News, February 2009

News from the Churches

National Gospel Choir to sing in March. Michael W. Smith coming to Spain. Eva Díaz wins 'Unamuno Friends of Protestants' prize. MCO present Spain-2009-365-prayer year of prayer. Carlos Martínez to perfom at Mission-net. New regional law against 'publicity' could go against freedom of speech (and preaching) in Madrid. Spanish Evangelists' Conference early December - blessing for those who attended. B. Manley Pippert speaks in Barcelona. This and more... Read on! more >>

February 28th, general news roundup.

Day of reflection before elections in Basque Country and Galicia - some polls have suggested a swing to left in both regions; Briton injured attempting to defend woman from attack (by other Britons) in Marbella; Vodafone Spain to raise prices to maintain earnings; Thierry Henri supports Catalan claim to be a nation -Times report; 27th: Inflation: advance HCPI falls to 0.7%; customs sieze boat with 5 tonnes of cocaine close to Canaries - BBC report; mayor of Alcaucin, plus other 12, Costa del Sol, arrested on building permit corruption charges; skipper of patera which sank off Lanzarote (cf 16th) arrested - he has brought at least 5 groups of migrants before; ETA denounces 'political fraud' in Basque elections statement; Iberia profit falls 90% - BBC report, Acciona down 50%; civil service cuts job offers 42% for this year; Morocco jails Madrid bombing suspect, Saad Houssein, for 2003 Casablanca bombing; 26th: Operation Gürtel, the corruption scandal affecting opposition Partido Popular, continues to rumble as regional election campaigns draw to close in Galicia and Basque Country - PP accuse judge Garzón of clear socialist sympathy at critical political moment - The Economist reports; 34% less mortgages signed in 2008; power firm Endesa doubled profit, but oil major Repsol and Telefónica earned less; 25th: Car production (Jan) down 54%; in ETA trial, National Court absolves Olarra Guridi of supporting murder of judge Francisco Tomás y Valiente in 1996 for lack of proof; judge Garzón links 2 more Partido Popular politicians to political scandal; Ferrovial daughter BAA reports profit drop on passenger decline; heads of Iberia and BA meet to discuss merger attempt; Tecnocasa largest estate agency, to close half offices after losing 2.4 million, selling half as many homes as in 2007; 24th: Spain offers places for Guantanamo inmates, as foreign minister Moratinos meets Clinton - BBC report 23rd: Mariano Bermejo, justice minister resigns after recent shooting scandal- replaced as person in charge of relations with evangelicals (among other things) by Francisco Caamaño - BBC report; Penelope Cruz gets Oscar; ETA bombs new socialist office in Lazkao, Basque Country as regional election campaign moves into last week - BBC report; Italian power firm ENEL takes control of Endesa after buying Acciona stake - The Economist reports; 22 Spanish fishermen rescued by Canadian SAR off Newfoundland as boat sinks. more >>

Sport roundup, 26th February

Liverpool beat R. Madrid 1-0. Andy Murray beat Nadal. England loses to Spain 0-2 in Seville. Michael Schumacher has accident on motor bike in Cartagena - now released from hospital. Nadal beats Roger Federer to win Australian Open; on returning home he proposed Roger for the Principe de Asturias sports prize. Spain and Portugal agree joint candidature for football World Cup 2018. Barcelona set new record for half way League points: 50. Barcelona head Primera. Biker Marc Coma wins Dakar. For more, read on! more >>

Regional Elections 2009

On 1st March there will be regional elections in the Basque Country and Galicia, two of the regions with most autonomy. In Galicia, home of the national Partido Popular leader, Mariano Rajoy, the right wing was in power for years until 2005 saw a swing with two minority parties, the Socialist PSOE and regionalist BNG taking power. In the Basque Country, the right of centre regionalist PNV has been in power since the advent of democracy, some times in coalition with the PSOE. In this case, politics has been dominated by the independence movement in which terrorist group ETA is most visible. Yet PNV also has aspirations to independence, or at least a very high level of autonomy. Against these aspirations, the 'pro-democracy' constitutionalist main-line Spanish parties hope to win a vote of no confidence in policies which have encouraged ETA to believe it is winning its war on Spain. more >>

News theme: The Mari Luz murder case

The story of the tragic murder of Mari Luz, a five-year-old girl of Evangelical parents killed by a paedophile in January, 2008, has been turned into a TV mini-series entitled ´Days without Luz´ (as well as being the little girl´s name, the word means ´light´). This tragic story has filled not only evangelical news bulletins, like Protestante Digital, but also mainline news media, provoking a major review of the judicial system. We attempt to bring some understanding. 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

For the past few years Spain has been hitting headlines for above average growth and very high house price inflation. It appears 'the end is nigh' for the Spanish economic miracle. World economic woes are certainly affecting Spain. On 18th April the cabinet approved a fiscal stimulus of 10 (US) billion Euros this year and another 8 billion in 2009. We offer our view. more >>

News theme: Basque politics and ETA

Spain's peripheral regions, particularly Catalonia and the Basque Country, have never felt fully part of 'Spain'. History and language have parts to play in this situation. The result is that these regions have long desired high levels of autonomy or even independence. In the Basque Country, the existence of ETA, a terrorist organisation with a pseudo left-wing nationalist agenda, has forced all parties to consider the independence issue seriously. ETA started during the Franco dictatorship, but has resolutely refused to die before achieving its objectives, themselves more confused with the passing of time. Ceasefires and bombing campaigns have succeeded each other over the years. Meanwhile, democratic parties have taken their own positions on independence, with the governing centre-right Basque Nationalist Party (PNV), under the presidency of Lehendakari (regional president) Ibarretxe, leading the search for an agreed independence or high level of autonomy. more >>

News Theme, The immigration crisis

Desperation (AFP)

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. more >>

More News

A few more news items and where to find more news about Spain:

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