Under plastic ALMERIA has morethan 29,600 hectarescovered by plasticgreenhouses, accordingto a study based onsatellite photographs.The figure is 10.5 percent more than 2010s26,167 hectares.

Bottle attackA 24-YEAR-OLDman remains in aserious condition inhospital after beingassaulted with abroken bottle closeto Viator.

Almond trail MARCH 8 is the date ofAlboxs almond trail, a12-kilometre walkthrough the Sierra delas Estancias. The walkbegins in Plaza Mayorat 8.30am and costs 3or 15 to include food.

FRONT EXTRAEWN

ISSUE NO. 1548 TRUST WE DO!our advertisers 5 - 11 MARCH 2015 WWW.EUROWEEKLYNEWS.COM

A WHOPPING 44 per centof children aged between10 and 12 years in Almeriaare overweight.

A high intake of pas-tries, cakes and sweets inaddition to lack of exerciseand physical play havebeen considered factorsfor overweight children in

a recent study by paedi-atric doctors, RafealGalera and Irene Alias inAlmeria.

A total of 1,400 childrenacross the province wereanalysed in health centres,explained the head of Clin-ical Management of Paedi-atrics in Torrecardenas.

Forty-four per cent ofchildren aged between 10and 12 are overweight,with 22 per cent of chil-dren between two and 16being 22 per cent over-weight. Eighty per cent ofthe 1,400 children hadadequate consumption offish but only half had an

adequate amount of veg-etables, with the figurelowering in relation to therising age of the child.

In all age groups, over-weight children had high-er blood pressure thannormal, even in childrenunder the age of sixyears.

Almerias overweight children

By Elle DraperCALL out the fire brigadein Almeria and you couldface a hefty bill.

Emergency services inthe region have reportedthat since 2012 citizenshave had to pay almost600 for firefightingservices and rescue.

Now the emergencyworkers are concernedthat people are delayingcalling them as they fearlanding themselves withthe cost of the call-out.

To have firefighters at-tend your home can cost577 per hour. Similarly,412 can be charged forrescuing someone fromtheir car in a trafficaccident - a bitter pill to

swallow after such atraumatic experience.

Alejandro Raymond from

the Fire Consortium ofPoniente said: We haveserious concerns about the

risk situations that occurafter the introduction ofthese fees for the provi-sion of firefighting andemergency rescue.

According to the consor-tium, some cities likeGranada have exemptionsin the case of rescuingpeople or animals.

But residents, worriedabout a large bill, are de-laying their call to theemergency services. Thisdelay increases risks andcan cause conflict whenthe attending services areasked if they will be send-ing an invoice.

The consortium agreedthat activities like monitor-ing a fireworks partyshould command a fee,

but an emergency situa-tion like an accident or fireshould be exempt so thatthe services avoid tragedyor compromise.

The consortium alsopointed out that manypeople were unaware ofthe charges when theymade a call and were thenhorrified to receive a billafter the event.

Call-out fee controversy

NEWSEWN 5 - 11 March 2015 / Costa de Almera2 www.euroweeklynews.com

INDEXNews 1 - 34

Finance 35 - 40

Leapy Lee 41

Daily TV 48

Time Out 54 - 55

Letters 56

Health & Beauty 60 - 62

Food 66 - 69

Albox 70 - 74

Property 78 - 79

Homes & Gardens 80

Classifieds 81 - 83

Motoring 84 - 86

Sport 87 - 88

MAYOR of Almeria City, Luis RogelioRodriguez-Comendador, has unveiled theofficial shirt for the womens solidarity raceto be held on March 8.

Already 1,175 women and 420 childrenhave enrolled to run the race with moneyraised going to the World Medical Associa-tion. This non-competitive event is one of arange of activities hosted by Almeria CityCouncil to commemorate InternationalWomens Day. Participants are expected tobreak the 2,000 runner barrier.

Rodriguez-Comendador said: The pur-pose of this event is twofold. First is to vin-dicate, through sport, the role of women intodays society. Secondly it is to raise funds,through 60 centimos per participants, to goto the World Medical Association.

The adult race begins at 11am and willpass through the city streets. There arethree distances to choose from: 2,000 me-tres, 3,500 metres and 5,000 metres. Thechildren (aged up to 11) run at 10am cover-ing different distances, according to age.

Shirt unveiledWOMENS RACE: Mayor Rodriguez-Comendador (centre) reveals the official shirt.

LOCAL POLICE in El Ejido have ar-rested two people pretending tobe deaf in order to scam moneyfrom traders in the municipality.

Officers arrested two individualsof Romanian nationality, NFP andFD, for an alleged crime of fraud.The officers observed the menentering shops in the centralshopping area, pretending to be

deaf and asking for sums of mon-ey to help an association, Handi-cap, that they claimed they wereaffiliated with.

The officers put in a call forback up before intercepting themen in an Opel car on Bulevar deEl Ejido.

The vehicle was found tohave no ITV or insurance,

while the men had falsified docu-ments and approximately 400 incash. The men were arrested foran alleged crime of fraud and thecar was impounded.

Police recommend that tradersand individuals call the operationsroom on 092 if they are in doubt

about collectors.

Mojacar visitorsTHE two Mojacar touristoffices helped 46,882 peopleduring 2014. They alsoreceived 34,306 emails, letters and faxes, answered2,485 phone calls andreplied to thousands of postson social networks.

Gador worksWORK is almost complete onCalle La Paz in Gador, one ofthe busiest roads in the towncentre, where both thehealth centre and college arelocated. Pavements are being restored.

Cheese fairALMERIA Citys Plaza Viejaplayed host to 14 cheese artisans over the AndaluciaDay weekend. The cheesescame from goats, cows andsheep manufactured using avariety of methods.

Extended hoursTHE visitor centre at Almeriaport enjoys extended open-ing hours for visitors fromMarch 1 after recent refur-bishments. Thursdays arefor groups but Saturdays arefree entry from 10am-2pm.

Casino shutdownNATIONAL POLICE closeddown an illegal casino inAlmeria City. Agents seizedcash and tokens worth almost 4,000 and threepoker tables although esti-mated earnings are 16,000.

Road safetyGADOR police have beenvisiting school to educate thechildren on road safety andto educate on sustainable alternatives to travelling toschool by car, such as by bicycle or on foot.

Gender violenceALBOX has been awarded3,000 by Almeria Provincefor a project to protectwomen against gender vio-lence. The payment is an initiative totalling 110,000covering 40 municipalities.

ewswatchNNot so deaf fraudsters

Street lights WORK has been completed toprovide lighting for 250 me-tres of Calle Lavadero in Vic-ar. The seven new streetlightscome in response to a requestfrom several families affectedin the area.

German lessonsFIFTY youngsters from Sorbashave been learning Germanfor the last three months.They have now been present-ed with certificates to markthe basic level.

Industry fair CARBONERAS is representedat the International BerlinStock Exchange (ITB), a lead-ing industry fair being heldfrom March 4 to 8. This year isthe 50th anniversary of thefair.

Home reformsTHIRTEEN families in Finesand Antas are having theirhomes improved as part of aprogramme from the Junta.The 96,000 total provides 50per cent of costs to the house-holders.

Frank TophovenNIJARS Galeria del Mar ishosting an exhibition by artistFrank Tophoven which runsuntil April 26. The exhibition,called Emigrantes, is a snap-shot of time set anywherealong Spains coastline.

Road worksWORK on resurfacing theALP-842 is under way. Thisis the mountain route thatruns from Albox to Oria pastLlano del Espino. Care isadvised as the surface is stillslippery with loose gravel.

NEWS 5 - 11 March 2015 / Costa de Almera 3EWNTRUST our advertisers WE DO!

Spain welcomes you in a very different situ-ation from previous years. We have over-come a period of difficulty, and now ourcountry is registering one of the greatesteconomic growth and job creation rates inEurope, said Telefonica chairman Cesar Aliertaopening the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.

Quote of the Week

AN anonymous angel saved the day for a take-away restaurant in Madrid by lending the owner5,000 with no conditions or interest after hear-ing the establishment was closing due to lack offunds. The generous gentleman said he had justhad good news about a relatives health and herealised everyone deserves a little help in life.

is the number of kilos of truf-fles produced in Sarrion, a vil-lage in Gudar Javalambre be-

tween Valencia and Teruel with just 8,600 inhabitants.The region produced 36 of the 40 tonnes of black truf-fles collected in Spain during last years campaign.

36,000And finally...Number of the week

MARCH 8 is International Womens Day, a daymarked across the world with celebrations focus-ing on equality and respect towards women.

Starting as a Socialist political event, the dategradually blended in the cultures of differentcountries and in some places lost its politicalflavour, becoming simply an occasion for men toexpress their love for women in a way similar toValentines Day and Mothers Day.

But women in Spain have embraced the day asan opportunity to defend their rights and protestagainst measures which affect them, with pro-posed reforms to abortion laws and domesticviolence the main themes for demonstrations onthe day in recent years.

In 2014, thousands of women took to thestreets in more than 20 cities in Spain to marchfor their rights and shout out against inequality.

In Madrid, men and women of all agesmarched behind a giant poster bearing threeseparate slogans: Our uteruses are not for legis-lation, Our bodies are not for abusing and Nocutbacks to our rights.

Feminist groups across the country have calleddemonstrations and marches for this Sunday,March 8, urging the women of Spain to onceagain walk out and stand up for their rights.

Meanwhile councils and associations in justabout every town or village prepare celebrationsshowing that although it took quite a while forequality to reach the country where traditionalpatriarchal beliefs and stereotypes kept womenin the kitchen and men ruled supreme, thetables are turning in a Spain which while stillstrongly Catholic and traditional is now embrac-ing modern views.

The women of Spainfight for their rights

PROTEST MARCHES: International Womens Day is marked across the world on March 8.

Cord

on p

ress

.

NEWSEWN 5 - 11 March 2015 / Costa de Almera www.euroweeklynews.com4

THE DGT (traffic de-partment) set up aspecial project on theweekend of AndaluciaDay to monitor trafficacross the region.

The operation wasplanned to facil itatethe smooth running ofroads through thebusy holiday periodand in some adverseweather conditions.The operation ranfrom Friday February27 to Sunday March 1.

The DGT predictedthat 35,000 vehicleswould travel throughthe main roads ofAlmeria Province onlong haul journeyswhile 180,000 vehicleswould make shortertrips on the A-92north, A-7 west and A-7 east.

The DGT reminds alldrivers to carry outsome basic checks ontheir vehicles beforesetting off includingchecks on windscreenwipers, lights, brakefluid and oil, anti-freeze, tyres and mir-rors. They also reminddrivers to carry twowarning triangles andreflective vests for thedriver and passengers.They also recommendthat during the winterweather all driverscarry an emergencytorch, a cloth for clear-ing windscreens, anice scraper and, wherenecessary, snowchains and gloves.

Monitoringroad traffic

OFFICERS of the Nation-al Police have arrested70 people for setting upfake companies in twoinvestigations in Almeria.

The first investigationbegan in November2014 when off icersfound four false busi-nesses in Vera, Antasand Gador supposedlydedicated to retail, hos-pitality and construction.

The research showedthat the fake companieshad been set up to falsi-fy per iods of employ-ment for individuals thatthen went on to c la imunemployment benefit.

The false companiesare allegedly responsiblefor faking 245 employeerecords in order to claimsocial security falsely.

The uncovering hasenabled fraud of738,186.39 to be ex-posed.

Workers paid between250 and 450 for thefalse paperwork beforethen attempting to claimsocial security benefits.

The second investiga-tion followed informationprovided by the Provin-cial Labour Inspectoratein which a businessmanhad been sel l ing fake

employment records toimmigrants from NorthAfrica in order to val i-date their status as resi-dent in Almeria. The op-eration showed the fakecompany to have 42non-existent employees.

The businessman hadused his octogenarianmother as a supposedinvestor in the business.He charged 300 to for-eign citizens in exchangefor contract paperworkand advice to fraudu-lently gain a work permitin Spain.

NationalPolice

arrest 70for fraud

FAKE RECORDS: Used to claim social security.

HIS Sunday, March 8, isInternational WomensDay, a day embraced bycountries al l over theworld to acknowledge the

fairer sex.In some parts of the world the

day has become just another dayfor petrol stations and card shops toearn a few extra pennies as it hasbecome seen as a glorified Valen-tines or Mothers Day.

But in many others the day servesas a reminder of something we atEWN feel strongly about: womensrights.

Demonstrations have been calledthis year over a proposed review ofthe Spanish abortion laws, whichaims to force 16 and 17-year-olds topresent parental authorisation.Although a seemingly reasonablerequest, it leaves a group of girls interrible danger.

Those who feel unable to revealthe news to their parents withoutthe fear of violence or abuse, thosewho are orphans or whose parentsare in jail or abroad will be unableto have unwanted pregnancieslegally terminated.

An estimated 400 girls give thesereasons not to present parentalauthorisation each year. The num-ber may seem small until we stopand realise that the law may put400 lives at risk by forcing theseyoung women to choose dangerous,clandestine abortions.

Gender violence is anotheroffence that women in Spain will berejecting in the streets this Sunday.Although numbers are reducing, 53women lost their lives at the handsof their partners in Spain last year,53 deaths which cannot be tolerat-ed or permitted in a modern,civilised country.

T

Our ViewWomens Day

Have your say and leave your comments at www.euroweeklynews.com

NEWS 5 - 11 March 2015 / Costa de Almera 5EWNTRUST our advertisers WE DO!

Huercal deAlmeria

WORK is complete on vari-ous streets in the LosPinos area of Huercal deAlmeria. Tarmacking androad markings have beenredone as well as pave-ment improvements.

New roadTHERE is to be a new roadlinking Calle Santiago andCalle Haza de Acosta inthe San Luis neighbour-hood of Almeria. The workis expected to cost100,000 and will start inthe coming weeks.

Vicar safetyVICAR has held its ninthedition of road safetytraining for children. Fourschools enjoyed courses inwhich youngsters aretaught pedestrian safetyand driver responsibility.

NEWS EXTRA

APPROXIMATELY 100people gathered in Plazade las Velas in the capi-tal to proclaim that thebest future for Almeriais the creation of anautonomous province.

Two representativesfrom Accion por Almeriatook to the stand to puttheir views forward.

Silvia Rodriguez read aspeech in which a refer-endum from 1980 wasreferenced and said:Political forces back in1980, in utter disregardof constitutional law,focused on a number ofnegotiations and legisla-tive attempts in order toget rid of Almeria auto-

nomy. The trap used toabort the electoral will ofAlmeria was an organiclaw. A few decided toforcibly integrate ourprovince into the politi-cal structure of Andalu-cia. Rodriguez went onto accuse the powersthat be at the time ofrigging.

German Manrique ex-pressed his revulsion atthe events of February28, 1980 adding: Wedont want a conflictwith our Andalucianneighbours. We dontwant the disintegrationof Andalucia, nor to loseor change its characterand its rich culture.

He concluded: Lookto our citizens ratherthan their parties. Takethe Almeria flag andfight for our land.

Campaigningfor autonomy

Man injured in crash A 27-YEAR-OLD man has suffered multiple severeinjuries after his car collided with a bus in AlmeriaCity.

The accident happened in the early hours ofFebruary 28 on Avenida Camino del Peru. Theman needed to be cut free of the vehicle by emer-gency fire services and was treated at the sceneto stabilise him before transferring him to Tor-recardenas hospital.

The bus driver was unharmed and was trans-porting no passengers at the time.

GUARDIA CIVIL officersfrom Vicar have arrestedthree people, includingtwo minors, on suspicionof theft of mobi lephones and receivingstolen goods.

The two minors, bothaged 14, are accusedof steal ing mobi lephones from cars in LaMojonera. A third per-son, MJM aged 19, is ac-cused of receiving thestolen phones.

Officers first learned ofthe two children duringprel iminary invest iga-t ions into the theft ofmobi le phones fromcars.

The officers contactedthe parents of the chil-dren and interviewed theaccused to establ ishgui l t and to f ind outwhere the mobi le

phones had been passedon to.

During the interviews,the youngsters are re-ported to have givendetails of MJM, to whomthey are said to havesold the mobile phones.

After a number of con-tradictions and changesin his story, MJM even-tually admitted receivingstolen goods and wasformally arrested.

MJM and the twominors now await pro-cessing at El Ejido mag-istrates court and bythe juvenile prosecutionservice.

NEWSEWN 5 - 11 March 2015 / Costa de Almera www.euroweeklynews.com8

Phone thieves arrested

The HoleSUCCESSFUL show The Hole iscoming to El Ejidos auditoriumfrom June 3 to 5. Bookings can bemade on www.theholeshow.com.

Civil War studyEXPERTS in contemporary andeconomic history are gatheredin Almeria until March 28 toanalyse the events of the CivilWar, specifically those thatoccurred in Eastern Almeria.

Dolphin attacksFISHERMEN in Almeria, Granadaand Malaga have spoken out aboutdolphin attacks. The dolphins havebeen increasingly targeting fishingnets across the Mediterraneancoastline.

Basic incomeCOMMITTEES have collected morethan 35,000 signatures in Almeriafor a petition that asks for the es-tablishment of a statutory basic in-come for residents in the province.

HUERCAL OVERAS senior citizenshad a day of being spoiled, courtesyof Almeria Council, Clece SocialServices and Huercal Overa Council.

More than 350 people cametogether for a conference whichaimed to promote coexistence andparticipation, and to improve theliving standards of the elderly.

Provincial Deputy for Equality,Social Welfare and Family, Almude-na Valentin, said: This is an event

that is developing in various munici-palities and is proving to be a suc-cess. The aim is for our elderly toforget a little of their day and theirproblems by getting together withfriends and acquaintances.

Accompanied by town hall offi-cials, the mayor of Huercal Overa,Domingo Fernandez, added: Ourwish is that our elderly have the bestpossible future because theydeserve it all.

A get-togetherfor the elderly

DAY OF FUN: Senior citizens in Huercal Overa.

NEWS EXTRA

THOUSANDS of peoplechose the tourist destina-tion of Mojacar to spenda romantic St Valentinesweekend.

According to research,all 2,235 available roomsin four-star hotels in Mo-jacar were occupied onthe night of February 14.Smaller hotels also re-ported an increase inbookings this year withestablishments in the his-toric old town seeing 85

per cent of all availablerooms occupied.

Local restaurants hadspecial romantic-themedmenus to entice peopleto dine in the picturesquetown.

Thousands of fanspraised the charm of thetown on the official Mo-

jacar Facebook page andhave clicked Like on thephotographs publishedespecially to remind peo-ple of the occasion andinviting users to maketheir reservations in thelocality. Social networkcampaigns reached morethan 106,000 people.

NEWSEWN 5 - 11 March 2015 / Costa de Almera www.euroweeklynews.com10

MOJACAR councillors haveapproved the use of the2014 budget surplus to re-duce borrowings from theInstituto de Credito Oficial.

The town hall agreed totake out the loan in 2012under a scheme set up bycentral government to reg-ularise debts owed by localauthorities to small andmedium sized businesses.

In the case of Mojacaronly one company wasowed money. Since then,regular payments havebeen made and the debtreduced by about695,000.

In a statement themayor of Mojacar saidthe municipal accountsshowed the budgetarystability enjoyed by thetown council, thanks to thegood management of thegoverning team.

WITH more than 40 days left until the dead-line set by central government, Mojacar hasprepared for the changeover of digital fre-quencies which becomes operational onMarch 31.

This entails moving the current TV chan-nels together on one end of the spectrum tomake way for new 4G and 5G technologies,the so-called digital dividend.

Households and communities will thenneed to retune their sets in order to continuereceiving their Spanish TV channels as mostof them will move to another frequency.

Romantics boosthotel occupancy

Digital dividend

MojacarCouncilbudgetnews

ALMERIA CITY has taken delivery of abrand new fire engine from the provincialgovernment. The cost is estimated at justover 200,000 and is part of an agreementbetween the province and the city.

In addition to the provinces contributionof the new vehicle, is the payment of900,000 so the provision of the fireservice can reach 20 municipalities withthe citys resources.

Mayor of Almeria City, Luis RogelioRodriguez-Comendador, with the presidentof the provincial government, GabrielAmat, oversaw the delivery.

Rodriguez-Comendador said: We are

pleased with the fulfilment of the commit-ments made by both administrations,which materialised today with the releaseof this new multipurpose vehicle. It will beused in both urban and rural areas and willreinforce, in addition to the capital,services for 20 municipalities, all with lessthan 20,000 inhabitants.

Gabriel Amat added: We endorse thedelivery of this vehicle and the economiccontribution of 900,000. The collabora-tion that exists between governments reg-ulates the servicing of need for many mu-nicipalities which had no formal agreementfor aid or economic means.

New fire engine arrivesMayor Rodriguez-Comendador (centre) and Gabriel Amat (right) oversee delivery.

NEWS 5 - 11 March 2015 / Costa de Almera 11EWNwww.euroweeklynews.com

GUARDIA CIVIL officers have arrestedtwo men on suspicion of receiving astolen Mercedes 190 in Nijar.

The car was found dismantled forparts in a workshop in Nijar. The car

was stolen from Almeria port betweenDecember 16 and 21, 2014. The ownerreported the theft to the National Policein Almeria City, launching a police en-quiry.

Following investiga-tions, the Guardia Civilvisited a workshop anddiscovered various vehi-cle parts which matchedthe stolen vehicle. Theworkshop owners wereunable to prove the originof the car parts.

However, it was whenthe officers found a Mer-cedes car window thatheld a sticker matchingthat of the stolen vehiclethat they knew they wereon the right track.

The Guardia Civil offi-cers have passed themen and all case detailsto court for processing,although they have yet torule out further arrests aspart of the investigation.

Mercedes thievesarrested in Nijar

ARBOLEAS Town Hall has acquired two ruined proper-ties next to the church for reform.

The aim of the purchase is based on a plan by thegovernment team to allocate the space for a squarefor public use. It will also be used to insulate thechurch walls from humidity and, most importantly, toprotect the towns historical heritage, enhance its im-age and condition and improve the exterior to facilitateaccess for the public in general.

Mayor of Arboleas, Cristobal Garcia Granados, said:We are convinced that our old historic part of thetown represents the very essence of Arboleas, and wemust care and look after it, show and reveal it as asymbol of history in the Almanzora valley.

Property ruinsto be reformed

YOUR voice is important to usHERE at the Euro Weekly News (EWN) we are confident we produce an excellentnewspaper as well as the best English-language internet news site in Spain, butwe also know we should never rest on our laurels.

Our dedicated team is always willing to listen to our readers. Your views are

important to us, so we asked you what you thought of the EWN. With a winningprize for the best comments of an iPad mini being given away in each of our sixregions we asked: If you were in charge of the EWN for a day, what is theone thing you would do to make it even better than it is?

AlmeriaMurphy Stevens, from Arboleas, was thewinning entry for the Almeria region.The 18-year-old Motocross fan said: Iwouldnt make any changes to thecompany because it is perfect as it is.

Murphy, who is out and about on hisbike constantly, has worked for AlmeriaHomes for the past 18 months but isthinking about returning to the UK tocontinue his studies, so his iPad willprove invaluable.

Costa del Sol Eveline Kleyngeld, from Estepona, tookhome the prize for the Costa del Sol. Shelikes the puzzles section. I always turnto them first, so that gave me the ideathat the index was very important, so Icould find them easily. Then I look at thenews, there is always so much to read.

Costa Blanca North

Over in Javea on the Costa BlancaNorth, Brian Moreland showed hishumour when asked what he would doif he was editor for a day. He quipped:Immediately sack myself as Id beuseless.

Looking forward to checking out theiPad, he said it was the first thing hedever won, apart from a turkey we wononce on Christmas Eve!

AxarquaMarcel Van den Huevel from Nerjassuggestion was to do with team work,something we all recognise as vital at

EWN: Its all about motivating yourworkforce, you need everyone to go towork with a smile and job satisfaction isincredibly important, he said.

Building a family atmosphere helpswith communication, which is veryimportant for any company, but inparticular for a newspaper where it isvital that the readers get what they want information.

I have always liked working forhappy companies and I think that as theEuro Weekly News is the best English-language newspaper available, theyneed to make sure that everyone whoworks there is positive, upbeat andhappy in their work.

Costa Blanca SouthJoyce Gallagher from Catral would like tosee recipes in the paper. I always readthe paper but I am a keen cook andthere are no recipes, so I thought thatwas a shame and would invite people tosend in their favourite recipes.

MallorcaCongratulations to John Griffiths fromMallorca, who was forthright in hisanswer: I would not change anythingas I think that you have got thingsright. Mr Griffiths, 66 years old, hadbeen coming to Mallorca for 38 years,but retired to Son Ferrer 14 years ago.

His parents had an apartment inPeguera so he had many opportunitiesto visit Mallorca over the years while he

was working for a foreign royalfamily.

e knew we could relyon our readers tocome up with some

ideas, and we were not to bedisappointed with a bulging(virtual) postbag. On this pagewe give just a selection of thecomments we received, plus around up of the (previouslyannounced) winners of the iPadminis.

We have read every singleone of the comments and takennote of some of the commonsuggestions as well as takingaction.

A recurring theme was theneed to increase our local newscontent and be an even biggerpart of the community. It

would be great to see facesfrom the EWN around more andperhaps have a local office,said Joan Adams from the CostaBlanca.

We have taken such com-ments to heart and are openingthree more local offices now,and a total of six by Easter,showing we are firmly at theheart of the community. FromMarbella to Mojacar, Albox toBenissa, Benidorm to Mallorca,Benalmadena to Albir and Beni-jofar, we will have your localarea covered guaranteed.

Moira Bartle from Caleta deVelez (Malaga) raised a subjectechoed by several readerswhen she said: Ensure that

forthcoming events be pub-lished in advance so readerscan participate and enjoy, andnot report after the event.

She was annoyed she missedan event that happened at3.30pm on the day of publica-tion and she read about it thatevening, thus missing it.

This is a very valid point,which the whole editorial teamhas taken on board. We pledgeto strive to print as many up-coming events as possible,although for reasons of spacewe cannot always do so.

Bill Mullaney, from AlicanteProvince, would like to seesome travel features. He said:Id include travel features on

some interesting places in Spainto visit.

This is something that wehave thought about and are de-lighted to have persuaded travelwriter Kevin Pilley to startcontributing.

Although he will be writingabout some Spanish destina-tions, we took it a stage furtherand he will give witty and infor-mative reports from spots allround the world.

Robert Walford from Cam-poverde (Alicante) came upwith an excellent suggestion,shared by several readers. Hesaid: I would bring in a featurecalled Parish Pump News bring-ing input from correspondents

of local news and items of inter-est from their village or town.We thought it was such a goodidea that we are actively recruit-ing volunteer local correspon-dents to report on their patch,and are inviting Mr Walford tobe one of our first correspon-dents.

If you would like to have a gothen email us at newsdesk@euroweeklynews.com.

Other ideas included increas-ing the number of distributionpoints, something we havedone.

Should you have any troublefinding a copy of the EWN dropus a line at distribution@euroweeklynews.com.

W

Our winners

CONGRATULATIONS!Our winning editorsfor the day.

From left to right: Murphy Stevens, Eveline Kleyngeld, Brian Moreland, Marcel Van den Huevel, Joyce Gallagher and John Griffiths.

Let our business make your business the best business in town

Watch out, watch out, there is an EWN office about in your neighbourhood!Marbella Benalmadena Albox Mojacar Benijofar Benidorm Albir Benissa Mallorca

FEATUREEWN 5 - 11 March 2015 / Costa de Almeria www.euroweeklynews.com12

AGENTS of the National Police havearrested two people in Motril, aged 44and 33, and seized 620 kilograms ofmarihuana hidden in a van.

The vehicle was heading for Almeria

from Morocco when it was interceptedand the 44-year-old male driver fromSalobrea arrested. A few days later his33-year-old female accomplice fromBarcelona was arrested.

The information policereceived was that thefirst part of the drugsjourney was by boat fromMelilla to Almeria beforeit was to be transportedfor safekeeping to Grana-da. With this information,officers were able to in-tercept the van and makea search of the vehiclescabin. The marihuanahad been packaged intosmall parcels for easyconcealment in the van.

The investigation was ateam effort betweenagents of the UDYCO ofTorremolinos and Benal-madena (Malaga), theNarcotics Group fromMelilla and the NarcoticsPolice of Almeria.

NEWS 5 - 11 March 2015 / Costa de Almera 13EWNwww.euroweeklynews.com

Almeria marihuanavan intercepted

THE Prosecution is seeking five years in prison for a manwho posed as a dentist in Nijar.

The 33-year-old was operating from a garage oppositethe Campohermoso stadium in Nijar when he was arrest-ed in 2009.

The investigation began when a woman required med-ical help for serious injuries sustained under his care.She suffered the loss of eight teeth while the rest wereleft in a poor state. The investigation showed that theman was operating with no corresponding academic titleor official licence. When officers visited the premisesthey found dirty conditions, a barbers chair and table,teeth that had been taken out and a 50 kilogram bag ofplaster, along with other dental paraphernalia.

Officers described the garage as being in a deplorablestate.

Five years soughtfor bogus dentist

authorised signatory, or you havethe authority to dispose of theasset.

This includes assets held by acompany, a trust or fiduciary.

In most cases, assets are valuedusing the wealth tax rules as at31st December each year. Forassets held within financialinstitutions, you also need todeclare the average balance overthe last three months of the year.

You need to report the value ofthe assets in Euros.

The exchange rate to be used isthat as at 31st December of therelevant year.

2015 declarationYou declare assets owned as at

31st December of the previousyear. So for your 2015 Form 720,you declare the assets owned as atthe end of 2014.

If you have already submitted aForm 720, you only need to reportagain if:

The value of an existingasset grew by more than 20,000,or

You sold an asset/closed anaccount, or

You obtained a new asset.Exchange rate movements need

to be taken into account.The Pound to Euro exchange rateat 31st December 2013 was 1.20.If at that date you had Sterlingdenominated assets of 250,000,they were valued at 300,000.

On 31st December 2014 the

/ exchange rate was 1.28.This means that even if your

250,000 investment had notgrown in value, in Euros it is nowworth 320,000.The increase of 20,000 means

that you need to report the growthon this years form.

Exchange rates may play an evenbigger part this year, depending onhow central bank policies inEurope, the UK and anywhere elseyou hold assets play out.

The introduction of theobligation to report all overseasassets in Spain and the penaltiesare very high if you do not was ahuge change for residents of Spain,whether Spanish or foreignnationals. Many are paying moretax as a result - particularly thosewho declared assets for the firsttime, or incorrectly declared thempreviously.These assets will now be assessed

for wealth tax, and any incomethey produce for income tax, andyou have to declare them

accordingly. Combined with higher income

taxes and wealth tax, someexpatriates have considered leavingSpain. However Spain actuallyremains a tax efficient country forBritish retired expatriates if youtake specialist advice. Form 720need not necessarily be such aconcern either. You should reviewyour assets now to make sure theyare in the best structures goingforward.

Tax rates, scope and reliefs maychange. Any statementsconcerning taxation are basedupon our understanding ofcurrent taxation laws and practiceswhich are subject to change.

Tax information has beensummarised; an individual isadvised to seek personalisedadvice.

To keep in touch with the latestdevelopments in the offshoreworld, check out the latest newson our websitewww.blevinsfranks.com

We are approaching that time of theyear again, when anyone who isresident in Spain needs to submittheir annual Form Modelo 720listing their overseas assets.

The deadline is 31st March, so youneed to start thinking now aboutwhat you need to declare this year. Ifyou have previously submitted aform you only need to declare assetsif they have grown a certain amount,or if you have sold them. Exchangerate movements may mean you needto declare assets you did not expectto.

Summary of the rulesThere are three reporting

categories and you have to report allassets in a particular category if thevalue of your total offshore assets inthat category amounts to over50,000. You need to report even ifyour personal share of assets is lessthan 50,000.

You are obliged to report assets ifyou are the owner, a settlor who canbenefit from a trust you settled,

By Bill Blevins,Financial Correspondent,

Blevins Franks

Form 720. What Do You Need To Do In 2015?FINANCEEWN 5 - 11 March 2015 / Costa de Almera www.euroweeklynews.com14

NINETY-SIX-YEAR-OLD Bob Mitchell, whohas been a regular contributor via ourLetters page, sent a touching note ofthanks to columnists Leapy Lee, MikeWalsh and the former Mrs Ed, (see Letterspage) who remembered having a few run-ins with him over the years.

Bob, originally from London, has been aregular visitor to the Costa del Sol for 30years, and always picks up a copy of theEWN. We believe he is our oldest reader unless of course you know better. If youdo, drop us a line at editorial@euroweeklynews.com.

With characteristic humour, he decidedto thank the EWN while he still had time.We invited him into the office to see behindthe scenes, and presented him with abottle of brandy and a front page to markhis visit.

A man of forthright opinions he was -and still is - a communist, a stance that gothim into trouble in his younger life. He was

blacklisted as an agitator from several jobsbefore ending up at the Post Office, wherehe stayed for 30 years before retiring.

Bob may be frail but his mind remains assharp as a tack. It is because I have never

stopped thinking. Its keptmy mind active. When I wasyoung, I thought I could change the worldand everyone would live happily ever after,but here we are all these years later and

nothing has changed. Thats a disappointment, but I never

stopped trying! remarked Bob. And we believe him.

Euro Weekly Newss oldest reader (probably) paid a visit to its head office to give staff a piece of his mind!

Editors note: Bob should be an inspiration to all our readers. Whether you agree or not with his politics he has remained true to himself and never lost his sense of fun. He has a keen sense of rightand wrong. All at the EWN wish him well, and look forward to him visiting us again on his 100th birthday. Go to www.euroweeklynews.com for full story.

Is Bob Mitchell, at 96,EWNs oldest reader?

SPECIAL GUEST: Bob during his visit to EWN with some of the team.

NEWS 5 - 11 March 2015 / Costa de Almera 15EWNwww.euroweeklynews.com

NEWSEWN 5 - 11 March 2015 / Costa de Almera www.euroweeklynews.com16

Youth at workARBOLEAS youths arenearing completion of theirEmple@joven programme.The work included the chil-drens playground, exer-cise park, planting palms,improvements to the irri-gation network and streetlighting in Plaza Espaa.

Brawlers in court THREE men involved ina pub brawl inAguadulce have re-ceived court sentences.Two also used a pepperspray on a third. Tworeceived two years andall three were fined.

School choicePARENTS in Almeria Cityhave received the schoolcatchment map and canapply to their nearest orchosen schools for thecoming academic year.Priority is given to geo-graphic proximity.

NEWS EXTRA

GUARDIA CIVIL officers have arrested11 people in relation to multiple crimesincluding four involving guns.

The investigation began in Novemberlast year after thefts from cottages inLa Jara, Garrucha, in which two airrifles and a 12-gauge shotgun werestolen. The guns were later used inburglaries in which one homeownersuffered multiple injuries.

Officers focused their investigation on

a Garrucha resident, with a criminalbackground, who had been sellinggoods of doubtful origin to a junkyardin Cuevas del Almanzora. After arrest-ing the individual, JGH, they were ableto tie him to thefts from eight homes inGarrucha. Further investigation linkedJGH to the thefts from La Jara, whichthen led to another thief being located.

While the investigation was underway officers were informed of thefts

from supermarkets inGarrucha and the twoinvestigations connect-ed, leading to sevenarrests.

The Guardia Civilwere then able tocontinue inquiries intothe violent burglarieswhich led to thearrest of four moreindividuals.

With the 11 arrests,the Guardia Civil havebeen able to wrap up21 offences and sendthe detainees to court.

11 arrested formultiple crimes

CRIMINAL Court Number One in Almeria has sen-tenced a Vicar man to three years and six months inprison for driving while drunk, without a licence and27 kilometres up the A-7 in the wrong direction.

Only sheer luck and evasive police interventionprevented a tragedy of incalculable proportionswhen Moroccan born 34-year-old GK drove morethan 27 kilometres up the A-7 the wrong waybetween the towns of Vicar and Roquetas de Marduring the early hours of February 15.

27 kilometres up theA-7 the wrong way

5 - 11 March 2015 / Costa de Almera 17EWNNEWS TRUST our advertisers WE DO!

Onlinebusiness

ALBOXS Guadalinfo centreis running a couple of freeworkshops on getting yourbusiness online. March 25and April 9 from 4pm to8pm. For information call(in Spanish) 625 129 854.

La EstacionSERONS La Estacionrestaurant, located in theVia Verde del Hierro andnext to the Museo delCuento, is open for ten-der for up to eight years.The property has an areaof 160 square metres.

Reading clubPURCHENA has startedreading clubs for childrenaged seven to 11 in themultipurpose room at thetown hall. For details, visitthe Department of Cultureat Purchena Town Hall.

NEWS EXTRA

TWO men have beenarrested by Guardia Civilofficers investigatingthefts from three proper-ties in La Mojonera.

Thirty four-year-old RZand 39-year-old REF,both residents of Roque-tas de Mar, have beenarrested in conjunctionwith three robberies in LaMojonera. The men werearrested after they weredescribed by several wit-nesses. The car of one ofthe detainees, a Volkswa-gen Golf, was also spot-ted at the scene of one ofthe crimes.

Both men had a previ-ous history of similarcrimes and have beenpassed to court for pro-cessing, although theGuardia Civil has notruled out further arrestsin relation to the investi-gation.

Two arearrested for theft

THE mayor of Huercal Overa,Domingo Fernandez, met with theBishop of the Diocese of Almeria,Adolfo Gonzalez Montes, during apastoral visit to the area.

The bishop signed the townsbook of honour before spending

some conversational time with themayor and members of the towncouncil. During the evening thebishop met with children from thetown in the church.

Fernandez said: This visit hasserved to further strengthen rela-

tions between the two institutions inwhat is also a special year for thebrotherhoods of the town. HuercalOvera has always made itself avail-able to the bishop and we work to-gether many times. We will contin-ue in this vein, as will the bishop.

Bishop visits Huercal Overa

APPROXIMATELY 100 res-idents of the village ofLlano del Espino nearAlbox attended a meetingin which the town hallteam reported on theprocess of getting mainswater to the area.

Residents showed greatinterest in the possibilityof future access to mainswater for the first time.Currently the area relieson tank deliveries and vis-its to the nearby wells fortheir water.

The proposed networkwill provide mains waterto all areas of the Ramblade Albox, Fuente de Mo-

jon, Llano de las Animasand Llano del Espino.

Mayor Rogelio Mena at-tended the meeting withmembers of the council

including Sonia Cerdan,Matias Perez and Francis-co Garcia. The mayorreminded inhabitants ofhis promise to provide

running mains water of adrinkable standard. Headded: Our promises areworthless if they do notcome with action.

Drinking water for locals

LLANO DEL ESPINO: Residents look forward to having mains water.

ACTIN (Animal Care Treat-ment International Net-work) campaigns to see anend to the problems inSpain for animals.

One of their current aimsis the mass sterilisation of

stray animals. Colin Fry, star of tele-

visions The 6ixth Sense,recently met with Actinspresident Viv Wharton andagreed to become Actinsvoice. He agrees the way to

change things for animalsin Spain is work towards ananimal welfare act, standagainst cruelty andabandonment and alsopromote sterilisation for allpets.

Actin hopes to achievegreat things with Colin onboard and looks forward toa year of growth for Actin.Colin also supports NoahsArc of Mazzaron, a localanimal rescue that Actin

also works alongside. Television Spiritualist

Medium, The Rev. ColinFry, and his partner Mikey,live in Spain. They haveboth been made patrons ofthe animal defence charity,Actin Spain. With theircommitment both Colin andMikey wish to establishawareness of the charityand raise needed funds inorder to help support thecharity. Unlike the UK,Spain does not haveanything like the RSPCA orPDSA. Animal welfare isdown to individual groups.

As part of the campaign,Colin Fry and TeamHarmony Spain are holdingtwo shows during a psychicweekend fair at HotelLacumbre in Mazarron onApril 10 and 11. The fair willhave a number of standsand workshops open to thepublic. Interested partiescan book stands by callingAnne Blandford on 968 959257. Entry is 5.

Colin Fry will be holdingpsychic shows in theevenings. A ticket onlyevent at 20 per person viawww.colinfry.co.uk.

NEWSEWN 5 - 11 March 2015 / Costa de Almera www.euroweeklynews.com18

Colin Fry raising funds for campaign

WORKING TOGETHER: Viv Wharton with Colin Fry.

NEWSEWN 5 - 11 March 2015 / Costa de Almera www.euroweeklynews.com20

FOOD events in Almeriaheaded up by ASHAL(Almeria Province Asso-c iat ion of Hospita l i ty)will now have a sponsorthanks to Kerabisur SL.

Pres ident of ASHAL,Diego Garc ia, and thehead of Kerabisur ,Xabier Muro, signed anagreement that benefitsboth parties with imme-diate effect.

Kerabisur is a com-pany that specialises inthe management ofused vegetable oil andis based in E l E j ido.ASHAL is known fororganising popular foodevents inc luding Rutade Tapas de Almeria, laFeria del Mediodia, lasJornadas Coc ina deOtoo and the FestivalTapas de Pelicula.

The agreement bene-

fits ASHAL so they cannow award bigger andbetter prizes to partici-pants but it also enablesKerabisur to ra iseawareness in recycling.

Kerabisur wi l l nowwork with participatingestablishments to recy-c le their vegetable oi land adhere to environ-mental regulations.

New sponsor forfoodie events

ASHAL: Xabier Muro (left) with Diego Garcia.

CASA IBAEZ at Oluladel Rio has confirmed itis holding an art coursewith artists AntonioLopez and AndresGarcia Ibaez.

The course, from May25 to 29 is sponsoredby the provincial counciland Cosentino. The top-ics are still life andnude, but students willbe given some flexibilityon subject matter aslong as it representslife. The course is aimedat students keen toshare their experiencestowards a common goalof group improvement.

The course costs180 and there are only36 places available plusfive reserves. The tutorswill choose the studentsfrom applications. Moreinformation in Spanishvia the website atmuseocasaibanez.org.

Applications shouldinclude a two page CV,with a photocopy ofyour passport or photo-graphic identification.You should include aportfolio of your existingwork with a minimum offive images and maxi-mum of 10.

Send to Casa Ibaez,Calle Museo, 7, Olula delRio or email tocursorealismo@gmail.com.

ALMERIA Ci ty mayor Lu is Rogel ioRodriguez-Comendador has visitedthe newly refurbished Santa Teresade Jornet nurs ing home in LaCaada.

The mayor, who was companied bythe council lor for Sports and MajorEvents, Juan Jose Alonso, added sup-

port and said: This is a vast resi-dence with 14,000 square metres, soit is always undergoing renovationsand repairs. In particular, the latestimprovements are to the womensbedrooms that now have two bedsinstead of three, plus air conditioningand their own bathrooms.

Still life forart course

Visit to refurbished home

NEWSEWN 5 - 11 March 2015 / Costa de Almera www.euroweeklynews.com22

Eighth Ruta deTapas announced

MAYOR of Almeria, LuisRogelio Rodriguez Comen-dador, has launched theeighth Ruta de Tapas.

He described it as: Oneof our most anticipatedtourist and gastronomicactivities and which opensthe calendar of culinaryevents organised by Ashalto promote collaborationwith one of our mostimportant tourist pillars,our cuisine.

In attendance was theCEO of Almeria Turismo,Juan Jose Alonso, thecouncillor for Tourism,Isabel Fernandez, and thepresident of Ashal, DiegoGarcia.

The Ruta de Tapas willbe held in the capitalfrom March 5 to 22 andincludes 63 establish-ments all vying for theawards that are presen-ted after visitors have

voted. The format followsprevious years with prizesincluding those for TapaTraditional, TapaGourmet and a prize drawfor two diners of a week-end in a four or five starhotel in Almeria.

This year, however,voters can also nametheir favourites on the

Ashal Facebook page orvia a downloadable app.

Customers who eat at aminimum of five venuesare also entitled to a freedrink in the fifth location.

Also, the first 75 cus-tomers who visit at least10 establishments willreceive a commemorativeceramic gift.

From left to right: Juan Jose Alonso, Diego Garcia, LuisRogelio Rodriguez Comendador and Isabel Fernandez.

EWN 5 - 11 March 2015 / Costa de Almera24 NEWSwww.euroweeklynews.com

MAYOR of Huercal Overa,Domingo Fernandez, wel-comed dozens of motorhomes and their Swedishoccupants to the town asthey arrived to participate

in the annual bowls cham-pionships (petanque).

The caravanners are allpart of the Swedish club,Husbilsklubbe.se. Some ofthe members came directly

from Scandinavian coun-tries while others travelledfrom across Spain includingMalaga, Alicante and Mur-cia, places where manymembers have secondhomes.

The mayor wished theman enjoyable stay in Huer-cal Overa and added: Ihope that the site meetsyour needs for the champi-onship. He added: Hav-ing the motor homes in ourmunicipality is a boost forthe economy. Besides that,the club has given widepublicity to Huercal Overaas the name of our town ison the clubs website. Ithas received more than18,000 views which repre-sents a significant ad-vancement that will surelybring more tourists.

ALMERIA STRINGS have been meeting in Greg & Co inTurre since the summer of 2014, but today (ThursdayMarch 5) is the last afternoon they will meet there. Be-ginning on March 12, the practice sessions will be heldat Romerijo each Thursday afternoon from 1.30pmuntil 4pm except for the third Thursday of each monthwhen it moves to the evening for the folk night.

Almeria Strings would like to thank Greg & Co forproviding a friendly atmosphere for the practicesessions and for making everyone feel so welcome.

If you already play a stringed instrument, would liketo improve, or are interested in learning, then AlmeriaStrings invite you to join them.

More information at www.almeriastrings.org

MORE than 30 artistsgathered for HuercalOveras 13th Certamen dePintura al Aire Libre, anoutdoor painting competi-tion in the town.

Mayor of Huercal Overa,Domingo Fernandez, andCouncillor for Culture,Antonio Lazaro, were re-sponsible for presentingthe awards awarded by ajury of professionals.

The event is alreadyprominent and the artisticcommunity and town en-joy a special atmosphereas artists congregate invarious places to paintspecial landmarks.

Fernandez said: Thereis a high quality of workspresented at the exhibi-tion and this year has

been well received by theartists while our residentshave taken to the streetsto enjoy watching thepictures being painted,witnessing the entireprocess.

Buildings and areas fea-tured among the outdoor

painting were the church,town squares, activestreet scenes and theCuatro Torres.

First prize went toOrencio Murillo, second toCarlos Romera and a localprize went to NicolasNavarro.

Open-air painting

HUERCAL OVERA: Artists painted the town!

Huercal Overa welcomesSwedish caravanners

Strings move on

5 - 11 March 2015 / Costa de Almera 25EWNNEWS www.euroweeklynews.com

FIVE people have beenseriously injured in anexplosion at a fertiliserfactory in Mengibar,Jaen.

Nitric acid was beingmoved from a lorry to adeposit when the explo-sion occurred.

Andalucia 112 emer-gency services reportedthat a call was receivedat 2.07pm, with the acci-dent reported near theold N-323 road.

Guardia Civil officers,firemen, local policemenand ambulance teamsrushed to the scene andtook five people to hospi-tal.

The Andalucian Emer-gency Group was alsoinformed, although a 112spokesman explainedthat no toxic cloud hadformed and the generalpopulation was not atrisk.

Five hurtin factoryexplosion

A MINE that was the site of one of Spainsbiggest environmental disasters is set toreopen.

In April 1998 a dam collapsed at theAznalcollar lead and zinc mine in SevillaProvince, flooding the Agrio and Guadia-mar rivers with almost 2 billion litres ofmine tailings and a further 4 billion litres ofheavy metals dissolved in acidified water.

Much of this pollution then flowed to theborders of one of Spain and Europes mostpristine and important National Parks andnature reserves, the UNESCO world her-itage site of Doana National Park. Thesubsequent clean-up operation cost 240million and had a vast impact on wildlife.

Under new management the mine isnow set to reopen, apparently creating

more than 400 jobs in the region - but theproject has come under widespread criti-cism from a wide range of NGOs and envi-ronmental organisations which believe theproject is an unacceptable risk to theDoana National Park.

The company reopening the mine,Grupo Mexico, was involved in a similarmining disaster in Mexico recently.

Doana is currently facing additionalthreats due to expanding farming develop-ment along its borders and dredging of theGuadalquivir River.

The UNESCO heritage site is one of onlytwo refuges for the Iberian Lynx, one ofthe worlds rarest large predators.

No more than 300 Iberian Lynx arethought to survive in the wild.

Mine set to reopen

WIK

IPED

IABY

WW

AL- C

ONTR

APRE

SA_R

IO_A

GRIO

HERITAGE SITE: Doana National Park.

EWN 5 - 11 March 2015 / Costa de Almera26 NEWSwww.euroweeklynews.com

THE delegate for agri-cu l ture, Jose ManuelOrt iz , has highl ightedthe production of organ-ic eggs as a viable op-t ion for se l f -employ-ment in rural areas ofthe province.

Ortiz visited an organ-ic chicken farm in Can-toria, Alto Almanzora,which has been opensince December 2014.

He described the pro-duction of organic eggsas an established alter-nat ive with a greatfuture for self employ-ment and weal th cre-at ion in rural areas ofAlmeria.

The Cantoria organicchicken farm, under themanagement of entre-preneur Juan ManuelGarcia Torrecillas, has acapacity of 1,702 chick-ens. I t has a l readygenerated two jobs in

its f irst few months ofoperation.

Organic egg produc-tion is aimed at a par-t icu lar consumer whohas the purchas ingpower to sustain the in-dustry, and the Juntade Andaluc ia regionalgovernment is keen tosupport this financially.I t could a lso prov idetraining and promotion,according to Ortiz.

A lmer ia has sevenregistered poul t ryfarms, two of which areproducing organic eggs,the one mentioned ear-l ier in Cantor ia andanother in Pulpi.

The remaining farmsare in Arboleas, Laujar,Pulpi , V icar and VelezRubio.

Almeria Province pro-duces 988,000 dozeneggs annual ly wi th avalue of 1.125 million.

VICAR has startedthe first phase ofits SustainableUrban Mobil ityPlan (PMUS), man-aged by the town

and financiallysupported by theAndalucian EnergyAgency.

Research is nowunder way which

consists of tele-phone surveys ofresidents as well astraffic counts andinventories of pub-lic transportation,

parking and pedes-trian and bicyclemobility. MayorAntonio Bonilla saidthe surveys are ex-pected to be com-

pleted within three-and-a-half monthsafter which the da-ta will be analysedand recommenda-tions made.

Vicar mobility plan The production oforganic eggs couldboost employment

AFTER three-and-a-halfyears as president of theSamaritans in Spain, ChrisSumter has stepped downand is moving to Englandto begin the next chapterof her life. Chriss husbandLubbertus, in a presidentsfarewell letter, explainedthat his wife was perfectlysuited for the role of help-ing those in Spain.

Chris first joined theSamaritans in the autumnof 2008, completing herlistening training in early2009, said Lubbertus.She became a Trusteeand, as an ex-teacher,took over training, re-vamping the modules tosuit Spanish conditions.Chris became CEO in 2011and took over as presidentin November of the sameyear. At this point, theorganisation was knownas Costa Blanca Samari-tans and was struggling tokeep going, only beingavailable for four hourseach night.

Chris immediately be-gan to seek out ways tobring the Samaritans intothe limelight and to theforefront of charities inSpain. The search was onto find and secure premis-es to include the call cen-tre itself, a drop-in centreand a charity shop to raisedesperately needed funds.

The ideal location wasfound in Punta Prima andthe office and shopopened on March 1, 2013.Since then the Samaritanshave gone from strengthto strength to now include24-hour listening, emailconsultations, face-to-facework, prison visiting and asatellite centre with theBritish Embassy in Madrid.

Samaritans in Spain arenow one of the most well-known and respected ser-vices for expats through-out Spain and theIslands.

Both Chris and her hus-

band are already lookingfor the next challenge,even before starting thisone.

Good luck to both Chrisand Lubbertus in thismove and indeed the nextone.

5 - 11 March 2015 / Costa de Almera 27EWNNEWS www.euroweeklynews.com

Samaritans in Spainpresident steps down

for new challenge

ADIOS: Chris is leaving her role as president of theSamaritans and also Spain.

EWN 5 - 11 March 2015 / Costa de Almera28 NEWSwww.euroweeklynews.com

MORE than 100 deerhave been decapitatedand then their body partsleft strewn across a largearea of isolated wood-land, it has been alleged.

The animals bodieswere first encountered bywalkers in an area thathas experienced largeamounts of snowfall andextreme weather in thelast few weeks.

Conservationists and

hunters alike havedenounced suspectedpoachers in Spainsrugged northern provinceof Castilla y Leon for theslaughter.

A Local Policespokesman said that aninvestigation was underway to try and find thepoachers responsible.

Limited hunting of deeris sometimes permitted inSpain under licence and

its generally easier totrack large mammals insnowy conditions.

However, even localhuntsman have called theact barbaric.

Without natural preda-tors such as wolves, deernumbers rise rapidly andsometimes need to becontrolled.

But hunting on thisscale and in such a brutalmanner is illegal.

Deer massacredin the snow

THE National Police force has arrested65 people for cheating foreigners out ofhalf a million euros over the internet.

The gang, composed of Romanian andSpanish members, allegedly fraudulentlyobtained details of bank accounts in oth-er countries and made transfers to ac-counts in Spain.

Once the money arrived in Spain itwas withdrawn and carried or sent toRomania.

The group leader for Spain, whoobtained 30 per cent of the take, isamongst those arrested, and so far 171victims of the scam of various nationali-ties have been identified.

Internet fraudsters arrested

EWN 5 - 11 March 2015 / Costa de Almera30 NEWSwww.euroweeklynews.com

SPAIN is the country with the highestschool dropout rate in the EuropeanUnion, according to most recent data.

Although the country experienced aslight improvement over 2013 (24.7 percent), the rate currently sits at 23.6 percent, far above the European Union

countries average of 12 per cent. The data was released by the Com-

munity Statistics Office Eurostat, whichadded that the national goal has beenfixed at 15 per cent.

After Spain came Malta (20.5 percent), Portugal (28.9), Romania (17.3)

and Italy (17). On the other hand, Lithuania and

Slovenia hold the lowest schooldropout rate (3.9 per cent), fol-lowed by Croatia (4.5), CzechRepublic (5.4), Poland (5.6),Luxemburg (6.1), Slovakia (6.4),Austria (7.3), Cyprus (9.1) andGermany (9.8).

In addition, the employment rateof inhabitants between 20 and 64years old was 58.6 per cent in2013, while the goal fixed forSpain by the EU was 75 per cent.

Countries with the worst resultsin terms of employment ratesaccording to this report wereGreece (52.9 per cent), Croatia(57.2 per cent), Spain and Italy(59.8 per cent).

Spain at backof the class

Jobless figures forFebruary positiveTHE job market in Spain continued on itspath to recovery in February, a govern-ment study has revealed.

A new report from the EmploymentMinistry has shown that the number ofpeople paying into the Seguridad Socialsystem rose by 96,909 people last month,the highest amount for February since2007.

Unemployment fell by 13,538 people,the highest drop for a month of Februaryfor 14 years, giving hope that the worstof the crisis may well be over.

Homes razedMULTINATIONAL cement firm Cemexfinally razed empty homes built decadesago for employees. Demolition was haltedlast year when anti-eviction associationStop Desahucios intervened on behalf ofsquatters.

Bad fallA 34-YEAR-OLD man fell 15 metres as hetried to fix an aerial on the roof of hisAlcoy home. He was seriously injured withseveral fractures, although doctors do notfear for his life.

Picture thatPOLICE investigating a Denia break-infound links to a gang of Valencia-basedpicture forgers. Painters earned around50 to falsify works by Picasso, Miro andTapies that later sold for thousands.

Keep the rulesIT would not object to Javeas disusedlighthouse becoming a hotel, the regionsTerritory and Environment departmentsaid. It made the proviso that environmen-tal and planning regulations should berespected.

Aerial assaultDRONES will fumigate rice fields in theAlbufera National Park near Valencia Citythis spring. They will also be used to elimi-nate mosquitoes from irrigation channelson the outskirts of the city.

Campello filmFILM director Jose Rios, known to the filmworld as Bobby Peru, is shooting a West-ern porn trilogy in Campello. It will com-pete for a 2016 Venus award, an equiva-lent of the Oscars in the porn industry.

Skate parkA NEW skate park has opened in LosAlcazares. The park will accommodatebeginners and more experienced skate-boarders and roller skaters.

Museum restorationRESTORATION work on Lorcas Archaeo-logical Museum, which was damaged bythe 2011 earthquake, is being put out totender.

Carnival clampdownTHE Carnival celebrations in Aguilas, Mur-cia, saw 172 people test positive for dri-

ving whilst under the effects of alcoholwith a further 65 testing positive for drugs.

Bulletproof jacketsTORREVIEJA has spent 21,000 on bullet-proof jackets for Local Police officers.Currently there are just eight jackets forthe 160 officers.

Signs of improvementTHE number of registered self-employedworkers in the province of Malaga hasreached 100,000, returning to levels simi-lar to those of 2008 before the financialcrisis began, Malaga Provincial Councilleader Elias Bendodo has announced.

Green routeA ONE kilometre natural path has beencreated to link the Parque Las Presas and

Duck Lake in Fuengirola with the upperarea of Torreblanca, creating a new wayto enjoy nature without leaving town.

Food festivalMIJAS Tapas Festival is on this month withlive cooking demonstrations at El CorteIngles on Saturday afternoons and anAndalucian tapas competition on March 23at the Las Lagunas theatre as highlights.

Greener commutersBICYCLES are becoming increasing popu-lar as a way to get around Malaga City.The public bike rental system in the cityhas 28,000 members and 40 per cent ofusers questioned said that they now cycleinstead of driving.

More parkingAPPROXIMATELY 650 new parking spaceswill be created in Estepona by the council,

which has announced plans to tarmac a12,000 square metre plot of land by thenew Auditorio Felipe VI theatre.

Can we help?THE municipal consumers office of Velez-Malaga (OMIC) received more than 8,000enquiries during 2014, 10 per cent up on2013.

Best in Spain MAROS cliffs in Nerja are amongst themost beautiful natural monuments ofSpain, according to Spanish newspaperABC. Also praised is the beautiful viewfrom the Torre de Maro.

Jobs helpA TOTAL of 125 unemployed people ofAlmuecar will be trained in sports andrecreational activities and social and healthassistance thanks to courses launched bythe town council.

Bike dayMORE than 2,100 people participated onFebruary 28 in Nerjas Bike Day, accordingto the Sports Councillor Gema Garcia. Aneight-seater bike won the prize for mostoriginal bike.

Food raising THE Citizens Social network of Torrox hasprovided 584 people with food in 2014.They will carry out a new food raisingcampaign on March 14 at 10m and 6pm inTorrox-Costa supermarkets.

Home improvements THE Balearic Islands Regional Governmenthas allocated 1.4 million for renovationworks that seek to improve homes acces-sibility and eliminate obstacles for resi-dents with mobility problems. In total,700,000 will be used in 2015 and the restin 2016.

German dies A 34-YEAR-OLD man from Germany diedlast Friday (February 27) after he wasinvolved in a car accident on the roadbetween Palma and Manacor. Emergencyservices explained that the man lost con-trol of his car for unknown reasons.

Huge benefitsMALLORCA Hotel Company Melia made aprofit of 30.4 million at the end of 2014,as opposed to the 73.4 million of debt thecompany had incurred the previous year.

AXARQUIA

COSTA BLANCA SOUTH

COSTA DEL SOL

COSTA BLANCA NORTH

MALLORCA

NEWS DESKEWN 5 - 11 March 2015 / Costa de Almera www.euroweeklynews.com32

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 remains of an Iberiantemple were recently uncov-ered in Villajoyosas Plazade la Iglesia.

The excavations ledby archaeologist AnaMartinez revealed apre-Roman placeof worship datedbetween the fifthand third cen-turies BC.

E x c a v a t e dareas are oflimited size sincethey were located inan old town house cur-rently being restored as asmall hotel. It could havebeen a chapel in a localaristocrats home, the ar-chaeologist said, but was probablyan urban temple. It is situated at thehighest point of the town, the usualsite for public temples and judging

by the complex ground planthere were various rooms.

The dig also revealedimportant objects in-

cluding votive offer-ings of Greek ori-

gin or influence.Each time weput a spade in

the groundin La Vi lawe en-counter a

piece of ourhistory, l ike

these Iberianf inds that are

amongst the most im-portant to appear inthis province for years,said Villajoyosas mayor

Jaime Lloret.

For more local news from our regions see www.euroweeklynews.com EWN top for all the news from Spain.

La Vila unearthsmore of its

ancient history

TREASURE REVEALED: Potteryhead, probably of Hermes.

5 - 11 March 2015 / Costa de Almera 33EWNNEWS www.euroweeklynews.com

IN stark contrast to Britains flexibilityregarding Scotlands independence, Cat-alonias right to an independence vote

has been declared unconstitutional. Spains Constitutional Court declared

that only the Central Madrid Governmenthad the power to allow areferendum on the matter.This has been an ongoingsource of confrontationand discontent in theregion for years. Polls tak-en last year suggested thata majority of Catalan citi-zens were in favour of areferendum.

Regional Catalan govern-ment leader Artur Mas helda symbolic vote, not autho-rised by the government,last year in November.More than 80 per cent ofvoters who cast their bal-lots favoured Cataloniabeginning the indepen-dence process.

Mas who is strongly infavour of Catalan indepen-dence stated that legal rul-ing was trying to stop us.

With the strength of feel-ing in the region remaininghigh it likely this will not bethe end of the story onCatalan independence.

No referendum

EIGHT pro-Russian Spanish fighters have been arrested.In co-ordinated operations in Murcia, Navarre,

Catalonia, Asturias and Madrid, Spanish National Policeswooped to detain the men. Those held, all aged under30, are alleged members of a variety of pro-communistorganisations.

They are all suspected of fighting for pro-Russian forcesin the Donbass region of Ukraine, an area which has seenconflict in the current Crimean crisis. A ceasefire agreedby the UN and both Ukraine and pro-Russian forces hasbeen fragile, with reports of fighting continuing into lastweek.

Fighters held POLICE RAIDS: Pro-Russian fighters are arrested.

Rubbish tip dangerFLOCKS of birds attracted to a landfill site in the

Altai region are posing a threat to passingaeroplanes. The district authorities must nowequip the site with bird-repellent devices to ensuresafety.

Welcome to PutintownACTIVISTS in the Ural Mountains want to

change the name of their town from Krasnokamskto Putin in honour of the Russian president, in thebelief that his name would help the town becomemore prosperous.

Synthetic drug surgePOLICE in Moscow seized 630 per cent more

synthetic marihuana in 2014 than in the previousyear. Last year around 35 Russians died from usingthe drug, made from synthetic compounds tomimic the effects of marihuana.

Russians kicking habitTHE number of smokers in Russia has

dropped by 17 per cent since the governmentadopted the anti-smoking legislation in 2013.Graphic packet warnings and the ban on

smoking in public places appears to be doing thetrick.

Front garden skeletonA RUSSIAN businessman has bought a huge

whale skeleton from the Oscar-nominated movieLeviathan and placed it on the lawn outside hishouse inMoscow. Themetal skeletonfeaturedprominently inthe movie.

Walliams over TolkienA POLL of 508,000 under-12 students has found

that The Demon Dentist by David Walliams is thefavourite book of primary school children. HarryPotter books feature heavily in the top 20 but TheLord of the Rings has dropped out of the top 20 forthe first time.

Historic book foundA BOOK from 1495 that helped Henry VIII build

his case against the Pope for an annulment of hismarriage to Catherine of Aragon has been discoveredin the library of a country home in Cornwall.

Not my faultBRITISH PM David Cameron has said that his

wife Samantha picks out all his casual clothes, tellinga magazine that he is not really interested inclothes. He has been ridiculed in the past for hisfashion faux pas.

Crocodile bitesNEW figures show that three people per year are

admitted to UK hospitals following crocodile bites,with 75 more bitten or crushed by other reptiles. Its

believed that in all cases the reptiles in question arepets.

Points swappingONE in 20 UK motorists have illegally paid

somebody else to take their penalty points for them,research has found, but only half of those have beencaught. Eleven per cent of British drivers areunaware that swapping points is illegal.

EWN 5 - 11 March 2015 / Costa de Almera34 www.euroweeklynews.com

Confidence upCONSUMER confidence in

Germany is at its highest ratesince 2001 as rising optimismand increased spendingsweeps the country.

MPs backacheMPS in Bremen want new

chairs - some costing asmuch as 1,900 - for theparliament building, sayingthe current ones areuncomfortable andinflexible.

More jobs THE number of

unemployed Germans fell by20,000 during February, thefifth consecutive month toregister a decline, accordingto official data.

Buffet invests LEGENDARY American

investor Warren Buffet islooking to buy morecompanies in Germany afterpurchasing a Germanmotorcycle parts company inFebruary.

Murder charges A GERMAN pensioner has

been charged with morethan 3,500 counts ofaccessory to murder fromhis time working as a medicat the notorious Auschwitzconcentration camp.

Exports upGERMAN exports to Iran

jumped by 30 per centduring 2014 after the easingof western sanctions.

Irish officesDZ BANK is to buy office

buildings rented byFacebook in Dublin, Ireland,for 232 million, afterbeating off stiff competition.

Nice salaryDIETER ZETSCHE, the

CEO of Daimler, was paid14.4 million last year, makinghim the countrys second-highest paid employee at alisted company.

GE R M A NPR E S S

EUROPEAN PRESS

Stories making headlines in Europe

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

SCANDINAVIANPRESS

Fine diningDENMARK: Three

restaurants in Aarhus havebeen awarded Michelinstars as the first everMichelin Nordic Guide waspresented in Stockholm.

Lego brandDENMARK: Lego has

been named as the worldsmost powerful brand. Thecompany also revealed that2014 was its mostprofitable year ever.

Danish linksDENMARK: Around 1.6

million Danes have profileson the business-orientedsocial network siteLinkedIn.

Elk problemsSWEDEN: Train

accidents involving elkscost the Swedish statebillions of kroner each yearin damages to trains anddelays to service.

Tech-savvySWEDEN: Sweden has

been named the secondbest country in Europe fordigital performance(internet skills, internetshopping, developed digitaltechnologies), coming inonly behind neighbourDenmark.

Home saleNORWAY: The

mountain holiday home inTrysil, north of Oslo,belonging to recoveringFormula One driver MichaelSchumacher has been soldfor NOK22 million (2.5million).

Camp restartsNORWAY: The island of

Utoya is to host its firstyouth camp this Augustsince the 2011 mass-murder of 69 people byAnders Behring Breivik.

ANCIENT BOOK: Henry VIII, Englands mostinfamous ex-husband.

GIVING UP:Russians are

kicking thehabit.

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

SPAINS anti-trust regulatorCNMC has slapped a totalof 32.4 million in fines onRepsol, Cepsa and othercompanies for price-fixing.

Repsols claims ofmanifest animosity fromthe CNMCs president Jose Maria Marin and board members IdoiaZenarruzabeitia and MariaOrtiz were brushed aside.

The clash was triggeredby disciplinary proceedingsto establish whether Repsolhad complied with a 2009ruling. This obliged thecompany to avoid indirectprice-fixing by adaptingcontracts and procedureswith independent servicestations.

Marin was for manyyears an executive with Repsols principal

Spanish competitor Cepsa,which had brieflyconsidered challengingMarins presence in theinvestigation.

There is now a personalrejection or aversion onMarins part towards itselfand other oil companies,Repsol claimed.

With the abstention ofMarin, Zenarruzabeitia andOrtiz, the remaining sevenboard members votedunanimously to disregardRepsols objections.

The CNMC concludedthat neither partiality norpersonal interests wereinvolved in the fine,rejecting any hint of theintimate friendship ormanifest animosity thatare legal grounds fordisqualification.

CROWDFUNDING contributed 62million to Spanish projects last year,114 per more than the 29 millionraised in 2013.

Small contributions usually madeonline - from a large number of peopleare increasingly used to financeventures or projects with little chanceof accessing conventional funding.

Precisely because of this popularity,legislation due this month will directly

affect crowdfunding with limits oncontributions depending on whetherthese come from accredited or privateinvestors.

A joint study by the University ofCambridge and the AsociacionEspaola de Crowdfunding found that53 per cent of people seeking or usingcrowdfunding believed that the newregulations would be strict andexcessive.

Crowds provide funds

FINANCE, BUSINESS & LEGAL 5 - 11 March 2015 / Costa de Almerawww.euroweeklynews.com 35EWN

inanceA EURO WEEKLY NEWS 6 PAGE SPECIAL SECTION // WWW.EWNBUSINESS.COMF

Goodmedicine

FOLLOWING its sale ofAstraZeneca, pharma-ceutical firm Almirallposted net profits of448.4 million, comparedwith losses of 33.7million in 2013. Turnoverrose by 70.5 per cent tonearly 1.41 billion.

Short termTHE Confederation ofSpanish Business-owners (CEOE) hasrecommended in-creasing the numberof temporary workcontracts, arguingrestrictions wouldhave a perniciouseffect on job creation.

usinessBextra

legal&

CNMC: Nothingpersonal

NIKE has obliged Real Madridfootballer Cristiano Ronaldo towithdraw his CR7 footwearrange.

The name clashes with its ownCR7 line, claimed the USsportswear company, whichpays Ronaldo 8.7 million a yearto promote Nike clothing andfootwear. The footballer is

expected to wear and use Nikeproducts whenever othercontractual commitments allowas both the Madrid club and thePortugal national team aresigned up to Nike rival, Adidas.

Ronaldo has used the CR7label on underpants and shirtswithout problems, but Nike putits foot down over the name of

the shoe collection. The trainers,deck shoes, moccasins andformal shoes, all manufacturedin Guimaraes (Portugal) are indirect competition with their ownproducts, Nike claimed.

Cristianos shoes cost between100 and 550 while Nikes CR7trainers start at 60 and theboots sell at more than 300.

STAT OF WEEKbusiness THE Public Works Ministryawarded construction andinfrastructure contracts for 1.87 billion last year. This

doubled 2013s investments andwas the first increase since theonset of the economic crisis.

Own goal for Cristiano

CRISTIANO RONALDO: Nike forced withdrawal of his shoe range.

MAR

COS

MES

ASA

MW

ORDL

EY/ S

HUTT

ERST

OCK.

COM

FINANCE, BUSINESS & LEGALEWN 5 - 11 March 2015 / Costa de Almera www.euroweeklynews.com36

British Amrcn Tobacco 3,796.50 40.00 1.06 70,584.59

British Land Co 853.25 8.25 0.98 8,448.77

BT Group 457.50 1.40 0.31 37,105.16

Bunzl 1,910.00 10.00 0.53 6,336.05

Burberry Group 1,895.00 3.00 0.16 8,321.45

Capita Group (The) 1,229.50 22.50 1.86 7,852.97

Carnival 3,017.00 41.00 1.38 6,307.69

Most AdvancedTRACON Pharmaceuticals, Inc. $ 17.42 3.99 29.71%Omeros Corporation $ 25.10 4.23 20.27%NXP Semiconductors N.V. $ 99.56 14.665 17.27%Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $ 63.58 8.51 15.45%Sphere 3D Corporation $ 5.16 0.65 14.41%Vicor Corporation $ 14.93 1.75 13.28%Stein Mart, Inc. $ 12.81 1.37 11.98%Eagle Pharmaceuticals, Inc. $ 37.68 3.68 10.82%Synergy Pharmaceuticals, Inc. $ 3.32 0.30 9.93%Ingles Markets, Incorporated $ 47.18 3.94 9.11%BioTelemetry, Inc. $ 10.51 0.86 8.91%

Most DeclinedPacira Pharmaceuticals, Inc. $ 92.30 22.47 19.58%BioScrip, Inc. $ 5.20 0.91 14.89%ModSys International Ltd. $ 2.56 0.40 13.51%Mitel Networks Corporation $ 8.91 1.25 12.30%Sucampo Pharmaceuticals, Inc. $ 13.60 1.78 11.57%TubeMogul, Inc. $ 12.32 1.50 10.85%Calithera Biosciences, Inc. $ 13.76 1.46 9.59%Gulf Island Fabrication, Inc. $ 14.50 1.53 9.54%Performant Financial Corporation $ 4.75 0.50 9.52%Star Bulk Carriers Corp. $ 4.19 0.43 9.31%Navient Corporation $ 19.51 1.89 8.83%

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 170.50 +1.85 +1.10% 2.2MAXP American Express 82.03 +0.44 +0.54% 5.5MT AT&T 34.64 +0.08 +0.23% 21.6MBA Boeing 153.80 +2.95 +1.96% 4.6MCAT Caterpillar 83.00 +0.10 +0.12% 4.2MCVX Chevron 105.90 -0.78 -0.73% 7.3MCSCO Cisco 30.19 +0.68 +2.30% 36.0MKO Coca-Cola 43.20 -0.10 -0.23% 13.5MDIS Disney 105.89 +1.81 +1.74% 5.6MDD E I du Pont de Nemours and Co 78.49 +0.64 +0.82% 3.3MXOM Exxon Mobil 88.04 -0.50 -0.56% 13.8MGE General Electric 26.11 +0.12 +0.46% 32.4MGS Goldman Sachs 191.79 +2.00 +1.05% 1.7MHD Home Depot 116.12 +1.37 +1.19% 6.0MIBM IBM 160.48 -1.46 -0.90% 5.9MINTC Intel 34.06 +0.81 +2.44% 25.4MJNJ Johnson & Johnson 103.22 +0.71 +0.69% 7.3MJPM JPMorgan Chase 61.77 +0.49 +0.80% 13.0MMCD McDonald's 100.00 +1.10 +1.11% 12.4MMRK Merck 58.58 +0.04 +0.07% 9.7MMSFT Microsoft 43.88 +0.03 +0.07% 31.9MNKE Nike 98.75 +1.63 +1.68% 5.5MPFE Pfizer 34.77 +0.45 +1.31% 21.4MPG Procter & Gamble 85.41 +0.28 +0.33% 7.2MTRV Travelers Companies Inc 107.90 +0.46 +0.43% 1.3MUTX United Technologies 123.19 +1.28 +1.05% 2.3MUNH UnitedHealth 114.40 +0.77 +0.68% 3.0MVZ Verizon 49.47 +0.02 +0.04% 10.9MV Visa 278.29 +6.98 +2.57% 2.9MWMT Wal-Mart 83.96 +0.03 +0.04% 6.1M

Centrica 249.90 3.40 1.38 12,109.21Coca-Cola HBC 1,168.00 9.00 0.78 4,232.21Compass Group 1,159.50 5.50 0.48 19,219.66CRH 1,811.00 -2.00 -0.11 14,951.80Diageo 1,930.00 13.00 0.68 48,755.96Direct Line Insurance 331.75 1.25 0.38 4,908.00Dixons Carphone 436.90 2.00 0.46 5,059.65easyJet 1,722.00 -1.00 -0.06 6,887.59Experian 1,208.00 5.00 0.42 11,878.58Fresnillo 794.50 -17.00 -2.09 6,070.16Friends Life Group 410.45 0.35 0.09 5,798.95G4S 299.00 0.40 0.13 4,624.53GKN 365.80 2.50 0.69 6,061.76GlaxoSmithKline 1,563.75 9.75 0.63 74,902.23Glencore 291.38 -9.17 -3.05 39,317.00Hammerson 691.00 5.00 0.73 5,303.80Hargreaves Lansdown 1,172.00 12.00 1.03 5,355.06HSBC Holdings 583.65 0.75 0.13 111,031.83Imperial Tobacco Group 3,232.00 35.00 1.09 30,555.13InterContinental Hotels 2,714.00 26.00 0.97 6,257.11International Cnsldtd Air 576.50 2.50 0.44 11,800.12Intertek Group 2,526.00 -36.00 -1.41 4,080.03Intu Properties 359.70 2.40 0.67 4,657.00ITV 227.80 -0.10 -0.04 9,098.00Johnson Matthey 3,408.50 4.50 0.13 6,986.67Kingfisher 369.70 0.10 0.03 8,590.92Land Securities Group 1,283.50 5.50 0.43 9,940.94Legal & General Group 280.80 0.60 0.21 16,605.12Lloyds Banking Group 79.87 -0.12 -0.15 56,413.80London Stock Exchange 2,461.00 11.00 0.45 8,601.05Marks & Spencer Group 511.25 1.25 0.25 8,249.86Meggitt 546.50 3.50 0.64 4,347.70Mondi 1,340.50 10.50 0.79 4,873.29Morrison (Wm) Sprmrkts 199.05 0.25 0.13 4,572.09National Grid 890.00 4.10 0.46 33,336.43Next 7,535.00 25.00 0.33 11,465.52Old Mutual 225.00 0.30 0.13 11,047.14Pearson 1,428.00 4.00 0.28 11,650.54Persimmon 1,774.50 5.50 0.31 5,415.16Prudential 1,629.00 7.50 0.46 41,816.30Randgold Resources 5,045.00 -55.00 -1.08 4,806.83Reckitt Benckiser Group 5,812.50 17.50 0.30 42,180.14Reed Elsevier 1,137.50 7.50 0.66 12,661.94Rio Tinto 3,129.50 -24.50 -0.78 45,153.69Rolls-Royce Group 936.75 2.25 0.24 17,759.67Royal Bank of Scotland 378.60 0.30 0.08 23,410.58Royal Dutch Shell 2,087.00 -3.00 -0.14 82,588.78Royal Dutch Shell 2,158.50 -1.00 -0.05 53,859.86Royal Mail 423.20 -0.10 -0.02 4,202.50RSA Insurance Group 430.40 -3.90 -0.90 4,345.78SABMiller 3,688.75 35.25 0.96 59,242.18Sage Group (The) 487.50 3.30 0.68 5,211.64Sainsbury (J) 272.15 0.15 0.06 5,212.40Schroders 3,089.00 19.00 0.62 6,941.15Severn Trent 2,029.00 3.00 0.15 4,862.15Shire 5,237.50 77.50 1.50 31,139.24Sky 1,000.25 -4.75 -0.47 17,121.41Smith & Nephew 1,208.50 9.50 0.79 10,597.95Smiths Group 1,173.00 3.00 0.26 4,555.47Sports Direct Interntnl 692.50 5.00 0.73 4,126.42SSE 1,567.50 6.50 0.42 15,555.08St James's Place 955.75 2.75 0.29 4,919.17Standard Chartered 979.85 -0.15 -0.02 24,458.63Standard Life 424.85 1.55 0.37 10,178.48Taylor Wimpey 146.30 1.40 0.97 4,696.37Tesco 246.60 -0.10 -0.04 19,929.76Travis Perkins 2,002.50 -22.50 -1.11 5,011.37TUI AG 1,170.00 -1.00 -0.09 N/ATullow Oil 362.20 4.90 1.37 3,524.72Unilever 2,898.00 23.00 0.80 36,796.78United Utilities Group 948.50 3.50 0.37 6,447.26Vodafone Group 226.55 1.85 0.82 59,421.09Weir Group 1,725.50 7.50 0.44 3,633.88Whitbread 5,337.50 -7.50 -0.14 9,532.05Wolseley 4,005.00 15.00 0.38 10,314.85WPP Group 1,556.00 18.00 1.17 20,226.45

NASDAQCLOSING PRICES MARCH 2

DOW JONESCLOSING PRICES MARCH 2

3i Group 496.75 -0.25 -0.05 4,781.94

Aberdeen Asset Mngmnt 471.95 1.85 0.39 6,235.95

Admiral Group 1,489.00 13.00 0.88 4,103.71

Aggreko 1,676.50 -3.50 -0.21 4,371.94

Anglo American 1,187.50 -13.50 -1.12 16,903.91

Antofagasta 754.75 -10.25 -1.34 7,571.38

ARM Holdings 1,173.00 -9.00 -0.76 16,261.89

Ashtead Group 1,206.50 25.50 2.16 5,982.24

Associated Britsh Foods 3,140.00 55.00 1.78 24,708.15

AstraZeneca 4,494.25 18.75 0.42 56,520.19

Aviva 537.25 1.25 0.23 15,917.53

Babcock International 994.75 0.75 0.08 5,077.21

BAE Systems 532.75 1.75 0.33 16,752.94

Barclays 260.50 -2.25 -0.86 42,364.51

Barratt Developments 520.75 -1.75 -0.33 5,108.59

BG Group 947.30 -1.20 -0.13 32,679.79

BHP Billiton 1,576.75 -18.75 -1.18 34,109.96

BP 447.55 0.90 0.20 81,742.54

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

LONDON - FTSE 100CLOSING PRICES MARCH 2

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...................................................................1.11908Japan yen..............................................................134.023Switzerland franc ..............................................1.07530Denmark kroner.................................................7.45382Norway kroner...................................................8.60374

0.72814 1.37334Units per

MAKE THE MOST OFYOUR MONEY WITH US

See our advert on page 39

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

FINANCE, BUSINESS & LEGAL 5 - 11 March 2015 / Costa de Almerawww.euroweeklynews.com 37EWN

THERE is a mind-numbing, laissez-faireattitude taken towards settling accountswith suppliers. In many ways Spainleaves the United Kingdom standing.However, in business ethics andaccountability Spain can be worse thanThird World.

There is no such thing as a perfectsystem of business accountability,professional standards and customerprotection. Britain, to its credit, hasachieved a great deal in all thesespheres.

There are cowboy operatorseverywhere but in Britain they are in aminority; a system for dealing with themis in place. For instance, a business can

be fined up to 10,000 for fraudulentlyclaiming to be a member of a tradeassociation to gain a customers trustand business.

Over 20 years, I enjoyed an excellentrelationship with Trading Standards.

High profile in every community, theiroffices were manned by friendly staff,there was free information and legaladvice. All were keen, many zealouslyso, to investigate cases wherecustomers had been ripped off.

Television programmes like TheBuilders from Hell are dedicated to thesubject. The media, to its credit, is quickto expose cheaters. Many offer advicecolumns on how to avoid cowboybusinesses or deal with it if one is victimof sharp practice.

In Spain the customer supportinfrastructure is weak. I am sure someassiduous expert will tell me that thereis a means of redress. For most of us it

is non-apparent, expensive, orformidably difficult to negotiate. This iswhat cheaters rely upon. The aggrievedvictim feels it better to just put adisappointment down to experience.

There is a desperate need for manybusiness services in Spain. However,because of difficulties in negotiating areasonable price and then getting paidfor a s