News, April-May 2010

May 31st, recent news round-up

International law professors condemn Spanish ban on judge Garzón after 'prevarication' on Civil War disappearances - letter to The Guardian; National Statistics Institute says 426,000 unemployed have given up looking for work due to lost hope; Banc Sabadell considers buying Caja Sur, the defaulting savings bank which was taken over by the Bank of Spain last weekend - The Economist, Charlemagne comment; Heathrow again cut off by BA strike.

Other recent news includes: 29th: Fitch downgrades Spain's credit rating again - Daily Telegraph, BBC; Spanish song in Eurovision disrupted by interloper - Daily Telegraph; 28th: Rail strike today - 75% services guaranteed by law; Lleida (Catalonia) introduces burqa ban in public buildings; Inflation (advance HCPI) up 1.8%; state spending to fall 7.7% in 2011, unemployment expected to continue rising until 2013; iPad arrives - but all stock fully reserved; 27th: Congress approves budget cuts - BBC; April retail sales down 2.3%; 24th: New traffic regulations start today - less sanctionable offences, but higher sanctions; IMF warns Spain on crisis, markets open 3% lower - BBC; 24th: UK cut off by BA strike; Catalan Statute crisis - regional president Montilla appeals for renewal of Constitutional Court membership, as current incomplete group fail to reach conclusion - it should have been renewed in 2007; Financial crisis - Town Halls cannot borrow until 2012 - subsequently adjusted so rule is only for 2011; Caja Sur bank rescue hits shares - BBC, but branches continue as 'normal' - BBC video.

21st: {Caja Sur a major savings bank in the south is bust - Bank of Spain has given it hours to merge with another bank; Cabinet passes budget cuts - BBC, president of Congress, Bono, quotes Churchill's 'blood, sweat and tears', finance minister expects almost 5 million unemployed, 2010 growth expected to be 0.5% less, at 1.3%; first protests against salary cuts outside finance ministry; ETA killers condemned to over 1000 years and fined over 1 million Euros for Madrid airport's Terminal 4 bombing in December 2006; ETA members arrested yesterday include man who ordered last summers bombs in Burgos and Mallorca, killing 2 policemen; survey reveals almost half Catholic RE pupils justify abortion and over half approve euthanasia; Madrid bans Champions League full building covering hoardings due to beer ads; king leaves hospital after tumour operation; tourist arrivals down 13% in April due to volcanic ash; 20th: ETA leader and 3 more suspects arrested in France - The Guardian; Constitutional Court fails at 6th attempt to agree on whether Catalan Statute of home rule is constitutional; high speed AVE rail plans to be slowed due to spending cuts, part privatisation of airports to accelerate; Spain clones fighting bull - BBC; father of kids killed at Costa Brava hotel in court in UK on child rape charges - The Guardian; Picasso Dove among masterpieces stolen in Paris - BBC; 'green' Madrid motor show opens; 19th: Zapatero warns of new round of tax hikes for wealthy; 30 injured in Mallorca train accident; Lloret holiday child deaths reveal sad family story - BBC; 18th: Suspended judge Garzón gets freedom and democracy prize in Paris and says: 'I am a slave of the law, not just the local one, but the universal law'; Spain contributes to today's Greece bail-out fund; finance minister Salgado hopes Spain has done enough tightening; general strike over salary and pension cuts expected 8th June; British holiday kids suspected killed by mother in Lloret de Mar - BBC; RC priest's abuse of kids in home shock Cordoba - BBC; 17th: Travellers to British Isles and Holland again stranded by volcanic ash flight disruption; Spain to host several Latin leaders this week; Barcelona referendum on reforms to key street, the Diagonal, backfires - deputy mayor resigns; recent statements from jailed ETA members raise hopes of end to Basque terror; Euro falls against USD - hopes rise that non Euro holidaymakers will return.

14: Judge Garzón suspended from post in face of prevarication trial related to war crimes investigations - BBC; CPI (inflation) rises to 1.5%, underlying rate falls -0.1%, first fall since 1986; BBC publishes reactions to budget cuts; Iberia loses less in Q1 - BBC; 12th: Budget cuts announced - 5% cut (15% for ministers) from July for state salaries (civil servants, teachers, postmen...), pensions frozen in 2011 - BBC; all airports currently open; 11th: Airports continue to suffer temporary ash closures - BBC; IBEX market index suffers roller-coaster, falling 4% after 14% rise on 10th; persecuted judge Garzón takes leave of absence - BBC.

8th: King Juan Carlos successfully operated for benign lung tumour; airports closed due to volcano dust; 7th: USVP Biden visits Madrid; Spanish economy out of recession earlier than expected - BBC - Q1 growth was 0.1%; IBEX market index fell 13.8% this week; most banks' ATMs may stop working as T-Systems workers responsible for maintenance go on strike; 6th 4 presumed ETA members arrested in France.

April 30th: Unemployment hits 20% in Q1, over 4.6 million want work and 1.3 million families have no wage earner - BBC; government to cut top civil service jobs and close 29 state owned companies;29th: S&P downgrade Spain's debt - The Guardian; new population figures show Spain has almost 47 million inhabitants; ETA terrorist Chaos disappears from Northern Ireland residence - The Guardian; mountaineer dies (<http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8651160.stm¦BBC>) as another fails attempt to be first woman to top 14 major peaks - <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8646995.stm¦BBC> 22nd: Mallorca alone lost 100,000 visitors through air chaos - special flights have now got things mainly back to normal; Biden to visit Spain on 8th May.

13th: Demonstrators support judge Garzón, who faces trial for re-examining Franco era crimes; 8th: ETA's political wing, Batasuna calls for independence by democratic means - BBC video; bulldozers protected by police as Valencia's old seafront district El Cabanyal makes way for high rise and avenue; British Airways and Iberia sign merger - BBC; Banco Santander could offer most for RBS UK branches, while Spain's nº2 BBVA also expected to bid; 7th: Judge Baltasar Garzón to face court - BBC, The Economist; former Balearic president Matas pays 3 million Euro bail - he faces serious corruption charges; partido Popular treasurer resigns after implication in Gürtel corruption case; English National Ballet dance in Seville; girl arrested for death of 13 year old rival near Toledo had 'Gothic' images on social network page; 6th: Unemployment up 36,000 to 4.17 million, while jobs also grew - 22,000 more made payments into Social Security; corruption cases, like 'Gürtel' (with 50,000 pages), accumulate so many pages of information that computers can no longer cope, slowing the cause of justice; March car sales 44% up ahead of end of subsidies and July VAT rise, plus seasonal start for rental firms; consumer confidence rises - BBC.

Earlier news headlines: click here.
Sources: a variety of news services, including El Mundo, Europa Press, TVE, TVC and IB3