Live News From Spain As It Happens

VALENCIA city council's right-wing PP party – now in opposition – has been dissolved and a management committee has taken over following the latest corruption scandal to come to light.

Once the initial hue and cry is over, the party will be completely refounded and every councillor replaced with someone else.

It will keep its name and logo, but the PP in Valencia city will comprise 100% new faces.

And the PP in the provincial council will be completely restructured, with current big bosses Juan José Medina and Emilio Llopis having been fired by the Regional Committee of Rights and Guarantees after they were fingered by the anti-fraud squad.

Guardia Civil officers, when they raided the city hall, walked into the PP's offices and ordered: “Stop what you're doing and take your hands off your keyboards.”

The public-sector-run business and finance promotion and management company Imelsa, which is 100% State-owned, is under the spotlight over suspicions of bribery, backhanders and inflated estimates meaning public funds went astray.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

FORMER president of the PP party in Valencia provincial council Alfonso Rus claims he has 'been set up' in the recent public fund corruption, bribery and embezzlement investigations – and as he tried to escape reporters outside his house, drove his car along the pavement and nearly ran over a child.

Rus, also former mayor of Xàtiva (Valencia province) was caught on camera and shown on national TV pulling out of his garage and driving at speed along the pavement, swerving several times to avoid unwitting pedestrians.

He jumped a red traffic light to get away, and had to brake sharply to avoid hitting a child walking along the pathway, and veer into the oncoming traffic when he nearly collided with an entire family walking peacefully and unawares along the pavement.

The entire incident was shown on Spain's channel six, La Sexta.

Rus has been released with charges following his arrest over the multi-million illegal commissions and backhanders scandal involving the 100% public-sector-run firm Imelsa, which is owned and managed by the provincial council, or Diputación de Valencia.

He was president of the Diputación at the time of the public works contracts under scrutiny.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

MAJOR supermarket chain Mercadona has hotly denied rumours it has been replacing home-grown and nationally-produced groceries with poor-quality versions imported at a fraction of the price.

“It could be you have read online, or heard through social networks, that Mercadona is removing Spanish produce in favour of foreign goods, or that Spanish groceries are being taken off the shelves – but this information is totally false,” a statement by the chain's PR department on its web page says.

The chain, which started out life in the province of Valencia as a family-run corner shop and has now made its founder Juan Roig the third-richest man in Spain, has denounced a smear campaign which is urging customers to shop elsewhere, accusing Mercadona of legal, but borderline unethical practices.

To counter these claims, the supermarket has given a full breakdown of who makes its various own-brand goods, such as the household cleaning produce line Bosque Verde, cosmetic label Deliplus, and food name Hacendado.

It is not true that the pumpkins come from Panamá, potatoes from Israel, olive oil from Morocco, oranges from Argentina or sunflower seeds from China, insists the corporation, which buys the lion's share or even 100% of groceries produced by its partner firms.

To obtain fresh produce, Mercadona works with 12,000 fishermen, 6,000 farms and 4,000 livestock breeders.

It also does major trade with 120 suppliers, spread throughout 220 factories across the country.

“Our olive oil comes from a producer in the province of Sevilla, which can be vouched for by the independent quality-control agency Det Norske Veritas,” Mercadona assures.

“We stock oil from traditional producers in the regions of Andalucía, Catalunya, Murcia, Valencia, Madrid, Castilla-La Mancha and Extremadura.”

Spanish supermarkets buying oranges abroad would effectively be carrying coals to Newcastle, as Mercadona points out in not so many words.

The Valencia region is an orange-growing hotspot, producing more of the fruit than it can sell or even harvest – but by August, the crop cycle is well and truly over until the autumn and the few left hanging on the trees are of very poor quality.

This is the only time Mercadona imports oranges – when they cannot get any in Spain – and they come from Argentina.

“And we only ship in potatoes from Israel when they do not grow at home, which is from November to April,” the company clarifies.

As for the so-called borderline unethical practices in terms of workers' rights which Mercadona has been accused of at the same time, the firm highlights its reputation as one of the fairest and most modern, forward-thinking employers in Spain.

Whilst other national firms were losing profits hand over fist during the worst years of the recession, Mercadona was one of those which stayed in the black and actually thrived.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

MAJOR corruption swoops leading to a string of arrests among the PP party from local council to national government level have sorely hampered negotiations between acting president Mariano Rajoy and other political outfits.

An historic scourge on the right-wing leaders, cases of bribery and backhanders under investigation were already legion before two other rackets were uncovered within days of each other, just a month after Spain's most hung general elections in democratic history.

Leader of centre-liberal independent party Ciudadanos, Albert Rivera, had offered himself as a go-between to resolve the deadlock between the PP and its main rival, the socialists or PSOE – but he now says doing so will be nearly impossible following the latest scandals.

Government agencies Imelsa, which handles financial and business promotion and activities, and Acuamed, the hydraulic management firm for the Mediterranean basin water supply, have both come under scrutiny this week amid suspicions of public works prices being deliberately inflated to allow politicians and companies to split and pocket the difference, bribes taken in exchange for lucrative civil engineering and services contracts, and millions of euros in underground cash-in-hand dealing.

In the Valencia region, 24 PP politicians were arrested, of whom 14 have been released pending further inquiries; ex-agriculture minister and now MEP Miguel Arias Cañete is thought to be embroiled in the Acuamed case, and former economy minister and head of State-owned building society Bankia, Rodrigo Rato, has added yet another investigation to his list which already includes wilful mismanagement of funds whilst heading up the bank, and multi-million tax evasion.

Just a week ago, the three-year-long case involving former PP senator and treasurer Luis Bárcenas' backhander slush-fund took on a new twist when his entire ex-party was warned it could be called up to testify and may be charged.

Rajoy stressed before the elections that he aimed to stamp out corruption, and claimed opposition parties were far from clean in that respect – but the balance of legal action and rackets unearthed has swung sharply and publicly towards the PP in recent years, especially in the past few days.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

A THIRD case of the tropical Zika virus has been confirmed in Spain – this time in a patient in Valladolid, centre-northern Spain, who had just returned from a known risk area in Colombia.

Details of the patient have not been confirmed, although the previous two – both in Catalunya – were said to be women from different countries in South America.

Although the World Health Organisation (WHO) has launched a crisis committee after over 20 countries were found to be high-risk zones, in practice the virus is not a serious health problem for individual patients, unless they are pregnant.

Transported by the Aedes Aegypti mosquito – only found in tropical climates – the Zika virus is part of the same strain as dengue and symptoms start to appear within two days to a week after the victim is stung.

Typical reactions are headaches, fatigue, conjuntivitis and general body pain, very similar to the 'flu, but the virus works its way out of the body of its own accord within under two weeks.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

AN UNDERGRADUATE student in Sevilla has discovered the social network Facebook and text-messaging service WhatsApp are sharing user information with each other.

Javier Santos, 20, who is reading IT engineering in the southern university, found a programming code from the new version of WhatsApp, still at the test stage, which would allow data transfer between this and Facebook.

Facebook bought WhatsApp two years ago in February for €13.8 billion, but has always maintained the two are completely independent from each other.

“I didn't intend to broadcast anything about it, but look at the sensation it's caused,” confessed Javier, whose discovery went viral within days of his discovering the programme.

“This is not the first time I've investigated beta versions looking for new features. Functions of Apps tend to be left prepared and, now and again, I've experimented, but I never expected to find anything.

Specialising in Android technology for his degree, Javier says all he needed to do was to access the code that the instant messaging service had made public on its page, and play with it a bit to find out two aspects of the network not known to date.

“The first is a screen WhatsApp is going to use which will show you that your conversations are encrypted and therefore safe; the second, the one that has gone viral, is that WhatsApp will be sending data about your account to Facebook,” he says.

Breaking the companies' promises to remain independent, the data-sharing programme is due to be introduced once WhatsApp ceases to be a US$0.99-a-year service.

“When you're not paying, you are the product,” Javier warns.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

A GIANT logistics centre for the online retailer Amazon will be built in El Prat de Llobregat, just outside Barcelona, as part of the multi-media empire's expansion plan.

Managing director of operations for Spain, Fred Pattje, says Amazon has signed a 'right to buy' contact with the owners of a plot of land just minutes from Barcelona airport, currently owned by the Institut Català del Sòl (Incasòl).

The 15-hectare site on the Mas Blau II industrial estate will cost €30 million, and works are likely to start in the summer.

Lawyers for the US firm – whose European domicile is in Luxembourg – will need to go through the contract terms with a fine-toothed comb and analyse utility supplies necessary before signing off the operation.

Only then will Amazon hand over the cash.

At the same time, Amazon plans to set up an express delivery headquarters on the C/ Rosselló in Barcelona, in the building that used to belong to the Gustavo Gili publishing house.

Amazon offers same-day delivery on some of its products and in certain locations, often guaranteeing receipt within two hours of orders being placed.

This has yet to roll out to Spain beyond the capital, but with express delivery centres in Madrid and, soon, in Barcelona, much of the centre and north-east of the country will be covered.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

TRAFFIC authorities have set up hidden cameras to detect whether drivers and passengers are wearing seatbelts.

They will be installed in 70 different parts of Spain, mostly on B-roads, and 19 of them will be in the region of Andalucía.

According to the General Directorate of Traffic (DGT), the cameras are capable of taking up to 50 pictures a second and, if they find anyone travelling in a car without a seatbelt, will immediately send the photos to road authorities so they can process a fine notice.

They will also be able to tell whether drivers are using a mobile phone, and as the cameras do not need external power supplies or internet connection, they can even be fitted in very remote areas.

Last year alone, 1,126 drivers and passengers died on inter-city roads and another 254 on urban streets – in cars, vans, lorries and on motorbikes or mopeds.

Of these, 175 were not wearing a seatbelt or, in the case of bikes, a helmet.

The southern region of Andalucía saw the worst figures of all, with 172 killed on roads between towns and cities, of whom 91 were drivers in cars or vans.

As many as a third were not wearing a seatbelt.

DGT bosses say a high number of deaths and serious injuries could have been prevented by belting up, which reduces the risk of fatality in a crash by 50%.

In just one week in October, during a crackdown campaign across the country, a total of 1,349 drivers were not wearing a seatbelt and 57 motorcyclists were not wearing a helmet, whilst a further 1,113 were fined for using a mobile phone at the wheel.

The death rate has gone down, despite the number of car journeys increasing, and many fatal accidents are said to be caused by lack of concentration.

Drug-driving and drink-driving also play a major part, says the DGT, which intends to intensify its spot-checks this year.

Last year, a total of 68,959 drivers were required to give a saliva sample to test for drugs.

Of these, a third – or 22,451 – were found to have been taking illegal substances, mostly cannabis and cocaine.

Over the course of 2016, at least 120,000 checks are expected to be carried out on secondary roads across the country – 38% more than in 2015 – except in Catalunya and the Basque Country which are covered by their own, separate traffic authorities.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

A MASS corruption swoop has led to dozens of arrests in the Comunidad Valenciana after town and provincial councils and the regional government offices were raided.

One of the suspects is Alfonso Rus, who was head of Valencia provincial council – the Diputación de Valencia – between 2007 and last summer.

Former directors of the now-defunct CAM bank, which was sold to Banco Sabadell for €1, are among those taken into custody.

Investigations started in 2014 after the Valencia branch of United Left, EUPV, reported a suspected money-laundering racket behind the closed doors of the public-sector company Imelsa, whose managing director Marcos Benavent has been detained.

Imelsa deals with promoting, supporting and participating in financial, business and social activities in the province of Valencia aimed at contributing to socio-economic development in the area, and its work is entirely taxpayer-funded.

Benavent was accused of setting up a 'front' company called Berceo Maintenance which billed another five firms who, in turn, were paid by Imelsa – all for jobs which were completely fake.

The cash was split out into illegal commission, or backhanders, one of the recipients of which was thought to be Rus.

Less than two years ago, a video went viral in which Rus and Benavent were sitting in a car whilst the former counted out bank notes out loud, and was caught on tape as saying: “One, two, 2,000, 3,000...and 12,000 euros. Two million pesetas.”

The then mayor of Xàtiva (Valencia province) was suspended from his post at the head of the Diputación and from his membership of the PP party when the now-ex regional president Alberto Fabra took over.

Benavent, although he is not one of the PP members arrested today (Tuesday), has been charged and has had to report to the anti-corruption prosecution service several times since May last year, whilst companies he was in contact with – including firms supplying and fitting astroturf, indoor swimming pools and paddle-tennis courts – have been investigated.

Inquiries have also centred on the PP head office in Valencia city hall – now run by the left-wing party Compromís – in connection with former PP councillor María José Alcón, who is thought to have earned backhanders in 2005 and 2006 linked to Valencia's trade fair centre, and also in connection with the Club Olímpic sports centre in Xàtiva which Rus was chairman of from 2006 until last year.

The Jaume II Foundation and the public-sector company CIEGSA, which specialises in building schools, have been investigated.

Police have embargoed 150 top-of-the-range cars and frozen 252 bank accounts, as well as searching town halls in Castellón, Dénia and Muro d'Alcoi (Alicante province), Alicante city, Valencia city and 12 others in the province of Valencia.

All the arrested parties are current or former members of the right-wing PP party and are said to have taken advantage of their political roles or their positions in taxpayer-funded public-sector companies to earn 'underground' commission in exchange for fraudulent public works contracts.

Those arrested and under investigation include María José Alcón, who was consultant to Valencia's ex-mayoress Rita Barberá and is married to former deputy mayor Alfonso Grau – one of the suspects in the Nóos Institute embezzlement case involving King Felipe's brother-in-law Iñaki Urdangarín – along with Rus' former office manager and ex-mayor of Genovès (Valencia province), Emilio Llopis, who is currently consultant to the PP in the Diputación de Valencia, plus Máximo Carturla, former CIEGSA director and regional education secretary, and ex-deputy chairman of the Diputación who resigned from his post in May after being heard talking to Benavent about earning backhanders from assigning public works contracts.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

TWO further earthquakes in the Alborán sea between Morocco and southern Spain have caused houses to collapse in Melilla and left 26 people injured.

The quakes were felt in the provinces of Granada, Málaga, Sevilla and Jaén and the full impact was felt in the Spanish-owned city-province of Melilla on the northern Moroccan coast, close to the Algerian border.

According to the National Geographical Institute (IGN), the first tremor measured 3.2 on the Richter scale and came at 03.14hrs this morning (Monday), and the second, at 04.22hrs, reached 6.3 on the scale.

A number of aftershocks followed, with the worst measuring 4.5 and striking at 04.34hrs.

None of the injured parties are said to be in a serious condition – most were treated for cuts from shattering windows and tiles, bruises from having fallen on stairs as the earth moved, or panic attacks.

In Andalucía, hundreds of residents rushed out into the street, fearing their homes would collapse on top of them.

Schools are shut across Melilla until the buildings can be inspected for safety, but water and electricity supplies have not been affected.

Despite the magnitude of the main quake at 04.22hrs, the fact it was 10 kilometres below the surface means the damage was not as great as seen in Lorca (Murcia) in May 2011, when a tremor of 5.3 left 11 people dead and reduced the city to rubble – the worst in Spain's history.

The epicentre of this morning's earthquakes was 62 kilometres from the island of Alhucemas, about halfway between Tangiers and Melilla and a few hundred metres from the Moroccan coast.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

A BRITISH man has been jailed after admitting to the murder of his wife at their home in the Costa de la Calma area of Mallorca.

The accused, Warren L., 50 (pictured left), rang the 112 emergency hotline number at 03.20 yesterday (Sunday) morning saying he had killed Lisa Jane L., 49.

During the call, he told police he was 'very sorry'.

Police and paramedics who attended the scene in one of the coastal enclaves of the town of Calvià attempted to revive an unconscious Lisa, who was lying on the sofa, to no avail.

The victim was alive but in cardiac arrest when they arrived, although despite every effort, ambulance staff were unable to get a pulse or start her breathing again.

She had been strangled with the wire of a mobile phone charger during a heated argument, said to have broken out when both of them were drunk.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

SOCIALIST leader Pedro Sánchez disagrees with Podemos' head Pablo Iglesias that 'now is the time' to start negotiations for a left-wing 'government of change', saying he was not prepared to work on forming a coalition until the PP's Mariano Rajoy had at least lost the first round of internal elections. ,

“We need to be very careful about our timing – Rajoy should be given the first chance to form a government,” insisted Sánchez, who stated categorically that he would not take part in any talks that involved 'blackmail'.

In an otherwise civil 20-minute conversation between Sánchez and Iglesias, after the latter called the former to voice his willingness to form a coalition, the PSOE leader reproached Podemos' founder for saying he wanted to be deputy president as part of the deal and his members to fill key minister roles.

“Our talks should be about policies, not positions,” Sánchez said staunchly.

He admitted later that although the PSOE and Podemos may hold similar views on the 'diagnosis' of Spain's current situation, this was just the tip of the iceberg and, to work together, they also needed to agree on policy.

“Voters of the PSOE and Podemos would not understand it if Iglesias and I did not see eye to eye,” Sánchez commented.

Other socialist members consider Iglesias guilty of trying to 'get above his station', and were somewhat irked when Podemos' leader told Sánchez that his 'golden opportunity' to become president, 'a smile from destiny', was something the PSOE would have Iglesias to thank for.

Stumbling blocks have also arisen through the country's now fourth-largest political power after the PP, PSOE and Podemos – liberal or centre-right Ciudadanos, who gained 40 seats in the elections, say they will not vote for either Rajoy or Sánchez as president.

If one or both attempt to enter in talks with Ciudadanos, the least they will offer is to abstain from voting at all, says the Catalunya-based party which went national last year for the first time since its founding in 2006.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

SPAIN'S Seat headquarters insists it has had no involvement whatsoever with the so-called 'dieselgate' scam where Volkswagen vehicles and affiliated brands were fitted with illegal software to mask CO2 and nitrous oxide emissions.

According to the board of directors, the production line workers who fit engines into cars are not allowed to touch either the engines themselves or the programme which runs them – and once they have been installed in line with these rules, the cars are imported directly to Germany.

None of the fitters, nor their managers, have any way of knowing whether or not the engines have been tampered with before they arrive at the factory, or after they reach their final destination, Seat stresses.

They have even offered to show the State prosecution service exactly how engines are fitted into Seat cars.

These declarations – made in person at a recent meeting in Madrid's National Court - were in response to prosecutors announcing plans to ask for copies of documents and emails from the German court which may, or may not, show Seat managers knew about the emissions rigging.

Prosecutor Marcos Azcárraga has been in contact with his counterparts in Germany, France, Italy, Portugal and Poland, whilst National Court magistrate Ismael Moreno has ordered Volkswagen to reveal the name of the company which masterminded the emissions-masking software and approved the illegally-high CO2 and NOx readings.

Moreno has asked Spain's ministry for industry to provide him with all the information it has to hand, including paperwork from the USA's environmental agency EPA about computer programmes fitted to Volkswagen, Volkswagen Van, Audi, Seat and Skoda models carrying diesel EA189 and Euro5 engines.

The case was opened in Spain after the anti-corruption campaign group Manos Limpias ('clean hands') presented legal action against a number of Spain's Volkswagen Group directors for crimes against consumers, the environment and the tax authorities, as well as fraud and forgery.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

A NEW young person's rail card allows teens and 20-somethings to travel on the high-speed AVE link for half price.

Rail board RENFE has announced that long-distance fast train tickets booked at least 30 days before travel will attract a discount of 50% for passengers aged 14 to 26 inclusive, or a 40% reduction when booked at least 15 days in advance.

For tickets bought on the day or booked less than a fortnight before travel, the usual young person's discount of 30% will apply.

From now on, the 14-26 age-group will, additionally, get 25% off all travel on the outer suburban-cum-provincial lines, the Cercanías, as well as the Avant and medium-distance trains which are inter-regional but normally a lot cheaper than the AVE as they take up to three times as long to reach their destinations.

And the existing Tarjeta Dorada ('gold card') for the over-65s has been extended, with the Tarjeta RENFE Dorada Plus offering even greater deals and discounts through a loyalty scheme.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

ACTING president Mariano Rajoy has responded to speculation that he may not turn up to the in-house presidential voting if it is 'inevitable' he will lose, insisting he has no intention of missing it.

Unnamed sources from the PP's Executive Committee have said 'the logical thing to do is avoid this procedure if he is going to lose', and that there is little point Rajoy's going to be there if a pact is already sealed between the PSOE and Podemos by then.

Parliamentary veterans even likened it to Rajoy's bidding for his own rope at an execution.

They also believe it could turn into a 'harsh anti-PP scuffle' in which the party is 'likely to be attacked all over again about issues such as the Bárcenas case', referring to the former treasurer's alleged underground accounting in which PP members are said to have received cash-in-hand bonuses out of a company bribery pot.

“Exposing himself to all that...well, there are people in the party who have their doubts,” one anonymous PP member at Parliamentary level considered.

Some believe it could weaken the PP further.

Others, however, hold a different view: Rajoy should go to the debate and voting session to 'show a State profile in public', to denounce the 'radical left-wing alternative' which PSOE leader Pedro Sánchez 'is obsessed with', and 'force the other parties to look at themselves in the mirror'.

The PP headquarters on Madrid's C/ Génova is a focal point of doom and gloom at present, with most believing that if Rajoy remains in the Moncloa Palace – Spain's answer to 10 Downing Street and the White House – it will be 'by process of elimination' and probably only in a third or fourth round of voting.

At the moment, the PP is clinging onto the hope that negotiations between the PSOE and Podemos will fail.

“Let's hope someone in Podemos says to Sánchez, 'I don't accept your conditions', or that the socialists themselves say, 'we've got this far, we cannot carry on in this vein and we're going to restore law and order to the party and to Spain,” said sectorial vice-secretary for the PP, Javier Maroto.

Although the PSOE appears to be suffering a minor leadership crisis – partly caused by the controversy of 'lending' senators to Catalunya Left Republic (ERC) and Democracy and Liberty (DiL) to give them a presence in Parliament – the PP believes this tactic was to achieve the aim of getting the pro-independence parties in Catalunya to abstain in the in-house voting.

The PSOE, however, has stated categorically it will not vote for Rajoy, nor abstain from voting to make it easier for him to get in, and is not prepared to form a left-right mega-coalition with the PP.

Spokesman Antonio Hernando says now is 'make or break' for Rajoy, he hopes the acting president will indeed show his face at the presidential voting debate and 'will not artificially delay the process'.

The first round of votes will take place at the earliest in the first week of February, and during the pre-voting debate, Rajoy is expected to present his proposals and to reveal how far he is prepared to back down to achieve centre-liberal independents, Ciudadanos' abstention in a second or third round.

But within the PP, certain anonymous members are beginning to wonder, privately, why Rajoy has not apparently 'lifted a finger' to seek support from other parties, and has not phoned either Sánchez or Ciudadanos' leader Albert Rivera again to continue to discuss the matter.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

SPAIN'S largest tourism trade fair, FITUR, kicked off today in Madrid and almost every region in the country will have a stall – as well as dozens of other nations worldwide.

However much local councils cut their trade fair budgets, FITUR is the one they will not miss because the benefits in extra visitors and deals with tour operators far outweigh the costs.

Mindful of the need to offer more than just great weather and beaches, each region – and the towns within them individually – seek out their own unique selling points.

On the Costa Blanca, Jávea hopes to promote its excellent scuba-diving schools and spectacular underwater scenery as a great reason to visit, while Dénia is looking to capitalise on its recent declaration as UNESCO Creative Culinary City, an honour also held by Burgos (Castilla y León).

And this year, green, gay, health and shopping tourism are among the most-promoted areas.

On the FITUR Health stand, private hospitals and clinics, spas and even fertility centres and plastic surgeons are marketing their services – holidays where women can get IVF treatment combined with a spa or beach break are now commonplace, or even a spa and hip-replacement operation on the private sector.

Health tourism – done legally – has seen a rise in income for Spain of over 20% in the last year.

The FITUR Gay stand is enjoying huge success, with the number of slots having gone up by 300% in five years.

Now homosexuality is no longer taboo in the western world at least, gay and bisexual women and men make up 10% of the planet's travel industry – a higher figure than their actual population, which shows this is a potentially lucrative.

The 'pink pound' represents between 15% and 16% of tourism spending and Spain alone sees over six million gay and lesbian tourists arrive, spending over €6.1 billion in total – over €1,000 a head.

Spain is acknowledged to be one of the world's safest and most accepting countries for gay and lesbian expats and visitors, with same-sex marriage now having been legal for 11 years, meaning couples travel there as tourists to get married in the sun when they are unable to do so still in their own country.

Although most homosexual men and women on holiday do not specifically seek out breaks with a 'gay theme', they still have to be careful about where they travel and what they say to people, especially couples, given attitudes ranging from strong disapproval through to death penalties and unpunished 'corrective rape' still a feature in numerous countries.

To this end, travelling to Spain, where they will be safe and treated no differently is a huge advantage.

Tour operators are beginning to see the economic potential in promoting themselves as 'gay destinations' – with greater legal, social and medical difficulties involved, fewer gay people have children, and their limited 'field' means far more of their lives spent being single; this means they are more likely to be homeowners and career-focused with higher salaries and fewer family commitments and expenses.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

A SERIES of 'low-cost' petrol stations set up across the Comunidad Valenciana could see their days numbered – the regional government has banned fuel-pump complexes with no staff.

These service stations are pre-paid and operate by credit or debit card, and as they do not have employees, they are able to keep the price of petrol much lower than in traditional refuelling areas.

Whilst making petrol and diesel cheaper for drivers, 'low-cost' pumps also act as an incentive for national and multi-national chains to fire all their staff and make their premises self-service, which the Valencian government considers bad news in light of Spain's ongoing unemployment problem.

From New Year's Eve, a law has been in force – which has just come to light this week – forcing all petrol stations to have at least one employee on the premises during the daytime.

Pump attendants are already facing their jobs disappearing as more and more petrol stations are self-service, meaning staff are only needed to man the shop and take payments – in previous years, as well as at least one shopkeeper, service stations would have another employee or even several who put the petrol in the car for their customers.

Self-service stations began to become cheaper in recognition that it was the customer who bore the fire risk when filling up, rather than staff, but led to drivers using unmanned pumps to save money.

Still, however, many petrol station shop staff will automatically come outside and set the pump to fill for the driver, meaning they can go indoors and browse in store – or even stay put in their vehicles if it is cold or raining – while their tank is filling up.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

LATEST data about the Spanish language reveal that it has the second-highest number of native speakers in the world, beaten only by Mandarin Chinese.

The Cervantes Institute, Spain's official language standardisation body, says 470 million people in the world speak Spanish as their first, or mother tongue – and once those who speak it as a foreign language, from learners to the most fluent, are added, the total comes to nearly 559 million on the planet.

Although English is the most-used language in terms of distribution, it is the only one in the world with fewer native speakers than people who speak it as a foreign tongue.

Spanish is second in terms of distribution, but Chinese and Hindi, in that order, remain the languages with the highest number of speakers, most of them native.

English is still the most-used language on the internet, followed by Chinese and then Spanish, but on social networks such as Facebook and Twitter, Spanish is second behind English.

And although those who have at least a working knowledge of English still outnumber those with this level or higher in Spanish, the latter is growing faster than any other language in the world.

World demographics mean Spanish as a native language is growing, whilst English and Chinese are declining – within less than a generation, it is likely Spanish will overtake both, as a native and a second language.

Fastest-growing online language

Over 21 million people worldwide are currently actively studying Spanish, either at school, college or evening classes, or via home study means, on a serious basis.

At present, 6.7% of the world speaks Spanish – way ahead of Russian, with 2.2%, or French and German, at 1.1% each – but by the year 2030 it is estimated that 7.5% of the planet's population will be able to understand and effectively communicate in Spanish.

Within three to four generations, at least one in 10 people on Earth will be able to speak and understand the language.

Already, 7.9% of internet communication is in Spanish, having increased by over 1,100% between the years 2000 and 2013.

And in big cities where the official language is English – such as London and New York – Spanish is the most-used foreign tongue online, particularly on Twitter.

Whilst the rise in Spanish speakers and increase in its use is more thanks to the 19 Latin American countries where it is the official language – countries where the birth rate continues to be higher than needed for 'population renewal' – other demographic factors come into play.

Migration breeds more speakers

Mexican, Cuban and Puerto Rican immigrants in particular have been settling in the USA for generations, to the extent where entire services exist in Spanish and, in some areas, the population is so prolific that State governors have been lobbied to make Spanish a co-official language – or even an official tongue on the same level as English

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'ILLEGAL' digging in an archaeological site in the south-western city of Huelva is under investigation, and the finger has been pointed at the civil engineering companies building the new railway station.

The site, which has been waiting for permits to be exploited since 2006, may confirm what historians working on it have long suspected – that Huelva is the oldest city in the western world.

It is thought the building companies may have dug up sand from the archaeological site, which is under a strict conservation order, to use as construction material.

The city council says whoever did it will be fined, since digging or even entering the settlement is forbidden.

Opposition PP members on the council have criticised the local government for not keeping the site under proper vigilance to prevent anyone accessing it, saying next time it could be vandals rather than builders.

The Seminario-La Orden settlement, of around 230,000 square metres, was found during its first excavation in 2006 to contain thousands of ancient building structures thought to date back to prehistoric times.

These included two sets of idols, with 29 statuettes per pair – one of which is shown in the inset photo above from Huelva Archaeological Museum, where they are now displayed - believed to originate to somewhere around the 3,000 BC area; at least, older than 2,000 BC but not quite as far back as 4,000 BC

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SUN, sea and sand were only part of the reasons for foreigners seeking holidays in Spain last year – visitors were just as likely to make the trip to watch football matches.

Spanish League, or La Liga games drew in practically as many tourists in 2015 as the country's beaches – a huge percentage of spectators were foreign.

Brits and South Koreans each bought 12% of tickets on sale for Liga matches, accounting for nearly a quarter of fans between them, and adding on the 11% sold to visitors from the USA, these three countries made up over a third of the audience at key games, says booking portal Ticketbis.

The highest numbers of tourists were seen at Real Madrid's Santiago Bernabéu stadium (pictured) and Barça's Camp Nou ground, although the Bernabéu sold 8% more tickets than the latter.

Over 30 different nationalities watched Spanish football matches live last year, with the Spanish League being the most international of any other competition in Europe in terms of its audience.

In fact, only 31.8% of spectators at Liga matches in 2015 were Spanish.

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SOCIALIST leader at national government level Pedro Sánchez has reiterated that his party, the PSOE, will not enter into a coalition with the PP, who led the country for four years until December 20.

Whilst acting president Mariano Rajoy (PP) says the 'most sensible' way forward would be a coalition between centre-right independent party Ciudadanos, the PSOE and the PP – since the latter holds 119 seats out of the 176 required for a majority – the PSOE refused point-blank on December 21 and has reiterated its decision again today (Monday).

The PSOE has 89 seats, Ciudadanos 40, and left-wing independents Podemos – set up just two years ago – has 69.

“No means no,” insisted Sánchez (pictured).

“The PP only wants to get the PSOE and Ciudadanos on board to make up the numbers so Rajoy can continue in power, but what the PSOE wants to do is reach an agreement with the left so as to create a progressive government and resolve the problems of the general public.

“Our party will meet its electoral pledges and, if it is what the rest of the progressive left wants, we will form a changed government in order to rebuild the welfare State.”

Podemos and the PSOE remain in deadlock, however, because the PSOE has refused to negotiate with any party which 'supports Catalunya's independence', whilst Podemos will not budge in its backing of a referendum.

“Rather than forcing Catalunya to stay in Spain, the key lies in creating the democratic environment where it would choose to do so of its own volition,” Podemos' leader, Pablo Iglesias stresses.

The independence bid has gained support in the last few years, mainly due to Rajoy's having flatly refused to enter into any type of discussion about it, or even allow a non-binding public opinion poll.

As a result, the Catalunya regional elections in September have now led to an even more pro-independence president than Artur Mas – his successor, Carles Puigdemont, is said to be the most radically pro-secession member of the reigning party in Catalunya.

Sánchez has spoken to Puigdemont and said he is willing to talk about solutions satisfactory to both Catalunya and the rest of Spain with the aim of the region remaining part of the country.

Concerning Spain's national government, the PSOE leader says he hopes the rest of the left-wing and centre parties 'stick to their pledge' so that 'very shortly' a new, progressive government would come into power.

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A PIONEERING programme to ensure the protection of feral cat colonies in Madrid will be run by the council's health and environmental departments, involving sterilising, chipping and feeding.

Continuing from the 'Zero Abandonment' programme launched just over a year ago, which campaigns against animals being dumped on the street – a criminal offence which can lead to prison – the scheme will be run with the help of veterinary faculties at the Complutense and Alfonso X El Sabio universities, the Municipal Police, the regional government, Madrid Veterinary College, the Guardia Civil's environmental wing SEPRONA, and the Federation of Animal Shelters, FAPAM.

A series of meetings due to conclude at the end of this month has already decided that a team will be responsible for capturing feral cats, fitting them with microchips, sterilising them and humanely 'marking' them by cutting off the point of one ear under anaesthetic so that they can be easily identified afterwards.

They will then be re-released into their original habitat, or new ones will be created in areas safer for the animals – away from heavy traffic – and where they will not cause a nuisance to local residents.

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QUEEN Elizabeth II of England and her husband Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh will put their Spanish counterparts up at the British monarch's private residence, Windsor Castle, when they visit the UK – a privilege granted to very few heads of State.

The now-abdicated King Juan Carlos I and his wife, Queen Sofía stayed at Windsor 30 years ago when they visited the Queen of England, and their son and successor, King Felipe VI and his wife, Queen Letizia will be given the same distinguished treatment.

Britain's longest-reigning monarch normally puts up national leaders at Buckingham Palace, which she has never made any secret about the fact she finds 'cold and uncomfortable' – privacy is nearly impossible because of the literally hundreds of staff, and the iconic central London building is mainly the Royal workplace.

But Windsor Castle – which is in fact more of a walled-in village and about 25 miles west of the British capital – is HRH Elizabeth II's favourite residence.

She has been spending weekends there for decades – and her summer holidays at Balmoral Castle in Scotland – but in recent years has taken to spending weeks at a time at Windsor.

Among the privileged few who got to stay at Elizabeth II's true 'home' instead of her 'office' include former Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani and his wife, Sheikha Mozah bint Nasser al-Missned, who visited the UK in 2010, and Irish Prime Minister Michael Higgins in April 2014 when he made an official trip to London to finally seal a peace declaration between the British capital and Dublin, long overdue given that the latter declared its independence in the 1920s.

Windsor Castle is where the Queen of England feels more relaxed and at home, and heads of State who stay there instead of at Buckingham Palace are usually those with whom her relationship is more based on friendship than business.

A formal dinner-dance will be given in honour of King Felipe and Queen Letizia at Windsor when they arrive on March 8, and a later one will be arranged by the Lord Mayor of London and the City of London Corporation in accordance with the set protocol for State visits, which happen around twice a year.

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THREE firefighters from Sevilla arrested for 'human trafficking' whilst helping refugees in trouble reach the shores of Lesbos have been released after a judge provisionally declared them innocent – but they still have to find €5,000 in bail money.

Julio Latorre, José Enrique and Manuel Blanco, half of a team of six working for the charity PROEM-AID in two-week shifts rescuing Syrians cast adrift on overcrowded, unseaworthy vessels off the Greek island have spent three days in police cells following their inexplicable arrest.

Their team supervisor said he was 'stunned', since PROEM-AID has a 'good working relationship' with the Greek coastguard, which is said to have taken the three men into custody.

Although they have now been released from the port authority detention centre in the island's capital, Mitilene – receiving a hero's welcome at the exit from their charity colleagues – they have to pay a bail bond of €5,000 within a month as a 'guarantee' that they will return to Greece if they are ordered to face trial.

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HOME prices in Spain went up by 1% in 2015 after several years of consistent falls, hinting that recovery is on its way to the residential property market.

Catalunya houses and flats went up by 5.3%, showing the highest increase in the country, with those in Madrid rising by 3.3% and in the Balearic Islands by 2.7% - all of these above average.

Although in general the housing market freefall seems to be coming to an end, sharp disparities are seen across the 17 regions.

Bargains can still be found in Murcia, which saw a fall of 4.3% - meaning now is a good time to buy, since returns on the investment will start to be seen once it catches up with the rest of the country – and in Navarra, where a whopping 8.5% reduction shows this untouristy but beautiful region close to the Pyrénées, with its temperate summer climates, may turn out to be a sound long-term investment with properties still on the market at very low prices.

Property market research by analysts at Tinsa points to 2016 being a year of home values levelling out rather than shooting up again – increases are not likely to be dramatic, but have stopped plummeting, meaning major losses on purchases look unlikely but any gains will be long-term rather than immediate.

Price rises were seen in more areas than price falls, however – 21 provinces, mostly those home to Spain's largest cities or mature tourism and expat belts – experienced slight increases in 2015, a situation seen in 15 provincial capitals, whilst reductions of 5% or more were witnessed in nine provinces and 10 capitals, showing the latter may be the areas to monitor for those considering an investment in the near future.

For the first time in eight years, new builds began to increase in price – whilst in 2014, they dropped by 2.2%, albeit a much more marginal decrease compared with previous years, in 2015 they went up by 2.9% - something not seen since before the start of the financial crisis.

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SPAIN could save up to €17 billion in 2016 if crude oil remains at US$30 a barrel as it is currently priced, increasing the country's GNP by 0.5%.

For every 10% decrease in petroleum prices, Spain's Gross National Product rises by 0.2%, given that it imports 99.6% of its crude oil.

The GNP for Spain is expected to reach 3% this year independently of current crude oil prices, since it was calculated in the summer using an average barrel price of US$68.80.

With every tonne of crude oil filling 7.33 barrels, Spain has imported approximately 473.8 million barrels in the last 12 months – based upon the fairly constant exchange rate of US$1.08 to €1, this means Spain will have to pay just under €30bn for its 2015 petroleum consumption this year.

Even if crude oil did stay at summer 2015 prices of US$68.80 rather than US$30, it would still be 50% cheaper than in 2014 when barrel prices shot up to US$99.40.

But if the current US$30 continues over the rest of 2016, costs to Spain would fall from the €30bn it has to pay for last year's consumption to just under €13.1bn – less than half the 2016 bill - due for payment in 2017.

Some forecasts show possible oil prices as falling even further – US banks Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs predict barrel costs will drop to US$20 or thereabouts in 2016, whilst British bank Standard Chartered's forecast is even more adventurous, claiming oil will plummet to US$10 a barrel.

In the latter case, the saving to Spain would be over €25.6bn.

But the savings are only likely if Spain does not increase its petroleum imports – as sources from the oil industry reveal, most petroleum companies worldwide are tending to buy more fuel, stocking up now that prices are low, predicting a future increase, and partly because storage costs are more economical for higher quantities of oil.

In fact, oil imports went up by 10.4% in 2015, reaching record highs, with Spain having bought more last year than ever before in history.

Prices dropping are partly due to the fact that in 2008, the global industry made huge investments in improving refinery processes, meaning it has been able to produce far more in less time and of a better quality.

For the average person on the street, falls in crude oil prices have an impact in every area of their daily lives: not just cheaper petrol for their cars, but potentially lower prices in supermarkets, public transport, and the cost of non-perishable goods such as vehicles and electrical appliances.

This is because shipping and delivery internally and from overseas costs less, as does exporting which means a potentially higher profit margin.

The reverse was seen in 2012, when crude oil reached record highs of US$126.22 a barrel, leading to a typical petrol price of between €1.50 and €1.60 a litre in Spain.

Spanish oil company Funcas' statistics department leader, María Jesús Fernández, said the effects of crude oil prices on the macro-economy are difficult to quantify, but that for each 10% reduction, Spain's GNP rises by 0.2% - not just because of its own savings in importing fuel, but because the general public can afford to spend more as prices fall.

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FORMER mayor of Marbella Julián Muñoz has pleaded guilty to a major property development corruption scam in which Bond actor Sean Connery's wife Micheline Roquebrune has been charged.

Already sentenced over the 'Malaya case', relating to power-dealing and backhanders connected with luxury urbanisations in the Marbella area and in Los Alcázares (Murcia), Muñoz's involvement in the so-called 'Operation Goldfinger' is thought to be an extension of this.

Not only did Muñoz plead guilty, but he apologised to 'the people of Marbella' for his actions.

The greatest shock to all those watching, however, was not his admission – or that of his six councillors – but his apparent state of health.

Muñoz was led into the courtroom slowly by one of the accused parties, his former sidekick Juan Antonio Roca, and was said to be extremely thin, pale and walking with a stick.

Wearing black sweatpants instead of a suit and tie, Muñoz revealed he had revently undergone an operation to have a stent planted in his coronary artery due to heart failure.

Now that he and his councillors have pleaded guilty, they will no longer have to appear for hearings and only need to wait for the final verdict, expected to be passed in March.

José Luis Fernández Garrosa, Alberto García Muñoz and Tomás Reñones – ex-party members of Muñoz's – have been sentenced to nine months in prison, whilst Rafael González and Marisa Alcalá have been sentenced to a year and Javier Lendínez to 15 months.

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STATE-OWNED financial entity Bankia will no longer charge any annual 'maintenance' fee to its account-holders if their salary or other regular income is paid there, and charges for cards, bank transfers or paying in cheques have been scrapped.

Anyone whose wages, self-employed earnings or dole money of at least €450 a month is paid directly into their Bankia account, or pensions or sickness allowance if this is €200 or more, will escape the annual cost charged for its use.

Charges levied by most other banks purely for having an account open, even if it is empty – and applied per account – range from €12 to €36 a year or even more.

Most banks also charge an annual fee for having a credit card, and take commission when their customers pay in or cash a cheque or if they make a transfer to an account with another entity.

Bankia clients will also be able to withdraw money from any Euro 6000 or Banco Sabadell cashpoints up to four times a month without charge.

The move is expected to benefit at least 2.4 million customers.

“We've listened to the public and we want to offer our clients what they are asking for: simpler, more transparent products with no small print – we're the only bank which allows its customers to use all our services free of charge just by having their monthly income paid into their account,” said chairman José Ignacio Goirigolzarri.

Until now, Bankia charged €48 a year per account for the privilege of having one open, plus €20 a year for holding a debit card and €34 for a credit card – even if these were not used – and between €6 and €7 for transfers or for paying in amounts of €2,000 or more, making it one of the most expensive on the high street.

Transfers between different banks still take up to four working days to clear, whilst in other European countries, these are guaranteed within the hour and are usually instant, as well as free of charge. 

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A VACCINATION against the AIDS virus could soon become a reality in Spain now researchers have secured funding for their work.

The Catalunya-based investigation centre, Hivacat, has amassed €11.5 million from an investment fund group made up of the capital risks management department of La Caixa bank, the toiletries giant Johnson & Johnson, and the biotechnology fund Ysios Capital.

Initial testing, followed by clinical trials, is likely to start within five years and, if the experiment is a success, the vaccine could be on the market between seven and 10 years from now.

These tests will be carried out by Aelix Therapeutics, a partly-public sector, partly-private sector spin-off of Hivacat, which will start with clinical studies on non-infected persons this autumn before commencing phase two at the end of 2019 – vaccinating HIV-positive patients who have not developed full-blown AIDS.

The inoculation does not prevent people from contracting HIV, but is expected to cure those who already have it, preventing their condition from turning into AIDS and meaning patients should no longer have to take anti-retroviral medication for the rest of their lives as they do at present.

Although anti-retroviral drugs have proven highly successful in keeping HIV under control and allowing the patient to live a normal life and life-expectancy, they can cause serious side-effects, especially in the early stages when attempting to find the right type of drug and dose to suit the individual.

This said, Hivacat's directors Bonaventura Clotet and Josep Maria Gatell hope the process of creating the AIDS vaccine will present information along the way that will enable them to create an immunisation jab to stop patients from contracting HIV altogether.

Hivacat's founders – Clotet, Gatell, Jordi Naval and Christian Brander – say their research so far has proven to be one of the most promising projects in the search for a quick and effective remedy for an illness which 150,000 people in Spain and 36.9 million worldwide suffer, according to the latest figures – from the year 2014 – released by the United Nations.

Unlike previous attempts at finding an AIDS vaccine, which focused on analysing protein sequencing and function, Aelix Therapeutics and Hivacat have centred on 'experimental data' from infected persons, Brander explains.

They studied several thousand HIV-positive patients, homing in on those who appeared to be able to control the virus without medication – around 1% of the total – to analyse their immune responses and figure out which parts of the virus these attacked.

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AN IRANI petrol giant wants to open a refinery in Spain and reveals that several companies have expressed an interest in investing in the project.

According to vice-minister for petroleum, Abbas Kazemi, the plant would process 200,000 barrels of crude oil per day and would be jointly financed by the Spanish private sector and by Teheran.

“Negotiations have not been finalised yet, but several Spanish firms have offered to build the refinery,” says Kazemi, who is also managing director of the National Irani Oil Refinery and Distribution Company (NIORDC).

Spanish sources in Teheran have backed the company MD's statement, but admit there have been no new developments since the idea was first launched in October – although this is the first the European public has heard of the move.

Kazemi announced back then that he wanted to invest in refineries abroad in order to drum up more clients for his crude oil, and adds that a plant in Spain would guarantee sales in the country since it would only process Irani petroleum.

“The safest way of increasing our exports is investing in plants overseas,” said the vice-minister, who brushed aside criticisms that the plans were 'too costly'.

As well as increasing petroleum sales, the high expenses would be earned back through the profits generated from the new plants, Kazemi insists.

NIORDC already signed agreements to open processing centres in Indonesia and Brazil last year, and is in talks with India and China to do the same, according to Latin American television channel HispanTV.

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AN ITALIAN restaurant chain in the UK is seeking up to 300 chefs – from Spain.

Linkers, one of the largest eatery franchises in Britain and with over 25 years' experience in serving great Italian food, has nearly 100 branches all over the country.

It has called upon Spanish jobseekers to apply for posts, where it promises career development and a long-term relationship within the firm.

Applicants must have at least three years' experience as a cook or chef and be able to speak and understand enough English to communicate on the job with colleagues in and out of the kitchen.

Team-working skills, especially with either experience of, or a personality that would adapt easily to, being alongside a multi-cultural and international group of fellow staff members will also be highly valued.

Linkers wants to take on chefs keen to pursue a long-term career with the group and to continue developing and upgrading their skills.

Candidates will be selected monthly over the course of a year, with 15 new chefs taken on each month in 2016 until the full 300 are recruited.

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OVER five years of investigations later, the infamous Nóos Institute fraud trial has begun in the court of Palma de Mallorca – and will make history when it sees the first-ever member of the Royal family appear in the dock.

King Felipe VI's youngest sister, the Infanta Cristina (pictured right) and her husband Iñaki Urdangarín (pictured left) – stripped of their titles of Duke and Duchess of Palma by the King himself over their alleged involvement in the scandal – are among 18 suspects who will be cross-examined in front of 590 reporters.

They include former Balearic Island regional president and ex-environment minister for the national government, Jaume Matas, who has recently handed over his mansion to the tax authorities to mitigate his liabilities, along with former deputy mayor of Valencia city, Alfonso Grau (PP), former director-general for sports for the Balearic Islands José Luis 'Pepote' Ballester, and Mercedes Coghen, ex-manager of the Madrid 2016 Olympic bid.

Urdangarín's co-director of the Nóos Institute, Diego Torres, his wife Ana María Tejeiro and brother-in-law Miguel Tejeiro, plus the firm's appointed accountant Salvador Trinxet are also among those on trial.

Among the 363 witnesses will be former justice minister and ex-mayor of Madrid Alberto Ruiz-Gallardón, former Valencia regional president Francisco Camps, ex-mayoress of Valencia Rita Barberá, disgraced former economy minister Rodrigo Rato – on trial separately for tax evasion – former regional minister for Valencia Esteban González Pons, and ex-secretary of State for sports Jaime Lissavetzky, all of whom are on the PP party.

Other witnesses include former head of the Royal household Alberto Aza, who will testify on March 11 along with Rato, and the ex-secretary of the Infantas Cristina and Elena, Carlos García Revenga, on April 20.

Sra Barberá will testify on April 12, followed by González Pons on April 14 and, the next day, Francisco Camps, whilst Ruiz-Gallardón and Lissavetzky will give statements on May 13.

The trial will take five-and-a-half months and documentary evidence will be examined in June, after all witnesses and suspects have been questioned, and final sentencing will be announced on June 30.

The 76,000-page file, split into 91 folders in 17 cardboard boxes, details the allegations of public fund embezzlement Torres and Urdangarín are accused of, as well as a complex money-laundering racket.

Set up as a non-profit entity aimed at organising sports and cultural events in Valencia and the Balearic Islands, the Nóos Institute is said to have sent 'inflated' invoices for its services to the two regional governments, with the two co-directors pocketing the difference.

To account for the money, Urdangarín invoiced the dormant company Aizóon, S.L. - owned jointly by him and the Infanta Cristina but with no known activity or staff – for his 'consultation services'.

The couple are reported to have offset personal expenses including holidays and domestic employees' wages against their tax duties for Aizóon and the Nóos Institute, allowing them to pay a reduced rate.

Their mansion in Pedralba (Barcelona province) was embargoed and put up for sale for over €6 million, and the Infanta has refunded the money she is said to have deliberately avoided paying the tax authorities.

But in Spain, tax evasion of more than €120,000 is a criminal offence, meaning paying off the debt plus interest is not enough and the offender can be hit with a fine or even prison.

The Infanta Cristina, when she appears in court somewhere between February 9 and 26, will have to swear on oath and testify in the presence of a life-sized photo of her brother, Felipe VI, which presides over the courtroom.

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CATALUNYA'S regional government has broken its deadlock and avoided a second election by replacing existing president, Artur Mas, as candidate in order to form a coalition.

Mas (pictured), number four on the pro-independence party Junts pel Sí ('together for yes'), led by Raúl Romeva, had refused to budge when fellow secessionist party CUP said they would only join forces to form a regional government if Mas did not continue as president.

But a meeting between both parties has led to mayor of Girona and chairman of the Association of Municipalities for Independence (AMI), Carles Puigdemont, being put forward as president of Catalunya.

All that is needed now is for the majority to vote for his being invested regional president at the in-house elections.

CUP and Junts pel Sí together mean the regional government being led by an outright majority in favour of Catalunya's secession from Spain.

Although Mas says the decision is 'very disappointing', he admits it was he who proposed Puigdemont as candidate when the CUP and Junts pel Sí hit stalemate in their coalition negotiations.

“From tomorrow [Sunday] afternoon, if the Parliament of Catalunya elects someone other than me as president, I will become ex-president of the [regional] government,” Mas announced.

He said he was 'willing to work alongside' regional institutions and has not ruled out the possibility of running for president in future elections, but has decided to step aside and leave Catalunya's government altogether.

“We had reached a deadlock in the last three months, causing many things to deteriorate in our negotiations – this country [Catalunya] lacked perspective at a time when we had had practically everything else we needed.

“I'm going to step aside and am not going to stand as candidate – neither will I form part of the new government of Catalunya – Mas doesn't want any responsibilities,” the hitherto regional president said of himself.

The CUP has pledged, as part of its agreement with Junts pel Sí, never to vote in line with any of the other regional Parliament parties who are against Catalunya's independence.

Two of the 10 MPs from the CUP will move across to Junts pel Sí, giving the latter greater weight and 'more stability' in Mas' words.

Other factors of the agreement between the two pro-secession parties include the CUP 's 'admitting its mistakes', especially in terms of its 'belligerance towards Junts pel Sí', which must include some MPs being 'replaced' or 'redistributed'. 

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PARENTS of a seven-year-old child thought to have been dead for several weeks when he was found by police have been arrested, but since released with charges.

Their son was lying in his bed when he was discovered, and is thought to have died there at least a month earlier.

Criminal investigators from Girona city detained the child's parents, US nationals from Detroit aged 38 and 39, and charged them with negligent homicide.

The couple's other two children, aged 12 and 14, were taken into care and have been seen by psychologists.

Police say the owner of the flat on the C/ Joan Roca Pinet in the Ensanche neighbourhood of Girona made the tragic discovery when she called round to collect several months' unpaid rent.

When she arrived, she heard loud shouting from behind the door and cries entreating the 'Devil' to 'get out', and called the Mossos d'Esquadra – Catalunya's answer to the Guardia Civil – who attended the scene immediately.

Upon entering, officers noticed a pungent smell throughout the flat and, when they inspected every room inside, they found a seven-year-old boy wrapped in blankets in his bed.

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JOBLESS figures in Spain fell more than ever before in history during 2015, which closed with just under 4.04 million on the dole, of whom 55,800 had de-registered in December alone.

This translates as exactly 354,203 fewer people signing on as at the end of 2015, compared with numbers from the end of 2014.

According to the ministry of employment and social security, this represents the greatest fall in unemployment since records began in 1996.

Reductions in jobless numbers in December, when the Christmas campaign starts, have been consistently increasing over the last four years with more and more new staff being taken on to work the festive season in shops, bars and hotels.

And the number of workers now signed up to the social security – meaning they are now paying their national insurance 'stamp' through having a job or being self-employed – rose in 2015 by over half a million, or 3.18%.

In December, a total of 85,314 workers registered on the social security either through their employer or through being self-employed – a rise of 0.5% - bringing the annual increase to 533,186 and leaving the year-end total at nearly 17.31 million.

A fall in dole benefits paid out was seen year-on-year in November 2015, with 55.3% of registered unemployed persons receiving payment compared with 57.9% in November 2014.

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The spokesperson for Compromís-Podemos, Joan Baldoví, said today that in contrast to Pablo Iglesias, he wasn't going to  "red-line" the demand to hold a referendum in Catalonia in order to negotiate a possible coalition government with the PSOE, although he also stressed that the problem is "deep-seated" one.

"There is no reason to fear democracy, or to fear a vote," he said. "It's what happens in the most advanced countries like Great Britain and Canada", he added.

Baldoví (pictured, left), was at the lower house (Cámara Baja) today with other members of his party, including the actress Rosana Pastor, the only independent on the list.

With regard to the negotiations with the PSOE, he recognised that they had been mainly led by Podemos up until now, but that from now on all the parties in that political group would be taking part in equal measures.

He also rejected the idea that he said "some are putting about" that Podemos cannot have four separate parliamentary groups (its own plus the three candidatures in which it participates) saying that if Compromís-Podemos and the other two left-wing coalitions had wanted to put themselves forward under the Iglesias umbrella, they would have done so.

He pointed out that, amongst other things, on the Ministry of the Interior's website showing the 20D results they are counted as separate results and it was thus that they were announced on election night by the vice-president of the government, Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría.

Furthermore, they fulfil the requirements to be a separate group because they obtained 25% of the votes in the areas where they were represented and won nine seats altogether (four for Podemos, four for Compromís and one independent).

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Iberia was the most punctual European airline in 2015 and the second most punctual in the world, with 88.97% of its 187,538 flights arriving on time.

The Spanish company moved up one place on the worldwide list, having come in third overall in 2014.

The Polish airline LOT and the Dutch airline KLM were in second and third place respectively in the European table, and the worldwide table was topped by Japanese airlines JAL and ANA.

Iberia Express topped the "low-cost" punctuality league table for the second consecutive year with 93.5% of its 31,355 flights arriving on time. Right behind it were Latvia's Air Baltic and Japan's Air Do.

Both Iberia and Iberia Express have improved their punctuality in 2015 compared with the previous year despite operating 10.1% and 27.5% more flights respectively. The two airlines have opened up more than 30 new routes between them over the past two years.

Air Nostrum (Grupo Iberia) was the 10th most punctual regional airline in Europe, with 87.38% of its 82,016 flights arriving on time...

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The inquest into the five deaths at the Madrid Arena on November 1st 2012 is scheduled to begin next Tuesday, three years and two months after the tragedy unfolded, and surrounded by almost unprecedented media attention.

15 people will stand in the dock as the public prosecutor attempts to unravel the events leading up to the deaths of five young women at a Halloween party at a public venue, which was clearly lacking in safety and security provisions.

As well as the five charges of manslaughter, 13 of the accused will also be facing 16 charges of causing grievous injury through criminal negligence, whilst the other two will be facing charges of negligent homicide.

According to the victims' families, the charges are inadequate as the defendents will only be facing between two and four years in prison for their criminal actions.

Compensation in the region of 240,000 euros is being sought for the families of the fatal victims, and 259 euros for victims injured trying to escape from the overcrowded venue.

The main defendent, event promoter Miguel Ángel Flores, denies allowing more people into the venue than its legal capacity (at least 22,800 compared with the 10,620 permitted, according to the prosecutor) and, in a written statement, also maintains that even if limits were exceeded, no legal link can be established between that fact and the death of the five young women.

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The leader of the PSOE, Pedro Sánchez, has announced his intention to form a "grand coalition" of progressive parties to govern Spain if the current acting prime minister, Mariano Rajoy, fails to get the necessary support to be re-elected as the country's leader.

On the back of a series of declarations by the various socialist leaders with regard to a pact between the PSOE, Podemos and other left-wing parties, Sánchez revealed yesterday in Lisbon that he is looking for an agreement which will "change Spain".

The announcement came after Sánchez met with the Portuguese prime minister, the socialist Antonio Costas, who managed to take power from Pedro Passos Coelho after achieving an historic coalition pact with the left-wing Bloque de Izquierda (allied with Podemos and the Greek Syriza party in the EU) and with the Communist Party.

Sánchez aspires to form a similar coalition pact to the Portuguese one and made it clear yesterday that if Rajoy fails to be re-invested as prime minister, the PSOE would offering "an outstretched hand to the progressive parties".

He also made it clear that the PSOE members of parliament would not support either Rajoy or any other representative of the PP as president of the government.

Shortly after Sánchez declared his intentions, the vice-president of the government, Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría responded saying that when a country is governed by those who have not won the election, the losers are the people of that country.

"A Portuguese-style pact would ignore the choices made by the Spaniards who voted. If Mr Sánchez knew how to add up, he'd know he hasn't got enough seats and that it would be the worst option for Spain from an institutional point of view because it would include parties who don't have a vision of a unified Spanish nation, which is what the Spanish people chose when they went to the ballot boxes", she said, adding that what the country needed was "a moderate legislature, with a good economic and social policy".

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Diesel fuel is being sold at an average of 1.006€ per litre across Spain, nearly 9% lower than last year, and almost 8000 petrol stations are selling it a under a euro a litre.

Of these 8000, 1100 are selling it at under 90 cents a litre and two - one in La Rioja and one in Zaragoza - are selling it at under 80 cents.

According to the Ministry of Industry's geoportal, these petrol stations are spread evenly across the whole country and are just as likely to be independent as part of one of the big chains.

The huge drop in crude oil prices on the international markets since the summer of 2014 has led to a progressive fall in domestic petrol prices, which are now at 2010 levels.

Unleaded 95 costs on average 1.141 euros per litre according to data from the European Commission, which equates to 0.87% less than a year ago. There are a dozen petrol stations, mainly independents or linked to hypermarkets, where unleaded is being sold for under a euro a litre.

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The Spanish government has officially supported a request from Argentina to re-open negotiations with the United Kingdom on the sovereignty of the Falkland Islands, and took the opportunity to reiterate to the UK its willingness, in line with UN guidelines, to restart  negotiations to resolve the contentious issue of Gibraltar.

Three days ago, on the 183rd anniversary of the British occupation of the Falklands, the Argentine government renewed its demands with regard to the sovereignty of the South Atlantic archipelago.

Spain, via an official communiqué from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, supported Argentina's request to re-open dialogue with the United Kingdom in search of a peaceful and lasting solution to the contested sovereignty of the Falkland Islands, and stated: "Just like Argentina, Spain fully supports bilateral dialogue with the United Kingdom in order to find a definitive solution to the two issues which affect the territorial integrity of Argentina and Spain".

Argentina and the United Kingdom went to war over the sovereignty of the Falkland Islands in 1982, after Argentine troops landed on the islands. The conflict, which ended in Argentina's surrender in June of the same year, cost the lives of 255 Britons, three islanders and 649 Argentines.

In March 2013 a referendum was held, although not recognised by the Argentine government, in which the Falkland islanders decided by an overwhelming majority to remain under British rule. After Mauricio Macri took power in Argentina on December 10th last year, the British government expressed its hopes that the new president would not continue to "hound" the Falkland Islanders as they felt his predecessor, Cristina Fernández, had done.

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ACTING president Mariano Rajoy says a tripartite government made up of the PP, socialists and centre-right independents Ciudadanos would be the 'best option' to escape the current deadlock following the general elections on December 20.

The mega-coalition would involve 248 MPs out of the 350 available seats on the same cabinet – led, of course, by Rajoy, the PP leader says.

“Our priority is that Spain has a government very soon – and, this aside, my intention is to stand for presidency of the PP again,” Rajoy told interviewers on radio station Cadena Cope yesterday (Tuesday).

His advice to Catalunya's regional president, who will be forced to call a re-election after his planned coalition partners refused to invest him as leader, was to 'dump his independence ideas'.

“A regional government in Catalunya supported by the CUP and ERC [two pro-secession parties] would never do any good,” Rajoy insisted.

Although he was reticent about making predictions, the hitherto president – who has been in power since November 2011 – stressed that the PP had won the most seats and it was, therefore, only fair for Spain's government to 'be what the people have chosen', Rajoy believes.

“This country needs a PP government as its voters have elected, despite some people trying to form one out of the socialists, Podemos, United Left and others,” the acting president said.

In practice, although the PP won 123 seats out of 250 – not enough for a majority, and has since lost four due to regional factions divorcing from the party – the larger political groups need far fewer votes to win seats than the smaller ones, automatically tipping the balance in their favour and forcing the non-Establishment parties to work far harder to stand any chance at all of even making up an influential opposition.

“We should firstly respect the opinions and wishes of the majority, or the results of the polling stations, and secondly, unite political forces which share our views on fundamental issues – which means a coalition between the PSOE, PP and Ciudadanos, allowing us to consolidate our recovery and send out a message of stability within and outside Spain.

“There are three possible forms of government now: One with over 200 MPs; a second option, made up of the socialists, Podemos and United Left; and a third option, which is a re-election. And I believe the first of these is what is best for Spain,” Rajoy insisted.

His desire to form a mega-coalition including the socialists' 89 seats is a turn-up for the books after the bitter rivalry seen in the run-up to the elections, which saw Rajoy and PSOE leader Pedro Sánchez enter a televised slanging match that hit headlines worldwide.

Rajoy did not want to go into details about the programme in question, but admitted there was 'no other political option' because 'a left-wing government would not be a good thing and would generate uncertainty'.

“The PP has won the elections, and will not, under any circumstances, fail to form a government,” Rajoy said on air.

But he would not support the investing of any president who was not on the PP, because it 'seems frivolous' as 'since 1977, whoever has won the elections has been president of the government'.

And Rajoy does not believe his own position, at the head of the party and as president of Spain, is in any danger. 

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Rafael Benítez has been sacked as manager of Real Madrid, just seven months into a three-year contract at the Bernabéu. The 55-year-old Spaniard has been replaced by Real's B team coach and ex-Real player Zinedine Zidane.

Benítez’s Real Madrid future was decided at an emergency board meeting on Monday. His final act was overseeing Sunday’s 2-2 draw against Gary Neville’s Valencia at the Mestalla, in which Real were reduced to 10 men and twice threw away a lead, leaving them in third place in La Liga, four points behind the leaders Atlético Madrid.

In his 25 games into a three-year contract, Benítez led Real to 17 wins, five draws and three defeats at a win percentage of 68, the seventh-highest in the club's history. He took over from Carlo Ancelotti in the summer of 2015 after the Italian was sacked in May, and the former Valencia and Liverpool boss went unbeaten in his first 14 games in charge.

He also guided Real to the knockout stages of the Champions League, dropping just two points as they topped Group A. But Benítez's low point was Real's humiliating 4-0 defeat by rivals Barcelona in November's Clásico at the Bernabeu, adding to league defeats at Sevilla and Villarreal. Further disappointment was to follow when Real were thrown out of the Copa del Rey for fielding ineligible player Denis Cheryshev against Cadiz last month.

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LEADER of left-wing independent party Podemos, Pablo Iglesias, has finally spoken out after negotiations with the socialists over forming a coalition hit stalemate.

The PSOE, led by Pedro Sánchez, has said it will not consider teaming up with Podemos to form a majority and oust the PP government if Podemos continues to support the idea of allowing Catalunya to hold a referendum on independence.

Iglesias has now called upon the 'sensible sectors' of the PSOE to 'explore the possibility of the PP not entering in government again', in contrast to those regional socialist leaders he considers are hindering talks.

Susana Díaz, president of Andalucía and her counterparts in Castilla-La Mancha, Emiliano García-Page and Extremadura, Guillermo Fernández Vara are the main opponents of a referendum, which the socialists as a party have historically supported.

Whilst the PSOE has never agreed Catalunya should be an independent nation, its members have always defended the region's people's right to voice their opinion publicly and collectively. 

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HOMEOWNERS in Spain will save some money this year now that the Eurozone interest rate, the Euribor, has fallen yet again.

Over the course of 2015, the rate which affects savings and loans in countries which use the comon currency has plummeted by a record 80%.

As at the last day of December, the Euribor stood at 0.059%, having started 2015 at 0.323%.

This means a typical Spanish homeowner who has a €120,000 mortgage over a 20-year term with a standard 'Euribor +1%' rate would see a reduction in monthly payments of €14.63, or a total of €175.56 per year.

For 2016, the future of the Euribor continues to be uncertain since it is linked to European Central Bank (BCE) monetary policy, partly based upon crude oil prices.

Analyst for XTB, Jaime Díez, says oil prices could carry on 'falling as sharply as it has in the last two years' – which will be great news for mortgage-holders or those with loans, but not so positive for those who rely upon savings interest for their income.

But other experts say it seems unlikely that monetary policy in the Union will be based upon even greater interest rate falls.

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A HOSPITAL in Salamanca has managed to perform Spain's first-ever non-rejected face transplant, thanks to a pioneering reconstruction technique.

It is only now, after 15-and-a-half months, that the surgeons behind the complex operation have been able to confirm the patient's immune system has not rejected the new organ.

The Paraguayan man, aged 28 at the time of the transplant in mid-September 2014, had been affected by a fast-growing Meningioma which had disfigured him.

This is a tumour of the meninges, or three layers of tissue between the brain and skull, known as the Dura Mater, Arachnoid and Pia Mater.

Even benign tumours in one or more meninges can 'act like cancer' and spread in the same way, according to medics.

The young Latin American's skull and face were badly affected, say surgeons Dr Jorge García and Dr Juan Antonio Gómez-Moreta, who spent 12 hours coordinating a team of over 30 professionals from eight different specialist areas.

The patient has now been named as Fernando Isaac Gómez, 

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SALES season has kicked off in Spain with bargains of up to 70% off to be found on the high street – and retailers hope their buoyant Christmas will continue as families stock up on presents to give out on Twelfth Night, or the 'Three Kings'.

From yesterday (Saturday, January 2) through to late February – or possibly later if stocks last – all types of stores and especially clothing retailers will slice their prices.

Typical discounts at the start of the sales period tend to be around 30% to 50%, but can reach 70% or 80% towards the end.

Packed streets, ever-ringing tills and barely elbow-room were seen in shops across the country yesterday and some popular stores even opened to find queues trailing back down the street.

Consumer organisations have warned shoppers to be careful of impulse buys and to ensure retailers stick to the rules – although it is rare that they do not do so, isolated cases have led to disputes.

These rules include ensuring the original price tag still features prominently on the item alongside the reduced sale price, and that the quality of discounted goods be identical to when they were being sold for the full amount, unless otherwise clearly stated.

All sale items carry the same guarantee as non-sale items – for most products, particularly electrical goods, this is two years – and payment methods accepted cannot be limited during the sales; meaning, for example, a shop which accepts credit or debit card transactions may not insist on cash only just because its wares are now cheaper.

In the event of any unresolved problems or wishing to be armed with full facts before raising a query with a retailer, shoppers can go to their local consumer protection office – OCU, FACUA or OMIC – for free-of-charge advice.

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TWELVE bank holidays fall on working days in 2016, of which eight are national, according to the official calendar published today by the General Directorate of Employment.

Seven public holidays are non-negotiable and cannot be moved to another date or replaced – one of these being yesterday, New Year's Day.

The others are Good Friday, All Saints' Day on November 1, Constitution Day and Immaculate Conception Day on December 6 and 8, Assumption of the Virgin Day on August 15, and Spain National Day on October 12, which used to be a public holiday to mark the conquering of the Americas by Christopher Columbus, but has since changed its name and focus to avoid upsetting Latin American residents in Spain.

January 6, the Epiphany or 'Three Kings' – when children will have opened their festive presents the night before brought by the Wise Men from the East – is celebrated in all regions in Spain, but the State allows it to be substituted for another regional public holiday.

Christmas Day, and Labour Day on May 1, are not included in the calendar even though they are celebrated nationally, since both fall on a Sunday in 2016.

Boxing Day, or St Stephen's Day is not normally a holiday in Spain, but this year – when it falls on a Monday – it will be a day off work everywhere except the Canary Islands, Galicia, the Basque Country and La Rioja.

Most regions will have a day off for Maundy Thursday, except Catalunya, although normally the ones which take Easter Monday as a bank holiday – the Balearic Islands, the Basque Country, Catalunya, Valencia, Navarra and La Rioja – tend to do so instead of the Thursday before Easter.

Due to Labour Day falling on a Sunday, some regions – Andalucía, Madrid, the Canary Islands, Aragón, Castilla y León, Asturias and Extremadura – will take Monday, May 2 as a bank holiday instead.

July 25, day of Santiago Apóstol (St James the Apostle), is a bank holiday in Madrid, Galicia, Navarra, La Rioja and the Basque Country, whilst St John's Day – or San Juan – on June 24, the day after the summer solstice, is a holiday in Catalunya and Galicia.

March 19 is San José's or St Joseph's Day, which is Father's Day in Spain, and a set-in-stone bank holiday in the Valencia region because of its spectacular, colourful, noisy and feel-good Fallas fiestas, but is sometimes a normal working day elsewhere in the country – even in southern parts of the Valencia region where the Fallas are rarely celebrated.

Other than the Comunidad Valenciana, only Murcia and the Spanish-owned city-province of Melilla on the northern African coast will be off work on March 19.

Easter comes a week after the Fallas and San José's Day this year – Good Friday, March 25 is a bank holiday in every region, with Easter Monday, March 28 for some and Maundy Thursday, March 24 in others.

February, April, June and September are the only months in 2016 with no national or regional holidays.

However, each individual city, town and even village often has its own, separate bank holidays for its main fiestas, meaning workplaces based there will frequently give their staff the day off even if they live in a town where it is business as usual.

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LEADER of political team United Left, Alberto Garzón was perplexed to find out second-hand that he was planning on scrapping the party.

A Spanish daily broadsheet reported how Garzón intended to break up Izquierda Unida, or IU, which won two seats in the general election on December 20 – but the first Garzón (pictured) himself knew about it was when he read it on the newspaper's Twitter site.

According to the article, IU – which has branches all over Spain in several regions – would be disbanded and Garzón would set up a brand-new party.

The newspaper tweeted: “Albert Garzón is putting an end to United Left.”

Garzón responded with, “???????”

Next, he reassured everyone on his personal Facebook site that, 'naturally', his party 'is not going to die or disappear'.

“We do need to rethink left-wing politics, though,” Garzón admitted.

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