News, January 2007

January 31st, general news roundup

For 2006 roundup scroll down! Mayor of Andratx, Mallorca back in prison in building corruption case; Britons also caught in wake of corruption scandals; Basque Lehendakari Ibarretxe tells judge he will continue to talk with all groups to work towards a lasting peace in the Basque Country; Basque judges ask for respect for their work to enforce the law; ship aground in bay of Algeciras, opposite Gibraltar, releases oil spill; 3-11 explosives robbers jailed for another explosives trafficking crime; 29th: Ibarretxe charged for meeting with representatives of illegal party Batasuna - thousands march against judge's decision; Ortega Lara, kidnapped by ETA for 532 days in 1996 -7 gives first TV interview; storms hit El Hierro (Canaries) badly, decimating rare lizard population; defence minister Alonso visits Afghanistan; Volver and El Laberinto del Fauno winners in 2007 Goya film prizes; 26th: Osborne's bulls celebrate 50th anniversary - Spain has 90 of them across the landscape, now without the publicity, but as 'cultural heritage'; snow closes 56 passes -major routes affected, including Valencia- Madrid; buying clothes in Spain should soon be easier, as 8000 women are scanned to establish standard sizes - Zara and other Inditex brands will benefit worldwide; 25th: ETA convict Chaos to remain in jail despite death risk - 17 judges met to decide- as he chose hunger strike freely; snow warning extended to Mallorca and Andalusia; ETA suspect arrested at Catalan frontier post; 24th: Islamic terrorist suspect arrested in Barcelona; prosecutor requests reduction in term -to house arrest- for convicted ETA terrorist De Juan Chaos on hunger strike and close to a martyr's death - Chaos killed 25 and ordered other deaths; new property speculation arrests in Canaries and Malaga; ice and snow -at last- hit northern Spain hard - ski resorts rejoice; Air nostrum CRJ200 lands with no undercarriage in Barcelona - one twisted ankle, others well, no ideas yet why mechanism failed, airport working normally; 23rd: ETA convicts called in defense of 3-11 trial accused - trial starts 15th February; Penelope Cruz gets Oscar nomination as best actress in Volver -5 other Spaniards among finalists; police know 1300 members of Latin street gangs in Madrid - a relatively new phenomenon in Spain; finance minister Solbes responds to an OECD report that homes are 30% overvalued saying that flats still sell easily enough, despite doubling in real terms since 1998; gas station workers call off strike plan; 'low cost' airlines reach 33% of Spanish foreign air travel; 22nd: First winter storm brings snow to north - welcome for skiers and climate watchers, unwelcome for drivers; Basque Lehendakari Ibarretxe dares justice by meeting with Otegi of Batasuna; law providing more care for the dependent takes effect amidst disagreement from opposition over formation of 'Territorial Council' - regions are responsible for implementation. more >>

Sport roundup, 29th January

Dakar rally led by Marc Coma (bikes) to penultimate leg -then sick out, but Carlos Sainz (cars) fought back to 9th; Nadal loses quarter final in Melbourne; Barça leads league with Seville right behind, Uefa: all 4 clubs doing well; Champions: Barça, Madrid and Valencia through to last 16: read on! more >>

News from the Churches

More Evangelicals in prison than Catholics - it's official. Church of 1200 to be thrown out of building in Zaragoza. Philip Yancey visited Barcelona. Juan Lopez, former Defence Commission assistant, dies. Read on! more >>

3-11 trial ready to start

23rd January. Today it has been announced that the trial of those accused of the 11th March 2004 bombings in Madrid will begin on 15th February. The bombs, on four commuter trains running into central Madrid during the rush hour, killed 191, wounded 1900. 29 are accused. more >>

Annual Resumé, 2006

As we move into 2007, we look back on a year which has been highlighted by numerous evants and tendencies. Sadly, terrorism has once again topped the news headlines, although this year the hopes were high. In sport, numerous Spanish personalities were world class players, with a number of trophies between them. As to the evangelical churches, this year marked a number of key anniversaries, but may -although we will probably never know- have marked the year when the membership of Spanish evangelical churches became over 50% foreign born. more >>

ETA peace process blown apart

2nd January '07 and following. For 8 months Spain hoped against hope that the terrorism of ETA would finally have ended. On 2nd March, 2006, ETA announced a 'permanent ceasefire' in the hope that a 'solution' to the Basque problem could be found. Then, on 30th December a mega car bomb exploded in the central car park of Madrid's new Airport terminal. Two immigrants were killed. During the months of 'peace process and in the aftermath of the bombing, politicians have bickered over how to deal with the complex situation. more >>

4th anniversary of Prestige tanker disaster

12th November. It is just 4 years since the Mayday signal was received from the Prestige a small tanker carrying fuel oil off the 'coast of death', Galicia. The coast and major shell fisheries were badly affected. 4 years on, superficially things are back to normal, but under the sand and behind the scenes too little has changed. Thousands demonstrated today warning that a repetition is all too possible. more >>

News theme: Basque politics and ETA

To be updated in due course On 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

Desperation (AFP)

News theme: weather and winter travel

Spain is not, contrary to its image, permanent summer! The tourist season is limited, even at coastal areas, except in the Canary Islands, to half the year. Winter, especially inland, is far harsher than it is in (mostly) mild Britain, so far further north. more >>

More News

A few more news items and where to find more news about Spain: