News for prayer for Week of October 3, 2022
Headline News:
The Basque medical system is continuing to feel the effects of the pandemic. The number of people waiting for an operation has increased 20% over the last 2 years. In 2006 the Basque Government established that the maximum time to wait for surgery should be less than 180 days. Currently about 1000 people are outside of that limit. Also, the wait time to enter a residential home for older people is seeing improvements down to 3 months. Before the pandemic it could be up to 7 months. For a person with a disability, they may have to wait up to 500 days before entering a facility.
With school starting statistics are starting to be released about the makeup of classes. A statistic that was highlighted is the number of foreign students in the education system. The number has increased 15% over the last 5 years. A majority of those students are coming from North Africa, with South America also being a large percentage. Also, the legislation approved changes in the school system which are still working to be finalized. They were hoping to have those finished before this school year; however, it’s now looking like the changes will need to be implemented next year with the delay in government finalization.
Economy:
The Euribor, which is how interest rates are set for mortgages in Spain, has been climbing since the start of 2022. This is affecting people buying houses. The government is looking at alternatives on how to address the problem given the rise in the rates. A rise is also being seen on consumer loans and credit cards given the changes with the Euribor.
The Basque government is attempting to do all it can to help the business sector. They recently passed a 14 million € package to help them during the current economic situation. September also saw inflation fall to 9%, with the main driver of the reduction being reduction in electricity and fuel costs.
The IBEX35 ended last week on a downward trend closing at 7366.80, a 2.86% decrease over the previous week.
Political:
The end of September 2022 marked 40 years since ETA started the process to disband due to the initial violence not having the intended effect. It would take another ~30 years before the organization was fully disbanded. With that they started to shift their strategy.
Last week Pedro Sánchez tested positive for COVID and had to cancel some of his engagements while he recovered. The new leader of the PP was recently interviewed. The interview covered a range of topics: Spain’s financial situation, status of Catalonia, lack of meetings between him and Sánchez since April and the upcoming election. Urkullu’s interactions with Sánchez were recently documented. The most recent request was an email sent on September 21 about the Basque’s desire for self-government, although to date no response has been received.
International:
With Putin having made a military requirement for males to show up for recruitment, the Ukraine SOS in Basque Country received about 50 calls for assistance from Russian’s trying to flee the country. It was also noted that the number of Ukrainians still in Basque Country has reduced as they return home or seek refuge in other parts of Europe. Currently ~900 students have registered and are making plans for education in the Basque system, which is slightly less than last year.
Other international headlines included: Political changes in Italy, Brazilian presidential election results, hurricane Ian’s landfall in Florida and various themes regarding Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Sports:
Real Sociedad played against Sheriff Tiraspol, with the result being a 2-0 victory. With that victory the team is in 7th place overall in LaLiga. The next game is Sunday October 9 against Villareal.
Gipuzkoa Basket had its first game on Friday October 7. The result was a 68-62 win. The next game is on Tuesday October 12 against Castello and will be the home opener to the season.
The Spanish national soccer team has played two games in the UEFA Nations League. The first was a 1-2 loss against Switzerland. Next was a 1-0 win against Portugal. The next game is November 23 against Costa Rica in the World Cup group stage.
Prayer Points and verse for the week:
Prayers points:
- Basque Medical System
- Political Interactions
- Economy
The verse for the week:
No one is holy like the Lord! There is no one besides you; there is no Rock like our God.
1 Samuel 2:2 NLT