Issuu

ISSUE NO. 1701

8 - 14 February 2018

COSTA DE ALMERÍA YOUR PAPER, YOUR VOICE, YOUR OPINION Photo by Ayuntamiento de el Ejido

Earthquakes rock Almeria TWO earthquakes have hit Almeria in the Almanzora Valley and Lubrin. The first tremor, which registered 3.1 on the Richter scale, struck with its epicentre near the town of Arboleas 12 kilometres below ground at around dawn on Tuesday. Albox, Zurgena, Cantoria and Olula del Rio all felt the earthquake within five minutes, according to Spain’s National Geographic Institute. No damage is reported to have occurred. A second earthquake then hit north of Lubrin around four minutes later. It was less severe, registering at around 1.9 on the Richter scale, according to reports. Almeria experienced an earthquake of a similar magnitude in December last year when a tremor of 3.7 registered south-east of Pechina. A 3.4 magnitude earthquake was also registered in the Mediterranean Sea off Carboneras two days before. The province lies near the tectonic plate boundary between Eurasia and Africa. This tends to cause mild tremors when compared to earthquakes generally although Almeria has experienced large quakes in the past.

SWEPT AWAY: Farms in Almeria were hit by storms in early January.

Hard hit 250 greenhouses damaged by freak weather Almost 175 hectares of land and 250 greenhouses were damaged by storms in Almeria. El Ejido was the hardest hit by the tornados that swept through the province, with 188 greenhouses covering nearly 141 hectares of farmland affected. The figures come from 250 files for aid sent to the Junta de Andalucia’s agricultural office. The Junta made funds available for farmers whose land and property had been damaged, which ranged from €3,000 to the full value of the farmland affected. The Junta has made more than €1,730,000 available for disaster relief following the storms in early January. Those seeking aid have until March 6 to apply. The aid covers the costs

resulting from the damage to land and property as well as the resulting losses in crop harvesting. Damage to farmland and equipment in El Ejido made up more than 80 per cent of the total for Almeria, according to Junta figures. La Mojonera was the second hardest hit with 39 greenhouses reported damaged and an area of more than 26 hectares of land affected. The town was followed by Adra at 12 greenhouses and around 3.4 hectares of land hit. Vicar was next at six and

2.4, then Roquetas de Mar at two and 1.3 and Balanegra at one and a third of a hectare. The Junta also announced a total of €100 million in aid to farmers to help them modernise outdated greenhouses. Susana Diaz, president of the Junta, said the money would be available to farms which had greenhouses over 20 years old and that were vulnerable to damage. Aid was also available to make covered farmland more productive and weather resistant, she said in January.

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Man held in child porn bust AN Almerian man accused of being part of a 40-strong national child pornography ring has been arrested by police. Officers seized laptops, CDs, DVDs and more than 100 hard drives in raids on over 40 homes that formed part of the operation co-ordinated by National Police. Teachers, engineers and public employees were among those arrested, according to reports. Members of the ring allegedly used the ‘dark web’ to avoid being traced by police. The dark web refers to parts of the internet where illegal material is often exchanged through browsers that prevent authorities identifying users. Police specialists are currently analysing the material seized. One of those arrested in Alicante in the operation is accused of harassing children in order to get some of the material shared with the ring.

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NEWS EXTRA Rise in jobless ALMERIA’S unemployment rate rose by 30 people in January. The jobless rate still decreased by around 6.3 per cent compared to the same month last year, with a total of almost 59,000 out of work.

ITV fines MORE than 120 drivers were fined for not having an ITV during a seven-day period. Having an ITV is a legal requirement for cars in Spain and driving without one carries a €200 fine.

State assets THE Spanish government owns around €120 millionworth of property in Almeria, according to Treasury figures recently released. La Alcazabar, the largest Arab fortress in Europe, was valued at around €468,000.

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Trial for man accused of assaulting his partner and her son postponed THE court hearing for a 31year-old defendant accused of gender violence and abuse towards his partner and children has been rescheduled for September. The man, who was set to appear in court last Monday, stands accused of repeatedly verbally insulting and beating the woman in front of their young children. Prosecutors are seeking up to 10 years in prison for the accused over the alleged physical and psychological abuse which reportedly took place over three to four months. They said the defendant first assaulted the woman because of jealousy when he grabbed her hair and slapped her after finding her on the phone to a friend. His partner also alleged the man kicked her in the belly while she was pregnant with

their child after telling him the baby was not his. Prosecutors said the man then beat her two or three times a week, especially when he lacked marihuana. He bit her, pulled her hair, insulted her, and threatened to hurt her family and to set fire to their house if she left.

The man also hit her threeyear-old child who began urinating because of fear. The woman became isolated from family and friends as a result of the abuse. His partner was taken to hospital with broken teeth after the last assault in 2012. She told doctors she got the injuries after accidentally hitting the toilet because she feared reprisals. The child the woman was carrying when the defendant allegedly kicked her in the belly now has reduced chewing and biting abilities. Prosecutors are seeking a restraining order effective for 500 metres away from the woman for 15 years and an order preventing the defendant from contacting the child. Almost €27,000 in compensation have as been requested, alongside the prison sentence.

Photo by Puerto de la Ragua/Facebook

SNOWED IN: The Puerto de la Ragua centre had to close because it was cut off by snow.

Snowed in! Sierra Nevada ski centre closes due to snow A SKIING station had to close at the start of its season because of snow that had built up on its access road. The Puerto de la Ragua centre, in the Sierra Nevada National Park, had already delayed its opening due to the rain over the last two weeks. The centre, jointly run by

the Almeria and Granada authorities, had to remain closed because the A-337 road was cut off by snow. It was last open for its previous season in late November, which saw around 8,000 visitors per week. The station remained closed on Monday due to the weather.

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Nightclub shooting A 36-YEAR-OLD man has been wounded after he was shot outside a nightclub in El Ejido. The man was found by emergency services lying in the street with a bullet wound in his abdomen at around 4am on Sunday. He was taken to Potiene Hospital.

Baby death THE case of a four-month-old Almerian baby who died in Malaga children’s hospital has been opened for investigation. Inquiries will seek to establish whether the child, who died during an operation for heart disease in September last year, was the victim of reckless homicide.

Marihu-carna A 25-YEAR-OLD man was arrested after police found 16 marihuana plants in his car. The man, from Berja, tried to abandon the car after seeing police and reversing down a dead end street. A crane was needed to move the car from the narrow road.

Airport 50th ALMERIA’S airport celebrated 50 years of operation this week, with events to mark the anniversary planned for this year. More than 27 million passengers have travelled to and from it since it opened on February 6, 1968 and it has hosted more than 542,000 aircraft.

Port meeting THE Port Authority of Almeria’s president met with the board of the college of architects to discuss a master plan for the city’s harbour. The plan is set to be carried out over an eight-month period and there are hopes it could help Almeria’s Historic Quarter.

Road rage A PARTIDO POPULAR councillor has been criticised for reportedly comparing a Republican civil war leader to a Nationalist battleship at an Almeria City Council meeting. Miguel Angel Castellon was speaking about the proposed renaming of the Calle Crucero Canarias, named after the warship.

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LETTERS Readers’ views on eclectic topics in print and online. P46

NEWS, FIXTURES AND RESULTS FROM THE UK AND SPAIN.

MOTORING ALL THE LATEST CAR NEWS PLUS OUR WEEKLY TEST DRIVE P68

SPANISH FACTS OF LIFE nº49

PLUS THE REGULARS

With cheap, good quality beer and wine available by the gallon, what more could the Spanish want from their alcoholic drinks? Just a little je ne sais quoi with those reds, it would seem.

News

PACKETS of crisps, pints of lager and glasses of wine: typical British pub orders are outstandingly predictable. Yet in Spain, the liquid accompaniments to a bowl of olives or tapas often come with a twist. While sangria and tinto de verano are not exactly earth-shattering variations on a glass of wine, they do at least add a little diversity. For the uninitiated - though there are probably not many - sangria is a sweetened and fruity spin off of your standard glass of red wine. There are a number of variations particularly regional ones - but traditionally, Spanish red wine is mixed with orange juice and a liquor before being served in a jug with plenty of citrus fruit and ice. Rioja is the red of choice. Other recipes include sugar, lemonade and other spirits. There is also sangria blanca - a variation featuring a white wine base. European law only allows a drink to be called ‘sangria’ if it is made in Spain or Portugal. However, it could be called ‘British Sangria’ - for example - if made in another country. But strangely enough, sangria is thought by some to have originated in the Caribbean, before being introduced to America. This earlier version was known as Sangaree, according to Andrew Smith’s book about American food and drink. Smith reportedly suggests that the iced drink was reintroduced to America around the middle of the 20th century, through Hispanic Americans and Spanish restaurants. Yet most attribute the roots of sangria to early Greek and Roman culture. People from the ancient civilisations added various flavours to their wine, which was the drink of choice. Known as ‘hippocras,’ this seems the most likely ancestor of sangria -

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Wine, refined

1 - 28

Finance 29

CHEERS: A glass of sangria with a view.

Leapy 35

Couch Critic 44

Time Out 47 - 50

CORDOBA: The city has a claim to tinto de verano’s origins.

TINT: The summery wine-based drink is close to sangria.

Health & Beauty 52 - 53

Social 55 - 56

Albox 57 - 61

and would explain its popularity across the Mediterranean and especially in Spain and Greece.

Tinted, not minted Meanwhile, tinto de verano is another relatively cheap ‘punch’ with a resemblance to cold mulled wine. Simpler than sangria - but similar -

Email: newsdesk@euroweeklynews.com or call 951 38 61 61 and ask for the EWN news team.

it is one part red wine and one part lemonade (or similar), served on the rocks with a slice of lemon. Literally meaning ‘red wine of summer,’ one theory links the drink’s history to Cordoba, where a man called Federico Vargas allegedly created the mix in the early 1900s. He initially called it ‘a Vargas’ and served it in his lively bar called The Brilliant, according to one account. Presumably the future success of the drink only added to his modesty.

162

Property 62

Pets 65

Classifieds 66 - 67

The total number of news and features which appeared in Issue 1700 of the Euro Weekly News Costa de Almería edition, including 50 local stories.

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The light fantastic

Would you prefer to see La Liga or Premier League coverage in the Sports section of the Euro Weekly print edition? LAST WEEK’S POLL: With the latest string of drink driving accidents occurring across Spain, is enough being done to tackle the problem?

Yes 81%

dust cloud, orbiting the sun around 600 million kilometres from Earth. The dust is most likely formed from fragments of asteroids broken off by erosion or collisions, and comets, which release dust and gas when they travel close to the sun. In the northern hemisphere the light is best seen in the western sky on clear, moonless nights in February, March and April, although it is easily rendered invisible by moonlight or electric light pollution. And in September and October it can be seen by looking east an hour before dawn.

It appears when the ecliptic - the annual path which the sun appears to take in the sky throughout the year - lies at a steep angle to the horizon, hence the light’s vertical appearance. In this case the glow is accompanied by Mount Teide being covered in snow, creating an unearthly scene. Teide is an active volcano that last erupted in 1909, and at 3,718 metres is the highest point in Spain. If measured from its true base on the ocean floor, it is 7,500 metres high, making it the highest volcano in the world outside the Hawaii archipelago.

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OUT OF THIS WORLD: Zodiacal light is said to be the largest feature in the solar system. THIS is the stunning moment that Spain’s highest mountain is bathed in a mysterious celestial light. Captured by a photographer from the Canaries Astrophysics Institute, it shows Mount Teide, Tenerife, covered with snow and illuminated by a phenomenon known as zodiacal light. Appearing above the peak as a roughly triangular glow, the light is most easily seen around an hour after sunset, and can be seen on the island for the next few weeks. It is produced by sunlight reflecting off particles known as cosmic dust which lie in the so-called interplanetary

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POLL OF THE WEEK

Photo by Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias

TOP

5 stories

OLE?: The Times article also featured a picture of a bullfighter.

outraged with The Times 7,690 Spaniards following ‘how to be Spanish’ article pet protection laws in Spain to3,815 New day after ‘years of waiting’ in a blue moon Spain gets super 3,279 Once moon but misses out on blood one suffers serious head injury as 2,660 Cyclist storms batter Costa del Sol alerts winter returns to Spain 2,607 Red with more snow today views

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*For week 29 Jan – 5 Feb

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FOR COMMENTS FROM EWN ONLINE TURN TO LETTERS PAGE CORRECTIONS At the EWN, we pride ourselves that reports are accurate and fair. If we do slip up, we promise to set the record straight in a clear, nononsense manner. To ask for an inaccuracy to be corrected. Email: editorial@euroweeklynews.com

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8 - 14 February 2018 / Costa de Almería

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A MAN who appealed an 11year prison sentence for abusing his stepson’s girlfriend has had his verdict upheld by the Spanish Supreme Court. The court ruled in favour of the Almerian Provincial Court that handed down the sentence after finding no grounds for an appeal. The man was found guilty of sexually assaulting the 13year-old girl repeatedly, according to reports. Investigations into the assault began when the girl’s mother found ‘sexual and erotic’ letters she believed were from the defendant. She then reported him to police. The court heard the defendant won the girl’s trust by giving her gifts. He then wrote her the letters which he claimed were about imaginary events and were written because of her interest in reading erotic stories. The assaults then took place at the defendant’s

Photo by Wikimedia Commons

Sex offender loses court appeal

RULING UPHELD: The Spanish Supreme Court found the man had no grounds for appeal against his sentence. home at least twice over the course of two months. The Supreme Court ruled in agreement with the Almerian court that the testimony of the victim was reliable. Her psychological report

was also taken into account which said she had suffered sadness and shame over the assaults and low academic performance as a result. Along with an 11-year prison sentence the defen-

dant has also been ordered to pay €50,000 in compensation to the victim. He has also been banned from contacting her and a restraining order has also been handed to the man.

OUR VIEW Booming economy is welcome, for the rich NEWS that the Spanish economy continues to grow should provide cheer for jobseekers. But the sobering reality is that the working classes in Spain are worse off than ever, as cash continues to be funnelled to the top 1 per cent. Critics say that Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy is oblivious to the struggles of the man on the street, after he was recently quoted as saying that the political crisis in Cataluña is “the only shadow looming over the economy.” However a flourishing economy does not always make for a healthy society. Last year ended with more than 611,000 new jobs having been created in Spain, but a new Oxfam report shows that wages have been more-or-less frozen since 2009, while a lack of investment in education has seen families pay almost 40 per cent more to send their children to school than a decade ago. The rate of saving has dropped to its lowest ebb since 2008 as ordinary people battle to make ends meet, with retail sales affected and figures for the January sales failing to match forecasts. It is a stark reminder that since the 2008 collapse of Lehman Brothers and subsequent recession, a disproportionate percentage of the resultant costs have been foisted onto millions of blameless, low-income citizens. And perhaps the most sobering aspect is that the trend shows no sign of slowing, with 7,000 new Spanish millionaires last year in a country where 10.2 million remain below the poverty line. At some point, the balance will have to tip. The haves and have nots - page 32

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WHAT A PAIR: Chyna and Danielle.

sta /In an

SHE’S the glamour model who recently landed an acting job on Coronation Street. But after allegedly being fired from the long-running Photo credit ITV soap for ‘leaking storyBeth any lines,’ Bethany Morgan jetted Mo rg to Spain for a sun-soaked winter break. The 22-year-old was snapped in the midst of what appeared to be a furious argument with her agent as she lounged by the swimming pool. Be And after appearing to tha ny M blow her top while rocking a organ. tiny swimsuit that barely concealed her ample curves, the blonde beauty later slipped into an equally skimpy multicoloured number for a dip in the sea. The racy model has been playing a lap dancer in a storyline involving teenage character Bethany Platt, but a source told UK media: “She’s just been sacked from Coronation NO GRID GIRLS, NO Street. There’s been a bit of a PROBLEM: Kylie and big uproar about it.” Alejandro strike a pose.

Back in black!

m gra

: VY UR

THEY’VE become the best of friends after appearing together on ITV2 dating show Love Island. And blonde bombshells Danielle Sellers and Chyna Ellis, both 22, certainly turned heads after slipping into tiny black bikinis and hitting the beach in Spain. The pair were unlucky in love while in the famous villa, but appeared to be carefree as they frolicked in the shallows.

Photo credit Kylie Minogue/Instagram

Minogue in vogue at E-race bash HE’S married to the daughter of a former Spanish Prime Minister. And Alejandro Agag, 47, showed he knows how to mix it with the stars as he was snapped alongside Australian songstress Kylie Minogue at a motor racing circuit in Santiago de Chile. The Can’t Get You Out Of My Head hitmaker was in the South American country as a guest at the latest round in the Formula E electric-powered racing championship.

The 12-race series was founded by the ex-Queens Park Rangers chairman Alejandro Agag, and his wife Ana Aznar was also snapped with Kylie as the three attended a gala dinner ahead of the event. Other stars to appear at Formula E races in the past include actors Orlando Bloom and Antonio Banderas, models Alessandra Ambrosio, Paris Hilton, Naomi Campbell, and Irina Shayk, plus Oscar winner Leonardo DiCaprio, who co-owns the Venturi E-racing team.

Celeb focus Strictly come petting

JUST GOOD FRIENDS?: Gorka and Gemma.

THE gossip surrounding their rumoured romance refuses to melt away. And Strictly Come Dancing stars Gorka Marquez, 27, and Gemma Atkinson, 33, sparked the flames once more after being pictured on a night out in Nottingham. The Spanish dancer posted a selfie of the English actress nuzzling his neck captioned “You say what…?” to send social media into overdrive.

Ball breakers TWO of the hardest men in football have been pictured in Madrid. Ex-Manchester United midfielder Roy Keane visited Atletico Madrid’s training ground where he posed with defender Diego Godin, who a day later lost several teeth during a Spanish league battle with Valencia. The Ireland assistant manager is thought to have been on a scouting trip.

Photo credit Gorka Marquez /Instagram

Corrie blimey

Photo credit Danielle Sellers/Chyna Ellis/Instagram

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A WOMAN who was revived by a Guardia Civil officer after suffering a cardio-respiratory stop on the N-340 El Cañarete road died in hospital on Tuesday morning. Police arrived at the entrance to the Garrofa tunnel after being told the 60-year-old was experiencing heart and breathing problems.

Officers found two vehicles on the road side with their hazard lights on. The woman was at the road side and was not breathing and did not have a pulse. Police then began to perform CPR manoeuvres on her and they were soon joined by paramedics who relayed with officers to

avoid becoming tired. The woman began to register vital signs a few minutes later. She was then taken by ambulance to the Hospital of Torrecardenas in Almeria City. She then died in the hospital’s intensive care unit after staying there since Friday.

Photo by Guardia Civil

Woman dies after rescue

SAVED: The woman was found on the El Cañarete road without a pulse and was not breathing.

Council working to stop caterpillar threat urban areas and near education centres in order to stop the insects from reproducing. The treatment of trees near the schools was carried out after hours to avoid potential risks posed to pupils by the

chemicals. Workers have also removed caterpillar lava nests by hand from trees to stop them spreading. Council workers survey areas with large numbers of pine trees regularly to monitor the caterpillar population. They can then act when necessary to clear the trees

of the insects. The work is being carried out due to the damage caterpillars can cause to pine, cedar and fir trees both in forests and in urban areas. Animal and human health can also be threatened during the insects’ final lava stage. Work to clear the trees be-

gan last September and aimed to break the insects’ reproductive cycle. A total of 20 sites have been treated under the scheme. Caterpillars feed on the leaves of trees, making holes in them and also scraping away their surface, depending on the species. Photo by Adra council

A SCHEME to stop caterpillars by treating pine trees with pesticides has been undertaken by Adra’s council. The authority has contracted the pest control company Athisa to spray the trees in

NEWS EXTRA Fashionable trade ALMERIA’S fashion industry exported around €29 million in goods abroad last year. The province came fifth in sales in Andalucia behind Malaga, Cadiz, Sevillaa and Cordoba and came ahead of both Jaen and Granada.

Water works PLANS for a new waste water treatment plant have been announced for Antas. More than €3 million has been set aside for the plant which could create around 70 new jobs.

Cash claims

PEST CONTROL: Workers have sprayed trees with chemicals to stop caterpillars from breeding.

THE mayor of Bacares has accused the Partido Popular group on the council of lying about his expenses. Jose Segura said allegations that he used public money to claim for restaurant meals were false.

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NEWS EXTRA Fruity prize for students

NEWS

Man held following marihuana raid

A SCHOOL in Pulpi has launched Fruitmania, a contest to promote healthy eating among students. Pupils can collect a ticket every time they eat fruit during breaks which they can then spend on different prizes.

Brussels fair ALMERIA set out its stall in Brussels at a tourism fair on Sunday. The province presented its holiday offering to industry representatives along with more than 50 countries and 800 exhibitors.

Bin fund EL EJIDO’S Council have said they will spend €6.8 million on rubbish collection after agreeing a new contract with a waste management company. The deal is set to run for 15 years.

Jobs boost TEN young people are set to benefit from a jobs programme created by Adra Council with the help of government and EU funding. The scheme includes equal opportunity promotion and information and communication technology training.

ARRESTED: A man was detained and another is under investigation. A 37-YEAR-OLD man accused of illegally using electricity to power his marihuana growing operation has been arrested by the Guardia Civil. Police detained the man following a raid on his house in El Ejido and saw officers seize nearly 775 marihuana plants. Another person is also under investigation for alleged drugs crimes and for illegal power use, according to police. Police began the investigations after sus-

THE Almerian Partido Socialista (PSOE) have hit back at claims made by the Partido Popular (PP) that authorities run by the socialists have failed to create jobs. The PSOE accused the PP of keeping public works projects ‘paralysed’ after the head of the Almerian PP said the socialists and Ciudadanos were ‘punishing’ the province. Gabriel Amat, the president

pecting the 37-year-old was growing marihuana on his property. Officers entered the home after surveying it and smelling the plants as they got closer. They found two houses, one of which was reportedly unoccupied. A greenhouse was also found filled with the plants as well as fans and lamps. Police then located and arrested the 37year-old. The proceedings have been sent to a court in El Ejido.

Councillors hit back at job criticism of the PP in Almeria and the head of the Provincial Delegation of Almeria, said unemployment in the province had fallen from 72,000 in 2011 to 58,000. The provincial council has been under PP control since the election in 2011. He added that the fall was in part due to the economic policies of the national government and that the PSOE controlled Junta de Andalucia, was holding job creation in Almeria back. “The PP, in government, has created jobs and stability, and the same is done by the Deputation of Almeria. However, the measures of the board are not enough for growth at the same pace as the rest of the country,” he said. “The greatest punishment was the repeal of the National Hydrological Plan that former Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero carried out,” he added. The PSOE said in response to Amat’s claims that investment in public works was the way to create jobs in the

province. Antonio Martinez, the PSOE’s organisational secretary, asked the PP to name a single project currently being undertaken in Almeria that the government has followed through with. He added the building of a high speed rail line, a water treatment plant in Cuevas del Almanzora and a power line between Vera and Baza would create jobs. Work on the Cuevas plant has been pending since 2012. “The PP keeps all these projects, which would result in thousands of jobs being created, paralysed,” he said. “If the PP wants more jobs in Almeria they should demand from their boss in Madrid works for the province and a Pact of Employment in Andalucia,” he added. Martinez said the Almerian authorities could create an Employment Plan similar to the one introduced in Cadiz which is funded by €4.4 million from its provincial council.

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NEWS EXTRA Free buses for retirees PENSIONERS and bus pass holders will soon be able to take a second bus journey free if it is within an hour of the first. Surbus and Almeria Council have agreed to the deal.

Cancer help WORKSHOPS that help to restore the image and self-esteem of female cancer patients are set to be launched in Almeria. Torrecardenas hospital will be the first in Andalucia to provide the programme.

Rural roads THE Partido Socialista (PSOE) have criticised the governing Partido Popular for reportedly refusing to pass motions on rural development in Almeria. Three motions were presented by the PSOE for road building and other infrastructure projects.

Ciudadanos ready to conquer votes CIUDADANOS have set their sights on Almeria for the upcoming round of local elections in 2019. The party emerged as the largest group in the Catalan parliament following December’s vote in the region. They are now reportedly preparing to mount an offensive against the Partido Popular (PP) on the back of this recent success. The PP are currently the largest party in Almeria, governing 52 municipalities and almost 75 per cent of the province’s population. Ciudadanos is seeking to challenge the PP for the centre-right vote in the province, according to reports. The party has established three new local groups in Albox, Vera and Mojacar bringing their total in Almeria to 17. The number of their affiliate groups also increased by more than 60 per cent from 370 to 594 in 2017. Marta Bosquet, a Ciudadanos deputy in the Andalucian parliament, told Spanish media that the party was now entrenched in Almeria’s cities. It is now

Picture credit: Ciudadanos

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ON MANOEUVRES: Andalucian Ciudadanos deputy Marta Bosquet (centre) said her party hopes to increase its vote share in Almeria. focused on increasing its share of the rural and elderly vote, she said. “Now we reach 80 per cent of the population. Our goal is to expand into

Almerian municipalities and to triple the number of local groups in 2018,” she said. The PP achieved more than 50 per

cent of the vote and 465 councillors in the 2011 municipal elections in Almeria. Four years later their share of the vote declined to around 41 per cent, with the Partido Socialista (PSOE) gaining the most councillors at 440 to the PP’s 432. Ciudadanos gained around 6 per cent of the vote in that election and took 20 council seats. Javier Aureliano Garcia, the PP’s general secretary in Almeria, said his party’s priority was to rebuild trust with those who voted for them but no longer do. “The polls will not influence us. The PP is the party that most resembles the people of Almeria and we will continue to prioritise the creation of jobs in the province,” he told Spanish media. Ciudadanos was founded in Barcelona in 2006 but it has since spread throughout Spain. Its economic platform is similar to that of the PP with it favouring pro-business policies, but its social outlook is generally more liberal in contrast to the PP’s conservatism.

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MOJACAR’S mayor, Rosmari Cano, along with the To u r i s m c o u n c i l l o r, E m manuel Aguero, recently spoke on Spectrum Radio’s daily magazine show to answer questions from local listeners and the presenter, Richard Shanley. Both regularly use this means of communication to announce municipality news as well as answer residents’ queries, maintaining a direct personal contact with the people of the town. This particular appearance answered questions and concerns about; future parking for the Pueblo Indalo, the new phase of the Paseo Maritimo and, the works in the Plaza de la Estrella.

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Radio stars

SPEAKING OUT: Mojacar’s mayor, Rosmari Cano and Tourism councillor Emmanuel Aguero, talk on Spectrum Radio.

not be on any government’s agenda. Spaces needed to be created to remember those who gave their lives fighting against the Franco regime, he added. “We Socialists want to remember those people who fought in the civil war and who were victims of Franco’s repression, as well as those who fought for Andalucian autonomy. “We still remember how the former Prime Minister Zapatero’s administration cut funding to allow these laws to be enacted,” he said. Provencio added the motions were needed following comments made by a PP politician during an Almeria City Council meeting on a debate over the renaming of the Calle Crucero Canarias. Miguel Angel Castellon drew comparisons between that street, named after a nationalist battleship, and the Calle Dolores Ibarruri named after a civil war communist leader.

Making history

ALMERIAN Partido Socialista (PSOE) members are set to submit motions compelling councils in the province to act on post-Franco historical memory laws. The laws state that the 1936 nationalist rebellion that led to the civil war and the fascist regime that followed should not be commemorated in any way. They were brought in after the dictator’s death in the 1970’s. The motions will be tabled at the plenary sessions of the province’s 103 municipal councils. The PSOE have argued that they are necessary because of the Partido Popular (PP) being uncomfortable with addressing the issue. The motions require authorities to take all necessary action to comply with the Law of State Historical Memory and the Law of Memory of Andalucia. Alfonso Provencio, the PSOE’s justice and democracy spokesperson, said the issue should

Both the mayor and Tourism councillor reported on the work done whilst attending the recent FITUR International Tourism Fair, which particularly focused on ways of enhancing winter tourism. They also gave out dates for upcoming events in Mojacar including the welcome return of the Tunas musical gathering in April (after a break last year) and a brand new event for the town, a Rockabilly Festival, in May. Mojacar ’s Spectrum Radio Station is located in the town’s Parque Comercial on the beach road and has the largest audience in the region among the Englishspeaking population.

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NEWS EXTRA Internship initiative MORE than 250 education masters students are set to intern in learning centres across Almeria. The training is part of an initiative between the University of Almeria and the Ministry of Education.

Only fair EIGHT Almerian officials have met to agree a strategy on tackling gender discrimination and violence. The coordination of policies at an Andalucian level and the National Pact against Gender Violence were among the items discussed.

Fruit farm ALMERIA produces the second highest amount of mandarins in Andalucia. More than 6,600 tons of the oranges come from the province, almost 15 per cent of the Andalucian total.

To continue THE works that will turn the old Police Headquarters building into a Central Municipal Library have been given a fourm ont h ext ensi on. The or i gi nal deadl i ne was January 11 but will now be April 30.

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NEWS Picture credit: Adra council

MEETING: Mayor Manuel Cortes (centre, left) with Liana Sandra Ardiles of the ministry (centre, right) at the talks in Madrid.

Flood risk plans to channel River Adra THE Spanish Environment ministry (MAPAMA) has drawn up plans to channel the Adra River under national plans to reduce the risk of floods. Manuel Cortes, the mayor of Adra, met with Liana Sandra Ardiles, the ministry’s water director, in Madrid to discuss the plans and co-ordinate the work between the authorities. Mayor Cortes said the meeting had been very positive. “We have analysed the exact point where the works will be carried out. City Hall and the Ministry will carry out this necessary and beneficial project for all the citizens of Adra because it will

give security and peace of mind,” he said. Plans for the river are one of 60 drawn up by the ministry in an almost €3 million analysis of flood risk across Spain. Cortes said the plans for Adra were an important step and both the town’s council and the government had made them a priority. “The channelling of the Adra River would stop the potential problems of flooding and vulnerability in the municipality,” he said. The river is one of the largest in Almeria in terms of water flow and is used to irrigate crops.

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History for sale Civil war documents go up online DOCUMENTS produced during the Civil War and the Franco regime that followed have gone up for sale online. The papers, numbering into the dozens, are a mix of official and in some cases confidential records from both the Republican government and the Nationalist rebels. Many of those for sale refer to the conflict in Almeria. Items include a document detailing the imprisonment of a Republican colonel by the Investigation Brigade for suspected contact with Franco’s forces. There are also papers related to Franco’s post-victory purge of Republican sympathisers. An official document details the ‘purification’ of an infantry colonel for his involvement in ‘the red rebellion.’ Publications on the ‘liberation’ of Almeria are also among items up for sale, as well as passports, ration coupons and postage stamps. The price of the documents are around €45 each, with smaller ones selling for less.

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Marble thief held

NEWS

NEWS EXTRA Guardia Civil

No more trees A PARTIDO SOCIALISTA councillor has criticised the Partido Popular authorities in Almeria for leaving tree pits empty on a road in the Plaza de Toros area. Old trees were reportedly never replaced.

Lost belfry

THEFT BLOCKED: The alleged thief hid the blocks under a rubber mat in the back of his vehicle. A MAN accused of stealing blocks of marble from the factory where he worked has been arrested by the Guardia Civil. The alleged thief, from Fines, was caught by police after someone called them claiming blocks of the stone had been taken from a factory in the Almanzora area. Police went to the factory where they were told that some

€21,000’s worth of marble had gone missing over the past few months. They said €3,000 in scrap metal had also been taken. Officers monitored the factory’s car park before it opened after being told the worker was arriving early to load the marble into his vehicle. He reportedly used a steel sling to move the blocks.

PERMITS have been submitted to the Bishopric of Almeria and local authorities to restore the steeple of Nijar’s church of Santa Maria de la Anunciacion. The steeple’s belfry was lost after the last restoration.

Cancer visits MORE than 25,680 tumour consultations were held in Almerian hospitals in 2017. Around 11,150 chemotherapy sessions and more than 19,220 radiotherapy sessions were also given to cancer patients.

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Council criticised over hospital delays THE Partido Socialista (PSOE) of Roquetas de Mar have accused the town’s mayor of “hurried and sloppy” work over his approval of the building of a new hospital. Manolo Garcia, a PSOE official, claimed Gabriel Amat signed off a file full of incomplete paperwork and missing documents. Garcia said his party supported the building of the hospital but the law should be followed in regard to administrative work. Garcia sits on a commission charged with overseeing the hospital’s construction. Files required by the body have not been presented by the Partido Popular mayor, he said. “This first draft of the paperwork has not listed the location of the hospital, how it will be financed, who owns the land and it does not contain the reports required by law. “The mayor needs to do what’s right. If he can’t then he should leave it to us,” he added.

Walk this way A NEW hiking trail near Nijar was broken in by 60 walkers on its opening day. The route, which starts in Las Negras and ends in C ala d e S an P e d ro , w a s w alk ed b y th e g ro u p of hikers who were accompanied by tour guides. The hike saw the walkers set off at 9.30am from the car park at the start of the route on Sunday morning. They then passed the beach on the way to the Rambla de Las Negras. F ro m th ere th e h ike rs walked to Aguillas while the guides explained points o f in te re s t a n d n atura l sites. Among these was a water spring near the Cala de San Pedro which can still be seen today, as well as

€1.68 billion

NEWS EXTRA €6m school investment Picture credit: Nijar council

NEWS

ALMOST €6,000,000 is set to be invested into the building and expansion of educational centres in HuercalOvera. The money comes as part of the Junta de Andalucia’s Education Infrastructure Plan for 2018-19.

War walk A WALK from the Plaza de la Marina, Malaga to Almeria City began yesterday (Wednesday) in memory of the Civil War massacre La Desbanda. It is set to arrive in the city on February 17.

WALK ON: Hikers took in the sites around Nijar on the new trail. fortifications in Nijar built to defend against attacks from pirates. The walkers rested and viewed the landscape and

The profits Spanish bank CaixaBank recorded last year, a 61 per cent increase on 2016.

pla nt life onc e they reached San Pedro. They the n he a de d ba c k to Las Negras completing the 11 kilometre trek. The route was organised by the Nijar ’s Centre for Informa tion to Wome n, part of the council’s wellbeing department.

Another route running through Las Presillas Bajas, Cortijo Los Berengueles and the volcanic area ar ound Maj ada has been organised for Sunday February 25. It runs for a total of seven kilometres and is set to see walkers take in the area around Nijar.

Road works THE AL-5402 road in Laujar de Andarax is set to be widened after Almerian authorities said they would invest €150,000 in the project. The works will benefit residents, drivers and tourists, an official said.

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NEWS Picture credit: Wikimedia

WIPE WARS: Aqualia said flushing wet wipes down the toilet were causing blockages in sewers.

Campaign launched to halt wet wipe blockages A WASTE company is raising awareness of the problems and costs brought on by flushing wet wipes down the toilet. Aqualia spend some €200,000 in Almeria on clearing the blockages caused by the wipes. Wet wipes and other disposable hygiene products caused jams, breaks and blockages in up to 72 of the pumps which channel sewage water to treatment plants, according to reports. Drainage workers had to clean the pumps more than 100 times to keep them working after they became clogged. Around one million kilos of waste were removed from Almerian sewage treat-

ment plants and the Costacabana outfall. More than half of that total was made up of wet wipes. Aqualia have launched the Stop Wipes campaign in response to last year’s figures on waste. The company estimates that the total economic cost of cleaning the sewers of such waste could reach €3 million a year in Almeria if trends continue. Aqualia added that the smell caused by blockages could also cause problems for residents in the province. Each wipe thrown in the toilet increases maintenance costs in sewers by between €4-6, according to the Spanish Water Supply Association.

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NATIONAL

A need for speed

A M OTOR I ST has been held in northern Spain after watching a 32-in c h flat screen television while driving on amphetamines. He was spotted in Santacara, Navarra, by a Local Police patrol car which was attending to an overturned lorry

on the NA-5330 road. As they directed traffic past the scene of the accident they saw that a 40-year-old man from nearby Melida had the enormous television switched on in his car.

And when they pulle d him ove r the y de c ide d to test him for drugs after noticing his fidgety appearance and dilated pupils. He tested positive for amphetamines, with more of the drug found on his person, before being fined €1,000 and six penalty points put on his licence.

CAUGHT: Driver watching TV in his car.

Hate crime culprit was Costa dealer MUSLIM murderer Darren Osborne used to be an underworld Fuengirola gangster, according to explosive allegations in the UK media. The paper claims that Osborne - who was last week jailed for 43 years after driving a van into Muslim worshippers - was a violent drug dealer in the Costa del Sol town in his youth. H o w e v e r, a f t e r m a k i n g “hundreds, if not thousands” of pounds each night - according to unnamed friends cited by the paper - Osborne fled following a row with a rival gang. He “allegedly spent his youth on the Costa Del Sol dealing ecstasy, speed and party drugs while meting

before becoming radiout violent attacks.” calised. Last week, Osborne was He is believed to have convicted of murdering visited numerous far right dad-of-six Makram Ali. He websites in later weeks, bewas also found guilty of atfore Osborne reportedly tempted murder. claimed that a “guy called The attack in June inDave” was behind the atjured a further 12 people. tack. The judge reportedly “ H e ’s l i k e said: “This was Dynamo, an ila terrorist atlusionist. He t a c k . Yo u i n can make himtended to kill.” self vanish, O s b o r n e perhaps. I drove a hired Latest news d o n ’t k n o w, ” van into a and he reportedly c r o w d o f w o rmore as it added. shippers at a happens Osborne was mosque in www.euroweeklynews.com

EWN online

Finsbury Park. Osborne, who is 48, unemployed and has four children, had allegedly watched a BBC documentary called the ‘three girls,’

deemed a serious risk to public safety 11 years ago after an attack which took place in Swindon, Wiltshire, according to British media.

NATIONAL

8 - 14 February 2018 / Costa de Almería

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Emissions ultimatum SPAIN is among nine EU countries that have been asked to present proposals on reducing emissions by the European Commission. The commission has told the nine member states to come up with solutions on fine particle emissions or face being taken to the bloc’s Court of Justice. Germany, France, Hungary, Italy, the Czech Republic, Romania, Britain and Slovakia are also among member states that have been told to act on diesel and other emissions. Environmental groups have also called on member states to take action on pollution and have said countries have violated EU pollution legislation since 2010, according to reports. Dr Aitana Calvo, of the Spanish Society of Medical Oncology (SEOM), said it was difficult to know how many people were affected by emissions. “The products of diesel engines, both gases and par-

WARNING: The European Commission has told nine countries to act on pollution. ticles, are carcinogenic. We know that they increase the risk of lung cancer and probably bladder cancer,” he told Spanish media. The Spanish environmental group Ecologists in Action said legislation that really tackled pollution was needed. “The legislation on carbon dioxide has been violated since 2010. Laws on particle emissions have also been broken since 2005,” a spokesper-

son for the group said. Maria Garcia Rodriguez, the Spanish government’s Environment Secretary, told a meeting in Brussels the Spanish government were encouraging the use of vehicles powered by alternative sources of energy. “The solution to the problem of air pollution affects many sectors and requires the participation of all authorities and society,” she said.

New pet protection laws after ‘years of waiting’ THE suffering of many animals should end with new protection laws that have come into effect in Spain from last Thursday. The docking of tails, cutting of ears, removal of teeth and claws, and sectioning of the vocal chords have all been banned. It will also be against the law to offer pets as prizes. Ratification of the European Convention on the protection of pets was proposed in Spain in 2007, two decades after Strasbourg approved the agreement in 1987. The National Association for the Defence of Animals has celebrated that, ‘after 10 years of waiting,’ Spain has finally ratified the agreement to protect pets. But it warns that now the autonomous communities must check their legislation

to ensure it complies with the law and adapt it where necessary. “The regional legislations are diverse,” said the association’s spokesman, Alberto Díez. Spain is now committed to promoting information programmes to promote the possession, breeding, training, trading and custody of pets. The agreement also discourages the gifting of companion animals to children under 16 without the express consent of their parents. It also regulates various aspects such as welfare and breeding of pets for commercial purposes and their use in advertising, shows, exhibitions or contests. Surgical interventions without medical purposes are also prohibited for ex-

ample the amputation (docking) of dog tails and any operation in which the animal may suffer pain must be performed under anaesthesia administered by a veterinarian. The agreement also states that a pet can only be put down by a veterinarian or ‘competent person,’ except to end the suffering of the animal in cases of emergency when the assistance of a professional cannot be obtained quickly. And it must be undertaken with the least possible physical and psychic suffering and with the application of a general anaesthesia followed by a procedure that causes death in a certain way. Drowning or other forms of suffocation, the use of poisons or drugs and electrocution are prohibited.

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NATIONAL

DISGRUNTLED: Some of the protesters in Sevilla.

Not a fair cop THOUSANDS of National Police and Guardia Civil officers turned up to a protest over police pay in Spain. The march, which took place in Sevilla, saw off-duty officers from Madrid, Barcelona, Alicante, Murcia and more demanding that Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy keep his promise to invest €1.5 billion into increasing wages over a three-year period. According to a spokesperson it appears that

“Zoido - the Interior Minister - and Hacienda” have “not reached an agreement” over how much money should be invested. “Or maybe they don’t want to,” he added. The spokesperson claims the government is now “only offering €600 million. It is an insult and shows a lack of respect,” he said. According to the group working towards better pay, Jusapol, there is “at least” an average of €600 difference between the different forces.

COMMUNITY

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Paws-Patas awards CONGRATULATIONS to the HPB holiday complex in Alfaix who have been awarded with Paws-Patas’ very first framed certificate for raising in excess of €250 for their animal neutering programme. One of their holiday visitors commented to staff in a Paws-Patas locale that the complex had a large community of feral cats and whilst she and many others on holiday enjoyed seeing and feeding the feral furry friends, others were either not so keen or allergic to them. Executive member and Paws-Patas champion trapping expert Matthew Pyle went to meet the management

team and suggested that he catch them and move them to a dedicated area near to the apartments but also far away enough in order to keep all of HPB’s Bond Holders happy. The plus side of having feral cats in a community is that they naturally keep the vermin statistics low. However, many people may not be aware that a feral female should be neutered before it is regularly fed. Surviving on scraps does not produce kittens, however, regular feeding encourages breeding. Suddenly nature has a reason and the cat will come into season. Matthew Pyle is pictured

Cabrera Lawn Bowling Club AGM THE Annual General Meeting of Cabrera Lawn Bowling Club will be held in The Clubhouse at Al Andalus Gardens, Turre on Thursday February 22 at 10am for 10.30am. First call will be at 10.30am and if no quorum the second call will be at 11am.

presenting the certificate to HPB’s Manager Thierry Szymaniak and Assistant Manager Tracey Jones. Matthew said they had been brilliant to work with and totally supported him in giving permission to carry out his trapping work. Word spread through the complex and a massive €600 has been raised. Mature cats that were neutered were released whilst several kittens have found forever homes and been transported to Holland. The Holiday Property Bonds (HPB) in Alfaix was built eight years ago and both Thierry and Tracey have worked together with the same staff for this duration - a very happy team of people. HPB is not a ‘time share’ association because you are investing in a bond that holds thousands of properties in it rather than buying into one specific location. For further information - visit their website: www.hpb.co.uk. Paws-Patas hopes that

OVERJOYED: Thierry Szymaniak with Matthew Pyle and Tracey Jones. news of this certificate scheme will spread and that more companies and establishments will support them in neutering stray cats and dogs in local areas with the aim of reducing the stray population. Raising at least €250 will guarantee you a framed certificate. For further information regarding this and details about volunteering and supporting Paws-Patas please visit their website: www.paws-patas.org.

Future fundraising events for the diary FUSION is playing at bar/ restaurant Solare in Turre on Saturday at 1.30pm. Chrissie Cremore from Paws-Patas will be there to tell you more about the charity and answer any questions. Celebrate the Chinese New Year - Year of The Dog - on Friday February 16 at The Roof Gardens in Parque Commercial in Mojacar.

Special lunch menu for €15 with live music from Andy and Nadine, Lady Ellen and Stuart Drury plus a fun quiz and raffle. Starts at 2pm. Tickets can be purchased from Paws-Patas locales in Mojacar, Turre and Buganvillas or at the restaurant. All proceeds to be donated towards The Quarantine Unit Fund. If you have any fundraising ideas, please contact: info@paws-patas.org.

8 - 14 February 2018 / Costa de Almería

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N ETHERLANDS

N ORWAY

Royal jaunt PRINCE WILLIAM and Kate Middleton visited Oslo to stay at the Royal Palace on the invitation of King Harald and Queen Sonja, visiting local beauty spots and meeting children, business people and soldiers during a whistlestop tour.

Far right slight THE national ski team is under fire for using the Tyr rune character on its official Winter Olympics knitted jumper, with the ancient symbol having been used by neo-Nazis and other white supremacist groups since the Second World War.

Kensington Palace/Twitter

Family affair INDIA has ruled that three-yearold Insiya Hemani, who was violently kidnapped from Amsterdam on her father Shehzad’s orders in 2016, must be returned to her mother Nadia by the end of March.

CROWN JEWELS: THE Duke and Duchess of Cambridge in Oslo.

Legal drugs

Loose moose

NORWAY appears set to become the second country in the world to decriminalise all drugs as it seeks to follow the successful model used in Portugal, where drug use is treated as a health rather than criminal issue.

AN Oslo metro line was closed for several hours after a moose plummeted from a bridge and landed in the middle of the track, with wildlife authorities forced to put the badly hurt animal down before removing it.

Sea sick DUTCH fisheries minister Carola Schouten has asked UK environment secretary Michael Gove to provide a clear proposal for postBrexit arrangements between the UK and European fishing communities, after a white paper promised by the end of 2017 failed to emerge.

G ERMANY

S WEDEN

Toxic tests

Stubbed out

CAR MAKER Volkswagen has suspended its head of external relations and sustainability, Thomas Steg, after it emerged that he was aware of tests during which monkeys were locked inside small chambers and forced to breathe diesel exhaust fumes.

Jobs boom UNEMPLOYMENT has reached a

EUROPEAN PRESS

new record low, falling to just 5.4 per cent of the population in January, its lowest level since the country reunified in 1990.

Killer caged A EUROPE-WIDE manhunt has led to a 20-year-old man being jailed for life after he was found guilty of butchering a nine-year-old boy before writing online that ‘killing the

neighbour ’s child didn’t feel too bad to be honest.’

Human traffic MORE than 200 police officers swooped on seven properties in the states of Berlin, Saxony, Bremen and North Rhine-Westphalia, with three men arrested in a crackdown against an international migrant trafficking ring.

F RANCE

B ELGIUM

Dolly gosh

Bling ring

THE country’s first sex doll brothel has opened its doors in Paris, with a trio of silicone beauties named Lily, Sofia and Kim for clients to choose from at a cost of €89 per hour.

THE trial of 19 jewel thieves linked to a spectacular €40 million diamond heist at Brussels Airport is underway, with the gang accused of posing as police officers armed with machine guns before making off with the loot.

Two for none ‘BUY ONE, GET ONE FREE’ food offers are set to be axed as the government tries to ensure better income for struggling farmers, with the move following a string of mini-riots as shoppers battled to grab cut price chocolate spread.

Boar war THE country’s wild boar population has exploded to such an extent that local lawmakers are demanding that the rampant swine are put on the contraceptive pill in what is being described as ‘an elegant and animal-friendly solution.’

Peak trouble

Eastern promise

MOUNTAINEER Elisabeth Revol, who was rescued from the 8,125 Nanga Parbat peak - dubbed ‘killer mountain’ has returned home suffering from frostbite after authorities were unable to save her Polish climbing partner.

START-UP airline Air Belgium has announced plans to fly from Brussels South Charleroi Airport to Hong Kong from March this year, although the route and schedule for the new route have yet to be confirmed.

Off the rails

Suspect handover

RAIL operator SNCF will have to fork out €170 million after losing an appeal against a 2015 ruling that found it guilty of discrimination against more than 800 Moroccan workers, most of who arrived in the post-colonial 1970’s.

THE government has extradited to France Mohamed Bakkali, a key witness in the deadly terror attack on Paris in 2015 which left 130 dead, with the 30-year-old suspected of renting a Brussels apartment where some of the attackers stayed.

Grave discovery ARCHAEOLOGISTS in in Nieuwegein claim they have found the earliest example of a baby’s grave in the country after unearthing the 6,000-yearold skeleton of a woman cradling the tiny infant, which was less than six months old when it died.

Unclean energy THE country has been ranked secondbottom of a new ranking to determine green energy use in Europe, with only Luxembourg found to use less renewable energy as a proportion of total consumption.

THE government is considering plans to ban smoking in public places including outdoor restaurants, train platforms, and playgrounds, health minister Annika Strandhäll has revealed, with a formal proposal expected in February.

Port fail

Founder dies

Grope attack

INGVAR KAMPRAD, who rose from humble beginnings to become one of the world’s richest men after founding the Ikea furniture empire - now with more than 350 stores in 29 countries - has died aged 91.

PHOTOGRAPHS of a teenager’s bloodied face have gone viral after Sophie Johansson, 19, was hit with a glass bottle in a Malmö nightclub when she tried to defend herself from an unknown man who fondled her buttocks.

CHINESE investors have scrapped plans to build the country’s deep water port in the western town of Lysekil amid fears over the project’s environmental impact and potential risk to national security.

D ENMARK

Cheesed off DAIRY farms have sparked outrage after illegally labelling cheese as ‘feta’ to countries outside the European Single Market, with the name protected as a Greek product, according to reports.

Illegal arms THE government has come under fire from the European Union, which has accused it of illegally buying tanks, vehicles and artillery, forcing suppliers to place orders with Danish firms in return for doing business with the military.

Stork shock BIRD enthusiasts have been left stunned after several white storks were spotted near the Danish border, with climate change blamed for the animals - which usually arrive in spring - migrating earlier.

Hair today A JUSTICE MINISTRY scheme to ban the wearing of burkas could be extended to include all ‘comprehensively masking items,’ meaning helmets, masks and false beards would become unlawful.

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RUSSIAN PRESS

LOCUST SWARMING: The insects may descend on green pitches during the summer.

A plague of locusts HORDES of locusts could cause a ‘global scandal’ during the World Cup in Russia, an agriculture official has said. Pyotr Chekmarev, head of the agriculture ministry’s crop department, warned the insects could attack green pitches. There are reportedly thousands of locusts currently living around Volgograd, the tournament’s host city.

Snow plane delays MORE than 20 flights travelling into and out of Moscow’s airports have been delayed following heavy snowfall. The storms, the heaviest since the start of winter, also caused the cancellation of some 11 flights while runways were cleared and aircraft de-iced.

Election monitoring RUSSIA is ready to accept observers from the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) for its March presidential election, the country’s foreign ministry has said. A total of 500 observers will visit Russia from Monday fol-

Leningrad siege remembered AROUND 30,000 people gathered to mark the day that Soviet troops broke the Nazi blockade of Leningrad at St Petersburg’s Piskaryovskoye Memorial Cemetery. The crowd, which included government officials and Second World War veterans, commemorated the 74th anniversary of the lifting of the siege which lasted 872 days.

lowing an agreement with Lavrov and OSCE chairperson Angelino Alfano.

Opposition leader arrested ALEXEI NAVALNY was arrested along with 15 others following a rally which called for a boycott of the country’s March presidential election. The prominent opposition leader was tackled by police while walking up the Tverskaya road in Moscow, according to reports. Police fought off supporters who attempted to pull him free and also raided his headquarters to reportedly stop a broadcast.

Gas pipeline approved A GAS pipeline worth billions of dollars and set to run into Europe has been approved by German authorities. Russian energy giant Gazprom’s 1,200 kilometre long Nord Stream 2 project has been criticised by the United States and Poland who said it undermined Europe’s energy security.

ANNIVERSARY: Crowds gathered at the Piskaryovskoye Memorial Cemetery to mark the end of the blockade.

FINANCE

business & legal

Bank raid too cheap BANCO POPULAR - bought by rival Santander for €1 as part of a rescue package - could have been worth more than €1 billion. A confidential report by consultancy firm Deloitte, now released into the public domain, valued the failed bank’s equity at €1.3 billion in a ‘best case’ scenario. Popular was the first bank to be wound down under new European directives blocking taxpayer bailouts, but the sale was contested by investors who lost an estimated €850 million.

Quote of the Week

STAT OF WEEK

€6.6 billion

FRENCH carmaker Groupe PSA has unveiled a cost-cutting plan designed to keep production of the Opel Corsa in Spain. The owner of Peugeot and Citröen bought Opel from US firm General Motors in 2016, but recently threatened to move production of the Corsa compact away from its Zaragoza plant due to spiralling overheads. Chief executive officer Carlos Tavares said that the site is too expensive compared with the company’s other Spanish factories in Madrid and Vigo.

‘

It comes after he earlier criticised spending at Opel’s Vauxhall plant in Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, which he claims is twice as costly as its French counterparts. But the company has now presented a five-year plan to workers’ unions which it hopes will save jobs at the factory, which currently employs 5,300 people and last year ran at 80 per cent of capacity. PSA said in a statement that it is “convinced that the employees will un-

» BUSINESS EXTRA

Financial firepower CAIXABANK made record €1.68 billion profits in 2017, an increase of 60.9 per cent on 2016, while total revenue increased 5.1 per cent to €8.22 billion, the Spanish bank has revealed.

Studio reveals new attraction restaurant and lounge inspired by hit TV series Mad Men plus themed Hunger Games and Divergent Series attractions. Visitors will also be able to take part in a series of virtual reality experiences. Lionsgate’s senior vice-president Jenefer Brown said: “We are thrilled to continue our global partnership with Parques Reunidos with the opening of our second Lionsgate Entertainment City location and our first branded leisure centre in Europe.”

Claim game SPANISH politicians have made 167 trips spending more than €2 million on travel and accommodation over the last 18 months, according to reports, with the lawmakers also paid an unspecified daily allowance for food and other expenses.

Stream on TELECOMS giant Telefonica and online entertainment provider Netflix are close to striking a deal allowing the Spanish firm to include the US company’s content as part of its Movistar+ television offering, which has 3.7 million subscribers.

Rivalry sparks downturn BRITISH telecommunications behemoth Vodafone has blamed competition in Spain for a drop in revenues. It comes after the world’s second-largest mobile operator announced a lag in organic service revenue over the last three months of 2017. Finance Director Nick Read told Spanish media: “It was a heavy promotional quarter, specifically Orange was pretty aggressive, and specifical-

ly targeting ourselves. “We clearly had to respond and there was a degree of churn that we experienced. All of those promotions are now out of the market place.” The firm’s main rivals in Spain are Orange and Telefonica, but despite the competitive market it still made €10.19 billion in group service revenue during the quarter.

A EURO WEEKLY NEWS 6 PAGE SPECIAL SECTION | WWW.EUROWEEKLYNEWS.COM/3.0.15/FINANCE

By Matt Ford

I’m not going to answer that.” Maria Elosegui Itxaso, the first Spanish female judge to be appointed to the European Court of Human Rights, when asked if she is in favour of gay marriage.

EWN

The profit made by Spanish bank Santander in 2017 - a 7 per cent year-on-year increase - after the lender said it earned “the loyalty of a further two million customers.”

Opel jobs fear eases

HUNGER GAMES: A new attraction for Madrid.

AMERICAN-CANADIAN entertainment firm Lionsgate is to open a new indoor entertainment complex in Madrid. The studio has joined forces with Spain’s Parques Reunidos to sign a licensing deal that will see the attraction open in 2020, after the inauguration of its flagship Entertainment City in New York next year. Lionsgate’s first indoor project in Europe will be located at the Estacion Principe Pio rail and metro station, and will include a

Costa de Almería

8 - 14 February 2018

derstand the need to secure the future of the site through the performance plan, which will pave the way for new investments and projects.” No specific details regarding the deal - which will need to be approved via a poll of workers - were given, but Spanish media report that it includes a freeze on salaries in 2018 to be followed by wage rises at half the rate of inflation, plus a 5 per cent reduction in overtime pay. Union sources said that they have agreed to the package in principle following 12 hours of talks.

Catalan jobs go downhill THE Spanish government has claimed that six out of every 10 jobs lost in the country since September were in Cataluña. Social Security Secretary Tomas Burgos said that during the same period more people found work in Madrid than Barcelona for the first time in five years, although he emphasised that the two cities are “the main locomotives” of employment in Spain. “This is a clear sign of the effect that the political situation in Cataluña is having on the economy,” he added.

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C LOSING P RICES F EBRUARY 5

PRICE(P) CHANGE(P) COMPANY Anglo American 1,672.70 24.70 Associated British Foods 2,723.00 0.00 Admiral Group 1,863.25 9.25 Ashtead Group 2,034.00 16.00 Antofagasta 914.90 13.50 Aviva 504.10 -10.30 AstraZeneca 4,919.00 -117.00 BAE Systems 591.80 0.60 Barclays 195.55 -0.01 British American Tobacco 4,759.75 -0.25 Barratt Developments 574.50 -0.10 Berkeley Group Holdings 3,976.00 78.00 British Land Co 658.20 0.16 BHP Billiton 1,550.50 13.30 Bunzl 2,047.50 -13.50 BP 489.45 6.84 Burberry Group 1,591.00 28.50 BT Group 232.68 -17.67 Coca-Cola HBC 2,346.00 0.00 Carnival 4,998.50 59.50 Centrica 130.53 1.93 Compass Group 1,479.75 14.75 Croda International 4,419.50 65.50 CRH 2,489.50 -52.50 DCC 7,455.00 110.00 Diageo 2,563.75 50.25 Direct Line Insurance Group 380.50 5.60 Evraz 349.15 -15.35 Experian 1,604.25 8.25 easyJet 1,653.00 0.00 Ferguson 5,380.00 80.00 Fresnillo 1,355.00 20.00 G4S 285.00 4.20 GKN 417.40 2.10 Glencore 382.75 7.17 GlaxoSmithKline 1,310.80 -4.06 Hargreaves Lansdown 1,811.50 -37.00 Halma 1,267.50 18.50 Hammerson 493.25 7.25 HSBC Holdings 747.60 -2.60 International Consoldtd Air Grp 657.90 28.30 InterContinental Hotels Group 4,726.00 70.00 3i Group 963.50 14.10 Imperial Brands 2,843.50 -14.50 Informa 696.30 10.30 Intertek Group 5,046.50 74.50 ITV 168.85 1.00 Just Eat 814.20 4.00 Johnson Matthey 3,386.00 50.00 Kingfisher 349.40 1.50

% CHG. NET VOL 1.50 23,738.00 0.00 21,715.62 0.50 5,243.10 0.79 10,357.77 1.50 9,087.63 -2.00 20,635.37 -2.32 61,867.59 0.10 18,895.98 -0.01 33,673.63 -0.01 110,645.15 -0.02 5,919.31 2.00 5,355.68 0.02 6,553.37 0.87 32,969.44 -0.66 6,940.35 1.40 99,980.24 1.82 6,579.66 -7.06 25,400.07 0.00 8,742.17 1.20 10,412.15 1.50 7,327.97 1.01 23,433.40 1.50 5,779.97 -2.07 21,601.79 1.50 6,583.02 2.00 62,532.99 1.49 5,106.75 -4.21 5,428.91 0.52 14,753.66 0.00 6,623.45 1.51 13,388.03 1.50 9,940.70 1.50 4,415.84 0.51 7,273.52 1.87 57,550.17 -0.31 64,929.29 -2.00 8,879.25 1.48 4,802.46 1.49 3,858.36 -0.35 150,025.81 4.49 13,246.78 1.50 8,956.14 1.49 9,255.95 -0.51 27,591.61 1.50 5,692.23 1.50 8,058.23 0.59 6,957.92 0.49 5,591.94 1.50 6,645.94 0.43 7,627.51

COMPANY

PRICE(P)

Land Securities Group 986.35 Legal & General Group 274.60 Lloyds Banking Group ORD 68.75 London Stock Exchange Grp 4,076.00 Micro Focus International 2,145.00 Mediclinic International 594.40 Marks & Spencer Group 301.45 Mondi 1,895.75 Morrison (Wm) Supermarkets 225.85 National Grid 803.25 NMC Health 3,305.00 Next 5,101.00 Old Mutual Group 242.20 Paddy Power Betfair 7,962.50 Prudential 1,885.50 Persimmon 2,505.50 Pearson 702.40 Reckitt Benckiser Group 7,016.00 Royal Bank of Scotland Group 286.60 Royal Dutch Shell 2,443.50 Royal Dutch Shell 2,472.00 RELX 1,566.00 Rio Tinto 3,921.00 Rolls-Royce Group 865.00 Randgold Resources 7,361.00 RSA Insurance Group 625.00 Rentokil Initial 300.95 Sainsbury (J) 249.10 Schroders 3,756.50 Sage Group (The) 749.30 Segro 590.70 Shire 3,313.50 Smurfit Kappa Group 2,570.00 Sky 1,078.00 Standard Life Aberdeen 430.35 Smith (DS) 506.45 Smiths Group 1,567.50 Scottish Mortgage Invstmnt Trst 452.90 Smith & Nephew 1,253.00 SSE 1,261.50 Standard Chartered 813.90 St James's Place 1,206.25 Severn Trent 1,938.50 Tesco 202.18 TUI AG 1,588.50 Taylor Wimpey 188.25 Unilever 4,059.25 United Utilities Group 744.20 Vodafone Group 219.48 WPP Group 1,293.00 Whitbread 3,985.50

CHANGE(P) -0.05 5.80 0.05 60.00 7.00 8.80 4.45 -0.25 3.35 11.85 49.00 75.00 8.20 -172.50 5.61 1.50 10.40 302.00 0.01 48.00 48.50 54.50 19.50 6.38 317.00 3.00 4.45 1.87 55.50 11.10 8.70 1.50 0.00 16.00 6.35 7.45 6.00 -3.10 -1.38 -0.02 4.27 17.75 28.50 -0.02 3.21 -0.95 20.25 11.00 -0.02 0.00 171.50

% CHG.

NET VOL

-0.01 2.16 0.07 1.49 0.33 1.50 1.50 -0.01 1.51 1.50 1.50 1.49 3.50 -2.12 0.30 0.06 1.50 4.50 0.00 2.00 2.00 3.61 0.50 0.74 4.50 0.48 1.50 0.75 1.50 1.50 1.49 0.05 0.00 1.51 1.50 1.49 0.38 -0.68 -0.11 0.00 0.52 1.49 1.49 -0.01 0.20 -0.50 0.50 1.50 -0.01 0.00 4.50

7,363.34 16,111.62 49,891.65 13,852.13 9,275.85 4,364.48 4,893.73 9,196.39 5,260.31 26,943.41 6,808.54 7,322.35 11,680.67 6,884.35 49,156.33 7,770.83 5,519.83 47,288.63 34,326.34 110,630.08 91,108.97 16,135.60 52,999.33 16,133.85 6,638.05 6,314.98 5,456.88 5,567.55 8,389.95 8,142.51 5,863.11 30,204.79 5,997.07 18,255.96 12,645.59 5,373.69 6,290.24 6,346.30 11,010.26 12,949.54 27,151.68 6,335.71 4,513.90 16,899.29 9,430.50 6,303.54 49,664.85 5,041.88 57,189.77 16,547.22 7,083.95

0,8822

1,13348 Units per €

US dollar ................................................................1.2446 Japan yen............................................................136.698 Switzerland franc...............................................1.15777 Denmark kroner ..............................................7.44298 Norway kroner .................................................9.62392 currenciesdirect.com/mojacar • Tel: +34 950 478 914 THE ABOVE TABLE USES THE CURRENT INTERBANK EXCHANGE RATES, WHICH AREN’T REPRESENTATIVE OF THE RATE WE OFFER

DOW JONES C LOSING P RICES F EBRUARY 5

COMPANY 3M AMERICAN EXPRESS APPLE BOEING CO CATERPILLAR CHEVRON CISCO SYSTEMS COCA-COLA DOWDUPONT EXXON MOBIL GENERAL ELECTRIC GOLDMAN SACHS HOME DEPOT IBM INTEL CORP J.P.MORGAN CHASE JOHNSON & JOHNSON MC DONALD'S CORP MERCK AND CO. NEW MICROSOFT NIKE PFIZER PROCTER AND GAMBLE TRAVELERS CIES UNITED TECHNOLOGIE UNITEDHEALTH GROUP VERIZON COMMS VISA WAL-MART STORES WALT DISNEY CO

PRICE 245,170 96,6800 160,500 348,910 157,490 118,58 40,930 46,73 70,89 84,53 15,6400 260,04 193,9700 159,03 46,1500 114,2800 137,6800 169,3800 58,56 91,780 67,22 36,6100 84,250 147,95 134,61 231,88 52,98 120,91 104,4800 108,7000

CHANGE% -1,12% -3,32% -4,34% -2,25% -2,93% -5,57% -1,85% -1,52% -3,55% -5,10% -2,37% -4,48% -2,97% -2,08% -3,15% -2,22% -1,67% -1,47% -2,17% -2,63% -0,64% -0,60% -1,86% -1,37% -2,68% -1,42% -2,43% -3,83% -0,99% -1,62%

CHANGE VOLUME(M) -2,770 146.371,27 -3,3200 83.494,80 -7,280 822.321,08 -8,030 208.598,40 -4,750 93.511,66 -6,99 226.101,47 -0,770 203.973,84 -0,72 199.527,05 -2,61 166.256,31 -4,54 353.247,53 -0,3800 135.371,25 -12,19 98.752,10 -5,9300 227.360,66 -3,37 147.691,50 -1,5000 217.900,80 -2,5900 392.710,65 -2,3400 371.250,21 -2,5200 135.680,99 -1,30 160.224,13 -2,480 711.670,93 -0,43 87.087,40 -0,2200 217.744,64 -1,600 212.571,03 -2,05 40.728,68 -3,71 107.950,68 -3,34 225.763,64 -1,32 216.495,93 -4,81 219.692,68 -1,0400 310.872,31 -1,7900 163.692,49 M - MILLION DOLLARS

NASDAQ C LOSING P RICES F EBRUARY 5

COMPANY

PRICE

CHANGE NET / %

Most Advanced VelocityShares Daily 2x VIX Short-Term ETN $ 7.50 USA Truck, Inc. $ 24.99 Johnson Outdoors Inc. $ 74.48 Viavi Solutions Inc. $ 10 athenahealth, Inc. $ 142.25 VelocityShares VIX Short-Term ETN $ 13.89 VelocityShares 3x Inverse Silver ETN $ 25.10 Mobile Mini, Inc. $ 42.40 ARMO BioSciences, Inc. $ 33.32 Alkermes plc $ 63.42 VelocityShares Daily 2x VIX Medium-Term ETN $ 9.57

1.61 ▲ 27.33% 4.91 ▲ 24.45% 13.46 ▲ 22.06% 1.33 ▲ 15.34% 17.34 ▲ 13.88% 1.63 ▲ 13.30% 2.67 ▲ 11.90% 4.20 ▲ 10.99% 3.23 ▲ 10.73% 5.09 ▲ 8.73% 0.73 ▲ 8.26%

Most Declined Impinj, Inc. Aceto Corporation YRC Worldwide, Inc. Varex Imaging Corporation Arcturus Therapeutics Ltd. OSI Systems, Inc. Overstock.com, Inc. Proteostasis Therapeutics, Inc. Menlo Therapeutics Inc. Xunlei Limited VelocityShares 3x Long Silver ETN

$ 12.16 $ 7.92 $ 12.34 $ 34.61 $ 5.93 $ 54.60 $ 56 $ 2.76 $ 30.56 $ 12.83 $ 10.62

10.70 ▼ 46.81% 2.99 ▼ 27.41% 3.47 ▼ 21.95% 8.82 ▼ 20.31% 1.38 ▼ 18.88% 12 ▼ 18.02% 10.65 ▼ 15.98% 0.44 ▼ 13.75% 4.44 ▼ 12.69% 1.83 ▼ 12.48% 1.35 ▼ 11.28%

E W N 8 - 14 February 2018 / Costa de Almería

www.euroweeklynews.com

FINANCE, BUSINESS & LEGAL

Spain’s burning desire THE Spanish government has been snubbed by its own energy regulator. It comes in the wake of a recent announcement that the state intends to support policies encouraging utility firms to continue the use of highlypolluting coal-fired power plants. But the Comision Nacional de Mercados y la Competencia (CNMC) has now said that the country could lose a “significant part of the existing coal capacity” without threatening energy security. The government last November issued a Royal Decree allowing it to prevent a company from closing down a coal power plant should the move be deemed a risk for the national energy supply, incompatible with energy planning, or detrimental for ‘any other economic reason.’ This was widely seen as a response to Basque Country-based utility Iberdrola’s announcement that it intends to axe its remaining two coal facilities. Environmental groups panned the decree, claiming that it contravenes both Spanish and European Union (EU) law, and the CNMC has agreed, releasing a statement that said: “The Spanish electricity system will not have problems of security of supply in the medium nor the long term. “(Even) in the worst scenario with demand peaking at 46,000 MW and low generation, a significant part of the existing coal capacity could be safely discarded.” The report also said that the decree could break European rules and prevent fair competition. Spain produces around 30 per cent more energy than it needs, whereas the industry standard safety margin is 10-15 per cent. The country has a long history of mining and burning coal, and political support for the industry within the conservative govern-

Photo credit Wikimedia

COAL POWER BILL SLAPPED DOWN

SET FOR CLOSURE: The Iberdrola plant at Velilla, Palencia.

ment is strong. Endesa - the country’s largest electric company - recently revealed that it intends to sink €400 million into three of its existing coal plants to ensure they remain operational beyond 2030 despite new EU air pollution laws taking effect in 2021. The CNMC’s decision is not legally binding, but the main opposition political parties have also rallied against the decree. Electrical firms not in favour have threatened legal action if the government pushes it through, and EU lawmakers from the Climate Action and Energy Commission have launched a probe.

Rich getting richer, report says

The haves and have nots THE Spanish economy is on the up, growing by an average of 3.3 per cent from 2015 to 2017. But a new report by Oxfam Intermon - a Spanish offshoot of international poverty-relief charity Oxfam, shows that financial inequality is greater than ever. Entitled ‘99: An economy for the 99 per cent,’ the study demonstrates how economic growth since the financial crisis of 20072008, has benefited the rich, with 1 per cent of the population now owning a quarter of the country’s wealth. According to the data, Spain is ranked t h i r d a m o n g E u ro p ea n Union nations where inequality has grown since the crippling economic dow n t u r n i n t h e w a k e o f th e global banking catastrophe. The richest three people in Spain own a combined fortune equivalent to the wealth of the poorest 30 per cent of the population, around 14.2 million.

DESPERATE TIMES: A homeless woman begging in Barcelona. While executive pay soars, with 7,000 new millionaires created in Spain during 2017, 10.2 million people remain below the poverty line. An average of 16,347 people re-

quired the services of care centres for the homeless in 2016, with the figure having increased by 20.5 per cent since 2014. Wages have virtually stagnated since 2009, increasing by around

0.6 per cent nationally, while inflation remains above 1 per cent. Investment in education has fallen by 30 per cent over the same period, with families forced to spend 37.2 per cent m or e t o cover t he costs for their children. Youth unemployment fell from a record 55 per cent in 2013 to 37 per cent at the start of 2018, but the average annual salary for under-25s in Spain is now 33 per cent lower than in 2008. And the number of part-time contracts issued to young workers ha s grown at a r at e t hr ee t i m es faster than for other age brackets. Se ven out of ever y 10 peopl e who receive the lowest wages are women, with only 34.5 per cent of the highest earners in Spain female. A survey revealed that 68 per cent of the population believe that no matter how hard they work, it will be ‘difficult or impossible’ for them to save more money.

Police slam government cop out over pay promise THOUSANDS of police officers took to the streets to protest over their wages. T h e r a l l y, w h i c h t o o k place in Andalucian capital Sevilla, saw off-duty Guardia Civil National Police officers from cities including Madrid, Barcelona, Alicante, and Murcia demand that Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy keeps his promise to invest €1.5 billion into increasing salaries over a three-year period. But according to an official “Interior Minister Zoido and the tax agency” have “still not reached an agreement” over how much money should be spent. “Or maybe they don’t want to,” he added, before claiming that the government is now “only offering €600 million. “It is an insult and shows a lack of respect.”

Rail revamp announced STATE-OWNED train company Renfe has announced plans to convert six more disused trains into high speed AVE units. The news follows an earlier commitment to transform 13 ‘hotel trains’ at a cost of €107 million, with the total now to exceed €151 million. Once the conversion by Spanish manufacturer Talgo is complete, the trains will be able to travel at 330 kilometres per hour and transport 405 passengers each. This is the first phase of a scheme to spend €1.5 billion on revitalising the firm’s fleet over the coming years, with the purchase of new trains and carriages to follow the current round of refurbishments.

FINANCE, BUSINESS & LEGAL

8 - 14 February 2018 / Costa de Almería

www.euroweeklynews.com

NO BEAUTIFUL DAY FOR U2 FANS

BOOTY-FUL DAY: Tickets for Madrid gigs sold out within minutes.

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THE Spanish government is probing how tickets for two upcoming U2 concerts sold out ‘almost instantly.’ It comes after the Irish rockers announced a second September date in Madrid when those for the first gig ran out within minutes of going on sale. And Minister of Culture Inigo Mendez de Vigo has ordered detectives to investigate after smelling a rat. “It is not normal that a few minutes after tickets go on sale over the internet, there are none left,” he told Spanish media. He added that fans are being forced to pay over the odds with tickets being resold online “at a much higher price.” The band play the 16,000-seat WiZink Centre on September 20 and 21, and entrances are already being sold on Spanish classified websites for up to €500 after originally being

Photo credit Twitter

Ticket probe launched

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priced at €35-€195. A new government commission was last year set up to investigate issues with concert tickets, with lawmakers suspecting that software bots are being used to sweep up tickets en masse. Some adverts list pens or other items at inflated prices with offers of two ‘free’ tickets for one of the shows in Madrid.

Kicking off in the United States in May, the European leg of the star’ eXPERIENCE + iNNOCENCE world tour begins on August 31 and will see Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton, and Larry Mullen Jr hit the stage in Germany (Cologne and Hamburg), France (Paris), Portugal (Lisbon), Italy (Milan), Denmark (Copenhagen), the Netherlands (Amsterdam), the UK

(Manchester and London) and Ireland as well as Spain. The indoor shows follow last year’s record-breaking Joshua Tree stadium tour, which saw the quartet perform 51 concerts across 16 countries and rake in an estimated €250 million with more than two million tickets sold. U2 recently won a US court battle after Paul Rose - a British songwriter living in New York accused the band of lifting a 13second guitar riff from their 1991 hit The Fly from his 1989 instrumental Nae Slappin’. Rose had demanded €4 million compensation, but the judge presiding over the case said that the sequence did not form a “sufficiently substantial” portion of his song to be legally protectable, and even if it did a reasonable jury would be unable to say whether the group copied it or not.

EWN

Takeover sees bank post loss STATE-OWNED Spanish lender Bankia is back in the red. The bank lost money during the fourth quarter of 2017 for the first time in three years, and blamed one-off ‘restructuring costs’ after it purchased rival Banco Mare Nostrum (BMN). The purchase came as the company tried to boost profits after a fast recovery from its €22.4 billion rescue in 2012, and agreed to buy BMN in June, creating Spain’s fourthlargest bank. At the time Bankia said that it expected restructuring to set it back around €300 million, with most of the cash spent on closing branches and paying off redundant staff. But it has now revealed that the final total was €312 million, with the bank making a €235 million loss in the last three months of 2017.

Losing mental capacity whilst living abroad by Stone King Charlotte Macdonald Contact me at international@stoneking.co.uk

MANY UK expatriates living in Spain own properties in the UK and have pensions and investments in the UK. They rely on their UK assets to maintain their lifestyles (and those of their families) in Spain. If they can no longer manage their affairs in the UK due to a loss of mental capacity, it can cause many difficulties.

“

You can choose a person or people, who you trust, to act for you when you are no longer able.

The best way to avoid the legal and practical difficulties that can occur with the loss of mental capacity is to plan for it in advance by drawing up a document called a ‘Lasting Power of Attorney’ (‘LPA’).

An LPA must be made while you have full mental capacity.

What is an LPA? An LPA is a legal document that enables you to appoint one or more attor-

neys to act for you when you are no longer able to act for yourself. Your attorney can be a professional,

such as a solicitor or a family member or friend. There are two types of LPA: ‘Health and Welfare’ or ‘Property and Financial Affairs’ An LPA must be made while you have full mental capacity. It is therefore important to make one while you are in good health. Why should you get an LPA? You can choose a person or people, who you trust, to act for you when you are no longer able. If you lose your mental capacity and do not have an LPA, then your family (or the authorities) will have no choice but to make an application to the Court of Protection to appoint a ‘deputy’ to look after your affairs, which can be time consuming and costly. Will my LPA be recognised in Spain? Unfortunately there is no international type of LPA which is guaranteed to work in both the UK and Spain. The advice we give to our clients at Stone King, is that if you have assets in both Spain and the UK, your only safe option is to appoint attorneys in both jurisdictions.

If you would like to discuss LPAs contact Charlotte Macdonald or Dan Harris at Stone King LLP by email international@stoneking.co.uk or by telephone on +44 (0)1225 337599.

FEATURE

8 - 14 February 2018 / Costa de Almería

www.euroweeklynews.com

Sweet and satisfying revenge LEAPY LEE SAYS IT OTHERS THINK IT I TRUST you have all been poised on the edges of your seats, desperate to discover the outcome of last week’s saga of ‘stag party shenanigans’? For the uninitiated, this involved our tale of the somewhat extreme party frolic, which resulted in the unfortunate groom, not only getting married, but subsequently leaving for his honeymoon wearing a plaster cast prepared by hospital colleagues. Our unsuspecting hero had been convinced that, while firmly under the influence, he had actually broken his arm. Naturally, on his return, when the conspiracy was finally revealed, he had not exactly been a happy budgie! As time passed however, all appeared to have been forgiven and forgotten. So, if you’re all sitting comfortably, I’ll begin. We now move forward some six months, where we find his friend, the main instigator of the ‘cast’ incident, somewhat tentatively looking forward to his own betrothal! As the date became closer, he naturally became increasingly nervous, racked with trepidation as to what form of devious revenge his former ‘victim’ was almost certainly concocting. By the time he arrived at his own stag night, he was practically a mental basket case - and still nothing untoward had occurred. To his amazement - and

SWEET REVENGE: What happens when the stag party prank tables are turned? relief - the stag night also brought no unpleasant surprises and he duly retired, more than a touch relieved, that his friend appeared to be seeking no retribution for his somewhat ill-conceived party joke of yore. His subsequent marriage day also passed without incident, but it was not until he and his new bride actually relaxed on the plane bearing them to Mauritius, that he truly felt he was in the clear. He decided to put all his fears behind him and enjoy his honeymoon to

the full; albeit perhaps remaining a little wary of anything they may be planning on his return. Arriving at their luxurious hotel, they were duly shown to the honeymoon suite and proceeded to enjoy the beginning of their special holiday. That night the newlyweds retired early. Sharing together all the dreams and intimate exchanges of the recently betrothed, they finally drifted off into happy contented slumber. The next morning they awoke bright and early. After giving his bride a very special ‘wake up call,’ the new groom decided to ask for breakfast to be served in the room. Reaching for the phone he dialled room service. ‘Hello’ he enquired pleasantly. ‘Could you please send us up breakfast and a pot of tea for two’? He then froze. ‘You’d better make that three,’ came a barely disguised triumphant voice from under the bed! Yep. You’ve guessed it. Beneath the marital bed is where his ‘pre-plastered’ friend had spent the whole of the previous night. All their most intimate thoughts and moments of passion had been shared with his unforgiving, but now euphoric, stag party victim! Doesn’t that just warm the very cockles? Sweet and utterly satisfying revenge. Back to normal next week. Keep the faith Love Leapy columnists@euroweeklynews.com

leapylee2002@gmail.com

Leapy Lee’s opinions are his own and are not necessarily representative of those of the publishers, advertisers or sponsors.

TECH FOR THE TIMID FORGET bringing back a sparkly plastic gondola or a carnival mask from Venice. On a recent holiday I discovered that today’s most popular Venetian souvenirs are handmade wooden selfie sticks. Taking photos is no longer part of the holiday - it IS the holiday. And given that most people never delete anything, right now captive audiences back home are being force-fed squillions of snaps of happy couples shooting themselves in St Mark’s Square. Going, going gone are the traditional photo albums we all used to keep when visitors needed to be bored. Now our whole lives are captured on our phones and cameras. The problem for many of us is that’s where they stay. Come your own personal digital apocalypse (pressing the delete button when you shouldn’t, losing your phone, data corruption), and it’s goodbye life. Friends also lost their entire collection because their pictures were in some free photo album software with a lifespan barely longer than a

The face that launched a thousand pix? With the world’s store of photos growing by a 10th each year, where should we put them all, snaps Terence Kennedy. geriatric fruit-fly’s, a program which is now long-gone to the great Recycle Bin. So always save your photos in an industry-standard format which might just last as long as we do. The JPEG (or JPG) format is now ubiquitous, and serious photographers opt increasingly for the high-quality but huge RAW format. (And here’s a tip if you have old photos in an obsolete format: download the all-purpose free image reader IrfanView which might help). Like anything else digital, photos should be subject to ‘the rule of threes’: the original copy, a backup copy on a different device, and a third copy off-site. Keeping your photos on an everbigger SD card in your camera is as unwise as keeping all your wealth in

PHOTOGRAPHY: Point, shoot, save and save. a big box under the bed (as I recall a former Sultan of Oman did with his country’s assets, until mice discovered a fondness for shredding banknotes).

After every photo-session copy your pics to a computer, and ideally also to an external storage medium you keep somewhere else, like an external hard drive or flash stick. Cloud storage sites are growing in popularity, with many offering free initial storage as an incentive, but be prepared for some purse pain if you’re really prolific. Most modern phones will actually back up your photos automatically ‘to the cloud.’ So at least you will still have your digital memories if your phone undergoes an unauthorised change of ownership. Oh and by the way, did anyone ever tell you that St Mark’s Square might occasionally be a little more beautiful when photographed without your undoubtedly-stunning mug obscuring it?

Photo-finish THIS year an estimated 1.2 trillion photos will be saved to digital storage media. Increasingly, they will be shunted into ‘the cloud.’ Plenty of well-known cloud services are vying for our custom, such as Apple iCloud, Google Photos, Amazon’s Prime Photos and Dropbox. One good reason for using them is that they all share an important feature: automatic backups. What you may need to know however is that some sites (notably Facebook) will ‘downsize’ the resolution of your photos to save space. That’s not important for happy snaps, but it could be catastrophic for serious or prof essional photographers if that’s your sole repository. However you choose to save, remember one important thing: it’s not illegal to zap the less-than-brilliant ones before you do your backup. It isn’t, really.

8 - 14 February 2018 / Costa de Almería

www.euroweeklynews.com

FEATURE

Photo credit Deer Jet

We are all jet setters now Nick Horne The Rich Pick Freelance correspondent, London, England

JET SETTER, a tag that has been attached to the very rich in the popular imagination since the 1950’s. There are however gradations or levels of jet setter. There are those who turn left rather than right as they board an aircraft. Others who travel low cost and there is no option of right or left, we run for a spare seat. Some pilot their own aircraft, and several famous personalities have a pilot’s licence, Tom Cruise, Carol Vorderman, Sir David Jason, Harrison Ford and Angelina Jolie among many others, including several heads of state, who pilot themselves in their own aircraft. While there are some jet setters whose choice is to charter a smaller jet with pilots included, perhaps one with eight passenger seats, who can then kick back and enjoy a flight bypassing all of the trials and tribulations of the hub airports. Instead of fighting your way through the traffic to get to the airport on time, allow two hours, then through check-in and security allow another two hours.

HEIGHT OF LUXURY: The Dream Jet offers seven-star service. Shopping? Another hour or more if the check-in and security was not as bad as usual. Followed by a crazed and frantic sprint to the gate, then wait because the aircraft is late, lost or being cleaned. Finally board and sit in a tight space next to a loved one or a vast and overweight fellow traveller who is intruding into your space, behind a person who on take-off promptly knocks your teeth out as they put their seat back.

Alternatively, with a private jet you walk from the car park to the lobby of the General Aviation Terminal, through security, immigration and check in and so to the apron and onto your aircraft, expending perhaps as much as five minutes of your very valuable time. The ambience, tone, welcome and service on board is worlds away from the typical hub airport or commercial jet. Even if you own your own aircraft there are

good reasons to charter one. Perhaps your aircraft is not fit for the trip you anticipate? Range and/or capacity. Perhaps you are travelling with family as you usually do, though on this occasion friends and their close family are travelling with you too. So you need a bigger and more capable aircraft to carry those closest to you all at once. Now your choices narrow. At the very tip of the peak there are a very select group of wide-bodied aircraft and among them is an aircraft operated by Deer Jet. Their VVIP Boeing 787 Dream Jet is capable of flying non-stop for more than 18 hours or 16,000-kilometres, that’s equivalent to Madrid to Perth, Australia non-stop in the lap of luxury. Even the cabin air pressure is better than commercial passenger jets, while the Dream Jet team of stewards and butlers provide sevenstar service throughout the flight. The Dream Jet’s interiors, style and colour are frequently changed to reflect the different feelings of the variety of customers the Dream Jet serves. The cost of the Dream Jet bespoke flight is from just €63,000 per hour.

8 - 14 February 2018 / Costa de Almería

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FEATURE

From Russia with lots of love, care and authenticity! Ric Polansky Ric Polansky moved to Mojacar in 1969 as a pioneer developer. He reads extensively and has travelled in South America panning gold and looking for El Dorado.

IT is the best new thing to happen to Mojacar since the foreigners invaded in the 60’s. Russians have created a Spanish museum that shows you our past in vivid reality. A place that shouldn’t be missed by long-time residents or visiting tourist. A reality sandwich you will enjoy eating and the whole experience is authentic. It is called ‘Casa de Canana.’ If you park in the lower area near the school and pool and come up the new lift an easy stroll just 50 metres further to the house. For me it was a fairy tale trip back into history, those olden days so long forgotten and most certainly not wanted to be relived. All set up in a living working house that best illustrates how it was then. Every glance you take is authentic and you begin to marvel at the tenacity of two Russians perfectly recreating Spanish culture in a captive

setting. The only museum I have witnessed on par with Museo Casa Canana was the original house of Garcia Lorca in Fuente Vaqueros, Granada. But this one is right here in Mojacar village and totally accessible. Antique decorator Frederico Moldenhauer assisted tremendously the Russians tell me. “He helped us acquire special pieces to keep the originality.” That, they have accomplished to the fullest. Even special books about Mojacar’s history can be viewed; old ones impossible to obtain these days. Even mine is naturally in attendance. These are special Russians. Yulia Damye speaks Spanish (and understands English) and Sergey Kotanov speaks good English and understands Spanish. A damn good team. You can find them in Calle Esteve 6 except Thursdays. It’s a place once visited you will want to make sure your friends go also. There simply is so much to see. I hope they can install a small bar where one can drink and enjoy some of their hard garnered local knowledge. Two good folk from distant

AUTHENTIC: The museum is a trip back in time. Moscow promoting Spain. Who would ever have guessed that 50 years ago? This is a project that needs our local support.

They have done the impossible all on their own without government intervention or finance. Please visit it and tell your Spanish friends. Maybe word will leak through to our own town hall to help these new foreigners embrace and protect their own culture.

Advertising Feature AS we sit in the beautiful Spanish sunshine, whatever the time of year, sipping our pina colada or our cafe con leche and reading the latest liquidation scandal in the UK, are we immune to the effects of such a disastrous commercial collapse? Unfortunately, we are not! Reading the latest news, there may be some readers today who are worried about their Carillion pensions in particular. Well, by law, in the UK, pension shortfalls are protected but, as we saw with the recent BHS debacle, it can take many months to sort out and in that time payments could be delayed, reduced or worse still stopped. It brings us back to the ongoing problem of slow or reduced payments when our community management fee statements are sent out to expatriates, and those holiday homeowners residing in the UK in particular, whose income may be under threat from the travails of the UK economy, including the latest business collapses. As we well know, reduced or de-

Why should the failure of Carillion affect me? layed payments back to our communities can have a long-term effect on the well running and beautification of our Spanish homes. On a wider note I keep asking myself: why does it keep happening? It seems always to point to the directors and how they run their companies, or perhaps how the rules and regulations governing corporate responsibility seem to be ignored, flouted or deliberately mismanaged. In the case of Carillion, my own firm’s (LPL) Corporate Collections Team saw, at least two years ago, signs that Carillion were heading into cash flow difficulties, brought about by contract arguments in the Middle East, impossibly low contract tenders for private and gov-

COLLAPSE OF CARILLION: Warning signs were there. ernment projects in the UK and worse still, lax oversight by those in government when looking at the public contracts Carillion were al-

ready involved in. Hundreds of our own clients instructing LPL to collect unpaid invoices from Carillion should have

given many the first warning signs that they were in trouble. The Stock Market knew two years ago and was actually betting shares on Carillion’s imminent failure and made a small fortune doing so. My firm warned many that their slow payments (Payment Lagging) were a sure sign of difficulties ahead. The debate lingers on as to how our laws can make directors more responsible for their actions, particularly how pension funds are managed. Whilst there will certainly be new legislation, this will not be on the Statute books for at least another three years. It is a sad fact that in an economy that relies upon credit, good fiduciary responsibility and at least a measure of prompt payment, all we can do is continue to be vigilant in the way we all run our businesses and here in Spain, our own communities. From our own point of view, if management fees are late, don’t ignore the warning signs, act quickly before some else does. Enjoy your drink!

For more information, visit www.lplgroup.com or speak with the head of Spanish operations, Greg Bryan, who is based in Spain and can be contacted on +34 689 408 412. Tel: UK +44 (0) 208 551 4019.

E W N 8 - 14 February 2018 / Costa de Almería

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TV COUCH CRITIC INSIDE NO 9 (BBC2, Tuesdays, 10pm) is in its fourth series and arguably the best yet. Written by Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton of League Of Gentlemen fame, it’s a dark comedy anthology coming in self-contained 30-minute episodes. I didn’t take to the League Of Gentlemen so it was with much apprehension I gave No 9 a chance, I’m so glad I did. Stand out episodes so far were Bernie Clifton’s Dressing Room (episode two) about a lost show business friendship between two estranged comedy partners reunited for one last show. Bittersweet throughout, I have to admit the finale brought a tear to my eye. To Have and To Hold (episode four) was the darkest of the lot. The basic story of an unhappy middle-aged couple with a brittle relationship was funny in itself, but the story had hidden depths to explore which came to its dark conclusion at the end. I leave the details out so that those who haven’t enjoyed this brilliant series can catch up. For those who enjoy this type of drama, you won’t regret it. Piers Morgan’s interview with Donald Trump (ITV, Sunday, 11pm) was hardly what you would call insightful. Morgan’s soft-soaping of the president made for quite bland viewing. Nuggets such as Trump admitting he wasn’t a

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FEATURE

Comedy is a cracker but Piers and the Donald avoid real issues Photo credit BBC

INSIDE NO 9: Dark but hilarious. feminist and his continuing scepticism over climate change was hardly headline news, and the pally interview style (Piers may as well have sat on Trump’s knee) had me bored fairly quickly. I did stay to the end though. Even though the interview was heavily advertised by ITV, it drew nearly a million less viewers than the BBC news at the same time. Even the previously publicised possibility of Trump apologising for re-tweeting far right

group Britain First stopped short of an actual apology. His claims that he didn’t realise what Britain First stood for did speak volumes however about his Twitter vetting procedure. Piers Morgan’s abrasive and often aggressive style on Good Morning Britain (ITV, mornings) would have at least been entertaining. Hidden gem of the week was Rhod Gilbert: Stand Up To Shyness (BBC2, Tuesday, 10pm) which was an exploration of social anxiety of

which, surprisingly, Rhod has had since childhood. He described his own trials and anxieties and spoke to fellow comedian Greg Davies, a number of scientists and took part in activities meant to help his condition. The finale was his mentoring of three fellow sufferers from South Wales in a challenge to perform stand up in front of a live audience. That they succeeded in putting two fingers up to shyness was a fitting climax and induced in me one of those ‘feel good’ moments. A short plea for the BBC to bring back Miriam Margolyes’, Miriam’s Big American Adventure, (BBC1, Wednesdays, 10pm). Her final episode into Middle America to seek out alternative views to her own delivered in bucket loads. From believers in creationism, the local altright group, to a visit to ‘the most racist town in America’, she encountered her opposites. The Ku Klux Klan refused to meet her but the pastor, who wouldn’t meet face-to-face and instead relayed questions to her via a headset because she was Jewish, was stomach churning. The first female black sheriff in Texas was a positive end to the series. More please!

‘Timid’ Theresa May needs to get her act together … fast Nora Johnson

Breaking Views Nora is the author of popular psychological suspense and crime thrillers and a freelance journalist. To comment on any of the issues raised in her column, go to www.euroweeklynews.com/3.0.15/nora-johnson

AS divisions within the Conservative Party deepen and plots thicken, the prospect of a leadership challenge increases daily for Theresa May. But who could take over? The one thing that the Brexit negotiations have demonstrated is that we simply don’t have the calibre of politician around who can deal efficiently and effectively with this vital, complex task. They’re all well-suited to dealing with matters of little consequence, but when it comes to major issues, they’re way out of their league. As for Theresa May, it’s not

so much that she was a ‘remainer’ (or was she just on the bandwagon?), it’s that she seems over-promoted. She’s been given plenty of time to show leadership skills. She excels in hand-wringing, feet-dragging (in lovely kitten heels) and kowtowing to the EU. But it seems her heart just isn’t in Brexit. This isn’t a play or a game though. This is about the future of the country - a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity - and it mustn’t be let down! Which reminds me of something I read in The New York Times that succinctly sums it all up: ‘Many Britons see their country as a brave galleon, banners waving, cannons firing, trumpets blaring. That is how the country’s voluble foreign secretary, Boris Johnson, likes to describe it. But Britain is now

but a modest-size ship on the global ocean. Having voted to leave the European Union, it is unmoored, heading to nowhere, while on deck, fire has broken out and the captain - poor Theresa May - is lashed to the mast, without the authority to decide whether to turn to port or to starboard, let alone do what one imagines she knows would be best, which is to turn around and head back to shore.’ According to a recent poll, ‘timid’ Theresa May’s lost the support of three in 10 voters who supported her in the general election, but people aren’t enthused by any of her potential rivals either. So she gets to carry on because the alternatives are even worse. Great endorsement... Nora Johnson’s

psychological crime thrillers ‘The Girl in the Red Dress,’ ‘No Way Back,’ ‘Landscape of Lies,’ ‘Retribution,’ ‘Soul Stealer,’ ‘The De Clerambault Code’ (www.nora-johnson.net) available from Amazon in paperback/eBook (€0.99; £0.99) and iBookstore. All profits to Costa del Sol Cudeca cancer charity. columnists@euroweeklynews.com

UNMOORED: Can Theresa May steer Britain back to preBrexit sanity?

8 - 14 February 2018 / Costa de Almería

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OPINION & COMMENT

YOUR PAPER - YOUR VOICE - YOUR OPINION Letters should be emailed to yoursay@euroweeklynews.com or make your comments on our website: www.euroweeklynews.com

Views expressed and opinions given are not necessarily those of the EWN publishers. No responsibility is accepted for accuracy of information, errors, omissions or statements.

How stupid to criticise Spain when Brits are to blame THE SUNDAY TIMES used to be a serious newspaper with some of the best journalists and photographers. It has been dumbing down ever since Murdoch took over and pointless articles such as this demonstrate how low it has sunk. It is now just another tabloid. The Spanish know how to live and enjoy life taking advantage of the favourable climate. Even though there are too many bars, especially in Madrid, drinking is part of the Spanish culture, but I have never seen the binge drinking or people rolling about outside pubs fighting each other or peeing in the streets like you see in the UK. And the Brits are champions when it comes to swearing. I find the Spanish far more cultured and, despite the image of the passionate, explosive Latin character, very reserved and polite. Viva Espana! Peter Fieldman, Madrid

MUCH is being done to protect the cyclist from the wicked motorists. But nobody seems to understand that the cyclist is his own worst enemy! I’m sure many, many people can tell tales of woe about near misses brought on by the stupidity of some cyclists. I thought I had seen most things, until the other day when I was confronted with a 30+ year-old cyclist shooting out onto the N332 in front of me and riding rapidly straight at me after he had ridden the wrong way up the slip road between La Zenia and Playa Flamenca. He obviously did not see me as I swerved into the central lane because he was too busy with his mo-

Look behind you HAVING for the first time taken part in an amateur pantomime production, I will never again have the nerve to criticise another amateur performance. I now totally appreciate just how much hard work, total commitment and dedication goes into pre-

HAVE YOUR SAY

Photo Credit: Photobac Shutterstock

Cyclists should learn to behave on the road

Hear Hear OBEY RULES: Don’t cycle and text. bile phone on which he was writing a message whilst riding no hands!! This must surely be No 1 in crass idiocy!!! I am a fairly keen cyclist myself so do not have an axe to grind, but the way a large majority of cyclists

All letters by email or post should carry the writer’s address, NIE and contact number though only the name and town will be published.

(and skate-boarders plus other motorised board riders) behave is frightening and it is about time rules were introduced to protect the motorists against the stupidity of these people. Barry Weston, Los Dolses

Readers who have missed correspondence can see all letters - which can be edited before publication - posted on: www.euroweeklynews.com.

Teen dies while playing football Teen dies while playing football My thoughts and prayers are with his friends and family...so sad... RIP Nacho Polly Anna So sad and so young RIP Eileen Toyne How dreadful, condolences to family n friends Susan Poole

Comments from EWN online

Wish they’d tackle bullfighting as well! Michelle Johnstone

Thousands of police protest over wages

restaurants off and the trouble it causes it’s about time the hotels stopped it. Michael Hannis

Definitely. The whole thing is getting right on my nerves. Don’t buckle because of pressure - who exactly is calling for this ban? Susan Roberts

Why the pay difference, both do the same job, can’t get my head around this, should all be paid the same, but it’s just like back in the UK as in Spain, the rich get richer while the poor get even poorer, same old story. John Morris

If these people want alcohol they will find it somewhere. When they go on holiday getting drunk is their main aim. Hotel or supermarket they will find it. June Waterhouse

I’ve no problem giving them a good wage they are worth it and so far not affected by pc like in UK. Tim Northern Yes they should and the Local Police they do a great job and brave with it. Roy Hadley

Calls for limited alcohol in all-inclusives Considering that all inclusive is killing bars and

senting such a show. Not just the acting, but all the ‘behind the scenes’ involvement, ie scenery painting, designing and making of costumes, script writing, directing and the incredible camaraderie of the actors. The list is endless and, of course, all the months of rehearsals - yes, contrary to what the audience might think, we do rehearse! OK, there are always hiccups, but isn’t that what makes it fun? OH YES IT IS! Thank you for supporting your local amateur panto groups. Without YOU it wouldn’t be the same. Margaret Stevenson, Costa del Sol

I’d be very careful. Magaluf is a party town and if they start getting too strict tourists won’t go. Ricky Stewart

New pet protection laws I’d like to see chaining a dog for days and weeks abolished too! These are social animals and it is cruel to tie them up for long extended periods of time. Ming Louie Stein

Petition to reverse ban on walk-on girls

Has anyone actually asked what the women want or are we to busy being offended for them? I thought the feminist movement was about giving women equal choices, not making choices for them but whatever suits the ones that don’t actually do it I guess. Vicki Anderson If the models want to do it and they get paid well to do it, w*f has it got to do with anyone else, go get your own life. Matt Coy This is all about big business frightened of any sort of backlash from what appears to be a minority. Let the girls decide if they want to do it... If not then fine. Peter Maden

I TOTALLY agree with the letter from JS in January (issue 1699) regarding the protection of our lovely village of La Cala de Mijas. Some 850 new builds are under construction at the present moment in the immediate vicinity of the actual village. Where on earth are the people who are going to purchase these properties going to park, and eat for that matter? I too was sad to see the actual tree and seating area in the centre of the said ‘Coronation Street’ area disappear in the new construction of the ‘Street.’ Rather sad to see actually. And furthermore, the reconstruction of the road further down outside restaurant La Gambita, leaves me cold. An amazing area, mainly Spanish, a couple of really good restaurants, road change means no seating areas outside these places. What about the owners? What about the regular clientele? So sad to lose intimate areas that are so important to our lovely village atmosphere. Come on, keep the space special. Wendy Wolstenholme, La Cala de Mijas

Snail mail FURTHER to problems with non-delivery of post over Christmas, my complaint concerns missing post. For the past three years, lottery tickets sent from La Coruña to Torrevieja never arrived - a ticket sent to Mallorca, however was safely received. Complaints to Coruña postal authorities, resulted in €30 compensation for the loss of a €100 ticket. A neighbour, who has a birthday before Christmas, has not received birthday cards from the UK for the past two years - complaints fall on deaf ears. I know of no place to make an official complaint. Ronaldo Hayward, Torrevieja

Clean up WONDERFUL as usual to holiday in Nerja and nearby places. But what a shame we have to keep our eyes firmly on the pavement to avoid all the dog mess. Come on Nerja, clean up your act! John Hopes, UK

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MADDOCKS’ VIEW ON LIFE

YOUR STARS FOR NEXT 7 DAYS AQUARIUS (January 21 - February 19) A shopping trip with a friend makes you realise that there is more to them than meets the eye. Should you have underestimated them, encourage them to open up. Something you hear this week will be of immense value to you in the future. Decorating and changes at home really bring spring into your life and perk you up.

PISCES (February 20 - March 20)

‘ MEN CAN NO LONGER TOUCH, HOLD OR SAY NICE THINGS TO WOMEN - SO WE THOUGHT WE SHOULD PLAY SAFE ON VALENTINE’S DAY! ’

*** The population of Ireland is still recovering from the Potato Famine of 1845-52. The country is home to 6.5 million people today, 1.5 million less than before the famine. *** Indonesia is made up of more than 13,000 islands, making it the world’s largest island country. *** Canada is home to more lakes then the rest of the world combined. *** The world’s oldest continuously-operating university is the University of Karueein in Fez, Morocco. The university first began teaching in 859 AD. *** A third of plant life on the island of Socotra, Yemen is found nowhere else in the world. It has been described as: ‘the most alien-looking place on earth.’ *** Japan and Russia have still not signed a treaty to end the Second World War.

LOTTERY

UK NATIONAL LOTTERY

Saturday February 3

Picture credit Wikimedia Commons

Trivia from around the world

Saturday February 3

A study found that our dreams get stranger the longer we are asleep. Scientists observed participants’ dreams started off grounded in reality, but became more bizarre later on.

Friday February 2

BONUS BALL

‘

Eusuchian - Of, like or pertaining to alligators and crocodiles.

EL GORDO DE LA PRIMITIVA

Saturday February 3

LUCKY STARS

EL MILLON: WQK58563

REINTEGRO

JOKER: 5 778 491

REINTEGRO

JOKER: 6 229 581

Are you in the mood for some retail therapy? There are bargains to be had this week. The trend also extends to your personal life where it is possible to negotiate much more easily with a loved one. Suggestions for a busy weekend may be resisted owing to overload.

TAURUS (April 21 - May 21) The more sensitive side of your nature comes to the fore this week. You are likely to find yourself upset but, by looking on the bright side and keeping your sense of humour, brings a balanced view.

GEMINI (May 22 - June 21) This is a time to keep your mind sharp, so get plenty of sleep and exercise for sure. Legal matters may be paramount and need specialist advice. So long as you are doing your best in a certain situation, no more can be expected of you.

CANCER (June 22 - July 23) 15

ARIES (March 21 - April 20)

Something said to you in confidence should be respected this week. Should the beans be spilled, it will not be you who is feeling guilty. The need to help someone with legal forms or some other complicated matter will be much appreciated.

VIRGO (August 24 - September 23) A slow start to the week sees you full of beans come Wednesday. What is the cause of this change of attitude? Something you worked on last week shows signs of progress just when you thought it wouldn't.

LIBRA (September 24 - October 23) It is now that you may realise how right you were to keep something in reserve. Certainly, so far as a relationship is concerned, holding back has proved its worth. Financially, you are entering a period of frugality, but this is more for your own satisfaction than because of any money worries.

SCORPIO (October 24 - November 22) Getting more sleep and fresh air last week may show dividends now. The results are a brighter mind and more willingness to be social. Young people will be particularly helpful and fun to be with. Asking for their help makes them feel important in your life and will also bring you great pleasure.

SAGITTARIUS (November 23 - December 21) Keep a wide circle of friends and constantly seek to add to them. With such an active mind as yours, boredom is agitating and non-productive. Spring gives you the ideal opportunity to visit others and get out in the open. Both your health and finances gain from a day somewhere new as an inspired idea comes to you. An invitation you are tempted to refuse should be accepted if possible.

Sunday February 4

39 48

Thursday February 1

World of English

27 49

You will never be happy if you continue to search for what happiness consists of. You will never live if you are looking for the meaning of life.” Albert Camus, Writer

LA PRIMITIVA

EURO MILLIONS

15 27

‘

DID YOU KNOW?

Tuesday January 30

‘

It’s interesting to play a woman who is terrified and then overcomes that fear. Courage is not the absence of fear, it’s overcoming it.” Natalie Dormer, Actor

Famous quote

DREAM ON: The 16 people scientists monitored for two nights reported having stranger dreams each time they were woken.

IRISH LOTTO

Women’s wit

Someone new to your circle of friends brings humour and a new lease of life, socially. When something outside your comfort zone is suggested, then be sure that it is not just faint heart that is stopping you. There is nothing wrong with saying ‘no’, unless there is heartache in doing so and then wishing that you had not.

LEO (July 24 - August 23)

REINTEGRO

This is a time of the year when new starts and fresh ideas come to you, which is excellent news for those who are looking forward to changes. The weekend brings you courage and determination and you feel confident enough to speak plainly with people.

CAPRICORN (December 22 - January 20) News of someone close brings finances into your mind. Perhaps some juggling is needed to keep the balance. There is more than one way to conserve both energy and money, which will give you a head start. Getting involved with a charity, even on a small scale, can bring immense satisfaction and costs nothing.

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Down:

1 Short, 2 Rat race, 3 Seek, 4 Shares, 5 Roe, 6 Waste, 11 Glasses, 12 Deface, 13 Sober, 15 Links, 16 Zero, 18 Gun.

CRYPTIC

ENGLISH-SPANISH

Across:

1 Detroit, 5 Tacit, 8 Purse, 9 Neutral, 10 Abstain, 11 Tools, 12 Answer, 14 Fiasco, 17 Tunis, 19 Astride, 21 Entwine, 22 Reply, 24 Terse, 25 Results.

1 Arco, 3 Traslado, 9 Russian, 10 Etapa, 11 Cisne, 12 Actriz, 14 Tattoo, 16 Escoba, 19 Anoche, 21 Lugar, 24 Andén, 25 Azafran, 26 Por favor, 27 Boss.

Down:

1 Dip, 2 Terms, 3 Operate, 4 Tenant, 5 Taunt, 6 Curious, 7 Telescope, 10 Apartment, 13 Senator, 15 Interns, 16 Career, 18 Spine, 20 Impel, 23 Yes.

Down:

1 Apricots, 2 Cosas, 4 Runway, 5 Sweet, 6 Abanico, 7 Ojal, 8 Dinero, 13 Ladrones, 15 Tenedor, 17 Sillas, 18 Verano, 20 Cinta, 22 Gordo, 23 Damp.

App of the week PuigdeKong Catalan president Carles Puigdemont’s efforts to reach Parliament have been all over the news lately. Now you can help him get there in this DonkeyKong-inspired platform game.

QUIZ: LUCKY DIP 1. According to the old superstition, how many years bad luck would you have for breaking a mirror? 2. ‘Don't want a four leaf clover. Don't want an old horse shoe’ are the first lines of which UK number one hit single by Elvis Presley? 3. First published in 1954, Lucky Jim was which celebrated English writer’s first novel? 4. Goodluck Jonathan was president of which African country from 2010 to 2015? 5. Michael Barrymore's long-running quiz Strike It Lucky was renamed what in December 1996? 6. The Santangelo novels are a series of novels written by which English romance novelist, which focus on the Santangelo family, particularly Gino Santangelo, an Italian-American former gangster, and his daughter Lucky? 7. To who would you most likely wish someone good luck with the phrase ‘break a leg’?

8. Tucker's Luck, which ran from 1983 to 1985 was a spin-off from which BBC television school drama? 9. Which 1950 Frank Loesser musical features the song Luck Be a Lady? 10. Which famous English actor starred as the ‘plantation thief’ Mick Travis in the 1973 British comedy-drama fantasy film O Lucky Man!? Not a lot of people know that... after the success of her debut single Locomotion in Australia, Kylie Minogue travelled to London to work with the songwriting and production team Stock, Aitken and Waterman. However, they had forgotten that she was arriving. As a result, they wrote I Should Be So Lucky in 40 minutes while she waited outside the recording studio.

Answers: 1. SEVEN, 2. GOOD LUCK CHARM, 3. KINGSLEY AMIS, 4. NIGERIA, 5. STRIKE IT RICH, 6. JACKIE COLLINS, 7. ACTORS/MUSICIANS BEFORE THEY GO ON STAGE TO PERFORM 8. GRANGE HILL, 9. GUYS AND DOLLS, 10. MALCOLM MCDOWELL

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Costa de Almería TODAY

TOMORROW VELEZ RUBIO

ALBOX

VELEZ RUBIO ALBOX

HUERCAL OVERA

GARRUCHA

MOJACAR ALMERIA RETAMAR ADRA

RETAMAR

ROQUETAS

ADRA

Malaga

Almeria

Bilbao

Madrid

TODAY: MAX 18, MIN 9 - CL

TODAY: MAX 17, MIN 10-S

TODAY: MAX 9, MIN 6 -SH

TODAY: MAX 13, MIN - -1 CL

Fri 12 Sat - 15 Sun - 11 Mon - 8 Tues - 7 Wed - 8

Fri Sat Sun Mon Tues Wed -

16 17 20 15 14 15

8 - Cl 9-S 8-S 7 - Sh 6-C 6-C

16 17 17 14 13 14

Fri Sat Sun Mon Tues Wed -

8-S 10 - S 9-S 7 - Sh 7 - Sh 7-S

8-C 8-C 6 - Sh 5 - Sh 4 - Sh 4 - Sh

Alicante

Benidorm

Mallorca

Barcelona

TODAY: MAX 19, MIN 8 - SH

TODAY: MAX 15, MIN 5 - SH

TODAY: MAX 11, MIN 4 - SH

Fri Sat Sun Mon Tues Wed -

16 17 18 15 15 14

S: Sun

7-S 9-S 7-S 6-S 6 - Cl 6-S

15 17 17 14 14 14

Fri Sat Sun Mon Tues Wed Cl: Clear

7-S 10 - S 9-S 7 - Sh 8 - Sh 8 - Sh

Fri Sat Sun Mon Tues Wed -

13 15 15 12 12 12

C: Cloudy

8-C 8-S 8-S 7 - Sh 7 - Sh 6-C

Fri Sat Sun Mon Tues Wed -

ROQUETAS

SATURDAY

12 0 - Cl 15 1 - S 13 1 - S 10 -1 - C 9 -1 - C 9 -2 - C

TODAY: MAX 19, MIN 8 - S

14 15 14 12 12 11

5-C 7-S 6 - Sh 5-C 4-C 4-S

Sh: Showers

VELEZ RUBIO ALBOX

HUERCAL OVERA GARRUCHA MOJACAR

ALMERIA RETAMAR ADRA

ROQUETAS

Sn: Snow

Th: Thunder

Euro Weekly News strives for accuracy, but cannot be held responsible for any errors in published forecasts

BIRTHDAYS

N ADIA is funny an d fiercely independent. She loves smoking out on her ba lc ony alone late a t night. Saeed is sweet but shy a nd tries to be kind t o strangers. He lives with his p arents and enjo y s star-gazing from his balcony. The two meet and fall in love just as their city is overrun by rebel soldiers. When Saeed’s mother is shot dead Nadia moves in w i t h him and his fath e r and the two begin to find doors that may transport them away from the conflict. Mohsin Hamid’s fourth novel follows a you n g couple trying to find their way through a world torn apart by war and crisis.

MOJACAR

ALMERIA

books@euroweeklynews.com

Sudoku LAST WEEK’S SOLUTION

• John Williams, Composer; stage manager. He first found fame February 8, 86 with a role in the TV comedy series The writer of the Star Wars, Suburban Shootout, and has since Superman and Indiana Jones gone on to star in War Horse, the Avengers and Midnight in Paris. themes began conducting in the 1950’s in the US Air Force, Holly Willoughby. • Holly Willoughby, TV host; where he worked for the Air February 10, 37 Force Band. He won an Oscar for Best The co-host of This Morning has also Original Dramatic Score in 1975 for the appeared on The Voice, Celebrity Juice and other shows. She began her career as a Jaws soundtrack. • Tom Hiddleston, Actor; February 9, model when she was 14. 37 • Jennifer Aniston, Actor; February 11, Born in Westminster, UK, Hiddleston was 49 Aniston starred as Rachel Green in the raised in Oxford where his mother was a

long-running American TV comedy Friends. She worked as a telemarketer, a waitress and a bike messenger before landing roles in the TV series Molloy and the film Leprechaun in the early 1990’s. • Robbie Williams, Singer; February 13, 44 Williams broke world records in 2006 when 1.6 million tickets were sold for his solo tour in one day. The singer found fame in boy band Take That in the 1990’s before going on to release his first single Millennium in 1998.

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.

Sierra Nevada SNOW REPORT Cloudy skies forecast for today (Thursday) with a slight chance of snow. Temperatures will remain below freezing with lows of -12 degrees, but no snow is forecast for the week. 122 of the 128 ski slopes are now open at Sierra Nevada.

Word Ladder NAME

WELL BACK

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

660 BC - Japan founded Emperor Jimmu is said to have founded Japan. The event is still commemorated in the country on National Foundation Day. 1400 - Richard II dies The English king Richard II died from starvation in Pontefract Castle after being overthrown by Henry Bolingbroke, the future Henry IV. 1502 - Granada Inquisition Queen Isabella of Castile and King Ferdinand of Aragon decree that all Muslims living in Granada must convert to Christianity or leave Spain. 1633 - Galileo tried Astronomer Galileo Galilei arrived in Rome to face trial for heresy. Inquisitors regard his claims that the earth orbits the sun as blasphemous. 1817 - Chile liberation Juan Gregorio de las Heras joined forces with Jose de San Martin after crossing the Andes with his army in the fight for Chilean independence. 1919 - Germany’s first president elected Friedrich Ebert became Germany’s first democraticallyelected president. The country was previously ruled by the Kaiser monarchs whose throne was abolished following the country’s defeat in the First World War. 1964 - Beatles appear on US TV The Beatles make their first appearance on American television, performing on The Ed Sullivan Show. The show is watched by a recordbreaking 73 million. 1996 - Computer beats chess champion IBM’s Deep Blue supercomputer beats world chess champion Garry Kasparov. The win marks the first time Artificial Intelligence has defeated a human opponent in the game.

This week in history

World in crisis

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Solution NAME TAME TALE TALL TELL (WALL) WELL

DVD

Star crossed lovers

VIDA (Lydia Wilson) and Arthur (Johnny Flynn) come from entirely different backgrounds. She’s a well-off cello playing Londoner and he’s a working class aspiring animator from Port Talbot. When the two meet on the dance floor they instantly hit it off. But as they grow closer each has to deal with their own unique trials. Love is Thicker than Water is billed as a modern day Romeo and Juliet and tells the story of a star-crossed love affair.

8 - 14 February 2018

Costa de Almería

V I S I T O U R W E B S I T E W W W. E U R O W E E K LY N E W S . C O M

TO READ MORE

HEALTH BEAUTY

Advertising Feature

The customer feedback, key point when choosing your health insurance WHEN making the decision to purchase health insurance, several factors must be studied, such as coverage, price, medical directory and customer service. In addition to the information provided by the insurance company, it is very useful to know the opinion of the customers, especially if it is the first time they have purchased a health insurance. ASSSA has the confidence and satisfaction of their policyholders, proof of such is their testimonies: Lifetime coverage and price “I was very pleased when I found ASSSA. It was very important to me to have the peace of mind from the very first day, that my health insurance com-

HEALTH IS IMPORTANT: Find the best insurance you can. pany would never cancel my contract regardless of the age or policy usage. “Moreover, there is no agerelated premium increase,

which is fair enough from my point of view.” Erk Petersen Policy 31.273-02. “I cannot emphasise enough how essential it is to have the

annual checks which are offered by ASSSA.” Marion Poole - Policy 22.411. Medical directory “The medical service I received was second to none. Everything went smoothly, both in terms of appointments and medical care.” Monika Krupica - Policy 16.977. “The hospital and staff were excellent. The operation was carried out by a first-class professional.” Geoffrey Roland Smith - Policy 34.518. Customer service “Customer service is exceptional. There is no language barrier and this is very helpful to me.” Kerstin Lübke - Policy 31.465. “What makes the difference between one insurance company and another is having a pro-

fessional, compassionate person who is willing to help.” Rosemarie Tobler - Policy 14.808. “I would like to emphasise the swiftness with which ASSSA managed my treatment before and after my surgery and the importance of relying on their professional support.” Stuart J.Cohen - Policy 31.812.

Prune power RECENT research has revealed that many people are failing to consume the recommended daily intake of fibre, with the average Brit only reaching 18g of the suggested 30g a day. A high intake of fibre helps to reduce the risk of diseases such as colorectal cancer, haemorrhoids and constipation and keeps the SWEET STUFF: What does your gut tell you?

bowels functioning at a healthy rate. It’s easier to improve your fibre intake than you might realise. A new study by Kings College London has shown that just eating 80g of prunes daily can increase fibre intake by up to 29 per cent, which could significantly improve bowel function. Although the European Food Safety Agency

has ruled that prunes can’t be sold as a laxative, the fibre still acts as a boost for most digestive tracts. Researchers found that those who consumed an additional 80g of prunes daily, along with 300ml of water, experienced a rise in the amount of ‘good’ health-enhancing bacteria in the gut called Bifidobacteria. The fibre they contain also helped to stabilise blood-sugar levels by slowing down the absorption of glucose. Prunes are also an excellent source of phenols, which reportedly preserve cells from oxygen damage. They are also great sources of Vitamin K, which is needed to help blood clot and develop strong bones.

HEALTH & BEAUTY

8 - 14 February 2018 / Costa de Almería

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Sweet like cinnamon THE festive season may indeed be over for another year, but that doesn’t mean you should stop adding cinnamon to all of your favourite hot drinks and desserts. This powerful spice has been used for its medicinal properties for centuries, and ranks number one out of the world’s most popular natural medicinal ingredients for its antioxidant levels.

The range of protective antioxidants packed into cinnamon has been shown to help slow the ageing process and reduce damage caused by free radicals. These antioxidants also have anti-inflammatory effects, which could help to lower the risk of certain diseases such as heart disease, diabetes and cancer and also helps to relieve muscle soreness and other age-

related ailments. Cinnamon has also been shown to reduce levels of ‘bad’ cholesterol and high blood pressure, while also increasing blood circulation which helps the body to repair itself. It even helps the body to form blood clots. The spice can also improve your sensitivity to the hormone insulin, which regulates the me-

tabolism and helps to transport blood sugar into cells. Insulin resistance is the stamp of several serious conditions like type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome but cinnamon can dramatically reduce resistance to this hormone, helping it to do its job. As little as half a teaspoon of cinnamon a day can make all the difference to your health.

SPICEY: Cinnamon is packed with antioxidants. CLEAN eating has been the focus of many dieticians and healthfood obsessives for a while now, but what does the term actually mean? Is it actually as good for you as it’s made out to be? Clean eating is defined by The Oxford Dictionary simply as: ‘Relating to a diet consisting of unprocessed, unrefined, and nutrient-rich food, typically eaten as small meals throughout the day.’ Eating a diet of fresh, unprocessed food is undoubtedly important, and is the basis for the entire clean eating movement. However, the term has now been used to describe many recent diet trends such as organic, vegan or alkaline diets. Some believe you have to cut out all gluten products to be eating ‘clean,’ others think the same for dairy. While many of these diets have their benefits, it’s important to make sure your diet is rich with all the essential nutrients your body needs, and eliminating entire food groups sometimes defeats the purpose of healthy eating. Although society as a whole is undoubtedly eating more processed food than a hundred years ago, simply because there were less processed ingredients

Stay clean back then and it was more common place to eat from scratch, the clean eating movement has had a positive impact in that it’s encouraging more people to get back to basics and consider what they ac-

tually put in their bodies. You shouldn’t cut out every indulgence in the name of healthy eating, but eating a range of unprocessed, fresh food is always important.

8 - 14 February 2018 / Costa de Almería

In plain English please Mike Senker In my opinion Views of a Grumpy Old Man I WANT to discuss today the ins and outs of cryptocurrency - Bitcoin, blockchains, ASIC mining, block heights and block rewards blah, blah, jargon, jargon. I want to discuss how it works and how it’s going to be the future. I want to discuss how it is going to make you all millionaires. I want to, but I can’t because I haven’t got a clue what it’s all about! I mean you can explain it to me until we are all blue in the face. I watched an hour and a half documentary explaining it all to me and still not a clue. It’s something to do with algorithms. Even though I don’t understand it I do know it was invented by a man called Satoshi Nakamoto who, by the way, doesn’t exist! Even though I don’t understand it I think it’s a Ponzi scheme or pyramid sales. I think that if you got in early you might have made loads of money. But I do know that about six weeks ago I put a survey on Twitter asking if you would prefer one bitcoin or 11oz of pure

gold. All but one said gold. Good call, I think, because today one bitcoin buys you 6½oz of gold. I don’t know how or why it works but good luck to you if you want a punt. Just don’t put your life savings into it. Just put in what you are happy to lose and I mean lose it all. I look forward to all the emails explaining it to me but it has to be in simple, plain English please. Now on to real money. I applied to see if I was entitled to a Spanish pension as well as my English one because I had paid into the system here. I’m pleased to say that after eight months of toing and froing I was informed that I did indeed qualify and would be notified when I would get paid which turned out to be February 1. Anyway the day came and went – nada which got me thinking why? Why do the banks have to hold on to money? Whenever I have to pay something on the first the money is taken on the first. If that date falls on the weekend they take the money the day before and never the Monday after. I mean, it’s not like someone is going down to the bank and standing in line to pay it in or even sitting in the office waiting to hit the ‘pay’ button on a computer. It’s all automated. So the message is simple - PAY ME ON TIME! columnists@euroweeklynews.com

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FEATURE

LEGALLY SPEAKING Overtaking and speed limits WE answer some common driving questions, kindly provided by members of the Guardia Civil based in Torrevieja, Costa Blanca, who set up the N332 website and Facebook page to help break down barriers.

DANGEROUS: Overtaking is risky. ACCORDING to Article 51 of the Reglamento General de Circulacion: ‘The maximum fixed speeds for conventional roads, which do not pass through urban areas, may only be exceeded by up to 20kph by saloon cars and motorcycles whilst overtaking other vehicles travelling at lesser speeds.’ This clause first came about to allow cars to pass a slower moving vehicle in the shortest time possible, allowing an increase in speed in order to execute the move quickly. But overtaking is one of the most dangerous manoeuvres we can carry out. In the event of a head-on collision, our speed is added to that of the oncoming vehicle, and so a crash where two vehicles are travelling at 90kilometres per hour is the equivalent of crashing at 180-kilometres per hour, when the two speeds are combined. But the rule does exist and does allow drivers to go over the speed limit, but only in certain circumstances. Firstly, we see that it can only ever apply to cars and motorcycles. Secondly, we need to look at the types of roads the clause can apply to. We can see that it

is not permitted on motorways. We can also see that it does not apply on dual carriageways. So we can exclude faster moving roads straightaway. Next, we see that the clause does not apply in towns, or cities for that matter, so we can exclude those routes too. Now all that we are left with is so-called conventional roads, single carriageway, with no central reservation and outside of towns. But, then we have to take away those for which a speed limit already applies, because that speed limit overrules this clause too. In other words, if you see a sign (which is called the R-301) that limits the maximum speed of a road to 70-kilometres per hour, then the maximum is 70-kilometres per hour and this exceptional speeding clause does not apply. The same if the R-301 sign limits the speed to 50 or 40, or whatever the speed restriction, that sign overrules the clause. In other words, you are NOT permitted to exceed the speed limit for any reason, including overtaking. The only road where this clause can apply is a conventional road, where no overruling speed limit applies and where overtaking is allowed.

For more news and articles visit www.n332.es or search N332 on Facebook.

Can they reimburse over-payers? After the financial crash, our new community had problems paying for essential services. The property developer still owned many units and was not paying the fees for these unsold units. The small group of original owners decided to pay more than their assigned share in order to keep the services running. Now, all of the units are sold and occupied and most of the MY sources say that, unless something is missing from the story, a simple majority should be sufficient. There are some restrictions on

earlier unpaid fees have been fully paid up. We want to reimburse the original owners for the amounts they overpaid, which seems only fair. We voted at the AGM to pay the owners out of our healthy reserve fund. Only one owner voted against the idea. Now our administrator says it must be a unanimous vote. Is this correct? S T (Costa del Sol)

David Searl You and the Law in Spain

use of the reserve fund, but paying off a debt should be all right. Go ahead and make the payments. If someone wishes to protest in court, let him do it.

Send your questions for David Searl through lawyers Ubeda-Retana & Associates in Fuengirola at Ask@lawtaxspain.com, or call 952 667 090.

SCENE

OCIAL

8 - 14 February 2018

Costa de Almería

Update on food, drink, entertainments, what’s on and weekly happenings

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Moraira author’s fascinating journey EXCLUSIVE by Harrison Jones LUCINDA E CLARKE is no ordinary author. The Moraira-based 69-year-old has gone from toilet cleaner to giant teddy bear sewer to professional writer - via spells in nine different countries and a stint as a dog breeder. She has interviewed Nelson Mandela, met royalty and ‘been abandoned in the African bush with a nine-year-old baby.’ But after a lifetime of adventure, the Dublinborn writer is settling down to focus on her award-winning work. “For me writing is a kind of drug, I get twitchy when I don’t write,” she told Euro Weekly News. Happily married to her second husband for 20 years, Clarke is now promoting her latest novel, ‘Cut For Life’ - the fourth in her Amie series. The subject matter for the latest instalment,

though, is dark. “All my books carry a message - living as an expat in Africa and understanding different cultures, radical religious groups, human trafficking, and now Female Genital Mutilation (FGM),” she said. “When I researched FGM I was horrified and I wanted to raise awareness of the practice, which is growing not only in Europe, but in America as well. It’s total abuse and subjugation of women.” Clarke had spells in the Cotswolds and Liverpool as a child but has since lived in Scotland, Kenya, Libya, Botswana, Swaziland, South Africa and now Spain. Despite hopes to go into writing from an early age, her career route was unconventional. She jokes: “as a precocious brat I devoured Enid Blyton and thought ‘I could do this.’” After a series of random jobs, she recalls: “I was dragged to the South African Broadcasting Corporation for an audition which I failed abysmally. I was then shunted to the drama de-

THOUGHTFUL: Clarke has had an adventure-filled life. (LEFT) The latest book explores FGM. partment and I underwhelmed them there too, but it was suggested that I enter the playwright of the year award (she won). After that there was no stopping me!” Along the way, she found interviewing antiapartheid hero Mandela frightening. “I pushed past Reuters, CNN, BBC, etc waving my microphone jauntily in their faces. However, the great man was in a foul mood. He was incredibly tall, which I wasn’t expecting, and since he was fuming, and I’m not an important person, he did not turn on the charm, in fact he frightened me to death. He was kind enough to answer all my questions, but I remember thinking that I would never like to get on the wrong

side of him.” She has warmer words for Prince Charles and an anonymous African woman. “He was not what I expected. The British media had given me the impression he was a bit of a wuss. When we chatted he was charming, confident, friendly and easy to talk to. He had an aura of power, like Mandela. “But perhaps the interview that I remember (most) was in a mud hut with a middle-aged black lady, who was dying of AIDS. What she had accomplished in her life, with little cash, few resources and immense courage showed me the true depth of the human spirit.” Clarke’s book is available to buy online.

SOMETHING of a Spanish musical legend the 74year-old Joan Manuel Serrat is revisiting his 1971 album Mediterrano and brings an updated version to Roquetas de Mar. Entitled Mediterraneo Da Capo (De Capo meaning going back to the beginning) the show sees the singer, song writer and poet re-examine his ideas of nearly 50 years ago. Often admired and sometimes criticised for singing mainly in Spanish rather than his native Catalan, it is clear that from a commercial point of view

he made the right choice as his albums have sold in huge quantities in countries where Spanish is a popular language. Serrat has performed all over the world but has never forgotten his Mediterranean roots. This is why he has chosen to perform the 10 songs from that early album and he will add some musical surprises to the mix when he appears at the Auditorium in Roquetas de Mar on Sunday April 22 at 8pm. This is the start of an eight-month tour which

will see the singer travelling around Spain performing to audiences in almost e v e r y m a j o r c i t y, w i t h a single diversion to Paris. Tickets are now on sale at €46, €51 and €61 at

http://www.teatroauditori o ro q u e t a s . o rg , s o i f y o u want to learn a little more about the heart and soul of one area of Spanish music, then this is a concert not to miss.

Photo by Rubén Vique flickr

A musical legend to perform in Almeria

Live on stage Joan Manuel Serrat playing guitar.

8 - 14 February 2018 / Costa de Almeria

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Photo by MARISOL ROZO

Waste not! vitigno or varietale, and the type of grape can be incorporated into the name, eg, grappa di moscato. An aromatic, neutral spirit by Lorenzo with great digestive qualities Barbareschi grappa is a wonderful way to end a meal drunk on its own or added to an espresso, when it is GRAPPA is one of Italy’s most known as ‘caffè corretto.’ popular alcoholic drinks, with Young and aromatic grappa approximately 40 million botshould be served chilled, while tles produced each year. aged should be served slightly In 1989 the name Grappa bebelow room temperature, but came protected by the EU and never ice cold as freezing affects can be used only if the drink is the flavour, and drunk from sourced and produced in Italy GRAPPA: Popular and small tulip-shaped glasses with an with alcohol content between potent. open rim. 35-60 per cent. The flavour of grappa depends on the type and Grappa is made by steam distillation of the quality of the grapes used, as well as the distillaskins, pulp, seeds, and stems (the pomace) left tion process, though quality is not guaranteed as over from the wine-making process in order to there is no DOC protection system as for wines. extract remaining flavours before the waste is disThere are more than 100 grappa producers in carded. Italy, with several in Bassano del Grappa, the It is then bottled at once to make Grappa Biandrink’s historic home. ca, or aged in wooden casks to create the yellow The best-known include Berta, Bocchino, Brotor brown-hued riserva: Flavoured grappas are alto, Distilleria De Negri, Domenis, Jacopo so produced with infusion of herbs. Poli, Nardini, Alexander and Nonino. If at least 85 per cent of the pomace comes Happy tasting. from a single variety, grappa can be designated di

BACCHUS CELLAR

Two of the musical animals on stage.

Classical music and dance A SUPERB newly adapted children’s musical based on the classical piece by Camille SaintSans, The Carnival of the Animals will be performed at the Padilla Municipal Auditorium in Almeria City. It’s the Lion’s birthday and a grand party has been organised in his honour to which many of the animals in his kingdom have been invited. All are welcome but none can enjoy the delicacies on offer or join in the fun until they have performed a special show for the king. Each animal will perform a different act in keeping with their nature and history but it is as-

sured that the results will be both amusing and in many cases beautiful until all have shown the Lion their ‘party pieces.’ The text and choreography has been produced by the very versatile and well respected Marisol Rozo while the music has been arranged by the slightly eccentric Lebanese/Spanish violinist Ara Malikian. Presented as part of the Municipal Education Programme, there will be three performances aimed at children aged between five and 13 on Sunday March 4 at noon and Monday March 5 at 10am and noon with tickets costing €5.

SOCIAL SCENE

ALBOX & SURROUNDING AREAS

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8 - 14 February 2018 / Costa de Almería

The Carnival is coming to town THE annual Albox carnival will return on Saturday, promising parades, prizes and even pirates. The council has announced it expects hundreds to attend the event. Any children between the ages of three and five who want to be involved on one of the four floats organised by the Town Council must wear a costume that falls under the theme of either the Smurfs, Frozen, Pinocchio or pirates and must be accompanied by an adult. The panel judging each float will be made up of three people from the town who will score each float, with money prizes given out for the best two. First prize for the parade will be €500 and second prize will be €300. Any other children who take part must also be dressed up in groups of 15 accompanied by at least two adults who are in the same costumes. Other groups, consisting of teenagers and adults, must all wear costumes that fall under the same theme and have a minimum of seven people in order

SPONGEBOB: People turned out to see the popular sponge.

COLOURFUL: Stripes are the way forward.

ALL SMILES: At last year’s parade. to qualify for prizes. Any school that participates with a minimum of two classes (ranging from the first to the sixth grade) in the parade will get a €400 school supplies bonus from the Town Council (preferably for

books for the library). All children who participate will also receive a bonus free swim in the town’s indoor pool. The parade will start at the Plaza de la Libertad at 6pm on Saturday and carry on down the Avenida

Ramon y Cajal, Avenida Pio XII, Avenida Puente, Calle General Alvear and Avenida America before ending the sports centre. More information is available by calling 950 120 908 or 663 730 670.

TO THE RESCUE: All grown up.

8 - 14 February 2018 / Costa de AlmerĂa

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ALBOX & SURROUNDING AREAS

LOW LEVELS: The Cuevas del Almanzora reservoir water levels are only at 5.63 per cent capacity.

A new low WATER levels in the Cuevas del Almanzora reservoir are now at just 5.63 per cent of its capacity. The reservoir currently only has 8.89 billion litres of water

stored but is capable of holding 157.87 billion litres. During the last week alone, 60 million litres of water have been consumed and the reservoir has now lost an estimated

3.31 billion litres since the beginning of the season just four months ago. According to Spanish media, the reservoir only received 31.3 litres of water per square metre during the last year, and is now in a much worse position than it was this time last year when levels were much higher at 22.23 billion litres.

Two held over cement mixer theft TWO men accused of stealing a cement mixer in Albox have been arrested by the Guardia Civil. Investigations into the 31 and 35-year-olds began after a man told police his mixer had gone missing. He said it was kept within an enclosure surrounded by a two-metre high wall. Officers carried out an inspection at the manâ€™s home and decided there must be several thieves involved due to the weight of the mixer and the height of the wall. There were no signs of forced entry into the property, said police. Officers then tracked down and arrested the two suspects. They reportedly told police they had taken the cement mixer in early January and stored it in a warehouse. They were then arrested and Guardia Civil officers have sent the proceedings to a court in Hercal-Overa.

8 - 14 February 2018 / Costa de Almería

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ALBOX & SURROUNDING AREAS

Women’s centre raises money for gender violence victims A SHELTER for mothers and their children in Almeria has been given almost €450 raised by Albox Council’s Women’s Information Centre. The centre raised the money through the sale of solidarity studs. The money has now been passed over to the shelter which works with the victims of gender violence. Gifts and toys for the women and children in the shelter are set to be bought with the money raised. The fundraiser for the victims has established itself as a yearly event, according to reports. The gifts were delivered to the shelter by the heads of Albox’s Women’s Information Centre to the shelter in Almeria City. A spokesperson for the Albox centre said they were determined to raise even more money next year. “We are more satisfied with this new fundraising but we always try to go further.

Photo by Ayuntamiento de Albox/Facebook

SUCCESS: Raising funds for the Women’s Information Centre. Without a doubt we will try to make the collection higher even though it will be a challenge,” they said. Francisco Torrecillas, the mayor of Albox, said the work done by the Women’s Information Centre was “fantastic.” “People in Albox are wellknown for their solidarity.

The Women’s Information Centre does a fantastic job not only with this annual fundraiser but also with raising awareness on trying to prevent gender violence,” he said. “They give help to women with great professionalism and maximum discretion in our town,” he added.

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8 - 14 February 2018

TO READ MORE

V I S I T O U R W E B S I T E W W W. E U R O W E E K LY N E W S . C O M SPAIN is ahead of the UK and second only to Germany as international investors’ favoured destination in Europe, according to leading real estate consultancy Knight Frank. Speaking at Property EU’s Europe and Spain Investment briefing held at law firm CBS’ offices recently, Carlos Zamora of Knight Frank Spain said: “Our survey of major investors shows that 29 per cent favour Germany, 20 per cent prefer Spain, with the UK coming in third on 12 per cent. “Spain, Germany and Ireland are the only three countries in Europe with positive forecasts for 2018 in all three main sectors - offices, residential and logistics.” The Spanish market built strength steadily in 2017, with transaction volumes of €9.2 billion in the first three quarters of the year, up 20.3 per cent on 2016. In contrast, Portugal saw a 20 per cent fall in 2017, with Italy experiencing a 14 per cent decline.

PROPERTY www.euroweeklynews.com

Spain beats UK on property investment Maurizio Grilli, Head of Investment Management at BNP Paribas Real Estate, “Spain is on the up, rents are

growing and confidence is high.” There is no doubt that its economic

growth is powering positive momentum across sectors, with residential

particularly strong in Madrid. “We are in a recovery market, but we are not repeating the mistakes of the past,”

AIMING HIGH: Spain is increasingly attractive for international investors.

said Zamora. “In 2017 80,000 houses were built, but in 2006 it was 700,000 so we are very far from the pre-crisis boom.” Both domestic and foreign investors are scouring the country for opportunities in residential. Oscar Perez, Investment Director of Qualitas Equity Partners says, “There is interest across the board. There are Spanish family offices investing in build to rent, but we also have South Korean investors looking for farms in Extremadura.” The vacancy rate in Madrid is at an all-time low and rents will only increase as there is not enough space in the city centre to meet demand. Meanwhile, online sales represent only 4.5 per cent of Spain’s total, compared to 18 per cent in the UK and 15 per cent in Germany. Many are therefore targeting an opportunity for growth in e-commerce. In addition, student housing and old people’s homes are beginning to attract more investors.

MUCH of rural Spain is up for sale, with around 15,000 entire villages on the market.

For example, Olmeda de la Cuesta is a tiny community in La Alcarria, an iso-

lated region of rolling farmla nd be tw e e n M a drid, Guadalajara and Cuenca. With just 35 residents on the electoral roll and barely 10 over winter, it is facing oblivion. As a result, in a bid to attract newcomers the local council is selling off land at hugely discounted prices. It has also begun to auction off plots w ith s ome success. Last year the mayor Jose Luis Regacho auctioned off 14 plots of land at €5 per square metre. This summer, six or seven areas have been identified for sale and buyers are being attracted from abroad. Some are looking to make a home in the community, including a British sculptor and an Iranian who works as a chef. Countless villages throughout Spain are facing a similar existential struggle. A X e s ta , in the hills of

Credit: Inbudo

Village life for sale

“

There is demand for rural properties from city dwellers looking for a weekend retreat.

the Pontevedra Province, has been offering rents of only €100 a month. There is certainly demand for rural properties, espec ia lly from c ity dw e lle rs looking for a weekend retreat. Starting prices for properties are between €15,000 and €20,000, although the restoration work needed for the m w ould c os t double that. If the tre nd c ontinue s , more people will be tempte d to s e ll. Elvira Fa fia n, who runs a website special-

RUSTIC IDYLL: Esblada is on the market for €280,000. ising in selling entire vill ages cal l ed Al deasaban donadas.com, says: “There are places where f our or f i ve vi l l ages ar e bought by a f am i l y, who then bring their friends and create a little community of their own. “According to our data, this year half of buyers will be Spanish, and the other

half from abroad.” Of the 3,500 abandoned villages in Spain, around 1,500 ar e up f or sal e and they have previously proved popul ar wi t h Am er i can, German and French buyers. At t he upper end of t he scale are villages priced at €15 million, with renovated houses and l ocat ed near woodland and rivers.

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David retires from Tributes pour in Talk Radio Europe David THE Dogman columnists@ewnmediagroup.com

IT is with great pride that I look back on my 30 years of broadcasting on this coast. I am now over 80 and whist I look forward to my journalistic endeavours at the Euro Weekly News, continuing the stresses of preparing and presenting a radio show are too much, so the time has come for me to hang up my microphone. Over this very long period I have been supported by many knowledgeable colleagues and to name them individually would take far too long. To my team I would like to

DAVID THE DOGMAN: Looking forward to retirement.

extend a very big thank you to Nazli and Celia, who have been wonderfully supportive at all times, and I must also include

Lazy dog days are over… WHILE it goes without saying that many dogs enjoy fewer walks during winter, when adverse weather conditions can derail the plans of even the most dedicated pooch lovers, apparently some people pray that the weather doesn’t hold out during these months so they have an excuse not to go out for a stroll.

According to a new survey by Tails.com, one in six people admitted they hope it will rain so they have a reason to avoid taking their dog for a walk. However, your dog is still probably just as enthusiastic about going for a walk when it is pouring with rain as when it is sunny, so they can get out and burn off some energy.

Rona Brown, Val Boney, and Carolyn Menteith, Giles and of course my darling wife Susan who has always been with me at the studio. To my many friends I thank you for your support and to our latest contributor Boris the cat (a female!) I say thanks for the pleasure you have given us through Barry Nathan. So to everybody a big thank you and I look forward to a happy retirement.

Dear David, I confess you took me by surprise although I can well understand why you took the decision. Nobody outside radio can fully appreciate the work that is involved in producing a one-hour show and I think you have made the right decision to retire and keep your legacy intact. I wish you and Susan health and happiness for many years. Sincerely, Martin (Talk Radio Europe)

Warmest wishes, Sheila and Alan Skinner, Parcent

Dear David, Enjoy your time retired with dear Susan. I know you and I know you will always make yourself busy! It was such an honour to be your very last guest. Thank you also for your friendship and professional guidance that you have freely given over the recent years that I have known you. Brotherly love, Dave

Hi David, wishing you a long and happy retirement. No doubt you will still be keeping busy. With very best wishes. Fitz and Alice, Cosford Dog Training

Dear David, A great 30 years entertaining and informing your listeners, you should indeed be proud. We’ll continue to follow you in the EWN and wish you a more relaxed life... which you and Susan have certainly earned. All good things to you both.

Dear David, Oh, what a shame! I know many, many people who enjoyed your programme, myself included, although to be honest I do not know how you managed to keep it up for so long. There will never be anyone capable of replacing you. Big hug, Andrew

Dear David, Although understandable, I was very upset to hear of your retirement and will miss you and your team of experts enormously. Over the years I have learnt so much and am incredibly grateful for all your hard work in providing so many interesting interviews and indeed producing so many programmes. Saturday mornings will not be the same without you. With very best wishes for a happy retirement. Angela Webb

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MOTORING www.euroweeklynews.com

The ‘new car smell’ is the odour that comes from around 50 volatile organic compounds - mainly via plastics, adhesives and sealers. There is some question about whether it poses a health risk to humans.

Cashqai: 3 million UK sales gives Nissan further boost

MAKING WAVES: The Qashqai’s success has been remarkable.

Sunderland. Nissan believe the Qashqai is their ‘most successful model in Europe in Nissan’s history’, pointing out that the car has won more than 80 awards, including 19 ‘Car of the Year’ titles. Paul Willcox, chairman of Nissan Europe, said: “2017 was another record-breaking year for Nissan Europe, and 2018 has started the same way. “The Qashqai’s achievement of reaching 3,000,000 vehicles produced in 10 years is a significant milestone, while the October launch of the new and eagerly awaited Nissan LEAF has seen record-breaking pre-orders of one every 10 minutes.” Wilcox added that he expects the company to break further records in 2018.

MOTORING

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Rehired: Sugar gets old car back APPRENTICE frontman Alan Sugar has been given flak on social media after buying back his first Rolls Royce. Lord Sugar tweeted a picture of the car and wrote ‘All I need now is to get (sic) another classic number ’, sparking teasing suggestions. The billionaire businessman has a number of luxury cars - the most famous being a Rolls Royce with the number plate ‘AMS 1’. Tw i t t e r u s e r s t o o k the opportunity to suggest other number plates for Sugar ’s new Rolls, which he said he first bought in January 1982. ‘P1 ERS’ commented o n e u s e r, r e f e r r i n g t o an ongoing feud with Piers Morgan. ‘F1r3d’ added another. Others were less polite, suggesting ‘G08 5 H 1 T E ’ a n d ‘ B 3 11 END.’

Mazda sign up to voluntary UN agreement MAZDA has signed an agreement with the United Nations (UN). By agreeing to the terms of the ‘Global Compact’, as the company say they did in January, they are now a member of the Global Compact Network Japan. By joining, the Japanese car manufacturer agrees to a voluntary commitment to ‘exercise responsible, creative leadership and (build) a global framework for sustainable growth’.

M a z da s a y it pra c tis e s ‘corporate social responsibility’ in a ll of its ope ra tions, but will now work to uphold the 10 principles of the UN Global Compact. These include promises on human rights, the environment, labour and anti-corruption. The UN Global Compact has nearly 10,000 members, from 161 countries, according to the orga nis a tion’s website. Last year Mazda an-

nounced a boost to its engine efficiency, which was widely hailed as a significant breakthrough in petrol engines.

SPORT

8 - 14 February 2018 / Costa de Almería

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La Liga round-up

Levante leave it late to stun Real by Benjamin Park A LAST-MINUTE goal from substitute Giampaolo Pazzini gave 17th placed Levante a well-deserved point against Real Madrid as Los Blancos stumbled to yet another point. Last year’s champions looked to be heading for victory when Isco put them ahead in the 81st minute after Emmanuel Boateng’s first half equaliser had cancelled out Sergio Ramos’ early opener. But despite Real scoring late themselves, Pazzini, who was making his La Liga debut following a January move from Hellas Verona, nipped in behind the defence in the final minute to earn a memorable point against struggling Madrid. The result sees Real remain in fourth place, who missed the chance to leapfrog thirdplaced Valencia after they lost 1-0 to Atletico Madrid. Angel Correa scored the only goal of the

game in the battle of second against third, as Madrid moved nine points clear of the Valencians. Atletico moved to within nine points of Barcelona as it was honours even at in the Derbi Barceloni as Espanyol held the runaway leaders to a 1-1 draw. Gerard Moreno gave the hosts a second-half lead in torrential conditions, but Gerard Pique rose highest from a late corner to ensure his side left the RCDE Stadium with a point and preserved their unbeaten La Liga record. Elsewhere, Eibar humbled Sevilla 5-1 on Saturday, as they closed the gap on the top six. Garcia Martinez got the hosts on their way in the first minute and further goals from Ivan Ramis, Arbilla and an Orellana double saw Eibar move to within a point of their opponents in the table. STUNNED: Giampaolo Pazzini scored a lastgasp winner to earn Levante a point against Real Madrid.

It was a similar result for Real Sociedad on Friday, as they hammered struggling Deportivo La Coruna 5-0 to boost their own survival hopes. An Asier Illarramendi double as well as goals from Willian Jose, Sergio Canales and Artiz Elustondo ensured Sociedad ended a run of four straight defeats and moved nine points clear of the relegation places. Malaga’s season went from bad to worse on Monday as they lost the ‘relegation six-pointer’ 1-0 to Las Palmas. Croatian Alen Halilovic broke Malaga’s hearts in the 90th minute as he lashed home the winner brilliantly past Roberto to ensure a huge three points for the Gran Canarian side. The result leaves Los Boquerones well off the pace, seven points behind 17th placed Levante. In the weekend’s other results, Girona breezed past Athletic Bilbao with a double from former Middlesbrough midfielder Christhian Stuani securing a 2-0 victory, Alaves were 21 winners against Celta Vigo, it was the same result for Real Betis against Villarreal and Getafe drew 0-0 with Leganes.

Davis Cup: Spain pip plucky Brits in Marbella by Harrison Jones TENNIS legend David Lloyd labelled Cameron Norrie’s Davis Cup debuts “one of the most impressive of all time,” despite Great Britain’s loss against Spain. The visitors to Marbella had strong support, but fell to a respectable 3-1 loss in the Davis Cup tie. In the absence of number one Andy Murray, the newlook side impressed. On Friday, Norrie, 22, had come back from two sets and 3-0 down to beat world number 23 Roberta Bautista Agut - sparking hopes of an unlikely British win. But Norrie - ranked 114 in the world - fell to Albert Ramos-Vinolas in four sets to give Spain victory. The youngster was given huge credit for his performance. Lloyd said: “What a performance. To go against world-class players, with no experience, and to embrace this occasion like he has is quite extraordinary. We’ve got another player coming up now who is going to be tremendous.” Earlier in the tie, Ramos-Vinolas had beaten Liam Broady in the opening singles match. Doubles pair Jamie Murray and Dominic Inglot lost to Pablo Carreno-Busta and Feliciano Lopez in disap-

pointing fashion. They were dispatched in straight sets and two hours 28 minutes. Spain, who were also without their star man in Rafael Nadal, still named a squad including five players ranked in the world top 40. Britain now have to win a play-off in September to stay in the World Group in 2019, while Spain face Germany in the quarter finals in April. Despite the loss, Britain will take heart from Norrie’s performance. Going into the tie, many expecting a white wash - and pinning some hope on Jamie Murray’s doubles match for a possible consolation point. The victory was the youngster’s first ever match on red clay - and the only time he had gone beyond three sets. He was written off multiple times during a pulsating game, but came back for a sensational victory which drew praise from across the sport. Leon Smith, the Great Britain captain, said: “I can’t speak highly enough of what Cam has done all weekend. “People might have thought Friday was a one-off but he did it again against another high-quality player. He pushed him really close and I’m really proud of him. The only way is up for him.”

EWN

SPANISH LA LIGA 2017/18 TABLE TEAM

1 • Barcelona

2 • Atlético

3 • Valencia

4 • Real Madrid

5 • Villarreal

6 • Sevilla

7 • Eibar

8 • Celta

9 • Girona

10 • Betis

11 • Getafe

12 • Leganés

13 • Athletic

14 • R. Sociedad

15 • Espanyol

16 • Alavés

17 • Levante

18 • Deportivo

19 • Las Palmas

20 • Málaga

marca.com/futbol/primera-division/clasificacion.html

Hornets sting Chelsea to pressurise Conte WATFORD earned a memorable 4-1 victory over Chelsea at Vicarage Road on Monday to add to the mounting pressure on Blues boss Antonio Conte. Last season’s Champions were all at sea the whole evening and were down to 10-men in the 30th minute after Tiemoue Bakayoko saw red, and quickly fell behind to a Troy Deeney penalty. Chelsea equalised through a marvelous Eden Hazard goal, but went searching for the winner, and conceded three goals in the final six minutes to Daryl Janmaat, Gerard Deulofeu and Robert Pereyra as the Hornets inflicted Chelsea’s second big loss in as many games. The result leaves the champions a staggering 19 points behind leaders Manchester City, who could only manage a draw against Burnley. Danilo got the runaway leaders on their way early in the first half but City missed a host of chances and was made to pay, as Johann Berg Gudmundsson’s late strike earned Burnley a point. Manchester United closed the gap at the top to 13 points following the

result, as Alexis Sanchez grabbed his first goal for the club in a 2-0 win over Huddersfield. Arsenal continued to thrive following Sanchez’s departure as they thrashed Everton 5-1. New boy Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Laurent Koscielney and an Aaron Ramsey hat-trick saw Arsenal breeze past their Merseyside opponents on Saturday Their North London rivals Tottenham scored a last gasp penalty to secure a 2-2 draw with Liverpool after a frantic last 10 minutes at Anfield. Liverpool led from the third minute before Victor Wanyama’s wonderstrike levelled the tie in the 80th minute. Salah seemed to have won it for Liverpool in the 91st minute before Tottenham was awarded a 95th minute penalty, which Harry Kane dually dispatched following an earlier penalty miss.

GERARD DEULOFEU: Caused Chelsea havoc in 4-1 win. Photo by : gerarddeulofeu/Twitter

E W N Costa de Almería

8 - 14 February 2018

TWO-TIME World Darts Champion, Adrian Lewis, was suspended from the UK Open after pushing Spaniard Jose Justicia in the chest during their recent match. The bizarre event occurred after Justicia allegedly accused Lewis of trying to trip him as he picked up his darts.

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Almeria Bowling Club host Dyer Cup and Appleby Vase THE Dyer Cup and the Appleby Vase Men’s Singles commenced on February 1 with preliminary rounds, followed by both men’s and ladies singles on February 2 reaching the Semis and Final on Sunday February 4. The Club Singles Champion in the Ladies Final, Appleby Vase was Maureen

O’Hara over Sylvia Pritchard, while Bryan Thompson defeated defending champion Ken Richardson in the Club Men’s Single Championship, Dyer Cup. M a u ree n b e a t C ath P a tric k , S y lv ia w o n o ve r Viv Sykes. Bryan beat John Fitzgerald and Ken Richardson won over Reg Birmingham in the very good semifinals. A p p le b y Va s e F in al Both finalists played well in th e e a rly ro u n d s to re a c h th is s ta g e a n d o n p ap er a great final was expected. Supporters were not disappointed.

Maureen put the early pressure on, but Sylvia was in no mood let this continue. Scores level on 15th, 20th and 23rd end respectively at 12-12, 16-16 and 19-19. Although the quality of play throughout from both players was excellent, the next two ends were Maureen’s as she took the championship. Dyer Cup Final - This was going to be a tough game for both players. Bryan went well for eight ends leading comfortably 10-3. Ken then battled well to level the scores on the 14th end, 12-12. Unfortunately

VICTORIOUS: Ladies winner, Maureen O’Hara (left) and Men’s winner Bryan Thompson (right).

for Ken, Bryan wasn’t going to allow himself to relax, playing excellent bowls t o wi n, t aki ng a wel l - deserved championship. All in all, the four days went well, with an excellent standard of play by all. Reg Birmingham, the club Captain, thanked everyone who had played and supported the past days, Tony Lear for running the competition, the markers who without the competition couldn’t take place, John Fitzgerald who did a grand job caring for the carpet despite bad weather conditions and finally Colin Wright for umpiring the final.