Basque hunger strike prisoner to be force fed

Doctors force feeding De Juana despite his resistance

Doctors responsible for the health of the Basque prisoner José Ignacio de Juana Chaos have started force feeding him again via a tube from his nose to his stomach. However, to be able to do this they had to immobilize De Juana because of his violent resistance. Since last Friday when he managed to pull out the tubes himself, his decision not to accept any alimentation had been respected.

The decision to restart the force feeding has been taken by doctors at the Doce de Octubre hospital in Madrid because of De Juana’s deteriorating health. Although this treatment could produce serious side effects the prison authorities believe it is necessary in order to keep him alive.

The ETA prisoner’s health had worsened during the last few hours up to the point where doctor’s feared that he might suffer a heart attack due to his fierce resistance to being fed. Previously De Juana had not resisted being shackled to his bed in order to be force fed.

De Juana, who has spent 18 years in prison for 25 terrorist assassinations is now serving a 3 year prison sentence for threats made in 2 newspaper articles written by him and published in the Basque newspaper Gara. He has less than 1 year before he is due to be released. De Juana has been on hunger strike for 112 days and insists that he won’t give up unless he is granted an unconditional release.

Doctors are under instructions from the High Court to keep De Juana alive, given that he is a prisoner and still in state custody.

Another possible corruption case in Spain

The wife of the Mayor of Badajoz accused of selling an estate on same day as the town hall increases building rights

According to Cadena SER, The wife of the Mayor of Badajoz sold an estate for almost 2 million euros on the same day that the town hall authorized building rights over the same land. According to the radio station, the building permission was approved in a meeting chaired by her husband, Miguel Celdrán who is also a PP member of the Spanish senate.

The estate which was sold in December 2003 is more than 14,000 m2 and belonged to the Mayor’s wife, María Leonor Fernández, and her two brothers. It was sold to a well known property developer. The building permission was annulled by Rodríguez Ibarra, president of the Extremaduran government and a member of PSOE one year later.

According to La Cadena SER Miguel Celdrán is refusing to speak to reporters about the matter. However, José Ramón Suárez, spokesperson for PSOE in the Town Hall said that PSOE did not believe in coincidences like these, referring to the authorization given to build on the land being granted on the same day that the land was sold for almost 2 million euros. The property developer insists that the land was bought at the market price.

At present the Town hall of Badajoz is immersed in an unprecedented constitutional crisis and its Counsellor for Finance has resigned following 12 years in the post.

Related:
Mayor arrested in anti-corruption raid in Marbella
Ex-mayor of Marbella on corruption charges
Corruption in Spanish politics
Corruption in Spain on the decline (2004)

Penelope Cruz misses oscar

The Departed by Martin Scorsese, won best film and best director at last night’s Oscars ceremony. It was a great triumph for the director who already had 7 Oscar nominations under his belt.

Martin Scorsese, who received his award from Spielberg and George Lucas, asked for them to check the envelope, clearly referring to his previous 7 Oscar nominations. The other nominations in the same category were Alejando González Iñárritu for 'Babel', Clint Eastwood for 'Letters from Iwo Jima', Stephen Frears for 'The Queen' and Paul Greengrass for 'United 93'.

Most of Spain was convinced that Penelope Cruz would steal the show, and penelopemania hit its peak this weekend, to such an extent that the build up to Sunday could have easily been called "Penelope in America" rather than "The 2007 Academy Awards". However, in the end the Oscar for best actress went to Helen Mirren, as widely predicted outside Spain, for her lead part in the film ‘the Queen’, directed by Stephen Frears. The 61 year old actress who received the award from Phillip Seymour thanked the Academy and also the Queen who she said was the real winner.

The Oscar for best actor was won by Forest Whitaker for his role in ‘the Last King of Scotland’. He received the Oscar from Reese Witherspoon and gave an emotional speech referring to his Texan roots. and ‘The Inconvenient Truth’ by Al Gore, the ex US Vice-President, was awarded an Oscar for best documentary.

‘Pan’s Labryinth by Guillermo del Toro (see trailer below) saved face for the Spanish film scene winning 3 awards for best art direction, best make up and also best cinematography.
The award for best foreign language film went to 'Das Leben der Anderen' by the German director Florian Henckel Von Donnersmarck.

Related:
Spanish film The Sea Inside wins Oscar

Trailer of Pan's Labryinth:

Government to reclaim Spanish beaches

The policy to reclaim the beaches, which according to Spanish law are public domain, may mean the end of the popular beach bars in Andalucia

According to an article in El País this weekend, the Town Hall in Chipiona, Cadiz has decided that this summer will be the last for its 3 beach bars on playa Cruz del Mar. This decision is part of a plan to reinforce public rights to beaches on the Andalucian coast.

The Ministry for the Environment is considering recovering around 600,000 m2 of public space on the Andalucian coast, including 35,000 m2 in Cadiz province and 2,800 in Chipiona itself. Most of the recovered areas will be achieved in agreement with local town halls or by better planning of existing areas.

The 3 bars that the town hall is planning to pull down are el Playa Augusto, el Casa Reyes and el Muelle Casa Luis. The bar owners concerned are not happy at all. Furthermore no clear alternative for their businesses to continue have been offered yet. One possibility mentioned was for their bars to be placed somewhere off the sand near the beach. However, Diego Rodríguez, proprietor of Casa Luis said that everybody just wanted to stay where they were. He said that his bar had been there for 52 years. Casa Reyes, had also been there for a similar amount of time although the bar was pulled down in 1979 and a new one built at a cost of 240,000 euros.

The Director of Coastal Territory in Cadiz, Federico Fernández, has assured the bar owners that any final decision will be based on consensus. In addition he reminded those concerned that the Dirección General de Costas is a law which gives priority to public use of beaches along the whole of the Spanish coastline, and that each province had the right to enforce this law.

Related:
Guide to Cadiz
Guide to Malaga
Guide to Granada
Guide to Almeria

Sexist advertising in Spain

Domenico Dolce y Stefano Gabbana (Dolce & Gabbana) say they don’t understand accusations from Spain that their latest advertising campaign is sexist and encourages violence against women.

According to several Spanish organisations, including a department of the Spanish Women's Institute (Observatorio de la Imagen del Instituto español de la Mujer) the advert encourages violence against women. Because of the controversy the advert has created here and the protest that has been registered in different areas of Spanish politics and society, the designers have decided to withdraw the advert, but only from Spain.

On announcing their decision, the designers Dolce and Gabbana accused Spain of being "in the dark ages". They defended the advert by saying that the artistic photo had nothing to do with real life. The advertisement in question shows a woman being held down by her wrists by a man with 4 other men watching. Various other Spanish organisations have complained about the advert and requested its withdrawal. Spain has one of the most worrying records of domestic violence in Europe, and despite the attempts of this government and previous PP governments to stem the growing tide of domestic abuse, the number of crimes committed by men against women continues to rise.

Dolce and Gabbana said that the advert was a work of art and that if the Spaniards were right in their interpretation of the photo, then both the Louvre and the works of Caravaggio would also have to be destroyed.

At present the advert is on display in an exhibition which opened yesterday in Milan showing other photos from their new advertising campaign. The exhibition is called Secret Ceremony and shows photos of nude bodies and erotic scenes taken by the photographer Steven Klein. According to the designers the images explore the thin line between morality and immorality. The question remains whether or not the advert withdrawn by the designers today has crossed that line.

Mobile phone operators in Spain

Mobile phone users in Spain will be able to end contracts without being penalized

According to a press release from the National Consumers Institute mobile phone users in Spain will be able to end their contracts without being penalized if they decide not to accept price rises or changes to tariffs imposed by their phone company.

From the 1st March mobile phone operators will no longer be allowed to round up call charges to the nearest minute and consumers will only be charged for the exact time of their calls.

As a consequence of this new law some mobile phone operators have announced modifications to their tariffs.

The National Consumers Institute has pointed out that mobile phone users have the right to be informed of any price changes one month in advance and that phone operators can only prevent their clients form changing phone operator and using the same number if they have not paid their bills.

In addition, closure clauses in mobile phone contracts will no longer be an obstacle to changing companies given that users will be protect by law from penalization.
Mobile phone users with any queries can contact the ‘Oficina de Atención al Usuario de Telecomunicaciones’ by phone on 901336699 or by internet by going to www.usuarios.es. or go to their nearest ‘ Oficina de Consumidores’.

The new law passed on 29th December 2006 which prohibits rounding up phone prices gives phone operators two months to inform their clients of any changes to their contracts. This period runs out on 1st March this year.

Extremadura challenges new Andalucian Statute

President of Extremadura questions the legality of the new Andalucian statute

Juan Carlos Rodríguez Ibarra, the President of Extremadura, has announced that he will go before the Constitutional Court to question the jurisdiction of the new Andalucian Statute when it comes into effect regarding control over the Guadalquivir river which runs through Extremadura.

He claims that the new Andalucian statute should not have any legal rights over control of the river which runs through both regions, despite an article contained in the new statue which says that it does. President Rodríguez Ibarra told journalists that the Spanish Constitution categorically states that rivers which run through various regions are the sole responsibility of the State - 8 % of the Guadalquivir river runs through Extremadura while the other 92% runs through Andalucia.

Furthermore Ibarra, one of Spain's longest serving and most outspoken regional presidents, said that while he remained president of Extremadura he had no intention to modify his region’s statute, although future presidents could do what they liked.
Meanwhile, a minister for the Andalucian regional government, Gaspar Zarrías responded to Rodriguez Ibarra's declarations, saying that he fully defends the constitutionality of the Andalucan Statute and regrets the attitude taken by the Extremaduran president.

In a press conference in the Andalucian Parliament he stated that Ibarra was wrong on this occasion. According to Gaspar Zarrías the Andalucian Autonomus Statute which was approved in a referendum last Sunday is completely constitutional and marks a before and after in the regional reforms that are taking place within the country.

A church with karaoke in Spain

According to an article in El País this morning, Sant Joan Bosco church in Barcelona has undergone some modernization recently. A power point display and karaoke has replaced traditional hymn books in this church and worshippers now sing hymns by looking at a giant screen placed above the altar.

San Joan Bosco's Priest, Miquel Ángel Calabria, explained that the introduction of new technologies is aimed at increasing the participation of the congregation in the act of worship. He said that now it was a pleasure to see worshippers singing along to the hymns.

He also said that the success of this strategy has been overwhelming and overall the congregation is delighted, especially those who had difficulty reading the hymn books which had very small print.

According to Priest Calabría, when worshippers see the giant screen for the first time they are a little taken aback but soon adapt and enjoy themselves like everybody else in the congregation. He also justified the change saying that new technologies were part of today's society.

He also added that it was a pleasure for him to see people participating actively rather than sitting and listening to a choir sing. Apparantly Sant Joan Bosco church has always encouraged active participation in the events organized for its worshippers. The church also supports modernization, something reflected in the building itself, considered to be the most modern church in Barcelona.

Related:
Guide to Barcelona

Prostitution in Spain

Congress to recommend that prostitution should not be regularized in Spain

The Commission on the rights of women in Spain will recommend that prostitution should not be regularized following a careful and detailed study of this controversial and delicate subject. According to Cadena Ser It will also recommend that newspapers omit advertisements in the contacts pages and that extra resources be put into combating mafias in Spain.

According to the Commission the regularization of prostitution would have serious legal implications and go against articles 9 and 14 of the Spanish Constitution. In addition it would also infringe labour rights.

These are the findings in the final report from the Commission on the rights of women in Spain. It also pointed out that countries which had regularized prostitution had experienced more mafia activity and human trafficking.

The report says that more resources are required for the protection of women who have been the victim of human trafficking. It also said that there should be a campaign directed at men in order to reduce demand for prostitutes. Another finding was that sex adverts in magazines and newspapers should be prohibited.

Related:

Women in Spain
Domestic violence and women's rights in Spain
International trafficking network discovered in Spain

Live coverage of the Madrid bombing trial

People interested in seeing live TV coverage of the Madrid bombings trial can do so courtesy of the Madrid Television channel La Otra. Sessions are transmitted live from 10.00 to 14.00 and from 16.00 to 20.00. During breaks in proceedings, the TV channel offers its usual programmes.

Hijack of plane flying to the Canary Islands

The Hijacker of Mauritanian passenger plane was overcome by passengers and arrested on the planes arrival at Las Palmas airport

The hijacking of a Mauritanian plane on its way to Las Palmas, the Canary Islands ended last night when the hijacker was arrested. The plane, a Boeing 737, left the Mauritania's capital, Nuackchott, carrying 71 passengers some of which were Spanish. According to official sources none of the passengers were hurt. It is believed that the hijacker intended to take the plane to Paris in order to claim political asylum there.

According to reports the hijacker, who was armed with two pistols, was overcome by two passengers. In declarations made to Spanish television news, the passengers involved said they decided that if they were all going to die, then so should the hijacker, so they attacked him and managed to take the guns from him and empty their barrels.

The hijacked plane landed on the military runway in Gando airport, in the Canary Islands, and shortly afterwards the hijacker was arrested. The police and the Spanish Civil Guard were waiting for the plane when it landed.

In addition to the police presence, seven ambulances were sent to Gando airport in preparation to treat injured passengers if necessary. In the end several passengers were treated for bruises and anxiety but none were seriously injured.

Last night the Spanish security forces were in the process of interviewing the hijacker. They were also investigating whether anyone else was involved in the hijacking as suggested by several of the plane’s passengers.

11M Madrid bombings trial starts today

Twenty nine 11th March terror suspects go on trial in Madrid

Three years on, 29 suspects go on trial today accused of perpetrating the 11th March 2004 terrorist attack in which 191 people were killed and hundreds more injured. The first defendant called to testify, Rabei Osman, 'Mohamed El Egipcio', is accused of being the intellectual author of the terrorist attack, has refused to answer any of the questions posed to him by the court and by his own lawyer. This may turn out to be a tactic used by other suspects during a trial which is the main news story Spain today.

The judges in the case, Javier Gómez Bermúdez, Fernando García Nicolás and Alfonso Guevara will have to establish the facts and decide whether or not the 29 defendants played a part in the planning of the attack, aswell as the actual bombings, what that part was and what sentences they should receive if found guilty.

Seven of the 29 defendants, who are also accused of drug trafficking crimes as well as 191 murders and 1,824 attempted murders in the terrorist attack, could face up to 38,656 years – this would be the longest prison sentence in Spanish history.

The trial is taking place in this special court room in the High Court in Madrid. The defendants are seated in the separate area with large glass windows and will be called up one by one to testify. 270 police are present at the trial. Sessions will be attended by 150 11th March victims and families of victims and 400 journalists - images of proceedings are being projected in real time in a separate room. No politicians will attend the trial.

On the morning of March 11th 2004 a group of 12 terrorists (3 of the defendants present today are suspected of being members of this group) placed 13 bags containing bombs on commuter trains leaving Alcalá de Henares travelling to Madrid. The explosives used were reinforced with shrapnel which it is believed was obtained from Asturias from an ex-miner.

All investigations carried out by the police and the judiciary have ruled out any connection with the terrorist organisation ETA. This has not stopped the opposition party PP from reiterating claims, without proof, that the attacks were linked in some way to ETA. PP supporters and PP-friendly sections of the Spanish media back these claims.

Spanish police interrogated Guantanamo prisoners

Ex-President Aznar sent police to interrogate Guantanamo 20 detainees

According to official sources José María Aznar’s government sent police, without any prior judicial authorization, to interrogate around 20 detainees in Guantanamo in July 2002.

Apparently this was the second trip that Spanish officials had made to the US military base in Cuba. On the first trip to Guantanamo, officials from the Spanish embassy in Washington went there to identify possible Spanish detainees.

The second trip took place in July 2002 when police travelled to Guantanamo, accompanied by members of the CIA, to interrogate 20 of the detainees, most of which were Moroccan. Amongst those interrogated were Hamed Abderramán from Ceuta and Lahcen Ikassrien, a Morrocan resident in Spain and detained in 2001 in Afganistan who was sent to Guantanamo wearing a wrist band that read "animal number 64".

Ikassrien, in an interview with the Spanish daily newspaper El Pais, said that he told the Spanish police in Guantanamo that he was a Moroccan citizen and that they had no right to interrogate him. He also says that the police offered him money and said that he would become a protected witness if he cooperated with them. Ikassrien, also said that they showed him photographs of radical Moroccans like Amer el Azizi and Jamal Zougam, a presumed member of the group responsible for the March 11th bombings in Madrid, and of another person who was later detained and imprisoned following the bomb in Casablanca.

Ikassrien, who now lives freely in Madrid, was extradited to Spain where the High Court absolved him of all charges. None of the testimonies obtained in Guantanamo were accepted as evidence.

A third journey was made to Guantanamo in January 2003 when officials from the Spanish embassy in Washington visited the Spanish citizen Hamed Abderrahaman Ahmed in order to negotiate his handover to the Spanish authorities.

The Spanish High Court has stated that the police interrogations in Guantanamo took place without the proper legal safeguards and without any respect for the rights of those being interrogated. It has also said that the detention of hundreds of prisoners who have not been charged and who do not have any guarantees for their rights in a place where there is no control over what happens to them is a situation that is impossible to justify or explain from the point of view of the judiciary.

The Spanish police interrogations in Guantanamo have been revealed just before the trial of people suspected of participating in the Madrid bombings is due to start this week.

Hunger strike ETA terrorist's sentence is reduced

The Supreme Court reduces De Juana’s sentence from 12 to 3 years

The Supreme Court has reduced José Ignacio de Juana’s sentence for terrorist threats from 12 years to 3 years in prison. The Association for the Victims of Terrorism had asked for a sentence of 96 years.

De Juana, a member of the Basque terrorist group ETA, who has already spent 18 years in prison for his part in 25 political assassinations was due to be released last year. However, after the Basque nationalist newspaper, Gara, published a couple of articles written by De Juana, said to have contained veiled terrorist threats, he was condemned to a further 12 years in prison by the High Court in November 2004.

The two articles contained the names and work places of six people, including a member of the High Court and five prison directors, and were therefore regarded as a credible terrorist threat. The defence of ‘freedom of expression’ was not accepted given that he was a member of a terrorist organisation and had already committed a number of assassinations in the past for which he has never expressed remorse.

De Juana has been on hunger strike for over 3 months in protest against the new sentence. However, the reduction from 12 to 3 years could mean he is released soon as he has already spent more than 2 years of the sentence in prison. The reduction of his sentence came yesterday following a meeting of 13 magistrates at the Supreme Court.

PSOE have said that the Supreme Court’s decision is sensible and deserves the utmost respect. However, the main opposition party, the PP, while respecting the judicial decision have insisted that De Juana should serve the whole sentence in prison and not receive any prison privileges whatsoever.

Independence of Judicial system in Spain

77% of Spanish citizens believe that the Spanish justice system is influenced by politics

According to the results of the latest Pulsómetro survey published today by Spain's leading radio station, Cadena Ser, 77% of those questioned do not believe that the Spanish justice system is independent from political influence. Those questioned think the latest example is the challenge to the right of Supreme Court judge Pérez Tremps to participate in the Supreme Court's debate on the constitutionality of the proposed Catalan constitution. Participants in the survey blame both the PP and PSOE in equal measure for trying to manipulate the Justice system in their favour.

According to the results of the survey, two out of three people questioned were in favour of the decision not to free the ETA prisoner Iñaki De Juana Chaos despite his failing health due to his hunger strike. Most people questioned also supported a policy of force feeding him.

When asked about voting intentions PSOE came out in the lead with 43% of votes while the main opposition party in Spain, the PP, got 5 points less at 38% of votes.
With regards to the popularity of the main political leaders in Spain José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, President of Spain and leader of PSOE, obtained 51% support and Rajoy, Leader of the PP, received just 30%.

Secret CIA flights in Spain

Spanish government to declassify documents on secret CIA flights in Spain

The Vice-president María Teresa Fernández de la Vega has announced that all documents concerning illegal secret CIA flights in Spain held by the National Intelligence Centre will be declassified.

This announcement came following the request by the Spanish High Court. De la Vega said that it was essential for the executive to collaborate with the High Court even when if it meant revealing ‘official secrets’.

The illegal CIA flights refer to those flights which transported terrorist suspects to other countries for interrogation where respect for human rights is questionable.

The High Court judge who requested the information, Ismael Moreno, is investigating whether any of these flights made stops in Spanish airports. According to some sources the CIA flights made stops in Tenerife, Barcelona, Palma de Mallorca and Málaga airports.

Carnival in Tenerife suspended

Fiestas during Tenerife Carnivals suspended by Spanish judge

Yesterday a judge in Santa Cruz, the capital of Tenerife, ruled that street parties during the week long Carnival this month would have to be suspended. The judgement came after a group of neighbours filed a complaint about the level of noise during the fiestas.

The decision comes 8 days after the Canary Islands High Court recognised that the celebration of fiestas in the capital violated the fundamental rights of residents. The ruling also said that noise levels should not rise above 55 decibels.
A final decision will be taken on Monday. Three options are being considered. One is to move the fiestas to a non residential area where noise levels can be checked daily.

The Mayor of Santa Cruz, Miguel Zerolo, is outraged at the present uncertainty over the carnivals saying that over their 200 year history not even famine, the civil war or dictatorship has been able to stop the carnivals taking place! He also talked about the rights of Tenerife citizens saying that these were under attack. He said that he hoped a satisfactory solution would be found next Monday.

The Mayor also said that no fiestas in Spain complied with noise restrictions and although he recognises the rights of residents he also thinks that the economic and social benefits for the city should be taken into account.

José Manuel Bermúdez, president of the local Coalición Canaria commitee in Santa Cruz, Tenerife said that he totally rejected the present ruling and called on the inhabitants of the capital to mobilize themselves in order to defend ‘their fiesta’.

Carnivals take place throughout Spain from the 15th – 25th February. The fiestas in Santa Cruz Tenerife which take place every year to celebrate carnivals are some of the largest and best known fiestas in the whole of Spain.

Related:
Carnival in Spain
Fiestas in Spain

New Spanish TV channel in USA

New Hispanic public TV channel for the US

Hispanic residents in the US, estimated to number around 30 million, will soon have their own TV channel. Until now the only Spanish TV channels available were not very high quality consisting mainly of sensationalist news, game shows and poor quality soap operas.

However it is hoped that V-me (pronounced Véme), which will start emitting from the 5th March this year, will provide programmes of a higher quality. The channel is a result of collaboration between public and private companies.

According to Carmen DiRienzo, president of the new channel, V-me will offer intelligent programmes that explore issues facing Latin Americans today and help link the diverse Hispanic groups that live in the US. The channel will broadcast 24 hours a day and will include programmes for children such as classics like Sesame Street, documentaries and Latin American films. A quarter of programmes broadcast will be their own productions and the only soap opera will be Nuestro barrio (Our Neighbourhood) which will aim to not only be entertaining but also educative showing how to deal with US bureaucracy for example.

It is hoped that V-me will be seen by at least 60% of the Hispanic population in cities like New York, Los Angeles or Miami. The channel will be available on both cable and digital TV.

Television in Spain

Al Gore in Madrid

The ex US Vice-president, Al Gore, will meet the Spanish Minister for the Environment, Cristina Narbona, at the First meeting on Energy, Municipality and Global Warming in Madrid. Al Gore will announce a conference to be held on the most important problem facing humans today: ‘Global Warming and our action to stop it’.

Al Gore, candidate for the Nobel Prize for Peace and the Principe de Asturias de Cooperacion International award met José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, the Spanish president, yesterday in Moncloa to discuss ‘the urgent situation we face today in relation to climate change’.

The ex-Vice-President of the US thanked Zapatero for helping to publicise his film on climate change following their meeting, also attended by the Environment Ministry’s General Secretary for the Prevention of Pollution and Climate Change, González Aizpiri

Spanish banks affected by hackers

People who receive and send emails are used to receiving fraudulent emails claiming to be from a financial institution asking for personal information regarding bank accounts.

In January hacking into banks and building societies in Spain resulted in fraud totalling 9 million euros according to the Spanish ‘Asociación de Internautas’. Banesto, Santander and La Caixa suffered the most attacks from hackers.

Víctor Domingo the president of the ‘Asociación de Internautas’ said that other institutions such as the National Statistics Institute were also under attack, something which hasn’t happened before.

It is believed that the hackers who carry out these attacks come from European countries such as Rumania or Bulgaria which makes it almost impossible to prosecute the perpetrators.

Related:
Spanish banks
Spanish savings banks

Open source software in Spain

Badajoz will become the world capital for free software by hosting the third international conference for free software this week (8th – 9th February). The conference which has been organized by the governments of Extremadura and Andalucia will bring together leaders in the movement for free software such as Miguel de Icaza and Richard Stallman, who will be presented with the Extremaduran International Prize for Open Knowledge.

Luis Millán Vázquez de Miguel, who is in charge of Infrastructure and Development for the government in Extremadura, talked about the responsibility of making computer applications free and the importance of sharing knowledge. He also added that it was important for people to be conscious of the international movement in favour of the use of free software.

Extremadura has been one of Spain’s first regions to officially adopt the use of free software (in local government offices, the town hall, schools etc...). Later Andalucia followed in its footsteps. Now free software is being used more and more throughout the rest of Spain.

Extremadura adopted a free software policy some years ago in order to try and bridge the digital gap that existed in the region. Now Extremadura is one of the most important users of this type of software in Spain.

Child maintenance in Spain

Child maintenance in Spain are amongst the lowest in the European Union.

According to a study carried out by the Instituto de Política Familiar (IPF) Spanish families receive the lowest financial help from the state out of all the countries in the European Union. Just 0.52% of GDP in Spain is used for giving financial help to families, a figure far below the average for the rest of the European Union. This difference is partly explained by the way benefits are calculated in Spain using means testing which results in only the families with the lowest incomes receiving state help whereas in the rest of the European Union help is given universally regardless of family income.

Spain is also the only country in the European Country that does not use at least 1% of GDP for giving financial help to families when the average is 2.2%. The IPF discovered that a family would need to have 12 children in order to receive similar benefits to a German family with just 2 children.

The study also found that Spain was the least flexible country with regards to benefits. Furthermore any benefits were taxable. It also highlighted the fact that the average size of a Spanish family has reduced over the last 30 years from 4 members to just 2.9 members. It also said that Spain had an ageing population with almost 2 million people aged over 80.

The study also looked at the birthrate in Spain which is very low. According to the IPF any growth in the birthrate over recent years is down to immigration. Spain was at the bottom of the table with Greece and Italy. Asturias (0.94), Galicia (1.00) and Castilla y León (1.06) had birthrates per woman well below the Spanish average which is 1.32.

Marriage statistics are also changing in Spain with less marriages and couples getting married later. The average age for marrying for a man is 33 years old and for a woman 30 years old. It also found that 4 out of 10 marriages took place in a registry office and 1 in every 7 marriages included a foreigner in the couple.

National Library of Spain opens a new museum

National Library Museum opens in Madrid

Today the Culture Minister, Carmen Calvo, will open a new National Library in Madrid.

The library, which has been under construction for over 2 years, is distributed over 8 rooms covering 1400 m2. Exhibitions will take up 755 m2 while the rest of the museum will be dedicated to workshops and special activities.

The contents of the library will use the latest in technology including audiovisual exhibits and computer facilities for visitors. Exhibitions will cover the three centuries that books have existed and original copies and curiosities will be on display.

Special attention will be given to school parties with guided tours and a programme of activities aimed at schools. There will also be a programme of interactive workshops and weekend activities which will change from month to month.

Related:
Museums in MadridGuide to Madrid
Hotels in Madrid
Best restaurants in Madrid