News, January 2007

January 31st, general news roundup

For 2006 roundup scroll down! Mayor of Andratx, Mallorca back in prison in building corruption case; Britons also caught in wake of corruption scandals; Basque Lehendakari Ibarretxe tells judge he will continue to talk with all groups to work towards a lasting peace in the Basque Country; Basque judges ask for respect for their work to enforce the law; ship aground in bay of Algeciras, opposite Gibraltar, releases oil spill; 3-11 explosives robbers jailed for another explosives trafficking crime; 29th: Ibarretxe charged for meeting with representatives of illegal party Batasuna - thousands march against judge's decision; Ortega Lara, kidnapped by ETA for 532 days in 1996 -7 gives first TV interview; storms hit El Hierro (Canaries) badly, decimating rare lizard population; defence minister Alonso visits Afghanistan; Volver and El Laberinto del Fauno winners in 2007 Goya film prizes; 26th: Osborne's bulls celebrate 50th anniversary - Spain has 90 of them across the landscape, now without the publicity, but as 'cultural heritage'; snow closes 56 passes -major routes affected, including Valencia- Madrid; buying clothes in Spain should soon be easier, as 8000 women are scanned to establish standard sizes - Zara and other Inditex brands will benefit worldwide; 25th: ETA convict Chaos to remain in jail despite death risk - 17 judges met to decide- as he chose hunger strike freely; snow warning extended to Mallorca and Andalusia; ETA suspect arrested at Catalan frontier post; 24th: Islamic terrorist suspect arrested in Barcelona; prosecutor requests reduction in term -to house arrest- for convicted ETA terrorist De Juan Chaos on hunger strike and close to a martyr's death - Chaos killed 25 and ordered other deaths; new property speculation arrests in Canaries and Malaga; ice and snow -at last- hit northern Spain hard - ski resorts rejoice; Air nostrum CRJ200 lands with no undercarriage in Barcelona - one twisted ankle, others well, no ideas yet why mechanism failed, airport working normally; 23rd: ETA convicts called in defense of 3-11 trial accused - trial starts 15th February; Penelope Cruz gets Oscar nomination as best actress in Volver -5 other Spaniards among finalists; police know 1300 members of Latin street gangs in Madrid - a relatively new phenomenon in Spain; finance minister Solbes responds to an OECD report that homes are 30% overvalued saying that flats still sell easily enough, despite doubling in real terms since 1998; gas station workers call off strike plan; 'low cost' airlines reach 33% of Spanish foreign air travel; 22nd: First winter storm brings snow to north - welcome for skiers and climate watchers, unwelcome for drivers; Basque Lehendakari Ibarretxe dares justice by meeting with Otegi of Batasuna; law providing more care for the dependent takes effect amidst disagreement from opposition over formation of 'Territorial Council' - regions are responsible for implementation.

Other recent news includes: 17th: Government and all other parties call on Partido Popular to back down on conditions for anti-terrorist pact - looks no better than ETA; LTU backs down from Air Madrid routes rescue deal, but Air Plus Comet signs deal to take on staff, but not slots; 16th: All parliamentary groups except Partido Popular support new anti-terrorist pact - PP shows first sign of willingness to adapt by offering to rewrite preamble to present pact; Jose Borrell ends term as president of European Parliament; 15th: Congreso debates ETA policy after mass demonstrations Saturday - Zapatero admits his hopes of peace were unfounded; mayor of Aragon village murdered - all villagers called for questioning; IBEx hits first maximum of year; high speed train fares rise; savings level falls to 9.3%.

12th: 'Isabelita' Perón, ex Argentine president, arrested in Madrid on Interpol charge from Argentina; confusion in political circles as groups fail to agree on how to demonstrate against ETA - marches planned for Saturday; boat brings 145 Asian illegals to Canaries; annual inflation was 2.7%; Penelope Cruz and 'Volver' candidates for BAFTA prizes; 9th: 2 ETA terrorist suspects arrested in France - link with explosive find; NY Times interviews Rubalcaba, Interior Minister on ETA; German LTU offers to take over half of Air Madrid staff and all routes after airline's failure in December; private and state mortgage debt touches 900 billion Euros, virtually equal to GNP; 8th: Arnaldo Otegi, Batasuna leader calls on ETA to stop violence -this is the first call by ETA's political wing for an end to the violence and equivalent of Sinn Fein telling IRA to abandon it's regin of terror; main political leaders, Zapatero and Rajoy, met to discuss ETA situation - no perspective of joining forces; Zapatero met Catalan leader Montilla and agreed road map for development of regional Estatut; 114 dead on roads over Christmas holiday - 67 less than last year due to combinaion of harsher law (points system) and much better weather.

5th: Children all over Spain excitedly await arrival of 3 Kings; 2nd missing Ecaudorian found in car at Madrid bomb site - rescue difficult due to debris; 100kg ETA bomb found and 80kg explosive in Atxondo, Basque Country; 3rd: Body of dead Ecuadorian, Carlos Alonso, found at Madrid bomb site - ETA's first killing since May, 2003; Batasuna claims 'peace process' not broken; 5 arrested for aiding 3-11 terrorists; 1st: Searchers give up hope of finding survivors of the ETA Madrid airport bomb; December 31st: ETA peace broken as bomb explodes in Barajas Airport, Madrid after warning to Basque sources -2 missing, presumed dead; Zapatero ends 'peace talks'.