The document was approved in a referendum 31 years ago

This Sunday, the Día de la Constitución, marked the 31st anniversary of the Spanish Constitution, the document which was approved by the Spanish people in a referendum which was held on 6th December 1978. The annual event to commemorate that day which took place in Congress came just two days after Spain lost the man considered to be the father of the Spanish Constitution, Jordi Solé Tura. He died on Friday and played a key part in the transition to democracy after the death of General Francisco Franco.

Santiago Mainar was sentenced to 20 years and nine months in prison today for the murder of Miguel Grima, the mayor of Fago, Huesca.

Sr Mainar was found guilty of killing Mayor Grima with a shotgun in January, 2007. He was also ordered to pay 105,000 euros on compensation to the victim’s family.

On hearing the sentence, Sr Mainar said it formed part of a “conspiracy” against the town. He said: “I did not kill anyone; but I prefer to be accused of killing a tyrant than of protecting him politically.”

THE son of the world’s most wanted man has claimed political asylum in Spain.

After the UK turned down his request, Omar Osama Bin Laden has now opted for warmer climes.

The son of terrorist chief Osama Bin Laden is being held in Barajas Airport, Madrid, after flying over from Egypt.

The 27-year-old – one of his father’s 19 sons – is waiting in the transit hall of Terminal four with his British wife and grandmother-of-five, previously called Jane Felix-Browne.

Spain has taken the first step towards banning crucifixes in schools in the wake of a European Court of Human Rights judgment against Italy which has annoyed Catholics in particular.

A Spanish parliamentary commission approved late Wednesday by 20 votes to 16 a motion calling on Madrid to implement November’s ruling by the Strasbourg court.

The motion was submitted by the small left-wing Catalan ERC party and backed by the ruling Socialists among others, while the conservative opposition Popular Party voted against.

His offence was a photo of the regional education councillor displayed with the words ‘Unwelcome Person’

The headmaster of a secondary school in Monforte del Cid faces a 20-day suspension without pay over a photograph of the regional government’s councillor for education, Alejandro Font de Mora, which was put up in the school lobby in November last year. The photo was placed on the wall upside down, with the words below it, in English, ‘Unwelcome Person’.

The opposition have complained about a lack of content

Presenting the new Sustainable Economy Law to Congress on Wednesday, the Spanish Prime Minister announced plans to reform the labour market and pensions.

José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero once again ruled out making sackings cheaper in Spain, but said that there would be changes in work contracts and more flexibility as part of the ongoing talks involving the employers’ organisations and the unions.

The measure was approved in cabinet today, Friday, and is an ambitious ten year plan

The regular Friday cabinet meeting in Spain today has approved the Goverment’s new Sustainable Economy Law, being described as the star piece of legislation this parliament.

Minister for Tax and the Economy, Elena Salgado, called for the support of all the regional administrations for the measures, whatever their political colour. She called for them to present their own ideas to the political debate.

Following the arrest of the mayor of Polop, sources close to the investigation claim the Guardia Civil are also investigating a councillor.

Officers are investigating the 2007 murder of Alejandro Ponsoda, the then mayor of Polop, in Alicante. His successor, Juan Cano, was arrested earlier this week, charged with ordering the murder. Sr Cano traded heavily on the murder of Sr Ponsoda to ensure his victory in elections and also attended his predecessor’s funeral. (Via The Reader)

The mayor of Polop, Alicante, was arrested yesterday in connection with the murder of his predecessor, Alejandro Ponsoda.

Police think Juan Cano arranged the murder after Sr Ponsoda refused to allow a 5,000 home construction project in which Sr Cano was involved. Sr Cano served as councillor for town planning under Sr Ponsoda and was recorded on two separate occasions trying to obtain commissions from promoters.

At least 36 people have been arrested overnight in Spain as part of a police operation against a banned youth group linked to radical Basque separatism.

Officers raided a number of properties in the Basque region and the neighbouring province of Navarra.

They were reportedly acting on documents seized earlier this year after the arrest of an alleged senior member of the militant group Eta.

Eta has waged a 41-year campaign for an independent Basque homeland.

They say they feel tricked by the Junta de Andalucía over town planning regulations

Mayors from across the Axarquia region of Eastern Málaga province are threatening to resign en masse, in protest at the actions by the Junta de Andalucía regarding illegal building in the region. They say they feel tricked by the regional government and hope to meet with the regional councillor for housing and territorial planning, Juan Espadas.

Hundreds of far-right supporters from across Europe, many making stiff-armed salutes, gathered Sunday in Madrid to mark the 34th anniversary of the death of Spanish dictator General Francisco Franco.

Many in the crowd waved red-and-yellow Spanish flags with the insignia of the Franco regime’s Falange party at the annual rally in Plaza de Oriente, the square where the dictator used to regularly address supporters at rallies during his nearly four decades in power.

Two far right groups came to blows outside the Velázquez Hotel in the capital

28 people were arrested in Madrid on Saturday when two far right groups came to blows outside the hotel Velázquez in the city.
All the arrests were from the far right collective Patriotic Socialist Movement, who were trying to break up a meeting being held inside the hotel by the D.N., Democracia Nacional group.

Following assessments conducted by the Romanian diplomatic missions and requests by the diaspora, the Foreign Ministry (MAE) has decided to supplement the number of polling stations organized abroad for the presidential elections to be held on November 22. A number of 294 polling centers will be organized all over the world.

The UK has apologised to Spain after the Royal Navy used a buoy with the Spanish colours for target practice.

The exercise took place off the coast of Gibraltar earlier this week. The UK ambassador was summoned to the foreign ministry in Madrid to explain.

According to local reports, the navy hastily removed the buoy, which had a red-and-yellow marker, when approached by a Spanish police launch on Tuesday.

Most of those in court are from the Socialist PSOE party

There are a total of 730 cases of corruption currently open in the Spanish judiciary, 594 judicial proceedings and 136 investigations opened by the prosecutors’ office.
The Socialist party is the one most affected.

“You cannot ask for resignations because a person is the subject of false accusations, otherwise we would be at the mercy of professional complainants who would seek to make half the government resign,” Diego Lopez Garrido told reporters.

A judge on Friday summoned Lopez Garrido to appear before him on 4 December over allegations that he granted tens of thousands of euros of government aid to the Alternatives Foundation, a think-tank close to the ruling Socialist Party and which he used to head.

Spain’s secretary of state for Europe is to be questioned by a judge over allegations he misappropriated public funds, just weeks before Madrid takes over the EU presidency, judicial sources said Friday.

The judge ruled admissible a complaint by a conservative law centre that Diego Lopez Garrido granted tens of thousands of euros of government aid to the Alternatives Foundation, a think-tank close to the ruling Socialist Party and which he used to head.

The Mayor has admitted municipal workers have not been paid for October

The Socialist Mayor of Estepona, David Valadez, has admitted that there is not the money to pay all the council workers for October.
He has said that there is money for the civil servants in the Town Hall, but not for workers in the municipal companies.

The Partido Popular today decided to suspend Manuel Cobo, one of the figures at the centre of the political battle taking place within the party.

The decision to suspend him from the party came after an interview with Cobo was published in the El Pais newspaper in which he severely criticised Madrid community president, Esperanza Aguirre and her followers, describing their actions as “vomit-inducing”.

Sr Cobo said: “I accept and will obey the decision.” (Via The Reader)