News, March 2009

News from the Churches

Delirios.org - the new Spanish evangelical facebook. Crisis causes book shop to close, but another one opens! National Gospel Choir to sing on 21st March. Michael W. Smith coming to Spain. Carlos Martínez to perform at Mission-net. New regional law against 'publicity' finally permits freedom of speech (and preaching) in streets of Madrid. This and more... Read on! more >>

March 28th, general news roundup.

The rain in Spain... is heavy again - after two beautiful months - snow in the north; Mad Cow man in Madrid hospital; 27th: Partido Popular to support PSOE leader Lopez as new Basque Lehendakari (president) in return for presidency of regional assembly; Ferran Adrià awarded CIA's Chef of the year award in New York; 2900 migrants estimated to have died attempting to reach Spain last year; overdue tax from firms will now pay just 5% interest; another property fund stops repayments for 2 years - Inverseguros;

Catholic Pro-Life advert: they laugh while innocent kids die (from El Mundo)

26th: ETA artefact explodes at home of Basque businessman; storm causes total blackout in Tenerife; 600 million to be spent to modernise '19th century' judiciary with IT; government sponsored Catholic school starts pro-life campaign; European Parliament report on construction abuse threatens EU funds - BC report; new home building fell 44% in 2008 - new starts 41% down in January '09; new -illegal- student demonstration in Barcelona threatens city centre peace; Spanair pilots threaten strike over new work procedures and more lay-offs than agreed in January sale; L'Oreal to move factory from Madrid 'back to' France; 25th: AENA's 10,000 workers stage one hour strike today and tomorrow - all airports and air traffic control affected, but government guarantees all flights - concern over partial privatisation; 3 Norwegian tourists arrested for false reporting of stolen credit cards; study on disability amongst immigrants show 2/3 do not get disability pension or other compensation - many affected by construction site accidents; 24th: Banco Santander and builders' association APCE sign to sell excess flats with 20% discount and 100% mortgages; Madrid's new City Hall (old Post office) unveils new 3000sqm glass dome over patio 'almost identical to the British Museum'; 23rd: Kosovo troops withdrawal (BBC report) and on-going search for body of Marta del Castillo in Seville (over 2 months after murder) continue to command national headlines; Partido Popular appeal to Constitutional Court over 2009 Budget; foreign tourism 15% down in February; government expects 7,000 immigrants to return home due to state and NGO subsidies; clothes retailer Zara notices the rise of budget Primark in Spanish market - BBC results report; judge Garzón implicates 44 Batasuna leasers in ETA link case; 5 top policemen arrested in brothel payments case; Seville Holy Week processions may include demonstrations against new free abortion law; customs seize cocaine dinner set - BBC report; Spanish priest shot dead in Brazil - BBC. more >>

Sport roundup, 23rd March

Nadal beats Murray to win at Indian Wells. Armstrong breaks collar bone in Castilla y León tour. Liverpool put Real Madrid squarely out of Champions - and sign Benítez again. Spain beat Serbia in Davis cup round. Madrid catching up Barcelona in Primera. Spain and Portugal agree joint candidature for football World Cup 2018. For more, read on! more >>

Madrid bombings - five years on

On 11th March Madrid will remember the Al Quaeda train bombings which left 192 people dead and injured many commuters on local trains in Madrid. Five years on, some questions remain unclear, but above all police remain on high alert as they consider the threat is as great as ever. more >>

Regional Elections 2009

On 1st March there were 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 has again won a majority, after the Socialist PSOE and regionalist BNG parties ran the region for the past 4 years. In the Basque Country, the right of centre regionalist PNV has been in power since the advent of democracy, but is now in the position of having won most seats, but is unable to return to government as the 'constitutionalist' parties led by PSOE now have enough seats to rule. In the Basque Country 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 have won 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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