Greenpeace protests in Cartagena

Around 20 Greenpeace activists protested yesterday in Cartagena against tuna fishing in the Mediterranean. The organisation repeated its demand that this practice be abandoned immediately. The activists simulated a cemetery hanging crosses outside a tuna fish farm.

According to Greenpeace the situation is urgent because the numbers of red tuna fish in the Mediterranean are dangerously low. It said that measures should be taken to recuperate tuna stocks. The organisation claims that they are running out due to pirate fishing and disastrous management. It said that a recovery plan should be implemented immediately and special protected areas of for tuna fish should be set up.

In 2005 tuna fishing amounted to around 50,000 tonnes which is 56% above the set quota of 32,000. Greenpeace said that this level of illegal fishing could be linked to the high number of tuna fish farms in the Mediterranean, most of which are in Murcia.

Spain asks for more help to deal with immigration

María Teresa Fernández de la Vega, the Spanish Vice-President, has asked for more help from the European Union to deal with the unprecedented numbers of immigrants arriving in Spain from Africa. The request was made following a meeting with the Finnish prime minister, Matti Vanhanen this week. The request will be made once again in Brussels today at a meeting with the president of the European Commission, José Manuel Durao Barroso.

Spain would like operation Frontex to continue patrolling the international waters between Spain and Africa. This operation is due to end in September. De la vega has requested that it be extended to at least Decemember. Operation Frontex was brought into action last month following the constant arrival of immigrants in boats from Africa.

She also suggested setting up a integrated organisation consisting of Mediterranean countries most affected by the problem of illegal immigration -Spain, Portugal, Italy, France, Greece, Cyprus, Malta and Slovenia in order to control maritime borders. She hopes that they can agree on a proposal to be debated at the European Summit in December.

De la Vega believes that illegal immigration is a problem that faces the EU not just individual countries. However, Fiso Roscam, the EU spokesperson on Justice, Freedom and Security, has said that no more help is available and that material help, such as Frontex will only be available until 2007 and that this depends on what each state is prepared to offer voluntarily.

Related:
Spain appeals for help to tackle rise in arrival of illegal immigrants
Migrants die in border fence crush on Spanish border
Legalisation of illegal immigrants in Spain
Foreign residents in Spain
Immigration in Spain
Reform of Spanish immigration laws
Immigrants on hunger strike in Barcelona
Inmigrantes en España

Ex-Mayor of Marbella on corruption charges

Marisol Yagüe the ex-Mayor of Marbella appeared in court for the second time yesterday. The judge, Miguel Ángel Torres, asked for her to return to court in order to clarify her initial declaration.

The ex-Mayor has been charged along with other council members of corruption on several counts and has remained in prison since 29th March. Some of the charges she faces are neglect of duty and bribery.

Pablo Luna, her defence lawyer, said that she had nothing new to add to her original declaration. The ex-Mayor was transferred from prison to court in a police van and her appearance in court lasted just over an hour. According to Luna Marisol Yagüe is still hoping to be released from prison on health grounds due to the depression she is said to be suffering although 3 requests have already been refused by the judge in this case.

Related:
Visitors guide to Malaga and Marbella
Hotels in Marbella
Hotels in Malaga
Cheap hotels in Malaga
Photos of Marbella

Congestion charges in Spanish cities

The government is considering introducing congestion charges for cars circulating in Spanish cities. The idea will be debated in PSOE's annual political conference due to take place between 15th - 17th September. The congestion charges would work in a similar way to those already in place in other European cities like London and Rome. In large German cities like Frankfurt and Cologne motorists will be charged as from 1st January.

Although PSOE admit that introducing charges is a controversial proposal it would only be under certain conditions. Each city would have the right to decide whether to introduce the charge and be able to adapt it accordingly to suit their interests.

However, it is unlikley that the idea will be approved at the conference given that PSOE has worked towards reducing car tolls on motorways for example in Galicia and Andalucía due to their unpopularity.

Some of the reasons behind the idea of introducing congestion charges are protecting historic buildings, improving public transport and improving the environment in city centres for its inhabitants. A similar idea was put forward by the Ministry for the Environment in 2004.

Other ways of improving the city centre and reducing traffic would be to introduce more bus lanes, introduce lanes for cars carrying more than one passenger, prohibit loading and unloading during the rush hour, create more cycle lanes and pedestrianised streets and introduce more environmetnally friendly public transport.

Related:
Driving in Spain
Roads in Spain
New penalty points driving license system in Spain
Driving from Spain to England
Driving offences in Spain
Drink driving in Spain

San Sebastián Film Festival 2006

This year the 54th San Sebastián International Film Festival will take place between 21st – 30th September. There will be a total of 16 films in the official section competing for the coveted Concha de Oro award.

John Boorman, Bahman Ghobadi, Carlos Sorin, Tom DiCillo, Agnieszka Holland, Marion Hansel, Nick Broomfield and Hirozaku Kore-eda are just some of the directors who will be competing for the top prize. Last year’s winner was a Cezch film called ‘Algo parecido a la felicidad’ directed by the Czech Bohdan Sláma.

The Official Section will finish with 2 films that are not competing: a comedy called ‘The Boss Of It All’ - a co-production between Denmark, Sweden and France by Lars von Trier, and a film by Joaquín Jordá, ‘Más allá del espejo’.
Other sections in the festival include Zabaltegi-New Directors, an Emmigrants retrospective including 30 films both contemporary and classic related to this theme, and a retrospective section dedicated to the French film director Barbet Schroeder.

The film festival takes place every year at the end of September in San Sebastian. Screenings for the official section take place in the Kursaal. For more information on films and how to book go to www.sansebastianfestival.com/2006

Related:
Visitors Guide to Guipuzcoa
Hotels in San Sebastian
Restaurants in San Sebastian
San Sebastian
Photos of San Sebastian

Spain to send troops to the Lebanon

Although the Foreign affairs minister Miguel Ángel Moratinos, refused to place a figure on the number of soldiers that Spain is prepared to send to the Lebanon, it is rumoured that the number will be around 950 in total if certain conditions are met.

Moratinos affirmed that Spain would make a significant contribution but that this would need to be approved by parliament.

The Spanish soldiers would join the 7000 ground troops that the European Union has agreed to commit to the UN peace keeping mission to police the Israel-Lebanon ceasefire. At a meeting of foreign ministers in Brussels last week it was also agreed that a further 2000 specialist forces would be sent to provide naval and air support. France will be in charge of the European mission until February 2007.

Kofi Annan, the UN secretary-general, is reported to be pleased with progress in bringing together an international force and said that it would be deployed 'in days not weeks'.

Easyjet to set up new base in Barajas

Easyjet, the British low cost airline company, has announced that it is to invest 100 million euros in setting up a new European base in Barajas, Madrid which will start operating in February 2007 making it the airlines 17th operative base in Europe. More details will be made public later next month.

Andy Harrison, Easyjet’s spokesperson justified Spain as first choice saying that Spain offered 'excellent opportunities for growth given that air travel was still dominated by traditional carriers'.

Easyjet has been operating since 1998 and is the fourth largest operator after Iberia, Spanair and AirEuropa. In 2005 it carried 900,000 passenger, double the figure for the previous year.

At present Easyjet operates from 12 Spanish airports: Barajas, Barcelona, Asturias, Bilbao, Valencia, Murcia, Almería, Málaga, Palma de Mallorca, Menorca and Ibiza.

1st September deadine for bars to comply with anti-tabacco legistlation

The Spanish Health Ministry has announced that bars and restaurants only have until the 1st September to comply with new anti-tabacco legistlation introduced earlier this year. A request from the Spanish Federation for Restaurants and Bars for this deadline to be extended a further 6 months has been rejected.

The anti-tabacco legistlation came into force on the 1st January this year. Bars smaller than 100 square metres were allowed to decide whether smoking would be permitted on their premises. However bars over 100 square metres were given a limited time in order to carry out building work which would create smoke free environments within the premises.

Although 9 out of 10 bars over 100 square metres have not yet even applied for a building licence the Spanish Health Ministry has maintained a firm stance saying that in reality the only thing they need to do is place a sign saying 'Smoking not permitted' on their doors.

The anti-tabacco legistlation also placed a complete ban on smoking in work places and in public buildings.

Train crash kills 6 in Villada

Yesterday afternoon a train travelling from La Coruña in Galicia to Irun in Guipuzcoa derailed killing 6 passengers and injuring many more.

The accident occurred near Villada station at about 15.50pm. The train left its destination at 8.00am and was due to arrive in Irun at 20.35pm. The injured were taken to 6 hospitals by helicopter and ambulance. According to eye witnesses the train derailed on a curve and crashed into a pillar on a bridge just outside Villada station.

Official sources say the train was packed with passengers many of whom were pilgrims returning from Santiago de Compostela where about 200 boarded the train at 9.05am.

It has been suggested that the accident was due to excess speed as the place where it happened is not especially dangerous according to Renfe officials. Further investigations are taking place into the causes of the accident and the train's black box, which has now been located, is being used to provide vital clues as to what happened. It is thought that within 48 hours further details will be known and that train services will be able to resume by Wednesday morning.

Canary Islands appeal to UN

The Canary Islands Government has called on the UN and the international community to help with the emergency surrounding the constant arrival of immigrants to the island by boat.

This weekend alone over a thousand immigrants arrived on the island. Today another 135 have already arrived. This unprecedented situation has forced the local authorities to ask for outside help. Some of the immigrants had to be hospitalized due to dehydration and hypothermia.

The boats travel as far as 800 and 1200 kilometres from Senegal and the Gambia. The Director of Family Protection José Luis Arregui, has called the situation an 'international crisis' and members of the Canary Islands government have called on the international community to help confront the tragedy. Some of the immigrants arriving on the island are children and adolescents.

It is expected that many more boats will arrive on the Canary Islands over the next few days due to favourable conditions at sea.

See also:
Immigration in Spain

Bus burnt on the streets of San Sebastian

A number of youths wearing balaclavas set a public bus alight last night at around 9.30pm. The incident took place in the San Sebastian neighbourhood of Ategorrieta.

Although nobody was injured in the attack a nearby restaurant had to be evacuated due to the amount of smoke produced by the fire. Last night was one of the busiest during the city's week long fiestas.

This incident is both suprising and worrying and harks back to a few years ago when city buses were set alight almost every week by youths supporting the cause for Basque independence. One explanation for this incident could be the crisis in the negotiations between the government and ETA over the way forward for the Basque peace process.

Ex-President of Fórum Filatélico Released on Bail

Francisco Briones the Ex-President of Fórum Filatélico was released from prison yesterday after paying 1 million euros in bail. Under his bail conditions he must report to the police every three days, his passport has been confiscated and he is forbidden to leave the country.

According to sources representing Briones clients and former employees have voluntarily contributed 300,000 euros to his defence fund.

Briones is the last of the four Fórum Filatélico executives to be released under bail. He was detained in May following accusations that the investment company had been defrauding its clients by operating a pyramid scheme.

Water consumption has gone up in Spain

According to the National Institute for Statistics domestic water consumption has increased by 2.4% since 2003 with each Spanish citizen using 171 litres of water per day. Agricultural consumption has also gone up by 1.4%. It has also been discovered that almost 18% of the water supply is lost through leaking or damaged pipes.

Statistics show that agricultural use of water used up 42% of the total supply in reservoirs in 2004 and 67% of the water supplied for public and domestic purposes was used by Spanish families.

The highest consumption of water was in Andalucia where 25.1% of the total was used, Aragon increased its water consumption by 9.6% and Navarra by 9.5%.

These worrying statistics come at a time when Spain is suffering one of its worst droughts for many years. This added to the urban expansion taking place in many towns and cities in Spain and along the whole of the Mediterranean has given rise to deep concerns over the sustainability of adequate water supply in the future.

Telefonica broadband users advised to claim compensation

The Ministry for Commerce and Industry has today advised those affected by last Tuesday's broadband connection problems with Telefonica to claim compensation.

From the early hours of Tuesday morning thousands of Telefonica's broadband clients throughout Spain were left without connection. At first Telefonica blamed the problems on software failures but then later on attributed them to a massive electrical storm in Barcelona.

The National Consumers Association (FACUA) has requested that the government open an investigaton into the incident. It has also requested that all broadband clients who were affected receive automatic compensation. FACUA has also complained that Telefonica did not make the problems public until the media demanded clarification.

Ya.com and Wanadoo users were also affected given that these companies rely on Telefonica in order to provide their broadband services.

Rolling Stones cancel all concerts in Spain

The Rolling Stones have been forced to cancel all four concerts planned for Spain due to illness. The concerts which were planned for Barcelona, Madrid, Valladolid and El Ejido have been cancelled due to the lead singer, Mick Jagger, suffering from laringitis.

Although 20 lorries of equipment had arrived from Valladolid (where the concert had also been cancelled) all work on setting up the stage and special effects has been abandoned.

The Rolling Stones are hugely popular in Spain and over 50,000 tickets had already been sold for tonight's concert with just 2,500 remaining unsold. It is hoped that the group will be able to reschedule the dates.

26 Injured in Fiestas in Elche, Alicante

Twenty six people have been injured during the ‘Nit del Albá’ in Elche, Alicante. Two are in a serious conditon. The ‘Nit del Albá’ is a fireworks party which takes place every year during the fiestas in honour of the Virgen de la Asunción, patron of the city.

Ten of the injured had to be treated in hospital with the other sixteen receiving treatment from the red cross on the streets. Out of the total number of injured fourteen are children, the youngest a 15 month old baby.

Two of the injured are in a serious conditon. One of which was a 31 year old man from Elche who was hit by a firework set off during the celebrations. He suffered second and third degree burns to his stomach and hands. He has since been transferred to the burns unit in Alicante hospital where he remains in a serious conditon. The second is a 11 year old child who received serious injuries to his eye.

These events call into question whether the ‘Nit del Albá’ should be allowed to continue for safety reasons. Many people are injured every year although this year has been one of the worst. But health and safety issues are not the only concern. The added cost to the Spanish Health system also needs to be taken into account.

Related links:
Photos of Elche
Spanish fiestas
Public holidays in Spain
Visitors Guide to Alicante and the Costa Blanca

Demonstration in favour of self determination for the Basque Country

Thousands of demonstrators marched through the streets of San Sebastian to show their support for Basque self determination yesterday afternoon. Although Batasuna, the banned Basque separatist party in favour of complete independance, had been prevented from organizing the march many of its leaders were present.

It was unclear whether the demonstration would be allowed to go ahead until the last minute. Howver, it finally started at 6pm following a slight delay due to some minor incidents between demonstrators and the Ertaintza (the Basque Police).

Mariano Rajoy, the president of the PP was strongly opposed to allowing the demonstration to take place because he considered it to to have been organized by Batasuna who he believes has close ties with the terrorist organization ETA.

The march coincided with the first day of San Sebastian's fiestas known as 'Semana Grande', one of the busiest days for tourism in San Sebastian.

Articles related to Basque indpendence:
Debate over Basque indpendence in Spain
2005 Basque elections in Spain
2005 election results in Basque Country
Basque nationalism

Resources related to the Basque country:
Guide to Guipuzcoa
San Sebastian
Bilbao
Best restaurants in San Sebastian

Clouds of smoke over Madrid

The authorities in Madrid received over 30 calls yesterday regarding alarming clouds of smoke seen in the sky above the region. The fire brigade was alerted but no fires were discovered. Helicopters were also used to look for fires. The National Meteorological Institute said that the clouds could have come from the forest fires in Galicia.

Most calls were made at around 2 pm from the northern part of the region from places such as Soto del Real, Miraflores and Guadalix de la Sierra where the smoke was most visible. Later on in the day emergency calls were received from the capital. The smell of burning hung in the air for over an hour in parts of Madrid and there was a fog over most of the region. The Environmental agency tested the quality of the air in Madrid and said that it posed no risk to health.

Meanwhile there are over 70 forest fires out of control in Galicia and the number of suspected arsonists arrested has gone up to 25. The fires claimed their fourth victim yesterday a 70 year old man who died in hospital from burns suffered in one of the fires in Pontevedra.

17 Immigrants die in desperate attempt to reach the Canary Islands

It has been reported that up to 17 immigrants lost their lives while attempting to reach the Canary Islands by boat.

The tragedy happened when a gas oven exploded inside the boat. The immigrants had already spent 22 days at sea. It is estimated that the boat was carrying up to 97 passengers in total and that conditions on board were terrible.

This is just one of many tragedies where immigrants have lost their lives in a desperate attempt to reach the Canary Islands. This summer has seen hundreds trying to reach the safety of Spanish shores.

Man killed by bull during fiestas

A 53 year old man from Leon died last night in hospital from wounds sustained during a night out in fiestas in Sagunto.

The man was gored 8 times by a bull during the fiestas last Saturday night. He was immediately taken to hospital in a serious condition. The incident occurred at about 1 am. According to reports from the local police the man was caught off guard when he thought the bull posed no further danger to himself.

The incident once again calls into question the use of animals in Spanish fiestas and also the safety of revellers.

Immigrants keep arriving on the Canary islands

Yesterday more than 500 immigrants arrived on the Canary islands in 7 boats. The Guardia Civil are still searching Lanzarote for another 10 who were in one of the boats.

The largest number, 103, in one boat arrived in La Gomera yesterday morning. All the occupants were male and claimed to be from Senegal and Guinea. Their boat journey is thought to have taken about 10 days. Yesterday 3 boats also arrived on Tenerife.

An agreement has finally been reached with the Senegalese government over patrolling its coastline. Frontex, a European organisation, will put in place naval and air vigilance. Their mission is to look for boats carrying immigrants in international waters. However, if the country where the boats leave from refuse to accept their return they will have to be taken to the Canary Islands. Frontex, will only be patrolling the coastline until September.

Two Guardia Civil police detained over drug trafficking

Two Guardia Civil police were among twelve people who have been arrested in an operation against drug trafficking in El Ejido, Almeria. Those detained are thought to be involved in trying to transport nine tonnes of cannabis hidden on a fishing boat.

These arrests follow other incidents involving Guardia Civil police. One last month when at least five Guardia Civil police were implicated in the robbery of 500 kilos of cocaine in Barcelona.

In April this year, four Guardia Civil police were also implicated in a drug trafficking network in Navarra.

Madrid most expensive place to buy a property

According to the latest economic study by one of Spain’s leading banks, the Caixa Catalunya, buying a new flat in Madrid would cost over 40% of household income. This comes at a time when 60% of families can’t even afford mortgages totalling 40% of their income.

Madrid is the most expensive place to buy a property in Spain followed by the Basque Country in second place and the Balearic Islands in third place.

In Catalonia it is estimated that families need to dedicate around 30% of their net household income to paying their mortgage, a similar figure in Asturias and Valencia.

Other places in Spain where buying a property requires less than 30% of total net income are Extremadura Galicia, Castilla-La Mancha, Castilla-León, Murcia, Navarra, La Rioja, Aragón, Cantabria and the Canary Islands.

A relatively strong economy, low interest rates and demand outstripping supply are just some of the explanations for the recent property price boom. However this has led to a situation where property prices have risen disproportionately in relation to average salary levels over the past few years. The reality of this situation means that a high percentage of households throughout the country have no chance of getting onto the property ladder.

Woman dies following gas explosion

A 25 year old woman has died as a consequence of last Thursday's butano gas explosion in a block of flats in Alicante. The building collapsed following the explosion.

Another two people remain hospitalized, one a 61 year old woman who is in a stable condition and the other a 31 year old man, the dead woman's partner, who is in a critical condition and has been transferred to a specialist burns unit in Valencia.

Arsonists arrested over forest fires in Spain

Police have discovered that the majority of the forest fires in Galicia were started deliberately. At present there are over 100 forest fires in Galicia’s four provinces, 65 of which are burning out of control.

Three suspected arsonists have been arrested. One of the detained was arrested while starting a fire in an area under maximum alert. Police have thanked local residents for their vigilance.

Three people have already died in the fires, the latest victim, a 74 year old man who was trying to defend his property against the fires, at the weekend. The other two victims, both women, were trapped by flames when their car broke down - they died from smoke inhalation.

It is thought that the arsonists were attempting to cause as much damage as possible.

In Catalonia it has also been confirmed that the fire in Ventalla, Girona, was started deliberately. The fires in Capmany and Cistella are thought to have been started by discarded cigarette butts.

Forest fires in Galicia

Volunteer dies in Galician forest fire

A 74 year old man died yesterday in Pontevedresa de Campo Lameiro while trying to put out a forest fire. His body was discovered by the Guardia Civil who were working together with firemen to bring the blaze under control. This is the third mortal victim since various forest fires began in this region. The lastest victim had been working with a group of neighbours who were trying to control the fire which was threatening their properties. All surrounding areas have been put on high alert.

At the moment there are 79 forest fires in Galicia, only 39 of which are under control. La Coruña is the worst affected province where latest reports show that there are at least 17 active fires.

There are now 4700 people working to try and control the fires and as a measure of security various roads have been cut off. The Guardia Civil has sent a team of specialists to help investigate the cause of the fires and the Director of the Guardia Civil, Joan Mesquida, will be visiting Galica tomorrow.

Firemen in Gerona are still trying to put out two forest fires which started on Friday one in Alto Ampurdán, de Ventalló, which has already destroyed 1011 hectares, and one in Cistella, which has destroyed 25854 hectares so far.

Another fire was declared last night in Capmany where 300 hectares have been destroyed and 380 people have had to be evacuated, the AP 7 has also been cut off in both directions. The populations of Biure, Llers i Vilarnadal, as well as Pont de Molins are also being evacuated as a precaution. Figueres townhall has opened a municipal building ready to take in those affected.
Related:
Forest fires in Spain in 2005

Jelly fish plague in the Mediterranean

This summer the Mediterranean coast has been suffering from a massive plague of jelly fish. Such a large number have never been recorded before.

Parts of the Catalan coastline have had to be closed to bathers due the dangers posed by the jellyfish. It is estimated that so far this year more than 20,000 people have had to be treated for jellyfish stings on beaches in Barcelona, Tarragona and Girona.

One possible cause for the large numbers of jellyfish could be overfishing in the Mediterranean where the numbers of natural predators of jellyfish such as tuna and sword fish have been significantly reduced.

Luckily other parts of Spain such as the Cantabrican coast have not been similarly affected.

Anyone who comes across a jellyfish on the beach is advised not to touch it and to tell someone at the Red Cross post. Similarly if you think you have been stung go immediately to the Red Cross.

Related:
Jellyfish in Spain in 2005

Spain's busiest weekend for holiday traffic

The second and third week of August is the period in which most Spanish take a holiday and therefore the busiest time for traffic on the roads. The Spanish Director of Traffic has mounted a national campaign to try and reduce accidents and deaths on Spanish roads over this period.

Last year during the same weekend there were 48 deaths on the road, 8 more than the previous year, and 21 people were seriously injured making this the worst weekend for accidents in the whole year. Spanish national bank hoidays are also notorious for the number of mortal road accidents that occur.

There have also been calls for people not to drink drive. This is important advice given that August is the time when most local fiestas take place and many people use their cars to travel to fiestas.

Yesterday, there were almost 46 kms of traffic jams on the roads leaving Madrid. The busiest roads were the A-6 (Madrid-A Coruña) and the A-3 (Madrid-Valencia).

It is hoped that the recently introduced system of driving licence points will help reduce dangeroius driving and therefore accidents. Evidence of this is that last month 279 people were killed on the roads, 63 less than the previous year.

Related:
Road travel in Spain
Road safety in Spain
Drink driving in Spain
Driving License penalty points system introduced in Spain

More heat wave deaths in Spain

There have been two more deaths, one in Barcelona and another in Zaragoza, bringing the official number of deaths in Spain caused by this year's heat wave to 14.

A 31 year old man died in Cataluña, the sixth death caused by the heat in this region. In Zaragoza the victim was a 79 year old man. The 31 year old had been admitted to hospital last week suffering from hypothermia and tachycardia in a coma after he had been out in the midday sun for approximately 3 hours. He passed away last Sunday.

The Catalan Department for Health has recommended that people should try and control the temperatures of their homes, spend at least two hours per day in an airconditioned environment, limit their physical activity, avoid going out at midday, avoid alcohol and drink plenty of water.

Another 7 people had to receive medical attention in Aragon due to ill health caused by the excessive heat.

It is not only Spain that is suffering in the heat. This summer many other parts of Europe such as France, Germany, Holland and Britain have also experienced a heatwave. In fact two weeks ago temperatures reached over 36 degrees in some parts of England, the highest temperature ever recorded in the UK.

Spain's parties dispute cause of train accident in Valencia

Spain's two main political parties are at loggerheads as to who is to blame for the tragedy last month in which 43 people were killed when an underground train derailed on the Valencian metro network.

The PP have claimed that the accident was neither preventable nor forseeable and therefore no one individual can be held responsible for the accident. They have ruled out the possibility that the accident could have been caused by a technical failure and that Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat (FGV), the company in charge of maintaining the metro system, had fulfilled all its health and safety requirements prior to the accident.

However the socialist coalition in the Valencian Autonomous government, consisting of the PSPV-PSOE parties, don't agree. They have announced that they will be asking the Valencian courts to investigate whether the Head of transport can be held accountable given that this person is in charge of managing the metro network. They claim that the most important part of a democratic system is that people must be held accountable and in the case of the Valencian underground accident the management of the service failed.

However, both parties agree that the most probable cause of the derailment was excess speed.

Spain offers to send troops to the Lebanon

The Spanish government has responded to a request by the UN to send peackeeping forces to the South of Lebanon once a ceasefire has been achieved. Although negotiations are still in their initial stages, it is thought that France will offer to send a substantial number of troops who will be authorized to use force if necessary. According to Spanish military sources the number of troops that could be sent would be approximately 800 soldiers.

Meanwhile Israel is continuing to bomb Lebanon in response to the kidnapping of two of its soldiers by Hezbola. Yesterday EU ministers meeting in Brussels called for an immediate ceasefire. The role of any peacekeeping forces would be to police and maintain any such ceasefire.

Michèle Alliot-Marie, The French Minister of Defence declared that any peacekeeping force deployed in the Lebanon would need to be international, credible and with a clear mission. In his opinion a force of at least 10,000 soldiers would not be enough.

The forces would be used to create a demilitarized area to the South of Lebanon, at least while the Lebanese government still maintains control over its own territory, to disarm Hezbola and control the Lebanese - Syrian border something that could take years to achieve.

Interest rates in Spain

The Euribor rose to 3.54% in July which means that overall interest rates have risen 1.37% in the space of a year.

It is predicted that mortgage rates will continue to increase given that the Euribor, on which mortgage rates are fixed, has seen its 10th consecutive rise and has reached its highest level since July 2002. It was just 2.168% at its lowest in July 2005.

The rise means that the average 20 year mortgage in Spain of 140.000 euros, which is due for its annual revision will increase 100 euros per month which works out at an extra 1200 euros a year. This increase is calculated on the basis of the Euribor base rate plus the percentage added by the bank. This is a worrying trend for mortgage holders given that property prices are already at an all time high.

For first time buyers the situation is even more serious as prices continue to go up, albeit at a slower rate that the past couple of years, making affordability less and less likely for this group of buyers. Madrid, Barcelona, San Sebastian and Bilbao continue to be the most expensive cities in Spain although prices on the Mediterranean have also shot up in recent years.