Live News From Spain As It Happens

Ultra-violet rays could hit maximum radiation levels on Friday and Saturday across the country, warns the State meteorological agency, AEMET.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

Anti-smoking legislation 'will have to change' if Spain becomes the venue for the planned Eurovegas casino complex, says Madrid's regional president, Esperanza Aguirre.

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Spain's borrowing costs have risen to another euro-era record, with lenders demanding a higher interest rate.

The yield on benchmark 10-year bonds hit 7% on Thursday morning, a level which many analysts believe is unsustainable in the long term.

It came as Moody's cut Spain's credit rating to one notch above "junk" and ahead of an Italian bond auction.

Read more at BBC.co.uk

NINETY-FOUR bank managers were allegedly fined last year for ‘serious’ or ‘very serious’ offences, and a further 11 banks faced sanctions in their capacity of corporate entities.

According to the Bank of Spain, it fined 42 per cent more financial institution bosses in 2011 than the previous year.

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Spanish Prime Minister Rajoy sent a text to his finance minister in the midst of negotiations on the terms of a bailout for Spain's banks. Urging him to hold out for a good deal, it said: "We're the number four power in Europe. Spain is not Uganda." The remark caused a storm of protest in Uganda and some ironic tweets pointing out Ugandan economic success. So how do the two countries compare?

Read more at BBC.co.uk

ROCKETING temperatures throughout the country have led to an amber warning being issued by the State meteorological agency, AEMET.

The provinces of Alicante and Valencia saw the mercury shoot up to 37ºC in the shade today, and not dropping below 30ºC until after sunset.

Excessive humidity could lead to tidal waves in Almería and Granada and thunder and lightning across the northern coastline, Huesca, Lleida, Castilla y León and Extremadura.

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SMALL children who do not ride in fitted car-seats could be taken away from their parents, warns the prosecution service.
And older children who do not wear seatbelts could face the same fate.

These drastic measures will apply after the parent driving has been fined on three or more occasions for not having their children in car-seats or seatbelts as applicable.

Traffic prosecutor Bartolomé Vargas said police will be instructed to notify his department on the third occasion a parent is stopped and sanctioned.

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SELF-EMPLOYED persons and business ownes will no longer have to risk losing their personal assets if their outfit goes belly-up, according to a new law currently in the draft stage.

According to the president of the national federation of self-employed workers, Lorenzo Amor (pictured), the legislation will include a limit on assets that can be seized by courts and creditors when a company winds up or a sole trader ceases his or her activity.

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PLANS to build 350 villas and hotels with over 1,400 rooms on a seaside nature reserve has incensed residents in Tarifa (Cádiz).
The natural dunes on Valdevaqueros beach, which are home to endangered species of plants and animals, may soon become buried in concrete unless public pressure halts the move.

A total of 700,000 square metres of land in the Strait of Gibraltar and Los Alcornocales nature reserves will be taken up with the huge resort and residential complex.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com