Most holidays in 2013 won't need to be changed because they fall on Friday or Monday. CEOE businessmen's group says that productivity drops the day after a long weekend

PROFILE

José Antonio Griñán speaking at a municipal Socialist convention in Málaga. / Carlos Diaz (EFE)

“My future is in Andalusia”

El País Madrid

Speculation is rising that Andalusia regional premier José Antonio Griñán has his eye on Socialist leadership

BARCELONA PROTESTS

Court reopens probe into police action at 2011 march

Jesús García Barcelona

Over 100 people filed complaints following police charge in Plaza de Catalunya

TERRORISM

French Batasuna representative captured at road checkpoint

El País Bilbao

Martín is wanted in Spain on charges pertaining to her membership in an illegal group. A court in France paved the way to have her extradited on charges related to an outlaw party

ETA willing to finally disband if PP changes its penitentiary policy

Luis R. Aizpeolea Madrid

Inmates must be given chance to rejoin society, says "abertzale." Government in no hurry to change prison policies

Izaskun Lesaka, one of ETA’s remaining chiefs, held in France

Mónica Ceberio Belaza Madrid

Woman terrorist believed to have been behind communiques sent by organization since last year’s ceasefire

BARCELONA DEMONSTRATIONS

A security guard topples over as demonstrators invade a branch of Zara in Barcelona on Wednesday. / MANU FERNÁNDEZ (AP)

Masked protestors ransack Zara store during strike

El País Madrid

Anarcho-syndicalist labor groups also storm branches of Apple and Fnac

BUSINESS

The main tax office in Madrid. / CLAUDIO ÁLVAREZ (EL PAÍS)

Tax inspectors believe collections will fall in the next few years

Jesús Sérvulo González Madrid

Agency refuses to extend amnesty deadline for dodgers

PENSIONS

Government takes flak over proposal for new pension system reform

Manuel V. Gómez Madrid

Overhaul put forward before previous amendments have taken effect

EURO CRISIS

Rajoy seeking to avoid bailout request this year

Fernando Garea Madrid

Government sources cite recent improvement in the Treasury's financial position

Bailout “not essential at the moment,” says Rajoy

“We can’t allow Spain to become unraveled,” says US president

El País Madrid

Helping Spain and the rest of Europe is in the United States’ best interest, says Obama

Bardem’s comments make him the “big villain,” says PP spokesman

Rocío Huerta Madrid

Actor claimed that "so much unemployment suits the government"

Javier Bardem: “This is fiction, there are other villains these days”

Police detain a man protesting at an eviction in Torrejón de Ardoz, Madrid, in November 2011. / CLAUDIO ALVAREZ (EL PAÍS)

Banks have turned courts into "collection offices," say judges

Elsa García de Blas Madrid

Associations call for changes to be made to laws covering evictions

BANKING SECTOR

BBVA’s earnings fall 47 percent due to real estate asset provisions

El País Madrid

Bank has set aside 2.869 billion euros for possible property losses as default rate in Spain rises to 6.5 percent

Banco Santander earnings hit by real estate provisions

JUSTICE

Political parties should be subject to criminal charges: justice minister

El País Madrid

Gallardón may also consider measures to bar people who have been implicated in offenses from standing for office

REGIONAL POLITICS

Catalan election video banned on grounds of nationalist bias

Pere Ríos / El País Barcelona

Regional government campaign "leads voters," says panel

ECONOMY

Spanish economy shrinks by 0.3 percent in third quarter of 2012

A. S. Madrid

The latest contraction is slightly less than forecast the day after minister's claim that recovery is on the way

Spain is “emerging from the crisis,” says labor minister

El País Madrid

Comments come on heels of jobless rate moving above 25 percent for first time on record

Jobless rate moves above 25 percent for the first time on record

Andrew Sim / Manuel V. Gómez / Agencies Madrid 2

More than 5.7 million people in Spain are looking for work. Youth unemployment hits 52.3 percent

ANTONIO MEÑO CASE

Antonio Meño with his parents at a hearing in October 2010. / Emilio Naranjo (EFE)

Man who spent 23 years in coma due to medical negligence dies

El País Madrid

Family awarded damages last year after two-decade legal battle

PUBLIC FINANCES

VAT revenues climb almost 12 percent due to hikes, minister says

El País Madrid

Improvement helps reduce fall in collections in the first nine months of the year

No charges for woman who killed handbag robber with car

Victoria Torres Benayas Madrid

María L. R. will be fined for traffic misdemeanor if court decides to take no further action

IMPACT OF THE RECESSION

PP boosts financial aid to keep toll road operators from going broke

Fernando Garea Madrid

Measures include participating loans with one-year grace period for turnpikes "on the verge of bankruptcy"

DIPLOMACY

Foreign minister to negotiate PP youth leader’s release with Cuba

Miguel González / Agencies Madrid

García-Margallo and Rodríguez will meet next month in Cádiz after Carromero waives right to appeal

BANKING CRISIS

IMF asks for non-viable Spanish banks to be wound down

Luis Doncel Brussels

Troika approves government’s efforts to restructure the banking sector

Más información

Ferrer: the new master

Spaniard takes his first ATP 1000 event title in Paris

David Ferrer returns the ball to Jerzy Janowicz of Poland during their final match on Sunday in Paris. / Yoan Valat (EFE)

FEATURES

URBAN PLANNING

Marisol Ayala, the councilor for town planning in Chiclana, in front of an illegal housing estate. / EDUARDO RUIZ (EL PAÍS)

The city planner's illegal home

Pedro Espinosa Chiclana de la Frontera

Half of the 80,000 inhabitants of Chiclana live in houses for which no building permit was granted and find themselves trapped in a nightmarish legal limbo

The town that wasn't meant to be

Álvaro de Cózar

Valdeluz should have had 30,000 inhabitants but has only a tenth of that. Residents are making the best of things in wake of property boom turned to bust

UNEMPLOYMENT

Around a fifth of Spain's 5.7 million unemployed are 50 or over - human capital that society does not know how to exploit. Experts say it is vital to maintain a working routine and that the web offers the best employment opportunities

EQUALITY

Microsoft Spain president María Garaña. / LUIS SEVILLANO (EL PAÍS)

The exceptions that rule

Jesús Rodríguez

Having made it in a male-dominated world, the female bosses of some of Spain's leading tech companies say they want to help more women reach top positions

PROTEST MOVEMENTS

The eyes and ears of 15-S

Carmen Pérez-Lanzac

An army of citizen journalists is ensuring demonstrations are recorded. Using an array of cameras and methods, they are getting footage out to the public