http://en.elconfidencial.com en.elConfidencial.com - The influential newspaper in Spain en-us http://en.elconfidencial.com/images/logo_couk.gif http://en.elconfidencial.com Wed Oct 17 12:00:08 UTC+0200 2012 Ángel Collado.- Over the last weeks and in the presentation on Thursday of the general budget for 2013, the government has managed to keep focus on pensions, which will be increased by 1 percent, and on the decision to freeze salaries ... Ángel Collado El Confidencial / Carlos Sánchez.- On Thursday, the Spanish government presented the general budget for 2013, considered the harshest in decades with spending cuts of 58 percent in order to tackle the economic crisis. Pensions and debt payments ... El Confidencial / Carlos Sánchez Arantxa Palacios.- The crisis is affecting the image of Spain abroad. While Spanish King Juan Carlos and Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy are striving to improve the ‘marca España,’ the 'brand of ... Arantxa Palacios El Confidencial.- Thousands gathered outside the Congress of Deputies, the Spanish lower house of parliament, in the center of Madrid on Tuesday evening to protest against the government's austerity program. After clashes ... El Confidencial Antonio Fernández.- The premier of Catalonia, Artur Mas, announced on Tuesday that early elections will be held in the region on November 25, as a response to the “exceptional” rejection by Spain’s government ... Antonio Fernández Agustín Rivera.- The former premier of the region of Andalusia, Manuel Chaves, admitted there were cases of corruption during his time as leader of the region. “There were cases of corruption which must be condemned, ... Agustín Rivera Ángel Collado.- Artur Mas, premier of the region of Catalonia, met with Spain’s Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy at the government headquarters in Madrid on Thursday. The meeting outcome was expected: Mas was unable to convince ... Ángel Collado El Confidencial.- “The rescue [for Spain] will only bring more budget cuts,” the leader of the Socialist party, the main opposition party, Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba, said in a TV interview on Spanish national ... El Confidencial El Confidencial.- Esperanza Aguirre, premier of the region of Madrid and deputy in the regional parliament, announced on Monday in a press conference that she will step down from both these positions, a decision that came as a surprise ... El Confidencial El Confidencial / Agencies.- Spain’s 17 autonomous regions registered a deficit of 0.77 percent of the gross domestic product during the first six months of 2012 in terms of national accountability, Budget Minister Cristóbal ... El Confidencial / Agencies Ana I. Gracia.- Two days after the massive independence march in Barcelona, in which hundreds of thousands participated, Catalan premier Artur Mas visited Madrid on Thursday, showing his support for the “clamor” ... Ana I. Gracia C. Guindal.- The Audiencia Nacional, Spain’s national criminal court, ruled on Wednesday that ETA prisoner Iosu Uribetxebarria Bolinaga, suffering from cancer, will be released from prison for “humanitarian ... C. Guindal Carlos Sánchez.- “Europe will not require new adjustment measures in Spain,” according to a high level government source, who said “what we have to do is to comply with the recommendations from the last ... Carlos Sánchez El Confidencial / Agencies.- The demonstration for independence in Catalonia, organized by the Catalan National Assembly (ANC) and encouraged by the Catalan regional government led by Convergence and Union (CiU), a centre right Catalan nationalist ... El Confidencial / Agencies Ángel Collado.- Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy tried to convince Spaniards that the sacrifices asked from them because of the budget cuts and reforms that the government is pushing forward are necessary to exit the crisis.  ... Ángel Collado