Andalusia's Easter processions, Spain's Semana Santa traditions come alive

As incense and candles burn, trumpets blare and drums beat, penitents covered in colorful tunics and conical hoods march slowly through the night toward the cathedral. Life-size statues of Jesus and Mary are carried by porters hidden beneath floats, making the several-ton structures appear to hover through the air.
The ritual plays out every year during Holy Week, or Semana Santa, part of an Easter tradition celebrated throughout Spain. In the southern region of Andalusia, cities spend all year planning for the spectacle. Seville, the regional capital, hosts some of the biggest processions, dating back to medieval times and organized by brotherhoods, or cofradias, each sporting their own colours.
For tourists here to see the Easter spectacle, Seville offers plenty of other things to do as well with its soaring cathedral, Real Alcazar (royal fortress), bullfighting ring, flamenco clubs, tapas bars and art galleries. Seville is also a convenient base for exploring Andalusia, making it easy to hop from city to city while seeing some of the best parades set against some of its most beautiful historic places. Cordoba, with its tangled warren of narrow streets and rich Catholic, Islamic and Jewish history, is only about 45 minutes away. Within a two-to-three hour trip are Cadiz, one of Europe's oldest cities; Granada, home of the breathtaking Alhambra fortress; and Malaga, where the Semana Santa floats are bigger and are accompanied by more exuberant music and applause. Each city could merit an overnight stay.
Andalusia is flooded with tourists during Holy Week, so hotels can be expensive and must be booked in advance of Easter (April 24 this year). If you can't make it for Semana Santa, don't worry, festivals take place here year-round. If you don't visit around Easter, the images carried in the processions, called pasos, can be viewed in their home churches.

Comedian Johnny Vegas has reportedly married his girlfriend of two years, Maia Dunphy, in a small ceremony in Spain.

Comedian Johnny Vegas has reportedly married his girlfriend of two years, Maia Dunphy, in a small ceremony in Spain.

The 39-year-old - who starred in ITV1's hit sitcom Benidorm - is said to have tied the knot with 34-year-old Maia, a PR consultant, in front of 120 guests at a country estate outside Seville.

And according to the Mirror, Maia invited her own priest from her native Dublin to preside over the ceremony.

value of pensions has plummeted against the euro, charities like Age Concern and the Royal British Legion - who both operate across Spain - are providing a lifeline for an increasing number of elderly British citizens who have seen their retirement dreams go sour.

Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall have met several hundred British volunteer charity workers in Spain on their first official trip to the country as a couple.

The meeting has highlighted the difficulties many expatriates now face and the rise in numbers of them being forced to pack up their homes in the sun and return home.

It is estimated that a million British passport holders spend all or part of the year in Spain, the vast majority on the eastern and southern coasts.

Many are pensioners who left the UK 20 or more years ago. But these days, people are leaving, not arriving in, Spain.

As the value of pensions has plummeted against the euro, charities like Age Concern and the Royal British Legion - who both operate across Spain - are providing a lifeline for an increasing number of elderly British citizens who have seen their retirement dreams go sour.

"There are a lot of people returning to the UK who have not needed to involve us," says Judy Arnold-Boakes, who is based on Mallorca and works for Age Concern.

"But we're repatriating an increasing number of people who are destitute. It's that serious. Their funds have run out. Basically - they've lived too long."

Food aid
On average, Ms Arnold-Boakes says those who have retired to the Spanish coast are living up to a decade longer than friends back home. And as their age increases, so do their needs.

"Imagine someone in their 80s, whose husband has died. They're on a very low income, can't afford to eat and live up a country track with no communications," says Harvey Tilley, of the British Legion.

Many British pensioners here are ex-servicemen and their families.

"When their health starts suffering, it's hard to access support. And by the time they come to us for help, it can take months to unpick all that," Mr Tilley says.

Age Concern says more and more people are now relying on their bi-monthly food parcels to get by - made up primarily through the donations of other British residents in Spain.

"It's just the basics, nothing fancy - rice, pasta and tins," explains volunteer Jacky Codd.

"People's pensions aren't stretching like they used to, so they can't afford it. But they're proud, and don't like to ask for help."

Collapsed businesses
The problems are compounded by the fact many British pensioners never learned Spanish and never formally registered as living here, making access to free healthcare and other local council services problematic.

So whether it is a lift to the supermarket, some money to cover medical costs - or arranging for someone in serious difficulty to be repatriated - the work of these British charities has become vital for many people.

And it is not just pensioners who are struggling. The recession in Spain - where more than 20% of the workforce is now unemployed - has had a big impact on expat businesses too.

"Quite a few people from Mallorca have gone back to the UK," says Jacky Codd.

"People in their 40s who came with families, and whose businesses have collapsed. There's been a lot of difficulty and it's growing all the time."

POLICE are investigating if the culprits who broke into the Marbella courthouse were common criminals looking for easy money or if a more sinister motive exists.

POLICE are investigating if the culprits who broke into the Marbella courthouse were common criminals looking for easy money or if a more sinister motive exists. Just days before an inventory was due to take place at the courthouse, thieves struck twice in a period of 24 hours.

The first occurred in the early hours of Saturday when thieves gained access to the building after breaking a window to the Public Prosecutor’s office, located on the first floor.

The office had been turned-over, although is has not been possible to determine whether documents have disappeared as the inventory was only scheduled to start this Monday.

The assailants had also forced open the vending machines and stolen the money within.

Police suspect that this could have been a diversionary tactic to hide the true purpose of the break-in. On the first break-in the alarm did not go off, even though the building has sensors in all the corridors and stairways. Investigations are underway to determine if it was due to a power outage or if thieves deactivated it.

Then in the early hours of Sunday, the building’s burglar alarm was activated, but when the National Police showed up they found no evidence of theft.

All indications are that someone forced the door leading to the prison cells in the basement to the building, but took flight when the alarm was raised, according to sources close to the investigation.

Police have not ruled out that the second break-in is related to the first. This is not the first time that Marbella courts have experienced an incident of this nature.

In 2001, a total of 15 case files against former Mayor Jesus Gil were either removed or erased from computers.

collapsed merger of four savings banks could be a setback for the Spanish government’s efforts to convince the rest of the world that its financial house is in order.

Late Wednesday, the merger of four savings banks, to be called Banco Base, collapsed after Cajastur, Caja Cantabria and Caja Extremadura all backed out.

That came after key partner Caja Mediterraneo (CAM), which has heavy exposure to the Spanish property collapse, applied for a cash injection of state funds on Tuesday which was twice what the Bank of Spain had estimated it needed.Those four savings banks will now have to present new plans for capitalization to the Bank of Spain. CAM said in a statement late Wednesday that it will apply for state funds to meet necessary capital requirements, but many believe that it will be sold off to bigger institutions.

Spain's Crown Prince Felipe told Britain's Prince Charles that their two countries need to solve their "bilateral dispute" over Gibraltar

Spain's Crown Prince Felipe told Britain's Prince Charles that their two countries need to solve their "bilateral dispute" over Gibraltar, during an official dinner in Madrid.
"Royal Highnesses, your presence in Spain encourages us to deepen our common will to help the United Kingdom and the Kingdom of Spain ... expand day by day their understanding and cooperation," Felipe said in a toast at the gala dinner for Charles and his wife Camilla at Spain's Royal Palace on Wednesday.
"With that in mind, I also hope that our authorities make progress in resolving the historical bilateral dispute that is still pending," he said, in a reference to Gibraltar.
The tiny territory off the coast of southern Spain, which Madrid ceded to London in 1713 under the Treaty of Utrecht, has long fuelled tensions between the two countries.
Madrid argues the 6.5-square-kilometre (2.6-square-mile) promontory that is home to around 30,000 people should be returned to Spanish sovereignty.
But its people overwhelm ingly rejected an Anglo-Spanish proposal for co-sovereignty in a referendum in 2002.
There were a series of face-offs involving the security forces of the two countries in the surrounding waters last year.
Spain also protested to London over a visit to the territory by Charles' sister Princess Anne in 2009.
Charles and Camilla arrived on Wednesday in Madrid from Portugal -- part of a three-nation tour that will also take them to Morocco and aimed at promoting trade and investment.
Prince Felipe and his wife Letizia are the official hosts of the visit.
Prince Charles met Thursday morning with Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, the prime minister's office said.
"The meeting focused on the economic situation of both countries and Europe, with special attention to social policies," it said in a statement.
They also discussed the situation in North Africa and the Middle East, and the nuclear accident as well as "environmental issues."
Prince Charles will also meet with Spanish leaders Thursday, the British embassy said in a statement.
The roundtable will seek "to identify opportunities for green growth and low-carbon development in Spain and the EU, the role for European business in driving the debate forward, and the policies and market mechanisms needed in Spain and the EU to kick-start a low-carbon economy," it said.
The royal couple will attend a lunch hosted by Spain's King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia at their residence, the Zarzuela Palace in Madrid, on Thursday. They leave for Rabat on Friday.
It is the first joint visit to Spain by Prince Charles and Camilla, who were married on April 9, 2005.
In August 1987, Charles and his then wife Princess Diana spent a family holiday as guests of the Spanish royals at their summer palace on the island of Majorca, where tensions between the couple were evident.
He attended the funeral for Don Juan, the father of Juan Carlos, in April 1993 and was a guest at the May 2004 wedding of Felipe and Letizia in Madrid.
Charles and Diana's son William will marry Kate Middleton at Westminster Abbey on April 29.

half of all British pensioners currently living abroad. The financial implications are huge – a pensioner retiring to a frozen country today stands to lose more than half of their rightful pension over 20 years, leaving some virtually destitute in the long term.

Politicians and the media alike are currently fixated on Britain’s ageing population. According to the Government, the UK will have 626,900 people aged 100 or more by 2080, 53 times the current number of centenarians.This type of shock statistic was released with a very concrete objective – to sweeten the pill of controversial public sector pension reforms.
But it seems more time has been spent quantifying the problem rather than coming up with imaginative solutions.
Fighting the unions over cherished public sector pensions is one avenue being proposed. Another is to encourage hard-working young immigrants to settle here, bringing down the average age and boosting our tax intake. But no politician appears to want to champion that route. Therefore it strikes me as quite bizarre that the Government is overlooking a rather simple policy change that could have an enormous impact on both our demography and economy.
Surprising as it may seem, the first group of an estimated 17 million baby boomers have now already entered the pension bracket, swelling the number of recipients of the basic state pension. This is a generation that has travelled the world and inspired their children to do the same.
A recent survey of 45-65 year-olds carried out by Opinium found that almost one in two of this generation would consider retiring abroad – whether that is to join children already there, enjoy more reasonable weather, or because they feel other countries have greater respect for older people.
By moving abroad, these pensioners would save the Exchequer billions of pounds in health and social care costs. They would not be taking up hospital beds and demanding nursing care – which are both reaching crisis point. In addition, emigration frees up precious accommodation at a time when we are 1.5 million housing units short and have limited space or resources to build new homes. Helping a substantial proportion of our elderly retire abroad would go some way to addressing the ageing population problem. But a peculiar government policy forces too many to give up on these dreams.
Many decide against emigrating once they realise that in countries such as Australia, Canada and New Zealand (to name but three of the 156 affected countries) they won’t have access to the basic state pension they have earned. Regardless of how long workers pay into their National Insurance pot, this state pension will be worth next to nothing if a person moves to one of the so-called “frozen” countries.
This is because the Government freezes their pension at the same rate they are first drawn in those countries, with no further increases in line with inflation – despite uprating pensions as normal in other countries, including other EU member states and the US. Just imagine if from tomorrow your income stopped increasing and remained at the same level for the rest of your working life, while the price of everything around you rose.
This is what has happened to more than 500,000 British pensioners – half of all British pensioners currently living abroad. The financial implications are huge – a pensioner retiring to a frozen country today stands to lose more than half of their rightful pension over 20 years, leaving some virtually destitute in the long term.
While curtailing retirement options and refusing us our rightful pensions, the Government has been benefiting to the tune of £2.5bn per year in savings on health and social care costs for these pensioners already living abroad. The savings could be bigger if the Government reversed the freeze on pensions.
The Opinium survey found that up to 40pc more people would consider retiring abroad if their pensions were unfrozen. Nearly two thirds of those who would retire abroad didn’t know that their pension might be frozen.
The International Consortium of British Pensioners is campaigning against this policy on behalf of those who have been denied these increases in their state pension. It is also seeking to help all those who might be thinking of retiring abroad to know what their options are and to lobby Parliament for a fairer deal.
Unfreezing pensions is the right thing to do and makes economic sense. If the Government are really seeking a fair solution to our ageing population crisis, they should begin with this.

Several protesters were arrested in Saudi Arabia on Sunday at a demonstration demanding the release of thousands of prisoners, held captive for years without trial.

Several protesters were arrested in Saudi Arabia on Sunday at a demonstration demanding the release of thousands of prisoners, held captive for years without trial.

They were among dozens of men and women who tried to push their way into Riyadh's interior ministry building, which was fortified with up to 2,000 special forces and 200 police vehicles, according to the Associated Press news agency.

"We have seen at least three or four police vehicles taking people away," said an activist there who declined to be named.

"Security forces have arrested around 15 people. They tried to go into the ministry to go and ask for the freedom of their loved ones."

Some people were seen arguing with police but were not shouting chants or bearing protest placards, at the third such demonstration this month by families demanding information on the fate of relatives, held secretly on security or terrorism charges.

Protests are banned in the kingdom, the world's top oil exporter.

Saudi interior ministry spokesman Mansour al-Turki did not confirm the arrests, saying: "There are many people who come to the ministry to see different officials for different reasons."

King Abdullah, the ruler of Saudi Arabia - a country with some two-thirds of its 25 million population under 30 - on Friday offered a $67bn worth of wage increases, jobs and construction projects, but gave no political concessions.

The move was seen as an attempt to stave off the unrest that has swept the region.

Court orders demolition of illegal property in Cártama

Court orders demolition of illegal property in Cártama

Penal Court Six in Málaga has demanded the local Town Hall carry out the demolitionA property being bulldozed in Córdoba - Archive Photo EFE


Penal Court Six in Málaga has complicated life for Cártama Town Hall by demanding that the Socialist Mayor of the town, José Garrido, demolish a property, which has been built on a protected flood plain at the mouth of the Fahala stream on the edge of the Guadalhorce river in the town, within a month, or face a case being opened against him on charges of disobedience.

Earlier the same court had condemned the owners of the property to six months in prison, and reached an agreement with them to demolish the building, but now given that undertaking has not been met, the court is turning to the Town Hall to intervene and restore legality.

There are another 24 properties in the same situation which the court has ordered be demolished but which are still occupied by generally foreign owners.
The Town Hall has calculated that each demolition will cost 15,000 €.

Cártama Ayuntamiento has 2,500 files open for illegal constructions on land not classified for building in the municipality.

local policeman in the Valencia town of Bétara has shot dead a colleague and then shot himself in the head.

local policeman in the Valencia town of Bétara has shot dead a colleague and then shot himself in the head.

The colleague died from his wounds, but the shooter has survived and is now in a ‘very serious’ condition in the La Fe Hospital in Valencia.

It happened at the end of the night shift at 6am on Saturday in the police station changing rooms, and a statement from the Government Delegation Office indicated that the motive for the attack is unclear, although there is speculation of a passionate motive.

32 year old doorman of a pub, named with the initials A.C., has been seriously injured

32 year old doorman of a pub, named with the initials A.C., has been seriously injured in Motril after he was stabbed several times. One of the wounds was at the level of the victim’s heart.

Reports say a young man approached the doorman as he was working at about 3am on Saturday morning on the Paseo de las Explanadas in Motril, and, without saying a word, stabbed him several times in the chest before running off.

Local and National Police were on the scene quickly, along with 061 health professionals who managed to stabilise the man’s injuries at the scene. He was then transferred to the Santa Ana Hospital in Motril where he is reported to be in a serious condition.

National Police say they are asking for two youngsters, one the author of the crime, and another who was with him at the time.
The motive for the attack is unclear.

Who stole plastic bags containing hundreds of thousands of euros that Spanish nuns had hidden in a wardrobe of their convent?

Who stole plastic bags containing hundreds of thousands of euros that Spanish nuns had hidden in a wardrobe of their convent?
It sounds like the subject of a detective novel, but the mystery gripping Spain is from real life.
The story began unfolding on February 28, when the Cistercian convent of Santa Lucia reported to police the theft of 1.5 million euros (2 million dollars) from its premises in the northern city of Zaragoza.
The next day, however, the nuns changed the figure, putting the sum that had been stolen at only 450,000 euros.
Even that amount, observers felt, was surprisingly high for nuns who had taken vows of poverty and appeared to lead extremely austere lives.
Most of Spain's 13,000 cloistered nuns just barely subsist on making sweets, embroidery or other similar work, and on donations made by the faithful.
The convent in Zaragoza said its 16 nuns had saved money they had earned by restoring old manuscripts, bookbinding, and by selling works by the 'Painting Nun.'
Sister Isabel Guerra, 63, is known for her 'transcendentally realistic' portraits which fetch prices of up to 50,000 euros on the art market.
Even Pope Benedict XVI owns a painting by Guerra, who specializes in portraying church and even worldly dignitaries.
'Many entrepreneurs and others come to me to get one of her paintings, handing me blank checks or as much cash as I ask for,' the chaplain of the convent said.
But why did the nuns not put their money in a bank, instead of hiding it in a wardrobe?
They were innocent to the point of being naive, living in 'another world' where they dedicated themselves to prayer, the nuns' lawyer Jesus Garcia said.
The nuns believe the money was stolen on a Sunday when the convent was open to outsiders attending mass there. The thief knew exactly where the money was, and skillfully broke through the doors leading to the hiding place.
That aroused suspicions that he may have been a repair man or a delivery man, whom the nuns had paid in cash and who had seen where they kept the money.
While police are trying to find the culprit, the fiscal authorities are investigating whether the nuns paid income tax on the stacks of 500-euro bills they stashed away into the wardrobe.
If it turns out they did not, they could face heavy fines and even prison sentences of up to five years.
In the meantime, no more outside visitors are being allowed to attend mass at the Santa Lucia convent for the time being.

One of the first seven Iberian lynx released into the wild near the Guadalmellato River, in Córdoba, has died of starvation after one of her legs became caught in a hunting trap

One of the first seven Iberian lynx released into the wild near the Guadalmellato River, in Córdoba, has died of starvation after one of her legs became caught in a hunting trap, preventing her from hunting for prey.

She was released in the area in December 2009.

The Junta de Andalucía’s environment department said in a press release on Tuesday that the animal was found dead near Villafranca de Córdoba after technicians monitoring the four year old female found the signal from her collar indicated that she was stationary.

It’s understood that the Junta, with the help of the Seprona nature protection branch of the Civil Guard, have stepped up their inspections to comb the threatened species’ habitat for illegal snares and traps.

Five lynx from the Andújar-Cardeña population – three males and two females - are to be released in the Córdoba area in the next few weeks.

Three people have been arrested after almost a ton of cannabis was seized in two separate Civil Guard operations in Málaga province on Sunday.

Three people have been arrested after almost a ton of cannabis was seized in two separate Civil Guard operations in Málaga province on Sunday.

Nine hundred kilos of the drug were found on board a suspicious boat spotted moored off Guadalmansa Beach in Estepona, and a 34 year old Moroccan man was taken into custody.

Two other Moroccan suspects, a 22 year old and a 43 year old, were arrested at the port in Málaga after 46 kilos of cannabis were found hidden in their car during a routine inspection.

pre-agreement between management of AENA, the Spanish Airport Authority, and unions representing the workers has been reached

formal annoucement about the cancelling of the planned 22 days of strike action will be announced after the agreement is put to the workers in a referendumPresident of Aena, Juan Ignacio Lema (left) with Isaías Táboas - EFE


A pre-agreement between management of AENA, the Spanish Airport Authority, and unions representing the workers has been reached overnight, with AENA tweeting this morning that the agreement would see the calling off of the 22 days threatened strike action between April and August which also includes three days in Holy Week over Easter.

The pre-agreement now has to be put to the workers assemblies.
AENA claims it guarantees the labour rights of all the workers, even if a process of partial privatisation goes ahead, and both sides have given an undertaking to talk and collaborate to resolve the conflict.

The number of current workers is guaranteed and those currently employed by AENA as temporary workers will be converted in fixed workers. The agreement, if approved, would be in force until 2018.

The role of the Secretary of State for Transport, Isaías Táboas, and a new text from the Ministry for Development, are said to have been key in the talks in the early hours of Wednesday; talks which continued for nearly 17 hours.

An official calling off of the strike threat is said to be ‘a step away’ after union leaders confirmed that the principle of an agreement has indeed been found.

CCOO union spokesman, José Manuel Lorenzo, said the deal now had to be ratified by the workers in a referendum.

Juan Antonio Roca’s defence has been attack, criticising the prosecutors’ office and the police investigation of presenting him in their reports as ‘a defeated person, burnt out and on the dole’,

Juan Antonio Roca, the ex Marbella Municipal Real Estate Assessor, and the man at the centre of the Malaya case currently underway in the court in Málaga, has insisted that there is proof that he arrived in Marbella with money.

Roca’s defence has been attack, criticising the prosecutors’ office and the police investigation of presenting him in their reports as ‘a defeated person, burnt out and on the dole’, before he arrived in Marbella Town Hall in 1992. Roca told the chamber that there is proof that at that time he had a large sum of capital of as much as 200 million € which allowed him to develop his businesses.

Roca was declaring on Monday in the second section of the Malaya case which is dedicated to money laundering. At one point the President of the Chamber, José Godino, had to call him to order to stop his attacks.

Roca’s lawyer, Rocio Amigo, said that in 1991, a year before his arrival in Marbella, Roca had assets of 620 million pesetas which he had amassed thanks to a series of ‘buying cheap and selling well’.

It was not until 1993 however, on the advice of his lawyers, did he decide to tell the taxman about his assets.

Also declaring this week has been the Madrid based lawyer, Manuel Sánchez Zubizarreta, one of the main partners used by Roca. He admitted to the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor, Juan Carlos López Caballero, that he created and personally managed as many as 22 companies for Roca, understanding that Roca’s name could not appear on the documents because he had already a sentence for a fraudulent bankruptcy. He told the court that Roca knew what he was doing, and that he never had to explain anything to him, indeed there were times he said he learned things from Roca.

Telecinco television presenter, has been called to give a statement to Court Number 43 in Madrid over how her programme team treated Santiago del Valle’s wife, Isabel García, and obtained a live interview during which she confessed that her husband had killed the Huelva five year old

Ana Rosa Quintana, the top Telecinco television presenter, has been called to give a statement to Court Number 43 in Madrid over how her programme team treated Santiago del Valle’s wife, Isabel García, and obtained a live interview during which she confessed that her husband had killed the Huelva five year old, Mari Luz Cortés.

She has been called before Judge Coro Cillán on Friday at a time when she should be hosting her live programme, and reports indicate that for that reasons she is trying to get the date changed.

A statement from the presenter’s production company, Cuarzo, said ‘From the first moment we have offered to collaborate with the judiciary. We took Isabel García to make a statement to the police and that is why the case has opened. Now as part of the procedures we have been called and we will go as soon as possible’.

The programme team took Isabel García from Sevilla to Madrid and broadcast the live interview on February 25. There has been criticism in some parts, alleging pressure put on her by the programme producers. Ana Rosa Quintana has commented that the confession was produced ‘freely and voluntarily’ and described the interview as ‘the news that any journalist would like to give given’.

boss of publishing firm, Forward Press, has been arrested at Málaga Airport on suspicion of fraud.

59 year old Ian Walton faces accusations that he cheated thousands of parents in Spain with his publication of children’s poems.

Childrens poems were selected for publication in books that Forward Press ‘offered to parents but never handed over once they had paid’ according to a Civil Guard spokesman. Walton has denied the claim that he was planning to expand operations to Italy, France and Germany.

Peterborough based Forward Press, which had offices in La Cala and Málaga, went bust in November owing 1.6 million pounds.

British expert in security for the Royal Family

British expert in security for the Royal Family has now seen his home at La Hoya, Cantoria, Almería, burgled five times, and he watched the latest attack from the U.K. via security cameras installed in his Spanish home.

Ideal newspaper reports that Federick S.G. said he had been robbed five times in the last 18 months, with the thieves breaking doors and windows to gain entry. In the latest theft two hooded men got off with items worth an estimated 4,000 €, including two TVs, a camera, DVD recorder and to add insult, two of his security cameras.

cabin crew on the AVE high speed train and long distance train services in Spain have called six days of strike action

Workers from the company Cremonini who work as cabin crew on the AVE high speed train and long distance train services in Spain have called six days of strike action, which includes days over Easter.

Strikes have been called for the San José weekend, March 18th and 19th, and on the 20th and 21st of April in Holy Week, as well as on May 1st and 2nd.

Some 2,700 workers who work in customer service, and the train cafeterias among other areas, are being called out for 24 hours on each of the dates.

The stoppages are being backed by the unions UGT-TCM, CCOO and UGT.
This strike call, which is over negotiations for new working conditions, comes in addition to the call for workers in AENA the Spanish Airports Authority over some of the same key holiday dates.

The quality of Spanish semen has reached a record low because of a worsening lifestyle.

The quality of Spanish semen has reached a record low because of a worsening lifestyle. Researchers say that sperm quality has been falling for the 30 years, caused by increase stress, pollution, and alcohol consumption. It’s resulting in increasing numbers of infertility.

The problem has been debated in the 26th annual congress of the AEU Spanish Urology Association, being held in Barcelona. AEU President, Humberto Villavicencio, noted that ‘Most patients who have a sexual problem to solve, have other underlying health problems’.

Experts consider that there are two million Spaniards in their 40’s with erectile dysfunction, although only 40% of them see the doctor.

Known by the codename King Wolverine, Vara Velastegui is regarded as the 'king of kings' among Spain-based gangs, according the the country's El Pais newspaper.

"Known by the codename King Wolverine, Vara Velastegui is regarded as the 'king of kings' among Spain-based gangs, according the the country's El Pais newspaper.

Jose Fabricio Icaza, known as The Prince, was given a three-and-a-half-year term, while Maria Torres - The Godmother - was sentenced to two years.

As well as jailing the three gang leaders, the Madrid court ordered the Latin Kings to be disbanded, in line with a previous ruling from 2007. Prosecutors said that judgement was flouted by Vara Velastegui.

He is already behind bars serving a sentence for murder but is thought to have retained control of the Latin Kings criminal network while serving his time.

The sentences end a long legal battle by the gang members, who had appealed against earlier judgements ordering the dissolution of the group.

They claimed that testimony given anonymously in court during a previous trial had infringed their rights by preventing them from knowing the identity of their accusers."

Spain jails Latin Kings gang boss Vara Velastegui

 Spain jails Latin Kings gang boss Vara Velastegui: "The three most senior leaders of a Spanish gang that grew out of a violent Hispanic organisation have been jailed by a court in Madrid.

The gang's Ecuadorean boss, Eric Javier Vara Velastegui, is already in prison but prosecutors said he continued to run the gang while under lock and key.

He was sentenced to four more years, with key lieutenants sentenced to two years and three-and-a-half years.

The Latin Kings grew in 1940s Chicago and later spread through the US.

According to the judgement the organisation was based fundamentally on violence, both towards its own members and towards rival gangs, Spain's Efe news agency reports.

Most members of the Latin Kings are thought to be migrants from Latin America.

It retains its violent reputation even though some efforts have been made to integrate the gang into local culture, especially in Catalonia, where it is not banned."