In Tuesday´s Spanish news, a man is on trial for sexually abusing his girlfriend’s younger sister, unemployment fell by 7,452 people in February, and we have the holidays and Red Days in March, plus treasury auctions will be key in Tuesday´s markets and statistics news.

Spanish News Headlines

The Second Section of the Provincial Court of the Balearic Islands holds the pre-trial hearing today against a man accused of sexually assaulting his partner’s younger sister, taking advantage of the fact that they were on vacation on a boat. According to the indictment, the events occurred in the summer of 2016, when the accused was on a boat vacation along the coast of Mallorca in the company of his partner and her family, including his girlfriend´s younger sister, who was 14 years old at the time. The number of unemployed people registered in the offices of the State Public Employment Service (SEPE) at the end of February has been reduced by 7,452 people in relation to the month of January (-0.27%). The total stood at 2,760,408 people, 150,607 less than in February 2023 (-5.17%). It is the lowest figure since 2008 for this month. Today is a special day in Zaragoza, but it’s not the only day of note this month, as there are a scattering of national and regional holidays throughout the month, including the Red Days of Easter. Tuesday, March 5, is a local holiday in the city of Zaragoza, but not in the autonomous community of Aragón. March 19: Father’s Day and Saint Joseph’s Day, San José, only a regional holiday in the Valencian Community and the Region of Murcia, where there is no work this Tuesday. In the Community of Madrid, this holiday, which in other years has been part of the rest days of the work calendar, is moved to July 25, which is celebrated on the day of Santiago Apóstol and which is one of the regional holidays set for 2024 Thursday, March 28, is a replaceable national holiday and the communities in which work is not carried out are: Andalusia, Aragon, Asturias, Balearic Islands, Canary Islands, Castilla-La Mancha, Cantabria, Basque Country, Murcia, Castilla and León, Extremadura, Community of Madrid, Galicia, La Rioja, Navarra, Ceuta and Melilla. In the case of Catalonia and the Valencian Community, they have decided to replace the holiday of Thursday, March 28 (Holy Thursday) with Monday, April 1. In the case of Friday, March 29 (Good Friday), this day is a holiday throughout Spain. Finally, there are some Autonomous Communities that have a three-day holiday, that is, March 28 (Holy Thursday), March 29 (Good Friday) and Monday, April 1, and these are the Balearic Islands, Cantabria and the Basque Country. To read these articles in full, visit SpainToday.news

Business, Markets and Statistics

The Public Treasury returns to the markets this Tuesday, with a new auction of 6 and 12 month bills, on a day in which the composite and services PMI of the main economies for February will be published. In the US, factory orders for January and the non-manufacturing ISM for February will also be released. In Spain, the first report of the day will be the February services PMI, which is then followed by the Public Treasury auctions of 6 and 12 month bills. At noon, we will have bell ringing for the incorporation of Alfil Patrimonial Socimi to BME Scaleup. In the Eurozone, in order, the PMI services for February is published, then Eurostat publishes industrial producer prices for January, as well as industrial turnover for December, as well as November construction permits. Germany and the UK also have debt auctions, and focus in the UK will be on Services PMI, the BRC Retail Sales Monitor, and SMMT car sales figures. Throughout the day we will also have results from Bayer AG, Reach (Trinity Mirror), Target, Thales Group, Fresnillo, Wolseley, and Travis Perkins. Globally, the International Narcotics Control Board annual report is published.

Things to Do Today

For petrolheads, Guardamar del Segura will host a wide range of classic motors, cars and motorbikes, in the XII Fiesta del Motor Clásico de Guardamar del Segura taking place on 23 March 2024, starting at 10 a.m. in the Plaza del Ayuntamiento where, in addition to the exhibition of participating classic cars and motorcycles, there will be live music, paella to eat, and drinks. Prior to the Guardamar event, the IFA exhibition centre (near Alicante-Elche Miguel Hernandez Airport) will also have a classics event, Antic Auto, taking place on 9th and 10th of March. You might also be interested in the classic scooter ride around Alcoy on 9 March, or further afield, the Scooter Rally in Madrid on the 15th. Finally, the Iberia Motor Fest brings classic and unusual vehicles together at La Vila Joiosa on 22nd, 23rd, and 24th of March 2024. 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

Road wise, there´s nothing significant planned 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 Flight wise, low visibility across the south of England caused by fog is expected to have an impact of flights, particularly affecting Heathrow and Gatwick, and so flights to Spain could be affected. Airspace in the northwestern quadrant of Spain could be affected by high demand, and so flights coming from the UK over the Bay of Biscay could be affected. Alicante-Elche Miguel Hernandez airport has had capacity reductions for a few weeks, but only overnight, so not having much of an impact, but the restrictions this week have been brought forward commencing at 21:00 in some situations, so it is possible that there could be some late evening delays. Industrial action at Lanzarote is also expected to cause delays around the Canaries. As for military exercises, the British ship HMS Diamond will be firing her guns on 5th of March, and so airspace in the location will be severely restricted. The location of the ship is the central Mediterranean, in a central point between Italy, Greece, and Libya, to the east of Malta. A military test flight is taking place in Turkiye. Military exercise NORDIC RESPONSE 2024 will take place in North Scandinavian region until 15th March 2024, and in the case of this exercise, that includes weekends. Gun Firing will take place over the Black Sea until 11th March 2024. Military exercise DRAGON 24 will take place in Poland until 13th March 2024, not expecting to have an impact on commercial traffic however. A training exercise is also taking place in Poland, but again, not expecting to impact flights. Military exercise BVR 2024-1 will take place in Hungary until 07th March 2024.

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.

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On This Day

2020, the first death from COVID-19 occurs in Spain. 2005, the Iberian Peninsula suffers the biggest cold wave in the last 25 years. 1916, the Spanish ship Príncipe de Asturias sinks in Brazil with more than 500 passengers on board.

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