euro weekly news - costa de almeria 18 - 24 february 2016 issue 1598

KNOWN as the English Gypsy, a British-born woman is takingthe Flamenco world in Mojacar by storm, selling out events asthe legendary dance form is honoured by a host of spectacularperformances across Almeria.

ISSUE NO. 1555 // 23 - 29 APRIL 2015ISSUE NO. 1598 18 - 24 February 2016 WWW.EUROWEEKLYNEWS.COMCOSTA DE ALMERA YOUR PAPER, YOUR VOICE, YOUR OPINION

AFTER years of legal wrangling, British families have lost outin a court judgement in their quest for compensation. AlboxCouncil won its appeal against awarding financial recompensein a case that will surely inflame passions.

BRITISH owners lose Albox appealIllegal homes judgement

As the vote approachesMOJACAR siren lights the flames of passion

English Flamenco Queen

See page 4

AN ambi t i ous p l an t o en -hance the beauty of Alboxwi l l s oon t ake e f f ec t , a shundreds of trees are set tobe p l an t ed a s pa r t o f a

wider strategy of develop-ing the area. The wellbeingof res idents wi l l take newpr i o r i t y i n t he expens i vemakeover.

I see trees of green

SPAIN supports the British government over the EU

CONSIDERING the belliger-ent position that the actingSpanish Foreign Minister JoseManuel Garcia-Margallo hastaken with regards to Gibraltar,his positive comments onBritain and the EU following ameeting with Foreign SecretaryPhilip Hammond on February15 have come as something ofa surprise.

In simple terms, he concedesthat both Spain and the EUwould be worse off with Britainleaving the Union than if it re-mains following a number ofchanges to its terms of mem-bership.

It is very important to theBritish government that it ob-tains as much support for itsproposals before the EuropeanSummit due to take place onFebruary 18 and 19, when lead-ers of the member states willdebate the reforms demandedby Britain to stay in the Euro-pean Community.

Understandably, there is anelement of self-interest in theSpanish comments as theireconomy is massively helpedby the influx of Britishtourists, and there are an esti-mated 200,000 Spaniards liv-

ing and working in Britain.It seems to some extent a

rather strange situation when anacting government, which islikely to be either thrown out orwill have to stand in new elec-tions in June, is able to makesuch a far-reaching decision,but as the Spanish acting gov-ernment is making such posi-tive noises there is no doubt the

British will be happy with theposition they are taking.

Clearly the next few days aregoing to be pivotal in the futureof Britain and its membershipof the EU, as if the Cameronproposals are rejected, there isno guarantee that the conserva-tive party will even recommenda remain vote when the refer-endum does takes place.

Equally, it is possible that nofinal agreement or refusal of theCameron plan will be the resultof the meetings taking placeover the next few days, but allUK passport holders who areentitled to vote in the referen-dum when it eventually comesshould act as quickly as possi-ble to at least ensure that theyare registered.

By John Smith

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See page 69

VIBRANT project on par to transform Albox

A DELUGE of campervans and motorhomes is expected across twobeautiful villages as an enormous Scandinavian delegation swapsViking longships for a more peaceful invasion.

TOWNS welcome motorhomes

Carry on camping

See page 10

Almeria is crossingthe iron curtain

TRAFFIC delays are expected next week as one of the mainroads in the Levante area undergoes a series of improvements.

The A-370 between Los Gallardos and Las Buganvillas round-about in Vera is scheduled to be resurfaced, with work beginningon February 22. It is expected to continue until February 26 anddiversions may be in place.

A DELEGATION from Almeria willjourney all the way to the historic centralEuropean city of Prague to promote thecapital and the Alboran golf course at theHoliday World Fair this weekend fromFebruary 18 to 21.

It will be the 25th edition of therenowned fair which last year saw morethan 31,000 visitors and 659 exhibitorsacross 19,000 square metres.

Almeria Promotion Councillor Lola deHaro said: We believe that it is simple tocontact tourism professionals and cus-tomers in their home country. We hope tocreate long-lasting bonds with them in thefuture.

Two days will be devoted to profes-sionals and two days to the general publicas Almeria seeks to bolster its touristicpotential across the continent.

The agenda also envisages meetingswith Delfin Travel tour operator, special-

ising in senior tourism and golf. Central Europe is being earmarked as a

tourist reservoir full of potential as Alme-ria hopes to tempt its citizens, who sufferextremely cold winters, to escape to the

sunshine for relaxation, leisure and eventhe lure of beaches.

Almeria Council is strongly focused onattracting new tourist markets in a bid tocapitalise on a record breaking 2015.

NEWS18 - 24 February 2016 / Costa de Almera www.euroweeklynews.comEWN2

CONSTRUCTION of El Toyosecondary school in AlmeriaCity will be going ahead as theregional Education departmenthas now awarded the necessarypermits.

The project was awarded toCanval construction company,for an amount of 3.4 million.

Once contracts are signed thecompany will have 16 monthsto complete the work.

School go-aheadLOCAL NEWS

Road improvements

STRONG winds wreaked hav-oc across the province at theweekend with gales of up to 90kilometres causing damage par-ticularly in coastal areas.

The weather caused the finalday of Carnival to be cancelled

in some towns in the Levante,including Pulpi and Garrucha.

Emergency services werecalled to remove tree branchesfrom roads around Mojacar andnumerous businesses had sig-nage damaged.

Weather damage

DELEGATES will travel to Prague to promote the capital By Matthew Elliott

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PRAGUE: Delegates will promote Almerias touristic potential.

ON February 11, 2016, the Balearic Is-lands parliament took a step in whatmany expats and animal rights groupsconsidered to be the right direction, byvoting to amend the animal protectionlaw to include a ban on all forms ofbullfighting in the islands.

The news was welcomed onwww.euroweeklynews.com and theEWN Facebook page by hundreds ofreaders, who added their commentsand opinions on both sites.

However we must pose ourselves afundamental question. As expats, weare in essence guests in a foreign coun-try. Although we may consider thekilling of an innocent animal for enter-tainment wrong and wish for it to bebanned, we must ask ourselves who weare to walk into a country not our own,which has welcomed us with openarms, and demand that long-standingcultures and traditions be changed totend to our feelings on the matter.

American writer Ernest Hemingwaywas a diehard fan of bullfighting, de-scribing it as the only art in which theartist is in danger of death, and inwhich the degree of brilliance in the

performance is left to the fighters hon-our, in his seminal work Death in theAfternoon.

Those Spaniards who support theancient custom fiercely assert that thetradition celebrates the aesthetic of theinteraction between man and bull, op-ponents of equal but different strengthsif ever there were two, and strongly de-fend their right to a culture which waspresent in the country long before ani-mal rights activists, both Spanish andfrom overseas, were.

However a recent poll revealed thatjust 29 per cent of Spanish people actu-ally remain in support of bullfighting.

Defendants insist that the bull is nev-er, in the modern bullring, viewed as asacrificial victim but rather as a worthyopponent and sometimes, when feroci-ty trumps skill, the victorious.

While opponents argue that thematador chooses to take on the bull,while the animal is taken there withoutconsultation, this argument is swiftlycountered with a quick comparison tothe loss of life in abattoirs.

Those bulls swallowed by the meattrade far outnumber the relatively tinyamount slain in the course of a fight,fans insist.

While we are firmly against animalcruelty in all shape and form, we mustask our readers this: What right do we,as expats, have to demand Spainchanges its customs to suit us while somany of us take offence when in theUK newcomers ask for us to adapt ourown customs to avoid offending theirs?

If we refuse to allow a mosque to re-place a church in the UK, how can wethen be so hypocritical as to demandSpain changes part of its history andculture to suit us?

3NEWS 18 - 24 February 2016 / Costa de Almerawww.euroweeklynews.com EWN

FEATURED NEWS

Bullfighting: Is it a tradition or torture?AS expats in a foreign country, who are we to decide?

By Eleanor Hawkins

BULLFIGHTING: According to a recent poll, only 29 per cent of Spanish people actually support the ancient custom.

40,000is the estimated number of

bulls killed by the bullfighting industry in

Europe each year

Bullfightingrevulsion

THE news concerning the banning ofbullfighting in Mallorca has attracteda very large amount of comment onwww.euroweeklynews.com, and inter-estingly almost every response hasbeen from a woman and without failthey have all been 100 per cent infavour of the ban. We wonder whymen are so reticent on this particulartopic.

WOMEN readers

Axal

Alva

rez

Anything capable ofarousing passion in itsfavour will surely raise

as much passionagainst it.

Ernest Hemingway.

Quote of the Week

Your papers,your views

A long, hardroad aheadNot before time. Sadly, I

feel they will have a fight ontheir hands if they try tostop it in the Valencian com-munity. Pat

TraditioncountsWhy do people think they

have the right to ban some-thing just because theydont like it. It is part ofSpanish life and provides aliving for many people.How many of the com-plainants have actually beento a bullfight? Valerie

Its a cruelgame Those bulls do not have a

voice to say they dont want to fight and be tortured.They are sentient creaturesjust like we are. It is a game(I cannot call it a sport) andplain animal cruelty.

Margaret

Lighten upI enjoyed watching it in

Mijas. Its somewhat cruelbut the same could be saidfor foxing or fishing. Paul

Morals areevolvingPublic executions of hu-

mans were accepted as agood days viewing and of-ten with a picnic, I wouldlike to think we have pro-gressed with animals also.

Tim

People powerI truly hope the ban

spreads everywhere. Bullsshould not be tortured forentertainment or for anyother reason. Keep spread-ing the ban and sign peti-tions. Nina

Our readers discussed theBalearic ban at length on theEWN website and on ourFacebook page. Here aresome of your thoughts.

What do you think?

To take part in the discussion, go to

www.euroweeklynews.com

2,183,000cows and bulls died in

abattoirs in Spain in 2014

A BRITISH-BORN Flamenco dancer isfast becoming a local celebrity, as venueshosting her events sell out within hoursof advertising.

Francesca Girone, described by a localSpanish newspaper as La Gitana Ingle-sa (The English Gypsy) began Flamencolessons when she first moved to Spain anumber of years ago, saying that ithelped her integrate into Spanish life.

Ms Girone, along with her accompa-nying musicians and singers, has taken

part in a number of Flamenco extrava-ganzas throughout Mojacar, including arecent star-studded gala at the multi-usecentre in Mojacar Pueblo.

More than 260 people enjoyed thesold-out event, which showcased the tal-ents of dancers from across Andalucia,together with Mojacars very own Eng-lish gypsy.

Another event is planned for May andinformation is due to be released in thecoming weeks.

Ms Girones regular fellow artists arestars in their own right, hailing from the

La Chanca district in Almeria they in-clude Edu Garcia on vocals, Edu - El So-sio on guitar, Rafa - El Falito on percus-sion and fellow dancer, Luis Santiago -El Moreno.

In order to pave the way for people in-terested in learning more about thedance, Ms Girone has set up a Facebookpage.

She hopes the page will help peopleenjoy the passion of Flamenco and getinvolved themselves. Visit the Facebookpage, Facebook forum for English speak-ers.


INDEXNews 1 - 30

Featured News 3

Finance 33 - 40

Stocks 34

Leapy Lee 41

Our View 42

Colin Bird 42

Letters 50

Daily TV 52

Time Out 55 - 58

Health & Beauty 60 - 61

Social Scene 63 - 66

Albox 67 - 73

Homes & Gardens 74 - 75

Pets 76

Legally Speaking 78

Classifieds 81 - 83

Motoring 84 - 85

Sport 86 - 88

SPREADING the passion of Flamenco

STAR-STUDDED: The English Gypsy Francesca performing in Mojacar.

Mojacars very ownEnglish Gypsy dancer

By Adele Land

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JUNTA DE ANDALUCIA regional gov-ernment Environment department officersfound numerous illegal hunting instru-ments in a private reserve in Sierra Al-hamilla. Among these objects there werecages, traps of different sizes and snares,

all of which are forbidden and absolutelyillegal.

These traps were found in a buildingon a private reserve by officers who wereinvestigating the death of a fox trapped ina snare following a complaint by a repre-

sentative of the Asociacin Serbal.Environment department representa-

tive Antonio Martinez said the officersdid a fantastic job as they spent hourssearching the area until they found thebuilding.

Illegal hunting in reserve

Racing reaches Pulpi

GUARDIA CIVIL officers inCantoria are investigating astring of burglaries which haveoccurred since the start of theyear.

The first reported incidenttook place on New Years Eveat a house in the town centre,followed a few weeks later by asimilar crime in the El Badil

neighbourhood. A third bur-glary took place last week at aproperty on the edge of town.

One of the homeowners re-ported the burglars broke into aweapons safe containing hunt-ing rifles in addition to stealingmoney and items of jewellery.

Mayor Puri Sanchez, warnedresidents to be vigilant and toreport any suspicious activity tothe Guardia Civil.

Burglariesinvestigatedin CantoriaRESIDENTS warned to be vigilant

By Adele Land

MORE than 60 cyclists divided across three different categorieswere presented by the Primaflor-Orbea racing team at the El CuartelCultural Centre in San Juan de los Terreros near Pulpi. First amongthem is the Pro squad, made up of five cyclists and registered in theInternational Cycling Union. The second includes 14 sportsmenfrom youth categories to professionals while last but not least is theBicilocura Cyclist Club squad, composed of more than 40 children.

18 - 24 February 2016 / Costa de Almera www.euroweeklynews.comEWN6 NEWS

Valentines night shooting So windy GUSTS of wind reached90 kilometres per hour inAlmeria on Valentines Dayinspiring the Spanish Mete-orological Agency to raisethe orange alert. Police andfirefighters helped removefallen branches.

War gamesA COORDINATED op-eration saw the SpanishNavy, Army and AirForce carry out drills totest their readiness andvigilance. Fighter bom-bers, anti-aircraft mili-tary units and the Blas deLezo warship took part.

Vandals hitA SCULPTURE outside theAlmeria Museum has beenmutilated and anothersmashed by unidentifiedvandals. Both are nowcompletely unrecognisableand police are searchingfor the culprits.

NEWS EXTRA

A WOMAN was shot during anevening out in a bar in Mojacar onSunday night.

The 68-year-old Icelandic womanwas said to have been enjoying aValentines night celebration in abeach bar at the south end of the resortwhen shots were fired in the adjacentbar.

According to reports, bullets passedthrough a partition separating the twoestablishments and hit the woman inthe chest.

The woman was rushed to La In-maculada hospital in Huercal-Overawhere her condition is described asstable.

A 32-year-old French bar owner,named as RHJA, was arrested just af-ter midnight on suspicion of firing theshots and will appear in court in Vera.

The suspect is said to have beenalone in the next door bar when theshots were fired and it is thought thatit was an unfortunate accident that thewoman was hit.

Tito del Amo, owner of Titos Can-tina, confirmed on social media thatthe incident occurred in the location ofhis establishment and added that he

and his family were doing everythingthey could to help their friend andcustomer who was injured.

The incident, although unrelated,

comes less than a year after a man wasinjured when another man opened firewith a pellet gun in a nearby Mojacardisco.

BAR owner arrested after Mojacar lady hit by gunfire in adjacent premises

By Adele Land

SHOOTING: The alleged scene of the incident.


Improvements forGarrucha coast

GARRUCHAS seafront is to undergo afacelift. The project is a joint effort betweenthe provisional coastal service and the towncouncil and was agreed during a series ofmeetings.

Improvements will include replenishment of

sand to the beaches, following destructioncaused by winter storms.

Also on the agenda is restoration of the jet-ties and improvement to the access road to theVillajarapa beach area.

Mayor Maria Lopez said the beach area wasimportant to the towns economy and was abig attraction for tourists and residents.

BEACH area is important to the towns economy

By Adele Land

In hostile territorySPANISH military exploits in the NATO invasion ofAfghanistan will be the subject of a new film currentlybeing shot in the Tabernas desert. In Hostile Territoryis inspired by alleged real life events and sees more than70 soldiers, Chinook helicopters, and military vehiclestake part in the super-production.

Although the Afghan desert is still too dangerous fora Spanish film crew, the team are lucky that Tabernashas a long history of standing in for rugged desolate ter-rain, being a favourite of Sergio Leone for his spaghettiwestern series.

Going greenin ArboleasA BRAND new recycling schemeawaits the residents of Arboleas injust a few months, or even weeks.The facilities will be capable ofdigesting oils, electronics, batter-ies, photography and x-ray mate-rials, furniture, and other debris.

Costing the hefty sum of349,857, the construction wasfinanced by the Junta de Andalu-cia regional government.


ASSOCIATION was created in 1995

Children leadstirring tribute

AN Almeria school led a stir-ring tribute to sick childrenacross the world to commemo-rate World Child Cancer Dayon February 15.

Students at La Salle-Virgendel Mar were the stars of theevent as they demonstrated

their support for their sick peersby reading out a positive mani-festo and singing a group song.The slogan for the worldwideevent was 8 reasons for hope.

The activities were led by theAssociation of Parents of Alme-ria Children and Teenagers withCancer, which was created in1995 by a group of parents of

children with cancer. Sincethen, they have worked hard toimprove the life quality of thepatients and their families.

The president, EstefaniaMendez said it is a very spe-cial day as it is the 21st anniver-sary of the creation of the asso-ciation. In total we have lookedafter more than 350 children.

By Matthew Elliott

THE Victims Assis-tence Service (SAVA)attended to 1,183 peoplein Almeria Province dur-ing 2015, of whom 66per cent were women,according to an assess-ment carried out by theCouncil of Justice andthe Interior.

SAVA is a public ser-vice that offers legal, so-cial, and psychologicalsupport to the victims ofcrimes. Last year it car-ried out a total of 7,659missions in AlmeriaProvince. The majorityof the users are womenbetween 30 and 44 yearsold, although it is opento all ages. More than200 gender violence re-ports were processedlast year, and the serviceattended to 56 children.

Help forcrimevictims

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CHILD CANCER: An Almeria school led a tribute to sick children worldwide.

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MOTORHOMERS fromacross Scandinavia will con-verge on Huercal-Overa inthe coming weeks.

More than 50 vehicles areexpected to arrive at the mu-nicipal camp ground withsome 100 campers participat-

ing in the annual bowlingchampionship.

Most of the campers aremembers of the Swedish,Husbilsklubbe motorhomeclub and will travel from oth-er sites in Almeria, Murciaand Alicante.

The club has more than12,000 members and pro-motes the event on its web-site.

Mayor Domingo Fernan-dez, welcomed the mo-torhomers, adding that theywere important to the townseconomy.

In similar news, membersof the Hymer motorhomeclub arrived in Mojacar thisweek. The annual rally is heldat the El Cantal campsite onthe beachfront and more than20 motorhomes are currentlyin situ.

The Hymer club membersusually stay in Mojacar untilMarch and have held annualrallies in the town for almosta decade.


Fighting for thelocal economyCOUNCIL to get involved so the best solution can be found

THE Almeria Hospitality Workers Association(Ashal) has complained about the requests to limittheir opening times and to forbid terraces to cer-tain establishments. They also claim they are hav-ing serious problems renewing their opening li-cences this year.

This association has organised an assembly on

February 22 in order to analyse the situation andtake measures to defend their business activity.They asked Almeria City Council to become in-volved in these issues so they all can find the bestsolution.

According to the workers, maintaining the cur-rent opening times and terraces means a mini-mum of 500 jobs which help to create activity in acity that needs the hospitality sector to survive.

By Matthew Elliott

OPENING TIMES: Some establishments are having problems renewing their licences.

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ENVIRONMENTAL pres-sure group, Ecologistas enAccion, has urged the Juntade Andalucia regional gov-ernment to implement plansto reduce the level ofground-level ozone beingexpelled into the air in theLevante Region.

According to data cap-tured by air-quality moni-toring stations in the areabetween 2013 and 2015,Bedar suffered the worst airpollution, with some 55 in-cidences of above averagelevels.

Rodalquiler in the Cabode Gata also had poor re-sults, with 39 incidences ofhigh levels.

The Mojacar monitoringstation has not suppliedvalid data for the last threeyears and the environmen-tal group urged that this becorrected.

While high ozone levels

in larger cities are producedby heavy volume of traffic,the group explained that inAlmerias case, the burningof fossil fuels is the causeof increased levels of pollu-tion.

Singled out in the reportwere the Endesa station inCarboneras, the Holcim ce-ment factory also in Car-boneras and the Abengoaplant in Villaricos.

In 2014 the power stationin Carboneras was listed asthe most polluting in Spain.

Prolonged exposure toground-level ozone cancause loss of lung functionand other respiratory ill-nesses.

The group also lamentedthe effect of pollution oncrop production, addingthat productivity in thegrowing of beans, water-melons and tomatoes wasaffected.

Something isbad in the air

A MAN and womanfrom Mojacar havebeen arrested on sus-picion of vehiclefraud.

The couple alleged-ly borrowed a car froma friend and failed toreturn it.

According to reportsthe friend subsequent-ly discovered that thecar ownership hadbeen transferred intothe couples name.

The Guardia Civilofficers investigatingthe alleged crimefound forged paper-work relating to thevehicle transfer, alongwith a fake receipt forthe sum of 2,000 forthe purchase of the car.

The couple will ap-pear in court in Vera.

Four-wheeledfraud

Happy campers converge onHuercal-Overa and Mojacar

ALMERIA is set to welcome the third edi-tion of Hogar Factory, a prestigious com-mercial fair which will be a meeting pointfor customers and small retailers, with thebest offers and the latest news about thehome universe including decoration, furni-ture and kitchenware among many others.

After the success of previous years,bringing together almost 40,000 people, thefair will be celebrated again this weekenduntil February 21 in the El Toyo Confer-ence and Exhibition Centre.

The event will kick off on Friday Febru-ary 19 and it will be best not to miss it asthere will be a 300 voucher to spend inthe fair for the first visitor.

There will be more surprises as the or-ganisers expect to give away up to 6,000in vouchers. Apart from the first one, thenext 10 visitors will get a 50 voucher.

In addition, those who attend the eventwithin the happy hour (between 3pm and4pm) will have another present as well asfree entrance. There will be many other at-

tractions including food trucks.Entry will cost 1 and the opening times

are 12pm to 9pm on Friday and 11am to9pm on Saturday and Sunday.


By Matthew Elliott

Hogar Factoryhitting homeTHIRD edition of the prestigious commercial fair will begin on February 19

MONDAY February 15 saw the launch of a vigilance campaign bySpanish Traffic Police across Almeria Province.

The aim of this campaign is to check vehicles carrying goods fordocumentation, authorisations and safety conditions. Besides, dri-ving licences and driving times will also be checked.

The move comes after traffic experts expressed concern that dri-vers of large vehicles travelling at slightly slower speeds feel cush-ioned by their relative safety, and therefore pay less attention to theroad.

Cartage crusade

LATEST NEWS: About the home universe including decoration and furniture.

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Carnival weekcomes to a closeHUNDREDS turned out to celebrate the end of the event

HUNDREDS of people turned out to mark theend of the carnival week in towns across theprovince.

One of the largest in the Levante area was heldin Cuevas del Almanzora where adults and chil-

dren from local towns paraded and danced thenight away in elaborate costumes. A total of 29decorated floats drove through the streets withmusic booming from massive speakers.

Revellers partied until the early hours of themorning, marking what was hailed as one of thebest carnivals in recent years.

By Adele Land

PARTY TIME: Children get into the spirit for partying.

A SCREED has beendrawn up of the mostdamaged, neglected,abandoned, decayed,decrepit, sorry sitesblighting the culturallandscape of Almeriaby an association dedi-cated to restoring Span-ish monuments.

Cortijo del Fraile isruined, La Torre delos Alumbres sinkinglittle by little, Palaciode los Marqueses delAlmanzora lamenta-ble and Convento deSan Pascual Bailon indanger of being com-pletely lost. Luckilyfor the four sites, theAsociacion HispaniaNorte has a trackrecord of middling suc-cess with 12.4 per centof the places on its listbeing restored.

Sorrysites

MOJACAR residents have reported largeamounts of processionary caterpillars ingardens throughout the town.

Unseasonably warm weather has meantthe insects are leaving their nests early andmaking their way to the ground.

The Pine Processionary belongs to theThaumetopoeidae moth family and is one ofthe most destructive insects to pine treesacross Europe.

The hairs from the caterpillars cause ter-

rible damage to humans and especially ani-mals. If a dog or cat treads on the insectsand then licks its paws, sepsis can occur onthe tongue resulting in the need for amputa-tion. In some cases the animal will die fromkidney failure.

The nests are found in trees of the pineand cedar families, and are easily spotteddue to their resemblance to wads of cottonwool.

When the insects leave the nest they trav-el in long lines, nose to tail and can live forup to two years.

According to the Biodiversity Study Cen-tre (SERBAL), the plague has affected thewhole of the province.

President Emilio Gonzalez, said the num-ber of insects could exceed all previousyears, due to the abnormalities in the winterweather system.

One of the worst affected areas is the LosFilabres mountain region near Bedar, whereup to f ive nes ts per t ree have been ob-served.

The association has recommended thattown councils fumigate the trees as soon as

possible, before the problem worsens. The situation is exacerbated by a Spanish

law which prevents aerial spraying of in-secticides.


Abnormal weather to blamefor the caterpillar plagueTHE insects are leaving their nests earlyBy Adele Land

DANGEROUS: Caterpillars can causefatal injuries to pets.

A NINE-MONTH prison sentencehas been handed down by a court inAlmeria, to a Moroccan man whoaccosted a woman and tried to forceher into his car.

He apparently claimed he was go-ing to rape her like he had alreadydone to many women, while alsostating that he had killed before soshe should obey.

The victim refused and managedto escape despi te h im grabbingforcefully at her clothes. He accept-ed the nine-month sentence afterthe prosecutor adapted his originalthree and a half year request.

Rape threatman sentenced


A SPECIAL force is at theready in Almeria Province asthe authorities prepare totackle bad weather conditionson roads across the region.

Four squads will operateacross both the northern andsouthern territories and willhave a bulldozer and shovelat their disposal.

The council have empha-sised that no snow nor ice re-lated incidents have yet beenregistered and that this is apreventative measure. It is,however, advised to drivewith snow chains through theshaded areas of the road lead-ing to Calar Alto.

THE leader of opposit iongroup, Partido Popular (PP)in Lubrin has accused thetowns mayor, DomingoRamos, of using the munici-pal newspaper as a propa-ganda sheet for the rulingsocialist, PSOE party.

Rocio Maas said themayor had used public mon-ey as a PSOE newslet terand not for the purpose i twas created, which is toprovide information to resi-

dents.The publication, Lubrin

Actual , costs some 2,000euros per year to produceand Maas lamented that noinformation from thePP is included in the news-paper.

Maas went on to say thatit was shameful and dis-played a lack of transparen-cy, denying the residents ac-cess to information relatingto the opposition council.

THE headquarters of the Andalucia Womens Institute (IAM) inAlmeria held a conference entitled Visualise me about womenand human rights.

In the conference, the abuse that women go through were dis-cussed through short films showing the violence that millions ofwomen suffer daily in the world.

It was the fifth annual edition of the film conference. An IAMprovincial coordinator said when human rights are violated,women are always an especially vulnerable group, as they en-dure double the violence, discrimination or lack of freedom.

DOZENS of animal lovers turned out for a charity pet-photoshoot in Mojacar.

Dogs of all shapes and sizes said cheese (or should that bechews) for the camera to help raise money for the DogHouse Foundation.

Organiser Brad Swift said he was delighted with the re-sponse and confirmed that a total of 275 was raised.

He thanked everyone who took part especially photogra-pher Frank Millar for giving up his time and Ally Tabernasfor printing the photos.

Photos will be available for collection on Thursday Febru-ary 18 from Bar 353 on Mojacar playa.

Ice andsnow

Propaganda rowover newspaper

Visualise me

By Adele Land

Great turnout for four-legged photo shootDOG of all shapes and sizes posed for the camera to help raise money

CHARITY: Moneyraised for dogrescue centre.

PEOPLE living in a smallcoastal town have pulled to-gether as a community to helpone of the towns youngestresidents.

Young Palomares boy, Leo,aged three, was originally di-agnosed with, and treated inSpain for non-cancerous Ter-atoma Inmaduro.

On seeking a second opin-

ion, at Liverpools Alder Heychildrens hospital, the boysparents, Karen and Jorge,were devastated to learn thatLeo in fact had a Primitiveneuroectodermal tumour(PNET) which was apparent-ly growing by one centimetreeach week.

Since the diagnosis, Leohas had numerous sessions ofchemotherapy and has justundergone a stem cell trans-plant.

PNET is very rare and asfew as 10 cases per year arediagnosed, the survival ratefor children is as low as 20per cent.

It is a difficult time for thefamily as Leo is continuinghis treatment in the UK withhis parents by his side whilehis sister Sophia is stayingwith her grandparents so she

can attend school in Palo-mares.

Despite him being in theUK, Leo hasnt been forgot-ten by the community, fund-raising events have been tak-ing place with funds going tohelp support him and his fam-ily.

The children at the localprimary school ran a racearound the town collectingdonations from local busi-nesses and local bar Los An-geles put on a special dinnerevent with all proceeds goingtowards Leos cause.

Almost 4,000 has beenraised by the events andKaren expressed her thanks toeveryone who has supportedthe family.

Follow Leos story on Face-book/Leo the Lions fight forsurvival against PNET.


By Adele Land

Communityhelps sick boyFAMILY are grateful to all those involved

SIBLINGS: Leo the lion with his sister Sophia.

Fashion guru FASHION designer Patri-cia Rosales has developedthe Andalucia Fashion andBusiness Superior Schoolwhich has opened in Alme-ria. It hopes to draw world-wide attention to the cityamid international fashiongurus and followers.

Two arrested POLICE swooped on aresidence in the La Chan-ca neighbourhood ofAlmeria City, found aquantity of marihuanaand made two arrests.Six homes were searched.

Farm fairAN agricultural fair in Ni-jar began modestly but hasnow evolved into a thrivingevent lauded across thefarming community. Thereis now a waiting list for thenext edition in April withmore than 100 businessesparticipating.

NEWS EXTRA

A MAJOR increase in bicycleusage has been seen in Almeriaas a cheap, sustainable, ecologi-cal and effective means of ur-ban transport.

A healthier, more activelifestyle and the improvementof bicycle infrastructure have

also contributed to the rise. Precise figures are not likely

to be available until spring, butpreliminary estimates suggestincomes generated by bikebusinesses have increased bymore than 10 per cent each yearfor the past five years.


BURGLING seven homes and shops, scal-ing metal fences and slipping through blindsto relieve properties of their loot, a criminal

gang was finally captured in Almeria City ina joint National and Judicial police opera-tion.

Three youngsters have been arrested, theleader just 18 years of age, with two caught

red-handed clamouring through a fence in anews stand near Carretera de Ronda.

Police had initiated an investigation afterthree shopkeepers reported break-ins anddetectives noted the similarities in method.

Four other crimes were resolved follow-ing the arrests.

The minors have been dispatched to therelevant authorities, while the 18-year-oldmay face the full brunt of the law.

Almeriaanimalexports WHETHER insects, fishor pets, Almeria has a sur-prising aptitude for ship-ping animals abroad, witha burgeoning industry see-ing expansion for fouryears straight, and neces-sitating 27 per cent moreinspections last year thanin 2014.

More than 1,000 werecarried out last year by theAlmeria Animal Sanita-tion Services.

Fresh fish and meatwere sent to Algeria, in-sects to Morocco andTurkey, where they areused in the cultivation ofvegetables, and bees to theArabian nations for petcontrol.

Cats, dogs, tortoises andbirds of prey were alsodispatched to wealthy for-eigners, as Almeria con-tinues to make an interna-tional name for itself.

Young criminals caught red-handedINVESTIGATION began after detectives noted similarities in break-in methods

By Matthew Elliott

Cycling affair


YOUNG Almerian cookingprodigies are competing towin the 4th Premio Prome-sas de la Alta Cocina whichis organised by prestigiousschool Le Cordon Bleu.

The six are all students atthe cooking school IES

Almeraya de Almeria andwill join a total of 50 partici-pants in 27 teaching centreswhich have representation inthis phase of the competi-tion.

A professional jury, madeup of chefs who are profes-sors at Le Cordon BleuMadrid, will evaluate the

video recipes presented bythe candidates in order tochoose the 10 who will makethe final.

In this edition, the peopleselected must demonstratetheir skill and creativity bymaking their own recipe, us-ing sea bass and potatoes asthe main ingredients.

THE Supreme Court has sentenced a man from Almeria to nineyears in prison for sexually abusing a two-year-old child in2013 after rejecting the appeal by the defence.

The accused, who was a friend of the mother, occasionallypicked the child up from the day care centre and took care ofher for a few hours. The incident occurred in the mothers housein Almeria City.

When she arrived home from work, she found her daughter inher room with injuries on her face. Quickly taking her to Tor-recardenas hospital, the child remained hospitalised for a week,and could not speak or open her eyes for five days.

Cooking schoolin competition

Nine years for abuse

CHEFS must demonstrate their skill and creativity

By Matthew Elliott

THIS week the University ofAlmeria will be hosting thethird edition of its ComputerScience Conference untilFebruary 20. New technolo-gies and their influence incommunication and social re-lations are among the mainaspects that will be discussed.

The futureis now

Your Belgian estate agent at the coast!Your Belg

MORE than two million doctorappointments were made elec-tronically in 2015 across Alme-ria Province, a 20.7 per centrise on the previous year.

Meanwhile, a mobile appdesigned expressly for the pur-

pose continued its success witha 177 per cent usage increase,clocking up more than 794,000appointments, roughly doublethose made by telephone.

The application has seen67,955 individual downloadsand offer a 24-hour servicethrough an inquiries facility.

By simply registering theirhealth card number, year ofbirth and identity card number,the system will rememberusers, increasing efficiency.

There are also language ser-vices, and advice features tohelp manage people withchronic health issues.


Health app isworking wondersOFFERS a 24-hour service through an enquiries facility

By Matthew Elliott

Workshops forthe elderlyMORE than 66,000 elderly people of Alme-ria will benefit this year from the workshopsand training programmes by the 16 Centresof Senior Residents Active Participation inAlmeria Province.

The Andalucia Ministry of Equality andSocial Policies has invested 74,331 in thisprogramme, which is hoping to get seniorcitizens actively involved.

Sandwich chain AN American multinational sandwich chain isset to open up a new front in its emergent Eu-ropean empire by opening a shop in Almeria.

Subway has 44,000 stores worldwide andhas recently begun expanding into Spain,adding another fast food opportunity for resi-dents bored with the Mediterranean diet.

A major sight on British high streets withthousands of stores from Aberdeen to Corn-wall, Subway has a mere 55 restaurants inSpain.


A CITIZEN protest took place in the historicalquarter of Almeria at the Plaza Munoz, as resi-dents complained the council had completelyneglected the area. There is significant frustra-tion at the squares retreat from a beautiful spaceafter remodelling to a state of abandonment dueto lack of maintenance since September.

That month had seen a sizeable inaugurationceremony to celebrate the remodelling follow-ing a grant from the Andalucian government.

Enthusiasm was in abundance at the time,with plans to make it a unique citizen area fur-nished with recycled materials. Now the feelingamong residents, as they survey the dying vege-tation, is that the council squandered a goldenopportunity.

Plaza protestBy Matthew Elliott

ONE of the hottest years ofthe century is seriously im-pacting Almerian farmers,who sent representatives toMadrid to look for solutionswith the Agricultural and En-vironmental Ministry.

The conclusions wereclear, without rain or somecold weather Almeria wouldslowly die and the l ivel i -hoods of thousands of farm-

ers would be savaged.Key issues are drought,

plagues being carried by theheat, and the early bloomingof fruit and almond trees in-terfering with natural cycles.

The entire region is proph-esised by the UN to be a bar-ren desert by the turn of thecentury, unless science andtechnology can make a differ-ence.

Arid Almeria CardiacdevicesPACEMAKERS these days caninclude personal and cus-tomised software to patients,and that technology is nowwidespread in the Almerianmedical community, as Tor-recardenas installed 240 of thecardiac devices just last year.

The hospital also has a spe-cialist cardiac departmentwhich saw more than 12,000people in 2015.

RESIDENTS say council neglected the area


CHARITY faces closure after its founder died last month

The dog house stillneeds your helpA LOCAL dog-rescue charity remains des-perate for financial help following the un-timely death of its founder.

The Dog House Foundation, in Huercal-Overa, is still home to more than 20 dogsdespite a rigorous campaign to raise fundsand rehome the animals.

The charity faces closure after founder,Paul Tighe, died last month, leaving the fa-cility in the hands of volunteers.

According to a string of emails seen bythis reporter, a charity in Holland was dueto take some dogs but the offer was de-clined due to apparent confusion regardingfunding for vaccinations and paperwork.

Supporters took to social media to venttheir frustration but were told the situationfor the dogs was currently stable thanks todonations and fundraising efforts and send-ing the dogs to Holland was not feasible.

Volunteer Chris Clement told Euro Week-ly News that she was frustrated with the sit-

uation but urged members of the public tocontinue to support the charity for the sakeof the dogs. In more positive news, six dogswill be heading off to their forever homes inthe UK at the end of the month.

If anyone can help by offering a home toone of the many dogs, they should visit thewebsite www.thedoghouse-huercal-overa.webs.com, or to make a donation viaPayPal at [email protected].

By Adele Land

CAVE houses in Cuevas del Almanzora will be involved in astudy by the university of Madrid.

The dwellings are considered to be of great interest in thefield of energy-efficient housing. Mayor Antonio Liriasigned the agreement with the university and said the housesformed an important part of the towns heritage and every ef-fort should be made to conserve them.

Cave houses in study

REHOMED: Princess, one of the lucky dogs heading for the UK.

POLITICAL factions at theAlmeria Council have indulgedthemselves with a war of wordsover alleged favouritism in con-struction contracts.

The Socialist group hasclaimed that a select group of

businesses were awarded morethan half the allocated budgetunder the Popular Party rulefrom 2013 to 2015.

PSOE delegate Rafaela Orte-ga said that just 11 businessesreceived contracts worth at least33.8 million, amounting to51.6 per cent of the budget.

PP representative Oscar Liriahas denounced his rivals forsowing doubt among Alme-rienses, and said it representedprofound ignorance.

He also pointed out that thereare a limited number of busi-nesses in Almeria specialisingin asphalt and road surfacing.


War of wordsover contractsBy Matthew Elliott

SPANISH residents who are originally from sub-Sa-haran Africa account for a majority of the travellerswho use the Almeria International Vaccination Cen-tre. It saw a 14 per cent rise in the number of peopleassisted, with 3,701 looked after last year.

Recommendations are given and, if necessary,vaccinations administered, to people travelling torisky zones near the equator. Just visiting one ofthese countries for a few days can dramatically raisethe possibility of infection should no precautions betaken.

Travel help Wild boaris killedA WILD boar stumbled upon the hu-man madness of Almeria airport andran amok, causing mayhem in itswake until the authorities decided thebest course of action was to shoot itdead.

The boar came charging onto therunway and a specialist marksmanwas recruited by the Guardia Civil tokill the unfortunate animal.

By John SmithHAVING first trialled its internetshopping site in larger cit ies inSpain before Christmas, El CorteIngles has now announced that itwill extend its service to includeAlicante, Marbella, Murcia and

Palma, whose stores will joinMalaga, which was part of the ini-tial launch.

The plan is certainly to take partof the Amazon business, by offer-ing a wide range of products withthe possibility of supply within two

hours. This service will now beavailable to up to 10 million con-sumers in Spain.

To make life even easier they of-fer their own dedicated site in Eng-lish at http://www.elcorteingles.eu/shop/uk/en.

FINANCIAL CRISIS: Germany have been the most critical.

LONDON - FTSE 100 DOW JONES NASDAQ+1.58% +2.00% +1.44%CLOSING PRICES FEBRUARY 15

IBEX 35 +2.48%

A FORMER deputy prime ministerduring the Zapatero government years,Elena Salgado, will join the adminis-tration board of Nueva Pescanova, thefishing company which ran into seri-ous financial difficulty.

Following its call for bankruptcyprotection, it reported earnings of 82million in 2015, but is still trading at asignificant loss as it has a large num-ber of creditors.

SINCE the financial crisisin Greece , the Germangovernment has been themost critical as far as theGreek economy i s con-cerned, and has ins is tedtha t s t r ingent f inanc ia lpolicies be followed if abailout was to take place.

Now, in a typical exam-ple of what the Germanscall schadenfreude (plea-

sure derived from some-one e l ses misfor tune) ,Greeks are taking to socialmedia to taunt Germanyover the enormous lossesand low share price of itsmajor bank , DeutscheBank.

The amusement may notlast for long, but at least itlifted the financial glooma little.

Greeks mock Germans

US interestrates stableHAVING introduced a rise in in-terest rates in late 2015, the USFederal Reserve has indicatedthrough its chairperson JanetYellen that as the current eco-nomic situation in the US re-mains unclear, it was unlikelythat rates would be increased inthe foreseeable future.

BBVArelativelyoptimisticECONOMISTS working forBBVA are relatively upbeatabout the Spanish economy forthe next 12 months, despite thepolitical uncertainty.

They believe that the Spanisheconomy should grow by 2.7per cent with the creation of alarge number of new jobs, al-though they warn that the longerthe country exists without stablegovernment, the more chancethere is of the growth target be-ing missed.

AS previously forecast in the Euro WeeklyNews, Chinese company Wanda has put on salethe Madrid landmark Edificio Espaa buildingthat it purchased in 2014. The reason for thesale is that the company is unable to change the

exterior of the building, although it has seensome significant losses in recent weeks due tothe fall of the Chinese stock market.

The company hopes to recover the price itoriginally paid for the building.

Wanda put a landmarkbuilding up for sale

is the number of products whichEl Corte Ingles will offer

through its website.

Quote of the WeekI found the comments deeply upsetting, Marc Zuckerbergwhen Facebook board member Marc Andreessen said Indias

block of Facebooks free internet scheme was anti-colonialism.

CLOSING PRICES FEBRUARY 15CLOSING PRICES FEBRUARY 15CLOSING PRICES FEBRUARY 15

100,000

New boardfor Nueva Pescanova COMPANY has announced it will extend its internet service

El Corte Ingles to take on Amazon

BUSINESS EXTRA

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FINANCEbusiness & legal

33Costa de Almera EWN18 - 24 February 2016

A EURO WEEKLY NEWS 6 PAGE SPECIAL SECTION // WWW.EWNBUSINESS.COMSTAT OF WEEK $27.67 (24.41) is the lowest per barrel price of oil in 13 years, and it hit this low in early Februarydue to falling demand.

MMM 3M 153.96 +3.29 +2.18% 2.3MAXP American Express 52.66 +1.55 +3.03% 6.1MAAPL Apple 93.99 +0.29 +0.31% 40.4MBA Boeing 108.63 +0.19 +0.18% 13.0MCAT Caterpillar 63.15 +1.74 +2.83% 4.3MCVX Chevron 85.43 +2.44 +2.94% 9.8MCSCO Cisco 25.11 +0.43 +1.74% 49.8MKO Coca-Cola 43.11 +0.70 +1.65% 15.2MDIS Disney 91.15 +0.84 +0.93% 10.8MDD E I du Pont de Nemours and Co 58.40 +1.78 +3.14% 5.4MXOM Exxon Mobil 81.03 +1.43 +1.80% 16.7MGE General Electric 28.26 +0.81 +2.95% 57.6MGS Goldman Sachs 146.13 +5.44 +3.87% 9.0MHD Home Depot 116.32 +3.05 +2.69% 5.4MIBM IBM 121.04 +3.19 +2.71% 4.9MINTC Intel 28.64 +0.42 +1.49% 19.7MJNJ Johnson & Johnson 101.82 +0.12 +0.12% 9.0MJPM JPMorgan Chase 57.49 +4.42 +8.33% 37.0MMCD McDonald's 117.93 +1.20 +1.03% 8.6MMRK Merck 49.03 +0.18 +0.37% 13.6MMSFT Microsoft 50.50 +0.81 +1.63% 34.2MNKE Nike 56.42 +0.42 +0.75% 10.2MPFE Pfizer 29.36 +0.23 +0.79% 32.5MPG Procter & Gamble 80.99 +1.09 +1.36% 9.3MTRV Travelers Companies Inc 107.49 +3.72 +3.58% 2.1MUTX United Technologies 85.95 +1.29 +1.52% 5.9MUNH UnitedHealth 111.82 +1.20 +1.08% 2.6MVZ Verizon 50.11 +0.72 +1.46% 21.0MV Visa 70.42 +1.95 +2.85% 8.7MWMT Wal-Mart 66.18 +0.86 +1.32% 9.7M

Kleinwort Benson Elite PCC Ltd

Kingfisher 330.30 2.40 0.73 7,422.83Land Securities Group 1,016.50 20.50 2.06 7,798.71Legal & General Group 212.90 3.20 1.53 11,932.72Lloyds Banking Group ORD 59.71 1.23 2.10 39,955.02London Stock Exchange Grp 2,354.00 67.00 2.93 7,478.69Merlin Entertainments 401.35 6.95 1.76 3,909.51Marks & Spencer Group 424.45 7.05 1.69 6,662.28Mondi 1,247.50 26.50 2.17 5,700.40National Grid 950.90 13.50 1.44 34,957.91Next 6,867.50 107.50 1.59 10,158.45Old Mutual 166.10 6.00 3.75 7,482.83Provident Financial 3,103.00 84.00 2.78 4,141.16Prudential 1,195.75 38.25 3.30 27,967.19Persimmon 1,928.00 33.00 1.74 5,749.19Pearson 774.25 13.25 1.74 5,918.38Reckitt Benckiser Group 6,237.50 271.50 4.55 41,805.44Royal Bank of Scotland Group 246.35 6.25 2.60 14,371.71Royal Dutch Shell 1,528.75 74.25 5.10 56,327.38Royal Dutch Shell 1,523.00 -3.00 -0.20 35,324.94RELX 1,159.00 20.00 1.76 12,748.80Rexam 599.75 5.75 0.97 4,151.15Rio Tinto 1,852.75 5.25 0.28 24,108.49Royal Mail 433.25 10.85 2.57 4,148.50Rolls-Royce Group 611.75 5.75 0.95 9,790.52Randgold Resources 5,972.50 -182.50 -2.97 5,697.22RSA Insurance Group 397.45 8.25 2.12 3,806.74SABMiller 4,157.00 9.00 0.22 66,796.94Sainsbury (J) 244.45 8.05 3.41 4,541.06Schroders 2,443.00 60.00 2.52 5,304.75Sage Group (The) 574.50 8.50 1.50 6,006.49Shire 3,732.00 93.00 2.56 20,784.73Sky 995.25 18.75 1.92 16,751.82Standard Life 343.10 -1.70 -0.49 6,423.49Smiths Group 931.50 15.50 1.69 3,474.04Smith & Nephew 1,084.00 19.00 1.78 9,422.41Sports Direct International 386.30 10.50 2.79 2,238.56SSE 1,365.50 19.50 1.45 13,177.99Standard Chartered 445.05 16.05 3.74 9,885.95St James's Place 850.50 20.50 2.47 4,193.86Severn Trent 2,100.50 40.50 1.97 4,878.50Travis Perkins 1,759.50 35.50 2.06 4,184.11Tesco 179.20 2.20 1.24 14,595.26TUI AG 1,022.50 14.50 1.44 5,951.09Taylor Wimpey 173.95 3.15 1.84 5,495.10Unilever 2,984.50 40.00 1.36 37,284.50United Utilities Group 923.50 18.00 1.99 6,106.31Vodafone Group 209.03 3.58 1.74 53,210.99Wolseley 3,445.50 138.50 4.19 8,489.56Worldpay Group Ord 3p Wi 289.65 2.35 0.82 5,403.00WPP Group 1,419.00 28.00 2.01 17,875.19Whitbread 3,766.00 113.00 3.09 6,653.47

Most AdvancedMercer International Inc. $ 8.13 1.99 32.41%Groupon, Inc. $ 2.89 0.65 29.02%Intercept Pharmaceuticals, Inc. $ 120.22 25.93 27.50%Connecture, Inc. $ 2.75 0.50 22.22%NewStar Financial, Inc. $ 6.27 1.125 21.87%Genocea Biosciences, Inc. $ 3.66 0.65 21.59%Memorial Production Partners LP $ 2.28 0.37 19.37%Moneygram International, Inc. $ 5.63 0.88 18.53%Varonis Systems, Inc. $ 16.16 2.34 16.93%Rovi Corporation $ 20.84 2.96 16.55%Wowo Limited $ 5.7524 0.7924 15.98%Most DeclinedLPL Financial Holdings Inc. $ 16.50 8.76 34.68%Select Comfort Corporation $ 15.58 4.93 24.04%Amkor Technology, Inc. $ 4.13 1.06 20.42%Presbia PLC $ 3.03 0.49 13.92%CyberArk Software Ltd. $ 32.78 3.96 10.78%Qlik Technologies Inc. $ 17.61 1.81 9.32%Dermira, Inc. $ 21.45 2.17 9.19%ProShares UltraPro Short NASDAQ Biotech $ 44.49 4.28 8.78%region $ 11.69 1.05 8.24%Bellerophon Therapeutics, Inc. $ 2.03 0.18 8.14%Activision Blizzard, Inc $ 28.12 2.40 7.86%

CCOMPANYOMPANY PPRICERICE((PP)) CCHANGEHANGE((PP)) % C% CHGHG.. NNETET VVOLOL

DOW JONESCLOSING PRICES FEBRUARY 15

Anglo American 392.80 18.85 5.04 4,445.22Associated British Foods 3,106.50 54.50 1.79 23,762.10Admiral Group 1,709.00 35.00 2.09 4,655.52Aberdeen Asset Management 227.90 18.60 8.89 2,768.39Ashtead Group 817.50 12.50 1.55 3,861.91Antofagasta 442.95 9.65 2.23 3,851.25ARM Holdings 900.75 40.25 4.68 12,144.09Aviva 429.85 9.85 2.35 16,269.98AstraZeneca 4,120.50 111.50 2.78 50,555.77BAE Systems 473.35 13.65 2.97 14,568.64Babcock International Group 880.00 11.50 1.32 4,326.01Barclays 161.65 4.45 2.83 24,950.42British American Tobacco 3,777.00 68.50 1.85 68,719.43Barratt Developments 554.25 9.25 1.70 5,405.31Berkeley Group Holdings 3,215.00 34.00 1.07 4,107.23British Land Co 670.00 17.50 2.68 6,677.81BHP Billiton 710.40 76.30 12.03 13,404.26Bunzl 1,827.00 37.00 2.07 5,910.76BP 337.38 4.88 1.47 56,938.99Burberry Group 1,207.00 33.00 2.81 4,957.67BT Group 457.43 9.18 2.05 37,598.39Coca-Cola HBC 1,328.50 25.50 1.96 4,664.23Carnival 3,145.50 39.50 1.27 6,597.00Centrica 191.10 7.50 4.08 9,173.04Compass Group 1,205.50 -0.50 -0.04 19,501.82Capita Group (The) 1,089.50 15.50 1.44 7,036.09CRH 1,719.00 14.00 0.82 13,650.01Dixons Carphone 439.65 8.55 1.98 4,910.41DCC 5,420.00 65.00 1.21 4,609.40Diageo 1,782.00 24.00 1.37 43,910.57Direct Line Insurance Group 365.30 7.50 2.10 5,259.75Experian 1,119.50 17.50 1.59 10,645.36easyJet 1,513.00 27.00 1.82 5,801.23Fresnillo 870.50 -26.50 -2.95 6,468.08GKN 263.85 7.35 2.87 4,107.78Glencore 101.15 2.69 2.73 12,730.84GlaxoSmithKline 1,394.25 30.75 2.26 65,708.40Hikma Pharmaceuticals 1,891.00 41.00 2.22 3,745.90Hargreaves Lansdown 1,168.00 38.00 3.36 5,255.45Hammerson 548.50 13.50 2.52 4,203.91HSBC Holdings 444.95 4.55 1.03 82,244.30International Consolidated Air 502.75 22.95 4.78 9,792.88InterContinental Hotels Group 2,301.50 27.50 1.21 5,218.193i Group 411.45 10.55 2.63 3,809.62Imperial Brands 3,617.50 64.00 1.80 34,378.70Intu Properties 284.45 4.95 1.77 3,572.42Inmarsat 963.50 -6.00 -0.62 4,193.41Intertek Group 2,713.00 45.00 1.69 4,246.24ITV 245.30 4.20 1.74 9,558.33Johnson Matthey 2,306.00 58.00 2.58 4,587.08

CCOMPANYOMPANY PPRICERICE((PP)) CCHANGEHANGE((PP)) % C% CHGHG.. NNETET VVOLOL

COMPANY PRICE CHANGE NET / %

US dollar.......................................................................1.11981Japan yen .................................................................127.529Switzerland franc .................................................1.10059Denmark kroner ..................................................7.46405Norway kroner.....................................................9.63636

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FINANCE, BUSINESS & LEGAL18 - 24 February 2016 / Costa de AlmeriaEWN34 www.euroweeklynews.com

EWN36 FINANCE, BUSINESS & LEGAL18 - 24 February 2016 / Costa de Almera www.euroweeklynews.com

CHANCELLOR George Os-borne has decided to postponethe sale of the governments fi-nal stake in Lloyds BankingGroup, after admitting that theglobal turmoil in stock marketsand slowing growth was thereason for the delay.

With an expected windfallof 2 billion (2.6 billion),this was to be a useful addition

to the governments finances,as well as confirmation that thebanking sector had returned tonormal, and the sale was partof the conservative party mani-festo at the last election.

There was some serious crit-icism of the sale of the firsttranche of Lloyds shares inOctober last year, when thegovernment was accused of

pitching the price to corporateinvestors too low, but sincethat time, the price of its shareshas fallen and banks are notperforming as well as expect-ed.

Prices then were in the re-gion of 78p per share, whichseemed to show a profit for thegovernment which had invest-ed large amounts to support

the bank, but they are currentlytrading around 65p, so therecould be a considerable loss ifthe government allowed thesale to go ahead.

If that wasnt bad enough,the governments other bank,the Royal Bank of Scotland,has had to make huge provi-sions to cover fines and ex-pected legal actions.

Government retains Lloyds shares

FINANCIAL STAKE: The government has decided to postpone the sale of its shares in Lloyds Banking Group.

Fears over UK interest ratesBy John Smith

AS the pound declines against the maincurrencies, money flows towards theUSA, employment figures arent quiteas healthy and rumours abound of eitherincreased cuts in government spendingor increase in taxation, the former cityregulator Lord Turner has entered thediscussion warning that without radicalpolicies, the UK economy could bestuck with low interest rates almost in-definitely.

Low interest rates are clearly good forthose who need to borrow money butbad for those who need to see their in-vestments grow, and as banks seem topay very low rates of interest whilstcharging much higher rates to those bor-rowers who they accept, the overall situ-ation does not, according to Lord Turn-er, assist the economy.

In an interview with the BBC afterobserving interest rates in the UK maynot go up beyond 2 per cent by 2020,he also commented on peer-to-peerlending, which is one of the fastest-growing areas of financial services. Itappeals to borrowers who have beenturned down by High Street banks and

savers prepared to take greater risks tomake bigger returns.

The losses which will emerge frompeer-to-peer lending over the next fiveto 10 years will make the worst bankerslook like lending geniuses, he predict-ed.

You cannot lend money to small andmedium sized enterprises without some-one doing good credit underwriting.

He also indicated that in his opinion,the possibility of the UK leaving the Eu-ropean Union would be adverse for theUK economy and was already causing

major destabilisation at a global level.There is a great deal of nervousness

that a UK vote for Brexit (to leave theEU) is another layer of uncertainty in anextremely uncertain world, uncertaineconomically and uncertain politically,he said.

WITH the continued un-certainty over the priceof o i l and the overa l llosses in the stock mar-kets around the world,gold is beginning to at-t rac t inves tors again ,and 2016 has seen theprice rise quite consis-tently, it has put on over$50 (44.32) an ounces ince the s tar t of theyear.

There are still plentyof pundits who suggestthat i t wi l l ga in evenmore ground over thecoming months, but in-vestors need to be cau-t ious as not only doesthe spot pr ice changetwice a day, but a move-ment in exchange ratescan also affect costs andprofits.

Price ofgoldlooksstronger

GOOD for those who borrow money, but bad for those who have invested

Photo Credit Niccolo Caranti Wikimedia

LORD TURNER: Indicated that leaving the EU would be adverse for the UK economy.

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37FINANCE, BUSINESS & LEGAL EWN18 - 24 February 2016 / Costa de Almerawww.euroweeklynews.com

By John SmithAFTER the EU announced that itwas to review the need for a 500bank note, former chief executiveof Standard Chartered Bank, PeterSands has authored a report, whichsuggests that all high value banknotes should be phased out inorder to make it more difficult forcriminals and terrorists to movefunds around the world.

His main targets are the 500(said to have been introduced atthe behest of Germany whichpreviously had a 500 mark note),British 50 and US $100, althoughhe has suggested that the worlds20 largest economies shouldconsider their own situation andreview the proposal at the nextG20 summit to be held in China inSeptember.

According to the report, eachyear the movement of dirtymoney exceeds $2 trillion (1.77trillion), and rather than spendtime catching the criminals, hisreport argues that governments

should now target the cash itself,and starve those who try to move itillegally.

High-value notes issued by richcountries are the currency ofcorrupt elites, of crime of all sorts

and of tax evasion, Mr Sandssaid.

They play little role in the

functioning of the legitimateeconomy, yet a crucial role in theunderground economy, he added.The irony is that they areprovided to criminals by the state.

He accepts that banning the

notes would not stop crime initself, but it would make it moredifficult and time consuming ifcriminals could only use smalldenominations.

There is a question as to whetherthis is a realistic proposal, as ifBritain was to remove the 50note, then Europe would have toconsider removing the 200,100 and 50 notes, and Gibraltarof course would have to remove its100 and 50 notes.

Call to phase out high-value bank notes

HIGH-VALUE NOTES: Play a crucial role in the underground economy.

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ACCORDING to a report it will make it more difficult for criminals to move funds around the world

Rather than catching the

criminals, the governments

should target the money itself.

By John SmithMANY Spanish investors were attract-ed to purchase shares in Brazilian oilgiant Petrobras, when shares werelaunched on the worlds stock ex-changes in 2010 to raise $72.8 billion(63.5 billion), which was the worldslargest ever share launch and made itthe fourth largest company by capitali-sation in the world.

All appeared to be going well withthe company, reported profits grew andit soon overtook Microsoft in value butby late 2013, Merrill Lynch reportedthat it was now the worlds most in-debted company. By late 2014, itsdebts were estimated by Moodys ashaving reached $170 billion (150 bil-lion) and that effectively the companycould only go from bad to worse.

In response, an investigation underthe code name Operation Car Wash wasinitiated, which suggested that contractsworth up to $22 billion (19.4 billion)were issued suspiciously and the fin-gers of corruption were observedthroughout the company.

Naturally, these problems had an ad-verse effect on share prices and a num-ber of Spanish investors have lost quitelarge amounts of money because of thealleged activities of the company andits management.

The Asociacion de Afectados dePetrobras, a Madrid-based shareholderassociation, International Securities

Associations and Foundations Man-agement Company for DamagedPetrobras Investors (Bolsa Madrid)ISAF Petrobras, and a coalition of in-ternational law firms, including Cre-mades Calvo-Sotelo, Motley Rice, andLowey Dannenberg Cohen & Hart, an-

nounced on February 10 thatthey have prepared a

s u b s t a n t i a l

criminal complaint against PetroleoBrasileiro SA, certain Petrobras groupentities and (formerly) high-rankingPetrobras officers (collectively Petro-bras et al), and intend to file it in theCriminal Court in Madrid in the com-ing weeks.

The complaint will be filed on behalfof all Petrobras investors who bought

s h a r e s

through Bolsa de Madrid (LATIBEXindex), and all investors who boughtshares through BOVESPA in SaoPaulo, but brought back those shares toSpain clearing through Iberclear andkept and custodied the shares in Spainthereafter, suffered losses as a result ofthe allegedly long-running fraudperpetrated by Petrobras et al.Petrobras is majority-owned

by the Brazilian government.The complaint will allege that when

years of complex fraud and briberyschemes orchestrated by managementand officials of Petrobras were finallyrevealed to the public in 2014, in-vestors lost billions of dollars, eurosand Brazilian reals, resulting from sig-nificant asset write-downs and precipi-tous declines in Petrobras share prices.

Their argument is that when invitinginvestors to purchase their shares,Petrobras undertook to comply withEuropean stock market rules, andtherefore provided that the shares wereeither purchased in Spain or weretransmitted back to Spain then in-vestors are entitled to take action underSpanish law.

The first investor lawsuit was filedas a class action in the United States onbehalf of investors there, but is onlyable to include those who invested inthe USA. In Spain the laws are differ-ent and those who have lost moneymust opt in to a joint lawsuit.

It is suggested that investors (a) whopurchased common and preferredshares of Petrobras anytime between2004 and July 28, 2015 and (b) suf-fered and/or are in danger of suffering(further) damages as a consequence ofthe alleged fraud, contact ISAF Petro-bras so that it can determine eligibilityto pursue claims in the Spanish courtsystem.

EWN38 FINANCE, BUSINESS & LEGAL18 - 24 February 2016 / Costa de Almera www.euroweeklynews.com

Massive fraud action in Madrid Courtagainst Brazilian oil companyA COMPLAINT will be filed as investors have lost billions of dollars, euros and Brazilian reals

PETROBRAS: By late 2013 Merrill Lynch reported it was the worlds most indebted company.

TUI, operators of Thomson Airwaysamongst others and now the largesttravel operator in the world, has ex-perienced a massive drop in holiday-makers travelling to Turkey follow-ing the attack on tourists in Istanbulearlier this year.

According to chief executiveFriedrich Joussen, almost one inseven of its customers travelled toTurkey in previous years, but rather

than cancel summer holidays, manyof its customers are simply switch-ing destinations, which will replacethe missing income for the company.

The company is now seeing morebookings for Spain and the CanaryIslands, and despite the fact that theyhave access to more hotels than anyother operator because of their Riuchain, he has indicated that Spainand the Canaries are pretty much

sold out as far as summer holidayswith Tui are concerned.

The company, which is nowbased in Germany, was originallyformed by an amalgamation of aGerman and British company, andowns and operates six different air-lines.

Its Thomson Airways is thebiggest airline in the group andlargest charter airline in the world.

Its an ill windfor popular touroperator Tui COMPANY has experienced a massive drop in tourists travelling to Turkey

TUI have indicated

that Spain and the Canariesare pretty much

sold out as far assummer holidays

are concerned.

Photo Credit RHL Images Wikimedia

I SUPPOSE I should actually find it flattering.Well, be that as it may, I would like to take thisopportunity to inform those people, who lookat me with incredulous disbelief and ask if I ac-tually write this column; I most certainly do.Its all my fault! Ok? Right, moving on.

What a load of complete and utter, intelli-gence insulting baloney Cameron has been try-ing to foist on us all this past couple of weeks.His so-called deal with the EU membersamounts to just about zilch. There are only twothings that truly worry the public at large.

One: Control of our borders and the presentpolicy of virtually unrestricted immigration.Two: The rules and regulations emanatingfrom the power mad, non-elected PC, Umanrights bureaucrats of Brussels. And what has heachieved toward a solution of these two mostcrucial causes of public concern? Nada!

Apart from a four year period of non-benefit

for new immigrants, which he has neverstopped crowing about and is apparently basedon some vague sliding scale, plus the insipidchild benefit charade, a highly complicatedand no doubt expensive procedure, which canactually result in some immigrants getting evenhigher benefits than they are receiving now -he may as well concede to the out vote with-out even bothering to call a referendum.

Its the arrogant and brazen way he underes-timates and insults our intelligence that sticksin my craw. No Im sorry Dave, the credibilityyou have lost over this debacle could not onlylose you the in vote and subsequently lead toyour resignation, but may well do the partysuch irreversible damage they could well losethe next election. The spectre of Prime Minis-ter Coburn is hovering nearer Dave, and its allyour fault. The same as this column is mine.

I have always supported the Conservatives,but frankly at this moment UKIP is looking afar better alternative. For Gods sake get a gripand show some cojones. I hate to add beforeits too late, because I fear it already is!

Keep the faith. Love [email protected]

His credibility has been knocked

LEAPY LEE SAYS IT

OTHERS THINK IT

ALTHOUGH a Conservative supporter, at present UKIP is looking far better alternative

OPINION & COMMENT EWN18 - 24 February 2016 / Costa de Almera 41www.euroweeklynews.com

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DAVID CAMERON: His so-called deal with EU members amounts to just about zilch.

THIS may sound a little like scare-mongering but one negative benefit ofBritain leaving the Union would bethat it would automatically have toleave a little known organisation calledEuropol.

It is not a large operation, it does nothave the power to initiate investiga-tions, cannot arrest anyone, is not affil-iated to Interpol (which has a com-pletely different role) but is vital to theprotection of member states against or-ganised crime, money laundering andterrorism.

Europol is the European Unionslaw enforcement agency whose maingoal is to help achieve a safer Europefor the benefit of all EU citizens. Theydo this by assisting the EuropeanUnions Member States in their fightagainst serious international crime andterrorism.

With almost 800 staff at headquar-

ters in The Hague, it works closelywith law enforcement agencies in the28 EU Member States and has contactswith other non-EU partner states suchas Australia, Canada, the USA andNorway.

Analysis is at the core of their activi-ties and Europol employs around 100

criminal analysts who are among thebest trained in Europe and it is theywho constantly update European policeagency knowledge based on the flowof information that is transferredthrough their offices on a day to daybasis.

It doesnt always work as is clear

from the terrible events in Paris in late2015, but the blame rests unfortunatelywith intelligence services in Belgiumand France and other countries whichhave closely guarded their informationabout suspects. Much has been learntfrom the breakdown of communica-tions then and action is being taken topersuade intelligence agencies to im-prove their communications.

What is clear, however, is the Eu-ropol is involved in over 10,000 cross-border investigations each year and ba-sically is positioned in many cases totake a piece of information from onecountry and by computer analysismatch it with information from one ormore other countries in order to predictor solve crimes.

The head of Europol, Rob Wain-wright, a former British intelligence of-ficer has confirmed that in the eventthat Britain does decide to leave theUnion, it will have to leave Europoland although it may well be able totake a similar position to other non-EUpartners, at a time when the threatof terrorism is increasing, no-one knows how such a changewill affect the safety of Britain orindeed the whole of the EU.

WE have all experiencedthe power of music and itsabil i ty to take us back tospecial places and key mo-ments in our lives.

I was returning from Ali-cante airport , havingdropped off old friendswho, until my visit to theUK last year, I had notclapped eyes on for 30-oddyears.

Theirs was an obscenelyearly morning flight and Ifound myself on the desert-ed N332 at half past stupidwith just some light mist, achunky Kit Kat and an allnight radio station for com-pany.

1968 was a helter skelteryear, with deep ravines ofdepression that slowlyturned into a new and hap-

pier phase in my life.My marriage that had ter-

minated abruptly and bru-tally in the early summer ofthat year after a whole 18months, had left me badly

mauled, but an introductionby my friends wife (the oneI had just delivered to theairport) to her brother,marked the start of my re-turn to normality and a new

circle of close friends. It began with the excel-

lent Jose Feliciano singingLight My Fire - always apassport back in t ime -which was followed by

good old Leapy Lee dodg-ing Little Arrows.

Then Aretha Franklincame on to assure me thatshe would Say A Litt lePrayer on my behalf.

Obviously this was the1968 music hour, becausealong came the sandpapertones of Joe Cocker and thelegend that is Dusty Spring-field, and when Mary Hop-kin reminisced that ThoseWere the Days, I confessthere were goose bumps as Inodded to myself in ferventagreement.

By the t ime I reachedGuardamar via Gary Puck-ett , Marmalade and TheDoors, I was belting out thelyrics like a good un.

And when the intro to Je-samine by The Casualsoozed silkily out of thespeakers, the metamorpho-sis was complete and I wasback in the bar of The BoarsHead or on the dance floorat the Thingumajig Club,reborn and thankful to bealive.

Time travel on the N332BY the time I reached Guardamar, I was belting out the lyrics like a good un

Exit from EU could be damagingEUROPOL is involved in over 10,000 cross-border investigations each year

DUSTY SPRINGFIELD: A legend of the 1960s.

SEVENTY-FIVE years ago,parts of the world had been atwar for more than two yearsand the USA was about toalign itself with the Allies fol-lowing the Japanese attack onPearl Harbour.

Britain was still holdingout against the Axis forcesand there was heavy fightingin North Africa with Mont-gomery managing to defeatboth the Italians and Rom-mels panzers in Libya beforeBritain moved on to Iraq, Syr-ia and Iran to take possessionof the oil fields there.

During the same period,Greece and Yugoslavia werebeing invaded but at least theAllies had some wind of thisbecause of the code breakersat Bletchley Park.

In the meantime, in whatturned out to be a major error,Hitler invaded Russia whichwas a major reason for his de-feat, but it also led to the armsrace and the Cold War.

Although the timelines areslightly askew, there is cer-tainly a feeling of dj vu ashere we are now, watching aninvasion of Greece and manyof the former Yugoslavianstates albeit from a differentdirection and there has beencontinued fighting not only inLibya and Iraq but all overthe Middle East.

Relationships betweenRussia and Europe are begin-ning to break down and eco-nomies are suffering albeit forslightly different reasons.

There is an old saying that,the more things change, themore they stay the same andwe have to hope the currentsituation is going to resolve it-self so rather than continue tostagger into one crisis afterthe other, politicians decide totry to work together.

www.euroweeklynews.com

YOUR PAPER - YOUR VOICE - YOUR OPINION

Now we want to

hear your views.

Problems stillbeing faced

OUR VIEW

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ROB WAINWRIGHT: Director of Europol.

John SmithRandomthoughts...

Eternal Fire at BabaGurgur, Iraq.

Chad

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Colin BirdA weekly look

Each week, Colin brings his slightly off-the-wall view of the world to the pages of EWNin his own irreverent style.

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OPINION & COMMENTEWN42 www.euroweeklynews.com18 - 24 February 2016 / Costa de Almera

OPINION & COMMENT EWN18 - 24 February 2016 / Costa de Almera 47www.euroweeklynews.com

AS the most-voted candidate inthe December gene ra l e l ec -tions, acting president MarianoRajoy was invited by the Kingto form a government as cus-tom demands.

Rajoy decl ined, aware thathe wouldnt survive an investi-ture debate. Having lost twogene ra l e l ec t ions be fo re h i s2011 t r iumph, he wasnt pre-pared to set out on a hiding tonothing.

What Rajoy neither wantednor expec ted was the Kingsdecision to ask Pedro Sanchez,the PSOE candidate, to give ithis best shot or for Sanchez toaccept. Political sources hintthat discreet pressure was put

on the Zarzuela Palace not todo so.

Until now Rajoys wait and

see and do as little as possiblestrategy has stood him in goodstead on the home front. This

time he overestimated its valueand he definitely underestimat-ed Felipe VI.

Plus a change... RICHARD FORD was an Eng-

lish gentleman who lived in Sevillabetween1830 and 1833. Whilst therehe travelled extensively throughoutSpain and wrote in great detail abouthis experiences. Discussing the ban-dits and bandoleers supposedly rifeon Spanish roads he claimed neverto have encountered one. They aremore easily found in government of-fices and ministries, he maintained.Thats something that hasntchanged, then.

NamesakesIT is agreed that there are only

eight authentically Basque surnamesand a recent study by the ex-rector ofthe Universidad del Pais Vascoclaimed that they were excessivelyrepresented in Basque politics.Thats a bit like complaining thatblue sea is product placement for thePartido Popular.

Cassandra NashA weekly look- and not entirely impartial reaction - to the Spanish political scene

Delaying tactics delayedHAVING lost two general elections, Rajoy wasnt prepared to set out on a hiding to nothing

ROSA DIEZ: Has requested a dignified end for the party.

ROSA DIEZ resigned fromUnion, Progreso y Democracia(UPyD) which she co-founded in2007 after leaving the PSOE indisgust.

The party won five seats in thenational parliament in 2011, butsince then it was downhill all theway until last December when, up-staged by Ciudadanos, UPyD wonno seats at all.

Diez has now requested a dig-nified end for the party althoughsadly everyone else assumed thatit had already gone to the greatpolling station in the sky long ago.

Time to say goodbye

APPROACHING ROUNDABOUTSIts important to remember to give way to traffic already on the roundabout. If the

roundabout is outside urban areas of towns or cities, keep right.If the roundabout is in a built-up area inside a town or city and the lanes are clearly

marked, you should use the lane that best corresponds to the exit you need to take.

LEAVING ROUNDABOUTSThis causes the most confusion amongst drivers. Which lane to choose? Why do I

get beeped at if Im in the right lane? Drivers must exit roundabouts from the righthand lane, because the only way to leave the roundabout is by turning right. Thisdoesnt mean we always have to enter the roundabout from the right hand lane. It de-pends on the exit we need to take.

However this simple rule, in practice, can be more complex. Let us see some exam-ples.

1st EXIT RIGHTEnter roundabout keeping to right hand side lane. Stay in lane until exit is reached.

Indicate and exit roundabout.

CONTINUING STRAIGHT ON (e.g. 2nd EXIT STRAIGHT AHEAD)Enter roundabout keeping to right hand side lane. Stay in lane until exit is reached.

Indicate prior to exit and leave roundabout.

TURNING LEFT OR CHANGING DIRECTION (e.g. 3rd OR FINAL EXIT)Enter roundabout keeping to left hand side lane.Stay in lane until you have passed the exit before your turn off, then change lane by

indicating right and giving other road users sufficient time to anticipate your manoeu-vre. Dont forget that drivers circulating in the outside lanes have priority, so use yourmirrors to ensure you are not blocking them as you change lanes.


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IF you are unsure about the correct way to negotiateroundabouts, here are some simple rules to help you

enter and exit roundabouts safely and in the rightlane.

vDEAR EWN,People really irritate me over

the access and cost of entrance tothe Caminito del Rey.

First they complained that theycouldnt get tickets even though itwas relatively easy to go onlineand book ahead, then they were upin arms over allocation to hoteland restaurant owners (which wasadmittedly a bi t naughty), whothen only handed them over if youhad a meal.

Now, because the whole thing isbeing handed over to a pr ivatecompany to release council work-ers for hopefully more importantmatters, they are all complainingabout a 10 charge!

It costs more or less the same tosee a film and the walk cost a heckof a lot to get ready and now keepsafe and open for visitors. Letsput things into perspective andfind real problems to worry about,not the price of a tourist attraction.

Pauline, Malaga City

Caterpillarsare dangerous

DEAR Editor, On the story that appeared about

the processionary caterpi l lars ,three dogs in our area ended up inintensive care and lost part of theirtongues af ter touching one ofthese. Thanks for highlighting thisproblem, it might prevent a fatali-ty.

Lis via the Internet

Angels andAge Care

DEAR EWN,Thank you so much for publish-

ing the ar t ic le on the donat ionfrom the Angels and amalgamat-ing it with the news about the newcoffee morning venue at Fuengiro-la. Age Care appreciates your helpvery much. It is really importantto us that we keep people aware ofwhat Age Care do. There are so

many elder ly people who needsupport and i f we can, we wil lhelp them.

Once again, thank you. Regards,

Bobby, Costa del Sol

Fantasticwork

DEAR Euro Weekly News,I would l ike to a ler t you and

your readers to the fantastic work

that is done by the 4 Paws charitywhich particularly looks after therehoming of older dogs which aremuch more difficult to help thancute little puppies.

They handle a large number ofdogs each year, but costs are veryhigh, especially when many of theanimals are rehoused in other partsof Europe.

For more information or to offerassistance please visithttps://www.facebook.com/4-paws-adoptions-127264347404435

Kind regards,Caroline in the UK via e-mail

Knittedknockers

DEAR EWN,I recently had a lumpectomy fol-

lowed by a mastectomy and havebeen provided with a prosthesis,which weighs 450 grammes, but thethought of wearing that in the sum-mer filled me with horror. I remem-bered hearing about knitted knock-ers on a radio programme socontacted knitted knockers in theUK. They put me in touch with

knitted knockers Spain and Maggie,who set up the group, and her friendKaren is making me a knocker.

They need more knitters in otherparts of Spain and I thought thatmaybe you could mention them in theEWN as you are known for getting in-volved with charitable work and knit-ting knockers is such a wonderful,positive thing to do free of charge fora stranger. Thank you for taking thetime to read my message.

Susan, via email.

Taxi strikeDEAR EWN,With regards to the forthcoming

Malaga taxi strike, I really have nosympathy left for local taxi drivers. Iused to get them up to and backfrom Malaga airport before, but nowprefer to use the train and try toavoid them at all costs. I find themexpensive nor do I not think theymerit their charges... but I am sureothers will love them ;-)

Mike via the Internet

What goodnews

DEAR Sir,What g

euro weekly news - costa de almeria 18 - 24 february 2016 issue 1598

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