Costa Blanca Olive Press - Issue 33

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The Brits are back!

COSTA BLANCA

Your expat

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Vol. 2 Issue 33 www.theolivepress.es June 25th - July 8th 2020

MADDIE SUSPECT’S GRANADA LAIR

Exclusive interviews See Page 8

Christian Brueckner’s Spanish hideaway

OLIVE PRESS WORLD EXCLUSIVE A DANGEROUS paedophile believed to have snatched English tot Maddie McCann visited southern Spain on many occasions.

German pervert Christian Brueckner hid out in the Alpujarras region of Granada often dealing drugs, the Olive Press can sensationally reveal.

According to his best friend, an Austrian who lived in the area for many years, he even visited just two or three weeks after Maddie went missing.

Michael Tatshl, who spent eight months in prison with Brueckner, now believes he is guilty of the murder of Madeleine.

Having spent 14 hours being grilled by police over the crime, he spoke to the Olive Press for the first time to explain why.

“He was a real pervert and talked about selling children to Morocco, I am pretty sure he did it,” he said this week.

Micha, 46, who lived in Orgiva for over a decade, revealed that Brueckner had visited the town on many occasions in his jaguar and various vans.

FAMILIAR SIGHT: Brueckner’s ‘Winnebago’

See full story on page 6

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Like Polly’s Javea, the new shop has thousands of quality used books, fiction and nonfiction, in English, Spanish, German, French and Dutch. Apart from the books that are extra special, they’ll still be 3 euros each with a euro credit if you want to return it.

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2

CRIME

www.theolivepress.es

NEWS IN BRIEF Splash down A NIGHT out for a drunken motorist ended up being a costly affair when he lost control and spun off the San Pedro del Pinatar portside road into the water, with him then failing a breath test.

Branched out POLICE have arrested a suspected burglar who hid in a tree after triggering a security alarm at a Guardamar restaurant and then threw branches at officers for three hours before he was finally detained.

June 25th - July 8th 2020

Boiler room gang

Brit involvement in pyramid scheme confirmed POLICE sources have confirmed ‘British involvement’ in a boiler room gang that fleeced at least €10 million from investors seeking high returns on an outrageous share investment scheme.

Around 250 people are said to have been conned in a comprehensive money laundering and fraud operation that promised interest

In the can AN East European gang filled up empty tomato cans to distribute marijuana across Europe, with police tracing three men from Lithuania, the Ukraine, and Poland to farms in Alicante on the Costa Blanca.

By Joshua Parfitt

rates as high as 40% annually.

Eight people were detained in Operation Torself with seven others still under investigation – at least one of the arrested is a British women, aged 27, Guardia Civil confirmed to the Olive

Baby cocaine shock A FIVE-month-old baby has been taken into care after it was found to have a high level of cocaine in a urine sample.

Her parents both tested positive for the drug after their car was involved in an accident on the A-7 in the Sangonera de Seca area of Murcia as they headed to their Gandia home.

The mother’s breast milk has been ruled out as a source of the cocaine, and authorities are working on the theory that the baby might have inhaled the drug.

She was placed into the care of Murcia’s child protection services with the parents facing child abandonment and crimes against public health charges.

BUSTED: Police moved in on Costa Blanca gang

Press.

A police spokesperson said they believed the Brit may have become ‘trapped’ after losing money in the scheme and subsequently ‘coldcalled’ other expats to recover her losses.

“The fraud worked by giving 40% returns on small investments, until the clients became overconfident and invested a large sum of money, which was then stolen.”

The spokesperson said victims were then recruited to catch new investors – even among friends and families – in the hope they might claw something back from an original payout via commission.

Several victims were known to take out loans, and one woman got into debt to the tune of €1 million.

Police have now frozen 43 bank accounts and seized nearly €200,000 cash, including more than €50,000 that was stashed in a baby’s pushchair at the alleged gang leader’s home.

Charges against the eight detained include fraud, faking documents, money laundering and belonging to a criminal gang.

Raids

Guardia agents raided addresses in Torrevieja, Callosa de Segura, and Redovan as well as locations further afield in Murcia city and Sucina.

Operation Torself started in February 2019 when a Madrid bank complained that accounts were being used illegally, with a single account laundering €1.5 million.

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Armed robbers GUARDIA CIVIL have arrested three men in Alicante who robbed unsuspecting car owners using the socalled Peruvian method.

The thieves punctured car tyres and robbed the owners at gunpoint, knifepoint or by distraction as they changed the wheel.

The trio are accused of five crimes of theft, two crimes of robbery and one of fraudulent use of a bank card.

Investigations began in March when two thefts occurred at Carrefour in Sant Joan d'Alacant.

On one occasion, the robbery victim chased the knife-wielding aggressor on foot, but he escaped.

Patricide GUARDIA CIVIL have detained a 30-year-old schizophrenic man for allegedly killing his father by slitting his throat.

The Spanish national, undergoing medical treatment for the condition, carried out the crime at their family home in the San Jaime neighborhood of Albatera, Alicante.

Agents attended the property on Friday, June 19, after the detainee’s mother had run to the nearest police station, warning that her son had lost his mind and threatened to kill his father, according to el Periodico.

NEWS

www.theolivepress.es

Chance in hell

MARKED MAN: Christie

LOVED: Willie Thorne

Snooker hero Thorne dies in Torrevieja SNOOKER legend Willie Thorne has died at Torrevieja’s Hospital Universitario.

The 66-year-old from Leicester announced in March that he was being treated for leukaemia.

As his health deteriorated he was placed into an induced coma after suffering from respiratory failure.

He latterly lived in a Villamartin apartment on the Orihuela Costa.

Thorne worked on BBC TV’s snooker coverage for many years until the 20172018 season when he was dropped.

His peak as a player was in the mid-eighties when he reached number seven in the world rankings.

Thorne’s funeral was held near Torrevieja yesterday.

His former carer Julie O’Neill said: “This is an immensely difficult time for many. The world lost a champion.”

HAVE you always dreamed of starring alongside a real life Hells Angel in a Hollywood production in Spain?

Well now you can.

A casting call has been sent out for Marked The Unforgiven, a high-octane new series about an American biker club.

Producers are seeking two actors for speaking parts in the show, which will start shooting in Almeria and Malaga in July.

The programme is an adaptation of Marked, the bestselling book

by George Christie, the founder of Hells Angels, Ventura.

A ‘Mediterranean or Californian look’ and ‘tattoos’ will be ‘an advantage’.

Applications should be sent to Lucy Carver at Lucy@ wanda-halcyon.com POSTER: For Marked

Talking bull…

F1 Star Lewis Hamilton slammed for tackling bullfighting

BRITISH F1 star Lewis Hamilton has been slammed over his incendiary bullfighting remarks.

The Mercedes-AMG Petronas driver, 35, posted a picture of a bloodied bull online with the caption: “This is truly disgusting Spain.”

The six-time world champion added: "Kids in Spain are taught to torture and kill bulls

TARGET: Hamilton slammed over comments

- starting at age 14.”

The vegan racer has been supporting a PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) campaign against kids taking part in bullfights.

His bullfighting comments drew scorn from several high profile figures in Spain, in-

Olive Press on TV - again!

SMILE!: Simon with Charlotte and Sophie EAGLE-EYED Olive Press readers may have noticed a guest appearance by Costa Blanca South journalist, Simon Wade, on TV earlier this week.

Wade appeared on Sun, Sea & Selling Houses on Monday, June 22, following the recording in November 2019.

The 42-year-old said: “We were just about to launch the Costa Blanca South edition of the Olive Press, and I knew the family at Casas Manuel would make for a great interview.”

As the Sunderland man walked into their Benijofar office, he stumbled upon the filming of their Channel 4 programme.

cluding well-known torero Cayetano Rivera Ordoñez.

Cayetano said: “Mr Lewis Hamilton doesn't like bullfights... So? “Anyways, before criticising someone else's culture, you should at least learn more about what you're talking about.”

Another leading bullfighter Fran Rivera also hit out at Hamilton. He said: “He is a person who has no idea what he is talking about, the first thing he should have to do is inform himself.

“He is past arrogance, exceeds pride, and ignorance.

I think it is an attack and a lack of respect for Spain, for all Spaniards and for our traditions.”

The Spanish Minister of Culture and Sport, Jose Manuel Rodriguez Uribes also waded into the row saying Hamilton’s words were ‘offensive’.

An El Espanol poll last year showed that 56% of Spaniards are against bullfighting, 24.7% in favour, and 18.9% indifferent.

June 25th - July 8th 2020

3

Miley plea SPANISH PM Pedro Sanchez and American pop star Miley Cyrus have become an unlikely Twitter partnership.

The duo tweeted each other regarding coronavirus and its impact on minorities, leading to a tidal wave of social media memes.

The 27-year-old former Disney star - goddaughter to Dolly Parton - tweeted: “Spain, you united in solidarity with Black Lives Matter in the US. We must keep standing together to tackle COVID-19 and its disproportionate impact on marginalised communities, especially communities of colour. Please join us.”

Sanchez replied: “Ours is a strong commitment, Miley. Unity and multilateral response is the only way forward.”

TWEETS: Miley to Spanish PM

No Djoke NOVAK Djokovic and his wife have tested positive for COVID-19 just weeks after leaving lockdown at his Marbella mansion.

The Serbian world number one, 33, and his partner, Jelena, 34 had attended his charity tennis tournament Adrious Tour Exhibition in Zadar, Croatia.

It is there that the 17-time Grand Slam-winner is thought to have contracted the virus, with several other pros who attended also testing positive.

Four tennis players, including Djokovic, Dimitrov, Borna Coric, and Victor Troicki all fell ill, as well as two of their trainers.

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NEWS

4

June 25th July 8th 2020

Hotting up

Alicante Airport installs thermal imaging cameras as it ramps up covid measures for summer AUTOMATIC thermal image cameras are being put into Alicante-Elche airport ahead of an increased flight schedule from July 1.

That’s the date when Spain has said that it will welcome back international tourists with budget carriers like A 54-year old man has died after locking himself out of a Denia apartment block and falling to the ground in an attempt to reach the balcony.

The drama unfolded on the third floor of the building as the man discovered he had left his keys inside his mother’s home on the urbanisation La Naranja.

He tried to get to the apartment by crossing over from his mother’s neighbour’s balcony, but he lost his footing and suffered a fatal fall.

He made a frantic attempt to grab the railing of a second-floor balcony, which gave way on his downward journey.

Policia Local agents were quickly on the scene and unsuccessfully tried to revive the man, who had trav-

Ryanair introducing a revised summer schedule.

Spain’s airport operator, AENA, said the automatic cameras in the arrivals area at Alicante-Elche will check the temperatures of passengers in order to stop the possible spread of the coro-

A fatal slip

REMOTE: Temp check

navirus.

At the moment, the very limited number of people flying in are getting an individual thermometer check.

Larger volumes of passengers are expected next month which has prompted AENA to install an automated thermal image system to stop long queues forming.

Medical

BALCONY: Man ripped railing as he fell elled from Madrid to stay with his mother.

Paramedics pronounced him dead shortly afterwards.

Any travellers presenting with a temperature of 37.5 degrees Celsius or higher will be taken to a special area for a medical assessment to be carried out.

If the check reveals possible virus symptoms, then a suspected carrier will have to get treatment in the first instance from the airport’s medical service.

An interview will also be conducted to find who they have been in contact with over the previous 14 days.

How did we save our readers £108,000 in hidden fees in the last week?

Now that Spain is returning to some semblance of normality, many of you are deciding to take control of your financial affairs. This inevitably means exploring your options with the various financial advisory companies working here in Spain.

One of the most popular products for Brits overseas looking for a more tax efficient, appropriate way to hold their investments is a Spanish compliant investment bond.

There are a number of providers of these products, including Quilter International, Prudential International, Lombard, SEB & STM. Spanish Compliant Investment Bonds are recognised tax wrappers, specifically designed for those who are tax resident in Spain. Within them you can build a diverse portfolio of regulated investment funds, including across different currencies like GBP, EUR and USD. If you don’t make withdrawals, your portfolio can grow effectively tax free.

When you withdraw money, this is very tax efficient, and the tax is actually calculated for you, and paid to the tax authorities here on your behalf in most circumstances.

Many of you will have seen we recently created a video explaining exactly how these products work, and how they can save substantial amounts of tax over UK investments like UK investment bonds, ISAs

Providing multi-award winning advice for your pensions, investments & tax planning. and investment platforms. In fact, in many cases these products can save more than 20% of the tax due on your investments

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Towards the end of this explainer video, the one thing I recommended was that if you are considering signing up to one of these products, to give Chorus a quick call or email first, just to double check the recommendation you are being given is fair and transparent.

Well, over the last week alone we were asked to check 7 recommendations for this type of product, and within those recommendations we were able to identify £108,000 of hidden fees and commissions.

That’s over £15,000 per recommendation!

Rather than quoting a transparent, upfront fee, and not tying the clients into these bonds, the IFAs were negotiating artificially inflated annual bond fees with the providers, as much as 4 times the going rate, and tying the clients into their bonds for up to 10 years. From this, they would be paid an initial commission from your investments of up to 8%.

Thankfully with these 7 people we were able to identify this by looking in more detail at the recommendations and saved

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them for a very uncertain financial future.

If you’d like to learn more about Spanish compliant bonds, or have had a recommendation for a Spanish compliant investment bond from Quilter International, Prudential International, Lombard, SEB, STM or others, we strongly recommend you visit the Chorus Financial website and hover over the ‘Investment Management’ Tab to learn more.

If you want to save money and increase the quality of your investment portfolio on any kind of product, including Spanish Compliant Investment Bonds, or pensions transfers into a SIPP or QROPs, please contact me on +34 664 398 702, email s.kelly.chorusfinancial. es or visit www.chorusfinancial.es.

The advisers trading as Chorus Financial are members of OpesFidelio and authorised to give financial advice subject to contract in parts of the EEA, including Spain, CNMV No Registro Oficial 3970. OpesFidelio is a trademarked network of the Aisa Group which includes Aisa Financial Planning Ltd and Aisa International s.r.o. Aisa Financial Planning is authorised and regulated in the UK as an independent financial adviser for UK retail clients by the Financial Conduct Authority, Reference number: 189652, and has permissions throughout the EEA under both directives IDD and MiFID. Aisa International s.r.o. is authorised and regulated in the Czech Republic as a financial adviser by the Czech National Bank and has permissions through selected EEA countries, including Spain.

Investment contracts are intended as medium to long term investments, and all investments have some level of risk. Figures in our articles are examples of what can be achieved and cannot be guaranteed; the value of your investments can go down as well as up. Fees and charges can vary and will be fully explained to you before any advice can take place. This article should not be considered as investment advice or a recommendation of any particular product.

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www.theolivepress.es

Beach alerts DENIA Town Hall has announced a free WhatsApp service for alerts concerning the destination’s coveted beaches.

Anyone signing up to the service will receive warnings on jellyfish sightings and dangerous weather.

The service is also intended to inform beach-users of COVID-19 protocols designed by the town hall.

The alerts will be used to warn people that certain beaches are over-occupied, as well as other relevant issues.

Anyone interested in using the service should save the number +34 689657638 into their phonebook.

By sending a WhatsApp text with the word ‘ALTA’, the texter will be immediately signed up to the service.

NEWS THE Spanish government will give up to €4,000 to people buying low emission cars.

Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez unveiled a €3.75 billion plan with 21 measures aimed at helping the automobile industry.

New for old Part of the amount will be direct aid, while €2.7 billion will be provided through soft loans for the sector through the state-owned bank, Instituto de Credito

Español (ICO).

Buyers will receive between €400 and €4,000 from the government to buy a new car that meets certain requirements, with this subsidy also being matched by manufacturers and dealerships.

Stores open seven days a week till January

SUNDAY shopping has returned to the Valencian Community’s tourist areas and will continue right through to next January.

Before 2018, large and medi-

By Alex Trelinski

um-sized stores in designated tourist areas were allowed to open all week throughout the

lar programme of appointments and theatre slots has been reinstated.

That´s after the coronavirus health emergency led to a big reduction in treating non-essential cases from

early March.

The company said that increased consultation hours has now led to fewer people in the hospital waiting areas, as strict safety rules remain in place.

Why Go to a Nursing Home When You Can STILL ENJOY LIVING IN YOUR OWN HOME

5

Trading grace Carry on doctor

TORREVIEJA Hospital has returned to a near-normal schedule for non-urgent operations and consultations.

The facility´s management company, Ribera Salud, says that most of the regu-

June 25th July 8th 2020

year, with a few bank holiday exceptions.

The rules changed two years ago with Sunday opening limited to six months per year.

The Valencian government said the measures were brought in to give shopworkers more time to spend with their families.

A number of councils in the southern Costa Blanca have complained that shoppers simply hopped across the border on a Sunday to the neighbouring Murcia region, depriving the local economy of their money.

Shop owners will hope that the Sunday return in parts of the Valencian Community will give them some much-needed extra revenue in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

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6

NEWS FEATURE

www.theolivepress.es Voted top expat paper in Spain

A campaigning, community newspaper, the Olive Press represents the huge expatriate community in Spain with an estimated readership, including the websites, of more than two million people a month.

OPINION Take care A SCROLL through expat Facebook groups will tell you that not everyone in Spain is best pleased at the return of foreign tourism.

After 100 days of lockdown, Brits and other nationalities have once again begun to descend on Spanish shores, albeit cautiously.

Many business-owners, especially those in the hospitality industry, are chuffed to bits at the thought of foreigners spending their euros.

However, some expats and Spaniards have expressed fears that there could be a ‘second wave’ of coronavirus.

Spain’s draconian lockdown was enacted sooner and removed later than that of the UK. Many who live here are worried at what they see as the laissez-faire approach to the virus adopted by the British public and the British Government.

Boris Johnson and his ministers have been lambasted for ‘returning to normal’ too soon, while Pedro Sanchez and his administration in Spain have been criticised for dragging their feet.

Whichever is the right approach, caution over foreign visitors is not only logical but necessary.

The coronavirus is still in Spain – a fact hammered home this week by the news of three outbreaks in the northern province of Huesca, with the affected areas reverted to Phase 2.

Caution at the arrival of outsiders is understandable and may prove the difference between freedom and a return to lockdown.

Time for closure AS each day goes past the suspicions mount that paedophile Christopher Brueckner is to blame for the disappearance of Madeleine McCann.

The Olive Press has tracked down the jailed pervert’s former ‘best friend’ Michael Tatschl who has given editor Jon Clarke a chilling insight into the mind of the serial offender.

It is a sobering testimony into the depravity of a criminal mind that makes us sleep a little easier in bed knowing that this monster is safely locked up behind bars.

But that is not enough. Answers are needed so that Maddie’s parents, Kate and Gerry McCann, can at least know what happened and perhaps rest a little easier themselves.

Tatschl is convinced that Brueckner is guilty. If he truly is and if he has any conscious at all then Brueckner should heed his former friend’s words. “I really hope they can finally close this case for the family and find Christian guilty for what he has done. He needs to admit it to the police and close it for good.”

Publisher / Editor

Jon Clarke, jon@theolivepress.es Charlie Smith charlie@theolivepress.es

Joshua Parfitt joshua@theolivepress.es

Laurence Dollimore laurence@theolivepress.es

John Culatto johnc@theolivepress.es

Dimitris Kouimtsidis dimitris@theolivepress.es

Dilip Kuner dilip@theolivepress.es

Isha Sesay isha.sesay@hotmail.com

Simon Wade simon@theolivepress.es

Admin Beatriz Sanllehí (+34) 951 273 575 admin@ theolivepress.es

Office manager Héctor Santaella (+34) 658 750 424 accounts@ theolivepress.es

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Newsdesk: 0034 951 273 575 For all sales and advertising enquiries please contact 951 27 35 75 Head office

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AWARDS

2016 - 2020 Best expat paper in Spain and the second best in the world. The Expat Survey Consumer Awards.

2012 - 2020

Named the best English language publication in Andalucia by the Rough Guides group.

Finca fiend

‘I know he snatched Maddie,’ says former traveller friend, who spent months with him in the Algarve and southern Spain

A

DANGEROUS paedophile linked to the disappearance of Madeleine McCann spent long periods of time in southern Spain, the Olive Press can reveal.

Convicted rapist Christian Brueckner was a regular visitor to the Alpujarras area of Granada, where he bought and sold drugs.

The Olive Press has discovered that the German sex offender, 43, would frequently stop en route to Portugal

By Jon Clarke, in Orgiva or Germany, in his various buses or vans.

And chillingly, he was seen in the area with an expensive new Winnebago just weeks after the toddler went missing from Portugal in May 2007.

“He was there in various vans and he came many times in his Jaguar,”

said his close friend Michael ‘Micha’ Tatschl, 46, who lived in the town of Orgiva for many years.

Austrian Tatschl - who had previously shared a home with him on the Algarve - told the Olive Press: “I am sure he snatched Maddie. I know he did it.

He was a pervert and a very strange man.”

The carpenter and petty criminal, who spent eight months in prison with Brueckner, knew the German well and

To catch a predator

How the Olive Press traced Maddie McCann suspect to sleepy inland village - and potentially cracked open the case

I

COULDN’T help but get the chills drivBy Laurence Dollimore ing late at night along the pitch black on the Algarve roads around the inland village of Barao de Sao Joao.

Were these silent trails used by Christian Brueckner to transport Madeleine Mc- the village provided another clue to what Cann to his lair back in May 2007? Was is likely a silent epidemic in these parts. the three-year-old alive... was she crying “Every Friday there’s a huge ‘pizza party’ for her parents? in a field near here and I’ve seen everyIt doesn’t bear thinking about, but it’s thing there. hard not to imagine the worst while “There’s heroin and every drug you can re-tracing the steps of potentially one of imagine, this week I watched a teenage Europe’s most dangerous paedophiles. girl gyrate and kiss a man in his 60s, it We had arrived in the Algarve earlier that was pretty weird.” day after police in Germany sensation- And then there was the ‘wanted man’, ally announced Brueckner as the main with a €50,000 reward on his head, who suspect in the case. he saw at the party the previous night.

With a press pack growing rapidly in our “And there was this couple walking wake, we visited two of the convicted around stark naked who simply squatted paedophile’s former homes, one in Praia and peed wherever they wanted.” da Luz and one in Monte Judeu, which is Such parties would have definitely ata few miles from the ‘alternative’ com- tracted Brueckner, who is said to have munity of Barao de Sao Joao and just befriended a ‘hippy flower-seller’ from 13 minutes from where Maddie was the village and who was a known drug snatched in 2007. dealer.

Then living out of his distinctive West- However, placing Brueckner anywhere falia van, having been evicted from his can be a tall order, not only because of rental home in Luz, while spending eight the time that has passed, but because months in prison, Brueckof the mostly hostile locals ner knew the area like the who don’t want to tarnish back of his hand.

“There’s heroin their slice of paradise, We soon learnt how the while the majority still think and every area is the quintessential the parents are responsimecca for so-called ‘van-lifble. drug you can ers’, who, for whatever moAs a man who now lives tivation, live out of camper imagine, it was above the Ocean Club vans, of all descriptions, apartment where Maddie pretty weird” travelling from town to stayed tells us: “The Mctown.

Canns are hated around While many are genuhere. When they put up ine and enjoy the off-the-grid lifestyle, posters everywhere for the 10th anniverthere’s no doubt it provides the perfect sary they were all torn down or covered cover (as do the communities around Or- in paint,” he chuckled. giva, in the Alpujarras region of Granada) But after reaching out to around 30 exfor monsters and criminals like Brueck- pats on various Facebook groups, on the ner, who began his reign of terror at aged off chance that someone knew Brueck17, when he molested a six-year-old girl ner and actually wanted to help, we got a in Germany. hit. A German woman told us he became “There are some very strange people pals with a British expat while living in a around here,” explained former yacht village named Foral in 2007, JUST AFTER dealer Jim, who works at the charming Maddie vanished.

Monte Rosa guesthouse, in Barao.

We headed there at first light and got He told us about a Dutchman, who had knocking on doors. After getting the cold been beaten to death in his bed just two shoulder from a few Brits, it was an elweeks earlier over a heroin deal gone derly German couple who were all too wrong - while one man covered in injec- keen to help. tion marks and bruises drew out cash in Talking slowly and worried about the

HIDEAWAY: The home in Foral, Portugal, where ramifications, they revealed how they had seen his distinctive Westfalia parked outside nearby Villa Bianca while staying with his longtime German friend Nicole Fehlinger, who rented the property from 2002 to 2009.

They couldn’t believe the police had never been in town and their story was confirmed by the owner, Lia Silva, who alarmingly revealed how Nicole was running a ‘rehabilitation programme for troubled teenagers’ - one of whom ran away and became pregnant at 15.

More mysterious was her partner Romano, described as ‘extremely nasty’, and the drugs and needles found in the villa when they were finally evicted after five year of failing to pay rent, leading to various court cases.

It was very intriguing and we were a step ahead of the chasing pack.

Once the cat was out of the bag, locals became very helpful as the world’s media descended on the tiny village following our story in the Mail on Sunday.

The following week Nicole’s father confirmed to us that Brueckner had a huge Winnebago which he told the former ambulance driver, he had transported drugs and children in.

“As I looked inside, I asked him: ‘Herr Brueckner, what do you do in Portugal?

What is your job?’ He told me: ‘I work, I get money, because I have a special business.

“He told me: ‘I can transport children, kids, in this space. Drugs and children, you can transport them in this van, it’s a safe space in the van, nobody can find them. Nobody can catch you.’” He clearly wanted to be caught.

www.theolivepress.es

June 24th - July 7th 2020

7

DARK SECRET: Idyllic scene visited by Maddie suspect in his Winnebago (inset)

lived with him for years.

The pair even shared a run-down finca in Praia da Luz, which overlooked the seaside resort where Maddie was snatched.

He knew Christian was an excellent bur-

e Christian Brueckner often stayed The vehicle - which the Olive Press has now also placed in Granada a few weeks after Maddie went missing - was later found on land Brueckner owned in Brunswick, northern Germany, in May 2016.

Police had been investigating the disappearance of five-year-old Inga Gehricke - referred to as the ‘German Maddie’ - which Brueckner is also suspected of.

Now being probed over five missing youngsters, investigators found several items of children’s clothing, including ‘small swimsuits’ in the motorhome, while six memory sticks containing thousands of images of child abuse were discovered in a bag buried underneath the body of a dead dog.

But as more comes out about Brueckner’s lifestyle in the area, the search continues for the ever-elusive smoking gun. The concrete evidence which proves definitively that Brueckner was responsible for Maddie’s disappearance.

The biggest question is whether or not the toddler was transported out of Portugal, potentially to order, which is looking extremely likely going on our recent investigation in Orgiva this week. What is clear is that there is still more to unravel in this case, and it seems to be up to us journalists to close the circle on Brueckner, with the police either incapable or refusing to act.

We can only hope that the smoking gun still exists, and that we haven’t arrived too late.

glar, who stole hundreds of passports, and they even got convicted together for stealing fuel from lorries in 2006.

After a two-day grilling by German police last year, he expected an arrest to be ‘imminent’ and he ‘cannot believe’ Portuguese detectives have still not yet searched the former home they shared.

The father-of-one, who now lives near Graz, revealed that the German had a huge stash of cash hidden in the attic, as well as dozens of expensive watches.

Speaking for the first time, he revealed: “I know he did it. I was living with him at the time. He was my best friend and he was definitely a pervert and more than capable of snatching a child, for sexual kicks or money.

“I was staying at his house and camping in a van in the garden. We spent a lot of time together and had good fun.

“He had a German girlfriend who was at least 20 years older than him. I can’t remember her name but she lived a few miles out of town.

“He was always very smart and snappy in the way he dressed. He always had good shoes and sometimes even wore a suit to go out.

But while Micha had fun hanging out with the German, he became aware of his dark side.

“He was definitely quite a strange character... how to explain it? Well he was always quite criminal... He liked to brag about the crimes he had done and planned to do...

And how he aimed to steal as much money as he could until he reached his dream of having €1 million. Then he would stop.”

Talking by phone at his ex-girlfriend’s home in the village of Tablones, near Orgiva, he added: “It was rich pickings there in Praia da Luz. He was always breaking into apartments in the area and bragging about it to me... He was a very good burglar.

“He particularly liked European Championships or big football games when ev-

PAL: Michael Tatschl

eryone would be out watching the game in bars.

“He would climb up to the first floor and steal everything, lots of money, valuables and so many passports. In fact hundreds of passports and lots of Rolexes and other expensive watches.

“He had a hiding place in the house in the rafters. He had all the money and passports hidden up there.

“It was his stash and when we were taken to prison, he ordered a friend to go and clear it up and get rid of any evidence of burglaries or robberies.”

But it was this decision that may ultimately lead to his conviction over Maddie, as the friend and another mate, both German, found a series of sick videos that Christian kept there.

In particular, they found a video camera with a video of him raping an old woman.

“That’s how I found out he was a sick bastard, as they told me it was of this elderly lady who was chained to a wooden post and she was being beaten and raped.

“They said ‘hey Mika what should we do with this?’ I said ‘I really don’t know, I don’t want to see it’ and I think they ended up burning it.

“I told the police all about that story and I hope they verified it somehow.

“On top of that, Christian was always on the dark web. He would talk about it and always had internet in the houses he rented. I don’t know exactly what he did but I suspect it involved drugs and pornography.

“He was always bragging about money and making money. He even talked about selling kids maybe to Morocco...and I think he probably sold Maddie to someone. Maybe a sex ring.

“I didn’t really think about it at the time.

Just brushed it off as joking. But I admit I got sucked into some of his schemes.

“Taking fuel seemed pretty harmless and we did it for a few months.

“The cops caught us red handed, caught us stealing diesel and we got 8-and-a-half months in prison on remand waiting for a trial in Portimao.

“We were caught on April 7, 2006, but we didn’t have our actual trial until December 21. I don’t know why they kept us for so long and I ended up with a €1800 fine, while Christian got a little bit more as he was rude to the judge.”

After spending a few weeks back in Austria for Christmas he came back in February to find Christian was now living in his distinctive white and yellow VW van, having lost his rental home.

“But he was still enjoying living in the Praia da Luz area. I think that confused the police a little as they were not sure where he

ALTERNATIVE: Lifestyle in hippie enclave visited by Brueckner was living exactly when Maddie vanished. knew immediately that he was guilty. The “He was living free, going to raves and part where the female tourist talked about I think selling drugs to the local party the man turning up at her door while her crowd. He also had his Jaguar parked up child played by the front door, the creepy somewhere.” guy with acne and blonde hair... I just Micha however, decided to move back to knew it was Christian.”

Spain, partly because he hadn’t paid his It is a bit unclear what happened next but fine and also to attend the Dragon Festival within weeks there was a knock at the in Orgiva in March that year. door at his village near Graz and four po“The Dragon Festival was fun and the licemen asked him to escort them to the next time I saw him was in late May or police station. early June 2007 when he arrived in Spain “It was the first week of April last year and with his big American campervan, the there were two Austrian police and two Winnebago, the one with the (childrens’) German police. I told them my story over swimsuits.

14 hours from 10 am to 6 pm on the first “He parked it up in Orgiva and came look- day and then from 10 am until 4 pm the ing for me. It was the only reason he had next day. They were very clear with me come to Orgiva to find me. He knew that from the first minute. They said ‘we are inI was living there and he knew I had con- vestigating Maddie McCann and Christian nections to the marijuana Brueckner’ and I told them world and could help him I was convinced it was him. make money.

“I told them I know what “He had some “He had a big dog, an old you want. I hope I can help. dog, a big brown and white sexual issues “I just dread to think of dog called Charlie I think... what other crimes he may but we didn’t But otherwise he was on have committed since. his own.”

“He was definitely a perthink he liked There were certainly susvert and all his friends picions however, about young children” thought that about him. He where he had got his monhad some sexual issues ey. but we didn’t think that he “We all wondered where liked young children. he’d got this big expensive van which he “He was certainly in Orgiva quite a few parked up next to a French group who had times since then...many times with his a big sound system.

Jaguar and other vehicles and normally “I remember specifically having a conver- transporting hashish. sation with an English guy who lived there “What sort of crimes might he have comcalled ‘Pops’ and we both said how on mitted there? I know there have been earth could have had that vehicle? Where some sex crimes around the area over the did he get the money from? We assumed last decade and it wouldn’t be surprising if a big drug deal or something like that. he was involved.

Now I suspect it was Maddie.

“I really hope they can finally close this “He was only there that time for a couple case for the family and find Christian guilty of days and went on back to Germany sell- for what he has done. He needs to admit it ing marijuana. to the police and close it for good.

“After that he was often coming back- “At least I’m sure he’s having a terrible wards and forwards to Spain and to Por- time in prison and everyone is out to kill tugal, mostly dealing drugs, and we often him. He won’t be having a nice life now saw him here with this Jaguar.” and he doesn’t deserve it.”

It was only when Micha watched the indepth Netflix documentary in March last Did you see Christian Brueckner in year on the case, that he finally realised southern Spain? Did he camp near you Christian may have snatched Maddie. “I in the Alpujarras or the Costa del Sol?

8

www.theolivepress.es

NEWS

June 25th - July 8th 2020

Wish you were here

Benidorm ready for Brit tourism influx, writes Joshua Parfitt

T

HE beaches are open, the beer is on tap, but where are the Brits in Benidorm?

Budget flights have resumed to Alicante Airport following the end of Spain’s state of alarm last Saturday midnight.

But as these exclusive Olive Press photographs show, Benidorm’s English Square is empty, and the dam-busting return of tourism has turned out to be a trickle.

“Without the Brits, Benidorm is dead,” said Tracey Walker, the owner of Little Britannia in the old town.

She told the Olive Press at least two British-run bars on her street have already closed since the start of lockdown, and that many more will ‘disappear’ if tourism doesn’t return in July.

“We opened the second week in June to see how business would go, but it was horrendous,” she said.

“I had to resell the stock and shut up shop because we were working at a loss.

“In Spain we have all adhered to the strict state of alarm rules.

We deserve the return of tourism, and we need the Brits to come back.”

Other bar owners were more

Photos by Dave Proctor

READY: Looking out for tourists to arrive

TRY AGAIN: Tracey Walker, right, says Benidorm needs Brits tentative, however – co-owner of the 3B48 Soul and Cabaret Bar, Dell, told the Olive Press that FCO warnings against travel to Spain would ‘nullify travel insurance’.

He said the two-week quarantine for UK tourists returning from Spain remains a ‘major obstacle’ to tourism.

Among the lucky few were three NHS workers, who took the first UK flight to Alicante from Leeds Bradford Airport at 9am last Saturday.

“We’ve been tested for coronavirus every two weeks, so

CHEERS!: Mike Golden and pals enjoy a drink

we can skip quarantine,” Julie Bloom, 61, told the Olive Press from outside Winnie’s Cafe Bar. “We just wanted to get away, and we’ve enjoyed it. The beach is empty and the whole English strip is closed, so we have Benidorm to ourselves!”

Julie, holidaying with fellow workers Sylvia Riley, 60, and Andrea Harrison, 59, said she felt Spain was ‘safer than the UK’ due a stricter and earlier lockdown.

How long this lasts remains the biggest question hanging over Benidorm’s empty beachfronts.

LA CULTURA

A CROWD-FUNDING project has been launched to get Torrevieja singer-songwriter, Shani Ormiston, back into the recording studio, after years without laying down new tracks.

She’s already reached half of her target, with the potential of Ormiston staging an intimate 90-minute concert for up to 50 people.

Her mini-album, currently in the pipeline, will be called Bunker and will feature songs penned by

June 25th - July 8th 2020

Out of the bunker

her during the coronavirus crisis.

The EP comes five years after the international recognition given to Shani over her CD, Once Upon a Time, which won the ‘Best Pop Album’ award at the Akademia Music Awards in California, which

9

focus on independent music.

Two years ago the same awards gave her the ‘Best Pop Song’ accolade for You Gotta Let it Go, and she has been a five-time winner over the years in the ‘Hollywood Music in Media’ awards.

Shani has also performed in Spain, Italy, Belgium, the UK, and has shared the stage with Latin singer Quique Montes and a break-out act from Spain’s version of The Voice, Alex Escribano.

A survivor’s tale

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The story of a Spaniard who escaped English clutches

SCENE: Streedagh Strand where Armada ships sank Spanish Armada Ireland chairman, Eddie O’Gorman said the new film was based on the words of its hero, de Cuellar.

Up to 1,000 Spaniards were slain by British-backed forces on the Irish coast, but de Cuellar managed to miraculously escape.

During the following seven

No Indiana

OP QUICK Crossword

A SPANISH archaeologist has been jailed for faking Basque finds that included supposed hieroglyphics.

In 2006 Eliseo Gil presented artefacts that he ‘discovered’ at the Roman town of Veleia, near the city of Vitoria.

The ‘finds’ included pieces of ‘third-century pottery’ engraved with one of the ‘first depictions of the crucified Christ’, Egyptian hieroglyphics and Basque words that predated the earliest known written examples of the language by 600 years.

But experts disputed their authenticity, pointing out that some of the pieces bore traces of modern glue, and others made references to Rene Descartes, a 17th century French philosopher.

Now a court has found Gil and his collaborators, Ruben Cerdan and Oscar Escribano guilty of fraud, sentencing them to 27 months, 15 months and 12 months in jail respectively.

months, he was robbed, assaulted and humiliated before coming under the protection of Gaelic chieftains, O’Rourke and MacClancy.

O’Gorman told the Irish News: “De Cuellar was essentially forced to roam the countryside naked, having been robbed of his clothes, before being found by O’Rourke of Breffni and MacClancy of Rosscloghar.”

The Spanish captain eventually made his way to Londonderry (Derry), where the bishop, Redmond Gallagher secured passage for him and his 12 countrymen for Scotland.

From there he managed to escape to Spain, while writing an account of his adventures, despite suffering another shipwreck.

“The letter was essentially the first draft of his defence back to the King of Spain in his court martial and the film is based on that,” O’Gorman said.

See Spain’s reluctant armada admiral, on page 10

Across

Down

7 Incomparable (6) 8 Tidy (6) 9 Small windpowered vessel (7,4) 11 Watch over (5) 12 Tract of grassland (7) 15 Elaborate dance party (7) 16 Tender (5) 18 Tube (11) 21 Reflecting surface (6) 22 Agriculturist (6)

1 Besides (3) 2 Flight formation (8) 3 Trades (5) 4 Trap (7) 5 Paint unskilfully (4) 6 Kinsfolk (9) 10 Genuine (9) 13 Foot soldiers (8) 14 Source of bacon (7) 17 Snug (5) 19 Nobleman (4) 20 Northern hemisphere constellation (3)

OP Sudoku

THE incredible survival story of a Spanish Armada captain is to be re-told in a new film.

Captain Francisco de Cuellar was one of the few Spanish sailors to survive when three ships of the Spanish Armada sank off the coast of Sligo in Ireland.

His dramatic escape to Londonderry (Derry), on to Scotland and eventually back home to Spain has been told in Armada 1588: Shipwreck and Survival.

Produced by the Sligo community group, Spanish Armada Ireland, the film’s virtual release casts further light on the era of the Armada, the Nine Years’ War and Donegal chieftain, Red Hugh O’Donnell.

All solutions are on page 14

10

LA CULTURA

June 25th - July 8th 2020

Disputed archive throws fascinating insight on the man behind Spain’s plans to invade England

A

BATTLE is raging for control of a treasure trove of some of Spain’s most historic documents.

At stake is the fate of the Duke of Medina Sidonia’s archive foundation – which is not actually controlled by the duke.

Instead it is in the hands of the lesbian widow of his mother, who was known as the Red Duchess for her left-wing leanings.

The duke is taking legal action to take control of the unique archive, which houses six mil-

By Dilip Kuner

lion documents dating back to 1159.

They offer a fascinating insight into the New World uncovered by conquistadores, the expulsion of Moriscos – descendants of Muslims who had converted to Christianity – from Spain and a privileged view of the political machinations behind the Spanish Armada.

This disastrous attempt to invade England in 1588 was famously led by Alonso Perez du Guzman, the seventh Duke of Medina Sidonia.

The archive shows that he took on the job with some reluctance, perhaps nervous of facing the formidable Queen Elizabeth.

He was the richest feudal landowner in Spain and had served King Philip II in several military IRON LADY: Liliane Dahlmann, the Red campaigns.

Duchess’ widow is not for turning, as she But his talent still presides over the archive of the Duke of lay in adminisMedina Sidonia, despite a legal battle with tration rather his descendant

RED DUCHESS: Ceded control of estate to lover than as a battlefield leader.

Philip had put him in charge of preparing the invasion, with Alvaro de Bazan, the Marques de Santa Cruz, tasked with commanding the fleet.

When de Bazan died soon before the invasion was launched, Philip decided du Guzman should take command.

The archive contains the letter Philip sent to the duke ordering him to take the post, and more interestingly the reply.

Du Guzman’s reluctance was obvious. He emphasised his lack of military experience on land or at sea. He also complained of poor health, and, in perhaps a last desperate throw of the dice to escape his duty, he highlighted his tendency to suffer from seasickness.

But Philip was having none of

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Spain’s reluctant armada admiral it and insisted that du Guzman take the post - and the rest, as they say, is history.

Now du Guzman’s descendant, the 64-year-old 22nd duke, Alonso González de Gre-

gorio, is himself fighting a battle with a formidable female as his foe, and this one has lasted a lot longer than the sorry saga of the armada.

His mother, Luisa Isabel Alva-

rez de Toledo y Maura, died in 2008. She had recently married her long-term lover, German-born Liliane Dahlmann.

In a final snub to Spanish soci-

LA CULTURA

Do you have a what’s on?

Send your informa tion to newsdesk@theolivepr ess.es

IT’S MINE: The 22nd duke wants ancestral archive back

PALACIO DUCAL: Fought-over treasure trove of Spanish history ety the rebellious duchess had installed Dahlmann as head of the foundation in control of the archive as well as leaving her the entire estate.

After a 10-year legal battle

the duke, his younger brother and sister succeeded in gaining ownership of the estate.

But 64-year-old Dahlmann retained the right to live in the 12th century ancestral pile in

Sanlucar de Barrameda (Cadiz). So now the two factions live in separate wings of the same house while carrying out a succession of legal actions against each other.

This tense state of affairs has only been made worse as Dahlmann has moved in her new partner, Montserrat Viñamata, who just happens to be the duke’s ex-wife.

June 25th - July 8th 2020

11

12

BUSINESS

June 25th - July 8th 2020

Carry on investing TOP Spanish supermarket chain, Mercadona, is steaming ahead with €1.7 billion of investments this year, despite seeing profits slashed due to the coronavirus emergency.

Mercadona president, Juan Roig, said that the company will not change its plans, which include

I

ERTE extension

Spain’s largest supermarket chain continues to invest despite profit drop of 95%

By Alex Trelinski

opening new stores and revamping existing stores.

The company is plotting a major expansion across

have been extremely busy during lockdown as it became necessary, due to the new distancing laws, to relocate some offices.

I had already moved one of the offices in the Javea Port to the Arenal (near Michaels Bed Shop).

Two offices in the south had to be moved, and the Benijofar office had to temporarily move due to major works being carried out.

However, even though there has been a vast amount of organisation and energy involved, we have always been there for you, with staff working from home.

I am very excited to have opened the last office in Murcia, in the location I was seeking, the square in Los Alcazares, in what used to be the Tourist Information office.

It is a very unique building. This means that, in less than two weeks, we would have all returned back to offices and the new normal.

Spending vast amounts of time in your home recently, you have had plenty of time

Portugal, while domestic investments will see €35 million pumped into the Murcia region over the next 12 months, including three new stores.

Mercadona saw profits of

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is also rolling out a traffic-light sensor system at its 450 outlets that will tell shoppers when they can enter their stores.

That has cost €2.5 million to install, while Mercadona said its full package of safety plans has added up to €100 million by the end of April.

Lockdown travel restrictions also saw shoppers having to use different supermarkets with brand consultants Kantar reporting a rare fall for Mercadona in sales share up to mid-May. Though the chain was still Spain’s largest at 24.9% of sales, that was a fall of 0.6% compared to the first five months of last year.

THE Spanish Government has said it will extend its ERTE schemes until September 30.

The financial programmes, which allow employers to lay off or temporarily suspend workers during crises are set to expire on June 30.

But officials from the Ministry of Labor have tabled a draft Royal Decree-law that proposes to renew them for another three months.

Government ministers have been locked in talks with the UGT and CCOO unions, as well as some of the country’s largest employers. Finance Minister Maria Jesus Montero said her Government had ‘great confidence’ that an agreement would be reached.

It comes as leading Spanish multinationals piled pressure on the Government to secure an ERTE extension.

Pablo Isla from Inditex and Mercadona founder Juan Roig were among those calling on the Government to extend ERTE at a key summit.

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PROPERTY

June 25th - July 8th 2020

13

Resale gloom

By Alex Trelinski

RESALE property prices in Spain’s tourist areas face a short-term drop of over 10% cent due to the coro-

Spain’s new-builds may escape worst of crisis, but homes being sold on to be hit harder navirus pandemic, it has emerged.

That’s the assessment of Mikel Echavarran, CEO, of

property investment company, Colliers International Spain. Experts believe that the crisis will not have

Cowboys of Congress TWO key politicians in the Vox party have again been caught marketing illegal apartments in Madrid without disclosing the properties’ official planning status.

Four new apartments now make a list of 18 dwellings that were advertised on the design studio website of current Vox leader in Madrid, Rocio Monasterio, and her husband Ivan Espinosa de los Monteros (bottom left), the party’s spokesman in congress.

The first of the apartments came to light nine months ago following an El Pais investigation, before Monasterio and Espinosa de los Monteros shut their website down and refused to comment directly on allegations.

At least one former resident – three of the 18 apartments remain occupied – accused the couple of promising planning permission before ‘disappearing’.

The politicians have responded via a spokesperson that ‘the clients signed contracts specifying the buildings were not houses’. They added that any move to live permanently in the buildings was the ‘clients’ own choice’.

any major impact on newbuild prices and construction.

However, Echavarran believes that home sellers in areas like Mallorca, the Costa Blanca, and Andalucia will have to be prepared to deal with a double-digit fall in prices.

Recovery

LOFTY: Vox politicians’ Madrid flats But the pair did not comment on why their website advertised the residences complete with bathrooms, kitchens and living spaces.

Spain’s state prosecution service, La Fiscalia, is reportedly investigating Monasterio for a crime of falsifying work permits.

According to the relevant property registry, the apartments and ‘lofts’ are classed as warehouses, garages and other non-residential buildings.

The latest four added to the list are all based in the popular neighbourhoods of Tetuan and Fuencarral.

“Prices will continue on a downward curve until early next year at the least,” said Echavarran.

“Everything will then depend on how the economy recovers and whether or not there is a serious increase in coronavirus cases during the winter.”

The Colliers long-term assessment of the overall property market is not the most optimistic either.

Echavarran added: “We are working on the basis of at least a 30% fall in sales this year” It goes on to say: “The full recovery of the market could take as long as four to five years.”Other analysts believe a recovery will be much faster compared to when the property bubble ‘burst’ in Spain back in 2007.

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“TruSculpt iD is a very exciting new development in non-surgical body contouring.

The lower abdomen and love handles can be treated in just a single 15-minute comfortable treatment session. Our patients have been very pleased with the body sculpting results they can achieve with this innovative system,” says Dermatologist Jeffrey S. Dover, MD, FRCPC of Skincare Physicians in Chestnut Hill, MA. By and large, people are

loving their truSculpt iD results. In a separate study of individuals who had the procedure, 100 percent said they were satisfied, would get it done again and would refer a friend for truSculpt iD. And everyone felt better in - or out of - their clothes.

So, if you’re thinking about looking into a new kind of personalized body sculpting without resorting to drastic measures, find a truSculpt iD provider near you by searching https://trusculpt.com/find-aprovider.

runners and yoga enthusiasts topping the list.

According to boardcertified plastic surgeon Walter L. Bernacki, MD of Ohio Plastic Surgery in Central Ohio, “The newest non-surgical body contouring system is Cutera’s truSculpt iD that uses radiofrequency (RF) technology to target and permanently destroy fat in your trouble spots (think muffin tops and love handles) - in just 15 comfortable minutes with no downtime. We have found that the treatment works on all skin types, sizes and physiques, including individuals who were previously not considered candidates for body contouring procedures.”Conservative, honest dentistry in a relaxed What’s more, truSculpt friendly environment iD produces an average and fat reduction of 24 percent, and visible improvements are seen tel: (+34) 965 837 553 in 6 to 12 weeks following the www.britanniadentalcalpe.com first treatment. Multiple areas can be treated Avda in one session, Ejercitos Españoles 16, first floor, Calpe

14

HEALTH

June 25th July 8th 2020

Silver bullet A CHEAP and widely available drug can help save the lives of patients seriously ill with coronavirus, it has been revealed.

According to UK experts, dexamethasone, a low-dose steroid treatment, can prove critical in saving someone’s life from the virus.

The drug is already used to reduce inflammation in a range of other conditions, including arthritis, asthma and some skin conditions.

It has recently also been used as part of the world’s biggest trial, cutting the risk of death by a third for patients on ventilators, while for those on oxygen, it cut deaths by a fifth.

Led by a team from Oxford University, about 2,000 hospital patients were given dexamethasone and were compared with more than 4,000 who were not.

For patients on ventilators it cut the risk of death from 40% to 28% and for those on oxygen from 25% to 20%.

Chief investigator Professor Peter Horby said: "This is the only drug so far that has been shown to reduce mortality and it reduces it significantly.

“It's a major breakthrough."

Lead researcher Professor Martin Landray said: “The

Drug already on market can save lives of COVID-19 patients treatment is up to 10 days of dexamethasone and it costs about €5.50 per patient.

“So essentially it costs €55 to save a life.”

It does not appear to help people with milder symptoms of coronavirus who do not need help with their breathing.

Capital Concentration JUST 33 of 542 municipalities in the Valencian Community have registered new coronavirus cases in the last week, according to official government figures.

The breakdown of the statistics show that new infections continue to be low, with the major concentration being in Valencia City.

The regional capital leads the list of fresh detections at 27, with six in Torrent and five in Utiel.

Only seven other municipalities have reported more than two new coronavirus cases, namely Burjassot, Castelló and Xirivella with three instances, and two each in Alicante, Borriana, El Campello and Picanya.

23 areas including Benidorm, Villajoyosa, Elche and Ibi have each filed one new infection within their boundaries.

Health districts based on Torrevieja, Alcoy, and Villarreal have reported no new Covid-19 cases in the last seven days.

Valencia City has the highest number of active coronavirus cases in the region at 2,158, compared to second-placed Alicante at 860.

To view up-to-date coronavirus statistics for the Valencian region visit: http://coronavirus.san.gva.es/estadisticas.

Bridge the gap DREADED is the dentist – and dreaded still are dental implants.

The popular procedure to turn toothless grin into beaming smile is costly, lengthy and requires intensive surgery to screw a tooth into your gums.

It’s not for the squeamish.

Dental implants can also create a risk of infection and pain, especially when pressing on unintended nerves.

Which is why K Sud Dental are offering a new, cost-effective procedure to replace missing teeth in just one visit to the dentist. The fixed bridge can also replace dentures at an affordable price. The

procedure is also low risk, reversible and doesn’t involve putting a screw in, well, anywhere.

“We’ve been able to convert someone’s existing removable denture, and it works really well,” Dr Karan Sud said. “The fixed bridge looks the same, but feels amazing because you won’t have your palate covered anymore.

“There are no hidden surprises, and you’re no worse off than when you started should any complications arise.”

K Sud Dental is a British dental clinic based in Clinica Britannia in Calpe. We offer general and cosmetic dentistry along with facial rejuvenation treatments. All work is carried out by British qualified clinicians in a cross infection quality controlled medical centre.

Visit: www.ksuddental.com - Email: ksud - Call: +34 965 83 75 53

“I chipped my front tooth on Sat-

urday, phoned Monday, and got a cancellation appointment for Wednesday afternoon. I thought my 30 minute slot was for Karan just to look, but he repaired there and then. Perfect. This is the best, most organised dentist I’ve ever been to. Great people, these are now my forever dentists.”

Mark Kirby

OP Puzzle solutions Quick Crossword Across: 7 Unique, 8 Neaten, 9 Sailing boat, 11 Guard, 12 Prairie, 15 Shindig, 16 Offer, 18 Underground, 21 Mirror, 22 Farmer.

Down: 1 And, 2 Squadron, 3 Deals, 4 Ensnare, 5 Daub, 6 Relatives, 10 Authentic, 13 Infantry, 14 Piggery, 17 Comfy, 19 Earl, 20 Leo.

SUDOKU

www.weekender.news

Americans opt for minimally invasive fat reduction or body sculpting treatments to look better in the buff, according to a new survey of 500 men and women from Cutera, Inc. And those who exercise regularly are most likely to have a body-sculpting treatment, with

candidates for body contouring procedures.”

What’s more, truSculpt iD produces an average fat reduction of 24 percent, and visible improvements are seen in 6 to 12 weeks following the first treatment. Multiple areas can be treated in one session,

HEALTH

Nothing New

A DRUG that has been hailed in Britain as a breakthrough in treating seriously ill coronavirus patients has been used for a long time in hospitals across the Valencian Community.

Dexamethasone is said to reduce COVID-19 death rates by up to a third, and also has the advantage of being relatively inexpensive.

The NHS in the UK says that it has 200,000 doses of the drug, but it has been prescribed for many years for a variety of treatments in Valencian hospitals – including as a life-saver during the current pandemic.

Dexamethasone helps to reduce lung inflammation especially after patients with COVID-19 suffer a bout of pneumonia.

The drug also boosts their immune system.

Experts have stressed the drug does not act against the virus, but reduces the chance of dying from it in serious cases.

It’s widely available in the Valencian Community health service and is frequently used to treat autoimmune diseases.

Professor Salvador Máñez of Valencia University´s pharmacology department said: “The drug has been prescribed by chemists and has been part of hospital procedures for decades.”

June 25th - July 8th 2020

15

Get tested Clinica Britannia can privately offer two types of coronavirus test at their Calpe clinic on the Costa Blanca Are you feeling anxious or worried about a high-risk family member? Do you want peace of mind?

Why not put your mind at rest and use either ‘direct’ (PCR) or ‘indirect’ (ELISA) procedures for detecting coronavirus?

‘Direct’ (PCR) means that a fragment of the RNA of the virus (SARS-CoV-2) is detected in any patient’s fluid (mostly respiratory).

‘Indirect’ (ELISA) means that what is detected is not the virus, but the reaction of the immune system against the virus.

The reaction is identified with the presence of antibodies, either called ‘IgM’ (early response showing short-term immunity) and/or ‘IgG’ (late response showing long-term immunity).

PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) is a technically specific test that can detect the virus at an extremely early stage.

It is considered the most accurate, but there is a window of two to three days for the results.

The ELISA test detects the antibodies in the blood. This is a simpler test with results usually in 24 hours.

Both tests direct or indirect can be done in asymptomatic or symptomatic patients. It is NOT necessary to go to hospital or the public health system to have the corona virus diagnostic tests.

Please remember it is mandatory to consult with your doctor to decide on what test is necessary and the interpretation of the results.

For any further questions, please feel free to contact us. Clinica Britannia Open Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm Av. Ejercitos Españoles 16 BIS, 1st Floor, Calpe www.clinicabritannia.com Tel: 965 837 553 / 965 837 851

FIBRE Deciphering the Jargon Surrounding

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FINAL WORDS

MERCADONA has been forced to bring back its ‘pipas gigantes con sal’, after a Twitter storm over their removal, with many claiming they are a ‘grocery list essential’.

Melon-choly NUTRITIONISTS have warned that eating already-halved melons and watermelons could be unsafe as both fruits have to be refrigerated, otherwise microorganisms can grow.

Lifesaver ALMORADI Guardia Civil agents have saved the life of a Moroccan woman, 56, who was choking to death after her husband rushed her to the police station in a state of panic.

OLIVE PRESS

The

Reuse Reduce Recycle

FREE

Virgin on the ridiculous

COSTA BLANCA

Your expat

voice in Spain

Vol. 2 Issue 33 www.theolivepress.es June 25th - July 8th 2020

Flour power EXCLUSIVE

By Alex Trelinski

UK home bakers emulating their celebrity heroes during lockdown may be to blame for a severe ‘drop’ in British flour supplies to Spanish retailers.

The huge demand for flour has seen exports fall, leaving expat cake makers to use Spanish equivalents.

BARCELONA’S Liceu opera house reopened with a concert in front of a planted audience.

Attendees didn’t need to bother with masks or gloves, or even maintain social distancing.

On the other hand applause was muted as the attendees were restricted to 2,292 potted plants.

Expats vying to be lockdown’s star baker put strain on Spanish supermarkets

One former patissier told this paper however that locally-made equivalents are not ‘up to scratch’ for fluffy cakes and other British delicacies.

A number of Spain-based stores told the Olive Press they’ve not been able to purchase any UK-produced flour,

Planted audience

while leading retailer Overseas Supermercados said they’ve had to reinforce their stocks.

Caroline Bush from the Benissa HQ of Overseas Mercados – who stock Iceland products in 27 stores across Spain and Portugal – told the Olive Press that baking celebs could be to blame.

“The UK, and everybody else for that matter, seem to be finding their inner Mary Berry and Jamie Oliver and are baking up a storm!” she said.

“Flour is still being delivered here, but is being snapped up as soon as it hits the shelves.”

A big issue in Spain for expat home bakers is that some domestically-produced supermarket flour is not of the same quality as British imports, which makes it

difficult to bake high quality cakes and pastries.

Ex-pro patissier Stuart Greveson told the Olive Press: “Cheap Spanish flour in supermarkets is fine for bread, but the quality is just not up to scratch if you want to use it to make fluffy cakes for example. You need specialist bakers flour.”

“Spanish flour has a much lower extraction rate of particles compared to UK products.

That rate is the percentage of flour obtained from wheat, and that’s what makes the big difference in quality.

“Also, the whiter the flour, the better it is and also it feels a lot finer, which does not apply to lower-grade Spanish flour. You also get twice as much salt in basic flour made here, along with more fat.”

A BUNGLING restorer has wrecked a 17th century painting not once but twice.

The owner of the copy of The Immaculate Conception of Los Venerables by the baroque artist Bartolomé Esteban Murillo was left regretting his decision to hand over €1,200 to have it spruced up.

The private art collector in Valencia would probably have done better to pay a specialist to do the job rather than the furniture restorer he actually chose.

Having botched his first attempt to renovate the picture the hapless restorer decided to have another go. This went no better with the ‘finished painting’ looking more like a police photofit image.

The incident recalls the infamous ‘monkey Christ’ picture that hit international headlines in 2012.

Cecilia Giménez, who was aged 81 at the time, was worried that a flaking and faded painting on her local church’s wall was in danger of being further damaged by a leak.

Keen to save it she picked up her brushes to restore the 100-year-old image, only for it to end up looking more like a potato.