Spain

Canary Islands

Spain: Rail Strikes

Date: December 13th, 2006 |

The national railway company plans to open extensions of the AVE high-speed rail system between Lleida and Tarragona and Córdoba and Antequera Dec. 18, but the move is being greeted by a strike. Train drivers, supervisors and ticket inspectors have been called by their unions to strike Dec. 15-20 to demand better working conditions. Train [read more]

Spain: Wildfires Scorch Catalonia and Galicia

Date: August 8th, 2006 |

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A series of wildfires fed by record heat disrupted travel and threatened cities across Catalonia and Galicia. Roads between Figueres and the French border were temporarily closed, and train travel between La Coruna and Madrid was disrupted. Fires came within almost a mile of the city center of Santiago de Compostela, the famed pilgrimage site. [read more]

Spain: Eta Renounces Violence

Date: March 28th, 2006 |

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The Basque separatist group Eta, which has been fighting for an independent homeland since 1968, declared a permanent cease-fire and requested peace talks with the government. Previous cease-fires have collapsed, but the current political climate, where governments and the vast majority of citizenry oppose terrorist actions, have made Eta’s campaign of violence untenable. Government officials [read more]

Spain: Scams in Madrid

Date: September 27th, 2005 |

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Crimes of opportunity are common in Madrid, and thieves use many clever techniques to separate victims from their valuables. Some thieves use an open map as cover to lift valuables from purses or backpacks, appearing as an innocent tourist not watching where he�s going when the victim feels a jostle. Another technique is for a [read more]

Spain: Delays to the Beaches

Date: August 3rd, 2005 |

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As the Spanish headed for their summer beach vacations the Basque separatist group ETA detonated two bombs along highways south of Madrid that are main arteries to the beaches. The bombs did little damage and caused no injuries, but traffic backed up for 12 miles. The intent appeared to be disruption. Unrelated to these ETA [read more]

Spain: New Tourist Police Unit for Madrid

Date: November 7th, 2006 |

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National and local authorities have formed a new tourist police unit composed of the National Police, Madrid Municipal Police and Guardia Civil to provide assistance to tourists in Madrid. The new unit will offer routine tourist information and assist crime victims through such actions as offering psychological support, help with filling out police reports or [read more]

Spain: Robbery by Choking in Benidorm

Date: August 1st, 2006 |

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The resort town of Benidorm has seen a nasty new form of assault targeting mostly elderly people: criminals throttle their victims, strangling them until they lose consciousness, then take all of their valuables. Seventeen robberies occurred this way on the streets of the town in recent weeks, but police arrested five suspects and recovered many [read more]

Spain: Crime at Madrid Airport

Date: January 31st, 2006 |

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Madrid�s Barajas airport is Spain�s busiest, handling almost 42 million passengers in 2005, so perhaps it is no wonder that it sees an average of four robberies a day despite some 1,100 police and 500 private security agents patrolling the premises. Most crimes take place when passengers are concentrating on the process of departing or [read more]

Spain: Drought Creates Water Restrictions

Date: August 16th, 2005 |

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The worst drought in 60 years has destroyed the olive crop in Andalucia, created shortages of corn, wheat and other grains and fed many forest fires around the country. Authorities have placed water restrictions on the Costa Brava town of Palafrugell and curtailed the San Magi water festival in Tarragona. If the drought continues into [read more]

Spain

Date: April 26th, 2005 |

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Airline workers� unions have threatened two 24-hour strikes on April 29 and May 4 to protest what they claim is the �chaos and anarchy� caused by low-cost airlines. They claim the increased competition is causing work practices and standards to deteriorate and is compromising security. The strikes could cause delays up to four hours at [read more]