Live News From Spain As It Happens

SPAIN'S acting president Mariano Rajoy (PP) has echoed the words of German Chancellor Angela Merkel and other European leaders – Britain 'cannot cherry-pick' when it comes to its relations with the EU.

“Nobody should hope to keep what interests them about Europe and get rid of what doesn't,” Rajoy warned at Tuesday's summit in Brussels.

“What we are all most concerned about now is when exactly David Cameron plans to invoke Article 50 and apply to leave the EU.

“Only then will negotiations start over the UK's leaving conditions in order to decide the future relationship between the European community and Britain.”

Rajoy stressed that the deadline to leave, once Article 50 has been triggered by the UK government, is two years, so in the meantime, nothing will change as Britain will still be an EU country.

“During this time, the rights Spanish people have to live, work or continue trade relations in the UK will remain, and Spain will work to protect the rights of Spanish citizens and companies based in Britain whilst supporting greater European integration,” Rajoy concluded.

He did not mention anything about Spain working to protect the rights of British citizens living in the country, although many local council leaders have said their Brits are 'important to us' and that they wanted them to stay put.

Angela Merkel and other leaders in the EU have stressed the UK has to choose between a total divorce – in which its trading relations will be the same as any other non-EU country in the world, with the corresponding customs tariffs and paperwork – or to stay in the common market with ease of trade, which would also mean accepting freedom of movement of people as well as goods, services and capital.

“You can't just take the benefits of Europe without the responsibilities,” she said, warning Cameron his government would not be allowed to 'cherry-pick'.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

INFLATED invoices to the tune of €82 million when building the high-speed AVE railway line from Madrid to Barcelona have been uncovered and 14 people arrested.

Rail board infrastructure management firm ADIF is said to have presented reports to the prosecution warning that estimates for works and the resulting invoices for three stretches of the AVE line had been deliberately priced way above the book value, the idea being that the surplus would be split between those involved in the fraud.

This means €82m of public funds, or taxpayers' money, would disappear into the culprits' pockets.

The chunk of the line affected, which includes the station at La Sagrera, is not yet finished.

ADIF offices on Madrid's C/ Titán, civil engineering firms in Madrid and Barcelona, and the ADIF headquarters at La Sagrera station have all been searched.

Those arrested, mostly linked to the construction firms and the rail board, are accused of embezzlement of public funds and forging paperwork.

Investigators are also attempting to prove that the former works managers at ADIF accepted cash bribes to silence them over the inflated invoices.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

BANK of Spain officials calculate that the country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew by 0.7% in the second quarter of 2016 – a favourable result that may help soften the blow to the EU's finances following the 'Brexit' vote.

Although a slight slowing-down – by 0.1% - on the first quarter, the nation's main financial centre believes these figures still show 'robust growth in activity', 'improved financial conditions' and 'favourable evolution in the job market'.

The Bank of Spain considers it 'very premature' to analyse whether the financial market crash across the globe on the morning after the Brexit vote is a sign of how it will pan out over the medium and longer term, or whether it was a panicked reaction.

In the meantime, however, rising investment in bricks and mortar in Spain by foreign buyers is thought to have helped keep the GDP up.

According to the Central European Bank (BCE) chairman, Mario Draghi, the European Union could see its own GDP drop by 0.5% in the immediate aftermath of the UK's decision to leave.

This is likely to occur steadily over the next three years, especially if investor confidence in the EU falls amid fears it will become 'ungovernable' and weaker without its third-largest economy – hence Draghi has urged leaders of the remaining EU-27 to 'pull together' and show a united front.

The BCE is ready to seek price stability and to cooperate with other central banks, and Draghi has called for EU heads of State to 'deal with vulnerabilities in their banking sectors' – undefined, largely, but said to relate to risks associated with existing credit – whilst ensuring they set State budgets which 'favoured growth as much as possible'.

Meanwhile, the BCE predicts a far greater fall in GDP for the UK over the same period of time.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

THE first-ever Iberia flight from Spain to China took off today (Tuesday) from Madrid's Adolfo Suárez-Barajas airport Terminal 4, coinciding with the carrier's 89^th anniversary.

Chief executive Luis Gallego says the flight represents an 'historic' moment for Iberia and would help build closer relations between China and Spain, bringing more tourists from the Asian country into south-western Europe.

The route to Shanghai was a first for Iberia and China, but not the first flight to the Far East for the Spanish airline – a connection between Madrid and Tokyo opened in 1998 and ran for 12 years, but was eventually closed because it was not profitable.

Iberia was not planning on running Madrid-Shanghai flights until the autumn, but decided to bring the new route forward to maximise possible visitor numbers during Spain's main tourism season.

The carrier will fly to the Chinese metropolis – a global financial centre with the world's busiest commercial and container sea port – three times a week, on Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays, from the Spanish capital.

Spain's badminton world champion Carolina Marín (pictured fourth in from the right), who is now ambassador for tourism for the Greater Madrid region, cut the red tape on the aircraft today before it took off at 12.50hrs.

An Airbus A340-600, the craft is still in the air at the time of publication.

Smaller Airbuses – the A330-200 – will be used for the regular flights, with the A340-600 being a one-off to 'baptise' the new route.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

REGIONAL government officials in Castilla y León have banned the village of Tordesillas from 'celebrating' its bloodthirsty bull-spearing spectacle, the Toro de la Vega unless the animal comes out of it alive.

The 'festival' was due to go ahead, as every year, on September 13, but when the town council applied for permission as it is required to do annually, this was denied.

According to the government of the centre-northern region, Tordesillas has not amended the rules of the 'game' to ensure the bull is not killed, meaning it is, by default, outlawed.

A recent change to regional legislation means bull-related spectacles outside of a designated and fixed bull-ring must not end with a kill, and the Toro de la Vega takes place in a field just outside the village.

The bull is surrounded by crowds who hurl lances at the animal, and when they have hit their target, the bull is left to bleed to death.

Given that the spectacle cannot go ahead in this format and spare the animal's life at the same time, a permit has been refused for the first time ever.

The only way Tordesillas can proceed with the 'festival' is by changing the rules to ensure the bull survives, and presenting these to the court within a fortnight.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

SPAIN'S general election re-run has benefited the PP, with Mariano Rajoy's party gaining 137 seats to the 123 it earned in December.

Meanwhile, Unidos Podemos' confidence it would overtake the PSOE has turned out to be misplaced – working as two separate parties last time around, as United Left and Podemos, they gained two and 69 seats respectively; this time, as a joint effort, they have won 71, leaving their position unchanged.

The PSOE remains the second-strongest political force with 85 seats, a drop of five on December's 90 and its worst result in history – although the PP's landslide victory in 2011, with 186 seats, wiping the floor with the PSOE and its 110, was at a time when they were the only parties in the political panorama aside from a handful of very small, regional nationalist outfits.

Centre-right Ciudadanos was very disappointed with its loss of eight seats, dropping from 40 in December to 32.

A total of 69.84% of eligible voters cast their ballot – slightly higher than December's 69.67%, and largely due to the 86.5% rise in postal votes, which totalled 1.3 million.

Again, no single party has earned a majority, or a large enough minority to be confident of breezing straight into power – of the 350 seats in Parliament, an outright win is 176.

Possible coalitions

Once more, even a multiple coalition would struggle to make up the numbers – for the PP to govern, its only likely partner is Ciudadanos, giving 166 seats; for the PP to be ousted, a PSOE-Unidos Podemos coalition would gain 156.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

MID the flood of Brits with Irish roots seeking passports for the Emerald Isle, and Scotland seriously considering a second independence referendum after the 'Brexit' vote won by 51.9%, Spain may well offer 'asylum' to UK nationals seeking to flee their non-EU island, if a recent Twitter post is anything to go by.

The oft-published photo of the Cibeles Palace in central Madrid bearing the sign 'Refugees welcome', showing Spain's willingness to take in war victims escaping the Middle East, has been doctored by Twitter user 'Camilo en Madrid', and reposted to read 'British refugees welcome'.

It has already been retweeted 229 times and 'liked' by 211, and a number of Brits have replied, saying they are 'on their way'.

Developments since the referendum result produced a vote for Britain to leave the EU have been fast – a petition for a second referendum needed only 100,000 signatures to be debated in the House of Commons, and is now at well over 3.3 million, whilst it has since come to light that the result will not become binding unless and until it is agreed by a majority in Parliament.

A subdued-looking Boris Johnson and Michael Gove looked far from thrilled at their victory when appearing before the press the morning after, and have 'assured' there is 'no rush' to invoke Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty to start the exit process.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

VOTING turnout today (Sunday) for Spain's repeat general election has been 7% lower than in December, although a massive rise in postal votes has been seen.

A total of 1.3 million Spaniards have voted by post – an increase of 86.5% on that of six months ago – but votes in person have gone down, sitting at 51.21% as at 18.30hrs.

December's elections saw one of the lowest-ever participations with just 58.22% Spaniards casting their ballot – but the re-run has seen it decline even further.

Polling stations will remain open until 20.00hrs.

By late lunchtime today, fewer than the national average of 36.8% had voted in six regions, plus the Spanish-owned city-provinces of Ceuta and Melilla – these two registered a participation of 24.9% and 21.8% respectively by 14.00hrs.

And the Basque Country (36%), Asturias (34.7%), Balearic Islands (34.4%), Galicia, (34%), Catalunya (32.3%) and Canary Islands (28.3%) were all way below the average – although the polling stations in the Canary Islands opened an hour later than the rest of the country because of being in a different time zone.

Valencia is the region which has so far seen the highest participation at 43.3%, and here and La Rioja (40.9%) were the only ones where more than four in 10 eligible voters had turned out by 14.00hrs.

Still above the national average but lower than 40% were Murcia (39.9%), Extremadura (39.4%), Cantabria (39.2%), Madrid (39.02%), Castilla-La Mancha (38.9%), Navarra (38%), Andalucía (37.6%), and Castilla y León (37.1%).

Andalucía, Extremadura and the two Castillas are the regions where voting participation has increased the most since the first and unsuccessful election in December.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

ANALYSTS have been speculating on how far the UK's vote to leave the European Union might impact Spaniards' choices today as they go to the polls for the second time since December to choose their new leader.

A recent survey has shown that 70% of Spanish nationals of all ages feel they have either benefited from being in the EU, or would not fare any better outside it, and would vote to remain if their country held a referendum.

And having seen the early repercussions of the 'Brexit' vote, this may condition how they cast their ballots today.

Professor of Political Science at Madrid's Autonomous University, Ignacio Molina – also part of the Royal Elcano Institute – believes the 'Brexit' may cause voters in Spain to lean further left and could benefit Unidos Podemos; but former Secretary of State for European Affairs under ex-PSOE president José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, Diego López Garrido, is convinced of the opposite.

Caution and status quo may dominate, and as Unidos Podemos is seen as 'anti-system' and has never yet ruled the country, voters may be wary of taking risks in the same way as those who voted 'Brexit' did.

López Garrido says Unidos Podemos 'wants to leave the EU, the euro and NATO', but in practice, the party has been the only one to campaign actively on the ground in the UK against a Brexit and is as keen as all the others for the remaining 27 member States to become closer than ever.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

SPANISH press headlines this morning read Adios, Reino Unido – 'goodbye, United Kingdom' – as the British public voted to leave the European Union yesterday.

Early scrutiny of ballot papers gave 'Remain' the edge, causing right-wing UKIP leader Nigel Farage to come close to admitting defeat, 'blaming' the country's young adults for voting to stay in the EU.

But as the count continued in the early hours, Brexit edged into the lead and its slim margin, starting off at 50.8% of the votes, has grown – at the time of publication – to 51.8%.

Only Cornwall's votes were left to count at 08.00hrs this morning, but with 'Leave' having netted 1.23 million votes more than 'Remain', even if the entire population of the county voted to stay in the EU, it would not change the results.

And by 08.20hrs, it was known that Cornwall had also voted to leave, putting the final results at 17,410,742 to 'Brexit' next to 16,141,241 to 'Bremain', a difference of 1,269,501.

Every single constituency in Scotland recorded a majority vote in favour of 'Remain', with 62% of voters choosing to stay in the EU – the BBC's UK map, with 'Leave' majority constituencies coloured in blue and 'Remain' constituencies in yellow, showed Scotland completely shaded in yellow.

Around a third of Northern Ireland was blue, for 'Leave', with a 'Remain' majority in two out of three constituencies – the 'Leave' zones were in the far north of the region – and nearly 56% of Northern Irish Brits voted to remain.

Wales was predicted to vote to stay, but only the central-west coast and some cities in the industrial south did so.

London overwhelmingly voted to Remain, and some areas produced surprising results – Bristol, Norwich, Manchester, Croydon and The Wirral chose to stay, but parts of Surrey and the south coast voted to leave.

Brighton & Hove, southern Devon, and the western home counties as well as scattered parts of Hertfordshire and Cambridgeshire voted to stay, but other than the city of Norwich, the whole of East Anglia voted 'Leave'.

Left-wing British tabloid The Mirror predicts imminent political and financial disaster will ensue.

Prime minister David Cameron's position is now untenable, it says; Sinn Féin leader Declan Kearney says he intends to call a referendum on a 'united Ireland', since the British region will now face border controls which could affect daily commuters – and some City of London firms have considered moving to Dublin.

And SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon has threatened another Scottish independence referendum, or 'IndyRef', as a route back into the EU for Britain's northernmost region.

In Gibraltar, 84% of eligible voters – as opposed to just over 72% of the UK itself – turned out to cast their ballot, and 96% of them voted to remain.

Now they have failed in their mission, many are terrified Spain will impose greater border restrictions or even attempt to regain sovereignty of the Rock, which has been British for over 300 years.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

A SPECIAL report by north-western regional newspaper La Voz de Galicia ('the voice of Galicia') has highlighted fears for the future suffered by Spaniards living in the UK if the country votes to leave the EU.

Some are confused, others worried; some are indignant that they do not have a say and have launched their own campaign in Britain to get those who do have the vote to choose 'Remain'.

“Yesterday, I had a huge argument with a guy from Manchester,” says Diana Bascoy, 35, from Abegondo, who has lived in Britain for four-and-a-half years.

“He's a friend of mine, but I can't understand how he can advocate a 'Brexit' when his mother has just gone to the Costa del Sol for an operation.”

Diana says she will not rest easy until she knows the result of today's referendum, and she is not the only one – an estimated 102,500 Spaniards live in Britain, of whom 13,362 – or 22.7% - are from Galicia, says their regional newspaper.

Susana, in her 50s and from Arteixo, says the campaigns for and against have been confusing and no information has been given about what will happen to EU migrants in the UK.

“I don't know much about how the land lies – I asked on Facebook, and it seems that those of us who are working here will be okay,” she says.

But Susana's situation is a little more precarious – she and her husband left Galicia just eight months ago to start again in the UK from scratch, and although he has a permanent job in a company and has set up another, Susana is not yet working.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

A THREE-YEAR-OLD child has died in hospital from what is thought to be a case of enterovirus, a highly-contagious condition which has affected nearly 100 people throughout Catalunya.

The little boy, who would have turned three at the end of July, was rushed to a walk-in clinic after he began vomiting and presented a high temperature.

He was sent home, but taken to A&E shortly afterwards when he began to lose consciousness.

Whilst there, he went into cardiac arrest and medics were unable to revive him.

Tests showing it was likely to have been the enterovirus epidemic affecting him are as yet inconclusive since, as regional health authorities stress, 'numerous illnesses' can cause a loss of consciousness which may or may not end in tragedy.

If the condition is confirmed, he will be the first patient in Catalunya to have died from the virus – an earlier death in Reus (Tarragona province) was found not to be 100% linked to the infection.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

GIBRALTAR residents and workers who commute there daily are concerned about the effect a 'Brexit' will have on their lives – and of the 32,000 in the British-owned enclave who are eligible to vote in today's referendum, a majority plan to vote 'Remain'.

Their worries appear almost unanimous and span every age-group – even school children asked said they felt that, however positive or otherwise leaving the EU might be for the UK, for Gibraltar, it would 'not be a good thing'.

Everyday problems that could arise if Gibraltar – Britain's only overseas territory in the EU – was forced to leave the Union along with the 'mother' country include border control.

This is especially worrying for those who live in the province of Cádiz and work on the Rock, a common scenario for Brits and Spaniards alike.

“It's already difficult, with so many police at the border, but it would get worse,” said one young woman interviewed.

As the UK does not form part of the border-check-free Schengen zone, the morning trip to the office and the return home at night involves showing a passport.

But immigration queues and other red tape could easily become an unwelcome feature if the daily commute involved travelling to a non-EU country.

It would mean a very long day indeed, getting up far earlier to beat the queues and getting home very late at night.

Possibly, some British expats living in the far south of Spain would decide to move to the Rock to avoid losing basic rights such as healthcare and visa-free residence.

Those interviewed in Gibraltar on the street mostly say they believe the UK itself 'would be fine' without the EU, but that the Rock would probably not.

They mostly fear Spain attempting to snatch it back after more than 300 years under British rule.

“Without the EU to protect us from that, Spain may try to regain sovereignty,” one woman speculated.

The polls opened this morning at 08.00hrs mainland Spain time (07.00hrs BST) and the Spanish national media is closely watching the voting process.

Spanish MEPs, and national party members, of various political colours say they strongly advise against voting to leave the EU.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

LEFT-WING coalition Unidos Podemos wants to change election laws if it gets into power, allowing foreigners living in Spain to vote.

At present, the country's more than five million immigrants – who include EU citizens, over 300,000 of whom are British – are only able to vote in local council and European Parliamentary elections.

Javier Sánchez Serna, MP for Unidos Podemos in the Murcia Region, says this situation – which is standard worldwide – is 'tremendously unfair'.

Migrants who are working, and those living on private or State pensions or any other independent income, pay their taxes in the same way as native or nationalised Spaniards do, Sánchez Serna says – but they have no say over who spends these taxes they pay or what they are spent on.

And children who move to Spain with their parents or are born in Spain to foreign parents will never be able to vote in a general or regional election in their lives.

“Anyone who gets up every morning to go to work so this country can prosper, and who pays their taxes here, should also have the guaranteed right to vote,” he insists.

“We want to reform the electoral law so that everyone who contributes to this country has the same rights, whether or not they were born here. We want a country which respects, and offers a fair and dignified way of life to, its immigrants.”

It is not clear as yet whether the changes would apply only to foreigners registered as legally working in Spain – be they self-employed or employed by a company – or whether it would extend to all foreign taxpayers, including retirees.

As well, Unidos Podemos wants to revive an old law which allows for 'humanitarian' visas to be given out, and for persons to be able to seek political asylum in Spanish embassies and Consulates in other countries.

Sánchez Serna says Unidos Podemos would reform asylum laws in order to create 'fair and dignified resettlement programmes' which ensure a 'lasting commitment and solution' from Spain.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

SPAIN'S tax authorities have launched an inquiry into the affairs of Apple Inc, the world's third-largest company in terms of share capital.

An inspection of IVA, income tax and company tax due and paid between 2009 and 2012 by Apple Marketing Iberia has been called two years after the European Commission opened an investigation into the technology giant's tax management.

This does not imply the company has committed any offence, Spanish fiscal authorities stress.

Apple Marketing Iberia's raison d'être is selling and marketing Apple products, for which it receives a commission – currently from just one firm within the corporation's umbrella, Apple Distribution International – and which was reported to be at 1% in 2012.

Since then, Apple Marketing Iberia has declined to reveal publicly what percentage of commission it receives.

Profits of US$4.1 million – 41% up on the previous year – were announced back then, and the Apple outpost in Spain, one of two in the country, paid US$3.2m in company tax or Impuesto sobre Sociedades, pouring its net profit into various voluntary reserves.

In 2015, Apple Marketing Iberia's turnover went up to €27.6m from €19.8m in 2014, or an increase of 38.9%.

Like many other international business giants, Apple channels its profits into countries with less fiscal pressure – some of the most popular for big corporations being Luxembourg, The Netherlands and the Republic of Ireland – and then carries out other financial strategies to reduce its tax burden even further.

Apple's other holding in Spain, Apple Retail, runs its stores throughout the country and is invoiced by Apple in Ireland for the more expensive products sold, meaning that by settling these invoices, the cash made from sales in Spain goes directly to Ireland and tax is paid at Irish rates.

Tax on profits in Spain is double that of the Republic of Ireland.

These strategies are completely above board in the same way that companies and individuals have hitherto been able to invest part of their funds in offshore accounts – but global fiscal requirements have tightened up since the worldwide financial crisis.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

SPANISH economists say the cost to the UK of leaving the EU could far outweigh the benefits, and that the worst of the problems it may face will be in the early years.

They do not agree a Brexit would be 'catastrophic' for the UK, but they all highly recommend voting to remain so as 'not to unnecessarily risk Britain's financial stability'.

Britain has recovered successfully from the global financial crisis and the 'Vote Leave' supporters believe breaking away from the EU – where many countries are still trapped in relative poverty, austerity and unemployment – would strengthen the UK's prospects, but experts consulted by various media in Spain say it would be silly for Britain to put its recent progress in jeopardy.

Investors put off by volatility

Leaving the 28-nation bloc, with its 508 million inhabitants and GDP of €14 trillion which represents 16% of the world's trade would cause 'volatility in financial markets' in the short to medium term, says Javier Flores of the analyst firm Asinver, because 'investors have no precedents to turn to' and uncertainty is the biggest enemy of the financial markets.

He is more optimistic about a post-Brexit UK than most, saying: “In the long term, the UK will carry on being a privileged EU trade partner.”

“The scaremongering news will settle down with time; the UK will not stop being just one other country and investments there will not change much, nor will trade conditions alter greatly,” says Guillermo García-Plata, secretary of the firm Acocex.

But reports have already shown that in the last 12 months alone, €48bn in British funds has been taken out and reinvested in more stable markets – particularly those linked to pensions, which could be at risk if investments fail to yield predicted returns due to an outflow of cash from the country – ever since David Cameron became prime minister for a second term of office and announced his commitment to go ahead with the In/Out referendum.

Trade tariffs and red tape would make UK exports 'less attractive'

Salvador Llaudes from the Royal Elcano Institute says the 'most beneficial' form of Brexit would be the famous 'Norway agreement', or EFTA (European Free Trade Association), which Switzerland and Iceland also belong to, since it would allow Britain to escape customs tariffs – but as this would mean the UK having to continue to contribute financially, not having a say in EU policy and being forced to accept free movement of people as well as goods as a condition, it would defeat the object of a Brexit and is not a popular option.

World Trade Organisation director-general in Spain, Roberto Azevedo, says there is no question that export and import tariffs would apply, increasing the costs of goods.

“The cost of living for the average Brit would go up, because although barely 6.6% of exports from the EU end up in the UK, around 51.4% of British exports go to the continent,” Azevedo explains.

British economists have put the UK's trade with Europe at nearly 40%.

“Britain would lose any advantages it gains from a Brexit through the cost of extra trade barriers and a fall in the Sterling,” adds Guillermo Rivas-Plata, “because British products would become less attractive if the same or similar ones could be purchased without trade tariffs elsewhere in the EU – also, deliveries would take longer, because customs inspections would apply, which would put buyers off even further.”

The Bank of England has predicted the Sterling will drop 'brusquely', by at least 6%, which would cause a ripple effect for other countries, and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), which covers nearly every country in the developed world and most of the emerging market countries, predicts a loss of 820,000 jobs in the UK.

This independent organisation says the GDP in the UK would fall by 3.6% upon Brexit, and up to 6% if Britain left the common market in order to only play by the rules of world trade – and it calculates the loss per household per year at around €3,000.

“A Brexit scenario would not benefit investors in Britain in the slightest,” says Salvador Llaudes.

“If the companies which have chosen the City of London to operate in Europe find themselves no longer in the EU, they may well consider leaving the country.”

JP Morgan and HSBC have already announced that they would move the bulk of their workforce to the continent, probably to Dublin or Frankfurt, whilst Britain's most iconic car manufacturer Rolls Royce has parked its investments until it knows the result of the referendum.

A study by Ipsos Mori shows that up to 78% of international firms consider a Brexit would harm their business, and the International Monetary Fund (FMI) says the City of London would be 'eroded'.

British debt 'less competitive' to buyers, forcing up interest rates

The analyst BlackRock has put numbers on it: 110,000 jobs would be lost in the City alone.

If a Brexit caused an exodus of investors, the British public debt would be less attractive to buyers, leading to dividends for those who buy bonds from the UK having to go up to compensate – which would cause a rise in interest rates.....

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

SPANIARDS living in the UK – officially just over 200,000 – are concerned about the possible effects on their lives of a Brexit and are urging candidates for this Sunday's general election in Spain to take positive action.

So far, only Podemos has travelled to the UK to campaign for Britain to stay in the European Union, although all parties vying for presidency across the scale from far-left to right are against a Brexit and have warned of consequences for Spain and the UK if it prospers.

Aside from the more than 300 Spanish firms based in the UK – including Zara's parent firm Inditex; Mango; Manolo Blahnik; Santander bank; Telefónica and other major market players – and over 700 firms based in Spain funded by British capital, the UK is Spain's third-largest trading partner after France and Germany, representing around €55 billion of its imports and having exported nearly €5bn to Britain just in the first quarter of 2016.

Financial markets are already showing a fall in Sterling, which reduces when the polls show Brexit is in the lead but slightly increases if the 'Bremain' camp's success looks more likely – and Spain worries that this will make Brits' family holidays to their favourite sunshine destination too expensive, reducing numbers, and cutting the amount they spend on their visits.

But those who feel most ignored by their potential national leaders are the nearly quarter of a million Spaniards living and working in the UK.

Many of these have moved to Britain either to find work, or to enable them to practise their chosen profession which they have been unable to do at home, and their long-term plans often involve returning home when the Spanish job market evolves sufficiently.

Others, the very elderly, were child evacuees in the Civil War, and others were exiles during Franco's reign – or even children born to British expats in Spain who have Spanish nationality.

They are very worried that a Brexit would affect their right to use public services in the UK, or to claim unemployment benefits or income support if their professional luck takes a temporary turn for the worse.

Spain's electoral candidates, complain Spaniards in Britain, have not made any public announcements about their Brexit concerns, only giving their opinion when pointedly asked by the media.

“It would be the worst possible news in economic terms for many, many years,” warned acting president Mariano Rajoy (PP).

“A Brexit would be a disaster for the Spanish stockmarket – and all stockmarkets – so I hope the British public will vote to stay in; last but not least, because we in Europe want them to remain.”

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

SPANISH medics have warned of the risks to women over 40 who decide to have children, especially where this will be their first – and report that one in five first-time mums in Spain are at least 40 years old.

The financial crisis, unemployment or job insecurity, low wages and difficulties in getting mortgages without a huge deposit have all meant that in the last 10 years or so, the average age of a first-time mother in Spain has been rising sharply – in fact, first-time mums in Spain are among the oldest in Europe.

Back in 2004, the average woman had her first child at age 31, but now, more than half are aged at least 35 and 20% are over 40.

Recently, a well-known celebrity in Spain announced she was pregnant for the first time at the age of 47.

Doctors at the private Sanitas hospital in the La Zarzuela area of Madrid say that among the general population, the risk of conceiving a foetus with chromosome alterations – the most common being Down's Syndrome – is 1%, but this rises to 6% for mothers over 40.

Older mothers are generally very aware of this and foetal disorders are among their biggest fears, says head of the research, Dr Gloria Estaca.

In women of this age, blood and amniotic fluid samples are taken and tested regularly in mothers past their early 30s, and many request these tests 'out of anxiety', Dr Estaca reveals.

'Structural' deformities in the foetus in mothers over 40 are also more common, with their risk rising from 2.5% among younger mums to 3.7% among older ones, according to the Spanish Menopausal Research Association (AEEM) at its National Conference.

Up to a third of pregnancies in mothers aged 40-plus are considered 'high-risk', and 10% of these showed chromosome alterations.

Dr Estaca says a decision to become pregnant after 'a certain age' should be thought through very thoroughly, and full information about possible risks and complications should be studied first.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

Spain's rugby 7's side has qualified for the Rio Olympics this summer. It is the first time rugby will have been included in the summer Olympics since 1924. The sport will feature for at least this and the 2020 Summer Olympics.

A last-second try by Iggy Martín gave the Spanish side, coached by Tiki Inchausti, a 22-19 win over Samoa in the final of the Olympic qualifying competition in Monaco on Sunday.

"It's incredible, we played with our hearts," said an emotional Pablo Feijóo in an on-pitch interview after the match. "This team and the coaching team have worked hard for years to make this dream come true. Our strength comes from working together, without being the biggest or the strongest".

Spain began the second day of qualifying with a 12-7 win over a young Ireland squad, with tries from Matías Tudela and Ángel López, converted by Paco Hernández.

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A WELSH tourist is in a critical condition in a Mallorca hospital after being beaten up whilst watching a UEFA Euro match in an Ibiza bar with his girlfriend.

James Hallett, 25, was rushed to Son Espases hospital in Palma de Mallorca after he was found unconscious on the street with serious head injuries.

The holidaymaker, who comes from Blackwood in the county of Caerphilly, Wales, is now said to be fighting for his life.

According to 23-year-old Jessica Jones, his partner – who says she and James' friends and family are 'worried sick' – the attack happened when they had been watching the Ukraine-Germany match in an Ibiza bar.

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ECONOMY experts have warned that a 'Brexit' could have negative consequences for Spain, given that the UK is its third-largest trading partner after France and Germany, and Spanish exports to Britain totalled nearly €5 billion in the first quarter of this year.

Although they urge traders 'not to panic' and to 'put things into perspective', key speakers say 'extra hurdles' could be faced for industries which export to the UK, mainly food, transport and manufactured goods.

In theory, commercial relations between the two countries may not need to be hugely different after a Brexit, according to two experts – Professor Santiago Carbó of Bangor University in Wales, who is also head of Financial Studies at the Savings Bank Foundation in Spain (FUNCAS), and Agusti Ulied, economics tutor at ESADE business school.

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SEVERAL forest fires in inland parts of the province of Valencia have forced the evacuation of a private hospital and numerous homes as the flames continue to spread out of control.

An inferno broke out in the La Canal de Navarrés district in the centre of the province on Wednesday night, and is still burning.

It started in the town of Bolbaite and has extended to the villages of Chella, Anna Sumacàrcer, Estubeny, Sellent and Cotes, and emergency services report that over 2,800 hectares are alight.

Two other wildfires in Carcaixent (Ribera Alta district) and Terrateig (Vall d'Albaida district) which started on Thursday are perilously close to each other.

In Carcaixent, the private Aguas Vivas hospital, and the urbanisation Les Barraques, have been evacuated.

Most have been given emergency overnight accommodation in an industrial estate in Alzira (Ribera Alta), the nearest large town to Carcaixent, whilst the hospital patients have been transferred to State centres in nearby towns including Xàtiva (La Costera), Alzira, Gandia (La Safor) and Valencia city.

Even over the southern border into the province of Alicante, residents said they could smell the smoke.

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SPAIN'S acting president Mariano Rajoy says the 'Britain Stronger In' campaign 'should not be taking place in Gibraltar', and that the Rock 'will still be Spanish whether or not there is a Brexit'.

“The campaign for this [keeping Britain in the EU] should be done in the UK and not in Gibraltar,” Rajoy protested, despite the fact that Gibraltar natives have a right to vote in the referendum and fear they would be adversely affected by a Brexit.

Although Rajoy has decided not to call a meeting with the British ambassador in Spain, Simon Manley, he says the UK authorities 'know perfectly well' that Spain is 'against the decision' for Conservative prime minister David Cameron to campaign on the Rock, and that he has 'reiterated this stance' when his cabinet told him of the official visit.

Cameron's visit has been suspended in light of the murder of pro-Remain Labour MP and popular social activist Jo Cox in what is thought to be a far-right attack by a Brexiteer described as having 'mental health problems', but this has not stopped Rajoy voicing his opinion on the planned trip.

In light of rumours that Spain may apply for joint sovereignty of Gibraltar if a Brexit vote wins, the acting PP president says it 'would be unwise to jump the gun' but stresses: “It is evident that Spain has always considered Gibraltar to be part of its national territory, and will continue to do so whatever happens in the referendum.”

“For Spain, Gibraltar will still be Spanish, whether the Brexit vote wins or loses,” he added.

Rajoy coincides with other European national leaders in believing the UK's exit from the EU would be 'bad for Britain' and for all other member States, and would constitute 'a backward step' in the Union's progress.

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BRITISH prime minister David Cameron has suspended his campaign to remain in the European Union in Gibraltar following the fatal shooting of Labour MP Jo Cox (pictured) in Birstall, Leeds.

Jo, whose 42^nd birthday was just six days after her death yesterday (Thursday) was married with two small children and was taking part in a 'Bremain' campaign in the West Yorkshire town when she was stabbed and then shot as she came out of a library.

A 52-year-old British man named Tommy Mair is the only suspect at the moment.

He was heard to shout, “Britain first!” before firing the shot which caused Jo to fall down between two parked cars, and then shot her twice more while she was on the ground.

The far-right political group Britain First, famous for its anti-Muslim, anti-immigration and pro-Brexit sentiments, has denied any links to the attack and threatened legal action against the media for hinting that it might be involved.

Conservative PM David Cameron was on a plane to the Rock when the news broke, and was due to host the campaign 'Gibraltar Stronger in Europe'.

Britain's only overseas territory considered part of the European Union, Gibraltar's cross-border workers almost outnumber its residents – numerous British expats and Spanish nationals live in the province of Cádiz, mostly in the frontier town of La Línea de la Concepción, and work on the Rock.

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AN ANNUAL MotoGP event will take place in the province of Teruel, southern Aragón for the next five years, confirms regional government minister for the economy, industry and employment.

Marta Gastón says she has struck a deal with the company which owns the rights to MotoGP, known as Dorna, to guarantee one of the races on the annual calendar will be held in the town of Alcañiz until at least 2021.

Previous agreements only provided for the MotoGP to take place in Alcañiz for one season, but it is now set to be a firm fixture and the fee increases per year reduced from 5% to 3%.

The MotoGP race will provide a massive boost to Teruel’s tourism – in the winter, this is kept alive through the ski slopes at Javalambre and Valdelinares, and the rest of the year only limited numbers of visitors go there for rural holidays, or to visit the famous lovers of Teruel in the city’s cathedral or the Dinópolis dinosaur dig.

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AIR-TRAFFIC controller strikes in France have caused chaos on flights heading to and from Spain this morning, with passengers forced to wait for up to four hours on board.

None of the passengers heading for Valencia from London Stansted had heard of the strike until they were on the aircraft, when they were told take-off could be delayed by up to half a day.

Airlines were instructed to board all travellers as normal, since notice of a take-off slot could come up at a second's notice and they would have to leave immediately to avoid losing it and waiting several hours more.

This led to disgruntled passengers stuck in their seats waiting for the off, many with no way of contacting their friends and family members to tell them they could be very late.

Pilots and crew commented that they were in for 'a long day', since flights all over western Europe were likely to be delayed.

Those left waiting in Stansted secretly hoped they would be delayed long enough to be 'forced' into staying overnight in Valencia, saying they loved the city and the weather was better than in the UK.

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Defending champions Spain started their Euro 2016 campaign with a last-gasp victory over the Czech Republic in Toulouse on Monday afternoon.

Aiming for a third title in a row, Spain dominated possession throughout the match, but were unable to find a way through the stubborn Czech defence until the 87th minute when Gerard Piqué (pictured, right) connected with perfected-flighted cross from man of the match, Andrés Iniesta, to score the only goal of the game.

Alvaro Morata, Jordi Alba and David Silva all had earlier efforts saved, with some fine goalkeeping from Arsenal's Petr Cech helping to keep the scoreboard at zero.

Spain had also survived a scare when Cesc Fàbregas, seeing De Gea stranded and Pavel Kaderabek waiting behind him to turn in, superbly hooked a Theodor Gebre Selassie header off the goal line.

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TAXIS in Tarragona, San Sebastián and Teruel are the most expensive in Spain, whilst they are cheapest in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, anywhere in Tenerife, and in the Spanish-owned city-province of Ceuta on the northern Moroccan coast.

The average three-kilometre trip with a five-minute wait by cab on a weekday in Spain is €6.17, according to consumer organisation OCU, which says prices have hardly varied at all in the last year.

But the difference between taxi fees in the city of Tarragona and in the provincial capital of Gran Canaria is as high as 89%, rising to 110% on weekends, bank holidays, or in the early hours of the morning.

Anti-social hours are cheapest for taxi fares in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, with Las Palmas second, but Tarragona remains the most expensive round the clock on any day of the week.

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A 20-YEAR-OLD tourist is in a critical condition in Mallorca's Son Espases hospital after a six-metre (19'6”) fall from a hotel balcony.

The injured man's nationality has not been revealed, but he is said to have been staying at a resort in Magaluf, the coastal 'arm' of the inland town of Calvià.

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AN IRAQI man who was kidnapped and tortured by DAESH, or the so-called Islamic State has been flown to Spain for his injuries to be treated.

Karlus Barbar, 28, was assaulted when ISIS sacked the village of Batnaia in Iraq in August 2014, forced to convert to Islam and to join the Jihadis in combat.

When he refused, they took him hostage for over a month, after which they released him in the middle of the desert with very serious injuries.

A Muslim family in Kirkuk found him on the street and rescued him.

Later Karlus located his family and travelled to Baghdad, where he met members of the Spanish charity Mensajeros de la Paz ('messengers of peace'), who helped him across the border into Jordan and took him to the Spanish embassy.

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A PAEDOPHILE who gained access to schools by passing as a student teacher has been arrested in an undisclosed town in the province of Valencia.

Juan Rivera Pascual pretended to be an expert in education and went round primary schools all over the country, filming the centres and the pupils, and successfully posed as a knowledgeable online advisor helping parents choose schools.

He went around public and private centres, including British or bilingual schools.

In many cases, teaching staff have assured parents he did not go anywhere near the children, but others where he is known to have abused small children are being investigated.

The apparently harmless footage was uploaded onto his website, known as El Blog de Juanri, in which he claimed to be a 25-year-old student teacher, listed all the schools he had been visiting since 2014.

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BRAZILIAN ambassador in Spain António Simões says the proliferation of the Zika virus should not cause any problems for competitors in the Rio de Janeiro Olympics due to take place this summer.

“Given that the sportspeople are not generally pregnant ladies, I don't see much of an issue,” Simões assures.

He was responding to Spanish basketball legend Pau Gasol, who had said he was 'considering not going' to the games because of Brazil being a high-risk country for the Zika virus, transmitted by the tropical Aedes Aegypti mosquito.

“Gasol is a great sportsman, but in terms of medical issues I have complete confidence in the doctors and in what the World Health Organisation (WHO) has said – that there's no danger,” insists Simões.

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FOUR Iberian Lynx – an endangered species which has not bred in the wild for decades – have given birth to 14 cubs in the mountains near Toledo, and members of the public can vote on names for them via the World Wildlilfe Fund (WWF) website until Monday, June 20.

All four mums were being monitored in large swathes of land in the mountain range in the province of Toledo, Castilla-La Mancha, and have produced two litters of four cubs and two litters of three, according to conservation technicians.

Another two litters have been reported in the province of Ciudad Real, in the eastern Morena mountains, also in Castilla-La Mancha.

The mothers were bred in captivity and gradually taught how to survive in the wild before being released, in a bid to revive the flagging population of this leopard-like mountain cat, which is very close in appearance to the domestic feline.

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POLICE in Madrid have ordered budget chain store Primark to increase its security, saying customers are reporting thefts to them 'almost daily'.

Four pickpocketing gangs have been broken up, and nearly 300 people a month report their bags or purses being stolen whilst they are in or very near the shop.

The Irish cut-price fashion label opened a flagship store on Madrid's busy Gran Vía in October last year, and queues stretched all the way down the street as Primark fans camped outside waiting for the grand opening.

“This is an establishment with a tremendous amount of visitors and where a huge quantity of people gather all at once,” says Alfonso José Fernández, Madrid's chief of police.

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SPAIN'S anti-doping laboratory has lost its licence after failing to pass stringent tests.

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) had already suspended the labs in Beijing, Lisbon, Bloemfontein and Moscow, and the one in Madrid is now the fifth to have its accreditation removed.

This means WADA tests, such as blood and urine sample analysis, cannot legally be carried out in Madrid after the dope-testing laboratory fell short of international regulations.

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A FATHER and grandfather of two of the victims of the Germanwings air crash which killed all the passengers and crew has filed legal action against the doctor treating co-pilot Andreas Lubitz, who locked himself into the cockpit and brought the plane down.

The craft, which was flying to Düsseldorf in northern Germany from Barcelona, was deliberately crashed in the French Alpes by Lubitz, who was suicidal after learning his eye condition – a detached retina – would probably mean an end to his career ambitions of becoming captain on long-haul flights with Germanwings' parent company, Lufthansa.

A German citizen, 61, whose daughter – the famous opera singer Maria Radner – and grandson, Frau Radner's 18-month-old baby lost their lives in the air disaster says Lubitz's doctor had an 'exhaustive clinical history' of the co-pilot's psychiatric problems and suicidal tendencies and was therefore fully aware of his condition on the day he brought down the plane killing all 150 on board.

Maria Radner's father's solicitors say Lubitz's doctor did not inform air security authorities, nor the airline itself, of her patient's problems – and in situations like this, the principle of professional confidentiality does not apply, since adhering to it could put the patient himself, and others, in danger.

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UNITED States president Barack Obama will travel to Spain between July 9 and 11 – just two weeks after the next general elections.

This will be the first time a US leader has visited Spain in 15 years.

Obama will meet with King Felipe VI – whom he saw on his own soil just a few months back – and with Mariano Rajoy, acting president and PP leader, although with the general elections on June 26 meaning a possible change in government, Obama may also have to schedule a meeting with a different national leader.

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NATIONAL health authorities have confirmed a second case of a pregnant woman suffering from the Zika virus whose foetus is affected by brain deformity.

Following the case reported in Catalunya on May 5 this year – where a woman had caught the virus after a trip to Latin America, but decided to go ahead with the pregnancy despite hearing the foetus was badly affected – another has been announced today (Monday), although the location in Spain has not been revealed.

The patient was told her foetus showed clear signs of 'congenital anomalies' consistent with microencephalia, or a brain which is too small and underdeveloped, caused by 'an infectious condition'.

In this case, the woman was living in Latin America, although the country in question has not been confirmed, and later travelled to Spain to live.

She noticed symptoms of the disease, which is transmitted by the tropical Aedes Aegypti mosquito – not currently present in Spain – during the first three months of her pregnancy, and the diagnosis of the foetal deformation was given some weeks later.

The patient has reportedly requested an abortion.

Health authorities stress the virus cannot be passed through person-to-person contact, and is not contagious either, meaning there is no risk to other pregnant women who have not been to a high-risk country.

However, some cases worldwide have been sexually-transmitted or caught via contact with blood from an infected person.

Anyone who is not pregnant and who catches the virus will normally only suffer 'flu-like symptoms, and will recover without medication within approximately a week.

So far, 141 cases of Zika – all imported – have been recorded in Spain, of which 19 affect pregant women, but at present 17 of these mothers-to-be are thought to be carrying a healthy foetus.

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POLICE in Cantabria are still searching for a brown bear who broke out of the huge Cabárceno safari park nearly a week ago and who has been seen running loose in a nearby village.

A group of youngsters saw the bear in Casas del Monte, between Pámanes and Penagos, on the night it escaped from the popular open-air zoo, but no trace has been seen of him since.

Local authorities say nearby residents are 'a bit nervous' about the thought of a wild animal wandering loose around their streets, but staff and management at the Cabárceno Park say they cannot confirm whether or not they are missing a bear or that any animal may have got out.

Although they say they have 'around 80 bears', they do not know the exact number on the premises because of it now being the breeding season.

And the two-metre-high (6'6”) electric fence is not broken, but staff cannot rule out that a bear may have squeezed through it.

Town councils close to the park are concerned that its team has no proper census of the animals and does not appear to have 'proper control' over them.

Penagos local authorities have given advice to residents on what to do if they find any evidence of a bear's presence, such as paw-prints, fur, excrement or marks on trees.

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HOLLYWOOD couple Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt may be thinking of buying a property in Mallorca to spend their breaks in.

Pitt is currently filming World War Z on the island, and rumour has it that he has fallen in love with Mallorca and that the couple has purchased a luxury villa.

The peach-coloured mansion in Andratx, complete with a double lounge and pool, is said to be around 900 square metres in size and to have cost the mum and dad of six a total of €3.5 million.

But this is small fry compared with some of their other properties – the château owned by 'Brangelina' in the south of France set them back a cool €66m.

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Spain's Garbiñe Muguruza beat World No. 1 Serena Williams 7-5, 6-4 to win her first Grand Slam title at the French Open on Saturday.

The 22-year-old Muguruza is the first Spanish woman to win Roland Garros since Arantxa Sánchez-Vicario in 1998.

"I'm so, so excited - to play in a Grand Slam against one of the best players, it's the perfect final," Muguruza said.

"I'm so happy. I had to be very ready and concentrated on all the points and just to fight as much as I can.

"All the matches I've played against her helped me. It's our favourite tournament in Spain and I want to thank all my Spanish supporters."

Fourth seed Muguruza's straight sets win made amends for her loss against Williams in last year's Wimbledon final.

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ACTIVIST group Anonymous has hacked into a National Police Twitter site and left the names, telephone numbers, email addresses and ID numbers of 5,400 officers in the public domain.

The incident mirrors a near-identical situation suffered by Catalunya’s military police, the Mossos d’Esquadra, just over two weeks ago, although as yet the previous case has not been solved.

This time, Anonymous owned up to the attack, which was staged on Tuesday night, saying the National Police ‘represented everything that should not exist in a free world’.

In a manifesto, Anonymous said it had compromised the officers’ personal data in protest over the Public Safety Act, known popularly as the ‘gagging law’.

The missive called for ‘an end to the oppression’ it had caused and which was ‘in breach of basic human rights’.

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Acting Employment Minister, Fátima Báñez, said today that if Spain has political stability and the new government continues to push through reforms and measures to stimulate growth and emplyment in Spain, "we can grow around 3% this year, exceeding the Government's own prediction".

Báñez (pictured), who met the President of the Federation of Associations of Self-Employed & Freelance Workers (ATA), Lorenzo Amor, in Córdoba today, said the latest OECD figures have led her to revise her prediction for Spain's economic growth in 2016 to 2.8%, but adjust her prediction for 2017 down by two tenths to 2.3%.

The Minister said that the figures from the first quarter "reflect of the strength of Spain's recovery" which makes me believe that with political stability and fiscal reform the country could grow even more than the figures set out by the OECD.

"This means that this year and over the next four years we could create between 400,000 and 500,000 new jobs per year, which is the main national objective", said Bañez, who believes Spain could have 20 million people in employment by the year 2020.

In her opinion, this is possible because the Government "is already making it happen" and has managed to "get back 1.1 million jobs lost during the recession".

"We are achieving intense levels of job creation, and we will continue to do so with political stability and confidence in the economy", refelcted the Minister, who pointed out that the self-employed and freelancers had been "the leading protagonists of the recovery".

She reiterated that employment in Spain "began with the self-employed", and praised the fact that, after four difficult years, there are now 110,000 more self-employed people than there were in December 2011, which demonstrates that "they are joining the recovering economy in a massive way."

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According to the latest data published today as part of this summer's national campaign for child safety, 56% of all children who drown do so in private pools, with only 10% drowning in public pools and 2% in the sea.

The report also underlined the fact that drowning is the third largest cause of death amongst children worldwide, and the rate is particularly high amongst 1-4 year olds.

Six children have drowned already in Spain this year, in pools and rivers, and those in charge of the campaign have reminded the public that "a child can drown in just 20cm of water and in less than two minutes".

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