In Spain Today, the price of gas is going up today, people with disabilities are set to see a more appropriate description set into law, and a person who beat up an ONCE ticket seller is in court, as is a German arsonist in a separate case, plus a warning over the use of AI by companies, and the security risks it poses.
Across Europe, inflation data from Germany and the unemployment rate from the United Kingdom will be revealed. Likewise, we will learn about the ZEW surveys in the Eurozone and Germany.
There´s lots going on in the air today, and although there are fewer flights than yesterday, the weather might have an impact on flights between the UK and Spain.
Plus, we have a little trip back in history with On This Day, with the French beating the Brits in Spain.
Read on to find out more about Spain Today, or click the play button below, and you can sit back and listen to today´s Daily Briefing.
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News Around Spain
The maximum retail price of the butane cylinder will rise by 5% starting this Tuesday, to 15.89 euro, in the second rise in price after six consecutive drops, according to the resolution published in the Official State Gazette (BOE). This bimonthly review is calculated based on the cost of raw materials (propane and butane) in international markets, as well as the cost of freight (transport) and the evolution of the euro-dollar exchange rate. Specifically, the increase in this latest revision is allegedly mainly due to the increase in the cost of freight (+4%), despite motor fuel being cheaper, and the high price of raw materials, despite the fact that their price has decreased (-3.1%) as well as the appreciation that the euro has experienced against the dollar (+2.2%) in the last two months, as indicated by the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge.
Plans to reform the recognition and rights of people with disabilities, a priority for the Government but pushed back due to the overtaking of the Amnesty Law talks, returned to the priority floor and will begin today. The parliamentary procedure to reform article 49 of the Constitution will begin this week in the Congress of Deputies, which, among other points, includes the replacement of the term “handicapped” with the expression “people with disabilities”. On Tuesday, the reform will be debated in a monographic plenary session and on Thursday it will be voted on, to then be sent to the Senate, which will begin to analyse it on January 24.
The Second Section of the Provincial Court of the Balearic Islands will begin the trial today against a 49-year-old German man accused of starting three fires in Esporles in 2019. The trial should have taken place in October 2022 but was suspended because the man failed to appear at the hearing and could not be located. The Prosecutor’s Office requests six years in prison. The man is believed responsible for a number of fires, the first spreading when he punctured and set fire to the tyres of an environmental vehicle, and he was finally caught by the Guardia Civil believed on his way to set another fire as he was carrying the equipment to do so. As well as prison, the man faces fines of around 20,000 euro, plus the cost of restoring the areas to their natural state, an amount to be determined at the trial.
The Court in Valencia will hear evidence from today against a man accused of attacking an ONCE coupon seller, at a service station on the A7 motorway. The public accusation maintains that in June 2022, both parties met in the restaurant area at the service station and, after a few words about some unpaid coupons, the defendant pounced on the seller in an intimidating tone. In the brawl, according to the Prosecutor’s Office, the accused used offensive, derogatory, and threatening terminology towards both the victim, and in a general way towards anyone involved with ONCE. The couple met again a month later and the defendant allegedly hit the ONCE seller when he was trying to film him with his mobile phone. The Prosecutor’s Office requests a prison sentence of one and a half years for the accused.
The use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools in business can pose a serious danger to the security of your data and computer equipment. This was stated by the company specialised in cybersecurity, Kaspersky, after the publication of a study that shows how the majority of managers who use this technology do not have specific training. Specifically, although “the majority of Spanish businesses are unaware of how Artificial Intelligence works and the advantages of Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenIA), 46% plan to use these systems in their companies,” explained Kaspersky.
To read these articles in full, visit SpainToday.news
Things to Do Today
In the Casa de Cultura in Guardamar del Segura a collective exhibition of the works of young creators in different fields of plastic arts, photography, fashion design, and drawing is on until Saturday 20 January. A second collection, featuring “new perspectives” is also on in the same venue until February 4.
For more local events, pick up The Leader newspaper every Monday, and This is Torrevieja for Torrevieja events.
Local Markets
Local markets on a Tuesday can be found at Benijofar, Daya Nueva, La Marina (Elche), Orihuela, San Bartalome (Orihuela), and San Fulgencio.
The roads will of course be busy around those locations.
Traffic and Travel
In the air, it is pretty much a carbon copy of yesterday, although with around 20.700 flights expected in the Network, compared to the 23,800 yesterday across Europe, and the weather posing the biggest potential problem.
Occasional delays are still possible on flights between the UK and Spain whilst the new equipment is being tested in Paris Air Traffic Control centre, as some aircraft divert over the Bay of Biscay to avoid French air space.
In France, industrial action in the Bordeaux Air Traffic Control centre continues until Wednesday, but with minimum service guarantees, this is not expected to have an impact.
Industrial action resumes at Lanzarote airport today, again with minimum services guaranteed, but that action is expected to have a higher impact on flights around the Canary Islands today.
The weather might have an impact on flights in Spain as there is a risk of low visibility/low ceiling issues for Iberia and parts of the Alpine region and central Europe during the morning.
Thunderstorms are predicted over the Atlantic coast, which could impact Portugal and Spain, including any of those flights diverted over the Bay of Biscay, with possible tactical diversions expected.
Low pressure across Northern UK, Scandinavia and Northeast Europe, bringing snow showers to Scotland, Benelux, Northwest Germany, the Baltic States and Eastern Europe. Strong winds expected throughout the Baltic States and Poland.
The World Economic Forum in Davos continues, the Zurich area most affected, but as always it could impact other routes as the day progresses due to aircraft movements.
Various military restrictions are in force as a result, and once again a military test flight will take place today in Turkiye.
Road wise, there´s nothing significant planned affecting the roads of Spain but 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.
For information and updates about driving in Spain, visit N332.es
Weather
Just a little note on the local weather today, although it´s remained cool in places, some areas have seen unseasonably high temperatures, but forecasters tell us not to get used to it just yet, so don’t go packing away your winter woollies, as the current and unseasonal conditions are caused by a temporary mass, and colder temperatures will return towards the end of the week.
We will look at that in more detail as we get closer.
Notable Events
1556 King Carlos I gives the crown of Castile and Aragon to his son Filipe II.
1809 Napoleon ‘s French army defeats the British army in La Coruña, Spain.
1861 submarine telegraphic communication between the peninsula and the Balearic Islands begins to operate in Spain.
1939 in the context of the Spanish civil war, the republican government orders the arming of all citizens capable of combat and the militarisation of all industries in Barcelona, which was very close to being reached by the rebellious army.
1973 a commando of the Basque terrorist group ETA kidnaps industrialist Felipe Huarte in Pamplona.
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