s far from disappointing on cross country roads.

The car comes with auto hold, a useful feature that requires one press of the footbrake to hold the car stationary without apply ing the handbrake. Which is a good job as the hand brake is operated via a but ton on the right hand side of the dashboard. It’s the one thing that feels awk

The Kia is a delight to live with and very easy and un fussed to drive. It also turns heads as one of the

more striking cars you’re likely to see on our roads, and wonderfully doesn’t conform to the norm where all cars tend to look the same.

KIA RANGE: With everything from a small city car to a large SUV.

KAZUYOSHI MIURA has become the oldest goalscorer in the history of the Japan Football League, as reported on Sunday, October 30.

After Kazuyoshi Miura, nicknamed ‘King Kazu’ in Japan, converted a penalty for Suzuka PG, he became the JFL’s (Japan Football League) oldest goalscorer at 55 years and 246 days.

The 55‐year‐old striker scored his first goal for JFL Suzuka Point Getters (fourth division and semi‐professional level) from the penalty spot and helped the Mie side to a 3‐1 win over Tiamo Hirataka.

As noted by top sports journalist Dan Orlowitz, Miura’s record is “just a slight improvement over the previous record of 42 years and 50 days set by current Vissel

IRAN should be kicked out of the 2022 Qatar World Cup in sisted Shakhtar Donetsk’s general director, Serhiy Palkin.

Serhiy Palkin, the general director of Ukrainian football club FC Shakhtar Donetsk ad dressed FIFA and the football community on Thursday, Oc tober 27, suggesting that the national football team of Iran has no right to participate in

Oldest goalscorer

Kobe sporting director Hideki Nagai!”

Kazuyoshi Miura has also been part of the national team, being a regular player in the footballing boom experienced by the country in the 1990s and was the poster boy of the newly launched league in 1993. He also was part of the Japan squad that won the 1992 Asian Cup.

Miura started his career with Santos in Brazil in 1986 and has played for Genoa in Italy and Dinamo Zagreb. He also had stints in Croatia and Australia as well as at other Japanese sides.

Immediate ban

the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

Due to terrorist attacks on Ukraine by Iranian drones, Iran’s place at the tourna ment ‐ which will start in less than one month’s time ‐should be taken by Ukraine, claimed Palkin, as reported by a national news outlet.

Rinat Akhmetova, the Ukrainian club’s manager, said that while the Iranian leadership will have fun watching their team play at the World Cup, Ukrainians will be killed by Iranian drones and Iranian missiles.

“Already, almost 250 such

drones have attacked peace ful cities of Ukraine. Each of them was made and deliv ered by the Iranian authori ties,” read the appeal to FIFA.

Palkin called on FIFA and the entire international com munity to seek an immediate ban on the participation of the Iranian national team in the World Cup for their direct participation in terrorist at tacks against Ukrainians.

Charges dropped

PSG star Neymar has been cleared of fraud and corruption charges over his high‐profile Barcelona transfer.

The charges against foot baller Neymar, aged 30, and eight others accused in a trial over the Brazilian’s 2013 move from Santos to Barcelona have been dropped by Spanish prosecu tors.

They initially sought a two‐year prison term for Neymar ‐who is currently preparing to head to the World Cup in Qatar with Brazil next month ‐ along with a fine of €10 million, a case brought by Brazilian investment firm DIS, which owned 40 per cent of the rights to Neymar when he was at Santos.

The firm claims that Neymar, Barcelona, and the Brazilian club colluded to mask the true cost of his transfer thereby defrauding it of its legitimate financial interests, reporte a na tional news site.

Barca said the transfer was valued at €57.1 million, of which €6.8 million was given to DIS, but Spanish prosecutors believe the actual value was at least €83 million. DIS is seek ing to recover €35 million.

Prosecutor Luis Garcia Canton declared that “there is not the slightest hint of crime” and asked for all defendants to be acquitted at the trial in Barcelona.

PSG star Neymar cleared of fraud and corruption charges over Barcelona transfer.

Credit:

Suzuka

Japanese footballer Kazuyoshi Miura aka ‘King Kazu’ breaks another record.