SPANISH FISHERMEN SAVE IMMIGRANTS FROM CERTAIN DEATH

The Spanish sea rescue ship Clara Campoamar docked in Tarragona last Saturday afternoon with 26 African immigrants on board who had been saved from certain death at sea by the Spanish fishing boat Montfalcó. The immigrants' flimsy cayuco was adrift between the Libyan coast and Malta when it was spotted by the captain of the Montfalcó on May 26th, after having been refused permission to land at Malta. The immigrants, all men from the Ivory Coast, were attempting to make it to Italy, but their cayuco started taking in water near Malta. Montfalcó's captain, Rubén Vazquez Rey, obeying the law of the sea, went to their rescue. Speaking over the ship's radio after the rescue, Sr Vazquez said he had thought they were pirates at first until he saw how they were dressed. "They were obviously immigrants in distress and would have died if we hadn't passed so close to them," he said. However, the Montfalcó was built to hold a crew of three and their provisions comfortably and Sr Vazquez appealed for help to get the men safely ashore. The Spanish government sent the Clara Campamar to meet the Montfalcó to the south of Sicily to pick up the immigrants, who were packed "like sardines" in every available space on the smaller boat. The two vessels met up on Friday. The rescued men have been transferred to different Red Cross centres while the government decides to give them political asylum or not. It was not the first time a Spanish boat has rescued immigrants in danger of drowning in the vicinity of Malta, which claims it is too small to allow "illegals" to step foot on the island. There was a similar incident last year which led to a heated diplomatic exchange between Malta and Spain. Malta claimed on both occasions that the boats in distress were not in Maltese waters. As a result of last year's incident the European Commission and the European External Borders Agency started a joint study to determine the responsibilities of the countries involved in incidents of immigrants lost at sea. The study, which is nearly completed, aims to link maritime and humanitarian laws so that "everyone is clear about their responsibilities", said Friso Roscam, the EC's spokesman for Justice, Liberty and Security.

WRECK AT CENTRE OF STORM

The Culture Ministry has asked the Guardia Civil to investigate the record haul of half a million silver and gold coins from a 17th century shipwreck discovered "somewhere in the Atlantic", most probably off the coast of Cornwall. Odyssey Marine Exploration, which found the wreck, said the coins were worth an estimated 370 million euros, but has refused to pinpoint its exact location. It is this secrecy which makes the Spanish government suspect it could be the wreck of HMS Sussex which sank during a storm off Gibraltar in 1694. It was carrying nine tons of gold at the time. Odyssey was planning to search for the Sussex after coming to an agreement with the British government but suspended the project early last year after Spain complained. The Sussex went down in international waters and, being a British ship, Spain has no claim to it. But the Spanish government insisted it had sank in Spanish waters in an area where the seabed is strewn with ancient wrecks. The Spanish claimed Odyssey was using as decoy wreck to hide the fact that it was sneaking the real wreck out of Spain's jurisdiction. The Atlantic wreck was discovered last year in an operation codenamed Black Swan. The artefacts on it, including more than 17 tonnes of silver coins plus a few hundred gold coins, were shipped to the US where they are being examined by experts at an undisclosed location. An Odyssey spokesman said: "The gold coins are almost all dazzling mint state specimens." He said the company had kept the location secret because of security and legal reasons. He predicted the wreck would become one of the "most publicised in history". He said the site was of huge historical importance because of the insight it would offer into seafaring and the social life of the period when the ship sank: "Our research suggests that there were a number of colonial period shipwrecks that were lost in the area where this site is located, so we are being very cautious about speculating as to the possible identity of the shipwreck." US coin expert Dr Lane Brunner said there was evidence that the wreck was that of an English ship called the Merchant Royal which sank off the Scilly Islands, laden with bullion from Mexico, in 1641. If it can be confirmed that the wreck was that of a Spanish ship, a Culture ministry spokesman said Odyssey Marine International would be guilty of pillaging.

FAMOUS SPANISH PROTEST SINGER ANNOUNCE HE HAS CANCER

Spain's most famous protest singer, Joan Manuel Serrat, 61, announced last week that he had cancer of the bladder and was retiring temporarily to fight the disease. He gave his last concerts at the Albeniz Theatre in Madrid from October 26th to 31st. He had made the announcement on the eve of his first concert there and was given a standing ovation when he walked on stage. Born in Barcelona, he rose to fame in the 60s not jkust for his talent but also insisting on singing in Catalan, at a time when regional languages were frowned on by the Franco dictatorship. He was chosen to represent Spain at the European Song Contest in April 1968 but General Franco himself ordered Serrat to be replaced when the latter said he intended to sing in Catalan. The rising young singer who replaced him, Massiel, went on to win the competition.

MASS DEMONSTRATIONS TAKE PLACE WORLDWIDE TO CONDEMN WAR IN IRAQ

Mass demonstrations took place all over the world on Saturday to condemn the war in Iraq, on the second anniversary of the US-led invasion. More than 4,500 people marched in Tokyo to protest their country's involvement in the war, during a visit by US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. "The Self-Defence Force (Japan's military) should withdraw from Iraq immediately and the occupation of Iraq should be stopped," said Ken Takada, a member of civic group World Peace Now. Japan has about 550 troops in southern Iraq in a non-combat role. In Canberra and other Australian cities, protesters marched against what they called the "coalition of the killing". Australia recently announced the deployment of a further 450 soldiers to Iraq. Thousands more marched across Europe and in many cities in the US. US President George W Bush defended the war in a radio address, saying it took place "to disarm a brutal regime, free its people, and defend the world". Demonstrators took to the streets in Barcelona and other Spanish cities to protest the war which convinced many people to vote for the Socialist Party in the March 14 general election last year. As leader of the Opposition, Prime Minister José Luis Rodrígez Zapatero had promised that the first thing he would do if elected would be to bring the 1,400-strong Spanish peace-keeping force home from Iraq. One of the biggest marches was in London, where organizers said 100,000 people took part. Police put the figure at 45,000. Two former British soldiers left a cardboard coffin outside the US embassy, inscribed with the words: "100,000 dead". One protester said: "I think it's outrageous what Blair and Bush think they can get away with it." Some said they wanted British and US forces to withdraw from Iraq, but others disagreed. One bystander said: "We got the Iraqis into this mess, we need to help them out of it." Meanwhile, in the US, protestors marched in several US cities, bearing coffins draped with the country's flag. But observers said the US demonstrations were far smaller than previous protests against the war. One protestor explained: "I think Bush's re-election took the steam out of the anti-war movement." The US has around 150,000 troops in Iraq.

HUGE MONEY LAUNDERING RING SMASHED

It started out on Thursday as what appeared to be a fairly low-key police operation against a local money laundering ring operating in Marbella. By Sunday, police were saying they had smashed a massive international ring with tentacles spreading across Europe and into Russia. The Spanish interior ministry said 41 people - including three notaries and five lawyers from a prestigious Marbella law firm - of at least five nationalities were arrested, and a boat, two planes and more than 40 luxury cars were seized when police carried out simultaneous surprise raids in Marbella, San Pedro de Alcántara, Mijas, Estepona and Sotogrande. Several of the people arrested are involved in estate agency businesses on the Costa del Sol. The group is suspected of laundering more than 250 million euros for gangs involved in murder, drug trafficking, arms dealing and prostitution. The ministry said it suspected that some of the cash was illegally siphoned from Russian oil company Yukos, which has been under investigation by Russian authorities seeking the repayment of 21 billion euros in alleged unpaid taxes. The company's founder, Mikhail Khordokovsky, has been in jail since October 2003 and faces separate fraud and tax evasion charges. In an interview with Moscow Radio, company spokesman Alexander Shadrin denied all wrongdoing: "The only place left to look is on Mars - did we launder something there?" he said. Spanish, French, Dutch, Finnish, Russian and Ukrainian nationals were among those arrested in the raids, which went ahead after 10 months of investigation, officials said. The operation started in Marbella on Thursday, when about 50 officers arrived at the legal firm in Calle Gómez de la Serna at 8 o'clock in the morning, accompanied by a judge. They remained there until very late that night, by which time about 20 members of staff had been remanded in custody, including secretaries, telephonists and translators. One of the notaries was arrested in a hospital where his wife was undergoing surgery, and had to accompany the police officers to the law firm in Marbella to obtain the judge's permission to return later after his wife's operation. He then went back to the hospital, with a police escort. The lawyer of another notary was angry at the police methods, saying his client has worked in Marbella for 22 years and he didn't see why the judge couldn't have telephoned her to tell her to report for questioning, instead of ordering her detention. Both Interpol and Europol were involved in what the Interior Ministry described as the biggest operation ever against money laundering on the Costa del Sol. A spokesman for Malaga's provincial government said police were already carrying out similar operations in Cádiz and Almeria, and that more arrests were expected. The Costa del Sol has long played host to a number of international criminal gangs, earning it the nickname of "Costa del Crime".

ROYAL VISIT TURNS INTO STREET PARTY

The Prince and Princess of Asturias, who are on an official visit to Brazil, dropped in on singer Carlinhos Brown on Saturday in the poor area or favela called Candeal del Salvador, officially to lay the cornerstone of a nursery that Brown is building there. In fact, their visit turned into one big street party with nearly all of the 5,500 people who live in the favela participating. The singer bought the land on which the nursery is being built with funds from the Spanish Agency for International Cooperation. Its donation of 200,000 euros will also cover the construction of the building, the equipment the nursery will need and training for the teachers who will attend to 200 children from the favela aged from newborn up to six years. Brown began to work in the favela more than 10 years ago, and his most famous contribution is the Music School, which he built because he's convinced that giving poor children the opportunity to play instruments or train as singers will keep them off the streets where they turn to criminal activities and run the risk of an early death. His efforts have met with considerable success so far. Commenting on the crowds who rushed out to entertain the Royal couple with their singing and dancing, Brown commented: "If people would put as much effort into other aspects of their lives as they put into Carnival, the world would be a much better place."

TWO ETA SUSPECTS ARRESTED IN VALENCIA

Two suspected members of the Basque terrorist group ETA who were arrested in Valencia on Thursday, were planning "imminent attacks", according to the Spanish Interior Ministry. Police officers found a pistol, explosives and a list of potential targets across Spain inside the Valencia hostel where the man and woman were staying. Police cordoned off the hostel, near City Hall, and evacuated the area. A week earlier, an ETA suspect accused of plotting to shoot the king was arrested two days after a car bomb exploded in Madrid on February 9th, just hours before King Juan Carlos, Queen Sofia, the president of Mexico, Vicente Fox, and his wife were due to visit a nearby building. The two people arrested in Valencia are Mikel Orbegozo Etxarri, 25, and Sara Majarenas Ibarreta, 24. When the police approached Mr Etxarri on Thursday, he pulled a pistol from a holster and aimed it at the officers, but he was arrested without shots being fired after a chase through the city centre. Police then arrested Ms Ibarreta in the hostel in the Pasaje de la Sangre, which is often used by foreign visitors to the eastern city. Police are reported to have found letters from an ETA leader in France saying the group needed to start "killing people as soon as possible" to raise morale among its members. Before the arrests in Valencia on Thursday, Prime Minister José Luis Rodriguez Zapatero said that rumours of talks between his government and ETA were untrue. He said there could be no negotiation with the terrorist group until it pledged to give up violence. He warned ETA and its supporters that there was no place for them in Spain's democracy. Minister José Antonio Alonso, who was on a visit to Morocco when the arrests in Valencia were made, told reporters Spain needed to "keep its guard up, keep applying political pressure and continue the strategy of absolute determination in the fight against the terrorist organisation ETA". ETA has been blamed for more than 800 deaths since the 1960s in its battle to form an independent Basque homeland. (Photos: Masked police escort ETA suspect Sara Majarenas from the hostel in Valencia. The view from the window of the room rented by her and Mikel Orbegozo looks onto the Valencia Council building. The day after the arrests were made, the room had already been rented to three young American tourists.)

CAMPAIGN FOR EU TREATY HEATS UP

French President Jacques Chirac paid a flying visit to Barcelona on Friday to support Prime Minister José Luis Zapatero's appeal to voters to back the EU constitution in the February 20th referendum on the issue. German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and Italian President Silvio Berlusconi pulled out of the meeting because they had colds. However, Mr Schroeder has promised to join Sr Zapatero in Zaragoza on Wednesday for a similar rally. The EU leaders' visits seem to confirm fears that voter turnout may be disappointingly low, although polls show that around 65% of Spaniards plan to vote next Sunday. However, all three countries are planning to hold referendums on the issue and it is hoped the Spanish referendum will set an example for their own citizens, hence the unprecedented show of support. Sr Zapatero said the constitution would give EU members a common identity while maintaining their individuality, something the Catalans are worried about, and Mr Chirac called for a massive "yes" vote, to serve as an example. He also said the proposed constitution would allow help Europe to assume its responsibilities: "It is by unifying that Europeans will be strong - without union, they will disappear." The meeting was attended by up to 2,000 people, mostly members of the governing Socialist Party. Spaniards are being asked to answer the question: "Do you approve the treaty instituting a constitution for Europe?" Sr Zapatero's message throughout the campaign has concentrated on repeating that a "yes" vote will give the EU "prosperity and solidarity" and will banish the concepts of war and dictatorship. Several hundred opponents of the treaty gathered outside the meeting place in Barcelona. Ironically, the main opposition to the "yes" vote is coming from the two parties that give Sr Zapatero a majority in Parliament - the Izquierda Unido (United Left, IU) and the Catalan Republican Left (ERC). This was highlighted by Mariano Rajoy, the leader of the main opposition party, Partido Popular (PP), when Sr Zapatero accused the PP of "half-heartedly" asking for the "yes" vote. Sr Rajoy told Sr Zapatero to recognise the PP's campaign efforts, advising him to "forget about us" and deal with the enemy closer to home, that is, the IU and the ERC. Both parties insist that the European Constitution is lacking on many fronts, principally as regards human rights and social policies. The IU insists it will also end up making the EU the tool of the United States, instead of a counterweight to American might. The ultra-nationalist ERC sees the constitution as one more obstacle in the way of Catalan independence from Spain. But the main enemy could be a lack of motivation to vote. Despite the millions of euros which have been spent on television and radio referendum publicity, opinion polls show that the majority of Spaniards still had no idea what the constitution is about. If just one of the 25 EU member states fails to ratify the constitution, it cannot legally take effect. Slovenia, Lithuania and Hungary have already ratified the text by parliamentary vote. Spain is the first EU country to hold a referendum on it.

POLICE SEARCH FOR OWNERS OF ABANDONED BOAT WITH 227 ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS ONBOARD

Police are searching for the two owners of a boat they abandoned 150 metres off the coast of Tenerife on Saturday, with 227 sub-Saharan illegal immigrants on board. It is believed that the vessel left Guinea a month ago and worked its way up the West African coast, picking up more people along the way. There were five women but no children on board. The drifting boat was first spotted by fishermen, who alerted the authorities. Rescuers removed the sickest immigrants from the boat and took them hospital. They were suffering from hypothermia and hunger and thirst. They told the rescuers they hadn't eaten a solid meal for almost a month, having survived on sips of water, sugar and sweets. But even the water had begun to run out. The other immigrants on board had to wait while the boat was towed into the port at Santa Cruz de Tenerife by a tug. It's the largest number of immigrants to arrive in the Canary Islands in one batch.

COLD SPELL WREAKS HAVOC ALL OVER SPAIN

Last week's cold spell was the worst for 20 years, and although the weather was better on the Costa del Sol than in other parts of Spain night-time temperatures dropped to minus 9ºC in some rural areas and snow fell in places such as Alicante, Almería, Granada, Nerja and Melilla. Many drivers were forced to spend the night in their cars because of the bad conditions, among them former Mayor of Marbella Julián Muñoz and his partner, singer Isabel Pantoja, who were travelling between Granada and Málaga and who had to sleep in the car park of a bar. It didn't snow in Ronda, where temperatures dropped to minus 8ºC at night and barely reached 1ºC during the day, but some snow fell in the nearby villages of Montejaque and Benaoján, and many people living in the countryside near Antequera suffered burst pipes after the thermometers plummeted to -9ºC on Wednesday night. It was so cold in villages such as Mijas and Gaucín that the water in the fountains froze and created icicles. The low temperatures and biting winds resulted in a record level of electricity consumption, and some areas suffered power cuts because of the unprecedented strain on resources. Three people have died so far, all in the north of Spain. A young man who had been missing since last Monday was found dead in a gully in S'Aranella de Cadaqués, Gerona. A homeless person died of hypothermia last Tuesday in Vendrell, Tarragona, and a woman was killed in Aguilar de Campoo, Palencia, when the façade of a house fell on her. The accident was caused by the weight of the snow on the roof. The Coodinator of the Farmers and Livestock Breeders' Associations said on Saturday that the cold weather had destroyed nearly 90% of the crops from Barcelona down to Granada. The potato crop in Malaga has been lost completely, while between 20% and 50% of other crops such as beet, cereals, pepper, tomatoes, beans, cucumber and marrow may be saved if the cold weather eases soon. The hardy olive is the only crop that has been unaffected so far. The Coordinator said economic losses would be of "historical dimensions". A spokesman admitted total losses were still difficult to quantify but he said at least 60,000 farmers in the so-called Mediterranean arc had been affected. He also noted that around 100,000 seasonal jobs would be lost because there were hardly any crops to harvest. Schoolchildren across the north of Spain have been enjoying enforced holidays because of the snow while the tow truck drivers called off the strike they had planned for last week, in view of the number of emergencies they would have to attend to. They have postponed the strike until Easter week. Meanwhile, the weathermen say temperatures won't be so low now but the cold spell will be with us until at least mid-week. 1. A man tries to clear a path outside his home in Reinosa, Cantabira province 2. The thermometer registers minus 5ºC in Granada 3. The cold destroys crops from Barcelona to the Strait

MADRID MARCH AGAINST VIOLENCE ENDS IN VIOLENCE

The silent march organised by the Association of Terrorism Victims started out peacefully enough on Saturday afternoon but quickly got out of hand when a pocket of apparently right-wing demonstrators turned violent after spotting Defence Minister José Bono and Socialist Eurodeputy Rosa Diez among the marchers. They had to be rescued by police after demonstrators hurled insults such as "assassin, demagogue, apostate and liar" at Sr Bono and tried to hit him with a Spanish flag. Witnesses said people around him were pushing him and trying to punch him before the police managed to get close enough to help his bodyguards remove him from the scene. Sra Diez cried as she was escorted away. Afterwards, Sr Bono told the El Pais newspaper that the incident lasted for about 20 minutes during which at least one punch was delivered to his rubs. He said he was more worried about his young son who was with him. "In no other country in the world could a demonstration against violence end violently", he said. The violent elements cheered Madrid Community president Esperanza Aguirre, former Interior minister Angel Acebes and Madrid mayor Alberto Ruiz-Gallardon, all of whom belong to the Partido Popular, even though they were marching arm-in-arm with several prominent Socialists. Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero did not go on the march, which prompted shouts of "Where is ZP (Zapatero)?" Another frequently heard slogan was "España unida, jamas sera vencida" (Spain united will never be defeated". Not content with insulting politicians, hundreds of people protested outside he headquarters of the SER television company - notoriously pro-Socialist - and to the office of El Pais newspaper, which is owned by the Prisa Group. There they shouted a play on words: "Grupo Prisa, España no se pisa" (Don't step on Spain). They also insulted actor Javier Bardem, who nearly always attends such marches. However, he is currently in Los Angeles helping to promote "Mar Adentro", which is among the films up for the Best Foreign Film Oscar. Spokesmen for both the Socialist Party and the Partido Popular roundly condemned the incidents. The Tribute to politician slain by ETA Meanwhile, in San Sebastian, hundreds of people attended a ceremony held at a local theatre to mark the 10th anniversary of the assassination of Gregorio Ordoñez, a Partido Popular councillor, by the Basque terrorist group ETA. Sr Ordonez had been investigating ETA's penetration of the Municipal Police in San Sebastian in the months leading up to his death, and he was one of the most vocal critics of Basque nationalism. The Partido Popular was in opposition in the national government at the time of his murder and PP councillors in the Basque Country were not protected by bodyguards because ETA was targeting Socialist politicians, Guardia Civil and soldiers at the time. Ordonez' death shocked Basques in general, and non-nationalist Basques in particular, and led to the formation of the Basta Ya! (Enough!) movement against ETA terrorism. On the day of his funeral, hundreds of thousands of people protested against ETA on the streets of cities and towns across Spain. At the ceremony on Saturday, Ordoñez' family, friends and fellow politicians paid tribute to him, among them former Prime Minister José María Aznar, who survived an ETA attempt on his life in 1995 when he was leader of the Opposition. Sr Aznar told the packed theatre: "It is not possible to negotiate anything with the assassins, or to cede as much as a millimetre to them. The terrorists, their accomplices, helpers, and collaborators cannot receive any payment or reward in any situation and never for killing, or giving up killing." Sr Aznar was referring to several known ETA collaborators who draw salaries as deputies in the Basque Parliament, and some ETA prisoners who were set to be released from jail before completing their sentences on grounds of good behaviour or self-improvement courses.

PRIME MINISTER REJECTS PLAN

The day after Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero flatly turned down Basque regional President Juan Jose Ibarretxe's plan for independence from Spain, he held a meeting with Opposition leader Mariano Rajoy to discuss a strategy for countering Basque and Catalan separatist tendencies. The Catalan regional government, the Generalitat, is currently pressing for the reform of its Statute, to give the region more autonomy from Madrid and the Catalan Republican Left leader, Josep Carod-Rovira, has already warned that the proposed new Statute makes "the Ibarretxe Plan look like child's play". To stop Spain from falling apart, many people have been urging Sr Zapatero to bury the hatchet and make peace with the main opposition and former governing party, Partido Popular, because he needs its votes - and determination - to squash any separatist attempt in Parliament. That finally seems to have happened last Friday, when Sr Zapatero and Sr Rajoy agreed to form a commission to review the Socialists' planned reforms of the Constitution, which do not include the clauses on autonomy, and also the reforms of the regional Statutes. They also decided that any modification of the Constitution would have to be approved by two thirds of Parliamentary votes and not a simple majority, which makes the Socialist-PP block unbeatable. Fearing such a pact, Sr Carod-Rovira had already warned the prime minister that his party ERC, with eight votes, would withdraw its support in Parliament and if the threat becomes reality, ERC could force the dissolution of this parliament and a new general election. However, the Socialists seem to believe they can convince Sr Carod to be more reasonable. A firm "No" to the Basque plan The day before, during a four-hour meeting with the Basque regional president Juan José Ibarretxe, the prime minister told him that his plan, which has already been endorsed by the Basque regional parliament, faces certain rejection by the national parliament when it comes up for debate in late March. Speaking after the meeting, Deputy Prime Minister Maria Teresa de la Vega said the prime minister had told Mr Ibarretxe his project was a mistake which could never succeed. The government and other opponents argue the plan, which would give the Basque region its own court system and representation on international bodies, such as the European Union, goes against the constitution, will cause divisions within the Basque country and is rejected by the rest of Spain. Mr Ibarretxe wants to hold a referendum on the plan within the Basque region, although opinion there has so far been divided on its merits. Basque separatists have been fighting an armed campaign for an independent homeland since the 1960s. There is also a movement for independence which rejects the use of violence. The Basques presently have control over their finances, police, schools, healthcare and other public services. A major obstacle for the Ibarretxe plan is that much of the support for it comes from the outlawed Batasuna party - the political wing of the Basque terrorist group ETA. Peace offer In fact, Just before the meeting between the prime minister and Sr Rajoy ended, a letter arrived from the Batasuna party, offering to help to seek an agreement between nationalist and non-nationalist Basques which would put an end to ETA once and for all. However, the party has consistently refused to condemn ETA violence or ask it to lay down its arms. Sr Zapatero said he would be willing to talk with Batasuna "when the sound of bombs and gunfire is heard no more."

PM GIVES DETAILS OF AID TO S.E. ASIA

Sr Zapatero took advantage of the press conference - which was also attended by Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos and Defence Minister José Bono - to reveal details of the country's aid to South East Asia. The details had been worked out that morning by the prime minister and the two ministers. Sr Zapatero said his government had decided to send 650 soldiers, airmen and sailors whose numbers included health workers and engineers, who will leave on Monday for Indonesia in two Casa-235 and three Hercules planes. The aircraft would also carry 18 tons of pharmaceutical products, food, bottled water and a plant capable of producing 8,000 litres of drinkable water per hour. He said the Hercules would be used for liaison missions with Spain while the Casa-235s would stay in the area to help with the movement of supplies and people. He said the ship Castilla would also set out on the 22-day long voyage to Indonesia on the same day, carrying a field hospital and 80 medical staff, two helicopters and other support material. Sr Zapatero said the Spanish humanitarian mission would stay in Indonesia for at least two months at a cost of 6.5 million euros. The prime minister pointed out that this contribution put Spain third on the list as regards volume of aid, after the UK and France. He said Spain's monetary contribution had now risen to 56 millions since the regional governments had made their respective contributions.

SPAIN PLEDGES 53 MILLION EUROS IN AID

Spain was one of the European countries least affected by the tragedy in South East Asia, probably because holidaying in that part of the world has not become so fashionable here yet. But that didn't stop the government from being among the first to organise the dispatch of emergency supplies. A Spanish plan was on its way to Sri Lanka as early as Monday evening with orders to bring back anyone who wanted to get of the country, regardless of their nationality. Later in the week, Parliament earmarked 53 million euros in aid to the disaster area. First reports coming in from the area indicated that 20 Spaniards were in hospital there - 10 in Thailand, 8 in Phuket and 2 in Bangkok. By mid-week the Foreign Ministry had been able to verify that a family of four were missing, but they returned safe and sound from Phuket last Friday, together with the eight Spaniards who had been hospitalised there. Jorge Ormazabal, his wife Maria Jose and their two children, 12-year-old Andrea and Boris, 5, (see photo) were saved because the tour company they had travelled with had arranged an excursion away from the beach for the day of the tsunami. Sr Ormazabal told reporters on arrival: "They were humping the dead bodies away over their shoulders, as if they were merchandise." Andrea Paradela, 42, was among the lucky ones. One the day of the disaster, she was in Aceh, one of the worst-hit areas in Indonesia. Paradoxically, she was actually at sea in a boat when the huge waves swept all before them on the beaches. However, out at sea the tsunami waves are only a big swell and Sra Paradela drifted for two days before landing on Sumatra, where she said the scenes "apocalyptic". Catalan businessman Manel Vila was not so lucky. His wife Monica and their 12-year-old daughter saw him being swept away when the tsunami hit Khao Lak beach on Phuket island but his family refuse to give up hope. His brother José María Vila and his wife interrupted their skiing holiday in Andorra to fly to Bangkok to start searching for him in hospitals and clinics. Sr Vila said: "Seeing all this I realise that what happened is much more serious than people back in Spain think." Monica Vila is Swedish and is currently in hospital in Sweden. Her daughter was found several days after being separated from her mother and is back in Spain with her father's family. Several Spanish NGOs are requesting donations of help and can be contacted on the following numbers: Accion Contra el Hambre (Action against Hunger) 913 915 300 Intermon Ofxam 902 330 331 Manos Unidos (Hands United) 913 082 020 MPDL - Peace, Democracy and Freedom Movement 914 297 644 Medicos sin Frontiers (Doctors without Frontiers) 933 046 100 Medicos del Mundo (Doctors of the World) 915 436 033 Spanish Red Cross 902 222 292 Caritas 914 441 016

AGREEMENT SPARKS OFF MORE VIOLENCE

After more than three months of negotiations, the state-owned holding company SEPI reached an agreement last Friday with the Comisiones Obreros (Workers' Commissions) and the UGT (Workers' General Union) on the future of IZAR, Spain's leading company in the field of civil and military shipbuilding. In effect, the unions have accepted what Sepi wanted to do originally, that is, separate IZAR's companies into two and sell off the civil shipbuilding yards while holding on to the military shipyards, namely those in Cadiz, San Fernando and Puerto Real in Cadiz province, Cartagena in Murcia, Fene and Ferrol in Galicia. The civil shipyards that will be privatised are located in Sevilla, Manises in Valencia province, Sestao in the Basque Country and Gijon in Asturias. The unions accepted that 4,100 men would be asked to take early retirement. IZAR currently employs just over 11,000 people who have frequently resorted to violence in the past three months because of the loss of jobs that privatisation would entail. Workers at Sestao, one of the civil shipyards, reacted violently to news of the agreement (see photo). But that's just one of Sepi's problems. The company now has to convince the European Commission in Brussels to accept that the agreement will eventually put make Spain's shipyards back on a sound economic basis. The current troubles started when the Commission decided earlier this year that the Spanish yards has received more than their fair share of EU aid and asked for the money back.

FAMILY GET CHRISTMAS WINDFALL

For the Spanish family who discovered the painting, it was better than winning the special Christmas lottery "El Gordo". The "Baptism of Christ" by El Greco came to light when a man living in a small apartment in western Spain answered a Christie's advertisement offering art valuations in October. A spokesman said he obviously didn't realise what he had: "It had been in his family since the mid-19th century and had simply been ignored." The fact that it was tucked away in a large envelope at the back of a cupboard may have explained why. The painting dates back to El Greco's time in Venice, from 1567-70, and is an extremely rare example of his work from that period. El Greco's unique style, characterised by elongated forms and bright colours, inspired modern painters such as Cezanne, Picasso and Jackson Pollock. The 23.7cm by 18cm painting was initially valued at nearly 780,000 euros but when it went to auction at Christie's in London last week, it sold for just over 1,142,000 euros. It was bought by the Municipality of Crete, the birthplace of Domenikos Theotokopoulous, better known as El Greco after he came to live in Toledo. Christie's said: "It was a fantastic event to witness the picture being sold to the Municipality of Crete, and we are particularly happy to know that the picture is going to such a fitting home." Mayor Yannis Kourakis said: "It is such an important and beautiful piece, especially to the people of Crete, and we are happy that the picture will now be displayed in the artist's birthplace."

THE BIG ONE IS ABOUT TO BE DRAWN

23 With the "El Gordo" (The Big One) lottery draw just round the corner (December 22nd), recently released statistics show that Spaniards on average spent 61 euros each on the Christmas Big One for a total prize of 2,574 million euros. However, during the course of the year, Spaniards spend nearly 26,800,000,000 euros on lottery tickets, bingo, casinos, coupons, etc. A complete number in the Big One costs 39,000 euros but people normally buy it in fractions which cost 20 euros and the odds are 66,000 to one against winning. The Big One lottery dates back to 1812, when the holder of the winning number won five million pesetas, a huge fortune in those days. The next big lottery draw is "El Niño" (Baby Jesus) on January 6th, which is much younger. It was registered on the official lists of winning numbers for the first time in 1966 but it is believed to have been unofficially played since 1941. Ticket fractions cost 20 euros and the total prize money to be won is 800 million euros.

SHIPYARD WORKERS´ PROTESTS CONTINUE UNABATED

Workers took to the streets in Cádiz, Sevilla and Puerto Real again last week to repeat their demands for a solution to the crisis affecting Spain's shipyards in Spain. More than 1,500 men marched on San Telmo Palace, the headquarters of the Junta de Andalucía in Sevilla, to back their demand for Andalucia's President, Manuel Cháves, to get more involved in the negotiations. Sr Cháves agreed to meet their leaders for talks early this week. Spain's state-owned shipyards have been losing money for several years and their economic situation became even more complicated when the European Union decided they had received more than their fair share of EU subsidies and asked for the money back. The government wants to transfer a 51% share of the shipyards to private companies but this would involve a substantial cutback in jobs, which the workers are objecting to. Last week's protests were comparatively peaceful. The workers in Cádiz blocked the access road to the shipyard for only two hours and there were no clashes with police. The protests have been violent in the past, with barricades of burning tyres, roads and railways lines blocked for whole days and stone-throwing episodes with the police. Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero complicated matters a few weeks ago when he promised that his government would make sure no workers lost their jobs. However, the very next day, the government holding company that is conducting the negotiations with the shipyard workers made it clear that the cutback would have to go ahead if the yards were to be saved.

BATASUNA PARTY EXPECTED TO PLEAD FOR LASTING PEACE PLAN

A quiet expectation gripped the country on Sunday when the banned Basque separatist party, Batasuna, was expected to appeal for an end to decades of armed conflict in the campaign for Basque independence. The issue was much to the fore from the beginning of the week, when King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia went to Vitoria, in the Basque Country, to open an exhibition to mark the 25th anniversary of the first municipal councils to be voted into existence after the death of dictator Francisco France in 1975. In his speech, the King praised the progress made since the return to democracy. But Basque President Juan José Ibarretxe used the occasion to say he dreamed of the day when the banned Batasuna party would once again be represented on local councils. Batasuna is the political arm of the ETA terrorist group and was banned by government decree nearly two years ago. With ETA seemingly in its death throes, after the arrest of most of its leaders over the past few months either in France and Spain, Basque nationalists have been calling for Batasuna to be made legal again. However, the government has said Batasuna will remain out in the cold as long as it does not make an official declaration that it is prepared to lay down its arms. And that is exactly what Batasuna leader Arnaldo Otegi was expected to do on Sunday in a broadcast from the Basque radio station Euskadi. According to excerpts already broadcast, Sr Otegi will stress Batasuna's determination to "move definitively beyond armed political conflict" in the Basque region, and he will call on supporters to "abandon past methods" in their campaign for independence to build "a lasting and stable peace plan." However, an explosion (see photo) at a military mountain refuge on Saturday which has been blamed on ETA, may undermine his message. Many political commentators are already sceptical about Batasuna's "peace message". In the past, ETA has announced, and broken, dozens of ceasefires, one of which held for 15 months between 1998 and 1999.

NOT ONE MORE DEAD WOMAN

People took to the streets of Huelva last Friday, carrying placards that read "Not one dead woman more", to protest the latest victim of domestic violence. Teresa Otero, aged 36, was killed by her partner, Cuban-born boxer Edel Cerdeño Mora, in Huelva last Thursday night when she tried to break off their relationship, which started in May. A street person who witnessed the murder and called the police said Cerdeño stabbed Ms Otero several times in the neck and then tried to set fire to her. She died shortly after the ambulance arrived on the scene and Cerdeño was taken to the University Hospital, suffering from burns. Ms Otero's grandmother died of a heart attack when she heard the news. Police said Cerdeño, an illegal immigrant, had a record of beating his partners and had served a jail sentence for rape in Cuba. Ms Otero's death brings the total number of women who have been killed by current or former partners to 58 so far this year. Andalucia heads the list with 16 women killed, followed by Valencia (9), Catalonia (8), and Madrid (5). The government recently introduced a new law to protect women and other vulnerable groups such as children and old people from domestic violence, but the killing continues at the rate of five women a month on average. Ms Otero had gone to a women's group for advice about a month ago and had already asked the language institute where she worked as an English teacher for a transfer to another branch in an effort to get away from her partner.