Live News From Spain As It Happens

IBERIA staff have announced further strikes after negotiations with the company failed spectacularly this week.
Pilots presented a proposal to bosses of the Spanish airline, which merged with British Airways over a year ago, offering to take a 26 per cent pay cut and suggesting ways of increasing productivity. But this has been rejected by Iberia management, who have now told employees they may have to close the airline. 

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LOW-COST airline Ryanair says it is going to increase its ticket prices to make up for the European ruling that it will have to compensate passengers for delays and cancellations following the Icelandic volcano eruption.  Airports throughout Europe, including Spain, were like ghost towns in early spring 2010 after an ash cloud from the Eyjäfjällajøkull led authorities to shut the air-space across the north of the continent. 

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SPANISH president Mariano Rajoy and regional leader of Castilla-La Mancha María Dolores de Cospedal may have received wage top-ups in cash, according to financial records held by former treasurer and senator Luis Bárcenas (pictured). These records show Rajoy may have been given up to 25,000 euros a year cash in hand. His name first appears on Bárcenas' books in 1997 with six-monthly payments of 2.1 million pesetas (12,600 euros) and 1.05 million pesetas every three months (6,300 euros), always amounting to the same figure of 25,200 euros a year. These were recorded as having been paid until the year 2008.

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Son-in-law of the King, Iñaki Urdangarín, is facing an 8.2-million-euro bail release for his alleged involvement in a corruption case involving misappropriation of public funds and money-laundering.

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STAFF working for Bankia and Banco de Valencia have staged a strike and protest march today over the mass redundancies about to take place. The demonstration, which is being held across the country, is a prelude to a nationwide bank workers' strike on Wednesday, February 6 – the first-ever in the sector since the 1990s. In response to EU demands, banks which have been bailed out have been ordered to carry out radical restructures, including eliminating thousands of staff members in a country which already has one of the worst unemployment rates in Europe, with 26.6 per cent of the population, or six million people, out of a job.

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A MAN who stole food from a fridge has been jailed for three and a half years – despite the owner of the house saying she does not wish to press charges. The accused got in by taking a window out of its frame, which is considered forcible and violent entry, and which was the main aspect that landed him in jail. He stole sausages and lobsters, among other things, from the refrigerator of a home in Vigo, in the north-western region of Galicia. The owner of the house would have been entitled to compensation from the burglar, but she declined to accept any money.

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A LEADING consumer association has warned that at least two brands of burgers sold in mainstream supermarkets contain horsemeat. Although safe for consumption, the burgers do not advertise what is actually in them, since many people would choose not to eat them if they knew they contained horsemeat. These were on sale in Eroski and Alipende. Furthermore, the prices of many burgers are very high in relation to the quality, says the organisation, OCU.

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EUROPEAN President Martin Schulz says Spain's unemployment rate is 'shameful' and should be the Union's top priority above any other issues. Speaking at the 40^th anniversary summit of the European Confederation of Trade Unions (CES), the Parliament leader said the jobless figures in Spain and certain other EU nations are 'totally unacceptable', especially where the affect the young. Over half of Spain's under-35s are out of work and most have been for more than a year. 

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THREE types of medication have been withdrawn from the market by the health authorities. The anti-blood clotting drug Sintrom, the anti-inflammatory Junifen – which comes in syrup format and the main ingredient of which is Ibuprofen – and Acuvue daily-use contact lenses have been removed from sale, says the Spanish Medication and Healthcare Products Agency (AEMPS).

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HOLIDAYMAKERS are spending more money when they come to Spain than ever before, with last year seeing visitors part with a record 55.6 billion euros, according to research by the ministry of tourism. These figures beat the previous record – set in 2011 – by 5.7 per cent.

The ministry began keeping a register of holidaymaker spending back in 2004, but they say last year was only the third-highest in actual tourist numbers – travellers to Spain have fallen in recent times.

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A THIRD of Spain’s adult population is addicted to shopping, and their ‘condition’ gets worse during the sales or at Christmas. This was revealed recently by Dr Manuel Armayones, professor of psychology at Catalunya Open University (UOC). He said mass purchases and impulse buys are more ‘socially-acceptable’ during sales and at Christmas, which means closet addicts tend to ‘let themselves off’, their guilt subsiding and their problem going unnoticed.

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SPANISH president Mariano Rajoy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel have clashed publicly for the first time over the state of affairs in Europe. The two leaders met in Chile during the current Latin America-EU summit, and their differences of opinion over member States’ responsibilities were plain to see. Rajoy had already told Chilean president Sebastián Piñera that those countries in the EU which were able to do so should be working harder on expansion and growth – hinting that Germany was one of these. 

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TWO Swiss banks exchanged constant warning messages when ex-treasurer and PP senator Luis Bárcenas opened accounts with them, classing him as a 'maximum risk' customer. Dresdner Bank and Lombard Odier swapped information and personal data about Bárcenas after he was thought to be involved with the massive Spanish corruption trial, known as the Gürtel Case. One of the banks told the other it planned to 'take in-house steps' in connection with the former senator's accounts, particularly concerning certain financial transactions they considered to be 'highly suspicious'.

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SPAIN is due to refund the European Central Bank (BCE) around 63 billion euros, according to a report from Barclays. Now that the banks have been bailed out, they have surplus cashflow and are due to hand some of it back during the first reimbursement period of the Long-Term Refinancing Operation (LTRO). The cash has not reached the national economy in the true sense, but has been on deposit from the BCE or used to buy bank debts. The BBVA will return most of the money it has been given from Europe this and next month, whilst Banco Sabadell and Bankinter will refund 1.5 billion euros each. 

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A 'FLU epidemic is sweeping across Spain's most northerly regions and could spread across the rest of the country, warns Madrid's Carlos III Institute of Health. Taking numbers of patients diagnosed with influenza as at the week of January 14 to 20, they say this has reached epidemic proportions in Catalunya, Aragón, the Basque Country, Asturias and La Rioja.

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A passenger on a ferry operating the Alicante-Orán (Algeria) line died on Wednesday night after throwing himself off the boat and onto the dock after being cooped up on board for 24 hours without setting sail because of the adverse weather conditions.The incident occurred around 22.30 hours amidst an atmosphere of tension and unrest, during which some of the 890 passengers being held on board the ferry had started throwing objects overboard and onto the mooring in protest at the fact that they had not set sail, despite having boarded the ferry over 24 hours earlier.Sources confirmed that police had already been called to the scene to try to calm things down, but no-one was arrested and there were no further incidents. The victim was a 36-year-old French citizen of Algerian decent who was returning to Algeria because his father had died. He allegedy threw himself off the ferry's lower deck in an attempt to get back onto land, miscalculated the jump and landed headfirst on the dock after falling over seven metres.

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Unemployment figures in Spain reached a new record high of 5,965,400 at the close of 2012, equating to 26.02% of the labour force out of work. According to the latest data published today by the Natonal Institute of Statistics (INE), the number of people unemployed rose by 291,700 (13.12%). In the last quarter of 2012 alone, employment dropped by 363,300 (2.1%). The number of people in employment dropped by 176,000 between October and December, and was especially noticeable amongst those under 25, and by 158,700 compared with the same period in 2011.

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The nun, María Gómez Valbuena, better known as Sor María, who has been accused of involvement in "stolen baby" cases, has died in Madrid. The news was confirmed by a spokeswoman for the convent where she lived - Las Hijas de la Caridad de San Vicente Paúl. Sor María, who, according to the same source, was "very ill", did not appear before the judge on January 18th, citing "health reasons" as grounds for not giving evidence in the case brought by Purificación Betegón for the alleged disappearance of twins born in the Santa Cristina Clinic in 1981.

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A Ryanair flight from Valencia to Bergamo in northern Italy had to make an emergency landing in Genoa this morning when the pressurisation system failed. Ryanair have issued a press release confirming the incident and apologising "sincerely to all our passengers for any inconvenience caused". The low-cost airline's statement said that its pilot had reacted "as soon as a warning light came on to indicate a possible problem with cabine pressure. In line with standard operating procedures, oxygen masks were deployed and the pilot began his controlled emergency descent to an altitude where air pressure was not an issue". Afterwards, the plane "landed without incident at Genoa airport at approximately 09.50 hours".

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Discounts of between 30% and 70% are set to be introduced for tickets on Spain's high-speed trains (AVE) over the next few days. The Spanish national railway company, Renfe, will offer the discounts on the basis of how full the trains are and how far in advance customers buy their tickets - in a similar way to that in which the low-cost operate. The Minister for Public Works, Ana Pastor announced in December that steps were going to be taken to to make the AVE "more competitive", adding that tickets for the high-speed trains were currently "very expensive".

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The Interior Minister, Jorge Fernández Díaz, today announced "imminent" changes to the national traffic regulations, that would almost certainly see the speed limit on secondary roads being reduced from 100kmph to 90kmph. Fernández Díaz, who made the announcement at the Traffic School in Mérida, said this decision came in response to the fact that "77% of road accidents, including fatal accidents, occur on the country's secondary roads". He confirmed that the "main objective and priority" of speed limits was to guarantee road safety, whilst allowing for maximum mobility. For this reason, the Minister has decided to reduce the speed limit on secondary roads to a maximum of 90kmph.

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The prime minster, Mariano Rajoy has today announced that there will be an external audit into the Partido Popular's accounts as a result of the 'Bárcenas scandal". Rajoy also confirmed that there would be a parellel internal audit by the new treasurer, Carmen Navarro, to look into allegations of "extra" cash payments made by ex-treasurer Luis Bárcenas to high-level PP members and that all party members would be obliged to collaborate.

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The Court of Auditors has published a report naming ten mayors or regional government leaders who earned more than the Spanish prime minister, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, in 2010. Alicante County Council is top of the list, followed by Barcelona County Council. The list continues with the mayors of Zaragoza, Barcelona, Alcalá de Henares (Madrid), Madrid, Valencia, Alcobendas (Madrid) and Las Rozas (Madrid). Last on the list is Girona County Council. The study is based on a questionnaire filled in by 172 county councils and town hall offices relating to areas with more than 50,000 inhabitants, and has just been submitted to parliament.

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The Spanish Met. Office has issued warnings of strong winds in Galicia, Cantabria, the Ebro Valley, the Balearic Islands and along parts of the Mediterranean coast for Monday. Snow is forecast for areas above altitudes of 500m in the north of the country, at altitudes of between 900 and 1,200m in central areas, between 1,200 and 1,400m in the south and above 1,200 in the Balearic Islands.

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SPANISH president Mariano Rajoy believes it 'unlikely' that ex-treasurer and former senator of the PP, Luis Bárcenas, could have been paying out salary top-ups to party members in cash and off the books. A full corruption investigation has been launched after it was found Bárcenas held accounts in Switzerland and is believed to have paid out between 5,000 and 15,000 euros a month to party members. Rajoy (pictured) insists that all accounts covering wages and expenses are monitored by the Accounts Court, every cent is declared to the tax office, and that all financial matters are 'fully audited'.

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DROUGHTS in Spain are becoming longer and more intense, according to experts.They have studied periods of low or non-existent rainfall in the country over the 60-year period between 1945 and 2005, and say the worst droughts – those which last five years or more – tend to be in the south and centre of the country.Spain's High Council of Scientific Investigation (CSIC) says that of the 187 river basins they studied, the Tajo in the centre of the country, the Júcar near the east coast, the Guadiana, and the Guadalquivir in the Sevilla province are the worst-affected and see some of the longest-lasting droughts.

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REDUCED-RATE value-added tax on certain medication, medical equipment and veterinary supplies is 'illegal', claims the European Commission. Medicines, healthcare products and materials that may be use to prevent, diagnose, treat, relieve or cure illnesses should attract IVA at the full rate of 21 per cent, and not the 'middle' rate of 10 per cent, according to an EU ruling from 2010.

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BANCO de Valencia is about to close 90 per cent of its branches in compliance with terms laid down by the European Commission. The ailing financial institution, which has been bailed out by the Ordered Bank Restructuring Fund (FROB), will shortly be bought for a euro by CaixaBank. It has notified 890 of its 1,615 members of staff that they will be made redundant by the middle of February, and then will shut nine in 10 of its 350 branch offices.

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SPAIN'S most expensive petrol and diesel is sold in the provinces of Alicante and Valencia, a new report claims. Whilst the average price of 95 unleaded across the country is 1.3941 euros a litre, in the Valencia province this rises to 1.4059 euros and in Alicante, 1.4104 euros. But those who live in the north of Valencia are advised to hop across the border into Castellón, the province that sells the cheapest petrol in Spain at just 1.3695 euros a litre. 

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THE closure of overnight A&E departments in 21 towns in Castilla-La Mancha could set a precedent for other parts of the country, warns the central government. With the State health service in debt by 16 billion euros, regional authorities are being encouraged to make cutbacks. In addition to Castilla-La Mancha, casualty units in health centres now shut for the night in various towns in the north of the Alicante province, including Pedreguer, El Verger, Ondara and Gata de Gorgos. 

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IBERIA pilots have offered to take a pay cut of 26 per cent in a bid to save their jobs. Their union, SEPLA, presented proposals to the airline's management this week which included a freeze on wages of 16 per cent and a 10 per cent reduction on top in order to save money, saying they consider the company's problems to be due to 'bad management' and 'poor marketing efforts'

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SPAIN'S school drop-out rate is as high as three in 10 pupils in several regions and well over a quarter in the country as a whole, according to education authorities. This is a long way from meeting the European Union's maximum levels, which for the year 2020 must be 10 per cent for other EU countries, and 15 per cent for Spain.The figures are taken by counting up the number of 18- to 24-year-olds who do not have their Bachillerato – Spain's answer to A-levels – or any other kind of professional qualification. 

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REFORMS on the cards for 2013 by Mariano Rajoy's government include greater supervision of town and city councils, removing trade barriers, restricting the abortion law and radically revamping the education system. Public administration procedures and public sector services have not been reformed in 30 years and methods will be modernised.Rajoy also hopes to save 3.5 billion euros by reducing the number of councillors, standardising salaries in town halls and those of mayors, cutting out duplication of work and clarifying roles within local authorities. 

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SPAIN'S banks' need for a capital injection is lower than that of the average EU country's financial institutions, says the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Those banks which need the most capital – around 400,000 million euros in total – are in Greece, France and Germany. Banks in Spain, Italy, Ireland, Portugal and Austria have capital needs below the EU average.

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THE first major snows of the winter have hit the north and centre of Spain and various inland provinces further south. This means ski resorts are likely to be full to the brim soon, but driving conditions can bee dangerous and weather warnings have been issued. 

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NINE children and a teacher were injured yesterday (Friday) when the floor of a primary school in Santa Pola (Alicante) caved in. It happened just after 09.00hrs, when the teacher was taking the register for her class of eight-year-olds at the Hispanidad school, which is a State-run centre. She fell into a hole in between tables, and nine children went with her.

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GRANADA city centre is knee-deep in rubbish due to a strike called by refuse collectors and road-sweepers. They object to being forced to work extra hours – bringing them to a total of 37.5 a week – at the same time as their pay is being cut by five per cent and will be frozen thereafter for the foreseeable future, not increased in line with inflation.

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TELEFÓNICA has come under fire from the National Competition Commission (CNC) for 'abusive' terms locking mobile phone customers into contracts. They have accused Telefónica Móviles España – previously Movístar – of applying conditions that make it 'impossible' to move to another provider, or at least, very difficult and expensive.

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GRANADA'S Alhambra Palace is Europe's favourite tourist destination, figures reveal. In 2012, a total of 2.26 million visitors went to explore this spectacular Arab complex which dates back to the Mediaeval era in Spain – an increase on the 2.18 million in 2011, which shows that the recession is no barrier to enjoying this historical gem. In fact, the number of Europeans visiting the Alhambra has increased by 8.08 per cent in the last year, with these tourists accounting for nearly half – 48.69 per cent – of the total. And it is not just the Palace itself and the Generalife gardens they go to see, says the management of the complex.

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A MULTI-MILLION offer to buy Castellón's brand-new, unused airport is under scrutiny by the Valencian regional government. Since the new terminal was officially opened in March 2011, not a single plane has taken off from or landed there. Now, a capital risk company – the name of which is being kept under wraps by ministers in Valencia – has put in a bid of 200 million euros to buy the doomed airport. If the sale goes ahead, the new owners anticipate being able to create between 1,200 and 1,400 jobs directly and indirectly related to the terminal.

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SPAIN'S Armed Forces is understaffed due to laws forcing soldiers and naval officers to retire at a certain age, says the country's military association. Its head, José Gómez Navarro, says over 2,500 soldiers left the Army and Navy last year and signed on the dole, leaving the forces below its maximum permitted number of 80,000 – which for 2010, was 86,000. And yet the number of officials and sub-officials went up by 500. “One supposes that the Army and Navy hierarchy should have a pyramid structure, but at the moment there are more chiefs than Indians,” says Gómez Navarro.

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AROUND 55,000 Spanish people had left the country for good by the end of the third quarter of 2012, meaning the exodus has increased by over a fifth in the past year. With job vacancies being practically non-existent and career progress unlikely in the current economic climate, more and more qualified young Spaniards are seeking their fortunes abroad. Nine in 10 student nurses interviewed expressed a wish to go overseas to work when they qualified, with the UK, Norway, Germany, Canada, the USA and Latin America being the favoured destinations.

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SALES started early in parts of the country this year, although many large department stores opted to keep to tradition and wait until after the Three Kings – meaning prices plummeted yesterday (Monday) instead. Retailers are said to be 'aggressively' slashing their prices in a bid to attract as many customers as possible, but with the recession, job loss and the IVA hike in September, the average shopper is only expected to spend around 80 euros in the whole of the sales period.

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SPAIN'S richest man has bought the BBVA bank headquarters in Barcelona. Amancio Ortega, founder of the Inditex clothing chain, is said to have purchased the head office for 100 million euros. The 13-storey building, in the central Plaça de Catalunya, was previously owned by German estate agency Deka Immobilien. Ortega is said to have bought the bank building with assets not linked to his retail empire.

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REGIONAL government MPs get more holiday time over Christmas than school children in many parts of Spain. In the Comunidad Valenciana, the 99 members of Parliament downed tools for the festive season a few days before the schools broke up – but do not go back to work until February 1. This means they get a whole 42 days, or six weeks off. Some are said to have popped back into their offices at the beginning of January, but this is optional and a personal decision. In Andalucía, the same situation occurred, with MPs finishing for the holidays on Thursday, December 20 and not returning to their offices until February 1.

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THIS year's winning El Niño lottery ticket bears the number 30.875 and holders of a décimo will have won 200,000 euros. Those who shelled out 200 euros for a full ticket got two million. Most of the winning tickets were sold in Alicante city and in Alcorcón (Madrid), with a few others sold in the centre of Madrid, in Parla – near the capital, in León, Murcia and on the island of Tenerife.

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A SIX-YEAR-OLD child has lost his life after being run over by a float during the Three Kings procession in Málaga. He was said to have been trying to pick up one of the sweets thrown from the floats into the crowd when he was knocked down by the float carrying the Magi's court attendants, before the parade had even properly started.

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THE International Monetary Fund (IMF) has admitted that it 'underestimated' the negative impact on employment and GNP of the austerity measures it imposed upon countries in financial trouble. Chief economist Olivier Blanchard (pictured) said the worldwide institution did not expect to see 'the significant increase in unemployment' and 'fall in individual consumer spending and investment' that its 'fiscal consolidation' requirements have caused.

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TAX authorities in Spain have warned of a series of 'phishing' emails going round purporting to be from them and telling the recipient he or she has a refund due. These emails, which the tax ministry says look very authentic, ask for the person's bank details to reimburse them overpaid tax for the previous year.This then allows the sender to empty the victim's account.

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SEVEN of Spain's 17 autonomous regions are not sticking to their plans to mop up their federal government deficits, say the tax authorities. Andalucía, the Comunidad Valenciana, Murcia, the Balearic Islands, the Canary Islands, Castilla-La Mancha and Extremadura are the culprits. Catalunya has the best record so far after reducing its expenses by 1.5 billion euros, out of a total of 7.24 billion across all 17 regions...

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SPAIN'S government is set to decide next month on whether to continue paying six-month benefits to the unemployed whose dole money entitlement has run out. And the opposition PSOE insists this financial help must continue as a priority. Socialist leader Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba has started campaigns on social networks such as Facebook and Twitter titled 'Save the 400 euros'.

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AROUND 1,000 skiers had to be airlifted to safety when gale-forced winds left them trapped on the piste. Staff at the ski station in Panticosa (Huesca) had to shut down the ski lifts for safety reasons, meaning those who were still out on the slopes could not get down.

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AN ONLINE suggestion box set up by the central government lets members of the public voice their opinions on public administration services. Two links on the sitehttp://www.seap.minhap.gob.es/areas/reforma_aapp.html allow people to give their views on how to cut down on duplication and red tape.

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SPAIN'S president has warned of 'tough times ahead' for 2013 with even more 'sacrifices' on the part of the general public on the cards. Although Mariano Rajoy still insists the country will not need a European bail-out, he has not ruled this out in the future if necessary.

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A SPANISH tourist has been killed after being hit by a London bus at the Charing Cross Road-Shaftesbury Avenue junction. The 48-year-old was crossing the road with her husband and two children at the time, say the Metropolitan police. Three of them were taken to St Mary's Hospital in Paddington, where the woman's 18-year-old daughter and 11-year-old son are in a serious but stable condition. The woman's husband was unhurt.

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