Welcome to DigameXtra !

The Most Popular English Language Daily Newsletter In Andalucia

Content in this newsletter blog site comes from its Editor, Sponsors & Supporters (Holiday Fundraiser Donors). Submissions are subject to editing and posting at the Editor’s discretion. If I don’t want to post something, I won’t, and I do not owe you an explanation. Content from other sources is credited. The Editor is Naythan, aka DoctorLaptop. Top banner image: formato digital.

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DigameXtra Featured Sponsor

Website

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ANNOUNCEMENTS

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DigameXtra Holiday Schedule:
– Thursday, 17 April 17 is Jueves Santo (Holy Thursday)
– Friday, 18 April is Viernes Santo (Good Friday)
Both are national public holidays. DigameXtra will be closed these days.
Items scheduled for Thursday, 17 April, will be posted one day early, on Wednesday, 16 April.
Items scheduled for Friday, 18 April will be posted in the next issue, Monday, 21 April.
Please time your submissions appropriately.

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DigameXtra Welcomes A New Sponsor
Author Berkeley Fenne
Presenting his new book “The Rectifier”
Welcome Aboard!

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What’s On

Tell them you saw it on DigameXtra! 

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Periana’s Días del Aceite Verdial 2025:
Saturday and Sunday, April 26 and 27
– Saturday, April 26, the San Isidro Cooperative will invite all to a miller’s breakfast. An hour later, the guide Antonio Lopez and the Periana Club will carry out a route through the ancient olive trees. At 12.00 there will be an oil tasting in the María Zambrano auditorium. At 13.00 there will be a show cooking offered by Sabor a Málaga. At 20.00 hours, will be an inauguration ceremony for the Mayor Rafael Torrobia Square. At 23.00 hours there will be music with the Millenium orchestra and a dj in the Plaza Alfonso XII.
– On Sunday, April 27 at 10.00 am there will be distribution of welcome gifts in the square of the Day Center. At the same time, there will be a miller’s breakfast in the Plaza Alfonso XII. Half an hour later the parade of the Municipal Band of Periana. From 11.00 a.m. the folkloric performances by Abraham Oritz and the Panda de Verdiales de Periana will begin.
Source: https://www.laopiniondemalaga.es/axarquia/2025/04/10/periana-despedira-mes-abril-xxiv-116265199.html 

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Upcoming events: Casa De Cultura- Almuñécar
Puerta De Granada, 19, 18690 Almuñécar
– Friday 25 April, 7pm. Oniria, with Virginia Abril, new show for the flamenco program of Almuñécar.
– Sunday, 27 April, 7pm. The Mediterranean Chamber Orchestra closes its concert season. The Orchestra will open the concert with the spectacular Symphony No. 9 in C Major MWV 9 by F. Mendelssohn and will close it with the most famous work by the English Gustav Holst, St Paul’s Girls’ School.
– Friday, 2 May, 8pm. Ancora Ensemble, conducted by Rafael Lamas, presents ‘The Four Seasons’. A special concert with Vivaldi and Piazzolla as protagonists. With Jesús Berrio on violin and Fabián Carbone on bandoneon. Video Link.
Info & tix: https://bravoentradas.es/ 

    

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Radiole Gala: Saturday, May 3 at the Andalusia Paseo, Vélez-Málaga
From 1:30pm the Radiole gala will offer a large repertoire of first class artists, mainly flamenco, Sevillanas, Copla, Rumba & Pop. Free entry, no invitation required.
The event was scheduled for last February, on the occasion of Andalusia’s Day, but was postponed due to rain.

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Tap or click image for updated forecast

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NOTICE!
Submissions for posting in sections below
must be signed like this or they will be returned !!!
Sender’s First Name / Nearest Town
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Services Wanted/Offered

Check the DigameXtra Sponsor’s list whenever you need a service. By using these services you are helping support DigameXtra.
Landlords, tell your renters about DigameXtra, where they can get overnight answers to questions about local stuff without having to call you!

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COMPARE FUNERALS

Compare Funerals cover the whole of Spain:
ruthforder@comparefuneral.org
* Direct Cremation €2,250
* Collection of deceased and conveyance to Funeral Home
* Supply of coffin
* Preparation and care of deceased
* Registration of death and certification of all legal documentation
* Cremation and any doctor’s fees
* Supply of Urn
* Delivery of Urn and associated paperwork to family (death certificate, cremation certificate etc)
This plan is exclusive to a number of provinces, please ask advisor for more information.
Contact Ruth Forder on 0034 693 715 718 ; funeralplansbyruthforder.com
Your questions answered by Ruth from Compare Funerals Spain
– Why should I have a funeral plan? Having been funeral planning for over 10 year I’ve experienced some very sad and upset families when nothing is in place. A Spanish funeral plans will ensure that all costs are covered for your funeral service. Getting a prepaid plan will help you feel assured that your family will not be under any financial strain when it comes to paying for your funeral. A plan also means you can have peace of mind that everything has been organised in advance, so your loved ones do not have to make any difficult decisions.
– Why choose Compare Funerals? There seems to be a gap in Spain between independent funeral directors, offering plans at a good price but lacking the security of an established Trust or ability to cover a client overseas and Providers who seem to charge more than necessary. We want to be right in the middle and offer the best of both worlds. Our best-priced plan is only 2,250€ and does the essentials.
– Can I do a payment plan? All our plans are payable in full or over up to 5 years interest FREE. The interest free periods are based on initial deposit. The higher the deposit the less your monthly repayments will be.
– Can I transfer the plan? The answer is YES. You could name 2 people on one plan however if you had a friend/family member pass away we can transfer the plan into a 3rd party’s name.
– What happens if I move? All our plans offer the equivalent service in Spain (including the islands), Portugal, Republic of Ireland and the UK. If you moved to the UK, we would transfer the plan to one of our many partners at no extra cost to you.
– Is paperwork included? Yes, your family will receive a death certificate in Spanish and an international certification in English. We also provide a cremation certificate that allows the ashes on board a plane.

 

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BLUCEE REAL ESTATE

BluCee Real Estate:
We are proactive, dynamic and creative. Listing properties for sale is our speciality and our passion.
Not only do we advertise on the leading major property websites, we attend international property exhibitions and are very active on social media.
50% of our buyers are Spanish and the other 50% are from all corners of the world. We do not focus on a particular nationality, we focus on selling!
Would you like a free realistic valuation?
Contact us, as we have the capability to take on more properties to advertise.
We speak Spanish, English, French, Dutch, German and Polish, and would love to speak with you!
info@blucee.com ; 0034 711042727 / 0034 951553890 ; Web: http://www.blucee.com/
Or pass by our office to have a no obligation chat!
Calle Timón 11b, Torre del Mar, 29740
From 09.30 to 17.30 hrs, Monday and Friday.
Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 09.30 to 20.00 hrs.
For an appointment outside of our opening times please contact us.
We cover the whole coast line and inland.
BluCee Real Estate are a DigameXtra sponsor so our contact details are shown here every day in the Sponsor’s Section. 

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Buy / Sell / Trade / Rent / Wanted

Click on pics to enlarge

How to post more photos than the rules allow – use collages. The limit is one pic per item/event. You can combine several of your photos into a 
single collage photo by using this free online collage creation tool. It’s very easy to use, give it a try! https://www.photocollage.com/

Are you still dealing with scammers on Fakebook Marketplace?
Sell your items here, to locals, for cash, without the shenanigans.

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NEW BOOK RELEASE BY BERKELEY FENNE – “THE RECTIFIER”

THE RECTIFIER – A NOVEL WITH A LOCAL CONNECTION By Axarquia Resident, Berkeley Fenne
After serving in Afghanistan, Bosnia and for the British Government, ex-SAS Army Captain, Stuart Reece, wanted nothing more than to retire to his villa and enjoy a peaceful life, basking in the beauty of southern Spain and spend some time researching the locations where he served and the ‎drug trade from Afghanistan. On one such fine day, he is shot, he survives the attempt to eliminate ‎him. Reece is now determined to find the hitman. He later discovers that what he had begun to ‎uncover was only the tip of the iceberg. Reece starts chasing an international drug trafficking ‎business and all of its tentacles. Thus begins the race to reach the roots of all evil. Travelling ‎through southern Spain to the Balkans, eastern Europe and into Asia, he realises that the hunt was ‎leading him back to where traumatic memories of war and violence had scarred him, in ‎Afghanistan. With the events unfolding, ‘The Rectifier’ brings light to the underworld drug ‎trafficking business, terrorism, and how greed for power and money can shift even those that are ‎our protectors into traffickers and criminals.
The Rectifier is the first of a Trilogy of Stuart Reece thriller books. ‎
Berkeley Fenne A retired senior company director latterly a business consultant, he had provided ‎guidance and support to a variety and diverse range of companies. He designed and delivered a ‎business improvement programme with accompanying reference manual, which inspired the ‎beginning of fiction novel writing. Fenne is a Spanish resident, appreciating the opportunity to write ‎in the pleasant surroundings of southern Spain.
Available from: Amazon Books – Pegasus Publishing – berkeleyfenne@gmail.com

 

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Great Deals From Upcycling Nerja
– Chairs. 2x Nardi 4 position reclining patio chairs Price 45€ (the pair)
– Coffee table. Drawers open both ways. Measurements 110 x 60 x 45cms Price 65€.
– Ikea white glass top table 75 x 75 x 45cms Price 15€
contact Jackie, Nerja 672170429
upcycling nerja at gmail dot com 

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For Sale, 2 items :
-1 flexible tube for the swimming pool, 10 m x 38mm. Bought a few weeks ago at Sanaxa, but it’s too long for our pool. Never used, €10. 
– A set of 7 light switches and 9 sockets of BJC. Very good condition, €15 for the lot.
Contact: Marc Schoeters, Puente Don Manuel, 
Phone number 0032 477328725
Email: schoeters.marc@telenet.be 

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For Sale: New Laptop, Acer Aspire 3 A315. 
Very powerful business model. 15.6″ Full HD display. 
Windows 11 Pro (UK), 16 Gb RAM, 512 Gb SSD. (Ready for Windows 12 when released.)
Processor: Intel Core i5-1235U, up to 4.4GHz
Spanish keyboard. HDMI, Ethernet, 3x USB 3.2, Wifi 6.
Price: €480 fully setup and ready to use. Naythan, Torrox Costa. 
Email: doctorlaptop@protonmail.com 

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Wanted: Property to rent. I am seeking a property for long term rental in or near Caleta de Velez. It should have three bedrooms, two bathrooms and air conditioning.
John, Caleta de Velez. Tel: (WhatsApp) 608097587
Email: johnasq AT gmail D0T com

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Recommendations, Requests & Comments

When making a recommendation always include the phone number or website of the biz, service, etc., so readers can reach them. Note: I can’t post third party email addresses.

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News & Articles

(Click the link to read the full article) 
{ Translations by www.DeepL.com/Translator }

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ANDALUCÍA

‘It’s a crime’- Solar park boom threatens Andalucia’s olive growers:
– In the Andalusian village of Lopera, olive trees owners struggle against expropriation and to prevent the installation of photovoltaic plants forcing thousands of trees to be uprooted. At his farm in southern Spain, Francisco Campos looked worriedly at a green sea of centuries-old olive trees that he fears will face the axe to make way for a proposed solar park. “Cutting down olive trees to install solar panels is a crime,” the 64-year-old farmer told AFP in Lopera, a town of whitewashed buildings with 3,600 residents in the sunny southern region of Andalusia, Spain’s olive-growing heartland.
– Renewable energy firms such as Greenalia and FRV Arroyadas have requested permission to build multiple solar farms near Lopera, which farmers say will affect up to 1,000 hectares (2,500 acres) of property. The businesses negotiated agreements to lease the bulk of the land required for their projects but encountered significant opposition from hundreds of small landowners.
– This prompted the regional government of Andalusia to announce it will expropriate some land needed for the plants, declaring them to be in “the public interest”.
– Campaigners predict that the eight solar projects planned for the area will require the removal of nearly 100,000 olive trees. The regional government puts the figure significantly lower, at 13,000.
– “Is it in the public interest for them to take my land and give it to a company so that the company can profit? This has no benefit for us,” said Campos. “Our way of life is going to be destroyed,” he added. Full article: https://www.thelocal.es/20250414/its-a-crime-solar-park-boom-threatens-spains-olive-tree-growers 

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Our leaders really do live in an alternate reality- Moreno defends the “enormous effort” of the Junta to improve healthcare and asks for “patience” in the face of “noise from Madrid”: {Translation, summary}
– “There is still a long time to go before the elections”, which will be held in Andalusia, if the timetable is adhered to, in June 2026. This is what the president of the Junta, Juanma Moreno {pic}, has assured in relation to the situation of Andalusian public health, who is committed to moving away from the “noise” of Madrid and focusing on the improvements that, he admits, still need to be made in the community.
– It has been during the inauguration of a new health center in Jaen, and just days after the demonstrations throughout Andalusia in defense of public health, where Moreno has assured that this is an “absolute priority” of his government, which will continue to work “tirelessly” so that Andalusians “have the best possible system”.
– In this regard, the president of the Junta has stressed the “enormous effort” that his Executive has made in the last six years, with the implementation of 69 new health infrastructures, something that “is unprecedented”, including seven hospitals, five day hospitals, 18 health centers, 25 early childhood care centers and nine clinics.
– “It seems little to us”, said Moreno, who even so has been convinced that ‘no one can deny that we have made progress’, and this, in large part, thanks to the investment of the Executive in health, which this year amounts to 30% of the budget of the community. And the fact is that the money, he stressed, “is important”.
– For all these reasons, he has asked that the “noise stays in Madrid”, because in Andalusia “we have another way of understanding politics and another way of being, we are sensible, serene and peaceful” and so “we want to continue being”. And it will be when the polls are taken out when the citizens “decide which option they choose”. Until then, he concluded, “there is no one left over here” to continue improving healthcare. Source, Spanish: https://www.20minutos.es/noticia/5698878/0/moreno-defiende-enorme-esfuerzo-junta-para-mejorar-sanidad-pide-paciencia-frente-ruido-madrid/ 

TORROX

The PP of Torrox maintains its position of not applying the increase in the garbage fee “imposed by Pedro Sanchez to all of Spain”: {Translation}
– The Popular Party of Torrox maintains its position of “not applying the ‘tasazo’ imposed by the Government of Pedro Sanchez to waste collection to all municipalities in Spain”. The general secretary of the popular Torroxeños, Paola Moreno {pic}, said that “we refuse to apply this ‘tasazo’, as have other municipalities in Spain governed by the PP, of around 200 euros per house on average.”
– Moreno explained that, until the entry into force of this measure, the cost of the collection and treatment of waste was covered by the municipalities, but with the implementation of Law 7/2022 it is mandated to pass this cost on to residents in municipalities with more than 5,000 inhabitants, “something that in Torrox we refuse as we have been defending in the media, we would not apply any increase”.
– The councilor of Finance in the Torrox City Council has commented that all possible options have been considered, “but we considered that, since the Popular Party is in government we have frozen all taxes, the best measure was to leave things as they were and not raise the garbage rates already paid by our citizens applying this ‘tasazo’ that Pedro Sanchez imposed on all municipalities in Spain, and that seems to us a nonsense.” Source, Spanish: https://www.axarquiaplus.es/el-pp-de-torrox-mantiene-su-postura-de-no-aplicar-la-subida-de-la-tasa-de-basura-impuesta-por-pedro-sanchez-a-toda-espana/ 

VÉLEZ-MÁLAGA

National Police dismantle Velez-Malaga cannabis club: {Translation, summary}
– Agents of the National Police have dismantled in Velez-Malaga (Malaga) a cannabis center that functioned as a point of sale of narcotic substances. The investigators have proceeded to the arrest of three people, aged 23, 28 and 43, for their alleged responsibility in a crime of drug trafficking. The premises were seized 6971 grams of marijuana buds, 140 grams of CBD {Why? CBD is legal in Spain. -Ed.}, 832 grams of hashish, 875 cigarettes containing marijuana or hashish, as well as tools for their weighing and preparation, in addition to 367 flowering marijuana plants. Source, Spanish: https://www.axarquiaplus.es/agentes-de-la-policia-nacional-desmantelan-en-velez-malaga-un-club-cannabico-que-funcionaba-como-punto-de-venta-de-sustancias-estupefacientes/ 

EUROPE

Dutch Freedom Party leader Geert Wilders’ message to Pedro Sanchez, Macron & Scholz- “Your time is over and woke is over!”: X Link

UK

Going to the UK? Forget about carrying beef, sheep or pig meat or dairy products as new restrictions due to FMD now apply: {Translation, summary}
– The British Government has banned since last Saturday the entry of these items into the country from the European Union: sandwiches, cheese, cured meats such as ham, raw meats or milk, to prevent the spread of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) after the growing number of cases throughout Europe.
– Specifically, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs of the British Government (Defra) has extended this measure in the run-up to Easter, since this decision came into force last Sunday, which will not be able to enter the country with beef, sheep or pig meat or dairy products for personal consumption, regardless of whether they are packaged or if they have been purchased in a duty-free store, as reported in a statement. A limited set of exemptions to these rules has been established, such as a limited amount of infant milk, medicinal foods and products such as chocolate, sweets, bread, cakes, cookies and pasta are allowed.
– In this context, travelers entering the country with these items must hand them over at the border or they will be confiscated and destroyed, as well as facing fines of up to £5,000 (over €5,800).
– The British government had already banned personal imports of cattle, sheep and other ruminants and pork and dairy products from Germany, Hungary, Slovakia and Austria earlier this year in response to confirmed outbreaks of foot-and-mouth disease in those countries.
– FMD poses no risk to humans and there are no cases in the UK, but it is a highly contagious viral disease of cattle, sheep, pigs and other cloven-hoofed animals such as wild boar, deer, llamas and alpacas, and the outbreak in Europe presents a significant risk to farming businesses and livestock, according to the UK Department. The British government justifies this action as this disease can cause significant economic losses due to production shortages in affected animals, as well as loss of access to foreign markets for animals, meat and dairy products.
– The new restrictions apply only to travelers arriving in Great Britain and not in Northern Ireland, Jersey, Guernsey or the Isle of Man. Source, Spanish: https://www.europapress.es/turismo/nacional/noticia-viajas-reino-unido-olvidate-llevar-jamon-maleta-nuevas-restricciones-fiebre-aftosa-20250415142508.html 

HEALTH

Brussels authorizes the Alzheimer’s drug Lecanemab for certain patient groups: {Translation, summary}
– The European Commission (EC) has authorized this Tuesday the use of the drug lecanemab in the European Union to treat mild cognitive impairment in the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease, under strict conditions, with clear risk mitigation requirements and only for certain groups of patients. “It will be used in people who have only one copy or none of the ApoE4 gene and who have beta-amyloid plaques in the brain. It is the first drug of its kind to be authorized in the EU,” the European Commission said.
– The green light from Brussels comes after the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) recommended last November the approval of lecanemab, under the trade name Leqembi, after previously advising against it on the grounds that the side effects did not outweigh the delay achieved in cognitive impairment.
– However, after re-examining the drug in a smaller population, the EMA concludes that for that patient profile “the benefits of Leqembi in slowing the progression of disease symptoms outweigh its risks” provided that “risk minimization measures” for the most serious side effects are taken at the same time.
– As a requirement for this treatment to be administered, patients will have to undergo MRI scans before taking the first, fifth, seventh and fourteenth doses of the drug, and at any other time if they show symptoms of the described brain inflammation, such as headache, dizziness or nausea. Source, Spanish: https://www.20minutos.es/salud/bruselas-autoriza-farmaco-lecanemab-contra-alzheimer-ciertos-grupos-pacientes-5701360/ 

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Is Covid Rewriting the Rules of Aging? Brain decline alarms doctors as millions of long-Covid patients continue to struggle with cognitive difficulties:
– Five years after the pandemic’s start, millions of Americans are still struggling with long-lasting symptoms of Covid-19. Cognitive difficulties are among the most troubling and common symptoms in people both old and young. These ailments can be severe enough to leave former professionals like Ken Todd unable to work and even diagnosed with a form of mild cognitive impairment.
– I first spoke with Todd, a 56-year-old former Showtime executive in New York City, in 2022 for a column on long-Covid patients grappling with crippling fatigue. Todd says he stopped working in 2023. When he tried to apply for jobs he realized he just didn’t have the physical or mental stamina. “It just exacerbated my symptoms,” he says.
– Todd was diagnosed with a form of mild cognitive impairment in February. Now, he is pursuing cognitive rehabilitation to learn strategies to compensate for his cognitive deficiencies, along with other therapies. “We have not talked about regression,” says Todd. “But we need to keep monitoring it.”
– Our exchange raises a troubling question: Are long-Covid patients’ cognitive symptoms getting better or regressing? And are those patients being diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment, or MCI, more at risk for developing dementia or Alzheimer’s disease later? I posed these questions to the doctors and scientists who see and study these patients. Most agree that long-Covid patients experience cognitive issues and other neurological symptoms likely fueled by brain inflammation.
– It remains unclear if these changes will persist or worsen over time. But there are some disturbing signals that they could, at least in a certain subset of patients. And there is some evidence that the age when you got Covid-19 may be an important factor. Studies have found that older people who have Covid-19 are at increased risk of developing Alzheimer’s sooner than if they haven’t had it. Covid may be accelerating the process in people already at risk of dementia, or contributing to it.
– In younger people such as Todd, complaints of brain fog and cognitive difficulties may be intertwined with, or stem from, other common long-Covid symptoms, such as fatigue and pain, doctors say.
– Dr. Gabriel de Erausquin, a neurologist at University of Texas Health San Antonio, recently published a study that found the risk of moderate to severe cognitive impairment in older adults with long Covid was double that of younger ones. For those long-Covid patients over 57, the symptoms associated with cognitive difficulties look much like early dementia, he says. “It doesn’t look in older adults that this is a reversible process,” says de Erausquin. “If you look at the tests they have the profile of a person with very early Alzheimer’s disease. Do they have Alzheimer’s disease? We don’t know.”
– A February study his group published in the Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation found that after cognitive rehabilitation about half of patients reported an improvement. But about one-third of the 70 patients didn’t have a significant difference in objective measures of memory. Some long-Covid patients do show improving cognitive symptoms though recovery isn’t linear, says Dr. Igor Koralnik, chief of neuro-infectious diseases and global neurology at Northwestern Medicine in Chicago. “There are bumps on the way especially if they develop another episode of Covid,” says Koralnik. For some long-Covid patients, neurological symptoms seem to get worse with time. Image source: https://nortonhealthcaremedicaljournal.scholasticahq.com/article/81031-long-covid-the-silent-pandemic
Full article: https://www.wsj.com/health/wellness/is-covid-rewriting-the-rules-of-aging-brain-decline-alarms-doctors-6ed3dfaa

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Miscommunication between hospital staff regularly puts patients at risk, a new world-wide, 11 year study says:
– Poor communications between health care workers contributed to 25% of hospital incidents that put patients’ safety at risk, researchers reported Monday in the Annals of Internal Medicine. What’s more, miscommunication was the sole cause of patient endangerment in 1 out of 10 cases, researchers found. These cases included medication errors and medical errors that resulted in health-threatening events or near-misses, researchers said.
– “Poor communication is a substantial cause of patient safety incidents,” concluded the research team led by Jeremy Howick, a professor at the University of Leicester Medical School in the U.K. “Our findings highlight the crucial need for health care professionals to develop and maintain effective communication skills to foster strong relationships with their peers and their patients,” the team added.
– On average, about 1 in every 20 patients is exposed to preventable harm in health care, researchers said in background notes.
– For their paper, researchers pooled results from 46 prior studies involving nearly than 68,000 patients from Europe, North and South America, Asia, Africa and Australia. The studies were published between 2013 and 2024.
– Results showed that poor verbal, written, electronic and non-verbal communication was a factor in a quarter of cases where patient safety was threatened.
– More research is needed to figure out why such poor communication exists, and how it can be improved to protect patients, researchers said. “Health care professionals seeking to enhance their own communication skills may be guided by published reports of communication interventions designed to improve patient safety,” researchers wrote. “These interventions offer standardized approaches to verbal communication between health care professionals, and between health care professionals and patients.” However, more research is needed “to optimize and develop such interventions further, and to identify which interventions are most effective at improving patient safety,” researchers added. Full article: https://www.upi.com/Health_News/2025/04/15/uk-miscommunication-health-professionals-patient-rick-study/1391744733384/

SPORT

Tennis News- Carlos Alcaraz debuts at the Conde de Godó 2025 with a hard-fought victory over Quinn:
– Carlos Alcaraz successfully started in the Conde de Godó 2025 with a good victory against Ethan Quinn with a score of 6-2 and 7-6(6) in 1 hour and 49 minutes of battle. Despite not being his most brilliant match, the current world number two fulfilled his role as the favorite against a rival who put up a fight, especially in the second set, when he had the opportunity to force a third set. The Spaniard salvaged the situation with spectacular points. Full article: https://www.puntodebreak.com/en/2025/04/15/alcaraz-impresses-in-his-debut-in-barcelona 

FINANCIAL

Finally- a major crypto developer admits what the rest of us tech nerds knew all along, you can’t expect privacy from a decentralized system, including blockchain:
– Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin said privacy should be a top priority for developers, warning that assumptions about transparency and good intentions in global politics are overly optimistic.
– In an April 14 blog post, Buterin argued that privacy is essential to maintain individual freedom and protect against the growing power of governments and corporations. He criticized the idea that increased transparency (the whole point of blockchain) is inherently beneficial, saying it relies on assumptions about human nature that are no longer valid. “These assumptions include believing that global political leadership is generally well-intentioned and sane, and that social culture continues to progress in a positive direction,” Buterin wrote. “Both are proving to be increasingly untrue.” Buterin claimed there was “no single major country for which the first assumption is broadly agreed to be true.”
– Buterin only expects the need for privacy to increase as technology develops further, with brain-computer interfaces potentially allowing automated systems to peer directly into our brains.
– Another issue is automated price gouging, with companies charging individuals as much as they expect them to be able to pay. Full article: https://www.zerohedge.com/crypto/ethereum-co-founder-vitalik-buterin-privacy-freedom 

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If you are a housewife, this is the €500 monthly Social Security retirement benefit you may qualify for:
– Read full article in English on Google Translate here. Article Link

RELIGION

Italian teen set to be first millennial saint was ‘ordinary child’, says mother:
– Carlo Acutis, a British-born Italian boy who built websites to spread his faith, will be proclaimed the Catholic Church’s first saint of the millennial generation this month, elevating him to the same level as Mother Teresa and Francis of Assisi. There is no doubt he was special, his mother Antonia Salzano Acutis told Reuters. But in many ways, she said, he was like any other teen.
– Acutis, who learned several computer coding languages and developed websites for his parish and the wider Church, died from leukaemia aged 15 in 2006.
– As his reputation for devotion grew and he was moved along the official path to sainthood, his body was moved to the hill town of Assisi in central Italy, in line with his last wishes. There, he was entombed with a wax mould of his likeness placed over his body, wearing his track top, jeans and trainers. Ever since, crowds have been gathering at the clear-sided casket.
– Tens of thousands more are expected to attend the canonization service in St. Peter’s Square on April 27. Vatican officials hope Pope Francis, who is still recovering from a serious bout of double pneumonia, will preside.
But, away from all the ceremony and veneration, the heart of his appeal was that he lived the same life as others who were teenagers in the 2000s, struggling to fit in at school, his mother said.
– “Carlo was an ordinary child like (others). He used to play, to have friends, and to go to school. But his extraordinary quality was the fact that he opened the door of his heart to Jesus and put Jesus in the first place in his life.”
“He used this skill to spread the good news, the Gospel,” she added. “He wanted to help people to have more faith, to understand that there is an afterlife, that we are (pilgrims) in this world.”
– Acutis’ reputation grew further with the recording of miracles reported after his death and attributed to his intercession with God. Church officials say there was the healing of a 4-year-old Brazilian boy with a serious pancreatic malformation and of a 21-year-old Costa Rican woman who was near death after a bicycle accident. The mothers of the boy and the woman had both prayed to Acutis for help, Vatican authorities said. Full article: https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/italian-teen-set-be-first-millennial-saint-was-ordinary-child-says-mother-2025-04-15/

CANCEL CULTURE

Johnny Depp Returns to Hollywood as ‘Day Drinker’ Starts Filming in Spain:
– Lionsgate has started production on “Day Drinker,” sharing a first-look image at Johnny Depp as he makes his return to Hollywood following high-profile legal battles with ex-wife Amber Heard.
– The film from “500 Days of Summer” and “Snow White” director Marc Webb re-teams Depp and Penélope Cruz for a fourth time after previous collaborations on “Blow,” “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides” and “Murder on the Orient Express.” Madelyn Cline also stars in the film. Manu Ríos, Arón Piper, Juan Diego Botto and Anika Boyle round out the cast. “Day Drinker” tells the story of a private-yacht bartender (Cline) who encounters a mysterious, onboard guest (Depp). They soon find themselves entangled with a criminal figure (Cruz) and connected in ways no one saw coming.
– The film, which begins production in Spain, is produced by Thunder Road’s Basil Iwanyk and Erica Lee, who produce the “John Wick” franchise for Lionsgate, among others. Full article: https://variety.com/2025/film/news/johnny-depp-day-drinker-first-look-1236368998/ 

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Cinesur El Ingenio Films schedule: You can find the film schedule at this link. Films tagged as (VOSE) are in the original language with Spanish subtitles. 
https://www.cinesur.com/es/cine/mk2-cinesur-el-ingenio

Useful Links, Info & Numbers

2025 Holiday Calendars by town, click/tap to view:
Algarrobo 
Competa 
Malaga 
Nerja 
Rincon 
Torrox 
Velez-Málaga 
For other towns in Malaga Province, visit this website, click your town, then look for the post named “Calendario Laboral de ‘Your Town‘ 2025 “, click that to see calendar.
https://www.foro-ciudad.com/malaga.html

Petrol Prices – Updated daily: These are the fuel stations in Malaga province with the lowest prices. The price data for 95 and 98-octane petrol and diesel fuel is updated every day. See it here:
https://www.surinenglish.com/malaga/updated-daily-these-20220314114157-nt.html

Weekly Markets
Monday: Torrox Costa
Tuesday: Nerja, Salobrena
Wednesday: Rincon de la Victoria, Algarrobo Costa
Thursday: Velez Malaga, Torre del Mar, Frigiliana
Friday: Almunecar, Salobrena, La Herradura- Summers only, Mercadillo de La Cala del Moral- Rincon de la Victoria.
Saturday: Competa, Mezquitilla@Algarrobo behind the Sala Ottowa
Sunday: Nerja Car Boot 

Taxi
Nerja 952 524 519
Torrox: 952 531 030
Frigiliana: 952 533 231

Phone numbers for emergencies
Emergency Services.: 112
National Police: 091
Guardia Civil: 062
Ambulance: 061
Fire Station (Bomberos): 080
Emergency English Help Line: 902 102 112

Local Police
Torrox: 952 539 828
Nerja: 952 521 545
Frigiliana: 952 533 126
Torre del Mar: 952 549 238

Local/National News in English, The Sur: http://www.surinenglish.com/
Local Weather: https://www.accuweather.com/en/es/torre-del-mar/306652/weather-forecast/306652
Bus Info: https://www.alsa.com/en/web/bus/our-destinations/regional
Currency Converter: https://www.x-rates.com/calculator/?from=EUR&to=GBP&amount=1
Internet Speed Test: http://beta.speedtest.net/
Local Bank Holidays: http://www.officeholidays.com/countries/spain/index.php  UK Newspaper Front Pages and Worldwide Newspapers All On One Site: https://www.thepaperboy.com/uk/front-pages.cfm

Check All Lottery Results Here: Updated daily. 
https://www.20minutos.es/loterias/

Alcoholics Anonymous Meetings in Malaga Province: New, updated link (Aug, 2023). Info in English with list of English speaking meetings. https://aacostadelsol.com/

DoctorLaptop’s Homepage: https://doctorlaptop-repairs.webnode.com/

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