News, April-May 2010

News from the Churches

Pentecost silenced in Alcalá. Spring sees Open Air evangelism seminars - September brings Madrid a European preachers' conference. Pastor Miguel Rueda with the Lord. 'Spain, we're praying for you' - thousands prayed for Spain. WEA leader visits Spain. New Bible presented. This and more... Read on! more >>

May 31st, recent news round-up

International law professors condemn Spanish ban on judge Garzón after 'prevarication' on Civil War disappearances - letter to The Guardian; National Statistics Institute says 426,000 unemployed have given up looking for work due to lost hope; Banc Sabadell considers buying Caja Sur, the defaulting savings bank which was taken over by the Bank of Spain last weekend - The Economist, Charlemagne comment; Heathrow again cut off by BA strike. more >>

Sport headlines

Seville win Copa. Barcelona win Primera. Alonso 6th in Monaco. Atlético beat Fulham in Europa League final. Barcelona win Basketball EuroLeague championship. Nadal beats Federer in Madrid. Joan Antonio Samaranch dies. Barcelona gun down Arsenal, before humillation in Milan. 1/3 of riders in 3 MotoGP categories are Spaniards, Lorenzo leads MotoGP. more >>

Government makes swathing cuts

21st May. The cabinet agreed last night to a hefty U-turn in its strategy to deal with the recession. Under pressure of the markets and other EU governments to cut the immense 11% deficit, the cabinet took the unpleasant decision not only to slam the brakes on public works, but also to cut public employees' pay by an average of 5%. A general strike is in the air. more >>

New abortion law passes Congress

March. In November (2009) a new abortion law went before the Congress. This has been long months in the planning stage and finally comes to full political debate. With the Roman Catholic influenced Partido Popular on the opposition benches, the law got a narrow victory. Main items are the closing of a clause which has allowed almost any woman to abort at any stage of pregnancy, but it now gives full freedom to abort up to 14 weeks. Assuming it passes the final stages, it is to become law on 5th July. A march on 6th March called for its cancellation. more >>

Inquisition museum opens

Early December saw the opening of the doors to the Castle of Saint George in Seville, former home of the Spanish Inquisition. more >>

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 much further north. more >>

News Theme: The Economy

Unemployment in Spain (The Economist)

During the decade until 2007 Spain was seen as enjoying an economic miracle. Now Spain is among the worst hit nations in Europe, with economist all over the world, not least in Spain itself, hitting hard at the government for its policies. 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 reached over 4 million, or virtually 20% by the end of 2009. Experts believe the government is not adopting the best policies to get Spain back to work. We offer our view. more >>