Live News From Spain As It Happens

A SINGLE-DOSE vaccine against Covid-19 created by Janssen will be in use throughout the European Union from April 19, and Spain is set to get enough for 40 million jabs.

Janssen itself has confirmed this, and the European Commission has signed a contract to purchase 400 million doses, of which Spain will have 10%.

Unlike the Pfizer, Moderna and AstraZeneca vaccines, the Janssen version only needs to be administered once, with no second or booster dose a few weeks later, and it can be kept in an ordinary refrigerator rather than needing to be stored at exceptionally-cold temperatures requiring special freezer units.

Janssen says its inoculation is suitable for use in humans of any age, including pregnant women and breast-feeding mums, and that the side-effects from it are 'very mild' – unlike the AstraZeneca injection where many of those who have had it have related intense headaches, hangover-like symptoms and, according to a daily newspaper in the province of Alicante, over 1,000 school teachers are allegedly off sick due to the side-effects of the AstraZeneca jab.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

THOSE who thought the Stanley Kubrick-inspired 'monolith fever' spreading around the globe in December had cooled off altogether will be pleased, or annoyed, to know that it is still burning brightly: Another square-shaped metal post has popped up in Spain, this time on a Costa Brava beach.

Back in November, a steel monolith resembling the 'calling card' left by extra-terrestrials in the famously, and inaccurately, futuristic 2001: Space Odyssey – which left film fans leaving cinemas dazed and confused after its airing in 1968 – appeared out of nowhere in the Utah desert, then another turned up off the central coast road through California.

Between these, one sprung up in Romania, and another in The Netherlands; the fifth in the 'series' appeared in Spain in early December on a hillside above the town of Ayllón in the province of Segovia, Castilla y León, and is thought to have been the first one on earth that was not taken down by concerned authorities.

In fact, Ayllón's mayoress paid a visit to it the morning it 'emerged', and said it had been put back up three times after being blown down. 

Since then, others have made an appearance in the UK and Poland – although of all the monoliths seen so far, the association which claims to be the instigator says it is only behind the ones in Utah and California.

The self-titled group 'The Most Famous Artist', based in the State of New México, has denied any connection with the various European versions, but says it is pleased to see the trend is catching on.

Nobody is quite sure where the Ayllón monolith came from – nor the one that apparently sprung out of the ground in the town of Castell-Platja d'Aro (Girona province) today (Tuesday).

It was spotted on the sands of Sa Conca beach in the residential hub of S'Agaró and is triangular in shape; unlike the dull gunmetal-grey steel post in Ayllón, this one is made from shining chrome or stainless steel, and its top is slanted rather than squared off like the Segovia-province version.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

AN ATLANTIC front heading for mainland Spain is set to release a blast of warm air over Easter weekend, pushing temperatures up for the holidays – in fact, the mercury is expected to break the 30ºC barrier for the first time in 2021.

This has already happened in the Canary Islands – at least, on the islands of Fuerteventura, Gran Canaria and Lanzarote, where the warm front arrived early last week.

Wednesday saw the highest temperature so far this year in La Aldea de San Nicolás (Gran Canaria), when thermometers reached 30.3ºC at 15.10 – which would have been at 16.10 mainland Spain and Balearic time – and the heat rose sharply on Thursday, hitting 34.2ºC in the same town, 31.4ºC in Arucas, 31.2ºC in Tasarte, 30.7ºC in Mogán, and 31.4ºC in Pájara (Fuerteventura) and exactly 30ºC in Teguise (Lanzarote).

The rest of the country will start to see similar figures from around Maundy Thursday – a bank holiday in some regions, but not in others.

But the latter part of Easter will see the reverse, according to Rubén del Campo, spokesman for the State meteorological agency, AEMET.

He says 'the presence of an anticyclone in inland continental Europe' combined with 'low pressure in the Atlantic' would be conducive to south and south-east winds, which typically result in higher temperatures.

It may not come with bright sunshine, clear skies and uninterrupted views out to sea and from hilltops, though: South winds mean the air flow crosses, or comes from, the Sahara desert, meaning red dust floating in the atmosphere.

It will not be enough to be seen by the naked eye, but will reduce visibility and air quality, Del Campo explains, and will be more prevalent in the southern half of the mainland and towards the west, particularly from around Wednesday or Thursday this week.

In the run-up to Easter Sunday from about tomorrow (Tuesday), temperatures will generally be around 5-10ºC higher than average for the time of year, except on the Mediterranean where they will be closer to the norm.

Elsewhere, thermometers will register figures 'closer to those of the second half of May or even the first half of June', explains Del Campo.

This rise in heat will be most felt in Galicia and the Cantabrian Sea strip across the north, which are normally still a little chilly at the end of March and beginning of April, but where the mercury is expected to break the 25ºC barrier in several cities and their surrounding areas – Lugo, Ourense (Galicia), Oviedo (Asturias), Santander (Cantabria) and Bilbao (Basque Country).

Madrid and Toledo will also see temperatures around the mid-upper 20s, and inland Andalucía will be at least five or 10 notches higher: In the Guadalquivir river valley, particularly in Sevilla city and its surrounding areas, it could even rise to 32ºC or more, the AEMET spokesman predicts.

By Good Friday, light rain is forecast across the northern half of the mainland in inland areas, but will not reach the Mediterranean or the south coast, and will 'not be persistent or generalised or last for very long', according to Del Campo.

Rain is not likely to reach the east coast and Balearic Islands until around Saturday or Sunday, when temperatures begin to fall to those more frequently seen at this time of year. 

In these areas, temperatures are likely to be at their highest on Thursday and Friday, just as the north and inland parts are cooling down.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

THIS Easter weekend will be another where the usual holiday traffic jams on motorways are very unlikely, since all regions in Spain – except the Canary Islands – have shut their borders to prevent mass movement across the country.

But there will be exceptions allowing people to travel beyond their home regions, and different criteria for proving these.

In some parts of the country, the traveller needs to fill in a form, normally downloaded from the internet, although in others, paperwork proving where they need to be and why is considered sufficient.

Anyone who does need to leave their region over the coming fortnight is advised to take any proof they may be able to find with them, just in case.

Those most likely to be affected will be residents close to regional borders – such as where their nearest district hospital or place of work is in a neighbouring region.

Anything relating to healthcare, such as attending GP appointments, clinics, hospitals or other medical and social care-related facilities, is permitted, as is going to work or to anywhere connected to one's job, like seeing clients, or making deliveries for those whose job involves long-distance driving.

Going to school, college, university, nursery or infant school and dropping off children there or picking them up is permitted – some universities and colleges are still providing their tuition online, but schools are largely open, although primary and secondary schools at least will be shut for normal classes over Easter.

Care and assistance for the elderly, minors, the disabled, persons considered 'especially vulnerable', and dependants in general is allowed.

Drivers who need to go to petrol stations just over their regional border, where this is the nearest, can do so, as can anyone whose bank, insurance company or other financial entity is in another region and they are required to travel there over Easter.

The same applies with any legal and administrative appointments – court cases, renewing passports or ID cards or driving licences, or anything else that falls within the description of 'legal' or 'officialdom' and which cannot be postponed until later in April.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

DESPITE the pandemic's having caused a slowdown in personal property purchases, investors are keen to keep buying and plan to expand their portfolios this year, in both residential and commercial buildings.

Although 2020 was a disappointing year for the property industry as a whole, the back end of the year showed strong signs of recovery – new builds, in particular, bounced back, with sales and purchases rising by over 4% in the final quarter of 2020, compared with figures from the same three months in 2019.

Recent research shows 55% of property investors across Europe intend to buy in Spain in 2021, which is expected to translate to a growth in this type of home or commercial premises purchase in the country of between 10% and 20% based upon 2020 figures.

Mikel Marco-Gardoqui, chief executive and head of capital markets at CBRE Spain – which commissioned the EMEA Investor Survey 2021 – said there is 'cause for a certain level of optimism' in the property industry, partly fuelled by the vaccine roll-out across the continent.

Investors' approaches in Spain this year are fairly diversified, says Marco-Gardoqui, and the EMEA Investor Survey has asked them about the nature of their buying plans for the first time – around a third are looking at value-added strategies, whilst 26% are expecting to opt for core-plus.

KING Felipe VI and his wife Queen Letizia have arrived in Andorra for an official visit – which might not seem very newsworthy were it not for the fact they are the first Spanish monarchs to do so in 602 years.

And this makes them the first Spanish monarchs ever to do so, since Andorra's Parliament has only been in existence for six centuries.

One of the oldest – and smallest – in the world, the Casa de la Vall in the capital city, Andorra la Vella, was formally created in 1419.

Nestled into the Pyrénées and popular for skiing and hillwalking breaks, and for its duty-free shops, Andorra is also the only country on earth whose sole official language is catalán, the regional tongue of Spain's north-eastern region of Catalunya. 

In fact, the nearest heliport, and where HRHs Felipe VI and Letizia were 'dropped off', is in La Seu d'Urgell in the Catalunya province of Lleida.

It would never have occurred to the Spanish public that their Royal leaders had never made an official visit to Andorra, given the fact that it shares a land border with Spain and that anyone who heads north of the Pyrénées via any mode of transport more or less passes it en route – but perhaps this geographical proximity is the reason.

Indeed, few Spanish residents could even name the president of Andorra – but, currently, he is Xavier Espot, and his deputy is Roser Suñé.

Five parties have seats in Andorra's Parliament, which comprises a total of 28 MPs.

Although a sovereign, independent nation, the Principality of Andorra's official heads of State are not resident there, and it is one of the few countries on earth that has two – in a similar way to HRH Elizabeth II's being head of State of the Commonwealth, Andorra's are King Felipe VI of Spain and French president Emmanuel Macron.

This makes it one of the only known countries where the head of State rôle is shared between a republic and a monarchy.

Their actual part in running the country is merely nominal, and was devised this way as a symbol of the spirit of equality, fairness and balance in relations between France and Spain.

Formal diplomatic relations were started with Andorra in 1993, at around the time when the United Nations officially recognised it as a sovereign State – until then, it had been a separate country, but not considered as such legally by the organisation, similar to the Republic of Kosovo which is recognised by 98 UN member States but not officially and unanimously.

The highest authority figure to have visited Andorra so far has been former Spanish president Mariano Rajoy, in 2015, exactly four years after Spain ceased to formally consider Andorra a 'tax haven'.

King Felipe and Queen Letizia's visit has started off with a tour of the city hall in Andorra la Vella, or the Comú, and HRH Letizia had planned a meeting with Andorra's education minister Ester Villarubla to find out more about the nation's system for including disabled pupils in mainstream schooling.

About a third of Andorra's population – 27,000 of them – are expatriates from Spain, many of whom have lived there for decades, and well over 100 of these were waiting to greet the Royals outside the Comú, some of them waving the red and white Andorra flag.

The King and Queen generally provoked a positive reaction wherever they went in Andorra, and have been told time and time again that they are 'very welcome'.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

PROBABLY the largest Goya exhibition in recent memory, the world première of a display now open in Granada features over 1,000 pictures, set to music.

The late-18th and early-19th century painter's works will be in the Alhambra Palace city until June 20, heading to Madrid in the autumn, and will then tour other provincial capitals in Spain before moving overseas.

Instead of borrowing Francisco de Goya's artworks from museums all over the planet, these are shown on five-metre-high (16'6”) screens, 35 of them in total, via 40 projectors, and synchronised to music by some of Spain's biggest and best-known classical composers including Isaac Albéniz (1860-1909), Manuel de Falla (1876-1946), Luigi Boccherini – who was Italian-born but lived for many years in Spain before his death in 1805 – and Enrique Granados (1867-1916).

Having started on Monday this week (March 22), the #InGoya exhibition, naturally, follows all anti-Covid procedures, meaning limits on numbers and 'structured' entry via timed slots, seven days a week between 10.00 and 22.00, without closing for lunch.

Prices start at €9, but discounted tickets are available for groups, students, the disabled, the unemployed, and for family passes, with all children under five getting in free.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

ONE of Spain's top scientists and key experts in viral contagion has warned the public to look out for a seemingly-harmless habit before walking into a shop or other closed building.

Dr José Luis Jiménez, professor in chemistry at Colorado University (USA), says anyone about to enter a premises, or even taxis or other forms of public transport, should keep their wits about them and watch what those inside do before they go in.

During an interview on the US-based Radio Cut, Dr Jiménez recalls how Covid-19 is transmitted via droplets expelled when breathing, talking, shouting, singing, coughing or sneezing, and which hang around in the air for up to 'an hour or two' – notwithstanding the possible, albeit much lower, risk of contagion through surface contact.

For this reason, ventilation is key, so the contaminated droplets can 'float out'.

“What's most dangerous, and gives rise to many cases of contagion, is when people are breathing the same air in the same room for a while,” Dr Jiménez explained on the radio.

He refers to shop premises, with or without air conditioning, as an example.

“Maybe you're in a shop or a taxi and you see the people inside putting on their mask or other face-covering because they've seen you come in,” he says.

“But the air inside is already full of viral particles and, if your own mask isn't on tight enough or isn't of very good quality, you'll breathe them in and could become infected.

“So if you're about to walk into an enclosed area and you see someone inside with their mask off or pulled down, don't enter – even if you see them putting it back on properly just before you do so.”

He actually goes one step further and tells the public to 'run for it'.

To understand how it works, Dr Jiménez used cigarette smoke as an example.

“Cigarette smoke does not just fall to the ground, and it doesn't come out as a projectile – it comes out and hangs around in the air; how long it stays there and in what concentration depends upon how well the room is ventilated. 

“You need to imagine that the Covid virus is an invisible smoke being exhaled by other people, and take action to ensure you inhale as little of it as possible.

“For this reason, ventilating closed spaces is crucial, but it's even more important to do as much as you can in the open air – that's even better than ventilating.

“Where you absolutely have to be in an enclosed space, as well as ventilating, spending less time there and with fewer people, make sure your mask is properly fitted.”

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

TRAFFIC authorities in Spain have used Formula 1 legend Fernando Alonso's bike crash in Switzerland to illustrate how to avoid accidents on two wheels, but 'without prejudice' as the actual cause of the racing driver's mishap.

Alonso suffered a dramatic collision involving a car turning into a supermarket near his home in Lugano on February 11, was rushed to hospital for emergency surgery on multiple face fractures, but left just days later in good health.

He has already taken part in pre-season test-drives for his new team, Alpine Rénault, and is expected to hit the F1 circuit again this weekend for the first date of the 2021 season, which will mark his long-awaited comeback after announcing his retirement from the top echelons of motor racing in 2019.

Although he has been pronounced fit to drive, the ace from Asturias will be competing all year with titanium plates in his face.

Now, Spain's General Directorate of Traffic (DGT), part of the highways, transport and infrastructure ministry, has 'borrowed' Alonso's crash to explain in the latest issue of its magazine how to stay safe on a bike and how to ensure cyclists around you do so if you are driving.

A diagram shows a blue car needing to turn left into a side road, and states that it should remain stopped in the central filter lane to wait for oncoming vehicles.

It warns those in the position of the blue car to 'observe vehicles and pedestrians' and 'calculate the distance and speed they are moving at', then to 'start the turn once there is no risk to either'.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

SPAIN will restart administration of the AstraZeneca or 'Oxford' vaccine from this coming Wednesday (March 24) based upon a European Medicines Agency (EMA) verdict that it is 'safe and effective' and that the 'benefits outweigh the risks'.

Meanwhile, scientists have been studying the thrombosis issue and working out the warning signs and immediate and effective treatments, and who is most likely to experience these side-effects, in a bid to prevent any future issues arising.

A few dozen cases of clotting disorders have been reported across Europe, including several deaths, in a target group which is typically young and with no pre-existing physical health conditions.

The three deaths in Spain include Pilar G., a 43-year-old high-school teacher from Marbella.

Researcher Andreas Greinacher of the Paul Ehlrich Institute in Germany attributes the thrombosis cases to a 'very rare immune response' where the medicine formula produces antibodies in the blood which activate the platelets, causing these to clot.

This explains, he says, why the cases of venous thrombosis – 13 in Germany out of 1.6 million people vaccinated – come accompanied with a low platelet count.

It mirrors a disorder known as 'thrombocytocaemia through heparin', where levels of platelets fall drastically within five to 14 days after being treated with heparin, an injectable anti-clotting agent.

This reaction is almost identical to that seen in a very small number of people – in Spain, all aged under 55 – who have had the AstraZeneca vaccine, and which is treated by injecting high doses of immunoglobulin intravenously.

Even though these findings do not rule out that the thrombosis cases may have had other causes, they give a clear indication as to the signs to look out for, what to test for, and how to treat people whose platelet count hints they may have become affected.

'Normal' side-effects of the vaccine, such as 'influenza-like symptoms' – muscle and joint pain – appearing one or two days after being immunised 'should not cause undue concern', the research report states.

Those for which recipients of the vaccine should seek immediate medical attention include dizziness or feeling faint, headaches, blurred or otherwise altered vision, trouble breathing, or pain in arms or legs that last three or more days.

German health authorities have now updated their set procedures so as to respond effectively to any possible cases. 

Also, in the UK, where the vaccine was created – and where it is, in fact, being administered to the over-65s – people who have received it are urged to seek medical attention straight away if they notice unexplained bruising or suffer headaches.

In Spain, the AstraZeneca jab has only been given to the under-55s and, at the time of its cessation, was being administered to teachers in State and private schools and colleges, health and care workers not on the front line – such as physiotherapists – home carers including family who do so as non-professionals, and 'essential' workers such as police, Armed Forces and firefighters.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

AN 'EXAMPLE' of anti-Covid management that has made it to the cover of The New York Times, but not through confining its inhabitants or any other restrictions – a municipality in Catalunya has suddenly leapt onto the global media stage.

But how did Gósol do it?

And how did this Lleida-province village manage to save itself from extinction at the same time?

By asking people to go and live there.

'Empty Spain'

If you've explored the country beyond its high-profile resort areas, you'll know Spain isn't just coast, swimming pools, palm trees and whitewashed villas. It's not even just about huge, attractive cities with classical architecture, pastel-coloured mansions and cast-iron balconies, museums, art galleries, restaurants and nightlife. 

Of course, it has all that, too, but massive chunks of Spain are completely rural – in fact, it's the second-most mountainous country in Europe after Switzerland, which effectively makes it the most hilly nation in the EU. It's also very green, in parts, with regions compared favourably to Ireland and Scotland, and its scenery – vastly different from province to province and even within the same provinces – is dramatic, superlative, overpoweringly-beautiful; you'll never get bored with it however long you spend gazing at it from your window.

But the downside of all this rural Eden is a crippling population decline. Not in Spain as a country – only in its inland countryside parts, where villages can be over 20 kilometres apart, the nearest decent-sized town with a decent-sized supermarket over an hour's drive away, and commuting impossible unless you want to spend most of your wages on fuel and more of your time driving to and from than actually at the office.

'Empty Spain', therefore, suffers from being impractical for the working age, who are also the childbearing age, meaning there's little call for schools, and low demand for internet and phone connections; indeed, those few left behind, mostly retired, are not enough of a customer base to make it worthwhile for operators to set up networks.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

SPAIN has become the sixth country on earth to legalise the right to euthanasia for patients in extreme, constant and incurable pain with no possible relief, subject to a series of strict criteria aimed at preventing abuse, coercion or malpractice.

It was passed in Parliament today (Thursday) with 202 votes in favour, 141 against – the whole of the right-wing PP party and far-right Vox – and two MPs abstaining.

After the notice is published in the State Official Bulletin (BOE), the law will come into effect at three calendar months of the date of its printing.

Other than Spain, only Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Belgium, Canada and New Zealand allow a person to choose to die if their condition 'meets the requisites'.

The process involves several stages and at least two weeks, as well as express consent on the part of the patient, in order to prevent rash decisions and ensure that it is the only available alternative to intolerable pain and incapacity.

Patients must be either Spanish citizens, or legally resident in Spain for at least the past 12 months – a move designed to avoid 'euthanasia tourism' which could lead to fraught international relations or patients relying on doctors not knowing enough about their history to give them clearance, when an ending by choice is not the only possible relief.

The patient must have a clear diagnosis of an 'incurable and serious illness' which is 'incapacitating and chronic', or permanent, which causes 'intolerable suffering' with no possibility of relief from said suffering.

This indicates that even if an illness is incurable, terminal or both, where the pain and extreme discomfort can be controlled medically, the patient will not be granted permission. 

Patients are required to have 'full written information about their medical process and condition' and the 'different alternatives and possibilities', including palliative care options.

Firstly, the patient will have to expressly request the process on two occasions, 15 days apart, after which, within a maximum of 48 hours, his or her doctor will have to decide whether the patient meets the requisites and provide him or her, verbally and in writing, complete information about the 'diagnosis, possible treatments or therapies and expected results therefrom, and palliative care options'.

After this conversation, the patient will be asked again, 24 hours later, whether he or she still wants to go ahead with the request.

Where the answer is in the affirmative, a second doctor, independent of the first medic, will also be required to examine the case and ensure the patient satisfies the legal requirements, with a deadline for this procedure of 10 days.

If the second doctor also gives his or her agreement, the case will be notified to the Evaluation and Control Commission, which will nominate two independent persons to prepare reports that will serve as a guide to it to decide, finally, whether the conditions in place allow the patient's wish to be honoured.

None of this means the patient needs 'permission from a doctor', but those medical professionals called upon to intervene in the process have a duty to evaluate whether the person fulfils the criteria established by the law, including whether he or she does, in fact, suffer from a serious, incurable, permanent and incapacitating illness which means the conditions of the patient's life are intolerable.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

IF YOU'RE brave enough and you live in the Huesca-province town of Fiscal, you're just in time for a free 'go' on the brand-new zip-line that opened this week, as Thursday, March 18 is the final day for residents to try it out without charge.

But if you're brave enough and don't live in Fiscal, you can still go for a 'slide' from this coming weekend at a cost of between €33 and €38.

And for those who are among the majority – too scared to even entertain the idea – it's still fun to watch, given that it's the longest, fastest and highest-up in Spain, reaching speeds not far off the current world record.

This is held by a zip-line in Italy, where daredevils have managed to get to 172 kilometres per hour (just under 107mph), but the newly-unveiled structure in the Ordesa y Monte Perdido National Park in the Pyrénées of Aragón travels at between 130 and 160 kilometres per hour (81 to 99.4mph) as a matter of course. 

Specialists are set to try it out wearing a parachute to see if they can get into the Guinness Book of Records by sliding down it at more than the hitherto highest-reached speed of 172 kilometres per hour.

Costing €800,000 – but expected to claw this back pretty quickly once national and international tourism is up and running again – the zip-line in Fiscal has a 20% gradient, a 400-metre slope and runs for 2,036 metres (1.27 miles).

The existing 'extreme' zip-line in the province of Huesca – in Hoz de Jaca in the Tena Valley – which is 950 metres long, or just under a kilometre, with a 115-metre slope and directly above the Búbal reservoir to make it look even more scary, was previously the biggest, highest and steepest in Europe until the Fiscal one launched on Tuesday, and remains the longest and highest 'adapted' dual zip-line.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

SUPERMARKET chain Mercadona has detailed its game-plan for cutting plastic waste in a press release – which includes using 100% recycled material for its 'squeeze-your-own' orange juice bottles.

The company's 'Strategy 6.25' includes cutting plastic use by 25% by the year 2025, using only packaging, wrapping and containers which can be recycled, and recycling all its own plastic waste.

Although the orange-juice counter – where nationally-produced, and usually very locally-grown, oranges are stuffed into a giant press for customers to fill up themselves – has long been extremely popular, some consumers had expressed their concerns about the high amount of disposable plastic it involves.

Three sizes of bottle – one litre, currently €2.79; half a litre, €1.79 at present, and 250ml, retailing at the moment at 99 cents – are taken from the rack by the customer and filled, but even though washing and reusing them does not cause any problems with the bar code at the till, this is not generally permitted and was not recommended even before the pandemic.

Suggestions of a scheme whereby customers return their used bottles and get a small discount on their juice have not been taken up, but these were redesigned a few months ago and are now 100% recycled plastic, meaning the issue of their disposable nature and potential pollution is only a problem if users put them in the landfill bin rather than the yellow recycling bank.

By making its bottles solely from recycled plastic rather than from newly-manufactured material, Mercadona will prevent the creation of 700 tonnes of 'new' plastic every year, thus contributing to the circular economy.

In addition to their recycled bottles, Mercadona has replaced its lightweight 'weigh-your-own' fruit and vegetable bags – instead of traditional plastic, they are now made from plant fibre, meaning they are biodegradable.

These can be disposed of in the 'brown bins', the latest addition to Spain's recycling bank collection, used for organic waste which is then turned into biomass for fuel or compost for the agricultural industry.

As yet, not every town in Spain has a 'brown bin', but at least, if the plant-fibre bags are disposed of in landfill, they will break down very quickly rather than taking centuries to do so as plastic does.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

SPAIN has halted its roll-out of the AstraZeneca or 'Oxford' vaccine for at least 15 days pending further investigation after the country's first case of blood clots recorded in a person to whom it had been administered.

Health authorities in national government stress they do not believe there is cause for alarm, since only one case of thrombosis out of 939,534 people given the AstraZeneca vaccine has been registered, but has temporarily withdrawn it pending a European Medicines Agency (EMA) inquiry.

Denmark was the first country to stop administering the 'Oxford' vaccine, followed swiftly by Norway and, since then, by the Republic of Ireland, Italy, Iceland, Bulgaria, Germany France, and The Netherlands.

Some countries have opted just to shelve doses of the batch associated with thrombosis cases, including Luxembourg, Romania, Austria, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia.

The UK, where the vaccine was developed, has not done so.

At first, although Spain had decided not to give the AstraZeneca jab to anyone of 55 years old or over due to 'insufficient data' and 'inconclusive results' about its safety and effectiveness above this age – purely because not enough volunteers in this category were able to participate in clinical trials, not because of any adverse reactions or reduced immunity detected in these – its health authority opted not to halt the roll-out.

Health minister Carolina Darias did not consider the risk to be worth stopping the crucial process of immunising the population as quickly as possible so life could return to normal – only 10 cases of blood clots in 17 million doses administered had been detected.

But when Spain reported case number 11 – albeit literally one in a million – Sra Darias decided to delay further inoculation with the AstraZeneca drug 'temporarily' until the EMA had analysed the situation.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

NATIONAL leader for Unidas Podemos Pablo Iglesias has stepped down as deputy president of Spain and handed over his seat in Parliament in order to run for regional elections in Madrid.

Spanish president Pedro Sánchez has agreed to Iglesias' nomination of his UP colleague and current minister for work and pensions, Yolanda Díaz, to replace him as one of the four right-hand persons – now all women – in Sánchez's running of the country, along with economy and digital transformation minister Nadia Calviño; minister for the environment, energy transition and demographic challenge, Teresa Ribera, and presidential relations minister Carmen Calvo.

The latter three are, like Sánchez, on the centre-left socialists (PSOE), with Carmen Calvo as first deputy, Nadia Calviño third and Teresa Ribera fourth.

Iglesias, from the left-wing coalition of Podemos and United Left (Izquierda Unida), which initially ran for national elections as Unidos Podemos and then rebranded in the feminine as Unidas Podemos, has been minister for social rights and Agenda 2030 as well as second deputy president – the first of which rôles, and his seat in Parliament, now going to UP's Ione Belarra.

A no-confidence vote in the Region of Murcia leading to a change in regional government has led Madrid's regional president Isabel Díaz Ayuso, of the right-wing PP, to take the gamble of calling an early election in the hope of reinforcing her mandate.

In doing so, she also hopes to strengthen the position of the PP nationwide. 

Now, Iglesias has taken the even bigger gamble of leaving his job as Spain's third-in-command, which would have been secure until at least November 2023 unless the government itself called a snap election ahead of time, to try for presidency of the region which is home to the country capital – and which could even lead to his getting no seat at all. 

If, in the Greater Madrid region, United Left and the Podemos breakaway group Más Madrid decide to band together to run for elections, Iglesias says he is prepared to be second on the list.

For United Left, he will be leading the group, and Mónica García is campaigning as leader of Más Madrid, but should the two combine, Iglesias would not have an issue with Sra García's being head candidate, or with an in-house election among both parties and their subscribers to decide.

Iglesias says he believes he would be 'more use' as president of the Greater Madrid region than as second deputy president of the national government, and that his aim is to 'strengthen' the left in order to depose the PP, with his overriding objective is to 'halt the far right'. 

The danger, he says, is of the PP's becoming an ally of extreme-right Vox – already part of the PP government in the region of Andalucía – either with or at the expense of centre-right Ciudadanos.

Ciudadanos initially branded itself as 'liberal' and its MEPs are on the liberal ALDE party in European Parliament, but in Spain's last two general elections, was firmly on the side of the PP, even at the risk the latter would align with Vox.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

A PAINTING by Catalunya-born artist Joan Miró will be up for auction at Christie's in London later this month with a price tag starting at €10.5 million.

Miró, who was nearly 91 – and still creating his provocative, eye-catching sculptures – when he died on Christmas Day in 1983 spent long years living in Paris from the 1920s, during which his surrealist, highly-coloured works took on a more 'dreamlike' feel.

One of these is the 1925 piece, Peinture – literally, 'Painting' (a title Miró gave several of his works) – which has been valued at between £9 and £14m (€10.5 to €16.4m).

In it, Miró started out with a 'muddy' background and filled it with a multitude of shapes and enigmatic symbols, mostly in black but with splashes of red and yellow and a smattering of blue, which 'came into his head automatically' and 'without any radical intervening thoughts', according to art historians at Christie's.

Peinture forms part of a lot of five Miró works – although they will be auctioned separately – some of them valued at more than €3.5m.

One of the most expensive of these is Goutte d'Eau sur la Neige Rose ('Drop of Water on Pink Snow'), from 1968 and, in fact, highly characteristic of Miró's works in the 1960s, when his paintings were heavily influenced by poetry and Japanese art.

The other three due to go under hammer on the same day – March 23 – are Tête ('Head'), from 1974; Projet d'Illustration d'un Livre (Handmade Proverbs) ('Book Illustration Project'), from 1970, and Le Piège ('The Trap'), from 1924.

Miró joins his compatriot Salvador Dalí at Christie's on March 23, its 20th edition of a session specialising in surrealist art, which will also feature other huge names in the movement including René Magritte, Max Ernst and Francis Picabia. 

According to expert Olivier Camu at Christie's, three of the works up for bid – by Miró, Ernst and Magaritte – are of 'museum quality' and 'not just new on the market, but were each very significant for the artists personally'.

You didn't know it, but you pass Miró's – and Dalí's – most famous works every day

Few mere mortals would have the cash available to place a realistic bid on any of the Miró pictures seeking new owners at Christie's, and it could be that even if you live or spend a lot of time in Spain, you are not familiar with his work unless you have visited the Joan Miró Foundation in Barcelona, one of the country's second-largest city's major tourism attractions.

But without realising it, you'll have seen one of his most famous works on at least a handful of occasions, and you probably pass another of his best-known pieces every day on your local high street.

And both of these are worth multiple times the asking prices for even the 1925 Peinture, probably even billions.

There's also a world-renowned Dalí work which is worth billions, but which you will have passed daily in your nearest corner shop, supermarket or petrol station. 

So, how can you get your hands on the most iconic works of some of the biggest artists in Spain's history without spending enough to bankrupt Inditex?

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

REMAINS of a man found in a cave in the northern region of Navarra are the oldest ever discovered in Spain completely intact, according to the multi-national team of archaeologists and anthropologists working on the site, who include experts from the universities of Cambridge and York (UK).

Discovered in the Errotalde I cave, within the boundaries of the town of Erro in the Aintzioa-Loizu district, the skeleton is complete, anatomically-connected, and is of a young adult male aged approximately 17 to 21 years old.

Almost perfectly preserved, the skeleton has a hole in the skull consistent with impact by a projectile object, but more intensive study is needed to ascertain whether this was the cause of death.

His body had been lain face-down, stretched out and with his arms across his stomach, a position which, combined with the exceptional level of conservation, has led researchers to believe he had been wrapped in a blanket or primitive 'body-bag' before being covered with a reddish sediment, probably ochre.

And since his burial, the man's remains have never been touched – until now.

The 'Loizu Man' ('Hombre de Loizu'), as he has been dubbed by investigators, is thought to have lived and died in around 9,700 BC, making him over 11,700 years old.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

A BEER factory in Andalucía has become the first in Spain, and the biggest in Europe, to become completely emissions-free.

Heineken España, in Jaén, has been able to save 2,500 tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) output per year by using entirely 'green' energy.

Solar panels line the roofs, and heat energy is made from biomass created from plant waste from the olive industry, the mainstay of the province's agricultural economy.

This also means olive-growers earn money from every glass of beer drunk across the country that was manufactured in the inland province to the north of Andalucía, and as this part of the mainland is typically the hottest in spring and summer and enjoys mild winters, sun is abundant and a reliable, regular source of free electricity.

Heineken España chairman Guillaume Duverdier gave a press conference this week along with minister for industry, tourism and trade, Reyes Maroto, explaining how the company managed to power its enormous plant without resorting to fossil fuel or producing harmful emissions.

Although Spain, in line with the rest of the European Union, has set itself the target of slashing CO2 emissions by 50% by the year 2025, and Heineken España had given itself the same deadline to cut its greenhouse gas output by 100%, it has managed to do so four years earlier than planned.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

CASHPOINT machines are gradually being installed in 109 branches of Spain's post office, Correos, and plans are afoot to extend the service to small villages which do not have banks.

At present, the ATMs are being set up in major cities, with eight in Madrid, two in Barcelona and one in Valencia, but the remaining 98 will be in place by the end of the year, Correos has announced.

The State-run company is researching which rural villages in Spain have no bank branch of their own, but which do have a post office, with a view to putting in a cashpoint in these so their residents do not have to travel to draw money out or carry out other transactions, such as paying bills via the machine by scanning the barcode.

All the ATMs belong to the corporation Euro Automatic Cash, a Spanish firm specialising in 'floating' cashpoints with support from Banco Santander and Crédit Mutuel.

The deal between Correos and Banco Santander allows customers of the latter to withdraw money over the counter or pay cash into their account at the post office, at 2,393 physical branches and 2,282 Correos pick-up and drop-off points in rural areas.

CorreosCash, the new scheme, also enables customers with Banco Santander to request money delivered to them from their account by postal distribution workers.

This service is available to banking clients who have the Santander App on their phones, but for the over-the-counter withdrawal and paying in at the post office, and any other services that may be offered jointly between the two over time, the customer only needs their Santander bank card and their ID, with a photograph.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

INTERNATIONAL tourism could start up again in Spain as early as the spring if the country meets its target of having 40% of the population vaccinated by then.

Minister for industry, trade and tourism, Reyes Maroto, spoke of 'optimistic perspectives' for the holiday sector ahead of summer when she was interviewed on Canal Sur Radio today (Tuesday).

She warned that the Easter holidays would have to be handled 'with caution', and recalled that all regions on the mainland will be required to shut their borders during the long weekend at the beginning of April.

Madrid is against the move, with city mayoress Isabel Díaz Ayuso insisting that a person can 'just as easily' pass on the virus to someone 'whether they are from Paris or Parla', the latter being a commuter town within the Greater Madrid region, but the orders have come from central government and she may not have a choice. 

Talks are under way about whether the Canary Islands and Balearic Islands should be excluded from the regional border-closure requirement, given that their unique geographical situation means they are already more protected from cases imported from elsewhere in the country. 

But work is under way already to 'guarantee safe mobility' as soon as the conditions are right to allow it, including a digital 'vaccine certificate' and the continuing immunisation roll-out.

Carolina Darias, the new health minister – after her predecessor Salvador Illa left to run for regional elections in Catalunya – has announced that another 4.8 million Pfizer vaccine doses are set to arrive in Spain in April, which will mean 2.4 million people, or 5% of the population, can be inoculated.

And 'in a matter of days', in Reyes Maroto's words, the Johnson&Johnson vaccine is expected to be given the nod by the European Medicines Agency (EMA), which will change the game plan entirely.

“This vaccine is going to crank things up a gear, because it only needs one dose rather than two,” Sra Maroto says.

She explained in her Canal Sur Radio interview that the national government's plan, in line with the rest of the European Union, is for around 30% to 40% of Spain's population to have been given their full quota of vaccines by spring, and that 70% of the national headcount would have been immunised by the end of the summer.

“Once we've reached the forecast spring vaccine percentage, we'll be in the right situation to be able to reopen our holiday destinations, in line with what we're working on with the EU,” Sra Maroto reveals.

She was asked by the radio presenter what would happen with the 2021 Imserso holidays – the State-subsidised out-of-season staycations for Spain's pensioners – as these were all cancelled in 2020, but would normally start being advertised in September for tours to start in October.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

TWO more major motorways in Spain are about to become toll-free once their franchises end in August, meaning a potential annual saving for motorists of half a billion euros a year.

Transport and infrastructure minister José Luis Ábalos says 'over 13 million vehicles' using the 474 kilometres of trunk road annually will be able to do so for free after the summer.

Removing the tolls will 'pave the way for a new, much fairer, more equitable and equal highways network', for 'users and regions alike', given that those regions whose main motorways carry a charge to drivers are at a disadvantage – from day-trippers and tourists having to factor in toll fees to their getaway costs and, perhaps, opting to go elsewhere, though to goods and shipping services potentially being more expensive.

The motorways due to become free of charge at the point of use from the end of August are the AP-7 between Tarragona, Catalunya's southernmost province, and La Jonquera (Girona province) on the French border, and the AP-2 between Zaragoza, Aragón and El Vendrell (Tarragona province).

Ábalos was asked by Senator Jordi Martí, of the Catalunya Left Republicans (ERC), how he planned to finance the cost of maintenance, repairs and upgrades on highways where toll franchises were no longer being renewed.

The minister said his department was carrying out research into 'traffic distribution' and the different needs of each motorway on the main State highways network, and drawing up contract terms to put out to bid for their maintenance, as well as working on setting up an operations centre for Catalunya's trunk roads.

Over the past three years, motorways have been gradually 'shedding' their toll fees, and by August, hardly any roads in Spain will attract a charge other than a small number of outer-city interchanges, where prices tend to be in cents rather than euros.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

BARS and restaurants in the Málaga-province town of Antequera will get a chance to repair some of the damage caused by shutdowns ordered in an attempt to contain the pandemic – and residents and visitors will have the chance to try out local cuisine in miniature.

For the eighth year running, the Ruta Gastroturística ('culinary tourism route'), or tapas-crawl, will see 40 cafés and eateries offering one of their star dishes in snack format combined with a half-pint of Cruzcampo lager for the set reduced price of €2.50, and customers get a stamp in their 'tapas passport' for each.

Once customers have at least five stamps from four different premises, they can deposit their 'tapasport' in a slot-box in the tourist information office on the C/ Encarnación and the first 300 to do so will get a free commemorative Ruta Gastroturística de Antequera mask-carrier.

The 'tapasport' carries an individual identity number, and the stamped part, which is detachable, also bears this code, so winners can be traced without their personal details being on the paper inside the slot-box.

As well as mask-bags for the first 300, all 'passports' dropped into the box will be placed into a prize draw and six of them will win a €50 voucher to spend in the bars and restaurants which win the most public votes for their participating tapas.

Other prizes include a hot-air balloon ride for two, a spa and massage session for two in the Convento La Magdalena Hotel, and a guided tour of El Torcal for two.

Identity numbers will be published on April 7 in the tourist information office and on the town hall website, and their holders should go to the tourist office in person before April 21 with the other part of their 'tapasport' to prove the number belongs to them.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

SPAIN is in the top 10 worldwide for countries with the greatest level of equality between men and women, according to the most recent World Economic Forum report.

Out of 153 nations studied, Spain comes eighth – and many other western European nations, including the UK, do not even make it into the top 10.

In fact, Spain even beats Germany, whose national leader – Chancellor Angela Merkel – is female, fronting a Parliament where 40% of its members are women; the central European nation comes 10th.

The most recent figures available are from early 2020, and show that on a global level, it will take 257 years at the current rate before women have the same financial opportunities as men, and shows that even in European Union countries, where progress is the fastest in this area, the gender pay gap remains at about 21.5%.

Not all the 'most equal' countries are in Europe, though, says the World Economic Forum report – one of the best on earth, coming 9th, is Rwanda, even after its having fallen several places in the past year. 

Over 50% of Rwanda's national Parliament is made up of women, although the country still suffers from a significant gender pay gap with females' salaries being considerably lower than those of males.

Another non-European country in the top 10 which may come as a surprise is Nicaragua, one of the poorest nations in the Americas – coming 5th overall, Nicaragua has worked hard to achieve parity in education at all levels, and boasts a high percentage of women in positions of power and responsibility.

Part of this is possible because, like many Central American nations, many of the men have emigrated to wealthier countries, such as the USA, to work, meaning women are more numerous and effectively 'run the show' in the males' absence.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

A YOUNG man working as a Glovo delivery driver and studying under a lamp-post sitting on the pavement has attracted the attention of MotoGP whizz-kid Marc Márquez.

Carlos Alegre, 24, was snapped crouched on the ground in the dark with his notebook on his knees and his Glovo moped parked next to him, snatching minutes to do his homework in between delivery calls.

It turned out the youth, from Madrid, aspires to be a competition mechanic and is working hard on the theory side, but does shifts as a delivery rider in Málaga to pay the bills whilst on his course, which is based in the Costa del Sol city.

The picture was taken by Local Police officer Pedro G. Díaz, who uploaded it onto the Guardia Civil's Facebook page.

After his photo went viral, Carlos received a flood of job offers as a trainee mechanic – and may have gained a step into the world of top-flight motorcycling. 

Márquez, who became the youngest rookie in history to win a world championship at MotoGP level in 2013, aged just 20, went on to net the title every year until 2019 inclusive, except for 2015 – and may have been in with a chance of equalling his childhood hero and arch rival Valentino Rossi, with seven world championships, if he had not missed practically the whole of the 2020 season due to injury. 

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

SPAIN'S answer to the Oscars, gracing the red carpet at the Goya Awards is every performer's, writer's or director's ultimate goal this side of the pond. Although the weirdest cinema success experience would have to be that of winning a coveted statuette and having to watch your name read out on telly.

That's exactly what happened last night (Saturday, March 6). After all, the 2020 Goyas took place barely a week and a half before the first lockdown, when health bosses in Spain were urging the public not to panic unduly and ruling out mass contagion.

Hindsight is a wonderful thing, but at least the pandemic did not stop the ceremony altogether – it simply meant that only the presenters, those actually giving out the prizes, and those singing on stage would be at the usual venue in Madrid, and everyone else, even the winners, joined in via Zoom.

In a bid to make it an extra-special evening rather than the let-down it was threatening to be, the organisers went all out with the cast list – starting with one of the two presenters being none other than last year's Best Actor winner Antonio Banderas, who was joined at the mic by María Casado; continuing with prizes being given out by last year's Best Director, Best Original Script and Best Film winner, silver-screen household name Pedro Almodóvar, and by the 2020 nominee for Best Lead Actress Penélope Cruz; and finishing with personal hellos and waves from half of Hollywood to the hopefuls and their friends and family watching with them.

'Half of Hollywood' is only a slight exaggeration: Zoom greetings filling this year's ceremony came from Helen Mirren, Emma Thompson, Charlize Theron, Dustin Hoffman, Robert de Niro, Al Pacino, Salma Hayek, Sylvester Stallone, Benicio del Toro, Isabelle Huppert, Monica Bellucci, Ricardo Darín and Laura Dern.

And along with Almodóvar and the most world-famous of his veteran players, other prizegivers were some of Spain's most famous screen stars: Paz Vega, Belén Cuesta, Najwa Nimri, Hiba Abouk, Maggie Civantos, Natalia Verbeke, Leonardo Sbaraglia, and The Others director Alejandro Amenábar, to name just the best-known 50% of them.

Pop sensation Aitana provided some of the music, and so did Princess of Asturias Award-winning Hollywood soundtrack composer Ennio Morricone, albeit posthumously in his case.

Also posthumously, TV actor Quique San Francisco was present in spirit, with tributes given to him following his recent death from pneumonia at the age of 65.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

A 'HOME-MADE' Covid vaccine that works along the same lines as the Pfizer and Moderna inoculations is a step closer to completion and should be ready for use by next year. 

Dr Felipe García, researcher at Barcelona's IDIBAPS-Hospital Clínic, leads the team, which is split across various medical centres and laboratories in the city and also in Madrid, Santiago de Compostela (Galicia) and the Belgian capital, Brussels. 

Once on the market, it will be the first Spanish-made RNA-messenger vaccine against Covid-19.

The RNA-messenger method is used in the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, which are currently being administered across Europe – as opposed to the virus vector method used in the AstraZeneca, or 'Oxford' vaccine.

But Spain's version 'has some subtle differences', says Dr García – being slightly farther behind the others already in use, the team has been able to take advantage of research previously carried out and build on it with their own.

“We've designed it in a different way – the Pfizer and Moderna developers took the whole 'S' protein, whilst we just took certain sections of it; this improves immune response, as it's based upon a computer model,” Dr García explains.

“In terms of its effectiveness, it should be about the same, or perhaps even last longer, but it's early days to be able to tell as yet.

“We're also looking into ways that it could be stored without needing refrigeration at exceptionally low temperatures, as is the case with the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines.”

Development and research started in May 2020, and 'some positive results' are now filtering through, but the team is waiting to be able to finish its testing on animals so it can evaluate findings from this phase and then start clinical trials, on humans. 

Clinical trials are hoped to take place over the course of 2021, meaning distribution of the final vaccine is unlikely until 2022.

“That's what we hope, but in the field of vaccines and with the tools and resources we have at our disposal, it's hard to predict how things are going to go,” admits Dr García.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

AN EXHIBITION of Pablo Picasso's works would normally lead visitors to expect a hall filled with paintings similar to Guernika, but the forthcoming display at the artist's eponymous Barcelona museum features the results of one of his other many creative talents: Jewellery.

In practice, the Málaga-born surrealist painter had many other artistic hats – sculpture, engraving, ceramic pottery, household decoration and even poetry – but his skills as a jewellery-maker are largely unknown.

Neither are his necklaces and other hand-crafted pieces as outlandish as his most famous paintings – they are largely exquisite and very elegant.

They include necklaces made from shells from Juan les Pins beach in 1937 for Dora Maar, stamped gold and silver from the 1960s, through to ceramic beads and pendants crafted in the Madoura workshop.

In fact, Dora Maar's shell necklace is thought to be the precursor of this type of costume jewellery, which became popular in subsequent decades and is still worn today.

Given that he made jewellery items for people in his closest circle, this form of craft encompasses some of Picasso's most personal artistic expression – especially as he did not start to create them specifically for sale until the 1960s, more than 20 years after he started making them.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

A BIT of freedom for residents and respite for bar-owners and restaurateurs is on its way in the southern region of Andalucía – as from tomorrow (Thursday) a relaxing of restrictions has been announced.

Gatherings of up to six people will now be permitted, in private homes or on bar terraces – an increase on the previous limit of four – even where they are from different households and not in 'support bubbles'.

Inside cafés and eateries, groups of a maximum of four are allowed.

Although the curfew remains at the usual times, of between 22.00 and 06.00, shops, bars and restaurants are now permitted to stay open until 21.30, in line with popular request.

These measures only apply in towns on no more than risk level 2, with lower incidences of Covid contagion, but the regional minister for health and the family, Jesús Aguirre, says this encompasses a 'very large percentage' of Andalucía's territory.

Towns with their borders shut and only essential trade in operation are, broadly, those with more than 500 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, or at least 0.5% of their population.

At the moment, only 28 municipalities in the region fall into this category, compared with 51 as at the beginning of this week – at least a quarter of those above the 0.5% rate being in the province of Sevilla.

Here, the incidence has risen above 500 cases in every 100,000 this week in Alanís, El Garrobo, Lora del Río, Tocina, Los Molares, and Montellano, although only the town of El Castillo de las Guardas has more than 1,000 cases per 100,000 residents, or above 1% of the population.

The 'case ratio' does not apply, for restriction purposes, to villages with 1,500 or fewer inhabitants, as the measures could turn out to be disproportionate – as an example, in a municipality with 600 residents, it would only take three people to test positive for the 500-per-100,000 limit to be reached.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

RAIL tickets on Spain's high-speed network costing just €7 and €19 one way are up for grabs from now until Monday (March 8) to celebrate the 80th anniversary of the transport system.

The National Network of Spanish Railways (Red Nacional de Ferrocarriles Españoles), or RENFE, launched in 1941, two years after the end of the Civil War, although its express service is rather more recent.

With the AVE (Spanish High-Speed) network, passengers can reach their destination in as little as a quarter of the time it would take to drive – but this is one of the more expensive services.

For those who want to get from A to B as quickly and cheaply as they can and are not bothered about creature comforts, RENFE has recently launched its no-frills version, the AVLO – although at present, as it is still in its infancy, the only available connection is between Madrid and Barcelona, in either direction.

CASH pouring into Spain over the next year will 'treble its financial capacity', according to European Commissioner for Cohesion and Reforms, Elisa Ferreira.

Spain is likely to be one of the first to receive a payout from the European Recovery Fund, set up to help member States rebuild and improve on their economies after these took a battering from the Covid-19 pandemic.

Of the total pot of €750 billion, Spain is eligible for up to €140bn – of which half will be direct, non-refundable grants, and the other half can be requested in no-strings loans.

Although there will be no imposed austerity measures such as tax hikes or high-street restructures like those required when Spain applied for a €100 million bank bailout from the EU in 2012 – particularly as all 27 countries are, this time, automatically entitled to a cut – each nation is required to send in a detailed plan of what it will do with the cash, and which must be signed off before it is paid out.

Portugal, currently the president country of the EU, is aiming for the funds to be released as early as this summer.

Sra Ferreira says: “It's a tsunami of money, and it's a tsunami of responsibility.

“Spain has all the right characteristics to be able to get the best possible out of this historic opportunity.”

This is likely to be because of the nation's heavy dependence upon tourism and the catering industry for its income – both together, in a normal year, these would make up around 30 cents in every euro of Spain's GDP – and the fact that a third of its workforce are self-employed and around 75% of companies are small and medium-sized, mainly family-run, businesses.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

OVER a third of residents in the Málaga-province town of Fuengirola are from abroad – the highest proportion of foreigners in any municipality on the Costa del Sol, according to the National Institute of Statistics (INE).

Of the 82,800 people who live year-round or most of the year in Fuengirola, a total of 30,621, or 37.44%, are non-Spanish.

At least 142 different nationalities live together harmoniously, blending together and mixing with the local community.

The largest foreigner group is British, followed by residents from Finland, Morocco, Sweden and Italy.

“We're a cosmopolitan town, a modern municipality, pleasant and comfortable to live in,” says mayoress Ana Mula.

“And then there's our wonderful scenery, climate and extensive network of services.”

In recognition of Fuengirola's multi-cultural community, the town hall has a dedicated foreign residents' department and an English-language version of its website, a library with books in several languages, and in a 'non-Covid year', hosts an annual International Population Fair where everyone living in the town can discover more about the cuisine, arts and cultures of their neighbours.

“We aim to make it as easy as possible for all our residents to access our services and facilities, get to know the town, familiarise themselves with our public administration, and integrate into our daily lives as much as they can,” Sra Mula says.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

NEW 'vaccine groups' have been published by Spain's health ministry, giving the public a greater idea of when it might be their turn – and which of the current three types they will receive.

The latter may be subject to change if additional brands of the Covid vaccine appear on the market – the Johnson & Johnson jab, which, it is claimed, provides immunisation in one dose, is likely to be the next to hit the shelves, whilst the Pfizer, Moderna and AstraZeneca versions are now in use.

Health authorities in Spain still consider age to be the key risk factor, given that the immune system begins to weaken over the course of adult life – starting as young as the late 30s.

Immunity is thought to take a 'dive' in stages, with the first major reduction being between the end of the 30s and beginning of the 40s, and the second being at approximately 62 to 64 in men and 66 to 71 in women.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

PRODUCTION of a completely virus-proof fabric has started in Spain and the company behind it aims to create enough to manufacture 1.5 billion masks per year.

'Meltblown' is the only material suitable for making a top layer with nearly 100% filtration ability for FFP2 and FFP3 masks, the type worn by the health service.

Made up of nanofibres, 'Meltblown' has a bacterial filtration efficiency (BFE) and particle filtration efficiency (PFE) of over 99% for particles of less than 0.3 micrometres in size.

Branded nationally as 'Neolite', the company Nonwovens Ibérica says it will mean Spain's high-performance anti-Covid mask production becomes entirely self-sufficient – the complete supply chain will be home-grown.

Nonwoven Ibérica is the only firm in Spain and one of the few in Europe equipped with a leading German-made Reifenhäuser Reicofil 3.2-metre production machine (shown in the above picture, taken by Nonwoven), among the most efficient on earth, and which has been installed over the last four months ready for mass production of the 'Meltblown' fabric.

Although available to the general public, FFP2 and FFP3 masks are not considered 'necessary' by the World Health Organisation (WHO) for anyone other than healthcare workers or people constantly exposed to a high viral load – but for these wearers, their effectiveness level can literally mean life or death, protecting themselves and also those they come into contact with.

“Spain's industrial network needs to respond to the evident needs the pandemic has left us with,” says Alberto Miralles, co-director of Nonwoven Ibérica and head of the Neolite Division.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

IT'S NEARLY 45 years since the first man-made artefact landed successfully on Mars – and actually worked – and now, they've done it again with the Perseverance.

Back in July 1976 when the Viking 1 touched down on on the red planet, scientists, technicians and a long list of support staff at Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Texas had a hard time containing their euphoria, and the feeling was very similar at the same agency following its landing 10 days ago on the same soil.

“This is beyond science fiction,” says Dr Jordi Pla-García of Spain's National Research Council (CSIC).

Member of the Perseverance team and a specialist in planetary sciences at the National Astrobiology Centre (INTA-CSIC), Jordi's job in the run-up to February 18 was that of studying Mars' atmosphere in a bid to cut the movement risk at the moment the rover landed.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

ELECTRICITY bills have plummeted in Spain – just in time for a forecast drop in temperatures across the country after the weekend.

Consumer organisation OCU says households have paid around 21.3% less for their energy in February than they did in January – a typical home with an annual consumption of 3.5 kilowatts per hour (kWh) would have seen their monthly costs drop from an average of €69.88 to €55.13.

And it's not a blip, or a temporary respite, it seems: According to the OCU, the price reduction is because the actual cost of fuel has 'returned to normal' after a spike at the beginning of the year when the mercury dropped to some of the lowest levels on record nationwide.

February's energy prices have fluctuated considerably, rising on weekdays and dropping dramatically at weekends, but averaging at around €29 per megawatt per hour (mWh) – about 50% less than those of January, and somewhat lower than in February 2020.

The reduction, however, only applies to homes on the so-called 'regulated tariff', or 'voluntary small consumers' price' (PVPC), which approximately four in 10 households are signed up to.

These are customers whose supply comes direct from electricity board Iberdrola, whilst the rest are signed up to what is known as the 'free market', with the amount of their bills depending upon the type of contract they have with their provider, which may be Iberdrola or one of the other utility companies in operation.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com