News, June 2009

News from the Churches

Evangelical Pro-Life poster campaign in Madrid Metro. Michael W. Smith well received on Spanish tour. Summer approaches and outreaches and camps begin. May 31st Global Day of prayer - prayer encounter on 30th in Zaragoza. This and more... Read on! more >>

June 29th, general news roundup.

2 seriously ill with A-flu in Madrid and Tarragona - first serious cases in Spain - one is pregnant and has had forced birth at 27 weeks - baby doing well, mother expected to die; 7 migrants die as patera hits rocks in Straits - up to 40 were aboard, another 2 pateras reach Mallorca; inflation (HCPI advance figure) -1%; major ETA arms hide located in France; Sales begin for holidays - 30% discounts available; electricity rises on 1st July and then state controlled pricing ends - but few generators offer discounts to change supplier; IBEX market index at highest since October; 'good drivers' get 2 point reward on 1st July for staying clean in first years of points system. more >>

Sport roundup, 29th June

Spain won bronze in Confederations Cup. Nadal withdraws from Wimbledon with knee injury. Spain beat Iraq 1-0 and New Zealand 5-0. Pau Gasol's Lakers win NBA. Jorge Lorenzo 2nd in thrilling last lap of Catalan MotoGP. Real Madrid signs Cristiano Ronaldo for record figure after signing Kaká. Champions: Barcelona beat Man U 2-0 in Rome final. Barcelona win Copa del Rey and Primera (League). MotoGP: Barcelona GP this weekend. F1: Alonso 8th in Monaco Grand Prix. Tennis: Ferrero meets Murray in Queens' semi-final. Nadal finally beaten by Federer in Madrid. Nadal finally beaten in Paris. For more, read on! more >>

Elections 2009

On 7th June there was the European Parliament election. On 1st March there were also regional elections in the Basque Country and Galicia, two of the regions with most autonomy. One year on from the last general election, these elections have shown 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. In the European election the conservative Partido Popular won most seats and got more votes than in any previous European election. Party leader Mariano Rajoy claims the issue of values was fundamental, as the government currently has a new, freer abortion bill in parliament. The other major issue was the recession and it is clear that voters do not trust president Zapatero to lead them quickly out of the mess, being too keen on protecting privileged unionised workers. more >>

Government in crisis launches Plan E

PlanE work under way in Mallorca

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

On 19th June '09 ETA killed again. Here we offer some background thoughts to the problem. 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)

Reports, almost daily, of open boats known variously as pateras (coming from Marrocco or Algeria) or larger 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 Romanians, 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 >>

More News

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

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