Euro Weekly News - Costa de Almeria 21 - 27 January 2021 Issue 1855

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The people’s paper ISSUE NO. 1855

21 - 27 January 2021

COSTA DE ALMERIA • WWW.EUROWEEKLYNEWS.COM

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A MILLION STEPS

CHRISTINE LOGAN and her hus­ band Bill moved to Spain three years ago. The couple, who lived in Charlton in south­east London, fell in love with Mojacar after several holiday visits and knew it was the place where they want­ ed to settle. Apart from her husband Bill and Amber, her beloved 25­ year­old daughter who still lives in the UK and whom she misses dreadfully, Christine’s other ma­ jor obsession is dogs. All dogs, regardless of breed, size, colour and shapes. Christine grew up with dogs and has rescued many over the years, bringing her two rescues, Bella and Brandy, when she moved to Spain. Whilst settling into her new home, Christine received anoth­ er wonderful bonus when she discovered the PAWS­PATAS Animal Shelter near Mojacar. As soon as she could, and without a second thought, Chris­ tine offered her services as a vol­ unteer to help walk and tend to the abandoned puppies and dogs. She swiftly became a Team Leader, also helping at fundrais­ ing events and donating regular­ ly. Knowing how much money is needed to keep the shelter in existence and aware that the ar­ rival of Covid­19 in 2020 affect­

STEPPING OUT: Christine Logan is going a very long way to help PAWS-PATA. ed PAWS­PATAS’ abilities to arrange fundraising events, Christine wondered how she could contribute more. Her love of walking brought to mind the idea of walking a million steps in 50 days, an aver­ age of 20,000 per day.

“Last year I was dressed as a mermaid, swimming in the sea to raise money, but sadly this year that will not be possible. Instead, help me to raise much needed funds with my million steps for this incredible chari­ ty.”

“It’s really important to keep making people aware of the overheads involved and to remind them that when someone decides to adopt an adult dog or a puppy, PAWS­ PATAS asks for a small dona­ tion of €180 which not only

helps with the cost of possi­ ble medical treatment and food, but also includes vacci­ nations, neutering, microchip and passport. That’s quite an amazing deal, don’t you think?” she enthused. Christine’s marathon started on January 1 and will end on February 19 and readers can vis­ it and donate on her Facebook page while following her jour­ ney. She plans to pop up in several destinations and will approach local businesses in the hope that they can donate a little and she can promote them. Her initial aim was to raise €500. “I live in a beautiful place and have a dream job volunteering for PAWS­PATAS. My other little

joy is a chilled glass of cava at the end of the day,” she told us. Christine had raised €512 at the time of writing and having walked 332,440 steps, was a third of the way through her one million steps, sometimes wear­ ing flipflops owing to a major blister on one foot. She even completed her target of daily steps in the recent wet weather. Little did Christine know that she would undertake such a venture when she moved to Spain and that by late February she could be needing a hot bowl of water to soak her feet! For further information re­ garding volunteering, adopting, fostering or donating please visit the PAWS­PATAS https://paws­ patas.org/ website.

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21 - 27 January 2021

Mastectomy Solidarity Truck

THE Mastectomy Salidarity Truck will travel throughout Europe, and for each kilo­ metre travelled, money will be donated. Transport company ESP Solutions, came up with the fantastic idea of the truck to support the Mastectomised

Women of Almería (AMA­ MA). Head of Marketing and Development at ESP Solu­ tions, José Ángel García, said the solidarity truck will “do more than one hundred thousand kilometres a year, kilometres that will be translated into money to

donate to this Almeria asso­ ciation.” The coronavirus has hit AMAMA along with other charities, as the lockdown and Covid­19 restrictions have meant that charity events have not been able to take place.

NEWS

Budget plans for 2021

VERA’S 2021 €21.634 million Budget has now been approved although, as expected, PSOE councillors voted against it. This year’s Budget has grown by €950,000 compared with last year’s, prompting Finance councillor Alfonso Perez Redondo to maintain that the increase demonstrated the Vera Town Hall’s strength despite the Covid­19 sit­ uation. The Budget includes allocations for main­ taining and improving public services and mu­

nicipal equipment while at the same time freezing municipal taxes and service costs. Social assistance and subsidies have been maintained, along with investments aimed at generating jobs that in turn will help small businesses and local firms to cope with the economic crisis. “The 2021 accounts fulfil the double objec­ tive of counteracting the effects of the pan­ demic and boosting the local economy to cre­ ate employment,” Perez said.

Storm Filomena’s aftermath

ALMERIA’S provincial council, the Diputacion, was still working last week to reopen three roads suf­ fering the after­effects of Storm Filomena. When the storm struck, teams of operatives working on the Diputacion’s Winter Roads Plan immediately focused on spreading salt and clearing ice and snow from the province’s mountain roads. More than 20 severely affected roads were soon usable but de­ spite the Diputacion’s efforts, the three mountain passes of Escullar and Las Menas remained closed on safety grounds a week later, al­

Photo credit: Diputacion de Almeria

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CALAR ALTO: Passable with chains. though Alta de Velefique, Calar Al­ to and Collado Ramal were pass­ able with obligatory chains. Drivers were nevertheless warned to take extreme care on all mountain roads owing to pos­ sible ice as a result of still­low

Price-cut required ALMERIA senators Rafael Hernando and Rogelio Rodriguez­ Comendador asked the government to reduce IVA on elec­ tricity. At present, Spanish consumers pay the added­value tax at the rate of 21 per cent and the senators declared that this should be reduced to 10 per cent. “Electricity should be affordable and nobody should need to turn off their heater or central heating because they can’t pay,” they argued.

temperatures. Oscar Liria, provincial councillor for Public Works, thanked the Almeria population for acting so responsibly and reducing their journeys in the most affected ar­ eas. There was also praise for the teams who worked day and night to get the roads open ­ and safe ­ to use. Nevertheless, the operation was ongoing should there be a change for the worse in the weather, said Liria, who added that the Diputacion’s heavy ma­ chinery continued to assist town halls to clear streets in the munici­ palities which had suffered most from the snowstorms.

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NIBS EXTRA Strike action ALMERIA agricultural growers announced that they are joining the one-day national stoppage on February 24 in protest at the low prices they are paid. All sectors, including transport firms, will organise motorcades culminating in the presentation of a manifesto at the central government’s Delegation in each province.

Late call LOCAL Police officers in El Ejido stopped a man out walking on the street after the 10pm curfew and after identifying him found that an arrest warrant had been issued against him. He has now been handed over to the Almeria court where he was wanted for questioning.

Long arms THE Garrucha breakwater is to be extended to 251 metres to protect neighbouring Vera from the erosion that is affecting the town’s beaches, particularly in the nudist area at Vera Playa. This will be further defended by another 40-metre breakwater which will protect this vulnerable stretch of coast.

Theatre revamp WORK began on improvements to Almeria City’s Maestro Padilla theatre, built almost 30 years ago. Repairs costing an estimated €223,952 include weatherproofing the roof, reinforcing the façade and installing new lighting will take three months to complete, but still be compatible with cultural events during this time.

Clean sweep PULPI Town Hall has acquired a new street cleaning machine that as well as sweeping and washing will also be able to disinfect the municipality’s thoroughfares each day. This feature of the ultra-modern equipment was at present a priority owing to the health crisis,said Pulpi’s mayor.

Match point HOSTING Supercopa matches between the best women’s football teams in Spain had been good news for Almeria, said the city mayor, Ramon Fernandez Pacheco. It encouraged local sport but also benefited the local hospitality industry and commerce while the Teledeporte transmissions had provided national and international publicity.

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Dry run for firefighters THE Poniente Fire Brigade recently carried out a practice drill at the Gran Plaza shopping centre in Roquetas de Mar. The manoeuvre served, amongst other things, to gauge response times and putting safety systems into operation, locating entrance and exit routes as well as the available hydrants, equipment and installations in adjoining buildings. The drill commenced with the partial evacuation of a building where fire had broken out prior to the arrival of firefighters with a pumper fire engine. Jose Juan Rodriguez, president of the Poniente Firefighters Consortium and a Roquetas councillor, supervised the exercise in an operation that was also aimed at encouraging the area’s big companies to share their fire

FIRE DRILL: Jose Juan Rodriguez with the Consortium firefighters. protection and safety plans. Dry runs like these were vitally important as they provided opportunities to develop emergency plans for

buildings which are occupied by thousands of people, Rodriguez explained. “It’s necessary for us to calculate where and how action

should be taken and knowing down to the last detail where dangers exist in order to guarantee safety for the public,” he said.

Diputacion ‘work bubbles’ ALMERIA’S provincial council, the Diputacion, will reduce in­person at­ tention by 25 per cent, its president Javier A Garcia Molina announced. The decision, made with the back­ ing of the trade unions which repre­ sent the council’s employees, aims to protect both staff and the public from

Andalucia ITV Centre Strikes

NEW ITV centre strikes have been announced for Andalucia after delays in inspections. Many ITV centres are experi­ encing long delays for vehicle in­ spections and further strikes have been called. Three strike days were held last December after agreements could not be reached regarding providing ad­ ditional personnel amongst oth­ er issues. The new strike days called are currently January 25, 26 and 27. The State of Alarm last year caused many delays, but the ITV extensions put in place were not sufficient to cover all vehicles. In­ surance companies can refuse to cover a driver without a valid ITV and fines for lacking the ITV can also be costly.

Covid­19 infection. “The health of personnel and users is our principal concern,” Garcia Moli­ na declared. At present 50 per cent of Diputa­ cion employees work from home and this will now be increased to 75 per cent, although the measure would not

affect attention to the public, he said. “Each section has organised new shifts to ensure that provincial centres remain open and provide a normal service.” Employees will alternate between working at home and in­person ‘work bubbles’ Garcia Molina explained.

Vera officers sworn in Blast from

VERA has admitted three new members to its Local Police force. Two of the officers passed the March 2020 entrance exams fol­ lowed by training and a probationary period, bringing the Vera force up to 28. The third officer covers a vacancy which occurred after a prede­ cessor was posted elsewhere. All three have now been sworn in and were welcomed by Vera’s mayor Jose Carmelo Jorge Blanco who congratulated them on their “vocation to serve others and contribution to keeping the town safe.”

Lottery wins LUCK smiled once more on Almeria after Mari Carmen Aguilar won €11,866 on the ONCE lottery. “This comes at the right time, as we are all workers in our fami­ ly,” confided Mari Carme who has a job as a home carer in Alme­ ria City. But the luck did not end there, as another Almeria City resi­ dent, this time unnamed, won the extra million that is up for grabs each Tuesday and Friday on the Euro Millions Lottery.

the past HUERCAL­OVERA Town Hall has asked residents for old pho­ tographs of the local railway sta­ tion. The station building, its goods shed and the adjoining area are currently being rehabilitated and will eventually become a leisure centre with a restaurant, café, in­ formal museum and sports facili­ ties. “We want the station’s past to be here in the present and the fu­ ture, and are asking for your col­ laboration,” the town hall an­ nounced on its social media pages. “It’s very easy, just send old photos of the railway station to the turismo@huercal­overa.es ad­ dress.”

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On the right track ANOTHER five kilo­ metres have been added to the Via Verde (Green Route) that commences in Lucainena de las Tor­ res. The first section links Lucainena to El Saltador and the sec­ ond, leading to the Venta del Pobre on the lower reaches of Sierra Cabrera, has now been inaugurat­ ed. The Via Verde, a project with a low en­ vironmental project, will be used for walk­ ing and cycling on a route that was for­ merly the track of a disused railway line which took iron ore from Lucainena to Aguamarga from where it was sent to foundries in Bilbao, explained the local mayor Juan Herrera. “We have a €1.6 million allocation from the Ministry of Agriculture to carry out the entire pro­ ject,” Herrera said. “We have spent around €600,000 with a million euros left to carry out the Nijar segment from Venta del Pobre to Agua­ marga and a small section in Carbon­ eras.” Lucainena had wait­ ed 10 years for the money, Herrera con­ tinued, to carry out the 36 kilometres of Via Verde that would link the Tabernas and Cabo de Gata­Nijar national parks.

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NEWS

ERTE Extended ChefBot Banned

THE Executive Committee of the Spanish Confederation of Business Organisations (CEOE) met on Tuesday January 19 and have unanimously approved the document that will extend the E R T E until May 31 as offered by the government. The CEOE has also supported the request of AT A, the main association of self-employed, to provide protection and help to entrepreneurs who are being af-

fected by capacity and activity limitations by administrative order. “The governing bodies of CEOE have unanimously decided to approve the document on the extension of temporary employment regulation files (ERTEs) until next M ay 31,” said the statement, which will maintain in very similar terms the current regulations, in force until January 31.

Purchase of Supersol chain costs 338 jobs FRENCH multinational Carrefour’s acquisition of supermarket chain Supersol has been given the go-ahead by the National Market and Competition Commission, but will cost 338 people their jobs. According to union Comisiones Obreras, the aim of the

new owners is to apply a Labour Force Adjustment Plan for financial and organisational reasons. The aim is to avoid redundancies and make savings which will improve accounts and competitiveness of the company. A meeting is due to be held at the end of this week to plan the

strategy which the workers’ representatives will use to negotiate their conditions. The chain employs almost 4,000 people in Spain, and those affected are 252 office workers, 50 from a warehouse in Puerto Real and some of the employees of CashDiplo.

THE Commercial Court of Barcelona has ordered the multinational supermarket chain Lidl to remove all of its Monsieur Cousine ‘ChefBot’ machines from the market, considering that it has breached the patent of Thermomix. The ruling comes after a lawsuit brought in the Spanish courts by the German company Vorwerk, manufacturer of Thermomix, against the Lidl supermarkets, distributors of Monsieur Cuisine Connect. The court ruled that Vorwerk has all the rights of its machine protected in Spain and it considers that Lidl has infringed on those rights with its machine. The court concluded that the machine marketed by Lidl ‘reproduces each and every one of the characteristics’ of the

Vorwerk patent, thereby violating the Patent Law. The court ordered Lidl to cease importing, storing, offering and marketing the Monsieur Cousine Connect machine, and to withdraw all machines from the market, those in its possession and that of its distributors. Also, to withdraw all advertising and promotional material, including that hosted on the

internet. The Barcelona court concludes that Lidl’s robot constitutes ‘an infringement of the exclusive rights deriving from the Spanish patent’ held by Vorwerk and must also compensate the manufacturer for the damage caused. That figure has not yet been fixed but will be set at the stage of enforcement of this judgement.

Google announces completion of its Fitbit acquisition the hold that Google has over the GOOGLE has announced that its acquisition of wearable fitness device Fitbit is complete. The announcement that the multifunctional Fitbit watch is now officially part of Google was made by Rick Osterloh, Senior Vice President of Devices and Services for Google. The purchase, which had been announced in 2019, was made for an approximate 2.1 million dollars. The US authorities are still investigating the purchase, while in Europe it went ahead after accepting measures to guarantee that it would not further increase

digital publicity market, following fears that data from the Fitbit could be used to personalise advertising. In the release, Osterloh emphasised that the acquisition ‘has always been about the devices, not data’ to clarify Google’s intentions. Google has made commitments promising that Fitbit users’ health data will not be used for targeting ads, and they will still have the choice of keeping fitness data on a Fitbit account whether or not they want to share it to third parties (like Google Fit).

Almeria Water Plan

THE Almeria water infrastructure plan is practically complete with a total of 32 projects. Almeria Provincial Council has shown that providing clean water to residents is a priority and they have invested €2.8 million in the Water Infrastructure Plan (PIHA) since 2018. The 32 projects are either completed or soon to been completed and have improved the water availability in the Levante, Alpujarra, Filabres-Alhamilla, Los Vélez, Almanzora and Poniente regions of Almeria. Óscar Liria, the deputy for Public Works said, “These are works in surveys, tanks and pipelines that, on the one hand, improve the service that citizens receive in their homes, guarantee water and, on the other, improve efficiency by avoiding leaks and breakdowns.”

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Expensive storm MADRID was plunged under over a million kilograms of snow in just 30 hours as Storm Filomena swept across the centre of Spain. With roads, services, and businesses paralysed by the most severe weather incident in living memory, the city’s government has announced that Madrid’s recovery will cost a staggering €1.398 billion. The government has requested the declaration of a ‘catastrophic zone’ over the metropolis as the city counts the spiralling costs of the disaster. Mayor Jose Luis MartinezAlmeida said that the storm had “exceeded all the expectations” of forecasters and said that the government’s aim was “to meet the extraordinary costs of the snow tsunami.” Nearly a billion euros was lost by Madrid’s retail, service, and hotel industry while the cut of all public transport services except the Metro cost €30 million. The council said that €75 million will be needed to repair buildings damaged by snow, alongside a further €110 million for roads and pavements. Fixing schools, sports facilities, and cultural centres will cost €43 million.

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Euro Weekly News ‘On-Air’ With BBC Merseyside Radio CEO Michel Euesden gave a live interview on Monday morning, January 18, to BBC Merseyside Radio. She was invited on to give an insight into how Brexit has affected the lives of the many thousands of expat residents in Spain. Michel said the paper was picked up and read every Thursday and was a major source of information as to what’s going on in Spain and, more importantly, what new rules there are regarding the Covid restrictions - all explained in English for the non-Spanish speaking reader.

An insight into Brexit.

The interview also included expat Jan Miller, from Warrington in Cheshire, who moved to Spain in December 2020. She goes on to describe the ‘interesting’ journey she is experiencing as she starts her new life with her partner and their two friends while they settle down in Spain. Michel Euesden was also recently interviewed by a BBC news team at the EWN offices. The short documentary was intended to explain just how life is changing on the Costa del Sol for the many thousands of expats the paper serves.

‘Non-Priority’ Officials Vaccinated THE Ministry of Health on Thursday, January 14, opened an investigation to establish why 15 people in the Alicante region who do not fall into priority groups have already received the Covid-19 vaccine. It has been reported that two

mayors in Marina Alta, Local Police, Guardia Civil and eight officials of the Almoradi City Council have been vaccinated. There are currently four priority groups who are supposed to be first in line for the jab, consisting of the elderly, health

and social care workers and other front-line staff. Sources from the Ministry explained that the administration of vaccines is the responsibility of the health departments and there is no way of policing who gets the jabs when.

Nevertheless, officials are investigating this irregularity and have requested information from the health departments of Marina Alta and Orihuela, as well as the Torrevieja department, which is privately managed by Ribera Salud.

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Schofield “we’ll get the bill” THIS MORNING viewers were amazed and heartened by a simple act of generosity by Philip himself, after a clearly distraught viewer rang in and explained she could not eat or sleep with intense worry over a £700 electric bill. Presenter Philip Schofield said it would be looked after one way or another referring to the outstanding amount. Patricia, the viewer who it was discovered is 73 years old, was supposed to send her readings into her new supplier, but it was a little too much for her and the bill mounted up. Money Matters expert Martin Lewis was on hand after the show to explain to Patricia how to send readings in, as it was an integral part of the agreement you sign with the energy supplier.

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NEWS

More bank cuts Masks Until 2022

BANCO SABADELL have been given the green light to allow the departure of a total of 1,817 employees in Spain, with which it has accepted the vast majority of requests to join the early retirement plan and voluntary dismissals agreed with the unions, which resulted in 1,860 requests. This has been explained by union sources, who have added that only a total of 43

people have been left out, due to an excess of applications in the north of Spain, in territories such as Asturias, Guipúzcoa or Navarra, among others. Banco Sabadell had proposed to reduce its workforce by around 1,800 people in Spain so that in the end, the number of departures was fully adjusted to the bank’s expectations. These sources

have specified that the bulk of departures will take place between February 28 and March 31, although the process has already begun with departures carrying on into April. Through these actions, Sabadell anticipates maximum savings which have been sought by the bank for some time and will achieve the efficiency objectives that have been proposed.

Ruled Out Again THE Minister of Health Salvador Illa again ruled out imposing home confinement after speaking on Monday, January 18. The Minister of Health, Salvador Illa, insisted this morning in an interview in Al Rojo Vivo that he has ruled out imposing home confinement similar to that of last spring, despite the advance of the third wave. “With the strategy that already worked in Octo­ ber we can break this wave,” he said, referring to the fact that the second wave, in autumn, was able to stop without closure, with restrictive measures by communities such as the curfew and closing of shops.

The current State of Alarm does not include home confinement and “with this package of mea­ sures we managed to defeat the second wave and I am convinced that we will defeat the third,” he said. In addition, Illa has responded that the govern­ ment has taken Castilla y León to the Supreme Court after they advanced their curfew to 8pm, which goes against the State of Alarm issued by Royal Decree. Until the Supreme Court have made their ruling, Illa said that he was not looking to battle anyone ex­ cept the virus: “My adversary is the virus, it is not the president of Castilla y León, nor the president Ayuso. It is about defeating the virus.”

T H E director of the A I D S Research Institute (IrsiCaixa) and head of Infectious Diseases at the Germans Trias i Pujol Hospital (Can Ruti), B onaventura C lotet, believes that “we will have to get used to masks” as he sees them having to be used until 2022. In statements to the programme Faqs, of T V 3 he said: “ W e have to get used to the fact that the use of masks will last until 2022,” who pointed out that after the appearance of the M E R S respiratory coronavirus in 2012, “they should have spent a lot of money to prevent a new worse variant from appearing.” The expert is committed to continuing the research on vaccines, since “in fact, it has already been published that there are coronaviruses that have mutations and characteristics that

would not be sensitive and would not be neutralised with the antibodies that are generat-

ed with current vaccines. “ I t is necessary to continue investigating vaccines,” he concluded.

Spanish Global Excellence

DESPITE the global coronavirus pandemic putting an unprecedented strain on hospitals throughout 2020, it seems that the transplant system in Spain hasn’t bowed to the pressure and maintains its ‘position of global excellence,’ according to Silvia Calzón, the Secretary of State for Health. Data released on Monday, January 18, by the National Transplant Organisation (ONT) shows that 4,425 transplants were performed in Spain last year, and a total of 1,777 people donated their organs after their death, a figure that remains much higher than anywhere else in the world. “Despite slowing down its pace of activity, we continue to be in a position of excellence worldwide,” Calzón highlighted. “We must not forget that only between 1 and 2 per cent of people who die in a hospital do so in a condition to be donors and they do so in ICUs, units that have been very saturated, especially in the most critical moments of the epidemic,” Calzón added. Additionally, 2020 saw Spain carry out the highest number of transplants on children in the history of the ONT 197.

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Stuck fast in window LO C A L P O L I C E in the Pio X I I neighbourhood of Sevilla managed to arrest a thief with 51 previous arrests as he attempted to rob a bar on Calle Llerena in the early hours of Friday morning, January 15. Neighbours contacted the emergency services when they heard noises coming from the premises at around 1.30am, before the security alarm started going off. When the Local Police arrived at the address, they were surprised to find the 40-year-old burglar stuck half-in, half-out of the front window of the bar. They also found the tools with which he had managed to pry open the security shutters. Because of the thief’s unfortunate position, officers wasted no time in arresting the man. O nce back at the station the officers realised that the man had been arrested on no less than 51 previous occasions, the most recent being two days beforehand, for theft.

NEWS

Fireball spotted crossing Vaccine Andalucia at 65,000 km/h Blunder A BALL of fire was seen crossing the sky between Andalucia and Morocco at a speed of 65,000 km/h at around 10.10pm on Wednesday, January 13. The rock was part of a comet which upon impacting the atmosphere at such a high speed became incandescent. Many people spotted it in Andalucia, according to astrophysicist Jose Maria Madiedo from the Andalucia Institute of Astrophysics (IAA-CSIC) who is in charge of the SMART project which

FIREBALL: In the sky.

tracks such occurrences. The fireball ignited at around 106 kilometes above Alhucemas in north Morocco then travelled northeast and was finally extinguished 65 kilometres above the Mediterranean, some 30 kilometres from the coast of Morocco. It covered a distance of approximately 50 kilometres. It was caught by SMART project detectors from the observatories of Calar Alto (Almeria), Sierra Nevada (Granada) and Sevilla.

Hero Teacher Delivers Meals ZANE POWLES, aged 48, an assistant head teacher at the Western Primary School in Grimsby, delivered an amazing 7,500 meals to children during the first national lockdown and he has now stepped up again. After Zane saw the food parcels that families had been re­ ceiving in place of food vouchers he was ‘horrified’ and ex­ claimed “The original packed lunch they provide is rubbish in my opinion, I would be horrified if my kids were getting that! “I can’t believe a company is profiting from our vulnerable children.” After the public uproar over the food parcels the govern­ ment has now reverted to food vouchers, which allow fami­

lies to shop for their children’s lunches. Zane is a very welcome sight to many families, with his gi­ ant rucksacks of packed lunches for the children. He has also been helping out by delivering laptops that have been donat­ ed. Lewis, a six­year­old fan said, “I think everyone should be more like Mr Powles. “He’s 100 per cent nice and really help­ ful. It’s been scary with everyone suffering from it (Covid), but it makes me happy to see Mr Powles. Most mornings I wait for him. “I like to thank him for saving the world and bringing our packed lunches and saving lives.”

THE Orihuela Health councillor, Jose Galiano, has confirmed that he re­ ceived his first dose of the Pfizer Covid­19 vaccination on Wednesday January 6, at a time when people from the four priority groups were sup­ posed to be first in line for the jab. The councillor has insisted that he was offered the vaccine by medical staff who claimed they had excess doses of the jab. “I was in the health centre and when they told me there were excess doses I agreed to get one, because if I didn’t they were going to throw them away,” said Galiano, who is in fact a qualified nurse but has been on sab­ batical for a year and a half. On Thursday, January 14, the Min­ istry of Health revealed that it had opened an investigation to establish why 15 people in the Alicante region who did not fall into priority groups had already received the Covid­19 vac­ cine. It has been reported that two mayors in Marina Alta, Local Police, Guardia Civil and eight officials of the Almoradi City Council have been vacci­ nated.

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NEWS

Second Dose Rollout Alicante Field Hospital AUTONOMOUS communities across Spain are already administering the second dose of Pfizer’s vaccine against Covid-19 after eight communities began the second round of the vaccination process on Monday January 18 with Araceli Hidalgo (96), said to be the first person to be vaccinated in Spain, receiving her second dose.

The second dose will be administered to residents and healthcare professionals throughout Spain, although the vaccine requires at least one week to create immunity. In a statement, the Ministry of Health recalled that prevention measures, the use of a mask, social distancing and hand washing, must also be

VAT On Masks

THE opposition has criticised the Spanish government for ‘lying’ about not being able to lower the price of face masks, which are mandatory in Spain, when the European Commission gave permission to all states in the European Union on April 3 of last year to lower the VAT on masks and other personal protective equipment (PPE) required in the fight against Covid­19. The government did eventually lower the VAT on face masks from 21 to 4 per cent on November 17 after repeat­ edly insisting that the EU prohibited the reduction. “Months ago I asked the European Commission if they had really prohibited reducing the VAT on masks, as our government said. Today they have responded to me, through official channels, that since April 3 it could have been done. We deserve a government that does not lie to us,” José Ramón Bauzá of Ciudadanos (Cs) wrote on Twit­ ter.

maintained among vaccinated people. According to Health, the vaccination strategy against Covid19 in Spain is going as planned with the latest data reported on Friday, January 15, stating that 1,139,400 vaccines have been distributed and 768,950 administered - with a new weekly batch of doses of Pfizer’s vaccine which arrived from Belgium on January 18. In total, 205,727 doses will be distributed equally among the autonomous communities, ensuring that all of them can administer the second dose to the people who have it this week. In total, Spain will receive 4,591,275 doses of the Pfizer vaccine with which 2,295,638 people will be immunised. In addition, on Tuesday January 12, the first Moderna vaccines arrived in Spain, which have also been distributed since last week. In total, 599,500 doses will be distributed among all the autonomous communities in a period of five weeks, until the third week of February included.

THE Alicante field hospital, lo­ cated on the premises of the General University Hospital of Alicante, was put into opera­ tion on Sunday, January 17, to accommodate the hospitalisa­ tion of Covid patients with mild or moderate clinical con­ ditions, in order to relieve pressure in centres in the province due to the increase in cases. The Department of Univer­ sal Health and Public Health has announced this week the fitting out of 280 beds in the three field hospitals of the Community, of which a total of 80 correspond to the Ali­ cante field hospital, the Gen­ eralitat has indicated in a statement. The Alicante field hospital, like its counterparts in Castelló and Valencia, will treat patients over the age of 18 ­ who are positive for Covid confirmed by PCR ­ and who have previously been admit­ ted to an acute hospital and are recovering from the ill­ ness. The Department specifies that if they have respiratory

FIELD HOSPITAL: Is now in operation.

failure, it must be corrected with low oxygen flows. This infrastructure is divided into different hospitalisation units, which have nursing con­ trols and medical consulta­ tions, equipped with the nec­ essary equipment to treat patients individually ­ and is al­ so being used for PCR testing.

Nurses Struck Off

THE Department of Health has confirmed ‘a very serious’ in­ cident has occurred during the vaccination of disabled resi­ dents at a centre in Tortosa, Tarragona. The department has been alerted to the fact a number of Catalan Health Institute (ICS) nurses in charge of administer­ ing the jabs had given the vaccine to relatives. The authority said this is ‘totally irregular’ as vaccines are currently only being administered to residents and health professionals. A similar incident occurred at a residence in Madrid earlier this month. Catalonia’s Secretary of Public Health, Josep Maria Argi­ mon, insisted this is an isolated case and has defended the work of the vaccination teams. However, he did warn that “any incident of this type will be punishable,” and assured the staff in question “have been removed from their jobs” and the department has opened an investigation.

‘I Am Not a Toy’ THE winners of the ‘I am Not a Toy’ competition visited the Almeria Zoosanitary Centre to meet all the rescue animals and receive their prizes. The ‘I am Not a Toy’ competi­ tion ran over the Christmas peri­

od and was organised by the city council, with the aim of promot­ ing responsible pet care and adoption. Over 100 children par­ ticipated, and the lucky winners were able to visit the Almeria Zoosanitary Centre on Friday Jan­

uary 15. The winners, Gloria Marfil Ibáñez, four, Antonio Gutiérrez, eight, and Unay Molina García, 10, played with the cats and dogs and received the excel­ lent prizes of veterinary clinic and animal shelter Playmobile.

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NEWS

CAFETERIA BECOMES AN ICU CAFETERIA: Prepared for an increase in patients.

Finally Reimbursed IBERIA AIRLINES has finally reimbursed €17,153 for a cancelled trip to Japan. The monies were returned to the customer and his five companions who decided to cancel the trip due to the Covid-19 pandemic, according to Spain’s consumer defence organisation Facua, which helped in this process. Antonio, a Madrid resident, booked six plane tickets in January 2020 to holiday in Japan with his friends. The trip, which was scheduled for the end of March and set to last for 10 days, included changes in the booking conditions allowed without penalty, in addition to the possibility of reimbursement. In March, due to Spain’s State of Alarm and home confinement, Antonio requested the cancellation of the trip and reimbursement of the amounts paid, since it was impossible to travel. Antonio said that the airline refused to return the money and would only send him a voucher for the same amount. Even though the airline ended up cancelling the flight due to the pandemic, it continued to refuse to refund the price of the tickets, offering the only option of the voucher once more. Faced with this situation, Antonio decided to go to Facua Madrid to help him manage the corresponding claim against the airline and after nine months, Iberia Airlines finally reimbursed the total amount.

THE cafeteria in Malaga’s re­ gional hospital is being pre­ pared for use as an ICU ward for incoming patients affect­ ed by the recent rise in Covid infections. This ward has been ‘in­ stalled’ before in the cafeteria when numbers of infected pa­ tients increased, and the need for another ICU arose. The whole of the hospital has undergone a restructure of varying degrees to accom­ modate what it’s believed will be a considerable rise in admissions in the next 14 days. The Hospital management confirmed Oncological surgery would go ahead de­ spite the influx of Covid pa­ tients, and as much normal practice would continue. Still, non­urgent proce­ dures may take a back seat till the facility can accommo­ date patients. It’s always a worrying de­ velopment when cafeterias are turned into intensive care wards, but it’s a neces­ sary one in these difficult times.

NEWS

www.euroweeklynews.com

21 - 27 January 2021

Brit Brexit confusion Turned back at the airport.

LUCY and Adam Montgomery have been living in Barcelona for several years and both pos­ sess NIE numbers in Spain. Returning from a Christmas visit to family in Northern Ire­ land, they flew back to the Catalan capital via Manches­

Amazon Creates Jobs CORONAVIRUS restrictions and forced retail closures saw a huge shift away from traditional shopping in Spain, and online retail giant Amazon certainly made the most of the new trend, employing a whopping 5,000 people in 2020, bringing its Spanish workforce up to 12,000. The company announced on Thursday, January 14, that it now operates in 28 different locations in Spain, with new logistical centres having opened in Madrid and Sevilla in 2020. “We are incredibly proud to support thousands of people in Spain and their families in these difficult times. This is not only great news for those looking for a new job, but also a clear vote of confidence in the Spanish economy, in the hope that we can contribute to accelerating the recovery after the pandemic,” reported Mariangela Marseglia, Vice President and General Director for Amazon in Italy and Spain. “We have been overwhelmed by the trust that millions of Spanish customers have placed in Amazon and we will continue to work tirelessly for them and for the thousands of SMEs that work with us.”

ter. Upon arriving at Barcelona airport, border officials urged passengers to immediately take out their passports. The plane was divided into three lines for Spanish, EU, and British citizens. The Brits were quizzed about their residency permits by border police, who told Lucy she would not be permitted to enter the country as her TIE (registration number for non­EU citizens) docu­ ments were still being processed. She showed the police tax statements, proof of address, and other evidence that she was a resident of Spain to no avail. As her husband Adam al­ ready had a TIE number, he was permitted to enter the country. As the couple have two dogs in Barcelona, they were forced to separate and Lucy flew back to the UK. The case has highlighted the post­Brexit confusion faced by many British expats living in Spain, as overnight changes to the law brought in over the new year have caused wide­ spread travel issues.

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Guardia Civil confirm ‘It’s a scam’ A NEW scam alert has been is­ sued by the Guardia Civil re­ garding a download scam linked to the theft of bank de­ tails. The scam is sent by SMS message to your phone and suggests downloading an app to track a parcel coming to you, and it also suggests that to be sure to receive this item you must download the app to your phone. A Trojan or similar hidden software will then proceed to try and recover any bank details you have on your phone or within the commu­ nication received by third parties such as receipts, con­

SMS SCAM: Suggests there is a parcel on its way to you.

firmations and orders. This scam impersonates the post office of Spain ‘Correos’ and asks you to upload your TIE or DNI document and a photo to be able to receive a parcel. The very clear advice from the Guardia Civil is not to

download and not to give your details if you receive a message as described, but to go to your post office and show them what you have received where all will be confirmed immedi­ ately. If you are not sure, don’t click it, the best advice always.

Freezing Classrooms unbearable AS most areas of Spain experience some of the coldest weather in a decade, teachers’ unions are demanding urgent action as students and teachers alike are forced to wear hats, scarves and coats in the classroom and wrap up in blankets due to guidance to keep doors and windows open to ensure plenty of cross-ventilation in the prevention of coronavirus. However, the unions are now urgently calling on the Department of Education to install air filters in the classroom or revert to online

teaching, as the conditions in schools have become unbearable. According to one union, students are being forced to try and learn “in the heart of the cold snap with the lowest temperatures in decades, exposed to temperatures of 5 degrees Celsius, when the Law of Education states the minimum is 17 degrees, covered with blankets, with coats on, gloves, scarves and hats. What kind of system is it that condemns people to wither, get sick from the virus or catch pneumonia?”

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NEWS

Advertising Feature

Spain’s ambitious vision for 100% renewable energy SPAIN aims to cut carbon emis­ sions to net zero by 2050, ac­ cording to a new climate change bill, which sets out an ambitious raft of targets to tackle global warming over the next 30 years.

If the bill gets the go head from Spanish Parliament, at least 70 per cent of the coun­ try’s energy will need to come from clean energy sources, such as wind and solar, and all new coal, oil and gas extraction pro­

jects will be banned. The new bill goes hand­in­ hand with the Paris Climate Agreement, a global framework to limit global warming to well below 2ºC, and is also expected to shape the country’s econom­

ic recovery from Covid­19. While the plans are ambi­ tious, Spain has already made great headway into shaking up the electricity market in favour of renewable energies. Con­ sumers have been given more

flexibility to switch electricity suppliers, giving green energy companies the opportunity to offer competitive tariffs, while supplying electricity from 100 per cent renewable sources. And, more recently, the re­ moval of Spain’s infamous ‘sun tax’ has paved the way for more businesses and house­ holds to generate their own electricity using solar roof pan­ els. With more than 300 days of sun per year, Spain provides the perfect location for generating electricity from solar power. The former taxes and com­ plex legislation had previously made the process of installing and using solar PV panels pro­ hibitive, but thanks to the aboli­ tion of these taxes more and more consumers are choosing to invest in solar energy as a way of saving money and tak­ ing a step towards sustainable living. The new legislation on solar

PV panels even goes a stage further and allows those who generate solar energy to be fi­ nancially compensated for any surplus energy they produce, which can then be fed into the National Grid. In addition to the legislative changes, which empower busi­ nesses and consumers to be able to generate and consume renewable energy, the govern­ ment is also committing to in­ stalling a minimum of 3,000 MW of wind and solar power capacity, each year for the next 10 years. Speaking about Spain’s envi­ ronmental aims, Laurence Tubiana, chief executive of the European Climate Foundation said: “By planning on going car­ bon neutral, Spain shows that the battle against climate change is deadly serious, that they are ready to step up and plan to reap the rewards of de­ carbonisation.”

+34 951 120 830 I info@mariposaenergia.es www.mariposaenergia.es

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NEWS

Sweeping reform launched

THE Spanish government has drafted a ‘road map’ of sweeping reforms across its labour laws, pension scheme, and tax system in order to gain faster access to €72 billion of European Union funds to boost the country’s economic recovery from the pandemic. The massive funds will be accessed over three years, with €34 billion assigned to Spain’s 2021 Budget. The EU schemes ‘NextGenerationEU’ and ‘ReactEU’ are available to all member states and have a collective pot of €750 billion. Large swathes of the cash will be pumped into improving the country’s health and education systems. To gain faster access to the much-needed funds, Spain has ambitious plans to modernise its tax systems to boost efficiency and reassign resources. It plans to move the economy away from dependency on the tourism and service sectors, both of which have been severely affected by the pandemic. Spain also plans to tighten its labour laws to provide better conditions for part-time workers, who are often exploited by employers. A controversial reform will also see the country’s pension scheme changed, ending forced retirement and raising the standard age of retirement. Madrid has until April 30 to enact its reforms to claim the funds and Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez is reportedly committed to driving through the proposals before the deadline.

Woman locked in Chinese Bazaar A WOMAN, 87, got left inside a Chinese Bazaar in Torrelavega, Madrid when they closed. According to reports, the woman went to the shop and got locked inside when the owners closed for the night without realising she was there. She stood in the shop window for more than half an hour waving to passers-by to attempt to get help, but many people believed that she was part of the window decoration. When some finally did call for help, three police officers and a locksmith were needed to get the woman out of the shop, and she was finally released, in good health although a little shaken, at around 9.45pm.

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NEWS

Guardians Voluntary Gambling Exclusions Barcelona ‘Strategic Plan 2021-2025’ for The Alhambra THE Junta de Andalucia has set out to provide new guardians for the Alham­ bra and the Generalife in Granada, in the form of fal­ conry birds of prey. They will not only restore a cul­ tural history linked to the Nasrid times, but also pro­ tect the monuments and their surroundings from being damaged by pi­ geons. Falconer, Paulino Vázquez, is the head of the project that will project the gardens and forests along with the artistic heritage of the Alhambra. His team of guardians consists of brothers Rómulo and Re­ mo, who are Harris’s ea­ gles, two hawks and a goshawk. The birds of prey will be used to displace groups of pigeons and move them into a more appropriate habitat.

IN a bid to help both gam­ blers and their affected families, gamblers can vol­ untarily register to be ex­ cluded from gambling. The Ministry of Consumer Af­ fairs states that in 2020 in Spain, over 6,000 people chose to voluntarily be ex­ cluded from online gam­ ONLINE: Access restricted. bling. The protective mea­ sures of the registries mean addicts can be blocked from gambling if they deem that it has become a problem for them. There are both state and autonomous community registers, which serve different purposes. The state registry controls access to online gambling and the au­ tonomous community registers restricted access to physical gaming businesses, that are regulated in the autonomous communities.

Madrid’s ‘Catastrophic Zone’ THE mayor of Madrid, José Luis Martínez Almeida, called on the Spanish government on Thurs­ day, January 14, to declare the country’s capital city a “cata­ strophic zone” following an esti­ mated €1.4million worth of damages caused by Storm Filomena. “We request the declaration of a catastrophic zone, the cir­ cumstances exist for it and I ask

the central government for speed in its response,” said Almeida. The mayor has also called an extraordinary plenary session to discuss the municipal manage­ ment of the recovery after the storm. Storm Filomena ripped through Madrid for several days, causing the worst snowstorm in half a century and causing un­ told damage in the city.

THE port of Barcelona unveiled the ‘Strategic Plan 2021­2025’ at the headquarters of Foment del Treball on Wednesday Janu­ ary 13. The main economic objec­ tives are to raise the value of the goods it moves internationally above €70,000 million. This will increase to 40,000, the number of people that are employed lo­ cally, and hopefully, bring an end to 50 per cent of the con­ tainer docks being empty. The president of the port, Mercè Conesa, who presented the plan together with the gen­

BARCELONA PORT: The main logistics hub in the Med. eral director of the port of Barcelona, José Alberto Car­ bonell, and the vice president of Foment, Joaquim Llansó, high­ lighted that the port is already

the main logistics hub in the Mediterranean, with €65,000 million of annual exports, and moves 25 per cent of Spain’s for­ eign trade.

Katie’s Heart-Breaking Decision KATIE PRICE has made the heart-breaking decision that no mother would ever want to make, of putting her 18-year-old, 6ft 2in and almost 29st, disabled son Harvey, who also has a disorder which makes him partially blind, into a residential college. A devastated Katie, aged 42, said “It breaks my heart. I don’t want him to think I’m just getting rid of him. It’s so upsetting to think I won’t see him every day but this is the best thing for Harvey and we have to think positively because I don’t want him to think I’m just getting rid of him. This is his chance to live an independent life, learn skills, and socialise with people other than me.” She continued, “I’m trying to get him used to

me not being there all the time. But he’ll call on his iPad and say, ‘Mum, I need you,’ and I run to him. When he’s away it will break my heart because I won’t be able to get there, as I’ve got to juggle him with my other kids. When he goes to college he will learn to be an adult. He says now, ‘Mummy, I’m not a boy, I’m a man’.” Katie added, “The other kids are excited for him, they want to see what he can do. But I think they’ll find it hard when he’s not around on weekends. I need to learn to let go but it’s tough, anyone in my position knows how hard it is. We have an incredible bond. I don’t know how Harvey will react or how he’ll feel when I can’t get to him. It’s too painful to think about.”

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EUROPEAN NIBS DENMARK

GERMANY

No boycott

Passports stolen

EVEN though there have been numerous allegations of civil rights breaches in Qatar, the Danish Government has indicated that if the Danish National Football Team qualifies for the World Cup Finals, it will not ban it from taking part.

THIEVES in the city of Köthen broke into a register office and removed a safe weighing 750 kilos which, it has been revealed, contained a large number of identity cards and passports as well as two finger-print scanners.

BELGIUM

FRANCE

Hydrogen problem

Back off

AN experiment to introduce buses run on hydrogen (which is considered one of the better green energy sources) in Charleroi which was first approved in May of last year has been postponed due to lack of development funding.

WORKERS and unions are upset by a new rule introduced by Swedish maker of toilet paper Essity which wants to make it mandatory for staff in France to wear a device that makes a noise if they violate social distancing rules.

NETHERLANDS

NORWAY

Child benefit scandal

Meteor strike

JUST two months before the next Dutch general election, it is possible that the government may decide to resign as politicians are due to debate a report highlighting a scandal concerning the tax office treatment of families wrongly suspected of benefit fraud.

THOSE living in the vicinity of the small town of Løten saw and heard the sudden arrival of a meteorite and are tr ying to find the outer space visitor (which is estimated to have weighed less than two kilos) in the thick snow.

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FEATURE

Advertising Feature

HOME INSURANCE

FLOOD DAMAGE: Just one of the items covered with a Linea Directa policy. IF your home needs repairs following damage or your belongings need replacing after they’ve been stolen, then home insurance will help you cover the cost so you won’t have to pay everything yourself. Home insurance covers your property against damage and its contents against damage or theft. HOW DOES IT WORK? Your home is covered up to a limit of 100 per cent of the insured amount for loss or damage caused by storms or flood, water or oil escaping from fixed water central heating systems, fire, explosion, lightning, earthquake and smoke, theft or attempted theft, subsidence or landslides, falling trees and branches, vandalism and much more. Simply notify Línea Directa about what has happened within seven days of becoming aware of it. They will assess the damage caused before carrying out the necessary repairs. WHAT ABOUT CONTENTS? Home insurance policies from Línea Directa also cover broken windows, sanitary ware, the glass in ceramic hobs and even bathroom fittings made of earthenware or fibreglass. If the contents of your fridge and freezer are dam-

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FEATURE

GO LOCAL BUY LOCAL: By shopping locally, independent businesses can help support the local community.

THE EURO WEEKLY NEWS is urging its readers to support local businesses in the com­ munity by going local through the lockdown and for your Christmas shopping this year, instead of feeding online giants and super­ stores. This lockdown and festive period we challenge you to rediscover your local high streets, markets, butchers,

greengrocers and all of the wonderfully quirky indepen­ dent businesses in your area. Due to the Covid­19 pan­ demic, you may have to sup­ port many local businesses by ordering online and making use of any click and collect services they can operate if you are unable to get out due to health reasons or lockdown restrictions. The joy of shopping local

means that independent busi­ nesses can help support the local community. Although it may be a euro or two cheaper elsewhere or online, consider where your money is actually going. By shopping at an independent store you’re putting food on a local family’s table, and there is no better time than Christ­ mas to give back to your com­ munity by making a small ges­ ture and shopping in this way. Many local stores support local charities, support and sponsor local sports teams and in many cases the small independent stores are actu­ ally much more than just a small high street shop, they’re a family’s legacy, often passed down through numerous gen­ erations and support not just the current owner, but the generation before.

For those stores which are new, that extra couple of eu­ ros spent there are support­ ing someone’s dream and am­ bition, and also the courage it took them to step out alone, which is no easy task. It takes quite a large chunk of money to set up an independent store and compete with the multi­national and chains. So be sure to pre­order your turkey from a local butcher and get your spuds from a local greengrocer, let us revive that community spirit and get to know our neighbours again. You could also consider purchasing gift vouchers from local businesses to help them over the coming weeks, think­ ing outside the box can often lead to some fantastic ideas. Why not buy a meal for two, an hour’s tattoo time at a lo­

21 - 27 January 2021

SPENDING LOCALLY: Will make a difference to the local economy.

cal studio, a hair cut at a lo­ cal salon or an online study course for someone looking to change their career path. As people are struggling with finances thinking about what friends and family may actually need is important too. Whilst it’s nice to give a glamourous gift perhaps pre­paying a family mem­ ber’s phone bill for the month would actually be a better gift. Helping people alleviate stress and worry, give the gift of peace of mind through these difficult times. Choosing to spend your money locally will really make a difference in the re­ covery of the local economy. When we buy local, our mon­ ey stays local, and it strength­ ens the local economy in two ways. First, buying local keeps money circulating within the local economy. Studies have shown that local businesses recirculate a greater share of every euro as they create lo­ cally owned supply chains and invest in their employees. Data shows that local retail­ ers return 52 per cent of their revenue back into the local economy, compared to just 14 per cent for national chain retailers. Money circulating through the local economy benefits everyone who is a part of

each transaction. For exam­ ple, let’s look at a local farmer growing produce. First, they sell to a local restaurant, which in turn pre­ pares the fresh produce and sells it to local customers. The farmer pays its local employ­ ees and the restaurant uses revenue from sales to buy supplies from a neighbour­ hood hardware store. This ex­ ample illustrates how the re­ circulation of money in the local economy leads to a stronger financial foundation for our neighbours and com­ munities.

Buying local also fuels new employment and job opportu­ nities for people within our community. Studies show, lo­ cally owned businesses em­ ploy more people per unit of sales and retain more employ­ ees over time. While buying local is finan­ cially compelling to our com­ munities; the benefits to our environment are equally im­ pressive. Buying locally re­ duces the processing of goods, packaging and trans­ portation waste, which leads to less pollution. There’s a massive cultural shift underway redefining the

way people make buying deci­ sions. We’re seeing more indi­ viduals concerned about the environment, about how products are made and sourced, where materials come from, and a company’s overall social and environ­ mental impact. Many businesses are join­ ing our Go Local campaign by offering customers special of­ fers and discounts throughout the festive period, more de­ tails to follow here soon. Just remember to follow the latest government advice and any guidance businesses have to keep everyone safe.

EWN 23

FINANCE Refinancing SABA, the Spanish car park group owned by Criteria Caixa, the investment holding company of La Caixa bank has suffered from the lockdown and is now refinancing debts of €465 million with a number of lenders and is extending the life of its loans.

Recession bound A REPORT from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) highlighted the fact that the UK gross domestic product (GDP) declined by 2.6 per cent in November. GDP at the end of the month was 8.5 per cent below its pre-pandemic peak.

Fishing for shrimp FISHING company Iberconsa is to spend €26 million to have two new vessels built in order to strengthen its fleet and these will sail to Argentinian waters to fish for shrimp which is a new area of operation for the Galician organisation.

Jobs saved A RESCUE deal has been agreed for the Edinburgh Woollen Mill with Purepay Retail, a syndicate of investors led by the former chief operating officer of the group which will save 1,450 workers and salvage both Ponden Home and Bonmarche.

UK lockdown insurance THOUSANDS of small businesses in the UK will receive compensation from their insurance companies to cover losses incurred during the first national lockdown, following a recent court ruling. It was a test case put together by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) with the agreement of some insurance companies and small business protection groups. The Supreme Court ruled that small firms should receive payments under business interruption insurance policies which could now cost the insurers millions of pounds and form a precedence for future claims.

STAT OF WEEK

www.euroweeklynews.com • 21 - 27 January 2021

€3.5 billion

is the amount of money that Bankinter placed in its Luxembourg subsidiary in 2020 on behalf of clients looking to move their savings.

Covid dismissal upheld

EU Recovery Fund money ALTHOUGH the announce­ ment of the huge sums to be made available to Spain from the EU’s Recovery Fund was widely applaud­ ed, none has been received as yet and it appears that the government will have to prove that it is worthy of receiving the funds. The problem for Spain is that it needs the money in order to support the nu­ merous changes and finan­ cial aid that it has included in its 2021 budget which it­

self assumes the injection of €34 billion from the Eu­ ropean Union. Already it has been made clear that the ma­ chinery behind the two major new Tobin and Google taxes which were to generate significant in­ come for the country is lacking and this is an indi­ cation that the bureaucra­ cy behind the Spanish tax system is due for a major overhaul. The coalition govern­

LEGALLY SPEAKING

ment is committed to re­ form of some of the origi­ nal labour laws introduced by the Partido Popular but as time passes, it is clear that PSOE and Podemos have different views on how far and how quickly these changes can go. In a time of crisis with so many people out of work or on furlough, tax income falls and expenditure in­ creases and, in a bid, to re­ duce that load, the govern­ ment is looking closely at

the state pension with qualifying period to be in­ creased and incentives giv­ en to encourage workers to continue after the age of 65. The problem however is that with nearly four mil­ lion unemployed, many of them young, blocking re­ tirement might save ex­ pensive pensions, but leaves unemployed youth which may become a social and financial burden for a future government.

Selling performance

Future Residence Permits?

Credit: Ralph-PH flickr

BUSINESS EXTRA

26

We have received several similar questions regarding applications for Spanish residence permits into the next few years. Some al­ ready own holiday homes here where they intend eventually to retire. Others simply wonder how to apply for a residence permit a few years from now after the special post­Brexit regulations all expire. What documents will they need?

First you will need evidence of regular YOU AND THE LAW income to show IN SPAIN you can support yourself in Spain. This can be as low as €13,300, which is the general mini­ mum wage in Spain, for a single person. It varies on a sliding scale according to the number of family mem­ bers. If you do not have a regular income you must show a lump sum of €22,000 in the bank. Then you will need a medical certificate showing no contagious diseases. You must present a medical insurance policy with a company authorised to operate in Spain. There are other forms to fill in but these are basic. You will make your application at the Consular section of the Spanish embassy in Lon­ don or at the Consulate in Manchester and you must ap­ pear in person.

DAVID SEARL

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

IN an interview with the Gibraltar Broadcasting Corporation on January 14, former Chief Minister and recent­ ly appointed Minister with responsi­ bility for Financial Stability, Sir Joe Bossano made a shocking statement. He basically said that due to disrup­ tion caused by both Brexit and the Covid­19 pandemic that the Rock was no longer financially stable and that the situation is “extremely serious”

NOVEL IDEA: For someone who says he’s not a great drummer, Mick Fleetwood has done ok. MICK FLEETWOOD, British drummer and one of the founder members of Fleet­ wood Mac has come up with a novel idea which will add to his millions in the bank by sell­ ing his proportion of perfor­ mance rights to BMG music. At 73 he is clearly looking to generate additional in­ come for his successors, but unlike other musicians who have sold publishing rights re­ cently, his deal means that every time any Fleetwood Mac number (from the most successful line­up) is streamed on the internet, BMG will be paid his portion of the royalties. The recent huge success of

the Tik Tok hit featuring Dreams produced by Nathan Apodaca which had 2.8 bil­ lion views worldwide shows how important the internet and streaming has become. This deal is a follow­up to a separate arrangement done earlier whereby he sold pub­ lishing rights to a separate company, but does not ex­ clude ongoing royalties for sales of CDs and vinyl from the group’s back catalogue. Evergreen rock music has become a popular private in­ vestment option for those looking for something differ­ ent and many old rockers have sold different rights over the past 12 months or so.

Gibraltar financially unstable

with hard decisions having to be made with regards to public spend­ ing. This was after an emergency cabi­ net meeting held to discuss the forthcoming budget and he further indicated his belief that things won’t return to the buoyant times of 2018/2019 until after the next Gen­

eral Election due in 2023. Roy Clinton the opposition Shadow Minster for Public Finance remarked upon hearing this news: “We have for the last eight years been warning the government that its level of spending and borrowing were out of control. Whereas no­one could have foreseen the combined econom­

SOON after the start of the Spanish lockdown, the gov­ ernment had a Royal Decree passed which effectively stated that no­one could be dismissed due to Covid­19 related matters. Now however it is facing a dilemma as a court in Barcelona has ruled that a dismissal of an individual on July 3, 2020 had to be upheld due to Spain’s relationship with the European Union. The decision was based on the grounds that by declaring the dismissal unlawful, there would be a violation of the freedom of the company un­ der regulations governing the EU.

Mercadona coffee supplies ONE of Mercadona’s popular coffee products, the Hacen­ dado Americano range has until now been purchased from UCC Coffee Spain but actually produced by the parent company in Japan. Now with an investment of €250,000 and in accor­ dance with the supermar­ ket’s wishes to cut the envi­ ronmental impact caused by shipping, a new production line will be created at its Logroño (La Rioja) facility. The coffee, available in all of the company’s stores ex­ cept for the Canary Islands is a simple way to enjoy Amer­ icano style filter coffee with­ out the need for any special machinery. ic effects of Covid­19 and Brexit, it is evident that Gibraltar needed a big­ ger financial cushion than it currently has and its rainy­day funds are insuffi­ cient. “The £500 million loan facility guar­ anteed by the UK is only for three years and thus does not give us much room for error if we are to meet our obligations as a community. Spending needs to be prioritised and targeted.”

28 EWN

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C LOSING P RICES J ANUARY 18

PRICE(P) CHANGE(P) COMPANY 3I Group 1.151,50 1.153,00 Admiral Group 2.936,0 2.940,0 Anglo American 2.672,5 2.679,6 Antofagasta 1.517,00 1.523,00 Ashtead Group 3.655,0 3.681,0 Associated British Foods 2.251,4 2.257,6 AstraZeneca 7.642,0 7.645,0 Auto Trader Group Plc 571,60 574,60 Avast 537,39 539,74 Aveva 3.788,0 3.846,0 Aviva 351,80 352,00 B&M European Value Retail SA507,80 511,40 BAE Systems 493,16 495,70 Bank VTB DRC 1,007 1,010 Barclays 150,38 150,50 Barratt Developments 705,20 705,20 Berkeley 4.537,0 4.537,0 BHP Group 2.117,98 2.135,50 BP 296,59 299,06 British American Tobacco 2.771,0 2.774,0 British Land Company 457,20 459,00 BT Group 137,46 138,65 Bunzl 2.450,0 2.449,0 Burberry Group 1.728,0 1.732,0 Carnival 1.295,4 1.308,0 Centrica 49,49 50,54 Coca Cola HBC AG 2.311,3 2.312,4 Compass 1.412,00 1.414,00 CRH 3.250,0 3.253,0 Croda Intl 6.332,0 6.406,0 DCC 5.662,0 5.712,0 Diageo 2.906,5 2.920,5 DS Smith 386,40 389,50 EasyJet 815,00 816,60 Experian 2.699,0 2.715,0 Ferguson 9.326,5 9.354,4 Flutter Entertainment 14.965,0 15.060,0 Fresnillo 1.090,00 1.118,50 GlaxoSmithKline 1.411,00 1.412,80 Glencore 277,45 279,38 Halma 2.558,0 2.579,0 Hargreaves Lansdown 1.578,50 1.580,50 Hikma Pharma 2.515,00 2.552,00 HSBC 401,75 402,70 IAG 160,31 160,95 Imperial Brands 1.635,90 1.638,00 Informa 539,20 541,80 InterContinental 4.840,0 4.865,0 Intermediate Capital 1.697,00 1.714,00 Intertek 5.584,0 5.610,0 ITV 109,75 110,40

% CHG. 1.144,50 2.926,0 2.661,7 1.488,50 3.640,0 2.234,6 7.563,0 566,40 534,50 3.785,0 347,40 505,80 490,90 1,007 147,92 692,60 4.471,0 2.112,00 296,00 2.757,0 448,00 136,85 2.436,0 1.704,5 1.280,5 49,24 2.296,0 1.403,70 3.250,0 6.332,0 5.658,0 2.888,0 383,80 795,37 2.682,0 9.242,0 14.880,0 1.081,00 1.400,60 276,58 2.554,0 1.562,50 2.500,00 399,75 156,50 1.620,75 535,00 4.824,0 1.695,00 5.548,0 109,31

NET VOL 15,53K 0,25K 7,59K 41,22K 14,92K 3,54K 10,35K 36,36K 1,98K 13,10K 295,25K 48,85K 14,15K 25,02K 806,45K 58,30K 12,76K 118,46K 664,14K 44,57K 61,15K 1,38M 0,20K 13,99K 26,21K 453,08K 1,81K 8,84K 0,02K 28,37K 2,45K 47,32K 137,72K 239,72K 36,72K 1,52K 6,73K 48,99K 53,68K 698,02K 16,44K 7,69K 1,54K 74,19K 2,26M 8,12K 55,57K 3,69K 9,88K 4,03K 49,21K

COMPANY

PRICE(P)

J Sainsbury Johnson Matthey Land Securities Legal & General Lloyds Banking London Stock Exchange Meggitt Melrose Industries Mondi National Grid NatWest Group Next Norilskiy Nikel ADR Ocado Persimmon Phoenix Prudential Reckitt Benckiser Relx Rentokil Rightmove Rio Tinto PLC Rolls-Royce Holdings Rosneft DRC Royal Dutch Shell A Royal Dutch Shell A Royal Dutch Shell B RSA Insurance Sage Samsung Electronics DRC Sberbank Schroders Scottish Mortgage Segro Severn Trent Smith & Nephew Smiths Group Spirax-Sarco Engineering SSE St. James’s Place Standard Chartered Standard Life Aberdeen Taylor Wimpey Tesco Tui Unilever United Utilities Vodafone Group PLC Whitbread WPP

237,42 2.741,0 668,20 273,87 36,24 9.213,5 431,60 182,65 1.806,29 871,60 161,20 8.122,0 34,70 2.510,19 2.738,0 695,60 1.434,50 6.292,0 1.826,50 523,20 614,20 5.933,0 104,30 6,79 1.457,40 1.457,4 1.397,6 678,20 566,83 1.908,00 14,99 3.461,0 1.228,00 965,68 2.333,0 1.566,50 1.499,00 11.525,0 1.521,00 1.178,50 490,90 307,10 165,45 242,80 400,19 4.386,7 930,00 126,03 3.152,0 817,60

CHANGE(P)

% CHG.

NET VOL

238,13 2.753,0 674,30 273,87 36,26 9.213,5 438,90 183,30 1.820,50 877,80 161,20 8.130,0 35,01 2.540,00 2.743,0 704,00 1.435,50 6.324,0 1.839,50 527,00 617,20 5.963,2 105,65 6,88 1.464,40 1.464,8 1.403,4 678,60 567,20 1.914,00 15,04 3.479,0 1.232,14 968,52 2.341,0 1.575,50 1.503,50 11.630,0 1.529,00 1.178,50 491,90 307,10 165,45 243,50 400,60 4.403,7 936,40 126,78 3.197,8 819,00

236,30 2.723,0 659,70 270,51 35,68 9.186,0 429,50 180,90 1.798,48 869,60 157,35 7.998,0 34,62 2.507,40 2.688,0 689,40 1.420,00 6.280,0 1.823,00 521,40 613,80 5.913,0 104,05 6,79 1.451,75 1.452,2 1.388,0 677,00 564,00 1.906,00 14,87 3.446,0 1.220,00 961,40 2.330,0 1.554,50 1.490,00 11.485,0 1.517,00 1.169,00 485,90 302,89 163,16 239,60 385,25 4.369,0 929,60 125,76 3.147,7 808,80

35,17K 10,10K 66,71K 136,44K 7,97M 0,91K 111,45K 163,55K 0,80K 112,64K 742,53K 14,01K 18,00K 12,23K 47,03K 93,12K 114,70K 37,98K 96,96K 49,34K 20,70K 10,77K 1,34M 82,30K 25,29K 25,63K 76,73K 68,73K 14,95K 3,46K 389,60K 2,06K 226,40K 9,00K 5,99K 45,36K 10,80K 2,10K 49,33K 9,46K 137,65K 93,62K 114,00K 266,89K 270,54K 6,13K 34,83K 377,05K 2,37K 44,80K

0.89184

1.12257 Units per €

US dollar (USD) ......................................1.20699 Japan yen (JPY)......................................125.238 Switzerland franc (CHF) .........................1.07634 Denmark kroner (DKK) ...........................7.43881 Norway kroner (NOK) .............................10.3834

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 J ANUARY 18

COMPANY 3M Alphabet C Amazon.com Amgen Apple Boeing Caterpillar Chevron Cisco Coca-Cola Facebook Goldman Sachs Home Depot Honeywell IBM Intel J&J JPMorgan McDonald’s Merck&Co Microsoft Nike Procter&Gamble Salesforce.com Tesla UnitedHealth Verizon Visa A Walmart Walt Disney

PRICE 165,55 1.736,19 3.104,25 245,49 127,14 204,32 194,62 92,09 45,43 48,70 251,36 301,01 275,59 205,97 128,39 57,58 160,30 138,64 209,91 83,38 212,65 140,72 134,78 213,14 826,16 351,30 57,38 201,59 144,64 171,44

CHANGE CHANGE% VOLUME(M) 166,26 163,38 3,55M 1.756,00 1.721,55 1,34M 3.142,55 3.095,17 4,24M 246,84 240,02 2,86M 130,22 127,00 111,60M 209,25 204,20 11,10M 195,71 190,88 3,32M 94,31 91,71 10,24M 45,65 44,88 30,27M 49,18 48,53 24,37M 253,86 247,16 24,94M 304,86 296,88 3,86M 276,39 268,00 5,13M 207,86 205,20 3,89M 129,24 127,67 4,91M 59,65 57,50 50,27M 161,41 159,11 7,63M 141,65 137,01 27,88M 210,70 207,42 3,59M 83,50 81,56 9,74M 214,51 212,03 31,75M 142,38 139,88 6,41M 136,20 134,66 7,76M 217,87 212,99 8,53M 859,90 819,10 38,78M 353,05 345,74 3,78M 57,50 56,71 15,79M 203,26 200,43 8,76M 145,90 143,67 11,97M 174,19 170,17 12,23M M - MILLION DOLLARS

NASDAQ C LOSING P RICES J ANUARY 18

COMPANY

CHANGE NET / %

VOLUME

+3.59% +2.62% +2.27% +3.58% +2.13% +3.12% +1.30% +5.62% +2.69% +26.65% +33.98%

6,355 549,921 551,686 381,507 422,804 307,192 521,782 1.36M 502,443 280,262 47,496

-2.90% -15.84% -8.39% -0.74% -2.23% -2.35% -1.22% -18.03% -8.73% -3.15% -1.68%

340,760 3.58M 1.61M 4.24M 38.78M 772,848 6,940 3.82M 5.24M 869,257 211,828

Most Advanced Atrion Corp. Equinix Inc. Align Technology Inc. Abiomed Inc. MarketAxess Holdings Inc. Bio-Techne Corp. Trade Desk Inc. Cl A Seagen Inc. BeiGene Ltd. ADR BioVie Inc. Kaspien Holdings Inc.

Most Declined Booking Holdings Inc. SolarEdge Technologies Inc. MicroStrategy Inc. Amazon.com Inc. Tesla Inc. Intuitive Surgical Inc. Broadcom Inc. 8% Pfd. Series A Poshmark Inc. Cl A Enphase Energy Inc. ASML Holding N.V. CoStar Group Inc.

FINANCE, BUSINESS & LEGAL

www.euroweeklynews.com

Credit: Norwegian/ Photo by David Charles Peacock

Back to basics for Norwegian

Norwegian 737-800 aircraft. NORWEGIAN AIR has ad­ vised the Oslo Stock Ex­ change that it intends to concentrate on flights in Nordic areas only, to reduce aircraft numbers and sack around 2,000 members of staff. Founded in 1963, it ex­ panded from being an inter­ nal airline, to touching down first in Nordic countries, then most of Europe and fi­ nally took on intercontinen­ tal flights using modern air­ craft and charging relatively low prices. It eventually became the largest airline in Scandinavia and the fourth largest inde­ pendent carrier in Europe after WIZZ, easyJet and Ryanair, but its reliance on Boeing 787 Dreamliners for long haul flights had caused major problems before the outbreak of the pandemic. The airline had significant

debts and didn’t have the technical back up to cope with technical problems with its fleet and the out­ break of Covid­19 really was the last straw, as it had al­ most no income but debts to cover as well as the cost of parking its fleet to cope with. Having been refused sig­ nificant financial assistance by the Norwegian Govern­ ment it had to enter into bankruptcy protection in Ireland and whilst it hopes to reduce its indebtedness to Kr 20 billion (€1.9 billion) it can only achieve this by disposing of aircraft (if any­ one wants them), reducing staff and destinations. By taking this action, it hopes that the Norwegian Government will reconsider its appeal for assistance and it has been confirmed that the Norwegian Busi­

Spanish taxes delayed THE much-vaunted Spanish Tobin and Google taxes due to be reported in February and April respectively will have to be postponed due to a number of problems. Not only are the necessary orders and regulations not yet in place to make the imposition of these taxes legal, but computer platforms have not been completed to allow for their reporting and collection. What is not known at the moment is whether the taxes will be retrospective once everything is in place or those responsible for paying will be let off any back dating.

ness and Trade Minister, Iselin Nybø, is reviewing the situation.

BUSINESS EXTRA Cryptocurrency THE continued rise of the value of Bitcoins is starting to worry some regulators who whilst in favour of the concept of cryptocurrency fear that crooks will continue to be attracted to an untraceable way of moving money around.

Lockdown woe WHILST purely online card companies like Moonpig have seen business increase dramatically, those like Card Factory in the UK with nearly 1,000 stores has run into some financial difficulty as although online sales are good, the lockdown has drained income from the shops.

Anti-Covid bus GALICIAN based bus manufacturer Castrosura working with Scania has unveiled its first anti-Covid electric bus which includes foot pedals to request that the bus stop, built in temperature gauges and even mask detectors.

21 - 27 January 2021

EWN 29

30 EWN

www.euroweeklynews.com

21 - 27 January 2021

Minors Centre Outbreak THE ‘Tierras de Oria’ detention centre for minors has both staff and residents that are positive for Covid, when a minor showed Covid-19 symptoms after being admitted to the facility. T he minor was tested with an antigen test, and found to be positive so immediate precautions were taken, and the youths sharing the same space were also tested. T he N orth A lmeria

Health Management Area has been notified of the situation and an external company will be disinfecting parts of the facility using a nebuliser system. So far there are 12 minors in isolation who have been tested with a PCR test, but the results are outstanding. Workers who had been in contact with the minors have been sent home to self-isolate and three of the people sent home have tested positive.

Strikes for ITV MANY ITV centres in Andalucia are experiencing long delays for vehicle inspections and further strikes have been called. Three strike days were held last December after agreements could not be reached regarding providing additional personnel amongst other issues. The new strike days called are currently January 25, 26 and 27. The State of Alarm last year caused many delays, but the ITV extensions put in place were not suffi­ cient to cover all vehicles. Insurance companies can refuse to cover a driver without a valid ITV and fines for lacking the ITV can also be costly.

FEATURE

I say, each to their own LEAPY LEE SAYS IT OTHERS THINK IT I’M afraid I’m rather going off this vaccine idea. At first I thought the adverse reports coming in were the work of the usual scaremongering conspiracy theorists, but this time I find myself tending toward a similar way of thinking. Computers can deliver up all the probabilities in the world, but you cannot simulate real time in a laboratory. The only way to really know the safety and effectiveness of these new vaccines is with the test of real time ­ and this they haven’t had. What is even more disconcerting is that Norway, who, sometime before the end of last year was the first to implement the vaccine, have reported large numbers of people experiencing adverse effects, and even more disturbingly, had some 23 deaths with 13 of them positively linked to vaccine side effects. Admittedly these were all elderly patients, but even so they were the first

to receive the injection and subsequently had it in their system for the longest time. Other reports, backed up by video evidence, show people having severe convulsions after receiving the vaccine and an investigation is also under way after the death of a Florida doctor, who died of a blood disorder some 16 weeks after receiving a shot. VAERS has alleged that already in the USA 33 people have died, 96 experienced life threatening symptoms and 225 were hospitalised. It’s just all a bit worrying. Whatever any of the medical ‘experts’ say, they have no way whatsoever of knowing what the long term effects of these vaccines can be. I do believe however, that although it may never actually become compulsory, the time will come when if you haven’t had the shot, you could be severely restricted; ie not allowed to travel or cross borders without showing some proof of vaccination. Hotels, bars, restaurants and places of entertainment, could also require proof before admitting customers and even find themselves refused a licence should

they fail to comply with orders laid down by their respective governments. You also will probably be unable to gain employment in certain capacities. It’s all a bit ‘Big Brother.’ If you don’t want to spend the rest of your days as a recluse, the only choice you may have is to actually have the jab. Of course if people start keeling over in droves, all of this will become moot! I just don’t fancy being an early victim. I think I’ll try and put it off as long as possible. I’m pretty sure the three weeks of debilitating illness I suffered back in February was my own personal bout of the virus, but without the test of time, even contracting the illness is no guarantee of further immunity. Ah well, as with a whole host of human experiences and occurrences, ‘only time will tell’. All this is only my opinion of course, don’t take my word for it. Each to their own, that’s what I say. Good luck all. Keep the faith. Love Leapy. Leapylee2002@gmail.com. Expatradioscotland.com Mon. Wed. Fri.

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

Advertising Feature VOSS HOMES

Property of the week 189,950

Villa Maria in Zurgena for NEW AND EXCLUSIVE TO VOSS HOMES - A lovingly and immaculately maintained, recently upgraded and decorated, three bed, two bath villa of 106m2 with H&C aircon throughout, 8m x 4m swimming pool on an established, landscaped garden of 671m2 with fantastic country views. Walking distance to a popular cafe / restaurant. Four to six mins drive (15 mins walk) to La Alfoquia village with shops and restaurants etc. Eight mins drive to Zurgena village, 12 mins drive to Huercal-Overa and 25 to 30 mins drive to the coast at Mojacar. The villa consists of the conservatory which makes a lovely second living room with views over the rear garden, swimming pool and lovely countryside. The front door leads in to the entrance hall. To the right is the good sized fitted kitchen large enough to have a small dining table. There are plenty of storage cup-

euros

VILLA MARIA: Newly upgraded and decorated, this villa also has an attractive main garden and recently refurbished swimming pool. boards and granite worktops. There is also an attached utility room with doors leading out to the carport. To the left of the hall is the living room and dining room with log burning fire and attractive fireplace, air con and bay style windows looking over the pool and views. The hall then leads down to the recently fitted family bathroom and

the two guest double bedrooms both with fitted wardrobes, air con and ceiling fans. Next is the large master bedroom with walk in wardrobe and recently fitted ensuite shower room with walk in shower. The villa benefits from new quality front and side doors, double glazed windows with fly nets, pull down blinds and security grills, slim-

line electric panel heaters, ceiling fans and H&C air con. Mains electricity, water, satellite TV and internet are connected. Outside to the side and rear is a driveway for four / five cars with electric sliding gate, carport for two cars plus a garden shed and log store for the fire. To the rear is the attractive main

garden which is mostly gravelled and tiled for low maintenance and has orange, lemon, olive and palm trees and a variety of Mediterranean plants. The recently refurbished 8m x 4m swimming pool surrounded by a tiled terrace with plenty of room for sunbathing and entertaining is ideally placed to enjoy the views.

For more information and to arrange a viewing please contact Voss Homes on 0034 950 616 827 or 0034 678 002 006, contact them through the website www.vosshomesspain.com or call in to their offices in Huercal-Overa and La Alfoquia village.

THURSDAY 4:00pm 4:45pm

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Escape to the Country The Farmers' Country Showdown The Bidding Room Pointless BBC News at Six BBC London News The One Show EastEnders Pooch Perfect Death in Paradise The Farmers' Country Showdown The Bidding Room Pointless BBC News at Six BBC London News The One Show Garden Rescue A Question of Sport EastEnders Would I Lie to You?

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Final Score To be Announced BBC News BBC London News Weather Celebrity Mastermind Catchpoint Pointless Celebrities Casualty Michael McIntyre's The Wheel

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Money for Nothing A Perfect Planet BBC News BBC London News Weather Match of the Day Live: The FA Cup Countryfile A Perfect Planet The Serpent BBC News

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Escape to the Country The Farmers' Country Showdown The Bidding Room Pointless BBC News at Six BBC London News; The One Show Panorama EastEnders Katie Price: Harvey and Me

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The Farmers' Country Showdown The Bidding Room Pointless BBC News at Six BBC London News The One Show EastEnders Holby City Paramedics on Scene Celebrity Best Home Cook

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The Farmers' Country Showdown The Bidding Room Pointless BBC News at Six BBC London News Party Political Broadcast The One Show The Bidding Room The Repair Shop Celebrity Best Home Cook

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Learning from Home with BBC Bitesize Live International Bowls Flog It! Richard Osman's House of Games Rick Stein's Cornwall Inside Culture with Mary Beard Nigella: At My Table Winterwatch 2019

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ITV London Weather Tipping Point The Chase ITV News London ITV Evening News Emmerdale Tonight Emmerdale The Martin Lewis Money Show: Live The Chasers Road Trip

Learning from Home with BBC Bitesize Live International Bowls Flog It! Richard Osman's House of Games Rick Stein's Cornwall Back in Time for... Winterwatch 2019 The Investigation The Investigation

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ITV News London Dickinson's Real Deal Lingo ITV London Weather Tipping Point The Chase ITV News London ITV Evening News Emmerdale Coronation Street Endeavour

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Around the World in 80 Gardens Fast Girls Live International Bowls Flog It! The Real Marigold Hotel Natural World Celebrity Antiques Road Trip Dad's Army Brian Cox's Russia The White Crow

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Songs of Praise Live International Bowls Flog It! Ski Sunday Cornwall: This Fishing Life Incredible Journeys with Simon Reeve The Trump Show: The Downfall Lance

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Tipping Point: Best Ever Finals ITV News and Weather ITV News London The Chase: Celebrity Special Dancing on Ice Who Wants to be a Millionaire? Finding Alice ITV News and Weather

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Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is Sailing Meerkat Manor Flog It! Richard Osman's House of Games Lightning Back in Time for... Winterwatch 2019 This World

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Hidden Kingdoms Meerkat Manor Flog It! Richard Osman's House of Games Lightning Back in Time for... Winterwatch 2019 John Delorean: Back from the Future DeLorean: Tomorrow's Worlds

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Judge Rinder Lingo ITV London Weather Tipping Point The Chase ITV News London Party Political Broadcast ITV Evening News Emmerdale Coronation Street Cornwall and Devon Coronation Street

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Countdown A Place in the Sun A New Life in the Sun Junior Bake Off The Simpsons Hollyoaks Channel 4 News George Clarke's Amazing Spaces 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown

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Steph's Packed Lunch Countdown A Place in the Sun A New Life in the Sun Junior Bake Off The Simpsons Hollyoaks Channel 4 News Jamie and Jimmy's Friday Night Feast It's a Sin

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A Place in the Sun Escape to the Chateau: Make Do and Mend Location, Location, Location Channel 4 News Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull Maze Runner: The Death Cure

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Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul Zoo Channel 4 News Billionaire Cruise Ship: Paradise Island The Great Pottery Throw Down The Great 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown

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A Place in the Sun A New Life in the Sun Junior Bake Off The Simpsons Hollyoaks Channel 4 News Devon and Cornwall 999: What's Your Emergency? Shut-Ins: Britain's Fattest People

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Countdown A Place in the Sun A New Life in the Sun Junior Bake Off The Simpsons Hollyoaks Channel 4 News Secret Safari: Into the Wild 24 Hours in A&E First Dates

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Countdown A Place in the Sun A New Life in the Sun Junior Bake Off The Simpsons Hollyoaks Channel 4 News Kirstie and Phil's Love it or List it Grand Designs Ramsay's 24 Hours to Hell and Back

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FEATURE

Who’s pulling your strings? ROBERT SHALLIS DO you see yourself as the puppet or the puppeteer? The person in control or the person being controlled? All too of­ ten in life, we allow our strings to be pulled in one direction or another, al­ lowing things to happen to us rather than taking control and allowing things to happen for us. However, sometimes it can feel im­ possible to control something outside of ourselves and therefore, allow it to influ­ ence and effectively manage our lives which is what many of us tend to do. ‘Oh well, it is what it is, what can I do about it?’ Is a very familiar response for those who feel they have no real influ­ ence and effectively relinquish responsi­ bility. A famous General once said: “I cannot trust a man to control others who can­ not control himself.” The key aspect of that quote is that as much as we can feel governed by our so­

BREAK FREE: Take control and start to look at things differently.

Organic Cuisine Championship OLULENSE chef Ángel Hernández has taken the crown at the Andalucian Championship of Organic Cuisine, in the first edition of the BioRestauración competition. Organised by Ecovalia and held at the Seville School of Hospitality, all the necessary Covid­19 security measures were followed and the final eight chefs produced their fantastic meals, all made with organic products. Each province in Andalucia was represented by a different chef. President of Ecovalia, Álvaro Barrera said the competi­ tion, “has demonstrated the high level of catering and the commitment of Andalucian chefs to organic products. In a situation like the one we are going through, from Ecovalia, we were clear that we had to support the restau­ rant sector, one of the most affected by the pandemic, and we have done so with this contest.”

200 Million Customers lost SPAIN’S airport operator Aena has suffered its worst year in history, as it carried 199,183,065 fewer passengers in 2020 than it did the previous year, representing a loss of 72.4 per cent. The first coronavirus lockdown in the spring saw a 90 per cent drop in passengers, but things slightly improved with the arrival of summer and the resumption of international travel. However, the airline sector collapsed again in September with the onset of the second Covid­19 wave. The biggest loss was unsurprisingly in international travel, with a drop of 77.8 per cent, but national airline passengers also fell by 60.6 per cent.

called puppet masters, we actually have more control than we think. We have control of ourselves by way of our atti­ tude towards dealing with situations. Of course, there are many things that we cannot control, but just because we can­ not control them, to varying degrees, we do not need to allow them to determine our well­being, that is entirely our choice, hard as it may seem at times, it is impor­ tant to remember. We cannot control other people’s deepest thoughts and emotions no more can they us. What we have com­ plete power over are our very own thoughts, feelings and emotions, and in turn, actions. It starts with us, so under­ standing ourselves is the key to cutting the all controlling strings that, if we allow them will determine our daily lives. So how do you free yourself from the puppet master and break free? Well firstly, it’s important to know that chang­ ing the way we view a situation can easi­ ly change our thoughts and opinions around it. With the current pandemic, many people feel trapped and helpless, buying into the constant conspiracy theories

and the doom and gloom surrounding it. Others are focused on a more positive outcome and choose not to buy into the everyday drama and negativity which is so prevalent at the moment. Breaking the habit of the attachment to the current drama is key because only then can you start to attach yourself to a more positive, healthier, happier out­ come. You would have then freed your­ self from that all controlling negative way of being. Our thoughts create our feel­ ings so what better time to start thinking differently in order to feel different. It’s a choice we all have. Once you start to look at things in a different way, a more positive way, then those things ac­ tually start to look different to you. This is why two different people can experi­ ence the very same thing, yet perceive it completely differently. So, take note of your behavioural pat­ tern and thoughts, especially in the cur­ rent climate. Take control and break free from the puppet master. Let go of those all too familiar negative assumptions and know that you now have a choice to cre­ ate a different reality. Rob Shallis www.robshallis.com

A Close Encounter Of The Donald Kind 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

THIS week I was planning to write about the comparative differences between the philosophies of Nietzsche, Wittgen­ stein and Schopenhauer. Quite brief. Provocative. And thrilling. You’d have loved it. Trust me. I’m a journo… Never mind! But then I read somewhere that an elite unit of around 20 SAS soldiers is be­ ing trained to tackle a range of ‘alterna­ tive threats’ ­ including the possibility of contact with extra­terrestrials. I really don’t know why some people are so certain aliens don’t exist. Personal­ ly, I’ve an open mind; just because I’ve

never seen one doesn’t mean it isn’t there. For instance, I’ve never seen Do­ minic Cummings but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t exist, does it? And Boris Johnson, is he a figment of my imagina­ tion too? No, hang on, I have met him! In many early, low­budget, science­fic­ tion classics like ‘The Invaders’, ‘Invasion Of The Body Snatchers’, ‘Quatermass 2’, the alien invaders had the power to as­ sume human form. Maybe some mi­ grants still making for the UK aren’t just from other lands, but other planets? Af­ ter all, according to the 2011 census, the UK alone underwent its biggest popula­ tion surge after a decade of mass immi­ gration. Some even believe many ‘alien mi­ grants’, collectively, are known as Mem­ bers of Parliament since they often sound like they’re on another planet. Well, per­ haps that’s because they are. Next we’ll read Europe’s bad weather is the fault of aliens. Their UFOs moved the jet stream south. Anyway, let’s hope

they’ve brought their snow boots and fleeces with them if they’re visiting the UK at the moment. Really! Stories like these ­ head in bucket of sand comes to mind ­ do bring the, err, crazies out. What real news are we being distracted from? Elvis has been spotted on the moon ­ again? Slebs really do write their own novels? And Donald Trump’s still refusing to accept the elec­ tion result or attend Biden’s inaugura­ tion? No, hang on, that is true! Yes, politicians are strange. Alien­like. And with us. And, unlike the SAS, we’ve ALREADY got the proof... Nora Johnson’s psychological crime thrillers ‘No Safe Place’, ‘Betrayal’, ‘The Girl in the Woods’, ‘The Girl in the Red Dress’, ‘No Way Back’, ‘Landscape of Lies’, ‘Retribution’, ‘Soul Stealer’, ‘The De Clerambault Code’ (www.nora­john­ son.net) available online as eBook (€0.99;£0.99), Apple Books, paperback and audiobook. All profits to Costa del Sol Cudeca cancer charity.

EW 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.

TO THE SPANISH GOVERNMENT

From our Facebook

GOVERNMENT: Needs to take action.

Chris Shelley Palmer Not much difference. We came back to the UK last year. Spain is slightly cheaper until you have to add on the private medical insurance. Food, electricity and water are similar. Car and household insurance are dearer, but council tax is cheaper.

Heather Ullyott

OUR VIEW Inoculation is the way forward NOW that the various anti-Covid vaccines are being approved by different States and production is increasing, there seems little doubt that in the long-term it should make a major difference but it will take time. Here in Spain, those in residences for the elderly and front-line workers are the first to receive the inoculations, but it has to be remembered that it takes several days for the first of two injections to start to give some safety but it isn’t until after the second injection that most people can be considered immune. The fact that some people have succumbed to Covid-19 infection following the first injections give ammunition to those nay sayers who believe that ‘the cure is more dangerous than the illness.’ With any new drug, especially one created so quickly, there are bound to be some side effects which will appear in a percentage of those who are injected, but the world can’t simply continue with these rapidly expanding and returning spikes with economies being shot to hell and people almost becoming prisoners in their own houses. One thing is certain and that is without the vaccine, cases will continue to rise as will deaths from coronavirus so those who want to fight against the virus can only do so if there is a chance of reducing the number of people liable to catch it. It is going to take a very long time for the entire population of Spain to be vaccinated, but the only way to discover what percentage of the population will benefit is by testing the vaccine in ‘real time’ as we simply don’t have the the luxury of time on our side.

CORRECTIONS

SIR, Having read in the papers this week of the terrible toll in the tourist sector, does the government realise that at the end of March tens of thousands of British tourists will leave Spain under the 90-day rule. Some of us have enquired about getting an extended holiday visa here in Spain, only to be told we can only get one in England. I think tourism is about to get another big shock. You might want to start issuing extended holiday visas here and QUICKLY! Your sincerely S Cochrane

Shocking!! I read with interest the report in the EWN Costa del Sol edition that the Velez-Malaga Council were celebrating the success of the Three Kings Celebration in Velez. WHAT! 20,000 people attending and they say coronavirus restrictions were abided by. Traffic problems in the area were terrible and guess what? Within 14 days, Velez is closed down and coronavirus probems. Which dreamland are they living in? J McLean

Thank you, thank you, thank you Hi Leapy, Just to say thank you for having the courage to write your articles in such a positive manner and from the heart! Long may you reign! And on the matter of black women’s hair, I’ve worked with many and some keep it curly and others straighten it! Not rocket science! Keep safe! A fan ­ W Ramos

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

A lot depends on where you live in both countries. A glass of wine here in southern Spain is around €2.50 and you get a free tapa. In the UK, last time I went, it was around £5 per glass. You can have a three-course meal here for between €8 - €10, I’ve yet to find its match in the UK, both north and south.

Isabel Papa Bauset I have a low disability pension so I just make it to the end of the month. I would say Spain, even though food has gone up, gas bills have doubled, the water bill is a joke, electricity is slightly cheaper because I pay it by Alterna. Really I can’t complain because I have my own property, where as a single parent in London I couldn’t even afford my rent.

Sue June Definitely Spain... All the bills are far cheaper, especially the yearly Suma bill which mine is €150 for a five bedroom old townhouse. Electric is €20 less and water is cheaper here too. I do have a pellet fire and that is expensive, costs me €3.69 a bag and I use one bag every day and all four levels of the house are lovely and warm. I bought 80 bags in October and that should last me all winter. Definitely Spain!!!!!

Roger Rosedale Depends what you are comparing. Housing is obviously cheaper than London. But then, so is the rest of the UK. Fresh fish is MUCH cheaper here in Spain, but fruit and veg, not necessarily so and I find the choice in Spain more limited, generally. Meat can be cheaper in Spain, but I miss the older lamb that one can get in the UK and is quite difficult to source here. And generally, white goods and cars etc are more expensive here in Spain. Not to mention electricity and heating/cooling. Luckily where I am, cooling need is rare, as is heating - except this last, exceptional, fortnight. Yer pays yer money and takes yer choice. Income Tax - far higher in Spain (for those of us not evading Spanish tax!). But, I’m very content living here in Spain.

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, no-nonsense manner. To ask for an inaccuracy to be corrected. Email: editorial@euroweeklynews.com

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YOUR STARS FOR NEXT 7 DAYS ARIES (March 21 - April 20) Looking back over the past few months you will realise that fine adjustments are needed. Both your working life and diet need attention, so be determined that progress made will continue apace. Certainly, you have no qualms about facing any problems straight on. You thrive on responsibility and there is no shortage of that at the moment.

TAURUS (April 21 - May 21) Now that you are feeling much better, it will be tempting to put aside your healthy eating and exercise, but if you remember what a difference it makes it would be silly to stop now. Enlist the help of a friend or two in keeping the momentum going.

GEMINI (May 22 - June 21) There are so many things to do or try that you should be spoiled for choice. No, don’t settle down in front of the TV. Get out, make some friends and aim to learn something new every day. That may only be the name of your neighbour on the bus but it counts. You are charming and urbane, so don’t keep it all to yourself.

CANCER (June 22 - July 23) When your feelings are so positive, which they should be now, it is hard to remember that they have ever been any other way. You may have a plan in mind for a new activity to get the adrenalin flowing. How much more enjoyable, though, to find someone to share this with you. Book that course and maybe you will meet them there.

LEO (July 24 - August 23)

LIBRA (September 24 - October 23) With so much going on, you are in danger of burning yourself to a frazzle. You won’t realise until you have done it, so make a point of getting some peace and quiet, preferably both of them at the same time. Relax and don’t even think about things that are unchangeable. Time will sort out most things for you.

SCORPIO (October 24 - November 22) Leave nothing to chance when it comes to your health. Although you are feeling good now you will soon have problems because you are more concerned with others than yourself. This can be good but can also be overdone. You know how good you can feel. Increase this by simply not accepting second-best treatment.

HEXAGRAM The purpose of the Hexagram puzzle is to place the 19 six-letter words into the 19 cells. The letters at the edges of interlocking cells MUST BE THE SAME. The letters in the words must be written CLOCKWISE. The word in cell 10 (CAMERA) and one letter in four other cells are given as clues.

ABSURD BICKER BUREAU CAMERA (10) CARROT CONVEY DERAIL FORMAL FOURTH GEYSER HUBRIS IDEATE KAISER MERCER SLEEPY SPARKY SUPERB SWAMPY TWINGE

SAGITTARIUS (November 23 - December 21) Your tendency to see yourself through the eyes of others can lead you to undervalue your worth. This could see you going pearshaped, emotionally. Try not to believe everything that you are told because there are always at least two ways of seeing things. Be positive. You are capable of so much. Take care of your needs on a daily basis.

CAPRICORN (December 22 - January 20) Concentrate on your physical needs this week and spend much more time on yourself. There will be plenty of opportunities to look after others when you are feeling 100 per cent yourself. Stay in control of day-to-day plans.

LOTTERY UK NATIONAL LOTTERY Sat 16 January

3-15-38 45-48-53

After a few recent excesses, bad habits can prove hard to shake off. Remember that any time of the year is a good time to make a fresh start. Don’t put off looking after your health any more than you would put off stashing a cheque in the bank. Use it or lose it? You know it makes sense. Think about combining health with a holiday.

Keep up the pace this week so that you have plenty to discuss and ‘write home about.’ With your mind so active, you are capable of doing in a day what would normally take a week. By-pass those who try to slow you down. There will be plenty of time to be a plod later.

VIRGO (August 24 - September 23)

PISCES (February 20 - March 20)

It happens that energy is sometimes low. Take the chance to read up on why this could be. You may think that you know it all, but in this world there is no chance of that. Maybe you are out of touch generally, or just out of touch with your own needs. Give building your strength priority. How much better you will cope with extra energy.

Others may be changing their minds, and generally being a bit of a pain. That may irritate you but it is no reason to change your plans. Both you and your colleagues will be glad that you did in the longer term. You may need to find some peace and space for yourself come the weekend.

BONUS BALL

27

IRISH LOTTO Sat 16 January

12-17-22 32-38-39

BONUS BALL

40

EURO MILLIONS Tue 12 January

AQUARIUS (January 21 - February 19)

TIME OUT

BONUS BALL

6

02-10-18 34-35

9

Fri 15 January

BONUS BALL

04-10-27 38-40

3 11

EL MILLON: JSQ24427 LA PRIMITIVA Thurs 14 January

BONUS BALL

10-12-14 39-41-45

6 3

JOKER: 5378943 Sat 16 January

BONUS BALL

1-28-30 34-48-49

42

JOKER: 7002402

0

TIME OUT

38

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CODE BREAKER

ENGLISH-SPANISH

The clues are mixed, some clues are in Spanish and some are in English.

Each number in the Code Breaker grid represents a different letter of the alphabet. In this week’s puzzle, 7 represents W and 23 represents V, so fill in W every time the figure 7 appears and V every time the figure 23 appears. Now, using your knowledge of the English language, work out which letters should go in the missing squares. As you discover the letters, fill in other squares with the same number in the main grid and the control grid.

Across 1 Similar (8) 4 Cuervo (4) 8 Pavement (for walking on) (5) 10 Gaviota (7) 11 Creamy (f) (7) 12 Mildew (4) 14 To support (6) 16 Rain (6) 19 Espuma (4) 21 Ecuador (7) 24 East (7) 25 Street lamp (5) 26 Orejas (4) 27 Mountains (8)

Down 1 To iron (8) 2 Nail (metal) (5) 3 To want (6) 5 Áspero (5) 6/23 Bien hecho (4,4) 7 Marble (6) 9 January (5) 13 Barrels (8) 15 Almendra (6) 17 Votante (5) 18 Cherry tree (6) 20 To hate (5) 22 Incapaz (5) 23 See 6

LAST WEEK’S SOLUTION • LAST WEEK’S SOLUTION • LAST WEEK’S SOLUTION QUICK Across: 1 Lose, 3 Shops, 8 Carpenter, 9 Fewer, 10 Bets, 14 Hide, 15 Mouse, 18 Pronounce, 20 Often, 21 Stun. Down: 1 Lack, 2 Succeed, 4 Heel, 5/19 Put off, 6 Brief, 7 Grasp, 11 Easiest, 12 Chips, 13 Found, 16 None, 17 Grin.

CRYPTIC

Across: 1 Players, 5 Cheer, 8 Notch, 9 Realign, 10 Amnesty, 11 Title, 12 Crafty, 14 Scores, 17 Pedal, 19 Opposed, 22 Trained, 23 Isles, 24 Notes, 25 Elderly. Down: 1 Panda, 2 Antenna, 3 Ethos, 4 Strays, 5 Chaotic, 6 Exist, 7 Runners, 12 Capstan, 13 Talents, 15 Rustler, 16 Poodle, 18 Dealt, 20 Pried, 21 Dusty.

ENGLISH-SPANISH Across: 1 Bowl, 3 Nubarrón, 9 Cascara, 10 Techo, 11 Perra, 12 Earwig, 14 Clavel, 16 Prueba, 19 Napkin, 21 Beret, 24 Avión, 25 Cheaper, 26 Bookshop, 27 Eyes. Down: 1 Backpack, 2 Wiser, 4 Una vez, 5 After, 6 Receive, 7 Noon, 8 Damage, 13 Pastores, 15 Abanico, 17 Rubber, 18 Inicio, 20 Kings, 22 Reply, 23 Lamb.

CODE BREAKER

BOGGLED

FUTOSHIKI

smew seem seems sees mess messes messy meson mews seer seers sews sewn egis egises gees geese gist gits resew resews resewn eyes eyer swig sties queys quod soys soak soddy yeses yesses yews wees west wigs wise wises wits ties twee tweer twig twigs nose noses nosey nosy nods noddy oyer oyers odds dyes dyer dyers dose doses dons koan koans kaon kaons

NONAGRAM airy arty hair hart hoar hour hurt riot rota rout ruth taro tart thru tiro tori tort tour tray trio trot troy tyro your yurt hairy hoary houri ratio ratty rutty tarot trait troth trout truth tutor author thirty throat throaty AUTHORITY

HEXAGRAM

WORD LADDER

1 EASIER 2 ASSERT 3 TRIUNE 4 SWEATY 5 ARTERY 6 INHERE 7 WARMTH 8 THIRTY 9 BEHEST 10 MATURE 11 HEREIN 12 TEETHE 13 EUREKA 14 SHEAVE 15 STEREO 16 REMARK 17 NETTED 18 COARSE 19 RESCUE

SENT SEAT SEAM SLAM CLAM CLAN or

KAKURO

SUDOKU

SENT SEAT SLAT SLAY CLAY CLAN

39

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Almería TODAY VELEZ RUBIO ALBOX

HUERCAL OVERA GARRUCHA

WEATHER

MOJACAR ALMERIA RETAMAR ROQUETAS

ADRA

TOMORROW VELEZ RUBIO ALBOX

HUERCAL OVERA GARRUCHA MOJACAR

ALMERIA RETAMAR ROQUETAS

ADRA

SATURDAY VELEZ RUBIO ALBOX

HUERCAL OVERA GARRUCHA MOJACAR

ALMERIA RETAMAR ADRA

S: Sun

C: Cloudy

Th: Thunder

ROQUETAS

Cl: Clear

Sh: Showers

Sn: Snow

Malaga TODAY: MAX 16, MIN 5 Fri 14 5 Sat 15 5 Sun 16 6 Mon 16 6 Tues - 15 5 Wed 15 5

Alicante TODAY: MAX 17, MIN 8 Fri 17 7 Sat 17 7 Sun 17 7 Mon 16 8 Tues - 16 8 Wed 16 8

Almeria TODAY: MAX 16, MIN 8 Fri 16 8 Sat 15 8 Sun 15 8 Mon 15 9 Tues - 16 9 Wed 16 9

Benidorm TODAY: MAX 16, MIN 7 Fri 16 7 Sat 16 7 Sun 16 7 Mon 17 8 Tues - 17 8 Wed 17 9

Bilbao TODAY: MAX 12, MIN 2 Fri 12 2 Sat 11 2 Sun 11 3 Mon 12 3 Tues 12 2 Wed 12 2

Mallorca TODAY: MAX 17, MIN 7 Fri 15 7 Sat 15 7 Sun 16 7 Mon 17 8 Tues 17 8 Wed 16 9

Madrid TODAY: MAX 10, MIN 2 Fri 11 2 Sat 12 3 Sun 12 3 Mon 11 3 Tues 11 4 Wed 10 5

Barcelona TODAY: MAX 15, MIN 5 Fri 15 5 Sat 15 5 Sun 15 5 Mon 14 7 Tues 14 7 Wed 16 8

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

TIME OUT

FUTOSHIKI Fill in the squares so that each digit from 1 to 6 occurs exactly once in each row and column. Greater-than and less-than signs indicate the relationship of the two adjacent squares. There is only one solution, and you can find it without guessing.

BOGGLED How many English words can you find in the Boggled grid, according to the following rules? • The letters must be adjoining in a ‘chain’. They can be adjacent horizontally, vertically or diagonally. • Words must contain at least four letters and may include singular and plural or other derived forms. • No letter may be used more than once within a single word, unless it appears twice. • No vulgarities or proper nouns are permitted.

TARGET:

SCORING:

Average: 19 Good: 26 Very good: 38 Excellent: 49

4 letters: 1 point 5 letters: 2 points 6 letters: 3 points 7 letters: 5 points 8 or more letters: 11 points

KAKURO Fill all the empty squares using the numbers 1 to 9, so that the sum of each horizontal block equals the ‘clue’ on its left, and the sum of each vertical block equals the clue on its top. No number may be used in the same block more than once.

CRYPTIC Across 1 Hit one's friends back (4) 3 Contains revised authorisation (8) 9 Carry out injured fencer to be given oxygen (7) 10 Raid outside Portugal is swift (5) 11 Silver is depressed when lit up (5) 12 Stand with old duke after journey (6) 14 In the past, not quite everyone ready to respond (2,4) 16 Peel off in the ship and good rests are assured (6) 19 General method for making a margin? (6) 21 Number you formerly had right in the middle (5) 24 Is doing nothing about foals (5) 25 Telephone permit for small band (7) 26 Rep sides made to move apart (8) 27 Eddy, possibly, changed colour (4) Down 1 Cabinet-maker crossing North Sea? (8) 2 Terrible starts for anyone who files unread letters (5) 4 Prevents vaster disruption (6) 5 Dog right in between officer and private (5) 6 Little devil may wander and get better (7) 7 Don's way of showing assent (4) 8 Hand tool for raw beginner wrapped in absorbent cloth (6) 13 Agreed, it's like it was posted to the editor (8) 15 Greek islanders can rest in resort (7) 17 Type of prayer from N Italy (6) 18 Letters from fancy Prussian to country (6) 20 Throw away a stew that's gone off (5) 22 Romeo gets colleague to perk up (5) 23 Foreign leader showed the way or took flight (4)

TIME OUT

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SUDOKU

QUICK

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.

Across

Down 1 Footwear (5) 2 Opposed to (7) 4 Holy book (5) 3 Summit (4) 7 Deserted (9) 4 Annoy persistently (6) 8 Short musical composition with words 5/17 Witty remark (3,3) (4) 6 Finished (5) 9 Assisted (6) 10 Ground breaker (7) 12 Small sofa (6) 11 Chief (6) 13 Digits of the foot (4) 12 Backbone (5) 16 Of the present time and place (9) 14 Closes down (5) 15 Felines (4) 18 Go in (5) 17 See 5 19 Classifies (5)

WORD LADDER

1 Low waterlogged ground (5)

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

WOOD

QUIZ BACK CAGE

LIFE’S A BEACH 1. Who delivered his celebrated ‘We shall fight on the beaches’ speech to the House of Commons on June 4, 1940? 2. Beach volleyball was introduced as a demonstration event at which Summer Olympic Games? 3. Echo Beach was a UK Top 10 hit for which Canadian rock band in June 1980? 4. In which south coast resort was Britain’s first nudist beach established in August 1979? 5. The Beach Boys have had two UK number one hit singles, name either? 6. The world famous Copacabana Beach is located in the South Zone of which South American city? 7. What connects Gold, Juno, Sword, Omaha and Utah? 8. Which British ocean liner that was launched in 1934 is now retired as a hotel in Long Beach, California? 9. Which famous American actress/singer starred alongside Gregory Peck, Fred Astaire and Anthony Perkins in the 1959 American post-apocalyptic science fiction film On the Beach, based on Nevil Shute’s 1957 novel of the same name? 10. Which large bird normally found in the Antarctic, was sighted on a New Zealand beach in June 2011, the first time this had happened in 44 years?

NONAGRAM

RACHEL AND FRIENDS

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

Not a lot of people know that… in July 2008, a complete beach was stolen in Jamaica. A three-month police investigation into the missing 500 truckloads of white sand failed to lead to anyone being charged.

TARGET:

audreyquinton99@gmail.com

Average: 16 Good: 22 Very good: 32 Excellent: 41

Answers 1. WINSTON CHURCHILL, 2. BARCELONA (1992), it has been an official Olympic sport since 1996, 3. MARTHA AND THE MUFFINS, 4. BRIGHTON, 5. GOOD VIBRATIONS (1966) or DO IT AGAIN (1968), 6. RIO DE JANIERO, 7. NAMES OF NORMANDY LANDINGS BEACHES ON JUNE 6, 1944 (D-DAY), 8. RMS QUEEN MARY, 9. AVA GARDNER, 10. EMPEROR PENGUIN

42 EWN

21 - 27 January 2021

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FEATURE

Making fortunes from Covid! MIKE SENKER IN MY OPINION Views of a Grumpy Old Man I’M getting some annoying emails at the moment. Not from annoyed read­ ers I must add. My post here is usually very nice. No, these are from large companies. British Airways, for in­ stance, has just informed me that if I don’t use my Avios points I will lose them. How am I meant to use them? I can’t go anywhere! They say I can gift them to a family member or friend but the family member has to live in the same house and if not you have to pay a n d i t ’ s € 1 1 0 f o r 1 0 , 0 0 0 p o i n t s . R e­ member, a sandwich and a drink costs 1,000 points! Anyway it’s just never an easy thing but my main point is why should I lose them if I can’t use them? Years ago I lost 750,000 American Airlines miles because, after I retired, I just couldn’t use them in time. That hurt and they were not interested in even discussing it. I’ve also got a few emails from hotel chains I use telling me that I need to do this or that to maintain my member­ ship level. I feel a few ‘phone calls

coming on as I have nothing else to do. It really annoys me how big companies just do these things. My mobile ‘phone provider has just upped my monthly payment by €3 per line with no expla­ nation. They will definitely get a call even though they have the most an­ noying blaring music when on hold. Watched Matt Hancock on TV the other morning and once again just could not believe the asswipe could not answer a very simple question with a yes or no answer. He was asked the same question nine times and just re­ fused. If that was me I’d just cut him off and end the interview. My daughter is here but leaving Sat­ urday. She’s just returned from having a Covid test even though it’s just been announced the UK Government has changed the day the test comes into ef­ fect. She went to pay for the test, in a private clinic, with her credit card and they asked if she could pay in cash. Hmmm wonder why they wanted read­ ies! Answers on a post card to ‘TOO MANY PEOPLE MAKING FORTUNES OUT OF COVID!!’ So far it’s cost her over €300 this trip to be repeatedly tested for an illness she has never had any symptoms for. Email: mikesenker@gmail.com

21 - 27 January 2021

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HEALTH & BEAUTY

Dear Bipolar: It’s neither you nor me MS BIPOLAR UP AND DOWN WITH BALANCE UNEDITED I REALISE now that you don’t like to be forgotten. That you believe the world revolves around you. I know this because, when I had the nerve to live my life without thinking about you for a while, you came up from behind and knocked me for six. Were you happy that you ruined my lovely day, I wonder? Satisfied that I fell so hard and so fast that I sat crying in the dark for hours. I should’ve been angry with you then. But I wasn’t. I was angry with myself, and I shouldn’t have been. But I wonder if you were relieved, to be off the hook because I was blaming myself, obsessed with the idea that all of this was somehow my fault. It has consumed my every thought. But you know that, don’t you? Sat here wondering if I could have stopped it sooner, if I could have handled it better, if I could have prevented it altogether. And wishing, desperately, that you hadn’t gotten so carried away. Is this what you wanted? It comes in waves you see, sometimes I can

tread water and keep my head afloat, but then other times the wave comes crashing down, spins me and spits me back. I’m giving you to much credit, Bipolar, and myself not enough. There is no denial that I can’t afford to forget you, that you’re too ‘toxic.’ I do blame you for being so relentless, so terrifying. But I’m not angry. I wonder if this was just a tragic but necessary thing that has happened to me. Did I choose you or did you choose me? Maybe in some ways, it was inevitable, with no one to blame. Maybe it isn’t your fault and maybe it isn’t mine. So I’m going to try and live with you, Bipolar. I’m going to be more aware so I can see you when you’re coming. Because I can spend another week obsessing, upset and looking for someone to blame. I can keep falling backwards, or I can move forward, a little wiser than I was before. So we’ll move forward, then, you and I. Because I get it, Bipolar, you don’t like to be forgotten. Well, you’ve got my attention now. Love Ms Bipolar X

msbipolar@euroweeklynews.com

Prepare for the white stuff SNOW arrived in many parts of Spain last week, including along some coastal areas, an event not seen in a generation. Whilst it may have been a brief fluttering, many have turned their thoughts to a wintry wonderland and are dusting off the skies in search of more of the white stuff. But before you head to the Sierra Nevada, or further afield, it is important to remember some basic health checks. Skiing can be a demanding sport so always try to warm up be­ fore hitting the slopes to prevent injuries such as pulling muscles and strains. Ten minutes of squat­ ting and stretching after skiing will also help prevent problems. For those who do little exercise, skiing can be a shock on the sys­ tem as to how physical it can be, so try and prepare at home a little before heading off. Even simple walking up and down stairs will help prepare the leg muscles. The snow reflects 80 per cent of solar radiation so whilst you may be wrapped up, don’t forget to wear a high sun protection fac­ tor on the face and lip balm.

BEFORE SKIING: Try to warm up before hitting the slopes to prevent injuries such as pulled muscles or strains.

PETS

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Make sure pets have fun WHILE it may seem like an age away if you have planned a trip for later this year, and you need someone to care for your pets make sure they have a fun com­ panion at home with them. Find a house­sitter who will look af­ ter them and care for them in their own home. Take a moment to plan ahead for pet and house­sitters if you have trips planned this year, to see family and friends or just to get away. Now is the time to get ready. We will help you as much as we can. Our philosophy is that we are all in this together. These are the steps to take: Register as a homeowner on HouseSitMatch.com Choose a Premium account (£89 per year) to ensure you can get help online when needed Create a profile with photos of your pet and the house Post a house­sit advert stating

lot rating scale) Here’s what members have said about us ­ HouseSitMatch found us a perfect house­sitter… HouseSitMatch found us a perfect house­sitter while we were away in Canada and we were delighted with the care and attention that HouseSitMatch took in helping us find the right person. Ros Morris ­ Dog owner

STAYING SAFE: Show them you care. your plans for this year’s holiday Covid permitting. Do you need a pet­sitter in 2021? Then get started right now. How does it work? HouseSitMatch can help you find suitable sitters. Join our net­ work for a small annual fee. You

get ID checked for safety and then build your advert saying when you are going on holiday. House­sitters see your advert, they respond and you choose the sitter who’ll care for your pets. Trustpilot Testimonials ­ 4.8 / 5 Excellent rating (New Trustpi­

How do you join? Please register online via our website www.Housesitmatch. com Choose a membership plan ­ Please note prices go up soon so sign up now on subscrip­ tion to secure these prices: • Standard (DIY option) = £69 pa • Premium (with support at each step) = £89 pa

Do you need a house-sitter? Get in touch. House-sitting can be a win-win for both parties, free house and pet-sitting, and the experienced and checked sitters get free accommodation! Register as either house-sitter or homeowner with a 20 per cent discount using coupon code P2020 - an exclusive offer for readers. To find a house or pet-sitter go to www.HousesitMatch.com.

Pocket-pet care

SMALL and relatively cheap and easy to keep, hamsters have been a popular pet for many years. Unlike mice, hamsters are not particularly interested in having company apart from making more hamsters, so can be kept individually without any major problems. They are nocturnal and tend to sleep most of the day be­ fore racing about at night. Essential equipment for hamster owners consists of a cage, exercise wheel, water bottle, food dish and bedding. While snazzy cages with mazes of plastic tubes look cool and are loved by chil­ dren, they are not the best bet as they are difficult to keep clean and can also cause problems if a chubby hammy gets stuck in a nar­ row tube. Exercise wheels should be made of solid plastic, rather than old­fashioned wire ones which can easily cause in­ jury. Grass hay, hamster pellets and fresh veg are all a ham­ ster needs to stay well­fed

and healthy. Beware, howev­ er, that they love to stash food away which can quickly lead to rotting vegetables, so take care to search out and remove these stashes fre­ quently. Sticks or chew toys are vital as the rodents’ teeth grow constantly and need wearing down and, like all pets, a constant supply of fresh water is vital. There are many different types of bedding available but be aware that litters which clump can cause di­ gestive problems and soft­ wood shavings can cause respiratory disease. As ham­ sters do not tend to be smelly animals, shredded pa­ per is the best option for bedding. Hamsters generally keep themselves well­groomed so only those with long hair will need occasional grooming with a soft brush. Gentle handling from an early age will be enough to train a hamster as an affectionate pet, but avoid waking them up during the day to stop them from getting grumpy.

Epileptic attacks

EPILEPSY is a problem suffered frequently by dogs under the age of five, which usually causes convul­ sions or epileptic attacks. Canine epilepsy has a ge­ netic factor and there are breeds, including Bea­ gles, St Bernards and German Shepherds which are more likely to suffer. The first epileptic attack usually happens be­ tween the ages of six months and five years and comes completely unexpectedly in the form of con­ vulsions, peddling movements of the legs, exces­ sive salivation, uncontrolled urination and loss of conscience. Although the attacks in themselves don’t put a dog’s life at risk, they are in danger of biting their tongues, falling or bumping into things and injuring themselves. Knowing how to react during an attack will help you remain calm and help your dog. First, lay it down on a soft surface. Avoid high places like the sofa to avoid the risk of a fall. It’s important not to try to pull your dog’s tongue out as it could end up biting it. Attacks usually last two minutes at the most. When over, let the dog rest in a quiet place as they are usually tired and confused after an at­ tack.

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LOCAL ANGLICAN (C of E) Church Services Mojacar, Sundays at 11am Llanos Del Peral, Sundays at 11am Aljambra Chapel, 1st Thursday monthly at 11am Priest in Charge, Rev. Vincent Oram 603 659 139. For directions, details and to find out more about our church activities please see our website http://www.almeria-an glican.com (10002) ROYAL BRITISH LEGION Why not make this year the year you volunteer? Call and see how you can help either as a caseworker (with full training) or as a Telephone Buddy. We also visit beneficiaries who are housebound or in hospital. If you feel you could support us here in Spain, and you have a Spanish phone number then why not email us

46

for more info tbuddyhhvisits@gmail.com . If you or your partner served or are serving, and you feel you need help or support then contact us using the details on the card, we are here for the small things as well as the big, sometimes talking to someone is the first step to feeling more in control. It can be a personal need or some help with your home or information on what or who to speak to on a medical issue, we help with signposting if we cannot help directly, just call and have a chat with Pam who will try to guide you to where you need to be. If you would like to go to a branch meeting then find your nearest one at, www.britishle gion.org.uk/counties/spainnorth ZURGENA Branch meeting on the first Thursday, Coffee Morning on the third Thursday and Buffet & Quiz Night on the last Tuesday of the month all at The Heathers La Alfoquia, for further details please email zurgenarblsecre tary@yahoo.co.uk - (253989)

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21 - 27 January 2021 • www.euroweeklynews.com SPONSORED BY

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PETS

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21 - 27 January 2021

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Skoda Karoq - understated ONE of the complaints I hear most about VAG products is that they all look the same. Well you can certainly spot the lineage in some design cues and shared use of parts. However they do have distinctly different characters and of course pricing structures. Having recently sampled a couple of Skoda models they do stand out as of­ fering the best of the VAG qual­ ities, while maintaining their own persona. The first of my sample cars was what Skoda say is their mid­size SUV, the Karoq. A cre­ ative thinking session from the Czech firm’s marketing depart­ ment came up with the name which is a combination of the Karaaq and Ruq, native Ameri­ can words for car and arrow. The Karoq is a nicely under­ stated vehicle with an element of class, indeed I was accosted twice by other motorists to en­ quire about the car with favourable comments. It hap­ pens with luxury or premium cars I have been driving but rarely with ‘ordinary’ fare. Prices for the Karoq start at

€25,151 (£22,765) and peak at €40,908 (£37,030) with six trim levels, two petrol engines and one diesel engine with two power outputs. As ever with VAG you have a choice of man­ ual gears or the automatic DSG box. There is a four­wheel­drive option in all bar one trim level. Standard across the range are such features as powered, heat­ ed, auto dimming and folding door mirrors, privacy glass, front fog lights, dual zone climate con­ trol, cruise control, auto lights and wipers plus rear parking sensors. My SE Drive test model adds some decorative niceties but perhaps more importantly navigation, Bluetooth, front parking sensors and a rear view camera. At €994 (£900) extra it’s arguably a sensible starting point to the range. The two petrol engines are a sprightly three­cylinder 1.0­litre or four­cylinder 1.5 litre at 115PS and 150PS respectively. The 1.5­litre powering my test car is probably the most versa­ tile if you do a fair few miles on longer runs, it has that bit more power and performance range.

It’s a smooth and refined drive aided massively by having a very comfortable ride that isn’t at the expense of a yacht­like ride on twisting roads. Comfortable, understated and classy probably best sums up the Karoq.

MOTORING

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21 - 27 January 2021

SPORT Title Race Draw Ozil to Fenerbahce to read more visit www.euroweeklynews.com

UNEVENTFUL: Liverpool and Manchester drew 0-0 in the title race clash. LIVERPOOL and Manchester United battled to a bore draw in the title race clash at Anfield on Sunday, January 17. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side re­ main top of the Premier League table after an uneventful 0­0 draw against the champions. Alisson proved the hero for the home side denying Bruno Fernandes and Paul Pogba from close range as the Manchester

club stretch their winless league run against the Reds to five matches for the first time since 2002. In what was Jurgen Klopp’s 200th league game in charge, Liv­ erpool, sporting a makeshift cen­ tre­back pairing of Fabinho and Jordan Henderson, controlled possession but offered little in the way of attacking threat, al­ though De Gea did tip a fierce

shot from Thiago Alcantara wide and Firmino was denied a clear goal­scoring chance from United captain Harry Maguire. The result means that Man­ chester United stay three points clear of Liverpool at the top of the table while the Anfield side sit in third a point behind Leices­ ter. The two clubs meet again in the FA Cup on Sunday January 24.

FOLLOWING news that the Gunners agreed to cancel the German midfielder’s £350,000­a­week contract in north London, which was due to ex­ pire in June 2021 ­ the 32­year­old has apparent­ ly said his goodbyes to staff and players at Arse­ nal ­ bringing to an end his seven­and­a­half­year stay in north London ­ as he heads to Turkey to complete his free transfer to Fenerbahce. Last week, the former Real Madrid star, who made 184 Premier League appearances for the Gunners, scoring 33 goals and providing 54 as­ sists, said on his Twitter account that Fenerbahce was his favourite club as a child. “I grew up as a Fenerbahce fan when I was a kid in Germany,” Ozil tweeted last week. “Fenerbahce is like Real Madrid in Spain. The biggest club in the country of Turkey.” Ozil has chosen his jersey number at Fener­ bahce. He is claimed to have chosen the number 67 at the Turkish club based on a code he up­ loaded on Twitter. Despite not releasing a formal statement, Ozil updated his Twitter profile picture and has spo­ ken to Turkish channel NTV ahead of his move. “I am very excited and happy,” he said. “I am a Fenerbahce fan. As a Fenerbahce fan, god made it possible to wear that jersey. I will do my best. “Tonight I will come to Istanbul with my fami­ ly. The flight time is not yet clear. I will be there

ARSENAL: Mesut Ozil is travelling to Turkey to seal his move to Fenerbahce, the biggest club in the country. tonight though.” Fenerbahce also confirmed the move was in progress, saying: “Negotiations have started on the transfer of professional football player Mesut Ozil.” Ozil joined Arsenal from Real Madrid in 2013 for what was then a club­record fee of £42 mil­ lion and won four FA Cups during his time at the club ­ he was also named the club’s player of the season in 2015­16.