News, November 2010

News from the Churches

8000m2 awarded to evangelical foundation for school near Seville. Lleida city council closes 5 churches and opens case studies on 3 more; MyHope - TV campaign through home groups launched for Christmas 2011 splash. Betel association and Madrid City Mission celebrate 25th anniversaries. Micah Challenge comes to Spain. Holy Land Theme Park coming to Mallorca! This and more... Read on! more >>

November 30th, recent news round-up

Spanish bonds double price of German, IBEX market index suffers worst fall since October 2008 - over month it has fallen 14%; 35 provinces affected by snow - up to 20cm expected in some areas (more in mountains), some schools closed; inflation (Advance HCPI) steady at 2.2% - if confirmed this will mean extra payments for pensioners; porter at old people's home confesses to killing 11 inmates; 29th: Centre-right nationalist party Convergència i Unió win Catalan elections - Telegraph; British Airways merger with Iberia completed - the airline will have its head office in Madrid - BBC, Guardian; half os Spain under snow cover - ski resorts opened over weekend; hoard of unknown Picasso works discovered in S. France - BBC. more >>

Sport headlines

Barcelona leads Primera after thrashing Madrid 5-0. MotoGP ends with Spaniards in 1-2 position in all 3 categories. Barcelona and Valencia through to Champions' League knockout. Marc Coma world champion of Raids. Women win bronze in basketball world cup. Alonso closely misses F1 championship in last race thriller. Nadal fails to beat Federer at London Masters finals after marathon semis against Murray. Alberto Contador faces Tour doping enquiry. more >>

November media focus on Barcelona

The Sagrada Familia Cathedral - as seen by Spiderman!

This November sees two important events in Barcelona for the media. On 7th Pope Benedict opened the Sagrada Familia cathedral. On 28th there are regional elections in Catalonia. more >>

AVE tunnel passes Sagrada Familia Cathedral

15th October. Reports from Barcelona say that the machines tunnelling below the city have passed within metres of the famous Sagrada Familia Cathedral, due to be consecrated by Pope Benedict in November. It is coincidental that this news comes the same day that the Gotthard Base tunnel broke through below the Alps in Switzerland, but both events speak for substantial and rapid economic and social change in Europe, overseen by a rather sedentary Christian scene. more >>

General Strike, 29th September

The first general strike under the Zapatero presidency took place on September 29th. Travel to or within Spain on 29th September was significantly affected, together with ports and industry, especially car builders. Ryanair cancelled all flights at Palma, but other airlines worked more or less normally, albeit with delays. Government offices were also hit, together with schools, hospitals, etc.. Particularly in Madrid and other major cities. Most smaller places continued to work as normal. But it was reported that many fresh food shops and the central wholesale market in Madrid ran out of food the previous night as individuals stocked up! more >>

New abortion law goes into practice

On July 5th the new abortion law began its life. What was until now a crime, is now 'a right' in the first 14 weeks. Girls over 16 will get abortions without parental permission free on the Social Security, even though many abortions will still be undertaken in private clinics on the government's behalf. This is due to the fact that many Social Security gynaecologists are 'conscientious objectors'. However, the Constitutional Court has taken their complaints into consideration and accepted the request of the opposition Partido Popular to consider the legitimacy of the law. This has not held up its introduction. more >>