The Euribor mortgage falls for the second consecutive month and closes in February 4,349%

The Euribor, the indicator most commonly used in Spain to set the price of mortgages, in February stood at 4,349%, its second consecutive fall in January of the year after closing at 4,498%.

Thus the Euribor stands at its lowest level since April 2007, although this decrease did not mean any reduction for mortgages that are reviewed annually, but it will reduce the share of mortgages Amending semester.

Data for February, which must be ratified by the Bank of Spain in mid-March, confirming the downward trend in the indicator since the beginning of the year, which has placed this month at its lowest level since April 2007.

Major Spanish companies earn a profit record

Neither the international financial crisis, nor the macroeconomic deterioration in the developed world, nor the economic slowdown Spanish, nor halt the construction ... Large companies in the country have succeeded in weathering this murky outlook and today, the last day for submission of results, it is possible to note that last year showed the highest corporate profits in the history of Spain.
The clearest evidence of the excellent exercise experienced by the private sector is the result obtained by the five largest firms in the country. The blue chips - as they are known in the stock market and represent 67% of the Ibex 35, the index, which brings together the most important companies in the bag - won 29.633,7 million euros in 2007, which represents a substantial increase of 27% compared to the previous year.
Put in context, their benefit package equivalent to 2.82% of gross domestic product (GDP) is higher than the Spanish and record surpluses achieved by the Administration (23,368 million, 2.23% of GDP). Since it began to jump red lights that pointed to economic decline, the Government, employers and analysts not stopped repeating that the budget surplus provides an important cushion to take measures to cushion the fall. The same can be said of the surplus business.

A gas leak caused by a huge flare on the streets of Almogavers

A huge flare that reached eight metres high were surprised yesterday to workers and neighbors next to the number 176 on the streets of Almogavers in the Poblenou, where a spectacular fire originated on the public highway by the rupture of a pipe gas was alive for over two hours and could be seen from different points of the city. The incident, which occurred shortly after 9.30 am, caused no injuries but forced to cut traffic in the area and evacuate the people who were in a close perimeter, workers of workshops and enterprises, which are so voluntarily joined the staff of the adjacent seat Barcelona TV.
The gas leak and subsequent fire had originated in the works that company employees Acsa Sorigue being carried out in the @ 22 to install the service distribution of cold and heat. It is the fact that next to the channelling of this system there is a pipe network of low pressure Natural Gas, which was allegedly damaged operators Acsa. The Government has already opened the file open to the sanctions following the visit that construction technicians in the Ministry of Economy and Finances conducted to the area.
Antonio Rodriguez, one of the employees minutes before manipulating the pipe, the water, said after the fire that he could not explain what happened: "We had just cutting a portion of the tube and then we went to breakfast. We have been searching to alert us of leaving a flame. "
And that calls not started as a flash, as recounted one of the witnesses, Octavi Puigdollers, owner of a car. "He started out small flames in the place where some operators had been manipulated. De coup has begun to be spectacular and have feared an explosion because the side had a butane canisters have reiterated that the workers themselves," he said, noting the rapid intervention of the Fire, who came within a few minutes with five units.

Barcelona aim to make it 15 in a row unbeaten

Barcelona attempt to stretch their unbeaten run in all competitions to 15 matches when they face Valencia in the first leg of the King's Cup semi-finals on Wednesday.
'We have improved in many areas since January and physically and mentally we are on the up,' goalkeeper Victor Valdes told reporters after Barca crushed Levante 5-1 on Sunday.
The win put them two points behind leaders Real Madrid in the Primera Liga and made it 10 goals from three outings.
Returning offensive Samuel Etoo of Cameroon in the African Cup of Nations and Argentina forward Lionel Messi from wounds were central to the revival of Barca.
Coach Frank Rijkaard has been able to rest players and the attacker Thierry Henry of France and Portugal midfielder Deco can expect to return to the lineup on Wednesday.
The King's Cup was one of the few bright spots in coach Ronald Koeman in the turbulent four months in office in Valencia, although his side showed signs of their faith again recently.
The six-times Cup winners have one of the best away records in the league married to one of the worst at home and are ninth in the table.

The mortgage average in 2007 was 149,000 euros

The average amount of mortgages on homes in Spain formed during 2007 was 149,007 euros, 6.2 percent more than in 2006, while total mortgaged homes fell by 7.97 per cent to 1,235,212, according the National Statistics Institute (INE). Thus, the monthly average stood at 825.63 euros, compared to 707.58 euros in 2006, an increase of 118.05 euros per month (13.52%).
In terms of total farms, which include not only those earmarked for the purchase of a home, but any kind of rustic farm or urban (offices, houses and shops), the average reached 168,677 euros, 7.5 per percent more than in 2006.

During 2007 were formed on mortgages 1,768,198 rustic farms and urban areas, which represented a decline of 5.1 percent compared to 2006, and total capital subscribed by the year was 282.190,7 million euros, by 2 percent.

The average interest rate for mortgage loans was 4.71 percent in 2007, 0.88 percent rise on 2006 when it was 3.83 percent, and the average time was 26 years, one more than the recorded in 2006.

The average interest rate on savings was 4.67 percent and the average time stood at 26 years in the case of banks, the average rate on mortgage loans was 4.69 percent and average time 26 years.

Hamilton tops times in Barcelona tests

Lewis Hamilton had the measure of Ferrari for a second successive day as he again set the fastest time in the final pre-season test at Barcelona.

With the curtain-raising grand prix in Australia now 19 days away, Hamilton and McLaren team-mate Heikki Kovalainen were significantly quicker than world champion Kimi Raikkonen.

On a dry day, the 22-year-old was almost a second quicker than his best time of yesterday - posting a lap of one minute 21.234 seconds for the 4.655km Circuit de Catalunya.

Kovalainen was 0.2 seconds adrift, with Raikkonen almost 0.5 seconds off the pace - and while it is difficult to determine fuel loads in testing, there is no doubt Hamilton will be buoyed by the result.

Williams suggested they would again pushing old guard, as Nico Rosberg was fourth ahead of Felipe Massa quickly, resuming testing duties from Michael Schumacher in the other Ferrari.

The forces of India, Giancarlo Fisichella was seventh fastest, followed by Sebastian Vettel - who was now driving for Red Bull, rather than Toro Rosso.

David Coulthard was forced to withdraw with a neck injury suffered yesterday - and with Red Bull Racing operates two cars this week and Toro Rosso he Vettel included among kin groups.

A decision will be made tomorrow whether Coulthard will return or Red Bull will continue Vettel, who was 0.9 seconds faster than the Scot team-mate Mark Webber, who was 17th.
Jenson Button finally showed some improvement in his Honda, ninth overall - albeit 1.425secs behind Hamilton.

It was a grim day for Fernando Alonso, though.

He finished a lowly 13th - while team-mate Nelson Piquet was 18th of the 19 on track, with Toyota's Timo Glock bringing up the rear.

Coulthard will undergo treatment today in the hope he will be fit to take part in the final day's testing tomorrow.

The Government set up a commission to draw up a plan for citizen participation

The Government today approved the establishment of an interdepartmental commission that will prepare the Citizen Participation Plan 2008-2010 with the objective of designing the strategic lines and lines of work to promote the participation of citizens in public policy.
The committee realized the financial support, personnel and logistics to be devoted to each initiative to promote participation, to enhance participatory processes, as was done on the occasion of the Statute, the law of social services or the law of childhood.
The interdepartmental commission consists of representatives of the Secretariat of Institutional Relations and Participation, the secretariat of the Catalan government, and the overall direction of Citizen Participation, as well as one person from each conselleria of the Generalitat de Catalunya.

The C-58 between Barcelona and Terrassa will have a lane for high-occupancy vehicles in 2009

The Catalan government plans to tender this year the proposed new lane for buses and high-occupancy vehicles (vao) to be implemented in the C-58, which connects Terrassa with Barcelona, with the aim of this network is operational in mid 2009.
This plan, which has an initial budget of 250 million euros, plans to set up special lanes for public transport vehicles and vao, those with more than two occupants to reduce mortality and road collapses at major entrances to the capital Catalan.
So, is scheduled to begin in mid-2009 to operate a lane vao in the C-58, while the ministry of Development "is running to the draft of the B-23", as reported by the Minister of Interior, Joan Saura, who added that the intention of the Government is to implement a similar path on the road C-31, Badalona to Montgat.
The Road Safety Plan, driven by the Catalan Trànsit (SCT), also envisages the installation of 105 new radars at the rate of 35 each year on roads where there is greater Catalan accidents linked to speeding.
It also will enhance the speed reduction to reduce pollution and accidents, as from January 1 in the first crown of Barcelona, where you can not move more than 80 miles per hour, and will be implemented using the PDA to streamline processing of sanctions traffic.
Saura has also highlighted the importance of having a comprehensive road map of risk and local plans road safety Catalan all populations of more than 30.000 2010 these plans cover 70 percent of the population of Catalonia.
The minister explained that the accident in Catalunya has fallen in the last year by 42 per cent in intercity roads, and 15 per cent in urban areas, although fatal motorcycle accidents have doubled over the same period.
Additionally, the autopsies of the victims revealed that 45 percent of those killed had consumed alcohol (40 percent) or drugs (5 percent) at the time of the accident.

Dani Flaco publishes its second album, 'Forces of weakness'

The singer of L'Hospitalet de Llobregat (Barcelona) Dani Flaco today publishes its second disc, entitled 'Forces weakness', and will submit on February 29 in the Chamber Gas Light of Barcelona, within the festival BarnaSants.

Daniel Sanchez Garcia, known as Dani Flaco by its thinness, was born in 1977 in the neighborhood of L'Hospitalet de Bellvitge, son of Murcia and Catalan, and has played with groups such as Bosquimano, Camálics, Moussa Matari or until it was decided to undertake a solo career. He made his debut two years ago with 'Emergency Exit'.

Cronista urban regular circuit of small bars of Barcelona and its metropolitan area, charnego, narrator of stories from the street, influenced by Joaquin Sabina, Antonio Flores, Bob Dylan, Liči, Dire Straits or Catalan rumba, Dani Flaco has again have Xavi Ibanez as a producer of the disc, although it is responsible for the arrangements, which include viola, violin and cello, among other instruments.

'Weakness Forces' (Vicious Records) does justice to its direct more rocker, in pieces like' The law of the last drink, '' Twenty Years Later ',' Black Moon ',' Where is playing the game ',' Hard roer ',' The Virgin of excess' or 'Spring'.

After Barcelona, Dani Flaco plans to act in Manlleu -7 March, Mataro-day 14 - and Torrijos (Toledo)-15th - for, since April, starting the tour presentation on the disc

"Messi is more than one player," said the president of Barcelona

Joan Laporta broke into praise for the Argentine. "Barsa is for Messi and Messi is made to play in the Barsa," he said. He added that he hoped that they will have The Flea "to the end of their sporting careers."

From Barcelona to just recovering their game and we Messi has much to do. Joan Laporta, president of the club, and knows why never tires of praise. "It makes us all to enjoy their football and also with his character," he said.

"For us it is an honour to have a player like Messi and are confident that we will benefit from their talents until the end of their sporting careers. Barsa is for Messi and Messi is made to play in the Barsa," said Laporta.

Yesterday, Messi, who received the award granted by the Agency Efe the best player of the League of Latin American Spanish, she closed the door to a possible transfer to another club, and in particular to Real Madrid. "There ficharía by Madrid, my intention is to stay in Barsa," he said.

Praise the president of Barcelona were not there. "Messi makes us all to enjoy their football and also its character. Nos. transmits sensations that make you enternecedor. Barsa If it is more than a club, Messi is more than one player," he added.

Barcelona chiefs met with Mourinho

Barcelona directors Txiki Begiristain and Albert Perrin negotiated with Jose Mourinho last week in Ghana.

Mourinho, who was in Accra commenting on the African Nations Cup, met with the Barca powerbrokers at the hotel he was staying in. Marca says no terms were discussed and that the meeting was held out of politeness.

However, the encounter follows on from Begiristain's meeting in Portugal with Mourinho's agent Jorge Mendes.

Holland coach Marco van Basten also remains on Barca's shortlist, while Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger was mentioned in the Catalan media yesterday.

Real and Barcelona face threat of expulsion

Spain could be sweeped out of Euro 2008 and Real Madrid and Barcelona thrown out of the Champions League if the Spanish government keeps putting pressure on the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) to hold an early election, has said the Fifa president Sepp Blatter.

"If the Spanish government, through their Sports Council (CSD), continue to interfere in football affairs they will have to recognize that their clubs and national team will be dropout from international tournaments," Blatter said. "It would be tough, but it would only take six hours to call a Fifa emergency committee meeting to hear and decide upon Spain's exclusion. Spain would not be able to play at Euro 2008 and their clubs wouldn't continue in the Champions League or Uefa Cup."

Blatter's support for Angel Maria Villar, the RFEF president, comes after the CSD called for all sporting federations not involved in the Olympic Games to hold elections before Beijing 2008, which happens in August.

"It [government intervention in football affairs] is not a new problem for Fifa," Blatter said. "It first occurred in Portugal where a letter from us was sufficient to change the law governing sport. In Greece, we had to suspend their federation indefinitely and everything was sorted out in 48 hours.

Henry: I'm happy at Barcelona

French striker Thierry Henry on Sunday persisted he was happy with life at the Catalan club after refusing he had complained to reporters about being deadbeat enough.

"I just want to say I feel very at ease in this team and that I am very happy," Henry told a news conference to explain his position.

"I have read things (in the press) which did not like me - I speak to everyone in the dressing room, I am always joking around, that's all," insisted the former Arsenal man, who joined Barca in the summer and scored in a 2-1 win at Zaragoza on Saturday.

"I said the other day I would play wherever the coach wants me to but then the following day I read things I didn't say, interpretations of people speaking about me," said the striker, who has netted seven times in 19 league matches since coming to Spain.

"So I just want to say I am happy and feel at ease in this team. The coach (Frank Rijkaard) asked me if I could play wide or in the middle and it's his decision."

Although he played in attack on Saturday, Henry has tended to have a wider role at Barca than he did with the Gunners, whose coach Arsene Wenger successfully converted him from a winger into a central striker.

Barcelona Islamists linked to Bhutto murder

According to US Defence secretary Robert Gates, an Islamist terror cell busted in Barcelona last month was linked to Baitulah Mahsud, who is accused of killing Pakistan opposition leader, Benazir Bhutto.

At the annual Conference on Security Policy in Munich last Saturday, Mr Gates stated that "the Barcelona cell seems to be linked with the network led by Baitulah Mehsud, an extremist chief located in Pakistan who has connection to the Taliban and Al Qaeda, and who we consider responsible for the assassination of Benazir Bhutto."

Twelve Pakistanis and two Indians suspected of preparing terrorist attacks in Europe were arrested in Barcelona's Raval district on the 19th January. Ten were subsequently charged.

High Court judge, Ismael Moreno, imprisoned ten of the twelve Islamic terror suspects arrested in Barcelona last Saturday following a seven-hour hearing in Madrid yesterday. Two others were released.

Catalonia Winter Sales in effect until 6 March

Winter sales in Catalonia begin on 7 January and last until 6 March. All shops will be required to adapt to the new 2008 winter sales term, whether they are bound by the general opening hours or they are exceptionally allowed to open on public holidays.

According to the Catalan Consumer Affairs Agency (ACC), any items on offer in the sales must have previously been available for purchase. Customers are advised by the ACC to check the label and to bear in mind that complaint forms must be available in all shops.

Advice for shoppers during the sales:

- Prepare a list of items that interest you.

- Compare prices.

- Take a close look at the item; it must be of the same quality and have the same guarantee as it did at its regular price.

- Try to distinguish items that are in regular sales from those that are in closing-down sales.

- Shops must accept the same methods of payment (i.e. credit cards) during the sales period.

- Read the label on the item.

- Labels must be in Catalan and/or in Spanish.

- Keep your receipt or invoice as a guarantee.

- Ask the retailer if your item can be exchanged.

- Remember that complaint forms must be available in all shops.

- Purchasing in a participating shop of the Consumer Arbitration Board scheme offers you a complete guarantee.

Madrid-Barcelona fast train link to open this week

Two months later than planned, and thirteen years since construction work began, the AVE high speed train link between Madrid and Barcelona will open Wednesday, 20th February.

Development minister apologized to the people of Barcelona for the discomfort caused by problems happened during the final phase of construction when she announced the date at a press conference yesterday following a meeting with regional president of Catalonia, Jose Montilla.

Since work began in 1995, 659 km. of track have been set and 149 bridges and 162 tunnels built. The route crosses six provinces - Madrid, Guadalajara, Zaragoza, Lleida, Tarragona and Barcelona - and there are six stations - Madrid-Puerta de Atocha, Guadalajara Yebes, Calatayud, Zaragoza-Delicias, Lleida-Pirineus, Camp de Tarragona and Barcelona-Sants.

A Siemens S-103 commercial test train having eight wagons, but with no passengers on board, arrived at Barcelona's Sants station at 12.20 PM today to start final testing before the opening of the Madrid-Barcelona AVE high speed train link, possibly later this month.

When it does open, trains from Sants station will depart every half hour at peak times between 6-10 AM and 3-8 PM.

The direct service will take about 2 hours 35 min. although trains that stop at every station will take an extra half hour.

There will also be a 'semi-direct' service, which will only stop in Zaragoza, that will take 2 hours 45 min.

Tourism of Barcelona denies that hoteliers predatory pricing

Joan Gaspart criticizes becoming "a case or two on 500" and ensures that the organization of the Mobile World Congress is very pleased.
Tourism of Barcelona has denied today that hotels in the city have become predatory pricing taking advantage of the celebration of the international congress of mobile telephony and has asked "not convict a city as if it took advantage of its tourists that a hotel can make an improper action ".
The chairman of the executive Committee of Tourism of Barcelona and vice president of the Guild of hotels in Barcelona, Joan Gaspart, has referred to the criticism emanating these days for alleged price "abusive" to some hotels in the city.
"We are about to renew the contract for three more years [of Mobile World Congress] and it is a pity that full negotiations can go out voices critical of the actions of the city itself. Neither is right nor fair," he pointed out.
"There has been a case or two [of abusive price] about 500 hotels ... Yesterday morning a Romanian docked to a congressman in Montjuic. Does this mean that all Catalans are some robbers?. Unable to generalize ".
"It's for us to look at all we do. Yesterday I was all afternoon with the organizers of the congress and are happy. There has been an absolute fulfilment of the agreement which was signed with the hoteliers," he says.

More than 50 000 people in Barcelona calling for the withdrawal of the draft Education Law

A massive demonstration of more than 50,000 teachers and students in Barcelona take place today.
The vast majority of students in public schools Catalan, both in primary and secondary schools, have not come to classes because of the day's strike. Strike was organized by trade unions against the education policy of the Department of Education and specifically against paper basis of the Law on Education of Catalonia hosted by the minister, Ernest Maragall.
The strike organizers has stressed that the strike had been followed by a "partial" and "uneven", so that has had more impact on the primary than in secondary schools, and more in the regions of Western Valles (57.73%), Terres de l'Ebre (57.43%), Tarragona (54.28%) and Girona (53.5%) and least in the city of Barcelona (44.47%) and the rest of the province of Barcelona (50.78 %).
Unemployment and the massive demonstration in Barcelona, also in the other major provincial capitals, have certified well today, exactly Valentine's Day, the end of the honeymoon between management and trade unions that has lasted two years, when the National Pact was agreed for Education.
The schools that have supported the strike have hosted students who have come to the center and have been attended by teachers comprising the minimum services rendered by Labour.
The influx of students, however, has been reduced since the addresses of the centers were recommended to parents who do not take children to the center, if they could find alternatives, in the face of doubt that the care they could provide was right .

Inflation holds at 4.3%, the highest rate of the past 12 years

The consumer price index (CPI) fell 0,6 in January, but the i annual rate stood at 4.3%, one tenth above the close of 2007 and the highest since 1995, according to data released today by the National Statistics Institute (INE). The drop in prices in January was caused by decreases in clothing and footwear as a result of the reductions.
The core inflation - which excludes the index generally fresh food and energy - declined one point in January, and its annual rate is at 3.1%, 0,2% lower than it was in December.

For his part, the consumer price index (HICP) harmonized, which measures inflation in the same way for all countries of the euro zone, the rate stood at the Spanish 4.4%, one tenth of the above December.
In Catalunya, the CPI also slipped 0,6 point in January over the previous month, which placed the interannual rate of 4.4%, one tenth above the rate Spanish.
Because of the sales, the more products that decreased in price in Catalonia in January were those of clothing and footwear, with a drop of 12.3%, followed by entertainment and culture, which were reduced by 1.9%. Prices of alcohol and snuff, up 2.1% grew most all; housing, an increase of 1.7%, and hotels and restaurants (0.6%).

Barcelona Becoming The Hottest Film Location

Barcelona is fast on the hottest place for movie makers. Such luminaries as Woody Allen, was instrumental in turning New York into one of the most famous film locations with films such as Manhattan Murder Mystery, Husbands and Wives and Annie Hall to name just a few. His most recent film, Vicky Cristina Barcelona, which in the Catalan capital, is one of many new movies are filmed, in Barcelona.

In a recent quote from Julia Goytisolo, the director of Catalonia Film Commission… "Barcelona is in the imagination of the producers."

Nowadays many other film producers set it sights on Barcelona as an ideal location film. Last year (2007), 47 films were shot in Barcelona. So as a result of the Barcelona board of Tourism has latched on this growing trend and has a new way of promoting tourism in Barcelona. The idea is Barcelona Movie walks, the brands, the routes and locations for the films that succeed at the box office. Visitors to Barcelona are then able to visit the places in the films.
So far four films have been selected for the "virtual" kick-start ", which by this project is about the Barcelona Tourism Website www.barcelonaturisme.com. The films; All About My Mother, A Mad House, and The Perfume Manual of Love 2

The idea is that each film from a dozen or scenes are elected and will be posted on a map. Each scene will provide relevant information on the scene, together with all the practical and historical data on the situation. The next film will be added to this list Salvador Manuel Huerga.

Wireless Industry in Barcelona

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) - Wireless industry players their bets on the future during the four-day Mobile World Congress in Barcelona opened Monday on the bets on the next big thing, with the introduction of new products, services and alliances.

ADVERTISEMENT
Is wireless broadband beamed into your home in the future? Will advertisers be invading your phone with site advertising? Just like the personalized your mobile phone? And the time is ripe for the Internet-migration in your phone?

While more than 50000 officials from the industry-wide mobile phone manufacturers, telecommunications companies and high-tech companies out of the game on their next move of the world's largest communications conference, the winners will be decided ultimately by the consumer.

"One thing is to come out with an announcement. The next is to be delivered. At the end of the day, the user decides who the winners and who the losers. Winner is the one who can best experience," said John Strand in Copenhagen , Denmark-Beach Consulting.

Beach said the hot topic at this year's conference will be for mobile broadband services, which already is, in countries such as Sweden, Finland and Austria. The technology has the advantages of providing high-speed Internet in areas where there is no existing cable networks, where the network or the quality is poor, but Beach said the success is reflected in the pricing.

Major mobile phone makers, including Finland's Nokia Corp., the US company Motorola Inc. and Samsung and LG of South Korea are on hand, along with telephone operators looking for new services - from the music player to Instant Messaging - which help them re-million invested in the third-generation mobile phone technology.

As the Internet moves to the phone, some of the major players will be companies such as Yahoo Inc., Google Inc. and Microsoft Corp. They are seeking expansion in the 3 billion mobile phones worldwide - about three times as many computers.

Industry observers have their eyes on Barcelona to see if Google goes to a parade with his Android operating system designed specifically for the work on "smart" phones, handheld devices that integrate the functions of personal digital assistants with mobile phones.

Lifestyle Barcelona

Last Friday afternoon saw the inauguration of the Lifestyle Barcelona Go Kart Challenge. The afternoon began with the entire team piling into two cars and at the position of the track. Upon arrival, we were sufficiently informed about the route that the upcoming qualifying and the race. This is done then we were all our respective car numbers, jumpsuits (some of them better than others… high heel boots are now the new racing shoes) and helmets.

So we roared off round the track for 8 rounds are trying our best to secure the wheels of the cart track in the hope of setting the fastest lap time. This honour went to Krissi, unfortunately, just to show that he had done that once or twice before, had 4 rounds of the fastest time and parked his kart… what a show!

30 years for ETA commando chief

A man supposed to head commando units for the Basque separatist group ETA was convicted of attempted murder and sentenced to 30 years in prison by a French court Wednesday.
Ibon Fernandez de Iradi was found guilty of trying to kill a French police officer on patrol in the city of Pau in November 2001. The gendarme, Gerard Larroude, survived despite eight bullet wounds in the head and throat.
Spain's then interior minister, Angel Acebes, described the capture as ''a far-reaching operation of enormous importance.'' He described Fernandez de Iradi as ''the chief of the gunmen, the killers, the commandos who finish up the attacks, the car bombs.''
ETA, which stands for Basque Homeland and Freedom, has been fighting to create an independent state for Basques in northern Spain and southwestern France since the late 1960s. Its bombs and shootings have claimed more than 800 lives.

Industrial output falls sharply

Industrial production in Spain reached, the biggest decline in more than five years in December more than slow growth in Europe reduced demand for Spanish goods. The production at factories, farms and mines fell 2.4 percent less than the previous year after the correction in the number of working days, after a 1 percent decline in November, the National Institute for Statistics said.

Spanish police arrested three people suspected in radical Islam on Thursday

Spanish police arrested three people suspected of trying to boost radical Islam on Thursday in the northern city of Vitoria, local police said.
The three distributed CDs and MP3 files calling for a "jihad" or holy war among the city's Muslim community, local police said.
The arrests occur just over three weeks later a general election. Three days before Spain's last vote in 2004, Islamic militants killed 191 migrant in Madrid train bombings that are widely thought to have swung the election for Socialist party.
A month ago, Interior Minister Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba said Islamic militants may have been plotting attacks on Barcelona's metro system. Police have since released four of the 14 South Asians arrested and have acknowledged they found few explosives.
Police began investigating the Vitoria cell in December and moved to arrest the three following an order from Spain's High Court.
Vitoria, the capital of the Basque region, is more used to security threats from guerrilla group ETA, which is fighting for an independent Basque state.

Hotels in Barcelona

Hotel owners contradict that Barcelona is attracting cheap tourism... The flow of visitors with sufficient purchasing power to stay in four or five star hotels has encouraged businessmen in the industry to plan the construction of another 36 establishments of both types, which will bring another 5 014 inhabitants to the city. Barcelona, which will have 49 new hotels by 2011, has duplicated its supply in only a decade. In despite of that, the efficiency rate continues to raise. And the average price: 125 euros, 12% more than it was last year; is an increase of four times more than the average salary.

Android Prototypes Debut in Barcelona

Google Inc.'s profile was relatively low as the World Mobile Congress opened, but chip makers eager to help develop the first phones using Google's Android operating system were not so quiet.
The prototypes Texas Instruments Inc. and Qualcomm Inc. demonstrated at the world's largest mobile conference that ends Thursday looked nothing like the sure-to-be sleek cell phones that eventually will debut the open-source operating system.
An eager crowd waited Tuesday to watch Ramesh Iyer show how users of Android-equipped smart phones will navigate the Web by running a finger over the display - and how they'll find full-size pages, instead of Web resized for mobile devices' small screens.
The true fascination of Android is that it reduces by about one-third the time it takes to get a cell phone from concept to market, said Iyer, an ecosystems manager at Texas Instruments.
Iyer estimates Android will cut the development of a smart phone, which combines web applications with traditional voice features and typically takes up to 18 months, to six or seven months.
Neither Google nor the chip producers would say when a smart phone running Android will conquer the consumer market. The chip makers said that's up to Google.
Google has prepared about 30 phone, chip and software companies to help develop Android systems.

Doubts Over Barcelona Plot

The government enounced doubt about how related an accused Islamist group may have been to planning suicide attacks in Barcelona, questioning the view of Judge Ismael Moreno of the National Court on Wednesday, when he said that such actions had been inevitable and ordered nine Pakistanis and an Indian arrested last weekend to be kept in custody. On Friday, Interior Minister Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba said the police did not find enough explosives ''to conclude an attack was imminent.'' He also said the accused cell was likely using the explosives for training, but would have attacked later.

Barcelona Hotels