News, December 2011
Pray4Spain news
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more >>News from the Churches
Now on! My Hope TV outreach in follow-up to TV campaign, 15th to 17th. 3rd Protestant Congress of Catalonia takes place in Terrassa. Christmas TV service on TVE on Christmas Eve.
more >> December 29th, recent news round-up
Royal Christmas message includes indirect criticism of son-in-law,indicted on corruption charges - El País; King's son-in-law to face trial - BBC; Iberia pilots strike again - BBC;
more >> Sport headlines
Barcelona wins Clubs' World Cup. Mireia Belmonte gains 4 golds in European swimming championships. Barcelona beat Real Madrid to become joint leader of Primera. Spain win Davis Cup final against Argentina. 3 Liga players shortlisted for Balon D'Or again - BBC. Alonso 4th in F1 championship. Spain to face Italy, Ireland and Croatia in Euro 2012.
more >> New cabinet announced
21st December. Just a month after the general election new premier Mariano Rajoy has passed the test of parliamentary approval as premier and has announced his new cabinet. The key members are vice-president Soraya Santa María, José Manuel García Margallo as foreign minister, Jorge Fernández Díaz as Interior minister and Cristóbal Montoro as Treasury minister.
more >> December holidays
Unlike most countries, Spain has not one, but two groups of holidays in Spain. Prior to the Christmas holidays, the 6th is the 'Day of the Constitution, remembering the signing of the current democratic constitution on 6th December, 1978. Then just two days later, the Roman Catholic Church celebrates the Immaculate Conception.
more >> Over 7,000 people gather in defence of full religious freedom
PRESS RELEASE Barcelona, 5th November 2011. The Spanish Protestant Community has gathered together, despite the constant threat of rain, over 7,000 people in the Plaça dels Països Catalans of Barcelona in defence of Full Religious Freedom. The gathering called for civil society to solidarity with the evangelical churches and denounced the closures of centres of worship which are repeatedly occurring.
more >> General Election, November 2011
President Zapatero has called a general election for 20th November. The big favourite to win is the opposition Partido Popular, despite it's leader, Mariano Rajoy having lost the last two campaigns and still not having made clear -throughout the campaign- what his main policies will be. See the results from El País via The Guardian.
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
[Image 96???]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 >> News theme: Corruption
At PrayforSpain we do not regularly report on a topic which sadly generates Spanish newspaper headlines every day, that of corruption. During the construction boom of the past decade there appear to have been many occurrences of builders making friends with municipal and regional politicians and civil servants responsible for planning and finances. A multitude of cases have come to court, with new arrests or revelations seemingly almost daily. But the most extraordinary case appears to be that of the director of the Palau de la Música Catalana, a concert hall in Barcelona. He turned himself in for having embezzled millions of Euros unknown to anyone and apparently providing finance for a foundation close to a political party, as well as feathering his own nest.
more >> News theme: Basque politics and ETA
On 20th October 2011 the Basque separatist organisation, ETA announced a definitive end to its activity. For the past half century this terrorist band has been a blight on the life of Spain and especially the Basque Country. The Guardian has a complete file of reports, including the full statement of cessation of activities.
more >> News Theme, The immigration crisis
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, now doubly significant as the jobs they are hoping for have dried up.
more >> More News
A few more news items and where to find more news about Spain:
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