Olive Press Mallorca Issue 152

O P LIVE RESS The

SUN, SAND AND SCRUMS

MAGALUF beach is gearing up once again to host hard tackles and flying sand as the annual Majorca Beach Rugby tournament returns.

Traditionally held over two days during the May bank holiday weekend, this year it will take place on the weekend of April 29-30.

There will be an enormous array of 70 teams, each consisting of seven players, competing to bring the trophy home. Rugby players, beach lovers and party goers will pour in from traditional rugby-playing countries like England, Ireland, Wales, France and Scotland. But the tournament will also see entrants from far flung novice rugby-playing countries including the USA, Germany and the Netherlands throwing their hats into the ring.

There will be a couple of local teams of Mallorcans in the mix as well.

The popularity of the competition has exploded since its inaugural tournament 14 years ago, when only 10 teams rocked up.

It was founded by former England and Leicester Tigers tighthead prop Steve Redfern in 2009 and has gone from strength to strength in the intervening years.

WHERE’S THE MONEY?

THE Gibraltar courts have stepped in to probe a suspect crypto trading platform amid allegations it was a Ponzi scheme.

It comes as a UK liquidator was brought in to close down Globix, which is suspected of defrauding hundreds of investors in Spain and Gibraltar out of as much as €70 million.

At an explosive investors meeting, hosted by former leader of the opposition Daniel Feetham KC this week, the finger was firmly pointed at Globix owner, Damian Carreras (pictured).

Gibraltarian Carreras, who ran his unregulated crypto company via Gibraltar and the British Virgin Islands, vanished last year with up to

Serious savings on currency transfers to and from Spain

Scan here for your customised quote:

Liquidators probing whether Globix is ‘a fraud or Ponzi scheme’ while Olive Press names its beleaguered boss, believed to have fled to Barcelona or Palma

EXCLUSIVE

By Walter Finch

€70 million owed to investors.

As the Olive Press revealed a fortnight ago, the company crash was linked to the kidnapping of one of his partners, Russian Pavel Sidorov, in Alicante, last year.

London-based liquidator Begbies

Traynor is now trying to establish and locate the assets of Carreras’ company ‘Miracle World Ventures Limited’ and various linked busi-

nesses. The insolvency team is trying to establish if Globix was a fraud, while primarily recovering any assets it can find.

“Was Globix a scam?

Good question,” insolvency expert Adrian Hyde, of Begbies, told dozens of investors

gathered for the online meeting.

“We know it’s been suggested it was a Ponzi scheme,” but he added it was ‘too early’ to answer the question.

He also denied the liquidators were in any way connected to Carreras and were ‘working for’ the Gibraltar courts. But Hyde made it clear that they would go after the assets and property of individuals who may have ‘received huge gifts from the company’, even if it meant bankrupting them first.

The Olive Press can reveal that the 39-year-old CEO of Globix is currently hiding out in Barcelona or Palma after fleeing from furious investors in Gibraltar.

Russian

Carreras, who speaks fluent Russian, studied Economics at Tambov University, in Russia, where he met his business partner Sidirov, with whom he set up Globix in 2021. He lists himself as a ‘crypto mining broker’ on his LinkedIn profile and claims to have worked in the energy sector, as well as for the Ministry of Defence.

When we finally tracked down Carreras for comment he told the Olive Press: “I have nothing to say to you.”

He added: “Basically someone is shit stirring and if you have any evidence send it to me.”

It was a kidnap attempt on Sidirov last June by angry investors frozen out of their funds that first alerted authorities that something was

amiss with Globix. In the kidnap, Sidirov was snatched with his girlfriend outside their El Campello villa, before they contacted police.

It was during the attack that Sidirov was able to send an estimated €40m to Ukraine in a crypto-wallet.

New shores

The population of Germans in the Balearics has fallen 50% in ten years. Latest figures showed there are 18,875 Germans registered as of December 2022, compared to 36,259 in 2012.

Dampner

NEARLY all bars and restaurants in the Balearics are breaking the law by not offering free tap water, hospitality leader Alfonso Rodriguez, president of the Mallorca consumers association has claimed.

Silent disco

A BAR in Palma has started handing out headphones with drinks to make silence the king of the dancefloor. Customers must hand back the headphones once they leave.

Heating up

THIS summer could be hotter than 2022 in the Balearics, meteorologists have warned. Last year’s summer was the sixth-warmest since records began in 1880.

A WOMAN has been arrested after she posed as a Guardia Civil officer by wearing her husband’s uniform while on dates with her lover.

The woman also told the victim that she lived with her brother who was also an officer and that she looked after her two nieces,

FAKE POLICE LOVER

who were actually her daughters. She even moved into her musician lover’s house with her daughters, all the while claiming to be a police officer. He finally became suspicious and

reported the matter to police. The Guardia Civil interviewed the woman’s husband who stated that they had a ‘complicated relationship’ and knew all about the affair and her claims to be in the force.

Training tragedy

Family demands 34 years for Spanish army sergeant accused of shooting and killing their son during training exercise

A SERGEANT accused of shooting and killing a Mallorquin legionary during a training exercise is facing a possible 34 years in jail. The family of the fallen soldier, Alejandro Jiménez Cruz, are demanding the severe jail sentence as well as a fine of €14,400 and a ban from public office for Sergeant Saúl Antonio Guil.

By Walter Finch

They also want €1.5 million in compensation from the army for the parents, and €150,000 for both the maternal grandmother and the paternal grandmother.

The potential jail time includes 25 years for aggravated homicide, four years for recklessness

Swiss con

A SWISS man wanted by authorities in his country for fraud has been arrested in Calvia.

The 54-year-old fugitive is accused of collecting disability payments since 2009 while continuing to work.

A European arrest warrant was filed by Switzerland with the Policia Nacional acting on a tip that he was in Mallorca.

The man has been handed over to the National Court to process his extradition.

and another five years for obstruction of justice in attempting to cover up the incident.

Guil is accused of shouting ‘enemy to the front’ and firing the fatal shot from the top of a mound during the live fire training exercise on March 25, 2019, at the Agost shooting range in Alicante.

Cruz, who was 21 at the time of his death, was hit from just 12.5 metres away.

Eight military personnel are being investigated in the case, although only the sergeant and his captain, the superior officer in charge, are facing prosecution.

The lead prosecutor has accused Guil of ‘reckless and negligent behaviour’ and of ‘endangering his men’ by extending the exercise contrary to instructions.

Guil has denied responsibility,

Tax. Inheritance planning. Investments. Pensions. So many questions!

claiming the bullet must have ricocheted off the ground in a tragic accident. But the prosecution hit back that it was ‘clearly’ determined that the fatal shot was ‘a direct shot and not a ricochet’ from a bullet fired by another platoon. The captain in charge was facing charges of trying to cover up the incident, but this was dropped in favour of showing ‘real favouritism’ towards Guil.

AN argument between two Romanian men ended with one being stabbed and the other falling from a third-floor balcony last night. Paramedics spent 30 minutes treating the fallen man, aged 40, at the scene in la plaza del Cort in Palma, before rushing him to hospital in a critical condition.

The other man, aged 20, was treated for a minor stab wound on his shoulder but did not need further treatment. Eyewitnesses have suggested that the man who fell was not pushed and managed to inflict the knife wound on the younger man beforehand.

Cycle pusher

A MAN described as a ‘wellknown’ Palma drug dealer who travelled on a bicycle to conduct sales has been caught in the act by the Policia Nacional. The trafficker, 37, was spotted by a police patrol handing over some marijuana to a female client in the Pere Garau district of the city. He saw the officers and fled, but was located within an hour, with €600 found on him plus 14 pouches of cocaine.

„ How does Brexit and the changes to Spanish taxation of pensions affect me?

„ Why is inflation impacting my investments and income?

„ What does 2023 have in store for my investments?

MUSIC legend Bob Dylan is bringing his 'Rough and Rowdy' tour to Spain this June with 12 concerts. The veteran, who turns 82 in May, will perform in Sevilla, Alicante, Barcelona, Granada, Huesca, Logroño, Madrid and San Sebastian. His visit to Alicante is regarded as a major entertainment coup for the city, which is vying for international stars to come there, with another veteran - Sir Tom Jones - doing a show at the Plaza de Toros on August 1.

Dylan's Spanish dates are part of a world tour that started in November 2021 and is slated to finish next year.

ON TOP

CARLOS Alcaraz has regained his world number one tennis ranking after an easy straight sets win over Russia’s Daniil Medvedev in the Masters 1000 event at Indian Wells.

The 19-year-old only needed 71 minutes to destroy Medvedev 6-3 6-2 to return to the top of the ATP rankings.

Novak Djokovic overhauled Alcaraz to take the top ranking in January after winning the Australian Open, which the young Spaniard had to miss due to a 10-week injury lay-off.

Indian Wells was the Murcia player’s third Masters 1000 tournament victory and he becomes only the second teenager to achieve that feat.

FA-KING IT

Lover of ex King Juan Carlos slams reports that she is taking part in Sky show

By Simon Hunter

THE former lover of King Juan Carlos has blasted Spanish news reports that she will be in a documentary about the disgraced ex-monarch as ‘fake news’.

Vanitatis, the society page of online daily El Confidencial, ran a story claiming that Corinna Larsen, who still uses her former married name Corinna zu Sayn-Wittgenstein, would be appearing in a new production from Sky Documentaries. What’s more, LOC, the gossip section of newspaper El Mundo, claimed that she wanted to present the documentary at the Cannes Film Festival, which will begin in May.

THE heir to the Spanish throne, Princess Leonor, is due to start military training in the autumn, following in the footsteps of her father, King Felipe VI. She will spend time in the three Spanish armed forces during her training.

Leonor, 17, is currently studying at the United World College of the Atlantic in Wales. But from

Cruz in control

SHE may have missed the Oscars red car pet, but Pe nelope Cruz stunned with her out fit in Madrid. She stole the show at a popup shop in support of the Lancome ‘ Vie Est Belle’ paign. The star lit up the event with her re nowned beauty and enthusiasm - and a stun ning black and pink ensemble by Alexan dre Vauth ier. Cruz has been a longtime am bassador for the brand, and has thrown her weight behind the cam paign, which celebrates ‘beauty and joy in life’.

FUMING: Larsen has dismissed documentary claim

Getting rough and rowdy Big backing

However, a spokesperson for Larsen said: “Corinna has not initiated any documentary, is not narrating any documentary and she is not presenting anything at Cannes. This is fake news, again led by Vanitatis.”

Sky has, however, announced that the four-part series will happen, and is due to arrive

Joining up

the end of August she will start training in the regular army at the General Academy in Zaragoza. The second year of her training will see her join the Marin Naval School in Pontevedra,before a third year at the General Air and Space Academy in San Javier, Murcia.

on Sky Documentaries and NOW later this year. “Told from the perspective of his close friends and confidants, palace insiders, former intelligence officials and critics, the four-part

documentary series sheds a new light on the former King’s personal life including affairs, allegations of corruption, and alleged abuse of power – leading up to and including the events and circumstances of his abdication in 2014,” read a statement from the broadcaster. Larsen was a regular fixture in the news headlines last year, not least thanks to a podcast in which she recounted her affair and subsequent break-up with Juan Carlos.

Revelations

Titled Corinna and the King, the eight-part series contained revelations, including how the king would appear with ‘bags full of cash’, how he was seeing someone else while she tended to her father on his deathbed.

SPORTING superstars Rafa Nadal and Cristiano Ronaldo may be approaching the end of their playing days, but they are teaming up for a new career.

The Tatel restaurant chain, owned by investment company Mabel Capital in which Nadal and Ronaldo are partners in its hospitality division, is opening a new eatery in Valencia.

The new Valencia restaurant will be located in the former Banco de Valencia building on Calle Pascual i Genis with the group promising it will be based on American 'speakeasys' of the 1920s.

PLANS for a controversial mega solar farm on Mallorca are going ahead despite strong opposition from environmentalists.

The Balearic government this week gave the final tick of approval to a photovoltaic megapark in Es Rafalot with 80,000 solar panels on the slopes of the protected Serra de Tramuntana.

The park will occupy 32 hectares and be located at the foot of Tramuntana mountain.

Environmentalists against the project have said the decision to develop the megapark at the location ‘degraded’ the area.

But Mallorca President Francina Armengol said the green energy investment was essential towards achieving the goal of 35% renewable energy production by 2030.

Mallorca Vice President Juan Pedro Yllanes added: “The energy transition represents an important opportunity to diversify our economy and create stable and quality jobs.”

Narco Sub

A NARCO sub was discovered by fishermen off the coast of Galicia. It’s the third homemade vessel to be found in recent years but this time there was no coke on board.

Defending the realm

KING Felipe VI cast his regal eye over Spanish air defences on the island of Mallorca on Wednesday.

The king was present in the Balearics to oversee the ‘Eagle Eye 23-01’ military exercises which simulated an unknown object penetrating Spanish airspace.

Six F-18 jets screamed through the Mediterranean skies in a demonstration of their interception skills.

Afterwards the king met the elite fighter pilots and received a briefing from a group of soldiers at the Son Sant Joan military base in Palma.

An elite drone control squadron from Zaragoza also gave the king a demonstration of their advanced electronic tools used to detect, identify, and neutralise unmanned intruders.

King Felipe, dressed in military fatigues, was accompanied by the Chief of Defense Staff and several base commanders.

GAG CITY

Sell out for expat pair’s new comedy night, writes Jon Clarke

A PAIR of local expats have launched a new comedy club in Mallorca.

Ben Cattell and Will Line, who have lived on the island

for years, write together, but have their own acts.

The Comedy Room will have two monthly nights around the capital, with one at Mon-

tego Bay, in Cala Major. Their third night this week saw them cope with an unpredictable audience and plenty of banter. However the hour-long show - with a string of gags on bringing up children, child molesters and predictably ‘yachties’ - was a sell out with around 50 punters.

“It’s 100% English for an English audience,” explains Ben, who moved to Palma after a stint in Australia.

“And while it’s an adult show we do stay between the lines of right and wrong, but there is a fair amount of swearing.”

In contrast, Will grew up an expat in Sotogrande, in southern Spain, before his parents moved to the Caribbean and he decided to move to Mallorca with a Spanish girlfriend.

“We’ve now got a one-yearold, which is certainly challenging,” he says. “But it does gives me plenty of material.”

They plan to bring a new comedian for every session and there will be two nights in April.

Get in touch at: ben_cattell@hotmail.com or on Instagram: @med_life_crisis_comedy

Island boom

THE Balearic Islands will be the region with the highest economic growth in Spain this year, according to new research. National bank BBVA made estimates of the GDP growth for all the autonomous communities in 2023 and according to its projections the Balearic Islands will be the region with the highest growth, reaching 3.3%.

POLICE are anticipating a busy summer on the roads in the Balearic Islands and preparing a massive fleet of mobile radars, patrol vehicles and drones. Guardia Civil will set up seven or eight mobile radars and drones will observe drivers from a bird’s eye view. They will be looking for anyone not wearing seatbelts, reckless overtaking or mobile phone use.

Officers will also patrol accident blackspots more frequently.

BRAKES ARE OFF U-T URN N O

AFTER 10 months being unable to legally drive, UK driving licence holders can now get back behind the wheel.

The Spanish cabinet has approved a deal between Spain and the United Kingdom covering driving licence exchange, as well as the exchange of driver information relating to traffic offences.

See Back behind the wheel page 6

Driving change

MALLORCA will be the first destination in the world to have hydrogen-powered transport for tourists.

Mini buses running on hydrogen and operated by TUI will be used this summer to transfer tourists between Mallorca airport and hotels.

TUI CEO Sebastian Ebel said it was an opportunity which had been created by the hydrogen plant in Lloseta and explained that the next phase of the project would involve coaches. “We are pleased that there are tourism groups such as TUI who are committed to green energy for the transport of tourists,” Tourism Minister Iago Negueruela said.

Tick of approval Cops are watching Water drugs clue

SPAIN is one of the European countries with the most traces of cannabis, cocaine, ketamine and MDMA in its wastewater.

apartments

A report by the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction took 54 million water samples from 104 European cities to test for traces of amphetamine, cannabis, cocaine, ecstasy, ketamine and methamphetamine. The results reveal increased detections of cocaine, a trend observed since 2016 with some fluctuation during pandemic years.

Spain ranked as one of the top countries in the EU for the presence of cocaine in wastewater, alongside Belgium, Portugal and the Netherlands. The Iberian peninsula also came in the top 5 countries for the presence of cannabis, ketamine and MDMA.

STRAND PROPERTIES IS ONE OF THE LEADING REAL ESTATE COMPANIES OF THE WORLD ®

Leading Real Estate Companies of the World® is the home of the world’s market-leading independent residential brokerages in over 70 countries, with 550 firms and 136,000 sales associates producing 1.2 million global transactions.

The network is based on the unparalleled performance and trusted relationships that result in exceptional client experiences.

All the invited companies are recognized for their expertise, and superior knowledge of both local and global markets. All of the brokers are vetted, not just for performance, but a continued commitment to quality customer experience.

Our brokers at Strand Properties are happy to help you to buy and sell properties in Spain, and now we can also help you to sell or buy properties all over the world through our network.

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.

Voted top expat paper in Spain OPINION

Eyes open

THE depth of the financial disaster caused to hundreds of expat investors around Spain by the collapse of cryptocurrency ‘investment’ platform Globix is becoming apparent. After a weeks-long investigation we broke the story of how a kidnapping had led to revelations that at least €70 million had been lost.

This led to a rapid escalation as the house of Globix came crashing down, with administrators being appointed to try to rescue what they could from the wreckage.

We sat in on a ‘town hall’ meeting where 100 people who had lost their money could question the liquidators about the prospects of recovering at least some of their cash. The phrase ‘let the buyer beware’ has a lot of truth in it, but it is not the whole story.

Yes, if it seems too good to be true, it often is. And we have spent decades exposing scams throughout Spain where ordinary people have lost millions collectively. Many have been taken in by promises of easy money from the latest ‘big return’ investment.

The Globix cryptocurrency platform was sadly one of many suspect schemes that promised the earth, but in the end could not deliver.

But it is too simple to say that investors were ‘too greedy’ or ‘should have known better’.

Like many other high risk investment platforms, Globix was all too plausible and took in intelligent and savvy people as well as those not so sophisticated in their financial affairs.

It is too early to tell if Globix was a scam or a Ponzi scheme or simply a high-risk investment gone wrong.

Perhaps those putting their hard-earned cash into Globix should have taken more care.

But it must not be forgotten that they are the victims

All we can say is that the next time they should speak to experts, research the background of the organisers and do their due diligence.

If they can afford a loss on a high risk proposition then fine. But they should go in with their eyes open.

PUBLISHER / EDITOR

Jon Clarke, jon@theolivepress.es

Dilip Kuner dilip@theolivepress.es

Anthony Piovesan anthony@theolivepress.es

Jo Chipchase jo@theolivepress.es

John Culatto

ADMIN Sandra Aviles Diaz (+34) 951 273 575 admin@ theolivepress.es

BILLIONAIRES’

By Walter Finch

THERE may be light at the end of the tunnel for long-suffering malagueños , whose team Malaga FC are four points adrift of safety in the Segunda Division B, and staring another relegation in the face.

It has been reported that the fabulously wealthy company Qatar Sports Investment, owner of big-spending Paris Saint-Germain, has started negotiations to buy the club.

Just last month, a Spanish judge ordered the seizure of club owner Sheikh Abdullah Al-Thani's assets in Spain over a litany of unpaid debts.

They include his shares in Malaga FC and could lead to the forced sale of the club at a knockdown price – after all you’d hardly pay top dollar for an asset that appears to have been run into the ground.

It would end the troubled tenure of Qa tari royal family member Al-Thani,(pic tured below) whose purchase of the Costa del Sol club in 2010 amid grand promises ushered in a new era of foreign ownership in Spanish football.

Traditionally, Span ish clubs have been owned by local busi nessmen or the fans themselves, and the system seemed to work well.

When Al-Thani

bought Malaga FC, La Liga was already top of UEFA’s complex coefficient ranking system and Spanish clubs were regularly winning the Europa and Champions League. But it was hoped that foreign owners might provide further financial firepower and push Spain to even greater heights.

However, with English clubs dethroning Spanish clubs in UEFA’s coefficient in 2020, let’s see how successful this era has really been.

Banned

It was just 10 years ago in April that Malaga FC stormed

to the Champions League quarter-finals, brushing shoulders with football royalty at Europe’s top table. They bested Italian titans AC Milan in the group stage, and eased past Portuguese powerhouse Porto in the round of 16. They met their match against German heavyweights Borussia Dortmund in the next round, but it was a tight 3-2 affair. The 2012-13 season had Al-Thani looking like the saviour whose leadership would bring Malaga among La Liga’s second-tier heavyweights (at least equal to Sevilla and Valencia, if below Real and Barca). Unfortunately, financial difficulties including unpaid player wages and transfer fees soon followed on-pitch failure and relegation down,to the Segunda Division. Al-Thani’s ownership of the club came under investigation in 2018. Sufficient wrongdoing was found for the club to be

JOB DONE, AS OLIVE PRESS U-TURN CAMPAIGN FINALLY SEES SUCCESS

Back behind the wheel

Simon Hunter simon@theolivepress.es

Alex Trelinski alex@theolivepress.es

Cristina Hodgson cristina@theolivepress.es

Walter Finch walter@theolivepress.es

OFFICE MANAGER Héctor Santaella (+34) 658 750 424 accounts@ theolivepress.es

DISTRIBUTION ENQUIRIES (+34) 951 273 575 distribution@ theolivepress.es

NEWSDESK: 0034 951 273 575

For all sales and advertising enquiries please contact 951 27 35 75

HEAD OFFICE

Carretera Nacional 340, km 144.5, Calle Espinosa 1, Edificio cc El Duque, planta primera, 29692, Sabinillas, Manilva

Madrid correspondent Simon Hunter on the long road to a driving licence deal that left thousands of expats stranded

TO the relief of thousands of expats around Spain, the government has finally approved a deal on driving licence exchange with the UK.

The move brought an end to the more than 10 months of hell endured by foreign residents with UK licences, after they were banned from the roads on May 1 last year.

When it became clear there would be no more extensions and UK drivers resident here were really going to be banned, the shock, frustration and fear was palpable.

It was a situation that genuinely caught many by surprise, particularly given most had done everything within their power to avoid.

And it was a situation that everyone thought – or at least hoped – could only last a couple of weeks.

But in the end it took a shocking 10 months for the UK and Spain to reach a post-Brexit agreement on licence exchange, coupled with driver information related to traffic fines.

Ten long months, during which many vulnerable residents were unable to legally use their cars to get to work or attend hospital appointments, let alone go shopping or see friends.

After hearing many sad and desperate

stories, the Olive Press decided to launch a campaign to help them. Our U-Turn Campaign - which gave the victims a voice and pushed officials on both sides to find a solutioncan finally now be retired. Job done.

While rival newspapers ignored the victims' plight and some social media commentators even insisted they ‘deserved it’ for ignoring the warnings and trio of extension periods, we knew there were a myriad of other reasons.

In particular, many got hung out to dry by gestors (some of them bogus) who failed to do their job, while others were caught abroad or unable to act due to the strict pandemic restrictions.

Take David Dawson, who had moved to Spain in December 2020 and gave a lawyer instruction to apply for the exchange. He didn’t do so and David missed the deadline. “Our house is in an isolated location with no public transport of any kind,” he told the Olive Press. “It has caused countless nightmares.”

Meanwhile, an Olive Press employee found herself in a similar position - unable to drive to work or lead a normal dayto-day life, as were dozens of other Brits who got in touch with us.

There were a few reasons for the long delay, but the main sticking point was the UK wanting to keep the licence exchange and data access for traffic offences issues separate, whereas Spain wanted them together.

Despite story after story, many on our front page, we just couldn’t get answers. The main problem was communication and, as it often does in Spain, as summer arrived the information dried up, and despite numerous requests from our journalists no further explanation was forthcoming from either side – no one could

Malaga FC’s ownership nightmare might just be coming to an end, but how have other Spanish clubs fared under foreign owners?

BALLS UP

NET GAIN

THE Olive Press website has been in a continuous state of growth for the past sixteen years - and there’s no secret to our success. We are the only English-language paper dedicated solely to news, culture and travel about Spain… you won’t find stories about Australia and India or even the latest UK TV gossip, like you would in one of our ‘rivals’ as it chases hits. We hire NCTJtrained journalists who write their own exclusives and know how to source and deliver the most relevant and intriguing stories for expats.

sanctioned and banned from European competition for a season.

After promising fans the world, and spending heav ily on players in order to get into the Champions League, huge outlays ul timately got the club into catastrophic diffi culties.

Why didn’t AlThani, a wealthy Qatari royal, just wave his hand to make the debts go away, as wealthy benefactors at PSG, Chelsea, Manchester City and Newcastle

U-T URN N O !W

explain why it was taking so long.

For users of social media, the UK ambassador, Hugh Elliott, became a target for their ire.

In his regular video updates, he made clear that the embassy staff were reading all of the comments that victims were leaving for him. That must have been quite an experience, given the levels of frustration that people were expressing.

But thankfully, in the end, the situation has been resolved.

Now UK licence holders can get back behind the wheel. All they have to do is navigate the Spanish bureaucracy to complete the process. Let us hope this goes smoother than the negotiations did.

United have done?

This question takes us down a rabbit hole of wild conspiracy theories regarding Al-Thani and his stewardship of Los Boquerones.

Many malagueños suspect that his ownership was merely an exercise in laundering large sums of money internationally at the expense of the clubs and fans.

Valencia

Malaga fans might find some common ground with the Valencianistas , supporters of one of Spain’s traditionally more powerful clubs.

They performed the rare feat of toppling Barca and Madrid to win La Liga in 2004, after reaching back-toback Champions League finals in 2000 and 2001.

But then Singaporean businessman Peter Lim (pictured above left) arrived in 2014, and it all went downhill.

Lim is accused of asset-stripping Valencia FC, selling star players Carlos Soler, Gonçalo Guedes and Ferran Torres, and appointing his pal, former Manchester United hero Gary Neville, to manage the club for an abysmal four months.

Neville (who shares ownership of Salford FC in Manchester with Lim along with David Beckham and other famous United alumni) lost half of the 16 games he managed during a car crash tenure.

Lim has also refused to invest in the infrastructure or facilities of the club, and is currently burning through his 17th manager, club legend Ruben Barajas being the latest to sip from the poisoned chalice.

In fact, since Lim took charge, the club has reached the Champions League just once, in the 2017-18 season. Otherwise the trajectory has been borderline flatline. In response, fans of the club have been mobilising; abandoning the stadium on match day and taking to the streets to protest at the start of matches.

Not that Lim would notice: he hasn’t been at the Mestalla stadium in five years.

Models and money

Foreign ownership of Spain’s football clubs has not brought the riches and success seen in England and France, or, to a lesser extent, Italy.

That might be because the clubs with the greatest sporting and commercial potential are owned by their fans and not for sale.

Real Madrid and Barcelona, the true apex predators of European football over the past decade, are owned by their members, who vote to elect a president and board of directors.

This socios model, unique to Spain, treats clubs as a social organisation rather than a purely commercial enterprise.

Yet even this benign approach has run aground, with Barcelona struggling with a bloated wage bill and huge financial problems.

Real Madrid are faring better, but even they are struggling to compete with the financial firepower found in the Premier League.

The English league’s monetary muscle is based around highly lucrative television deals, and the wealth shared equally among the league’s 20 teams, whereas in Spain, the lion’s share of the television revenue is hoovered up by Real and Barca, leaving the rest of the league struggling.

Coupled with the genuine largesse of wealthy owners, English football clubs have blown their Spanish counterparts out of the transfer market water – and it is beginning to show in results. Already at a financial disadvantage, Spanish clubs find themselves attracting the wrong foreign investors who only make things worse.

Granada

Fans of Granada FC might beg to differ, of course: Chinese businessman Jiang Lizhang bought a controlling stake in 2016 through his sports investment company Desports Group.

Under Lizhang's ownership, Granada FC achieved promotion to La Liga in the 2018-2019 season, finishing as runners-up in the Segunda Division.

In their first season back in La Liga, they achieved an impressive seventh-place finish, qualifying for the Europa League for the first time in the club's history.

They reached the quarters of that competition the following season.

Things are looking up for Granada FC, with Lizhang making substantial investments into the club and looking like a proper businessman.

In the end, as malagueños might excitedly agree, to compete with billionaires and sovereign wealth funds you need to be owned by one.

In the past few months we have helped to get the Irish government to demand the reopening of the sad Amy case and also broken scandals like the giant Otero group’s sudden suspicious collapse, leaving hundreds of mostly foreign buyers out of pocket.

Reporter Walter Finch has doggedly pursued the truth behind the construction firm that has projects in Malaga, Mallorca and Valencia, now suspended.

Most recently Finch, who we poached from the Daily Mail last year, has exposed a cryptocurrency ‘investment’ scandal involving Gibraltar’s Globix platform that has seen hundreds of people - mainly expats - lose huge sums of cash totalling up to $70 million, maybe much more.

Over the course of weeks we have built up an ongoing investigation into the shady firm with a number of Russian links before carefully breaking the news a fortnight ago. No surprise it has since gathered steam with the involvement of a big London-based liquidators and one of Gibraltar’s leading KCs and politicians stepping in and we continue to probe.

Stories such as these are the reason we exist. It is a core part of the Olive Press’ identity to uncover wrongdoing and warn expats of the pitfalls that await them if they are not careful.

For years we have supported the expat community by rooting out crooks and scammers and launching environmental campaigns.

That’s why Sky News and the BBC, the Daily Mail and the Sun - to name a few - all come to us frequently when they want a story investigated.

We are the only English website dedicated to Spanish news that you can trust.

Our growing readership numbers (we have 30,000 registered on the website alone) are the proof of the pudding - consumers value well written, relevant and trusted news and are willing to pay for it.

The top five most read stories on www.theolivepress.es in the past two weeks are:

1- The UK hits back at the European Union’s Brit-hitting ETIAS tourist tax with one of its own

2- Lanzarote joins the Balearics in seeking to shut out British tourists in favour of Germans

3- The nightmare is finally over! Spain finally approves driving licence deal with UK meaning residents can legally get back on the roads

4- Spanish cuisine ranked third best in the world

5- Liverpool fans try to skip out on €2,200 bar bill in central Madrid

Get in touch today at sales@theolivepress.es or call us at 00 34 951273575 for more info

FAN FAVOURITE: Jiang Lizhang has taken control of Granada

LA CULTURA

From the depths Evoking emotions

THE remains of a church dating back to 1062 have completely reappeared after being submerged in a reservoir. Water levels have fallen so far due to drought that the ghost village of Sant Roma de Sau in Catalunya has reappeared after being flooded in the 1960s.

Over the last three decades the belltower of the 11th Century church peeked above the water line more and more as the reservoir shrank.

Today, however, the church’s belfry, nave and building foundations are completely exposed as water levels have diminished significantly. Currently the Sau reservoir is only 9% full and authorities are working around the clock to remove its fish to prevent them asphyxiating.

The Sau reservoir is one of many Catalonian water basins struggling with an ongoing drought in Spain.

ARMED INVASION

PIECES for a unique exhibition featuring China’s Terracotta Army have been unpacked and put ready for display at Alicante’s MARQ archaeological museum. The exhibition called The Legacy of the Quin and Han dynasties opens to the public on March 28 and will run until the end of next January.

It’s the first time since the pandemic that parts of the Terracotta army have left China in

Chinese terracotta soldiers arrive in Spain for unique exhibition

By Alex Trelinski

what MARQ officials have described as one of Spain's ‘biggest cultural events of the year’. Some 120 original pieces and five replicas arrived at the museum on Friday with specialists from Chinese museums and

Centre stage

A FILM shot entirely in Mallorca by a hotshot German documentary filmmaker will be available to watch at the Cineciutat theater in Palma.

The third documentary by Felix Starck, Step by Step, will be released at the theatre on March 31.

The film is about a young family’s search for meaning which takes them across countless miles and many countries until they finally find a place to settle.

The documentary was filmed entirely in Pollenca.

institutions assisting MARQ officials during the unpacking and placement process.

Careful handling was paramount with the exhibition including nine warriors and an original terracotta horse as well as two bronze chariot replicas.

It’s the first time that many of

Cashing in

SPAIN’S government has approved the renewal of a birthday gift to all 18-yearolds in the form of a culture voucher worth €400.

The extension to the Youth Cultural Bonus, which can be spent on books, concerts, cinema tickets, museum entrances and now - following a court case - bull fights, has this week been passed by the Council of Ministers.

Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez announced the scheme in 2020, saying it would introduce youngsters to Spain’s rich cultural history. Approximately 500,000 teenagers are eligible for the pass.

the pieces have been exhibited outside of China.

The life-size terracotta warriors were discovered nearly 50 years ago in Xi'an province with over 2,000 figures recovered so far from an area that was declared a World Heritage Site in 1987.

Emperor

They lined the entrance to the tomb of Chinese emperor, Qin Shihaung, over 2,000 years ago. Besides the figures, the exhibition will contain interactive elements and videos looking back at the Chinese history of that period.

Tickets will cost just €5 with group reductions available as well as discounts for the over65s, children, and students.

OP QUICK CROSSWORD

A GROUP of leading contemporary artists have put together an interactive exhibition in Barcelona specifically for children, but also anyone else who loves to tap into their inner-child.

The show, Imaginary Friends, brings together installations from nine artists at the Fundacio Joan Miro.

Artistic director Martina Milla said the idea for the show was sparked before the pandemic.

“We had the idea of mounting an exhibition of contemporary art for people of all ages, something that children could relate to but also so that older people could relive the experience of being a child and participate as if they were children,” she said. “There’s much in this exhibition that’s therapeutic, above all a return to a pre-pandemic spirit after we’ve all suffered so much.”

Outside the entrance visitors can sit on Danish artist Jeppe Hein’s convoluted bench, conceived as a riposte to the hostile architecture of street furniture, such as benches designed so the homeless could not sleep on them.

Another striking installation is We Are the Baby Gang, a collection of colourful feathered polar bears created by Paola Pivi, an Italian artist who lives in Alaska.

The exhibition opened on March 17 and will run until July 2, this year.

Across

5 Herbal Italian bread (8)

7 Agitate (4)

8 Offensive (13)

9 Possessed (5)

11 Direct hit is source of pride (6)

13 World’s largest economy (1,1,1)

14 Fiddle (6)

15 Invest defensively (5)

17 Unpredictable (13)

20 Price paid (4)

21 Wine and soda water (8)

Down

1 Leave-taking (8)

2 Finely honed (5)

3 Largest Balearic island (7)

4 Submissive (8)

6 Globe (3)

7 The Red or the Med (3)

10 Super-intense (5-3)

12 Tiny tree chopped up for ever (8)

13 Disrobe (7)

16 Like a brainiac (5)

18 Favourite (3)

19 Type of beer (3)

All solutions are on page 10

ARE THESE THE BEST APPS FOR EXPATS?

These three apps will help you make the best of your life abroad

THESE days there’s an app for just about everything, but space on your phone is precious and it can be hard to decide which apps should make the cut.

To help you with this, we’ve put together our quick guide to the three best apps for expats…

DUOLINGO

If you want to really immerse yourself in another country there’s no substitute for learning the local language.

If you’ve struggled with learning languages in the past or are short on time and don’t think you could fit a language course into your routine, Duolingo is the app for you.

Duolingo is designed to help you learn a local language in fun, easily digestible and short (5-10 minute) sessions.

Games, rewards and regular prompts will keep you engaged and help you stay on track, and it’s available in Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Dutch, Irish, Danish, Swedish, Russian, Ukrainian, Esperanto, Polish and Turkish.

The bitesize nature of the lessons means they’re easy to fit into your every day life, and the design of the lessons means they’re suitable for people of all ages and abilities.

Duolingo is brilliant for learning the basics and improving your confidence, making it a great foundation for starting to interact with locals in their native tongue.

INTERNATIONS

When you leave your old life behind and start fresh in another country, making friends and connections can be tough.

If you’re keen to meet people in similar circumstances and broaden your social circle, InterNations is a fantastic tool.

With over 4 million members, InterNation’s aims to connect expats around the world and alert them to relevant events in cities near them. Whether your interests lie in extreme sports, the arts, a vibrant nightlife or music, InterNations will have something to suit.

CURRENCIES DIRECT APP

If you’re living in Spain but need to transfer money from your home nation to cover living costs, make foreign mortgage payments or move wages or a pension, the Currencies Direct App makes the process hassle-free.

With the app you can check live exchange rates 24/7, make swift, secure transfers in a couple of taps and track your transfers from start to finish.

Currencies Direct offer exceptional exchange rates, don’t apply transfer fees and are authorised in the EU – so you can be confident that your money is in safe hands.

The app’s available in the App Store and Google Play, and once you’ve downloaded it you can create an account in a couple of minutes.

As a Currencies Direct customer you’ll also gain access to a dedicated Account Manager, a currency expert who’s always on hand to update you on the latest market movements or talk to you about the different transfer options available.

What’s more, with 20+ offices across Spain, Currencies Direct are never far away if you want to talk to someone face-to-face about your requirements.

Whether you chose to arrange your transfers via the app, online, over the phone or in person, you’ll always receive award-winning service.

ABOUT CURRENCIES DIRECT

Currencies Direct have been helping individuals and businesses save time and money since 1996 with excellent exchange rates and no transfer fees.

Get a quote now to find out how much you could save.

With a team of over 550 currency experts and 20+ branches across Spain, Currencies Direct are never far away when you need them. They’ll keep you up to date with the latest market movements so you can pick the right time to move your money. They also offer a range of specialist services that can be tailored to your individual requirements.

If you have a currency requirement coming up, get a quote now or reach out to the Currencies Direct team and quote Olive Press.

WHERE DID COVID GO?

March 14 marked the third anniversary of Spain’s state of alarm: a strange new world of Covid, masks and nasal tests, and Europe’s strictest lockdown. But has it really gone?

By Jo Chipchase

WHO could forget how strange our lives became on 14 March 2020, thanks to the new virus with the spike protein?

We were told it hailed from the Wuhan wet market in China, and constant news coverage whipped up public fears.

With little warning, we were instructed to stay at home (quédate a casa) and were only allowed outside for ‘essential supplies’, animal care, or to empty our bins, all to be undertaken in a mask.

The national state of alarm only ended on June 9, 2021.

After that, regional goverments could decide rules – such as, residents must remain within their own province or municipality and not gather in groups.

Despite the strict lockdown, Spain had 255 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants, an unenviable rate in Europe.

Afterwards, we eventually ‘de-escalated’ out of Covid restrictions, returning to a full life with family, friends, and fiestas in 2022.

Three years on, what (if anything) have we learned from our collective experience? And, with many people currently sick with coughs and fevers, has Covid really gone – and if so, where?

WHAT HAPPENED TO THE KRAKEN VARIANT?

In January, when China abandoned its ‘zero Covid’ policy, and opened its bor-

GOODBYE: to the worst of Covid?

ders, the world feared that new subvariants would fly out.

A much hyped subvariant is Kraken (XBB.1.5). Derived from Omicron and related to the XBB strain, Kraken appeared last October. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has been watching it as a ‘variant of concern’. According to a December study in Cell magazine, it’s great at evading immune defences and vaccines. So where is it?

Although Kraken is already supposed to be in 29 countries, and already accounts for 40% of cases in Spain (of those that are tested and reported), who knows anyone who has been diagnosed with this subvariant? Answers on a postcard.

DO TESTS STILL WORK?

Despite everyone seeming to be sick with fevers, persistent coughs, and

weakness over the last few months, reports of positive Covid tests are anecdotally scarce. Are the home antigen tests doing their job? This is debatable.

The advice from the Federal

THE EUROPEAN DENTAL PRACTICE

EMERGENCIES: 636 308 789 Tel: 971 681 439 www.theeuropeandentalpractice.com

Dr.Mónica Bonet – University of Barcelona

Dr. Yasmina Adebibe – B.D.S London

Susan Taylor-Vickers – BSc, EDH Mercadona Centre, Son Caliu, Palma Nova

Drug Agency (FDA) is ‘if you think you are infected with Covid but test negative, test again in 48hrs . . . if you’re still negative, take another in two days’.

A 2022 study showed that home antigen tests were only 60% accurate on the first day of a person’s symptomatic infection. For asymptomatic infections it dropped to 12%. A second test improved accuracy to 92% and 51% respectively. The need for ‘serial testing’ is hardly inspiring.

Lucy Hayes Logan of Lanjaron says: “I recently caught Covid from someone with a ‘bad cold’. When they notified me, I tested every day and got a positive after two days. I had previously caught Covid in January 2022. The symptoms were different this time, with fever, dizziness, chills and body pain, so it could have been a different variant.”

She adds: “Maybe there aren’t many positives because people test once when they start to develop symptoms, rather than retesting during the estimated incubation period. It’s an expensive process and unpleasant. So, with a negative test they put it down to a bad cold or flu and just treat the symptoms.”

WHAT ABOUT THE SUPER FLU?

With hardly anybody claiming to have Covid, many people complain of a cough with fatigue lasting three weeks, or a feverish flu that sends you to bed for a week instead. Colds never used to last that long.

Arguably, the lack of mingling, and the prevalence of masks during the pandemic have lowered our resistance to germs, our immune response.

OP Puzzle solutions

Quick Crossword

tel: 971 404 459

Ivan Sanz Muñoz, of Spain’s National Influenza Center of Valladolid, said in an interview: “Covid-19 displaced all respiratory viruses, in general. For this reason, now everyone is sick, since the viruses are recovering their ecological niche.

“In addition, the flu virus mutates 10 times faster than the coronavirus that causes Covid-19.”

Recent articles from America suggest that during the pandemic people lied about their children having Covid. That’s no surprise.

People working in the gig economy, or freelancers with no sick pay, cannot afford to be ill. A possible Covid infection is easy to pass off as a bad cold; a lack of testing means that most people don’t even know what they’ve caught. And then they spread it.

WHERE DID COVID REALLY COME FROM?

This March, the US Congress passed a bill to declassify documents about the origins of Covid. They suggest that it comes from the Wuhan Insti-

Across: 5 Focaccia, 7 Stir, 8 Objectionable, 9 Owned, 11 Credit, 13 U S A, 14 Violin, 15 Hedge, 17 Temperamental, 20 Cost, 21 Spritzer.

Down: 1 Farewell, 2 Acute, 3 Majorca, 4 Yielding, 6 Orb, 7 Sea, 10 White-hot, 12 Eternity, 13 Undress, 16 Smart, 18 Pet, 19 Ale.

tute of Virology.

The American contingent is now asking what research the Wuhan laboratory carried out before the outbreak of Covid, and why some researchers were sick in 2019.

As one Olive Press reader said when the pandemic started: “If there was a puddle beside the puppy, you might reasonably think the puppy did it”. Despite that, WHO did its best to reassure the world that Covid mutated from pangolins sold in the nearby Wuhan wet market.

WHERE ARE WE GOING NOW?

According to Statista, Spain had 3.7 million Covid cases up to March 1, 2023; and 119,400 deaths. Despite that, some people still claim that Covid never existed, and was just ‘flu’.

Although we have emerged back into a kind of normality, the impact on Spain’s mental health (and people’s finances) is still felt today. And there’s a whole Covid generation: children born after March 2020 know nothing

other than the Covid era. During the pandemic, we all saw division and even hate within our communities –mask wars, conspiracy theories, and reporting of neighbours who ventured outside. This division in society exists today. It hasn’t gone away.

If we have learnt anything at all, it’s maybe that the truth can be bent, and, where the pandemic is concerned, falls somewhere in the big space between official dialogue and conspiracies.

BUSINESS Profits up

Solar solution

AS thousands of Europeans do every year, Jan Arlemark has recently moved to Spain in his retirement. But the Swedish inventor is not sitting on his hands.

Having witnessed both traffic congestion and overflowing rubbish containers in Barcelona, he has joined a small innovation centre called Accacio to start designing a new and improved garbage-handling system.

The result, he explains, is an ‘intelligent system’ that guides dustcart drivers only to the containers that need to be emptied. This can reduce the distance travelled by up to 50%, making it simpler, more efficient and cutting CO2 emissions.

What’s more, the containers in his system are equipped with a ‘solar-powered disinfection system’, which eliminates bad smells and stops bacteria from spreading.

Vision

“This added feature makes the garbage-handling system much more hygienic and environmentally friendly,” he adds.

Arlemark had previous experience in disinfection technology, which he has combined with this AI system for the garbage collection itself.

“I have drawn up my visions as a map for the future handling of our garbage,” says Arlemark. ‘“My hope is to find an investor and a municipality to prove my statements.”

A simulation he carried out in one of Barcelona’s 12 districts showed savings on fuel and personnel thanks to the system.

The inventor has already filed a patent application for his system and will be present at the EU Startups Summit in Barcelona, which will take place from April 20 to 21, to present the project to potential investors.

MERCADONA has reported that profits rose 5% last year as consumers had to deal with increased prices.

The company made €718 million in 2022 - up from €680 million the previous year.

Mercadona president and main shareholder, Juan Roig, said that €161 million in dividends had been paid out and in ‘the interests of transparency’, he declared his annual salary as €11 million.

On rising food prices, Juan Roig said his business had cut profit margins by 0.6% to help customers. During 2022, Mercadona opened 63 new stores to reach 1,676 establishments in total across Spain and Portugal.

Falling value

THE value of Spanish pension scheme assets fell by €482 million to €82 billion in February 2023, according to new data.

Following an increase in asset values in January, a more ‘challenging market environment’ caused the drop last month, according to pension advisory organisation Inverco.

But Inverco suggested that projected returns in the medium to long term for individual schemes were positive.

“For example, at 26 years, the pension schemes will register an average annual return of 2.5% while at 10 and 15 years it is estimated that the return will be 2.6% and 2% respectively,” a spokesperson said. Benefits paid out during the month totalled €207m compared to contributions of €115m.

Record increase

Price rise continue as food inflation hits peak

FOOD and non-alcoholic beverages rose in February by 16.6% over 12 months1.2% higher than in January. The food inflation rate, according to the National Institute of Statistics, is at its highest point since it started using the current measuring system in 1994.

The peak in the current economic crisis was 15.7% in December with this year’s IVA tax cuts on basic food essentials being quickly swallowed up by rising prices. Increased fresh food costs for vegetables, fruits, and legumes are behind the rise due to supply issues caused by weather conditions in Spain and in other EU countries, and the resulting increase in international demand.

Last month, Agriculture Minister Luis Planas said there were ‘reasons to believe that food inflation had peaked’, but clearly that is not the case, with added

CAR FACTORY LAYOFFS

FORD has announced 1,100 job losses20% of its workforce - at its Almussafes car plant in Valencia.

The news follows last month’s announcement of 3,800 job cuts elsewhere in Europe, including 1,300 posts in the UK. Last year, Ford said it was delaying production investments in Spain, citing a ‘revised outlook for Europe’, but emphasised that it was moving forward with plans to start producing electric vehicles later this decade at Almussafes.

Production of the S-Max and Galaxy

By Alex Trelinski

pressure now on the government to do more.

Among some of the biggest rises over 12 months, there’s sugar (52.6%), butter (39.1%), sauces and condiments (33.8%), olive oil (33.5%) and whole milk (33.2%).

Food inflation has been in double digits for 11 months in a row and Spain’[s problems are mirrored elsewhere in Europe.

Farmers

For example, Germany’s rate for February was 21.8% Rising prices have been caused by farmers having to pay more for basic items like seeds, feed, fertilisers, electricity or fuel, but experts believe with those rates now falling, reductions will start to be passed on through the food chain.

Tsome warmth and sunshine. Or perhaps it’s the buzz of the opening of new restaurants, various food markets, fairs and sailing regattas. The island is wak ing up.

There has been an increase of interest in buying a property on the island since 2020 and so far, this remains, even with increased inflation and the European energy crisis. Mallorca property prices re main among the highest in Spain. Have you been thinking of relocating to the Mediterranean? Of relaxing on your private terrace soaking up the Mediterranean sun shine and listening to the waves.

models will cease next month at Almussafes as Ford moves to manufacturing only electric passenger cars by 2030. It means that only the Kuga SUV will be made at Almussafes until 2025, when the new GE2 electric car starts rolling off production lines.

We are thrilled to introduce this magnificent waterfront property in the hidden bay of Cap

CLEVER: System will cut rubbish truck journeys

Happy sopa

FOUR cold soups from Spain have been named in Europe’s top 10.

Food guide Taste Atlas, has compiled a list of the best cold soups in Europe, three of which are typically ‘Made in Malaga’; Gazpacho, ajoblanco and porra antequerana. The very similar salmorejo, from Cordoba also made it on to the list.

Tarator from Bulgaria - made with yoghurt and cucumber - was named best.

Meanwhile readers of Taste Atlas have rated Spanish cuisine third best in the world.

Based on criteria such as the ingredients, dishes and drinks of each cuisine, they gave Spanish food 4.59 out of 5 points.

Among the top-rated Spanish dishes are 100% Iberian acorn-fed ham, followed by cured Manchego cheese, fried fish, espetos (grilled sardines) grilled prawns and paella.

Leading the list is Italian food, followed by Greece.

Cream of the crop

SPAIN’S best chocolate ice cream has been named. The Caramelo ice cream parlour in the Costa del Sol’s Fuengirola, won first prize in a contest organised by specialist magazine Helado Artesano, in which more than 150 professionals from all over Spain took part.

The product, made and sold by the artisan Matias Kuyumdjian was crowned the best in the country. The professional won with a recipe that he had been working on for four months and that he had only just included in his business offering.

Tit-for-tat

THE UK is set to introduce a new requirement for visa-exempt visitors to Britain which will see them fill in an online form and pay a fee in order to enter the country.

The move will affect all European Union citizens and seems to be a tit-for-tat response to the EU’s ETIAS tourist tax, which has been causing consternation

UK hits back at the European Union’s Brit-hitting ETIAS tourist tax with one of its own

By Walter Finch

among Spanish tourism bosses.

PUTTING STUDENTS FIRST

of their trip. There will also be a fee to be paid although it has not been revealed how much it will be.

Starting from next year, tourists from Spain and other European countries will need to complete an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) form before boarding a plane to the UK. The ostensible purpose of the ETA, according to the British Home Office - just as with the ETIAS - is to improve security and digitise the UK’s borders. Visitors will be required to disclose their full name, their date of birth, country of citizenship and details

Meanwhile the ETIAS tax that’s set to charge Brits €7 to enter the Schengen

zone has been pushed back to 2024. The controversial measure has been bedevilled by delays, uncertainty and internal criticism.

Applicants for the ETIAS form will have to detail their health history, criminal record and EU immigration history.

MTA Group established over 15 years assisting many students with their academic studies across a wide age range and academic ability.

CROSS two well established and well respected academies based in Mallorca and the Costa del Sol, Mallorca Tutoring Academy offer the very best in tutoring and learning, as well as offering a wide range of extra-curricular activities to international students.

Mallorca Tutoring Academy offers a wide range of activities as well as a top class learning experience

ABritish curriculum IGCSE and A level subjects for revision and full programmes of study.

Call us today to arrange your child’s future path

Their priority is to inspire students to develop their full potential by discovering how individuals learn, whether visually, auditorily or kinaesthetically.

Foodie capital

MADRID has been named the best European city for fine dining, according to a new study.

Taxes

Caroline: (+34) 971 79 14 10

Excellence in education, all under one roof www.tutoringacademy.eu

Administrative Director, Mallorca Julie: (+34) 660 976 322

They achieve this by designing individually tailored programmes of effective learning delivered in small class groups with students very much at the centre. With effective mentoring and engagement, they aim to inspire students to reach their individual potential and to adopt a desire for life-long learning.

MTA has a reputation for offering a wide ranging academic programme including English, mathematics and sciences, as well as many more subjects at all levels up to A Level and cover exam boards

such as Cambridge, AQA and more. They also deliver preparation for all the Cambridge English Second Language examinations as well as SAT, ACT and TOEFL for students aspiring to study overseas. They fully understand the importance of knowing each student’s individual performance and the tutors at MTA provide all students with a monthly progress report detailing the work completed, the progress they are making and constructive comments from tutors.

Travel logistics app Bounce analysed European cities on their total number of Michelin-starred restaurants, with the Spanish capital boasting 162 of them. Madrid has emerged in recent years as a culinary powerhouse, hosting some of the most exciting and creative restaurants in Europe, such as the threestarred DiverXO for cutting-edge gastronomy and Paco Roncero, which serves traditional Spanish dishes with a modern twist.

With the ETA also coming in in 2024, the two reciprocal tourist taxes look set to come into effect at the same time.

Visitors from Canada, the USA, Australia, Brazil, Japan and dozens of other countries will also be affected.

Executive Director, Costa del Sol

MTA also realises the importance of successful parent-tutor relationships as an integral part of the full holistic and academic process and will schedule a meeting with every parent or guardian at least once every term. This gives everyone the opportunity to discuss progress and praise as well as to address any concerns.

By providing outstanding customer service, MTA aims to develop confident, competent and responsible individuals to achieve their full potential.

To find our more information and to arrange your child’s future path, contact Caroline (administrative director for Mallorca) on +34 971 791 410 or visit www.tutoringacademy.eu

In the study, Madrid earned a ‘foodie score’ of 8.35 out of 10.

The city also had one of the lowest proportions of restaurants to fast-food outlets (4.62%), determining its impressive rank.

Madrid rated above Paris which had 118 Michelin-starred restaurants, Amsterdam (72) and London (69).

Low class

CEO of Jet2 Holidays Steve Heapy has waded into a row over ‘low class Brits’.

He has written to Lanzarote’s president, Dolores Corujo, asking her to clarify whether or not she wants British tourists to visit the island. The president recently called for higher-quality tourists from places other than the UK. Heapy has called for Corujo to explain what she means by ‘higher quality tourism’. The British media has been infuriated by statements made by Corujo who said that the island should aim to attract ‘quality’ tourists from places such as Germany, France and the Netherlands.

TOP: Madrid dining at DiverXO

FOOD,DRINK & TRAVEL

Ladies not waiting

Carme Ruscalleda, Moments, Barcelona, 1952

AS legend has it, the Catalan chef began selling a bit of home-cooking at the family charcutería and before you know it the shop had become Sant Pau, one of the best restaurants in Spain. For a while Ruscalleda, mother of two, had three restaurants with seven Michelin stars between them.

Sant Pau closed in 2018, and these days, she just manages Moments (at the Mandarin Oriental) and Sant Pau Tokyo, advocates for healthier food options in hospitals and schools, writes foodie books and serves as an example of all that’s possible.

Susi Díaz, La Finca, Alicante, 1956

IN Netflix movies, the pressures of running a restaurant break up marriages, but Diaz jokes that she opened this gem of a restaurant in Elche in 1984 to save hers because, with a husband also working in hospitality, without a joint project they’d never see each other. Self-taught, she’s known for fish and seafood dishes using citrus and edible flowers that are as exquisitely beautiful as they are delicious. Author of a popular cookbook (Sentidos) familiar to Spanish TV audiences as a judge on Top Chef, Diaz is also an ambassador for the Marine Stewardship Council.

MICHELIN STARS

REPSOL SOLS

Elena Arzak, San Sebastian,

MICHELIN STARS

REPSOL SOLS

SHE spent seven years training in Switzerland and working in top restaurants across Europe (including London’s Le Gavroche and elBulli) before coming home to work with her Dad.

It was a risk: Juan Mari Arzak is one of the biggest names in Spanish gastronomy. But talent, technical skill and her own distinct approach have seen her scoop up awards in her own right – Best Female Chef in the World (2012)

SATISFACTION GUARANTEED

those stress-free days with the all-in English services of Linea Directa

WHY do we feel so much nostalgia for the 80s? It was such a stressfree decade with bold fashion statements and new hair trends. Remember mixing music on cassette tapes, recording your message on home answering machines, and not to forget how neon colours rocked with scrunched-up legwarmers over spandex tights. So satisfying.

Well 9 out of 10 Línea Directa customers get the same satisfaction and recommend the best priced car, bike and home insurance to friends and family.

EXPAT2EXPAT REWARDS

When an existing Línea Directa customer recommends a new customer, they both receive 30€. Línea Directa’s Expat2Expat programme is free and open to all existing customers. You can recommend up to 10 people and earn up to 300€ in cash per year. Simply ask your friend to call 952-14-78-34 and quote your full name. Then once their application for car, bike or home insurance has been approved, Línea Directa will pay the reward straight into the bank account following payment of next or first premium. For more information, see terms and conditions at lineadirecta.com

CHECK-OUT OUR POLICIES

All customer service and documentation is in English, their claims service is fast and efficient, you can get quick no obligation quotes over the phone, and their easy payment options help spread the cost of premiums.

DEDICATED TO EXPATS

Línea Directa has been providing comprehen-

sive car, motorbike and home insurance to British expatriates and residents in Spain for over 25 years. With over 3 million customers nationwide, Línea Directa makes sure you get the best possible price for the kind of insurance you really need.

ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING IS IN ENGLISH

Their Roadside Assistance team speaks English and will quickly help you with your onward journey. If you urgently need a duplicate set of keys for your motorcycle, then their English-speaking customer service will sort it out. And should you require Home Assistance to set up your new Wi-Fi connection, then English speaking technical staff will set up a visit.

DID YOU KNOW?

All Línea Directa insurance policies offer some exciting features specifically designed for British expatriates living in Spain. Their home insurance includes Pet Assistance, IT Assistance, and Home Maintenance. All motorbike policies come with Replacement Motorbike, Technical Equipment cover and even Young Person’s Night-time Assistance. And their car insurance includes helpful services such as Legal Assistance that can provide help when applying or renewing your driving license in Spain.

Maria Jose San Roman, Monastrell, Alicante, 1955

among them. She is the only woman running a three-Michelin star restaurant in Spain, albeit with Juan Mari alongside. ‘He’s my maestro,’ she says. ‘I love it!’

As International Women’s Day celebrations continue, Sorrel Downer takes a look at Spain’s top female chefs

OF all the very many things women do at least as well as men, most people would seem to agree standing in a kitchen and cooking stuff is among them.

Yet only one in 10 of all Michelin-starred restaurants in Spain has a female head chef. And in the Repsol Guide only three restaurants run by a woman have the maximum three Sols (suns) – out of 42.

VANGUARD technique, a celebration of the local gambas, and playful tasting menu have won her multiple awards at this top marina-front spot. San Roman also has the very important role of president of the Asociación de Mujeres en Gastronomia (MEG) pushing for visibility and equality.

REPSOL SOLS

Cristina Figueira, El Xato, Alicante, 1974

The obvious conclusion is that women are too busy creating alta gastronomia to go around blowing their own trumpets.

While some of the most famous male chefs seem to be just as interested in self-publicity and burgeoning business empires as in their food, many a talented female pours all their creativity into the dishes they lovingly assemble.

To get to the top as a female chef in Spain takes a lot of talent and oomph. Here are the brightest stars in the gastronomic galaxy, and the rising stars with restaurants that every self-respecting gourmand should know.

INSPIRATION struck while helping her mother-in-law in the family tapas bar in La Nucia.

After studying the culinary arts in Benidorm, absorbing the molecular gastronomy teachings of Ferran Adria, and working as an intern at El Celler de Can Roca, she diplomatically transformed the traditional venue into a sophisticated Michelin restaurant voted fifth best in the world by TripAdvisor punters, and winning the title of best chef in the province of Alicante along the way.

MICHELIN STARS

REPSOL SOLS

KNOWN as the ‘volcanic chef’ not for a Ramsay style temper but for being part of the ‘volcanic cuisine movement’ dedicated to using local produce, most ingredients in the minimalist dishes she creates with precise and scientific skill come from her own orchard, veg plots and chickens in Olot. Home-grown and KM 0 also applies to her team: Daughters Martina (ex of Blue Hill at Stone Barns, New York) and Carlota (ex of El Celler de Can Roca) now work alongside her, while her third Clara works front of house.

MICHELIN STARS

REPSOL SOLS

Fina Puigdevall, Les Cols, Girona, 1963

Relive

REPSOL SOLS

MICHELIN STARS

FOOD,DRINK & TRAVEL

RISING STARS Here are some of the future female stars breaking into the cooking scene

Camila Ferraro, Sobretablas, Sevilla, 1987

REPSOL SOLS

Rakel Cernicharo, Karak, Valencia, 1985

REPSOL SOLS

Alba Esteve Ruiz, Restaurante Alba, Alicante, 1989

SUCH was the impression she made when working in Rome in 2018, she won Italy’s best young female chef award.

Now home and running her own restaurant, her elegant and aesthetically pleasing dishes are, writes one critic, impregnated with a touch of Italian.

Alba (another graduate of the hit machine that is Joan Roca’s El Celler de Can Roca) is the only woman on the shortlist for Spain’s best young chef award (results due imminently).

Incidentally, Joan Roca has received Michelin’s Chef-Mentor 2023 award for services rendered.

CERNICHARO creates dining experiences: Her restaurant is a world of its own, where design, art and moody lighting complement the food.

The tasting menus are journeys through the senses and based on themes (currently ‘fire’, ‘smoke’ or ‘embers’) and truly unique. Karak has been going for ten years, though in its current central location (at Hotel One Shot Mercat 09) for just five. Another Top Chef winner (2017), she finally got on the Repsol radar last year.

Rocio Parra, La Parra, Salamanca, 1982

ANOTHER chef who learnt her trade at El Celler de Can Roca and other great restaurants of the north, Ferraro’s fresh reinvention of traditional fare in her home town of Sevilla generated a gigantic buzz when Sobretablas opened in 2018. Bouncing back after lockdown, she became the first female winner of Spain’s Cocinero Revelación (young cook of the year) award in 2020.

IT would be wrong to call her the Pork Queen, but she loves the stuff: 13 of the 25 courses on one of her tasting menus feature it in some form, from tartar of salchichon to an Iberian pate éclair. The Madrid-born chef trained under Michelin-star chef Paco Roncero and also worked with Yolanda Leon before moving to Salamanca for love.

Lola Marin, Damasqueros, Granada, 1978

HER ambition was to be an architect, but Marin changed course and enrolled at the Basque Culinary Centre, before honing her skills working for top chefs Subijana and Arzak. Her deceptively simple tasting menus make full use of Granada’s rich local produce and Arab heritage.

Vicky Sevilla, Arrels, Valencia,1992

MICHELIN STARS

REPSOL SOLS

The amount of skill and imagination, artistry and sheer graft that goes into the two lengthy, seasonal tasting menus on offer, defies belief.

It won her a Michelin star five years after opening, in 2020 – she was the only female chef in Spain to get a first star.

Island conquest

A little-known Israeli hotel chain has come of age with the acquisition of six new hotels in the Balearics

IT has been something of a silent takeover.

But in just seven years an ambitious Israeli group has acquired 17 hotels in Spain.

In the last year alone, the Leonardo chain has bought eight hotels in the country, with

six in the Balearic Islands.

The giant 165 million euro splurge even includes the emblematic OD hotel in Portals, which has now just reopened as the Leonardo Boutique Hotel Mallorca Port Portals.

The 77-room design hotel - long popular with a hip island crowd and visiting DJs - has maintained its charm, while adding numerous stylish touches.

As well as seductive down-lighting and vanguard furniture, there are fresh flowers spread around the adults-only four star hotel.

The pool area maintains its usual charm, while the Sky Bar is soon set to open again, with a number of events planned for the Spring.

Set in Portals Nous, it is a short walk to the upmarket port, as well as the popular local beaches, while it is just 15 minutes into central Palma and 20 minutes to the airport.

In addition, the group has added the frontline beach hotel Royal Palmanova and the Royal Mallorca, which will open shortly.

Meanwhile three more hotels are due to reopen after a complete overhaul in the Santa Eularia and San Antonio areas.

Each of the Balearic hotels will open shortly having been completely rebranded and taken to the standard of the Leonardo group, which owns 230 hotels in 111 destinations worldwide.

And to top the lot, the group has acquired its first hotel on the Costa del Sol, the Leonardo Ho-

IN 2021, the 29-year-old from Sevilla became the youngest female chef in Spain to get a Michelin star. Just four years earlier, she’d been begging banks to loan her the money to start a restaurant. Despite her grit and determination, she drifted into chefdom by accident when, as a 17-yearold, instead of flying home from a holiday in Menorca, she stayed and got a job in a restaurant. She later worked with both Susi Diaz and Begoña Rodrigo (who she counts as mentors).

MICHELIN STARS

REPSOL SOLS

tel Fuengirola, which has had a total refit. Opening this week, the 184-room hotel is an emblematic hostelry with breathtaking views along the coast and over to Morocco.

Bought last March the hotel has had a year of total renovation.

The global hotel chain - which has five different brands, including NYX and Herods - was launched by Israeli businessman David Fattal in 1998.

Last year, it also bought Hotel Dilly, in London, which is expected to have a total cost - including renovation - of 103 million euros.

The hotel group is listed on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE).

For more information and bookings, visit www.leonardo-hotels.es

NEW: Three hotels glammed up in Santa Eularia and San Antonio

77-room design hotel - long popular with a hip island crowd

Better drivers

WOMEN are safer than men on the road, according to Spain’s Directorate-General for Traffic. It revealed 60% of women drivers have never received any type of traffic penalty.

Stitch Up

A MALAGA policeman has been sent to jail for attempting to frame a drunk driver for assault. The cop smashed his own head on a wall and told the driver ‘you did this’.

High notes

TICKET sales from live music and festivals have contributed a whopping €459 million in 2022 in Spain, with Andalucia contributing €75,907,173 to that total figure.

P

SLIPPERY SLOPE Trash or treasure

Aussie farmer finds ‘Spanish’ Unidentified Floating Object

By Anthony Piovesan

VOYAGE: A mystery object could have washed up in Australia from Galicia

at his property near Mission Beach in Queensland, in the country’s north.

The 55-year-old believes it could have come from Spain because of the words inscribed in it, ‘Cape Finisterre’. The location is a rock-bound

TABBED UP

A PAIR of Liverpool fans in Spain for a match against Real Madrid ‘generously’ bought everyone in the bar several drinks. But when it came time to leave at 2.30am the self-proclaimed ‘millionaires’ tried to scarper without settling their €2,200 tab. They had earlier stumped up €1,000 but carried on running up the bill. Police were called and - after a struggle - the duo were arrested, accused of fraud.

peninsula on the west coast of Galicia in Spain.

The object is about 32cm wide and shaped in a circle, with a barcode and serial number, and an on-off button.

“I was just walking along the beach naked - it’s my private property so I can do that - and I found this thing that at first looked like a jellyfish,” Deacon said.

“When I looked closer I realised it was some gadget UFO-type thing.

“It has it written faintly in black ‘Cape Finisterre’, and I Googled

it and saw it was a location in Spain.

“If this thing has travelled all the way from Spain, especially to the Queensland coast, then it would have needed to get around South America or Africa which is an absolute miracle.”

It may seem unlikely that the mystery object travelled 12,500 miles all the way from Spain, but there has been a recorded instance of a bottle thrown into the sea in Spain being found in New Zealand.

Do you know what the object could be? Email newsdesk@theolivepress.es

FOUR years after hitting the headlines after installing ‘Spain’s largest urban slide’ then shutting it down 24 hours later after several injuries, Estepona is trying again. In 2019 the terrifying slide in the Costa del Sol town, which was 38 metres long and had a gradient of 33 degrees, was ripped out after several people suffered friction burns and bruising.

It connected two streets and was designed to give people a fast way down.

Now the council has opened its new offices - and incorporated a slide between floors for employees, again to save time.

Suckers

CAMPAIGNERS are calling for plans for the world’s first commercial octopus farm to be sent to Davy Jones’ locker. Seafood producer Pescanova has proposed a €65 million farm on Gran Canaria. The proposal to kill around 1 million octopuses a year with ice slurry will ‘cause considerable pain, fear and suffering as well as a prolonged death’, according to animal rights activists.

AN AUSTRALIAN farmer wearing nothing but a cowboy hat was walking along the beach with his dog when he found an object washed up on a beach which he believes came all the way from Spain. Rob Deacon told the Olive Press he found the mysterious circular object on the shore