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News, November 200330 November, resumé7 Spanish intelligence officers dead after ambush and 20 minute fight in Iraq as their convoy suffered an attack south of Bagdad - one survivor now back in Spain- PM Aznar says we are where we must be and will not leave- total Spanish death toll up to nine; Gibraltar votes to keep Caruana as PM, in bid to keep the rock away from Spain; 85% of Spaniards now consider the Iraq war was a mistake - despite government commitment to the US position, never were a majority in favour of the war; Catalan political leaders continue discisions in attempt at creating a stable majority for the new parlament after elections on 16th November; more court cases admitted against the Basque 'Ibarretxe Plan' for broader autonomy, which effectively appears as a threat to the Spanish Constitution and cabinet approves change to law which would punish calling a referendum with prison and disqualification for public office more >> 2000 visitors in November to P4SOnce again we are delighted to announce that in November our visit statistics have increased and that the total number of visits just topped two thousand. Thank you for your interest. more >> Valencia chosen to host Americas Cup 2007 for Switzerland27 November. Valencia has been chosen by the Swiss organising committee to host the Americas Cup challenge in 2007, the first time the cup returns to Europe since the first race over 150 years ago. Valencia celebrated last night in traditional form, with fireworks. It is hoped that the cup challenge will be a money spinner on a scale with the Barcelona Olympics. more >> Barcelona mourns passing of 'Copito de Nieve', the world's only albino gorrilla26 November. After a painful illness, Copito de Nieve (Snowflake) was put to sleep yesterday. He was the world's only albino gorrilla, found in the forests of Rio Muni (Equatorial Guinea) in 1966, aged then about two or three and since then Barcelona zoo's main attraction. more >> Catalan regional elections call for photo finish, with no clear winner16 November, 22.25. After a fast count, at 97% of the vote the governing Convergencia i Unió coalition drew ahead of the Socialist party, previously leading the polls and count. But neither party have an overall majority more >> Descendants of Spaniards affected by Istambul bombings16 November. The synagogues bombed in Istambul, Turkey yesterday, were among the places established by the Sefardi Jews, expelled from Spain by the Spanish monarchs Ferdinand and Isabella in the year 1492, better known as the year Columbus 'discovered' America. To this day there are families among the Jews of Istambul who speak a form of medieval Spanish. more >> Reconciliation in the news14 November. An act of reconciliation in Fiji, for the death -and eating- of a British missionary in the 19th century, was today reported on TVE news. Last week the national daily papers ABC and El País covered, with photos and good reports, the reconciliation tour by a group linked to YWAM which has been visiting parts of Spain, most notably the slave ports on the southern Atlantic coast. more >> Prince to marry newsreader3 November. On Friday night, 31st October, Letizia Ortiz read the main evening news as usual, a confident, professional journalist's work for the day. By the same time next day she had become the top news item... and remains so all this week. Virtually none of her colleagues knew what was brewing, more >> Immigration disaster in the Straits3 November. Over the past few days, bodies have been washed up on the beaches around the US naval base at Rota and at Cadiz, port city on the western approaches to the Straits of Gibraltar. From the testimony of the 5 survivos, some 50 left Marocco aboard a Zodiac in an attempt to make the illegal crossing to Europe. But the boat broke up and 34 bodies have now been washed up. more >> Buenas Noticas TV, now weekly, topping ratings -or as good as Regional Elections: Partido Popular wins Madrid27 October. The Partido Popular won the region of Madrid this weekend in the re-run of the spring elections for the regional assembly, which could not be established due to the rebellion of two key deputies, thus causing a power vacuum. Municipal elections were also held more >> New Basque Statute approved today by Basque government25 October. The new Statute, prepared by the Basque government under the so called Ibarretxe Plan, will now be put to the Basque parliament for debate, following which, if approved, a referendum will be held in the region. It is exactly 24 years since the approval of the existing Statute which outlines the ground rules for regional government and relations with the central government of Spain. The'constitutionalist' opponents of this move are already planning the steps they will take, if necessary, to block its path to legality. Most Spaniards believe that any such move at this time would just underline how right ETA has been to continue its reign of terror with the aim of achieving regional independence. more >> News Theme: Spanish Constitution is 25 years oldOn 6th December, 1978, the Spanish Constitution was formally signed by the king, Juan Carlos and political leaders. Spain ceased to be a dictatorship and began a so far successful period of peace (mostly) and prosperity under democratic rule. As the 25th anniversary has approached, the consensus which held the constitution in high respect over these years has begun to break. more >> News theme: Basque politics and ETADuring July and August many of us were concerned by the numerous attacks by ETA terrorists, most notably for foreigners and Spaniards at large, the hotel bombings in Alicante and Benidorm. While concern will remain about the threat of ETA attacks, political interest is now mostly directed at the regional president's proposals for extending autonomy to become a 'free associated state', rather like Puerto Rico. more >> News theme: weather and winter travelDuring the summer, the main news concerning the weather was the extreme heat and forest fires, causing loss of life as well as much damage to property. In September the main topic was late summer storms the most widely feared phenomeno being the 'Gota Fría'. As the autumn goes on, the weather cools and rains become milder. Spain's autumn rainy season is often about two months long during October and November. Some time during this period snow appears on the peaks of the mountains and by early December the pistes are ready for the ski season more >> News theme: Spain and IraqSpain is particularly in the news due to its position on Iraq, closely linking itself with Washington. Recently the International Donor Conference took place in Madrid, underlining Spain's commitment to ongoing support for a new Iraq. more >> More NewsA few more news items and where to find more news about Spain: more >> |