Only Joe King

Is this true? Has the Orange One achieved his objective? Or is it FAKE NEWS? Or AI-GENERATED?

Well, the headline is not true. The closing date for nominations for 2025 has passed, before Trump made his historic deal to bring about peace in the Middle East. 

Most commentators think he will miss out on the accolade this year, but may be awarded the prize in 2026, if everlasting peace is achieved in Gaza Strip.

So, what has happened in the last few days?

Trump talks a good game, but is it all true? He does tend to exaggerate. We shall see.

Key players in negotiating the ceasefire were Qatar, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Turkey. Well done to them!

There was supposed to be the signing of a document today, committing both "sides" to an immediate ceasefire, the return of the remaining hostages in exchange for Hamas and Palestinian fighters, and the staged withdrawal of Israeli troops (IDF) from Gaza.

Despite the above, smoke was seen rising from Gaza this morning, but whether it was an an Israeli attack has not been verified.

There were scenes of jubilation in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, as Israelis celebrated what they hope is really the end of the war.

There has been wall-to-wall coverage on the TV outlets I use, ie Sky News, BBC News, ITV News, La 1 (TVE1), La Sexta here in Spain and Das Erste, ZDF and N-TV in Germany. But it seems to be very slow-paced.

British prime minister, Sir Keir Starmer, is attending an important trade mission in India, but he broke off to give a press conference, welcoming the peace deal.

British PM Keir Starmer calls for "hands-on" approach in implementing UK-India trade deal

Other European leaders, including Friedrich Merz from Germany, Emmanuel Macron (France) and our own Pedro Sanchez all had positive words to say. As did UN secretary general, Antonio Gutierres.

    Friedrich Merz [El Confidencial]                     Emmanuel Macron [El Correo]               Pedro Sanchez [El Periodico]

    Antonio Gutierres [EL PAIS]

Endword

Let's hope this is the real deal. There has been enough bloodshed, death and destruction. Let us/them all move on and start the reconstruction of the devastated areas of Gaza Strip and the West Bank.

©  Only Joe King

Photos:

El Confidencial, El Correo, EL PAIS, El Periodico,

Thanks:

BBC News, Das Erste, ITV News, La 1, La Sexta, N-TV, Sky News, TVE1, ZDF

Tags:

AI, Antonio Gutierres, Egypt, Emmanuel Macron, fake news, France, Friedrich Merz, Gaza Strip, Germany, Keir Starmer, Nobel Peace Prize, Only Joe King, Pedro Sanchez, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, UN secretary general, West Bank, 

Owning and running a car in Spain is ridiculously expensive! Prices for new and second-hand cars are very high.

They're much cheaper in other EU countries, eg France and Germany.

[Caser Expat Insurance]    

Servicing costs are also high in Spain and fuel is no longer as cheap as it was pre-Covid and before the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

If it were up to me I would get rid of one of our two cars.

"Two cars"?

We're an elderly married couple. Why do we need two cars?

"I need my independence", says the missus.

Anyway, why was I "tyred and shocked"?

Two Cars

So, we're stuck with two cars, both Peugeots. Mine is a five-year-old automatic 2008 and hers is a 15-year-old manual 207 cabriolet. Both petrol.

Rita will only use the Peugeot main dealer, so she pays "top whack" for everything.

    Rita happy with her 207 cabriolet [PW]                               Peugeot 2008 [Portillo Sur]

I also get my car serviced there, but when I need new parts, I go elsewhere.

I recently had a service after which I was told I needed two new shock absorbers and two new tyres. They quoted for the work: 800-odd for the amortiguadores and 300 for two new tyres. I told them: "I'll let you know".

I went to Euromaster - a world-wide while-you-wait service, which I used to use in the UK. Shock-absorbers 400 and tyres 180.

They did the work yesterday.

Links:

How to buy a car in Spain - Secret Serrania de Ronda

MADRID and TOLEDO – a two-night mini-break - Help me, Ronda

© Only Joe King (Paul Whitelock)

Pictures:

Caser Expat Insurance, Paul Whitelock, Portillo Sur, 

Thanks:

Paul Whitelock, www.help-me-ronda.com, www.secretserrania.com

Tags:

15-year-old manual 207 cabriolet, 300 for two new tyres, amortiguadores, automatic 2008, Euromaster, Madrid, Only Joe King, Paul Whitelock, Peugeot, pre-Covid, Russian invasion of Ukraine, shock absorbers, Toledo, "tyred and shocked", tyres, while-you-wait,