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ISSUE NO. 1494

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No to drilling MORE than 30,000 signatures have been collected by environmentalist groups in Palma and other towns in Mallorca against plans to drill for oil off the Balearic Islands.

20 - 26 FEBRUARY 2014

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Hollywood star helps children in Balearics HOLLYWOOD star Alec Baldwin and his wife Hilaria have made a donation to the Abused Children’s Help Network (RANA) in the Balearic Islands. The RANA foundation has received €62,000, which the couple was paid by People magazine for the first exclusive photo of their daughter Carmen Gabriela, born in August. This will help the foundation continue

its work to prevent sexual abuse against children, which it has been carrying out since 2005. RANA was chosen by the Alec Baldwin Foundation following the proposal of International Integrators, a private institution Ali fein ad which promotes the concept of ay. inf o integral health and which has shown an interest in RANA’s work. The founder and president of RANA, Elizabeth Homberg,

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E W N 20 - 26 February 2014 / Mallorca

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Jailed for forcing girls on to game SEVEN people accused of forcing four young girls in Palma into drug habits and prostitution have been sentenced to 59 years in total in prison. One of the girls, Nora, aged just 16, died outside her home in her father’s arms in September 2011. Her death was caused by an adverse reaction to drug use. The public prosecutor was asking for 100 years in total in the trial, which was held in November. Four of those sentenced will have to pay €50,000 in compensation to the parents of the deceased girl. The other three girls will receive amounts of between €6,000 and €25,000. Two of them have required psychotherapeutic treatment for

THIS WEEK IN

EWN News 1 - 16

Finance 17 - 22

Letters 23

Daily TV 24

Leapy Lee 26

Time out 32 - 33 NORA: Died in her father’s arms, aged just 16. anxiety, feelings of guilt and shame. The other girl, who is disabled and had a mental age of about 12 at the time, now requires more medication and treatment.

The accused sold cocaine and cannabis to youths between 2011 and 2012 and convinced some of them to have sex in exchange for money or drugs.

Classifieds 43 - 45

Sport 48

NEWS Disco fight A MAN is facing five years in prison for blinding another in one eye during a fight at a disco in Cala Major in February last year. Helping hand THE Balearic Fund for Farming and Fishery Guarantee has approved €478,000 in aid for farms in areas with natural difficulties such as saline earth or slopes.

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Not a happy ending… AN Austrian man, 47, was arrested for allegedly setting fire to a massage parlour in Palma because he didn’t get a ‘happy ending.’ The events took place at a massage parlour near Plaza de España where the client booked a service. When the masseuse told him she had finished, he demanded the “rest of the service,” but the woman told him in no uncertain terms that this was not included. The man reportedly became furious, insulted the woman and threatened to ruin the business before

No to paintball THE left-wing Esquerra Unida party in Calvia has opposed having paintball facilities on a small beach area in Santa Ponsa. Crime down THE crime rate in Alcudia fell by more than 11 per cent in 2013 compared to the previous year, according to the Guardia Civil. Dog areas FEDERATION Baldea is encouraging all dog owners to take action and demand more leisure areas for their pets in Palma. Man injured A MAN, 71, was seriously injured when he was trapped by farm machinery when he was working on his farm in Selva. He was taken to Son Llatzer Hospital.

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getting rapidly dressed and leaving the parlour. Shortly afterwards, a smell of burning filled the premises and it was discovered that the room where he had dressed, which contained a candle, was on fire. The building was evacuated and firemen extinguished the blaze, which an investigation determined had been started intentionally. Based on the description by the women at the massage parlour, the man was identified and arrested by National Police several weeks later.

Hollywood star in Spain for filming

Sword hold-up NATIONAL POLICE are investigating a hold-up at a games hall in Palma perpetrated by two men with swords. Drugs jail A MAN who was caught in August 2011 carrying 53 grammes of cocaine and 44 grammes of hashish in his car has accepted three years in prison.

20 - 26 February 2014 / Mallorca

Quote of the Week It’s impossible to defend the actions of the Guardia Civil in Ceuta.’ Socialist Party leader, Alfredo Perez-Rubalcaba, regarding an incident in which 15 illegal immigrants died when attempting to swim to the coast of the Spanish enclave in North Africa.

ews watch

Shopping centre THE Carrefour group plans to start work this month on a shopping centre in the Coll d’en Rabassa area with an investment of €190 million.

Youths detained TWENTY-EIGHT people have been arrested in a month in Manacor for burglaries. Many of them were under 18 and have been sent to centres for minors.

Major brand

OLLYWOOD star Alec Baldwin is in Spain for the filming of the fifth instalment of Spain’s best-known and most profitable film saga,

‘Torrente’. This film has a budget of €8.5 million and filming is due to continue until March, also in Madrid and the Dominican Republic. Although little more is known, Baldwin is playing the villain of the piece, and is accompanied in Spain by his wife, Hilaria Thomas, whose parents are Spanish and allegedly convinced him to take part in the film. Also with them is their daughter, Carmen Gabriela, born in August last year. The Torrente films are dark comedies written, directed and starring Santiago Segura, who plays a lazy, rude, drunk, rightwing cop in Madrid. The first film was released in 1998 and made more than €3 million at the box office; the most recent was released in 2011 and made more than €19.5 million. Each of the films has included numerous Spanish actors and celebrities. The fifth instalment began filming late last year and is due to be released this October. One of the famous faces appearing in the film will be bullfighter Jesulin de Ubrique. It had been rumoured that Santiago Segura was also trying to

EWN

THE Telefonica building on the Paseo de Born in Palma is reportedly going to be used by a major commercial brand. It already houses several luxury firms.

Oil slicks TWO oil slicks were detected 80 metres from the coast off Cala Llamp, Andratx, with a total extension of some 100 square metres.

Illegal fishing Alec Baldwin, above, with his wife. Left: Director, Santiago Segura.

convince Mel Gibson to take a cameo role in the film, but this has not been confirmed. There is talk, however, that Italian motorcycle racer, Valentino Rossi, will appear. Following his arrival and the presentation in Madrid, Baldwin has been seen on set in Ciudad Real, where the whole team is currently staying.

Number of the week

cent of Spaniards who go on a diet fail, 81 per according to a study by XLS Medical. This is despite the fact that 76 per cent of those asked admit that they are not happy with their current weight. Fifty-eight per cent want to lose weight to improve their sex life.

CONSERVATIONIST organisation Oceana is asking for a fine of €160,000 for each of the fishermen caught fishing illegally in the Cabrera National Park in August 2013.

Party rules PALMA Local Police found seven youths under 14 at a gala in a disco on the seafront promenade. Organisers argued they were “hard to detect.”.

And finally... A MAN, 20, who is facing 19 years in prison for killing his nephew in Madrid in December 2012, admitted in court that he shook the baby because he “wouldn’t stop crying” and that the 18-monthold boy fell off the sofa, where he had “propped him up” after he had fainted.

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Wife on trial for stabbing her abusive husband A WOMAN, 44, is facing almost 10 years in prison for allegedly stabbing her husband in the chest after he had abused her in Palma. She was taken to hospital by ambulance after being beaten by her husband, but before she could be seen by a doctor she returned home, engaged in an argument with him,

Alec helps From Front Page thanked the Baldwin family for their generosity. The actor and his wife explained that their daughter would grow up in a loving, safe environment but they wanted her to understand that she had the capacity to make the world a better place and help other children to enjoy their childhood, which is an important factor for making better adults. For more information on the RANA foundation visit www.fundacionrana.org

went to the kitchen, grabbed a knife and allegedly stabbed him in the chest. He was rushed to hospital and she handed herself in to the Local Police. He was also arrested for habitual domestic abuse. If found guilty, she may also have to pay him €1,000 in compensation.

Serial fraudster is detained in Palma A MAN, 40, with at least 20 cases pending against him has been arrested again in Palma for allegedly tricking 12 women in Mallorca and Menorca. He reportedly struck up friendships with single women across the islands and offered to contract phone services and purchase phones and tablet PCs for them. Once he had taken the money and their ID from them, he disappeared. National Police report that he could have tricked the women out of thousands of euros. He has a record for 14 charges of theft, fraud and using someone else’s identity; there are 20 cases open against him in Palma and several search warrants.

E W N 20 - 26 February 2014 / Mallorca

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A MALAGA lawyer was suspected of leaking the video of the Palma court appearance of the Infanta Cristina in the Noos case. A video of her statement was recorded illegally. Judge Castro, in charge of the case, said he “had his suspicions” regarding who could have done this and an investigation was opened. Police visited the headquarters of Wouzee, the platform to which it was uploaded, to request information on the user who did so, identified only online as ‘Infanta.’ The lawyer from Malaga reportedly attended the hearing in place of another. However, he denies having filmed the images and the investigation is still under way.

JUAN MANUEL HERRERA/OAS

Leaking video suspect

INFANTA CRISTINA: In court. The Duke of Palma could face between 10 and 19 years in prison for embezzlement, corruption, document falsification, fraud

against the administration and tax evasion. As many as 20 people may accompany the Royal son-in-law in the docks, although it is unclear whether his wife will stand trial or not. There are 43 people charged but more than half are expected to be exonerated. If the princess is amongst them, there will be associations which will appeal this decision. The wife of Urdangarin’s business partner, Diego Torres, Ana Maria Tejeiro, may also be exonerated by the public prosecutor but remain charged by the private accusations. The former President of the Balearic Government, Jaume Matas, is amongst those due to stand trial.

NEWS

Four Palma homes evacuated after gas leak FOUR homes in Palma had to be evacuated in the early hours of the morning due to a gas leak. A man who reportedly had a backpack full of stolen copper items intended to sleep in the entrance of one of the buildings but residents told him to leave. He threatened them

and shortly afterwards they were awoken by a loud bang and the smell of gas. The supply was cut off during repairs and National Police are investigating, though it is unclear whether the man tampered with the supply to cause damage or because he intended to steal piping.

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20 - 26 February 2014 / Mallorca

NEWS EXTRA A MOTORIST was trapped in his car after colliding with a vehicle on the Manacor-Porto Cristo road. Firefighters helped rescue the victim, who sustained minor injuries.

Techno dealer A MAN has been charged with a crime against public health for reportedly selling drugs at techno parties in Palma. He threw 23 doses of MDMA (Ecstasy) out of his car window when he was arrested by National Police.

Restaurant fire FIREFIGHTERS closed off a restaurant in Andratx after a fire destroyed its storeroom. They believed the blaze could have affected the building’s structure.

PHOTO BY UGT BALEARS

Driver trapped

COLA FACTORY: Protests will continue although chances of keeping it open are slim.

Coca-Cola workers to stage a final act of protest on Friday

COCA-COLA employees in Palma have decided to continue with their protests even though they have admitted the chances the factory will remain open are slim. Employees are expected to drive through all the streets of Palma tomorrow (Friday) from 9am as a final act of protest. The Atlanta, US, based company announced earlier this week it had dropped its plans to dismiss 750 workers. Coca-Cola will instead offer voluntary dismissals for employees, consisting of 45 days’ salary for each year worked, with a maximum of 42

months, plus an additional €10,000. It has, however, kept to its decision to close four of its 11 bottling plants

in Spain, including the Palma one. Workers have staged protests across Spain.

Pensioner hit by bus A MAN, 75, was injured when he was involved in a collision with a bus in Palma. He was reportedly on a pedestrian crossing when the bus, which was turning, collided with him. He was taken by ambulance to a private clinic, and Local Police arrived on the scene to determine what had happened. The bus driver was very upset about the events but the elderly man, who had several bruises and scratches, was not thought to be seriously injured.

EWN

Pro-abortion activists released with charges THREE activists have been released with charges after they were arrested following a pro-abortion protest which interrupted Mass at a church in Palma. The protesters were charged with an alleged crime against religious freedom which, according to Spanish Law, can lead to up to seven years in prison. Two of them, aged 23 and 24, invoked their right to silence. Palma Minors Prosecutor Office will deal with the proceedings against the third one as he is 17. They were part of a group of 20 activists that broke into the Sant Miquel church in Palma with chants and calls for free abortion rights. Police arrested them following a complaint from the Mallorca Bishopric.

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NEWS EXTRA

Man problem MORE than 60,000 Balearic men aged between 25 and 70 have some sort of erection problems, the Spanish Association of Sexual Medicine (ASESA) has revealed.

Cruises up CRUISE visits to Palma will increase by 3 per cent in 2014 and by 6 per cent in 2015, according to the Balearic Ports Authority (APB).

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Girl of 15 is forced into prostitution A MAN, 26, is facing 50 years in prison for allegedly raping a girl, 15, and forcing her into prostitution in Can Picafort in 2007.

He and another man convinced the girl to come from Romania promising her work as an au pair. When she arrived in Mallorca, he allegedly stole her

ID and took her to his home, banning her from going out for more than 10 minutes at a time. He allegedly forced her to work as a prostitute in a brothel in Can Picafort which he took her to every evening at 9pm and picked her up at 5am. He demanded she give him the money she earned and allegedly beat her if she didn’t have enough. He is also accused of raping her three times and beating her. After several months, she managed to escape. TRAIN: Delays of up to two hours on the Palma-Inca railway. He was living in Spain illegally and took the ID of a relative to sign a work contract in order to register with the Social THREE broken cables caused a failure in the communications system Security. He could also of the Mallorca train service leading to delays of up to two hours in face a 15-year restraining the Palma-Inca railway corridor. order and have to pay the The Mallorca Railway Service (SFM) is currently investigating why victim €30,000 in the optical fibre cables between the Enllas and Llubi stations broke. compensation. Photo by Rotger on Wikipedia

Disruption to train service

NEWS Parents are arrested for beating their teenager son A COUPLE was arrested in Palma for allegedly beating their son, 14, with a dog’s lead. The boy had reportedly walked the streets all day before going to the Guardia Civil because he was afraid to go home. The National Police were called and he told them that he had returned from a trip and forgotten some of his belongings at the hotel. His parents allegedly beat him and locked him in his room until he managed to escape. He said that they beat him frequently for reasons including his school reports or not tidying his room. His parents had reported his disappearance and were questioned. Police were not convinced with their statements and found that the boy had injuries and bruises all over his body. He was handed over to a relative and his parents were taken into custody.

E W N 20 - 26 February 2014 / Mallorca

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NEWS Teenagers arrested for assault

BREAD WARS: Itinerant sales are damaging local bakeries.

Bread sold in the street damaging local trade THE itinerant sale of bread is behind the closure of up to 30 bakeries in Mallorca in recent years, the Balearic Bakers and Confectioners Association claims. The association has asked its members to lodge a complaint against this practice in a bid to protect local businesses. It claims stalls installed during street markets are responsible for the closure of 30 bakeries in the last five years. Local councils are not helping to solve

the situation either. Even though the regional government’s Health department regulates the sale of food in the streets, it is up to local councils to carry out inspections. In that sense, they’re not collaborative as many claim almost nothing could be sold in streets if the regulations were carefully followed. Only a few, including Inca town council, ban any type of food sale in the streets except during local fiestas.

THREE teenagers were arrested this weekend in Palma for allegedly assaulting two diners at a restaurant who had refused to give them money. The events took place in the early hours of Sunday morning at a restaurant in Palma’s Calle Industria. The arrested, aged between 16 and 17, approached two diners who were finishing their meal. They reportedly asked them for money, but were ignored. They asked two times more. After receiving a negative answer, the teenagers allegedly took their belts off and hit the diners with the buckles. They then grabbed several stools and reportedly threw them at the victims before fleeing the restaurant. The victims called National Police to report the attack and a patrol arrived on the scene. After being provided with a thorough description of the attackers, officers made three arrests nearby.

Abandoned boats go on auction THE Balearic Port Authority has organised a public auction of boats abandoned in local ports. Anyone interested in any of the 10 vessels has until February 25 at 1pm to make a bid. They have to be handed in at the port authority headquarters in Soller, or its offices located in the San Antoni and Fornells marinas. The boats auctioned were abandoned at the Andratx, Porto Petro, Porto Colom, Soller, Pollensa and Fornells marinas. For info: www.portsib.es.

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NEWS

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World’s biggest cruise ship to frequently visit Palma in 2015

WORLD’S LARGEST: The Allure of the Seas will visit Palma in 2015. The 361-metre long ship will bring almost 139,000 passengers to the island of

Mallorca, 6,318 in each stop. This will bring an estimated benefit of €8 million to Royal

Caribbean International. The Allure of the Seas will arrive for the first time at

Palma port in May 2015. This will bring new life to the economy of Palma as pointed out by the Royal Caribbean International director for Spain and France, Belen Wanguemert. Palma will be one of the stops of a Mediterranean tour that will take the cruise ship to other cities including Barcelona, Marseilles, Florence and Rome. These visits are set to take place every week until midOctober.

Mystery of dead fish onshore HUNDREDS of dead fish have appeared in Mallorca on the shores of Son Baulo. Investigations have been started by the local council and environmental employees to find out where the fish may have come from and why. Passers-by were surprised to see dozens of metres of shoreline covered in dead fish, most of which were only three or four centimetres long, although there were a few larger sea bass, weighing in at around two or three kilos. There have been at least three similar incidents in the area in the past; one investigation found that they had died through lack of oxygen, another tracked the

ZACHE ON WIKIPEDIA

THE world’s largest passenger ship will make regular visits to Palma from next year. The Allure of the Seas is set to make 22 stops at Palma port in 2015 as part of a Mediterranean tour. The massive cruise ship was assembled in Turku (Finland), and has its home in Port Everglades, Florida (US). It cost its owner, Royal Caribbean International, $1.2 billion (€872 million).

DEAD FISH: Hundreds littered the shore at Son Baulo. problem down to a nearby hotel with toxic waste on the premises. In the recent case, no other animals appeared to suffer, so toxic waste is less likely to be the cause. There is a patch of still water just before the river mouth where, at

certain times of the year the levels drop and the water becomes stagnant. Neighbours have suggested there may be less danger to the fish if the water could run year round into the sea to allow more oxygen to circulate.

NEWS

NEWS EXTRA

Sexual violence MORE than 7 per cent of women over 15 worldwide have been victims of sexual violence from someone other than their partners, according to the World Health Organization.

€3m heist A MEMBER of the ‘Pink Panther’ gang, responsible for stealing more than €3 million worth of jewellery in Dubai in 2007, has been arrested in Madrid.

Traffic law THE new Traffic Law in Spain, will include an exam for people who have lost points from their driving licences. They will have to take a ‘re-education’ course.

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20 - 26 February 2014 / Mallorca

An online defence for Cordoba monument THOUSANDS of signatures have been collected online to defend the Mosque-Cathedral of Cordoba from

what some see as an attempt by the bishopric to ‘take over’ the monument.

Cordoba Bishopric wants only the term ‘cathedral’ to be used to refer to the monument. However, the group which has been created to reject these plans for one of the world’s best-known buildings FOR each ‘healthy children’s meal’ bought in the restaurants of the 15 argues that it is known as the IKEA stores throughout Spain, €1 will be donated to the ‘Menudos Mosque-Cathedral, which is the Corazones’ foundation to prepare and decorate a new care centre in designation used by UNESCO Madrid. Since 2012, IKEA has raised €200,000 for the foundation. when it was declared a World Heritage Site in 1984. This name for it was also agreed at a council meeting representing the citizens of Cordoba, as it defines its unique essence and architectural qualities. The defence group had not been presented officially when it had already gathered thousands of signatures of support. It reportedly has the backing of personalities from the world of Andalucian culture and society. The Cathedral Canonry was MENUDOS due to hold a press conference CORAZONES: regarding its position on the Helping children with name from the linguistic point of heart disease. view.

IKEA helping the children

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‘Moriscos’ want to become Spanish THE descendants of ‘moriscos’ expelled from Spain in the 17th century are demanding Spanish citizenship on the same grounds as Sephardic Jews. This month, 522 years after their ancestors were expelled from Spain by the Catholic Monarchs, the Ministry of Justice announced that descendants of Sephardic Jews who can prove their ancestry will be granted Spanish citizenship. Therefore descendants of ‘moriscos’, Muslims who decided to convert to Christianity rather than leave Spain in the 1500s following the recovery of the territory by the Catholic Monarchs but eventually expelled from Spain in the 1600s, want the same treatment. Their way of life is similar to Spain.

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S CANDINAVIAN P RESS

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Stories making headlines in Europe

BRITISH PRESS Giraffe killed DENMARK - DESPITE protests and rescue offers, workers at Copenhagen Zoo killed a healthy giraffe then fed chunks of its corpse to the zoo’s lions, while visitors looked on.

No Olympics NORWAY - Almost 82 per cent of Norwegians do not want Oslo to host the Winter Olympics in 2022, a poll by market research group InFact has revealed.

Bone note SWEDEN - A researcher at the University of Oslo has discovered a coded rune message written on a piece of bone in Sweden by Vikings 900 years ago says ‘kiss me.’

Unfit officers

Cooking attraction

HUNDREDS of police officers have failed compulsory fitness tests figures show. Two-thirds of those who did not pass were women.

A COOKERY club run by top chefs will be a feature on a new 141,000-tonne British P&O cruise liner which will sail on its maiden voyage from Southampton in March next year.

Corruption view TWO fifths of the public believe corruption is a problem within the police, according to a survey of 2,000 people, conducted by OnePoll.

Commuter woes PEOPLE who have to travel to get to work are less happy and have higher anxiety than noncommuters, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said.

THE Foreign Office accused Argentina of ‘unacceptable harassment’ after a Cunard cruise liner was ordered to take down its British flag when docked in Buenos Aires.

Poor workers UNIVERSITIES are producing social workers who are ‘inadequately prepared,’ the government’s advisor on children’s social care has said in a highly critical report.

Legal highs THERE has been a rise in the number of deaths in the UK linked to so-called ‘legal highs,’ with psychoactive substances, amounting to 68 in 2012.

Explosive fish NORWAY - A herring expert was called to help ‘disarm’ a 25-year-old can of the Swedish delicacy that managed to literally raise the roof of a cabin in northern Norway.

Argentine bullies

TIRING TRAVEL: People who travel to work are less happy and more anxious.

RUSSIAN PRESS

Mural found

Photo controversy

Members disowned

SWEDEN - Construction workers discovered an 18th century mural on the wall of what is to be a new toilet for disabled people at a vicarage in east Sweden.

TWO skiers from Mexico and Lebanon taking part in the Sochi Olympics are embroiled in a controversy over topless photos that one took of the other.

MEMBERS of punk rock group Pussy Riot have insisted that the two members jailed for singing a protest song in a Moscow cathedral and later released not be billed as members.

Less homework

Citrus export

PRESIDENT Vladimir Putin’s party urged school teachers to cut back on homework so children could spend more time watching the Winter Olympics.

ACCORDING to the Association of Citrus Exporters (ASPAM), Morocco plans to triple exports to Russia between now and 2018.

Joy ride NORWAY - A 10-yearold Norwegian boy took his 18-month-old sister for a ride in the family car, ending up in a ditch where they were found by a snowplough driver.

Special 100th DENMARK - Midsomer Murders celebrated its 100th episode in Copenhagen with an episode starring Birgitte Hjort Sørensen and Ann Eleonora Jorgensen.

Stronger ties RUSSIA and Egypt agreed to bolster their defence ties as Egypt’s military chief visited Moscow on his first trip abroad since ousting the country’s Islamist president.

Photo show PHOTOS of early 20th-century London will be shown in Moscow for the first time, including some from the Cold War years when visiting London was banned for most Russians.

Missing squirrels EXTRA police will patrol parks in Moscow and hand out fines as large numbers of squirrels have gone missing to become household pets. GONE AWOL: To live as pets.

EUROPEAN PRESS

GERMAN PRESS Unsuitable food A POLAR bear at Stuttgart Zoo died after eating a visitor’s coat and bag. Anton the bear is the latest in a string of animals to die after eating things thrown into their enclosures.

Elderly care GERMANS are liable for their parents’ care in old age even if they have not been in contact for decades, one of the country’s top courts has ruled.

Taxman’s prize A PUNK rocker who won tens of thousands of euros on a German television quiz show says most of the money will have to go to the tax man.

Spray mistake A GERMAN woman who mistook her pepper spray for deodorant and used it in a nightclub toilet, injuring two women and forcing the club to evacuate, could face charges.

All gone THIEVES stole all four wheels off Borussia Dortmund’s star striker Robert Lewandowski’s Porsche, which was also damaged.

Cocaine party A 76-YEAR-OLD woman who decided to celebrate her birthday with a freefor-all cocaine bash in her Berlin bar was arrested.

Low-cost flying FREQUENT fliers will be happy to see plane ticket prices plummet this year and more options open up, as the budget airline industry gathers pace in Germany with new routes.

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ALMERÍA

Maiden flight THE first flight between Almeria and Madrid operated by Air Europa took off on Monday.

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News from our editions With six editions and read by more than half a million people, EWN is Spain’s largest free local English-language newspaper

Cleaner Mojacar

TABERNAS is to hold a Cowboys and Indians Themed Carnival over the weekend of February 28 to March 2.

Beach clean up THE teachers, parents and pupils of the El Alquian Institute are due to spend today (Thursday) cleaning up the Perdigal beach in Almeria.

COSTA BLANCA SOUTH

Roof fall A MAN in his 40’s was knocked unconscious after falling from a roof during an accident at work in the industrial area of Fortuna, Murcia.

Drink driving A DRUNK driver was arrested for driving whilst under the influence of alcohol and reckless driving after travelling for six kilometres the wrong way along the RM-19 in San Javier.

Drugs raid TWO men and a woman have been arrested for selling cocaine from a bar in Molina de Segura, Murcia. Police seized 55 grammes of cocaine, 30 grammes of marihuana and nine LSD tablets.

Market revival

THE coordinator of the Nerja Citizen Attention office, Charo Garcia, presented her resignation after she was allegedly put under pressure to quit by Mayor Jose Alberto Armijo.

Town promotion TOURISM: Oil prospecting would damage this sector.

Opposition grows to oil exploration plans THERE is growing opposition in Javea towards oil prospecting in the Mediterranean Sea. Spokespersons from all political parties - the PSPV socialists, Xabia Democratica, Partido Popular, Ciudadanos por Javea and Compromis attended a meeting called by the mayor, Jose Chulvi. They are presenting a united front to convey their worries to the central government.

A draft statement has now been prepared and is expected to be approved at an extraordinary council meeting being held today (Thursday). It will set out the worries of the local tourist and fishing industries which are anxious to learn what the oil prospecting company Cairn Energy has in store for them. Oil prospecting would adversely affect fish catches, potentially

planting 250 shrubs and aquatic plants along the banks of the Vinalopo river in Elche.

COSTA BLANCA NORTH

damaging a sector important to the area’s economy as well as the catering industry. This in turn would put even more people out of work. Members of the Marina Alta’s hotel and tourism association Aehtma are also uneasy and want the regional government’s Cabinet to reject “this threat to our way of life and our legacy to coming generations.”

complained that their electricity meters catch fire and household appliances break down. The area’s Iberdrola transformer is unable to cope with demand, they said.

Nasty surprise

AP-7 rescue

EL RODAT hotel in Javea was fined for closing without advising employees. Originally on open-ended contracts, they found the hotel closed and learnt they had been switched to permanent seasonal contracts.

TWO off-duty National Police officers investigating a parked car on the AP-7 motorway found the driver had suffered a heart attack. They contacted an ambulance which subsequently transferred him to San Juan hospital.

No return

A REFRIGERATION company is to take over the old fish market at Alicante harbour, seven years after it closed down. The facility only operated between late 2005 and spring 2006.

ORANGE growers in Gandia and La Safor are not covering outgoings, they said. Navels are paid at 30 cents a kilo, which is 40 per cent below cost price.

Back to nature

Burn-out

SIXTY volunteers took part in an environmental project which involved

Coordinator resigns

RINCON de la Victoria Local Police imposed 2,281 traffic-related fines in 2013, according to Mayor Francisco Salado. Most of them were for parking incorrectly and speeding.

Busy bodies

Howdy!

AXARQUIA

Traffic fines

MOJACAR is to receive 70 new rubbish containers for the beaches, 40 will be for organic matter, 15 for plastic and 15 for paper and cardboard.

THE Institute of Legal Medicine (IML) in Almería issued 10,828 reports, performed 257 post-mortem examinations and 7,786 forensic evaluations during 2013, according to the annual report made by the Ministry of Justice and the Interior .

NEWS DESK

RESIDENTS of the Los urbanisation in San

Chopos Vicente

Unfit parents A LATIN American couple, both drunk, were arrested in Alcoy after their three-year-old daughter was found wandering the street barefoot and in pyjamas. The child was placed with a relative pending a social services’ investigation.

ALMUÑECAR Town Hall has reached an agreement to advertise Almuñecar and La Herradura as holiday destinations on holiday website Muchoviaje.

Lucky winner A LUCKY Motril resident won a monthly salary of €2,000 for 10 years in the ONCE lottery draw held last weekend.

Hawker denounced NERJA Local Police have lodged a complaint against a hawker for reportedly selling potatoes in Calle Pintada. The man was using a megaphone to announce the sale.

COSTA DEL SOL

Good friends A FRIENDSHIP agreement was signed by the President of the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, Juan Jesus Vivas, and Ronda mayor, Maripaz Fernandez, as a step towards becoming twin cities.

Chipped pets FUENGIROLA Town Hall has launched a campaign to encourage residents to microchip their pets, especially dogs walked in public areas.

Man shot A MAN, 43, was shot in Las Albarizas, Marbella in unknown circumstances and taken to Costa del Sol Hospital.

Cycle plans A GROUP has been created to get Marbella included in the Andalucian Cycling Plan which aims to create cycle lanes throughout the region.

French golfers THE Malaga-Costa del Sol Tourism Board has organised a tour for French travel operator Tee Off Travel, to attract French golfers to the coast.

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inance F A EURO WEEKLY NEWS 6 PAGE SPECIAL SECTION // WWW.EWNBUSINESS.COM

business & legal

BY 2015 Spain’s food additives sector will have grown by 5 per cent. Despite the economic crisis, exports will help to boost turnover to €470 million, market consultants have predicted.

Train is gaining passengers

per cent. The economic crisis is partly responsible and higher taxes at some Spanish airports, but the AVE has taken the heaviest toll on domestic flights. After the high-speed train lost 485,000 passengers in 2012, the Ministry of Public Works lowered fares. That decision paid off and the AVE moved 25.4 million people in 2013, an increase of 13.5 per cent.

Wage freeze for millions SPAIN’S biggest companies froze salaries for 4.35 million employees last year. Spain’s Minister of Labour Fatima Bañez read these figures without pessimism. “After a long period of intense salary increases, the Spanish economy is carrying out vital adjustments to correct significant imbalances,” Bañez said. She refuted suggestions that this was deliberate on the government’s part. “Nobody could claim that Spain has a model of low salaries,” the minister added. “That strategy is doomed to failure.” Official statistics relating to salaries are not particularly revealing and the government does little to clarify them, analysts claim.

The Hacienda (tax office) figures are reliable but there are 12 million wage-earners and they reveal only the earnings of the 4.35 million workers employed by companies whose turnover exceeds €6 million a year. These also slashed 163,000 jobs last year. Hacienda pointed out that there was a general strike in 2012 on November 15 and civil servants lost their Christmas bonus that year. These factors combined to make 2013 look better than it was with a 0.6 salary increase in the last quarter. Otherwise last year’s freeze would instead have meant a fall in earnings for those 4.35 million workers.

usiness extra

Gates buys again MICROSOFT founder Bill Gates has acquired between 2 and 3 per cent of the Spanish security company Prosegur. This is Gates’s second Spanish acquisition, following his 6 per cent stake in FCC bought last October.

Day off STATE employees will receive an extra day’s holiday in 2014. This will compensate for the two national holidays – November 1 and December 6 – which both fall on a Saturday.

Broadband competition LAST year Jazztel gained more broadband clients than Telefonica, the first operator ever to achieve this. But it remained way behind the Spanish giants in total numbers of customers. In 2013 Telefonica (Movistar) acquired 237,326 more broadband clients, reaching 5.61 million homes. Jazztel added a further

263,114 new lines and now provides 855,109 broadband connections. Vodafone’s pursuit of the Spanish operator Ono was prompted by Telefonica’s dominance. The UK group commands only 7.6 per cent of the ADSL market and sees the cable operator as an opportunity to enter the market with a firm tread.

STAT OF WEEK

AVE flies high SPAIN’s AVE high-speed train is making inroads into domestic air travel. Last year was the worst for internal flights since late 2001 when the 9-11 terrorist attack on New York’s Twin Towers temporarily deterred all air travel. Fewer than 28.7 million passengers flew national routes last year, 4.7 million below 2012’s figures and a year-on-year fall of 14

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FULL SPEED AHEAD: AVE having an effect on domestic air travel.

VIVIRELTREN

FINANCE, BUSINESS & LEGAL

E W N 20 - 26 February 2014 / Mallorca

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C O M PA N Y PRICE(P) Aberdeen Asset Mngmnt 401.20 Admiral Group PLC 1445.00 Aggreko PLC 1601.50 AMEC PLC 1107.00 Anglo American PLC 1529.50 Antofagasta PLC 940.50 ARM Holdings PLC 934.00 Ashtead Group PLC 838.50 Associated British Foods 2827.50 AstraZeneca PLC 4042.00 Aviva PLC 460.80 Babcock International 1420.00 BAE Systems PLC 436.15 Barclays PLC 254.22 BG Group PLC 1078.50 BHP Billiton PLC 1905.75 BP PLC 488.00 British Amrcn Tobacco 3082.50

C H A N G E ( P ) % C H G. -0.44 -0.11 2.00 0.14 12.00 0.75 14.00 1.28 10.00 0.66 2.50 0.27 3.50 0.38 6.50 0.78 16.00 0.57 -13.50 -0.33 1.12 0.24 4.15 0.29 4.30 1.00 1.25 0.49 6.88 0.64 17.00 0.90 1.60 0.33 35.00 1.15

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C O M PA N Y MMM 3M Co AXP American Express Co T AT&T Inc BA Boeing Co CAT Caterpillar Inc CVX Chevron Corp CSCO Cisco Systems Inc DD E I du Pont de Nemours and Co XOM Exxon Mobil Corp GE General Electric Co GS Goldman Sachs Group Inc HD Home Depot Inc INTC Intel Corp IBM International Business Machine... JNJ Johnson & Johnson JPM JPMorgan Chase and Co MCD McDonald's Corp MRK Merck & Co Inc MSFT Microsoft Corp NKE Nike Inc PFE Pfizer Inc PG Procter & Gamble Co KO The Coca-Cola Co TRV Travelers Companies Inc UTX United Technologies Corp UNH UnitedHealth Group Inc VZ Verizon Communications Inc V Visa Inc WMT Wal-Mart Stores Inc DIS Walt Disney Co

PRICE CHANGE %CHANGE VOLUME 132.12 89.00 33.15 130.16 96.55 113.48 22.56 64.50 94.11 25.74 163.72 77.93 24.76 183.69 92.76 58.15 95.78 55.44 37.62 75.07 31.94 79.40 38.93 84.02 113.87 73.52 46.51 226.00 75.79 79.23

+1.98 +0.10 -0.34 +0.66 +0.44 +0.97 +0.29 +0.52 +2.68 +0.30 -0.34 +0.34 +0.055 +1.85 +0.20 +0.12 +0.32 +0.34 +0.01 +0.20 +0.24 +1.60 +0.28 +1.14 +0.57 +2.31 -0.80 +1.95 +0.43 +1.33

+1.52% +0.11% -1.02% +0.51% +0.46% +0.86% +1.30% +0.81% +2.93% +1.18% -0.21% +0.44% +0.22% +1.02% +0.22% +0.21% +0.34% +0.62% +0.03% +0.27% +0.76% +2.06% +0.72% +1.38% +0.50% +3.24% -1.69% +0.87% +0.57% +1.71%

3.0M 2.7M 18.3M 4.8M 4.2M 6.8M 64.6M 3.6M 18.3M 25.1M 4.2M 4.8M 20.6M 4.7M 5.5M 13.2M 3.5M 8.7M 43.0M 3.1M 18.9M 10.8M 16.0M 2.1M 3.5M 6.9M 26.4M 3.2M 4.9M 7.0M

6.00 3.71 0.97 5.00 10.00 6.00 13.00

C O M PA N Y

0.90 0.42 0.24 0.34 0.67 0.57 0.52

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NET VOLUME 70.13 154.56 1,123.56 14.40 36.73 56.50 16.88

CHANGE NET / %

Most Advanced Cray Inc LCA-Vision Inc. LogMein, Inc. Northern Technologies Intrntional Corp Mannatech, Incorporated Credit Suisse AG Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. US Ecology, Inc. Extreme Networks, Inc. China Recycling Energy Corporation Emmis Communications Corporation

$ 41.66 11.69 / +39.01% $ 5.44 1.19 / +28.00% $ 40.48 7.21 / +21.67% $ 22.69 3.46 / +17.99% $ 18.51 2.51 / +15.69% $ 59.46 7.1199 / +13.60% $ 14 1.46 / +11.64% $ 37.08 3.83 / +11.52% $ 5.925 0.535 / +9.93% $ 3.18 0.27 / +9.28% $ 3.45 0.29 / +9.18%

Most Declined CafePress Inc. Credit Suisse AG Zillow, Inc. Epizyme, Inc. Gogo Inc. Allied Healthcare Products, Inc. Relypsa, Inc. Cognex Corporation MakeMyTrip Limited Retrophin, Inc. Control4 Corporation

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1.38 / -20.78% 6 / -13.57% 9.04 / -10.04% 3.16 / -9.36% 2.04 / -9.31% 0.23 / -9.16% 3.63 / -8.73% 3.29 / -8.24% 2.04 / -7.63% 1.18 / -7.38% 1.69 / -6.94%

C O M PA N Y PRICE(P) CHANGE Centrica PLC 318.10 -0.10 Coca-Cola HBC AG 1542.00 -10.00 Compass Group PLC 919.50 6.00 CRH PLC 1631.00 7.00 Diageo PLC 1852.50 14.00 easyJet PLC 1722.50 8.00 Experian PLC 1071.50 3.00 Fresnillo PLC 978.50 7.60 G4S PLC 232.30 0.70 GKN PLC 414.45 2.48 GlaxoSmithKline PLC 1672.50 8.00 Glencore Xstrata PLC 340.47 2.38 Hammerson PLC 547.50 3.50 Hargreaves Lansdown 1344.00 4.50 HSBC Holdings PLC 639.10 1.20 IMI PLC 1515.00 7.00 Imperial Tobacco Group 2322.00 22.00 InterContinental Hotels 2014.00 12.00 International Conslidtd ... 448.20 2.00 Intertek Group PLC 2943.50 14.00 ITV PLC 207.35 1.10 Johnson Matthey PLC 3305.00 0.00 Kingfisher PLC 382.90 1.35 Land Securities Group 1050.00 6.00 Legal & General Group 240.10 1.12 Lloyds Banking Group 80.78 0.35 London Stock Exchange 1957.00 17.00 Marks & Spencer Group 493.25 3.20 Meggitt PLC 522.50 4.00 Melrose Industries PLC 314.90 3.64 Mondi PLC 1033.50 5.00 National Grid PLC 814.50 1.58 Next PLC 6432.50 40.00 Old Mutual PLC 182.90 1.00 Pearson PLC 1118.00 0.00 Persimmon PLC 1395.00 10.00 Petrofac Ltd 1323.00 6.84 Prudential PLC 1324.50 11.95 Randgold Resources Ltd 4853.50 79.00 Reckitt Benckiser Group 5002.50 83.00 Reed Elsevier PLC 910.25 1.00 Resolution Ltd 369.80 0.00 REXAM PLC 523.00 4.00 Rio Tinto PLC 3509.50 -7.00 Rolls-Royce Holdings 1025.50 0.00 Royal Bank of Scotland 345.15 2.60 Royal Dutch Shell PLC 2285.25 5.00 Royal Mail PLC 596.50 1.75 RSA Insurance Group 97.98 2.20 SABMiller PLC 2777.50 10.50 Sage Group (The) PLC 416.50 0.20 Sainsbury (J) PLC 344.80 -0.37 Schroders PLC 2583.00 12.00 Severn Trent PLC 1777.50 4.00 Shire PLC 3229.00 10.35 Smith & Nephew PLC 944.75 4.00 Smiths Group PLC 1380.50 2.00 Sports Direct Intrntnl 719.75 1.00 SSE PLC 1381.50 -8.00 Standard Chartered PLC 1288.75 -2.50 Standard Life PLC 386.55 -0.04 Tate & Lyle PLC 659.75 2.32 Tesco PLC 325.30 0.57 Travis Perkins PLC 1889.50 7.00 TUI Travel PLC 441.40 1.80 Tullow Oil PLC 776.75 8.50 Unilever PLC 2369.00 21.00 United Utilities Group 756.00 3.31 Vodafone Group PLC 220.03 1.60 Weir Group PLC 2280.00 46.00 Whitbread PLC 4107.00 30.00 William Hill PLC 346.20 -0.81 Wm Morrison Sprmrkts 235.20 1.40 Wolseley PLC 3336.50 14.10 WPP PLC 1352.50 6.00

% C H G. -0.03 -0.64 0.66 0.43 0.76 0.47 0.28 0.78 0.30 0.60 0.48 0.70 0.64 0.34 0.19 0.46 0.96 0.60 0.45 0.48 0.53 0.00 0.35 0.57 0.47 0.44 0.88 0.65 0.77 1.17 0.49 0.19 0.63 0.55 0.00 0.72 0.52 0.91 1.65 1.69 0.11 0.00 0.77 -0.20 0.00 0.76 0.22 0.29 2.30 0.38 0.05 -0.11 0.47 0.23 0.32 0.43 0.15 0.14 -0.58 -0.19 -0.01 0.35 0.18 0.37 0.41 1.11 0.89 0.44 0.73 2.06 0.74 -0.23 0.60 0.42 0.45

VOLUME 350.50 4.41 298.95 16.12 152.23 37.35 125.37 196.85 131.15 71.60 316.11 2,989.14 48.05 31.32 2,818.84 26.17 79.33 41.55 403.34 23.04 293.36 25.43 334.70 149.32 657.79 13,337.34 23.86 169.40 28.04 44.82 80.77 132.49 7.16 171.51 69.03 23.37 52.41 127.95 69.80 189.36 93.84 63.79 35.28 517.97 550.00 247.18 259.55 119.17 3,710.02 251.90 30.07 693.26 6.14 35.86 175.71 110.21 18.75 26.98 146.86 489.54 184.40 97.75 670.51 17.55 26.27 231.29 129.50 83.25 6,020.33 81.49 18.93 247.94 668.94 7.92 48.00

FINANCE, BUSINESS & LEGAL

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20 - 26 February 2014 / Mallorca

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Loans alliance for Santander/Citroen BANCO SANTANDER was yesterday (Wednesday) due to officially announce a loans alliance with PSA Peugeot Citroen. The Madrid-based bank is expected to enter 50-50 joint ventures with Banque PSA Finance, Peugeot’s financing

branch, sources told news agency Reuters. It would also acquire a portfolio of loans from the carmaker’s financing arm. Consecutive rating downgrades driven by a drop in car sales in Europe forced the French Government to

intervene, guaranteeing €7 billion of Banque PSA Finance borrowing. This was part of a rescue totalling €18.5 billion. The operation would solve Peugeot’s capital and cash flow problems, and would eventually replace the French state

PEUGEOT: Santander is to finance the car-maker’s financing branch.

guarantees. The new agreement is set to be announced alongside a

Spanish university graduates facing problems in the labour market SPANISH university graduates are having problems finding their place in the labour market. Almost 40 per cent of them hold a post for which they are overqualified, a report by the Ministry of Education has revealed. Of the students graduated in 2012, 22.8 per cent of them have a job that requires a lesser qualification, whereas the job of 16.8 per cent of them requires no qualification. This situation is more seen with graduates in Social Sciences, Arts and Humanities.

The report on the Spanish university system also reveals that graduates don’t have the type of contract expected for their qualification; 26.1 per cent of them have a full-time temporary contract, while 9.6 per cent have a part-time temporary contract. Just 8.4 per cent of Spanish university graduates have an indefinite contract, but only part-time. Unemployment rates among graduate students in Spain also show discouraging results. In 2011, 9.7 per cent of unemployed men

in Spain aged between 25 and 64 held a university degree. Among women this figure went up to 11 per cent. This clearly contrasts with the average unemployment rate of graduates within the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), which was of 4.2 and 5 per cent respectively. But figures are even worse for younger people, with 16.2 per cent of graduates aged between 25 and 32 being unemployed, more than double in the OECD (6.8 per cent).

recapitalisation deal with Chinese car-maker Dongfeng. Chinese press reported that the state-owned manufacturer is about to close an operation to buy 14 per cent of Peugeot’s capital. This would make Dongfeng one of the three main shareholders of the French group. Later in January, Dongfeng and Peugeot reached an outline deal to increase its capital by €3 billion. PSA Peugeot has a loan portfolio of €22 billion in 23 markets, of which €11.64 billion come from Western Europe and €8.38 billion from France. In the first quarter of 2013, it loaned nearly 376,000 vehicles, yielding €151 million in profits, 25 per cent less than in the same period the previous year.

Spain 49th in 2014 Index of Economic Freedom SPAIN is the 49th freest economy in the world, the 2014 Index of Economic Freedom published by The Wall Street Journal and The Heritage Foundation says. This concept, defined by the report as the fundamental right of every human to control his or her own labour and property, is measured based on 10 quantitative and qualitative factors. Spain’s economic freedom score is of 67.2 points, 0.8 points lower than last year when it ranked 46th. This is mainly due to declines in the management of government spending, business freedom, and labour freedom. These elements, the annual index points out, have outweighed small improvements in trade freedom and freedom from corruption. Within the European Union, Spain ranks 22nd, behind Switzerland (first), Ireland (second) and the United Kingdom (fifth).

WORLD ECONOMY: Spain’s economic freedom scored 67.2 points. It is, however, placed in a better position than bigger economic powers like France (33rd), or Italy (35th). Europe’s score is still above world averages, but the index editors point out that it “has been undergoing tumultuous and uncertain times,” such as the sovereign debt crisis affecting the Eurozone. “Europe’s overall economic freedom rating remains undermined by weak scores in the management of public

spending, reflecting the cost of expanding government services and transfer payments that plainly hinder both productivity growth and dynamic job creation,” the editors wrote. In the 20 years this index has been published, the economic freedom score of Spain has improved by 4.4 points. The greatest achievements have been accomplished in the areas of market openness

and freedom from corruption, the report indicates. On a more negative note, the index points out that Spain continues to score below the world average in fiscal freedom, government spending and labour freedom. According to James Roberts, the index shows “that when economic freedom increases, global economy grows and poverty decreases.” Roberts, a researcher at The Heritage Foundation, made this claim during the launch of the index in Spain organised by think-tank FAES. “Countries with higher levels of economic freedom substantially outperform others in aspects such as economic growth, per-capita incomes, health care, education, protection of the environment, reduction of poverty and general welfare,” he explained. Roberts was joined by the Secretary of State for Trade, Jaime Garcia-Legaz, who

recognised Spain’s economy has relatively worsened. In that sense, Garcia-Legaz pointed out that the Spanish regions should take additional measures to control the public expenditure. “Spain needs to make an additional effort in budgetary consolidation and public expenditure reduction but, mainly because of the current distribution and the level of expenditure, it is the Autonomous Communities which have a longer way ahead than the State Administration or local administrative bodies,” he stated. Finally, Garcia-Legaz mentioned the two-year time lag that comes together with the methodology of the index. This means the 2014 edition analyses data up to June 2012, and that further measures taken by the Spanish Government to improve the economy will be shown in the index from next year.

E W N 20 - 26 February 2014 / Mallorca

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FINANCE, BUSINESS & LEGAL

Saving for a sunny day

BUSINESS EXTRA

Debt down

SPANISH professional footdangerous to our ball clubs reduced their finances. They instil in us debt with the Tax Agency a carefree attitude to life by 20.8 per cent between A look at finance (and spending). “Another January 1, 2012 and May for females glass of wine?” - “Sure 31, 2013. This is €156.8 Jane why not, it’s such a million in 17 months. beautiful day after all!” Plunkett Compared to being jane.plunkett@euroweeklynews.com rained on, walking around the shops is a joy too INCOME by fines, sanctions when the sun is shining and late fees has increased N light of the and people are chirpy and by 20 per cent since 2011, torrential rain, snow happy. The temptation to according and storms across to figures leave the house, get released by the Spanish Spain the past few weeks, outside and ultimately go Finance Ministry. the common saying ‘save shopping is much for a rainy day’ came to stronger on a nice day, mind and I couldn’t help than when the wind is but think that in this blowing sideways. And, CRUZCAMPO will be the country it should be the as opposed to a wet day new official beer in Restalia opposite. ‘Save for a when it’s necessary Group restaurants (100 sunny day.’ to look down at Montaditos, La Sureña and Having experienced It’s on the ground as TGB) in a move that has gale-force winds, lashing we walk, on a been linked to the rain and bitter cold over CHEERS: Another glass of wine on a beautiful sunny day. sunny sunny day it’s international expansion of the past weekend it was days that much easier the at home, relaxing, this country, slightly disappointing at the entire weekend. company. The to get Heineken-owned brand has first to have to cancel The fact that I was reading, eating and, most where the we spend distracted by 23.3 per cent of the plans, but by Sunday trapped indoors for fear importantly, not spending streets come more all the pretty draught beer market share. evening I was delighted of being swept away by money. to life and shop windows It’s the sunny days we beckon us to go sit to notice that I had spent my umbrella resulted in a grand total of €12 over enjoying a cosy weekend have to watch out for in outdoors, sipping coffee selling the latest fashions. So I beg to change the or drinking wine. A sunny Saturday and Sunday age-old expression and CUTBACKS have allowed Spanish the 17 Spanish regions to afternoon is not complete encourage around where I live residents to ‘save for a save an estimated €4.04 billion between 2011 and unless it is spent with sunny day.’ And considering there is 2013, sources of the friends and family having Q. In a recent copy of the Euro Weekly Ministry a long lunch out on a a heck-load of sunny days Finance News I found your article about the announced. This is 15.9 in this country, it’d be sunny terrace. You and the municipal vehicle tax being charged It’s the warm rays of best to get saving straight per cent more than Law in Spain on a car that was sold years ago but predicted last year. sunshine that are away! By David Searl never had the registration changed. We have a similar problem. We still pay tax to the Ayuntamiento in Salobreña on a car we sold years ago. The car was registered in Spain but was sold in Belgium and is now registered in Belgium. The new owner of the car (who is resident in Belgium) sent me the documents as proof. From that previous article, I understand that there is a document available somewhere which can solve the problem with the Ayuntamiento THE Ministry for Industry, Tourism and Sources at the ministry led by Jose and with the Trafico. Do you know where I can Trade has presented a new system for Manuel Soria said the overall savings with find that document? Can it be downloaded from calculating the price of electricity in the new system would be of more than the Internet? Spanish households from April. €200 million. I am now in Belgium. I will not go to Spain The new mechanism will set the This means an average 3 per cent until May and even then I will not be able to go variable part of the electricity bill, which reduction in consumers’ bills, and would to ‘the Trafico’ in Granada. accounts for 45 per cent of the total, in have an effect on some 16 million users. E.A. (Belgium) accordance with the average price on the The ministry will also give electricity wholesale market. suppliers the possibility to offer an annual A. Yes, there is a form on which have been sent out The remaining 55 per cent will remain electricity fee. This pricing system, especially aimed which you can declare the to owners of older a fixed rate. vehicle is no longer in your vehicles. However, it will Users with counters that calculate at small and medium sized companies, possession. As of a week not ‘solve your problems’ presentation of docuelectricity usage per hour, also known as will offer a stable but higher price. The new proposals put an end to the ago, this form can be by itself. I recommend you ments for you while you ‘intelligent’ counters, will pay depending auctions that set the price of electricity, downloaded from Trafico find a good gestoria near are in Belgium. on the market price every hour. website, www.dgt.es, at Salobreña or in Granada They should not charge These counters, which are available for and will reduce by 10 per cent the cost of ‘Cartas’ referring to letters who can handle the a very high fee. an average €43 plus €10 installation, can energy. The older system generated an be found in seven million Spanish extra cost in energy of €1.16 billion Send your questions for David Searl through lawyers Ubeda-Retana & Associates in Fuengirola at between 2010 and 2013. households. Ask@lawtaxspain.com, or call 952 667 090.

Loose change

More income

New beer

Big save

More on de-registration of sold cars

New electricity pricing system to come in April

OPINION & COMMENT

Radiotherapy needs to be nearer home I HAVE recently finished radiotherapy at the Hospital Clinic Benidorm, referred there by Denia Hospital. Firstly I found everyone at both hospitals very friendly and caring and wish to thank them. My only problem was I found the travelling from Javea to Benidorm every day quite tiring, also quite expensive even using my own car, but finding someone to drive me. I talked to another patient who travelled from Pego every day. I wondered why Denia Hospital did not have this facility considering the number of people being treated for various cancer problems. I realise it is probably a question of funding such a machine and wondered if it were possible for some of the charities and associations to channel some of the money raised to fund such a project. I was lucky that my treatment did not run into many weeks but some of the people I spoke to were having to go for up to 27 weeks. Please could this be considered bearing in mind the number of people of all nationalities who require treatment. Patricia, Javea (Alicante)

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aware that they are in the area again. Jill Tayler, Salares (Malaga)

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Letters for Your Say should be emailed to yoursay@euroweeklynews.com, posted to Euro Weekly News, C/Moscatel 10, P-62, Polígono Industrial, Arroyo de la Miel, 29631 Benalmadena, Málaga, Spain or faxed to 0034 952 440 887

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Editor’s note: Gas companies do not send workmen out to check installations ‘on spec’. For a service, an appointment should be made with your local gas supplier.

Thanks Ric! I WOULD like to say a big thank you to your columnist in Almeria, Ric Polansky, for his article in Edition 1492 regarding the almond blossom trail. We did the trip today (from our base at Cabo de Gata) and thoroughly enjoyed it. We will go back in a couple of weeks’ time to see if there is more blossom at the higher levels. We wouldn’t have known about this route had it not been for you. Rowan and Bernard Lee, Cabo de Gata (Almeria) TAKEN FROM MY WINDOW IN LOS ALMACHARES, NERJA.

I have complained to the council about the constant sobbing, howling and screeching that is ubiquitous and uncivilised. I haven’t even had the courtesy of a reply and the girl I spoke to said ‘they are just dogs!’ Beverley Saunders, Alhaurin el Grande (Malaga)

Total sympathy Party town I AM in total sympathy with Dave from Turre’s remarks regarding cruel dog owners. (Issue 1492). We own two rescue dogs, and in the three-and-a-half years we have lived here I have also rescued eight puppies that were left out in the sun to die, and have been involved in the rescue of an adult dog. I have tried talking with Spanish dog owners. “It doesn’t matter,” was the man’s reply when I asked why a dog in very poor condition was always on a leash, in all weather. Another looked at me blankly when I suggested that it was unacceptable for her dog to have been barking all night.

20 - 26 February 2014 / Mallorca

I WAS angered by the letter from Ms Morrison regarding noise levels (Issue 1492). Benidorm is a holiday resort, people spend hard-earned money to holiday here and have not come here to behave as if they were sat at home in the UK. In 1950, Benidorm was a fishing village, and has grown into a business which generates a lot of wealth. Brits who decide to move to Spain, I’m presuming Jane Morrison is one, and make a home in the epicentre of a holiday resort should have more sense. All the Spanish that I have met who make a living

WHEN YOU WRITE All letters, whether by email or post, should carry the writer’s postal address, NIE and contact number though only the name and town will be published. Letters may also be edited. Readers who have missed earlier correspondence can see all letters posted on:

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with their businesses in the resort live out in the hills. I would suggest Jane Morrison move to a more suitable location. Failing that, she should speak with the owner of her apartment block and suggest that he not be so greedy as to rent out an apartment in a residential block to holidaymakers to make a fast buck. Benidorm has gained a particular kind of market which locals and expats should be a bit more grateful for. With flights, apartments and newer trends beginning to grow in other European resorts, groups

Tommi Tinkerboy (By email) may well start to holiday elsewhere. Enjoy the partying while it lasts, the quietness can be so much worse. Mark (By email)

Be careful WE live just outside Salares (not far from Competa) and think we might have been visited by bogus gasmen. We had three phone calls from ‘a gas company’ saying they were coming to inspect our installation. We were suspicious but let them in and when they started to tell us what was wrong we pointed out that we had a legal revision and if there was a problem we would use our own plumber, who had been in the house only a few days earlier and replaced one of the pipes they said was illegal. They left but not before I had taken a photo of their very old van which was painted in orange and white but had no lettering. People need to be

Barbaric practice IT was good to see your article on the subject of Female Genital Mutilation. It is a practice which has always horrified me and it is good to see that the Spanish authorities are making an effort to try to rule it out amongst families from countries where it is common practice. It may be traditional, but it is also barbaric, and women need to know the threats to which they are exposing their daughters. A good education for both boys and girls, in most cases, would be much more effective in making sure young women remain ‘pure’ until marriage, if this is what their culture ordains. Most importantly, teach men to control their sexual urges and respect the women and girls. I have ordered one of the bracelets you mentioned from www.mundocooperante.org and if the money is just one step closer to preventing a girl from being mutilated, it will have been worth it. I will look into doing more in this cause. Amanda Yates, Benalmadena (Malaga)

The views expressed and opinions given in Letters are not necessarily those of the EWN publishers. They accept no responsibility for accuracy of information, errors, omissions or statements, and reject claims arising out of any action that a company or individual may take on the basis of information contained therein.

E W N 20 - 26 February 2014 / Mallorca

Thursday

Friday

SATELLITE CHANNELS - SkyMoviesDrama/

BBC1/

3:15pm Perfection 4:00pm Escape to the Country 4:45pm James Martin: Home Comforts 5:30pm Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is 6:15pm Pointless 7:00pm BBC News at Six 7:30pm BBC London News 8:00pm The One Show 8:30pm EastEnders 9:30pm Inspector George Gently 11:00pm BBC News at Ten 11:25pm BBC London News 11:35pm Question Time

3:15pm Perfection 4:00pm Escape to the Country 4:45pm James Martin: Home Comforts 5:30pm Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is 6:15pm Pointless 7:00pm BBC News at Six 7:30pm BBC London News 8:00pm The One Show 8:25pm Room 101 8:55pm Six Nations Rugby Union 11:00pm BBC News at Ten 11:25pm BBC London News 11:35pm The Graham Norton Show

BBC2/ 2:00pm Winter Olympics 5:30pm Winter Olympics 8:00pm Winter Olympics 9:00pm The Hairy Bikers' Asian Adventure 10:00pm Bible Hunters 11:00pm QI 11:30pm Newsnight

ITV/ 3:00pm Dickinson's Real Deal 4:00pm The Alan Titchmarsh Show 5:00pm Tipping Point 6:00pm The Chase 7:00pm ITV News London 7:15pm ITV News and Weather 7:45pm Emmerdale 8:45pm UEFA Europa League 11:10pm ITV News at Ten and Weather 11:45pm The Invention of Lying

CH4/ 3:05pm Come Dine with Me 3:40pm Countdown 4:30pm Deal or No Deal 5:30pm Come Dine with Me 6:00pm Coach Trip 6:30pm Superstar Dogs: Countdown to Crufts 7:00pm The Simpsons 7:30pm Hollyoaks 8:00pm Channel 4 News 9:00pm Supersize v Superskinny 10:00pm Big Ballet 11:00pm Bodyshockers

ITV2/ 3:00pm The Jeremy Kyle Show 4:05pm The Jeremy Kyle Show 5:10pm The Real Housewives of New Jersey 6:05pm The Millionaire Matchmaker 7:00pm Dinner Date 8:00pm You've Been Framed! 8:30pm You've Been Framed! 9:00pm Two and a Half Men 9:30pm Two and a Half Men 10:00pm The Big Reunion 11:00pm Celebrity Juice 11:50pm Fake Reaction

BBC2/ 1:00pm Winter Olympics 5:30pm Winter Olympics 8:00pm Winter Olympics 9:00pm Mastermind 9:30pm An Island Parish 10:00pm Mock the Week 10:30pm QI 11:00pm Alan Davies ApresSki 11:30pm Newsnight

ITV/ 3:00pm Dickinson's Real Deal 4:00pm The Alan Titchmarsh Show 5:00pm Tipping Point 6:00pm The Chase 7:00pm ITV News London 7:30pm ITV News and Weather 8:00pm Emmerdale 8:30pm Coronation Street 9:00pm Student Nurses: Bedpans and Bandages 9:30pm Coronation Street 10:00pm Edge of Heaven 11:00pm ITV News at Ten and Weather 11:35pm The Americans

CH4/ 3:40pm Countdown 4:30pm Deal or No Deal 5:30pm Come Dine with Me 6:00pm Coach Trip 6:30pm Superstar Dogs: Countdown to Crufts 7:00pm The Simpsons 7:30pm Hollyoaks 8:00pm Channel 4 News 9:00pm Extreme Dog Styling 10:00pm 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown 11:00pm The Last Leg 11:50pm Brooklyn Nine-Nine

ITV2/ 3:00pm The Jeremy Kyle Show 5:10pm The Real Housewives of New Jersey 6:05pm The Millionaire Matchmaker 7:00pm Dinner Date 8:00pm You've Been Framed! 9:00pm Two and a Half Men 10:00pm 2 Fast 2 Furious

TV LISTING

www.euroweeklynews.com

11:00pm Sunday

•Daniel DayLewis •Sally Field •David Strathairn •Joseph Gordon-Levitt

Lincoln (Film, 2012) In 19th-century America, civil war continues to rage between the Confederate south and the federal United States. Both sides grow tired of the war, but one issue keeps federal leader Abraham Lincoln (Daniel DayLewis) from forming peace the South's insistence on the use of slavery.

Tuesday BBC1/

BBC1/

4:00pm Escape to the Country 4:45pm James Martin: Home Comforts 5:30pm Antiques Road Trip 6:15pm Pointless 7:00pm BBC News 7:30pm Regional News 8:00pm The One Show 8:30pm EastEnders 9:00pm Holby City 10:00pm Death in Paradise 11:00pm BBC News

4:00pm Escape to the Country 4:45pm James Martin: Home Comforts 5:30pm Antiques Road Trip 6:15pm Pointless 7:00pm BBC News 7:30pm Regional News 8:00pm The One Show 9:00pm Waterloo Road 10:00pm Outnumbered 10:30pm Mrs. Brown's Boys 11:00pm BBC News 11:25pm Regional News 11:30pm Weather 11:35pm A Question of Sport

BBC2/

Saturday BBC1/ 4:30pm Six Nations Rugby Union 6:55pm BBC News 7:05pm Regional News 7:10pm Weather 7:15pm Pointless 8:00pm The Voice UK 9:30pm The National Lottery: Who Dares Wins 10:20pm Casualty 11:10pm BBC News 11:25pm Weather 11:30pm Match of the Day

BBC2/ 5:00pm Winter Olympics 5:50pm Final Score 6:05pm Winter Olympics 6:35pm Final Score 7:00pm Winter Olympics 8:10pm Winter Olympics 9:00pm Top Gear 10:00pm A Culture Show Special 11:00pm QI XL 11:45pm There Will be Blood

ITV/ 4:35pm Midsomer Murders 6:35pm Local News and Weather 6:45pm ITV News and Weather 7:00pm The Cube 8:00pm Saturday Night Takeaway 9:20pm Take Me Out 10:50pm The Jonathan Ross Show 11:50pm ITV News and Weather

CH4/ 5:10pm Come Dine with Me 6:10pm Come Dine with Me 6:40pm Come Dine with Me 7:15pm Superstar Dogs: Countdown to Crufts 7:45pm Channel 4 News 9:00pm Walking Through History 10:00pm Hostages 10:55pm Transporter 3

ITV2/ 4:40pm The Brit Awards 2014 6:55pm The Perfect Man 7:55pm FYI Daily 8:00pm The Perfect Man 9:00pm Ocean's Eleven 10:00pm FYI Daily 10:05pm Ocean's Eleven 11:20pm Celebrity Juice

Sunday BBC1/ 4:30pm Escape to the Country 5:15pm Deadly on a Mission: Pole to Pole 5:45pm Songs of Praise 6:20pm Pointless 7:10pm BBC News 7:25pm Regional News 7:28pm Weather 7:30pm Blandings 8:00pm Countryfile 9:00pm Call the Midwife 10:00pm The Musketeers 11:00pm BBC News 11:15pm Regional News 11:20pm Weather

BBC2/ 5:00pm Winter Olympics 8:00pm Hunt v Lauda: F1's Greatest Racing Rivals 9:00pm Top Gear 10:00pm Dragons' Den 11:00pm Alan Davies ApresSki

ITV/ 4:00pm On Her Majesty's Secret Service 6:50pm Local News and Weather 7:00pm ITV News and Weather 7:15pm Dancing on Ice 8:45pm All Star Family Fortunes 9:30pm Dancing on Ice 10:00pm Mr Selfridge 11:00pm ITV News at Ten and Weather

CH4/ 4:30pm Jamie and Jimmy's Friday Night Feast 5:30pm Deal or No Deal 6:35pm The Devil Wears Prada 8:40pm Channel 4 News 9:00pm Time Team Special 10:00pm Bridesmaids

ITV2/ 4:10pm Kangaroo Jack 4:50pm Ant and Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway 6:15pm Junior 7:15pm FYI Daily 7:20pm Junior 8:30pm Ocean's Thirteen 9:30pm FYI Daily 9:35pm Ocean's Thirteen 11:00pm The Only Way is Essex

Monday BBC1/ 5:30pm Antiques Road Trip 6:15pm Pointless 7:00pm BBC News 7:30pm Regional News 8:00pm The One Show 8:30pm Inside Out 9:00pm EastEnders 9:30pm Panorama 10:00pm Silk

BBC2/ 5:50pm 'Allo, 'Allo! 6:15pm Antiques Roadshow 7:00pm Revenge of the Eggheads 7:30pm Great Continental Railway Journeys 8:00pm Top Gear 9:00pm University Challenge 9:30pm Food and Drink 10:00pm Horizon

ITV/ 5:00pm Tipping Point 6:00pm The Chase 7:00pm Local News and Weather 7:30pm ITV News and Weather 8:00pm Emmerdale 8:30pm Coronation Street 9:00pm A Great Welsh Adventure with Griff Rhys Jones 9:30pm Coronation Street 10:00pm DCI Banks

CH4/ 5:30pm Come Dine with Me 6:00pm Coach Trip 6:30pm Superstar Dogs: Countdown to Crufts 7:00pm The Simpsons 7:30pm Hollyoaks 8:00pm Channel 4 News 8:55pm Paralympic Winter Games... The Countdown 9:00pm Dispatches 9:30pm Food Unwrapped 10:00pm One Born Every Minute

ITV2/ 5:10pm The Real Housewives of New Jersey 6:05pm The Millionaire Matchmaker 7:00pm Dinner Date 8:00pm You've Been Framed! 8:30pm You've Been Framed! 9:00pm Two and a Half Men 9:30pm Two and a Half Men 10:00pm Mom

Wednesday

5:20pm Are You Being Served? 5:50pm 'Allo, 'Allo! 6:15pm Antiques Roadshow 7:00pm Revenge of the Eggheads 7:30pm Great Continental Railway Journeys 8:00pm Permission Impossible 9:00pm The Great British Sewing Bee 10:00pm The Necessary War 11:00pm QI

ITV/ 4:00pm The Alan Titchmarsh Show 5:00pm Tipping Point 6:00pm The Chase 7:00pm Local News and Weather 7:30pm ITV News and Weather 8:00pm Emmerdale 8:30pm UEFA Champions League 11:00pm ITV News at Ten and Weather

CH4/ 4:30pm Deal or No Deal 5:30pm Come Dine with Me 6:00pm Coach Trip 6:30pm Superstar Dogs: Countdown to Crufts 7:00pm The Simpsons 7:30pm Hollyoaks 8:00pm Channel 4 News 8:55pm Paralympic Winter Games... The Countdown 9:00pm Kirstie's Best of Both Worlds 10:00pm The Taste 11:00pm Strippers

ITV2/ 4:05pm The Jeremy Kyle Show 5:10pm The Real Housewives of New Jersey 6:05pm The Millionaire Matchmaker 7:00pm Dinner Date 8:00pm You've Been Framed! 8:30pm You've Been Framed! 9:00pm Two and a Half Men 9:30pm Two and a Half Men 10:00pm The Vampire Diaries 11:00pm Celebrity Juice

BBC2/ 4:30pm Bergerac 5:20pm Are You Being Served? 5:50pm 'Allo, 'Allo! 6:15pm Antiques Roadshow 7:00pm Revenge of the Eggheads 7:30pm Great Continental Railway Journeys 8:00pm Permission Impossible 9:00pm The Restaurant Man 10:00pm Line of Duty 11:00pm Inside No 9 11:30pm Newsnight

ITV/ 4:00pm The Alan Titchmarsh Show 5:00pm Tipping Point 6:00pm The Chase 7:00pm Local News and Weather 7:30pm ITV News and Weather 8:00pm Emmerdale 8:30pm Coronation Street 9:00pm The FA Cup Replay. 11:20pm ITV News at Ten and Weather 11:55pm The FA Cup

CH4/ 4:30pm Deal or No Deal 5:30pm Come Dine with Me 6:00pm Coach Trip 6:30pm Superstar Dogs: Countdown to Crufts 7:00pm The Simpsons 7:30pm Hollyoaks 8:00pm Channel 4 News 8:55pm Paralympic Winter Games... The Countdown 9:00pm The Restoration Man 10:00pm 24 Hours in A and E 11:00pm First Dates

FINANCE Spain’s asset reporting law applies to anyone who is resident in Spain and owns assets outside the country worth €50,000 or more. The deadline is 31st March each year. We receive many queries from people who are not sure if they need to file a report or not. Residency is an important starting point. The obligation to report your overseas assets on Modelo 720 is only imposed on Spanish residents. If you own property here but are not resident, it does not apply to you, but you need to be 100% sure you do not fulfil any of the residency criteria. Tax residency in Spain can be more complex than you realise. Many people believe they are not resident but actually are, and so should be paying tax. This issue is even more critical with the reporting law, since the consequences for failing to report are much higher than ever before – you can lose more than the value of the asset. The government is also aware that some people who meet the residency criteria choose not to declare themselves as such. The tax agency has been cracking

EUROPEAN PRESS

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20 - 26 February 2014 / Mallorca

EWN

Residency Issues And Spain’s Reporting Law by Peter Worthington, Senior Partner, Blevins Franks

down on this, for example by looking through utility bills and lists of foreign children in local schools. It can also use information received from abroad under exchange of financial information agreements. If you were resident in Spain in 2012, you should have submitted Form 720 last year. You then only need to report again if the value of an asset increased by €20,000 or

more, or if you bought or sold an asset. If you became resident in 2013, you need to make your first declaration now. You report the value of assets as at 31st December 2013. With bank accounts you also need to include the average balance over the last three months of 2013, and with property the acquisition value. If you became resident this year, you will need to report assets as at 31st December 2014, so your first deadline is 31st March 2015. Tax residency in Spain You are resident for tax purposes - and so liable for income, capital gains and wealth taxes on your worldwide assets and subject to Spanish succession tax rules - if any of the following apply. • You spend more than 183 days

here in one calendar year. • Your “centre of economic interests” is in Spain. • Your “centre of vital interests” is in Spain - i.e. your spouse and/or your minor children live here, even if you spend under 183 days here. There is no split year treatment in Spain. You are either resident or not resident for the whole year. You may be regarded as UK resident at the same time, in which case you need to look at the UK/Spain Tax Treaty rules. If you own property and spend much time here each year, you need to know where you stand, tax wise, so you can establish the best way forward. With specialist advice you could structure your assets to be tax efficient in Spain, and so that you need not worry about Form 720.

The only way to be certain that you understand all the implications of the complicated asset reporting law, the residency issues and how to legitimately structure your assets tax efficiently in Spain, is to take professional advice from an established tax and wealth manager. Tax rates, scope and reliefs may change. Any statements concerning taxation are based upon our understanding of current taxation laws and practices which are subject to change. Tax information has been summarised; an individual is advised to seek personalised advice. To keep in touch with the latest developments in the offshore world, check out the latest news on our website www.blevinsfranks.com

E W N 20 - 26 February 2014 / Mallorca

www.euroweeklynews.com

OPINION & COMMENT

Expat problem with the Scottish question...

NE part of the whole LEAPY LEE Scottish independence question that doesn’t SAYS IT seem to have been OTHERS THINK IT covered is the effect it will have on expatriates. In fact, we are, I believe, taking What on earth is going to happen the first faltering steps into what will to all the thousands of Scots who, be the norm in a thousand years or should the vote be aye, suddenly so; that is, to be merely Earth find themselves - among all the dwellers. (Particularly after our other aggravations - no longer contact with other life-forms.) If we members of the EU? last long enough, I truly believe we This will surely remove a whole will all be coffee-coloured, tall and host of entitlements straight away. rather attractive people, peacefully No automatic residency, no access living side by side on this beautiful to free health-care. Pension planet of ours. (Dream on, Leapy!) problems and presumably, as non Meanwhile, back to Bannockburn. EU members, a positive deluge of I truly will be sorry if Scotland tries forms to fill in. If it’s anything like to go it alone and seriously question my American friends have whether the majority of Scots truly experienced, this is in itself a believe it will be of benefit, or nightmare. Contrary to popular merely want to lift their kilts to the belief I am not totally anti EC; I’m Sassenachs? only against certain aspects of it, I do know that large numbers of like open borders and Brussels Scots truly hate the Brits, as do attempting to control all we say, many from Ireland, and frankly it’s breathe or think. difficult to blame them; but really, as I do feel in many ways there are adults and hopefully intelligent, lots of perks to be enjoyed by being forward-thinking people, can’t we members of one community. just put all the differences behind us

and move forward united, setting an example to a world that is already splitting apart, basically because neighbours hate each other? Hopefully we’ve come a long way from the Hatfields and McCoys, and frankly I would hate to have to show my passport to visit a country I have always proudly regarded as a part of my own. Bear in mind, the old clichés are often the best: United we stand, divided we fall. Let’s hope, common sense prevails, that the nos have it and the whole sorry debacle is put to rest for good. Now, what was that you said about beating us in the Six Nations!? Up yer kilts, the lotta ye! Well, 40 years ago I wrote a musical. In a couple of weeks’ time it is being played to one of the

GOING IT ALONE: Independence for Scotland will create problems for Scots in Spain. biggest impresarios in the UK. Will I be zimmering up that red carpet at last? Wish me luck. I will keep ya posted.

Keep the faith Love Leapy Leapylee2002@ gmail.com

Vicki McLeod and Philip Rogan

Wakey wakey ! Can you feel it? Vicki Mcleod

Family Matters THE island is waking. Can you feel it? We’re coming out of hibernation, the almond blossom is out, the little yellow flowers are springing up in pastures, and the weather is perking up. My events work has started for the year, I’m preparing for networking events, charity fundraisers, International Women’s Day, a brand new comedy club, the Crew Show and that’s just the start. At Mood Beach in Costa D’en Blanes where I do the majority of my events the staff team is back from their winter holidays and the kitchens are open again for Sunday lunch, Menu del Dias and Menu de la Noches. It all happened on the same day. Mood reopened, world famous cyclists belted up and down the Paseo Maritimo in

PASEO MARITIMO: World famous cyclists belt up for this exciting annual event in Palma. Palma (every year it’s a really exciting event and doesn’t seem to be promoted properly why aren’t there loads of people there?), and my little girl did us proud in the Pauline Quirke Academy production of Bugsy Malone. She’d been rehearsing for months: learning her lines, singing the same songs over and over again, fretting about her gangster outfit. It was great fun for her to be involved and

quite a big commitment from us. Every Saturday morning from last September we’ve been doing the hour long round trip to get her to rehearsals. The immense feeling of pride that I had as I watched her on stage last Sunday made all the hours we’d put in to make it happen worth it. I like PQA, its main aim is not to produce a bunch of Bonnie Langfords. No, it’s about encouraging presentation skills, team work,

listening, concentration and confidence. The teachers at PQA should be delighted with their achievements: organising a show with 40 ish kids in it is very much like herding cats. Now try to get the cats to remember to sing and dance. Yep, you get the picture. The kids did two shows, and of course I had to go to both shows. I didn’t want her to feel that she was performing on her own. Well, she wasn’t as both

MOOD: My favourite spot. performances were packed out. What a thrill for them. I was an emotional wreck by the end of it: too much whooping and teary eye pride-filled moments. The final one being when Gidg was presented with the ‘Most Improved Student’ certificate. I was a mess. The next day was a school day; we all struggled to wake up in time. www.familymattersmallorca. com

HEALTH & BEAUTY

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EWN

ealth & beauty H TO READ MORE VISIT OUR WEBSITE WWW.EWNLIFESTYLE.COM

Silly outfit time… to liven up the winter Penn to Paper Laura Penn

T is nearly time to dress up in a silly outfit, parade outdoors and dance with strangers, No, it is not the Wedding Fayre in Palma, but it is almost time for this year’s Carnival! What a brilliant idea it was to adopt the tradition of carnival on Mallorca as the riot of colour, music, dance and elaborate costumes livens up the dullest of winters. Despite what the Brazilians would have you believe, carnival originated in Italy hundreds of years ago when Catholics held a costume festival the day before Lent and the last day that they could eat meat, so they called their

festival ‘carnevale’ - to put away the meat. Carnival is a last blast of fun and frolicking before 40 days of austerity and fasting begin. That is the theory anyway! This year the carnival parades on the island will be held over the weekend of March 1 and 2, with the biggest parade (Sa Rua) being held in Palma. Other towns and villages have their own carnival parades and if you get the chance to go and watch one then do. You will be amazed at the inventiveness and work that goes into creating the costumes and the floats. It is just incredible! Last year I had the great pleasure of standing for over two hours grinning like a Cheshire Cat as I delighted in the procession held in Calvia village. I am still recovering from the unforgettable sight of

CARNIVAL TIME: Colour, music and dance livens things up. my friend Dylan Ramsden dressed as ‘Brave Tart’ - a take on William Wallace that involved blue make-up, a sword, a shield a kilt and a sporran! What the Mallorcans made of that I do not know! Other groups featured giant cotton reels, huge household appliances, chimney sweeps, sunflowers, robots, geisha girls

and circus performers. Of course kids love carnival! Not only to watch but to take part in. Who doesn’t love dressing up in a silly outfit? A couple of years ago I was drafted in last minute as a ‘sub’ to take part in the procession dressed as a pink pig. I felt oddly at home in the curlytailed ‘Onesy’ and insisted on

Mobile phones don’t cause cancer FOR years, people have been concerned about the possible health risks linked to mobile phones and usage causing cancer. In 2011 the World Health Organisation warned mobile phone users to limit their use of the devices as they could cause cancer and suggested they text rather than call. But now, an 11 year study has concluded they do not cause cancer. The Mobile Telecommunications and Health Research programme has been carried out in the UK and

was the UK’s largest research programme to look at the possible health risks associated with mobile phone technology. Chairman of the programme said that the independent study is now complete and they found

“no evidence” of risks to health from the radio waves produced by mobile phones. The study also found no evidence that exposure to base station emissions during pregnancy increases risk of childhood leukaemia.

These latest findings also supports a 2011 study from Imperial College in London which found that living close to a mobile phone mast does not increase a child’s chance of developing a brain tumour.

wearing it all evening. Well it was warm and cosy! In recent years more expats have got involved in the Carnival celebrations and I will be very surprised if we don’t see some more crazy costumes from the Brit and German contingents in this year’s parades. Make the most of the fun as Carnival heralds the arrival of Lent across the Catholic world and knuckling down to six weeks of fasting and abstinence. In past years I have denied myself some of my favourite things such as potatoes and alcohol (yes really!). This year I am considering giving up prawns. Never liked the things anyway! Which brings me on neatly to the ‘Burial of the Sardine’… well that will have to wait for next week’s Euro Weekly News!

E W N 20 - 26 February 2014 / Mallorca

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PETS/BOATING Laura G Guerra with the permission of RCNP

Exciting times for students and staff

WINNER: Palma sailor Albert Torres. FUNDRAISING: Students with the cheque for €1,005 for Mediterranea.

Albert Torres claims victory at the 25th International Palamos Optimistic Trophy

EXCITING events have been taking place more ways than one. The students were at Palma Sixth Form College this month professionally filmed making a alongside the normal daily learning. presentation, and we will be building One of the advantages of being an these skills over the coming months in entirely sixth form college is that we order to prepare them for interviews at PALMA sailor Albert Torres won the 25th the pressure and maintained his leading have the flexibility to take opportunities work or for university. as they arise, hence our Maths and Our own exciting news is the International Palamos Optimist Trophy position to the end. He was joined on the podium by Physics students coming in early so they expansion of the college buildings to held in the bay of Palamos (Cataluña) Italian Alberto Tezza, whom he could visit the amazing natural incorporate a new art studio, a dedicated last weekend. The Royal Sailing Club of Palma outscored by seven points, and Russian phenomenon of the sun lighting up the Performing Arts space and some further (RCNP) member managed to control Daniil Krutskikh. Rose Window in Palma Cathedral. classroom accommodation. Torres arrived to the The art students have last day of competition been out and about in the with a comfortable lead, galleries of Palma, most allowing him to win even notably the Salvador Dali though he didn’t deliver exhibition. They also his best performance. attended a Masterclass in The day was marked sculpture with worldby north-northeast winds renowned Joan Waelder of 11 knots. at La Residencia Hotel in In the first race - the Deya. seventh overall - Torres The Performing Arts finished in the 57th students are busy - Potential parasites position, which left him working on their own THE concept of dog parks seems • For dogs no room for error. production as part of their to be becoming more and more Potential danger from He then put his act assessments and last, but popular. Whilst for local councils it may aggressive dogs together and finished not least, we had a whole - Intact dogs (not castrated) eighth in the second race college charity event seem an attractive proposal, may create problems and 21st in race three. organised by our A2 there are problems with the idea. For all dog treats please call: - Potential parasites and His performances in Business Studies 971 887 007 / 634 152 813 Disadvantages: disease the two previous days, students, which raised • For people - Potential lack of impulse qualifying among the top €1,005 for the local - Potential danger control and over-excitement 10, eventually allowed charity Mediterranea. - Not appropriate for small and him to snatch up the The speakers that have from aggressive dogs David THE Dogman large dogs at the same time title. visited us as part of our Potential attacks on children German Deike enrichment programme Listen to David on TRE every Saturday 10am to 11am Costa del Sol (Gibraltar/Sotogrande) 98.7fm • For the community Bronemann, who ended have held our attention in (San Roque to Calahonda) 91.9fm (Calahonda to Motril) 88.9, Costa Calida 92.7fm - Some people will not up fourth in the general Costa Blanca (Torrevieja to Elche) 105.1fm (Elche to Calpe) 88.2fm, (Calpe to Gandia & Ibiza) 104.6fm, understand the concept and will ranking, was the best (Denia to Valencia) 95.3fm Mallorca 103.9fm abuse the park female sailor of the • Won’t pick up faeces after competition. Potential danger of their dog The current European physical injury from dog• May leave a dog unattended. runner-up in the Optimist related hazards class, Aina Colom, was Potential For your local radio the second best female ‘denouncias’ arising frequency log onto racer. from dog fights www.talkradioeurope.com The sailor from the S’Arenal sailing club ended up 10th in the POTENTIAL RISKS: Dog parks. general ranking.

Dog parks a bad idea... some of the problems SPONSORED BY

FEATURE

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Advertising Feature

British pound is this week’s top dog Commentary by Moneycorp

EUR The euro played a passive role as the US dollar weakened and sterling pushed ahead. It strengthened by a cent against the dollar but lost a cent and a half to the pound. Although there were heartening data from Italy, where the economy achieved the first quarterly growth in more than three years, there was less upbeat news about falling German international trade, declining Euroland industrial production and rising unemployment in Greece. USD The new Federal Reserve chairperson, Janet Yellen, confirmed that under her

leadership US monetary policy would remain unchanged for now. With that worry out of the way investors were more inclined to snipe at below-par US economic data and less keen to reward good figures. The dollar was the weakest performer among the major currencies, losing one cent to the Canadian dollar and the euro and well over three cents to the week’s top dog, the British pound. CAD The Canadian dollar did twice as well as the US dollar, in that it only fell by half as much against sterling. On the week it lost a cent and a half to sterling while adding one cent against the Greenback. Its

Clarisse Musselwhite is Moneycorp’s Account Manager for Mallorca

She can be contacted on Tel: +34 902 887 243 Mobile: +34 687 932 472 Email:mallorca@moneycorp.com

902887243 mallorca@moneycorp.com salvation was a set of Canadian employment data which comfortably exceeded investors’ expectations, unlike the sickly US payrolls number, which fell well short for a second month. AUD In a game of two halves the Aussie first strengthened against the rest of the field, helped by upbeat data for house prices and business confidence. It was rattled by

a deterioration in consumer confidence and went into reverse after surprisingly poor employment numbers on Thursday. On the week the Aussie was unchanged against the euro and up by half a cent against the US dollar. It lost nearly four cents to the week’s top dog, the British pound. NZD The Kiwi dollar lost a cent and a half to sterling but was up by a cent against the US dollar. The moves were entirely the result of investors’ views of the dollar and the pound. They didn’t like the sickly US employment data or the rest of the week’s mostly mediocre data. They did like the new guidance issued by the Bank of England, which points to a first upward move for sterling interest rates in spring next year.

E W N 20 - 26 February 2014 / Mallorca

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Time Out EURO WEEKLY’S SPACE FOR YOU TO TAKE A BREAK, BE INFORMED AND ENJOY A CHALLENGE

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MADDOCKS’ VIEW ON LIFE

Thor: The Dark World

Earth and the Nine Realms come under attack from the powerful Malekith and his age-old army that have existed since even before the creation of the universe. With the enemy proving near impossible to defeat, Thor approaches his adoptive brother Loki for help, despite his villainous past. Meanwhile, the hero becomes reacquainted with the woman he loves, astrophysicist Jane Foster, and takes her to Asgard in an attempt to protect her from harm.

TODAY

ALCUDIA

POLLENÇA

CALA MILLOR

INCA

CALVIA

CALA d’OR

PALMA ANDRATX

LLUCMAJOR MAGALLUF

ALCUDIA

POLLENÇA

Starring Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Tom Hiddleston and Anthony Hopkins. Directed by Alan Taylor. Runtime 112 minutes. Rated 12.

TOMORROW CALA MILLOR

INCA

CALVIA

CALA d’OR

PALMA ANDRATX

LLUCMAJOR

LEO (July 24 - August 23) A situation could become complicated if you do not plan

6-Star Quiz 1. A method of music instruction from the 1890s that emphasises physical response to the music, was the origin of the name of this duo, formed in 1980? 2. Formed in Birmingham in 1978, this rock band took their name from the villain of the cult science fiction film Barbarella? 3. Formed in Stockholm in 1972, this band’s name is an acronym of the first letters of the band members’ first names? 4. Having trouble getting repeat bookings, this progressive rock group, formed in Luton in 1969, took to changing their name frequently to continue playing the London club circuit. Band names were often supplied by their booking agents’ staff, one of whom, a history enthusiast, eventually christened them after an 18th-century agriculturist, who invented the horse-drawn see drill? 5. The name of this British rock band, formed in Deptford in 1977, comes from the band’s financial situation at the time of forming? 6. The name of this electronic music band, formed in 1980 in Basildon, Essex, was inspired by a French fashion magazine?

even more difficult to get out of. Being cosy is one thing, but getting bogged down, mentally and physically, is another. All you need is to keep your optimism alive and use your imagination. Perhaps you are spending too much time with an older person or someone who has a dim outlook on life. SCORPIO (October 24 - November 22) Are you suffering from winter blues? Although it is a common feeling at this time of the year, keep optimistic. There is so much to look forward to, in fact, that you are spoilt for choice. Although your social life may be in a bit of a rut, some sparkling moves from you will get things moving.

LIBRA (September 24 - October 23) Ruts are awful things to get into but

SAGITTARIUS (November 23 December 21) Recent events have perhaps left a gap in your social life that is hard to fill. Patience is needed because it would be foolish to rush into something new if your heart is involved. Concentrating on work and other people will alleviate any loneliness.

Sudoku Fill the grid so that every row, every column and every 3X3 box contains the digits 1-9. There’s no maths involved. You solve the puzzle with reasoning and logic.

CAPRICORN (December 22 January 20) A loss of patience with a situation shows this week but is not to your advantage. Whatever you feel, be subtle in your approach. Try to see your position clearly and the result will be that you realise you have more control than you thought. Seeking advice while being honest and telling the full story serves best.

LAST WEEK’S SOLUTION

AQUARIUS (January 21 - February 19) A feeling that you should totally commit yourself to something or someone this week should be avoided. You will come up against a brick wall if a situation is forced. Time is all that is required to see things change for the better.

UK NATIONAL LOTTERY

UK THUNDERBALL

IRISH LOTTO

EURO MILLIONS

Saturday February 15

Saturday February15

Saturday February 15

Friday February 14

7 17

14 18

BONUS BALL

THUNDERBALL

BONUS BALL

Almeria

CLEAR MAX 22C, MIN 12C MAX MIN

Fri Sat Sun -

4 19

LA PRIMITIVA

MAX MIN

Fri Sat Sun -

12 2 C 12 2 S 12 3 C

MAX MIN

Mon - 11 5 C Tues - 11 4 Sh Wed - 12 5 Sh

Murcia MAX 17C, MIN 9C

MAX MIN

Fri Sat Sun -

CLOUDY MAX 15C, MIN 3C MAX MIN

MAX MIN

Mon - 17 10 Cl Tues - 17 10 Sh Wed - 18 10 Sh

18 9 C 16 9 Cl 16 10 Sh

CLEAR

Mon - 16 12 C Tues - 16 12 C Wed - 16 12 C

Madrid

Mallorca TODAY:

MAX MIN

15 11 C 14 11 Sh 15 12 C

TODAY:

MAX 19C, MIN 12C

MAX MIN

Fri Sat Sun -

Mon - 17 12 Sh Tues - 17 11 Sh Wed - 18 12 C

CLEAR MAX 17C, MIN 13C MAX MIN

MAX MIN

Mon - 14 10 Cl Tues - 14 10 Sh Wed - 14 9 Sh

Malaga SUNNY

MAX MIN

18 11 Cl 16 10 Sh 17 11 C

TODAY:

CLOUDY MAX 16C, MIN 9C 13 8 Sh 13 7 C 14 9 C

TODAY:

MAX 19C, MIN 12C

Benidorm

Barcelona TODAY:

SUNNY MAX MIN

Mon - 17 11 Cl Tues - 18 11 C Wed - 18 11 C

19 11 C 14 9 Sh 17 9 C

14 8 C 13 8 C 15 9 C S Sun,

TODAY:

MAX MIN

Mon - 16 11 C Tues - 15 11 Sh Wed - 15 11 C Cl Clear,

CLEAR

MAX 23C, MIN 11C

MAX MIN

Fri Sat Sun Fog,

Sn Snow,

MAX MIN

19 10 C 14 8 Sh 17 8 C C Cloud,

Mon - 19 9 C Tues - 19 10 C Wed - 19 10 C Sh Showers,

Th Thunder

Nonagram How many English words of four letters or more can you make from the nine letters in our Nonagram puzzle? Each letter may be used only once (unless the letter appears twice). Each word MUST CONTAIN THE CENTRE LETTER (in this case C) and there must be AT LEAST ONE NINE LETTER WORD. Plurals, vulgarities or proper nouns are not allowed.

TARGET:

Average: 14

Very good: 27

Good: 18

Excellent: 33

agar, cage, crag, ergo, gean, gear, goer, gone, gore, gran, ogre, raga, rage, rang, agone, agora, anger, argon, cager, cargo, conga, goner, grace, groan, orang, organ, range, agorae, angora, conger, garner, grocer, onager, orange, organa, ranger, arrange, carnage, groaner, ARROGANCE

REINTEGRO 21

EL GORDO DE LA PRIMITIVA

MASS

Sunday February 16

Saturday February 15

LUCKY STARS 2

TODAY:

Word Ladder

LOTTERY 15

Alicante TODAY:

MAX MIN

VIRGO (August 24 - September 23) A lost cause tries to demand your attention, but you must try to see the situation for what it is. Sentimentality should not come into business or be allowed to upset your home life. What is past should remain so, do not torture yourself. Bring your mind and spirits up by looking forward to summer holidays.

CANCER (June 22 - July 23) The temptation to run round like a headless chicken is strong this week. There seem to be so many demands on your time that things become confusing. Be sure you are getting enough rest because this time of the year can be fraught for you.

GEMINI (May 22 - June 21) Although health should be good, energy may be a little low. A bit of a

ahead. With a little thought and planning, matters can be kept simple which is always desirable. Be choosy about the company you keep because a bad character could taint by association.

mystery surrounds a close friend and your opinion may be sought. Hold fire until all the facts are known and you are sure a person has been honest with you because someone may try to keep you in the dark to get the right answer. .

TAURUS (April 21 - May 21) Social activities are likely to change at the last minute. If energy levels are not as high as normal, use this week for planning. With holidays in mind, the summer seems far away but maybe a weekend trip will fill the gap. Spending time with an old friend reminds you of how things used to be.

Born February 23, 1954. Rosendo Mercado Ruiz is a Spanish rock singer and guitarist. He was a founding member of bands Ñu and Leño, and is considered to be a prominent exponent of so-called ʻSpanish rock.ʼ He released his first solo album in 1985, and has had more than a dozen since. In 2006 he was awarded the Gold Medal for Merit in Fine Arts.

41 48

42 53

REINTEGRO 4

NOUN

Move from the start word (MASS) to the end word (NOUN) in the same number of steps as there are rungs on the Word Ladder. You must only change one letter at a time.

MOON NOON NOUN

ARIES (March 21 - April 20) Extra pressures at work leave you feeling less than energetic. Check on your health and don't go overboard with the physical activities. Set out to become more active, socially, and maximise on relaxation. With an eye to the summer and holidays, start planning a getaway. Who will you take with you?

BAND NAMES

Your Stars

IF ITʼS YOUR BIRTHDAY THIS WEEK: The Piscean desire to find an ideal mate brings an edge to the months ahead. It is almost as though you are daring fate to tempt you.

MASS MOSS MOOS

PISCES (February 20 - March 20) There may not be enough time to do everything you want, so why can't you just reorganise your life so there is? Not as easy as it sounds, Pisces, unless you learn the magic word: no. Know your limits and stick to them. If you've got this far with a partner you will know it's meant to be. .

MAGALLUF

1. EURYTHMICS, 2. DURAN DURAN, 3. ABBA, 4. JETHRO TULL, 5. DIRE STRAITS, 6. DEPECHE MODE

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20 - 26 February 2014 / Mallorca

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