The Spanish government will deploy another 5,000 soldiers and 5,000 police officers to assist the flood-wrecked region of Valencia, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said on Saturday, as the death toll from this week’s natural disaster rose to 211 people. Citing it as the worst flood in Spain’s history, Sánchez acknowledged that current efforts were insufficient, … Read more
A sign of regional power The Mossos d’Esquadra (its full, official name is the Policia de la Generalitat de Catalunya) was created in the early 1980s, as part of an arrangement to grant Catalonia greater regional autonomy. Its powers were broadened in the mid-1990s to take on almost all major policing duties in Catalonia except … Read more
Beijing will not make concessions as it negotiates on tariffs on electric vehicle imports with the EU, a social media account associated with the Chinese state broadcaster said. “While China is always willing to seek consensus and resolve issues through communication in the face of friction, this does not mean that China will make concessions … Read more
That has now drawn a furious response from the Hungarian consortium, Ganz-Mávag Europe, which confirmed Friday it would withdraw its bid for Spanish train-maker Talgo — while launching a withering attack and legal threats against the Spanish veto. Ganz-Mávag Europe, which is 55 percent owned by the Hungarian train manufacturing group Magyar Vagon and 45 … Read more
Opposition leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo said Sánchez was responsible for the “unbearable humiliation” of the Puigdemont escape fiasco. Feijóo called on the prime minister to fire his Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska and intelligence chief Margarita Robles. “Faced with this farce, the government cannot continue on vacation laughing at the Spanish people,” Feijóo said. But that’s … Read more
Puigdemont chose to return on the day that the Catalan parliament was voting on Socialist Salvador Illa becoming the region’s new president. “I wanted to be present during the investiture session and be able to exercise my right to speak and vote,” Puigdemont said in a video shared on X on Saturday. The former regional … Read more
Puigdemont’s lawyer, Gonzalo Boye, also spoke to RAC1 on Friday and said that the former regional president had left Spain, but he did not give further details on his whereabouts. Spain’s interior ministry had not replied to a request for comment at the time of publication. Puigdemont, the former Catalan president and figurehead of the … Read more
The former Catalan president announced his intention to return to Barcelona on Wednesday, saying he intended to be back in Barcelona for a vote on Socialist Salvador Illa becoming regional president, which would put an end to 14 years of separatist governments. Puigdemont intends to march to the Catalan parliament accompanied by his supporters. Police … Read more
That is … until now? On Wednesday, he made his big plan to reenter Spain public, saying that he has to be at the vote in parliament. Police have reacted by mobilizing to search the sewers and have even sealed off the Barcelona Zoo from the parliament grounds, which are normally connected. Take our quiz … Read more
Although Illa fell short of a governing majority, last week he secured the support of the Republican Left of Catalonia, a pro-independence party that was once allied with Puigdemont but which broke ties with him due to his constant attacks on their leaders. In exchange for Republican Left votes, Illa has promised to attempt to … Read more
