4 Basque separatists arrested in Portugal, France

Four suspected members of the Basque separatist group ETA have been arrested in Portugal and France , officials say . Police found explosives and weapons in a van as they arrested two of the suspects near Portugal’s border with Spain ,  The other two were picked up in central France . They were caught with weapons , false number plates and fake documents , officials Interior minister said .  Eta has waged a 41-year campaign for an independent Basque homeland . The group has been blamed for more than 820 deaths in that period. It ended its most recent ceasefire in June 2007 . Spanish Interior Minister Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba said the operation that culminated in the arrests near Clermont-Ferrand in France had been started by French authorities several months ago, triggered by a concentration of vehicle thefts attributed to ETA . Mr Perez Rubalcaba said the man and the Young woman arrested belonged to ETA’s “logistical-military apparatus” that supplies the group’s militants with explosives and weapons . Spain raised its terrorism alert level to two on a four-point scale last month before it assumed the six-month presidency of the EU . 

 
Judges have power to close ‘illegal’ websites

Spanish government now has the authority to shut down websites or blogs that it considers are flouting laws concerning copyright or that involve other illegal activities . This decision has caused a flood of outcry on social networks . Although minister for culture Ángeles González Sindes says “no internet user should be worried or annoyed,” thousands of surfers across Spain are up in arms over what they see as a cyber-censorship . The FB group , Manifiesto en defensa de los derechos fundamentales en Internet (‘I protest in defence of fundamental rights on the internet’) has already amassed 200,000 members since the law was approved . Since when have copyrights been more important than the rights of any other citizen?” one member commented . Others say ‘money, not culture’ is behind the legislation . The government says it will send two warnings to a website that is found to be carrying out unlawful activities .If these are ignored, a judge can decide to close the site down . They claim it is to enforce copyright laws and prevent illegal downloads and child pornography .  and will help again Scamer like Lotto site claming you Won money .

Santander launches Uk bank brand

All Abbey and B&B branches will be renamed Santander by the end of January , the Spanish group announced in a statement . Santander plans to rename Alliance & Leicester , a third bank which it owns, later in 2010 . “The name of Abbey National plc has today changed to Santander UK plc,” the banking group said in a statement released to the London Stock Exchange . “From today , the bank has started the rebrand of its Abbey and Bradford & Bingley branches , with 300 branches in the South East to be renamed today , with another 700 across the UK to be completed by the end of January,” it said . “Alliance & Leicester branches will be rebranded later in the year,” the banking group added . “This is a historic day for Santander as its name is firmly established on the UK high street,” Santander Chairman Emilio Botin said in the statement .

Bad Weather in Spain Ireland and UK

Temperatures fall to 2ºC on the coast with 25 provinces on snow alert and emergency services flooded with calls in Málaga .
Ice , snow and high winds continue to sweep across the whole of Spain over the weekend , and traffic remains disturbed in the north and in mountainous areas.
Thousands of children were unable to go to school on Friday last in Catalunya , the Comunidad Valenciana and other parts of the country . Winds reached 100 kilometres per hour in Mallorca , and in the region of Aragón . Temperatures on the Mediterranean coast fell to 2ºC in areas , and dropped into minus figures during the night at a time of year when this area usually sees temperatures of between 12ºC and 17ºC in the daytime . Traffic was blocked on the N-320 in Gineta Albacete and the N-232 in Morella Castellón , as well as on various roads in Teruel, Tarragona and León, where snow-chains are necessary . Trains between Madrid and Barcelona have been running between 30 and 60 minutes late since . But airports continue to operate as usual in all of Spain, with the exception of A Coruña Galicia where three planes have been diverted . Flight to Northen European Union been Delayed are Cancelled .
staff here where unable to get work until today due icy roads as there lack off salt for 2nd roads . However, in the UK , easyJet has cancelled nine flights and British Airways have cancelled around 50 more , mostly taking off from and landing in the London airports . In Barcelona, around 30 homeless people have had to be taken to a council run shelter in light of the life threateningly cold weather .

   
Smoking ban opposed Survey

A survey has revealed that a total of over 40 per cent of people are against the move to ban smoking in bars , restaurants and shopping centres . Metroscopia interviewed 504 over-18s by telephone across the country and say that 15 per cent are ‘mostly in agreement’ with the new law and 40 per cent are ‘very much in agreement’ . In total, 10 per cent say they ‘opposed the move moderately’ and 30 per cent were ‘totally against’ banning smoking in eateries and cafés .
Whilst the law was due to come into force on January 1 this year , it will in effect be rolled out over the course of 2010 . Many catering establishments are up in arms because they installed smoking areas with extractor fans at considerable cost four years ago , only to find that they have effectively thrown their money down the drain . Health Minister Trinidad Jiménez says these restaurateurs will not receive any compensation or financial help as a result , because fitting smoking booths was ‘their own choice’ . In practice , their only other choice was to ban smoking on the premises , and most feared a huge drop in customer numbers if they did so . 

Ryanair Announces New Base in Spain
Irish air carrier Ryanair has announced that it will open its fifth base in Spain , in the city of Malaga , at the cost of 250 million Euros . The company will start operating from June 2010 with four aircraft servicing 19 routes . It will fly from Malaga to Berlin , Goteborg , Oslo , Paris , Pisa , among others . The undertaking will create more than 200 jobs in the southern region of Andalusia and boost traffic at Malaga airport to more than two million passengers . nine Spanish airports made a profit in 2009 . that where Alicante , Bilbao , Girona , Ibiza , Gran Canaria , Málaga , Palma de Mallroca, Murcia and Tenerife Sur .

Spanish teen undergoes sex change operation

16-year-old Spaniard has had a sex change operation , becoming the country’s first minor to undergo a procedure that few countries in the world allow for people so young , a doctor said Tuesday . The two-and-a-half hour surgery was performed in Barcelona three weeks ago and the patient is doing fine , reconstructive surgeon Ivan Manero , who did the surgery , told a news conference . Manero said the patient had been undergoing hormonal and psychiatric treatment for two years , after deciding he wanted to undergo surgery to have the body of a woman . The boy “said he felt like a woman from the age of four or five,” Manero said . The patient’s name has not been disclosed . The surgery was authorized by a judge , as required by Spanish law for minors seeking such an operation . Probably fewer than 50 sex change operations are carried out each year in Spain , said Monica Martin , founder of the Spanish Association of Transsexuals .

ETA planned to down plane with Spanish premier

ETA intended to shoot down a plane carrying Spain’s then prime minister Jose Maria Aznar in 2001 , police sources . They said ETA suspect Pedro Maria Olano told a judge he had brought a rocket launcher which the group was planning to use in an attack on a plane carrying Aznar . The attack never took place because ETA discovered that the rocket launcher did not function , the sources quoted Olano as saying . ETA had already made a failed attempt to kill Aznar in 1995 when he was opposition leader . The car bomb exploded as Aznar’s car went by , slightly injuring the politician .  About 15 other people were also injured in the attack . Police were investigating the claims made by Olano , who was arrested on charges of acting as a messenger between ETA’s leadership and armed cells last week . French police seized two Russian made rocket launchers from ETA back in 2004 . Aznar headed conservative governments from 1996 to 2004 . 

Police find 12 kilos of heroin

Two people have been taken into custody by police after 12 kilos of heroin were discovered in the fuel tank of a car intercepted in Tui , Pontevedra , in Galicia. Officers found 21 packages of the drug floating in the tank when they inspected the vehicle . The drugs were transported to Galicia by a Madrid based gang from Kosovo which had been under police surveillance for some time and which the Interior Ministry said supplied heroin to dealers across the country . The two suspects in custody are the car driver and another gang member who was arrested at the same time in Madrid . Detectives found more than 100,000 Euros in cash in a search of the flat the group used as their base in the Madrid , and also seized 18 mobile phones and a laptop computer . Further arrests have not been ruled out as investigations continue .

TVE channels wins back viewers after halting advertising

TVE’s removal of advertisements from its programs at the start of 2010 appears as a success in terms of viewing figures , a market study shows .  TVE 1 has been broadcasting for 12 days without commercial breaks in its programs , which has proved to be popular among its viewers , according to the study . TVE 1’s share of the audience has climbed from an average of 16.6 percent in December 2009 to 19.5 percent in the opening days of the New Year . The audience figures of TVE 1’s twice daily news broadcasts have gained 3.6 points , while the ‘Film of the Week’ has seen the biggest increase in audience numbers , leaping from 22 percent to 30.5 percent . La2 gained 3.8 points .

Tourism declines nearly 9 per cent in 2009

Spain’s tourist arrivals went down 9 %  to 52 million foreign tourists in 2009 in a blow to one of the country’s key industries , a senior official said Wednesday . It was the second consecutive annual fall after the tourism industry made the record of more than 59 million arrivals in 2007 . However tourism contracted by less than the expected 10 per cent in 2009 , tourism secretary of state Joan Mesquida said . Analysts attribute the decline largely to the impact of the economic crisis in Spain’s main tourism clients such as Britain ,France , Germany and Ireland . Spain is the world’s third largest tourist destination after France and the United States . Tourism contributes about 10 per cent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) and gives direct or indirect employment to more than 9 million people .

Barcelona wants to host 2022 Winter Olympics bid

Barcelona on Wednesday announced its candidacy to host the 2022 Winter Olympic Games . Mayor Jordi Hereu said Barcelona wanted to “relive the Olympic dream” after organizing the Summer Olympics in 1992 . The sports events would be divided between the city itself and Pyrenean ski stations , Hereu explained at a press conference . “Barcelona has a lot of possibilities” to be chosen , Hereu claimed , stressing that the city was “prepared and has experience .”
Another northern Spanish city, Zaragoza, is also hoping to host the 2022 Winter Olympics . The Spanish Olympic Committee is due to choose the country’s candidate in 2013 , and the International Olympic Committee will pick the host city in 2015 .

Alicante is the most profitable airport

Alicante’s El Altet is the most profitable airport in Spain , ending 2009 with operating profits of 43.5 million Euros , Diario Información reports . The results for Spanish airports revealed by the Development Minister , José Blanco , on Tuesday showed there to be only nine profitable airports in the country , with Alicante well ahead of the airport which came out in second place , Palma de Mallorca. The profit there in 2009 was 37.8 million Euros . The paper has revealed that El Altet will not be included in the plan for a new Spanish airports system announced by José Blanco to share their management between central and regional administrations and private investors . It’s understood that Valencia’s Manises Airport , which lost 1.2 million last year . Capacity at El Altet will almost double when work on building the new terminal is completed , increasing annual capacity up from 12.2 to 20 million users . It’s expected to open at the end of next year . Plans to reform the Spanish Airports Authority AENA , mean that the body will keep a majority control in all airports across the country . Private investors will have 10% in the associated companies in Madrid and Barcelona , and the regional governments and city halls will be able to take a maximum holding of 39%  . Minister for Development , José Blanco , has also revealed plans to replace air traffic controllers at 12 of the countries quietest airports with automatic systems .

High winds cause chaos across the country

The whole of Spain except for Extremadura , Madrid and the Canary Islands, is on alert for snow , rain and especially for extremely high winds , which will reach 120kmph in Cantabria , Guipúzcoa and Vizcaya . The state meteorological office , AEMET , has issued an amber warning in because of the wind in the following provinces Almería , Granada , Jaén , Cantabria , Albacete , Cuenca , Guadalajara , Burgos , Segovia , Soria , Valladolid , Girona , Tarragona , Alicante , Castellón , Álava , Guipúzcoa , Vizcaya , Asturias and Murcia . The strong winds that hit the country in the early hours brought down hundreds of trees and telephone and power lines , causing traffic accidents and leaving thousands of people without electricity for much of the morning . Galicia was worst hit today , with winds of over 130kmph at around 3am , which left 200,000 people without any power .  By 9.30am the situation had been rectified to some degree , but some 90,000 people , mainly in A Coruña and Pontevedra were still without electricity . Winds of up to 100kmph are expected in Burgos , Soria , Segovia , Girona , Tarragona , Castellón , Valencia , Alicante , Murcia , Cuenca , Guadalajara and Granada . The threat of heavy snowfalls is also keeping Huesca and Navarro on alert , where up to 30cm is expected .

EBU rate stay the same but bank up interest rate

The European Central Bank has kept interest rates at 1% today . The decision was in line with expectations . Governor Jean Claude Trichet warned that special treatment could not be offered to any institution or government and said that economic recovery was expected to be ‘moderate and irregular’ . but Bank in spain to incress interest rates at 1% in next 2 months . Factory output across continental Europe’s core euro currency zone rose by a sharp 1% in November , compensating for an October blip after a run of growth going back to May . The increase was twice that predicted by analysts .

Barça crash out of Copa del Rey

Barcelona crashed out of the Copa del Rey last night despite winning 1-0 away to Sevilla in the second leg of competition . With a 2-1 from the first leg at Camp Nou , the holders levelled the tie on aggregate thanks to Xavi’s 64th minute goal , but could not find the net again and went on the away goals rule . Deportivo La Coruña came back from 2-0 down at home to Valencia to win 4-3 on aggregate . Nikola Zigic struck twice in the opening 28 minutes for the visitors to give them a narrow advantage after a 2-1 home defeat in the first leg .  But Luis Filipe responded in the 49th minute for Deportivo before Juan Rodriguez made sure of their progress to the quarter-finals . Osasuna edged past second division Hercules on the away goals rule after Massoud Shojaei scored a fine solo effort to secure a 1-0 victory on the night and a 2-2 aggregate scoreline . Alcorcón’s Copa del Rey adventure came to an end as they were narrowly beaten by Racing Santander following a 0-0 stalemate in the second leg . The third division club, that dumped Real Madrid out of the competition in the last round, went out 3-2 on aggregate . Getafe secured their place in the last eight with a 6-3 score following a 5-1 drubbing of Málaga last night . Trailing 2-1 from their first meeting , the home side overturned the deficit and moved ahead thanks to first-half goals from Roberto Soldado and Lopez Rafa and second half goals from Soldado , Leon and Parejo . Celta Vigo dumped Villarreal out of the competition with a 1-0 win in their second leg at El Madrigal , giving them a 2-1 aggregate score .  Roberto Trashorras’s injury-time penalty earned Segunda Liga side Celta Vigo an impressive victory and a place in the quarter-finals . Celta Vigo will meet Atlético Madrid or Recreativo Huelva in the last eight .

Spanish millionaire left his fortune to members of Spain’s royal family

A Spanish multimillionaire who died on November 18 has left his fortune to members of Spain’s royal family , palace sources said early on Friday. Businessman and investor Juan Ignacio Balada Llabres , who lived on the Balearic Island of Menorca , left half of his fortune estimated to be worth tens of millions of euros to Crown Prince Felipe , his wife Letizia and the eight grandchildren of King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia . The grandchildren include the children of Felipe and his sisters Elena and Cristina . The other half of the fortune will be used to create a “foundation of general interest” under Felipe’s supervision , Balada said in his testament . The palace said Felipe and Letizia had not known Balada , and that it could not yet be confirmed whether the royal family accepted the donation .
The millionaire , who was known as a staunch defender of Spain’s monarchy , did not leave anything to his two cousins, who were his closest relatives , or to his friends.

Most Spanish citizens in Haiti accounted 30 missing

Over 30 Spaniards still missing in Haiti the Spanish Embassy in Haiti has managed to make contact with 75 of the 111 Spaniards who live in the country devastated by Tuesday’s earthquake . According to the foreign office , some of them have minor injuries . Humanitarian aid from Spain , Eu and many other countries around the world has started to arrive , including medical staff and supplies , rescue teams , water and temporary shelters .  The Spanish Red Cross is planning to send another three planes this week .  An estimated one million children have been affected by the earthquake and Médecins sans Frontières have made an urgent plea for surgeons . Haiti’s ambassador to Spain , Yolette Azor Charles , appeared with Foreign Minister, Miguel Ángel Moratinos , in Madrid today to thank Spain for its “enormous” amount of help , but pleaded with the international community not to “abandon Haiti” but to continue to support the country with its reconstruction process, which she estimated would take at least a decade . The Government is looking at the possibility of evacuating the first wave of European citizens in a plane that went to Haiti last night .  Ambassadors to Spain from all the latin American countries will meet in Madrid tomorrow to coordinate their aid efforts . 

DETAINED SPANISH TRAWLER ARRIVES IN GALWAY PORT IRELAND

The Spanish fishing vessel ’ Novo Alborada ’ is being handed over to Irish police early on at Galway Port in Ireland . The 12 metre trawler was escorted into port by the Navy within the last 2 hours . It has a crew of 12 on board . The Naval Service detected the trawler fishing around 100 nautical miles west the Aran Islands at 7pm last night . its belived to be Impound over it Fishing catch on Board .

More bad weather with Fallen trees and power cuts as winds whip across country

Winds of over 100kmph across the country today have caused widespread damage to buildings and trees and left a number of people injured . Galicia saw gusts of up to 120kmph this morning both along the coastline and inland , which swept down trees , power cables and telephone lines and left three people injured ,  in Lugo and one in Pontevedra . In the docks at Vigo a boat under construction came loose from its moorings and crashed into another nearby vessel , causing considerable damage . Pontevedra city council has been notified of over 150 fallen trees , and the police and fire service were called out to over 100 separate incidents during the night , including to the site of the municipal sports pavilion where the roof had blown off . The Basque Country was also affected by the violent gusts of wind , with three people being injured in San Sebastian , and road , rail and air travel all suffering delays .  A motorcyclist was blown of his bike, a set of traffic lights fell on a young girl’s foot and an elderly lady was injured when a window smashed at a day centre . Falling debris from a building in Bilbao left one young pedestrian injured , and firefighters had to remove fallen lampposts that had been blown over by the wind in the Begoña and Elorrieta districts of the city . The high winds in the Comunidad Valenciana , especially in the province of Valencia where they reached 113kmph , left at least ten people with various injuries and 23,000 pupils without lessons . According to the weather service in Valencia , today’s winds were the most severe since February 1989 , when five people died .  Two of today’s injured are children , who have been kept in hospital overnight under observation .  One was hit by a falling lamppost and the other by the cornice from a building . In Alicante, two firefighters were slightly injured in Cocentaina when an advertising hoarding collapsed . There were also violent gusts of wind in Castilla y León , which caused a considerable amount of material damage. In the port of San Isidro hurricane strength winds of up to 143kmph were registered and the roof of the fire station in Ávila blew off in the early hours of the morning . The high winds were also felt in Andalucia , keeping the majority of Málaga’s shipping fleet in port for the third day running . The FRS ferry company had to cancel its service across the Straits of Gibraltar because the high winds were making sailing very dangerous for its high speed ferries . In the Balearic Islands, gusts of wind of up to 138 kmph in the Sierra de Alfábia were accompanied by heavy rain , with 42 litres per square metre of rain being recorded in Mallorca with some loacl flooding was report on island early two day .

P&O closedown the Bilbao two Portsmouth rote

P&O Ferries says that the route has been making ‘unsustainable losses’ and that it is now trying to relocate the some 252 workers from the ‘Pride of Bilbao’. The boat is currently undergoing her annual revision in the dockyards in Falmouth .  Workers were informed of the decision on Friday , and given an undertaking by the company that the lowest number of job losses will be sought . The service will end on September 27 this year 2010 , the date when the company’s charter of the boat comes to an end . Until then normal service will be maintained . P&O ferries say they will get in touch with any people who have reservations made for after that date , to offer alternatives or a refund . The service had been submerged in controversy recently when the Partido Popular presented a denuncia over the disappearance of 35,707 tickets for the service which allegedly represent a loss of 10 million Euros from the accounts of the Vizcaya provincial government .
The ferry which has linked Bilbao in Spain with Portsmouth in England for the past 17 years . SNCF the french rail comapny say it many run a car train all year around from this September but limted two once a week from north off France to south off France . this stll has not been update on the website yet .

Zapatero criticized for attending prayer meeting with Obama

Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero came under criticism for accepting an invitation to join US President Barack Obama at a Christian event in Washington in early February .  Zapatero had accepted an invitation to an ’ ultra Christian ’ event despite taking pride in his secularism , the daily Periodico pointed out , while readers posting comments accused the premier of ’ cynicism .’ Even Muslim world leaders had attended the National Prayer
Breakfast in the past , but they had ’ faith, ’ while Zapatero wanted to separate the church from the state . Zapatero on Thursday defended his decision to accept Obama’s invitation , describing the National Prayer Breakfast as having an ‘exceptional’ significance which ‘those who issued the invitation need to explain .’ Zapatero also referred to the ‘democratic greatness’ of the United States which was open to people of ‘different convictions .’ The Zapatero government has adopted reforms opposed by Spain’s Catholic Church , such as homosexual marriage and speedier divorce . Spain is also in the process of liberalizing its abortion law . In addition to attending the prayer meeting, Zapatero was expected to meet with Obama to discuss the president’s visit to Madrid on the occasion of a summit between the European Union and the United States in May, Spain holds the rotating EU presidency until June 30 .

Spain sees drop in migrants from Africa

Europe hosted the largest number of immigrants , with 70.6 million people in 2005 . Spain says the number of migrants coming to the country by sea from Africa fell by almost half in 2009 . Interior Minister Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba said 7,285 such migrants arrived in Spain last year , compared with 13,425 in 2008.
The number reaching the Canary Islands was the lowest in a decade , he said .  The Canaries have become a main point of entry for illegal immigrants seeking to reach the EU , “The [financial] crisis has had an effect on illegal immigration from Latin America, but the drop in the numbers of small boats [from Africa] is above all due to the work of the police , to the repatriations and the co operation with countries of origin such as Algeria , Mauritania , Senegal and Mali ,” he said . The number of those arriving in the Canary Islands stood at 2,246 last year , down from 9,181 in 2008 , he said . In recent years , the route between West Africa and the Canary Islands has been one of the most popular for migrants trying to reach the EU from Africa . The journey is often attempted in ill-equipped boats provided by smugglers, and migrants frequently drown at sea . 

Spaniard threatens to sue FBI over Osama picture

A Spanish politician has threatened to sue the FBI for using his face in a digitally morphed picture of dreaded terrorist Osama bin Laden posted on the website of US intelligence department . Gaspar Llamazare , spokesman for the United Left coalition , said it shows “the low level” of US intelligence services and he would demand that they explain what the photo of a political leader was doing in the files of the FBI and why it was used to compose the image of a terrorist . The FBI distributed Friday some “digitally enhanced” photos of the Al Qaeda leader in which he appears older and with a shorter beard , in one of which the upper part of Llamazares’ face was used , What happened would be “funny” if it weren’t for the fact that it “affects the safety and freedom of citizens and people who have not committed a crime of any kind” , Llamazares said in a statement . Describing the matter as “very serious” , Llamazares said that he does not rule out taking legal action against the US authorities . Sources close to Llamazares told Efe that Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero and his interior and foreign ministers Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba and Miguel Angel Moratinos , respectively have also expressed their solidarity with him on the issue . The FBI acknowledged Saturday the use of Llamazares’ image for the poster of the world’s most wanted terrorist and said it will withdraw the picture from its website . 

Domestic shooting in Gata de Gorgos, Alicante

A man injured his wife with a shotgun and then killed himself . Guardia Civil sayed . Following an argument at home an Alicante man then took hold of a shotgun and fired at his wife as he chased her down the street in Gata de Gorgos . That the 42 year old woman is now in Dénia hospital after being hit in the back.
After shooting his wife the man then turned the gun on himself and shot himself dead just metres from where his wife lay injured . The couple are well known in the village and have two sons aged 20 and 12. Local Mayor, Anan María Soler, said they had been witness to another case of macho violence which had caused great upset taking place as it had in the street .

Football update

Saturday January 16
FC Barcelona 4 - 0 Sevilla FC
Athletic Bilbao 1 - 0 Real Madrid
Osasuna 2 - 0 RCD Espanyol

Sunday January 17

Valencia CF 4 - 1 Villarreal CF
Atlético Madrid 3 - 2 Sporting Gijón
Málaga CF 1 - 0 Getafe CF
UD Almería 1 - 1 CD Tenerife
Real Zaragoza 0 - 0 Xerez CD
Racing Santander 1 - 1 Real Valladolid
RCD Mallorca 2 - 0 Deportivo La Coruña

1   FC Barcelona   18   14   4   0   36   46
2   Real Madrid   18   13   2   3   28   41
3   Valencia CF   18   11   5   2   17   38
4   RCD Mallorca   18   10   3   5   12   33
5   Deportivo La Coruña   18   9   4   5   2   31
6   Sevilla FC   18   9   3   6   7   30
7   Athletic Bilbao   18   9   3   6   2   30
8   Getafe CF   18   9   0   9   2   27
9   Sporting Gijón   18   6   6   6   0   24
10   Villarreal CF   18   6   5   7   2   23
11   Atlético Madrid   18   6   5   7   0   23
12   Osasuna   18   5   5   8   -4   20
13   Racing Santander   18   5   5   8   -5   20
14   RCD Espanyol   18   5   4   9   -13   19
15   UD Almería   18   4   6   8   -10   18
16   Málaga CF   18   3   8   7   -3   17
17   Real Valladolid   18   3   8   7   -9   17
18   CD Tenerife   18   4   4   10   -20   16
19   Real Zaragoza   18   3   5   10   -19   14
20   Xerez CD   18   1   5   12   -25   8

5 injured Fire in Oviedo railway tunneL

At least five workers were injured early today Tuesday when the railway tunnel they were building caught fire near Oviedo in northern Spain , emergency services said . The 2.5-kilometre tunnel is to form part of a high-speed rail line linking Madrid with the region of Asturias . The lining of the tunnel caught fire for reasons which were not immediately known . Five workers were taken to hospital after inhaling smoke . Their lives were not in danger .

Politician angry with FBI over bin Laden picture , rejects U.S. apology

Llamazares a Spanish lawmaker , angrily rejected the United States’ apology for the FBI’s using a photo of him to create a poster showing what Osama bin Laden might look like today . Gaspar Llamazares, of Spain’s communist-run United Left party , demanded the U.S. investigate the incident and take appropriate action . “Apologies are not enough,” he told a news conference at Parliament after the U.S. ambassador apologized via Spain’s interior minister on Monday .
“I want a thorough investigation into this disgraceful case , which not only causes concern but also worry and indignation over the behavior of the FBI,” he said, adding that he did not rule out legal action . The FBI used parts of a photo of Llamazares taken from Google Images to create a digitally modified image of the al-Qaida leader for a new wanted poster , which appeared on the State Department Web site and offered a reward of up to $25 million . The FBI said the forensic artist had been unable to find suitable features among the reference photographs of bin Laden, and in part used features from a photograph found online . The photo has be remover but Llamazares said he wanted guarantees that the images were not still in the hands of intelligence services at airports or other places abroad . He said it bothered him to think what would have happened if the FBI had used the photo of an ordinary person , and not a public figure able to draw attention to the matter . “Most likely an unknown citizen on stepping into an airport would have received a good fright, if not something worse,” the politician said . “If this is how security against terrorism is guaranteed, whose hands are we in? ” Llamazares, known as an anti-war activist in Spain, said he also wanted to know if the FBI has a habit of keeping files on leftist politicians in the U.S., Europe, Latin American or elsewhere. He said he doubted the FBI had found his photo by chance on the Internet . Llamazares said he sent letters of complaint to FBI chief Robert Mueller , the U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and U.S. Ambassador to Spain, Alan Solomont .  “I thought it was a joke,”

Proposed reducing the wages of air traffic controllersby 40%

The Minister for Development, José Blanco, has proposed reducing the wages of air traffic controllers in Spain to 200,000 Euros a year. It would mean an average 40% cut in take home pay . He said that the target was to reduce navigation costs by 15% and noted that the controllers earned two and half times than he himself did as a minister . He said that cutting wages was the only way to reduce the AENA Spanish Airports Authority Deficit . Neanwhile the AENA website now shows live video coverage of take offs and landings at Madrid’s Barajas Airport in real time . and the public will also have access to their exact route and noise levels . link is http://www33.webtrak-lochard.com/webtrak/mad3 will in Ireland , Irish Aviation Authority is calling on air traffic controllers effectively shut down between 2pm and 6pm as controllers attend mandatory union meetings . This will also affect flights through Irish airspace . Ryanair has cancelled 48 flights scheduled for tomorrow , which it says will affect 6,000 passengers . dispute with the IAA over pay and pension issues . Get in touch with your airline if you traveling two Ireland are over there airspace . flight will 3 hours befor this time wich is 15.00hrs CET

Elche palms from the Red Palm Weevil Agreement to defend them

Elche maintenance councillor, José Manuel Sánchez, told Información newspaper that he had conveyed the town’s concerns about the problem and had called for all administrations to get involved in its solution . Agreement has finally been made between the Town Hall and regional government on the problem
A new five kilometre perimeter zone is to be created around the historic palm trees of Elche, which are an UNESCO heritage of mankind site . It comes as agreement has been reached between the local Town Hall and the Generalitat regional Valencia government on measures to take in the face of the invasion of the red palm weevil which has been extending into the region . Estación Phoeni x, the research centre for the Elche palms warned last October that the weevil had been seen in the town with 15 insects found in the first fortnight of the month . The idea is to keep the perimeter area clear and then extend it out further, and Elche Mayor, Alejandro Soler, has indicated that more money will be made available in the fight .

19% of workers out of a job

As a result of the economic crisis , unemployment in Spain increased by over a 4 million in 2009 ,  a quarter of whom are foreigners . The unemployment rate for those of a working age now stands at 18.83% , the highest it’s been since 1998 , when it reached 19.41% . According to the government’s latest predictions, these figures are expected to “deteriorate even further” over the coming months . Foreigners in Spain have been particularly badly affected, with a total of 1,076,200 out of work by the end of 2009 , 38% more than the previous year . Many of those now unemployed arrived in Spain during the boom years from Latin America , Morocco or Romania when spanish wont do the job but was taken up by Foreigners .  Whereas many European Union countries are now starting to see the signs of recovery , Spain’s Gross Domestic Product GDP actually dropped a further 0.3% in the final quarter of 2009 . Ireland is still in Bad way with unemployment and Foreigners . The International Monetary Fund IMF also confirmed this week that the Spanish economy looked set to fall a further 0.6% this year and that it would be the only major developed country that would continue in recession in 2010 . According to data released by Brussels , Spain has the second highest unemployment rate in the European Union . The EU’s employment and social security ministers agreed that Spain needed to continue stimulating the economy and that there will be no receovery until new jobs are created .

Spanish hotel sector has ‘touched bottom

Gabriele Burgio , chair of Spain-based NH Hoteles , has predicted that the Spanish hotel sector is now at its lowest end , with recovery expected sometime during 2011 . Burgio told news agency Reuters that, although price recovery could take “a couple of years” , he has seen evidence that the last quarter of 2009 (October - December) was “less negative” than the previous quarters . NH Hoteles operates 347 hotels with more than 53,000 rooms, mainly in Europe and Latin America .

sorry all been out sick and thanks of all get well email and text , back next week all going well