Spanish protest as fuel prices soar

Thousands of farmers and taxi and truck drivers have been demonstrating in the Spanish capital, Madrid, in protest at rising fuel prices.

They have demanded that the government reduce fuel taxes, as well as take action to weaken the position of major retailers who control the country's fuel market.

Fuel prices are estimated to have risen by eighty-seven per cent in the past eighteen months, and some petrol stations have threatened to close on one day each month in protest at the price rises.

At the same time, the Spanish national airline ,Iberia, has warned it will have to increase air fares unless fuel prices drop.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service