The Sea Inside wins Oscar

Spanish film Mar Adentro won the Oscar for best foreign film last night and director Alejando Amenábar collected the award.

The Sea Inside is one of the most successful films in the history of Spanish cinema and critics hope that the Oscar will help to revive a struggling film industry. Last year was not a good year for Spanish cinema, and falling numbers of spectators reflected the general poor quality of films. Which is probably why The Sea Inside has won so many prizes in Spain itself. It is an excellent film, but to win 14 Goya prizes is a bit excessive, and the fact that it did reflects the lack of competition it faced this year.

Many fans of Mar Adentro will feel that leading actor Javier Bardem was very unlucky not to receive at least a nomination for best actor in this year's Oscar ceremonies. His performance in this film is considered by many critics, and by the actor himself, to be the best of his career so far, and Amenabar expressed his gratitude to Bardem in his speech last night.

Bardem, who is one of a famous and popular family of Spanish actors and film producers, did not travel to Hollywood to be present at the Oscars last night and so far he has resisted the temptation to follow in the steps of Antonio Banderas and Penelope Cruz and try his luck in the US because, according to a recent interview published on Alejandro Amenabar's official website, Bardem doubts that in Hollywood he would be offered the roles and scripts he needs in order to grow and learn as an actor. He compares living and working in Hollywood just for the sake it to being an astronaut just for the sake of being an astronaut, without having even the slightest curiosity to learn about the galaxies in space.

Related links:
The Sea Inside
See trailer of The Sea Inside
Spanish film industry

Freezing weather in Spain: people advised not to travel

The Spanish authorities today advised people in Spain not to travel during the next few days because of freezing weather which is sweeping the country and which, combined with other adverse meteorogical conditions, promises to make driving even along main roads very dangerous indeed.

Freezing temperatures will start to affect most of Spain as from this afternoon, and temperatures will remain unusually low until Wednesday. The Spanish traffic authorities advise travellers to postpone any car journeys until mid-week.

Temperatures are expected to fall to minus ten degrees in Madrid and minus twenty degrees in Aragon over the next few days. Snow is forecast in Galicia, Asturias, Cantabria, Castilla y Leon, Castilla-La Mancha, Cataluña, Basque Region and the Balearic Islands, and gale-force winds are expected in Aragon, Castilla y Leon, La Rioja, Navarra, Madrid and the Canary Islands. And just to make conditions even more dire than they are already, torrential rain is forecast throughout southern Spain.

Travellers who have no choice but to travel in their car are advised to inform other people of their intended route and to keep in touch with them via a mobile telephone. Drivers are advised to make sure that their petrol tank is full and that they have blankets, warm clothing, food and drink in the car. In the event of becoming trapped in snowy or icey conditions, drivers are advised to keep the car engine and heater on, call for help and wait. Car windows should be fully lowered every half hour to ventilate the car, and drivers should check every half hour that the exhaust pipe is not blocked with snow, to avoid being affected by poisonous gas.

Windsor fire investigation

In Spain what was initially expected to be a straightforward investigation into the causes of the Windsor fire is becoming more and more complicated.

Police are still examining the authenticity of the video which emerged last week showing what appears to be two people on the 16th floor of the building recorded in the early hours of the morning when the top floors were ablaze and the security services allege that the building had been completely evacuated.

Earlier this week, police discovered what was reported by the media as "a secret exit" in the basement of the building, previously unknown to them, which could have been used as a way out by anyone wanting to make a discreet exit from the building on the night of the fire. The owners of the building, real estate company Asón, issued a press release the following day saying that the "secret exit" was infact one of several doors leading to and from the underground carpark and there was nothing secret about it, especially for the 650 employees who used the carpark everyday.

And yesterday one of the companies with offices in the Windsor Building, Comparex, applied for permission to enter into the damaged building to retrieve a fire-proof safe which the company claims holds confidential documents belonging to the Spanish Defence Ministry. The Judge leading the investigation has given her approval and representatives from Comparex plan to enter the building today.

The Defence Ministry issued a press release yesterday denying the existence in the safe of any documents which containing strategic information, or information potentially damaging to Spain's National Security.

The investigation continues.

Barcelona versus Chelsea

Tonight will be the first time that a Spanish president in power attends a football match played in Barcelona's home stadium, Nou Camp. Despite the traditional rivalry betweenn Real Madrid and Barcelona, José Luis Rodriguez Zapatero has announced his decision to break the habit of Spanish presidents who normally attend Real matches, and to attend the match. Zapatero supports Barcelona.

Apart from the presence of Zapatero and the importance of the game, tonight's match will be closely watched by observers who are increasingly worried by the spread of racism in Spanish football grounds over the past months.

Racism is relatively new to football terraces in Spain but, although the Spanish press and football authorities tended to play down the importance of the much-publicised offensive racist chants heard at the Spain v England match last November, the issue of racism in football is being discussed more and more openly and people seem to be acknowledging at last that it does exist and it is getting worse.

Samuel Eto'o, the incredibly talented and popular Camaroon striker and Africa's footballer of the year, responded to racist monkey chants and peanuts thrown from the terraces in a recent match against Zaragoza, by scoring a goal and dancing like a monkey in celebration. After the match he told reporters that he had acted like a monkey because the crowd was treating him like one.

In interviews held since the event, Eto'o has spoken more seriously about the growing racism on Spanish terraces and how it affects players like him who love Spain. He has suggested creating a kind of players, trainers, supporters and press alliance to oppose the racist fans and help to counteract the damage they are doing to the game here.

It will be interesting to see fans behaviour on both sides tonight in what promises to be a thrilling match.

Smoking in Spain among women on the rise

Spain's Health Minister, Elena Salgado, has announced this morning the number of Spanish women who smoke has doubled during the last 25 years, rising from 16.6 percent to 31.3 percent. Meanwhile the number of male smokers in Spain has dropped by 24 percent.

In the clearest example yet that recent anti-smoking campaigns launched by past Spanish governments have been totally ineffective, Salgado said that during the past five years the number of women smokers had risen by over 4 percent and, even worse, that no less than 30 out of every 100 pregnant women smoke during their pregnancy.

According to the figures released by the Spanish minister this morning, girl teenagers tend to start smoking before boys.

Alcohol abuse among young women is also on the rise. In 1997, 38 percent of girls between 15 and 19 years old said they had been drunk at least once. By 2003 the figure had risen to 51 percent. Elena Salgado warned that smoking and drinking habits among young Spanish women were causing a gradual deterioration in their health. During the last decade, the life expectancy of women has risen by just 2.3 years compared to a rise of 2.8 years among Spanish men.

According to the Spanish health minister, one of eight women ministers in Rodriguez Zapatero's government, part of the blame for problems with tabacco and alcohol among Spanish women lies with the different social roles assigned to men and women. She said that her ministry's Observatory on Women's Health would be studying ways of solving sex discrimination in terms of wages, working conditions and promotion.

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Spain EU referendum, yes wins but low turnout.

The Spanish electorate has given its overwhelming approval to the proposed European constitution. 76.5 percent have voted in favour of the European charter and just 17.4 percent against.

Participation in the referendum has not been as low as some feared - in the end just over 42 percent of the electorate voted today - but even so it is the lowest turnout in any election or referendum held in the history of democratic Spain. It will be interesting to see whether or not other European countries prove to be more successful in persuading their electorate to vote.

The result will be seen as a victory for Spanish president Rodriguez Zapatero, not necessarily because of the turnout, but because of the size of the majority of votes in favor of the European constitution.

Today's referendum was carried out without any violent incidents.

Video of people in Windsor building during blaze

A married couple staying in Madrid just opposite the Windsor building last weekend claim to have seen people inside the building when the fire was raging on the top few floors. They recorded what they believed were two people moving around and visible through one of the windows, and their home video was broadcast on national television on Friday. Police spent yesterday afternoon questioning the man about exactly what he saw. Since the video was broadcast, other people who watched the fire from their homes have come forward claiming that they also saw people in the building at about the same time.

The video has mystified police investigating the Windsor fire, because at the time it was recorded, between three and five o'clock a.m., officially there was no longer anyone in the building. The couple rang Spain's emergency number at three a.m. to say that they had seen people inside the building, but they were told that all floors of the skyscraper had been evacuated hours before, there were no casualties, and that the people must be firemen. However Madrid's fire services have confirmed that all firemen had left the building by one thirty a.m. Representatives of Ason, a real estate company and owners of the Windsor building, and Deloitte, the building's most important tenant, have both confirmed that none of their employees were in the building at that time either. The figures were seen on the 16th floor which was occupied by Deloitte before the fire destroyed the building last weekend.

On the same day the video recording was shown on Spanish televisión (Friday), Ason cirulated a press release rejecting the hypothesis that the cause of the fire could have been a short ciruit fault, and clearing the company of any possible responsability for the blaze. The release stated that the short circuit explanation lacked feasibility because all the air conditioning and heating in the building were switched off at weekends. Furthermore, the company underlined the fact that the building's fire alarms and extinguishing facilities underwent a full inspection last month which they passed.

See video of people moving about in the Windsor building

EU referendum in Spain

In a rally held in Madrid last night, Spanish President Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero made a final (some would say desperate) attempt to generate interest in the referendum due to be held tomorrow in which over 34 and a half million Spanish voters will be given the chance to accept or reject the proposed European Constitution.

The Spanish president asked for the yes vote from "everybody who all these years has voted for freedom, for democracy, for progress, for peace, for Europe and for coexistence". President Zapatero accompanied during last night's rally by ex-president Felipe Gonzalez, a prominent member of the European referendum campaign, called for "the yes of Spain 2005, the yes of an optimistic Spain, the yes of a Spain that has repaired mistakes made in the past and has gained enough self-confidence not only to be European but to lead Europe... a Spain that has learned how to go forward in unity and to respect diversity".

The Popular Party have also supported the yes vote. Mariano Rajoy reminded his party faithfuls in a PP rally last night that he was asking for their vote neither because of nor inspite of the Government, who he accused of lacking both principles and conviction, but because of the belief of the PP that a European Consitution is a good thing for Europe.

Zapatero insisted he remained confident that there will be a large turn-out tomorrow. Over the past few weeks the government has tried to highlight certain articles of the European constitution and increase overall awareness of its implications. Famous figures from the worlds of politics, culture, media and sport have participated in the campaign, by reading a clause and appearing in adverts on national television, radio and thousand of billboards all over the country. Learning the constitution off by heart and reciting its clauses provided the Spanish version of VIP Big Brother with one of its weekly trials.

But despite a very visible and audible campaign, the latest surveys tend to suggest that a large percentage of the Spanish population still doesn't know enough about the text of the proposed EU constitution, or is simply not interested enough to vote in the referendum.

Related articles:
European residents in Spain not allowed to vote in EU referendum
European constitution referendum in Spain

ETA planned terrorist attack in Valencia before European referendum

Police say evidence suggests that the two suspected terrorists arrested yesterday in Valencia, Spain, were about to commit a terrorist act probably against a member of the Spanish armed forces, a police station or a tourist information office.

On their arrest the two members of Eta had in their possession a bomb ready to be used, two guns, dinamite and detonators aswell as material to prepare another bomb. Police think they were preparing to plant several bombs before the referendum to be held this Sunday in Spain on the European constitution. The police also found a list with some 500 names on it, presumably possible targets for these or future terrorist acts.

Spanish police and security forces have been on alert over the past few days, ever since they discovered a letter written by one of the leaders of ETA expressing his order to see "dead people on the table immediately". Police say the presence of the two terrorists who had arrived in Valencia just the day before is directly linked to the arrest of two other suspected ETA terrorists a few days ago in El Campello (a village just 160 km south of Valencia) and Basauri, Vizcaya. Following the arrests, Mikel Orbegozo Etxarri and Sara Majarenas Ibarreta travelled straight to Valencia from France.

According to witnesses yesterday, the Basque couple were in their hotel room with the explosives when they realised that police were searching the building. They tried to walk out of the main entrance without anyone noticing them, but were recognised and approached by police. Majarenas offered no resistence. Orbegozo ran away with a gun in his hand, but was soon captured by police. Both Majarenas and Orbegozo were carrying false police identification badges and several false ID cards.

The authorities have warned the Spanish public to be careful this weekend. In declarations on Spanish radio, Spain's State Prosecutor said yesterday that the latest arrests and evidence suggested that the terrorist organization ETA was like a wounded animal on its last legs, but prepared to commit desperate attacks and that precisely because of this, people should be on guard.

Tourists coming to Spain to benefit from new EU legislation

New European legislation passed last year comes into force today giving air passengers the right to claim cash compensation for delays caused by overbooking, including (for the first time) on charter flights. The new measures are expected to benefit thousands of tourists who come to Spain on charter flights each year and often have to face long delays caused by overbooking, especially during high season.

Previously passangers on short flights were only able to claim a refund and compensation if their flight was cancelled. But according to the new laws, travellers whose trips are delayed (for 2 hours or more on short-haul flights and 4 hours or more on long-haul flights) will also have the right to claim their money back.

The measures represent a setback for cheap flight companies like Easyjet and Ryan Air who have criticized the new laws because they believe they are excessive. They say compensation will often exceed the original price of the flight, which means they will be forced to put ticket prices up. Neither company enjoys a good reputation for the way it responds to customer complaints over delays and cancellations.

The new rules double the compensation which airlines have to give for overbooking on long-haul flights (from 300 to 600 euros) and introduces a new compensation for short-haul flights of 250 euros. It is the latter which will benefit tourists flying to Spain.

From now on, when running an overbooked flight, air companies will have to consult passengers to see if there are any volunteers prepared to be put on another flight in return for compensation. They will only be able to refuse travellers the right to travel if no volunteers are found.

As from today all travellers who face cancellation because of overbooking will have the right to choose between a full refund or a ticket on another flight, aswell as the standard compensation fee and, if the overbooking occurs on a connecting flight, the right to a free flight back to the place from where they began their journey. Airlines must offer travellers who choose to continue their journey on another flight refreshments, hotel accommodation (if the delay is overnight) and the right to two phone calls, fax messages or emails.

Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams interviewed during his visit to Spain

Gerry Adams is in Spain today to promote his book. He has just been interviewed on Spain's most popular morning radio news programme, Hoy por Hoy on Cadena Ser. Here are some extracts of the interview.

Allegations were published in the Spanish press this weekend about a possible meeting between Father Alec Reid, and leaders of Basque terrorist group ETA. Father Reid played a key role in the Irish peace process, is one of Gerry Adam's friends and advisors and it recently came to light that he also advises Juan Jose Ibarretxe, President of the Basque regional government and leader of the separatist PNV.

When asked about the role of Father Reid in the Basque situation in Spain this morning, Adams was very careful with the wording of his answer. He said that since he had arrived in Spain he had been told about the rumours published in the Spanish press about Father Reid's possible role in "helping efforts to initiate a peace process" in Spain. Adams stressed his own wish to be careful in his response to these rumours, because he was just visiting Spain, whereas he was conscious that many Spaniards who live here had suffered and been victims of the Basque problem. But he did confirm that he had had a telephone conversation earlier this morning with Father Reid, and he could confirm that there are efforts underway to initiate a peace process in Spain.

When asked about the similarities between the fight for independence of the Basque Region and Northern Ireland, Adams acknowledged that there was always a temptation to compare peace processes and freedom fights. He said the main similarity between both situations was that you must have dialogue to begin any attempt to resolve conflict (possibly an allusion to Father Reid's alleged meeting with ETA leaders). Adams said there could be no progress without debate, that people needed to inform and listen. That in any peace process, you have to create a space for your enemy, just as Sinn Fein and the Irish Unionists did, and that some people and political groups may find this frightening, but that progress would be impossible without more dialogue. Adams said is was also important for political parties and groups to make commitments and to comply with them. He said that unlike ordinary politics and business, where some degree of misleading your opponent could be considered to be "legitimate", for a peace process to be successful, deceit is unconceivable.

Gerry Adams is to have meetings with Basque president Ibarretxe, leader of ETA's political wing Ortegi, and leader of the Catalan republican party, Carod Rovira during his stay in Spain. When asked why he had not got any meetings planned with leaders of Spain's main political parties, Adams said that the main objective of his visit was to promote his book, and that if it had been a visit with political motives, his agenda would have been very different. He said that while he shared a mutual interest to meet with Ibarretxte, Ortegi and Carod Rovira, the initial proposal came from them rather than him

When asked if the peace process in Northern Ireland has come so far now that it has become irreversible, or whether recent difficulties endangered progress made until now, Gerry admitted that there was a possibility that some groups could return to violence, but that there was much to be lost if this occured. He said he rejected what he called " an armed peace".

Gerry Adams will be promoting his book in Spain for the next three days. His visit is expected to generate much interest among the Spanish press and public because of the inevitable comparisons between the respective Basque and Irish causes and also because of the speculations about the recent role of Father Reid in conversations with Basque terrorists and politicians.

Barcelona, Spain hosts Football for Hope match

Barcelona played host to an all-stars football match yesterday as the world's best football players and trainers of some of the world's biggest teams participated in the Football for Hope match.

Barcelona donated use of the stadium and facilities, teams donated their players who, in turn, donated their time, and all proceeds from the match (tickets, television rights, memorabilia etc.) will be donated to the victims of the tsunami disaster.

The stars were divided into two teams, "the World", led by Brasil and Barcelona player Ronaldinho, and "Europe" led by Shevchenko. Fans inside the Nou Camp stadium and television spectators all around the world watched the footballers enjoy themselves as they played some spectacular football. The game was also unique in that the referee only blew one foul during the whole 90 minutes of play. "The World" won by 6 goals to 3.

The Football for Hope game was organised by FIFA, UEFA and the Asiatic Football Federation and all proceeds will go to reconstructing football stadiums and football activity in the areas most affected by the tsunami disaster. About 10 million dollars were raised by yesterday's event.

Spanish cruiser thrown off course by by stormy weather

A Spanish cruiser on its way to Barcelona with 474 passanger and 317 crew on board floated adrift its route yesterday when its four engines broke down in one of the stormiest days experienced by the Mediterranean this Winter. The cruiser tried unsuccessfully to enter the small port of Mahon in Minorca, closed by maritime authorities because of the 14 metre high waves caused by winds blowing at 100 km per hour.

The Grand Voyager was sailing towards Barcelona when the storms caused the engine failure and the crew sent out an SOS which was answered by French maritime authorities and a British tanker which was nearby.


The storms damaged the cruiser's electricity, communications and propulsion systems and prevented rescue teams from accessing the boat. Towards the end of the day, members of the crew were able to reactivate two of the four engines and, as winds dropped slightly, the cruiser which had been due to arrive in Barcelona at two thirty pm yesterday, headed away from the storms and towards Sardinia where it is expected to arrive this morning.

Nobody was seriously hurt in the incident, although some of the passangers, most of whom are Spanish, are said to have suffered slight injuries possibly because of bumps caused by the movements of the boat. Iberojet said that as soon as the boat has docked in the Italian island passangers would be flown from Cagliari to Barcelona today.

Windsor fire aftermath causes chaos in Madrid.

The center of Madrid is in chaos this morning and over a third of the activity which usually takes place in the financial and commercial center of Spain's capital city has been suspended. Madrid's mayor has told reporters that demolition of the skyscraper is almost certainly inevitable although the final decision will be made after experts have inspected the building in the next 24-48 hours.

The whole area surrounding the Windsor building has been cordoned off, and will remain so until the it has been demolished, because of the continued risk that the remains of the building may suddenly collapse. Over 600.000 people are affected by the aftermath of the fire as all surrounding roads, shops and offices have been sealed off and commercial and financial activity has effectively come to a halt. Madrid's council leaders have asked residents to show patience and solidarity over the next couple of days.

To make things worse, today much of Spain is experiencing strong gale-foce winds, and firemen still at the scene of the fire have warned that large pieces of the burned building have already been blown off.

This morning several Spanish newspapers mention the possibility that the fire may have spread so quickly due to negligence of the security guards. If this turns out to be the case, events such as this and the ETA car bomb in Madrid last week will not do much to enhance Madrid's chances of becoming the successful candidate to host the 2012 Olympic Games.

Alleged meeting between Irish priest and ETA leaders

Irish priest Alec Reid, an advisor to both Gerry Adams, leader of Sinn Fein, and Ibarretxe, leader of the Basque nationalist party PNV, met with ETA leaders last year according to Spanish newspaper El Mundo.

The paper alleges that Reid, who played a key role in the peace talks between the British and Irish governments and Sinn Fein in the nineties, went to France last Autumn following the arrest of ETA leader Mikel Albizu in October 2004. According to El Mundo, Father Reid stayed at Belloch Monastry, the same place visited by French police last week to question the monk Marcel Etxandi in relation to his possible ties with ETA. Father Reid is alleged to have held conversations there with the newly appointed leaders of the Basque terrorist group.

A spokesman of the Vizcaya diocesis has confirmed that Father Reid stayed in the monastry in Autumn, that Reid often visits the Basque Region and that when he does, the Catholic Church put an official, chauffeur-driven car at his disposal to facilitate his movements. Father Reid is one of Basque President Ibarretxe's key advisors, something which is said to displease some leaders of the political wing of Eta who claim that Father Reid is more inclined to be sympathetic to the opinions and policies of Ibarretxe, rather than more radical nationalist demands and means.

Father Reid is also one of Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adam's key advisors, and has prepared a visit by Adams to Spain which will take place in the next few days. During his visit, Adams will meet with Ibarretxe and also with Arnaldo Otego, spokesman for Batasuna, the political wing of ETA which was banned from taking part in elections by the Spanish government two years ago.

Madrid's Windsor skyscraper, 99% fire extinguished.

Madrid fire services have just announced that the 99 percent of the fire which has gutted one of Spanish capital's tallest buildings has been put out. Firemen have been working all day to try and control Madrid's biggest ever fire. The Windsor building is in the heart of Madrid's commercial and banking center, and it has been destroyed by the fire. Emergency services are now concerned about the burned building collapsing to the ground.

The fire broke out last night, and firefighters were called to the scene at 11 O'clock pm. Nobody has confirmed what caused the blaze, but fire experts say the evidence points to an short circuit electrical fault. One side of the building has already collapsed and three firemen have been injured, none seriously, and taken to hospital. There have been no other casualties.

Madrid's mayor, Ruiz Gallardon, has appeared on television and radio to give the latest news. According to Ruiz Gallardon, the main aim of the fire services during the night and all morning, has been to prevent the fire from spreading to nearby buildings. The streets around the skyscraper have been evacuated, and three metro stations have been closed.

The Windsor building provided office space to a number of small and large companies including Deloitte (whose staff occupied 20 floors of the skyscraper) and Garrigues.

See photo of burnt skyscraper in Madrid (source: Cadena Ser)

Spanish benedictine monk arrested by Spanish police investigating ETA

Spain: Two benedictine monks have been arrested today in connection to the latest police investigations into activities of the Basque terrorist group ETA. One monk, aged 75, was arrested by Spanish police and taken from the Lazkao monastry, where he lives, to a police station for questioning.

Another benedictine monk has been arrested in France. According to the Spanish media, both monks are accused of having collaborated with Mikel Albizu, considered to be the leader of ETA. Abizu was arrested in France in October last year.

This is not the first time that Catholic priests or monks have been accused of collaborating with the Basque terrorist organization. In 1992 the Bishop of Irun was accused of sheltering members of the ETA in property next to his church. And just 3 years ago an ex-priest was jailed for supplying ETA terrorists with information they needed to carry out a terrorist attack against the Spanish civil guard in 1981 in which 3 guards were killed.

Spanish government plan to tackle obesity

Yesterday the Spanish government announced a national plan aimed at reducing obesity amongst the Spanish population. The plan especially targets obesity in children.

The Spanish Health Minister, Elena Salgado, announced that the government has reached an agreement with the Spanish food industry whereby food companies have agreed to reduce the percentage of fats, sodium and salt in processed foods. According to the Spanish minister, the rise in obesity in Spain is particularly alarming in children. She said that the government's objective was to reduce obesity and to help Spaniards improve their eating habits and do more exercise.

To help the government in its task, the Health Ministry has signed agreements with food companies, regional governments and 80 organizations related to the food and leisure industries all of whom have been involved in drawing up Spain's first ever "get healthy and lose weight" strategy. The Spanish government plans to intervene in school meals, proposing a parliamentary decree to establish quality standards. It also plans to remove food and drink vending machines from schools and other places used by 6 to 12-year olds, and to control what kind of foods are sold in the machines which remain standing.

According to yesterday's agreement, over the next four years the percentage of salt in bread will be reduced from 2.2 percent to 1.8 percent, and companies will also cut down on the aomunt of sodium and saturated fats that go into their products. All foods will have to display a ticket with nutritional information, and restaurants will also have to detail the nutritional content of their dishes in the menu.

The Mediterranean diet has long been considered to be one of the most healthy in the world because it is based on fruit, vegetables, pulses, olive oil and a high intake of fish. However, over the past few years Spaniards have been introducing more and more processed foods into their diet and according to Elena Salgado, over 38 percent of the adult population in Spain is over weight.

Basque terrorist group ETA in Madrid

Police investigating the car bomb which exploded in Madrid yesterday suspect that two members of the terrorist group ETA may be living permanently in Madrid. They base their hypothesis on the fact that the telephone used by the terrorists to ring the Basque newspaper Gara and give their usual bomb warning yesterday was bought in Madrid last November, just before ETA put small bombs in five petrol stations surrounding the Spanish capital city.

Yesterday's bomb was bigger than the bombs planted by ETA recently, and 36 people were slightly injured. The terrorists used the same kind of explosives as the one they used in the car bomb which exploded in Getxo three weeks ago.

Yesterday's incident was a mediatic victory for ETA. The bomb exploded just hours before the King Juan Carlos and Mexican president Fox were due to arrive for the opening of the yearly contemporary art exhibition ARCO in a nearby building. And the news story received instant attention from the worldwide media. However the Spanish Interior Minister, José Antonio Alonso claimed that recent arrests of ETA members have seriously weakened the structure of the terrorist group and that police operations over the next few days would continue to do so.

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Spanish international relations

President Fox of Mexico arrived in Madrid yesterday accompanied by his Vice-President and no less than five ministers of the Mexican government (Finance, Employment, Energy, Culture and Tourism). He will be here for the rest of the week on an official visit aimed at strengthening economic and cultural relations between Mexico and Spain. Yesterday Fox visited an art exhibition by Mexican artist Gabriel Orozco and had a meeting with the Chairman of Telefónica, the Spanish telecom company, and Mexican businessmen.

Today the Mexican President has further meetings with key Spanish business leaders and this afternoon he and King Juan Carlos chair the official opening ceremony of ARCO the yearly contemporary art fair held in Madrid. Each year ARCO invites one country to participate in this prestigious art occasion, and this year the chosen country is Mexico. 17 Mexican art galleries have accepted the invitation to participate in the exhibition.

The cultural and historical ties between Mexico and Spain are obvious, and the role Fox could play in repairing the damaged relations between Spain and the USA could be very important. For this reason, it is a little surprising that the Spanish president, José Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, has chosen this week to pay an official visit to Poland. If, as the Spanish government claims, the two core objectives of Spanish foreign policy now are a stronger role in Europe and stronger ties with Latin America, Zapatero should have been here to receive President Fox and accompany him during his 3-day visit to Spain. Especially as he went out of his way to give such a warm welcome to Venezuela's controversial president Hugo Chavez just a few months ago. The Spanish president's visit to Poland should not have coincided with the Mexican government's visit to Spain.

Zapatero plans to receive President Fox tomorrow, on his return to Spain. But by then the Mexican president will have held meetings on his own with all key business leaders, will have had lunch with the Royals, paid a visit to the Mayor of Madrid, and received Mariano Rajoy, the leader of the opposition PP party. He leaves Spain tomorrow afternoon.

Spanish foreign policy

Morella, Castellon. Monoxide poisoning tragedy

Eighteen people were found dead on Sunday afternoon in a rural house in the small village of Todolella yesterday in the Spanish province of Castellon due to monoxide poisoning. Their funerals took place yesterday afternoon.

The victims formed part of a group who had held a party to celebrate one of the friends' fiftieth birthday. The man who was celebrating his birthday and his partner are the only two survivors - they had slept in a bedroom next to the room where the eighteen victims died. The cause of the their death was monoxide poisoning, caused by the butane gas heater they used to heat the room they slept in. Reporters say that some of the group must have realised what was happening, as some of the corpses were found blocking the door they had apparantly tried to open when they tried to get out of the room.

An official mass was held yesterday evening in Morella, Castellon. It was attended by some of the victims' families. Three of the victims were from Morella. Others were from various of the small villages in the region. The Prince and Princess of Asturias, Felipe and Letizia, attended the official mass, as did the Spanish deputy prime minister, Maria Teresa Fernandez de la Vega.

Carbon monoxide is a poisonous gas. It can be given off by appliances that burn fossil fuels (gas, coal, wood or oil) if they’re not working properly, if the fuel is blocked in any way, or if the room is not properly ventilated. It is odourless, colourless and tasteless and its effects are mortal.

Legalisation of illegal immigrants in Spain

Today is the first day of the three month period set by Spain's Socialist government to enable illegal immigrants to legalise their residence in Spain.

Illegal immigrants who can prove they have been living in Spain and have been registered with the municipal authorities (empadronados) for at least 6 months, have no criminal record and can produce a contract have a three month deadline to apply for residence and a work permit. 160 Social Security offices, normally open to the public from ten a.m. to one O'clock p.m., will open in the afternoons and early evenings to deal with the flood of applications they expect to receive as from today. Applications must be handed in by the employer rather than the foreign worker.

In order to receive medical care, apply for residency or schooling, everyone in Spain has to be registered with their local "padron", (municipal registrar). According to figures released by the municipal registers in Spain, over three million immigrants are registered with a Spanish address. The number of immigrants with legal residence permits in Spain is 1.8 million. The difference between the two figures illustrates just how many illegal immigrants are living in Spain.

The Spanish government has designed its immigration policy in close collaboration with trade unions and private sector employers, and the only political party to speak out against this one-off measure is the Popular Party. The opposition party argues that Spain has not got the resources to give education, health and other services to unlimited numbers of immigrants. But the government claims that today's measure will force thousands of immigrants out of illegal employment as for the first time employers will have to start paying their national health payments which will, in turn, contribute to the cost of public services which the illegal residents are already using. It will also put an end to exploitation of immigrant workers by employers who take advantage of their illegal situation to pay poor wages and demand long hours in poor working conditions. Employers who do not legalise the situation of their employees in the next three months risk fines of up to 60.000 euros.

Related articles:
Reform of Spanish immigration laws
New Spanish immigration laws

British nuclear submarine in Gibraltar

For the second time in less than a year a damaged British nuclear submarine has docked at Gibraltar's naval dock for repairs. HMS Sceptre arrived at Gibraltar docks yesterday. The British Embassy informed the submarine's "routine visit" is expected to last for one week.

In 2000 another British nuclear submarine, the Tireless, made an emergency stop in Gibraltar when it became clear that its nuclear reacter system was leaking. The submarine ended up staying in Gibraltar for a whole year, and the incident drew heavy protest from the Spanish government and Spanish public opinion. Tireless returned for another short visit last year, drawing a sharp response from the Socialist government.

Spanish ecologists claim that HMS Spectre needs repairs on the cooling system of the nuclear area of the submarine, but yesterday a spokesman from the British Ministry of Defence denied that this was the case.

The Spanish foreign affairs minister, Miguel Angel Moratinos, amidst media speculation that this might be a repeat performance of last years' incident, was forced to call a press conference in which he assured the Spanish media that he had spoken to Jack Straw who had explained that the HMS Sceptre needs repairal work doing on the cooling system of its diesel engine and that there is nothing wrong with its nuclear system.

However Moratinos also said that the Spanish government has formally asked the UK government not to send any more nuclear submarines to the Gibraltan coast.

Bilingual schools in Spain

For the past couple of decades Spaniards have increasingly recognised how important it is to have a good command of written and spoken English.The relatively recent inclusion of English in the national curriculum at primary school level, as well as a substantial rise in the number private schools offering bilingual Spanish-English education and private academies offering children and adults intensive English courses are all an indication of the demand here for good-quality English tuition.

During the Franco dictatorship, French was the first second language taught in secondary schools, with the result that Spaniards in their forties or over have usually had to learn English late, at evening classes or intensive courses, or have had to struggle along in an increasingly global world offering immediate access to information via an Internet dominated by English. Thousands of parents pay for their children to have private English tuition as a way of counteracting the generally low standard of English language tuition offered by state schools.

Today the president of the Community of Madrid, Esperanza Aguirre, announced that next year a total of 80 state schools will offer their pupils a bilingual (Spanish-English) education. Last year 26 schools were equipped to offer bilingual studies, and the experience has been so successful that 54 other schools will become bilingual as from September 2005. Pupils in the first and second years of these primary schools will receive a third of their classes in English. President Aguirre confirmed that the number of schools offering bilingual education in the Madrid Community will rise to 110 over the next two years.

Teaching staff in the schools which have chosen to become bilingual will start attending an intensive English course this month, and will spend next July attending a residential course in England. Each school will be twinned with a primary school in the United Kingdom to facilitate school exchanges for pupils and teaching staff.

Related links
International schools in Spain
Intensive Spanish courses in Spain
Free online Spanish courses

Basque Independence, parliamentary debate.

The President of the Basque Regional Government visited Madrid yesterday to outline his plan, the Ibarretxe Plan, for increased Basque autonomy from Spain. President Ibarretxe aims to change the Spanish constitution inside out - from regional government inwards, rather than from central government outwards.

Ever since the transition to democracy in Spain, the claim of a percentage of the Basque population for greater autonomy has been heard in national and regional parliamentary debates and, of course, in the acts of terrorism carried out by the Basque terrorist group ETA.

Even though today's debate was labeled as a waste of time by some of Spain's parliamentary groups, notably the Popular Party, the fact that the Spanish government was prepared for the Basque nationalist government's ruling party to come to Madrid and to explain its independence plan to national parliament, and the fact that all political parties agreed to attend the debate and, in the end, spent most of the day, evening and part of the night in Congress debating the very essence of the Spanish constitution is an indication of both the strength and also the naivity of the Spanish democratic system.

In theory the Basque Regional Government is prevented by Spanish Law from extending its own powers, which is what it wants to do. So, in theory, a debate held in national parliament to discuss a plan which has no legal ground to stand on has no raison d'être. Spain's President José Luis Rodriguez Zapatero began his speech today with the words "if we live together, then together we must make decisions" and surely this has to be valid in any plural democracy.

The Basque country has to find ways of putting proposals forward which do not violate Spanish law. And if Spain is to ultimately defeat Basque terrorism, the Spanish government has to find a way of opening the door to democratic debate of constitutional reform, and find ways of reconciling its belief in the need for a strong central Spanish government with demands for greater autonomy powers coming from the Basque Country (and Catalonia of course).At the same time, the Spanish government is right to reject illegal plans such as the Ibarrexte plan, and wise to open the door to further debate as President Rodriguez Zapatero did yesterday.

If yestoday's debate in the Spanish congress proves to be the first step towards listening to Basque regionalist claims rather than pointedly ignoring them, then surely this is a positive move towards strengthening a plural state in which all voices are heard but none is allowed to impose its opinion over any other. The strength of any democracy lies in its ability to listen to and discuss polemical ideas and avoid resorting to simply insulting the proposals of political adversaries. Spanish political party representatives from all sides, to their credit, managed to do this yestoday.

The question most newspapers ask this morning is "Now what?".

Legalisation of cannabis for medical purposes in Spain.

The Catalan government has announced that it is about to sign an agreement with central government whereby a number of Catalonian pharmacies will supply cannabis to patients with a prescription. According to sources in the Catalonian regional health department, the text of the agreement has been finalised and is ready to be signed.

Cadena Ser reports that 4 hospitals and 60 chemists in Catalonia are to supply cannabis to patients of illnesses whose symptoms are apparantly relieved by use of the drug. According to a report carried out by the Official College of Chemists in Barcelona, 57 per cent of patients who consume cannabis to alleviate their symptoms, do not do so in a "correct" way because they lack official medical guidelines and provision.

According to sources quoted by the Ser, the agreement will allow cannabis to be prescribed to cancer patients (apparantly it helps to alleviate sickness caused by chemotherapy) and to combat anorexic symptoms in AIDS sufferers. It will also be offered to multiple sclerosis patients suffering from muscular problems, and patients suffering chronic pain which does not respond to other conventional treatments.

The plan is expected to begin in the next few weeks and, if it proves to be successful, it could be extended to other Spanish regions in the near future. Cannabis will be available in leaf-form, as a herbal tea, a herb to add to food and also in capsule form.

The Catalan authorities have not said anything about what they plan to do in the event of the regional health service becoming overrun with thousands of eager teenagers from all over Spain flooding into Catalonia and seeking to register with a Catalonian doctor.