Decision made by Alberto Ruiz-Gallardón is likely to see former Popular Party regional premier of the Balearic Islands, Jaume Matas, start his jail term

Did Gallardón already grant pardons to corrupt politicians?

Vera Gutiérrez Calvo Madrid

Judges' association refutes minister's claim that the government had not, and will not, let convicted colleagues off

Regional Politics

Navarre premier Yolanda Barcina. / Luis Azanza

Navarre parliament calls on premier to step down

EFE Pamplona

Yolanda Barcina said to have interfered in tax inquiries

banking

Regulator to start sending “spies” to check up on banks

David Fernández Madrid

“Mystery shopping” will determine whether financial products are being sold to customers fairly

Corruption

Ex-minister Magdalena Álvarez ordered to post bond in ERE case

Javier Martín-Arroyo Seville 1

European Investment Bank official seen as a key player in supervising Andalusia layoff fund. Former public works chief could face embezzlement and corrupt practices charges

Court orders Judge Alaya to drop part of layoff fund inquiry

El País Seville

Panel of magistrates believes alleged union fraud is not related to ERE case

ERE case judge asks for parliamentary records

El País Seville

Move comes after several suspects say regional officials knew of alleged fraud

telecoms

Jazztel customers left without cellphone service for 12 hours

Ramón Muñoz Madrid

Outage, which affected calls and internet access, most serious seen in Spain since 2003

ECONOMY

Finance minister announces increased tax receipts for early 2014

Jesús Sérvulo González Madrid

But Cristóbal Montoro refuses to reveal last year’s deficit figure

High-speed rail beats out air travel for the first time

El País Madrid

Airlines experience 28 straight months of decline due to higher taxes and fewer routes. Railway network has seen 11 back-to-back months of growth

THE CATHOLIC CHURCH

Ricardo Blázquez (l) with his predecessor, Cardinal Antonio María Rouco Varela. / Claudio Álvarez

Familiar face returns to head Spanish bishops

Juan G. Bedoya Madrid

Moderate Ricardo Blázquez voted in to replace incendiary Rouco

EDITORIAL: The pending transition

Civil Guard officers take one of the hashish packages out of the sea on Monday.

Two tons of hashish wash up on Ceuta beaches

Rocío Abad Ceuta

Police believe packages may have fallen off boat caught in recent rough weather

ECONOMY

Spain sees 42-percent spike in mortgage defaults

Íñigo de Barrón / Miguel Jiménez Madrid

After seven years of crisis, high unemployment is finally affecting home loans

Mystery of the missing mountaineer is solved

F. Javier Barroso Madrid

Partly mummified body belonged to a cyclist from Madrid who had disappeared in 2011

Hikers find skeleton with barely any flesh

Police battle with demonstrators on Tuesday in Santiago de Compostela. / PHOTO: ÓSCAR CORRAL | VIDEO: ATLAS

Galician parliament suspends session after violent protest

El País Santiago

Police arrest several demonstrators in Santiago

Man sentenced for locking girl inside trunk of his car

EFE Málaga

Youngster left for two hours while defendant visited girlfriend

Rescue workers conduct their search around where the Santa Ana went down. / J.L.CEREIJIDO (EFE)

Two dead and six missing after fishing boat sinks in Asturias

Javier Cuartas / Paola Obelleiro Oviedo / Muros

Vessel went down off Cabo de Peñas overnight

Victims detail alleged torture in Sahrawi liberation movement jails

EFE Madrid

Spain’s High Court investigates claims made by three witnesses against Polisario Front

Financial crisis

Bank execs win legal battle over compensation

Íñigo de Barrón Madrid

Catalunya Banc officials fired for mismanagement

Video of emergency services reaching the three mountaineers who lost their lives on Sunday (no sound).

Five climbers dead in two back-to-back falls

AGENCIES Madrid

All the deaths occurred in Sierra de Gredos

OBITUARY

Opera world mourns passing of “firebrand” Gerard Mortier

Daniel Verdú Madrid

Director stirred controversy as head of Madrid’s Teatro Real

EUROPEAN ELECTIONS

Rajoy offers last-minute support for Merkel’s choice in EU vote

Carlos E. Cué / Claudi Pérez Dublín

Spanish leader waited to secure better conditions in power share

U2’s Bono asks for Europe-wide campaign for Spain

Carlos E. Cué Dublin 5

Rock star tells Merkel and Rajoy that people should be encouraged to buy Spanish goods

A Series Yonkis user. / CRISTÓBAL MANUEL

Series Yonkis gets back to business with new domain name

El País Madrid

Website providing access to free film and TV content had eliminated links without explaining why

INTERVIEW

Manuel Muñoz, head of the Spanish National Electronic Cigarette Association, enjoys a vape. / LUIS SEVILLANO

“I vape... and I smoke four cigarettes a day”

The head of the National Electronic Cigarette Association, Manuel Muñoz, explains his habits

IMMIGRATION CRISIS

Sub-Saharan immigrant dies after being rescued from inflatable craft

Cándido Romaguera Algeciras

Nine other would-be migrants who accompanied the man were taken to hospital for treatment

Interior Minister declares “state emergency” during visit to Melilla

El País / Toñi Ramos Madrid

Spanish exclaves buckle under weight of mass attempts by immigrants to reach EU soil. Kamikaze car entry attempt foiled by officials on Moroccan side

Ministry to install “anti-climb mesh” on Ceuta, Melilla borders

Luis Gómez Ceuta

Interior chief calls criticism of Civil Guard’s actions “immoral”

Minister to visit Ceuta and Melilla over “emergency” situation

abortion debate

Bishop compares abortions with the Spanish Civil War

Agencies

Juan Antonio Reig Pla, from Alcalá de Henares, says that only "backward societies" practice pregnancy terminations

Más información

El Greco: a multimedia artist

Toledo is marking the 400th anniversary of the death of its most famous painter with a huge exhibition and other major events

El Greco's 'The Crucifixion' at the show in the Museo de Santa Cruz in Toledo. / Gorka Lejarcegi

LATIN AMERICA

Venezuelan troops try to crush unrest in Valencia

Top US military official warns of "catastrophic" demise of Maduro government

Leftist declared winner in Salvadoran runoff race

El País / Juan José Dalton San Salvador

Supporters of conservative candidate take to streets in protest

Argentina plans to regulate street protests

Francisco Peregil Buenos Aires

Man thrown off bridge as he tries to get through roadblock

Maduro promises “drastic measures” to quell unrest

Ewald Scharfenberg Caracas

Death toll rises to 24 after three more killings

Mexican vigilante leader accused of murder

Paula Chouza Mexico City

Rifts begin to show among self-defense forces in Michoacán

Caricom drafts plan for demanding slave trade reparations

Caribbean and European officials will meet in June

cinema

CINEMA

After the controversy, the movie…

Venezuelan film ‘Pelo malo’ has kicked up a major row between Chávez supporters and their opponents

This week’s movie releases

Oscar winner Matthew McConaughey plays a cowboy AIDS patient in 'Dallas Buyers Club'

PLANETA FUTURO

A demonstration against rape in Morocco. / Amnesty International

My body, not the state’s

Alejandra Agudo Madrid

NGOs are campaigning to put sexual and reproductive rights on agenda for development goal talks. Led by Amnesty International, the groups cite changes to Spain's abortion law as retrograde

Welcome to Planeta Futuro

EL PAÍS is launching a new portal focusing on sustainable global development, with the collaboration of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Last stop Tangier

Luis Gómez

Morocco has taken on the role of guarding Europe's southern border, holding back those whose only dream is to make it into Europe by reaching Spanish soil

Missing the big picture

The movements of people who leave their home countries to seek a new life are changing direction, and Europe’s closed-doors policy could be a big mistake

“Everyone steals from you”

Each year thousands of Africans try to cross the Sahara to reach Europe. En route, many die and many just get trapped, unable to go on or get back home

11M - 10 YEARS ON

The four heads of the victims associations, pictured together at Tuesday's Mass. From l-r: Ángeles Domínguez, Pilar Manjón, Ángeles Pedraza and María del Mar Blanco. / GERARD JULIEN (AFP)

Victims put aside differences to remember loved ones

Natalia Junquera Madrid

Association heads agreed to aim for headlines of unity, not division

King and queen attend Mass to remember victims of bombings

Carlos E. Cué / Natalia Junquera / El País Madrid

Archbishop speaks of culprits as “people with dark objectives to win power.” Prime Minister Rajoy among attendees, but predecessors Zapatero and Aznar notable absences