Spanish hauliers on fuel strike
 The strike action follows similar protests by French hauliers last week
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Tens of thousands of Spanish lorry drivers have begun an indefinitestrike against the soaring price of diesel, which has risen by 20% thisyear.
Some 90,000 hauliers stopped work at midnight on Sunday (2200 GMT) andare expected to stage blockades and demonstrations in coming days.
Reports suggest traffic between Spain and France has been disrupted.
The Spanish government says it is preparing a package of measures to assist the transport sector.
These measures include emergency loans, more flexible contractsand cash payments to older lorry drivers who are willing to retire.
Wide support
Most of the hauliers are self-employed, or working for small andmedium-sized haulage companies, and they have warned that supermarketswill run out of goods within days.
They are receiving strike support from counterparts insouth-eastern France, who had threatened to disrupt the flow of trafficalong one of the main border routes into Spain.
A police spokesman in the province of Gerona told Spanish news agency Efe that cross border traffic is completely blocked.
The drivers want the Spanish government to establish, by law, aminimum price for their services, and to ensure that haulage contractsbetter reflect the fluctuating cost of fuel.
Their strike follows action by hauliers in France and other European countries.
They are following the lead of Spanish fishermen, many of whom are already on strike because of soaring fuel costs.
Fishermen in the northern regions of Galicia and Cantabria are expected to join the strike on Monday.
