LEADER NEWS BITES

‘NO TORREVIEJA CAN’T ‘
Sí se Puede Torrevieja (Yes Torrevieja Can) has failed to collect the 1500 signatures required to enable it to stand as a political party in the upcoming municipal elections. Having only started the process a little over 10 days ago a spokesman said they had left it rather too late and in accordance with electoral law they will not be able to compete in the elections. He said they were only 300 signatures short of what was needed.

YES YOU CAN
Spain’s antitrust watchdog has approved the purchase of Prisa’s pay-tv unit Canal+ by Telefonica although it attached conditions to the deal, among them the obligation to offer wholesale TV packages to competitors. The competition authority said Telefonica had also agreed to offer access to its high-speed internet network to competitors so that they can provide TV content to their subscribers and to make it possible for clients to cut their contract more easily.

JOBLESS FIGURES UP
Spain’s economy may be showing signs of recovery but there was no corresponding improvement in unemployment in Q1 say the latest figures from the National Statistics Institute. Unemployment rose slightly, to 23.78%. Only Greece is worse. Many analysts had expected the jobs market to be more buoyant at this stage of Spain’s economic recovery, which has been boosted by falling oil prices and a weaker euro but some figures point in another direction.

HUMAN REMAINS
The human remains discovered inside a meat grinder found by police in a home in the Madrid satellite town of Majadahonda belong to a tenant who went missing a month ago. The Civil Guard on Thursday confirmed that the blood and tissues are those of Adriana G., a 55-year-old Argentinean woman who was renting out a room from the suspect. An analysis of DNA samples from the grinder matched those provided by the victim’s brother, who flew to Spain from Argentina after filing the complaint that led to the grisly discovery.

RISK TO GRAN CANARIA
Fuel oil, possibly from a fishing vessel that sank off the Canary Islands in mid-April, has reached the west coast of Gran Canaria. The first stains were detected on Wednesday night on Veneguera beach, a popular tourist destination, and some also turned up in a cove located within the Gran Canaria Biosphere Reserve. The Spanish government has raised the emergency level, in acknowledgment of the damage risk to the coastline.

PUBLIC WORKERS
Spain’s ambassador in London Federico Trillo and Popular Party (PP) deputy Vicente Martínez Pujalte received more than €429,000 in consulting fees from a private construction firm specializing in public works while they were serving in Congress, tax inspectors have discovered. In separate statements, both Trillo and Pujalte acknowledged that they received money from Collosa for consulting work, but at the same time accused the Tax Agency and the anti-corruption division of leaking taxpayers’ information, which under law should remain confidential.

PM’S TAXING AMNESTY
Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy on Wednesday addressed Congress to defend his government’s 2012 tax amnesty and his party’s refusal to publicize the names of the people who applied for it. Rajoy told Socialist leader Pedro Sánchez that the €124 billion that the state collected through the procedure justifies the move. He also compared it with earlier tax amnesties offered by Socialist governments.

BULLFIGHTING PROTESTS BANNED
Anti-bullfighting activists in Spain are to be prevented from staging protests outside bullrings when fights are being held. According to the Union of Fighting Bull Breeders (UCTL), police across Spain have been given new protocols laying out the steps to be taken to stop anti-bullfighting demonstrations from taking place during events. The decision aims to “prevent possible altercations that could put citizen safety at risk” and “guarantee the smooth running of bullfights,” the UCTL said in a statement.

HOSPITAL CELEBRATES 25 YEARS
The Vega Baja Hospital celebrated its 25th anniversary last week at a ceremony attended by the Minister of Health, Manuel Llombart. He was accompanied by the manager of the Department of Health, Emilio Bascuñana , as well as representatives of professional associations who have contributed to the hospital’s success. A video was shown highlighting the achievements made and also including footage of the fire that caused so much damage just a few years ago.

PSOE TO AXE OFFICIAL CARS
Alicante PSOE proposes in its Municipal electoral program the removal of all the official cars, except that of the mayor, and the reduction by 50% of all mobile phones that are provided to City Officials atpublic expense. The proposals were announced by Gabriel Echavarri in a party policy document which has been sent to 200 neighborhood associations and social groups asking also for their contributions.

BOAT PEOPLE
Italian prosecutors say a survivor of the migrant boat which capsized in the Mediterranean last week has told them 950 people were aboard, including hundreds who were locked in the hold by smugglers. Spain’s prime minister says words aren’t enough anymore and he urged the European Union to take swift action following the tragedy.

CROSSBOW DEATH
A student armed with a crossbow at has killed a teacher at school in Barcelona, Spain, local media say. The suspect, reportedly a 13-year-old boy, has been arrested. His motive is unclear. Police have not confirmed the weapon used or whether he was a pupil at the Instituto Joan Foster. At least four other people were injured in the attack. The teacher killed was protecting another during the incident, El Mundo newspaper reports.

MORE CONTROVERSY FOR PP
An investigation into an ex-minister and former International Monetary Fund chief over alleged fraud and money laundering is damaging Spain’s ruling Popular Party, which faces a general election late this year, the prime minister said last week. Rato, who was detained briefly Thursday as police searched his home and offices, served as economy minister and deputy prime minister under ex-Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar between 1996 and 2004, and had been seen as a possible Party Leader

VALENCIA DESERTS PP
Voters in the Valencia region, a bastion of conservatism for two decades, are likely to desert Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy’s party in droves in May’s regional election, a poll published on Sunday found, in a taste of nationwide politics to come. The Metroscopia poll showed Rajoy’s centre-right People’s Party (PP) would win the Valencia vote but halve its seats to 28 from 55 in 2011, leaving it short of a majority and unlikely to get sufficient backing from rivals to govern again.

BENIDORM’S HERITAGE
SPAIN’S top package holiday destination Benidorm is bidding for Unesco world heritage status. Known for its great-value cocktail of sun, sand and sangria, the city is now hoping to see its name up there alongside the Great Wall of China and Stonehenge. However the application could take up to six years before Benidorm is officially on the list.

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