Tag: Spain

Spain king denounces Catalan independence bid

by Marianne Barriaux with Roland Lloyd Parry in Madrid Agence France Presse BARCELONA, Spain (AFP) — Spain’s King Felipe intervened dramatically Tuesday in the crisis over Catalan leaders’ bid for independence, accusing them of threatening the country’s stability and urging the state to defend “constitutional order.” The 49-year-old king abandoned his previously measured tone over tensions with Catalonia as the standoff dragged the country into its deepest political crisis in decades. He spoke after hundreds […]

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EU breaks cover to urge Catalonia crisis dialogue

by Danny Kemp and Damon Wake Agence France Presse Brussels, Belgium (AFP) — EU leaders on Monday called for dialogue to solve the crisis over Catalonia’s banned independence referendum and urged an end to violence in a cautious first reaction to a thorny subject for the bloc. Breaking weeks of virtual silence on the subject after scores were hurt in clashes in Catalonia, the European Commission said the referendum was “not legal” under Spanish law […]

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Watch: Barcelona residents rally against police violence in Catalan vote

https://youtu.be/w5puocJ-NtA   Residents in Barcelona, Spain took to the streets on October 2, 2017 to protest the violent police crackdown during Catalonia’s banned independence referendum on October 1, 2017. People waved Catalan pro-independence ‘Estelada’ flags as they took part in a protest in Barcelona. “The central government has been consistent with its historical performance until the end, that is to say that mean every time they have not been able to solve any issue that […]

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Catalans describe moment they were hurt in vote chaos

by Laurence Boutreux Agence France Presse BARCELONA, Spain (AFP) — From a grandmother whose wrist was broken to an independence supporter violently hit in the head, several people who were injured by police during Catalonia’s independence referendum banned by Madrid told AFP of their ordeal. Shocking footage of police violence went round the world, sparking controversy over what critics described as “the disproportionate use” of police force and the “humiliation” of voters — sometimes elderly […]

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Catalonia set for general strike over independence poll violence

by Marianne Barriaux Agence France Presse BARCELONA, Spain (AFP) — Large numbers of Catalans are expected to observe a general strike on Tuesday to condemn police violence at a banned weekend referendum on independence, as Madrid comes under growing international pressure to resolve its worst political crisis in decades. Flights and train services could be disrupted as well as port operations, after unions called for the stoppage to “vigorously condemn” the police response to the […]

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Spain in crisis after police violence in Catalan vote

by Patrick Rahir with Marianne Barriaux in Barcelona  with Marianne Barriaux Agence France-Presse MADRID, Spain – Spain came under international pressure Monday to resolve a spiralling crisis with its Catalan region after a banned independence referendum was marred by shocking scenes of police violence. The country’s central government vowed to stop its northeastern region breaking away from Spain after Catalonia’s leader claimed that 90 percent of voters backed independence in Sunday’s referendum, which Madrid says is unconstitutional […]

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Cuba, Bolivia, remembering “Che” 50 years after death

by Alexandre Grosbois Agence France-Presse HAVANA, Cuba (AFP) – A half-century after his death, Ernesto “Che” Guevara will be remembered in ceremonies next week in Cuba and in Bolivia, whose CIA-trained troops sent shockwaves around the world when they executed the Cold War revolutionary icon in 1967. In Cuba — where schoolchildren still begin their day with a raised fist salute and chant “Pioneers for communism, we will be like Che” — President Raul Castro […]

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Barricades and sit-ins as Catalan voters face police

by Marianne Barriaux and Anna Cuenca Agence France-Presse BARCELONA, Spain – It was still pitch black when would-be voters lined up in Barcelona early Sunday, braving rain as they hoped to cast ballots in referendum, banned by Spain’s government, on independence for Catalonia. As dawn broke, though, those hopes diminished as news spread that riot police were on the way. And then they arrived. At one polling station, armed, helmeted police broke in to seize ballot boxes prepared […]

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Catalan police warn of public disorder if polling stations closed

by Daniel Bosque with Antonio Rodriguez in Madrid Agence France-Presse BARCELONA, Spain – Catalan police warned Wednesday that public disorder may erupt as Spain orders the authorities to seal polling stations and stop the region holding a referendum on independence. The Catalan government has vowed to press ahead with Sunday’s plebiscite despite a crackdown by Madrid which wants to prevent a vote deemed unconstitutional by the courts. The referendum has deeply divided the wealthy northeastern region which is […]

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“Goat Fire Brigade” helps save Spain from forest fires

GIRONA, Spain (Reuters) — Much of Europe was scorched this summer, with numerous forest fires breaking out and in Spain goats and sheep are helping to fight the blazes – one nibble at a time. Dubbed ‘Goat Fire Brigades’ the animals are part of a pilot program in the Girona region of northern Spain, run by Pau Costa Foundation. Tapping into an old agricultural practice, the herds are set out to graze in strategic areas of […]

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Spanish foreign ministry says to expel North Korean ambassador

MADRID, Spain (Reuters) — The Spanish foreign ministry said on Monday (September 18) it had asked North Korea’s ambassador to leave Spain before the end of the month due to his country’s repeated refusals to renounce its nuclear weapons program. “Today, the North Korean ambassador was summoned and was told of the decision to consider him as a persona non grata, therefore he must stop working and abandon the country before Sept. 30,” the foreign […]

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Dutch probe Spanish van found with gas canisters after terror tip

by Sophie Mignon and Charlotte van Ouwerkerk ROTTERDAM, Netherlands (AFP) — Dutch police are investigating possible terror links after arresting a Spaniard driving a van containing gas canisters close to a rock concert which was abruptly cancelled over fears of an attack. The man “was arrested and taken to the police station,” Rotterdam police said in a Tweet, following a tip-off from Spanish authorities. The arrest came little under a week after twin car-bomb attacks […]

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