Spain

Party opposing bull-fighting expected to win first seats in Spanish Parliament

If the polls and pundits are correct, Spain’s Vox party will achieve its much-prophesied breakthrough in Sunday’s general election, becoming the first far-right grouping to win more than a single…

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A man suspected of being responsible for hoax calls in Madrid’s skyscraper arrested

An unidentified man, who was detained Tuesday in Madrid for causing public disorder, is believed to have called the Australian embassy, located on the 24th floor of the 57-storey Torre Espacio or …

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Female voters could decide Spanish general election result

Euronews reports that according to a poll by the Center for Sociology Studies, 60% of undecided voters for the upcoming Spanish election are women. This means around 4 million women…

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Photostory: The ‘Madruga’ processions in Seville

Detail of the image of the statue known as the Christ of Health during the Gypsies' Brotherhood procession held during the so called 'Madruga' (lit. Small Hours) in Seville, Spain.…

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Photostory: Maundy Thursday in Malaga

Spanish Legionaries carry the statue of Christ of the Good Death in preparation for its procession in Malaga, Spain. Legionaries carry the Christ to its "tronos" or throne before the…

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Roman statue stolen from Italian actor Benigni recovered

Italian police have recovered and an ancient Roman statue stolen from comic Italian actor and director Roberto Benigni. The statue from the second-century was stolen from Benigni's villa in Rome…

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Madrid fake bomb scare triggers evacuation of skyscraper housing British, Australian, Dutch and Canadian embassies

Spanish police said a skyscraper in northern Madrid had been evacuated over a false bomb threat. The 57-story building houses the British, Australian, Dutch and Canadian embassies. DW reports that…

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Spanish transport strikes set to cause chaos for Holy Week

Two aerial transport workers unions have warned they will be striking in Spain this week. The USO and UGT unions went to Spanish airports and asked around 60,000 ground crew…

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Spanish authorities seeking power to view calls made on phones of drivers involved in a crash

Spanish authorities are going be even more vigilant on drivers who use their cellphones at the wheel. El Pais reports that the Spanish Civil Guard, Bartolomé Vargas, a Supreme Court…

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Euthanasia debate flares up in Spain as election campaign kicks off

Hours after the election campaign officially kicked off in Spain, it is being shadowed by the arrest of a 69-year-old Spaniard on homicide charges after he helped his terminally…

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Spain’s general election campaign kicks off

Rallies across Spain have been held to mark the official opening of the country’s general election campaign. Voters will go to the polls in a little over two weeks time…

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Poland’s ‘Most Wanted’ arrested in Spain

Spanish police arrested a man identified only by the initials of M.A.F. and who is believed to be the most-wanted man in Poland. Spanish authorities described the man as a…

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Royal Caribbean cancels three sailings on Oasis of the Seas, as ship suffers damage in dry-docks accident

The cruise ship Oasis of the Seas is headed for a shipyard in Cádiz, Spain for repairs after suffering damage in a drydock accident at Grand Bahama Shipyard. A crane…

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Brexit should serve as a lesson how internal issues in a single party can swell into a global problem – Pedro Sanchez

Spain’s prime minister, Pedro Sánchez said lessons needed to be learned from Brexit – not least how internal differences in a single political party can swell into “a global problem”.…

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Changes in Spanish Mediterranean rescue operations in view of upcoming elections

An overhaul of Spain’s operations in the Mediterranean has sparked fears among activists that Madrid is quietly gutting a civilian search-and-rescue agency credited with saving thousands of lives. The changes…

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Madrid adopts rules to shut down over 10,000 holiday apartments and curtail mass tourism

The Madrid city council approved a plan regulating holiday rentals that will lead to the shutting down over 10,000 apartments currently used for short-term tourist stays and is aimed…

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Mexico’s President says that Spain and Vatican should apologies for 16th century ‘Mexico’s conquest’

Mexican President Manuel Lopez Obrador told the Spanish king and the Vatican that "wounds are still open" from the Spanish conquest of Mexico in 1521. The Spanish government was not…

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Spanish police break up Europe’s largest illegal TV streaming service

Spanish Police launched a major operation against an international criminal organization accused of illegally selling access to pay-TV over the internet. Spanish officials calculate that this was Europe’s largest illegal…

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Barcelona to ban polluting vehicles

Following in the footsteps of Madrid, Barcelona is planning to restrict the access of vehicles that are considered major polluters. The restrictions would come into force from 2020 and prohibit…

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Catalan independence supporters stage rally in Madrid

Tens of thousands of supporters of Catalan independence have rallied in Spain's capital Madrid in protest at an ongoing trial of 12 separatist leaders. The BBC reports that many waved Catalan…

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Carrefour launches ‘Act for food’ campaign in Spain, inviting shoppers to take own plastic containers for food

Grocery shoppers at the more than 1,000 Carrefour supermarkets in Spain can now cut down on their own plastic waste at home. From Thursday March 14, French supermarket giant Carrefour…

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Spain declares war on fake news

The Spanish government has set up a special unit to fight cyber attacks and disinformation campaigns in view of the four elections coming up in April and May -…

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No party expected to win a majority in Spain’s upcoming general election

Spain’s ruling Socialists is expected to win next month's general election but fall well short of a majority Reuters reported that a poll issued Monday indicated that the Socialists…

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Polls in Germany, Austria, Italy, Poland, Spain and France show that Far-Right parties are to double seats in European Parliament

Far-right parties are poised to double their seats in the European Parliament election in May, while mainstream conservative and Social Democratic groups face big losses, a new poll released by…

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Spain introduces new rental law to protect tenants

Five days after being approved by the Spanish Cabinet, a new government decree regulating property rentals in Spain went into effect on Wednesday. The measures introduced by the government of…

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Barcelona effectively knocks Real out of league title race

Barcelona returned to the Santiago Bernabéu three days after knocking Real Madrid out of the Copa del Rey and in effect knocked them out of the league title race too.…

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Spain reports drop in illegal immigration by sea

The New York Times reported that the Spanish Government announced that illegal immigration by sea dropped drastically during the mont of February - from 4,000 in January to 930 in…

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Spanish Government adopts decree to extend paternity leave to 12 weeks

Italian national news agency ANSA reports that the Spanish government adopted a decree to extend paternity leave progressively over the next two years. The measure could prove popular with voters…

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Spanish contingency plan to grant residency to 400,000 Britons if there is a hard Brexit

The English version of the Spanish newspaper El Pais reported that in the eventuality of hard Brexit Spain is planning to grant residency to 400,000 Britons. The Spanish contingency plan…

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British government express anger over EU’s offer to support Spain’s territorial claim on land where Gibraltar airport is built

The British government has expressed anger after the EU offered tentative support for Spain’s territorial claim over the land on which Gibraltar airport is built. Direct flights between the UK and EU…

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Former Spanish PM gives evidence in trial of Catalan separatist leaders

Former Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy has been giving evidence at the trial of 12 Catalan separatist leaders over their involvement in an independence bid in 2017. Rajoy, who was…

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Spain’s tax regime applied in football is not state aid – EU General Court

The EU General Court today ruled that the European Commission was wrong to classify the tax regime that benefited four Spanish football clubs as state aid. In a judgment today…

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Protests in Barcelona against Spain’s king

Hundreds of people took to the streets of Barcelona on Sunday to protest against a visit by Spain’s King Felipe VI to the Catalonia region that made a failed bid…

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Spanish warships ordered British commercial ships to leave waters surrounding Gibraltar

A Spanish warship has ordered commercial vessels to leave British waters, Gibraltar’s government said. The warship’s crew can be heard in an audio recording of a radio exchange on Sunday…

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Supporters of Catalonia’s independence hold rally in Barcelona

Supporters of independence for Spain's Catalonia region held a massive rally in Barcelona on Saturday. The police estimated 200,000 took to the streets of Catalonia's capital but organisers put the…

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Turning Tables – Cartoon

First published in Le Temps, Switzerland, February 13, 2019 | By Chappatte via Politico

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Sanchez announces that Spain will go to vote on April 28

Spain will go to the polls on April 28, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced on Friday. "Spain must keep going forward," the Socialist leader said in a statement, defending the…

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EU Commissioner Vella condemns infringements and malpractices revealed by ‘Operation Tarantelo’

European Commissioner Karmenu Vella in a statement said "We strongly condemn the infringements and malpractices as reported by the Spanish Guardia Civil under ‘Operation Tarantelo’. They are in breach of EU and international rules and…

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Possible elections in Spain as parliament rejects Budget Updated

Spain's parliament on Wednesday rejected the government's 2019 budget proposal in Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez's first major legislative defeat. Citing government and socialist party sources on Tuesday, Reuters reported that…

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Maltese Fisheries director suspended after claims she demanded payment from Spanish tuna kingpin – Police investigating Spanish tuna company operating from Malta (UPDATED)

Update: Malta Police are investigating a Spanish tuna fish company that operates from Malta. The Minister for the Environment said the Police have involved Interpol to receive information from Spain about investigations…

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Spain braces for trial unlike any other as 12 separatist Catalan leaders face charges of rebellion and misuse of public funds

Spain is bracing for a trial unlike any other it has seen in its four decades of democracy. Twelve separatist Catalan leaders are set to appear in Spain's Supreme Court…

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Spanish Prime Minister considering calling early national election

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez is considering calling an early national election for April 14, state-owned news agency EFE reported on Monday citing unnamed government sources. Spain's parliament votes on…

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Spain’s Prime Minister’s plan to ease tensions with Catalan separatists met by demonstrations in Madrid

Tens of thousands gathered in Madrid on Sunday to protest Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez's plan to ease tensions with Catalan separatists, in a demonstration uniting the leaders of conservative and…

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How are European countries preparing for No-Deal Brexit scenarios

Britain is set to depart the European Union on March 29 but with no deal agreed on a post-Brexit relationship, some of the remaining EU27 have published guidelines on the…

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Mourinho exchanges one-year prison term with fine after accepting sentence for tax fraud

Former Real Madrid, Inter and Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has accepted a one-year prison sentence for tax fraud, a Spanish court filing showed on Tuesday, although the Portuguese will…

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Thousands of Spanish senior citizens protest demanding better pensions

Thousands of Spanish senior citizens took to the streets of Madrid on Saturday to demand better public pensions. The protesters said recent increases — which included a 0.25% rise in…

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Catalan politicians and activists transferred to Madrid ahead of trial

Spanish authorities on Friday transferred nine politicians and activists from prisons in Catalonia to Madrid, days ahead of their trial. The trial of 12 former government officials, lawmakers and civil leaders (three of whom…

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Gibraltar’s status pose a new disruption for Brexit

The 300-year Anglo-Spanish dispute over Gibraltar is again threatening to disrupt the Brexit process, as the EU prepares to brand the Rock as “a colony of the British Crown” in…

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Southern EU Countries MED7 meet in Cyprus Summit

Malta's Prime Minister Joseph Muscat is in Cyprus today for the MED7 Southern EU Countries' Summit, where leaders from the host country, France, Italy, Spain, Portugal and Greece have just…

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Funeral of Julen held – Autopsy confirms that boy died on same day of fall

On Sunday the funeral Julen Roselló was held. The first autopsy results on the body of Julen, a two-year-old toddler who fell into a 100-metre deep borehole on January 13,…

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Tributes to Julen on the web as Spain mourns the loss of its son

The huge efforts made by rescue teams turned out to be in vain. Julen Roselló, the two-year-old boy who fell into a borehole in Totalán, Málaga, on Sunday January 13,…

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Britain, Germany, France and Spain tell Maduro to hold elections within eight days or they will join Trump in recognising opponent’s claim to power

Update : Britain is to join the Trump administration in recognising Juan Guaido as the interim president of Venezuela if fresh elections are not announced within the next eight days,…

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Lifeless body of Julen found

The boy, named Julen, disappeared into a narrow well more than 100m (330ft) deep during a family outing on 13 January. Specialist teams worked day and night in a tunnel…

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Operation Saving Julen – Mining Expected to end today as rescuers are half way through the last part of the digging process

Update: The miners are "almost two meters deep (from 3.8m)" , according to Francisco Delgado Bonilla, president of the Provincial Fire Brigade. "The forecast is that the works end today," The miners are…

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Research enters last phase – Only 4m of soil between rescuers and the place where Julen is believed to be

The final stage of a mission to rescue a 2-year-old boy who fell down a well in southern Spain 11 days ago began on Thursday. Miners descended a parallel shaft from…

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Saving Julen – Breakthrough achieved during the night – Operations to continue today – Latest

Nobody expected on Sunday January 13 that the emergency call to 112 requesting a ransom would become such a complicated mission. Ten days after Julen, two years old, fell down a…

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Two-year-old Julen’s Rescue – Complications in excavations lead to delays in operations – Still no sign whether boy is still alive – (Latest)

UPDATE: "Julen is already the son of all," said Garcia Vidal in his most heartfelt statement, surprising in a technician. Like Julian Moreno, responsible for the Firefighters of Malaga, the faith…

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