Live News From Spain As It Happens

TWO restaurants in Spain have gained a second Michelin star and all other eateries in the country have retained theirs, including the three-star establishments.

The Michelin Guide Spain and Portugal 2016 is now out, having been presented in Santiago de Compostela, Galicia on Wednesday by its international director Michael Ellis.

Restaurante Coque in Humanes (Madrid) and Restaurante Zaranda in Es Capdellà (Mallorca) have earned a second star for their 'contemporary cuisine with exquisite presentation' in the case of the first, family-run establishment, and 'bespoke cuisine using excellent techniques and quality local produce' in the case of the second.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

THOUSANDS of protesters took to the streets of some of Spain's largest cities yesterday (Saturday) clamouring against the west's air-strikes in Syria.

Under the slogan 'not in my name', the largest demonstration was in Madrid with well over 1,000 marchers including mayoress Manuela Carmena, actor and comedian Chechu Monzón from El Gran Wyoming, actress Pilar Bardem, actor Alberto San Juan, political parties United Left and Podemos, and the chairwoman of the Association 11-M for Terrorism Victims, Pilar Manjón.

They gathered outside the Reina Sofía art museum and read out a manifesto declaring: “If the response to these barbaric acts is to curb human rights and freedoms and barricade ourselves in our houses, terrorism can sing victory. If we respond to the pain suffered by innocent victims by provoking more pain towards other innocent victims, it will be a never-ending spiral.”

The demonstrators protested over the 'militarisation' of Spain, recalling that the Armed Forces bases in Rota and Morón, both in Andalucía, already had troops on stand-by to send out to Syria.

“Our worst possible mistake would be acting in the heat of the moment,” said councillor Mauricio Valiente of Manuela Carmena's left-wing independent party, Ahora Madrid.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

SKIING season has kicked off already in southern Spain with the slopes of the Sierra Nevada due to open today (Saturday), and money-off deals including free parking to celebrate the start of the winter's activity.

'White Saturday' in Granada means lift passes for just €20, or €18 for young people and €16 for 'junior' passes – skiing fans should check for age limits for the lower-priced tickets.

Equipment hire and optional lessons if needed are extra, but as is always the case with Spanish ski resorts compared with the more traditional destinations in Europe, prices for both of these are affordable.

Skiing fans in Spain say the only difference between their home slopes and those further north in Europe is marketing – everyone has heard of resorts in the French Alpes, for example, but nobody outside Spain would realise that you can go skiing a two-hour drive from Valencia or an hour from Madrid, or that the springlike climates of Granada's beaches are just a short distance by car from the nearest piste.

And the lack of fame Spain's slopes suffers from has an upside: they are among the cheapest in Europe, meaning anyone who has a spare €40 or so can go for a day out on the 'white stuff', or €65 if they include an hour or two's private lessons where they are beginners, novices or simply want to hone their techniques.

For those who have their own boots, goggles, helmet, skis and ski poles and does not need lessons just for a day out, the €20 pass is the end of the story – and these can be as little as €15 on the pistes of Teruel, southern Aragón, which is just 90 minutes from Valencia city with the bulk of the journey by motorway.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

MADRID city council lost property office has managed to return a sum of €10,500 in cash to a British man who lost it in Adolfo Suárez-Barajas airport.

The lucky traveller, named Richard, whose iPad and US$300 in cash lost in Terminal 4 were also returned to him, was notified by email and was so delighted that he flew to Madrid to collect them – and thanked the lost property office profusely, also via email.

Madrid police's finding of these items was part of an operation where an envelope containing €6,000 was left in T4 by representatives of the Diocese of Bergamo, in Italy.

The same department has had some considerable success in reuniting owners with valuables and money they never expected to clap eyes on again.

Recently, the lost property team managed to return a purse containing documents and around US$6,000 left behind in a taxi by a woman from Panamá.

Ordinary residents, taxi drivers, coach companies, the rail board RENFE and the airline governing body AENA drop off abandoned items as a matter of course at the lost-and-found office on the Paseo del Molino, 7.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

CLOSING times for the border tunnel between the province of Huesca, in Aragón and the southern French department of Hautes Pyrénées will be reduced thanks to an agreement between the secretary of State for Security, Francisco Martínez and the regional government on the Spanish side.

The Bielsa tunnel through the mountains, which is just over three kilometres, or not quite two miles long was restricted following the Friday 13^th massacres in Paris in a bid to control border-crossers into and out of France.

Tailbacks have ensued at the frontier every since.

At present, the underpass is shut from 20.00hrs to 08.00hrs, but the Guardia Civil will now patrol it for four hours a day and the Gendarmerie on the French side will keep watch over it for the rest of the time.

This means the tunnel will only need to be shut from 22.00hrs until 06.00hrs.

Read more at thnkSPAIN.com

THE first-ever 'driverless car' has 'landed' in Spain and been test-driven by Galicia's regional president.

Alberto Núñez Feijóo, head of government in the far north-western federal community, drove - or was driven - the 600 kilometres between his home city of Vigo and Madrid.

This is so far the longest road test the prototype, created by the PSA Peugeot-Citröen group, has undergone.

And it is exactly what it says on the tin: 'drivers' will be able to sit and read, talk on their mobile phones or even feed their babies without worrying what the rest of the traffic is up to.
 
The car does not need the person at the wheel to use his or her hands, feet, or even to watch the road, since it operates using a GPS satellite navigator which controls its own speed limit, two 77GHz radars front and back, scanner lasers which measure distance and speed of other cars, and several digital cameras throughout the bodywork which keep tabs on the position of the nearest vehicles.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

'BLACK Friday' will see shops all over Spain offering huge discounts of up to 70% for one day only on November 27 - although some larger chain stores have agreed to keep their prices axed until close of play on Monday.

The weekend is normally followed by 'Cyber Monday', where online stores continue with incredible offers.

But some - including Amazon Spain - have started early.

Books, music, films, cosmetics and even certain edible and non-edible groceries can be bought for silly prices already, with the huge internet-based entertainment store having started its 'Black Friday' this Monday, or two days ago.

Amazon.es is aiming for the annual 'discount date' for 2015 to be a record in terms of sales.

Although web-based shopping, or eCommerce is still largely in its infancy in Spain, a growing number of chain stores and designers have gone digital - including Zara last year - and in recent years, the global auction site eBay as well as Amazon opened Spain-specific pages.

Whilst Amazon.es only joined the 'Black Friday' craze three years ago, it sold four times as much on that date last year than it would on any normal Friday, says director-general François Nuyts.

And a large chunk of this goes to small businesses or one-man bands, since outside sellers can trade on Amazon and in the case of the Spanish version, they account for 30% of all 'Black Friday' offers.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

Both Lionel Messi and Luis Suárez both bagged braces in Barcelona's 6-1 Champions League thrashing of Roma on Tuesday night.

Barça went ahead in the 15th minute after Neymar and Dani Alvés combined brilliantly to set Suárez up to score.

Messi, back in the starting-line up after two-month injury lay-off, doubled their advantage three minutes later, tapping a shot in over Szczesny after exchanging passes with Suárez.

Suárez then rounded the first half off in style with a magnificent volley past Szczesny.

Neymar, Suárez and Messi combined again after the break, setting up Gerard Piqué for a close-range tap-in ten minutes into the second half, making it four for the home side.

The dynamic attacking trio combined again on the hour, Neymar doing brilliantly down the left before crossing to Suarez, and his flick was turned in by Messi at the second attempt, after Szczesny had saved his first effort.

Szczesny pulled off a good save to deny Neymar a penalty, only to watch substitute Adriano smash the rebound into the roof the net to make it 6-0.

Former Manchester City striker Dzeko snatched a consolation goal  in the dying seconds of the match, and despite conceding 16 goals in the last five Champions League matches, Roma still have a chance of qualifying for the knock-out rounds if they beat Bate Borisov at home in their final group match.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

SPANIARDS living in the Belgian capital have broken their night-long silence imposed by the 'Brussels Lockdown' and told reporters what it felt like living under military siege in a western European city.

The world's media was told just before operations started at 19.00hrs last night (Sunday) not to report on any activity in Belgium until otherwise advised, since a metropolitan-wide swoop on terror suspects had been meticulously planned by Intelligence and security services.

One word out of place could mean the potential killers might have got wind of the operation and either fled or launched an attack similar to those in Paris just over a week ago.

Spanish people living in Brussels have just revealed that they were ordered to stay indoors with the lights off, not to give details of their location or activities on any social networks, and even to stay away from the windows.

Armed Forces filled the streets of the capital and the locations and positions of security services were kept top-secret.

Major TV and radio channels stopped broadcasting and no news programmes were aired last night.

In fact, Brussels turned into a ghost town and was completely cut off from the world.

Raids were carried out on 19 properties in the districts of Molenbeek – where a number of terror suspects were arrested last Saturday – Jette, Schaerbeek, Anderlecht, Woluwe-Saint-Lambert, Forest, and Charleroi.

A total of 16 suspects have been arrested, one of whom was injured when police opened fire after the person in question rammed a patrol car and attempted to drive off.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

A POSTMAN is facing over four years in jail for attempting to burn thousands of letters to avoid having to deliver them.

Police caught the accused setting fire to the pile of post and recovered 3,583 letters, but do not know how many he managed to burn.

They say he had kept the correspondence in his home in Marbella (Málaga province) for over six months.

As well as a jail sentence, the postman faces a six-year ban on holding any job or unpaid role in the public sector, and has been charged with failing in his duty of care whilst in the custody of other people's goods, and wilful destruction of property which was not his own.

He is said to have been regularly failing to deliver letters between at least August 2013 and January 2014, and instead stashing them in his home, unopened.

The accused began burning them all on January 24 that year, but was caught in the act at around 18.30hrs.

Police are unaware of how many letters had been completely destroyed by the time he was found out.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

THE new-style €20 note will be in circulation in Spain from Wednesday this week, and will reflect the design of the recently-introduced €5 and €10 banknotes.

This includes a watermark, and a 'window' with a portrait in it when held up to the light.

The new €20 note is the third in the series and, gradually, all denominations will be replaced across the Eurozone – the next will be the €50, the €100, the €200 and then the €500.

But the impact of the new €20 will be greater, since it is the most-used note in Spain and, in fact, in Europe as a whole, meaning a very high quantity of them will need to be stored in cashpoint machines. 

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

LOW-COST airline routes between Spain and northern Europe are on the increase as tourism figures pick up, and the latest new flight opened links Tenerife South with Amsterdam.

A new EasyJet route due to launch in December will fly twice a week until May, but if it turns out to be a success, will continue through the summer and possibly beyond.

President of the Canary Islands' regional government, or Cabildo, Carlos Alonso says Dutch holidaymakers have risen in number by 7% in the past year, largely due to promotional activities Tenerife in particular has been carrying out in The Netherlands.

In fact, the Dutch have long been a huge market for Tenerife, with 110,000 of them visiting the island in the first nine months of 2015.

At present, flights from Amsterdam, Eindhoven, Rotterdam and Groningen are run by Ryanair, Thomas Cook, Corendon, Transavia, and Arke Fly, the latter a branch of TUI, meaning EasyJet will offer a further choice for those seeking to book trips at minimal cost.

The Netherlands itself has also been investigating Tenerife in order to promote it to residents of the North Sea nation – De Telegraaf, which has over 1.5 million readers, and the lifestyle and fashion magazine Nouveau both visited the Canaries and published special features on Tenerife.

Travel and trends website YourLittleBlackBook.me, which has over 41,000 fans on Facebook, has taken a recent trip to the island.

These media went to Tenerife as part of a programme run by the island's tourist board and the advertising agency O2, and included trips to La Laguna with a cycle tour of the old town, La Orotava, and Puerto de la Cruz, plus a wine-tasting session at La Casa del Vino, a star-gazing excursion and a whale-spotting outing.

“Dutch tourists seek active holidays, where they can practice outdoor sports and enjoy excursions in a mild year-round climate,” says the island's tourism councillor Alberto Bernabé.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

A TERROR suspect who was caught returning from Syria had been sent to Spain by the ringleader of the Paris attacks, police reveal.

Abdeljail Aït El-Kaïd (pictured), a Moroccan living in the Alicante area, left the country in 2014 to join the DAESH, or so-called Islamic State in Raqqa, Syria, the capital of the terrorist organisation's self-proclaimed caliphate, for combat training.

During his week-long stay in the Middle Eastern country, he met Abdelhamid Abaaoud, thought to have been the brains behind the multiple massacres in Paris and who has since been shot dead by police.

Abaaoud ordered Aït El-Kaïd's immediate return to Spain, and he was expected to be involved in the attacks in the French capital.

But the Alicante resident was arrested in Warsaw, Poland en route back from Syria via Serbia, thanks to the Spanish Guardia Civil having tipped off Polish authorities.

This was in June 2014, and Aït El-Kaïd has been in prison in Spain ever since.

Spanish authorities are digging into his affairs for more information, since they are certain he did not return from Syria alone.

The accused was travelling with another Moroccan terrorist, Reda Hame, who had also been ordered by Abaaoud to return to Europe.

Hame had been instructed to carry out an attack in a Paris concert hall, which may have been the Bataclan in the 10^th arrondissement, but was arrested before he was even able to acquire the weapons he needed to do so.

It was Aït El-Kaïd who confessed to Spanish police that he and his companion, whom he named, had been returning to Europe on Abaaoud's orders, and revealed Hame's intentions and the fact he was on his way to France.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

REAL Madrid FC's stadium will feature the tightest levels of security ever in its history when the Barça FC match kicks off this Saturday.

The Santiago Bernabéu arena and several streets nearby will be surrounded by armed police – twice as many officers as would normally be on duty at a so-called 'high-risk' match.

Fans will be searched one by one upon entering.

Spain's government has stressed that no football matches in the country will be called off in response to safety fears in light of the Paris massacre, but says those going to watch the Madrid-Barça derby – day nine of the BBVA League – should arrange to get there very early as it will take much longer than usual to get into the stadium.

Given the extent of rivalry between Real Madrid and Barça, the derby would already be considered 'high-risk' and additional security measures in place, but these have multiplied after the suicide bombing at the Stade de France in Paris during the friendly between the home team and Germany.

Riot police, mounted police, officers on motorbikes and even in helicopters will be patrolling the area, with the Red Cross, ambulances and the Civil Protection squad on duty.

The last high-risk match held at the Bernabéu arena was the Madrid-Juventus game during the Champions' League, when over 1,600 police officers complete with riot equipment were drafted in.

In the aftermath of the multiple terrorist attacks in Paris, it is likely that this number will more than double, meaning anything from 3,000 to 3,500 police officers at and around the stadium, or even more. 

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

A SUB-SAHARAN African has drowned and up to 24 could be missing after a jerry-built and overcrowded toy-boat capsized en route to the Canary Islands last night (Wednesday). Coastguard workers from Spain rescued 22 survivors and one body, but those on board say there were 46 of them in total. If this proves to be the case and the others have lost their lives, it will become the worst migrant tragedy in the Canary Islands since March 2006.

A Spanish ship, the Guardamar Talía, and a Moroccan coastguard patrol boat were spotted by the Africans at around 37 kilometres off the coast of Western Sahara at exactly 20.49hrs. They all stood up at once and waved and shouted so the Guardamar Talía and Moroccan authorities could rescue them. As they did so, their craft overturned and everyone on board fell in the sea. 

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

CAR accidents are less likely with a woman driving and a man as front-seat passenger, surprise results of research by a leading motor insurer confirm.

Direct Line, or Línea Directa as it is known in Spain, found that the least-safe combination was a man driver and male passenger, but that the dynamics of a male passenger with a woman driver decreased crash risk by up to six times.

The first study in Spain into the front-seat passenger's influence on accident rates, Línea Directa found that the 'worst' type of companion was a man aged 18 to 29 who did 'not cooperate with the driver', who 'talked excessively throughout the journey', who 'constantly criticises' the motorist's driving skills, and who continually 'messes with' functions on the dashboard such as music equipment.

But the 'perfect passenger' is also a man, aged between 60 and 69, who is 'more cooperative', 'produces fewer distractions', and 'keeps an eye on traffic signals' whilst encouraging the driver to comply with road rules.

With the 'worst type' of passenger, offences such as speeding and other dangerous habits like braking for no good reason increased, and these companions 'tend to tolerate excessively' behaviour such as going too fast (in 46% of cases), distractions (in 11% of cases), jerky or aggressive driving and braking (7%), road rage (6%) and not respecting minimum safety distances from other cars (5%).

Offences or dangerous practices caused by not concentrating properly tend to diminish with the 'perfect passenger' in the car, who would normally not let the motorist drive after drinking or taking drugs or without a seatbelt, jump traffic lights and stop signs, or use a mobile phone at the wheel.

Accident rates in general have been studied by motor insurance companies for many years, and it is generally found that men up to age 25 – especially within a year or two of passing their test – are significantly more likely to crash than women of any age, even new female drivers.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

SPAIN'S defence minister Pedro Morenés has said the government has 'no intention' of bombing Syria, despite France's three days of revenge air strikes starting the day after the Paris massacre.

Morenés says Spain 'supports France in the fight against terrorism' but that it 'has no plans to increase its cooperation' within the international coalition – because 'nobody has asked us to'.

“Spain supports France in Syria, Mali, Dakar [Sénégal], Gabon and the Central African Republic, where we have been fighting against the threat of Jihad terrorism,” said the minister.

A total of 300 Spanish troops are based in Iraq, training the country's Armed Forces, and Spain is part of the international coalition against the so-called Islamic State.

Interior minister Jorge Fernández Díaz said the DAESH – or the initials of ISIS in Arabic – had 'declared war on the whole of the civilised world' and that the west has to 'defend itself'.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

PARIS attack victim Juan Alberto González Garrido put his own life on the line to shield his wife from the Kalashnikov bullets, according to a letter the young widow has written for her friends.

Ángela Reina, originally from Ciudad Real in the southern part of Castilla-La Mancha, was with Juan Alberto, 29, at the Eagles of Death Metal concert in the Bataclan stadium on the rue Voltaire on Friday when Jihad terrorists burst in and opened fire before blowing themselves up.

Released by two of her female friends, the letter says Ángela and Juan Alberto heard the sounds of gunfire and threw themselves on the ground where they were, slightly to the left of the central part of the spectator area.

“Before the shots, Juan Alberto was in front of me, so when we threw ourselves on the floor, my head was near his legs – and instinctively, I tried to cover my head,” Ángela wrote.

“At that moment I didn't know where I was, but he – I'm sure it was him – seemed to know where I was because he moved his legs so that my head was under him. He tried to protect me, I'm certain of that.

“Also, after a short while, he sat up and touched me, and said something to me which I couldn't understand. I think he said my name, and I saw he was kind of woozy. I sat up and slid over to him and tried to hold him up in my arms.

“I saw there was blood and I think I started to scream, but I can't remember very well.”

Ángela said the shots started up again, so the couple laid down once more and she rested against Juan Alberto's chest.

“There was a moment when some of the people got up and ran, but Juan Alberto couldn't move – he was unconscious so we couldn't leave,” the young woman continued.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

A FULL inspection programme of Volkswagen cars and vans has been arranged by Spain's government, although vehicles of other makes may also be scrutinised if the European Commission gives instructions to do so.

Minister of industry José Manuel Soria says VW, Seat, Audi and Skoda cars and VW vans on forecourts will be studied carefully, and those who have already bought models thought to be affected by the emissions-rigging scandal will be contacted in due course.

Soria says as soon as the news broke of the rogue software fitted to Volkswagen diesel engines, he asked manufacturers of the various brands in question made in Spain whether or not they had, in fact, fitted the fraudulent system.

They all, 'without exception', replied that 'none of them had' the software installed, Soria says.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

SPANISH authorities have been asked to look out for an escaped terrorist linked to the Paris attacks who has fled Belgium after seven others were captured.

Salah Abdesalam, 26, a French national living in Belgium and thought to be either of Moroccan or Algerian parents, is believed to have been in Paris at the time of the massacre and escaped.

All eight attackers are now dead – seven of them blew themselves up and an eighth, second-generation Algerian Ismaël Omar Mostefaï, 29, was shot by the police.

One of the seven suicide bombers was Ibrahim Abdesalam, brother of the missing man.

Yesterday (Sunday), seven terrorists were arrested in Molenbeek, Belgium in connection with the six simultaneous killing sprees, one of whom is Mohammed Abdesalam, 31, another brother of the fugitive.

Salah Abdesalam was last seen near the Belgian border in a car along with two other individuals but, after their identities were checked and they were found not to be on the list of suspects, they were allowed through.

Later, prosecutors found that one of the passengers was in fact on a wanted list for suspected terror-related activities, and that the black VW Polo full of guns found near the Bataclan concert hall, where 89 people were killed, had been rented by Salah.

French police have been in touch with their counterparts in Spain, since the fugitive may try to escape to north Africa by heading south or to give authorities the slip by hiding out in Spanish territory.

The 'wanted' poster advises members of the public to contact the police if they believe they have seen him and not to approach him or take matters into their own hands, since he is described as a 'dangerous individual'.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

SPAIN has decided not to increase its terrorism risk alert level from its current 4 to the maximum of 5 as a result of the multiple and simultaneous terrorist attacks in Paris, but will reinforce security 'in certain areas'.

Interior minister Jorge Fernández Díaz would not reveal where or when, for safety reasons.

Flags on town halls and government offices will remain at half-mast until noon tomorrow (Monday) when all public institutions will hold a minute's silence in homage to the victims of the massacre in the French capital.

In the meantime, the famous Ibero-American Film Festival in the southern city of Huelva, which opened last night, completely changed its schedule of acts in light of the shootings and bombings in Paris.

The opening gala evening was stripped of all its festive elements, comedy acts and dances, and decorations were replaced with a huge French flag as a backdrop.

Festival boss Pedro Castillo gave a speech about how the gala 'party' was now a manifestation of 'revulsion' over the attacks, 'sensitivity and support' for the victims, and 'defence of peace, freedom and tolerance'.

The death toll, which has risen to 129 including Spaniard Juan Alberto González Garrido, now includes two Mexican women, a Portuguese national and two Belgians.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

DEPUTY president Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría has confirmed the missing 29-year-old, Juan Alberto González Garrido is dead following the terrorist siege at the Bataclan concert hall in Paris last night (Friday).

The Granada-born man, who was living in Madrid, was at the venue with his wife watching the Californian hard-rock band Eagles of Death Metal when ISIS members took all those present hostage and opened fire with Kalashnikovs.

At least 82 of the 128 dead were in the concert hall at the time, and videos show terrified spectators fleeing via a side door, stepping over bodies as they ran screaming down the street.

Initially, Spain's ministers of foreign affairs and the interior, José Manuel García-Margallo and Jorge Fernández Díaz respectively insisted there were no Spaniards among the dead and that Juan Alberto's name was not among those confirmed to have lost their lives.

Juan Alberto's sister told the channel three, or Antena 3 show Espejo Público ('public mirror') that she was aware her brother had been injured.

She and their cousin Alberto Garrido launched a Facebook campaign hours ago for information.

But the Spanish embassy has now confirmed Juan Alberto is indeed among the fatal victims – the only known Spaniard to have died so far, although a Portuguese national and two Belgians are also said to be dead.

A further 237 are injured, most of them seriously and the majority in a critical condition.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

AN 'ARTISTIC' new trend involving creating sculptures with stones from the Es Trucadors archaeological dig is putting its future in jeopardy, historians warn.

A volunteer session is being held at the Formentera historical site with members of the public helping to dismantle the stone piles and put the parts back where they belong.

Environment councillor Daisee Aguilera says Es Trucadors is a 'particularly sensitive' area, vulnerable to erosion caused by the wind and waves, and that any alterations in its structure could worsen the risk.

Geologist Xisco Roig says this new craze could have 'serious consequences', as it is 'deforming the landscape' – something he calls an 'abomination'.

The sandy soil, which is 'very poor', is covered by plant life which has adapted over centuries to its conditions but which is easily damaged, and piling up stones onto it can kill it off.

Part of the Es Trucadors site – the Sa Pedrera area near the Cala d'Hort bay – is 'in a very poor state', Roig says.

Stone 'labyrinths' built by visitors take up over 70 square metres and dry-stone walls many decades old have been taken down to create Stonehenge-type structures.

“They're destroying features that are hundreds of years old,” Roig laments.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

CATALUNYA'S 'independence declaration' has been declared null and void by the Constitutional Court, but the regional government has pledged to forge ahead with it in spite of the verdict.

And Spain's central government has warned that 21 politicians in Catalunya may be found guilty of sedition, and has ordered the region's police force, the Mossos d'Esquadra, to take action.

Mariano Rajoy's cabinet intends to notify them all personally of the legal consequences of their disobedience if they do not stop their plans to turn the region into a separate country within 18 months.

The Court found that the resolution, voted in favour of by a majority in Catalunya's Parliament this week, was 'clearly' in breach of Article 161.2 of the Constitution and could be interpreted to be in breach of another seven Articles, which means it may not become effective for at least five months until the issue is studied in full by judges.

Acting president of the region Artur Mas (Junts pel Sí) and Parliamentary chairwoman Carmen Forcadell, deputy president Neus Munté, and Parliamentary secretary-general Pere Sol are among those who could face sedition charges.

Sra Munté says the central government is 'using the Constitutional Court' in order to 'gag the free will' of the people of Catalunya, recalling that the resolution was approved 'by an absolute majority' – a combination of all members of pro-secession parties Junts pel Sí and CUP – meaning its application is 'clearly legitimate'.

“Going ahead is not disobeying the Constitutional Court – it is obeying a democratic mandate issued by the regional Parliament,” she stresses.

“Democracy is not in jeopardy in Catalunya; rather, the reverse – it is in very good health and is being protected in every way.”

Leader of Left Republicans of Catalunya (ERC) Gabriel Rufián added: “The big news is that there is no news. These 'constitutionalists' and 'legalists' who meet for a few hours are very strange, insofar as they want to go against what the people are voting for, calling the will of the people 'defiance', 'coup', and 'threat'.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

PART of a fuse box measuring four metres in length (13 feet) and half-burnt out fell from a plane and landed in a farm field in Elda (Alicante province) just a few kilometres from the airport this morning (Wednesday).

National Police officers say the strip of metal was found in the Las Barrancadas area between the Cámara and Umbría mountain ranges, where planes are frequently seen circling overhead as they reposition themselves ready for landing at Alicante-Elche airport, which sits in the El Altet area belonging to Elche.

Experts from the National Police chemical and explosives unit TEDAX were called out and took the part away for examining in accordance with usual procedures to check it did not contain radiation or present any other potential danger to nearby residents.

The fuse box part was charred along one side and badly deteriorated along another, although both of these features could have been caused by the impact, since hitting the ground at the height and speed involved in falling from an aircraft would have caused considerable damage.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

CATALUNYA'S regional Parliament has approved its plan for secession from Spain despite votes against by the PP, socialists, centre-right independents Ciudadanos, and its left-wing opposite Podemos, or Catalunya Sí Que Es Pot.

But opposition votes were not necessary, since pro-independence parties Junts pel Sí and CUP together are a majority – although to govern as such they will need to agree on whether or not the former's number four and current president Artur Mas will continue in office.

The result of the debate has created a political frenzy in the rest of Spain, with most parties in the national government being dead against the move.

Spanish president Mariano Rajoy says it 'will not happen' and that by applying the law of the country, secession could not go ahead.

His polar opposite and main election rival Pedro Sánchez (PSOE, or socialists) said CUP and Junts pel Sí had 'betrayed the people of Catalunya', both those who do not want to live in a separate country and those who have been led to believe they do but who will have to face serious consequences.

These consequences would mean Catalunya losing its place in the European Union and the United Nations, trade barriers and increased import and export duties, and natives needing visas to visit other countries.

Mas and his party leader Raúl Romeva insist they will not end up in a position where residents in Catalunya 'need to have a different passport' or have to show it to leave the region, or future country.

The new regional Parliamentary resolution says Catalunya will no longer be subject to Spain's laws or to its Constitutional Court, and will cease to be 'subordinate' to the mother country.

Mas says the resolution in itself is 'a solemn declaration' of the 'start of a process' towards the creation of 'an independent Republic of Catalunya'.

He says the process will include three basic 'disconnection' laws being drafted in the next 30 days – one on the 'constitutional plan', one on Social Security and one on Treasury and taxation.

Later, laws on 'energy poverty' – residents who are unable to afford water and electricity – education, splitting away from the recently-effective law passed by former minister José Ignacio Wert, and on other issues such as 'taking in the maximum number of refugees' will be worked on. 

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THE first war refugees have arrived in Spain to be resettled until it is safe for them to return home.

A total of 12 adults – eight men and four women, of whom one man is Syrian and the rest are from Eritrea, east Africa – landed last night in Madrid's Adolfo Suárez-Barajas airport on a flight from Italy, and were met by the secretary of State for security Francisco Martínez plus his counterpart for immigration and emigration, Marina del Corral.

Various charities and other organisations which have agreed to work with refugees in Spain will take care of the new arrivals in different parts of the country 'to attend to their initial basic needs', says a press note from the two secretaries of State.

This includes ensuring they are covered for healthcare, education, and full integration into Spanish society, which will include learning the language and skills to help them into the job market 'in accordance with European Union directives', the note states.

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A SPANIARD who went missing 17 years ago and was given up for dead has 'reappeared' in Italy, but gone to ground again and cannot be traced.

Carlos Sánchez Ortiz de Salazar, originally from Bilbao in the Basque Country, left his last-known address in Cazalla de la Sierra (Sevilla province) on April 13, 1998 and nothing had been heard of him since.

A qualified doctor, he vanished at the age of 29 and, given the length of time that had passed since his disappearance, he was officially declared dead.

Now, a 46-year-old man who claims to be Carlos Sánchez has been found living as a hermit in a woods in Maremma, in the Tuscany area of Italy, between the Violina and Scarlino bays where he had built himself a refuge with a tent.

Local people had seen him a few times in the last 17 years, describing him as a 'calm person' who 'never wanted to talk to anyone'.

The man in question had in his possession a library card and a college card from the Faculty of Medicine at Sevilla University which showed he was the missing Spaniard.

Via the Italian missing persons organisation Penelope, Carlos Sánchez's mother and father were traced and travelled to Italy to find him, according to the association's leader Antonio La Scala, who met them at Rome's Fiumicino airport and took them to the site.

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A TELEVISION commentator who fell asleep and snored on air during a Real Madrid FC match has been given the boot, although it is not clear yet whether he will appeal against his dismissal.

The Madrid-PSG (Paris-Saint-Germain) match on Tuesday, the fourth day of the groups phase of the Champions' League, kicked off at 20.45hrs at the Santiago Bernabéu stadium in the Spanish capital.

But as it was broadcast live all around the world, in some countries it was on TV in the middle of the night.

In the Chinese capital of Peking (Beijing), kick-off was 03.45hrs on Wednesday morning.

Viewers in the Asian country were baffled when the commentary stopped during the last leg of the match, which was played in total silence, before being punctuated by two loud snores.

Narration then continued as before.

Given the anti-social hour of the match, presenter Dong Lu had fallen asleep in the studio, but had woken himself up by snoring and resumed commentary.

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A SPECIES of crocodile hitherto unheard-of and living on earth over 75 million years ago has been discovered in a prehistoric dig in the province of Cuenca.

Archaeologists working on the Lo Hueco site in the centre-eastern province, which dates back to the High Cretaceous Period, found the fossilised skull of a crocodile with two-inch-long teeth, disproportionately large when compared with the size of the head.

It has been named the Lohuecosuchus Megadontos – 'Lo Hueco' after the name of the site, suchus meaning 'crocodile', dontos for teeth and mega for large.

The species found is said to bear very close relation to one discovered in Romania at the start of the 20^th century, denominated the Allodaposuchus, but the shape of the nose is different with an additional, horizontal nasal passage seen in the Lo Hueco version.

Palaeontologists Francisco Ortega and Iván Narváez of the Evolutive Biology unit at Spain's distance-learning university, the UNED, worked with other specialists in the pre-historic eras from the University of Iowa in the USA, and their findings have been published in the highly-respected science periodical PLOS One.

Ortega describes Lo Hueco as 'a window on a landscape from 72 million years ago', which he says would have been a coastal marshland littered with sauropods roaming around in a very warm, humid climate.

In practice, though, the Lohuecosuchus Megadontos would have been on the planet around 75 million years ago, in the High Cretaceous Period – a time typically thought to be the dinosaur age swansong, although later species have been found.

Crocodiles are among the oldest species on earth and are the closest creatures to dinosaurs around today. 

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BARELY a single hotel room has been left unbooked in Valencia this weekend for the last race of the MotoGP season as fans queue up to witness the final showdown between Italian Valentino Rossi and his Yamaha team-mate, Mallorca-born Jorge Lorenzo.

Due to be held at the Ricardo Tormo circuit in the village of Cheste, a few kilometres west of the city, the last MotoGP date on the calendar is always a great weekend for hotel bosses and a less-pleasant one for motorists on the A-3 and A-7, but with sparks set to fly in and out of the paddock and Lorenzo and Rossi being so close in points, many followers of the sport who would normally have just watched it on TV have decided they do not want to miss the gory details when it is happening on their doorstep.

Cheste and nearby towns of Chiva and Benisanó have no hotels, meaning most people head for Valencia city – and here, 98% of rooms are now booked up.

This is in spite of prices having nearly doubled for MotoGP weekend – on average, a room in Valencia costs €97, although much cheaper ones are often available, but this weekend will see the same accommodation rising to €183 per night.

Even for the practice race on Friday, 92% of rooms are now reserved.

Race Direction maintains Rossi kicked Spain's Marc Márquez off his bike as the Catalunya-born reigning champion tried to overtake him at the Malaysia Grand Prix in Sepang a fortnight ago, forcing him to end on a zero-point race.

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VALENCIA'S regional government has defied the Constitutional Court and president Mariano Rajoy's cabinet and refused to stop providing healthcare to foreigners without residence permits.

Regional president of Valencia Ximo Puig (socialists, or PSOE) announced as soon as he took up office along with his coalition partner Mònica Oltra (Compromís) that the national government's ban on free public healthcare for undocumented migrants would immediately be lifted.

He has started returning healthcare entitlement registration cards – known as SIP cards – to all foreign nationals who had theirs confiscated after the ban was launched in September 2012.

The majority of regional governments, except those run by Rajoy's party – the PP – protested against the withdrawal of healthcare for migrants without papers, saying it was 'inhumane' and would cause avoidable deaths, agony, and dangers to the health of the rest of the public.

Navarra and the Basque Country have already refused to deny medical attention to foreigners who do not have an up-to-date residence permit and Rajoy's government filed legal action against both, which they have appealed.

Whilst waiting for the Constitutional Court – the highest in the land and whose purpose is interpreting and applying the Magna Carta in the event of dispute or ambiguity – to decide on their appeal, Navarra and the Basque Country were legally allowed to carry on providing healthcare to everyone irrespective of status. 

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A STRANGE object thought to be an aerospace part brought in the 'explosives police' in Mula (Murcia) who feared it may contain radioactive material.

The Guardia Civil's GEDEX unit says other, similar artefacts found elsewhere in the world have turned out be back-up fuel tanks from space rockets, which meant they had to activate their nuclear, radiation, chemical and bacteria procedure to ensure there was no risk to the general population.

Described as about a metre (3'3”) in diameter, spherical in shape and covered with a type of insulation material in black, the part was thoroughly tested after being cordoned off, but GEDEX officers say they could not find any footprints, fingerprints or any other signs of how it may have ended up in the rural area outside the village.

They found it did not contain explosives and examined it fully using an ionisation camera.

It tested negative for alpha, beta and gamma rays, and showed lower than natural radiation levels.

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PETROL-POWERED cars may also have been affected by the emissions-rigging scandal, according to Volkswagen's Spanish brand Seat – this time with carbon dioxide readings hidden rather than nitrous oxide.

The firm has admitted it 'does not know how many' cars are affected, but that although the majority are diesel engines, some use petrol.

And the scam is linked to carbon dioxide this time, meaning it is separate and in addition to the nitrous oxide (NOx) fraud uncovered in September.

This said, cars thought to have been doctored may also carry the NOx-disguising system, but the true extent of the scam is not yet known.

Around 800,000 are thought to have been sold which may carry illegal software designed to mask true CO2 readings when tested and, if the scale of the fraud is the same as the so-called 'Dieselgate', this means around 52,000 on the road in Spain.

Affected models are confirmed as the VW Polo, the VW Golf, the VW Passat, the Audi A-1, Audi A-3, the Seat León, Seat Ibiza and Skoda Oktavia.

The head office of Seat in Martorell (Barcelona province) has confirmed this latest twist in the Volkswagen tale to Spanish reporters, and the right-wing German newspaper Bundestag has revealed that of the 800,000 cars with CO2 emission-masking software, about 98,000 have petrol engines.

The company found out during an in-house investigation, sparked by 'inexplicable inconsistencies' in CO2 emissions readings, and has put aside a total of €2,500 per car - €2 billion in total – to cover its liability for repairing the rigged vehicles.

This is in addition to the €6.7bn needed to rectify the 'Dieselgate' scandal, which involves 10.5 million cars worldwide fitted with systems to disguise their NOx levels.

So far, the 'Dieselgate' has affected 683,626 cars in Spain, mostly VW (just under 257,500), followed closely by Seat (nearly 221,800), but also Audi, Skoda and Vans – overall, 6.5% of the global total.

“The percentage of Seat cars affected by the CO2 software will be relatively small,” assures a spokesperson in Martorell.

A suspected CO2 emission-rigging scandal, which has only just been confirmed, led Spain's ministry of industry to order VW to refund the 'Plan PIVE' grants it had paid out.

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A SPANISH priest has been arrested in connection with the 'Vatican leaks' scandal in which confidential documents from the Holy See were given to reporters digging into the alleged corruption within the institution.

Lucio Ángel Vallejo Balda, 54 (pictured), was taken in for questioning along with Vatican employee Francesca Chaouqui, 33, with whom he formed a commission set up by Pope Francisco in July 2013 to examine the finances and administrative matters of the Catholic Church.

Francesca Chaouqui has since been released, but priest Vallejo Balda remains in custody.

Leaking confidential information is considered a crime under Vatican City law for 'betraying the Pope's trust'.

The Vatican reported an attempt to steal an accounts supervisory worker's computer on Sunday and inquiries have led to the discovery that top-secret data had been given to journalists.

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FOUR elderly residents of a nursing home in northern inland Catalunya perished in the early hours of Tuesday when the ground floor flooded.

The river Sió, through the town of Agramunt (Lleida province) burst its banks late on Monday night and, by 04.00hrs, the Riviera del Sió on the Carrer dels Horts street filled with water. 

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VOLKSWAGEN has started emailing customers in Spain individually from today (Monday) who bought cars with EA189 diesel engines which may have been doctored to mask their true emissions readings.

According to the taskforce in Germany set up to deal with the emissions scandal says 683,626 owners of VW, Seat, Audi, Skoda and VW Van vehicles are potentially affected and should visit their nearest dealership garage as soon as possible.

The company stresses in its emails to customers that the emissions-rigging has not affected the overall safety of any of its vehicles, and that the cost of rectifying the problem will be borne by Volkswagen. 

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SPAIN'S national electricity board Iberdrola has become the second-largest producer of wind energy in the USA behind Nextera, Inc., with over 10% of the country's production to its name – nearly 6,000 megaWatts (mW), according to the company's latest figures.

Iberdrola generates over 50% of its worldwide wind power in the USA, eight years after entering the north American market with its purchase of Energy East and later acquisition of UIL, when it first floated its shares on the US stock market in Wall Street.

Corporate giants such as Facebook, Google and Walmart are increasing their demand more and more for 'green' energy, and wind farms in the US create enough power to supply 16.7 million homes.

Iberdrola is present in at least 20 states, and its greatest presence is in Texas – traditionally the country's largest oil-producer where petrol and other fossil fuels are dirt-cheap, attempting to enter the energy market would seem akin to selling coals to Newcastle, but Iberdrola has helped in turning the southern border state into the country's greatest wind-energy production base in less than 20 years.

The Peñascal complex is home to 269 Iberdrola-owned wind turbines and sits on part of a ranch owned by the John G. Kennedy Charitable Trust, 200 kilometres from Corpus Christi on the Mexican border.

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GIANT helmets worn by Star Wars characters are on display all over central Madrid for the Face the Force exhibition.

Visitors and residents have been taking 'selfies' with statues of helmets over seven feet high in some of the city's most strategic tourist hotspots.

The First Order Flametrooper can be found in Real Madrid FC's Santiago Bernabéu stadium, and Captain Phasma sits in the Plaza de Colón, near the C/ Colón which is Madrid's main shopping street.

Parallel to Captain Phasma in the direction of the Plaza de España is Darth Vader on the Glorieta de Bilbao roundabout, and in the Plaza de España itself is the Resistance Pilot helmet.

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