WEEKLY DIGEST – 20 OCTOBER 2014

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

The El Corte Inglés department store in Alicante has celebrated its 25th birthday, by handing out 3,000 portions of a giant cake to visitors to the store. The shop also held a party with music, dancers and entertainment for the children, before launching an exhibition about the history of Alicante on their top floor, with an accompanying Playmobil exhibition that features 5,000 little people.

GAME ON

Recent reports indicate that the PlayStation 4 gaming console is outselling its nearest rival, the Xbox One, by a ratio of 7 to 1. It is said that some 360,000 Playstations have been sold in Spain, compared to just 51,000 Xbox One consoles. With both consoles and games becoming increasingly more expensive, the gap between the two biggest players is considered a considerable concern to the market.

NO LAUGHING MATTER

The Teatreneu comedy club in Barcelona has become the focus of other similar clubs, after they installed tablet computers into the back of seats to monitor audience members. The reason being that the system monitors how often a viewer smiles or laughs, and charges on a price-pre-laugh basis. The cost works out at 30 cents per laugh, with every laugh beyond the eightieth being free, thus capping the cost to the patron.

THANKS CANADA

The Canadian Public Health authority has this week confirmed that they sent both Spain and Norway a “laboratory grade” and unapproved course of drug treatments for two healthcare workers who had contracted Ebola. An email request for information was responded with the statement, “The experimental treatment was donated on compassionate grounds to help treat health-care workers infected with Ebola”.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

The El Corte Inglés department store in Alicante has celebrated its 25th birthday, by handing out 3,000 portions of a giant cake to visitors to the store. The shop also held a party with music, dancers and entertainment for the children, before launching an exhibition about the history of Alicante on their top floor, with an accompanying Playmobil exhibition that features 5,000 little people.

GAME ON

Recent reports indicate that the PlayStation 4 gaming console is outselling its nearest rival, the Xbox One, by a ratio of 7 to 1. It is said that some 360,000 Playstations have been sold in Spain, compared to just 51,000 Xbox One consoles. With both consoles and games becoming increasingly more expensive, the gap between the two biggest players is considered a considerable concern to the market.

NO LAUGHING MATTER

The Teatreneu comedy club in Barcelona has become the focus of other similar clubs, after they installed tablet computers into the back of seats to monitor audience members. The reason being that the system monitors how often a viewer smiles or laughs, and charges on a price-pre-laugh basis. The cost works out at 30 cents per laugh, with every laugh beyond the eightieth being free, thus capping the cost to the patron.

THANKS CANADA

The Canadian Public Health authority has this week confirmed that they sent both Spain and Norway a “laboratory grade” and unapproved course of drug treatments for two healthcare workers who had contracted Ebola. An email request for information was responded with the statement, “The experimental treatment was donated on compassionate grounds to help treat health-care workers infected with Ebola”.

DEAR DOCTOR

According to estimates from the president of the Spanish Tourism Cluster of Health, Íñigo Valcaneras, the number of medical tourists coming to Spain is expected to double in the next five years, prompting calls for the creation of a new public-private partnership “SpainCares”, aimed at encouraging 200,000 patients to be treated in the country in 2019. The project will have 2.7 million euro of funding over two years, with a longer term aim of growth over the next decade.

NO BOOZY BABIES

The Spanish midwifery association from the hospital of Alicante has launched a breastfeeding campaign this week, aimed at raising awareness that drinking alcohol is “incompatible” whilst lactating. A presentation was held that was attended by over a hundred mothers and soon to be mums, which highlighted the benefits of breastfeeding the newborn and the importance of nutritional care in infancy. The presentation also recommended the inclusion of non-alcoholic beer in the diet of the nursing mother, due to the “high water content” (95%) and “compounds that could be beneficial to both mother and baby”.

FISHING BLUES

The port of Alicante has seen a drop in fresh fish of 58.3% in the first eight months of the year, resulting in it being one of the worst performing harbours in Spain. Valencia saw an increase of 38.6% however, whereas Castellón also saw a 3.8% drop. Across the country, a total of 157,446 tonnes of fish was landed between January and August, representing an increase of 1.9% over the first eight months of 2013, In whereas during the month of August, 18,816 tonnes was brought to shore, representing a decrease of 14.6% compared to August of 2013, according to provisional data of the State Ports. The biggest growth was seen in Tarragona with a staggering increase of 311.7%.

CAMPOAMOR BLAZE

Residents opposite Campoamor’s La Glea Beach were woken on Monday morning with the sight of a burning car which had caught alight moments after it’s occupant had parked up on the beach road. They quickly alerted the emergency services which cordoned off the road prior to the arrival and subsequent quelling of the blaze by the fire brigade. A spokesman said that the cause of the fire appeared to be an electrical fault.

POISONED ANIMALS

Following the death of a stray with symptoms of asphyxia there have now been up to a dozen cats found dead in the Orihuela hamlet of Murada. A spokesman for the association of a local animal charity, Virtues Sanchis, says that during the past two months someone has been putting down poison product in different parts of the parish and, although they have been informed, the Council has not taken any action. ‘How long before a child is affected,’ she says.

TROOPS AWAY

The Spanish government is asking parliament to approve sending 300 troops to help train the Iraqi army for combat against the Islamic State. The soldiers will form part of the American led coalition and are intended for training and defence, rather than offensive combat. The last time Spanish troops were active in the area was in 2004, when peace keepers were withdrawn.

TAKE A BREAK

Despite being the first Western country to confirm a case of Ebola, the US has asked Spain to grant permission for over 3,000 American soldiers returning from Ebola-stricken West Africa to stay in Spanish military bases at Rota and Morón de la Frontera, so the troops can “rest” before returning to the US. Part of the agreement would be assurances that Spain can prevent the potential spread of the virus amongst the local population.

BACKLASH FEARS

African migrants living in Spain are concerned of a possible backlash on account of the spread of Ebola, not only from the general population, but from the authorities. In an interview, Black rights activist Yast Solo says, “It’s already been used to stop immigration, this is the first step”. However, in the headquarters of a help group in Madrid, organisers of aid say that the scare has not yet led to a backlash, as “The Spanish population knows that with immigrants here, there’s as big gap in time and distance from the situation in those three countries: Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea,”.

Filed under: http://www.theleader.info/article/45283/

Car and Motor Insurance | Spanish Home Insurance | International Money Transfers | Send Money to Spain | Spain Property | Online International Payments | Property in Spain
Costa Blanca Property for Sale | Cabo Roig Property for Sale | International Payments |