Europe Calling

Santa Claus, also known as Father Christmas, Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Kris Kringle, or simply Santa, is a fictional figure originating in Western Christian culture EMPLOYMENT figures published by the Ministry of Employment in Spain has revealed that the rate of employment in 2019 has increased by a welcome 2.02% The Valencian orchard is unique. Formed from the system of ditches that the Muslims bequeathed, it has been maintained over the centuries despite the pressure of the 1.2 million inhabitants of the city and its metropolitan area. . In the UK Thieves, fraudsters, robbers and violent criminals are being spared prison sent ences despite committing up to 60 previous offences, new data has revealed. British aid to the world's most corrupt countries has risen by more than a third in five years, figures reveal. The Duke of Cambridge has narrated a 60-second film featuring stars of British football which he hopes will encourage fans to 'Take A Minute' to start looking after their mental health

n Spain...... income tax for those earning more than €130,000 a year will rise by two percentage points, and by four percentage points for those who earn more than.......... An environmentalists’ idea of both heaven and hell can be found in a lake 10 kilometers to the south of Valencia in eastern Spain. La Albufera nature reserve is a freshwater lagoon and estuary that is highly valued for its expanse of land and biodiversity,........... Comfort Diya, 9, slipped in the pool and drifted towards the deep end of the pool, with a maximum depth of six-and-a-half at Club La Costa World near Fuengirola around 2pm on Christmas Eve. .......... BAFFLED Brits are booking holidays for the wrong dates in 2020 – as 30 million diaries and calendars show an incorrect early May Bank Holiday date. A suspected gun and drug smuggler was arrested as he sat down for his festive feast in ............the Netherlands. A grizzly catalogue of stabbings, assaults and killings greeted the readers of the UK daily papers highlighting the fact that many do not share the spirit of Christmas in the UK. How will the justice system cope? Allowing jailed defendants who refuse to go to court the option of Skyping judges would be an insult to victims, justice campaigners said last night. Fusilier Lee Rigby's killer is part of a deradicalisation programme in the jail where London Bridge attacker was an inmate, it was reported last night.

An incredible 109 new Tory MPs a descended on Parliament after the 'blue tsunami' of the election. Triumphant Conservatives reported for duty in Westminster after demolishing Labour's 'Red Wall' of Leave-backing strongholds in the North, Midlands and Wales

Greta Thunberg, the teenage environmental activist, arrived in Madrid on Friday morning to participate in a march in the Spanish capital, which is currently hosting the United Nations climate summit known as COP25. Spain will press ahead with the creation of a tax on certain digital services as soon as a government is formed, according to sources from the caretaker executive. This so-called “Google tax” could, however, raise the ire of the United States, which has already threatened France with reprisals over a similar levy.

A POLICE investigation into a robbery in Denia led to the bust of a crime gang operating all over the province. Police have linked the organisation to more than 30 cases of house break-ins and violent thefts in areas of Alicante Spanish Big Brother has come under fire after it emerged one of the show's contestants ........... With more migrants arriving on the beach in Gran Canaria............More than 27,000 migrants have arrived in Spain this year........ After the London Bridge terror attack........The Imam of the mosque where London Bridge attacker Usman Khan worshipped as a boy has condemned the killer and said his prayers are with the victims and their families. Jeremy Corbyn said that convicted terrorists should 'not necessarily' have to serve the entirety of their prison sentences. Mr Johnson said scrapping early release from prison for terrorists would have stopped the attack from happening. A former prison governor who wrote a major review on Islamic extremism in jails said he warned the government that inmates such as London Bridge terrorist Usman Khan were being treated with 'jaw-dropping naivety', Prince Andrew faced fresh humiliation last night as it was revealed he sent an email to Jeffrey Epstein's alleged madam Ghislaine Maxwell at 5.50am to let her know he had 'specific questions' about Virginia Roberts in 2015 With a name like Mr Men, it was only a matter of time before the much-loved series of children’s books would be accused of sexism. When it comes to the essentials in life, no one does it better than the Danes. They might not have the museums of France, the cuisine of Italy, the beaches of Spain and Portugal, or the wine of Croatia, but the overall quality of life in this Scandinavian country is tops in the world.

n the UK .....Jeremy Corbyn defiantly dodged apologising over Labour's anti-Semitism crisis today after Britain's chief rabbi warned he is not fit to be PM. John McDonnell refused to rule out restoring the punishing secondary striking rights which crippled Britain's public services in the 1970s. In an interview that will send a chill up the spines of voters who endured the gruelling Winter of Discontent 40 years ago,....... I remember the 70s. The Marxist union leaders used ordinary workers for political ends to bring down a Tory Government through strikes..................

I’ve always voted for the PP, but Rajoy didn’t know anything,” he says, in reference to the conservative Popular Party (PP) and its former prime minister, Support for independence in Catalonia continues to fall, while the distance between those in favor and those against secession from Spain is growing. A team of 69 donkeys makes up the donkey-ride service in Mijas (Málaga), and it is one of the key tourist activities in the area. ............... POLICE have arrested a 30-year old Romanian woman for targeting a Gandia pensioner in a so-called friendly mugging. ...................... A leading Royal commentator has labelled Prince Andrew’s explanation of why he stayed with Jeffrey Epstein after his conviction for sex crimes as “ridiculous and galling” on LBC radio station. Leading businesses and charities are deserting Andrew in their droves over the Epstein scandal after accountancy firm KPMG was the first to admit it was protecting its reputation by ending its £100,000 a year sponsorship. For more than 20 years, he has displayed a banner proclaiming his Christian beliefs while preaching the Gospel at Speaker’s Corner. But last Sunday, at the nation’s historic home of free speech, two police officers told Roland Parsons he could no longer show his slogans and ordered him to remove them. Royal navy sailors were filmed passed out in their beds in their trashed training base following a 'drunken rampage'. The clip, filmed in the HMS Sultan training base, Portsmouth, shows a pile of clothes on the floor against one of the walls. A family doctor who was facing career ruin after he was caught trying to groom a 13-year-old girl over the internet has kept his job........ A mother blasted her daughter's school for casting her six-year-old as the 'Inn Keeper's Wife' in the Nativity, claiming it is 'sexist'. .........

Forming a government in Spain will be more complicated than ever after Sunday's election : big gains for the far right and left the winning Socialist Party (PSOE) with 120 seats, 56 short of a parliamentary majority. The leader Ciudadanos (Citizens), Albert Rivera, resigned from his role Having picked up 57 seats in April 28 poll, Ciudadanos fell to just 10 seats on Sunday The PP and far-right Vox made major gains. As a preliminary step, Vox wants the immediate devolution of powers over education, health, security and justice, and to curtail regional legislative power as much as possible. Vox wants to “shut down fundamentalist mosques,” to “regain control of our borders,” and to “arrest and deport extremist imams.” Spaniards do not have a good level of English. In fact, surveys from the European Union’s statistical office, Eurostat, and a report from the foreign language company, Education First, place Spain close to the bottom of the ladder compared to the rest of Europe when it comes to English proficiency. Furious Britons hit back at David Starkey's 'shameful' slurs about Remembrance Sunday imposing 'poppy fascism' by pointing out the fallen died for 'freedom not fascism' and that no one is forced to take part. The day we forget, is the day humanity will end. Perhaps a third war will warm people towards remembering the last two wars rather than living in a bubble. Emily Thornberry to shrug off fears that Jeremy Corbyn would put Britain's security at risk - by claiming he will not have sole control of the nuclear deterrent. The Polish Prime Minister has accused Netflix of 'rewriting history' after a popular documentary included a map showing Nazi death camps inside the borders of modern Poland.

The latest survey shows the Socialist Party (PSOE) winning the November 10 election with 27.3% of the vote and 121 seats, two fewer than it earned on April 28. ................ Five of the six men accused of gang raping a 14-year-old teenager in Manresa in Barcelona province have been convicted of sexual abuse. The government of Spain’s eastern Valencia region is set to ban gendered school uniforms. .......... arguing that gendered school uniforms violate “students’ individual freedoms and right to non-discrimination.” 7000 British residents got in before yesterdays deadline to register their swapping of a UK licence for a Spanish one. Security alarms will trigger an immediate armed police response when activated during UK electioneering. Sean Robertson We will never forget that the Mayor of London axed £65million, 10 fire stations, 14 fire engines and 552 firefighters from his fire service. ......The Tories are going to fight the election with a surrender treaty and not a clean break Brexit policy...........So If the Brexit Party won the election who would be PM? ….against Corbyn/labour .....accused of being a Marxist, sides with most terrorist groups, doesn't sing the anthem or wear the poppy and respect the fallen. Undercover footage has revealed multiple sheep getting trapped in a conveyor belt at a Welsh slaughterhouse that is already under investigation for mistreating animals. British beef is back on the menu in China after the lifting of a ban brought in 23 years ago following the outbreak of mad cow disease. The first shipment will be made before Christmas as part of a boost to the industry thought to be worth £230million over the next five years. A motorist has been banned from the roads – after getting her learner driver fiance to take her home when she was drunk.

MORE than 200 migrants arrived at Costa Blanca ports and beaches in just 24 hours this week. This was the biggest influx ever seen in such a short time, according to the Red Cross. In Spain he Socialist Party (PSOE) would be the clear winner of the upcoming November 10 general election, with 32% of the vote and between 133 and 150 seats in the 350-seat Congress, Relatives of Spain's deceased dictator scuffled with police on Thursday at Madrid’s ElPardo-Mingorrubio cemetery, where the late dictator was reburied after his exhumation from the Valley of the Fallen earlier that morning. The police couldn’t believe it. They had never heard of such a case. What started with a British tourist running barefoot through the southern Spanish city of Málaga, ended with the unexpected arrest of a 76-year-old woman with a long criminal history. The Brexit Farce rolls on unabated.... A five-year-old girl has been scarred for life after a stranger's dog 'ripped off her face' and left her needing 36 stitches. MI5 and GCHQ have warned universities that their research and computer systems could be at risk from Beijing spies hidden among Chinese students on campus. The agencies fear that relying on Chinese money from students, especially postgraduates who pay up to £50,000 a year in fees, has made certain universities particularly at risk. . For most police officers, facing a barrage of four-letter words from abusive suspects is an everyday occurrence. But chiefs at one force are warning officers that they may be upset by ‘swearing’ and ‘offensive language’ in training exercises – and that they should contact their supervisor if they find it all too much. In a statement released on social media, Swansea Council said: 'We have decided not to go ahead with a provisional booking for Roy 'Chubby' Brown after considering how it would work alongside our new programming aspirations and partnerships.

Germany has tumbled into recession as global trade tensions, disruption to the car industry and worries over Brexit take their toll, according to the country's central bank.In a major setback for Chancellor Angela Merkel and the wider eurozone, A judge from Spain’s High Court, the Audiencia Nacional, ordered the Civil Guard to close down webpages and social network accounts belonging to Tsunami Democràtic Quim Torra, the regional premier of Catalonia, on Thursday found himself alone in his defense of a new unauthorized referendum on independence. Hundreds of residents of Portugalete, in Spain’s northern Basque Country, have managed to evict a family of squatters who had moved into a 94-year-old woman’s home when she left to go visit her ailing sister for a few days......... A British teenager has died after falling from a seventh-floor bathroom at an apartment block in the southern Spanish city of Cordoba. n 2017, the difference in GDP per capita (at purchasing power parity) between Europe’s richest region, West London, and Spain’s poorest, Extremadura, was €168,700. That’s41% more than it was in 2007........... Nigel Farage warned that Boris Johnson's Brexit deal will turn the UK into an 'EU colony' - as he demanded a delay to the Halloween departure date. The Brexit Party leader accused the PM of trying to 'bounce' the country into backing his agreement to save the Tories from disaster. Commons Speaker John Bercow has been accused of 'straying' from the rule of law in a withering attack by one of his deputies. Dame Eleanor Laing suggested Mr Bercow had been 'aggressive and arrogant' as she laid out her pitch to replace him in the chair next month. Met Police Commissioner revealed today that the bill for this month's protests currently stands at £21million, and is rising. More than 1,800 people were arrested during the two weeks. Around £6million of this month's sum was spent on officers from 38 other forces while £3.5million was spent on overtime for officers. COMMENT-As a Londoner, I am not only paying for this mob of self-entitled to be policed . I have also lost money because I was unable to meet work deadlines. ............ AN 89-YEAR-OLD NHS worker was devastated when she was sacked because she couldn't use a computer. Eileen Jolly, who had never taken a sick day in 10 years of employment, has now successfully sued a hospital for age discrimination.

Police used batons against the protesters who converged on El Prat airport after a call by the grassroots group Democratic Tsunami, which supports Catalan secession. While some in Catalonia opposed to breaking away from Spain rally to celebrate Spain’s National Day, others rally against it. Temperatures in the Mediterranean basin are likely to increase by up to 5C in the next 100 years, much faster than the global average, threatening food and water supplies in the process as sea levels rise and floods become more prevalent. In a scientific study published in September by Scientific Advances magazine, researchers found that Spanish was only second to Japanese in terms of the rate of syllables spoken per second. An extraordinary rebuke came as Priti Patel defended the government's tough stance towards negotiations with the EU. Andrew Marr........... Footage appears to show teachers at the Hackney New School in Dalston, east London c lutching bottles as they sing and dance provocatively to music. A damning report by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services, published two weeks ago, branded Cleveland Police to be ‘inadequate’ by every benchmark of policing standards. Graham Norton has seen his pay slashed by more than 40 per cent, according to figures released by his production company. The BBC presenter is a director of So Television, the company which produces his long-running Friday night chat show, which paid him £2.97 million last year. Leapy Lee-----WAR paint has been worn by warriors stretching back to the Neanderthals. Camouflage face paint is an integral part of our modern commando’s ability to melt into the background.

A stolen truck ploughed into nine cars and left seven people injured in hospital in a suspected terror attack in Germany on Monday evening. It is Spain’s Hispanic Day or Fiesta Nacional de España or Día de la Hispanidad commemorating the exact date when Christopher Columbus first set foot in the Americas in 1492. According to the Julian calendar, Christopher Columbus set sail from the port of Palos de la Frontera in South-West Spain on August 3, 1492. He landed on an island that is now part of the Bahamas in the Caribbean on October 12, 1492. The anniversary of this date is marked as Hispanic Day in Spain. As Spaniards gear up for a repeat national election following months of parliamentary stalemate, political parties are redesigning their campaign strategies – some very noticeably so. Ciudadanos (Citizens), which started out as a liberal reform party but veered to the right ahead of the April 28 election, is now back where it was seven months ago. For 12 years, San Sebastián in Spain’s northern Basque Country region has been the city with the highest property prices in Spain. Madrid City Hall announced on Monday a plan to hunt and cull the majority of the 12,000 monk parakeets in the Spanish capital, on the basis that they are a threat to safety and biodiversity. Jean-Claude Juncker has warned that No Deal Brexit will 'lead to the collapse of the United Kingdom' as the EU heaped pressure on Boris Johnson to cave to its demands. The commission president dismissed suggestions that the bloc will be to blame for failure to get an agreement, jibing that Britain had committed the 'original sin' of trying to leave. Activists are being advised to 'not to cooperate' with Met officers going tent-to-tent to warn them they will be arrested unless they move to nearby Trafalgar Square. ............

The collapse of Thomas Cook has left a huge whole in the Spanish tourism industry. The British travel group, which ceased activity on Monday after failing to secure funding, is one of the largest sources of tourists to Spain, bringing around 3.6 million passengers to the country every year.

The worst storm to hit eastern Spain in the last 140 years finally let up on Sunday after wreaking havoc in Valencia, Alicante, Murcia and Almería. The torrential downpours caused rivers to burst their banks, dragging cars and people away, flooding streets, forcing thousands from their homes, and destroying at least 300,000 hectares of prime agricultural land according to early estimates. Spain’s acting Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has rejected the latest offer made by the leftist group Unidas Podemos in a bid to reach a governing deal that would prevent a repea t general election in November. The Spanish government is “preparing itself for the worst” The acting Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez President has brought in an extra 875 civil servants to deal with the extra work expected with a no-deal. Economy minister Nadia Calvino has stated: “We have to be prepared for the worst. The prime minister has arranged a special meeting with ministers most directly related with the subject so that they are right up-to-date with what’s happening, can analyse the situation and put in extra measures if necessary.” Protesters jeered Boris Johnson after the showdown talks with the EU commission president at a restaurant. And he then faced cat-calls from a crowd including British ex-pats as he arrived for a meeting with Luxembourg counterpart Xavier Bettel. COMMENT......... This was a pathetic set up by Luxembourg to try and humiliate Boris Johnson. This was disrespectful and Boris was right to not go out and be shouted down by those protesters who strangely had microphones and speakers. A hero female police officer who tried to save a baby 'thrown to his death off a bridge'has been forced to delete her Twitter account after being bombarded with disgustingsexist messages.