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News, February 2005February 25th, resumé.(Sport news click more) Government unveils a major job creation and productivity programme after Cabinet approval; 24th: secret documents were in Windsor building, burnt on 13th - now retreived from safe; bodies of 6 sailors from Siempre Casina, the fishing boat sunk off Galicia now recovered - one survived; islamic terrorist found hanged in prison cell, Zaragoza; 50,000 immigrants have requested legalisation of status in first fortnight of special process; new Talgo Pato (Duck) high-speed trains introduced to Madrid-Barcelona route; snow continues to affect north - Madrid also; El Conselh Generau d'Aran, Valle de Arán, in northern Catalonia, unaninmously requests 'free union' status within the political region - it has its own language and culture and in winter is accessible only via France; a batch of Sudan-1 contaminated Worcester Sauce has been located and withdrawn from sale in the Alicante-Benidorm area. Other recent news includes: 21st Euro Constitution Referendum: 41% voted, 77% of these for, 17% against; fishing boat sinks off Finisterre; 17th 2 ETA terrorists, Mikel Orbegozo and Sara Majarenas, arrested in Valencia with equipment to place car bomb immediately ; 16th: Prince Felipe and Letizia inaugurate Madrid's rebuilt Sports Palace, first building to open in advance of 2012 Olympics (hopefully); Madrid still suffering Metro and street closures due to Windsor building fire, cause now known to be short circuit on 21st floor, firemen now examining interior of building; 15th Grand Voyager, cruise ship with 800 on board, suffers freak wave damage off Mallorca; electronic media rapidly growing -www.elmundo.es breaks 6 million mark in Jan -Go More News; 13th: Windsor building, part of Madrid's AZCA skyline burns down overnight in fire reminiscent of 9/11 - city-wide transport chaos and shoppers and office workers affected; Irish priest under ETA suspicion - IRA link; Batasuna present list of candidates for Basque elections; 11th:2 benedictine monks detained on ETA suspicion; 35 Jarai (ETA's youth section) members on trial today, 14 ETA suspects being questioned; Spanish troops broaden Afghanistan mission; Spain's immigrant population reached 8% of the population or 3.5 Million by the end of 2004; 9th: ETA hits again, 43 injured: ETA bomb hits Madrid's ARCO modern art fair; 7th:1500 immigrants hand in work permit applications on day 1 at Social Security offices under new rules aiming to whitewash black market; 7th:Spanish consulate in Bern (Switzerland) occupied by unknown assailants, possibly aiming to steal passports - they escaped; ETA trial today: 32 accused of membership of and involvement in its youth section Jarai; 6th: 18 die in rural hostel as badly burning gas heater causes poisoning overnight; 5th: ship with up to 400 illegal immigrants appears adrift on south coast of Tenerife; body of missing Phuket tourist identified - Manuel Perdiguero Ricci is the first Spaniard to be certified as victim of the tsunami; Spain protests at visit of nuclear submarine in Gibraltar for repairs; Basque president Ibarretxe wants to allow ETA related and outlawed party Batasuna to stand in May regional elections, Madrid says no, so does the public prosecutor; houses collapse in Barcelona due to tunnelling for Metro subway line; 4 Maroccans detained in Madrid on 3/11 related charges; Ibarretxe on 1st defended the new Basque government's home rule statute in the Madrid parliament - rejected as expected - Go Basque Politics; GNP 2.7% in 2004. Sport:Olympics International Olympic Committee in Madrid Feb 3rd to 6th to assess 2012 hosting possibilities - optimism for selection reigns after visit! |