News Review 2009
January
January was the month when Barajas Airport was closed by bad weather for the first time in its history, when heavy snowfall on the 9th of the month brought traffic chaos and long delays to the Spanish capital. The airport was closed for more than 5 hours by the snow falling in central and north eastern Spain, with hundreds of passengers having to spend the night in Barajas and thousands affected by the long delays. The Civil Guard had to be brought in to persuade passengers on three grounded aircraft to disembark when they refused to leave the planes.
February
The actress Penélope Cruz started off the month with a Goya award, the Spanish equivalent of the Oscars, as Best Supporting Actress for her role in ‘Vicky Cristina Barcelona’. She went on to receive an Oscar for the same role later in the month.
A scandal erupted over the news that Mariano Fernández Bermejo, the then-Justice Minister, had been on a hunting trip at which the National Court judge, Baltasar Garzón, was one of the other guests, just shortly after Garzón had started his investigation in the Gürtel case into corruption allegations linked to the Partido Popular. Bermejo resigned from the job on 23rd February and was succeeded by Francisco Caamaño.
March
Regional elections were held in Galicia and the Basque Country on 1st March, bringing a change to government in both regions. Power returned to the Partido Popular in Galicia, which recovered the majority it had lost four years previously, and Alberto Feijóo became the new President of the Region.
In the Basque Country, the result gave a victory to the governing PNV Basque Nationalists, but a pact agreed between the two main opposition parties, the Socialists and the Partido Popular, brought historic change to the region with its first non-Nationalist President in the region’s 30 years of democracy: the Socialist, Patxi López.
January was the month when Barajas Airport was closed by bad weather for the first time in its history, when heavy snowfall on the 9th of the month brought traffic chaos and long delays to the Spanish capital. The airport was closed for more than 5 hours by the snow falling in central and north eastern Spain, with hundreds of passengers having to spend the night in Barajas and thousands affected by the long delays. The Civil Guard had to be brought in to persuade passengers on three grounded aircraft to disembark when they refused to leave the planes.
February
The actress Penélope Cruz started off the month with a Goya award, the Spanish equivalent of the Oscars, as Best Supporting Actress for her role in ‘Vicky Cristina Barcelona’. She went on to receive an Oscar for the same role later in the month.
A scandal erupted over the news that Mariano Fernández Bermejo, the then-Justice Minister, had been on a hunting trip at which the National Court judge, Baltasar Garzón, was one of the other guests, just shortly after Garzón had started his investigation in the Gürtel case into corruption allegations linked to the Partido Popular. Bermejo resigned from the job on 23rd February and was succeeded by Francisco Caamaño.
March
Regional elections were held in Galicia and the Basque Country on 1st March, bringing a change to government in both regions. Power returned to the Partido Popular in Galicia, which recovered the majority it had lost four years previously, and Alberto Feijóo became the new President of the Region.
In the Basque Country, the result gave a victory to the governing PNV Basque Nationalists, but a pact agreed between the two main opposition parties, the Socialists and the Partido Popular, brought historic change to the region with its first non-Nationalist President in the region’s 30 years of democracy: the Socialist, Patxi López.
April
Spain’s Prime Minister, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, had his first meeting with the U.S. President, Barack Obama, on April 5th, in the first formal meeting with U.S. and Spanish leaders since Spain withdrew from Iraq in 2004 and an end to five years of frosty relations between the two governments. The two met in Prague at the end of the U.S./European Summit.
May
The Partido Popular President of the Valencia region, Francisco Camps, appeared in court on 20th May to answer questions in the Gürtel corruption case investigating allegations of backhanders received by high-ranking members of the PP administrations in Madrid and Valencia in exchange for public contracts. Camps was accused of receiving gifts of suits worth more than 12,000 €. The Valencia High Court also called in as suspects the PP’s then-General Secretary in Valencia, Ricardo Costa, the regional government’s former Vice-President, Víctor Campos, and Rafael Betoret, from the Diputación provincial government of Valencia.
The Partido Popular President of the Valencia region, Francisco Camps, appeared in court on 20th May to answer questions in the Gürtel corruption case investigating allegations of backhanders received by high-ranking members of the PP administrations in Madrid and Valencia in exchange for public contracts. Camps was accused of receiving gifts of suits worth more than 12,000 €. The Valencia High Court also called in as suspects the PP’s then-General Secretary in Valencia, Ricardo Costa, the regional government’s former Vice-President, Víctor Campos, and Rafael Betoret, from the Diputación provincial government of Valencia.
June
The new terminal officially opened at Barcelona’s El Prat Airport on 16th June, and saw its first flight the following morning. With capacity for 30 million passengers a year, it’s the biggest infrastructure built in Cataluña for two decades.
July
With thermometers in southern Spain reaching up to 40 degrees at the start of the month and much of the eastern part of the country on alert for high temperatures, the Basque capital, Vitoria, was hit by a freak hailstorm accompanied by a sudden 20 degree drop in temperature. Hundreds of vehicles were damaged, with flooding in the streets as traffic came to a standstill.
August
A team led by the noted surgeon Pedro Cavadas on 19th August successfully concluded Spain’s first face transplant operation, only the eighth to have taken place in the world. The surgery was performed at Valencia’s Hospital La Fe and the patient was discharged with a smile on his face the following month.
September
Hundreds of youths clashed with police as riots erupted in the Pozuelo de Alarcón area of Madrid during the local fiestas early on 4 September. Two of the 10 officers who were injured in the disturbances were seriously hurt. 20 people were taken into custody, including 7 minors.
October
The final vote for the host city for the 2016 Olympics was a big disappointment for Spain, when Madrid was beaten by Rio de Janeiro in the final round on 2nd October, after winning the first round of voting ahead of the other contending cities. Chicago was knocked out in round 1, followed by Tokyo in round 2, but in the final vote for Rio more than doubled the number of votes for the Spanish capital, beating Madrid by 46 votes to 29. It was Madrid’s second consecutive attempt to host the Games.
November
Lawyers representing the Duke and Duchess of Lugo, the King’s eldest daughter, the Infanta Elena, and her husband, Jaime de Marichalar, confirm on 25th November that the couple are to divorce and have, in fact, signed the divorce papers, two years after a temporary separation was announced. They married in 1995 and have two children.
December
The Health Minister confirmed in December that Spain is to introduce an extended smoking ban in 2010, during the six-month Spanish presidency of the European Union. The ban will extended to all closed public spaces, and will include the larger bars and restaurants which until now have been permitted to allow smoking on the premises by providing a separate, closed-off area for smokers. The hostelry sector fears it could force many out of business.
The Health Minister confirmed in December that Spain is to introduce an extended smoking ban in 2010, during the six-month Spanish presidency of the European Union. The ban will extended to all closed public spaces, and will include the larger bars and restaurants which until now have been permitted to allow smoking on the premises by providing a separate, closed-off area for smokers. The hostelry sector fears it could force many out of business.
Source: typicallyspanish
What are your memories of 2009? Who are the people you will associate with the past year? What are the events that *stand out for you?
Phrasal Verbs
If sb/sth *stands out, he/it is very noticeable
- She will stand out in the crowd. She always dresses in bright colours.
- She is by far the best student in the class. She stands out from the rest.
Give examples of something or someone standing out.
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