twitters

Babs Drougge och Matilda Rånge på P3 Nyheter förklarar morgonens stora nyheter, alltid tillsammans med programledarna för Morgonpasset i P3: Linnéa Wikblad och David Druid.

Lyssna på alla avsnitt i Sveriges Radio Play.

Europa borde passa sig för att trassla in sig i USA:s och Kinas konflikt gällande Taiwan. Den franska presidenten Emmanuel Macrons uttalande efter en Kina-resa som var tänkt att visa upp ett enat Europa i frågan resulterade i raka motsatsen, och riskerar att spela Xi Jinping rakt i händerna, enligt bedömare.

Sen pratar vi om att Twitter börjat markera flera public service-bolag som regeringsfinansierade och i vissa fall till och med statsanknutna. Det här har retat upp BBC, som menar att deras oberoende ifrågasätts, och amerikanska NPR väljer nu att lämna plattformen. Men hur ser svenska public service på det här, och hur ser finansieringen ut egentligen?

I know from my previous work as a reporter that many expats quickly become frustrated by the antics of some of the state monopolies in Spain. Dealings with the Town Halls, water and electricity companies, Correos and Telefonica - to name a few, can become incredibly frustrating experiences and can be the stuff of nightmares. With most of these companies, I still get the feeling that they think that we are here for their benefit and not that the other way around. The situation is very similar to that in the UK 15 to 20 years ago, when the then UK monopolies maintained a similar arrogance towards their customers. 
© Barrie Mahoney 2011

This article is part of the book 'Living the Dream' by Barrie Mahoney. 

You can find out more about the author and this book by clicking here

Yes, it turned out that our new postman had just been appointed. I asked what had happened to our previous postman - a very nice man who was also a part-time drag queen by night. Maybe he had deserted his postal deliveries permanently in favour of the bright lights and a wardrobe of new frocks, wigs and feather boas?

© Barrie Mahoney 2011

This article is part of the book 'Living the Dream' by Barrie Mahoney. 

You can find out more about the author and this book by clicking here

Do we ever really know our neighbours? From a quick glance at the rotary clothes dryer, we know that the lady of the house next door has a liking for daring red underwear, and that the gentleman of the house likes to use his power drill early on a Sunday morning. 

© Barrie Mahoney 2011

This article is part of the book 'Living the Dream' by Barrie Mahoney. 

You can find out more about the author and this book by clicking here

As much as I love visiting friends and family in the UK and Ireland, the necessary air flight fills me with dread, which is why I avoid this tortuous ordeal as much as possible. No, it is not the actual flying part, nor the possibility of catching pig flu from all that recycled air, nor being crammed into airport buses and queues and not even the major airports’ policy of processing passengers like sardines. No, my horrors begin when packing my suitcase, or several in my case, a week or so before the trip...

© Barrie Mahoney 2011

This article is part of the book 'Living the Dream' by Barrie Mahoney. 

You can find out more about the author and this book by clicking here

Cows do it. Horses do it. People do it after drinking lager, or while eating a spicy curry. We all pass gas and lots of it too.

© Barrie Mahoney 2011

This article is part of the book 'Living the Dream' by Barrie Mahoney. 

You can find out more about the author and this book by clicking here

I like eating bananas and, since coming to live in the Canary Islands, I am now a passionate advocate for this humble fruit, which, incidentally, is also called “the fruit of the wise”. From a health point of view, it really is a wonderful addition to the weekly shopping list, as it contains vitamins and minerals essential for the human body.

© Barrie Mahoney 2011

This article is part of the book 'Living the Dream' by Barrie Mahoney. 

You can find out more about the author and this book by clicking here

The Canary Islands have a strong place in history in setting the centre of world time. Imagine the prestige (and confusion) if the world’s clocks were set to Canaries Mañana Time and not Greenwich Mean Time.

© Barrie Mahoney 2011

This article is part of the book 'Living the Dream' by Barrie Mahoney. 

You can find out more about the author and this book by clicking here

Do you receive endless email spam messages advertising all kinds of competitions, pills and potions and, in particular, Viagra? The Viagra ones are particularly sinister, I find. After all, do they know something that I don’t? They are, of course, easily dealt with by using the delete button, and some email providers also provide very sophisticated software that will weed out some of the most annoying and offensive messages and blast them into the ether. Sadly, it is a fact of modern day living that most of us are bombarded with all kinds of advertising, junk mail and unwanted phone calls.
© Barrie Mahoney 2011

This article is part of the book 'Living the Dream' by Barrie Mahoney. 

You can find out more about the author and this book by clicking here

Agatha Christie visited the Canary Islands in search of a tranquil and recuperative environment to help her calm a troubled mind. In February 1927, at the age of 36, she visited the Canary Islands to recover from a number of events that had taken place in her life and were having a serious impact upon her mental health.
© Barrie Mahoney 2012

This article is part of the book 'Expat Survival' by Barrie Mahoney. 

You can find out more about the author and this book by clicking here

It is easy to understand the fascination of many Americans with these small volcanic islands just off the coast of Africa. More than two hundred years have passed since the arrival of the Canary Islanders in Louisiana. However, Spanish surnames are plentiful in Louisiana as well as in other states, and their descendants still treasure the unique heritage of their brave ancestors from the Canary Islands.

© Barrie Mahoney 2010

This article is part of the 'Letters from the Atlantic series' by Barrie Mahoney. 

You can find out more about the author and this book by clicking here

I have watched neighbours struggle and become obsessed with the after effects of red rain in the Costa Blanca. At first it was rather amusing to watch the frenetic activity on neighbours’ patios after a rain storm. Patio furniture, tiles, steps, banisters and balustrades all had to be carefully washed and scrubbed within minutes of the rain stopping. After all, this red dust from the Sahara was pretty powerful stuff and it seemed to get into places, cracks and crevices that you would not think possible.
© Barrie Mahoney 2012

This article is part of the book 'Escape to the Sun' by Barrie Mahoney. 

You can find out more about the author and this book by clicking here

The house shook as lightning shot across the sky, lighting it up rather like it does with fireworks on fiesta days, but this was not to be from the joy of fireworks. Rain beat down and the wind blew violently against the closed shutters and doors with a mighty force that seemed not to be of this world. I tried in vain to switch on a light, but the power had failed.

© Barrie Mahoney 2012

This article is part of the book 'Expat Survival' by Barrie Mahoney. 

You can find out more about the author and this book by clicking here

The Flor de Pascua, or poinsettia, is an essential part of Christmas in the Canary Islands and they grow wild, mostly on the northern slopes of the island, but are native to Central America. The Aztecs put the plant to practical, as well as decorative, use and from its bracts they extracted a purplish dye for use in textiles and cosmetics. The milky white sap, today called latex, was made into a preparation to treat fevers.
© Barrie Mahoney 2012

This article is part of the book 'Message in a Botttle'' by Barrie Mahoney. 

You can find out more about the author and this book by clicking here

My first encounter with ‘The Big Beast’ came shortly after moving into a new housing development in the Costa Blanca. Obtaining a reliable electricity and water supply were both considerable challenges, but none more so than getting a telephone. I recall standing in endless queues with other equally frustrated expats of all nationalities, and sometimes the shop closing before anyone was available to attend to our needs. I have witnessed grown men cry with anger and frustration at the sheer incompetence of trying to get a telephone line installed.

© Barrie Mahoney 2012

This article is part of the book 'Expat Survival' by Barrie Mahoney. 

You can find out more about the author and this book by clicking here

Tradition has it that on New Year’s Eve in Spain and the Canary Islands, twelve ‘lucky grapes’ known as ‘Uvas de la Suerte’ grapes have to be eaten around the stroke of midnight. It is important to eat one grape at a time with each stroke of the clock and, of course, washed down with liquid refreshment, usually a lively Spanish bubbly wine called Cava. It is believed that this tradition came from ancient wine growers; well, after all it does fuel the sale of grapes on New Year’s Eve doesn't it?

© Barrie Mahoney 2012

This article is part of the book 'Expat Survival by Barrie Mahoney. 

You can find out more about the author and this book by clicking here

Who likes trifle? It is strange how the Christmas and New Year period reminds us of times past. I guess that as we get older, incidents and memories that seemed so unimportant and irrelevant to us years ago, gain in both colour and importance as time passes. For me one of these delightful memories is my Mum’s Christmas trifle.

© Barrie Mahoney 2012

This article is part of the book 'Expat Survival' by Barrie Mahoney. 

You can find out more about the author and this book by clicking here

Gay Pride is always a huge event in Gran Canaria – after all, it is the second largest Pride event in Spain and one of the biggest such events in the world. The very first Gay Pride in Maspalomas took place in May 2001 and we have seen the festival get bigger and better each year. Each year thousands from the gay community worldwide, have fun in the sun, culminating in the shows and street parade of the big weekend. This year’s Pride also will be a week of parties, cultural events and shows. Those tourists and residents who are new to the island may well be asking themselves, “What is all the fuss about?” 

© Barrie Mahoney 2013

This article is part of the 'Letters from the Atlantic' series by Barrie Mahoney. 

You can find out more about the author and this book by clicking here

We stood in white-faced silence as the woman vet continued to tap enthusiastically on her keyboard, whilst making that sharp sucking in of breath sound that I do so detest in Spain - it always means trouble. We then entered the fantasy and frightening world of surgery - complete with anaesthetics, drugs, treatment and recovery times. Did we also want specialist heart and blood tests before the operation? she barked. We were told that this was essential in case Bella was not fit enough and would die during the operation.

© Barrie Mahoney 2012

This article is part of the book 'Escape to the Sun' by Barrie Mahoney. 

You can find out more about the author and this book by clicking here

As with many things, the Spanish do this in another way, and maybe this illustrates just one side of the Spanish psyche that I find fascinating, charming, and often amusing, in my adopted country. A new craze by Spain’s anti-bank protestors is sweeping the nation. As an alternative to the angry UK’s direct-action protestors that are engaged in street violence or fire bombing offices, angry citizens in Spain are calling into banks and dancing a live flamenco show, complete with anti-bank lyrics before disappearing as quickly as they arrived...

© Barrie Mahoney 2012

This article is part of the book 'Expat Survival' by Barrie Mahoney. 

You can find out more about the author and this book by clicking here