A new type of cement developed in Spain

Spanish scientists develop a new environmentally friendly cement

A team of Spanish scientists from the ‘Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas’ (CSIC) have developed a new type of cement which could reduce carbon emissions from the cement industry by up to 50%. This new type of cement is produced using much lower temperatures than those normally used in cement production.

Ángel Palomo, the scientist leading the research team for CSIC will be presenting his findings to the European Consortium for Research into new materials within the next few days.
Palomo, explained that normally cement is produced at a temperature of 1450 degrees centigrade but that the new type of cement could be produced at between 60 to 80 degrees centigrade. He added that this difference could greatly reduce carbon dioxide emissions from the cement industry and reduce energy consumption in the production of cement by up to 50%.

Another important advantage of this new type of cement is that it uses ash from burnt coal which is an abundant industrial by-product in the whole world. Furthermore if not reused it is also a contaminant.

The new cement has been submitted to various tests and results so far have shown that the it is equivalent to the cement currently being used and in fact it is better in some ways according to Palomo.

Spanish man on hunger strike in India

Antonio Padilla, a Spanish citizen from Andalucia is on hunger strike in India in a protest against the Indian authorities in Haridwar (northern India) who won’t let him build a football stadium on land he bought in 1997. Following 13 days without eating he has been hospitalized.

Padilla, who has a degree in Sports Science, has accused the Indian authorities in Uttaranchal of intimidation. He says that they want to expropriate land that he bought 10 years ago for 37,000 euros with the aim of setting up a sports stadium.

However, the land acquired by Padillas is in an area undergoing urban redevelopment and is now valued at 350,000 euros. According to Padilla this is one of the reasons why the authorities are interested in expropriating the land.

When building work on the project began the authorities stopped it because under Indian law foreigners are not allowed to invest in property. Padilla said that when he bought the land everybody involved knew he was a foreigner including the seller, the estate agent, the lawyers who drew up the papers and the land registry. Therefore he firmly believes that the land belongs to him. In addition he stressed that the land was acquired for social purposes not speculation - he intended to use the sports facilities to train children in poverty.

Juan Manuel Rojas, Padilla’s business partner also went on hunger strike in Pushkar (western India) last September, so that the authorities would allow him to build a football stadium there, something which he finally achieved following 13 days on hunger strike. Padilla said that he felt weak following 13 days on hunger strike although now he was receiving intravenous fluids something which he said would only serve to prolong his hunger strike which he says he is determined to continue to the end if necessary

Spanish government tackles anorexia

The Ministry for Health and Fashion Companies agree on larger sizes in an effort to combat anorexia

The Minister for Health, Elena Salgado, has announced an agreement reached with Spain’s main fashion chains (el Corte Inglés, Mango, Cortefiel and Inditex…etc) for more homogeneity over clothes sizes. In addition, labels will contain information such as waist, hip and bust measurements. There will also be more effort to promote a healthy image of beauty with shop mannequins being made to a size 38 (UK size 10). As part of the agreement size 46 (UK size 16) is also to be included in the collections sold by the main fashion chains.

Salgado said that this initiative was aimed at providing consumers with more information and trying to achieve homogeneity in sizing between different fashion companies and manufacturers.

The National Institute for Consumers will be carrying out a study on 8,500 women, resident in Spain, between the ages of 12 and 70 who will be measured in order to find out what the average female body size is according to age. Participants will be given a fashion garment by way of payment.

The study will take place over the course of this year and will be financed by the National Institute for Consumers costing around a million euros. Special computerised cabins will be used to create 3 dimensional images of the women in the study, a technique that has already been successfully used in France.

Designers and fashion chains will have 18 months from the end of the study in order to implement the agreed changes to sizing and labelling. There will be a longer period of 5 years for companies to change their mannequins to a minimum of size 38.

Related:
Spanish fashion show rejects thinnest models

Online shopping in Spain

68% of internet users in Spain shop online according to a study carried out by the Interactive European Advertising Association on European consumer habits and the internet.

France and Italy were also included in the study. The results showed that Spain occupies a middle position with France coming above Spain with 75% of internet users buying online. Italy came below Spain with 54% of users shopping online.
According to the results of the study the Spanish spend around 452 euros online, the French 509 euros and the Italians 454 euros. The study also showed that on average the Spanish buy around 5 different products online whereas the French buy 8 and the Italians 7.

The most popular products bought online were tickets for travelling (83% searches resulting in 55% purchases), followed by package holidays (77% searches resulting in 36% purchases) and music downloads (62% searches and 25% resulting in purchases).
The purchase of concert and festival tickets online was shown to have risen from 56% in 2005 to over 63% in 2006 and the legal downloading of music accounted for 37% of online purchases.

According to the study the purchase of mobile telephones has gone up by 23% followed by a 16% increase in music downloads. The purchase of car accessories increased by 15% and furniture sales by 14%.

The most noticeable increase was in concert and festival tickets with an increase of 75% bought online. The purchase of holidays rose by 72%, books by 71% and clothes by 70%.

The studied was based on telephone interviews in the United Kingdom Germany, France, Spain, Italy, the Nordic countries, Belgium and Holland.

Online shops in Spain
Shopping in Spain

Winter comes to Spain

The Department for Civil Protection and Emergencies has issued a warning to the governments of ten Autonomous Communities in Spain following the the National Meteorological Institute’s forcast for heavy snow and very low temperatures over the next few days. The extreme weather conditions are predicted to worsen from Wednesday onwards. As a result many cities in Spain are on high alert and as a precaution around 50 mountain passes have been closed to heavy traffic.

Castilla and León, Navarra, Galicia, País Vasco, Cantabria and Asturias, Cataluña, Castilla-La Mancha and Madrid are all on high alert due to heavy snow predicted for the next few days.

Andalucía is on alert for extremely low temperaturas, notably in Granada where temperaturas are predicted to fall to - 4ºC.

Today the drop in temperatures will be noticeable in the whole of Spain and tomorrow the situation is predicted to worsen with a new weather front crossing the country from the Northeast. On Friday temeperatures are expected to recover and it will become much less windy. By Saturday meteorological conditions are expected to have improved considerably.

These extreme weather conditions come following a spell of unusually warm, dry weather for this time of year. Many Spanish ski resorts are experiencing their worst season for years and the snowfall this week will be the first proper one all Winter.

Weather in Spain

Riots in Madrid

Madrid authorities announce new measures following riots this weekend

Following the disturbances between groups of South American and Spanish youths in Alcorcon , Soledad Mestre, a representative of the Madrid Government, has assured the public that there are no Latin American gangs in Alcorcón.

The riots occurred on Saturday evening in Alcorcon, a suburb of Madrid, between a group of Spanish youths and a group of South Americans. Three youths were injured, one seriously, and seven were detained by the police. Yesterday a demonstration against violent South American gangs resulted in further disturbances between youths and Spanish police.

In an interview with Cadena Ser, Soledad Mestre announced a series of new measures aimed at eradicating the current disturbances. She said that the police would keep a high profile and that they would work closely with heads of secondary schools in order to detect even the smallest outbreak of violence between youths. She also said that she had contacted the Mayor of Alcorcón to ensure that norms established to achieve integration in educational establishments were being adhered to, and that she would do the same for all the districts in Madrid in order to promote coexistence between different ethnic groups.

Mestre said that the situation was under control and that yesterday the streets of Alcorcón were peaceful and that she hoped that the weekend’s disturbances had been an isolated incident. She said that she was worried that there would be an outbreak of xenophobia in the area - a justified concern as it was reported on Spanish television this morning that sms text messages urging youngsters to repeat the fights next weekend - and insisted that there was no evidence to suggest the existence of organized violent Latn American street gangs in Madrid.

Related:
Guide to Madrid

Son challenges Spanish Euthanasia group

Son of a French woman who committed suicide reports Euthanasia group who helped her

A court in Alicante is investigating the death of a French woman called Madeleine who had been suffering from a degenerative disease. The death took place last Friday when the woman who had suffered from Multiple Sclerosis since 2001, took her life in the presence of three members of the Association for the Right to Die (Asociación Derecho a Morir Dignamente - DMD).

Domingo Biver, the son of the deceased reported her death to the authorities and according to sources from the High Court in the Comunitat Valenciana a case has been opened investigating the circumstances surrounding her death. The son of the deceased has denounced DMD for being present during her death.

The woman was accompanied by volunteers from DMD when she died. This group, in favour of Euthanasia, has offered help and support to the terminally ill who wish to end their lives since 1993 by offering advice on possible methods for committing suicide.

The Penal Code in Spain punishes with sentences of four to eight years in prison those who incite suicides, two to five years in prison those who cooperate in suicides and six to ten years in prison for those who assist in suicides.

Euthanasia is not legal in Spain and the government does not have any plans to decriminalise it. Last June the Justice Minister, Juan Fernando López Aguilar, said that the decriminalisation of not prolonging human life artificially under certain circumstances was as far as the government was prepared to go with regards to Euthanasia.

Related:
Euthanasia in Spain
The Sea Inside

Nuclear energy in Spain

Zapatero has ruled out renewing the programme for the expansion of nuclear energy

José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, the Spanish president, stated that the government had no plans to renew the programme for the development or expansion of nuclear energy. This statement was made when he was asked about his position on nuclear energy and the Kyoto agreement during a meeting organized by the ‘New Economic Forum’.

Zapatero said that ‘nuclear energy keeps on producing serious problems’ and cited as an example the problem of nuclear waste to which there is no efficient solution.

Zapatero instead supported the development of renewable energy sources and said that there should be a European energy policy.

Cristina Narbona, the Spanish Environment Minister, has also ruled out the use of nuclear energy in order to reduce harmful emissions into the atmosphere in an attempt to fulfil the quotas set by the Kyoto agreement.

Greenpeace, the Environmental Organisation, praised the Spanish government for abandoning the expansion of nuclear energy and supporting renewable sources of energy but asked for a clear timetable to be set out for the closure of nuclear power stations in Spain.

Related: Renewable energy plan in Spain

Earnings of immigrant workers in Spain

Funds transferred abroad by immigrants reached record high in 2006

Funds transferred abroad by immigrants in Spain broke the 5,000 million euro barrier last year. Between January and October 2006 the amount grew by 34.7% with respect to the same period the previous year according to the Bank of Spain.

The total amount transferred was 5,002 million euros in 2006 and in the month of October alone 576 million euros was transferred abroad by immigrants, an increase of more than 40% compared to October 2005.

This information shows how the number of immigrants living and working in Spain has grown gradually over the last few years. Since 2002 statistics show that the amount of money transferred abroad by immigrants has increased from 2,844 million to almost 6,000 million euros recorded at the end of 2006. Given this situation, the government has announced measures to reduce bank charges for the transfer of funds abroad.

Related: Immigration in Spain

Spanish Justice Minister in Saudi womens rights incident

Ban on female journalists leads López Aguilar to cancel conference in Riad

The Justice minister, Juan Fernando López Aguilar, has cancelled attending a conference in an Islamic University in Riad, the capital of Saudi Arabia following the ban on 4 female journalists who were accompanying him.

The University of Imam in Riad used the fact that the University is male only as the justification not to allow the 4 journalists to attend the conference during the Justice minister’s trip to Saudi Arabia. Esther Bazán from Cadena Ser was one of the journalists affected by the ban.

In respect for Arabic tradition the journalists had gone totally covered up, dressed in black wearing head scarfs. However this was not enough for the University authorities according to Esther Bazán.

Sources from the Spanish Ministry of Justice said that it was unacceptable to participate in an act in which women were discriminated against.

The Saudi Ministry of Justice has tried to resolve the situation and in contrast with the university authorities the Spanish delegation, which included the 4 female journalists, has been respectfully received during the rest of their visit.

Related:
Women in Spain
Domestic violence and womens rights in Spain

Most expensive city in Spain

According to the report on ‘Regional Economic Balance 2000 – 2005’ carried out by ‘La Fundación de las Cajas de Ahorros’ (Funcas), Barcelona was the most expensive city in Spain in 2005 while Badajoz was found to be the least expensive. On average prices for goods and services were 24% more expensive in Barcelona than in Badajoz. Gerona, La Rioja, Vizcaya, Guipúzcoa and Lérida were listed among the 10 most expensive regions while Soria, Cuenca, Cáceres, Salamanca and Ciudad Real were found to be the least expensive. The regions that consumed the most in relation to their income were Andalucía, Asturias and Galicia while Valencia, País Vasco and Navarra were found to be the regions that spent the least.

Extremadura and Castilla and León had the most public expenditure compared to Madrid, Baleares and Cataluña which had the least. Extremadura, Castilla-La Mancha and Galicia were the highest investors in training while Navarra, País Vasco and Madrid were the lowest investors.

The study carried out by Funcas also found that the rising number of immigrants settling in Spain accounted for the 14.9% growth in the Spanish population from 18 million to 21 million between 2000 and 2005. Gerona, Almería and Álava registered the most growth in each case above 60% while Zamora, Orense and Asturias, registered the least growth (below 50%) in this respect.

According to the study the number of unemployed went down by 2% which together with the number of immigrants means that the rate of employment has risen by 17%. The highest rise in employment was 19.8% in Almería compared to 3.33% in Lugo. The highest rise was seen in the Mediterranean and the North East of Spain.

Murcia, Madrid and Sevilla saw the highest economic growth registering more than the national average while Soria, Zamora and Lugo saw the lowest growth according to the study. Murcia grew by 4.26% in 2005 (the national average being 3.38%), followed by Madrid (4.10%) and Sevilla (3.94%). Cádiz (3.83%), Lérida (3.80%), Almería (3.67%), Córdoba (3.64%) and Vizcaya (3.53%) were also among the 10 other provinces which experienced the highest economic growth in contrast with Soria which had the lowest growth at just 1.16%, followed by Zamora (1.94%), Lugo (2,29%), Baleares (2,31%), Teruel (2,35%), Orense (2,36%), Álava (2,39%) and Huesca (2.46%). According to these figures Soria and Zamora were the only provinces whose economies did not grow by more than 2%.

Government calls for consensus in fight against ETA

The Vice President calls on the PP to support government policy against ETA

In a speech given in Marbella yesterday the Vice President, María Teresa Fernández de la Vega, appealed to the PP (Spain’s main opposition party) to support government policy against ETA on Monday when president is due to appear before Congress.

This appeal comes just a day after thousands marched against ETA in Madrid and Bilbao, demonstrations which were not endorsed by the PP. All other political parties in Spain participated in the demonstrations.

De la Vega stated that the President’s appearance before congress would not include anything extreme that could not be supported by those who wanted to see an end to violence. She also stated that all democratic governments had tried to achieve a peaceful solution and not to do so would be irresponsible.

De la Vega spoke of the intolerable accusations that the PP had made against the government and asked how they could steep so low. She said that it was an insult to suggest that the government did not want to end terrorism against the state and that at no time had the Security or Justice departments lowered their guard.

She said that since May when Zapatero announced the government would be prepared to enter into dialogue with the terrorists the government had worked ceaselessly, responsibly and loyally in order to try and achieve peace. She also said that they had tried to gain the support of the PP because a united front against terrorism is much stronger. She said the government would continue trying to get the support of the PP in spite of the PP’s claims that the government was betraying the victims of terrorism and giving up Navarra.

De la Vega said that she was confident that the PP would support the government in parliament today and that it was a great occasion for all political parties to come together to show their opposition to ETA. She asked for the PP to stop creating divisions in this respect.

At the end of her speech De la Vega said that the Government felt proud of the solidarity shown in the demonstrations against terrorism on Saturday in Bilbao and Madrid. She concluded that if everybody united then peace could be achieved.

Anti-terrorism Demonstration in Madrid

The demonstration organised for this Saturday in Madrid to protest against ETA terrorism will keep its slogan ‘For peace and against terrorism’.

The Trade Unions UGT and CC OO (two of the largest in the country) along with the Federation of Equatorians in Spain (the two people killed by the terrorist bomb in Madrid Airport were immigrants from Ecuador) have decided not to include the word ‘Freedom’ in the banner which will be carried at the head of the march, as had been requested by the Ermua Forum. However, by way of a compromise, the main organisers of the march have agreed to include the slogan ‘for life and for freedom’ in the final speech which will be given at the end of the demonstration.

The Spanish governing socialist party PSOE, the left wing IU political party, the United Police Syndicate together with the Association for the 11th March Victims have all given their support to the organisers of Saturday’s march, whereas Mariano Rajoy, leader of the PP, prefered yesterday to outline three conditions which he said must be fulfilled in order for his party to support the demonstration – for it to call for the "defence of freedom", the defeat of ETA and for there to be no negotiations with terrorists.

The pro-PP Association for the Victims of Terrorism has confirmed that it will not be supporting or participating in this Saturday’s demonstration which they claim to be politically biased and in favour of negotiating with terrorists. Instead the leader of this Association has called for people to demonstrate against the bomb explosion in Madrid airport tomorrow.

There is also divided opinion over the demonstration due to take place this Saturday in Bilbao organised by the Basque Government in favour of "peace and dialogue". The Basque Socialists will only support the demonstration if Batasuna is not participating in the march. Patxi López, the General Secretary, explained that they would not participate alongside Batasuna who have still not condemned the bomb planted by ETA in Madrid two weeks ago.

Volver by Pedro Almodovar

Volver by Pedro Almodover acclaimed by critics

The American Critics Association have awarded the film director Pedro Almodóvar a prize for the Best Foreign Film for Volver which will represent Spain in this year’s Oscars.

Almodóvar attended the ceremony accompanied by Penélope Cruz who plays one of the main characters in the film, thought to be one of the best performances in her career so far.

See Trailer of Volver:



The Manchegan director didn’t speak to the press on his arrival at the ceremony last night but posed for photographs with Penélope Cruz. For many observers the award received by Almodovar last night strengthens the possibility of Volver being nominated for the Oscars. Volver has already received 5 awards by the European Film Academy. In Cannes it received awards for the best script and for the best female interpretation for its actresses.

Almodovar's film has received nominations for the Golden Globe Awards and if it is awarded a prize for the Best Foreign Film it would be Almodovar’s third Golden Globe, having already received awards for Todo sobre mi madre in 1999 and Hable con ella in 2002, both of which went on to receive Oscars. Penélope Cruz has been nominated as best female actress for the Golden Globe Awards a category in which no other Spanish actress has previously been nominated.

Related:
Spanish film The Sea Inside wins Oscar

Basque separatists appeal to ETA to maintain ceasefire

The leader of Batasuna, the political wing of ETA, Arnaldo Otegi, has requested that ETA respect and maintain the contents and objectives given in their statement on 22nd March 2006 which announced a permanent ceasefire.

In a press conference given in San Sebastián yesterday Arnaldo Otegi along with Rufi Etxeberria and Arantza Santesteban, other members of Batasuna involved in negotiations, asked that political dialogue be allowed to go ahead in the absence of violence.

Furthermore, Otegi assured his commitment to a just and long lasting peace between the Basque Country and the Spanish state.

Batasuna called for all political parties in Spain to participate in the negotiations without preconditions and with no further delays in order to form a solid multilateral base for political dialogue.

In addition Otegi urged both sides involved in the dialogue, ETA and the Spanish government, to publicly show their commitment to the peace process. He asked for central government to guarantee the conditions under which the peace process can proceed in order to find political solutions for the Basque Country.

He also urged ETA to maintain their commitment to the ceasefire announced on 22nd March 2006.

Otegi said he hoped that these requests would receive positive responses from all those involved allowing for the political process to continue in order to reach its final objective a peaceful political solution.

Police find more explosives in Vizcaya

A metal drum containing 70 kilos of explosives has been discovered next to a parked vehicle in Atxondo, near Durango in Vizcaya. The Ertaintza (the Basque police) believe that the terrorists who used a hideout in Amorebieta which was found on 23rd December might have used the vehicle. A member of the Basque Government believes that the explosives were destined for immediate use. Furthermore, the news agency ‘La SER’ has found out that the mobile phone used to give the bomb warning in Madrid was activated on the 23rd December.

The information on the mobile telephone reinforces the theory that the car found in Atxondo was abandoned following the discovery of the terrorist's hidout in Amorebieta. It is believed that this also forced the ETA cell to change their plans and to detain a mountaineer from Oñate whose van, a Renault Traffic, was then used for the bomb in Barajas airport.

The metal drum containing explosives found next to a parked car in Atxondo was discovered by the Ertaintza when an abandoned vehicle was being investigated and traces of chemicals used to make explosive material were found following the detailed analysis of various simples taken from the vehicle. False number plates were also discovered in the boot of the car.

Shortly following the investigation into the abandoned vehicle the metal drum containing explosive material was discovered nearby. After being inspected by experts the explosives were found to be ready for immediate use.

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