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Spain Papers Review - Friday April 18 2008
By h.b. - Apr 18, 2008 - 9:48 AM
ALSO SEE : • Spain Papers Review - Friday May 16 2008 - May 16, 2008 - 9:52 AM
• Spain Papers Review - Thursday May 15 2008 - May 15, 2008 - 9:31 AM

Today's Público front page
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Bricks and mortar, and water dominate the Spanish front pages today.
El País has a scoop on the numbers to be officially released by the Ministry for Housing later today which show that the real price of housing in Spain has fallen for the first time in a decade.
The paper reveals that house prices increased by less than inflation last year – and that for the first quarter of this year the increase has been just 0.8%.
El Mundo notes that businessmen in Spain say the measures taken against the economic crisis are ‘insufficient’.
Público notes a new pessimistic forecast from the Spanish Savings Banks who think that economic growth this year will end at 2% and next year at 0.9%.
El Periódico de Catalunya reports on a new social pact set up in the region between the Government, employers and unions to face the economic crisis.

El Mundo has a photo of Camps and Varcárcel, the PP regional presidents of Valencia and Murcia, who have joined forces to say that they are to appeal to the Constitutional Court against the planned water transfer from Tarragona to Barcelona.
The paper also notes that the José Montilla, the President of Cataluña, has indicated that the cost of the new pipeline will be met by central and not his government.
ABC leads on the story and says that Valencia and Murcia will turn to the Constitutional Court if Zapatero takes water to Barcelona. The paper says the PP is demanding the equality of rights between regions and claims that Zapatero has blocked sale of water from the Ebro to Valencia and Murcia several times.

The papers play catch-up for the ETA bomb which was placed against the entrance to Socialist Party offices in Bilbao yesterday morning. Seven regional police were slightly hurt, but widespread material damage was caused by the explosion. El País has a front page photo today.
ABC also has a large front page photo, with the caption – ‘danger, bomb’.

El País looks in detail at the Alovera case of domestic violence and concludes that the judge, psychologist and the prosecutor all left the victim defenceless at the hands of her ex husband – an army sergeant. The paper says the psychologist had told the couple to get over their conflicts, and the prosecutor had rejected the woman’s repeated requests for protection.
El Mundo says an inspection in the case has detected ‘worrying set backs’ in the procedures.

El País reveals that phone taps have unearthed massive corruption in favour of the PP in Morgán, on the Canary Islands. The paper says that votes were literally sold there at 20 or 30 € a time, all to favour the PP.

Staying with the Partido Popular the rumbling battle for the leadership of the party continues. El País tells us that Rajoy supporters have pounced on a confused statement made about ‘social-democracy’ by Esperanza Aguirre on television yesterday. She said that Social democracy is more comfortable with Rajoy than with her – and that this had upset the PP spokesman in the Senate, Pío García Escudero, who has demanded an explanation.
El Mundo leads with the story, and headlines – ‘The PP calls Aguirrre to attention for saying that the left prefers Rajoy’.

And back to corruption with ABC which has an interview with Juan Antonio Roca, the ex municipal real estate assessor from Marbella who has just made 1 million € bail. The paper notes that the judge has now asked the police to report on where that money has come from while Roca tells the paper that he has been offered ‘many million’ for naming names.

El Mundo notes that the new Defence Minister, Carme Chacón, has written to the President of Melilla, to say there will be no reduction in military numbers in the North African enclave.

El Mundo also notes that the Minister for Equality has delegated the job of fighting domestic violence to a man – Miguel Lorente. The paper says he comes from the Judicial office for attention to victims, of the Junta de Andalucía.
Público leads with this and says that Bibiana Aído has put one of the best experts in the field on the job. Their headline is ‘A man to fight macho violence’.

In international stories:
El País gives coverage on their front page from Cuba. The paper reveals that the country is advancing in its opening up to the world and has now eliminated the restrictions on Cubans travelling outside the country.

El Mundo says that the Pope has held a meeting with the victims of paedophile priests in Washington.

El Mundo reports that US scientists have shown that ice is melting at an ever increasing rate in Greenland.

And finally,
As El Mundo puts it, Ben Kingsley and Penélope Cruz fall in love in Elegy, the new film by Isabel Coixet which is released in Spain today.


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ALSO SEE :
• Spain Papers Review - Friday May 16 2008 - May 16, 2008 - 9:52 AM
• Spain Papers Review - Thursday May 15 2008 - May 15, 2008 - 9:31 AM
• Spain Papers Review - Wednesday May 14 2008 - May 14, 2008 - 9:54 AM
• Spain Papers Review - Tuesday May 13 2008 - May 13, 2008 - 9:40 AM
• Spain Papers Review - Monday May 12 2008 - May 12, 2008 - 9:48 AM
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