Spain claims to have foiled ETA attack

Spain says the arrest of a suspected Basque terror cell at the weekend may have foiled an attempted attack against the new regional government. Spanish Interior Minister Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba said Jurdan Martitegi and other suspects seized in France were planning an attack against the Socialist-led administration.

“The police are working on the theory that the suspects were planning to explode a car bomb during the swearing-in of the new Basque regional government,” claimed Rubalcaba.

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Spain's jobless rate soars to 17%

Spain's unemployment rate hit 17.4% at the end of March, figures have shown, with the jobless total now having doubled over the past 12 months.

In the past year, two million people have lost their jobs taking the total out of work to just over four million. The Bank of Spain recently predicted the jobless rate would reach 19.4% in 2010, as the recession took hold.

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This week we go to: Feria de Abril (Seville)

Seville is an amazing city to visit any time of year, but Spring is special in Sevilla. The city bursts into bloom with aromatic orange blossoms and jasmine perfuming the air and everyone is in the best of humour as the city’s two greatest festivals take place this time of year – first Semana Santa and then the Spring Fair..

The Seville Fair takes place just two weeks after Semana Santa, so if you have the energy you can enjoy both spectacles during your stay in Seville. However, consider yourself forwarned in that this is a week of serious dancing, drinking, eating and enjoying entertainment with late nights – or all nighters – the norm. As a non-native, you will have to pay very special attention to how the authentic “Sevillanos” (natives of Seville) manage their time and energy in order to make it full force right through to the end.