Spain News

Eight Spanish combatants arrested after returning from Ukraine

Madrid - Police arrested eight Spanish men who returned from fighting alongside pro-Russian forces in eastern Ukraine, in what they said was the first operation of its kind in Europe.

Spain blasts ex-PM meeting with Castro in Cuba

Madrid - Spain's conservative government reacted angrily Thursday to a visit by former Socialist Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero to Cuba and his meeting with Cuban President Raul Castro, calling it disloyal.

Podemos leader challenges Spanish PM to TV debate

Madrid - The leader of new Spanish anti-establishment party Podemos, which is heading opinion polls, on Wednesday attacked conservative Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy's record in office and challenged him to a television debate.

5.2-magnitude quake rocks central Spain

Madrid - A 5.2-magnitude earthquake jolted Madrid and central Spain on Monday, seismologists said, but there were no immediate reports of casualties or damage.

Small publishers flourish in Spain's crisis

Barcelona - Specialising in forgotten literary gems and little-known writers, small independent publishers are flourishing in Spain while the big houses are forced to merge to survive.

Spain drops sex abuse charges against nine priests

Madrid - A Spanish court has dropped charges against nine out of ten Catholic priests accused of sexually abusing an altar boy, court papers showed Monday, in a case in which Pope Francis intervened.

Hundreds protest security law in Spain

Madrid - Hundreds of Spaniards marched in Madrid and similar protests were called in other cities on Saturday against a government plan to toughen penalties for unauthorised demonstrations.

Spain ex-king appeals against paternity suit: source

Madrid - Spain's former king Juan Carlos has lodged an appeal against a paternity suit brought by a woman claiming to be his daughter, a judicial source said on Saturday.

Podemos downplays effect of Greek politics on Spain

Madrid - The leader of Spanish protest party Podemos insisted Friday that any headway its Greek allies Syriza in make in renegotiating that country's huge debts would have a "limited" impact on Spain's elections this year.

Chemical cloud over Spanish town after factory accident

Barcelona - A chemical accident at a factory in Spain on Thursday injured three people and cloaked large swathes of the region in an orange chemical cloud, forcing over 60,000 people to stay indoors before it disappeared.

Spanish protest party Podemos faces first storm

Madrid - Spanish protest party Podemos faced growing attacks Tuesday over alleged financial irregularities by a top leader who advised late Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and other left-wing Latin American governments.

Heavy snow blocks highways and pilgrims in north Spain

Aguilar De Camp - Heavy snowfall in northern Spain has blocked roads and rail services as well as pilgrims attempting to reach the city of Santiago de Compostela.

Spanish parties strike pact against jihadism

Madrid - Spain's leading political parties signed a rare pact on Monday to fight Islamic extremism with new anti-jihadist laws in the wake of last month's deadly attacks in Paris.

Hard-left Podemos rises with stark portrait of divided Spain

Madrid - Less than a week after the victory of its hard-left ally Syriza in Greece, Spain's Podemos party launched an election-heavy year by assembling more than 100,000 supporters for a rally in Madrid.

Tens of thousands march to support Spanish anti-austerity party

Madrid - Tens of thousands of people took to the streets in Madrid on Saturday in support of new anti-austerity party Podemos, a week after Greece elected its hard-left ally Syriza.

Spurred by pope, Spanish Catholic Church confronts sexual abuse

Madrid - Spain's Catholic Church, which has long been accused of silencing cases of priests sexually abusing children, is starting to take a hard line against offenders, spurred by Pope Francis.

French general describes 'horror' of Spain jet crash

Paris - A French general on Thursday described the scene of horror that unravelled in Spain when an F-16 Greek fighter jet experienced a technical failure on take-off and crashed into pilots and mechanics on the ground.

2,200 pillaged artefacts seized in European crackdown

Madrid - Over 2,200 looted artefacts, many from ancient Egypt, were seized as part of a Europe-wide crackdown that also snared 35 suspected traffickers, Europol announced Wednesday.

10 Spain priests charged in child sex abuse case after pope steps in

Madrid - A Spanish judge charged 10 Catholic priests over the alleged sexual abuse of a teenage altar boy, court papers showed Wednesday, in a case in which Pope Francis intervened.

Probe after 11 die in NATO training jet crash in Spain

Madrid - Investigators were probing Tuesday how a fighter jet crashed during elite NATO training exercises at an air force base in Spain, killing 11 military personnel and leaving others with serious burns.

Ten dead, 13 injured in Greek fighter jet crash in Spain

Madrid - A Greek fighter jet crashed Monday on takeoff at a military airbase in Spain housing a NATO training centre for elite pilots, killing at least 10 people and injuring 13, the defence ministry said.

Eyeing elections as growth resumes, Spain PM takes swipe at hard-left

Madrid - Hailing Spain's improving economic health under his conservative government's stewardship, Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy warned austerity-weary voters against the temptation to back popular hard-left Podemos party in elections due this year.

Spain attack victims slam government over ETA releases

Madrid - Hundreds of Spaniards rallied in Madrid on Saturday accusing the government of betraying them by allowing the release of jailed convicts from the armed Basque separatist group ETA.

Spain arrests four suspected jihadists

Madrid - Spanish police on Saturday arrested four suspected Islamist extremists who were prepared to launch attacks in Spain, the government said.

Spain negotiates permanent U.S. Marines Africa force

Madrid - Spain said Friday it was starting negotiations with Washington to host a permanent U.S. Marines intervention force for deployment on missions to Africa.

Spain seizes 11 tonnes of hashish in countrywide raid

Madrid - Spanish police said Friday they had seized 11 tonnes of hashish and detained 55 people across the country as part of an operation targeting a Moroccan drug trafficking ring.Police also seized two million euros ($2.

Spain ex-ruling party bigwig bailed in graft probe

Madrid - An ex-treasurer of Spain's ruling party was released from prison late Thursday after posting bail pending his corruption trial, throwing the spotlight back on a scandal that has embarrassed the government months before a general election.

Spanish parliament passes party corruption bill

Madrid - Spain's lower house of parliament on Wednesday approved a bill aimed at tightening political party accounting rules as part of measures to fight corruption, seen as a key concern among voters.

Belgium seeks two men after anti-terror raid

Madrid - Belgian authorities are hunting for two men on the run after a jihadist cell was broken up in Belgium last week, with the search focusing on Spain and France, a source close to the investigation in Spain said Tuesday.

Guatemalan ex-police chief handed 90 years over embassy raid

Guatemala City - A court in Guatemala sentenced a former police chief to 90 years for an assault on the Spanish embassy in 1980 when a group of protesting Indians, peasants and university students were holed up inside.