Spain’s traditional Christmas lottery draw has kicked off. A live audience has been authorised once more to attend the draw at the Royal Opera House in Madrid, after a one-year impasse due to the strict anti-COVID measures last year. The traditional Spanish Christmas Lottery ‘El Gordo’ (The Fat One) will see a total of 2.38 […]
Posts Tagged ‘madrid’
Lights festival in Madrid celebrates UNESCO recognition


Spain’s capital Madrid was lit up for LuzMadrid, part of the International Festival of Light. The city’s most famous sites were transformed by light-related art installations. It celebrates UNESCO’s decision to declare the city’s 16th-century El Retiro Park a World Heritage Site and features more than twenty innovative works by national and international artists. Source
76,000-Year-Old Neanderthal Hunting Camp Discovered In Madrid


A 76,000-year-old hunter’s camp has been discovered and examined beneath the Spanish capital of Madrid. Here, in blood-soaked times of glory when the hunting was good, Neanderthals butchered and prepared large bovids and deer for returning to their hungry families in distant caves. European Neanderthal History Deepens Earlier this month researchers from the Barcelona University […]
Madrid heatwave reaches over 40º


Madrid seared in temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) as the Spanish capital felt the dangerous heatwave affecting Southern Europe. Spain’s state meteorological agency forecast the hot conditions to stay through and said areas in the south could reach 47 Celsius (116.60 F). That would break a national record of 46.9 C (116.4 F), […]
EU has just paid lip service to JCPOA, says Iranian envoy to Madrid


TEHRAN – Iran’s ambassador to Spain has said although the European Union has always been supporting the 2015 nuclear deal it has done nothing tangible in the face of repressive U.S. sanctions, IRNA reported on Sunday. In line with his “maximum pressure” campaign against Iran, former President Donald Trump withdrew the U.S. from the nuclear […]
Row between Madrid and Rabat heats up over Western Sahara rebel leader


The leader of Western Sahara’s independence movement, whose presence in Spain has angered the Moroccan government, will appear via video link before a Spanish court today to answer allegations of torture and genocide. Brahim Ghali’s treatment for COVID-19 at a hospital in Spain has soured relations between Madrid and Rabat. Ghali heads the Polisario Front, […]
Madrid election centers on virus response, rise of far right


Madrid residents are voting Tuesday for a new regional assembly in an election that tests the depths of resistance to virus lockdown measures and the divide between left and right-wing parties. Polling stations opened at 9 a.m. with strict requirements to prevent the spread of the coronavirus: double masks, separated entrance and exit paths for […]
Concerns about radical, anti-Zionist parties ahead of Madrid elections


Concerns are being raised about the possible ascent to power in the Spanish region of Madrid of far-left, anti-Zionist parties who have a history of ardent support for boycotting Israel and whose leaders have made troubling comments about Israel and the Holocaust. The regional elections for Madrid which has a population of 6.6 million people including between […]
Spain’s deputy PM resigns in high-stakes Madrid presidency bid after local govt calls snap election to avoid no-confidence vote


The left-wing deputy prime minister of Spain, Pablo Iglesias, has resigned and thrown his hat in the ring for the presidency of Madrid after the region’s government was forced out last week in a dramatic day for Spanish politics. On Monday, the Madrid-born leader of the Podemos party announced his resignation and intention to replace […]
Madrid set for early elections after regional government collapses


Spain’s political landscape has been shaken after the regional government in Madrid split and called an early election. The region’s president, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, announced on Wednesday the right-wing coalition in the Spanish capital — consisting of the liberal Ciudadanos (Citizens) party and the conservative Partido Popular (PP) — had been dissolved, less than two […]
Jewish Youth in Spain Urge Madrid University to Expel Neo-Nazi Activist Who Delivered Antisemitic Rant at Far Right Rally


Antisemitic graffiti at the Jewish cemetery in Hoyo de Manzanares, near Madrid. Photo: Twitter. Jewish students in Spain this week demanded the expulsion from a Madrid university of a neo-Nazi activist who delivered a viciously antisemitic speech at a rally earlier this month. The Federation of Jewish Youth in Spain (FEJJE), supported by the European […]
Madrid RUNS OUT of Covid-19 jabs, halts vaccinations for two weeks


Spain’s capital region of Madrid has halted new inoculations against Covid-19 as it is running out of vaccine doses, its deputy president has revealed, adding that immunization goals are unlikely to be met due to low supply. The region has stopped administering vaccines to new recipients, and is instead keeping a small stockpile of doses […]
Madrid declared a ‘disaster zone’ after storm Filomena hammers the Spanish capital


The Madrid area has been declared a “disaster zone” by the national government after extreme weather and snowstorms left the city crippled. The move means the affected areas can receive financial aid to alleviate the storm damage. On Tuesday, Spain’s Council of Ministers approved the disaster declaration for the Community of Madrid and Castilla-La Mancha, […]
Spaniards SKIING & dog-sledding on Madrid streets as freak blizzards kill 3 (VIDEOS)


Scores of people in Madrid neglected calls by the authorities to stay home and flocked outside to engage in winter activities, as the Spanish capital was paralyzed by the biggest snowfall in half a century, leaving three dead. Storm Filomena, which buried Madrid under a record 50 centimeters of snow on Friday, became a disaster […]
Madrid Enforces Emergency Measure Even After Court Rejects Lockdown


Sam JonesThe Guardian © Manu Fernández/APA customer sits inside a bar in Madrid on Friday. The Spanish government has declared a state of emergency to keep Madrid in partial lockdown as countries across Europe struggle to deal with the continuing surge in new coronavirus cases. The move came as Italy logged more than 5,000 new […]
Madrid clashes with central government over tougher COVID restrictions


Madrid is clashing with Spain’s central government over whether to impose tighter COVID-19 lockdown restrictions. Spain’s health ministry on Thursday gave regions two days to implement strict new limits. They include limits on social gatherings and shop opening hours and restricts trips in and out of any large cities that have recorded a two-week infection […]
Shoplifting scandal forces Madrid premier to resign


CCTV footage published by OK Diario Wednesday showed Cristina Cifuentes emptying her handbag in front of a supermarket security guard after being accused of taking two pots of anti-aging cream worth €40 ($50). The 53-year-old politician from the ruling People’s Party (PP) said taking the cream was an “involuntarily error.” The incident took place in […]
Deepening Tehran-Madrid ties beneficial to both nations


president.ir- President of the Islamic Republic of Iran referred to the ample opportunities and potentials for deepening ties between Iran and Spain and stressed efforts to develop and cement relations between the two countries in all fields of mutual interest. President Hassan Rouhani met with Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of Spain Alfonso Dastis […]
Catalonia Defies Madrid – Goes to Polls to Vote for Independence


Despite various efforts by the Spanish central government in Madrid, Polls opened in the province of Catalonia. Prior to the opening of the polls today, fears were palpable that the vote could lead to confrontations between demonstrators and an estimated 5 million – with some 17,000 police deployed to “maintain public order.” Madrid opposed election […]
Far-right demonstrators give Nazi salute at Madrid march (VIDEO)


On Friday, crowds took part in the march to commemorate Jose Antonio Primo de Rivera, the founder of Falange Espanola, who was executed by the Spanish Republican government on November 20, 1936. Created in 1933, Falange Espanola was a nationalist party inspired by Italian fascism. People were seen lighting torches, holding their right arms aloft […]
Thousands rally for Spanish unity in Madrid (VIDEO, PHOTO)


“Prison for Puigdemont!” opponents of Catalonia’s independence shouted, referring to Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont, whose government was sacked by Madrid on Friday following the region’s declaration of independence. Crowds gathered at the Plaza de Colon in Madrid. They waved Spanish flags and shouted pro-unity slogans such as “Long live Spain!” and “Catalonia is […]
MADRID SEIZES CONTROL OF CATALONIA AFTER INDEPENDENCE DECLARATION


MADRID SEIZES CONTROL OF CATALONIA AFTER INDEPENDENCE DECLARATION October 27th, 2017 Via: AFP: Spain was plunged into crisis Friday as Madrid seized power from independence-seeking Catalonia, the first curtailment of regional autonomy since the brutal dictatorship of Francisco Franco. After regional lawmakers voted to […]
Catalan President sacked by Madrid calls for peaceful resistance to Spain’s power takeover


In a televised address on Saturday, Puigdemont said Madrid’s decision to suspend the autonomy of the province and appoint Spanish Deputy Prime Minister Soraya Saenz de Santamaria as Catalonia’s provisionary head goes against the will of the people. “It’s very clear that the best form of defending the gains made up until now is democratic […]
Catalonia declared independence; Suspends it for talks with Francoesque Madrid


Christof Lehmann (nsnbc) : Catalonia’s Carles Puigdemont, Tuesday evening, made a formal declaration of independence from Spain to then have it suspended to allow talks […]
Jail and execution: Madrid makes veiled threat to Catalan leader by raising predecessor’s fate


“History should not be repeated. Let’s hope that nothing is declared tomorrow because perhaps the one who declares it will end up like the one declared it 83 years ago,” spokesman for Spain’s ruling People’s Party (PP) Pablo Casado said on Monday. The statement came less than 24 hours ahead of Carles Puigdemont’s address to […]
Madrid sends 20 trucks with beds, kitchens & showers to riot police deployed to Barcelona – media


Catalan leader vows to proclaim independence within days as King Felipe VI blasts ‘disloyalty’ The Spanish Defense Ministry sent aid to the Civil Guard and National Police deployed in the region on Tuesday, Spanish media reported. “The 41st Logistics Support Group [AALOG 41] of the Spanish Army located in [the city of] Zaragoza has sent […]