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News, March 2010March 31st, recent news round-upSpain heads on holiday - some regions have bank holidays on Thursday, Friday and Monday, others just two of these; rail strike goes ahead; Spain to give €346 million to Haiti at donors' conference; 30th: Former Balearic president Matas, accused of corruption, must pay €3 million bail or face prison; rail strike tomorrow as Spain goes on holiday, but 70% of long distance services 'must run'; BA strike continues to hit trips to London; government to hire 87% less than last year; March inflation 1.4%; Bank of Spain forecasts -0.4% growth this year, but +0.8% next; government hopes for 1/4 million electric cars by 2014; Madrid and Barcelona turn off analogue TV; 29th: Pneumologists calculate Tobacco health issues cost state 5.4 billion more than the tax income in 2008; indited politician Jaume Matas sacked by Partido Popular; foreign tourists spent 5 billion in first two months; 32 detained on child porn charges; analogue TV to cease broadcasts at Easter; rain and wind affect peninsula, but end of week holidays should be sunny. Other recent news includes: 26th: Goods trains crash in Avila, driver dead; January mortgages up for first time in 2 years; Holy Week holidays begin (for some) today; law on political parties to be tightened to keep out those which support ETA; former Balearic president Matas ends questioning on corruption charges, denying all - prosecutor wants 24 years and requests 3 million Euro bail- passport withheld; 25th: New storm warning across north and centre; 2009 saw 55% less homes started, half of these subsidised; 24th: Bank of Spain urges Caja savings banks to move forward with mergers, despite meddling of regional politicians; auto firm SEAT lost €187 million last year; sun forecast for holidays from middle next week; Spanish MEPs join in calls for holiday home owners to be compensated for loss of property in front line clearance - BBC; 23rd: Jaume Matas, former defense minister and president of balearics booed as he returns home from States to face corruption charges; president Zapatero and home minister attend funeral of French policeman killed by ETA - BBC; Zapatero affirms the Catalan Statute is constitutional and working well; defense minister Chacón visits Haiti; Social Security made 4 billion surplus in February; school bus collides with tourist train near Soller, Mallorca - none injured; police recover $1.3 million in false bills; woman seriously burnt in filling station explosion in Tenerife; Iranian fishing boat rescued from Somali pirates by Spanish frigate; Penelope Cruz to act in Pirates 4; 22nd: Bishops take pro-life campaign to social networks with new web; killer of two policewomen gets 94 years; weather service warns of wet start to Holy Week holiday; terror risk rises to level 2 until end of Spain's EU presidency; regions called to rein in over-spending; man detained for attacking wife who refused to go to church; Richard Hamilton tribute to Spanish artists on show in Madrid's El Prado gallery; region challenges government decision to close nuclear plant; 2009 saw crime down; 480 kilos of coca found in Valencia; government finally to compensate Thalidomide cases; London continues cut off by BA strike - Robert Peston. 19th: 'Sustainable economy' bill approved by cabinet - to encourage less building and more innovation - some call it 'a letter to the 3 Wise Men'; Tuna farms get reprieve at Doha - BBC - Mediterranean jelly fish rejoice; government commits 456 million Euros to cover effects of winter's terrible storms in Andalusia and elsewhere; Luís Roldán, former Civil Guard director, who stole 10 million Euros (equivalent) and fled to Laos, released from prison after 15 years; 17th: Andalusia to approve passive euthanasia law today; ETA takes its war to France, killing a French policeman for the first time - BBC - one arrested, up to 10 sought; EU confirms concerns over Spain's optimism on economy - BBC; Spanish labour costs (including tax, etc.) grew 2.5% in 2009; 14% of Spanish households can't 'reach end of month' with pay - INE survey (pdf); sudden hole swallows truck in Badajoz - El Mundo photo (Efe); 15th: Most of Costa Brava homes finally have power - one week after snow storm which seriously damaged network - 111 towns were cut off; 20 arrested in Tarragona as members of white slave gang - 30 women identified as their victims; ETA suspect arrested in London - BBC; 24 arrested in Spain related to Georgian mafia - BBC; former tourist councillor for Balearics detained for corruption - with 3 businessmen; EU commissioner Almunia fears Spanish government hopes for 2011 economic recovery over optimistic, Moodys has similar judgement; S&P fears savings bank (Caja) restructuring will cost 35 billion; Juan José Cortés, father of MariLuz, to advise Partido Popular on penal reform. 13th: Costa Brava towns continue with no proper power 6 days after blizzard felled thousands of power pylons - most have some generators, full restoration will be after Eater holiday- The Guardian; snow alert again in north; leading ETA member identified in French morgue - months after death; another ETA member arrested in Lisbon - BBC; Briton found dead in Andorra tunnel; 12th: Spain's top writer, Miguel Delibes, author of The Heretic and other well-known novels, dies aged 89 - Guardian obituary; February inflation (CPI) down to 0.8%; 11th: 6th anniversary of Madrid bombings commemorated; aid worker freed from Al Quaeda kidnapping in Africa, two still held - BBC; Zaragoza to impose 30kmh (under 20mph) sped limit; Prince Felipe among guests affected by replica earthquakes in Chile at presidential investiture - BBC; 9th: Snow continues to affect Catalonia - over 3000 spent night in sport halls, 1/4 million have no power - now affects Andalusia - BBC video, Guardian photos; Spanish owned fishing boat taken by Somali pirates; Chambers of Commerce believe banks must write off permanently €100 billion in loans to builders (1/3 of total); Cloone: Málaga firm offers empty (fill-yourself) coffee capsules; 8th: 600,000 rallied in Madrid against the abortion law currently in Congress, co-led by gypsy pastor Juan José Cortés, father of MariLuz - tens of thousands also took part in regional pro-life rallies on 6th - BBC, Europa Press video - new law to go live on 5th July; flooding continues in south and snow returns to north - major problems in Catalonia - 12cm in Barcelona, up to 65cm in Girona, France cut off by road and rail; Barcelona awarded headquarters of union for the Mediterranean. 5th: PRUNE, first Islamic political party, founded in Granada, ahead of tomorrow's EU- Morocco summit; Ferrovial to build Heathrow's T2A Star Alliance terminal - BAA is owned by the Spanish building firm; wintry weather returns to peninsula; 4th: Spanish tuna boat with private security escapes pirate attack off Somalia; 3rd: Opposition to support certain government economy initiatives; police arrest botnet leaders - BBC who controlled 13 million PCs around the world; Basque separatist leader Arnaldo Otegi jailed - BBC, ETA ex-convict and ongoing apologist De Juana Chaos to be extradited from Northern Ireland - BBC; row with Venezuela's Chavez over support for ETA - The Guardian; Pope to visit Santiago (Galicia) and Barcelona in November; Spain gets off relatively lightly from hurricane Xynthia; 2 dead, 6 injured as giant wave hits Barcelona-bound cruise ship off Costa Brava - BBC; Catalan Parlament debates illegalisation of bull-fighting - but Madrid and Valencia award it heritage status - The Guardian; 2 Moroccans post video of how Spain dropped mustard gas on Rif in possibly first air raid in history on civilian population in 1927, when Spain was under the Primo de Rivera dictatorship - Wikipedia; Madrid's top hotels warn of surprise bed-bug epidemic; hoarding against fall of Euro? - Spaniards still hold 1.7 billion of the old pesetas, about 420 (worth 3€) each. 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