Spain's news in English

Change editions:
Austria ·
Denmark ·
France ·
Germany ·
Italy ·
Norway ·
Sweden ·
Switzerland

Catalan elections

Photo: AFP

Catalan independence debate splits families ahead of regional election

The issue of whether the northeastern region should breakaway from Spain is provoking fierce debate and creating tensions even among families ahead of the regional election on Sunday.

Photo: Guardia Civil

Teenager found squeezed inside car dashboard to cross Spanish border

Spanish police found an unconscious migrant squashed into a hidden compartment under the dashboard of car that was attempting to enter Spain's North African enclave of Melilla from Morocco.

Catalan independence debate

Photo: Barcelona Televisió (BTV)

Politicans squabble over flags flying at Barcelona City Hall ceremony

A childish spat broke out on the balcony of Barcelona City Hall on Thursday as politicians from the left and the right competed to unfurl their flags.

Photo: AFP

Spain wins landmark legal battle over 'discriminatory' EU job advert

Spain and Italy have won a legal case after claiming EU employment adverts requiring candidates to speak English, French or German discriminated against their monolingual jobseekers.

Photo: Carlos Fernandez Casado SA

Double the budget and five years late La Pepa Bridge opens in Cádiz

It cost over half a billion euros and has taken more than eight years to build but finally the bridge linking Cádiz to Puerto Real has been inaugurated.

A stock photo of children in a classroom. Photo: Public Domain Images.

Spanish primary school kids rank top of the class for learning English

Nearly 100 percent of Spanish primary school students are studying English, ranking Spain among the top European Union countries for multilingual learning.

Catalan elections

The candidates taking part in a televised debate. Photo: TV3

Catalonia elections: The key players

As Catalonia prepares to go to the polls on Sunday, The Local takes a look at the key players standing ready to shape Catalonia's future.

Seat cars in the production line at Matorell plant. Photo: Lluis Gene / AFP

VW emissions cheating scandal threatens Spanish subsidiary Seat

Spain's Industry Ministry has launched an investigation into affected vehicles sold on the Spanish market as Seat admitted that some of its cars were installed with tampered engines.

'Mexico' will be Julio Iglesias' last studio album. Photo: Ronaldo Schemidt/AFP

Legendary Spanish crooner Julio Iglesias to release 'last ever' album

Julio Iglesias announced on his 72nd birthday on Wednesday that "Mexico" will be his last studio album, but the iconic Spanish crooner insisted he would keep singing "until I'm 150."

Prime Minister Rajoy arrives at the summit in Brussels. Photo: Emmanuel Dunand / AFP

EU leaders commit fresh billions at emergency summit on refugee crisis

At a hastily-convened summit in Brussels that continued late into the night on Wednesday, EU leaders agreed on spending and strategy for the coming months to try and lighten the load on countries most heavily burdened by the refugee crisis.

Features

My Spanish career

$'It's possible to find great talent for a fraction of the cost of elsewhere'$

Thomas Evans (right) is the founder of Start Ups Made in Spain. Screen grab: Startups Made in Spain/YouTube

'It's possible to find great talent for a fraction of the cost of elsewhere'

The Local talks to Thomas Evans, the founder of Start Ups Made in Spain, about why Spain is becoming attractive for investors.

The Local list

The San Sebastian International Film Festival runs from September 18th and 26th. Photo: Gari Garaialde

Ten things you need to know about Spain's San Sebastián Film Festival

The Local counts down ten essential facts about the most important film festival in the Spanish speaking world, as it gets underway in the Basque seaside city.

Archive photo of a Spanish classroom. Photo: Cristina Quicler / AFP.

Wanted: Family with two kids to save village school in eastern Spain

A village in rural Valencia is offering a house and job to a family with at least two kids that is willing to move in to save the local school from shutting its doors for good.

The Local list

A Spanish Red Cross volunteer comforts a refugee after the death of his friend in at Tarifa's harbour. Photo: Marcos Moreno /AFP.

Six simple ways to do your bit and help refugees if you live in Spain

While Spain faces pressure to take a bigger share of the hundreds of thousands of migrants arriving at Europe's borders, The Local takes a look at ways that individuals can make a difference.

There is even an art to tasting the grape itself. Photo: AFP

Grape Escape: Discovering the art of winemaking in the vineyards of La Rioja

There's more to wine than tasting it as Sophia Smith Galer discovered on a trip to the rustic vineyards of the Rioja region.

More news

Madrid's bullfighting school will no longer be subsidized by the city hall. Photo: AFP

Madrid's new mayor pulls funding for prestigious bullfighting school

The Spanish capital’s left-wing mayor has scrapped the annual subsidy of over €60,000 for a bullfighting school because it "goes against animal rights".

Photo: AFP

Spain's thalidomide victims denied compensation after appeal rejected

Spain's victims of thalidomide have lost their appeal for compensation from the pharmaceutical company responsible for a drug taken by their mothers during pregnancy.

Photo: Gerard Julien / AFP

Madrid warns Catalans they'd 'lose Spanish nationality' if they secede

Catalans would lose their Spanish nationality if the regions breaks away from Spain, Madrid warned ahead of an election that has become a de facto vote on independence.

West End in San Antonio Photo: Alex Harries / Flickr

British teenager becomes fifth party drug victim of Ibiza summer season

An 18-year-old girl died on Tuesday morning at a hospital in Ibiza becoming the fifth person to die after taking drugs on the island since the start of the summer.

Refugee crisis

Refugees walking in Hungary, near the Serbian border. Photo: Gémes Sándor/SzomSzed / Wikimedia Commons.

Brussels launches investigation into asylum law violations by Spain

The European Commission has opened an investigation into 19 countries for violations of asylum laws, including Germany, France, Italy, Austria and Spain.

Read older articles »

From our other editions

Refugee crisis

An elderly man from Aleppo, Syria, waits for news of whether he can travel to Germany with his granddaughter. Photo: Kim Traill

Austria sends refugees to Slovakia

Just 18 of an agreed 500 Syrian asylum-seekers arrived in Slovakia on Thursday under a deal with EU neighbour Austria that has sparked protest in the village where they will stay temporarily.

EXPAT GUIDE | Presented by Geneva Relocation

Photo: Patrick Nouhailler

The biggest challenges of moving to Switzerland

Switzerland is one of the world’s best expat countries, with some of the highest living standards and a sophisticated, multilingual population. Yet moving to Switzerland can still be stressful and difficult if you don't do it right.

Photo: DPA

Aachen couple cause outrage with public sex

When it comes to sex, what goes on behind closed doors is supposed to be nobody else's business. But have sex while hanging out of the window of your ground-floor apartment, and the neighbours might just take offence – a lesson one Aachen couple learned the hard way last week.