by Guy Jackson © Agence France-Presse MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — Spain and Portugal clash on Friday in an early highlight of the World Cup in Russia as the Spanish camp insist they are united despite this week’s extraordinary sacking of coach Julen Lopetegui. Egyptian fans, meanwhile, will hold their breath to see if prolific Liverpool striker Mohamed Salah really has recovered from the shoulder injury he suffered in the Champions League final as the Pharaohs take […]
Tag: Spain
Spain swears in new cabinet with record number of women
by Patrick Rahir Agence France Presse MADRID, Spain (AFP) — King Felipe VI on Thursday swore in Spain’s new pro-EU government with a record 11 women members including in key posts such as defence and economy, and six male ministers. With just 84 seats in Spain’s 350-seat parliament, Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s administration also has the smallest representation of any government since the country returned to democracy and it is not expected to […]
Spain’s ousted PM Rajoy to quit as conservative party leader
MADRID, Spain (AFP) — Mariano Rajoy, a major figure of Spanish politics over the past 14 years, announced Tuesday he will quit as head of the conservative Popular Party (PP) after being ousted as prime minister last week. “I think the time has come to put a final full stop to this period. The PP must keep advancing and building its history at the service of Spaniards under the leadership of another person,” he told […]
Catalan lawmakers vote on new regional separatist leader
by Daniel Bosque © Agence France-Presse BARCELONA, Spain (AFP) — Catalonia’s parliament will vote Saturday on whether to appoint hardline independence supporter Quim Torra as regional president, after deposed leader Carles Puigdemont stepped aside from the running. Torra, a 55-year-old father-of-three, is an independence advocate cut from the same cloth as Puigdemont who picked him and has tasked him with continuing his fight with Spain’s central government to achieve independence. On Friday, Torra said his […]
Quim Torra, the Catalan separatist anointed by Puigdemont
BARCELONA, Spain (AFP) — Quim Torra, the man chosen by ousted Catalan president Carles Puigdemont to be his successor, may be a newcomer to politics but has long been a committed separatist. Puigdemont on Thursday rejected being re-appointed leader of the region a day after the Madrid government stepped in to block him from once again becoming president of Catalonia. The man the self-exiled Catalan leader has named as his preferred candidate to form a regional […]
Nadal breaks McEnroe record in Madrid but Del Potro, Sharapova, Halep beaten
by Thomas Allnutt Agence France-Presse MADRID, Spain (AFP) — Rafael Nadal broke John McEnroe’s 34-year record on Thursday by winning his 50th consecutive set on clay at the Madrid Open. But while the world number one cruised to a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Diego Schwartzman, Juan Martin del Potro, Maria Sharapova and Simona Halep all crashed out. Nadal’s straight-sets victory means he establishes a new Open era best for consecutive sets won on a single surface, […]
In photos: Iglesia ni Cristo members in Madrid, Spain participate in #INCwalktofightpoverty
NGOs urge Spain not to sell warships to Saudi Arabia
MADRID, Spain (AFP) — A coalition of NGOs on Wednesday urged Spain not to sign off on a planned sale of warships to Saudi Arabia during an upcoming visit to Madrid by the kingdom’s crown prince. The “Arms Under Control” collective, which includes Amnesty International, Oxfam and Greenpeace, also called on Spain to stop exporting arms to the Saudi-led coalition fighting Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen, where thousands of civilians have been killed. During his […]
Nadal beats Zverev to set up Davis Cup decider with Germany
VALENCIA, Spain (AFP) — Rafael Nadal kept Spain’s Davis Cup hopes alive by beating Alexander Zverev on Sunday in the fourth rubber of their quarter-final against Germany. Nadal’s 6-1, 6-4, 6-4 win in Valencia draws the tie level at 2-2, with Spanish world number 33 David Ferrer up against Germany’s Philipp Kohlschreiber in the fifth and decisive match. Two breaks in each set were enough for Nadal to seal an impressively comfortable victory over Zverev in […]
Messi hat-trick helps Barcelona equal record unbeaten streak
MADRID, Spain (AFP) — Barcelona equalled the record longest unbeaten run in La Liga history as a Lionel Messi hat-trick inspired the runaway leaders to a 3-1 win over Leganes on Saturday to make it 38 league games unbeaten. The Catalan giants will look to break the record that Real Sociedad set in 1979-80 when they host Valencia next weekend, with Ernesto Valverde’s side now just seven matches from becoming the first La Liga side […]
German court keeps ex-Catalan leader Puigdemont in custody
by Sebastian Bronst with Daniel Bosque in Barcelona Agence France-Presse NEUMÜNSTER, Germany – A German court on Monday kept former Catalan president Carles Puigdemont in custody pending possible extradition to Spain to face “rebellion” charges. Puigdemont will “remain in detention for the time being, until a decision is made concerning the extradition procedure,” the regional court in Kiel, northern Germany, announced a day after Puigdemont was arrested. The former Catalan leader’s detention in Germany, which […]
Clashes in Catalonia after Puigdemont arrested in Germany
by Daniel Bosque with Hui Min Neo in Berlin Agence France Presse BARCELONA, Spain (AFP) — Thousands of Catalan separatists faced off with police in Catalonia on Sunday following the arrest in Germany of the region’s former president Carles Puigdemont five months after he fled Spain. Catalan police decked out in riot gear shoved and hit demonstrators with batons to keep the crowd from advancing on the office of the Spanish government’s representative in Barcelona, […]





