Showing posts with label Spain. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Spain. Show all posts

Friday, February 23, 2024

Fire in High-Rise Apartment Complex Kills at Least 4 in Valencia, Spain

THE NEW YORK TIMES: The leader of the regional government declared a three-day mourning period.

A day after a fire roared through a high-rise residential complex in the Spanish city of Valencia, killing at least four people and leaving at least 14 missing, there were fears on Friday that those numbers could rise, because high temperatures inside the charred structure have prevented emergency workers from searching inside. » | Rachel Chaundler, Reporting from Zaragoza, Spain | Friday, February 23, 2024

Friday, February 02, 2024

Spanish TV Show Reports False Claims about Princess of Wales' Health

Feb 2, 2024 | "The palace spokesperson that I spoke to was rather cross". A journalist on a TV programme in Spain has made "extraordinary claims" about the health of the Princess of Wales which Kensington Palace was "keen to refute" says reporter in Madrid for The Times, Simon Hunter.

Saturday, November 25, 2023

Spanish and Belgian Prime Ministers Call for Permanent Ceasefire in Gaza at Rafah Crossing

Nov 24, 2023 | Spain and Belgium's prime ministers called for a 'permanent ceasefire' on Friday at the Rafah border crossing, welcoming a four-day truce that paused fighting between Israel and Hamas. 'It is absolutely necessary to establish a lasting humanitarian ceasefire to reverse the catastrophic situation that the people of the [Gaza] Strip are going through,' said Spain’s prime minister, Pedro Sánchez. Alexander De Croo, Belgium's prime minister, echoed Sánchez, saying: 'The destruction of Gaza is unacceptable. We cannot accept that a society is being destroyed the way it is being destroyed'

Thursday, November 23, 2023

Number of Palestinians Killed Is ‘Truly Unbearable’, Says Spanish PM

THE GUARDIAN: Pedro Sánchez says all civilians must be protected in Israel-Hamas war and reiterates call for two-state solution

Spain’s prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, has urged Israel to rethink its offensive in Gaza, telling its president and prime minister the number of dead Palestinians is “truly unbearable”, and that the response to Hamas’s terrorist attacks last month cannot include “the deaths of innocent civilians, including thousands of children”.

Sánchez’s blunt pleas came during a visit to the Middle East with the Belgian prime minister, Alexander de Croo, during which he called for a peace conference and reiterated that the creation of a Palestinian state remained the best way to bring peace and security to the region.

Israel says 1,200 people were killed and 239 taken hostage when Hamas fighters crossed the border from Gaza on 7 October. According to the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza, more than 14,100 people have been killed in Israel’s retaliatory strikes. (With video) » | Sam Jones | Thursday, November 23, 2023

Saturday, November 04, 2023

Storm Domingos to Slam Western Europe on the Heels of Deadly Ciarán

THE WASHINGTON POST: The powerful storm is expected to hit western France and northern Spain hardest just days after Ciarán blasted the region

Storm Ciarán proved to be the worst since 1987 for parts of western Europe, with its 120 mph gusts, tennis ball-sized hail, towering waves and heavy rains. The storm killed at least 12 people, according to the Associated Press, and caused widespread damage, knocking out power to 1.2 million residents in France and disrupting hundreds of flights.

Now, a new storm — named Domingos by Spain’s meteorological agency — is on the way, and could exacerbate ongoing efforts to clean up from its predecessor.

The worst of Domingos is expected to hit northern Spain and western France along the Bay of Biscay, where gusts in excess of 60 mph are possible in addition to heavy rain.

To the north, yellow warnings for rain have been drawn across southern England by the U.K. Met Office. » | Matthew Capucci | Friday, November 3, 2023

Tempête Domingos : de « violentes rafales de vent » attendues sur la façade atlantique ; onze départements en vigilance orange samedi soir : Deux jours après le passage de la tempête Ciaran, la tempête Domingos menace plusieurs départements. Elle se trouvait samedi matin au large de l’Irlande. »

ARTICLE ASSOCIÉ :

Tempête Ciaran : 260 000 foyers sont toujours privés d’électricité : La Bretagne (200 000 foyers) et la Normandie (51 000) sont particulièrement touchées. »

Saturday, October 07, 2023

Former Spanish King Wins Bid to Throw Out Ex-lover’s Lawsuit in English Court

GUARDIAN EUROPE: Judge rules £126m harassment case brought by Corinna zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn outside court’s jurisdiction

Corinna Zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn was attempting to sue Juan Carlos, the former Spanish king, accusing him of harassment. Photograph: Neil Hall/EPA

A £126m lawsuit brought against the former king of Spain by his ex-lover cannot go to trial in England, a judge has ruled.

Corinna zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn, a Danish businesswoman with homes in England, was attempting to sue Juan Carlos, who abdicated in 2014, in the high court of England and Wales. On Friday, the judge, Mrs Justice Rowena Collins Rice, said the case was outside the court’s jurisdiction.

Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn claims she suffered intrusive, intimidatory and adverse episodes since their relationship came to public attention in 2012 in the aftermath of an elephant-hunting trip to Botswana.

She alleged that this included ordering the then head of Spain’s national intelligence agency to harass and threaten her. Documents submitted to an earlier hearing alleged that a book about the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, was left in her home as a warning. Juan Carlos denied the claims made against him and had sought to have them struck out. » | Haroon Siddique, Legal affairs correspondent, and Sam Jones in Madrid | Friday, October 6, 2023

Un article connexe ici.

Monday, September 04, 2023

Heavy Rain Hits Spain after Weeks of Drought

Sep 4, 2023 | Forecasts of heavy rain in central Spain have led authorities to shut down train lines, cancel a Spanish league soccer game and order citizens to stay indoors.

Friday, September 01, 2023

Jamón Ibérico - How the Most Expensive Ham in the World Is Made | Food Secrets | DW Food

Jan 9, 2021 | Did you know that a single leg of ham can cost up to $13,000? That’s the world record for the highest price ever paid for one Jamón Ibérico. Iberian ham is one of the most expensive meats in the world. On average, one ham of the highest quality costs around $500,00. It takes three to 14 years for the ham to mature perfectly. But the taste is worth the effort put into it: It’s said that one leg alone of the Spanish delicacy has seven different flavors.

Thursday, August 31, 2023

Omar of the Orient: The Secret Muslim History of Spanish Culture

Sep 1, 2023 | Islam was a social and political force in Spain for over 800 years; 3 times the entire history of the United States; and yet, the impact the Muslims had on Spain and modern Spanish culture is rarely ever acknowledged.

In this episode, Omar tells us the story of how Islam entered Spain, how the Muslims of that time still have influence on modern Spanish Culture and some possible reasons why Spain's Muslim past is rarely discussed today.


Thursday, August 10, 2023

Why This Year’s Extreme Weather Conditions Have Scientists In Shock | DW News

Aug 9, 2023 | Hundreds of firefighters worked to put out a wildfire in southern Portugal on Tuesday, with 1,400 people evacuated since the start of the blaze. The fire has destroyed around 6,700 hectares of land. A total of 19 villages, four tourist accommodations and a camping site have been evacuated as a precaution. From north to south, Europe is again battling extreme weather events, with floods in Slovenia, a heat wave in Spain and landslides in Norway.

Tuesday, July 25, 2023

What the Collapse of Spain’s Far Right Means Going Forward

THE NEW YORK TIMES: About the only thing clear from Spain’s muddled election results was that Spaniards were turning away from the political extremes.

Supporters of the Spanish far-right Vox party gather outside the party headquarters in Madrid after Spain’s general election on Sunday. | Thomas Coex/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Europe’s liberal and moderate establishment breathed easier on Monday after Spain’s nationalist Vox party faltered in Sunday’s elections, stalling for now a surge from far-right parties around the continent that seemed on the brink of washing over even the progressive bastion of Spain.

“A relief for Europe,” read a front-page headline in the liberal La Repubblica in Italy, where the hard-right leader Giorgia Meloni became prime minister last year and predicted “the hour of the patriots has arrived” in a video message to her Vox allies this month.

But instead of Vox becoming the first hard-right party to enter government in Spain since the end of the Franco dictatorship nearly 50 years ago, as many polls had predicted, it sank. The party’s poor returns at the polls also took down the underperforming center-right conservatives who had depended on Vox’s support to form a government.

As a result, no single party or coalition immediately gained enough parliamentary seats to govern, thrusting Spain into a familiar political muddle and giving new life to Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, who only days ago seemed moribund. Suddenly, Mr. Sánchez appeared best positioned to cobble together another progressive government in the coming weeks to avoid new elections. » | Jason Horowitz, Reporting from Madrid and Barcelona | Monday, July 24, 2023

Leer en español.

Monday, July 24, 2023

Spain Election: Conservatives Fall Short of All-out Victory in Polls - BBC News

Jul 24, 2023 | Spain's opposition conservative party leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo has claimed victory in a snap election, but without the result he needed. Even with the support of the far right, his Popular Party has fallen short of a majority in parliament. The cheers at the rival Socialist camp were just as loud as Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez declared: "The reactionary bloc has failed." While both can claim success, Spain is left with an inconclusive result.


Related articles here.

Sunday, July 23, 2023

Spain’s Rightwing Parties Fail to Gain Expected Poll Lead in Election

THE GUARDIAN: Opposition rightwing PP has the most votes with 90% counted but coalition with Vox on course to fall short of outright majority

Spain’s opposition conservative party is poised for the narrowest of victories over the ruling socialists but looks unlikely to secure a rightwing majority following a snap general election that had raised fears of the far right entering government for the first time since the country returned to democracy after General Franco’s death five decades ago.

Although the polls had consistently predicted that the opposition conservative People’s party (PP) would cruise past the Spanish Socialist Workers party (PSOE) to secure an emphatic victory in Sunday’s election, early results suggested the race was going to be much tighter. » | Sam Jones in Madrid | Sunday, July 23, 2023

Spain elections: hung parliament after conservatives fail to secure expected majority: Conservative People’s party and prime minister Pedro Sánchez’s Socialists both declare victory, with weeks of negotiations likely ahead »

Spain Votes on Sunday: Here’s What to Know

THE NEW YORK TIMES: The national elections could see a far-right party enter the Spanish government for the first time since the 1970s.

This past week in Barcelona, the capital of Spain’s Catalonia region, which has seen a prolonged secessionist conflict. | Maria Contreras Coll for The New York Times

Spaniards will go to the polls on Sunday to vote in an early general election that could see the right return to power and, more crucially, the far right enter the national government for the first time since the Franco dictatorship, nearly a half-century ago.

The outcome will determine whether Spain — a nation of about 48 million people and the European Union’s fourth-largest economy — follows a growing trend in Europe, where hard-right parties are surging in popularity and, in some cases, gaining power by entering governments as junior partners.

How did we get here?

Spain has succeeded in stabilizing its economy and politics after years of upheavals marked by a devastating financial crisis, a prolonged secessionist conflict in Catalonia and repeated failures to form a government.

Pedro Sánchez, the current prime minister, has been in power for five years. He leads a fragile coalition government made up of various left-wing parties, including his own, the Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party.

Still, under Mr. Sánchez’s leadership, Spain has enjoyed a period of strong economic growth and low inflation. He is also popular in the European Union for his progressive and pro-Europe policies. » | Constant Méheut | Sunday, July 23, 2023

Wednesday, July 19, 2023

Facing a Future of Drought, Spain Turns to Medieval Solutions and ‘Ancient Wisdom’

THE NEW YORK TIMES: Acequias, a network of water channels created by the Moors over 1,000 years ago, are being excavated and brought back to life to adapt to the crises of climate change.

High in Spain’s southern mountains, 40 or so people armed with pitchforks and spades cleared stones and piles of grass from an earthwork channel built centuries ago and still keeping the slopes green.

“It’s a matter of life,” said Antonio Jesús Rodríguez García, a farmer from the nearby village of Pitres, population 400. “Without this water, the farmers can’t grow anything, the village can’t survive.”

The extreme heat sweeping across much of southern Europe this week is just the latest reminder of the challenges that climate change has foisted on Spain, where temperatures reached 109 degrees Fahrenheit on Tuesday, putting half of the territory on orange and red weather alert. Such heat and extended droughts have presented the threat that three-quarters of the country could be engulfed by creeping deserts over this century.

Faced with that reality, Spanish farmers, volunteers and researchers have reached deep into history for solutions, turning to a sprawling network of irrigation canals built by the Moors, the Muslim population that conquered and settled in the Iberian Peninsula in the Middle Ages. » | Constant Méheut* | Wednesday, July 19, 2023

* Constant Méheut spent two days reporting from the villages of Pitres and Cañar, in the Alpujarra mountains, in southern Spain.

Monday, July 03, 2023

Isabella of Castile: Reconquista - Full History (All Parts)

Jun 2, 2023 | Isabella of Castile was born into a position of obscurity and was likely to have ended up as nothing more than a footnote in history. Yet, her impressive life showed the power of perseverance. She ascended to become a Queen, restored the wealth and prestige of her country, kept her rivals at bay, and did what all the priors kings of Castile could not - she ended the Reconquista and drove Islam from Iberia.

Friday, June 23, 2023

Naps Are Healthy, Scientists Say – So Why Has Spain Given Up on the Siesta?

THE GUARDIAN: As study shows a daytime doze may help brain’s health, for Spaniards the idea is outdated and cliched

Far from being an indolent slumber, the siesta of old was a much-needed escape from agricultural work in the punishing heat of the summer afternoon. Photograph: Gareth Kirkland/Alamy

News of a study showing that a short nap during the day may help to protect the brain’s health as it ages has resulted once again in frequent deployment of what is, for Spaniards, the dreaded S-word.

Although all the recent talk of siestas may call to mind restful visions of daytime dozes, the very notion of a long daily nap in most of 21st-century Spain is as outdated as it is cliched and irksome. In fact – barring anglosajón attempts to add chorizo to paella – there are few surer ways to annoy a Spaniard than to suggest the entire nation crawls into bed every day for a three-hour kip.

Far from being an indolent slumber, the siesta of old was a much-needed escape from agricultural work in the punishing heat of the summer afternoon. But as time moved on, Spain’s economy diversified and more and more people left rural areas for big cities, the practice began to fade out. » | Sam Jones in Madrid | Friday, June 23, 2023

Tuesday, May 23, 2023

Juan Carlos: The Rise & Fall of Spain's Scandalous King | From Francoism to Democracy | Real Royalty

Feb 8, 2023 | In this exclusive documentary, Juan Carlos de Bourbon, for decades one of the most popular and powerful monarchs of Europe, reflects on his life. Born to a royal family in exile, following the proclamation of the second Spanish Republic, his childhood was shrouded in uncertainty. He was educated under the benevolent tutelage of Franco, who selected him to be head of state, bypassing his own father. It was expected he would continue Franco’s own authoritarian regime. Instead, he introduced reforms that began the transition to democracy. In 1981, he played a pivotal role in ending a coup and is seen as one of the founders of Spanish democracy.

But his life has also been controversial. He was implicated in the tragic death of his younger brother, killed in a shooting accident and in recent years, the Spanish royal family has been beset by scandals. What does he think about these events?


Saturday, May 20, 2023

The Alhambra Explained

Premiered Oct 13, 2022 | Explore with me the medieval citadel of the Alhambra in Granada, Spain, and its precious Nasrid Palaces seen from an architectural point of view. I'll point out all the details you need to know to understand the Architecture of Islam.


WIKIPEDIA: Alhambra.