Difficult times at Christmas

After years of drought-like conditions, southeastern Spain awoke to a state of emergency for flooding on Monday after a weekend of unremitting winds and heavy rain in which two people lost their lives. A Spaniard was injured as Germany is back in focus as an asylum seeker is thought to have been driving a lorry that killed 12 people and injured 48 others as it sped at 40mph through a busy Christmas market in Berlin in a 'probable terrorist attack'. THOUSANDS of protesters have marched through Madrid to demonstrate against government austerity cuts. The 30,000-strong rally was organised by Spain's two main trade unions. Protestors demanded a rise in wages and pensions, with around 60 smaller demonstrations recently organised by unions across Spain. Bogus doctor with child porn history found murdered in his Valencia home and...... Three young children managed to eventually raise the alarm after spending four days with their dead mother at their home in Palma de Mallorca. When it comes to the Basque Country's AVE high-speed rail project, known popularly as the Basque Y because of the shape of its network, this is definitely a case of what Bob Dylan might call A Slow Train Coming. In 1989 it was one of the first major rail projects to be approved, but work did not begin until 2004. Now, 27 years later, the line still has no date for its inaugural run. Earlier in the week he Russian ambassador to Turkey was shot dead by an off-duty Turkish police officer at an art gallery in Ankara in 'revenge' for the conflict in Syria. Britain has slipped down world economic rankings due to India's booming growth figures and the collapse of sterling and the post-Brexit slowdown according to several leading economists. The Bank of England, Confederation of British Industry and Treasury had warned that leaving the EU would trigger economic disaster but all three have conceded the UK was prospering.Britain gave a total of 1.3billion to the 20 most corrupt nations in 2015 ; up from just over 1billion the previous year ; figures reveal. Anjem Choudary has lived off the state for 20 years, claiming up to 163;500,000 in benefits as he inspired fanatics to commit atrocities worldwide. Aid officials from the Department for International Development spent nearly 163;6m on first-class and business-class travel since 2012 while handing out taxpayers; cash for overseas projects Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has published proposals to 'unify the country around a clear plan' as she demanded Scotland's place in Europe must be protected. The Royal College of Surgeons says leaving the EU will enable watchdogs to impose stricter language tests on foreign doctors and tighter controls on medical devices.Communities Secretary Sajid Javid, pictured, said it was impossible for people to play a 'positive role' in public life unless they accepted basic values like democracy and freedom of speech