Live News From Spain As It Happens

'ALMODÓVAR Girl' Penélope Cruz has become the youngest-ever actress to be awarded the Donostia Prize for lifetime achievement at San Sebastián Film Festival – the greatest distinction possible at the star-studded event on Spain's Basque coast.

The 45-year-old from Madrid, who made her leap into Hollywood in 2000 when she was still learning to speak English, attended last night's ceremony with husband and 'Bond villain' actor Javier Bardem and brother-in-law Carlos Bardem, who is also in the film industry.

And perhaps an even greater honour than the Donostia Prize itself was the fact Irish rock legend Bono, from U2, flew over to San Sebastián solely to present Penélope with her award on stage.

This lifetime achievement award was first presented in 1986, to Gregory Peck, for his role in To Kill a Mockingbird, and high-profile winners since have included Bette Davis, Lana Turner, Susan Sarandon, Catherine Deneuve, Vanessa Redgrave, Michael Caine, Woody Allen, Sean Penn, Richard Gere, Julia Roberts, Glenn Close, Ian McKellen, Meryl Streep, Hugh Jackman, Denzel Washington, Benicio del Toro, Emily Watson, Sigourney Weaver, Ethan Hawke, Judi Dench and Danny DeVito.

In the award's 34-year history, only five Spanish stars have won the Donostia Prize, including Penélope – Málaga-born Hollywood great Antonio Banderas in 2008, Fernando Fernán Gómez in 1999, Paco Rabal in 2001, and fellow 'Almodóvar Girl' Carmen Maura in 2013.

Among her numerous awards, Penélope has won a BAFTA and and Oscar for her role in Woody Allen's Vicky Cristina Barcelona, which also netted her a Goya Award, and two other Goyas for Fernando Trueba's La Niña de Tus Ojos and Pedro Almodóvar's Volver.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

AS WELL as being world-famous for possessing one of the top public health services on earth and perpetual number one globally for transplant operations per inhabitant, Spain is also home to – and the birthplace of – some of the best international medical scientists and is frequently behind ground-breaking discoveries. Pioneering new treatment and diagnostic tests have been developed in Spain, although of course, the process of taking these from laboratory to mainstream hospital takes years, as once a breakthrough is found, drugs need to be developed that the human body can tolerate at a time when it is most weakened, then clinical trials have to be carried out and their results monitored over time, before a manufacturer takes them on, authorisation given from international health departments, and a price negotiated that allows them to be widely used.

But in most of our lifetimes we have, and will, see great things coming out of the planet's science communities, especially those in Spain – after all, anyone who was at least primary school age in the late 1980s will have remembered the doom-filled campaigns about HIV and AIDS, then a progressive disease for which diagnosis meant a death sentence. Now – and, in fact, for nearly 20 years – HIV does not have to develop into AIDS, patients can lead a normal life expectancy and quality by taking as little as one pill a day, and their medication even prevents them passing on the condition through sexual contact or blood.

And nowadays, most types of cancer detected early enough are considered completely curable, nearly 90% of childhood cancers have complete cures, and some can even be prevented by zapping cells years before they develop into tumours. One of the biggest challenges for many cancer strains is finding ways to diagnose them in time, since several are asymptomatic until it is too late.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

A WOMAN whose husband signed up for credit without her permission or knowledge has been absolved from paying back the debt in a Supreme Court (pictured) verdict that will set a precedent for similar cases.

Generally, in financial terms, a married couple is treated as one body and is jointly liable for debts contracted by either party in both names after the marriage becomes legal.

In this case, the plaintiff's husband had signed cheques, obtained and used a credit card and taken out personal loans, all in his wife's name, from the now-defunct high-street bank Banesto, which ceded the debts, in accordance with its usual practice, to the company Aiqon Capital Lux S.A.R.L.

Her husband had forged her signature and even set up a post office box number for bank statements to be sent to, so she would never find out.

She did, however, when her husband defaulted on the repayments and she received a written demand for the sum of €17,808.

The plaintiff asked the bank for explanations, divorced her husband and filed legal action against him for forgery – but the case was dropped when he subsequently died.

She then took action against Aiqon Capital Lux...

Read more at thinkSpain.com

TWO locations in Spain are gunning for the honour of hosting EuroPride 2022 and will be up against another two in the final election.

Barcelona city council sent a representative to Bilbao at the weekend for a meeting with the European Pride Organisers' Association (EPOA) and the lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) society ACEGAL to present Spain's second-largest metropolis as the perfect site to hold the continent-wide festival.

Its tourism department focused on Barcelona's long history as an open, diverse, inclusive and welcoming city which works proactively to discourage discrimination against anyone on any grounds, and to promote diversity and equal rights.

Maspalomas, on the island of Gran Canaria, has already given a similar presentation.

Both locations are competing against Dublin (Republic of Ireland) and Belgrade (Serbia) to be able to play host to the annual event.

EuroPride is sometimes held in two different places in the same year – as was the case last year, when Sweden's two largest cities, Stockholm and Gothenburg, did so, as well as 2015 when it took place in Vienna, Austria and Riga, Latvia, and in 2016 when Amsterdam and Madrid were the venues.

Madrid was also the site for World Pride in 2006 and 2017.

London was chosen as host in 1992, at a time when acceptance of the LGB community was very limited and Pride events were considered a 'nuisance' or a 'scandal'.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

HEALTH authorities in Spain are calling for men aged between 18 and 40 to sign up as bone-marrow donors in a massive campaign that seeks to create a 'bank' of available givers.

Un Match x Una Vida ('One Match for Life') is a joint effort between the National Transplant Organisation (ONT), regional and national governments and the charity run by globally-famous Catalunya-born opera singer, the International José Carreras Foundation Against Leukaemia.

The campaign name, according to acting health minister María Luisa Carcedo, is based upon dating sites and Apps and the difficult task of finding the right partner, or match.

Why men under 40?

The Spanish Registry of Bone-Marrow Donors (REDMO) says the substance needed – a spongey tissue inside the bone which creates red blood cells, and which can fail in leukaemia patients or can be destroyed by aggressive chemotherapy – is 'at its most useful' when the person donating is aged between approximately 18 and 40.

And although female donors are very welcome, the register is already made up of 63% women, meaning it has a shortage of male donors.

Also, says director-general of the ONT, Dr Beatriz Domínguez, men are more likely to be called up to donate – three times more likely, in fact – since their bone marrow seems to give better results when transplanted.

Read mroe at thinkSPAIN.com

BREXIT should not stop British people enjoying Spanish food and drink, given that exports from the Mediterranean country to the UK have 'increased significantly' in the last two or three years and demand is not expected to decrease much, if at all, says an industry expert.

José Antoni Valls of the food and drink fair Alimentaria says there should not be any changes to the bilateral relations between the two countries after October 31, since British consumers 'are demanding more and more wine, fruit and vegetables, meat and olive oil'.

These relations remain healthy, Valls stresses – Spain is the second-largest exporter of food produce to the UK, only beaten by The Netherlands, which is popular because of being geographically closer.

A total of 6.7% of Spain's food exports go to the UK, Valls reveals.

Read mroe at thinkSPAIN.com

PETROLHEADS and sailing fans, take note: Mallorca Classic Week is back, and you've got the whole weekend to catch one of Spain's biggest displays of some of the oldest and most spectacular cars and yachts in one of the country's most modern and best-equipped ports.

You can still get there in time, even if you're not based on the island – ferries run from Valencia, Barcelona, Dénia (Alicante province) and Gandia (Valencia province), where you can take your car or go on foot, for a far lower price than you'd expect. Or grab a last-minute flight and be there within an average of an hour from almost anywhere on the mainland.

It's the most international classic car and yacht show anywhere on the Mediterranean, and private and commercial owners from at least a dozen countries will be competing for prizes. Categories include Historic Cars, British, American or German Sports Cars and Cabriolets, Driving in Style, Celebrity Cars, Big Happiness in Little Cars, Iconic Design, Elegance, and Most Adventurous Trip to Mallorca.

And yes, big happiness, iconic design, elegance, and celebrity-spotting – the rich and famous often pop along to Mallorca Classic Week – are practically guaranteed.

What's happening and when

This morning (Saturday) kicks off with a Classic American Car Show, complete with food trucks selling US-style grub, and starting the party at an unusually early hour, DJ Xema takes to the decks from 11.00. Swing Dance and Lindy-Hop demonstrations follow – the latter is all the rage in eastern Spain right now, so you can watch what the pros do and whet your appetite for learning to give it a whirl yourself.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

SPAIN'S weather office says the country will enjoy a warmer-than-usual autumn after the fifth summer in a row with above-average temperatures, and dramatic differences in rainfall from region to region.

Autumn officially starts at 09.50 mainland Spain time (08.50 in the Canary Islands) this coming Monday, September 23, and thermometers will average 0.6ºC above the typical figure seen for the time of year – apparently a negligible rise, but in practice, given the sharp temperature variations throughout the country, is likely to be clearly felt.

Summer 2019, based upon data collected so far with just three days to go before it ends, was 0.8ºC hotter than the average, which it has exceeded for the fifth year running, with a mean temperature of 23.8ºC round the clock, and two intense heatwaves.

It also involved a drought – in meteorological terms, at least – down the western half of the mainland, from Galicia to western Andalucía, and also in the Balearic and Canary Islands.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

A SPECIES of insect estimated to be 105 million years old has been found fossilised in a chunk of amber dug up from an archaeological dig in the province of Teruel.

It was found by historians from Oxford University's Natural History Museum and from Spain's Geo-Mining Museum in the village of San Just in Aragón's southernmost province, according to the scientific periodical Sinc.

Teruel's amber sources are turning out to be a gold mine for experts studying the Cretacean era, and the latest finding is 'key in understanding how insect claws evolved', says palaeo-biologist Enrique Peñalver from the Geo-Mining Museum.

The insect is said to be of a 'predatory' species which were 'highly specialist hunters', Peñalver reveals, although their claws did not have the complex sensory structure similar insects do today.

It was originally thought the fossilised insect was a type of European Mantis – a large haemimetabolic species in the Mantids family – but closer study appears to show it is more likely to be partof the Chrysopidae strain, known in English as 'Green Lacewings', or the Myrmeleontidae, whose common name is the 'Antlion', and is probably of the mantispid or mantidfly type, whose wings are transparent and have the appearance of being made of lace or netting.

Read mroe at thinkSPAIN.com

PATIENTS in Andalucía can now access a website allowing them to print or download their X-rays, CAT scans and MRIs, and reports interpreting these.

The portal ClicSalud+ lets residents collect copies of their test results so that if they decide to request a second opinion or turn to the private sector - either paying for it themselves or via health insurance - they do not have to repeat their scans.

They can also check other health data such as drugs they have been prescribed, how to take them, their doctor's instructions concerning them, and the date they need to return to the pharmacy to get the next batch.

Hospital reports from consultations, admissions or interventions can be accessed, including those from A&E, plus records of their vaccinations and results of blood, urine and stool tests.

The site lets patients consult information concerning all the times they have been signed off sick, the reasons, and dates, and when they need to return to their GP to get another sick note if they are still off work.

ClicSalud+ includes the facility for patients to book GP appointments, vaccinations, nurse's and paediatrician's visits online - something already in place in many, but not all, of Spain's autonomously-governed regions.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

LOW-COST airline Ryanair has launched a massive offer of cheap flight valid between October and May in order to offset losses it is likely to suffer as a result of the September strikes in Spain.

Every Friday and Sunday this month, and the last Friday and Saturday of September will see cabin crew and pilots downing tools throughout the country in protest over the mass redundancies announced by the Irish airline due to its decision to close its bases in Lanzarote, Gran Canaria, Tenerife South and Girona-Costa Blanca.

Spain's representative for Ryanair, Alejandra Ruiz, customers can now book their flights for winter or spring breaks, which have been scheduled and are waiting to be snapped up.

And a million flights with destinations and origins all over Europe which are booked before this coming Sunday will have their prices slashed by up to €30 each way.

They cover trips starting next month and up to and including May 2020.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

SPANIARDS will be called back to the polls for a second general election – the fourth in as many years – on November 10 after PSOE leader Pedro Sánchez failed to drum up support for his presidential investiture, which would have been due on September 23.

King Felipe VI has spent two days talking and listening to 15 party leaders and spokespersons, and concluded that none of them – not even caretaker president Sánchez, who won the most votes in the April 28 elections – has sufficient support from their rivals to be sworn in.

The monarch is usually required to officially invite a candidate to form a government following a general election, and this candidate would attend an investiture debate where a majority of votes from all MPs would be needed in the first round – 176 out of 350 – or a 'simple majority' of more 'yesses' than 'noes' in the second round if the first failed would be needed for the new or repeating president to take up office.

Until four years ago, all this was a mere formality – elections were a straight contest between the two largest parties, the left-wing socialists (PSOE) and right-wing PP, and the chances of an exact tie of 175 seats earned each were fairly remote.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

GUARDIA Civil officers have created a personalised code to help them track mobile phones if they are lost or stolen.

Known as an IMEI, the 15-digit code used to be printed under the battery of mobile phones, but nowadays can be easily obtained by dialling *#06#.

There is no need to press the green button to start a call – the number will appear immediately on the screen, and the phone owner should make a note of it and keep it safe.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

HOME to idyllic beaches, volcanoes, caves and some of the best weather in the country, the Canary Islands is also the best value-for-money destination in Spain, according to recent research.

And best of all, while the Mediterranean, Balearic Islands and south coast are now sliding towards a mild autumn – great weather for being outside, but not so much for topping up your tan or swimming in the sea – summer in the Canaries carries on longer.

Its climate is closer to that of central or southern Morocco, given that the region is geographically closer to the African continent – only 100 kilometres by sea from its coast – than to mainland Spain. This has long made the Canaries a popular autumn or spring destination for sunseekers, and even in winter, it is pleasant enough to enjoy its outdoor attractions without needing extra layers.

Lanzarote is the most economical destination in the region, according to the portal Vacaciones-España.es – hiring a car for a week comes in cheapest at €126, although outside of high season you can probably get even better deals, since motor rental firms have to pay for storage in winter if their vehicles are not let out, so they are only concerned with covering their costs.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

HISTORIANS are trying to decide what to do with a Phoenician boat found off the coast of Mazarrón (Murcia) and have opted to leave it on the sea bed for the moment.

Dating back to the seventh century BC, the craft – baptised the Mazarrón II – was discovered in 1994 and has remained there since, but a recent inspection by expert marine archaeologist divers from the National Underwater Archaeology Museum (ARWVA) has revealed it is in far better condition than they expected.

After a quarter of a century under the sea since its discovery, heritage pundits feared it would be falling into ruin by now, but were pleasantly surprised at how it had not deteriorated greatly in the last two-and-a-half decades.

Director-general of fine arts for the Scientific Commission for Monitoring the National Underwater Heritage Protection Plan – part of the central government's culture ministry – Román Fernández-Baca Casares says a full analysis will be carried out before deciding whether it will be safe to bring the 2,700-year-old vessel to the surface, or whether it should be left where it is to prevent its falling apart.

“We need to ensure the best possible conservation process by increasing the number of risk analyses carried out, which will show us the way ahead,” Fernández-Baca says.

“This, of course, does not rule out extracting the boat.”

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

PUPILS at a Costa del Sol school are taking part in a sponsored hike in support of their classmate Chloe, who suffers an extremely rare neurodegenerative disease – and is thought to be the only case in Spain.

The 11-year-old, who attends the Marbella Montessori School, is one of just 12 known patients in the world with a condition caused by a mutation of the gene VPS13D – an illness so recently discovered that it does not even have a name yet.

Chloe (pictured) suffers severe muscular pain, especially in her back, hips and legs, and daily cramps, as well as chronic fatigue and having difficulty walking, speaking and swallowing – the latter of which has put her life in danger numerous times.

She has often gone through 'night terrors', although these are currently less frequent, and has attention deficit disorder (ADD) and a visual-perceptive disorder which makes learning and retaining information difficult for her.

Investigation shows that the effects of the VPS13D gene mutation are such that 'the body does not produce enough energy to feed the nervous and muscular system', affecting their 'normal development' and leading to the muscles gradually atrophying irreversibly, according to Dr Matilla and his team at the Germán Trias i Pujol Research Institute (IGTP) in Barcelona.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

CARETAKER president of Spain Pedro Sánchez says he does not believe there is room for any further negotiations on a Brexit deal, and has urged Spanish companies to start documenting where and how they would be affected in the event of a no-deal scenario.

“There's no room for further concessions,” Sánchez said last night (Wednesday).

“We cannot keep renegotiating what has already been negotiated.”

Sánchez lamented what he calls the 'complete political blockage' and 'constitutional crisis' in British Parliament and criticised prime minister Boris Johnson for 'not respecting the agreement already reached'.

“Spain is as prepared as it can be for the increasingly likely possibility of a hard Brexit,” Sánchez told Congress yesterday.

“Our government has worked hard to cover any possible scenario.”

He urged all affected citizens – Brits who live or own second homes in Spain, British holidaymakers, and Spaniards living in the UK – as well as all financial, business and institutional parties who could be affected by Brexit to 'remain calm', but also admits that 'everyone needs to be honest and realistic' and that the contingency measures adopted 'can only mitigate the consequences', but 'cannot eliminate them altogether'.

“Only a small part of those consequences are within the European Union's control – the rest depends upon whatever decisions the UK government and Parliament take.

“To this end, everyone likely to be affected needs to start evaluating how far they could be impacted by a no-deal Brexit and try to take whatever steps they can to minimise that impact.”

Read mroe at thinkSPAIN.com

A NEW mobile phone App linking users to the 112 emergency hotline has turned out to be highly effective – as a recent rescue on the famous Camino de Santiago pilgrims' route has shown.

Firefighters from the Auritz (Burguete) station in the land-locked northern region of Navarra located a lost hiker who, exhausted from going round in circles, was stuck in a very hard to reach forest area near the village of Ibañeta.

But as he had downloaded the App 'My112', emergency services were able to trace his exact location.

They were contacted by SOS Navarra at around 16.22 yesterday (Monday) to say that a walker on the hugely-popular thousand-year-old route had lost his way on the border stage between St-Jean-de-Pie de Port-Orreaga, southern France, and Roncesvalles in Navarra.

The 'pilgrim', from Zaragoza (Aragón), said he had fallen over a few times and twisted his ankle, but by hitting the 'Emergency' icon on My112, the exact coordinates of where he was based were flagged up.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

VALENCIA has been chosen as World Design Capital 2022, taking over from Lille, France and joining former capitals Helsinki, México DF, Taipei and Seoul.

It has beaten the Indian metropolis of Bangalore which, by the final judging round, was Valencia's only remaining rival.

Elected by the World Design Organisation (WDO), Spain's third-largest city won on the basis of its long history of innovative projects, starting way back in 1957 after the River Turia was diverted outside the main hub following the 'Great Flood' and the original watercourse was turned into a botanical garden.

Secretary of the WDO Bertrand Dérôme praises the 'precision, rigour and professionalism' of Valencia's candidature as well as the 'consistency, strength and maturity' of its design industry, which he witnessed during a two-day trip there along with a panel of judges.

Private initiatives for restoring historical heritage and turning it into useful public features – an example being the Carme Convent – were among the aspects which helped win Valencia the honour.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

ANOTHER depression is on its way across mainland Spain, bringing torrential rain to the east coast over Tuesday and Wednesday.

The weather phenomenon known as a DANA (Isolated Depression at High Levels) entered the country via the Cantabrian Sea in the north today (Monday) and is expected to cause downpours in Catalunya, the Comunidad Valenciana and the Balearic Islands mid-week.

State meteorological agency AEMET forecasts 'heavy rainfall, occasionally very heavy, intense winds and choppy seas, for several days' along the Mediterranean seaboard.

It is not expected to have a huge impact on the rest of Spain, but will start with storms in Catalunya tomorrow, the Comunidad Valenciana on Wednesday, and the Balearic Islands over late Wednesday and Thursday, but is likely to peter out before reaching the south and south-east, heading instead towards north Africa.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

ROCK fans, take note: The official Pink Floyd exhibition is in Madrid until October 27, having been extended by popular request.

Taking over the capital's huge IFEMA trade fair centre – which is easy to reach by metro or motorway – the Pink Floyd: Their Mortal Remains covers the full history of the British band, from its origins as a bunch of architecture students at London Polytechnic in 1965 through its signing up with EMI Records, its catapaulting to international fame in the late '60s and early '70s, the Waters-led and Gilmore-led eras, and reunions in the 21^st century.

In it, you'll find the band's instruments – including the Azimuth Coordinator and the Binson Echorec Baby effects unit – props from its The Wall tour, such as the masks worn by the 'surrogate band', a penned letter from Syd Barrett to girlfriend Jenny Spires, his bike, and pages from Nick Mason's 1968 diary.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

THEY'RE rich, famous and lead the high life when they're off duty from their punishing, time-consuming schedules and manage to escape the limelight for a couple of weeks. So you'd expect they'd head for the most exotic – and private - locations on earth: the Seychelles, the Maldives, the Caribbean...

But no – although many opted for Asia or other destinations in Europe, some Spanish celebrities took a staycation. Household names with the budget to go anywhere on the planet chose parts of the country where you may have been or might even live, or which could well be on your Spain holiday wish list and can be visited for very little money.

And if they're good enough for the stars of the big and small screen, they're certainly good enough for us.

Paula Echevarría and Miguel Torres

Paula, 42, who has starred regularly in TV films and serials – mostly thrillers and crime dramas – and her retired footballer partner Miguel Torres Gómez, 33, who has played for Real Madrid, Getafe, Olimpiacos and Málaga, took a trip to the Amalfi coast in south-western Italy, but then visited the village of Candás, part of the wider Carreño area of the northern region of Asturias, where Paula comes from (first photograph, left).

Not content with two holidays, the couple, who have been together for a year, headed to Marbella in mid-August – one of their regular, and usually annual, summer destinations – from which Paula Instagrammed a photo of herself on the beach

Read mroe at thinkSPAIN.com

SPAIN'S government is working hard to ensure the country, its British nationals and its citizens in the UK will suffer as few ill-effects as possible after Brexit, and especially in the event of a no-deal scenario – which is technically still possible, even though British Parliament intends to push through a law ruling this out.

President Pedro Sánchez had already enacted a law last November which came into force in March this year ahead of what would have been the Brexit deadline – midnight western European time on March 29, later moved to April 12 – to cover all possible contingencies, including protecting the rights of Brits residing in Spain to continue living and working in the country and accessing the national health system.

Sánchez's law also created terms which would allow airlines, ships and other forms of transport to continue entering and leaving Spain from the UK, and plans to help Spanish businesses based in Britain and those in Spain who export to or otherwise trade with the UK.

This week, the caretaking president has announced a Conference for Issues Relating to the European Union (CARUE), and confirmed it during the meeting today (Thursday) of the Interministerial Brexit Commission.

After today's discussion, Sánchez is confident Spain is 'prepared for dealing with the negative consequences of a no-deal Brexit', but wants to strengthen links between regional governments and the State in light of the possibility of the UK's leaving the European Union on October 31 without having first sealed an agreement with the remaining 27 member States.

Regional governments will each have their own concerns and potential solutions, based upon their connections, if any, with the UK, or the repercussions of a hard Brexit on them that effects felt nationwide may cause.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

A SEVILLA man having his house extended has unearthed an almost completely intact Roman funerary chamber in his garden.

José Avilés – known to friends and family as 'Pepe' – who lives in the town of Carmona was stunned when the ancient graveyard structure surfaced whilst workmen were lowering the ground level and demolishing part of a broken wall to make way for his new extension.

It has been described as a hole of around a metre square through which a stone arch is clearly visible, giving access to a second chamber with a domed roof.

As soon as he found it, Pepe called Carmona town hall's archaeological department, and they sent a specialist out to see whether what he had found really was of historical relevance.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

CROCODILES lived side by side with dinosaurs 95 million years ago, according to archaeologists in the province of Guadalajara who are working on an established prehistoric dig.

One of the researchers at the settlement in Algora, Adán Pérez García, says the ancestors of modern-day crocodiles, along with the 'primitive, early' strains of the species, both shared a habitat with grass-eating dinosaurs during the High Cretacean era.

It would be millions of years before the descendants of today's crocs 'replaced' the earlier types, Pérez García explains.

Historians working on the dig in Algora have found a partial skeleton of a 'small herbivore' which 'appears to be a new species of sauropod', and is likely to be 'the oldest representative in Europe' of the titanosaurs – one of the largest and most diverse populations of dinosaurs living on the continent towards the end of the Cretacean period.

They resided in what would have been 'tropical coastal' habitats dotted with 'huge forests' - a conclusion reached based upon the 'enormous biodiversity of species discovered' in the Algora area, reveals Pérez García.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

FREE nursery school places, a clampdown on rocketing rent and a new labour reform are among the 370 points on acting president Pedro Sánchez's new programme plan, which he hopes will seduce left-wing Podemos into voting in his favour when he attempts to become invested as president.

The plan comes in six blocks and runs for 75 pages – 'Fair employment and pensions', 'Feminism, the fight against social inequality, and quality democracy', 'Climate emergency, environmental transition, farming and fishing', 'Scientific and technological progress and digital transition', 'Spain open to Europe and the world', and 'Territorial structure' are the headings of each block.

As well as ensuring free day-schooling and care for all children from birth to three years old, when they start infant school, and stopping rent prices spiralling upwards – especially in large cities – the PSOE (socialist) leader proposes to scrap a labour reform brought in by the previous right-wing PP-led government in 2012 which made it easier and cheaper for firms to fire staff or make them redundant.

He proposes a Penal Code reform in which 'only yes means yes' and 'anything else means no' in the case of rape or sexual abuse, and intends to improve the work-life balance for parents by equalling paternity and maternity leave at 16 weeks each on 100% of the mother's or father's salary.

Sánchez includes the so-called 'Google Tax' or 'Tobin Tax' in his document, plus a minimum company profit tax figure of 15% for large firms, rising to 18% for banks, and the creation of a 'green tax'.

One of Podemos' most-desired measures is for the soi-disant 'Public Safety Law', known popularly as the 'Gagging Law', to be abolished, meaning protests without written provincial government organisation, or taking photos or videos of police in the course of duty, would not be subject to fines of up to €30,000.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

THIS autumn will be 'much warmer and drier than usual' with temperatures above average for the time of year, especially in the north-east of mainland Spain, says a leading weather expert.

José Antonio Maldonado, head of the network Meteored, says the south-west of the country, particularly Extremadura and the Guadalquivir valley, will see 'normal' autumn temperatures, but Catalunya, Navarra and Aragón will be warmer.

The rest of the mainland and Balearic Islands will see temperatures 'slightly higher than average', but which will not be as notable as in the north.

Also, after the recent August storms, the likelihood of a gota fría – a sudden dip in temperatures which accompanies monsoon-like conditions for several days at a time – is very remote, even though autumn is usually the season for these.

The north-west will be wetter than the rest of the country, particularly Galicia, Asturias and northern Castilla y León, but generally, rainfall nationwide will be very low.

Until around four years ago, August was always dry, hot and humid, but early October on the Mediterranean and autumn as a whole in the rest of the country would bring, if not an actual gota fría, torrential rain and flash floods; now, the monsoons seem to have moved to August and rain is almost non-existent in autumn.

Maldonado says 'no gota fría formations have been observed' ahead of autumn – which starts officially on September 21 – but that 'the potential risk is always there', although he does not consider it likely that any seasonal storms will be 'catastrophic'.

Read mroe at thinkSPAIN.com

WE KNOW it wasn't built in a day, that all roads lead to it and that when you're there, you should do as its people do. But otherwise, it's hard to believe that once, Rome was the seat of Europe's most powerful empire and that almost anyone born in the wider continent hails from a country that was once under its influence, or that most of us probably share DNA with the Ancient Romans.

But it's actually obvious pretty much wherever you go in Europe – aside from famous monuments, settlements and ruins, any building featuring columns and arches is based upon Roman architecture, even if it wasn't built until the 21^st century; likewise straight roads and irrigation pipes.

Ancient Rome is everywhere, and its legacy in Spain is roughly equal to that of the country's other most powerful ancestors, the Moors, or Arab settlers from North Africa who lived on Spanish soil for the best part of 700 years.

Last year, for the first time, parts of Spain began to commemorate the date of the fall of the Roman Empire, and this year, the celebrations have expanded so rapidly that Día de la Romanidad ('Romanhood' or 'Romanness' Day) are now scheduled across cities from north to south, and even outside Spain, having stretched to the Portuguese capital, Lisbon.

The main events will be this coming Wednesday, September 4, although other acts will be scheduled across the country over the rest of the month.

Why September 4?

“Back in the year 476 AD, Odoacer deposed Romulus Augustulus and formally liquidated what little was left of the Roman Empire in the west,” says Pedro Villanueva, political scientist and spokesman for the association which started Día de la Romanidad.

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RETIRED King Juan Carlos I has just left hospital exactly a week after undergoing a triple bypass operation, and says he feels 'very well' and with no pain.

Now he has been discharged from the Quirónsalud Hospital in the up-market Madrid commuter town of Pozuelo de Alarcón, the Rex Emeritus will spend a few days resting at the Zarzuela Palace before returning to his packed agenda.

Although HRH Juan Carlos I retired from Royal duties on June 2 this year, he continues to follow a full schedule of private engagements, such as charity patronage, as does his wife, Queen Sofía.

The 81-year-old former monarch – who abdicated in favour of his son King Felipe VI in June 2014 – spoke to reporters as he left the hospital.

“I've got brand-new plumbing and downpipes – phenomenal!” he told them.

The ex-head of State had been booked in for the heart bypass on Saturday, August 24 following his routine full health check over June 11 and 12, and ever since he came round from the anaesthetic last weekend, reports from his family visitors have been overwhelmingly positive.

His daughter-in-law Queen Letizia said he had been 'very brave', his wife, Spain's 'Queen mother', said he was 'full of his usual jokes', 'very relaxed' and that 'you wouldn't know he'd had an operation'.

The ex-King's granddaughter and first in line to the throne, Princess Leonor – who will be 14 in exactly two months' time – said on Friday that her granddad 'was getting impatient' and 'wanted to go home'.

She said after visiting him on Sunday that she thought he looked 'very recovered'.

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