News, January-February 2011

News from the Churches

Protestante Digital renewed - English service temporarily unavailable! MariLuz murder trial under way. 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. This and more... Read on! more >>

February 23rd, recent news round-up

30th anniversary of the attempted Coup d'Etat against the newly restored democracy (23rd February, 1981); Latin Kings gang boss arrested: BBC; We were away 20th to 26th 16th: MariLuz murder trial begins; Interior minister Rubalcaba 'hopes' ETA truce to be definitive; police report shows new Basque party Sortu is an instrument of ETA; Inditex forced to withdraw T-shirts after being denounced for copying Internet photos - Guardian; CPI inflation index confirmed at 3.3%; IPIC of Abu Dhabi takes full control of Spain's 2nd oil firm CEPSA, buying out half owner Total; 14th: Half Spain on alert for snow, wind and rain; Mobile World Congress opens in Barcelona - BBC; Spanish bank debt with ECB fell 20% in January; exports are growing and could lead Spain out of trouble - Telegraph; Pa Negre (Black bread) sweeps floor at Goya film awards. more >>

Sport headlines

Gunners beat Barça. Spanish committee absolve Alberto Contador of doping in Tour. Del Bosque made Marquis. Nadal wins Laureus award. Kaká returns to play at Real Madrid after series of muscle problems. Messi wins FIFA golden ball ahead of two Barça companions. More news soon more >>

MariLuz murder case goes to court.

The trial of Santiago del Valle, accused of the murder of MariLuz Cortés, daughter of an evangelical pastor, began on 16th February. The little girl (3 years old) went missing from her home in Huelva, Andalusia in January, 2008. Her body was discovered several weeks later thrown into the harbour close by. 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 10th January 2011 ETA announced a deepening of its ceasefire of last September. Government and all political parties have rejected this, despite favourable developments over the past few months, as purely political. Batasuna, the Basque extremist left party linked to ETA, is desperate to be allowed to field candidates for the municipal elections due in May. This section offers some background. For immediate comment read the BBC; The Daily Telgraph; The Guardian. more >>

News Theme, The immigration crisis

Desperation (AFP)