Spain Today – Wednesday 27 March 2024

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In our midweek news for this Wednesday, Anti-Tobacco Plan to be presented to autonomous communities next Friday, more people living happily ever after, and several vessels related to drug trafficking seized off the Andalusian coast.

Plus, March inflation figures will be Wednesday´s financial highlight.

Contents (click to jump ahead)

Spanish News Headlines

The Minister of Health, Mónica García, announced that it will be next Friday, 5 April, when the Ministry and the Autonomous Communities will meet in a new Interterritorial Council, and one of the most important topics on the agenda will be the new Anti-Tobacco Plan, which the communities have until today to present their objections or proposals.

The Anti-Tobacco Plan presents “forcefulness, evidence and protection of the scientific society” and will be presented to the CISNS on April 5. This was explained by the Minister of Health, Mónica García, after her meeting with scientific societies and public health entities to evaluate and share the proposal for the new Comprehensive Plan for the Prevention and Control of Smoking 2024-2027.

Likewise, the minister stressed that these weeks “are going to be key” to implement the plan, since “we cannot allow 140 people to die a day due to tobacco.”

Spain registered 92,344 demands for marital dissolution in 2023, 3% less than those registered in 2022, according to data collected by the Statistics Service of the General Council of the Judiciary.

52,803 consensual divorces were registered, 4.2 percent less than the previous year; non-consensual divorces, 36,082, barely changed, with a reduction of 0.5 percent; consensual separations, 2,369, decreased by 8.2% and non-consensual separations, 1,039, decreased by 11.5 percent.

Annulments went from 65 in 2022 to 50 in 2023. The number of dissolution demands per 100,000 inhabitants in Spain was 192.1.

The Guardia Civil, in coordination with the Tax Agency, have carried out different measures in recent days, within the framework of the fight against criminal organisations dedicated to drug trafficking. These actions have focused on the Andalusian coast, especially in points on the Cádiz coast and the Guadalquivir riverbed, resulting in the arrest of five people.

In addition, a total of six boats have been seized, four of them semi-rigid and two smaller ones suspected to have been used for the logistical support of the organisation. Likewise, 400 litres of fuel intended to supply semi-rigid boats have been seized.

In one of the actions, there was the collaboration of the Portuguese National Republican Guard (GNR), in which a person was arrested and one of the boats was seized, after being chased by a Maritime Service patrol boat with heading to the town of Faro (Portugal).

To read these articles in full, visit SpainToday.news

Business, Markets and Statistics

The advances in the CPI for March and the balance of payments for January, together with the deposit figures for February and the public administration debt for the fourth quarter, will be the main macro references for this Wednesday in Spain.

In addition, consumer confidence in the eurozone in March will be known.

In Spain, the day begins with the INE publishing the advance of the CPI and harmonised CPI for March, followed by the retail trade indices for February.

The Bank of Spain publishes the January progress of the balance of payments, followed by the deposit data for February, the debt of public administrations for the fourth quarter, and their own 2023 accounts.

In the Eurozone, the European Commission publishes consumer confidence for March.

In the UK, the Bank of England capital issuance report will be published, as will the Centre for Mental Health report on cost of mental ill health.

Minutes of the meeting of the Financial Policy Committee of the Bank of England will also be published.

Things to Do Today

Aircraft fans can look forward to the Patrulla Aguila aerobatic team performing locally in the San Javier Airshow, taking place from 3rd-5th May – Festival Aéreo San Javier – over the playas de Santiago de la Ribera, San Javier, Murcia. They are also at the DIFAS 2024, taking place in Oviedo on 1 June, and on 15th June, the 50º Aniversario del ALA 14, in Albacete, where a competition is open to design a Eurofighter livery.

The Patrulla Acrobática de Paracaidismo del Ejército del Aire (PAPEA) parachutists perform on 31st March at the Conmemoración de “El Encuentro” de Alcantarilla, in Murcia, before the team head overseas in April to attend the 5th FAI World Indoor Skydiving Championship, in Macau, China.

For more local events, pick up The Leader newspaper every Monday, and This is Torrevieja for Torrevieja events.

Local Markets

Midweek markets can be found today at Guardamar del Segura, La Mata (Torrevieja), San Isidro, and San Miguel de Salinas.

The roads will of course be busy around those locations.

Traffic and Travel

The roads are busier because of Easter, and will get even busier towards the weekend, and remember that if you are venturing into the mountain areas, which in some cases might be less than an hour from the sunny coast, snow chains should be a consideration to avoid getting stranded.

Security staff at Alicante-Elche Miguel Hernandez airport have called a strike over Easter, one hour in the morning and one hour in the afternoon, if flying, allow extra time to get through security.

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

Official Websites for Travel Information

Weather

Always check the weather where you are before embarking on a trip. Here are the official sources for alerts and warnings.

On This Day

2006, the La Sexta television network is inaugurated in Spain, with a survey of Spaniards and the inaugural speech by Emilio Aragón.

2003, the now dissolved Batasuna political party is illegalised in Spain.

1994, in Spain the case of the Olot pharmacist ends successfully, with the release of María Angels Feliú, who was kidnapped for more than 16 months.

Video of the Day

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