A huge crowd of protesters has assembled in Madrid, decrying government plans to pardon jailed Catalan leaders behind the failed 2017 independence bid, and demanding the resignation of the country’s PM over the move. Some 25,000 people gathered in central Madrid on Sunday, according to estimates by Spain’s National Police. …
Read More »Spain squad in isolation after captain Busquets tests positive for Covid-19
Sergio Busquets has left Spain’s pre-Euro 2020 training camp after testing positive for Covid-19, the country’s football federation (RFEF) announced on Sunday. In a statement, the RFEF said Spain captain Busquets, 32, tested positive earlier on Sunday, with the rest of the squad all testing negative. The RFEF added that …
Read More »Western Sahara independence leader returns to Algeria amid Spain-Morocco row
The leader of the Western Sahara independence movement, Brahim Ghali, returned to Algeria on Wednesday after spending more than a month in hospital in Spain – a stay which triggered a diplomatic row between Spain and Morocco. “He arrived safe and sound,” said Jalil Mohamed, the Polisario Front’s spokesman in …
Read More »Spanish court rejects custody for Western Sahara independence leader
Spain’s High Court on Tuesday turned down a request for Western Sahara independence leader Brahim Ghali to be taken into custody, saying the plaintiffs in a war crimes case against him had failed to provide evidence he had committed any crime. Ghali’s presence in Spain has infuriated Morocco, which says …
Read More »Carlo Ancelotti returns to Real Madrid for a second spell as coach
Carlo Ancelotti will return to Real Madrid as a coach for the next three seasons, the Spanish club said Tuesday following last week’s resignation of Zinedine Zidane. The 61-year-old Italian, who won the Champions League for Real Madrid during his first spell at the club between 2013 and 2015, will …
Read More »Morocco, Spain trade accusations over Western Sahara
Tensions between Morocco and Spain have escalated, with each side accusing the other of violating good ‘neighborliness’ in a dispute triggered by the Western Sahara territorial issue. Last month, the Spanish North African enclave of Ceuta saw an unprecedented influx of migrants crossing from Morocco. That was seen as retaliation …
Read More »Morocco’s action in migrant crisis was unacceptable: Spanish PM
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez described Morocco’s actions during a crisis two weeks ago when thousands of would-be migrants crossed into Spain’s north African enclave of Ceuta as unacceptable and an assault on national borders. Asked at a news conference on Monday about comments by the Moroccan foreign minister, who …
Read More »Spain to welcome back international cruises from June 7
Spain will allow cruise ships to dock in its ports from June 7, the transport ministry said on Saturday, hoping to salvage the country’s battered tourism sector in time for the summer season. Spain’s maritime authorities approved the reopening because of falling COVID-19 incidence rates and an increase in vaccinations, …
Read More »Delay in Negotiations on Gibraltar’s Post-Brexit Future Causes Concern Among Locals
The issue has been described as one of the loose ends of the Brexit deal. Being a British overseas territory, Gibraltar shares a border with Spain, an EU and Schengen area member. To avoid a hard border, London and Madrid struck a deal in December that, among other things, stipulates …
Read More »Morocco failed to control its borders, says Spanish PM
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez accused Morocco of failing to protect its borders on Tuesday after thousands of migrants crossed into the North African enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla last week. “The neighbour (Morocco) needs to control its borders as well, and this did not happen,” Sanchez added. “We’re talking …
Read More »Captain Sergio Ramos left out of Spain’s Euro 2020 squad
The Real Madrid center back won the last of his 180 caps in March this year but has endured an injury-plagued season. Spain football captain Sergio Ramos has been left out of the squad for Euro 2020 which will take place in June and July after being postponed due to …
Read More »Atletico Madrid win La Liga in dramatic final day of the season
Atletico Madrid has been crowned La Liga champions after the title race went down to the wire. Atletico Madrid has won La Liga after a nail-biting finish to the season after a tense battle with Real Madrid on the final day of the campaign. Diego Simeone’s side went into their …
Read More »Morocco urges Spain to open investigation into Polisario chief
Morocco on Saturday urged Spain to open an investigation into the circumstances of a Western Sahara independence leader’s arrival in the country for medical treatment and explain its findings to Rabat. Madrid should explain “the conditions, circumstances, and connivances that led to the fraudulent entry of this person using false …
Read More »Spain says over 6,500 migrants from wave of arrivals in Ceuta sent back to Morocco
More than 6,500 migrants out of the approximately 8,000 who had entered Spain’s North African enclave of Ceuta earlier this week have been sent back to Morocco, Spanish Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska said on Friday. Marlaska told the Radio COPE the situation was now “normal” compared with the previous days …
Read More »Spain deploys army in Ceuta after 6,000 migrants arrive by Sea
The Spanish government has deployed troops to Ceuta to patrol the border with Morocco after thousands of migrants swam into the north African enclave, a source from the Interior Ministry said on Tuesday. Soldiers will patrol the border along with Spanish police. “This starts immediately,” the source said, without specifying …
Read More »Over 80 migrants swim from Morocco to Spain’s Ceuta enclave
More than 80 migrants swam to the Spanish enclave of Ceuta from neighboring Morocco on Monday, Spanish police said. The migrants, including some minors, set off in the early hours of Monday from beaches a few kilometers south of Ceuta and were detained when they entered the Spanish territory, a …
Read More »Barcelona’s Picasso Museum celebrates 50th anniversary of painter’s donation
“It’s been 50 years since he gifted all the artworks that had remained in the house where his sister and mother lived on Passeig de Gracia in Barcelona: more than 1,400 pieces. It was a gesture of huge generosity towards the city he loved. This museum is one of Picasso’s …
Read More »Spain plans to allow Britons to enter without PCR test from May 20
Spain plans to lift its requirement for Britons to present a negative coronavirus PCR test upon arrival from May 20, provided that the infection rate in Britain keeps declining, the Spanish tourism minister said on Tuesday. “It will allow the opening of the British market so they can come to …
Read More »Hundreds party in Spain as coronavirus curfew ends in most of the country
Hundreds of people were seen partying in several cities across Spain in the early hours of Sunday, as the country ended its 11 p.m. curfew, which was lifted in 13 of the country’s 17 regions at midnight. The footage was shared of people taking to the beaches of Barcelona and …
Read More »Former Spanish King Juan Carlos has gone into exile in UAE
Spain’s former King Juan Carlos, who went into exile this month in the face of graft allegations, is in the United Arab Emirates, the royal palace said Monday, ending the mystery over his whereabouts. The 82-year-old, who has long had warm relations with the Gulf monarchies, “traveled to the United …
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