INFOCA, the organisationresponsible for controllingforest fires, lost a keymember of its team onSunday.

The pilot, a woman in her 40s,died when the Alpha 1 AT 802aircraft she was flying crashedduring attempts to control aforest fire close to Tijola andSeron, at the top of the A-334.

Witnesses to the accidentcommented on the strangemovements of the aircrafts tailjust moments before it plungedto the ground.

The blaze began about 1pm,and was declared under controlthe same afternoon.

The deceased pilot, originallyfrom Madrid, had a long record of

fire fighting and morethan5,000

hoursof experience in

this type of aircraft,according to INFOCA in astatement which conveyed itscondolences to her family.

Besides piloting aircraft, thewoman was also a flightinstructor who had undertakennumerous fire extinctioncampaigns across Andalucia. Shehad carried out eight campaignswith INFOCA alone. During thewinter time, she helped with fireextinctions in Chile, SouthAmerica. She leaves behind ahusband and daughter.

INFOCA has promised a fullinvestigation into the potentialcauses of the accident.

The mayor of Seron, JuanAntonio Lorenzo, visited thescene on Sunday afternoon andoffered his full support andcondolences to the family andfriends of the much loved pilot.He talked about the Seronpeoples sadness that this couldhave happened.

Jose Manuel Ortiz,Environment Delegate of theJunta, also wished to express hiscondolences to the family,saying: She was a veryexperienced pilot, yet so young.It is such a shame that this hashappened.

EWNGETS IT.com

29 MAY - 4 JUNE 2014 WWW.EUROWEEKLYNEWS.COMISSUE NO. 1508 TRUST WE DO!our advertisers

CONTROVERSIAL bonuses awarded in March by themayor of Mojacar have been withdrawn. The mayor,Rosa Maria Cano, had promised bonuses of 1,000 tofull-time employees and 500 to part-timeemployees.

The independent political party Mojacar Positiva seMueve, led by Councillor Jessica Simpson, filed animmediate legal claim against the awards, declaringthat the mayors action was illegal and a vote catcher.

The legal claim was upheld at an extraordinarymeeting held last week, resulting in a jubilantresponse from Simpson. She was later quoted assaying: We could not have asked for a betteroutcome. This wholly inappropriate gesture has

rightly been slapped down because of its illegality...The bonus could easily have been seen as buying anopportunity to get increased numbers of votes on thepart of the mayor. You may all make your ownjudgements on that. Public money must be usedjustly and fairly, in the way prescribed by law.

The Mojacar Union party expressed its surprise andaccused the mayor of a totally illegal andundemocratic approach and blatant electioneeringmanoeuvres.

Simpson added: I want to make it clear that thiswas their mistake and not ours. They put honey intheir mouths and promised something that wasneither approved, nor legal.

Pilot dies fighting fire

Bonus award for Mojacarcouncil staff overturned

AUDIENCES were treatedto the sound of the valleysthis weekend in Mojacarand Vera when a WelshChoir from the Cardiff areaperformed for theirentertainment.

The lucky listeners werewell entertained by TheChords on Friday May 16at the Hostal Rural inTurre and on SaturdayMay 17 at the Anglican

Church of Mojacar. The female choristers

provided some glamour inclassic black with redbeaded necklaces, whilstthe men were resplendentin black and white withcheeky red bow ties.

The choristers were anequal blend of male andfemale performers. Avaried musical programmewas offered to the listeners,

with a range of songs andplenty of humour.

The musical event helpedby raising funds for theAnglican church in Mojacar,for the Cabrera Fiesta in2015 and for theorphanage in Vera.

Congratulations to theorganisers from Cabreraand The Anglican Churchand many, many thanks toThe Chords.

NEWSEWN 29 May - 4 June 2014 / Costa de Almera2

News1 - 32

Finance35 - 40

Letters47

Daily TV50

Leapy Lee52

Time out56 - 57

Property77-80

Classifieds81 - 83

Sport87 - 88

THIS WEEK IN

EWN

The Chords ofWales perform

www.euroweeklynews.com

A WELSH TREAT: The choristers entertained with a varied musical programme.

GUARDIA Civil officers havearrested two men in connectionwith a violent assault with intent torob, in Adra.

The two men had approached a67-year-old man from behind in theearly hours of the morning, after heleft a bar in the town. The men hadearlier been drinking in the same

establishment as the elderly man,and followed him as he left. Theypulled on the back pocket of histrousers to steal his wallet, ripping itin their haste. This action causedhim to fall to the ground, damaginghis Achilles tendon in the processand resulting in a number ofsuperficial bruises. One of the men

also threatened the elderly manwith a knife.

During the questioning of thevictim, Guardia Civil officers wereable to gain enough information toarrest two 19-year-old men (JILFand RTT). The men have beencharged with violence andintimidation and await sentencing.

IN Spain, National Organ and Tissue Donors Day isheld on the first Wednesday in June.

For more than 20 years, Spain has been a worldleader for organ donation and transplants. In 2013,Spain carried out 4,279 transplants thanks to 1,655donors. Earlier this year, a record was broken when45 transplants were carried out in just 24 hours.

Most of the transplants in 2013 were kidneys(2,552), followed by 1,093 liver transplants, 285lung, 249 heart, 92 pancreas and eight intestinal.Tissue such as bone, corneas and heart valves canalso be donated.

Spain has 35.12 donors per million inhabitants,well above the European average of 19 per million.More than 50 per cent of donors are over the ageof 60.

Becoming an organ donor in Spain is quite easy,all that is required is a donor card, which is notlegally binding, but does show the holders wish todonate their organs when they die.

According to Spanish law, anyone deceased is apotential donor, unless they have expressed in lifetheir wish for their organs not to be donated.

Despite this, the usual procedure is to ask forwritten authorisation from the persons relatives. Itis not enough to present a donor card, which is whythose wishing to donate are told to inform theirrelatives of their will so that they do not oppose.

If there are any organs they do not wish todonate, they should also make this known.

For more information, visit the site of the NationalTransplant Organization, www.ont.es.

Cycle path for El EjidoCYCLISTS will soon have a 12kilometre cycle path runningalong the A-1050 from the A-7/ A-1050 towards Los Marinfarms at Roquetas.

Curb the vandalismHUERCAL de Almeria Councilhas appealed to residents tohelp curb the vandalism thathas targeted facilities in thetown, especially childrens playareas.

Youth council launchingHUERCAL-OVERA is launchingits first Town Youth Councilwith the support of the mayor,Domingo Fernandez. Theproject is set for approval inJune.

Youth subsidiesPECHINA Council is tosubsidise employmentopportunities for youngsters inthe town to a value of107,273. One hundred andfifty three youths between 18and 29 are set to benefit.

Road works completeWORK on the A-317 (Avenidade Andalucia) as it passesthrough Velez Rubio is nowcomplete after an extension ofthree weeks and a budget of86,432.

Zurgena to get cooler ZURGENA residents are beingpromised their water will comethrough at a better tempera-ture now work has begun thisweek to repair and replaceunderground pipework.

New mantle for CuevasBUSINESSES in Cuevasdonated a new mantle for thecoronation on May 31. Itdisplays in La Capella de lavirgin until that date and tooksix months to complete.

Cruz Roja gets boost CRUZ ROJA have beenawarded a cooperation agree-ment in Pulpi this week duringa meeting with the mayor ofthe town and representativesof Cruz Roja and the council.

ewswatchNViolent muggers arrested

AbstentionsDURING the elections on May25, El Ejido was the area withthe highest percentage ofabsentions with 69.49 per centof people abstaining. Thelowest was Instincion with28.07 per cent abstention.

HHH Birthdaysurprise

INDALO Hash House Harrierscelebrated a special birthday ofone of its members thisweekend by surprising Alan(Hash name Puff) with a partyand food after their hike.

Waggy winnersARBOLEAS walls rang out withhappy woofing at theweekend, during a dog showto help raise funds for HAA(Helping Abandoned Animalsin Almanzora).

Retinosisfundraiser

ALBOX sculptor, Isabel Oller,has organised a fundraisingevent for retinosis at the Valledel Esta hotel in Vera on June7. Places cost 50 for adultsand 15 for children.

Let there be lightVERA Council has receivedfunding from the province of100,000 for the repair andreplacement of street lighting.In total, 76 areas will benefit.

Gold medals allround

EL EJIDOS rhythmic gymnastshave returned home fromGranada with seven goldmedals between them gainedin a competition on May 25.

NEWS 29 May - 4 June 2014 / Costa de Almera 3EWNTRUST our advertisers WE DO!

WE said from the start that we wouldwin and we have come through.Former minister of Agriculture, Food andEnvironment and conservative PartidoPopular candidate in the EU elections, MiguelArias Caete.

Quote of the Week And finally...A MAN, 42, was arrested in Granollers,Barcelona, for knocking down and killing acyclist, 34, and fleeing the scene. He waslocated thanks to statements fromwitnesses and pieces of his vehicle whichwere found at the accident.

million foreign tourists visited Spainbetween January and April this year,

according to the Frontur survey Publisher by theMinistry of Industry, Energy and Tourism. That is 9.2per cent more than over the same period in 2013.

15.3 Number of the week

TEAM OF SURGEONS: Performing a transplant.

National Organ andTissue Donors Day

NEWSEWN 29 May - 4 June 2014 / Costa de Almera www.euroweeklynews.com4

MAYOR of Huercal-Overa,Domingo Fernandez, haspresented more than 15students with theirdiplomas after thecompletion of the firstedition in Digital Photo-graphy.

During the course,students learnt basic digitalphotography techniquessuch as lighting, focus andphotographic retouching.

The students were veryhands on as well asenjoying classroom

activities. Fernandezcommented, I know thatthey made the most oftheir classroom time.Progress in digital photo-graphy is the order of theday, as most of us havedigital cameras and usethem daily for differentevents.

Councillor for Youth inHuercal-Overa, Lucia Parra,joined the mayor in

congratulating the studentsand announced the secondedition of the coursesaying, it will offer agreater number of placesbecause of the goodresponse it has alreadyreceived. Seats are sold outquickly, so the council willoffer even more placesnext year to reach agreater number of ourresidents.

Digital photographicdiplomas handed outin Huercal-Overa

Museum wins againADRAS maritime museum has been awarded theBlue Cross for the second year, one of only fiveawards in Andalucia. It was awarded by theAssociation of Environmental and ConsumerEducation.

Fondon water worksFONDON Council has started work to cleanthe water troughs that run through the town,thereby improving the water supply. Work isexpected to near completion soon.

Macael improvements beginMACAEL Council begins work shortly to improve thearea of San Jose Obrero with an investment of45,000. Works will improve walls, asphalt, lightingand play areas.

NEWS EXTRA

WELL DONE: The students learnt basic techniques, such as lighting and and were very hands on.

VELEZ RUBIO museum,Miguel Guirao, has kickedoff the touring exhibition,Las 7 Maravillas (The 7Wonders), visiting a total of15 municipalities.

The exhibition forms partof the activities whichbegan with InternationalMuseum Day, which willrun until October. Afterpassing through Vlez-Rubio, the exhibition will

stop in Carboneras (June 5- 15), Turre (June 16 - 25),Cuevas Almanzora (June 26- July 6), San Juan de losTerreros (July 7 - 13), LosGallardos (July 14 - 20),Vlez-Blanco (July 21 - 27),Bedar (July 28 - August 3),Chirivel (August 4 - 10),Maria (August 11 - 17),Garrucha (August 18 - 31),Antas (September 1 - 14),Pulp (September 15 - 28),Vera (October 1 - 12) andMojacar (October 15 - 30).

The exhibition consists of28 panels in which imagesand text associated withthe seven wonders of eachmunicipality are displayed.The project was organisedby the Department ofCulture of Almeria, andshowcases the cultural andtangible landscapes of theLevante and Los Velez.

7 Wonders tour

THE Almanzora Group ofFriends took a trip toGorafe, near Guadix, tolearn about dolmens.

A dolmen is aprehistoric burial tombmade from huge slabs ofstone standing on end,around a dug outdepression, and toppedwith an enormous stonelid.

They were constructedbetween 5 and 2000 BC,and Gorafe, on theGuadix/Baza Basin, iswhere the greatestconcentration of dolmensin the Iberian Peninsularis to be found.

The tour then movedon to the 16th centurychurch of the Virgen dela Anunciacion, fromthere the group had abirds eye view of thevillage, and a 360 degreepanorama of the deepsteep gorge in which thevillage is situated.

The Centro deInterpretacion, right nextto the church and

Mirador, and on which afortune has been spentto bring it bang up todate, explained thecreation of the dolmensand the lifestyle of thepeople at that period oftime.

A vertiginous climb tothe guides cave housewas delightfully cool afterthe exertions in the sun,before the group headedback downhill again for

lunch at the Posada LosGuiles.

Full from an excellentlunch (and Tinto Verano)it was a short coach rideand walk to the Balneariode Alicun, a spa set in abeautifully landscapedpark, to see theAcueducto del Toril.

This used to be anormal irrigation channelon ground level, probablymade to take the water

to the village in itsPaleolithic days, but

mineral deposits from thewater have caused it toform a wall more than 15metres high and about akilometre in length.

This was the last stopon the trip to the GuadixBasin. Well fed, wellexercised and wellinformed the happygroup wended theirhomeward way, every-body now experts on theuse and building ofdolmens.

Information on futureexcursions is available

via the website athttp://www.almanzorago

f.org/trips.php

NEWS 29 May - 4 June 2014 / Costa de Almerawww.euroweeklynews.com 5EWN

La AlfoquiaextravaganzaSATURDAY May 31sees the Renfe site inLa Alfoquia hold anopen air concert withartists from Spainand the UK to raisemoney for localschools. Tickets 10on entry.

Great war MAYOR CristobalGranados opensThe Great Warexhibition at MuseoPedro Gilabert at8:30pm MondayJune 2. The exhibi-tion runs until FridayJune 13.

Adra rocks ADRA Council hasconfirmed dates for afestival of rock, punk,fusion and metal onAugust 1 and 2.

NEWS EXTRA Travelling back in pre-history

GROUP OF FRIENDS: On their trip to Gorafe to learn about dolmens.

NEWSEWN 29 May - 4 June 2014 / Costa de Almera www.euroweeklynews.com6

55k formaintenance

ALBANCHEZ hasreceived investment of55,076 for paving andguttering and environ-mental maintenance.Work begins thismonth.

Left bank CONSTRUCTION ofa 100 metre longand two metre highbreakwater hasbegun on the RioDarrical a Alcolea toprotect the left bankagainst flooding.

New collegeBISHOP of Almeria,Adolfo GonzalezMontes this weekinaugurated the newDiocesan college inAlmeria, 10 years afterhe laid the foundationstone.

NEWS EXTRA

L O C A L P O L I C Eofficers in Huercal-Overa have preventeda suicidal protestattempt by a 36-year-old man this week.

Police received acall alerting them tothe situation on thestreet outside thecourts. The man fromthe neighbouringtown of Zurgena haddoused himself with aflammable liquid, andwas threatening to sethimself alight with thelighter he washolding.

One of the policeofficers was able totalk with the man, andcalm him downsomewhat before asecond officer wasable to approach andsnatch the lighter. Theman was transferredto hospital.

THIS week, the Ministry ofAgriculture, Fisheries andEnvironment representa-tive, Jose Manuel Ortiz, has

announced the restrictionof vehicles to some areas ofCabo de Gata during June14 and September 14.

The announcement wasmade in the Official Gazetteof the Andalucian govern-ment this week.

The announcementaffects the unauthorisedaccess of motor vehicles tonatural beaches locatedwest of San Jose, andbetween Genoveses andCala Carbon in Nijar.

This restriction of access,which has been used forsome years, is adopted inview of the excessively highlevels of traffic during thetwo hottest summermonths.

Ortiz concluded, Thisnatural area lacks the basiclevel of health and securityservices needed for thegreat mass of visitors andvehicles generated in thesummer season. The areasuffers serious pathcollapses and does nothave the minimum securityconditions necessary incase of forest fire or anyother emergency situationthat may require immediateor urgent action.

GIRLS from the Huercal-Overa have returnedhome from the NacionalAneprode ballet competi-tion finals in Huesca witharmfuls of medals.

Councillor for Sports,Alonso Mena congratu-lated the students andtheir teacher, MartinaFernandez, for theexcellent results. Headded, Once again ourgirls return home withseveral medals, havingachieved great work in thecompetition. The truth ofthe matter is this year hasbeen a very good one forthem, and they have

achieved significantresults in every competi-tion they have entered.

The young dancers woneight gold medals, nine

silvers, and a number ofother prizes including asummer scholarship at theConservatory of Dance inValencia for Nerea Teruel.

Vehicle restrictions atCabo de Gata beaches

BALLET DANCERS: The girls won many prizes.

Girls dance to victory

Suicideattemptthwarted

JUNE 9 sees a very specialtrip begin as Jean andAnthony Allsop head toMolo in Kenya to visit theKings House orphanageand present them withdonated funds.

The orphanage is hometo children between theages of five and 15, whoare cared for by localPastor, Paul Kinguri. Paulswork began in 2005 whenhe took in two children that

had lost their parents toAIDS. Today the orphanageis responsible for 20children, all orphans. Thestory then moves across toFrance where Jean andAnthony were living untiltwo years ago. Theybefriended a lady calledSheila Harris, who wasalready involved in raisingmoney for the orphans, aswell as finding moresponsors, and the couplewere keen to get involved.

Sheila was sponsoring acouple of the childrenherself, and since 2000Jean and Anthony havebeen too.

Anthony was a dairyfarmer back in the UK. Hisexperience and pricelessknowledge will be of greatbenefit when they arrive inKenya, as some of themoney raised will go to buyfour goats for theorphanage. These goatswill provide milk, as well asa source of income by thesale of goats milk to local

villagers. The children andadults at the orphanage willbe taught how to care forthe goats, how to milkthem, and a certain level ofanimal health care too.

All travel and inoculationcosts are being coveredpersonally by the couple,and they are taking around

1500 - 1600 (exact figureawaiting confirmation) indonations.

Sponsoring a child costsjust 25 per month and isvery easy to arrange. If youwould like to sponsor anorphan, or donate in someother way - please emailjeanallsop@hotmail.com.

NEWSEWN 29 May - 4 June 2014 / Costa de Almera www.euroweeklynews.com8

Tennis tour VERA hosted thefourth round of the2014 Provincial TennisTour with youngAlmeria playerspicking up even morepoints. The nexttournament is in Adra.

Mosquito bidTHIS week the PPhave submitted arequest for the water-ways in the Andaraxarea to be repairedand renewed in a bidto rid the area ofmosquito infestations.

TV showPRODUCERS of the hitTV show, Game ofThrones are lookingfor new locations inSpain for filming.While no decision hasbeen made, they havenot ruled Almeria out.

NEWS EXTRAA very special trip to Kenya

ORPHANAGE: Jean and Anthony will take funds.

NEWS 29 May - 4 June 2014 / Costa de Almerawww.euroweeklynews.com 9EWN

FOR the past few weeks, hashersin Almeria had been sendingsecret emails, whispering in darkcorners, and tapping their noses ina secret fashion.

All the secrecy was in honour ofPuff, one of the Indalo HashHouse Harriers members. Puffturned 65, and so a surprise partywas secretly organised. Everyonepitched in with food, music andentertainment to ensure heenjoyed himself during and afterthe run on Sunday morning.

The run took place in Los Alamosand followed a circular route,ending up at party central. Theparty commenced with food,music courtesy of DJ Petal whoutilised an ironing board for adeck, and there was even somepeculiar dancing.

All in all, everyone enjoyedthemselves and the birthday boyhad a treat he will never forget.

Happy 65th birthday Puff.

Birthday hashingfor surprise party

PUFF: Celebrating his birthday.

EWN 29 May - 4 June 2014 / Costa de Almera12 NEWSwww.euroweeklynews.com

Familiesshortlisted fornew homes

BAYARCAL Council hasshortlisted 13 largefamilies to benefit fromthree free homes. Eightyfamilies initially showedinterest, 43 formalisedtheir request.

Not guilty!THIS week a juryacquitted the manaccused of murdering histenant for not paying inAlmeria. The verdict wasapproved by a majority ofseven out of 10.

New judgesSEVEN new judges havebeen sworn in and will beworking in Almeria. Theywill be appointed toAlmeria City, Vera andRoquetas de Mar.

NEWS EXTRAVillarino exhibitionMIGUEL VILLARINO is exhibiting at Almerias ArtMuseum from May 29 to July 6.

Schooled in the Spanish Academy of Fine Arts inRome, Miguel has taught engraving all over Europeas well as in Costa Rica. This exhibition showcasesa large variety of his pieces, focusing on oil andacrylic on canvas.

NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH is one of thelargest most successful crime reductioninitiatives in the UK and here in Spain theassociation known as Vecinos Cooperando

y Colaborando de Espaa, (NeighboursCooperating and Collaborating in Spain)has proved an equally very successful

operation and has helped people tofeel safer in their homesand reduced crime.

Neighbourhood Watchschemes can help toreduce crime and theopportunities for crime.They make people awareof ways to protect theirproperty by providingadvice, encouragingcloser communities andhelping and reassuringthose who live in fear ofcrime.

The branch ofNeighbourhood Watch inArboleas would like toremind people to bevigilant and to worktogether to keep theirproperty and belongingssafe. To join the schemein Arboleas, visitwww.arboleasnws.com.

NeighbourhoodWatch Arboleas

SPAINS answer to One Direction are heading to Almeriaand performing in El Ejido and Olula del Rio on June 27 and28 respectively.

The popular and clean cut boy band sing in both Spanishand English, and have a fiercely loyal young following. Blas,Dani, Alvaro, David and Carlos are looking forward tobelting out some of their fans favourite pop songs. Moreinformation from www.aurynweb.com.

Auryn fans get ready!AURYN: Spains answer to One Direction.

MAYOR of Huercal-Overa,Domingo Fernandez, has visitedthe San Francisco barrio in thetown to oversee the ongoingworks and services. He wasaccompanied by councillors

Emilio Perez and Alonso Mena.Improvements are being made

to pavements and a cycle path isbeing installed. They are alsopaying particular attention tosecurity with the repair and

replacement of street lighting.Fernandez stressed the

importance of the works andcommented, With this work weare providing greater security andsafety to our residents who live in

the area, whilst also providingemployment opportunities to thoseinvolved in the project. Were it notfor this project, these workerswould have difficulty entering thelabour market.

NEWSEWN 29 May - 4 June 2014 / Costa de Almera www.euroweeklynews.com14

Tarzan comesto El Ejido

SUNDAY June 1 seesthe launch of Tarzan, ashow aimed at childrenand families, to be heldin the MunicipalAuditorium. The showis musical and lasts forone hour 40 minutes

Vicar fiestaTHIS weekend sees anumber of festivities inVicar to celebrate SanFernando Rey. Activi-ties involve food,music, sports and funfor the whole family.

La Sabina SECRETARY for Agricul-ture and Food, JeromePerez, visited La Sabinain Chirivel this week.He praised the proces-sing centre and said itwill boost the economy.

NEWS EXTRA

Mayor visits works on San Francisco barrio

PAWS are holding afashion show at 1pm onMay 31 in the Phoenicianrestaurant, Mojacar.

The fashion showfocuses predominantlyon ladies wear, but alsohas an excellent rangeof menswear includingmens shirts and suits.

Such designer labelsas Versace, Planet,Prada, Guess, IsseyMiyake and BettyJackson will be featured,as well as a number ofitems from UK andSpanish high streetstores. Prices of theitems start from as littleas 4.

Julie Peradon, one ofthe shows organisers,

took a break from thewashing and ironing ofthe showpieces to speakto Euro Weekly Newsand said, The quality ofthese items of clothing isexcellent.

Some of the piecesstill have their price tagson and have never beenworn.

There is also a raffleon the day, with allproceeds going to helpthe PAWS organisation.

PAWS would like toinvite everyone to comealong and enjoy thedays events.

For further informationcontact PAWS via theirwebsite at www.paws-patas.org.

PAWSpromoting

fashion

FASHION SHOW: Will include designer labels.

MORE than 1,200 childrenhave enjoyed a perform-ance of El Libro de la Selva(The Jungle Book) thisweek.

Students from 12 schoolsin the Roquetas andsurrounding areas enjoyedthe play, which was

directed with respect to theoriginal story, but withslight adjustments to makeit suitable for familyaudiences with sim-plification of characters.

The aim of the theatregroup from Teatro LaCarreta was to provide afun show in which aprimary message isenforced: the importanceof having a living,supportive family.

The story follows Mowgli,a little savage boy whomust return to his humanfamily, but retaining hislove and respect for theanimals who cared for himand who taught him.

NEWSEWN 29 May - 4 June 2014 / Costa de Almera www.euroweeklynews.com16

Acousticimprovement

worksWORK has begun toimprove the acousticsin the Palace of theMediterraneanGames. It is expectedto be completedbefore David Bisbalperforms there onJune 14

Local Policetraining day

AROUND 50 LocalPolice officershave received aday of training inAlmeria to bringthem up to speedwith the newtraffic laws thatcame into effectearlier thismonth.

El Ejidofarmers given

go aheadEL EJIDO Councilhas given the goahead for farmers inthe municipality totake responsibilityfor the managementand disposal of theirown compost.

NEWS EXTRA

EL AULA welcomed aspecial guest thisweek, psychologist andauthor Bernabe TiernoJimenez. The eventwas organised by theDepartment of Culture,and specifically itsrepresentative, PilarQuirosa. It was held inthe Castle of SantaAna.

Bernabe TiernoJimenez taught for 14years in a high schooland upper elementary,and then directed theCENIT College ofMadrid for 10. Heearned his Bachelor ofPhilosophy, Educa-tional Sciences andPsychology, special-ising in Psychology atthe University ofMadrid.

He gained a diplomain Psychology ofWriting by the Inter-national Institute forPsychological Researchin Milan, Italy, and Ifthat wasnt enough, hewent on to studyGraphopsychology atthe University ofMadrid.

Jimenez is a memberof the Spanish societyof Legal and SocialMedicine, the SpanishSociety of Pedagogy,and the WritersAssociation of Spain.

He spent 30 yearsresearching the causesof school failure andpioneered strategiesfor teaching and moreeffective learning.

Today as a lecturer,he travels Spainoffering courses andlectures for parents,schools, and teachergroups.

DAVID BARRULL, winner of the second season of LaVoz, the Spanish version of The Voice visited CostaAlmeria this week with a performance at the theatre inRoquetas de Mar.

Barrull was there to perform music from his debutalbum, Sueos Cumplidos (Dreams Come True). Thealbum contains songs he composed himself, and soonhad the audience singing along and up on their feet todance.

Teachinglectures

DAVID BARRULL: Winner of the Spanish version.

The Voicein Almeria

Jungle Book forlocal children

29 May - 4 June 2014 / Costa de Almerawww.euroweeklynews.com 19EWNNEWS

Healthy weekBERJA saw 35 men andwomen enjoy a day ofhealthy activities thisweek. Starting with ahealthy breakfast, theparticipants moved onto a sporty day and abit of pampering.

Music festivalCARBONERAS hasclosed its musicalline-up for SanAntonio 2014. DavidBarrul, HenryMendez and theHispalis choir are allconfirmed to attendthe festival inAugust.

Chercos trailsCHERCOS was visitedby 64 participants inthe provincial Trailsprogramme this week.The walkers traversed11kms in four hours,and up to 983 metres.

NEWS EXTRAGARRUCHAS tax office is now open for business,serving residents of Antas and Vera.

The new office, which employs three staff, is locatednext to the town hall. The office is one of two, alongwith the new office in Mojacar, the provincial council ofAlmeria has launched since the recent closure of thefacility at Vera. The mayor of Garrucha, Juan FranciscoFernandez, spoke of his pleasure at the new office.

MARIANA Marcela GarciaAlvarez, although fromBuenos Aires, Argentina,has a mother from Huercal-Overa and has lived in thetown since 1998.

On June 1 she travels toPontevedra to participate inthe Duathlon Champion-ships. Aged 41, Marianatalks about sport being herlife. Today she is a sportsinstructor, and has onlybeen competing induathlons for two years,but is determined to takeher place on the winnerspodium.

Mariana says she choseduathlon because she lovesrunning and cycling inequal measure, and in thisway is able to combine thetwo. She says, Lastsummer I set out to do myfirst triathlon and after fivemonths of hard swimmingtraining, I did it. Icompeted in San Javier

(Murcia) and came in fifthoverall and second in mycategory.

Now my challenge is tofinish the duathlon world

championship. Next year Iwant to compete in theOlympic long distanceduathlon (55 kilometres inall).

Alvarez set forPontevedra

MARIANA ALVAREZ: Loves running and cycling.

Tax office now open

HUERCAL-OVERA is all setfor its third edition ofNoche en Blanco withmore than 50 businessesgetting involved.

Councillor for Trade inHuercal-Overa, MonicaNavarro, has met with

traders to submit proposalsby the town hall. FridayJune 6 has been chosen forthe town and discounts willbe available in stores from7pm until 1am that night toencourage purchases.

Monica Navarro has

outlined the variety thisyear, paying particularattention to music anddancing to be offered, aswell as a zumbathon in theH2O sports centre.

There will be plenty ofactivities on offer to pleaseany member of the familyfrom youngsters to theoldies. In the main square,guitarist GuillermoFernandez will perform.Also in the main square, alantern will be lit torepresent each businessthat has been involved.

There will be a raffle whereevery shopper who spendsmore than 30 in a store isautomatically entered fortheir chance to win 400,280 and 130.

Huercal-Overa was,alongside the capital, thefirst town to launch thebusiness initiative, andother towns in the provincehave followed suit, afterobserving its success andthe benefits it has broughtto the towns traders. Thestores saw increasedrevenue, while shoppers

enjoyed big discounts, andeveryone was entertainedat the same time. Just thisyear alone, more than 50establishments of all typeswill offer discounts from 30to 50 per cent.

Navarro urged residentsand visitors to get involvedthroughout the day. Sheconcluded, We hope thatthe results are as good thisyear as the last. The councilis offering their full supportbecause trade is a keyelement in the develop-ment of our town.

NEWSEWN 29 May - 4 June 2014 / Costa de Almera www.euroweeklynews.com20

Jewelleryclaim going

wellFOLLOWING therecovery of jewellery,watches andcomputer equipmentfrom more than 35robberies in Almeria,the rightful ownershave claimed almostall their belongingsfrom the GuardiaCivil display.

NEWS EXTRAA third Noche en Blanco

TENNIS group EDM in Huercal-Overa have been given theExcellence in Fair Play award fortheir participation in the provincialSports Games of Almeria.

The team was comprised ofyoungsters including Juan AntonioEspin, Carlos Daniel Naranjo,Braulio Torres, Juan David Prez,Lucia Garca, Mara Muoz, MaraGimenez, Diego Prez, NicolaHristov, Nuria Haro, Tobias Rayen,

Olga Enciso and Vanesa Uribe.The representative from the

Department of Sports in Huercal-Overa, Alonso Mena,congratulated the youngsters,speaking of his pride that theyoung men and women hadbehaved so fairly during thecompetition.

Youngsters win excellence awardTENNIS GROUP: Took part in theSports Games of Almeria.

REPORTEDLY, the Princeof Wales has comparedRussian leader VladimirPutin to Germanys Nazidictator Adolf Hitler.

The alleged commentswere in reference tothe Russian Presidents

actions in Ukraine. Prince Charles had been

in Canada on a four-daytour when he wassupposed to have madethe remark. Charles andthe Duchess of Cornwallwere being shown around

the Museum ofImmigration in Halifax,Nova Scotia.

The pair were speakingto museum volunteerMarianne Ferguson, awoman who fled the Naziregime and lost familymembers during theHolocaust.

After meeting the royalcouple, 78-year-old MsFerguson told the DailyMail: The Prince said Andnow Putin is doing justabout the same as Hitler.

I must say that I agreewith him and am sure alot of people do.

But I was verysurprised that he madethe comment as I knowthey [members of theRoyal Family] arentmeant to say these things.

I told the Prince thatwhile my family and Iwere lucky to get a permitto travel, many membersof my relatives hadpermits but were unableto get out before the warbroke out on September

1. They were sent to theconcentration camps anddied.

A Clarence Housespokesperson said: Wedo not comment onprivate conversations.

But we would like tostress that the Prince ofWales would not seek tomake a public politicalstatement during a privateconversation.

Journalists and cameracrew from media outletswere also said to haveheard the remark.

President Putins presssecretary Dmitry Peskovtold Sky News: I dontknow anything about it. Icant really trust the DailyMail as a source.

Charles is at the centreof an ongoing legaldispute over the

publication of letters hesent to politicians.

Some commentatorsare concerned that theirrelease would com-promise the Princesneutrality and create arange of constitutionalissues.

Putin has facedinternational anger overRussias actions inneighbouring Ukraine.

NEWSEWN 29 May - 4 June 2014 / Costa de Almera www.euroweeklynews.com22

Charles compares Putin to Hitler

Prince Charles allegedly made the comments on a four-day tour of Canada.

OPERA singer MonserratCaball has now paid theremaining 200,000 sheowed the Spanish TaxAgency in outstandingincome tax, according tojudicial sources.

Caball, 81, who hasbeen under investigationfor tax fraud, has nowhanded over a total of500,000 to the taxauthorities, which is thefull amount they hadbeen originallyrequesting.

Caball has maintainedher innocence over thefraud charges. TheCatalan stars defence istrying to reach anagreement to avoid thecase going to trial, or toat least have the paymentrecognised as a mitigatingcircumstance.

Reportedly, a fortnightago a judge visitedCaball at her apartment

in Barcelona to take herstatement. The soprano issuffering from mobilityproblems and wasallowed to speak to themagistrate from herhome.

Allegedly, Caball toldthe judge that in 2010she was an Andorraresident and only went toBarcelona to visit herdoctor.

The case against thesinger is that sheundertook a series of

musical performances inEurope through acompany based in theprincipality, which allowedher to avoid payingincome tax.

Caball explained to thejudge that the adviserwho had suggested thetax arrangement diedthree years ago.

As well as repaying theoutstanding tax owed, theopera star also faces afine of up to six times thedefrauded amount.

29 May - 4 June 2014 / Costa de Almera 23EWNNEWS TRUST our advertisers WE DO!

Star pays taxmanto avoid fraud trial

EWN 29 May - 4 June 2014 / Costa de Almera24 NEWSwww.euroweeklynews.com

A SENIOR UK politician hasclaimed that Britain ruinedMadrids bid for the 2020 OlympicGames deliberately after a rowover Gibraltar.

MEP Sir Graham Watson hasdescribed how PM David Cameronthreatened Spains Mariano Rajoythat he would derail the Madridbid last summer amid escalatingdiplomatic tensions.

The row was over controlsimposed by Spain at its borderwith the British OverseasTerritory.

Cameron reportedly threatenedto block Madrids bid for theOlympics if Spain didnt resolvethe border queue issues.

Ahead of the EU elections SirGraham said: I am told MrCameron actually said: if youcarry on with these borderqueues we will make sure youdont get the Olympic Games tothe Spanish Prime Minister.

And I believe that is whathappened, he added.

Sir Graham was speaking at atelevised debate in Gibraltar.

Madrid managed to reach thefinal three cities, competingagainst Tokyo and Istanbul.

However, Spain lost out at theSeptember vote, which camefollowing a summer of renewedtensions over Gibraltar.

President of the European

Liberal Democrat and ReformParty, Sir Graham said that aswell as contacting Jose ManuelBarroso, the EuropeanCommission President, to lodge aformal complaint at Spainsactions at the border, Cameronalso sought other ways topressurise Spain.

Sir Graham said: He also drewup a list of things we could do tosay to Spain this is not right andas a result Madrid will not hostthe Olympic Games, it will go toTokyo as a result of UK action.

A British Governmentspokesperson played down theclaims:

Sir Graham Watson wasspeaking as an MEP, not as amember of Her MajestysGovernment.

As has always been thepractice, the UK government didnot favour any of the threefinalists over others, and therewas absolutely no UK attempt toinfluence any of the bids.

Madrid lost Olympicsbid over Gibraltar row

CLAIM: Sir Graham Watson.

NEWSEWN 29 May - 4 June 2014 / Costa de Almera www.euroweeklynews.com26

LOCATION HUNT: Sites in Andalucia are rumoured to be under consideration.

HIT TV show Game of Thrones isreportedly looking to film part ofseason five in sunny Spain.

Location hunters for the HBO fantasyseries are said to be looking at sites inthe Andalucia region and are rumouredto be in talks with a film commission.

If Spain gets the go-ahead it will bethe seventh country that the popularshow has been filmed in.

The globe-trotting show has alreadyused Belfast in Northern Ireland,Croatia, Iceland, Morocco, Malta andthe USA.

The main production base and studiofor the programme, which saw a recordviewership high of 8.5 million lastweek, is at Titanic Studios in Belfast.

Production for season five of theshow, which has been given the greenlight for at least two more seasons, isscheduled to begin this summer.

Fans of the George R. R. Martinnovels have taken to the net to putforward their theories about whichparts of the expansive Game ofThrones world Spain could be plannedto depict.

Game of Throneseyes Andalucia

SPANISH company 100Montaditos is planning totake over New York City.

The company is to launcha campaign of aggressivegrowth and has announceda deal to expand itspresence in the city.

The chain, whichfeatures 100 versions of thepopular Spanish sandwichknown as the Montadito,plans to open five locationsin New York City by the endof 2014.

As part of the takeoverplan an agreement wasreached between 100Montaditos and MiniHospitality, an affiliatecompany from CrownAcquisitions.

The new expansion bidwill see some 28restaurants in the nextthree years in all boroughsof New York. These newlocations will be in additionto the first location onManhattans BleeckerStreet and the soon-to-

open Ludlow Street site.100 Montaditos CEO

Francisco Javier Cernudasaid: With our initialsuccess in Manhattan, thenext logical move was toallow expansion to all otherareas of the New York Citymetropolitan region.

Spanish sandwiches totake over the Big Apple

SPANISH CHAIN: 100 Montaditos.

Cider DayMORE than 100 members from a total of16 local associations gathered at thepremises of the Asturian Centre ofTorrevieja, to celebrate the Day ofSidra.

Voting assistance THE Red Cross in Santa Pola offered freeassistance to those who wanted to votein the European Elections, in helpingthem get to the polling stations.

Reef supportREEF band performed at the Lo MonteHotel in Pilar de la Hordada to helpsupport the Campoverde branch of theAECC, helping to raise 370 for thecancer charity.

Summer fair AGE CONCERN Costa Blanca South hosttheir summer fair on Saturday from11am at their centre in La Siesta. Prizedraw tickets from the centre and AgeConcern charity shops.

Fundraising auctionTHE auction held at La Zona in LosNarejos on behalf of HAH Help at HomeMar Menor, raised just under 600 forthe charity. For more information callLesley on 968 134 978.

War of wordsTWO Benitachell families will not sendtheir three-year-olds to school, asthey say the regional governmentbreached their rights by not offeringstate education in Valenciano.

Work experienceDENIA Town Hall launched its secondemployment scheme for 30 people.They will receive 430 a month whiletraining in forestry and gardening orbuilding and decorating.

Retail therapySOME 40 new businesses opened inSan Juan this year. They include dressand shoe shops, beauty salons, barsand dental surgeries, Employmentand Development councillor CharoLopez, announced.

Modest growthPARCENTS new Urban DevelopmentPlan (PGOU) has plans for 170 newhomes in the next 20 years. Thepopulation is expected to increase by357 to a total 1,461 inhabitants.

Biker accidentA 62-YEAR-OLD man died in amotorcycle accident in Villena.Emergency services attended thescene but were unable to save theman.

World recordON June 14, Estepona will attempt toset a Guinness World Record for thehighest number of couples dancingsevillana (traditional Andaluciandance) at the same time.

Goat farmsTHE local goat farming sector willestablish commercial relationshipswith Mexican experts visiting anagricultural fair in Antequera fromtomorrow (Friday) until Sunday.

Indian visitTHE mayor of Marbella, AngelesMuoz, received the IndianAmbassador in Spain, Sunil Lal, toestablish ties with India, for potentialtourism.

Family evacuatedTHREE members of a family had to beevacuated after a fire broke out in thekitchen of their bar in Teba, locatedunder their home, due to a faultyfryer.

Horse marketTHE traditional horse market was heldagain in Ronda this year. It is one ofthe oldest in Spain and has been heldfor 500 years.

Drug traffickingNINE people are on trial in Palma thisweek for allegedly trafficking with

drugs in Calvia between 2012 and2013. They are facing prisonsentences of up to six years.

Climber rescuedA CLIMBER, 20, had to be rescued byfiremen in Valldemossa after fallingfrom a height of five metres andhurting his leg.

Popular nameMOHAMED is amongst the 50 mostfrequently used names in the BalearicIslands, where 2,167 people have thatname. The most popular overall areAntonio and Maria.

Rescue drillA RESCUE drill was carried out in theSerra de Tramuntana involving theemergency services and the Air Forceand simulating a crash between twoplanes.

Safer beachesALBERCUTX beach in Pollensa willhave a reserved area for the disabledthis year so that they can enjoy thesea and sand in total safety.

Fire damageA WOMAN, 18, was arrested in Velez-Malaga for allegedly causing morethan 10,000 worth of damages bysetting fire to rubbish containers.

Hashish findA MAN was arrested at Motril Portwhen he was found to be transporting60 slabs of hashish resin in a carafe ofolives.

Stolen birdsA COURT in Motril has sentenced aman to two years in prison forstealing two cages and two birds froma house in August 2012. He also hasto pay a fine and compensation.

New lightingMOCLINEJO Council has announcedthat public lighting in the town,including lights at the town hallbuilding, has been changed with 309LED lamps.

Eco-farmingEL ALGARROBO garden centre,located in La Viuela, held aconference on Ecological Farming forself-consumption and small-scalesales.

COSTA BLANCA SOUTH

COSTA DEL SOL

MALLORCA

AXARQUIA

COSTA BLANCA NORTH

NEWS DESKEWN 29 May - 4 June 2014 / Costa de Almera www.euroweeklynews.com28

ews from our editionsWith six editions and read by more than half a million people, EWN is Spains largest

free local English-language newspaper

N

THE number of cruise ships arriving at Alicante port next year has beenincreased to 47.

The concessionaire managing cruises in the city, Costa Blanca Port,has expanded the number of arrivals from 35 to 47, potentially bringingup to 85,000 visitors throughout the year. This volume of cruise touristsfar exceeds the 48,700 expected this year and 41,861 last year.

The Britannia, owned by P&O is one of the new ships to visit and willmake three stops in Alicante next year with P&Os Ventura scheduled tomake five visits with up to 3,000 passengers on board each time.

CRUISERS: Alicante port will see up to 85,000 cruise passengers arrive nextyear.

Cruising intoAlicante in 2015

29 May - 4 June 2014 / Costa de Almera 29EWNNEWS TRUST our advertisers WE DO!

THE leader of Spains PSOE opposition,Alfredo Prez Rubalcaba, has resigned.

Rubalcaba announced his resignationon Monday following the EU Parliamentelections, which saw a backlash againstmainstream parties in the crisis-scarredEuropean Union.

Alfredo Prez Rubalcaba said he wasquitting in order to take responsibilityfor his partys dismal showing in theelections.

The elections saw support for theSocialists drop to just 23 per cent, downfrom 39 per cent five years ago.

The ruling Conservative Popular Party(PP) also lost heavily, but managed toremain the largest party in Spain with26 per cent of the vote.

At a press conference to announce hisdecision, Rubalcaba said: We have notmanaged to regain the trust of thecitizens. We have to take politicalresponsibility for the bad results, andthis decision is absolutely mine.

His resignation comes after a difficulttenure which has lasted less than threeyears. His position was marred by heavyelection defeats and unfavourablepersonal ratings in opinion polls.

Rubalcaba was the leader inNovember 2011, when the party lostpower and captured just 29 per cent ofthe vote. However, this low point wasnot the worst moment for the party,which saw the Socialists lose furtherbacking as the economic crisisintensified.

Spains ailing economy and theCatalonia issue were two of the definingconcerns for the party. Many feel thatRubalcabas party failed to backCatalonia over its calls for a referendumon independence.

The recent elections have seen radicalleft-wing parties in Spain making gains,leading to the two main parties losingseats.

Editor says... Page 32

Spains PSOE leaderAlfredo Prez

Rubalcaba resigns

Bacon problemsED MILIBAND, Labour leader, tried to be a man of

the people last week by eating a bacon sandwich in acafe in New Covent Garden flower market but heseemed to be having problems choking it down andwas making all sorts of faces to the delight of passers-by.

Engine catA CAT that went missing from its family home in

Plymouth for four days was found under the bonnet ofthe family camper van, even though it had been tothe garage for an MOT and full service.

Clean posterA GIANT poster, currently hanging in Sheffield, is

helping to remove air pollution by absorbing fumesreleased by passing cars. It works by using tinyparticles of titanium dioxide which then provoke areaction which cleans the air.

Brazil nutsAN ARTIST has been carving sculptures of England

football legends out of Brazil nuts for a World Cupproject. He uses a scalpel and a magnifying glass.

Devon sharkANGLER Graeme Pullen hooked an eight foot shark

weighing 204 kilos; the shark was reeled in by thestunned fisherman less than a mile off Devons coast.

EWN 29 May - 4 June 2014 / Costa de Almera30 www.euroweeklynews.com

Bar in SpainTHE CONTROVERSIAL

former leader of Germanysfar-right NationalDemocratic Party, HolgerApfel, has started a newlife and opened a bar onthe Spanish island ofMallorca with his wife.

Sexy picsTHE Higher Regional Court

of Koblenz has ruled that ex-lovers should deleterevealing photos and videostaken of their formerpartners - if one of themasks for it to be done.

Hi-Def 3DTWO German satellites

have been orbiting Earthfor the last four yearsmapping the planetssurface to a level 30 timesmore accurate thananything seen before.

Technologychiefs

SOCIAL DEMOCRATICpanel member ChristianFlisek has revealed that theparliamentary panel lookinginto US internet andtelecoms surveillance plansto invite the heads ofGoogle, Facebook and Appleto testify in the hearing.

Fewer youthsTHE number of German

youths starting appren-ticeships has sunk to arecord low with demo-graphic changes beingblamed for the decline.Young people are optingfor university instead.

Gazprom supplyCHINA and Russia have signed a long-

awaited, $400 billion gas supply agreement thussecuring the worlds top energy user a majornew source of cleaner fuel and opening a newmarket for Moscow.

Putin - HitlerA FORMER Polish war refugee has said that

Prince Charles, heir to the British throne,likened President Putin to Nazi leader AdolfHitler during a royal visit to Canada.

Car bombA POWERFUL explosion ripped through a car

in the Crimean city of Simferopol, badly injuringthe driver and shattering the windows of anearby apartment building.

Harmful sanctions

THE chief executive officer of metals giantSeverstal has commented that sanctionsimposed by the West on Moscow, over itsinvolvement with the Ukraine, are harmful forbusinesses in countries that imposed them.

SCANDINAVIANPRESS

GE R M A NPR E S S

EUROPEAN PRESS

Theo van GoghPRODUCER Gijs van de

Westelaken and scenicdesigner Theodor Holman areworking on a film about themurder of Theo van Gogh. Itwill be a journalistic moviethat will show the politicaland administrative reactionsin the government city of TheHague.

Black moneyTAX authorities expect to

receive an extra 450 million;since September 6,000 peoplehave declared 3 billion ofillegal savings abroad, StateSecretary of Finance EricWiebes reported.

Giant jellyfishBECAUSE of the mild winter

giant jellyfish, one and a halfmetres in length and 11 kilos inweight, the so-called barreljellyfish, have been spottedalong the Dutch coast,Ecomare reported.

Thieves arrested FOUR Moroccans, who

allegedly stole 38 million worthof diamonds from Brusselsairport and 75 million worth ofdiamonds and jewellery fromAmsterdam airport, have beenarrested in Morocco.

Unpopularfitness test

A HIGH proportion of policeofficers in The Netherlands donot show up for thecompulsory fitness test. Thisconcerns 15,000 of the 40,000officers carrying a weapon.Another 3,500 did not pass thistest.

D U T C H P R E S S

Japanesewhales

NORWAY - Norwaysfishing minister haspledged to work harder torestart exports of whalemeat to Japan after awarning from the whalingindustry that it could dieout within 10 years if moreorders didnt come in.

Viking film NORWAY - Director

Hans Petter Moland haspledged to make the firsttruly successful Vikingfilm based on classic novelThe Long Ships by Frans GBengtsson.

Mental careSWEDEN - One in 10

Stockholm teenagers seekshelp for mental healthproblems. A new surveyhas revealed figures arealmost twice as high asthose in southern Sweden.

Wrong peopleSWEDEN - Five

extreme-left militants havebeen sentenced to prisonfor politically motivatedand unfathomable crimes.They mistook two Slovakworkers for Swedish neo-Nazis and attacked them.

Beer festival DENMARK - The 14th

Copenhagen Beer Festivalwill give guests theopportunity to sampleseveral novelty beers.

Stories making headlines in Europe

B R I T I S H P R E S S

R U S S I A N P R E S S

CAUGHT: An eight foot shark off Devons coast.

GAS SUPPLY: A new source.

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29 May - 4 June 2014 / Costa de Almera 31EWNNEWS TRUST our advertisers WE DO!

A PAINTING bought for amere 150 from a dustyantiques shop in north-eastern Spain some 26years ago has beenconfirmed as the earliestSurrealist work by Catalanartist Salvador Dali.

Art experts at MadridsInstitute of Bellas Arteshave confirmed that thecolourful oil painting, whichfeatures angels flyingabove an erupting volcano,was created by Dali whenhe was 17 years old.

The work caught the eyeof young Art HistorianTomeu LAmo when he wasin a Girona antiques shop in1988. Experts employed aseries of methods to testthe paintings authenticity.They used infraredphotography on the canvasto reveal lines made by theartist, consistent with Dalisstyle.

They also analysed thepaint to conclude that itcould not have been usedbefore 1909 and theinscription lettering, studiedby a handwriting expert,was said to have matchedthe artists other works.

The painting has beentitled The Intrauterine Birthof Salvador Dali. Arthistorians have said that itexplores a recurring themein the works and writings ofthe artist, who died aged84 at his Figueras home onCatalonias Costa Brava in1989.

There has been muchconfusion as the canvasbore the date 1896, whichwas some eight yearsbefore Dalis birth.

However, experts havedated the work to 1921 andare convinced that Dali,known for his stunts andtricks, used a numerologycode to come up with thedate.

LAmo sold the work toan anonymous privatecollector last month for anundisclosed amount.

Painting found in1988 confirmed asearly work by Dali

SURREALISTPAINTER:World-famousCatalan artistSalvador Dali.

EWN 29 May - 4 June 2014 / Costa de Almera32 www.euroweeklynews.com NEWS

ITH Spanish politicalparties having comethrough a little the worsefor wear after the EU

elections it was no great surprise thatRubalcaba should have resigned afterthe extremely poor performance of thePSOE at the urns.

It was the smaller, more recentlyemerged, parties which took the leadand capitalised on years of civildiscontent, corruption, shockingly highunemployment figures and harshausterity measures to take seats awayfrom the Big Two.

Sundays biggest success story camefrom Spains new left-wing, anti-austerity party Podemos, whichcelebrated its wins only three monthsafter its formation.

Podemos (We Can) stunned nationaland international analysts and pollstersby winning 8 per cent of the vote andcapturing a total of five seats.

They accrued such an unexpected

amount of votes in large part thanks tothe younger voters who turned out instunningly large numbers to supportthem. But this is really no greatsurprise as Podemos has risen on awave of anti-establishment feeling inthe country which has been expressedmainly by the young, who are gettingthe roughest deal out of the recession.

In some regions, including thecapital, Podemos has emerged as thethird largest political force after theruling PP and the PSOE. All the pollstaken before the vote suggested thatthe new party would struggle to earnmore than one seat.

This new shooting star of thepolitical scene, headed up by thecharismatic 35-year-old PabloIglesias, could even harnessthe disenfranchised Indignados(Outraged), who are clearly looking fora leader and some political weightbehind them.

We can only hope.

A note from the

Political successand failure

W

Editor

TV CHEF Gordon Ramsay is filmingscenes for his new series of RamsaysKitchen Nightmare on the Costa del Sol.

Ramsay, 47, has been filming in LosBoliches, Fuengirola, in Malaga.

Ramsay was seen sporting a new - andimproved - haircut, just in time for theannual Soccer Aid tournament inwhich he will once again play forTeam Rest of the World.

The UNICEF charity match,organised by pop star RobbieWilliams, will take place on June8 at Old Trafford in Manchester.

The tournament will seecelebrities and football legendsdon their studs to help changechildrens lives around the world.

This year, celebrities taking partto try and win the covetedSoccer Aid trophy willinclude:

True BloodsStephen Moyer,comedians JackWhitehall, JohnBishop andMichaelMcIntyre, Take

Thats Mark Owen, singer Olly Murs,Take Me Outs Paddy McGuinness, eventco-founder Jonathan Wilkes, Heart FMpresenter Jamie Theakston, GoodMorning Britains Ben Shephard, formerJLS star Marvin Humes, and Hollywood

actor Dominic Cooper.The football stars willinclude Jamie Carragher,Teddy Sheringham, JamieRedknapp and DavidSeaman.

The Rest of the Worldteam is set to bemanaged by ChelseasJos Mourinho.

Ramsays Costadel Nightmare

ADVICE:Ramsay will

be helpingout

strugglingrestaurants.

SPAIN has always been the EUs mainproducer and exporter of strawberries,producing an annual 300,000 tons.

Ninety-six per cent of the 7,000hectares given to strawberry growingare located in Huelva, but the last twoyears have been negative for producers.

Not only did the fruit fetch low pricesbut the UK, France, Germany and Italyare beginning to grow their own in moremodern installations.

Germany now grows 150,000 tons ofstrawberries a year, while Poland iscurrently producing an annual 170,000tons. Holland and France are alsogrowing more, over 50,000 tons each.

Spanish strawberry growers are nowexploring other avenues and arebeginning to grow soft fruit likeraspberries, blackberries and blue-berries. These produce smaller cropsbut sell at a better price.

Hard time for soft fruit

FINANCE, BUSINESS & LEGAL 29 May - 4 June 2014 /Costa de Almerawww.euroweeklynews.com 35EWN

inanceA EURO WEEKLY NEWS 6 PAGE SPECIAL SECTION // WWW.EWNBUSINESS.COMF STAT OF WEEKTHREE out of every five Spanishemployees believe they are notpaid enough, and 84 per cent toldresearchers that they spend toolong working. Sixty-two per centare dissatisfied with theirpurchasing power.

Tileexports up

GLOBAL sales of Spanishceramic tiles rose by 2.3per cent in 2012 to2.657 billion, of which2,082 billion corres-ponded to exports. Bylast year sales had risento 2.797 billion.

Safe jobsACCORDING to thelatest official statistics,there are now13,925,500 wage-earners in Spain, 3.2million fewer thanbefore the crisis. Ofthese, 10.4 million areon open-endedcontracts.

LAST summer Revlon paid482.9 million forCataluas Colomer Group.

It has spent almost 10million more during the firstquarter of this year,plus 2.7 millionon integratingColomer.There wasan additional1.9 millionfor inventoryadjustments.

ColomersCornellaheadquarters nowbelong to Revlon,together with itsfactory in Tarragona as wellas the Natural Honey,American Crew andLlongueras brands.

The US company wasparticularly interested in

Colomers professionalbeauty sector and itsgeographic diversity, asapproximately half its salescome from Europe, the

Middle East and Africa.The UScosmetics

giant expect2014 profitsbetween7.2 millionand 10.9

millionfollowing

restructuringthat shouldsave Revlon25.4 million.

This will involve staffredundancies and otherchanges, said the company,which announced lastJanuary it was withdrawingfrom the Chinese market.

THE Marriott chain has offered130 million for Madrids HotelRitz.

The hotel belongs to AliciaKoplowitz, one of Spains richestbusinesswomen, and theOrient-Express group. Eachpossesses a 50 per cent stake.

If the deal goes through, theywill make a tidy profit on the

125 million they paid for theRitz in 2003. Marriott wouldspend up to 50 million refur-bishing the hotel to enable it toreclaim its position as one ofMadrids best hotels andcompete with the Four Seasons,due to open in 2017 in theCanalejas complex. The numberof rooms would be reduced

from its present 137 rooms and30 suites.

The operation includes therights to use of the Ritz brand inSpain although Marriott intendsto change the name to Ritz-Carlton. The sale is a done deal,it is believed inside the financesector, although it must first beapproved by the Marriott board.

usinessBextraColomer boostsRevlon profits

&business

legalPutting on the Ritz

RITZ MADRID: Marriott has made an offer.

REVLON MAKE-UP:Bought Colomer.

FINANCE, BUSINESS & LEGALEWN 29 May - 4 June 2014 / Costa de Almera www.euroweeklynews.com36

British Land Co PLC 711.50 -3.50 0.00 1,939.21

British Sky Broadcasting 891.25 -5.00 0.00 1,966.27

BT Group PLC 372.50 4.50 0.00 12,322.27

Bunzl PLC 1660.00 -17.00 0.00 246.36

Burberry Group PLC 1517.00 -26.00 0.00 948.38

Capita PLC 1091.00 0.00 0.00 614.29

Carnival PLC 2385.00 -3.00 0.00 592.85

Most AdvancedTuniu Corporation $ 15.50 4.07 35.61%PTC Therapeutics, Inc. $ 20.03 4.71 30.74%Prosensa Holding N.V. $ 8.41 1.79 27.04%China Finance Online Co. Limited $ 3.05 0.59 23.98%Mecox Lane Limited $ 4.5235 0.675 17.54%Sportsman's Warehouse Holdings, Inc. $ 9.08 1.06 13.22%Concert Pharmaceuticals, Inc. $ 8.65 0.93 12.05%Omeros Corporation $ 11.67 1.25 12.00%Amyris, Inc. $ 3.37 0.35 11.59%Isis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. $ 27.81 2.86 11.46%Renewable Energy Group, Inc. $ 11.45 1.14 11.06%

Most DeclinedNewLead Holdings Ltd. $ 2.83 0.68 19.37%Covisint Corporation $ 5.88 1.21 17.07%Shoe Carnival, Inc. $ 18.90 2.73 12.62%Aruba Networks, Inc. $ 17.89 2.17 10.82%Montage Technology Group Limited $ 17.17 1.75 9.25%Cerulean Pharma Inc. $ 5.71 0.54 8.64%Ovascience Inc. $ 7.14 0.61 7.87%Pharmacyclics, Inc. $ 87.62 6.945 7.34%Hibbett Sports, Inc. $ 53.04 4.07 7.13%Primo Water Corporation $ 4.19 0.32 7.10%Kirkland's, Inc. $ 17.92 1.20 6.28%

CCOO MM PPAA NN YY PPRR II CC EE (( PP )) CCHH AA NN GG EE (( PP )) %% CCHH GG.. NNEE TT VVOO LL UU MM EE

MMM 3M Co 141.14 +0.83 +0.59% 1.2MAXP American Express Co 88.78 +0.63 +0.71% 1.9MT AT&T Inc 35.32 -0.06 -0.17% 17.4MBA Boeing Co 132.41 +0.57 +0.43% 2.0MCAT Caterpillar Inc 104.03 +0.95 +0.92% 2.9MCVX Chevron Corp 123.37 -0.26 -0.21% 3.8MCSCO Cisco Systems Inc 24.52 +0.14 +0.57% 27.8MDD E I du Pont de Nemours and Co 68.10 +0.59 +0.87% 3.0MXOM Exxon Mobil Corp 101.32 -0.18 -0.18% 5.4MGE General Electric Co 26.51 0.00 0.00% 14.8MGS Goldman Sachs Group Inc 160.16 +0.31 +0.19% 1.2MHD Home Depot Inc 79.18 +0.40 +0.51% 5.0MINTC Intel Corp 26.29 +0.139 +0.53% 17.2MIBM International Business Machine... 185.94 +0.26 +0.14% 2.6MJNJ Johnson & Johnson 100.98 +0.02 +0.02% 5.3MJPM JPMorgan Chase and Co 54.53 -0.02 -0.04% 10.9MMCD McDonald's Corp 102.00 -0.45 -0.44% 4.2MMRK Merck & Co Inc 56.81 +0.32 +0.57% 6.1MMSFT Microsoft Corp 40.12 +0.02 +0.05% 18.0MNKE Nike Inc 75.85 +0.97 +1.30% 3.7MPFE Pfizer Inc 29.49 -0.17 -0.57% 18.9MPG Procter & Gamble Co 80.52 -0.13 -0.16% 4.5MKO The Coca-Cola Co 40.58 0.00 0.00% 6.3MTRV Travelers Companies Inc 92.86 -0.15 -0.16% 1.5MUTX United Technologies Corp 115.54 +0.50 +0.43% 1.5MUNH UnitedHealth Group Inc 78.77 +0.43 +0.55% 2.3MVZ Verizon Communications Inc 49.74 +0.29 +0.59% 12.1MV Visa Inc 212.07 +2.70 +1.29% 2.8MWMT Wal-Mart Stores Inc 75.61 +0.22 +0.29% 3.7MDIS Walt Disney Co 83.32 +0.97 +1.18% 4.6M

Centrica PLC 326.00 -0.40 0.00 5,207.40Coca-Cola HBC AG 1359.00 -10.00 0.00 250.67Compass Group PLC 1022.50 -7.00 0.00 2,319.73CRH PLC 1697.50 13.00 0.00 1,316.50Diageo PLC 1900.75 -22.50 0.00 2,243.19easyJet PLC 1592.50 22.00 0.00 663.36Experian PLC 1022.50 -2.00 0.00 1,580.99Fresnillo PLC 836.00 4.00 0.00 517.06Friends Life Group Ltd 304.50 -1.10 0.00 2,037.15G4S PLC 256.50 -3.40 0.00 2,295.21GKN PLC 384.50 4.30 0.00 2,010.02GlaxoSmithKline PLC 1632.50 -3.50 0.00 4,108.47Glencore PLC 326.50 0.85 0.00 9,708.97Hammerson PLC 585.75 4.00 0.00 1,125.07Hargreaves Lansdown 1190.00 -15.00 0.00 625.35HSBC Holdings PLC 620.00 -1.30 0.00 14,475.67IMI PLC 1591.50 -8.00 0.00 437.24Imperial Tobacco Group 2666.50 -13.00 0.00 1,651.25InterContinental Hotels 2227.50 7.00 0.00 706.61International Consldtd ... 377.50 -0.60 0.00 5,672.99Intertek Group PLC 2875.00 -35.00 0.00 351.88ITV PLC 175.75 -0.10 0.00 6,466.16Johnson Matthey PLC 3255.00 20.00 0.00 278.00Kingfisher PLC 411.50 -1.00 0.00 3,168.15Land Securities Group 1053.50 -9.00 0.00 2,034.63Legal & General Group 224.00 0.50 0.00 7,978.41Lloyds Banking Group 75.45 1.15 0.00 126,799.80London Stock Exchange 1817.50 43.00 0.00 382.18Marks & Spencer Group 453.50 -4.60 0.00 3,578.44Meggitt PLC 499.50 -0.10 0.00 799.58Melrose Industries PLC 288.50 -1.70 0.00 1,429.16Mondi PLC 1082.00 28.00 0.00 1,200.09Morrison (Wm) Sprmrkts 203.50 -2.20 0.00 9,086.00National Grid PLC 880.50 -0.50 0.00 4,806.18Next PLC 6605.00 -110.00 0.00 245.20Old Mutual PLC 200.00 0.90 0.00 3,571.99Pearson PLC 1139.00 -7.00 0.00 1,537.00Persimmon PLC 1320.00 -19.00 0.00 905.60Petrofac Ltd 1243.50 10.00 0.00 1,304.15Prudential PLC 1392.50 -15.50 0.00 2,873.98Randgold Resources Ltd 4530.00 -5.00 0.00 179.46Reckitt Benckiser Group 5000.00 -40.00 0.00 741.36Reed Elsevier PLC 926.00 8.00 0.00 4,364.91REXAM PLC 519.25 1.50 0.00 1,541.69Rio Tinto PLC 3220.00 27.50 0.00 2,472.94Rolls-Royce Holdings 999.50 -5.00 0.00 3,017.03Royal Bank of Scotland 329.00 2.70 0.00 5,202.66Royal Dutch Shell PLC 2471.00 -12.00 0.00 3,391.33Royal Mail PLC 547.25 6.50 0.00 3,875.88RSA Insurance Group 479.00 -5.30 0.00 2,406.51SABMiller PLC 3255.00 -44.50 0.00 2,112.69Sage Group (The) PLC 402.75 0.10 0.00 1,271.61Sainsbury (J) PLC 338.60 1.20 0.00 5,548.28Schroders PLC 2550.00 -3.00 0.00 157.96Severn Trent PLC 1934.00 -17.00 0.00 366.14Shire PLC 3360.00 18.00 0.00 801.29Smith & Nephew PLC 949.50 -8.00 0.00 1,747.28Smiths Group PLC 1290.00 7.00 0.00 1,070.92Sports Direct Internatnl 756.00 5.00 0.00 1,973.00SSE PLC 1548.00 3.00 0.00 1,812.63Standard Chartered PLC 1315.00 1.50 0.00 2,993.82Standard Life PLC 393.00 1.50 0.00 3,072.12St James's Place PLC 794.25 0.00 0.00 1,189.68Tesco PLC 306.50 0.70 0.00 10,837.47Travis Perkins PLC 1723.50 -1.00 0.00 710.48TUI Travel PLC 426.15 -2.60 0.00 959.98Tullow Oil PLC 847.50 -10.50 0.00 2,509.46Unilever PLC 2665.00 -4.00 0.00 1,516.50United Utilities Group 846.75 -11.00 0.00 2,139.67Vodafone Group PLC 206.75 2.05 0.00 56,580.55Weir Group PLC 2578.50 3.00 0.00 338.19Whitbread PLC 4089.50 -25.00 0.00 245.77William Hill PLC 332.50 -2.10 0.00 2,708.45Wolseley PLC 3345.00 9.00 0.00 547.87WPP PLC 1265.00 14.00 0.00 3,422.36

NASDAQCLOSING PRICES MAY 26

DOW JONESCLOSING PRICES MAY 26

Aberdeen Asset Mngmnt 438.00 -0.10 0.00 3,409.68

Admiral Group PLC 1376.00 -15.00 0.00 445.37

Aggreko PLC 1625.00 -1.00 0.00 348.05

Anglo American PLC 1544.50 35.50 0.00 3,379.20

Antofagasta PLC 796.50 13.00 0.00 1,218.42

ARM Holdings PLC 892.50 -7.50 0.00 2,597.55

Ashtead Group PLC 917.00 14.50 0.00 2,030.98

Associated British Foods 3022.50 -53.00 0.00 853.68

AstraZeneca PLC 4409.00 53.00 0.00 5,182.67

Aviva PLC 495.50 1.50 0.00 3,590.27

Babcock International 1228.50 -7.00 0.00 697.72

BAE Systems PLC 423.00 2.20 0.00 3,954.98

Barclays PLC 246.93 3.10 0.00 34,838.05

Barratt Developments 355.00 3.10 0.00 3,487.34

BG Group PLC 1210.00 -20.50 0.00 6,249.66

BHP Billiton PLC 1934.00 12.00 0.00 4,132.07

BP PLC 504.60 -1.20 0.00 12,188.35

British Amrcn Tobacco 3495.00 -27.50 0.00 1,529.88

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LONDON - FTSE 100CLOSING PRICES MAY 26

CCOO MM PPAA NN YY PPRR II CC EE (( PP )) CCHH AA NN GG EE %% CCHH GG.. VVOO LL UU MM EE

CCOO MM PPAA NN YY PPRR II CC EE CCHH AA NN GG EE NNEE TT // %%CCOO MM PPAA NN YY PPRR II CC EE CCHH AA NN GG EE %%CCHH AA NN GG EE VVOO LL UU MM EE

US dollar ................................................................1.36435Japan yen..............................................................139.086Switzerland franc................................................1.22134Denmark kroner ................................................7.46356Norway kroner ....................................................8.12462

0.80992 1.23468Units per

currenciesdirect.com/mojacar Tel: +34 950 478 914

MAKE THE MOST OFYOUR MONEY WITH US

See our advert on page 39

FINANCE, BUSINESS & LEGAL www.euroweeklynews.com 29 May - 4 June 2014 /Costa de Almera EWN 37

Vodafone Espaa profit downbut they are still confident

IN 2011 a Spanishconsortium won a6.736 billion contractfor the Medina-MeccaAVE high speed train.

The contract, whichrequires the line to befinished in December2016 and functioningby January 2017,includes penalties forlate delivery.

There is also a 10 percent margin on thestipulated price but nomore. The Saudiswant the best at thecheapest price, con-sortium sources toldSpanish daily El Pais.

One of the 10 peoplearrested for theSpanish AVE scandal inSpain was in SaudiArabia working on thedesert AVE when thestory broke, the samesources revealed. Hehas since beensuspended from duty.

There have been noSaudi comments on thescandal, the sourcessaid. Neither werethey worried whenSacyr had problems inPanama. But theywere worried whenSpain was on the brinkof a bailout and thebond yield had soared.

So far the Spanishhave completed 185 ofthe planned 450 kms.

We are not alone,the consortiumspresident told an El Paisinterviewer. This wasan oblique reference toChina which has thetask of building theinfrastructure anddelivers late andbadly according to theconsortium.

The first AVE will bemaking test journeysby early 2015, itpromised confidently,aware prompt deliverywill ensure morecontracts from SaudiArabias 100 billioninfrastructure budget.

Desert AVEmust keep

withinbudget

BANKS granted 28,583 mortgages in the first threemonths of this year.

The 48.3 per cent quarter-on-quarter increase is theup side of the see-saw. Down at the other end arethe 49,600 families who lost their homes last year, an11 per cent increase on 2012.

Despite a new law alleviating the situation ofhouseholders unable to meet mortgage payments,38,961 families lost their principal residence to thebanks in 2013.

Nor did the law increase the number of negotiatedsurrenders although this was one of the new lawsspecific aims. Agreements between the banks anddefaulters fell by 9.1 per cent to 17,907 according tothe Bank of Spain. These represented 46 per cent ofrepossessions compared with 50 per cent in 2012.

The remaining 21,054 properties reclaimed throughthe courts were empty when repossessed except in1,688 cases of principal homes and 392 relating toother properties. The police intervened during 147evictions, more than 50 per cent fewer than in 2012.

The AEB bank association emphasised itswillingness to negotiate despite the 5.67 per centincrease in mortgage default. As evictions representedonly 0.77 per cent of all mortgages, the AEB said, thisindicates that a solution was found for defaulters inapproximately 5 per cent of cases.

There is no motive for optimism, the PAH anti-eviction platform argued. These are alarming figureswithout comparison anywhere in the EU, saidspokeswoman Lucia Martin.

More evictionsthan ever

VODAFONES Spanishturnover dropped by 11per cent during the 2013-2014 tax year.

This made it the Britishgroups worst-performingsubsidiary, with a 25.7per cent fall in earningsbefore tax, depreciationand amortisation. Onceall these factors weretaken into account,Vodafone Espaas profits

were reduced by 58.9 percent.

Spains economic situa-tion, the slow recovery inconsumer spending,competition from rivalsand lower connectioncharges have all eateninto the groups profits.

Despite this discoura-ging result, Vodafonesconfidence in Spainremains intact.

Last year it invested608 million, 32.3 percent more than in 2012,destined for its new fibreoptic network which bylast March had beeninstalled in 276,000homes. The 4G mobilenetwork was rolled out inall Spanish provinces andthe company also spent7.2 billion on acquiringthe Ono cable operator.

GOOD salesmen are worth theirweight in gold. My first lesson waswhen our new sales managerpaused at the factorys workshopwhere we could see employeeshard at work. He smiled: Whenyou stop selling theyre out of ajob.

Many businesses functionthrough their sales team. I recall aservices supplier that, by mailedinducements, converted only 1 /100 leads. Changing strategy theygave the leads to a newly recruitedsales team.

The cost of the sales force didnot add to its overheads. It simplyupped the prices and converted thedifference into commission andadministration costs. The con-version rate shot up to 1 / 3.

Chatting with a loft conversionspecialist he told me he personallyfollowed up customer enquiries.He would visit clients after work orduring weekends. This approachcomes with the territory for home-based tradesmen.

My client was a craftsman but hispeople skills were not strong. Hedisliked selling when all he wantedwas to be with his wife and kids.My suggestion he engage a sales-man was dismissed out of hand.He wasnt making enough profit to

feed anothers mans family.I explained that employing a

representative would not cost hima penny. He should increase hisprices by 20 per cent and offer asalesperson 15 per cent com-mission. His prices would still becompetitive. He could then havehis weekends and evenings free.His face lit up and by the time I wasleaving he was making plans toadvertise for a salesman.

Many companies employcommission-based salesmen yetdespite higher prices they are moresuccessful than the self-employedsector.

Good salesmen first sell them-selves; instilling confidence theyare their companys ambassadors.They listen and understand theclients needs. Explaining theirservice without jargon, they sellbenefits, professionally close andscratch the pad.

If you are personable and havegenuine concern for clients needsyou will spend your working lifemaking people happy, looking afteryour family and keep othersemployed. Mission accomplished.

Employ a salesman for freeMike Walsh

Mike Walsh was for 20 years RegionalAssessment Manager for theGuild of Master Craftsmen,Britains biggest qualityassurance body forbusinesses.

www.michaelwalsh.es 966 786 932

Talking shop

SALESPEOPLE: The backbone of any company.

VODAFONE ESPAA: Profits were reduced by 58.9 per cent.

LOOK around. Every-where the eye can seethere are people glued totheir mobile phones -probably sending irrele-vant messages or harpingon about nonsense.

All this mobile addictionis making communicationscompanies a fortune, whileon the other handconsumers are fallingfurther and further intodebt.

Twenty years agohardly anyone had amobile phone and now allof a sudden we cant takeour eyes off the things.And they are not cheaptoo. A decent Smartphonecosts about 500 and ifyou buy it bound to acontract, then you pay ahell of a lot more over thetwo years or so the phonecompany has you as theirprisoner.

Yes, it is great to callfriends, check emails andlog into social networkingsites, but apart from

perhaps a small minorityof mobile phone owners,most of our livelihoods donot depend on beingconstantly online, ratherwe waste a lot of timestaring at a screen whenwe could be putting thattime to better use.

With this obsessivemobile phone use we arecreating and encouraginga culture of distractionwhere we are increasinglydisconnected from thepeople and events aroundus. More and more peopleinhibit real humanconnection by prioritising

silly games or messagebeeps from our phonesover the people right infront of us.

Perhaps its too late forus adults, but one way wecan save some moneyand perhaps the creativityof our children is to notbuy young kids mobilephones.

Currently an investiga-tion has begun in the UKlooking into whether

mobile phones and otherwireless technologiesaffect childrens mentaldevelopment.

The study plans tofollow 2,500 11 and 12-year-olds and take a lookat their cognitive ability -thinking skills, memoryand attention - and thenrepeat the tests in 2017.The researchers say verylittle is known aboutwhat impact these

technologies have onchildren.

Health experts ingeneral advise thatchildren under the age of16 should not be givenmobile phones. So anyparents out there mightbe better off holding backon buying young childrenfancy mobile phones, andputting that money awaytowards their collagefund!

FINANCE, BUSINESS & LEGALEWN 29 May - 4 June 2014 /Costa de Almera www.euroweeklynews.com38

BUSINESS EXTRA

Phone-inUNDER an agreementsigned between Telefonicaand insurers MutaMadrilea, the Spanishmultinational group willprovide the companystelecommunications for thenext four years.

Lighting upLAST year the Spanishspent an average of206.37 per head oncigarettes, an increase of1.32 per cent. Spain is inthe worlds top five forsmokers along withGreece, Slovenia, Bulgariaand Japan.

Spain launchAMAZON.ES has launchedits fashion department inSpain with more than700,000 garments of2,000 brands, bringingthe total number ofproducts in their Spanishwarehouses up to morethan 41 million.

Q. I purchased a townhouse on a developmentnear Estepona. My solicitor did the usualsearches. I was told there were no problems.Now it has come to light our swimming poolhas no licence. Further, the water supply forthe Community irrigation and swimming poolhas no contract with the water company. There

is a court case against the developer. The Estepona court has ruled against us so theCommunity has appealed and awaits the results. Costs so far include a fine of 18,000from the water company, a requirement to install separate metered supplies at a cost of8,000, an estimate of nearly 20,000 for works to obtain the swimming pool licenceand an obligation to pay nearly 30,000 incosts should our court appeal fail.

The President has requested funds whichhave been paid. The Administrator and thePresident were aware of these problems butdid not tell my solicitor. Comments?

R.L. (Costa del Sol)

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

You and theLaw in SpainBy David Searl

Property With Community Problems

A. What a mess. Your lawyer did not checkthe Communitys finances, which is poorpractice but does not constitute anactionable fault. Perhaps no one askedyour President so he did not volunteer theinformation. In my book, You and the Lawin Spain, I urge buyers to obtain a copy ofthe most recent minutes of the AGM,where these problems will appear. This willsave you a charge of 29.50 by your bank,which is equipped to do it on the Internet.

ALMOST 5.3 million foreign touristsvisited Spain in April, 13.2 per cent morethan the same month last year, accordingto the Ministry of Industry, Energy andTourism.

This was mainly thanks to the boost atEaster, as well as the fact that tourists areavoiding going to certain traditionaldestinations such as Greece, Egypt,Israel, Jordan and others.

Over the first four months of the year,the number of tourists from Germany hasincreased by 11.3 per cent (2.51 million),there have been 10.9 per cent moreFrench tourists (2.52 million), 6.5 per

cent more from the UK (3.1 million) and13 per cent more from Italy (0.87million).

However, the number of tourists fromPortugal fell by 3 per cent and US touristsby 9.5 per cent.

The region with the highest number ofvisitors, with more than four million, wasthe Canary Islands, 13.1 per cent more;followed by Catalua, with 3.9 million intotal (10.4 per cent more).

In Andalucia, there were 10 per centmore visitors (2.02 million), whilenumbers fell in the Balearic Islands by6.8 per cent to 1.1 million.

Tourism up in April by 13.2%

JanePlunkett

A look at finance for females

jane.plunkett@euroweeklynews.com

Loose change

Cleaning up at our expense

SMART PHONES: Cut offdirect communication.

CATALUA: Received 3.9 million visitors in total.

EUROPEAN PRESSOPINION & COMMENT 29 May - 4 June 2014/Costa de Almera 41EWN

WHETHER I liked it or not,in my new trade ofattempting to build houseson the beach, I had tocome to the village often.

Legal papers werent theproblem but rather for thatmost fundamental ofworking tools - workers.

The custom in those daysfor men of labour was towork hard enough to getsome money, thendisappear. And remain lostuntil more money might beneeded. It was the laid-back custom of theremnants of an emigrantpopulation of which 85 percent had drifted away todistant Barcelona, Germanyor France. Those that

remained behind livedmeagre lives, learning tosubsist and endure.

Yet, with the advent ofnew arrivals from themayors gifting of freehouses, all that changed.And the wise man to detectthe change was onestalwart of the village,Francisco Haro Zamora AKAHarico. He spruced up histiny guest rooms into theHotel Indalo and it proved

to be the axle on the wheelthat allowed all of Mojacarto develop and spin. It wasthe only place to stay whichkept new arrivalscomfortable, fed, wateredand content while theyselected their new abode.

Our beach companywere builders. We hadeverything but plumbers,carpenters or electricians.

A morning coffee and

brandy at the Hotel Indalowas essential for gettingthe job done. You alsolearned to be super friendlyto Antonio or Paco, youngmen running the earlymorning bar because theycould tell you who was aplumber and who was not.Even if the shanghaiedworkers had other jobspending they were easyenough to bribe and whisk

away. You had to be wellsupplied with cigarettes,purchase them a coffeeand a few brandies andseek their expertise toenable you to finish thehouse before thepurchasing client died ofold age waiting.

Anything that washappening in the area wasdone at the Hotel Indalo.Every deal contrived, all the

new loves and old regretswere discussed in detailthere; a sort of a publiccleansing place for pastsins. It had to have beenthe Greatest Show OnEarth and one young man,Haricos son, Paco, has putit all in a book. He was inthe front row of the circusevery damn day and hisbooks full of interestingstories.

Ric PolanskyRic Polansky moved to Mojacar in1969 as a pioneerdeveloper. He readsextensively and hastravelled in SouthAmerica panninggold and lookingfor El Dorado.

LOOKINGBACK IN

MOJACAR

TRUST our advertisers WE DO!

Hotel Indalo -Mojacar, capital of

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BYGONE DAYS: Thehotel set it all in motion.

TRAVELLING is now so easy and costeffective with the low-cost carriers thatmore and more people can nip off for abreak with the family. But bring childreninto the equation and those costs can soonskyrocket.

At first glance, those flight prices lookgreat, but once you have added on youroptional extras such as travel cots, carseats and other essential items for yourlittle ones, the cost is not so healthy afterall. The airlines charge a hefty fee to carryessential items of additional hand luggageand extra hold items, knowing that yourbaby needs those bulky items while awayfrom home. This can take the shine offyour long-awaited family holiday in thesun.

This is where The Baby Hire Centre canhelp. Covering Mojacar, Vera, Vera Playa,Garrucha, Albox, Huercal-Overa, Arboleasand everywhere in between, this familyfriendly company provides quality infantand toddler equipment for hire at veryreasonable prices. Dont worry aboutcarrying your childs equipment as youtravel, because The Baby Hire Centre canmeet you at your holiday accommodation(or somewhere suitable close by) andprovide everything you need. This givesyou less worry, less hassle, and more tolook forward to on holiday.

This company knows how importantchildren are, and they pride themselves ontheir customer service and on ensuringthat high quality, clean and safe babyequipment is available for you. Brandnames you can trust such as Britax,Mamas & Papas, Phillips and Avent areincluded in their wide range of products,and all items are thoroughly checked andsanitised before each and every hireperiod, whilst also being constantly

monitored for manufacturer recalls,being regularly replaced andupdated as necessary.

Contact The Baby Hire Centreand make travelling with your babyor toddler a breeze!

The Baby Hire CentreCosta Almeria (mobile office)615 806 126thebabyhirecentre@hotmail.comwww.thebabyhirecentre.com

Making travelling with baby a breezeAdvertising Feature

SAFE AND RELIABLE: Knowing howimportant your little ones are, thecompany prides itself on ensuringthat high quality, clean and safebaby equipment is available at yourholiday destination.

THE BABY HIRE CENTRE: Taking the stress out of travelling with children.

DAVID TENNANT and OliviaColman feature in the first officialcast photos of Broadchurchssecond series.

The main cast of ITVs crimedrama assembled for a read-through last Thursday in London.Jodie Whittaker, Andrew Buchanand Arthur Darvill return for thesecond series, while CharlotteRampling, Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Eve Myles and JamesDArcy join the cast.

New character details andstorylines for the second serieshave yet to be revealed. Filmingwill begin later this month inDorset and North Somerset, withcreator Chris Chibnall asking localresidents to avoid revealing

possible spoilers online.Broadchurch won three BAFTA TVAwards on Sunday (May 18) forBest Drama, Leading Actress forColman and Supporting Actor forDavid Bradley.

The BBC and the BritishAcademy of Film andTelevision Arts (BAFTA)have announced a newgreen certificate for TVshows. For the first timeon British TV, viewers willsee which programmes meethigher environmental standardswith the albert+ certificationbadge on the credits. DannyCohen, BBC Director of Television,has called for the TV industry toinclude albert+ as the expectedstandard for all productions.

The BBCs Springwatch anddrama From There To Here will bethe first to carry the certification.Programmes with the badge willbe those involving staff who havemeasured their carbon footprintand used low-carbon production

techniques. In the Philip Glenisterdrama From There To Here, 73per cent of the crew were basedlocally in Manchester, props andcostumes were found from localcharities and returned, there wasan 80 per cent drop in paper useand 95 per cent of skip waste wasrecycled.

Cohen said: The BBC is proudto be an indust