Europe Calling

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Former King of Spain Juan Carlos wants to return home and does not care about possibly damaging the Royal Family's reputation by doing so, an expert has claimed. Juan Carlos, 83, who abdicated in 2014 in favour of his son Felipe VI, 53, has been living in Abu Dhabi since summer 2020 after becoming the target of several probes in Spain over his financial dealings. However, the elderly royal is reportedly hoping to see out his final years home, despite a majority of the Spanish public opposing his return. Speaking to The Times, Pablo Simon, a professor of political science at Carlos III University in Madrid, explained Juan Carlos 'does not care' whether his actions damage his son and his family.

GPs are being encouraged to send them on a six-week course, where they will learn to write jokes and perform stand-up routines. A pilot scheme is being launched in Bristol this month, designed to help people suffering from anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress 'see the funny side' of their predicament. The courses are being run by comics including Angie Belcher, who is described as Comedian-in-Residence at Bristol University. She sounds a laugh a minute. (Somehow I didn't expect the NHS would be hiring Chubby Brown or Jim Davidson to teach 'vulnerable' individuals how to tell jokes.)

King George III called slavery 'repugnant' in an essay he wrote five decades before he signed Abolition, it has been revealed. The monarch's arguments against trading in human life come in a 200-page manuscript called 'Of Laws relative to Government in general', written while he was under the intellectual mentorship of John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute.

The Lady who married a Tree

Malta has become the first European Union country to legalise cannabis at home and for personal use. MPs approved a legal reform on Tuesday, allowing citizens to grow and possess limited amounts of marijuana. Under the new law, citizens aged 18 and over will be allowed to possess up to seven grams of cannabis, and cultivate up to four cannabis plants at home. Grey amber or whale poo is worth more than its weight in gold, the 1.7 kilogram chunk being worth an estimated €80,000....... Spanish law prohibits the marketing of grey amber, who have sent it to a laboratory for authentication. ..... Secreted by sperm whales when they suffer digestive problems, grey amber is highly prized as a perfume fixative. UK and Spanish Foreign Ministers expected to discuss shared priorities, such as combatting malign actors and getting more girls into education. Foreign Secretary to boost economic ties as she hosts an event with leading Spanish investors and British businesses A controversial Spanish bishop has been formally stripped of his church powers after abandoning his clerical carer to marry a novelist known for her transgressive erotic novels, some of which contains references to Satanism. Xavier Novell i Gomà was Spain’s youngest ever bishop when he was appointed to the Catalan municipality of Solsona in 2010, aged just 41.

December Riot police used water cannons and tear gas on demonstrators to disperse masked protesters who had set fire to plastic bins and rubbish in the street to block the road. Police used water cannons to disperse protesters as thousands of people marched through the streets towards the headquarters of the European Union, shouting 'Freedom! Freedom!' The Pope said while on board the papal plane on return to the Vatican: 'It is something that throughout history has not worked. 'In history, many dictatorships have tried to do these things. I'm thinking of Napoleon, the Nazi dictatorship, the Communist one.' He added that the EU is 'necessary' but it needs to avoid stirring up divisions among its member states. According to the most recent National Statistics Institute data, inflation in Spain is on its way to new highs not seen in the previous three decades. On the back of rising food and gas prices, Inflation in Spain accelerated in November to its highest level in nearly three decades. - In Spain's Euroweekly News..............

Birmingham City Football Club offers its respects to little Arthur Labinjo-Hughes..... Supporters at the home match with Cardiff will be invited to pay tribute to Arthur after six minutes — his age, in years, when he died at the hands of his stepmother Families have told of their 'disgust' after trespassers urinated and vomited on the memorial garden for the victims killed in the Manchester Arena terror attack before its official opening. Premier Sanna Marin, 36, was seen enjoying a night out at the Butchers nightclub with friends on Saturday - so much so that she did not leave until 4am. Finland has seen some of the lowest rates of Covid-19 in Europe, with just 1,277 cases recorded on Saturday compared to a staggering 56,739 infections in Germany. Unearthed documents revealed the BBC's pension fund has undisclosed interests in six Chinese firms. One of these is the China Overseas Land and Investment, a subsidiary of state-owned China State Construction Engineering Corporation, which has already been blacklisted by the United States government, according to a report by the Mail on Sunday. Actors playing characters from some of William Shakespeare's most popular plays should be taught about sexual ethics, an academic has warned. David Beckham is under yet more pressure over his multi-million pound deal to promote the 2022 World Cup after homosexuality was described as being ‘against human nature’ on a Qatari TV channel run by a close friend.

The fashion world is now seeing its very own Succession moment play out in real life. mirroring the series, which sees a father grooming his children to take control of his empire, Spain's richest man and Zara founder Amancio Ortega has announced his youngest daughter Marta Ortega Perez, 37, will take over as chair of the retailer's parent company Inditex, bypassing her two older siblings. Dogs that are only fed once per day may be less likely to go to develop age-related conditions like gastrointestinal, orthopaedic and liver disorders, a study has found. University of Arizona-led experts analysed data on more than 24,000 pet dogs for links between feeding rates and cognitive function and health outcomes. A school has urged parents not to let children watch Squid Game after young pupils were found viewing 'gory, explicit' scenes on TikTok and mobile game apps. The Netflix TV series sees debt-ridden contestants tackle survival tasks for a mammoth cash prize.

Neil Colbourne joins @vincetracy discussing the UK news including the #Omicron Variant #Barbados now a republic #China #Teenage Gun Killing #ClimateChange #Gender Paygap and #MaleChauvinism

Edward Snowden, one of the world’s most wanted fugitives, has warned us of what is to come. And it’s already here. This Reuters storey confirms that Amazon is spying on us in such detail that there is no longer any privacy in any aspect of our lives. Ibraheem Samirah, a Virginia lawmaker, has spent a lot of time studying internet privacy issues and openly discussed how to regulate tech firms’ collection of personal data. Nonetheless, he was taken aback when he learned the full extent of the data Amazon.com had on him. Spain will auction off concessions to build 6,000MW of renewable energy capacity as part of this plan,with an additional €1,5bn set aside for hydrogen projects, (this amount will probably go to the chemical complex in Tarragona) . In addition, 150,000 fast-charging stations will be built to support electric vehicles. Police officers in the Catalonia region have arrested a man on suspicion of domestic abuse after his partner made the international signal for sexist violence – showing the palm of your hand, tucking in your thumb and closing your fingers – at a healthcare center. Rowdy Brits threw caution to the wind to defy the woke mob as they dressed as migrants in inflatable boats, North Korean leader Kim Jon Un and saucy nuns - all while ignoring a Covid ban - and took part in an annual costume event through the streets of Benidorm ............. Question Time panellist Nazir Afzal today backed Fiona Bruce, saying he had 'no criticism' of the host after accusing her during the show of asking him first about the cricket racism row because he is a 'brown person'.

Hydrogen vehicles will be on the road sooner than expected. Technology giant Bosch recently announced a €1 billion investment in new technology, with the clear goal of putting hydrogen lorries on European highways in the near future. As the world has spent the last two weeks watching COP26 discuss the future of power, technology giant Bosch has identified hydrogen as a huge new trend. According to its research, the European Union market for green hydrogen will be worth more than €40 billion by 2030, with annual growth rates of 65 percent...

Neil Colbourne discusses the news from UK looking at #LiverpoolBombin #DrinkDriving #Ceicket #EcoWarriors #Santa #BrainwashingChildren #IllegalImmigration #France #Cyclists #AirPollution

Far from calming down, the conflict between truckers and the government is growing.Yesterday Thursday the Minister of Transport, Raquel Sánchez, said she hoped that the strikeannounced for December 20-22 -just before Christmas- The new measure proposed by the Government to meet Brussels’ demands on pension savings, which involves extending the pension calculation period from the current 25 years to 35 years, would mean a reduction in the benefit of 8,6%, according to a study published on Thursday by the Pension Observatory of the University of Valencia and Extremadura.....................

Keir Starmer risked the wrath of Corbynites today as he hinted at ditching the promise he made during his leadership bid to abolish the House of Lords. The Labour leader pointedly avoided repeating the commitment, instead saying the upper chamber 'certainly needs change'. Yorkshire County Cricket Club are expected to release a damning reportinto allegations of racial abuse at the club as early as Wednesday, with several England internationals fearing they could be implicated.... The National Railway Museum and universities across Yorkshire and the north of England will investigate the possible links between railways and the global slave trade as part of a £9,000 research project. Hundreds of people were watching the firework display at Ringwood Raceway in Matchams, Dorset, on Saturday night when a hot end from one of the fireworks landed in the bed of a tipper truck and the whole vehicle caught on fire. Marks & Spencer has started giving its staff pronoun badges as part of a diversity and inclusivity initiative. Susanna Reid was forced to apologise for asking a lesbian couple planning to have a family 'who will be mum' on Tuesday's Good Morning Britain.