Spain outlaws smacking kids

Reuters on the Toronto Globe & Mail:

Spanish parents will be banned from smacking their children, congress voted on Thursday.

Until now parents have been allowed to "reasonably and moderately correct" their children, but deputies deleted that clause and rewrote Spain's civil code to make clear a child's physical and psychological integrity should be respected....

...Around 16 European countries have already banned smacking at school and in the home. In October the British government rejected the banning of corporal punishment at home as long as parents did not leave bruises, grazes or swelling.

European Las Vegas

Agence France-Presse on the Sydney Morning Herald has the story on Europe's Las Vegas planned for the desert in Spain:

... developers plan to build 32 hotel-casinos, two theme parks, a
racecourse and stadium over the next decade.

The project, approved last week by the regional government of Aragon,
also calls for the construction of residential areas, an equestrian centre and a
golf course on just over 2000 hectares (5000 acres) of land in the Los Monegros
desert.Tentatively called "Gran Escala," which means large-scale, the
development has a 17 billion euro (A$28.5 billion) price tag that will be footed
by International Leisure Development, a London-based consortium of
investors.

...we are forecasting the creation of 30,000 jobs

...The themes of the hotel-casinos will cover the sweep of history, from
Pharaonic Egypt to Ancient Greece to the Roman Era and the Italian
Renaissance.The project, which will be formally presented in Zaragoza on
December 12, also includes plans for a water park and a spy-themed park called
Spyland based on the worldwide history of spies and secret services...