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.

20 August 2007

Reduced today from 148,000 Euros to 140,000 Euros, newly renovated 3 bed townhouse in Alora. Will also rent for 400 Euros per month.

http://www.1casa.com/country_details.asp?refno=14897

Parking, Garages and storage spaces from 11,995 Euros

http://www.1casa.com/country_details.asp?refno=15407

Update on New Law

Applications opened this July (2007) for the payment of 2,500 Euros to be paid to mothers for each child born in Spain, this payment is relevant since 3rd July this year. The bill was approved on this date and has been passed to parliament for processing, likely to become law from December. Under this new law, mothers of babies born after midnight on 3rd July 2007 (including foreign residents who have been living legally in Spain for at least 2 years) will receive the payment of 2.500 Euros. The law is to encourage couples to add to the falling birth rate in Spain generally.

Spain to Send Aid to Peru Earthquake Zone

The Spanish Ministry of the Interior has confirmed that Spain is sending specialists to the earthquake zone in Peru. The details of the Spanish aid are still being finalised, but it is believed that the help will be from experts in the field of rescue and identification, members of the Police and Guardia Civil health specialists. The Spanish Agency for International Cooperation AECI is to send 100 tons of humanitarian aid, including tents, health materials, medicines and generators.

Earthquakes Felt in Spain

An earthquake measuring 3.3 on the Richter scale was recorded in Aguilar de Campoo near Palencia in northern Spain early on Thursday (16th August) according to radio reports. The quake followed another measuring 5.1 on the Richter scale which shook central Spain last Sunday (12th August). This quake struck near Ciudad Real at 9.47 am. The tremor was felt throughout Spain including Badajoz, Caceres, Madrid, Valencia, Alicante, and Asturias. In Andalucia the tremor was felt in Cordoba, Huelva, Jaen, Malaga and Sevilla.

Driving Licenses Withdrawn in Points System

The Spanish Traffic authorities have reported that driving licences have been withdrawn from 1,655 drivers since the start of the points system in July last year, given that all those drivers have lost all their points. This means the affected drivers will be without their license for a six month period, after which they will have to take a 24 hour course on road safety and another driving test in order to regain their license.

Furthermore, over 720,000 cases of more points being removed are currently in progress. Most points (40%) are removed for speeding, followed by driving without a seatbelt, using a mobile phone or being over the legal limit for alcohol.

Ryanair Wants More Hubs in Spain, Planning on Doubling its Flyers

Ryanair sees room to open two more bases in Spain by around 2010 and will double passengers here, the airline said on Thursday. This came just a week after announcing its presence in the country would be doubled to four hubs. "We now have four bases and there is space for one or two more ... in the next three or four years," Ryanair’s director of marketing and sales in Spain, Maribel Rodriguez, told a news conference. "There's still a lot of space to grow." "We want to double profits and passengers ... by around 2012," Rodriguez said, next year it plans to fly 11 million passengers to and from Spanish airports on domestic and European flights, compared to fewer than 5 million just three years ago.

Bomb Hoax Delays Malaga - Dublin Aer Lingus Flight

Passengers had get off an Aer Lingus flight on Thursday (16th August) following a bomb threat shortly before it was due to leave Malaga airport for Dublin. Police found nothing on the plane after it was towed to a secure site at the airport to be searched. The alert came after a call from a Spanish public telephone at around 12.30 pm.

Mobile Phone Charges to Fall

Last June the European Parliament passed new laws which will benefit mobile users abroad, by reducing their call charges by around 70%. The new law should have come into effect on 30th June, however the EU gave operators, such as Orange and Vodafone, 2 months grace to adapt to the new charges. This means that from September if you’re on holiday in an EU country and phoning another EU country, then your calls will be significantly reduced to around 24 centimos per minute.

Carnivore Sponge Discovered in Almeria Waters

Ecologists from the organisation, Oceana, have discovered a marine species which was previously unknown in Spain living in waters off Almeria. The tiny sponge, asbestopluma hypogea, is a carnivore and it snatches even smaller crustaceans within its spiky filaments and digests them in a few days. The species has only previously been found in three other sites, two underwater caves in France and another in Croatia.

Spanish Parishioners Abandon Their hunger Strike

The seven villagers who have been on hunger strike in the village church in Albunol since last Saturday (11 August) have abandoned their protest, after the Archbishop of Granada threatened to stop any form of church service taking place in the village including weddings and funerals. The hunger strike was in protest at the removal of their popular young priest, Father Gabriel Castillo. In his two years at Albunol, Father Gabriel, 27, introduced forward looking practices, such as letting homeless Senegalese live in his house, holding Sunday school on a hillside and appointing disabled altar boys however his methods antagonised traditionalists, including a local community of nuns who defected to a village about six miles away to hear mass. The villagers believe the young priest was transferred because the mother superior of an order of nuns based in the village did not agree with his methods. They say they will continue with other protests until their demands are met and their priest is returned to the village.

Malaga Feria 2007

The Malaga Feria, which takes place every August in the capital of the Costa del Sol, draws to a close this weekend. The Feria de Malaga is one of the biggest in Andalucia. The celebrations continue until midnight on Sunday 19th August in the Real de Feria, ending with a gala performance and an explosive display of fireworks.

Peaceful Demonstration Against Bull Fighting Held in Malaga

Approximately one thousand people participated in the first demonstration against bull fighting ever seen in Malaga. The event, organised by the Andalucian Collective Against the Maltreatment of Animals (CACMA), took place Saturday 11th August. The demonstration lasted over two hours and brought together supporters from a number of national and local animal welfare groups.

Demand for Places in Bilingual Schools Increases

The demand for a place in one of the 64 bilingual schools in Spain across Malaga province has been so high that the Education Delegation is having to decide on places through a raffle system, according to a newspaper report. Currently 13% of schools give classes in two languages, usually Spanish and English in subjects such as Social Sciences and Music. German and French is also available in some Spanish schools.

High Temperatures Continue on Costa del Sol this Weekend

The current high temperatures in Spain are expected to last the weekend in the region and Malaga health centres are remain on yellow alert. It is the first such alert in the province this summer. Temperatures reached 37 degrees in some parts of the province towards the end of the week, although the poniente wind will keep temperatures down in some places.

Lost African Found on the Top of Spanish Mountain

Last Thursday (16th August) police detained a 27-year-old immigrant from the heart of Africa who was found wandering around without food or water near the snow-dusted peak of mainland Spain's highest mountain, Mulhacen, officials said. They brought the man to a shelter where he was given food and water. Police freed him yesterday (17th August), undecided whether or not to repatriate him for having no papers.

Alora Road works

Work on the Alora access road was started again several weeks ago and last week work began on the construction of a roundabout in Arroyo Hondo at the entrance to the town centre. The project is now six months behind schedule and has been halted several times over the last year. The companies working on the A-343 road which connects Zalea and Alora have cited problems with the telephone and electricity companies not allowing infrastructures to be diverted as the reason that work has been delayed.

New Water Tank for Alora

Alora is to have a new water tank aimed at guaranteeing the supply for all the town's districts. The Junta de Andalucia has put out to tender the 285,000 euro contract to build the 1,000 cubic metre tank, which is to be located adjacent to the existing one and connected to it. The

34th Festival of Singing, is to be held in Alora next Saturday 25th August at 11.00 pm, the Festival will take place at the Municipal Swimming Pool in Alora. The event is organized by the Pena Flamenco of Alora.

Alora's Punto Limpio (Recycling Point) Open

Alora's Punto Limpio recycling plant in the Casablanquilla area, located next to the AVE viaduct, finally opened its doors last Monday 13th August. The facility cost 405,000 euros and its opening four months after its inauguration was down to delays in issuing the licences from the Junta de Andalucía according to the councillor responsible for the environment.

New Periodical for Pizarra

The first edition of the new Pizarra newspaper has been published in which topical information about Pizarra is available. http://www.pizarra.es/PI/2007/0708PizarraInformacion.pdf

Malaga C.F.

Malaga will play Real Betis in the Costa del Sol Trophy this Sunday, 19th August, at La Rosaleda with a kick off time of 9.00 pm. The league starts next Sunday 26th August when Malaga play Salamanca.

Beckham Brings in the Fans at the Giants Stadium

Just one goal, from David Beckham was enough to remind us just how special he is, one terrific free kick to breathe new life into the team, Beckham's first goal in a Los Angeles Galaxy strip happened on Wednesday night, (15th August) and it couldn't have come at a better time or in a more impressive fashion, the trademark, curving 30 metre free kick passed by D.C. United goalkeeper Troy Perkins in true Beckham style. Suddenly instead of the low take up, New York area soccer fans are looking for as many tickets as they can get. This is a big turnaround that no one could have predicted last week.

Maybe it was something to do with the way he shrugged off a hard tackle, oh yes, scored a goal, helped to make a second goal and walked off the field without a limp or a complaint, the fans at the Home Depot Centre applauded him, MLS and Galaxy officials breathed a sigh of relief, and New York area soccer fans dusted off their plans for Saturdays match with the Red Bulls, the crowd, which will be the largest for a soccer game at Giants Stadium this year, should help set the stage for an intense match.

Walls made from water with automatic sensing for entry and exit, now that is a new one!

See the video here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mtMzbeMA58I

PREVIOUS NEWS from SpainS: