Javier Espinosa and Ricardo García Vilanova released but Islamist extremists still hold over 40 other western hostages Two Spanish journalists kidnapped in northern Syria last September were freed by their captors on Saturday night, ending a six-month ordeal in the hands of an extremist Islamist group that continues to hold more than 40 other western hostages. Javier Espinosa, a veteran correspondent...
Canary Islands emergency services set off flood of news alerts when they tweeted that a plane had ditched into sea Emergency services in Spain sparked a false alarm when they reported that a plane had crashed into the Atlantic. It was in fact a boat. The announcement by the Canary Islands emergency services set off a flood of breaking news alerts of a possible disaster by Spanish and international...
Survey shows increase in the number of new poor in seven countries and challenges the official European Union discourse Far from being over Europe's economic crisis is getting worse with disturbing levels of poverty and deprivation being noted among children and youth, says a report compiled by the Catholic charity Caritas. The survey, conducted over the course of the past year, not only challenges...
Strike by 250 actors over rates for dubbing work has already delayed episodes of Grey's Anatomy and The Big Bang Theory The latest episodes of The Big Bang Theory, Modern Family and Grey's Anatomy are piling up in Spanish TV studios, as a strike by voiceover actors enters its third week. Most foreign films and shows are dubbed on Spanish television, and the strike by 250 actors has delayed the broadcast...
Major offshore oil discoveries and prospects for shale gas extraction are generating excitement and resistance Spain is already the world's largest olive oil producer but now it's looking to a very different kind of oil to pull it out of economic decline: petroleum. The discovery of two significant offshore deposits, and prospects for fracking in many areas, have triggered a black-gold rush, with demand...
Paul Taylor arrested by Spanish police in connection with armed raid last year in which two prisoners escaped A man who allegedly helped break two prisoners out of a custody van in an armed raid in Salford has been arrested on the terrace of a cafeteria in Benidorm. Paul Taylor, 24, was arrested by Spanish police in connection with the audacious breakout in Greater Manchester in April last year. During...
Online startups staffed by mix of veteran and young journalists challenge old guard amid row over media impartiality To lose one top editor at a major Spanish newspaper may be regarded as a misfortune. To lose two looks like carelessness. But when Spain's three leading dailies each replace their editors in as many months, it's clear that something is afoot. Many explain the changes in leadership at...
Recent ratings show that nearly 600,000 Spanish children aged four to 12 are still watching TV after 10pm on weeknights Spanish television networks are keeping children up past their bedtime by regularly airing their favourite shows late into the night, according to the association that represents television viewers in Spain. Incensed by the 10pm start times of children's TV shows such as La Voz Kids...
PM and other political leaders join King Juan Carlos as body lies in state at parliament building in Madrid King Juan Carlos joined politicians in parliament on Monday to pay their last respects to Adolfo Suárez, the country's first democratically elected prime minister following decades of right-wing rule under General Francisco Franco. Prime minister Mariano Rajoy and other political leaders stood...
Priest who abused seven children, including altar boys, over 34-year period had pleaded guilty to 21 charges A paedophile priest who abused seven children, including altar boys, over a 34-year period has been jailed for 15 years. "Predatory" Francis Paul Cullen, 85, pleaded guilty to 21 charges of indecent assault and other sexual offences last month after being extradited to the UK last year following...
Spain's first elected prime minister after Franco, he ensured the country's transition to a new, democratic constitution When the Spanish dictator Francisco Franco died on 20 November 1975, no commentator predicted the central role that would be played in the country's political development by Adolfo Suárez González, a young bureaucrat of the country's single party, the Falange, or Movimiento. Many...
Tens of thousands 'marching for dignity' in Madrid against Mariano Rajoy's tax increases and budget cuts Spanish police and protesters have clashed during an anti-austerity demonstration that drew tens of thousands of people to central Madrid. Police said in a statement that six officers were injured and 12 people were arrested. As a final speech was being given, protesters attempted to break through...
Jeremy Treglown has written an elegant but deeply flawed book about the fraught battles over Spain's dark past The Franco's crypt of Jeremy Treglown's title is Spain's Valley of the Fallen : a huge basilica-mausoleum, topped by a gigantic cross, which rises out of the mountain range outside Madrid. It was built by forced labour on the dictator's orders, to commemorate his Hitler and Mussolini-backed...
In this week's podcast we look at the latest in crime fiction, and ask why – despite being one of the most popular genres all over the world – it is still not taken seriously as literature. Tom Rob Smith was the first crime writer to make it on to the Booker longlist, with his 2007 novel Child 44. He talks about his latest novel, The Farm, set in what is currently the genre's most popular destination:...
Spanish wine industry tops world rankings as production surges 41% to beat French and Italian competitors A soggy spring and sunny summer made Spain the world's top wine producer in 2013, according to figures from the country's agriculture ministry. Official ranking from the International Organisation of Vine and Wine will not be released until May, but the Spanish ministry said that wine production...
Time-consuming reassessment of property portfolios will help gauge the banking sector's financial strength following recession Spanish banks, slowly emerging from a 2008 property crash, will have to revalue thousands of homes and commercial buildings to meet the demands of European Union regulators who are assessing the sector's financial strength, according to sources. Banks had been resisting fresh...
Nearly 300 people arrested and at least 28 injured after hundreds of migrants climb over fences at border with Morocco About 500 people forced their way into Spain's north African enclave of Melilla on Tuesday, Spanish officials said, the largest number to storm the border in almost a decade as increasing naval patrols discourage entry by sea. Spain has two enclaves in Morocco, Ceuta and Melilla,...
Report says wealthiest Spanish barely touched by crisis, but child poverty has risen three percentage points to 21% Spain's poorest have been hit harder than any other group in any OECD country in the years of financial crisis and downturn, according to the OECD. While the wealthiest 10% of Spaniards saw their income fall by barely 1% between 2007 and 2010, for the poorest 10% the fall has been 14%....
City speculation suggests BT Group, BSkyB or TalkTalk could be UK mobile group's next target Vodafone has sparked speculation that it might be on the verge of a big UK acquisition after confirming it has used £6bn of its cash warchest to buy Ono, Spain's largest cable operator. The UK mobile group said it had spent some of the $130bn (£78bn) it made from selling its US arm last year to buy the private...
Firm's latest swoop comes as it looks to spend some of the proceeds from $130bn (£78bn) sale of its stake in US mobile phone operator Verizon Wireless Mobile phone giant Vodafone stepped up its expansion in Europe on Monday by unveiling a £6bn deal to buy Spanish cable operator Ono. The acquisition of Ono, which offers high-speed broadband and pay TV to 1.9 million customers in 13 regions of Spain,...