THE BEST FINANCE NEWS ON PAGES 1417
Strictly star moves to Mallorca ONE of Strictly Come Dancing’s most recog nised professional dancers has announced that he and his family are moving to Mallorca in a tent. New Zealandborn Brendan Cole has re vealed that he and his wife Zoe, along with their two children, are starting up a new life in Mallorca after leaving the UK, ac cording to British media reports. The 47yearold Latin American specialist will fulfil a lifelong dream to refurbish his house on the island, but admits that he will sleep in a tent until its completion. Cole appeared in 15 se ries of the popular celebrity dance pro gramme, partnered by such wellknown stars as Anastacia, Sophie Ellis Bextor, Victoria Pendle ton, Fiona Phillips, Lisa Snowdon, Kelly Brook and Lulu. He married his wife Zoe Hobbs in 2010. Their first child, daughter Aure lia, was born on Christ mas Day 2012, and in March 2018 they wel comed their son Danté in to the world.
Brendan Cole is fulfilling a lifelong dream.
13 - 19 July 2023
MALLORCA • EUROWEEKLYNEWS.COM
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MARGA PROHENS Cashing in TAKES CHARGE Image by the Balearic Islands Government
Issue No. 1984
TAKING OVER: Marga Prohens being sworn in as new regional president.
MARGA PROHENS was sworn in as the new Presi dent of the Balearic Islands on Friday July 7. She takes over from for mer Govern leader Franci na Armengol (PSOE) fol lowing her victory in the regional elections held at the end of May. In her first speech as president, Prohens (PP) vowed to “bring the change that the people have asked for” and to “govern for everyone and for the four islands, aware of our plural and diverse reality. “I will stand up for this region and its people, and I aim to put the best men and women at its service,” added the new president.
However, her first deci sions at the head of the Govern were met with con troversy this week, as she eliminated the Environ ment department and an nounced that its functions would be shared out among other councillors. Prohens explained that this move will save the re gional coffers €1 million a year by bringing the num ber of government depart ments down from 11 to 10.
The presentation of her new executive also caused raised eyebrows as it fea tures more men than wom en, doing away with the policy of equal representa tion of both genders. In another highly contro versial move, the new re gional president scrapped the Linguistic Policy depart ment and eliminated all references to protecting or promoting the Catalan lan guage.
MALLORCA registered the highest ever tourist expendi ture between January and May this year. Figures published by the National Statistics Institute (INE) show that this has been the best start to the year since records began in terms of spending and arrivals of both national and international visitors. According to the INE, visitors to the Balearic Islands spent nearly €4.6 billion over the first five months of the year a 25 per cent increase with regards to the previous record, established in 2019. More than 4.6 million visitors landed in the region be tween January and May, which is also the highest figure ever recorded.