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News, June 2010June 30th, recent news round-upConstitutional Court accepts for examination the new abortion law at request of opposition Partido Popular; 29th: Madrid metro on all-out strike - no 'minimum service' - city chaos - BBC, Basque Country sees general strike, some rail services around Barcelona also on strike; Advance HCPI down to 1.5% due to lower fuel prices; 'gay marriage' celebrates 5 years - 2% of marriages are homosexual; 33,000 got divorced in first quarter; 2009 was first year that more were married in registry offices than in church; PWC report shows Spanish bad loans half those of German banks; explosion at Civil Guard academy near Madrid - cause unknown; 28th: Constitutional Court declares several clauses in Catalan Statue of Autonomy to be unconstitutional - mass demonstrations expected, although region recognised as 'Nation' - Telegraph, The Economist; heavy rain affects north; Madrid 'Metro' on strike - traffic jams stall city; another big builder suspends payments; spending at Sales expected to fall again, by 27% - to average €65 per person - 2/3 won't buy anything, according to the survey; April mortgages show no growth over last year, after 2% rises in Q1; Rafa Nadal among notorious signatures on letter welcoming Pope to Spain in November. Other recent news includes: 25th: 43,000 affected by rail strike; 2 Romanian teenage girls rescued in Barcelona from sex slavery; suspected ETA terrorist arrested in Belfast - BBC, 55th so far this year; planned rail security guards had arrived later than accident at fated Castelldefels train accident - 13th dies - 9 so far identified, all Latin Americans; 24th: Train kills 12 and injures 17 at Castelldefels, Barcelona, as they got off another train, heading for 'St John's night' mid-summer beach party - Telegraph, BBC; power price hike for July suspended; rail strike in France affects services to Madrid and Barcelona - strike in Spain tomorrow; 31,000 new homes started in first quarter - 3 years ago the figure was some 225,000 starts per quarter, 700,000 remain unsold; Generalitat of Catalonia unable to place more than 1/3 of its 1 billion Euro new debt; 23rd: Senate votes to ban burqa in all public places (including street) despite Socialist oppostion; Spain expected to return to recession in last quarter - according to report by Cajas; 22nd: Government postpones new religious liberty law until after Papal visit in November; Congress approves new employment rules, but only due to abstention by right wing parties - they and the Bank of Spain consider more should be done - BBC; debt grew less in first 5 months, due to higher VAT ahead of tax hike; 5% less births in 2009, down for first time in decade, partly due to repatriation of immigrants, marriages were down 11% - INE pdf; tourist arrivals down 5.3% to May, Balearics saw 11.1% fall in same period, but national arrivals were up 1.1% in May despite ash; transport ministry confirms it will not compensate airlines for volcanic ash stoppages; 21st: Mid-summer's day and top temperatures in Madrid and much of Med (i.e. Palma) around 23ºC - by mid-week could be up 12º; Constitutional Court to discuss today -again- the Catalan Statute of Autonomy, now regarded by most as a sort of soap opera. 18th: IMF boss in Madrid - BBC; national debt interest costs rise; problem loans reach 100 billion; Penelope Cruz to get Hollywood star; holiday crisis: Mallorca 3* hotels offer 'All Included' for €17 per day, 4* offers from €28; 16th: New employment law, with cheaper firing rules, decreed by government - now needs approval from Congress, but opposition likely to abstain after due debate, unions call general strike for 29th September; 14th: Charities to get 15 million more via tax returns, despite crisis; north coast road cut by floods in two places, bad weather across peninsula; police crack down on cash carriers at Barcelona airport - €175,000 held; former president González remarks how crisis is visibly affecting surprised Zapatero government, but how there has been no sense of urgency in labour reform negotiations - which González believes there should be; 38% of workers fear loss of job in next 6 months; Spanish banks owe ECB 85 billion and prefer not to lend to each other; German press claims EU rescue of Spain imminent - FAZ; home sales up 18% in April; Santander to buy English branches from RBS. 12th: Spain celebrates 25th anniversary of EU membership; 11th: Floods hit north west - couple dies - rain covers peninsula; Bank news lifts markets despite general gloom; British vice-PM Clegg visits Madrid and promises no change for Gibraltar without inhabitants' approval; Santander has gained 30 billion Euros in deposits at 4% since March - possibly at expense of Cajas; 70% expect things to get worse before any recovery; unions and bosses will not meet again before decree on employment, a general strike is possible - The Economist; 10th: Talks on new employment laws fail - government to decree unilaterally next week; Postal workers strike against end of monopoly and associated changes ... but the union's letter communicating this event must have got lost in Tuesday's public workers' strike, so local post offices remain open; Senate approves law reform increasing penalties for sexual abuse, corruption and terrorism; prosecutor demands 12 years for captain of Prestige, oil tanker sunk off Galicia's Death Coast in 2002 in Spain's worst ecological disaster - The Guardian; Altamira caves to reopen to public, despite risk to paintings - Daily Telegraph; 2 more ships to join anti-Somali-pirate fleet; Deutsche Bank admits 'shorting' Spanish debt - Telegraph; 9th: Mistake in new traffic law requires mayoral approval for local police to remove badly parked cars; World Bank says Spanish economy is in serious condition; Zapatero says more cuts being considered; regions planning to increase tax on incomes over 60,000€; Zara makes 60% more profit - BBC; 8th: Public employees on strike today - BBC- unions claim 70-75% out, but apart from Asturias, Galicia and Catalonia, most public-facing services running - salaries are set to be cut an average 5% - personal opinions on the BBC; port of Barcelona closed, regional train services and postal services also affected; electricity prices to rise 4% for small users from July - totalling 26% on 30 months; 7th: University entrance exams begin; Motorcyclists face Civil Guard good driving campaign; Georgian mafia leader arrested in Marbella; BBVA forecasts 0.6% recession this year. 4th: Temperatures rise above 30ºC in much of country; navy to provide medical support to Spanish fishing boats; 3 British gun boats chase off Civil Guard boat in Spanish waters off Gibraltar; prince Felipe visits Afghan troops; government will decree on new employment rules if unions and bosses can't agree; imam launches 'jihad against prostitution' - Daily Telegraph; unemployment falls slightly - now well under 20%; 1st: 3 Spaniards among Gaza 'humanitarian flotilla' arrests in Israel; presumed ETA leader arrested in France; Russian mafia leader jailed 7 years in Spain; delay in employment reform sinks markets; Zara opens first store in India - BBC; May 31st: 'Labour reform' meetings - to permit changes to employment law extended to June after failure to agree between employers, unions and government; 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. 29th: Fitch downgrades Spain's credit rating again - Daily Telegraph, BBC; Spanish song in Eurovision disrupted by interloper - Daily Telegraph; 28th: Rail strike today - 75% services guaranteed by law; Lleida (Catalonia) introduces burqa ban in public buildings; Inflation (advance HCPI) up 1.8%; state spending to fall 7.7% in 2011, unemployment expected to continue rising until 2013; iPad arrives - but all stock fully reserved; 27th: Congress approves budget cuts - BBC; April retail sales down 2.3%; 24th: New traffic regulations start today - less sanctionable offences, but higher sanctions; IMF warns Spain on crisis, markets open 3% lower - BBC; 24th: UK cut off by BA strike; Catalan Statute crisis - regional president Montilla appeals for renewal of Constitutional Court membership, as current incomplete group fail to reach conclusion - it should have been renewed in 2007; Financial crisis - Town Halls cannot borrow until 2012 - subsequently adjusted so rule is only for 2011; Caja Sur bank rescue hits shares - BBC, but branches continue as 'normal' - BBC video. 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