Fall in Spanish mortgage payments

Cost of mortgages registers biggest fall in a decade

It is becoming increasingly difficult to secure a new mortgage in Spain with Spanish banks reluctant to commit to loans in general. However, those that already have a loan or mortgage are seeing the amount they need to pay go down - something which has not occurred for a decade. Those people that need to review the amount of their monthly mortgage payment are seeing reductions in the region of 182 euros.

The Euríbor, which is the official interest rate in the Eurozone, is now at a historic low similar to 6 years ago when it was below 2%. The Euríbor will close in February at 2.135% when only a year ago it was 4.349%.

The fall in the Euribor is the biggest annual fall since the beginning of 1999 when the euro was introduced and the Euribor was created. If the Mibor , the official interest rate before the Euribor, is taken into consideration such a dramatic fall has not occurred since 1997.

The savings that an average mortgage payer will make will increase the longer the mortgage terms are. For example a family who revises a 150,000 euro mortgage this month to be paid over 25 years will save 181 euros a month which is 2,172 euros a year.

However some mortgage payers will be able to save even more. For example a 50 year mortgage will now be 32% cheaper than before. The fall in the Euribor is one escape route for families and businesses during the economic crisis which Spain is currently experiencing.

Following much resistance the European Central Bank has decided to relax its monetary policy. Urged on by economic recession and low inflation it has dropped interest rates from 4.25% to 2% over the space of 2 years. Over the last five months the Euribor has only gone up slightly once. Moreover, economists predict that Jean-Claude Trichet will cut interest rates even further to 1.5% or even 1%.

According to figures published by the Spanish National Institute for Statistics 835,056 mortgages were conceded in Spain last year which is 32.4% less than in 2007 which is the biggest annual fall in the number of mortgages taken out since 1993. In addition, the average amount for a mortgage in 2008 was 140,000 euros which is 6.2% less than in 2007. This fall is also a clear indicator that the price of property is falling. In 2008 banks lent 116,724 million euros which is 36.6% less than in 2007.

Coupled with these discouraging figures for mortgage lending and the fall in the price of property in Spain, which according to some experts will fall by a further 20% this year, Spanish architects conceded 58% less building licenses for new construction projects in 2008. In addition, 13 of Spain’s largest construction companies did not start any new building projects in December last year.

Spain will accept Guantanamo prisoners

Moratinos promises to take in Guantánamo prisoners in meeting with Hillary Clinton

Yesterday Miguel Ángel Moratinos, Spain’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, promised that Spain would take in some of the prisoners still held in the US military prison in Guantánamo (Cuba) following his meeting with the new US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton,

The meeting with Hillary Clinton took place in Washington and amongst other important issues designing a new relationship between both the US and Spain was on the agenda.

Moratinos speaking outside the state department in Washington said that the US had requested help in resolving the ‘drama and tragedy’ that Guantánamo represented. He said that Spain had agreed to collaborate in taking in some of the prisoners ‘as long as the legal conditions were acceptable’.

Although the announcement that the US military prison in Guantánamo was to be closed was received favourably around the world it also raised the issue of what to do with the remaining 250 prisoners that are still held there. Once the US administration had made it clear that it would not take in all the prisoners from Guantánamo its Western allies were not at all surprised when they received requests for help.

In Spain’s case the official request was made during yesterday’s meeting with Hillary Clinton. Apart from the request it is not known how many or when the prisoners will be sent to Spain. According to the British organisation Reprieve there are about four or six prisoners from Tunisia and Algeria held in Guantánamo who wish to be taken in by Spain.

Moratinos also made it clear that yesterday’s meeting had opened a new stage in relations between Spain and the US following the cool relationship between the two countries during the presidency of George Bush who only received Zapatero once in the White House and only then because Zapatero was attending the G-20 summit in November last year. This is why the big question that is now being asked is when Obama will meet with Zapatero. However, Moratinos stressed that he was not in the US to set a date for visits although he did say that he believed that Zapatero would be received warmly by the White House.

Yesterday’s meeting was the first meeting with a Spanish minister since Obama took over the presidency of the US on 20th January this year. Moratinos is the fifth European Foreign Affairs minister to meet with the new US Secretary of State after meetings with Foreign ministers from Britain, France, Germany and the Czech Republic.

Yesterdays meeting between Moratinos and Clinton lasted 40 minutes and opened a new stage in relations between Spain and the US which is designed on the tacit agreement of quid pro quo (something in exchange for something). Although Moratinos said that concrete subjects were not discussed he hopes that the US will establish a new strategy towards Latin America especially Cuba and collaborate with Spain in Northern Africa. Spain also promised to increase its collaboration in Afghanistan although when and how was not specified.

Source: El Pais

ETA bombs Socialist headquarters in San Sebastian

ETA bombs PSE headquarters in Lazkao, Guipúzcoa

This morning at around 3 am a bomb exploded in the Basque Socialist Party headquarters (PSE) in Lazkao in the province of Guipúzcoa. Nobody was injured in the blast although the explosion cause serious material damage to the party headquarters according to sources from the interior department of the Basque Government.

An anonymous caller who said that they were speaking on behalf of ETA phoned the the DYA ambulance service in San Sebastian at 1 am. The caller gave a warning that an explosion would take place at 2 am. Shortly before the warning was received police patrolling the area had detected a suspicious rucksack which had been placed in front of the door of the PSE headquarters. This discovery led to the area being cordoned off immediately, a nearby bar being evacuated and residents in the immediate area being warned.

The explosion caused serious damage to the PSE headquarters and to the area cordoned off by the police. According to some reports the whole of the facade of the building has been damaged by the explosion which was reported to have been ‘quite strong’.

This morning the police have begun to gather evidence and to clear up the mess caused by the bomb. The PSE headquarters had recently been reopened for use after 9 months of renovation work.

Patxi Usabiaga, the Mayor of Lazkao, will speak at midday today to condemn the bombing. It is expected that in his speech he will say that ‘society is fed up, that ETA do not represent anything and that the radical left Basque movement known as 'abertzale' is well represented by political parties and that these type of acts are not constructive but destructive’.

The General Secretary of the PSE in Guipúzcoa, Iñaki Arriola, who speaking to Radio Euskadi this morning said that the house belonging to a PSE councillor in Azpeitia had also been attacked with paint. He said that he and party members were unfortunately used to the permanent presence of ETA but that ETA need to understand that they are not going to achieve anything.

In the early hours of this morning molotov cocktails were thrown at two banks in Tolosa, Guipúzcoa. The first attack which only damaged a cash point took place at 0.30 am and was directed against a branch of BBVA. Shortly following this at 1.00 am another attack was directed against a branch of Bankoa as a result of which the door was damaged.

EU firework regulations not to be enforced in Spain

Spanish fiestas will not adopt European fireworks legislation
According to El País this morning, a European directive dating from 2007 on the use of fireworks has caused controversy in Spain and other Mediterranean countries. The directive states that there must be a distance of at least 15 metres between category 3 fireworks and the public. However the Spanish government regards the directive as a direct threat to Spanish cultural heritage.

The European Commission has defended the legislation saying that the intention was not to attack any traditions because the directive allows for countries to opt out.

This is exactly what the Spanish government intends to do. A great many of Spanish fiestas are based around the use of fireworks especially those in Catalonia, the Comunidad Valenciana and Andalucia. The Minister for Industry, Miguel Sebastián, said that defending Spain’s cultural Heritage was a priority for the government and that no fiesta would be under threat from European legislation.

Yesterday the government presented a proposal to congress to defend the ‘basic elements’ of Spanish fiestas, traditions and popular culture which it said ‘enriched a heritage that belongs to everybody’. With this objective the government wants to establish a specific norm for the use of fireworks and other explosive material which takes into account its use for cultural activities.

The EU directive on the use of fireworks was passed on 23rd May 2007 and was intended to regulate the fireworks market. Countries have until 4th January 2010 to make any amendments. However, the directive has sparked controversy because the it increases the minimum age for using the lowest category fireworks, for example firecrackers, to 12 and imposes a distance of at least 15 metres between any fireworks display and the public. However, this jeopardizes traditional fiestas that use torros de fuego or the famous correfocs in Catalonia where people dress up as devils and demons with fireworks attached to their backs and run around amongst the public.

Those who oppose the legislation believe that the EU does not understand the ways of Mediterranean countries whilst those from the north of Europe where fireworks are always handled by professionals simply do not understand how fireworks can be used in such an irresponsible way.

Joan Font from the theatre company Comediants, de Joan Font who were part of the closing ceremony for the Barcelona Olympics 1992 and who are famous for their theatrical use of fireworks explained that the Mediterranean is tied to using fireworks in its fiestas through its history and legends. He said that the large fiestas of the Mediterranean always started and ended with fire because it was a symbol of great strength and beauty. For example fiestas such as la Patum from Berga, in the province of Barcelona dates back to 1454 and was given World Heritage status in 2005. Under the new EU directive this fiesta would change enormously.

However, Juan Pedro Barret who is the head of the burns unit at the Vall d'Hebron hospital in Barcelona welcomes the new restrictions. Apparantly Barret is fed up of seeing injuries caused by the misuse of fireworks and seeing hands, fingers and feet amputated. He said that the night of San Juan was always one of the worst nights to have to be on duty in the accident and emergency department. He said the flow of injured people was constant and some of the injuries were horrible. He said that after the mid-nineties when safety measures improved the number of injured people went down significantly and also the number of those seriously injured. This is why Barret believes that any legislation to improve safety with regards to the use of fireworks is both necessary and beneficial to the public.

However, organizers of las Fallas in Valencia disagree. They believe that legislation should focus on the sale of fireworks and not other aspects that threaten traditional fiestas.

Judges strike in Spain

Judges go on strike for the first time ever in Spain

Judges from around 30 provinces including Madrid, Seville or Barcelona have been asked to support a national strike organized by the Asociación Francisco de Vitoria and the Foro Judicial Independiente.

The first ever strike by Spanish judges demanding more human and material resources has been arranged to coincide with a symbolic protest organized two judicial associations which do not support the strike - by the Asociación Profesional de la Magistratura and Jueces para la Democracia. It also coincides with a 12 day strike by civil servants working for the Ministry of Justice in Madrid.

The lack of precedents for the strike has meant that it has been left up to judges to decide what minimum service must be provided after the General Council for Judicial Power refused to establish a minimum service given that it regards the strike as illegal.

Therefore the National Strike Committee consisting of members from the two associations which have called for the strike today has decided that the 24 hour strike will not affect cases of violence against women, cases involving children, cases related to the internment of those suffering from mental illness and other urgent cases under civil law.

Judges have approved the strikes in the following provinces: Cádiz, Seville, Malaga, Almeria, Huelva, Murcia, Alicante, Valencia, Castellon, Girona, Tarragona, Zamora, Teruel, Cuenca, Ciudad Real, Pontevedra, A Coruña, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Ibiza, Palma de Mallorca and Ceuta amongst others.

The unprecedented strike has caused divisions amongst the judiciary and it has also provoked a controversial debate on the right of judges to strike which was raised by the Minister of Justice, Bermejo, to the indignation of the judges who argue that just because the Spanish constitution does not contemplate the right of judges to strike does not mean that it is illegal to do so.

Attempts by the government to halt the strike have been unsuccessful, largely because the positions of the judges and the Ministery of Justice differ profoundly. While the judges claim that the government has refused to negotiate, the government claims that the judges cannot impose their wishes and that many of their demands have been taken into account - the most important of these being the creation of a new Judicial Office which is currently under review in parliament.

Both the government and judicial organizations agree that the strike will not only be to the detriment of ordinary citizens but that it will also damage the public image of the judiciary.

Spanish property market figures for 2008

The Spanish property sector experienced one of its worst ever years ever in 2008. Property sales fell by 28.6% which has led to the sector adopting more aggressive sales policies and slashing prices in order to reignite demand. However, despite this fall, statistics relating to the last month registered by the Spanish National Institute for Statistics (INE) (a 28% drop) showed an improvement with respect to mid 2008 and analists hope that the fall in real estate sales has eventually stabilized at approximately 30% over the last few months after reaching 36% in August last year.

According to figures published today by INE the fall in sales has been more acute in second hand properties with falls of up to 39.3% (273,936 sales) compared to sales for new properties which only fell by 14.1% (284,493 sales). The figures published today by INE for 2008 show that transactions for private properties fell by 28.9% while transactions for subsidised housing fell by 25.5%.

The fall in sales has provoked an accumulation of surplus housing in Spain which is estimated to vary between 600,000 and 900,000 unsold new properties. The fall in sales of new properties throughout 2008 is just 3.2% according to the Ministry of Housing or 10% according to the property evaluators Tinsa. In fact Tinsa predicts that this percentage will go up to a round 20% by the end of 2009 with 1.5 million unsold properties on the market.

In accordance with this prediction house prices would fall to levels seen four years ago just before the last property bubble had started to inflate.

The average number of sales in 2008 was 1,531 per 100,000 inhabitants. Murcia was the province which registered the most sales per 100,000 inhabitants with a total of 2,347 transactions followed by Castilla-La Mancha (2,183), La Rioja (2,145), Cantabria (2,003), Andalucía (1,900), the Comunidad Valenciana (1,892), Extremadura (1,717) and the Canary Islands (1,533).

The Basque Country fell below the average for the number of sales per 100,000 inhabitants at 1,093, followed by Catalonia (1,066), Galicia (1,160), Madrid (1,238), Navarra (1,325), Aragón (1,439), Castilla y León (1,482), Asturias (1,497) and the Balearic Islands (1,519). In Ceuta and Melilla 648 and 834 properties were sold for every 100,000 inhabitants respectively.

In absolute terms Andalucía registered the highest number of property sales at 120,478 followed by the Comunidad Valenciana (74,706), Catalonia (62,090) and Madrid (60,919).

How to check if your Spanish electricity bill is too high

Consumer protection group launches simulator to check whether electricity bills are inflated

Today the Consumer's rights group Facua announced that more than 55,000 consumers have used an online simulator designed by the organization so that consumers can find out whether their new monthly bills accurately reflect energy consumed. Following a change in the billing system in Spain, electrical companies are being investigated to see if clients have been overcharged under the new system.

Yesterday Facua’s website received a record number of visits after the simulator was made available on its website. The simulator indicates to individual consumers if their electricity company has charged them more than the actual energy they have consumed that month. It also offers information on what to do if the simulator discovers any irregularities and the amounts that should be reclaimed.

The simulator has been launched after the controversy that the new monthly bills has provoked due to the fact that previously bills were issued every two months and now bills are issued on a monthly basis although electricity metres are still only read every two months.

This system means that the electricity bill for the first month is based on the company’s own estimations. The bill for the second month is based on the reading taken from the electricity metre and is adjusted in accordance with the amount charged for the previous month’s bill. According to Facua in some cases consumers have been overcharged in the first month.

The consumer organization has also denounced the fact that in the second bill energy consumed at the end of 2008 is charged at the increased cost of electricity in 2009. This means that consumers are paying energy prices for 2009 for energy consumed in 2008 something which is completely inappropriate.

Nano torch developed in Spain

Spanish scientific institute makes significant advance in nanolight technology

A nanolight developed by two researchers working for the Institute of Photonic Sciences in Barcelona (ICFO) has managed to break one of the fundamental laws of physics. The French physicist Romani Quidant and his colleague Niek van Hulst have invented a way of getting a nanolight to show bacteria that was previously impossible to see because it was too small. Furthermore their technique means that the bacteria can be seen in great detail.

The device allows scientists to work with objects 100 times smaller than before (the millionth part of a metre) because of a concentrated light 1000 times stronger than that currently in use. Their discovery is expected to open up infinite possibilities in the area of biotechnology and medicine.

The ultra concentrated light was discovered thanks to a microscopic antenna similar to the ones installed on the outside of buildings. The microscopic antenna is formed by two bars of gold that absorb the light of a laser and concentrate it onto a specific point thus forming a nanolight. Its radiation is so intense that it can interact with molecules with unprecedented efficiency.

Romani Quidant and Niek van Hulst used the resonance of plasmon which is produced with the infraction of light with metallic particles in their research. Quidant, who is currently attending a conference in Italy to present his work, explained how this new technique has avoided the ‘law of diffraction’ which until now had limited the development of optics. This law says that you can concentrate light up to a point but places a limit on the minimum size it is possible to see. He said that his research had managed to break down this limit using nanoantennas.

One of the biggest uses of his invention which is in the process of being patented is the development of optic pincers which can be used with great precision. This type of pincer concentrates light to trap objects such as cells or bacteria. The problem that scientists faced until now was that if the size of the cell or bacteria was too small they damaged an object or could not be used at all.

However this problem has been solved by Quidant and Niek van Hulst because their nanolight offers a concentrated point of light that can attach itself to polystyrene balls of 200 nanometres – 10 times smaller than with conventional pincers.
At present Quidant and Niek van Hulst Casi are working with scientists in the area of cancer research with the aim of providing a more precise diagnosis which is capable of detecting the illness in its initial stages and to look at the actual state of the cells that are ill. The invention could also be used to detect toxins in food.

Quidant who is 33 years old has spent the last three years researching this invention which is published in Nature and Physical Review Letters. After completing his thesis he began working for the ICFO.

Source: El Mundo

Party for single people in Benidorm

Valentines Day party in Benidorm for single people.

Benidorm organizes Spain's first national ‘Singles Saint Valentine’s Day’ party next weekend. The organizers have already received 700 reservations from all over the country and are expecting another 300 people to attend the dinner and party which are due to take place on Saint Valentine’s day.

The organizers of the event, Benidorm Punto de Encuentro, have received sponsorship from the Valencian agency for tourism, Benidorm town hall and the hotel chain Mágic Costa Blanca. The full programme of events includes accommodation in cabins in the Excalibur campsite in the medieval complex Mágic Excalibur, a dinner in the castle Conde de Alfaz and a visit to the terror park followed by a party and disco in the complex.

Jorge Pinto one of the organizers of the ‘Singles Saint Valentine’s day party said that the phone had been ringing constantly since the event was launched at the beginning of January. He said that some early birds had started to arrived last weekend although the official reception is not until next Saturday when there will be special events throughout the day. Jorge Pinto, also said that the majority of singles would be women.

ETA bomb in Madrid

ETA car bomb explodes in Campo de las Naciones in Madrid

A car bomb exploded in the Campo de las Naciones business complex located in Madrid this morning in the street Ribera del Loira. The explosion occurred approximately an hour and a half after the Red Cross received a warning from ETA. At present no injuries have been reported but the bomb blast has damaged a large number of nearby buildings including one belonging to a railway company.

The Centre of Coordination for the Red Cross received an anonymous call at 07.37 this morning announcing that there was a car bomb in the Campo de las Naciones. The police immediately cordoned off the area next to the business complex, IFEMA, a large exhibition centre, and roads leading to the M-40 which led to large traffic jams during this morning’s rush hour.

It is not the first time that ETA has targeted the Campo de las Naciones buinsess complex in Madrid. In 2005 on 10th February shortly before the King and Queen of Spain were due to open a business fair another car bomb exploded causing 43 injuries and significant material damage to surrounding buildings. The Justice Minister for the regional government of Madrid, Francisco Granados, commented that this area is very quiet at weekends which makes it an easy target for ETA. In addition it is located near the M-40 which links the Spanish capital to Zaragoza and Barcelona.

The car bomb comes just 11 hours after the Spanish High Court decided to annul the lists of candidates for D3M and Askatasuna for the elections for the Basque government which are due to take place shortly because of their links with ETA-Batasuna.

Emilio Botin on bank lending during the crisis

Botín claims it would be irresponsible to increase lending during crisis

At yesterday’s presentation of end of year results for Santander bank, the largest in Spain and fourth biggest in the world in terms of its profits, Emilio Botín, the President of the bank, assumed the leadership of the Spanish banking sector in order to clarify the position on lending. (At the beginning of this week Spain's leading bankers were called to a meeting in the Moncloa during which Zapatero asked them to concede more loans to private and corporate clients). However yesterday Botín said that banks had not simply turned off the ‘credit tap’. He said that the moderation of lending on the part of the banks was inevitable due to the deteriorating economy.

Botin said that the banks would not be doing the Spanish economy any favours if they increased their lending in an irresponsible manner thus placing the solvency of the system in danger as had occurred in other countries. He said the real problem would be if the banks could not give loans to solvent clients due to lack of capital.

Botin refused to comment on recent declarations made by Miguel Martín, the president of AEB, in which Matín placed the blame for the current crisis on the economy rather than on the banks.

Botin pointed out that the Santander bank continues to approve around 75% of loan applications compared to 80% before the crisis. He also said there had been a significant drop in the demand for credit. According to Botín during 2008 the application for private loans fell by 21% and applications for mortgages fell by 27%. It has been forecast for this year that the volume of credit in Spain will not grow in line with GDP.

With respect to the bank’s results for 2008 Botín said that the bank had made profits of 8,876 million euros which was 2% less than 2007. He said that defaulting on loan repayments had reached 2.04% but that he feared that this year this figure could rise to 4.5%.

With regards to whether the government should help the banks Botín was emphatic in saying that the government had not given the banks anything. He also said he did not expect the economy to recover before the end of this year.

Botín informed that Santander board members would earn 15% less this year and executive board members 10% less. He also said that dividends would drop by 9% in 2009.

Recession in Spain

Businesses and individuals going bankrupt almost tripled in 2008.

The economic crisis in Spain has meant that the number of individuals and businesses going into administration almost tripled in 2008 reaching a record 2,902 out of which 38.66% corresponds to the construction and housing sector.

According to figures published today by Cadena Ser from the Spanish National Institute for Statistics (INE) the number of individuals that declared themselves insolvent went up by 289.56% to 374 and the number of companies and self employed who went into administration went up by 187.3% to 2,528 last year.

The economic crisis last year meant that those filing for bankruptcy went up above all in the last quarter of 2008 when a historic record of 1,082 insolvencies were registered – 265% more than in the same period for 2007.

Out of those filing for bankruptcy 2,725 were voluntary applications which is 218.7% more than in 2007 - 177 were declared bankrupt by the authorities which is 46.3% more than in 2007.

The construction and housing sector together with industry and the service sector accounts for 67.2% of the total number of those going into administration in 2008.

Highest ever wave in Spain

26 metre wave detected in Spanish waters

According to El País this morning, the highest wave ever recorded in Spanish Waters has displaced a buoy belonging to the Spanish Oceanographic Institute (IEO) from its position. The wave measured 26.13 metres high, similar to a seven storey building. The wave was recorded in the Bay of Biscay and broke about 35 metres off the coast.

The buoy named Augusto González de Linares, continued to emit its signals which meant that has been possible to recover it. It was located on 28th January some 16 kilometres from the coastal city of San Sebastian. It is hoped that it will be put back into service in its original position after it has been fully checked for defects. The buoy emitted telematic signals which meant that its position could be detected.

The IEO is a public body dedicated to studying the sea and researching the sustainability of fishing stocks and marine environment. The information recorded is sent around the world to meteorological centres to aid them with their predictions. Information on the speed of the wind, sea currents, the temperature of the sea and the height of waves amongst other things is provided by the IEO. The buoy belonging to the IEO records the highest waves every 30 minutes. Every hour it transmits information via satellite.

Arrests of Al Qaeda suspects in Spain

A dozen arrests in Barcelona and Valencia for falsification of documentation for Al Qaeda

In an anti-terrorist operation the Spanish National Police have arrested a dozen people in Barcelona and Valencia. Those arrested are suspected of being members of a network for the falsification of documentation for Al Qaeda. Of the five arrests made in Valencia four of the detainees are of Indian nationality and one is Pakistani.

The anti-terrorist operation began in the early hours of this morning. The police arrested seven people living in the same flat in Barcelona in the street la calle Peu de la Creu, in the old part of the city. Those arrested in Barcelona are all believed to be from North Africa. So far the police have not found any explosives or weapons but are continuing to search the flat in Barcelona.

The operation against Islamic terrorism was ordered by the high court judge Fernando Grande-Marlaskafor. The police hope to make further arrests in the next few hours.

Tornado in Malaga

Tornado causes devastation in Malaga

At least 25 people were injured as a result of a tornado which hit the city of Malaga last night. Most of the injured are not in a serious condition although 8 of them have been moved to the University Hospital of Malaga. According to a spokesperson for the emergency services most of the injuries were the result of broken glass.

The tornado caused damage to various buildings and vehicles and even ripped off part of the roof of the main bus station. The areas of San Andrés, the avenida Juan XXXII and the Guadalhorce industrial estate were particularly affected.

In the San Andrés neighbourhood fire fighters have even advised some people not to return to their houses or flats. Two people were injured as a result of the damage caused to the roof of the bus station.

The strong winds also caused part of a wall to fall down damaging railway lines and causing a power failure according to a spokesperson for railway infrastructure. The power failure led to trains on line 1 being delayed for sometime and a high speed train due to arrive in Malaga at 22.15 hours was delayed by half an hour.

Local trains on the San Andrés-María Zambrano line were also affected by the adverse weather conditions with all trains being suspended between 21.30 and 3.30 hours. In the same area a barrier protecting a pedestrian walkway also appeared to be on the point of collapsing which also led to delays on the railway.

A spokesperson for the State Agency of Meteorology confirmed that the strong winds registered in Malaga last night were the result of a tornado.