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Britain seeks scientific collaboration with Spain

Britain is reaching out to scientists in Spain in the hope of strengthening the exchange of knowledge to further scientific research. READ

A memorial in the town of Vernet, near the scene of the crash. Photo: AFP

Germanwings co-pilot hid illness from airline

The Germanwings co-pilot who crashed his Airbus into the French Alps, killing all 150 aboard, hid a serious illness from the airline, prosecutors said Friday amid reports he was severely depressed.READ

Photo of Calella de Palafrugell, Catalonia: Shutterstock

Spain set to sizzle in sunny Semana Santa

Spring has definitely sprung, as much of Spain will be bathed in warm weather during Easter week, the country’s meteorological agency has predicted. READ

Alps Plane Crash

Photo: Tom Barfield

Co-pilot had 'serious' depressive episode

Update: Police said they had no "smoking gun" after a search of Germanwings co-pilot Andreas Lubitz's home, after tabloid Bild reported on Friday that Lubitz received treatment for a “serious depressive episode” during a break in his training six years ago. READ

Gallery: Almodóvar's most iconic leading ladies

Pedro Almodóvar at the Cannes Film Festival. Photo: Loic Venance/AFP

Almodóvar unveils cast for latest film 'Silencio'

Celebrated Spanish film director Pedro Almodóvar has unveiled the cast for his next film, Silencio, including his two new "chicas Almodóvar". READ

Photo of Pompeu Fabra University building. Photo: Teresa Grau Ros/Flickr

Pompeu Fabra named 'young gun' university

Spain's Pompeu Fabra has been named on a list of the seven "fastest rising young universities in the world" by UK-based Times Higher Education. READ

Celebrated Spanish artist, Pablo Picasso. Photo: Ralph Gatti/AFP

Pensioner claims €15m Picasso was a gift

UPDATED: Italian police are trying to establish the true owner of a Picasso painting worth €15 million after confiscating it from a pensioner who says he was given it for free. READ

Alps Plane Crash

Two people in the cockpit at all times. That will be the new rules for many airlines now. Photo: Mathieu Marquer/Flickr

Airlines rush to bring in two-person cockpit rule

Airlines around the world including low-cost carrier easyJet, rushed to implement a new rule that two crew members must be in the cockpit at all times. It follows revelations that the co-pilot of the doomed Germanwings plane deliberately crashed the aircraft. READ

Alps Plane Crash

Photo:DPA

Police search co-pilot's home in Germany

UPDATED: The co-pilot of the doomed Germanwings plane refused to open the cockpit door and seemed to "want to destroy the plane", a French prosecutor has said. DPA reported police are investigating his home. READ

Alps Plane Crash

Can any security system prevent a pilot from committing murder-suicide? Photo: AFP

Can 'nightmare' of pilot suicide be prevented?

The discovery that the co-pilot of the doomed Germanwings flight is suspected of deliberately crashing the plane will inevitably raise questions about security on airplanes, but is it really possible to prevent a pilot from committing mass murder-suicide? READ

Features

Madonna with a dancer dressed as a bull at the Grammy Awards on February 8th. Photo Robyn Beck/AFP.

Matador Madonna in 'glamourizing gore' row

Animal rights activists have called on Madonna to stop 'glamourizing gore' by dressing as a bullfighter, as the US star announces a Barcelona date on her upcoming tour. READ

Anna Allen appearing on Spanish programme, Pasapalabra. Screen grab: YouTube/bogo xoer.

Exposed: actress who faked Oscar glory

The invented life of a Spanish actress has been revealed after Spanish media discovered she had not actually attended the Oscars, but used Photoshop to place herself on the red carpet. READ 3 comments

My Spanish Career

Samantha Chappell is an English primary school teacher in Oviedo

'There is joy in learning something new yourself'

Samantha Chappell took a sabbatical from a publishing job in London to spend a summer living in the northern city of Oviedo. She loved it so much that eight years later she is still there and has discovered her vocation. READ

Madrid Podemos rally

Photo: Pedro Armestre/AFP

Young and old, rich and poor join left-wing march

Not just young radicals: Spaniards of all ages and backgrounds came out in their thousands to support a left-wing political party currently making waves in Spain. The Local caught up with some of them to find out why they are such big fans of Podemos. READ

Opinion

Photo of a lady in Spanish glasses: Shutterstock

The five strangest things about Spaniards

After two years at the helm of The Local Spain, George Mills is moving on. Here he reflects on some of the most puzzling aspects of life in a country he believes is one of the greatest places to live in the world.READ 2 comments

More News

Alps Plane Crash

Andreas Lubitz, who is suspected of crashing the Germanwings plane into the French Alps. Photo: Twitter

What we know about the Germanwings co-pilot

Here's what we know about the Germanwings co-pilot Andreas Lubitz, who French prosecutors suspect deliberately crashed the plane into the French Alps, killing all 150 on board. READ

Alps plane crash

Photo: AFP

No-show passenger: 'It's a second chance at life'

Claudia Vásquez was meant to be on board doomed Germanwings flight 4U9525 but a twist of fate meant that she is alive today. READ

Alps Plane Crash

A helicopter flies at the scene of the crash site in the French Alps. Photo: AFP

What happened to pilots in Germanwings crash?

After it emerged that a pilot was locked out of the cockpit as Germanwings flight 4U9525 crashed and killed 150 on board, speculation has swirled as to what exactly happened in the moments before the disaster. READ

"Freedom to protest!" reads a sign held by a protester on February 14th 2015. Photo: Javier Soriano/AFP

Protests as Spain's gag law comes into force

A new "gagging law", criticized by the United Nations and Council of Europe is to be passed on Thursday by the Spanish parliament. READ 2 comments

A plane from the Spanish low-cost airline Vueling. Photo: Josep Lago/AFP

Scare after emergency landing at Barcelona

A Vueling flight had to make an emergency landing at Barcelona’s El Prat airport this morning a little after takeoff because of a "burning smell". READ

Children standing outside "El Transito" synagogue and Sephardic museum in Toledo. Photo: Gerard Julien/AFP

New law welcomes back Spain's expelled Jews

Descendants of Sephardic Jews who were banished from Spain in 1492 are to be allowed Spanish citizenship, under a new law approved on Wednesday. READ

A photo of someone on the operating table:Shutterstock

Spain signs world's first organ trafficking treaty

Fourteen European nations signed on Wednesday in Spain the first ever international treaty to fight human organ trafficking, a business that generates over one billion dollars in illegal profits worldwide every year. READ

Photo: Shutterstock

Surge in Ukrainian asylum seekers to Spain

Spain saw a huge spike in Ukrainians applying for asylum in 2014, according to data released by Eurostat last week and analyzed by The Local. READ

Alps Plane Crash

French President Hollande, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and Spain's PM Mariano Rajoy. Photo: AFP

'Usable' audio recovered from plane's black box

French air investigators confirmed on Wednesday that they have succeeded in extracting a "usable" audio file from the cockpit recorder in which voices can be heard. READ

Alps plane crash

A sign at Germanwings desk in Stuttgart airport. Photo: Thomas Niedermüller / DPA /AFP

Trolls investigated over air crash hate tweets

Spain has ordered an investigation in a bid to discover the identity of twitter trolls who used the Germanwings accident to send “anti-catalan” messages. READ

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From our other editions:

Photo: Sonnenkopf webcam

Mysterious snow art baffles ski patrol

Skiers got more than they bargained for early Friday morning on the slopes of Sonnenkopf ski-field in the Austrian state of Vorarlberg, when they were confronted with giant graffiti in the snow. READ

Photo: Shutterstock

Six steps to getting along better with the Swiss

If you value the same things the Swiss do, you have a better chance of building positive relationships with them, says Zurich-based communications trainer Shane Norton. But what if you don’t? Norton’s advice is to learn to — and if that fails, at least show some willingness to appreciate them. Here are his top tips on how to do that. READ

Liveblog

French emergency services and military helicopters near the crash site in the French Alps. Photo: DPA

Germanwings plane crashes in French Alps

A Germanwings plane with 150 people on board has crashed in the French Alps. READ

A 2008 photo shows Russian Topol ICBMs missiles during a rehearsal for the nation's annual May 9 Victory Day parade. Photo: Dima Korotayev

Russia delivers nuclear threat to Denmark

Russia's ambassador to Denmark warned on Saturday that Danish ships will become Russian targets if Denmark joins Nato's missile defence system. READ

Alps Plane Crash

Emergency services are on the scene. Photo: AFP

As it happened: Plane crashes in French Alps

AS IT HAPPENED: An airbus A320 carrying 150 people has crashed in the southern French Alps. French President François Hollande has said there are no survivors from the crash. READ

A 42-year-old man has been arrested for allegedly kidnapping, raping and beating a Swedish model.Italian police photo: Shutterstock

Swedish model 'raped and kidnapped' by Italian

UPDATED: A 22-year-old Swedish model has been hospitalized after allegedly being kidnapped, raped and beaten over a six month period by an Italian man in a town near Milan. READ

Chechen strongman Ramzan Kadyrov (left), Norwegian military uniform (right). Photo: Twitter/Norwegian Armed Forces

Why is Chechen Pres in Norway uniform?

Norwegian military analysts alarmed by increasing Russian activity on the border now have a new question to puzzle over: what is it with Ramzan Kadyrov, the pro-Putin Chechen strongman, and Norwegian army uniform? READ

An SU-27 fighter jet. Photo: TT

Russian jets spotted off Sweden's east coast

UPDATED: Swedish military identified and followed four Russian fighter plane near Gotland and Bornholm, off the country's east coast on Tuesday morning. READ