News, May 2009

News from the Churches

May 31st Global Day of prayer - prayer encounter on 30th in Zaragoza. May 21st: 450th anniversary of the first Auto de Fe by Philip II burning 89 protestants. May 16th Spain, we're praying for you event in Madrid. Protestante Digital reaches 1.5 million page views in April. Michael W. Smith coming to Spain. This and more... Read on! more >>

May 29th, general news roundup.

10% less foreign tourists expected this year, but more Spaniards likely to stay in Spain - government to inject more funds in hotel renewal projects; transport Sec. Ray Lahood test rides AVE high speed rail from Zaragoza to Madrid; Javier Solana (EU foreign minister) backs renewal of license for Santa María de Garoña nuclear power station (Burgos), due to close this year; EU commissioner Almunia calls for structural change to speed up recovery; Supreme Court says judges have no right of 'conscientious objection' to register gay 'marriages'; 28th: Harmonised CPI down again: -0.8%; 'floating jail' USS Bataan visits Palma de Mallorca; German girl (6) goes missing on Costa Brava - later found dead on rocks; 27th: All eyes on Rome for Champions League final; judge Baltasar Garzón to be tried for prevarication; political attention centres on EU elections, but not European issues; SIMA home fair opens in Madrid despite crisis; princes Felipe and Letizia make official visit to Comlombia; Santander group to rebrand all UK businesses (Abbey, etc.,) under Santander name - BBC report; April retail sales down 8.4%; debt growing at 700 million per day; deficit reaches 6.5 billion Euros; infrastructure ministry to create 14,000 jobs in road maintenance; petrol price climbs again above one Euro; British Civil War veterans to get Spanish citizenship - 70 years later - The Times reports; fire engine driver fined for speeding to fire in Valencia; 25th: A-flu spreads, especially among military; 2 women die crushed at frontier post between Morocco and Ceuta; ETA announces time out to consider new 'effective political-armed strategy' - The Times reports on implications for foreigners; ETA member arrested in Paris; storm and rain warning in north; industrial prices fell record 3.4% in April; World bank leader warns Spain's leading paper El País of social unrest due to high unemployment - BBC comment. more >>

Sport roundup, 28th May

Champions: Barcelona beat Man U 2-0 in Rome final. Barcelona win Copa del Rey and Primera (League). F1: Alonso 8th in Monaco Grand Prix. Tennis: Nadal finally beaten by Federer in Madrid. Nadal won Monte Carlo, Barcelona and Rome - now in Paris. For more, read on! more >>

Elections 2009

On 1st March there were regional elections in the Basque Country and Galicia, two of the regions with most autonomy. On 6th June there will be the European Parliament election. One year on from the last general election, these elections are showing up the impact on public opinion of the recession and other internal and international events on the Zapatero / socialist government, now in its second term. more >>

Government in crisis launches Plan E

May 22nd. In March the government announced that it would support immediate borrowing by town councils for minor works to employ recently laid off building workers: Plan E. Now in May a new scheme to subsidise car sales gets the same name: Plan 2000 E. What happened to plans b to d? Could it be that this is the very last hope before 'F'? more >>

News theme: The Mari Luz murder case

The story of the tragic murder of Mari Luz, a five-year-old girl of Evangelical parents killed by a paedophile in January, 2008, has been turned into a TV mini-series entitled ´Days without Luz´ (as well as being the little girl´s name, the word means ´light´). This tragic story has filled not only evangelical news bulletins, like Protestante Digital, but also mainline news media, provoking a major review of the judicial system. We attempt to bring some understanding. more >>

News Theme: The Economy

For the past few years Spain has been hitting headlines for above average growth and very high house price inflation. The end has now definitely arrived for the Spanish economic miracle, with Spain among the worst hit nations in Europe. World economic woes are certainly affecting Spain, but it is suffering more due to local matters. Several billion Euros have now been thrown by the government at the problem, but unemployment is heading for 20% by the end of 2009. We offer our view. more >>

News theme: Basque politics and ETA

Spain's peripheral regions, particularly Catalonia and the Basque Country, have never felt fully part of 'Spain'. History and language have parts to play in this situation. The result is that these regions have long desired high levels of autonomy or even independence. In the Basque Country, the existence of ETA, a terrorist organisation with a pseudo left-wing nationalist agenda, has forced all parties to consider the independence issue seriously. ETA started during the Franco dictatorship, but has resolutely refused to die before achieving its objectives, themselves more confused with the passing of time. Ceasefires and bombing campaigns have succeeded each other over the years. Meanwhile, democratic parties have taken their own positions on independence, with the governing centre-right Basque Nationalist Party (PNV), under the presidency of Lehendakari (regional president) Ibarretxe, leading the search for an agreed independence or high level of autonomy. more >>

News Theme, The immigration crisis

Desperation (AFP)