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News, October, 2006October 31st, general news roundupHappy 1st Birthday Princess Leonor! Catalonia reflects before regional vote tomorrow; water reserves up 4.7% to 45%, but Med reserves still at danger levels; top Colombian mafia boss, Orlando Sabogal, arrested - responsible for 30 - 50% of cocaine smuggles in world; 30th: Spanish NGO worker kidnapped in Gaza released 8 hours later; Catalan election campaign ends in uncertainty about who will finally rule Catalonia; due to on-going drought in Mediterranean regions, Environment minister Narbona proposes 60 litre per day guarantee and limit for water usage per person in law update; Inflation down to 2.6%; Repsol renews Bolivia contract 10 minutes before closure limit; rains allow transfer of water reserves to parched Segura basin (Murcia) but only for home use - orchards still dry; 25th anniversary of Almería solar project - first in Spain; 27: Spanish TV celebrates 50th anniversary - TVE started broadcasts on 28th October, 1956; Rabei Osman, 'The Egyptian' on trial in Milan for 3/11 terror bombing leadership and membership of AlQuaida; IBEX market closes at record 13,725, up over 27% on year. more >> Sport roundup, 30th OctoberJorge Lorenzo (250) and Alvaro Bautista (125) World Champions on bikes, Alonso World Champion of F1, Barça strengthens league lead, Federer wins in Madrid, Barcelona goes ahead to lead League, Spain lost to Sweden in European Cup qualifiers: read on! more >> News from the ChurchesThe Valdepeñas Evangelical Church has placed the foundation stone for a new building 90 years on. Radio Sevilla has just signed up for a family life based weekly programme. The Continentals are on tour. Tax changes for Catholics could also benefit evangelicals. Evangelical organisations celebrate anniversaries. A prostestant woman pastor is Bible teacher at a Catholic university! Read on! more >> Catalan Election campaign16th October. The new Catalan Estatut is taking effect. The first election campaign under the revised law was launched officially at midnight (voting on 1st November) and negotiations are under way to put the financial implications into effect in the 2007 budget, now in the national Cortes. more >> Annual Principe de Asturias prizes, 200620th october. Today, in Oviedo, capital of Asturias, Prince Felipe will be handing out Spain's most prestigious set of prizes. among this year's winners aare UNICEF, Bill and Melinda Gates (the foundation) and Mary Robinson. Past winners included Woody Allen, JK Rowling, Helmut Kohl, etc.. more >> Sub-Saharan invasion alarms Canaries11th September. Reports daily in the press bring news of yet more illegal 'paperless' immigrants washed up on the shores of the Canary Islands and, this year to a much smaller extent the Spanish mainland. August was the worst month yet, bringing the year's total to 20,000 by 5th September. Meanwhile, at least 700 have died, this being the number of known cases. The European dream of a better life is causing desperate africans to risk all... and the governmet is less and less sure of how to cope. more >> ETA peace process stalled24th October. The past month has seen the ETA peace process, initiated after an announcement in March by ETA of a 'permanent ceasefire', has ground to a halt. Street violence began again in the Basque Country, politicians attempting to bring the process to a 'successful conclusion', being stymied by others demanding nothing but 'total victory'. Now we hear of the robbery of a large amount of weoponry in the south of France, while judges have police raid 'people's taverns' in search of indications that they were used to finance ETA and Batasuna politicians are charged with membership of ETA. As the government today asks the European parliament to lend total support to the process, it seems almost a lost hope. more >> News theme: Basque politics and ETAOn 22nd March ('06), ETA, the Basque separatist terrorist group, announced a permanent ceasefire. One would have expected that after many years of living with terrorism in the Basque Country and across Spain, all Spaniards would have welcomed the announcement. However, a brief glance at newspaper headlines since that date would suggest that the announcement had been the spark for an all-out fight between the major parties. Several very different reactions have come to light and hopes of true 'peace' are as far as ever. Indeed, six months on, ETA has almost gone as far as to cancel the ceasefire, saying it will not hand in arms until its political aims are achieved. more >> News Theme, The immigration crisis[Image 15???]Reports, almost daily, of open boats known variously as pateras (coming from Marocco or Algeria) or cayucos (reaching the Canary islands from further south), combine with stories of illegal 'paperless' immigrants attempting to cross the fences at Ceuta and Melilla. Add to these high profile stories the situation of hundreds of thousands of Latin Americans and Romanias, not to mention Asians and you have the appearance of a significant immigration crisis. Throw in the confusion and disagreement of politicians as to how to deal with the phenomenon and you have a real crisis. more >> News Theme, Late Summer in Spain and the WeatherDuring August, 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 is late summer storms. But the most widely feared phenomenon is known as the 'Gota Fría'. more >> More NewsA few more news items and where to find more news about Spain:more >> |