Spain Today – Tuesday 14 May 2024

Six boats and 293 bales of hashish seized off the coast of Huelva, Baleària schedules 27 daily connections for Operation Crossing the Strait 2024, and summer 2024 set to be hotter than normal.

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Spanish News Headlines

The Guardia Civil has intervened six semi-rigid boats, three of them equipped with four engines each, on the coast of Huelva. In addition, seven people have been arrested and 293 bales of hashish with a total weight of 11,400 kilograms have been seized.

The interventions have been carried out by agents of the Huelva Maritime Service who surprised the occupants of the semi-rigid boats sailing close to the coast. It was then that they fled at high speed and were later intercepted by the agents.

The Baleària shipping company has scheduled 27 daily rotations, with a wide range of schedules, to meet the high traffic demand on the routes of Operation Crossing the Strait (OPE) to Tangier, Nador (Morocco), Ceuta and Melilla. Thus, the company will allocate 10 ships (eight ferries and two high-speed vessels), which represents almost a third of its fleet, to national and international routes that connect North Africa and the peninsula.

Baleària has concentrated its offer on three ships and has increased its activity to a minimum of twelve daily departures: eight ferry connections and four by boat high speed, which can be increased on days of greatest passenger demand. Departures take place practically 24 hours a day.

The Spanish meteorological association, AEMET, has reported that according to the Copernicus Climate Change Service, there is a very high probability (between 70 and 100%) that summer 2024 will be warmer than normal in practically all of Spain.

Whereas the forecast might seem like good news for holidaymakers, this continually worsening situation will add extra stress and concern on the country’s agriculture.

Throughout 2023, much of Spain suffered drought conditions, a situation which continued through the winter, and resulted in water having to be transported to some areas by ship. It also meant cutoffs in many areas.

To read these articles in full, visit SpainToday.news

Business, Markets and Statistics

On Tuesday the 14th, we will know the final reading of the April inflation rate for Germany and Spain, after its first reading showed its stabilisation in the case of the German economy at 2.2% year-on-year and a rebound in its pace of growth up to 3.3% in Spain.

At the same time, the ZEW survey for May will be published, which is expected to continue reflecting the improvement in the expectations of German institutional investors.

The USA will publish the production price index (PPI) for April. After registering a rise of 2.1% year-on-year in March, the consensus of analysts estimates that the PPI in April will remain at similar levels, which could contribute to supporting the normalisation of the general inflation rate in the coming months.

UK unemployment figures and wage statistics are released on Tuesday, and having snubbed them when they needed support calling for wage increases over the extortionate bonuses of shareholders, now with an election looming Keir Starmer hosts meeting with trade unions on workers’ rights. For April, the unemployment rate increased by 0.3 pp to 4.2% of the active population.

We will also have a few global-interest reports today, such as the Global Report on Internal Displacement, the OECD Digital Economy Outlook, Monthly NOAA global climate report, and the OPEC monthly oil markets report.

Business results will be published by the likes of Sony, Alibaba, Bayer AG, Tencent Holdings, Vodafone Group, Flutter, Porsche, Veolia, Currys, Bayer, and Home Depot.

Traffic and Travel

Across Europe there will be a special traffic police focus on trucks and buses all week.

For information and updates about driving in Spain, visit N332.es

Official Websites for Travel Information

• For live traffic reports, visit the DGT traffic map
• For weather warnings, consult AEMET
• DGT Twitter account
• AEMET weather related road information
• Aemet Twitter account
• For flight information, check the AENA airport operator’s website

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