Live News From Spain As It Happens

SPAIN'S health service is seeing the biggest cuts ever in next year's budget with a reduction of 35.6 per cent.

Although the State budget for 2014 shows increases in most areas, once Social Security contributions, taxes and other dues paid by the workforce in the public and private sector, and taxes paid by the electricity sector, the actual spending by the State next year has fallen by 4.7 per cent.

The health service reduction of 35.6 per cent is the highest cut of all, whilst the ministry of industry has seen the highest increase in funding, at 31.6 per cent.

It will get just 1.9 billion euros, of which once taxpayers' contributions are deducted, reduces to just under 378 million.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

THE CANARY Islands' government has applied to the United Nations to be 'de-colonised' from Spain.

Although the archipelago, some 100 kilometres off the coast of Morocco and nearly a four-hour flight from most of the mainland, does not want to become a separate country in the same way as the northern region of Catalunya wishes to do, it says it is fed up with being 'colonised'.

The independent political party Vecinos Unidos Canarios ('Canarian Residents United') has applied to the UN Petitions Committee to be included in its list of 'autonomous de-colonised territories'.

This list includes Gibraltar, which is British-owned, plus French Polynesia, the Virgin Islands, Bermuda and Western Sahara.

According to VUC, Spain has the Canaries 'colonised' under the 'guise' of its being one of the 17 autonomous regions with its own federal government.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

AT LEAST two British newspapers have heavily criticised a play acted out by children in a school in Alfajarín (Zaragoza province) in which Spain 'invades' Gibraltar.

Some of the children – mostly young teenagers – play stereotypical Gibraltarians dressed in shorts, socks and sandals, carrying boxes of contraband cigarettes, carrying the Union Jack and singing the British national anthem.

Next, the song Spanish bombs by The Clash begins to play as other children dressed in camouflage-print clothing and carrying a huge banner reading Gibraltar español ('Spanish Gibraltar') appear on stage as well as toy guns, carried on in an Army tank.

They surround the sock-and-sandal brigade and open fire, and the Brits fall to the ground as though they are dead.

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THE parents of a 12-year-old girl found dead in a forest near the village of Teo (A Coruña province) have been arrested and their lawyers have refused to act in their defence.

Asunta Yong Fang Basterra Porto was initially thought to have been murdered for being the sole benefactor of her very wealthy grandparents' estate, but inquiries have found that her mother was in fact the only benefactor when her parents died last year.

And her after-school music teachers have admitted to the court that the child had once appeared 'drugged up' in class.

Asunta is said to have told the teachers her parents were 'making her take pills' and that she was frightened they were trying to kill her.

She showed signs of 'sedation' or 'inebriation', the witnesses claim.

But they were 'not surprised' at the time, because they knew she was taking medication for her asthma and did not report the matter to the police until they heard her mother had been arrested.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

GIBRALTAR has been given Champions League qualifying status following its acceptance into the UEFA in May this year.

And the Rock's national team will be able to try out for the Euro Cup 2016 as well as each of the Champions Leagues.

Gibraltar, an outpost of Britain on the southernmost tip of Spain right next to La Línea de la Concepción (Cádiz), has around 30,000 inhabitants ranging from native Gibraltarians who are mostly a British-Spanish descendent mix, as well as UK nationals and Spaniards – and thousands more who live in the Cádiz province work on the Rock.

It also has eight teams in its Premier Division including Lincoln, a side which has won 11 consecutive titles, St Joseph's, Lynx, Lions Gibraltar, Glacis College Cosmo, Gibraltar Phoenix and – surprisingly – Manchester United.  

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SPAIN is considering moving into another time-zone – that of the UK, Portugal and Morocco – and adopting a more European system of working hours in a radical shake-up of the country's traditional way of life.

Experts claim residents in Spain are living in 'a permanent state of jet lag' because of their clocks being an hour ahead of the time which would normally correspond with the country's latitude – and they say the long lunch hour and late evening finish is responsible for low productivity and poor family life.

Back in 1942, the dictator General Franco – an ally of Adolf Hitler – moved the clocks forward to coincide with Central European Time (CET, or CEST in summer) so that Spain and Germany were on the same time-lag.

This means that whilst the sun is in its most central position at noon, in Spain it is so at 13.00hrs, or 14.00hrs in summer when the clocks are moved forward.

It also means instead of eating lunch and dinner at 13.00hrs and 20.00hrs, as the rest of Europe and most of the world appear to do, Spaniards start lunch between 14.00hrs and 15.00hrs, and start eating dinner at either 21.00hrs or 22.00hrs.

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BULL-FIGHTING at a major festival in Tordesillas (Valladolid province) was under debate in Parliament today in response to mass protest marches organised by the Pro-Animal Party (PACMA).

The Toro de la Vega, described as a particularly blood-thirsty and barbaric bull-fighting tournament in which the animals are speared to death.

Left-wing party Izquierda Unida (IU) has tabled a motion for a law to be drafted banning all forms of entertainment where animals are killed or made to suffer.

“Torture cannot hide behind the excuse of 'tradition',” says IU's spokeswoman, Laia Ortiz.

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SPAIN'S Parliament has voted almost unanimously in favour of school textbooks being lent free to pupils for the year and then returned to their teachers.

The motion was tabled by UPyD (Unión, Progreso y Democracia, or Union, Progress and Democracy), an independent government party, and looks set to be included in the forthcoming amendment to the education law.

Loans of textbooks free of charge will be guaranteed by legislation for as long as any pupil is in compulsory education, meaning sixth-form pupils, university students and those on professional or vocational training courses will still need to buy their own resource and exercise books.

But the move will ultimately save parents all over the country between 200 and 900 euros per child at the start of every new school year. 

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

THE British government has chosen one of Santander UK's top managers, Spaniard Ana Patricia Botín as one of the five members of the country's new Investment, Commerce and Financial Service Council.

This new body, served by independent experts on a pro bono basis, was set up out of the 2013 State budget to promote the UK financial services industry at home and abroad.

Members will meet for the first time on October 8 and will answer directly to the Secretary of the Treasury, who will be responsible for promoting foreign trade, attracting investment from abroad and attempting to break down barriers to accessing the financial services market in Britain.

The Council will be chaired by the director-general of financial services at the Treasury, Charles Roxburgh, and members include employees of the Foreign Office (FCO), the UK Trade and Investment Office (UKTI), the department of business – TheCityUK – and the international commerce and investments group.

Read more at thikSPAIN.com

NTERNATIONAL charity Médicos del Mundo ('world doctors') say they have 1,192 cases of people on their books who have 'suffered a breach of their human right to health' in Spain as a result of the health service reform.

In its report, The impact of the medical care reform on the right to health, which Chairman Álvaro González is due to hand to the State ombudswoman Soledad Becerril, covers 254 cases reported in Aragón, Castilla-La Mancha, Galicia, the Canary Islands and Navarra, plus 250 from the Madrid region alone and 290 others from the Balearic Islands – a total of 12 of Spain's 17 federal regions – in the last 12 months since the PP government restricted healthcare entitlement to legal residents in work, on benefits or pensions, or registered as self-employed only.

The national branch of Médicos del Mundo say their own figures are increased by those gathered by Médicos del Mundo Valencia and another 49 associations and charities, which show 398 cases between December 2012 and June 2013 – a six-month period.

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SPANISH president Mariano Rajoy has told The Wall Street Journal that the country is 'out of recession', but 'not out of the financial crisis'.

The PP leader says his current aim is a 'rigorous recovery' which allows Spain to 'create employment'.

He has also stated his intentions to stand for election again at the end of 2015.

“I have no intention of retiring, but my party will decide,” he announced.

Rajoy is said to have professed to be 'reasonably satisfied' with steps taken by the European Union to tackle the financial crisis, and has congratulated German Chancellor, Angela Merkel on her re-election.

“Things are going in the right direction,” Rajoy stated.

The head of State says he believes the Spanish economy will grow by between 0.5 and one per cent next year, but this would not be a magical cure for the 26-per-cent jobless figures straight away.

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BÁRCENAS' predecessor Álvaro Lapuerta is 'unfit to testify' because of his 'mental health' which would impede him from giving coherent and reliable responses to cross-examining and understanding the full nature and quality of the process, according to court medics.

The 86-year-old former treasurer has recently suffered two 'unexplained' falls and is said to have 'neurological and psychological' impediments, which may have been either the cause or the result of these.

One of the falls left him in a coma for 14 days – after five days in an involuntary coma, the brain is usually permanently affected to a greater or lesser degree, medics say.

Lapuerta had not suffered his falls when he gave a statement to the anti-corruption prosecutors in February, maintaining that to the best of his knowledge and belief there were no 'undercover accounts', cash-in-hand wage top-ups to politicians or bribes received from companies in exchange for lucrative public works contracts.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

HEALTH minister Ana Mato's latest cutback plans to make chronically-ill patients pay for medication dispensed in hospital is 'cruel, unjustifiable and brutal', says opposition leader Alfredo Pérez-Rubalcaba.

Outpatients with serious conditions are often sent to their hospital in-house pharmacy to pick up injections or pills which are then either administered at home or by nurses in the consultation departments, and these are free of charge.

They are not dispensed by high-street chemists due to their specialist nature.

Socialist leader Rubalcaba, and his secretary-general Elena Valenciano, say they 'cannot think of anything more cruel' than 'forcing people with no money to pay to stay alive'.

“Forcing people with cancer, hepatitis, or any other ongoing serious illness that does not need just one, but several types of expensive specialist medication to pay for the privilege is unthinkable cruelty,” Rubalcaba stormed when Mato (pictured) announced the move.

Trinidad Jiménez, who was health minister for a spell when the socialists were in power, called for Mato to resign for 'punishing, attacking and reducing to poverty' the 'most vulnerable citizens' in Spain.

“Not even in our worst nightmares could we ever imagine that the public health system would suffer such an attack by the government of Mariano Rajoy and minister Ana Mato,” Jiménez stated.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

A SPANISH woman who was caught up in the terrorist shoot-out in Nairobi has described first-hand the horrors she and her 12-year-old daughter witnessed.

Silvia, originally from the Canary Islands, has lived in the Kenyan capital for 22 years and like many other middle and upper class expatriates and natives, frequently attends the Westgate shopping centre where a gang from the Al-Shabab squad, linked to Al-Qaeda, opened fire and killed 30 people last week.

Silvia, her daughter and two other children who had become separated from their parents sought refuge in a changing room in Woolworth's, where they hid out for four hours listening to the gunfire.

They were eventually helped out of the building via the roof by emergency services.

The terrorists had forced their way into the centre via Nakumatt, one of Kenya's main supermarket chains.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

NUMEROUS German nationals have chosen to hand over their right to vote to Spanish people living in the country to allow them to make a statement about how politics in Berlin are affecting life in Spain.

A system in Germany allows any eligible voter to apply in person to give their vote to a foreign resident – who cannot vote because they are not a citizen of the country – and for both parties to explain their reasons for doing so and the party for which the recipient of the 'donated' vote chooses.

Many Spaniards living in Germany who have been interviewed – some of whom have been there for 15 years and others who have only arrived this year and are seeking jobs whilst learning the language – say they do not believe Berlin's policies towards their native country will change, whether or not chancellor Angela Merkel gets in again.  

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

BRITISH directors are shooting a film about the live of Severiano 'Seve' Ballesteros, the legendary Spanish golfer who lost his battle against cancer last year.

Filming will start on Monday on location in the northern coastal region of Cantabria (in Santander, Comillas and Pedreña) and the production will première in London and in Spain in April 2014.

It will feature young actor José Luis Gutiérrez as Seve, one of the best golfers in history, and feature the early years of his life, and 2012 Gaudí Award winner María Molins as Carmen, Seve's mother.

Producer Stephen Evans, who was behind the successful Peter's friends – starring Stephen Fry in a black comedy about a house party called by Peter who has a life-changing secret to reveal – Much ado about nothing, and Henry V – will be working on the film, Seve, along with director John Paul Davidson and script-writer Tom Hodgson.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

A FAMILY holiday ended in tragedy before it had begun yesterday (Thursday) when a five-month-old baby lost his life in a luggage carousel accident at Alicante-Elche airport.

He and his parents were due to spend their break in Dénia (Alicante province) on the northern Costa Blanca.

His mother, who is originally from the USA, had flown in from London and is believed to have placed the child on a luggage belt which was not moving or in use to give her a free hand to collect her bags.

But the baby's weight is thought to have caused the conveyor to start moving automatically as it would if luggage were to be placed on it.

He lost his life after becoming wedged into the rollers in the part where the bags come through onto the belt.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

A PETITION with 85,000 signatures and an open letter addressed to the country's leaders of the PP and PSOE has been handed in personally in Madrid calling for the abolition of one of the largest and most bloodthirsty bull-fighting exhibitions in Spain.

The Toro de la Vega, which took place in the village of Tordesillas (Valladolid province) in central Spain on Tuesday despite over 15,000 people protesting against it in the streets of the capital at the weekend, has been a source of contention with animal-lovers for many years.

Silvia Barceló, head of the independent Partido Animalista (PACMA), or Pro-Animal Party – which currently does not have any representation in Parliament – says members wished to express their 'deep disappointment and discontent' that both of Spain's main political parties could 'allow, in the 21^st century', for bulls to be 'lynched and executed with spears for entertainment purposes'.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

VALENCIA'S regional president has come under fire for 'extravagance' as his constituency buckles under the weight of austerity, tax hikes and funding cuts.

While the Comunidad Valenciana is reported to have some of the highest income and property taxes in Spain, has recently hiked inheritance tax and owes millions to its health centres, hospitals, schools and pharmacies, its leader Alberto Fabra has been found to be spending residents' contributions on 20 personal members of staff.

Several thousand teachers have been made redundant and class sizes increased to 35 or 40 in State schools in the region – but Fabra has 16 consultants, three chauffeurs and a personal chef working for him.

The 950-page itinerary of staff and their functions within the regional government has been published in accordance with federal law, but due to its size, some delays were experienced in finally uploading it online.

Its purpose was to 'ensure adequate planning of human resources needs and facilitate selection processes' within the Generalitat Valenciana's headquarters.

The regional government press office has 32 staff members, of which 16 are consultants, three are chauffeurs and one a chef – all serving the president of the Generalitat – plus two secretaries working for Fabra, one general and one private.

A total of 21 journalists covering all regional government ministries, plus a photographer and two camera operators, a publicist, a head of the correspondence and diary team, a budget management technician, a specialist in administration and protocol, plus several public policy, documentation and economic studies analysis managers are all employed within the regional government headquarters.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

THE government is due to 'testify' in Parliament today over the Bárcenas slush-fund scandal – but it will be vice-president Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría, not Mariano Rajoy, who will stand up and face the questions from the opposition.

Socialists say they hope president Rajoy will in fact be 'brave enough' to at least take part in the discussion in Congress today (Wednesday) and have chosen not to give any specific requests for information about the former treasurer's alleged 'underground accounting system' as they do not want the PP to pre-empt, or attempt to block, their questions as was the case six weeks ago when Rajoy finally responded to the opposition's pressure and stood up in Parliament.

Minister of Justice Alberto Ruiz-Gallardón is also expected to speak out, and other major parties – including Izquierda Unida, or IU ('United Left') have decided to use the same tactic as the PSOE to ensure their questions are not vetoed or met with pre-scripted replies.

The PSOE has called for a second testimonial in Parliament as they consider there are contradictions between the PP's previous claims in August and the declaration in front of judge Pablo Ruz by vice-secretary general, María Dolores del Cospedal.

Read more at thikSPAIN.com

CATALUNYA as an independent nation would be left out of the European Union, warn sources from Brussels.
All legal protection, absence of trade barriers, rights of free movement and other benefits of forming part of the continental 'club' would cease on the very day the north-eastern Spanish region broke away from Spain, potentially creating problems with tourism, imports and exports, among other issues, says European Commission spokeswoman Pia Åhrenkilde.
“If part of a territory of a member State ceases to form part of that member State, because this territory has become a separate nation, the EU treaties will no longer apply to the outgoing region and would not be considered neutral,” Åhrenkilde stated yesterday (Monday).
This said, any State in Europe which 'respects the principles established within the treaties' is welcome to request EU membership, Åhrenkilde added.
Vice-president of the European Commission Joaquín Almúnia also said on Monday that he was 'very concerned' about the possibility of a sovereignty referendum being launched in Catalunya and has called for Spain's central government to 'sit down at a table and face to face' with the region's president, Artur Mas, to discuss the matter 'rather than doing so by letter-writing'.
Confirming Åhrenkilde's statement about how Catalunya would cease to be a part of the European Union, Almúnia stressed: “These things should be talked about, not via correspondence, at a distance, but around a table in a serious, calm and rigorous two-way discussion, free from emotions and in cold blood, in order to find solutions to what is, evidently, a huge political disagreement.”

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A FACT-FINDING mission to Spain by the International Monetary Fund (FMI) will start by scrutinising the operations of Bankia, Unicaja and Liberbank, say sources from the entity led by Christine Lagarde.

Following a meeting yesterday (Monday) at the Bank of Spain for the start of its fourth on-site inspection of the country's financial institutions, representatives of the FMI have started delving into the effects on these high-street banks' results caused by refinancing their credits, and whether credit is flowing into the Spanish economy.

Today (Tuesday), unless the previous three institutions need more analysis, the FMI will move onto Novacaixagalicia, or NCG; Cajamar; Bankinter, and Banco Popular.

Wednesday will see the finance giant inspecting Caja3, Ibercaja and Ceiss.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

A LETTER from Spanish president Mariano Rajoy to Catalunya's regional leader Artur Mas has failed to persuade him to call off his plans for a referendum on independence next year.

Mas wrote to Rajoy asking for permission to call Catalunya residents to the polling stations to decide whether or not they want the region to become a separate country, to which Rajoy answered with a missive to the effect of 'united we stand, divided we fall'.

The German Parliament has already warned that the EU may have to be prepared for a possible secession of Catalunya, since this could potentially leave the region – or new country – isolated and with no export market.

It would have to reapply to become a member of the EU and the Eurozone, and in the meantime, trade barriers and customs fees would apply since free movement to and from Catalunya would be abolished.  

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

MADRID will not run for the 2024 Olympics – at least, not while the city's mayoress Ana Botella is in power.

Although probably not part of the International Olympic Committee's decision to exclude Spain in the first round of voting, Botella's speech in English – written phonetically by public speech advisor Terence Burns, from the USA – has become the subject of ridicule throughout the country and the infamous line about enjoying 'a relaxing cup of café con leche in the Plaza Mayor' has gone viral.

Botella, who says the Madrid 2020 accounts will be liquidated and published, and which will be used to fund public services and help create employment as spokesman for the opposition Jaime Lissavetsky said they should be at the time, is not taking this too personally.

“I understand this country's sense of humour and often laugh at myself about it, too,” revealed Botella, who was hopeful of securing the Games at the third consecutive attempt to put her in a favourable light for the 2015 local elections. 

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

NEARLY 15,000 people protested yesterday (Saturday) in Madrid over one of Spain's most famous bull-fighting exhibitions, the Toro de la Vega.

Although previous demonstrations have taken place in the town of Tordesillas (Valladolid province), in the northern part of central Spain, the organisers wanted more visibility and so have chosen to move to the capital.

Members of the Partido Animalista – an animal rights independent political party which as yet has no representation in the central government – say both the right-wing PP and the left-wing PSOE are 'responsible' for the 'cruel and barbaric' act of the Toro de la Vega.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

A NEW Telecommunications Law will enable operators to set up internet and phone networks more easily and allow customers to benefit from more competitive prices and better signals.

The existing law covering the sector dates back to 2003, and as minister for industry José Manuel Soria states, the world of telecommunications today 'is nothing like it was 10 years ago'.

Broadband, fourth-generation mobile phones and extra-fast connections are now the norm and have forced the government's hand when it came to reforming the law, Soria explains.

Among other objectives, it is aimed at increasing competition, improving service to the public, removing red tape and over-onerous legal requirements to allow operators to grow, and increasing networks available.  

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

RAIL board ADIF has appealed against a court order which has seen 29 members of its management team charged in relation to the fatal crash on July 24 in Galicia, which left 79 dead and hundreds injured.

Five top managers, including three Chief Executive Officers – past and present – have been called to testify as accused parties, although the full details of any charges made have not been revealed.  

Read more at thikSPAIN.com

BASQUE terrorist cell ETA has announced that it would be prepared to hand in its weapons before Christmas this year.

Experts close to the separatist organisation say its leaders plan to make a public speech before the end of the year – which will be close to the seventh anniversary of the massive attack on Madrid airport which saw them break their truce – saying they planned to down their arms.

But the process will be 'slow', their communication will warn.

The terrorists will supply an inventory of their weapons, explosives and hidden arsenals of these, although they will probably not state immediately how and when they will start the process of handing them to the State in an orderly fashion.

To do so, they will use an 'independent organisation' as an 'intermediary' to officially witness the act, but will not go through the central government, whom they consider 'a closed route', or the Basque authorities.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

OVER 1.6 million residents of the north-eastern region of Catalunya formed a human chain yesterday (Wednesday) of over 400 kilometres long in support of their government's bid to become a separate country.

An estimated 52 per cent of natives of Catalunya – the capital of which is Barcelona – support the idea of independence, despite all the administrative, economic and political headaches it could bring them.

They say the central government has let them down, and now they should let them go.  

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

SPAIN'S economy and that of the Eurozone will not be affected by a third EU bail-out for Greece, say experts.

Dean of Economics at Pompeu Fabra University in Barcelona, Dr José García Montalvo, said market perspectives had changed and fears of Spain suffering a knock-on effect from the 'Greek Tragedy' were reduced.

Back in 2010 when Greece was given its first bail-out, world markets assumed that the Eurozone's weaker countries known as the PIGS – Portugal, Ireland, Greece and Spain – would all be pulled down at once since the other three would suffer as a result of a domino effect.

This has been shown not to be the case in any of the three nations, even though they are all suffering from high unemployment, limited or zero growth and public debt, meaning the markets are unlikely to tar the Iberian Peninsula or the Emerald Isle with the same brush as Greece if the Hellenic nation gets a third wad of cash. 

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SPAIN will not take part in any military incursion into Syria 'under any circumstances', says foreign affairs minister José Manuel García-Margallo.

During a Parliamentary congress this morning (Wednesday) – which was two hours late starting because recent rainfall had left it with a dripping ceiling – the head of Spanish diplomacy abroad said a raid on the Middle Eastern country would be 'against Article 19 of the Law of Defence', although he did not state on which point.

President Mariano Rajoy has already come under fire from the opposition for having signed a pact along with the USA and the rest of the G20 refusing to condone Syria's chemical weapons attacks, claiming that 'clear evidence' pointed to their being the work of the régime of Bashar Al-Assad, and agreeing on 'severe international action' in retaliation.

As a result, Rajoy was due to speak in Parliament today, the first session after the summer break, but declined to do so in the end and handed the reins to Margallo.

Stating that 'a chemical weapons attack cannot be left without a response', the foreign minister said Spain would adhere to the advice of the UN's Security Council with the aim of ensuring that 'nobody, ever again, under any circumstances' will be able to repeat the atrocities seen in Syria, which left over 1,000 adults and 400 children – all civilians – gassed to death in a suburb of the capital, Damascus.

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EX-TREASURER Luis Bárcenas' hard drive was wiped just six days after he went to prison by the PP, according to IT forensics investigating the two laptops he kept in his office at the party's headquarters.

Bárcenas was remanded in custody on June 27 and the hard drive of his Apple laptop was formatted on July 3, deleting all the data at source.

The second computer, a Toshiba, had no disc.

Just 12 days later, the former senator and treasurer of the PP effected a sensational about-turn and went from denying everything about alleged undeclared accounts and bribes from companies to telling judge Pablo Ruz every last detail.

He had reported the laptops stolen in April, believing the PP was responsible for this, and later attempted legal action against the party for unfair dismissal.

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WORKERS who have retired since the start of the financial crisis have increased in number by 71 per cent as a result of mass redundancies and uncertainty about the future, according to the ministry of employment.

The improbability of finding another job for those already in their 60s, the fear of losing their existing one, and lack of work for the self-employed contributed hugely to the number of people who decided to collect their State pensions early, even though they knew they would receive less money.

And large national and multi-national firms which made hundreds or even thousands of staff members redundant en bloc offered early retirement packages to older workers where possible to soften the blow, instead of laying off younger, working-age employees who would face hardship through not being able to find another job for months or years. 

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

Rafa Nadal has claimed his second US Open crown with a four-set victory over World No. 1 Novak Djokovic.

Nadal bagged his 13th Grand Slam title, beating the Serb 6-2, 3-6, 6-4, 6-1 in just over three hours.

The Spaniard was pushed hard in a brutal slugging match, during which both players displayed the best tennis of this year's US Open. Nadal dominated the first set, only to see the momentum swing swiftly in the Serb's direction in the second set. A 54-shot rally on break point in the sixth game all but handed the second set to Djokovic, who then looked to be firmly in control of the third, until Nadal clawed his way back from 0-40 down at four all to grab the initiative again, claim the third set and race through the fourth for his second US Open title.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

ONLY three per cent of Spain's tax evaders took advantage of the 'fiscal amnesty' launched by the government in 2012, says the tax authorities' technicians' union GESTHA.

This means a total of 97 per cent of dodgers remain hidden, and a reporter earlier this summer showed that the majority of tax avoiders are large companies rather than small businesses or sole traders.  

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SPAIN'S capital has in fact lost its Olympic bid four times, not three – but its first-ever attempt is a distant memory, since it was in 1960 with the hope of hosting the 1972 Games.

And after losing out three times consecutively since the Millennium – Madrid faced disappointment in September 2005, 2009 and now 2013 whilst London got the Games in 2012, Rio de Janeiro in 2016 and this weekend, Tokyo won its 2020 bid – another attempt looks extremely unlikely.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

SPAIN has called for 'sound explanation' from Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad over the responsibility for the recent chemical bomb attacks in Damascus which killed 1,400 people, of whom 400 were children.

Mariano Rajoy's government is in full agreement with the USA that evidence 'clearly points to the fact' that the government of Syria was behind the 'horrible' attack in the suburbs of the capital, which they 'totally condemn

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

Four hours and 10 minutes to go: Latest development: Spanish Olympic Committee quizzed over doping laws, and confirms it has launched a zero-tolerance policy on the crime and continues to monitor the situation closely.

OLYMPIC experts say 'anything could happen' during the voting tonight because the Committee is 'very unpredictable' – but the international media has high hopes that Madrid will be the host in 2020, which will be the first Spanish Olympic Games in 28 years.

Whilst residents in the capital chain themselves to lamp-posts in protest, considering that the money could be better spent on repairing the country's dire economy, and the International Olympic Committee (COI) has questioned whether it would be 'sensible policy' to do so given Spain's 27 per cent unemployment and enforced austerity measures, Spanish companies and foreign investors are keen to see it happen.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

SPANISH president Mariano Rajoy and British PM David Cameron met to discuss the Gibraltar struggle in St Petersburg yesterday (Friday).

The Spanish government stressed that the current conflict has 'nothing to do with sovereignty' of the Rock, where most residents wish to remain British, since this was a 'long-running issue', despite foreign affairs minister José Manuel García-Margallo having stated publicly that 'the solution for the Gibraltar problems is for the Rock to be returned to Spain.

Yet Rajoy says that the main stumbling block was the artificial reef which the Gibraltarian authorities had built in British waters, but in an area frequently used by fishermen from La Línea de la Concepción (Cádiz), the nearest Spanish town to Gibraltar.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

VALENCIA will not be hosting the European Formula 1 Grand Prix next year, but México, Russia and Austria will be added as new venues in a season with a total of 21 races.

The regional government of Valencia had already told Bernie Ecclestone that unless he would agree a 'substantial reduction' in the fee required of them for the right to host a sixth F1 Grand Prix on the street circuit, it would not be able to participate in 2014.

Next year's F1 calendar, which starts on March 16 with the Australian Grand Prix and finishes on November 30 with the Brazilian circuit, will see a record 21 races – although the México, Russia and Korea tracks are still under a question mark until the facilities pass the requisite tests.  

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BRITAIN fears the ongoing conflict with Spain over Gibraltar may lead to 'another Falklands situation' with the relationship between the two countries irretrievably broken down.

The UK's Secretary of State for Europe, Davd Liddington, says: “I consider it important that there are no misunderstandings about how serious we are in our commitment to Gibraltar and to the democratic right of the Gibraltarians to continue to be British.”

Natives of the Rock have always expressed an overwhelming desire to remain British – and the highly-regulated fiscal concessions Gibraltar has means large UK-based companies operate from the enclave, providing high-quality and well-paid jobs to experienced professionals.

Workers in Gibraltar have always feared that if the Rock were to be handed back to Spain after 300 years, these companies would leave and unemployment – currently at three per cent – would mirror the exceptionally-high figures of neighbouring Andalucía.

“The risk at present is that the Gibraltar issue ends up like a Falkland Island situation, where we cannot talk to them [the Spanish government] about the economy or security or any other matter without Gibraltar becoming the main topic of discussion,” Liddington stated, referring to the formerly-Argentine archipelago which has been British since the 1980s, but which Argentina – and even Spain – still refer to as the Malvinas Islands.  

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WITH just 24 hours to go before Spain finds out whether its Madrid 2020 Olympic bid is successful, the city's mayoress has been sent up on the internet for her blunder with the English language.

Ana Botella (PP), wife of former Spanish president José María Aznar, was asked in English by the International Olympic Committee (COI) in Buenos Aires, Argentina, whether she thought it was sensible policy on Spain's part to attempt to host the Games when the country was suffering under the weight of enforced austerity measures and crippled with unemployment at 27 per cent.  

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A VOICE recording of the driver of the train which derailed outside Santiago de Compostela, in Galicia, killing 79 people reveals that Francisco José Garzón del Amo thought the bend where the accident happened was 'humanly impossible' to navigate.

Speaking of the notorious curve in the track in Angrois, a village four kilometres outside of the pilgrims' cathedral city, Garzón del Amo said: “It's inhuman. God, they shouldn't be allowed to do stuff like this. We're only human...”

He also repeated over and over again that he was praying nobody had been killed.

“They will be in my conscience forever, poor passengers,” said the driver.

“I've told them time and time again, the security people, that this bend is dangerous and that one day, one of us is going to slip up and we'd be done for. And it had to be me whom it happened to.

“I should have gone down to 80 kilometres per hour and I went down to about 190 or something like that.”

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A BRITISH national who staged a campaign against Spanish customs officers at the Gibraltar border, encouraging those affected by the queues to launch demonstrations outside the homes of the police has been arrested.

Emilio Esteban, who has British citizenship, is being held in custody in Tres Cantos (Madrid) where he owns a property.

The accused was allegedly involved in a website where he published pictures of Guardia Civil and National Police officers' faces, calling them 'criminals' and 'torturers' because of their actions in the queues caused by extra-stringent inspections of commuters' cars and motorbikes.  

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A GUARDIA Civil officer at the Gibraltar border was knocked over by a motorcyclist this morning (Wednesday) who was trying to dodge police and get past the inspections on commuters heading into and out of the Rock.

The policeman suffered minor injuries, says the Spanish interior ministry, but these are being checked to make sure there is nothing more serious hidden under the surface.

This is the second incident of its type in the customs inspection queue at the Spain-Gibraltar border in less than a month.

On August 6, a Gibraltar-registered car driver ignored the officer's attempt to pull him over for inspection and continued on his way, knocking the policeman over in the process.

The officer suffered injuries severe enough that he had to be off work for a few days.  

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TENS of thousands of homes across the island of La Palma were without electricity yesterday (Tuesday) after a switch in a control centre went down.

The entire island – home to 85,000 inhabitants – was without power for several hours, reveals utility company Endesa.

Some time around 16.30hrs Canary Island time (an hour behind mainland Spain), repair technicians at the substation in Breña Baja managed to re-establish some of the supply, with around a third or 32,000 people back on by 18.30hrs in Breña Alta, Barlovento, San Andrés y Sauces, Santa Cruz de La Palma, and Mazo.

As at this morning (Wednesday), homes and business premises in Llanos de Aridane, Tijafare and other towns and villages in the north and west of the island were still waiting to be reconnected.

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A LEADER of an independent political party in Andalucía has been tied up, beaten and filmed in the process – to show his 'indignation' at public's suffering as a result of the recession.

Sergio Flores, head of the Partido Andalucista on Ronda (Málaga) town council, is shown in darkness, surrounded by cigarette smoke, bound and with his shirt off as a voice in the background shouts: “It's a politician – let's go smash his face in.”

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A COUPLE who left their three young children in a locked car in the heat in order to go to the beach have been arrested in Benalmádena (Málaga).

The father, 48, and mother, 39 had left them with no ventilation or water at the hottest part of the day.

A member of the public saw the children shut in the car in a car park near the beach and unable to escape, sweating profusely and feeling dizzy, all of which put them at serious risk of heat-stroke.

This was at around 14.45hrs on Wednesday last week, but the news has only just been released.

Firefighters were called out and cut the children free from the vehicle, then traced the parents who were arrested.  

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FIFTEEN people have been injured after an aircraft heading for São Paulo from Madrid had to make an emergency landing in Fortaleza on the north-east coast of Brazil due to turbulence.

Panic broke out among the 200 passengers on board, and 15 of them sustained bruising and fractures.

Sources from the national airline TAM say severe turbulence struck when the plane, which had set off from Madrid at 22.30hrs Spanish time last night (Monday), crossed over Ecuador.

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A REFORM to the existing abortion law is set to be launched in October, says minister for justice Alberto Ruiz-Gallardón (pictured).

Although he does not give details of the final draft, the minister – and former mayor of Madrid – insists it will be in keeping with the PP's original stance and 'respects the rights of women'.

Ruiz-Gallardón denied rumours that the party was divided over the contents, and stressed that the final law will have the unanimous approval of all members.

So far, plans for changing the abortion law text have divided the nation, since it will be considerably more restrictive than the existing legislation drawn up by the socialists during their reign between 2004 and the end of 2011.

Under the PSOE, a woman in Spain could terminate a pregnancy on similar terms to those of women in many northern European countries – where the child would be born with a handicap or genetic illness that would shorten his or her life expectancy or impede quality of life for the child and parents; where the mother's physical or mental health could be adversely affected, or for other, sound reasons relating to the impossibility of bringing the child up. 

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SPAIN'S president Mariano Rajoy claims that within a year he will be able to announce reductions in taxes payable by those living in the country.

The PP leader insists that the economy is 'on the way up' and that he 'will not allow anyone or anything to distract' him from working on Spain's financial recovery, 'even though the socialists are trying to do the opposite'.

Rajoy claims to be 'extremely proud' of how 'Spain can hold its head up high' and has 'become a country on the way to recovery', having 'won back its credibility and reputation as a solvent country in record time'.

He recalls that just a year ago, rumours were flying round about an EU bailout, but that this has not been mentioned recently.  

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AT least 100 natives of the north-eastern region of Catalunya formed a human chain along the Great Wall of China this weekend to call for their part of Spain to become an independent country.

The majority are Catalán expatriates living in Beijing – formerly known as Peking – and the human chain was organised by the Casal Català, an association of residents in the city originally from this part of Spain.

They were inspired by the National Catalán Assembly's plans to organise a similar demonstration on September 11, saying they 'did not want to be left out'.

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A PRESSURE group which ended up on the wrong side of the law for carrying out supermarket sweeps last year and giving the food to the poor have carried out another – this time stealing 10 trolley-loads of school material.

In protest over the costs faced by parents when children start school every September – many of whom are out of work and struggle to survive financially – the Andalucía Union of Workers (SAT) rushed round Carrefour on the Utrera road in Sevilla and filled their trolleys with notepads, pencils, highlighter pens, rubbers and other stationery.  

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