Spanish news - Spain news from 1Casa 15 March 2008

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Spanish News

Latest News from Spain

This news is brought to you in association with 1Casa. Cristina Sanchez is head of their Customer Liaison Department, they specialiize in Affordable Property in the inland regions of Andalucia starting at under 30,000 Euros.

1Casa utilise their years of experience to offer a wide range of affordable properties and aim to provide a smooth, hassle free purchase and relocation.

For more information please contact 1 Casa on FREEPHONE 0800 081 1939 (24/7) or visit www.1casa.com/1.

15 March 2008

Spanish Elections

The Spanish general elections resulted in a win for the ruling PSOE party and their leader Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero but without an overall majority. Both the major parties gained seats at the expense of the smaller parties, with the opposition PP party gaining most. In the Andalucia state elections the PSOE also won, again with a reduced majority.

Nine Billion on New Roads

The Spanish government, complying with its pre-election commitment, has announced a nine billion euros investment in road improvement work. The plan includes opening 1500km of new roads in the next four years, starting another 1600km, and improving a further 2130km of existing roads. With an additional 1300km of high speed rail lines also promised, PM Zapatero says Spain will be the European country with most motorways and high speed railways by 2010.

Amenabar to Make English Film

Spanish Oscar winning film director Alejandro Amenabar is to make a second film in English shortly. The film, a fourth century epic called “Agora”, to be filmed in Malta over the next 15 weeks, will star Rachel Weisz and Max Minghella.

Crackdown on Pirates

In a major crackdown on copyright infringement crime Spanish police have made several arrests in Madrid and elsewhere. One organisation had warehouses and a factory producing 80,000 CD per day worth 240,000 euros.

Spain’s Song for Eurovision

Rodolfo Chikilicuatre will represent Spain in the Eurovision Song Contest in Belgrade on 24th May with the song Baila El Chiki Chiki. Chikilicuatre is a comedy character, played by actor David Fernandez, who has become popular on a late-night chat show. He wears an Elvis Presley type wig, huge sideburns and glasses and has a small toy guitar. His winning song Baila el Chiki Chiki (Dance the Chiki Chiki) has become a hit, thanks to its extensive TV exposure.

Mango's First Collection for Men

Today, Saturday 15th March, fashion chain Mango are putting on sale their first collection for men. The collection, called He, consists of 46 items of informal and urban clothing and will be available at selected stores throughout Europe and other countries including the USA, Russia, Turkey, Qatar and Singapore.

Crowd Control Traffic Lights in Spanish Cathedral

A medieval cathedral in Valencia has installed two indoor traffic lights to help control the thousands of visitors expected during Semana Santa. The traffic lights were placed at the bottom of the 207 steps of the 15th century cathedral's octagonal bell tower. The traffic lights, set up to avoid jams between groups of people going up and down the stairs, are controlled either manually or automatically with sensors.

Semana Santa in Malaga

Next week (starting Mon 17th Mar) is Semana Santa (Holy Week) in Spain. Along with most other Spanish towns and cities Malaga will be hosting its usual processions and festivities. Extra seats have been made available on the AVE trains to the city, most accommodation is likely to be fully booked, and even the beaches are being repaired from the recent storm damage in the expectation of a flood of visitors.

Warmest February for 13 Years in Malaga

Last month was the warmest February in Malaga since 1995 with an average daytime temperature of 15 degrees. Night temperatures of 11.9 degrees were also recorded, the highest since 1971. For Semana Santa there is a 60% chance of rain falling on at least one day during the week.

Los Prados Workshops Complete 2nd Train

Los Prados railway workshops in Malaga have completed their second C130 high speed train ahead of schedule. A further 5 units are to be built and the yard is currently also working on a new Trenhotel hotel train which is expected to be ready at the end of March.

Blind Man gets Drink Driving Fine

A blind man from Granada province received a fine and ban for drink driving recently. However when it was pointed out to the authorities that he became blind 17 years ago and didn’t have a licence the letter was redirected to the correct recipient.

Costa del Sol Top Marks for Accommodation

A study carried out for the Costa del Sol tourist board gave top marks for accommodation from visiting tourists. Bottom of the list was the score for public services. The Costa del Sol as a quality destination scored above average marks, particularly among German and British tourists.

Favourite Holiday Destinations

Marbella, Torremolinos and Benalmadena are rated among the top ten favourite holiday destinations in Spain, according to a survey carried out by Hoteles.com. The other Spanish destinations in the top ten are Barcelona, Madrid, Valencia, Seville, Granada, Palma de Mallorca and Benidorm.

Ardales Caves Key to Andalucian History

A team of archaeologists from the Neanderthal museum in Germany have visited the caves in Ardales. The caves, which contain paintings thought to be by Homo Sapiens, are also littered with remains from the Neanderthal period. The experts believe that the caves and others similar contain the key to the history of Andalucia.

Nuns on Web

The convent museum of the closed order Carmelite nuns of San Jose in Antequera has its own website. The site, which is the first of its kind in Andalucia, www.museoconventualantequera.com can be visited to see the artistic treasures of the 18th century convent.

Local Campaign for Plants in Alora

The Ayuntamiento of Alora wants local inhabitants to donate plants to embellish certain areas of the old town centre. Particularly wanted are cactus plants for the areas around Fuente de la Mania and Penon Gordo.

Football

Malaga gained a vital away win 1-2 against Las Palmas last weekend. This week they are at home to Elche on Sunday (16th Mar) at midday.

Formula 1

Lewis Hamilton starts the Australian Grand Prix in pole position with Fernando Alonso 11th on the grid. The first Grand Prix of this year’s season takes place tomorrow in Melbourne, Sunday 16th March.

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