Live News From Spain As It Happens

Sevilla's Plaza de España, built in 1928, and its Parque de María Luisa, two of the city's most popular places with tourists, will soon be 'smoke-free' zones. 

The regional government, led by mayor Antonio Muñoz, has just pushed through a petition by Spain's leading cancer charity , the Asociación Española Contra el Cáncer (AECC), to declare these areas 'smoke-free zones'. No precise time frame has been established for the new law to be enforced, but it is expected to come into effect fairly swiftly.

The initiative forms part of the AECC's 'Espacios Sin Humo' - 'Smoke-Free Zones' - project launched in May this year to combat the effects of tobacco by, amongst other things, pushing for changes in the law so that smoking becomes prohibited in both public and private outdoor spaces.

The Spanish Association Against Cancer is asking for smoking to be banned in at least one emblematic tourist site in every city. Some of the best known are the Retiro park in Madrid; the Parque de la Ciutadella in Barcelona; Calle Larios in Málaga; the Jardines del Triunfo in Granada; and the José Antonio Labordeta park in Zaragoza. All these sites are listed on the AECC's website, and the association is asking for citizens' signatures to support "liberating" tobacco smoke from their cities.

Sevilla's Plaza de España and María Luisa Park join other famous tourist sites to be declared 'smoke-free zones' by their local authorities, for example the Plaza de Santa María which gives access to Burgos Cathedral; Ávila's city wall; the Parque Campo Grande in Valladolid; the Alcázar in Segovia; and the Parque de Cabárceno in Cantabria. 

Pressure to provide these 'smoke-free zones' is just one aspect of the AECC's manifesto. The organisation is seeking much wider reaches for the laws against tobacco, saying that "during the coronavirus pandemic people became very sensitive about smoking in outdoor terraces and seating areas", but more than two years after the Covid interruption, "things have become much more relaxed". Some regions, like Catalonia and the Balearic Islands, for example, have maintained the anti-smoking laws in leisure venues, but others, like Castilla y León or Aragón, have, according to the Association, lifted restrictions. 

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The largest wooden ocean-going sailing ship in the world - the Götheborg of Sweden - moored up in Barcelona on Thursday morning.

The Götheborg is a replica of a vessel built for the Swedish East India Company in the XVIII century, and which sank close to the Swedish city of the same name in 1745. Its stop in Barcelona is the 13th stop on its 2022/23 Asian Expedition.

The boat is open to visitors on October 31st and November 1st between 2pm and 8pm, and then on weekends only until March next year, when it will leave the Catalan port and continue its voyage.

The original ship made three journeys to China, but on 12th September 1745, it sank on its way into Gothenburg harbour. After 30 months at sea, and with only 900 m to go before the vessel reached its berth, it crashed into the Knipla Börö, a well known rock. The ship remained stranded on the rock while much of the cargo, consisting of tea, porcelain, spices and silk, was salvaged. The ship was clearly visible above the surface of the water for many years, but in time the remains sank to the bottom of the sea. All the crew members survived the sinking.

Work on building the replica began back in 1995. The new boat was built using traditional techniques, and was made as close to the original as possible. One small change was that the headroom of the deck was increased by 10 cm, since today's seamen are taller than their ancestors. While the exterior remains true to the original, the interior is highly modern. The ship has an electrical system and propellers powered by diesel engines. The engines were only intended for port navigation and emergency situations, but they have been used during unfavourable wind in order to keep the timetable for the journey to China. 

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METALWORKERS are in extremely short supply in Spain – in fact, anyone qualified in the sector is practically guaranteed to find employment, according to industry confederation Confemetal.

Its recent research, titled Study on the Needs of Professional Competence and Apprenticeship in the Spanish Metal Industry, reveals that around 150,000 qualified tradespeople are necessary to cover present and future demand.

Everyone from soldering experts to electricians through to specialists in 3D technology and robotics are being sought now and will continue to be in years to come, Confemetal says.

Its research details employee profiles the industry needs, as well as trade and services the sector provides, and will form the basis for a future training scheme Confemetal will be designing jointly with two of Spain's main unions, the labourers' commissions (CCOO) and General Workers' Union (UGT).

The absence of qualified metalworkers is already limiting growth, productivity and competitiveness in the sector and will do so in the future, meaning it will struggle to keep up with demand as the national economy grows.

Traditional manual trades alone within the metal industry account for about 60,000 unfilled vacancies, without even taking into account the more 'modern' sector needs.

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A SPORTSMAN from southern Spain has made history with his Mount Everest climb: He is the first person with ALS in history to crown 5,000 metres.

Miguel Ángel Roldán, from Andalucía, reached a base camp five kilometres above sea-level this week, as part of project known as 'The Five Battle Cries Against ALS'.

This includes high-profile challenges to publicly call for a more dignified life for patients, ongoing expert care, and more investment in research.

At present, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, also known as motor neuron disease, has no cure, meaning anyone diagnosed with it will progressively worsen, gradually losing bodily functions and eventually require round-the-clock care.

The condition is always fatal, meaning the only medical hope at present is to try to slow down its effects and increase life expectancy and quality of life.

Miguel Ángel is joined by members of associations for people affected by ALS, as well as members of the Movístar national cycling team.

His feat was witnessed and recorded by Movístar's Sheyla Gutiérrez, from La Rioja, who reported back to Spain on his progress.

She said he was not aiming for the peak, as his doctors would not have allowed it, and he scaled the last few metres with oxygen due to the altitude.

“It's being an incredible experience,” says Sheyla, who is making the climb herself and is hoping to crown the summit.

“Especially through being able to accompany Miguel – a person who never gives up, who always says he can do it.

“It's really impressive being alongside someone with Miguel's strength and courage.”

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

BARCELONA is number three in the world for the most beautiful monuments, beating much-loved European destinations such as Paris, Florence and Athens, according to a recent study.

Eye-Catching Architecture analysed hundreds of streets on every continent, and over 2,400 buildings, to try to work out which city had the most attractive and in-proportion of structures.

Venice came out as world number one for most beautiful monuments, followed by Rome, based upon a complex mathematical equation often used by professional artists and building designers.

Known as the 'golden ratio', two quantities are said to be within it if their ratio is the same as the ratio of their sum to the larger of the two quantities.

Although this definition may be confusing to many, it has been studied by mathematicians for thousands of years and examples of visual effects with a 'golden ratio' are found everywhere in nature, from the shape of the human body, of flowers, and even gene structure.

This 'perfect proportion' in art and design is held to be a ratio of 1:1.618.

Eye-Catching Architecture worked out the percentage of buildings in cities worldwide which were within the 'golden ratio' in their design.

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BRAM Stoker's terrifying fictional Count from Transylvania might not have been the first undead human parasite in popular culture, but is certainly the most famous worldwide – and is credited with having started a genre that continues to generate blockbuster films and bestselling novels today. Without the daylight-avoiding, coffin-sleeping Dracula, Brad Pitt would not have had his huge rôle in Anne Rice's Interview with the Vampire, Buffy wouldn't have had any creatures to slay in the cult TV series, and Stephanie Meyer's Twilight trilogy would not be avidly devoured by young adult readers in the 21st century.

But Spain's very own Count Dracula is believed to have lived centuries before his counterpart in Stoker's gothic masterpiece.

He resided in a castle close to the Costa Brava, and it was his own fault he became a blood-sucking immortal. If he hadn't been involved in burning witches, he would have been resting in peace for the last 800 years.

Mediaeval powerpoint: Almost intact 1,000 years on

This year, the national holiday on November 1 – All Saints' Day – falls on a Tuesday (remember to do your shopping the day before, as a bank holiday means everywhere is shut), so many Spanish residents will have booked the Monday off work to make a long weekend of it.

And if you're one of these, and planning a Hallowe'en road trip, you could make it authentic by heading to one of Spain's notorious 'haunted' sites or, given that temperatures on the Mediterranean are still expected to be in the low to mid-20ºCs around then, take in the Costa Brava and combine it with a visit to the village of Llers.

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ENTRY requirements to Spain from outside the EU and the Schengen zone have been relaxed – travellers will no longer have to show a 'Covid certificate' upon arrival.

A European Union regulation brought in last year replaced the 'traffic light' system, where some countries or regions were off limits altogether or required quarantine, with an obligation to show either proof of having been vaccinated, of having had Covid within the previous six months, or a negative PCR or antigen test taken not more than 72 and 24 hours before entering a country respectively.

The aim was to gradually remove barriers to free movement throughout member States and the wider EEA, although countries were given authority to retain restrictions on entry where public health concerns justified doing so.

Where this was the case, national governments were instructed to 'not go beyond what is strictly necessary to safeguard public health', and to lift the restrictions as soon as the country's epidemiological situation permitted – with the focus, in this respect, mainly on hospital admission figures rather than the percentage of 'positives' among the general population.

From June 1 this year, Spain dropped 'Covid certificate' requirements for the Schengen zone and the EU, including Norway, Iceland and Switzerland.

This remained in place for non-EU countries – which, from early 2021, included the UK – and arrivals from nations still requiring a 'Covid passport' were also warned they may be subject to random health checks.

These might just involve a traveller's temperature being taken in passing, but they may also have been expected to undergo a medical examination, visual assessment, interview, or to take a PCR or antigen test.

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NATIONAL telecomms giant Telefónica has created an anti-car theft phone App for less than the cost of a glass of wine per month.

Movístar, Telefónica's mobile and internet brand, has joined forces with one of Spain's key home security alarm system providers, Prosegur, and with the communications corporation's in-car technology provider Net4things, in setting up its new 'thief alert'.

For those who already subscribe to the company's motoring technology service Movístar Car, which costs €3 a month, the Movístar Car Protect App comes in at an extra €1.95.

It allows the customer to name people who have their permission to use their car, logging their details into the App via bluetooth connections with these permitted drivers' own devices.

This means alerts will not be sent if a person with the car-owner's permission unlocks or starts the vehicle.

But if a person not registered on the App attempts to drive or enter it, or any other 'unauthorised' or 'suspicious' movement involving the vehicle is detected, the owner will receive an immediate notification either via text message, automated phone call, or an alert through the Movístar Car Protect App itself.

Read mroe at thinkSPAIN.com

A LEADING bank has signed a deal with the post office to ensure rural areas and remote villages have access to cashpoints and similar services – the BBVA is now offering commission-free withdrawals and home cash deliveries.

Correos, the State mail service, has been setting up several hundred cashpoints across the country in villages with no bank branches or banking facilities, meaning residents do not have to drive to their nearest town to get to their money.

Known as Correos Cash, the system allows customers of participating banks to withdraw money at the post office.

Even very remote parts of the countryside are likely to have a post office within relatively convenient distance, given that mail deliveries are a standard service to any national address – in fact, Correos has 2,389 branches with a cashpoint.

Around 6,000 postmen and postwomen work in rural Spain, and part of their round involves taking cash withdrawn from banks direct to residents' doors.

The BBVA recognises that residents in what is often referred to as 'empty Spain' – rural parts at high risk of population decline due to lack of infrastructure or job opportunities for working-aged adults with children – tend to be pensioners, and often very elderly.

This means they are less likely to be able to drive to built-up areas, and public transport in very rural areas is not frequent enough to act as a feasible car substitute.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

ELECTRICITY giant Iberdrola is extending its presence in the southern hemisphere, with its first-ever hybrid 'green' energy plant in the world.

The Spanish corporation has just opened a solar and wind plant in Port Augusta, South Australia, providing 317 megawatts (mW) of total power, of which 210mW comes from the wind farm side.

Around a quarter of a million solar panels and 50 wind generators have been installed at a cost of AU$500 million (about €318.7m), capable of supplying power to the equivalent of 180,000 Australian homes.

By replacing fossil fuel sources for this amount of energy, Iberdrola will have prevented up to 400,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

The Port Augusta plant contributes towards South Australia's ambitious climate and energy objective – that of operating on 100% renewable sources by the year 2030.

Building the plant created 200 temporary jobs, in Spain as well as Australia, and the Spanish electricity infrastructure corporation Elecnor constructed the substation and supply lines, storage areas and access roads.

Other firms involved were Vestas, which manufactured and fitted the windmills – each one of 42mW capacity – Longi, which built and installed the solar panels, and Sterling&Wilson which constructed the plant itself.

Iberdrola says its decision to invest in Australia is due to its being a 'strongly-growing market' in renewable energy, and one which is undergoing a 'profound transformation' in its quest to switch from a centralised fossil-fuel generation system, powered by coal and gas, to a decentralised 'clean' energy system, using solar and wind power.

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SPAIN will be one of a small number of countries that will escape a 'technical recession' by next year, according to the International Monetary Fund (FMI).

During 2023, the country will experience 'strong growth', with its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) expected to rise by 1.2%, according to FMI director for Europe, Alfred Kammer.

Even though this is a far more cautious estimate than the previous – which was 2% - the forecast figures still mean Spain will be the fastest-growing economy in the Eurozone next year, Kammer reveals.

“Spain is one of the countries for which we are not expecting a recession next year – a time when it will experience strong growth,” Kammer explained.

Even then, in the same way as many of its neighbouring countries, Spain will continue to be held back by 'weakened demand' and 'falling consumer confidence' which started with the pandemic and has continued with the more recent price-led inflation, fuel and supply crisis and the conflict in Ukraine.

But sub-director for the FMI's Department of Research, Petya Koeva Brooks, admitted that the 1.2% forecast for Spain's growth was in fact a little over-cautious – it had been calculated before GDP second-quarter results were published.

For the months of April to June inclusive, says Ms Koeva Brooks, Spain 'exceeded expectations' by showing 1.5% GDP growth.

“If we were making these forecasts for 2023 now, in light of this new information, we would probably be releasing even higher figures,” she says.

Kammer's verdict is a little more prudent, however: He warns that Spain will not fully recover its economic activity affected by the pandemic until early 2024.

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EVEN people who struggle to stifle a yawn at the mention of the word 'history' shouldn't rule out visiting museums on trips to Spain – unless they also hate chocolate, toys, beer, arts and crafts, space, cars, volcanoes, cheese, wine, and even Harry Potter. For inspiration, take a look at our article here.

And although anyone can pop into a local museum on foot and dry land, it's scuba-divers who get the most privileged view of the Mediterranean – not just by being able to share water-space with its rainbows of fish, corals and plants, but because they are likely to have exclusive access to Roman artefacts nobody else has ever seen before.

In fact, Europe's southern seas are literally littered with such remains, and local museums – of which nearly every town, however small, has one – are full of them. Constant trade, and shipwrecks, between the Empirical city of Rome and the east coast of Spain left multiple traces beneath the waves; to the point where finding 'yet another' amphora, or wine and oil bottle, dating back 2,000 years might only be given a couple of lines and a small picture in the local news, if at all.

But not all museum fare in the sea is transferred ashore, not all of it is old, and not all of it is there purely by accident.

Sinking ships: Divers(e) wrecks to explore

Beach towns along the Mediterranean have been talking for some time about 'deliberately' sinking ships off their shores. Newly designed but in centuries-old styles, using materials that will not pollute the water or harm its flora and fauna, dropped into the depths, serve two crucial purposes: One, as artificial 'coral' reefs. Marine plants grow on them, providing oxygen and shelter for fish. Two, as an extra attraction for divers – either regular, resident scuba-diving fans, or those on holiday, some of whom may even be drawn to the area entirely for its watersport activities.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

EVERY town council in Spain has been instructed to draw up an energy-saving plan by December 1 – and, although restrictions on Christmas lights have not been enforced, some have already announced a late-night switch-off this year.

Barcelona will turn its fairy lights off at 22.30, and the Galicia city of Vigo (Pontevedra province), world-famous for its festive illuminations, will do so at 00.30.

As the European Union has urged member States to cut down their gas consumption – which means saving electricity, too – by at least 5% this winter, Spain has drawn up 73 comprehensive measures to aid it in their goal.

At its most efficient, the steps taken could save up to 13.5%.

For the moment, the fuel reduction 'requirement' by the EU is not compulsory, merely a very strong recommendation and public appeal, but it could become mandatory if a 'real risk of supply shortage' occurs, according to Spain's minister for environment and energy, Teresa Ribera.

Should this ever arise, it will be industry and public administration that is ordered to cut down first, before any such steps have to be imposed on society.

Getting paid for voluntary power cuts?

Spain's government has been swift to quell rumours multiplying in cyberspace – that it intends to cut off the entire national electricity supply during 'peak' hours, or that the TV will go off after 22.30 – as the only deliberate power outage it has up its sleeve will be for emergencies, voluntary, and for industry only.

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EXPLORING Buddhist temples is usually a staple on the tourist trail in far-eastern countries, such as China, Thailand, and Myanmar, and these splendid, colourful and intricate buildings, radiating peace inside and out, always make for highly photogenic subjects for long-haul holiday snaps.

Buddhism originated in Asia over 2,500 years ago, and it is this vast, culturally-rich continent we usually associate with the calming, healing religion and its elaborately-designed, eye-catching places of worship. But a small handful of temples have been set up elsewhere in the world, including in Europe – not to such an extent as those of other world religions, such as mosques, churches or synagogues, although if you search thoroughly enough, you'll find one somewhere in Europe or the Americas to capture for your social media sites.

In fact, the biggest Buddhist temple in the whole of the West is in Spain – and, again, right on the tourism trail. 

You'll find it on the Costa del Sol, where it's been attracting visitors for over two decades.

Spiritual enlightenment at the turn of the Millennium

Spain's first Buddhist temple to pop up was also on the Costa del Sol, in Vélez-Málaga, meaning at least two are now based in the same province.

Some 30 or 40 years ago, eastern culture began to catch on in the country, more and more residents were keen to learn about it, becoming interested in the notion of meditation, harmony and relaxation, and drawn to Buddhism as potential source of comfort and stress relief, a fresh outlook on life, a simpler way of viewing the world and of coping within it.

This growing fascination led Buddhist master Lopon Tsechu Rinpoche to commission a temple in Spain's far south and, after its opening in 1994, it would serve as inspiration and a blueprint for another 18 he founded worldwide.

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CITY life: Convenient and exciting, or busy and stressful, with great shopping and entertainment on the doorstep and excellent transport links, or noisy and polluted and full of traffic jams. For some people, their worst nightmare, but others would say they couldn't bear to live anywhere else and would be bored stiff in a peaceful, rural environment.

But the term 'city' is relative. The standard definition is based upon inhabitant numbers – typically upwards of 100,000 or 250,000 – and, in Spain, a provincial capital is automatically a city.

In some cases, the provincial capital is not, in fact, the largest municipality in terms of resident numbers – Asturias' capital is Oviedo, and its biggest municipality is Gijón; the capitals of the provinces of Cádiz and of Pontevedra, of the same names, are smaller in population than Jerez de la Frontera, in the former, and Vigo, in the latter.

Some very small cities in Spain

And some provincial capital cities are barely the size of a small market town. Teruel – the southernmost province of the land-locked north-eastern region of Aragón – has just 36,240 inhabitants in its capital of the same name, although this makes it far and away a booming metropolis. Of its 236 municipalities, nearly 40% have 100 or fewer residents (16% have 50 or fewer), more than 62% have 200 or fewer residents, and barely 8% of them have 1,000 or more inhabitants.

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A STUNNING new seafront esplanade will be unveiled in Estepona within the next two months, thanks to intensive renovations funded entirely by the provincial government, or Diputación de Málaga.

Works are due to start any day now on the section between La Cala, opposite the San José primary school, and the Jacaranda building, which links the coast road with the Punta de la Plata area – a total of two kilometres.

A complete new look will await visitors planning to spend the Christmas period in the Costa del Sol town.

The first phase of the works, including pedestrianising the Avenida de España and upgrading the section of the promenade between the Avenida Juan Carlos and the C/ Delfín is now nearly complete, and the finishing touches are being made near the Punta Doncella lighthouse.

A total budget of just under €762,000 will also cover repairs, maintenance and upgrades on the mains water and drainage systems, resurfacing, new pavements, with ramps for wheelchair access as well as steps.

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A MÁLAGA woman has just scaled nearly 6,000 metres to the peak of Mount Kilimanjaro to raise money for meningitis research – and handed over a healthy sum to help scientists in their mission to wipe out the condition by the year 2030.

Laura Roantree grew up in the Fuengirola area, and her parents are close friends with Judy Borland, who manages Specsavers opticians' in the Costa del Sol town – a firm which sponsored her €500 for her arduous trek.

Despite not having had personal experience of meningitis among her closest circle, Laura's eyes were opened wide when she began researching an illness that strikes over 2.5 million people in the world every year.

And the mere fact that she had known very little about the condition told her that raising awareness, as well as research funds, was absolutely crucial.

“It was only when I joined the [Kilimanjaro] challenge that I was told about the effects meningitis has on families, and how serious it can be,” explains Laura.

During her social media campaign to raise cash for the cause, one of Laura's college classmates got in touch.

“She told me how she had dealt with septicaemia – caused by the same bacteria as meningitis – in our first year of our degree,” Laura reveals, “and how glad she was that we were raising awareness.”

Laura's old university mate told her that her own experience 'showed how little people knew of the condition', compounding Laura's new-found knowledge of 'how important the work the Meningitis Research Foundation are doing really is'.

“They hope to see Meningitis defeated by 2030,” Laura recalls.

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