BEING the youngest competitor in her group didnt stop 12-year-old Mojacar kitesurfer Osaia Reding from performing ad-mirably at the world championships in France.

ISSUE NO. 1555 // 23 - 29 APRIL 2015ISSUE NO. 1606 14 - 20 April 2016 WWW.EUROWEEKLYNEWS.COMCOSTA DE ALMERA YOUR PAPER, YOUR VOICE, YOUR OPINION

A BUSY week saw Guardia Civil officers arrest two suspected robberswhom they allege are each behind serious incidents, which saw awoman injured and thousands of euros stolen.

INSPECTORS hoping to solve double crimes

Suspects captured

Pride in the playa KITESURFER does Mojacar proudProdigal daughterSee page 16

A VITAL initiative has beenimplemented in Albox withthe instal lat ion of s ix newlampposts incorporating envi-

ronmentally friendly and costeffective LED technology.

Lamppost luminosity

LOCAL school children do their bit for Mojacar

A group of children from aMojacar high school took on ahuge project as they spent amorning cleaning up an area ofthe beach.

Some 60 children from theIES Rey Alabez School, ac-companied by three teachers,scoured the beaches of PlayaVillazar, La Rumina andDescargador for waste.

The students, aged between12 and 16, also catalogued andidentified various species offlora and fauna found during

the mornings work.Teacher Victor Serrano, told

Euro Weekly News: The chil-dren relish this type of activity,they take a pride in the beachesof their town and enjoy gettingout of the classroom.

The project forms part of theJunta de Andalucia coastalcare educational programmeand official questionnaireswere used to log all the find-ings.

The captured data will beadded to a central database andwill contribute to a report, pub-lished annually describing the

state of the beaches throughoutAndalucia.

In the weeks following theinspection and clean-up, thestudents will study the itemscollected and present theirfindings in a special class ses-sion.

Serrano said the results ofthe project showed that in gen-eral the beaches were in apretty good state.

Evidence of algae and Posi-donia sea grass was found, aswell as the presence of gulls,cormorants and sandpipers.The wealth of biodiversity in-

dicated a good level of watercleanliness and absence ofcontamination.

On the flipside, the studentscollected more than 10 bags ofwaste, with items includingmainly glass and plastic alongwith shoes, toys and used nap-pies.

Student Liam GagliardiSimpson, aged 12, took part inthe project and told EuroWeekly News: It was very in-teresting to learn about thecreatures that live on thebeaches but I was sad to see somuch litter.

By Adele Land

See page 68

See page 67

ALBOX brings technology to the evening sky

HUNDREDS of elite and amateur bikers are set to arrive in Mojacarfor the fifth edition of the Sierra Cabrera Xtreme, one of the mosthotly anticipated events of the cycling calendar.

HUGE mountain biking race to take place

Riding royalty

See page 16

Bullying underthe spotlight

GARRUCHA will be viewed by more than two million Scandina-vians over the next few weeks as Swedish TV channel Meter TV is fi-nally showing the scenes for its popular Mtarnas Mstare competi-tion, which were filmed in the area back in September.

The competition puts retired sports personalities to the test, and isexpected to be screened in Denmark, Norway, Finland and Sweden.

THE Federation of AMPAS(parents associations) in Alme-ria Province has decided to findout more about the real situa-tion in schools where bullyingis concerned, and its membershave been taking part in a na-tional survey on the subject.

The 285 associations in theprovince, with more than35,000 members, gave familiesand teachers an anonymousquestionnaire containing 27questions on bullying whichmust be handed in by Monday,April 18.

The answers, the federationannounced, will be used to

draw up a report on bullyingand how it is dealt with by soci-ety, as the questions includeparents and tutors reactions toit and where victims look forhelp.

However although it is aproblem which needs dealingwith, the federation explained,bullying should not be confusedwith individual conflictive orviolent incidents betweenequals.

Once differentiated in thisway, there are fewer cases reg-istered than many believe, asthe majority of incidents report-ed are one-offs following dis-agreements amongst students orbetween families and teachers.

NEWS14 - 20 April 2016 / Costa de Almera www.euroweeklynews.comEWN2

REGULAR meetings for suffer-ers of diabetes take place everyTuesday morning at bar La Plazain Villaricos.

The discussions involve shar-ing personal stories, diet and

well-being. The meetings are notmeant to provide medical advicebut to share support via literatureand personal experiences.

For more information, contactMickeila on 666 704 995.

Diabetes meetingsin Villaricos

LOCAL NEWS

Garrucha on screen

WORK has begun on the A-92motorway between Tabernasand Granada.

Repairs are taking place onthe bridges and viaducts in thearea around Fiana and Gergal.

The 47,000 project will in-

clude repairing expansion jointson the bridges to ensure safetyon this stretch of the road.

The programme of work hasbeen scheduled to minimisedisruption and delays on theroad.

Motorway repairs

FEDERATION will find out more about the real situation in schools

By Eleanor Hawkins

REPORT: Will cover how bullying is dealt with in society.

3NEWS 14 - 20 April 2016 / Costa de Almerawww.euroweeklynews.com EWN

BIG changes could be on the horizonwith the proposal of a new timetable inSpain which would exclude the siesta.

Controversial plans to axe the famousthree-hour break in Spain have been pro-posed by interim Prime Minister Mari-ano Rajoy, who wants the working dayto end at 6pm and believes Spain shouldcome in line with its European counter-parts. Not only would the Spanish be de-nied part of their cultural identity, but inorder to make the new timetable functionSpain would have to realign with GMTand British Summer time.

Currently many workers start theirday at 9am and stay in the office untilabout 8pm - with a three hour siesta atlunchtime. However, many large shop-ping malls and organisations stay openthroughout the siesta so for many expatsit isnt always a huge disruption.

La siesta translates as a short nap and

is usually between 20-45 minutes, andoriginally arose as workers waited forthe blistering midday heat to pass beforereturning to outdoor labour.

This definition is far from the three-hour break taken in the middle of theworking day. Many people believe thatin this day and age where wielding ascythe or casting a fishing net is nolonger the norm and air conditioned of-fices are commonplace, a siesta is an in-dulgent habit that is not relevant anymore.

A recent Spanish study reported that:We need more flexible working hours,to cut our lunch breaks, to streamlinebusiness meetings by setting time lim-its for them, and to practise and de-mand punctuality.

The article also suggested that reduc-ing the length of time of the siestawould boost the quality of life in Spainand even reduce marriage breakdowns.

There have also been many studiessuggesting that a midday nap is benefi-cial to health.

Politically the country remains inturmoil with a new government farfrom being formed. Some believe thatthe move may be a bid to attract sup-port ahead of the countrys June elec-tions as the change would be popularamong numerous Spaniards who wouldlike to see an end to the long workingday, but for many these changes wouldbe unthinkable and a change to Spanishculture.

Rajoy said: I will find a consensus

to make sure the working day ends at6pm.

He argues that in order for the newsystem to work and increase productiv-ity the clocks also need to change toGMT. Spain lies far to the west of thestandard Central European Time Zoneand has been running on this time since1942, when Spanish dictator FranciscoFranco turned the clocks forward insolidarity with his allies, Nazi Ger-many.

A change to GMT would be a mo-mentary disturbance, but whether theSpanish are ready for such a drastic re-arrangement of the working day andthe impact this would have on Spanishvalues is another matter.

How it would affect Spanish lifesuch as shop opening hours, TV sched-uling, long lunch breaks and restaurantopening times is not clear but more sig-nificantly life without the siesta may behard to comprehend for a countrysteeped in tradition.

FEATURED NEWS

Is it goodnight to thesiesta in Spain?

By Emily Chettle

Your papers,your views

No excuseConsidering that most shopsand offices have air condition-ing I find it strange that theSpanish people still hold on tothe siesta break each afternoon. I know it is tradition, but thisshould have been revised yearsago. There is no excuse forsuch a thing these days, but theSpanish being what they are Idoubt that anything willchange. Roy Peters

Their choiceSurely it is the choice of the in-dividual business as to thehours they work not big brothertelling us (yet again!!) what todo!!! Who the hell do these bu-reaucrats think they are???Sean

Wont happenPersonally Id like to see it andthere is no reason for mostbusinesses not to change, butAlmeria is the garden of Spainand farming and outside jobsdo need a break in the summertemps. BUT Spain being Spainit isnt going to happen and itstheir business. Bill Ruttens

Just outsideIn all these air conditioned of-fices and shops the staff are notoutside in the heat of the sum-mer. The only people who needa siesta are people who workoutside in the summer. Stop-ping the siesta would also givepeople who commute to workan immediate pay rise as theywould only have to travel eachway once instead of twice.John Mclean

Rajoy rethinkI can understand why the siestais necessary, the heat in Spaincan be draining whether youwork inside or not, and some-times air con breaks down dueto heat. I think Rajoy should re-think, I cannot see that therewill be anymore productivityby working 9am to 6pm. AnneMoulay

Our readers have been ex-pressing their views on anarticle regarding the prosand cons of axing the sies-ta in Spain, which fea-tured on our website.

Here are just a few of yourcomments and remember welike to hear from everyone re-gardless of which side of thefence you may sit.

www.euroweeklynews.com

WILL the Spanish welcome such a dramatic change?

Wik

iped

ia

THE SIESTA: Many people believe that it is an indulgent habit that is not relevant any more.

Mariano Rajoywants the

working day toend at 6pm and

believes Spainshould come in

line with its European

counterparts

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www.euroweeklynews.com NEWS14 - 20 April 2016 / Costa de AlmeraEWN4

MOJACAR mayor RosaMaria Cano has been namedas secretary for the southernbranch of the Los pueblosmas bonitos de Espaa (TheMost Beautiful Villages inSpain) Association, at an as-sembly held on Monday(April 11) in Lucainena delas Torres.

During the National Asso-ciation assembly, at whichLucainena mayor Juan Her-rera was named as presidentof the new branch, a two-year term was establishedfor the posts , and thebranchs responsibi l i t ieswere defined. The various

activi t ies planned for thecoming months to continuepromoting the beaut i fulvillages were discussed, thefirst of which is a presenta-tion of the 2016 Most Beau-t i ful Vil lages in Spainguide.

President of the NationalAssociat ion, FranciscoManuel Mestre Acosta, stat-ed: This guide describesthe 44 marvellous villageswhich have decided to uniteand work together to protectand promote every one oftheir charming areas, whichare tenderly cared for byboth the local residents andthe councils.

By Eleanor Hawkins

Mojacar mayorgiven a new roleMAYOR CANO is given a secretarial role in promoting beautiful villages

MOJACAR: Certainly deserves its place on the list.

A TELEPHONE service willbe launched by Almeria Coun-cil this year in English, Frenchand German to help non-Span-ish home owners with theprocess to pay IBI property tax.

In a press release, the trea-sury delegate for the provincialcouncil, Manuel Alias, ex-plained that it is a trial projectand the number will be 950 211211. Alias explained that theproject aims to reach out to ex-

patriates and holiday homeowners, to help them resolveany property tax problems andqueries in their own language.

The service will be availablefrom August to October, coin-ciding with the payment periodand the time of year that mostexpats and holiday home own-ers are in the country.

National Statistics Institutefigures reveal that across the 93Almeria municipalities wherethe provincial council chargesproperty tax, there are a total of

9,245 expatriates from the Eu-ropean Union and about 60 percent of these own property,most of which is located in theLevante, Los Velez and Valledel Almanzora areas. There arealso an estimated 4,000 holidayhome owners who live abroadbut should pay tax on theirproperty in Spain here.

Aims include making lifeeasier for foreign residents,making the provincial councilmore approachable and increas-ing income from taxes.

A MAN was arrested in Huercal-Overa lastweek on suspicion of eight offences relatingto theft from vehicles.

An investigation began in January whenfive reports were made of cars being brokeninto, all in the same area of the town.

Three subsequent robberies took place the

following month all with the same modusoperandi.

Items stolen included, handbags, mobilephones and small amounts of cash.

The man, who has previous convictions forsimilar offences, will appear in court inHuercal-Overa.

5NEWS 14 - 20 April 2016 / Costa de Almerawww.euroweeklynews.com EWN

The expat guideto property tax

Car robber is arrested

SERVICE available from August to OctoberBy Eleanor Hawkins

NEWS14 - 20 April 2016 / Costa de Almera www.euroweeklynews.comEWN6

A MORE than three-kilometre long under-ground gypsum cave has been revealed byspeleologists in the Yesos de Sorbas karstlandscape fol lowing nine years of hardwork.

Inside a natural wonder in the form of theAda chasm, a 54-metre deep kars t was

found, well believed to be the largest in theworld, the speleologist team formed by spe-cialists from all over Spain reported.

The Yesos de Sorbas karst area is consid-ered one of the most important in the world,which experts have been investigating formore than 30 years and i ts caves andchasms attract hundreds of spelunkers everyyear.

By Antonio Melgar

Biggest gypsumwell in the worldFOUND in Sorbas following years of hard work

GYPSUM CAVE: Has been revealed by speleologists.

Flick

r by

Robe

rto L

umbr

eras

A DANGEROUS crossroads in Garrucha isto be turned into a roundabout after an eight-year wait.

The La Simona crossing on the Los Gallar-dos to Garrucha bypass has been the scene ofa number of accidents on the busy road.

The junction has recently become busierwith the opening of the new access road andtunnel to the port area, and Mayor MariaLopez insists the change is a priority.

The roundabout is expected to be built bythe end of the year.

A new roundabout

A BRITISH man and his wifeon holiday in Mojacar are ask-ing EWN readers whether theymight have witnessed a car ac-cident which took place onApril 2 near the Pueblo Indalo.

The couple, both in their 70s,became unwillingly involved inan altercation with a womanwhich resulted in both requiringmedical attention .

They would like to expresstheir deep gratitude to twoSpanish men, aged in their 20sor 30s, who stepped in andsaved them. If any readersknow who these men, or wit-nessed the incident, please con-tact EWN on +34 952 561 245.

Call forwitnesses

THE University of Almeria (UAL) campuswas due to turn into the capital of interna-tional cultures today, Thursday 14, for thefirst edition of its Feria de las Naciones (Fairof the Nations).

The event is running all morning in thecentre of the campus, uniting a number ofcultures and nations to turn the universityinto a space to discover more about othercultures.

Head of international promotion adminis-tration department Ana Fe Gil Serra said: Itis an activity that revolves around integra-tion and intends to show the differences ofculture that live together at the university.

The event is also a charitable one, asbracelets will be on sale carrying the mottoUAL around the world with funds raisedgoing to Argar, an association for childrenwith cancer.

Fair of the Nations

MAINTENANCE work hasbeen carried out on the threemetallic pedestrian bridges thatconnect the commercial centreof Pulpi with the Alameda and

Maquina districts.Work consisted of replacing

the metal flooring, repairingflaws and repainting thebridges.

An ornamental touch has al-so been added with new flowerbeds and lighting at the towncentre end, the council report-ed.

Pedestrian bridges get some TLC

NEWS14 - 20 April 2016 / Costa de Almera www.euroweeklynews.comEWN8

IN this article, when mentionis made of residents, espe-cially in the headline, an in-correct and misleading refer-ence is made. This confusesthe readers and leads them toa conclusion that does not re-flect the facts.

Whilst saying residents inthe news article, refers to aspecific person by name, whospends occasional holidays inthe town and is annoyed bythe inconvenience of the on-going works due to his wishfor peace and quiet during hisbrief stay.

The opinion of this persondeserves due consideration byMojacar Town Council, who

fully understand and regretthe circumstances of theirprotest, however it is not

good journalistic prac-

tice to air this complaint, uni-laterally and without contrast-ing information from peoplewho actually reside in LaParata the whole year or atleast most of it.

Given the above, the Mu-nicipality of Mojacar wishesto clarify that the article andits sensationalist headline andthe information disclosedtherein, does not represent thetrue feeling of residents ofLa Parata.

The President of the LaParata Owners Associationhas written a letter to RosmariCano, mayor of Mojacar,which disagreed with the in-formation published in edi-tion 1602. The letter reiteratestheir satisfaction with the pro-ject, which has provided themwith a new water and sewer-

age network. The mayor hasthanked the Association andits members for this commu-nication and their show ofsupport.

The Town Council is fullyaware that all works involve adegree of unavoidable incon-venience, especially given theextensive scale of those un-dertaken in this upgrade.

Thanks to the efforts of themayor of Mojacar and inten-sive negotiations with theProvincial Government andthe water company, Galasa,an agreement has beenreached to solve the watersupply and drainage problemsthat La Parata has been suf-fering for many years.

With a budgetof 72,600

euros, the areas networksupply and sanitation hasbeen completely renovatedthroughout the urbanisationand its 21 streets.

This first phase involvesmore than 2,000 metres oftubing, 49 valves as well asother special parts needed torenovate three pumping sta-tions. La Parata is locatedabove the level of the reser-voir that supplies water to therest of the area, pumps aretherefore essential to deliverthe supply.

Thanks to Rosmari Cano,her government team and herconcern about the modernisa-tion and development of

municipal services, La Paratanow has fire hydrants, in-stalled at strategic points ofthe urbaniaation, in placeseasily accessible to firefight-ers if necessary. This is animprovement only possibledue to the works to modernisethe system of water pipes andsanitation.

To facilitate this safetymeasure, meetings have beenheld with officials of theAlmeriense Levante RegionalFire Service. Several of its of-ficers have visited the area toassess, on the spot, the suit-ability and siting of the hy-drants.

The government of An-

dalucia, in collaboration withvarious provincial and nation-al agencies responsible incase of fire, has made LaParata an area of specialstudy due to the proximity be-tween the urban developmentand the countryside.

The last phase of theworks, which could causethe most disruption, is thereplacement of paving and,asphalt dug up to carry outthe work.

Once the new pipes arelaid and covered over, thetrenches need a certainamount of time to settle be-fore being tarmacked. Theasphalting has already be-gun, albeit a few days latedue to the recent rains.

Response to articleconcerningLa Parata AN agreement has been reached to solve water supply

In relation to the information published in the recent edition of the EWN (March 17-23) with the title Residents rage at endless saga, which refers to the residents of LaParata, Mojacar Town Council wishes to clarify the following:

MOJACAR: Town Council is aware of works.

ROSMARICANO:

The mayor.

TWELVE secondary schoolsin Almeria Province have beenchosen to take part in an exper-imental project, analysing theeffectiveness of giving first-aidtraining to students.

The project, coordinated bythe emergency services, beginsthis month and will see teach-ers and 1,250 students receive

basic first-aid and cardiovascu-lar reanimation training at theschools, which include: Sierrade Gador in Berja, San Isidroin Nijar, Sierra Nevada inFiana, Albaida in AlmeriaCity, Cardenal Cisneros in Al-box, Albujaira in Huercal-Overa, El Palmeral in Vera andEl Jaroso in Cuevas del Al-manzora.

The study will be the base ofa possible region-wide educa-tional programme to bring thetraining into the classroom,following worldwide recom-mendations from the WorldHealth Organisation (WHO).The WHO claims that 12 is theideal age for youngsters to betaught life-saving techniques.

After a heart attack, 061Emergency Services Director

Javier Garcia has explained,the victims chance of surviv-ing falls by 10 per cent everyminute that goes by, withoutthem receiving correctly per-

formed reanimation manoeu-vres. This means the morepeople that know how to reactand help until paramedics canget to the scene, the better.

14 - 20 April 2016 / Costa de Almera www.euroweeklynews.comEWN10 NEWS

PROJECT set to increase students knowledge of first aid

Almeria students tobecome life saversBy Eleanor Hawkins

FIRST AID: Training over 1,000 new life savers.

A VIOLENT impersonatorwho allegedly tricked his vic-tims by flashing a fake policebadge, before beating and rob-bing them, has been arrested bythe Guardia Civil in Almeria.

The 27-year-old was arrestedafter police followed up on sixseparate reports that followed asimilar modus operandi.

It is thought that the man,identified in Spanish bureau-cratic custom only as AHS,would demand to see his vic-tims ID and, if they were notcarrying one, escort them totheir homes where he wouldthen assault them.

It is mandatory in Spain tocarry identification and to pro-vide it upon request to legiti-mate police officers. This oftenleads to difficulties in dealingswith people from countrieswithout such totalitarian laws.

14 - 20 April 2016 / Costa de Almera www.euroweeklynews.comEWN12 NEWS

A MAN has been reported bythe National Police in Almeriafor allegedly beating a youngdog repeatedly with its lead.

The attack was caught oncamera and reported by theANUA animal charity, whichprovided the police with avideo showing the man beat-ing and kicking the dog on aterrace, after finding it haddamaged furniture inside thehouse.

The dog, which has beenexamined by a vet, remains atan animal refuge while a

judge decides whether itshould be returned to its own-er (who was not the attacker)or put up for adoption.

The police force hasstressed that Article 337 ofthe Penal Code allows forpunishment of up to 18 monthjail sentences, for those foundto have seriously mistreatedor abandoned pets or domes-ticated animals.

TWENTY-SEVEN peoplewere arrested for theft ofcopper cables in AlmeriaProvince in 2015, and a to-tal of 50 tonnes of stolencopper were recovered ac-cording to a new report.

Published by the Ministryof the Interior, the reportstated that altogether 176people were arrested in An-dalucia for copper-relatedthefts in 2015, and 408,076kilos of the metal were con-fiscated by the authorities.

By Eleanor Hawkins

Man reported forcruelty to animalDOG was kicked and beaten for damaging furniture

Copper steal

Fraudulent policeofficer arrested

13NEWS 14 - 20 April 2016 / Costa de Almerawww.euroweeklynews.com EWN

THE Infoca pilot who diedin a crash while fighting afire in Seron in 2014, wasprobably suffering fromstress according to an inves-tigation.

The civil aviation authori-ty said in the report that thepilots concentration and

performance could havebeen affected by a decreasein attention caused by the in-tense nature of the task.

According to the report,the pilot disobeyed an orderto return to base and decidedto return to the scene of thefire.

No emergency communi-cation took place prior to the

accident, a fact which point-ed to the pilot being intenton his mission despite thedanger.

The pilot was highly expe-rienced as a firefighting pilotand had also worked as afl ight instructor, both inSpain and in Chile.

Infoca passed its condo-lences to the pilots family.

PILOT was probably suffering from stress

Report out onfire-plane crashBy Eleanor Hawkins

A MAN has been handedan eight-month suspendedjail sentence by Almeriasnumber five criminal courtand been banned fromcontacting or going within500 metres of a woman heissued death threats to for16 months.

The man, who wasfound to have sent a num-ber of text messagesthreatening to kill thewoman and her children,was arrested near herhouse with a car full ofdangerous items, includ-ing a machete, a 12cmknife, a hammer, an axe,and a two-litre containerfull of petrol, after GuardiaCivil officers were alertedto his presence by the vic-tim.

Upon his arrest on No-vember 3, 2010, the mansaid: Youve caught meand told the officers all Ican think about is killingher.

Following events 18days beforehand, details ofwhich have not been madepublic but which the manblamed his victim for, hesent two threatening mes-sages and scrawled insult-ing and threatening graffition her house, car wind-screen and at her place ofwork.

Chargedfor deaththreats

MOJACAR kitesurfer, OsaiaReding, finished fifth in theworld championships inSaint Pierre la Mer, Franceat the weekend.

The 12-year-old schoolgirlfinished seventh in her cate-gory in last years competi-tion and fourth in the Span-ish championships. She wasthe youngest competitor inher group.

Osaia began kitesurfing

aged seven under the guid-ance of her father Sebastienwho is also her coach.

Osaia trains in Mojacarand also spends t ime inBrazil where conditions forthe sport are excellent.

A pupil at school in Mo-jacar, Osaia has to combineher studies and homeworkwith training.

Having travelled exten-sively with her French par-ents, Osaia speaks four lan-guages and said travellingis her university of life.

She said she enjoyskitesurfing because it allowsher to fly as high as a bird.

Proud to be a Mojaquerothe young schoolgirls kite isdecorated with a picture ofthe Indalo man a symbol ofthe area, as well as Mo-jacars coat of arms.

Although mostly self-funded, Osaia is grateful toher sponsors which include

F1-Spain, Kitaddict, BarracaDo Spain and MojacarCouncil.

Sports councillor, Em-manuel Aguero, met with hera few hours before she leftfor France and wished herluck in the competition onbehalf of the council team.

The young athletes nextdestination is La Mangafor the Spanish Champi-onships, followed by theEuropean Championshipsin Holland and the youthworld championships inJune.

Her parents are nostrangers to extremesports. They run a watersports centre on Mojacarplaya and Mr Reding al-so competes in kitesurf-ing.

14 - 20 April 2016 / Costa de Almera www.euroweeklynews.comEWN16 NEWS

Your Belgian estate agent at the coast!Your Belg

By Adele Land

Young Mojacar girl flyinOSAIA began kitesurfing aged seven

Osaia with sportscouncillor EmmanuelAguero.

ONE of the most antici-pated events in the moun-tain-biking calendar isjust over a week away.

Next Sunday, April 24,hundreds of mountain-bike el i te and amateurr iders wil l descend onMojacar to take up thechallenge of the fifth edi-tion of the Sierra CabreraXtreme.

The 67-kilometre racetakes the r iders a longMojacar playa, up intothe Sierra Cabrera, fol-lowing a route downthrough La Parata andLas Marinas and finish-ing near the footbal lground near Marina de laTorre.

Numerous elite ridershave regis tered for therace including last yearswinner Jose Marquez, Pe-

dro Romero from Ex-tremadura, Juan Trujilloand other top male riders.

In the female category,Rebeca Bertomeu, placedfirst last year and Cordo-bas Elena Perez will behoping to make the podi-um.

In addition to the eliteriders, hundreds of localriders will compete andaim to beat their personalbest.

This year s route ismore diff icul t withclimbs up to 700 metresin alt i tude, ravines andsheer drops.

Around 30 per cent ofthe course is made up ofclimbs and descents.

Spectators will be ableto cheer on the competi-tors as they speed alongMojacar playa.

ng high Riders firedup for event

17NEWS 14 - 20 April 2016 / Costa de Almerawww.euroweeklynews.com EWN

14 - 20 April 2016 / Costa de Almera www.euroweeklynews.comEWN20 NEWS

VERA has been officially de-clared a town of youth.

The title was awarded bythe Andalucian Youth Institute(IAJ), identifying the town ashaving organised specialevents and attractions for theyounger residents.

A plaque was unveiled inthe Vera youth informationcentre by IAJ provincial coor-dinator, Ramon Soto, togetherwith Mayor Felix Lopez.

Soto described Vera as a

pioneer in improving oppor-tunities for young people.

Other towns in the provincewere also awarded the title,including, Cuevas del Alman-zora, Pulpi and Nijar.

In addition to the awardingof the title, a number ofyouths were designatedyouth correspondents. Theyoungsters will collaboratewith schools, information cen-tres and neighbourhood asso-ciations.

A town forthe young

An interestingtrail for hikers

VERA improving opportunities

WALKERS and cyclists are infor a treat if they take the trailwhich runs along the track ofthe old railway, part of the orig-inal Guadix to Almendrosroute.

The route is 13 kilometreslong and takes in numerouspoints of interest and beautyspots.

There are a number ofbridges along the path, with in-teresting architectural historybehind each of them.

For younger walkers, there isa childrens playground withgarden areas.

The route is adapted for theblind and the signs along theway are written in Spanish,English and also in braille.

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14 - 20 April 2016 / Costa de Almera www.euroweeklynews.comEWN22 NEWS

A LOGGERHEAD sea turtle was discov-ered dead on a beach in Carboneras at theweekend.

The creature, the fourth dead specimenfound in the province in as many weeks,was spotted by a resident on the El Anconbeach, who called Civil Protection.

Volunteers from marine rescue organisa-tion, Equinac, were dispatched to the sceneto inspect the creature and check if it hadpreviously been fitted with a microchip.

A number of sea turtles have been mi-crochipped by Equinac and other groups inorder to monitor the creatures.

A necropsy was performed on the turtle,identified as being an adult between 30 and40 years old. Results from the necropsyshowed the animal was underweight andhad died recently. Also apparent was somedamage to the shell.

An inspection of the stomach contents re-vealed the animal had ingested a large

amount of plastic waste.Equinac coordinator, Eva Moron,

lamented what she described as man-madechanges to the marine ecosystem.

Moron went on to explain that sea turtles

are in danger and their disappearance is di-rectly linked to the action of humans.

The coordinator urged people to disposeof plastic waste responsibly and not to usethe sea as a dumping ground.

THEIR disappearance is directly linked to the action of humans

Sea turtle stomachwas full of plastic

By Adele Land

SEA TURTLE: Stomach contained plastic waste.

MORE than a dozenbusinesses in Garruchahave been awarded a cer-t i f icate of excel lencefrom the Junta de An-dalucia tourist board.

The businesses includeHotel Tika, Garruchatourist office, Luan, CasaAdriana and Naut icorestaurant.

The certificate recog-nises efforts in offering ahigh quality of service in

a tourism related busi-ness.

The businesses wil lfeature in numerous on-line campaigns organisedby the tourist board andother publications.

Tourism Counci l lor,Rocio Galindo, said sheencouraged all business-es in the tourism sectorto work together to makeGarrucha a destination ofexcellence.

Garrucha winstourism awards

ALMERIAS Alcazaba willbe at the centre of celebra-tions of the InternationalMonuments Day.

The theme for this yearsevent is the heritage of sport,coinciding with the Olympic

Games, which are set to bestaged in Rio de Janeiro thissummer.

Children, aged betweeneight and 12, have been invit-ed to take part in a workshopto learn about the commer-

cial history of Almeria City.The children will also be

taken on a tour of the build-ing which will take in thefantastic views of the portand bay.

On Sunday April 17, an

animated show will be stagedat the Alcazaba aimed at anaudience of all ages.

The event starts at 12 noonand will showcase how tolive a healthier lifestyle usingsport.

International monuments day

25NEWS 14 - 20 April 2016 / Costa de Almerawww.euroweeklynews.com EWN

THE level of English spoken by Almeria youthswas put to the test last week, as a businessmanand a tourist hit the streets to ask them for direc-tions, as part of a study by Active Global EnglishHouse.

The two walked the streets of Almeria City,stopping likely-looking teenagers to ask them fordirections every now and then.

Although all seemed extremely eager to help,they had great trouble making themselves under-stood in English, and later admitted that they feltthey needed to learn a lot more of the language toget by.

The street test was carried out and recordedby the company, which promotes languagetourism, as a way to show teenagers and their par-ents how important it is to speak a second lan-guage.

By Eleanor Hawkins

Teens Englishfails street testTHEY had trouble giving directions in English

Road danger THE list of dangerous roads in Alme-ria has been increased, following a re-cent study.

The Department of Transport hasadded a number of roads, includingnon-motorway sections, to the list,based on the number of accidents hav-ing occurred.

The roads will be monitored bymobile radars which will detect dri-vers who exceed the speed limit.

Airport figures upMORE than 71,000 passengers passed throughAlmeria Airport in March.

The number showed an increase of 42 per centcompared with the same period in 2015.

Some 55,000 passengers flew to and from domes-tic destinations, while 15,000 passengers travelledinternationally.

In respect of international passengers, the majorityof travellers were from UK airports and from Bel-gium. In terms of operations, 876 flights arrived anddeparted from the airport.

14 - 20 April 2016 / Costa de Almera www.euroweeklynews.comEWN26 NEWS

LOCAL artist Cristina Gomez haslaunched a stunning exhibitionorganised by Vera Councils Cul-ture department entitled Los Ojosdel Alma (The Eyes of the Soul)which will be running at the Con-vento de la Victoria until tomor-row, April 15.

Gomez s tar ted drawing as achi ld and has never s toppedworking towards her dream of be-coming a great artist. She studiedFine Arts a t the Universi ty ofGranada and claims to have beeninfluenced by the works of Gus-tav Klimt, Picasso, Andy Warholand Jackson Pollock among oth-ers.

The budding artists exhibitionincludes 29 paintings and etch-ings which some already defineas seductive emotional art.

GOMEZ started drawing as a child

Still time to viewstunning exhibitionBy Eleanor Hawkins

CRISTINA GOMEZ: Poses in front of some of her art.

PleasantlysurprisedTHE Costa de Almeria area providedmany a pleasant surprise for a group ofIrish travel agents who took part in afamiliarisation trip at the beginning ofthe month fol lowing the ProvincialTourism Boards visi t to the DublinHoliday World show in January.

The agents , who were given thechance to discover what the destinationhas to offer hol idaymakers , a l l ex-pressed their surprise at the amount ofat t ract ions in the area, provincialtourism delegate Javier Aureliano Gar-cia reported, and said they would beencouraging their customers to visitAlmeria.

In fact, he said, one representativefrom EU Tours had reported that anumber of bookings were made as soonas he put information on the agencyswebsite, before he had even returned toIreland.

Irish tourists have a longstandinglove affair with Spain, which remainsthe main destination for holidays in thesun. In fact 10,478 Irish tourists visitedAlmeria Province between March andOctober last year, and this figure is ex-pected to increase for the 2016 season.

New marketTHE mayor of Cuevas delAlmanzora, Antonio Fer-nandez, and a number oflocal councillors paid a vis-it on Friday (April 8) to thenew Mercado de Guazama-ra market, to be held inPlaza Mayor every Friday.

Lucky drawLADY luck shone onAlmeria at the weekend.On Friday (April 8) theONCE draw saw250,000 in prizes land inBerja, and the SaturdayONCE draw took anoth-er 200,000 to AlmeriaCity.

Youths hurtFOUR youths, three under18, were injured in a trafficaccident on the A-332 nearCuevas del Almanzora onSaturday (April 9). Threecars were involved in thecrash and the injured weretaken to hospital.

NEWS EXTRA

THE social services depart-ment in Huercal-Overa hasprovided assistance to some1,970 residents in the pastyear, equating to around 10per cent of the towns popu-lation.

The department is respon-sible for providing a serviceto people with disabilities,elderly residents , women

and immigrants.At the top of the list for

assis tance requested wasfamily counsel l ing, fol-lowed by assistance to el-derly or disabled people.

In addition to providingadvice and information, thedepartment also helped byproviding equipment to helpwith mobility, including ad-justable beds and walkingframes.

Mayor Domingo Fernan-dez, said the scheme was vi-tal in helping all residentsof the town.

The scheme is to be ex-tended to offer a programmeof active aging, which en-courages elderly people toretain and improve theirmental and physical fitness.

Also to be included isfamily classroom sessionsand a summer school.

27NEWS 14 - 20 April 2016 / Costa de Almerawww.euroweeklynews.com EWN

WORK is underway in Cantoria to restorethe old Alameda.

Some 300 trees will be planted alongthe street, with council workers andschoolchildren getting involved in theproject.

The motivation behind the idea is to re-

vitalise the area in order that it can be en-joyed by local people and visitors.

Each tree will be tagged with a numberand the name of the person who planted it.

Mayor Purificacion Sanchez said thisinitiative is the start of a long-term envi-ronmental project to beautify the town.

A COURT in Berja hasordered an investigationinto possible irregulari-ties in voting during thelast Spanish general elec-t ions fol lowing reportsfrom UPyD political par-ty.

The reports werelodged on the day of theelections, December 20,by UPyD members, whoclaimed that two PPcouncillors have obtainedpostal vote bal lots forresidents at the old peo-ples home without theirpresence or permission.

Tree planting in Cantoria

Voting complaints

By Adele Land

Social help inHuercal-OveraFAMILY counselling was top of the list of requests

More information available at: www.oceansrattanfurniture.es, by phoning: 868 813 094 or sending your email enquiries to:j.aylmer@oceansint.com or visit: www.facebook.com/Oceans.Outdoor.Furniture.

14 - 20 April 2016 / Costa de AlmeraEWN28 SPECIAL FEATUREwww.euroweeklynews.com

JUST six weeks ago Oceans Rattan Outdoor Furni-ture opened their new store in Cartagena, Murcia.Having been selling quality outdoor garden furni-ture to clients in Spain for more than 12-years, thecompany chose Cartagena as their new headquar-ters, with the region being carefully selected toserve the Costa Blanca, Murcia, Costa Del Sol andCosta Almeria regions. In addition to this they offera full nationwide delivery service with expansionplans for further showrooms in Marbella, Malaga,Javea/Denia area, Costa Blan-ca South, Valencia andBarcelona.

The company has been builton core values which are:quality, product design andsuperior customer service. Allof their products have a fiveyear guarantee and are manu-factured to their exacting,quality control standards witheverything designed in theirown facilities in Oxfordshire.

One of their main reasonsfor opening a showroom inSpain was because they were shipping so many oftheir quality items to Spain because prices on localoutdoor rattan furniture sold in Spain was more ex-pensive and of inferior quality.

Oceans PE Rattan furniture is manufactured toexceptional standards using high quality materialsthat requires minimal year-round maintenance. Eachitem of PE Rattan furniture is hand crafted by highlyskilled weavers using their own unique weave tech-nology - Oceana, a synthetic polyethylene resinweave which offers superior comfort, strength anddurability. Oceana is woven onto a powder-coatedaluminium frame to ensure maximum strength anddurability whilst offering lightweight and weatherresistant garden furniture. Unlike alternative wicker,wood, cast aluminium, cast iron, texteline and rattangarden furniture, Oceans products can be left out-side all year round with little or no maintenance,however, they do advise that upholstery is removedand stored during wet, damp or humid conditions.

All Oceans garden furniture and accessories con-form and comply with the latest British and Euro-pean Standards as does the glass on all their prod-ucts, which is British Safety standard temperedsafety glass, plus all of their cushion fabrics and fill-ings once again comply with all British Safety stan-dards. Oceans is dedicated to continually designing

and developing innovative products, which have in-spired and delighted their customers for many years.They offer a seamless, full and professional servicefrom concept to delivery. Your furniture will be de-livered by their very own experienced delivery dri-vers who will then install your furniture in your gar-den, patio or by the pool, and remove all thepacking materials once installed to your satisfaction.

Along with their superb range of Italian designedRattan furniture, they offer a full range of acces-

sories from Bermuda BBQ grills, outdoorheaters, parasols, fire pits, cushions, cov-ers, stoneware, dining sets, sofas, sunloungers, tables, outdoor coolers, plantersand a whole lot more. All their rattan furni-ture is available in a choice of four colours:black, coffee, mocha and latte.

Their new showroom and warehouse inCartagena holds more than 500,000 ofstock at any one time, with weekly deliver-ies to Spain from their Oxfordshire basewhich holds a further 2,500,000 worth ofstock. Oceans full range of products isavailable online and they take all majorcredit cards.

Their new showroom is located at Calle Belgrado10, Espacio Mediterraneo, 30353, Cartagena and isopen Monday to Friday from 10.00am until 8.00pmand Saturdays from 10.00am until 6.00pm and theydont close for lunch. Spanish, English, French, Chi-nese and Swedish is spoken. The store holds the fullOceans range of Outdoor Rattan Furniture and of-fers same day delivery in the Murcia area and sevenday delivery nationally across Spain. Oceans offersame day delivery within 80km of Cartagena oneverything ordered before noon.

To summarise: why is Oceans better? Twelveyears of experience developing, distributing and re-tailing PE Rattan Furniture throughout Europe. Allof their products come in four different colour varia-tions, with soft-feel cushions and covers washable at30 degrees. The company has been built on tradi-tional values of supplying a product which is secondto none and this is backed up with a service tomatch. All of the products are manufactured in theirown facilities and all of the designs are created in-house by their own team of product developers.

All of their staff are fully trained in what they do,whether that is in one of their outlets, online throughtheir live chat facility or in their customer servicedepartments.

Rattan Outdoor Furniture comes to Murcia

GARDEN FURNITURE: Exceptional quality.

PRODUCT DESIGN: Everything designed in their own facilities.

Advertising feature

All of theirstaff are

fully trainedin what they

do, in theiroutlets, onlineor in customer

service.

14 - 20 April 2016 / Costa de AlmeraEWN30 NEWSwww.euroweeklynews.com

CUEVAS DEL ALMANZO-RA Councils sports departmenthas announced a photographycompetition for the four-wheeldrive rally running in the areafrom April 22-24.

All budding photographerscan take part but the imagesmust be of motorbikes, quadsand cars taking part in the com-

petition and their drivers, eitheras the main subject of the photoor the background.

Photos can be sent from April25 to May 15 in digital formatto deportes@cuevasdelalmanzora.es or organizacin.andinasracing@gmail.com. Participantsmust include their name andsurname, address, telephonenumber, email and a title for thephoto. Photos can also be

handed in on a CD at theCitizens Attention Point withinthe town hall building.

First prize will be 250, sec-ond prize 150 and third prize100. The rally route will beannounced on Thursday April21 on www.campeonatott.es.

The organisers have stressedit is important not to park vehi-cles near the route or get tooclose for safety reasons.

ANNOUNCED for the four-wheel drive rally

PhotographycompetitionBy Eleanor Hawkins

HAVING travelled far and wide to promotethe Costa de Almeria, the councils intrepidtourism department had a gentler journey onthe weekend of April 9 and 10, travelling toLisbon for a hugely important fair.

There were more than 130,000 visitors pass-ing through the doors, encouraging cartoonish

eye-popping from the 200 travel agents on-site.

The event has been increasing in popularityin recent years, and represents a fine source ofpossible income for Almeria with plenty ofPortuguese voyaging across the Iberian penin-sula for family holidays and adventure.

Councils Trans-Iberian travels

31NEWS 14 - 20 April 2016 / Costa de Almerawww.euroweeklynews.com EWN

AN event was staged last week to honor Ash-lea, a brave woman who lost her long struggleto cancer. Maggi Lake kindly hosted the annu-al event at her home in Bedar.

The afternoon was a musical feast with anarray of talent including Clive Bowley (Flash-back), Tony Justice, Patti Ross and Lady EllenSings supported by the MACS bunnies.

The DJ and master of ceremonies was MozMorris.

The volunteer musicians performed formore than five hours and had the crowd upand dancing.

As always, the success of this event de-pended upon a host of volunteers including afabulous kitchen crew and wonderful chefswho donated their food specialties.

Bedar Council donated the use of thechairs. The event raised almost 1,200 whichwill go to provide a much-needed hospice.

Ashlea memorialMACS fundraiser

MUSICAL FEAST: The MACS bunnies sang back-up to an array of talent.

NEWS14 - 20 April 2016 / Costa de Almera www.euroweeklynews.comEWN32

REPRESENTATIVES from40 businesses in Nijar metlast week to discuss the com-ing season at an event organ-ised by the MunicipalTourism Board.

Matters on the agenda in-cluded the creation of a

guide to the area for touriststo be distributed at tourist in-formation points during thesummer months, lifeguardand cleaning services for thebeaches, which are expectedto run from June to Septem-ber, and noise regulation for

concerts and music events.Tourism Councillor Alexis

Pineda stressed: We espe-cially need the sector to col-laborate with us to help pre-vent accidents on thebeaches by making suretourists are well informed.

Businesses are preparingfor the coming summer

GARRUCHA is holding its first tapas route fromApril 15 to April 24, the council has announced.

Almost all the bars in town specialising in tapas willbe joining in, and the council hopes the initiative willhelp attract visitors to the area over the next few days.

The event, local Mayor Maria Lopez and TourismCouncillor Rocio Galindo explained at the presenta-tion, is one which they hope will become a regular fix-ture on the local calendar.

Tapas are a tradition in the province which most ofthe tourists who visit us love. Garrucha needed its ownroute, the mayor said.

The first of many

A TOTAL of 1,760 people in AlmeriaProvince sat exams on Saturday (April9), in an attempt to obtain their Obliga-tory Secondary Education certificatesfor adults.

The exams, which are held simulta-neously at education centres all acrossAndalucia, give adults who failed ormissed the exams in their teens a sec-ond chance to obtain their certificates.

Adults givensecond chance

HUERCAL-OVERA has been given thegreen light to open a documentation officein conjunction with the National Police.

Following a recent visit from the Chief ofDivision of the Directorate General of thePolice, Francisco Aranda, approval was giv-en for the new facility.

Services provided by the new office willinclude residence cer t i f icates , ident i ty

cards, passports and foreigners documents.The facility will allow people living in

the northern part of the province to easilyaccess services, formerly only available inAlmeria.

The office, to be located next to the LocalPolice headquarters, is scheduled to openwithin the next three or four months and ini-tially will open two days per week, with aview to the opening hours extending if thereis a high demand.

FACILITY to initially open two days a week

Get official papersin Huercal-Overa

By Adele Land

DOCUMENTATION OFFICE: Will stop residents having to travel to Almeria.

MORE than 1,000 enquirieshave been dealt with by theJunta de Andalucia regionalgovernments Tourism depart-ment in Almeria, since the ap-proval on February 2 of anew decree regarding holidayrental properties.

Staff at the office reportedthat they have received 570phone calls, 360 visits and

143 emails from propertyowners requesting informa-tion on the new requirements.

The decree, which is due tocome into effect on May 12,will force holiday rentalproperty owners to meet anumber of quality require-ments, and they will also beexpected to keep a register ofcustomers in accordance with

citizens security laws.After registering the prop-

erty, owners will have oneyear to meet all the require-ments.

Junta sources have ex-plained that a region-wide in-formation campaign is aboutto be launched to ensure thatowners are made aware of thedetails of the changes.

Preparing for changes

TWENTY-SIX African migrants, 24 menand two women, were rescued from the seaon Monday April 11, after being found bySasemar 101 search plane.

The authorities were alerted at about 3pmto the possible presence of a dinghy, whichhad left the Moroccan coast but failed to

reach Spanish land, and a search waslaunched.

Eventually the aircraft spotted the five-metre long dinghy, 18 nautical miles north-west of the Isla de Alboran, and Polimnialifeboat was sent to collect the migrants andcarry them to safety.

Migrants rescued at sea

THREE Almeria men havebeen arrested suspected of acrime against public healthafter National Police officersdiscovered a hidden compart-

ment inside a van they weretravelling in, which contained8.1 kilos of marihuana.

During the operation offi-cers also confiscated 15,145

in cash, a sealing machineand empty plastic bags identi-cal to those containing thedrugs, 11 mobile phones andtwo vehicles.

Arrests after marihuana discovery

ENTRY to the Alcazaba inAlmeria will continue to befree for citizens of the Euro-pean Union, the RegionalGovernment of Andaluciahas promised.

Culture, Commerce andTourism delegate for Alme-ria, Alfredo Valdivia, ex-plained at a press conference

last week that the govern-ment has no intention ofmaking changes to manage-ment of heritage sites, whichwould result in an entry feebeing put into place for themonument.

Valdivia stressed thatcharging for entry, such as atthe Real Alcazar in Sevillaor the Alhambra in Granada,is not part of the govern-

ments plans, regardless ofhow popular the Alcazababecomes or how much visi-tor numbers increase.

Regarding plans to illumi-

nate the monument, the dele-gate explained that talks areunderway with the EndesaFoundation, but gave no fur-ther details.

33NEWS 14 - 20 April 2016 / Costa de Almerawww.euroweeklynews.com EWN

By Eleanor Hawkins

Alcazaba staying freeNO plans to introduce an entry fee for the monument

HERITAGE SITE: The popular monument will remain free.

A CROCODILE mauled aRussian tourist to death whilehe snorkelled at a diving resorton a remote Indonesian island.Sergey Lykhva, aged 37, wasreported missing before hisbody was found four days lat-er with missing body parts andtailed by a large saltwatercrocodile.

Trouble aheadJAILED Ukrainian pilot

Nadiya Savchenko has beguna hunger strike demanding areturn to her homeland. Shewas recently found guilty ofinvolvement in the deaths oftwo Russian reporters duringthe war in eastern Ukraine andsentenced to 22 years inprison, while being lauded asa hero back home.

Storm brewingINTENSE fighting briefly

flared up on Russias southernborder as the frozen Nagorno-Karabakh conflict betweenArmenia and Azerbaijanthawed violently. Dozens ofsoldiers were reported killedon both sides before order re-sumed. Bitter sentiments havedominated relations betweenthe two nations since the fallof the Soviet Union.

Paper trailsTHE so-called Panama Pa-

pers saw Vladimir Putincaught in the headlamps of ac-cusations of financial misplayas various newspapers allegedthat a 1.76 billion trail of si-phoned funds led to his innercircle. The Kremlin has por-trayed the release of the pa-pers as another tactic of Wash-ington led propaganda.

Commiecapitalists

COMMUNISTS in Russiawith a lack of irony are look-ing to trademark their tradi-tional symbol - the five-point-ed red star - to prevent foreigncompanies using it for adver-

tising. The Communist Partyhas argued it is disgracefulthat an iconic Russian symbolbe used in countries with an-tipathy towards Russia.

Dynasty datingRUMOURS have linked

Russian president VladimirPutin with Rupert Murdochsex-wife Wendi Deng after theChinese-born businesswomanwas seen aboard an expensiveyacht owned by RomanAbramovich. The claims werereported by celebrity maga-zine US Weekly and followMurdochs recent marriage toformer Mick Jagger flame Jer-ry Hall.

RUSSIAN PRESS

Deadly diving TOURIST was snorkelling

Bitter Buddhists A MAN from Dagestan has sparked fury among locals in the

Russian republic of Kalmykia after filming himself urinatingon a statue of Buddha and kicking the icon in the face. Authori-ties in the predominantly Buddhist region have now arrestedthe 22-year-old wrestler who had flown to Kalmykia for a tour-nament.

BUDDHA:Kicked inthe face.

SALTWATER CROCODILE: Was tailing the body.

14 - 20 April 2016 / Costa de AlmeraEWN34 NEWSwww.euroweeklynews.com

By John SmithONE of the most successful Spanish-owned fast food chains, Telepizza, wasfounded in Madrid in 1987 and hasgrown from a single shop to more than750.

Traditionally, takeaway pizza is ahighly profitable commodity as basic

investment only requires flour and wa-ter, toppings, ovens, packaging, and afew low-powered motorbikes. Also,the profit on each pizza is much higherthan on other foods.

The original owner of Telepizzaraised funds by taking the companypublic and then selling most of his

shares to a third party, which then hadthe shares delisted.

In a bid to raise funds in order to al-low the business to continue its expan-sion plans, it is anticipated that a com-bination of newly-created and existingshares will be relaunched on the Span-ish stock exchange in the near future.

FINANCIAL AFFAIRS: HRH Pilar De Borbon.

FINANCEbusiness & legal

35Costa de Almera EWN14 - 20 April 20164.8 billion is the amount of profit South Korean electronics company Samsung is forecasting for thefirst quarter of 2016, a 10 per cent increase over 2015.

A EURO WEEKLY NEWS 6 PAGE SPECIAL SECTION // WWW.EWNBUSINESS.COM

LONDON - FTSE 100 DOW JONES NASDAQ-0.33% +0.20% -0.01%CLOSING PRICES APRIL 11

IBEX 35 -0.09%

THE European Central Bank (ECB)has decided to exclude Catalonia fromits bond-buying programme to boostthe European Union economy.

It appears that the bank does notconsider that Catalonia would be ableto pass solvency proceedings, accord-ing to El Mundo.

ECB rules do not allow the institu-tion to invest in junk bonds and ratingsagencies Fitch, Standard and Poorsand Moodys have all declared the re-

THE sister of former KingJuan Carlos and aunt of KingFelipe VI, Her Royal High-ness Pilar de Borbon, hasbeen revealed as having aninvestment in Panama fol-lowing the Mossack Fonsecaleaks. She explained in a let-ter written on April 6 thatthis relationship has been inexistence for more than 40years.

It appears that her latehusband Luis set up the fund

after Basque terrorist groupETA tried to kidnap both herhusband and father on thesame day, in an effort to en-sure that their funds wereone step away from immedi-ate access.

She is quite adamant,however, that all of her fi-nancial affairs have beenconducted correctly and inaccordance with Spanish lawso that all necessary taxationhas been paid.

The kings aunt hasPanama investment

FewerunemployedTHE number of people regis-tered as unemployed in Spainfell by 1.4 per cent from Febru-ary to March 2016, accordingto data released by the SpanishMinistry of Employment andSocial Security.

This meant that there were58,216 fewer unemployed peo-ple in March, giving a total fig-ure of unemployed in Spain of4,094,770, which means thaton a year-on-year basis unem-ployment fell by 357,169 peo-ple, equivalent to just over 8per cent.

Request fora pay cutTHE Chief Executive of theCo-operative Group RichardPennycook, has volunteered totake a 40 per cent reduction onhis salary, which will reducehis basic earnings by 650,000because he says that the job hasbecome easier. His bonus willalso be reduced.

DESPITE some negative reports on the Spanisheconomy, there has been a very positive reportfrom US-based Bloomberg, which says thatSpanish services and manufacturing expandedat the fastest pace in two months, basically out-shining all of the other members of the EU.

While the Eurozone showed limited move-

ment, Spain continued to push ahead, beatingGermany, Italy and France at their own gamesand recording yet another fall in unemploy-ment.

With the vague possibility of three politicalparties forming a government, the economyshould become even stronger.

Some good Spanish news

is the top estimate of the total valueof Telepizza shares that may be soldwhen it returns to the stock market

Quote of the WeekThere is a lot of hysteria about why Britain should stay in. There isa lot of subjectivity.

John Caudwell, founder of Phones 4U on the Brexit.

STAT OF WEEK

CLOSING PRICES APRIL 11CLOSING PRICES APRIL 11CLOSING PRICES APRIL 11

600 million

Catalonianbonds suffer

IN a bid to raise funds as part of its expansion plans

Telepizzas return to stock exchange

BUSINESS EXTRA

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MMM 3M 166.63 -0.53 -0.32% 1.7MAXP American Express 59.50 +0.64 +1.09% 4.6MAAPL Apple 108.66 +0.12 +0.11% 23.6MBA Boeing 127.88 +0.88 +0.69% 3.9MCAT Caterpillar 74.35 +0.18 +0.24% 4.9MCVX Chevron 96.33 +1.54 +1.62% 7.1MCSCO Cisco 27.69 +0.09 +0.33% 14.5MKO Coca-Cola 46.87 +0.51 +1.10% 12.0MDIS Disney 96.42 +0.26 +0.27% 7.0MDD E I du Pont de Nemours and Co 63.20 +0.39 +0.62% 1.6MXOM Exxon Mobil 83.21 +0.84 +1.02% 9.4MGE General Electric 30.79 +0.16 +0.52% 26.8MGS Goldman Sachs 150.28 -0.13 -0.09% 3.1MHD Home Depot 133.62 -0.25 -0.19% 2.9MIBM IBM 149.35 +1.10 +0.74% 3.3MINTC Intel 31.63 +0.08 +0.25% 17.0MJNJ Johnson & Johnson 109.10 -0.17 -0.16% 6.3MJPM JPMorgan Chase 57.74 +0.42 +0.73% 13.5MMCD McDonald's 127.96 -0.18 -0.14% 3.6MMRK Merck 55.36 -0.06 -0.11% 7.0MMSFT Microsoft 54.42 -0.04 -0.07% 22.2MNKE Nike 59.42 -0.88 -1.46% 8.8MPFE Pfizer 32.50 -0.26 -0.79% 52.7MPG Procter & Gamble 83.20 -0.04 -0.05% 5.5MTRV Travelers Companies Inc 115.23 +0.73 +0.64% 907.0KUTX United Technologies 101.32 +0.43 +0.43% 2.8MUNH UnitedHealth 125.68 -1.19 -0.94% 3.6MVZ Verizon 52.18 +0.18 +0.35% 12.2MV Visa 78.03 +0.45 +0.58% 5.3MWMT Wal-Mart 68.06 -0.16 -0.23% 6.5M

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Land Securities Group 1,115.50 -5.50 -0.49 8,786.89Legal & General Group 232.70 -1.10 -0.47 13,501.57Lloyds Banking Group ORD 65.85 -0.05 -0.08 46,400.07London Stock Exchange Grp 2,809.00 -19.00 -0.67 9,815.89Media Corporation 918.50 -3.50 -0.38 N/AMerlin Entertainments 459.60 -3.10 -0.67 4,666.78Marks & Spencer Group 441.15 -3.05 -0.69 7,101.54Mondi 1,285.00 -9.00 -0.70 6,188.38Morrison (Wm) Supermarkets 200.20 -1.20 -0.60 4,715.72National Grid 992.40 -8.10 -0.81 37,374.73Next 5,427.50 -92.50 -1.68 8,419.51Old Mutual Group 184.45 -0.35 -0.19 9,027.18Provident Financial 2,931.50 -14.50 -0.49 4,311.62Paddy Power Betfair 9,465.00 -120.00 -1.25 4,245.55Prudential 1,311.25 0.75 0.06 33,024.32Persimmon 2,033.50 -30.50 -1.48 6,411.32Pearson 841.25 7.25 0.87 6,755.07Reckitt Benckiser Group 6,733.00 -45.00 -0.66 48,740.87Royal Bank of Scotland Grp 211.95 0.45 0.21 13,242.18Royal Dutch Shell 1,716.00 -17.00 -0.98 64,864.31Royal Dutch Shell 1,724.50 -16.00 -0.92 40,835.39RELX 1,293.00 -11.00 -0.84 14,591.73Rexam 612.25 -5.25 -0.85 4,387.35Rio Tinto 2,013.25 25.75 1.30 27,245.49Royal Mail 474.30 -3.30 -0.69 4,719.00Rolls-Royce Group 665.25 -1.75 -0.26 12,065.78Randgold Resources 6,692.50 57.50 0.87 500,167.17RSA Insurance Group 469.80 -0.30 -0.06 4,775.20SABMiller 4,212.25 -4.75 -0.11 68,175.72Sainsbury (J) 287.70 -0.80 -0.28 5,521.69Schroders 2,501.50 1.50 0.06 5,751.14Sage Group (The) 625.75 -4.25 -0.67 6,752.59Shire 4,244.50 -5.50 -0.13 25,352.28Sky 1,013.50 -4.50 -0.44 17,491.00Standard Life 340.95 1.05 0.31 6,594.80Smith & Nephew 1,168.50 -6.50 -0.55 10,513.57SSE 1,498.50 -7.50 -0.50 14,900.96Standard Chartered 447.90 4.35 0.98 11,041.31St James's Place 883.75 -1.25 -0.14 4,611.94Severn Trent 2,218.00 -21.00 -0.94 5,268.58Travis Perkins 1,816.00 -10.00 -0.55 4,523.76Tesco 192.50 1.95 1.02 15,522.82TUI AG 1,037.00 -7.00 -0.67 6,150.54Taylor Wimpey 183.20 -3.00 -1.61 6,098.61Unilever 3,212.25 -26.25 -0.81 41,648.26United Utilities Group 950.75 -6.75 -0.70 6,445.55Vodafone Group 224.65 -2.85 -1.25 58,733.59Wolseley 3,911.50 -38.50 -0.97 10,144.82Worldpay Group 278.10 1.40 0.51 5,532.00WPP Group 1,634.00 -5.00 -0.31 21,542.89Whitbread 3,786.50 -11.50 -0.30 6,929.71

Most AdvancedSteadyMed Ltd. $ 4.65 1.19 34.39%Aeglea BioTherapeutics, Inc. $ 11.99 2.22 22.72%Duluth Holdings Inc. $ 21.73 3.91 21.94%Alliance Fiber Optic Products, Inc. $ 18.45 2.99 19.34%Legacy Reserves LP $ 2.84 0.416 17.16%Chiasma, Inc. $ 12.72 1.74 15.85%RetailMeNot, Inc. $ 8.51 1.01 13.47%Depomed, Inc. $ 16.95 1.95 13%Marketo, Inc. $ 22.13 2.525 12.88%Vanguard Natural Resources LLC $ 2.85 0.32 12.65%Mid-Con Energy Partners, LP $ 2.72 0.30 12.40%Most DeclinedSeaChange International, Inc. $ 3.82 1.74 31.29%Clovis Oncology, Inc. $ 15.77 3.40 17.74%Tetraphase Pharmaceuticals, Inc. $ 5.06 0.78 13.36%Hansen Medical, Inc. $ 2.85 0.35 10.94%PTC Therapeutics, Inc. $ 6.37 0.71 10.03%Resources Connection, Inc. $ 13.19 1.42 9.72%Mimecast Limited $ 8.90 0.82 8.44%Syndax Pharmaceuticals, Inc. $ 15.13 1.29 7.86%MCBC Holdings, Inc. $ 13.21 1.12 7.82%Relypsa, Inc. $ 22.48 1.84 7.57%Immune Design Corp. $ 13.96 1.14 7.55%

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Anglo American 561.00 13.80 2.52 7,200.47Associated British Foods 3,357.50 -10.50 -0.31 26,996.09Admiral Group 1,927.50 -5.50 -0.28 5,433.51Ashtead Group 832.00 -8.00 -0.95 4,184.05Antofagasta 437.40 3.70 0.85 4,261.37ARM Holdings 1,033.50 -12.50 -1.20 14,710.96Aviva 426.65 -2.05 -0.48 17,129.73AstraZeneca 4,097.00 -49.50 -1.19 52,824.57BAE Systems 497.20 -0.90 -0.18 15,654.41Babcock International Group 960.25 -7.25 -0.75 4,817.60Barclays 152.05 1.35 0.90 24,925.84British American Tobacco 4,162.50 -27.50 -0.66 77,343.27Barratt Developments 538.75 -8.25 -1.51 5,540.18Berkeley Group Holdings 3,069.00 -55.00 -1.76 4,353.03British Land Co 704.25 -3.75 -0.53 7,207.65BHP Billiton 762.75 2.25 0.30 15,441.36Bunzl 2,040.00 -11.00 -0.54 6,850.43BP 349.60 -0.75 -0.21 63,187.55Burberry Group 1,289.50 -6.50 -0.50 5,725.40BT Group 436.30 -1.15 -0.26 43,828.79Coca-Cola HBC 1,428.50 -12.50 -0.87 5,231.02Carnival 3,738.00 -26.00 -0.69 8,157.15Centrica 232.60 0.30 0.13 11,517.62Compass Group 1,259.50 -4.50 -0.36 20,852.94Capita Group (The) 1,029.50 -7.50 -0.72 6,828.70CRH 2,014.50 -8.50 -0.42 16,454.26Dixons Carphone 419.50 -2.50 -0.59 4,840.74DCC 6,205.00 -65.00 -1.04 5,467.32Diageo 1,905.50 -6.50 -0.34 48,260.64Direct Line Insurance Group 353.15 -7.55 -2.09 5,407.50Experian 1,234.50 -4.50 -0.36 12,459.12easyJet 1,445.00 -9.00 -0.62 5,793.28Fresnillo 946.00 13.00 1.39 6,875.22GKN 283.70 1.50 0.53 4,576.65Glencore 139.85 3.05 2.23 19,542.59GlaxoSmithKline 1,461.00 -10.50 -0.71 71,474.86Hargreaves Lansdown 1,292.00 -1.00 -0.08 6,111.60Hammerson 585.50 -4.50 -0.76 4,523.51HSBC Holdings 419.05 1.05 0.25 81,083.26International Consolidated Air 527.50 0.00 0.00 10,732.00InterContinental Hotels Group 2,845.00 -7.00 -0.25 6,760.043i Group 449.45 -2.75 -0.61 4,325.02Imperial Brands 3,820.50 -29.50 -0.77 36,865.23Informa 703.75 -6.25 -0.88 4,588.02Intu Properties 313.55 -2.35 -0.74 4,105.64Inmarsat 1,010.00 -2.00 -0.20 4,478.89Intertek Group 3,204.50 -25.50 -0.79 5,158.74ITV 236.15 -2.25 -0.94 9,669.03Johnson Matthey 2,703.00 -17.00 -0.63 5,473.35Kingfisher 376.55 -1.25 -0.33 8,784.30

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FINANCE, BUSINESS & LEGAL14 - 20 April 2016 / Costa de AlmeriaEWN36 www.euroweeklynews.com

Fast food company eyes ChinaBy John Smith

SEVERAL years ago, the McDon-alds Corporation spent a lot oftime and money in trying to stop arestaurant in Wimbledon fromcalling itself McChina, but it lostwhen the judge ruled that no onewould be likely to confuse the twooperations.

Today, things are different andthe McDonalds group has an-nounced that i t p lans to open1,250 new restaurants in China, aswell as a lesser number in HongKong and South Korea to add tothe 2,200 outlets it already has inthat area.

In keeping with a long term pol-icy, the bulk of these new outletstores will be franchises, purchas-ing all of their products from Mc-Donalds and thus saving the USgroup significant set up costs.

When these plans go through,China will become McDonaldslargest market after the US, al-though it has also seen its Russian

franchises performing very well.The major problems that the

group may face will be the down-turn in the Chinese economy, andthe fact that there are a number ofcompeti tors a lso expanding inChina, some such as KFC and Piz-za Hut offering products in thesame price bracket whilst othersbeing significantly cheaper.

Despite the possible drawbacks,the company does see Asia gener-ally as a major area of potentialgrowth which would allow it tosignif icant ly expand i ts prof i tbase.

McDonalds looks to expand its already existing empire

Santander Bank to close morethan 400 branches in Spain

THE red and white of Banco Santanderdraping many a high street in bothBritain and Spain is under threat, as thefinancial powerhouse elects to closemore than 400 branches in Spain by theend of the year.

Deemed a move towards a more at-

tractive digital banking platform, it hasnow been confirmed that the bank wantsto cut 1,250 jobs, mainly through naturalwastage as the bank attempts to stream-line its services.

In a lewd example of corporate jar-gon, country head Rami Aboukhair told

employees: The current economic con-text, greater regulatory requirements andthe evolution of client behaviour towardnew technology make it necessary to ac-celerate our commercial transforma-tion.

There are presently 3,467 Santander

branches in Spain, meaning around 13per cent will be closed, with the smallerones leading the way. Its not an entirelysurprising move given that Spain haslong been one of the most overbankedcountries in Europe, a situation dramati-cally curtailed by the financial crisis.

The major problems that

the group may face will

be the downturn in theChinese economy andthe fact that a number

of competitors are also expanding in

China.

MCDONALDS CORPORATION: Plans to open 1,250 new restaurants in China.

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ElectriccarmaniaEVEN the macho Span-ish dr ivers are nowturning towards electricand hybrid cars, espe-cially as there are gov-ernment subsidies to en-courage a move awayfrom gas guzzlers, andalthough sales in Spainare greater for hybrids,as it is easier than try-ing to plug in your carin the countryside,things are definitely im-proving.

American companyTesla, which includesthe Chief Minis ter ofGibral tar amongst i tscl ients , has just an-nounced its new Model3 which has staggeredeveryone by receiving325,000 advance ordersworth around 15 bil-lion in just one week.

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HIGH STREET: Santander branches in Britain and Spain are under threat.

EWN38 FINANCE, BUSINESS & LEGAL14 - 20 April 2016 / Costa de Almera www.euroweeklynews.com

By John Smith

WHEN billionaires start investing in anyparticular industry, wise money followsthem and makes the market even stronger,and the triumvirate of George Soros, BillGates and Carlos Slim, whilst acting inde-pendently of each other, all seem to haveinvested in Spanish building and housingconst ruct ion s ince the 2008crash.

Mexican Slim, said to be oneof the worlds r iches t men,made a b id for Barcelona-based Fomento de Construc-c iones & Contra tas SA inMarch through one of his sub-sidiaries, Inversora Carso.

This is the latest of his investments inSpain, which started in 2014 to help sta-bilise the business.

As part of the deal, Carso also made anoffer for Madrid-based developer RealiaBusiness SA, in which FCC owns a 37 percent stake, and Bill Gates also has sharesaccording to Bloomberg.

Although no longer a young man at theage of 76, he clearly continues to enjoy theexcitement of predicting recovering mar-kets, and is well-known for taking advan-

tage of depressed prices when investing incompanies.

Whilst Spain had a colossal surplus ofproperties, he has gambled on the fact thatthe underlying economy is strong enoughwhen it adds overseas property purchases toexpect a definite property boom in the longrun, and current results seem to suggest thisexpectation is beginning to see a rise in

prices and purchases.With sales of 5 billion,

Madrid was Europes fifthstrongest real estate marketduring a recent 12-monthperiod ending in October2015, according to a PwCreport.

Things arent all rosy in the Spanish fi-nancial sector, but if the country can attractexpatriates, purchasers and investors whenit has no long-term government in placeand is constantly criticised by the EU for itsfiscal policy, rich investors must be confi-dent of the potential for a decent return ontheir investments.

Even if things dont move too quickly inthe future, these investments are bound tohelp stabilise the Spanish construction in-dustry for as long as these investors are pa-tient.

Foreigners investin SpanishconstructionBILLIONAIRE investors must be confident of adecent return on their investments

CARLOS SLIM: Is said to be one of the worlds richest men.

5billion euros isthe real estatesales figure forthe market in

Madrid

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39FINANCE, BUSINESS & LEGAL EWN14 - 20 April 2016 / Costa de Almerawww.euroweeklynews.com

WELL, Ive just returned from a short breakin Denmark and you know something? It issimply awash with Muslims. Oh no, I hearyou groan, here he goes again. Same olsame ol. Well, this time you couldnt bemore wrong.

You see I truly believe that at long lastDenmark is a Western community that is ac-tually on the road to getting it right. And doyou know the secret? Its called give andtake.

The first thing you notice, is that apartfrom the occasional elderly female, there ishardly a Burka in sight. Even more impor-tantly, nowhere at all did I observe one per-son clad in the antagonising full veil.

Instead, the faith of most young womenwas merely defined by an often quite trendyheadscarf and the occasional pair of leg-

gings (not a bad choice when you considerthe climate!). Quite a number of these ladieswere also employed at supermarket check-outs and nowhere did I observe a restrictionon their handling of any alcohol or porkproducts. The men too were clad in moreacceptable attire.

After all the Thobe was designed to pro-tect its wearer from sunlight, flies and mos-quitos, none of which are actually tooprevalent in those chilly northern climes.Because of this obvious desire to integrateinto Western society, the whole atmosphereis different.

As you walk through the shopping centresand street markets, gone are the feelings ofdistrust and discomfort that hang so heavilyover the public places of other Europeancountries. People are laughing together andpolite to each other.

On one afternoon my girlfriends sistertook part in a public gospel singing event.Among the crowd of observers, I noticedquite a number of headscarf-covered youngpeople clapping along with the rest of theaudience. Because of this more open exis-

tence there is no need for Muslimsto form the protective ghettos thatblight our cities of the West. Conse-quently people in Denmark are moreintegrated in their home environ-ments as well. Give and take.

The true answer to peaceful inte-gration. And the first major step inthe right direction. Banning the Bur-ka. The attire of hatred and separationhas no place in the future of our soci-eties.

Keep the faith.Love Leapy

leapylee2002@gmail.com

LEAPY LEE SAYS IT

OTHERS THINK IT

OPINION & COMMENT EWN14 - 20 April 2016 / Costa de Almera 41www.euroweeklynews.com

Getting it rightDO you know the secret? Its called give and take

DENMARK: Apart from the occasional elderly female, there is hardly a Burka in sight.

OPINION & COMMENTEWN42 www.euroweeklynews.com14 - 20 April 2016 / Costa de Almera

A PHONE call came through from the otherside of the world. Someone I knew that had afortune stashed away in the banks in Panamahad a major request for me.

It seemed that he could get half a per centmore on his interest in another bank; it wasright across the street but they wouldnt givehim a cashiers check. He had to go there,bundle up the 10 million dollars (8,768,500)cash in suitcases, and roll them across thestreet. Whats in it for me?

An all-expenses-paid trip to Panama forone week, nothing less than five star. And ifyou want to set up your own Panamaniancompany I will pay for that too. Hmm I de-bated for a fraction of a nanosecond beforeaccepting. I left that afternoon.

Panama was the place for real cash. Thestories were magnificent, well beyond SaudiArabia or any other gilded banking hideouts.

The next day we met. The operation wassimple. He would go to his bank a day or twoahead. Bundle all the money up in suitcases

that could be rolled across the street, from hiscurrent bank to his new one. No one was tobe told of the operation other than one guy inhis own bank, especially not the Panamanianpolice. Want a gun? He asked.

Let me think on that. Moving day was

Thursday, so I had a few days to get the lie ofthe land and a feel for the culture.

My first trip was to the Canal Zone, con-trolled then by the Americans. I was verylucky with my taxi driver, who came from theslum area of Panama but could speak eight

languages, including Japanese.I negotiated a days outing taking me to the

best and worst places of Panama. Situationsthat the average tourist wouldnt see.

So off we drove to the Canal Zone to watchstandard-metal containers full of $100 bills beunloaded into special trucks, that wouldwhisk them directly to their designated banks.

It was a slick military operation with some40-50 soldiers all highly armed with rockets,machine guns and the latest state-of-the-artcommunications. They had only 22 minutesto accomplish their work order, before thenext billion dollar container would be un-loaded by a different drug cartel and his army.Meanwhile the American flag flew proudlyoverhead. My driver knew the names of eachcartel by how his men were dressed andarmed.

When Thursday came around, my friendwith the money was not to be found. Iscoured the entire area for him. When I didfind him late that night he announced he hadmoved the money himself on Wednesdayalone. He felt I had become too chummy withmy taxi-driving friend!

I am not sure why there is a lot of noise re-cently about the leaked revelations concern-ing tax havens. The worlds well-heeled havebeen laundering money there for decades.

Ric Polansky moved to Mojacar in 1969 as a pioneerdeveloper. He reads extensively and has travelled in SouthAmerica panning gold and looking for El Dorado.

Ric Polansky

The Panama Papers, 25 years agoPANAMA was the place for real cash, money has been laundered there for decades

PANAMA: Has been used as a tax haven for decades by Americans and drug cartels.

OPINION & COMMENTEWN47 www.euroweeklynews.com14 - 20 April 2016 / Costa de Almera

A CONTROVERSIAL EU deal to re-turn tens of thousands of migrantsfrom Greece to Turkey is in chaosamid a last-minute increase in asylumclaims, reducing the number of thoseeligible for deportation, new migrantsarriving in Greece faster than they canbe sent back, and shortages of officialsto carry out deportations!

An EU plan turns out to be a sham-bles. No! Whod have thought it? TheEU is about to illustrate, again, thatwhenever theres a crisis it alwaysturns it into a disaster. This half-bakedfiasco is like declaring war and then re-alising you dont have an army.

Where was the planning for the nec-essary infrastructure, the personnel forkeeping order and processing these mi-grants?

Schengen relied on the EUs exter-nal borders being secure and sufficient-ly controlled. They were neither, a factthat became glaringly obvious agesago when the first illegal migrants be-gan making for weak spots such asCeuta and Lampedusa.

The strategy, then, should have been

to detain people at their entry point andquickly ascertain their right to asylumleading to either temporary leave to re-main in a camp or deportation. Thatdidnt happen and word soon got outthat Europe had weak, porous borders.

Greeces borders were soon seen asthe weakest, and when migrants started

arriving on the islands they shouldhave been held there. This is now hap-pening, albeit slowly, so interest willinevitably return to Lampedusa. Thestrategy now should be that any peo-ple-trafficking ships intercepted fromLibya will be returned there, but I holdmy breath!

Hot on the heels of this ongoingrefugee crisis and the recent terroristcarnage, we now have the leakedPanama Papers detailing how tax-evading world leaders, celebrities andassorted tyrants have been squirrellingaway massive fortunes over the years.Ive said this before and Ill say itagain, when is all this greed and cor-ruption going to end?

Finally, on a different note, manythanks to all of you who purchased mylatest, just-published psychologicalcrime thriller, No Way Back, followingmy piece about it here recently. Thanksalso for helping my other novels sell sofantastically well, too. Keep thosegreat comments coming to my websiteabout my novels, all profits of whichgo to the Cudeca charity!

Nora Johnsons thrillers No WayBack, Landscape of Lies, Retribu-tion, Soul Stealer, The De Cleram-bault Code (www.nora-johnson.com)available from Amazon inpaperback/eBook (0.89;0.79) andiBookstore.

Nora JohnsonBreaking ViewsNora is the author of popular psychological suspense andcrime thrillers and a freelance journalist. To comment on any of the issues raised in her column, goto www.euroweeklynews.com/3.0.15/nora-johnson

Chaos and confusion in Chios and otherGreek Islands amid last-minute claimsNEW migrants are arriving in Greece faster than they can be sent back

EU PLAN: A shambles, illustrating that whenever theres a crisis it always turns into a disaster.

OPINION & COMMENTEWN48 www.euroweeklynews.com14 - 20 April 2016 / Costa de Almera

THE PSOE socia l i s ts have a lwaysfeared that some or many of their PSC-PSOE brethren inside Catalua couldturn rogue.

More than one favours the right todecide, and PSOE party headquartersin Madrid are increasingly nervousabout good vibrations between PSCsecretary general Miquel Iceta and EnComu Podem.

Iceta has been to ld to cool down,back off and banish the R-word fromthe PSCs vocabulary. Its a pity thatthe Spanish outside Catalua are soviscerally, knee-jerkingly opposed toan in-out referendum.

Even now most Catalans would voteto remain ins ide Spain and whatsmore , Spain would probably haveformed a national government monthsago.

Something islackingTHROUGHOUT Mariano Rajoys fouryears in government, he and his minis-ters banged on about the financial situa-tion they inherited from Jose Luis Ro-driguez Zapatero.

What has Rajoy left behind? A faileddeficit target and the need for another23.6 million in cuts.

Who could blame Pedro Sanchez andAlbert Rivera for preferring PSOE andCiudadanos to take a back seat and letRajoy clear up the mess? Or PabloIglesias who, when still in Venezuelamode before going straight, promisedthat Podemos would ignore the deficitanyway.

An inside jobRITA BARBERA, former mayor of Va-lencia City and now a senator, claims

that a l l the corrupt ion al legat ionsagainst her are vengeance from herformer right-hand man, AlfonsoGrau and his close collaborators.

Interestingly, she fails to clar-i fy why they should want towreak vengeance in the f i rs tplace, but doubtless she has herreasons.

In, out and shake it all about...ITS a pity that the Spanish outside Catalua are so opposed to a quick referendum

PABLO IGLESIAS: Gifted communicator.

PABLO IGLESIAS is a gifted com-municator. His impressive academiccareer apart, he first made a name forhimself with his own television pro-gramme and on chat shows.

Podemos won its five seats in the Euro-pean Parliament in the 2014 European elec-tions as much through Iglesias media expo-sure as his message, and he must sometimesask himself why he did not become a pro-fessional celebrity instead of a politician.

He would have had almost as muchpower and none of the responsibility.

Media darling

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

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