Tag Archives: Spain

SPAIN: Sedition Trial Begins For Catalonia Separatists

The Associated Press reports: In what is being billed as Spain’s “trial of the century,” a dozen politicians and activists face charges in the Supreme Court over their involvement in Catalonia’s push for independence in 2017. The trial, which started Tuesday, sees those in the dock facing charges including rebellion and sedition. The trial is expected to last at least …

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SPAIN: Right Wingers Rally To Bring Down Socialist PM

The Associated Press reports: Thousands of Spaniards joined a right-wing rally in Madrid on Sunday to demand that Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez step down. Many in the crowd gathered in the capital’s Plaza de Colon, waving Spanish flags. They chanted slogans in favor of the nation’s security forces and for Sanchez to resign. The conservative opposition Popular Party and …

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BRITAIN: Brexit No-Deal Plan Reignites Gibraltar Battle

The Guardian reports: A straightforward change in EU law guaranteeing visa-free travel for Britons in Europe after Brexit has sparked a diplomatic row after Brussels described Gibraltar as “a colony of the British crown” in its no-deal legislation. The footnote containing the contentious description of the Rock was attached to the EU’s regulation on the insistence of Spain, with whom …

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Spain Backs Brexit Deal After Agreement On Gibraltar

The Associated Press report: The European Union moved closer to sealing an agreement on Brexit after Spain said it had reached a deal with Britain over Gibraltar, a key obstacle on the eve of a European Union summit on Sunday. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez announced Saturday that Madrid would support the Brexit divorce deal after the U.K. and the …

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US Projected To Drop To 64th Place In Life Expectancy

Agence France-Presse reports: Life expectancy in 2040 is set to rise at least a little in all nations but the rankings will change dramatically, with Spain taking the top spot while China and the United States trade places, researchers said Wednesday. With a projected average lifespan of nearly 85.8 years, Spain — formerly in 4th place — will dethrone Japan, …

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Trump Told Spain To Build A Wall Across The Sahara: That Border Can’t Be Bigger Than Ours With Mexico

The Guardian reports: Donald Trump suggested the Spanish government tackled the Mediterranean migration crisis by emulating one of his most famous policies and building a wall across the Sahara desert, the country’s foreign minister has revealed. According to Josep Borrell, the US president brushed off the skepticism of Spanish diplomats – who pointed out that the Sahara stretched for 3,000 …

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SPAIN: Fascists Battle Plan To Dig Up Francisco Franco

Courthouse News reports: Spain’s left-wing government is seeking to remove the body of dictator Francisco Franco from a fascist-era monument near Madrid and set up a commission to investigate crimes committed during Spain’s civil war and military dictatorship, a move strongly opposed by retired military officers and others. The moves by Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and his Spanish Socialist Workers’ …

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Trans Woman Crowned Miss Universe Spain 2018

Gay Star News reports: A trans woman was crowned as Miss Universe in Spain yesterday. This is a first for the international beauty pageant. Angela Ponce, 25, will represent Spain in the upcoming Miss Universe pageant scheduled end of the year. The beauty pageant lifted the ban on trans women competing in 2012. Three years later, Donald Trump sold the …

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SPAIN: Socialist Leader Pedro Sanchez Becomes PM After Ousting Of Mariano Rajoy In No Confidence Vote

The vote was very close. The Guardian reports: Mariano Rajoy, once viewed as the great survivor of Spanish politics, has been ousted as prime minister in a vote of no confidence after several former members of his party were convicted of corruption in a case that proved a scandal too far. He will be replaced by Pedro Sánchez, the leader …

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Spanish PM To Be Ousted In “No Confidence” Vote

Politico reports: Mariano Rajoy’s time as Spain’s prime minister appears to be over after the opposition Socialists secured parliamentary backing for ousting the conservative leader. Lawmakers from the Basque Nationalist Party (PNV) announced Thursday that they would back Socialist leader Pedro Sánchez’s motion of no confidence in Rajoy in a vote to be held Friday. With the PNV’s support, and …

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Spanish Police Provide FBI With Wiretaps Of Russian “Godfather” That Met With Junior At NRA Convention

Yahoo News reports: The FBI has obtained secret wiretaps collected by Spanish police of conversations involving Alexander Torshin [photo], a deputy governor of Russia’s Central Bank who has forged close ties with U.S. lawmakers and the National Rifle Association, that led to a meeting with Donald Trump Jr. during the gun lobby’s annual convention in Louisville, Ky., in May 2016, …

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SPAIN: Catalan Police Chief Charged With Sedition For “Criminal” Role In Independence Movement [VIDEO]

The Guardian reports: A former head of the Catalan police force who drew widespread praise for his handling of the Barcelona terror attacks in August last year has been charged with belonging to a criminal organisation for his role in the events leading up to Catalonia’s illegal declaration of independence two months later. Josep Lluís Trapero belonged to a “complex …

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EU Top Court Strikes Regulatory Blow Against Uber

PBS NewsHour reports: Ride-hailing service Uber suffered a new blow Wednesday as the European Union’s top court ruled that it should be regulated like a taxi company and not a technology service, a decision that crimps its activities around Europe and could weigh on other app-based companies, too. Uber, which is wrapping up a particularly punishing year, sought to play …

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SPAIN: Multiple Injuries In Dance Floor Collapse At Popular Canary Islands Gay Nightclub [VIDEO]

The Daily Mail reports: Two British men are among at least 22 people who were injured when a nightclub dancefloor collapsed in Tenerife. Revellers in the Playa de las Americas area plunged 10ft into the basement of the popular gay bar Butterfly Disco Pub when the dance floor collapsed. All of the victims, who are aged between 20 and 60, …

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SPAIN: 750,000 Rally In Barcelona, Demand Release Of Separatist Leaders Held For Sedition [VIDEO]

The Independent reports: Hundreds of thousands of Catalan independence supporters clogged central Barcelona on Saturday to demand the release of separatist leaders held in prison for their roles in the region’s banned independence drive. Wearing yellow ribbons on their lapels to signify support, they filled the length of the Avenue Marina that runs from the beach to Barcelona’s iconic Sagrada …

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Good Morning From The Canary Islands

Yup. I’m presently in Maspalomas, Gran Canaria, Spain thanks to my longtime buddy Aaron, who surprised me a few weeks ago with a gift trip to accompany him before his vacation days from the company he calls “the algorithm” evaporate at the end of the year. I told Aaron that the Canary Islands were not remotely on my list of …

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SPAIN: Madrid Arrests Eight Top Catalan Officials For Sedition, Issues Warrants For President And Others

The BBC reports: Eight sacked Catalan ministers have been remanded in custody by a Spanish high court judge over the region’s push for independence. Prosecutors had asked the judge to detain eight of the nine former government members who turned up for questioning in Madrid. They are accused of rebellion, sedition and misuse of public funds. The state prosecutor has …

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Spain Charges Catalonia Leaders With Rebellion

The New York Times reports: The Spanish attorney general said on Monday that Carles Puigdemont, the former Catalan leader, and other top regional officials would be prosecuted for rebellion after illegally declaring independence from Spain. The attorney general, José Manuel Maza, stopped short of ordering the immediate arrest of Mr. Puigdemont and other separatist leaders in Catalonia, instead ordering them …

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Spain Sacks Catalonia Government, Assumes Control

The Guardian reports: Madrid has taken direct control of Catalonia for the first time in nearly four decades, firing the regional government and dismissing the head of the local police force, after the Catalan parliament made a unilateral declaration of independence. Carles Puigdemont and his cabinet were formally removed from their posts, and their powers and responsibilities taken over by …

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BREAKING: Catalonia Declares Independence

The New York Times reports: In a major escalation of Spain’s territorial conflict, Catalan lawmakers declared independence on Friday, setting up a showdown with the central government in coming days. Undeterred by the government’s threat to seize control of Catalonia, separatists in the region’s Parliament passed a resolution to “create a Catalan republic as an independent state.” In protest, lawmakers …

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