News, March 2009

March 28th, general news roundup.

The rain in Spain... is heavy again - after two beautiful months - snow in the north; Mad Cow man in Madrid hospital; 27th: Partido Popular to support PSOE leader Lopez as new Basque Lehendakari (president) in return for presidency of regional assembly; Ferran Adrià awarded CIA's Chef of the year award in New York; 2900 migrants estimated to have died attempting to reach Spain last year; overdue tax from firms will now pay just 5% interest; another property fund stops repayments for 2 years - Inverseguros;

Catholic Pro-Life advert: they laugh while innocent kids die (from El Mundo)

26th: ETA artefact explodes at home of Basque businessman; storm causes total blackout in Tenerife; 600 million to be spent to modernise '19th century' judiciary with IT; government sponsored Catholic school starts pro-life campaign; European Parliament report on construction abuse threatens EU funds - BC report; new home building fell 44% in 2008 - new starts 41% down in January '09; new -illegal- student demonstration in Barcelona threatens city centre peace; Spanair pilots threaten strike over new work procedures and more lay-offs than agreed in January sale; L'Oreal to move factory from Madrid 'back to' France; 25th: AENA's 10,000 workers stage one hour strike today and tomorrow - all airports and air traffic control affected, but government guarantees all flights - concern over partial privatisation; 3 Norwegian tourists arrested for false reporting of stolen credit cards; study on disability amongst immigrants show 2/3 do not get disability pension or other compensation - many affected by construction site accidents; 24th: Banco Santander and builders' association APCE sign to sell excess flats with 20% discount and 100% mortgages; Madrid's new City Hall (old Post office) unveils new 3000sqm glass dome over patio 'almost identical to the British Museum'; 23rd: Kosovo troops withdrawal (BBC report) and on-going search for body of Marta del Castillo in Seville (over 2 months after murder) continue to command national headlines; Partido Popular appeal to Constitutional Court over 2009 Budget; foreign tourism 15% down in February; government expects 7,000 immigrants to return home due to state and NGO subsidies; clothes retailer Zara notices the rise of budget Primark in Spanish market - BBC results report; judge Garzón implicates 44 Batasuna leasers in ETA link case; 5 top policemen arrested in brothel payments case; Seville Holy Week processions may include demonstrations against new free abortion law; customs seize cocaine dinner set - BBC report; Spanish priest shot dead in Brazil - BBC.

Other recent news includes: 20th: Arrival of Spring sees sunbathers in many cities - and on beaches; government plans 800 million auto industry rescue; broadband grows 40% less in January; January industrial production and orders 30% down; S&P forecasts recession in Spain until end of 2010; 3407 foreigners stopped payments into Social Security in Feb; 19th: Bank holiday in several regions (San José - 'Father's Day'); SEAT workers accept salary freeze in exchange for chance to build Audi Q3 in Martorell, Barcelona; BAA (Ferrovial subsidiary) sale of UK airports must proceed says regulator - BBC report; defence minister Chacón visits Kosovo troops - announces withdrawal from Kfor; see BBC video on unemployement in Madrid and elsewhere; 18th: students riot in Barcelona after being expelled from 'rectory' sit-in over Bologna (European harmonisation of studies); San José holiday (tomorrow) to generate 5.5 million trips on the roads; January retail sales and employment show record falls; Madrid airport falls from top ten for traffic; corruption scandals continue to command headlines; 17th:January home sales down 38% on last year, up 17% on December; several Muslim associations 'fight' for control of Islam in Spain - according to El Mundo - basically between Moroccan paid imams and the muslims resident here; Madrid government to scatter dead bodies 'to save the vultures' - BBC report; 16th: Row continues between Partido Popular and government over corruption in Madrid and valencia, more so after investigating judge Garzón has questions raised about tax evasion; bad debts reach 3.86% in January; Andalusia owes 1.2 billion; Pub owner gets 5 years for excess noise - 43dB - BBC report; Catholic bishops open anti-abortion campaign claiming children are less protected than the Iberian Lynx - new freer abortion law due this year; Nobel economist paul Krugman says Spaniards must drastically increase productivity or drop pay to get out of crisis; Spanair and Air Europa sign code-share summer schedule on 13 Madrid and Barcelona based routes from 29th March; Telefónica / O2 and Vodafone to share networks in cost saving operation - BBC report.

12th: CPI inflation confirmed at 0.7% - prices actually fell in Castilla-La-Mancha; 11th: 5th anniversary of Madrid bombings - Mozart's requiem performed at City Hall; Renfe launches new last minute discounts on AVE high speed rail services, in celebration of first anniversary of the Madrid - Barcelona service; 10th: Belfast judge considers extradition petition for ETA member De Juana Chaos valid, after months of legal wrangling - could still go to Lords; Airports authority AENA cannot tell immediately what changes to airport security will come from EU court decision to cancel list of prohibited cabin goods; finance minister Solbes admits recession to be worse and longer than expected, Savings banks expect 4.5 million unemployed this year; justice ministry turned 6 times more foreigners into Spaniards in 2008 than in 2000 - mainly Latin Americans, in all 78,000; cayuco reaches El Hierro (Canaries) with 43 under aged migrants (plus 22 others); 9th: Catalan government eases requirements of Places of Worship bill so that town halls will not need to reserve ground for churches and mosques; judge Garzón investigated for not declaring $200,000 pay for work at NY university in 2005-6 - BBC report; with fall of sterling, Madrid and Barcelona are now more expensive - The Economist reports; U2 to start new tour in Barcelona - BBC report.

7th: 10,000 Catalans demonstrate in Brussels to demand independence referendum; Barcelona airport police arrest Chilean with 'cocaine cast' pretending to be broken leg - BBC report 6th: Cruise ship breaks loose of mooring in Palma in gale, 80 year old passenger ends in water (and seriously injured) after falling with gang plank - watch amateur video on RTVE!; thousands of former EU holiday home owners could reclaim tax - BBC report; 2nd: Ski lift accident in Sierra Nevada (Granada) - 23 injured; car sales down 50% in February; Feb road toll lowest for 40 years; 50,000 sign life imprisonment petition after Seville girl killed by lover; snow covers much of Spain again; 1st: Regional elections - Galicia moves to right, with Partido Popular majority, Basque Country to 'constitutionalist' parties, especially Socialists, with new party UPD holding possible balance seat - BBC update, annulled votes at 8% represent ETA voters; Times publishes interesting article on Historic Memory law and 'Spain's stolen children'; presumed ETA member arrested near San Sebastian; Medvedev makes state visit to Spain Monday.

Earlier news headlines: click here.