Tag: Spain

Floods claim second victim in Spain

MADRID, Spain (AFP) — The body of a man was pulled from a van trapped in floodwaters in northern Spain on Sunday, the second death linked to heavy rains which have caused rivers to burst their banks. Rescuers located the van in the Bidasoa river in the northern Navarra region on Saturday, a day after the 61-year-old was reported missing, a police spokesman said. Strong currents and poor visibility had prevented them from retrieving his […]

Barcelona fire kills four, including two children

BARCELONA, Spain (AFP) – A fire ripped through an abandoned bank occupied by squatters in central Barcelona on Tuesday, killing four people, including a baby and a three-year-old boy, Spanish firefighters said. “While we were battling the fire, we found four people. Emergency services tried to revive them but unfortunately they failed, they could not do anything to save them,” the head of the firefighting operation, Angel Lopez, told reporters. Firefighters rescued four other people who […]

Spain to offer Covid booster shots to over 60s

ANKARA, Turkey (AFP) — Spain will provide Covid booster shots for those aged 60 and over as well as health staff, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said Wednesday as infections numbers rise. During an official visit to Turkey, Sanchez said the key to fighting the pandemic is to “continue this successful vaccination strategy in our country”. The Spanish leader did not say when the third vaccine doses would start to be given. Spain has one of […]

Spain to ban ads for sweets targeting kids

MADRID, Spain (AFP) — Spain will ban ads aimed at kids for high-sugar foods and drinks like choclate bars and soda in a bid to slow a growing obesity epidemic, an official said Thursday. The ban, which will come into effect in 2022, will target advertisements on television, radio, online outlets and mobile apps peddling content for under 16s, Consumer Affairs Minister Alberto Garzon told reporters. “Minors are vulnerable consumers and it is our duty […]

Spanish rescuers search for 12 missing migrants

MADRID, Spain (AFP) — Rescue workers searched the seas of southern Spain on Sunday for 12 migrants who went missing after their boat overturned during an attempted crossing to the country from Algeria, Spain’s coastguard said. A rescue operation was launched after a Norwegian sailboat reported picking up an Algerian man in the sea around seven nautical miles off the southwestern province of Almeria, a coastguard spokeswoman said. A coastguard helicopter dispatched to the scene […]

Volcanic ash cloud closes airport in La Palma: officials

Spain (AFP) — Clouds of thick ash from the erupting volcano on La Palma on Thursday forced the island’s airport to close for the second time since the September 19 eruption, Spain’s airport authority said. “The airport is not in operation at the moment,” an AENA spokeswoman told AFP, saying “some cleaning work needs to be done” on the runways before it would reopen. But the closure “may not last very long” she added. On […]

On a boat, elderly couple find safe haven from Canaries volcano

by Alfons LUNA TAZACORTE, Spain (AFP) — Fleeing their home after the La Palma volcano erupted on September 19, one couple married nearly 60 years decided to seek safe haven aboard their tiny boat until the storm passed. When the evacuation order came, neither Margaretha Straates, 80, nor her 90-year-old husband Luis Rodriguez Diaz fancied the idea of staying in temporary accommodation. “It suddenly came to me, why don’t we try the boat? It’s only […]

Spain to give over-70s third dose of Covid vaccine

MADRID, Spain (AFP) — Spain’s health ministry said Thursday it would give third doses of coronavirus vaccines to the over-70s, hoping to improve their protection against Covid-19. The National Public Health Commission has decided to offer the booster jab vaccinations from late October to elderly people who received a second vaccine dose more than six months ago, the ministry said in a statement. Spain had until now only offered third doses to care home residents […]

Canaries lava peninsula doubles in size as wind change raises risk

Spain (AFP) — Lava from the erupting volcano on La Palma in Spain’s Canary Islands that began cascading into the ocean two days ago has already covered an area bigger than 25 football pitches, experts said on Thursday. The newly wrought peninsula had doubled in size to 20 hectares (50 acres) since the morning, according to the Volcanic Institute of the Canaries (Involcan). While the feared explosion and clouds of toxic gases released as the […]

La Palma flights resume as volcanic lava reaches sea

by Desiree MARTIN Spain (AFP) — A commercial flight flew into La Palma in the Canary Islands on Wednesday, the first since an erupting volcano forced a weekend airport closure, the plane landing hours after rivers of molten lava reached the sea. The dramatic eruption which began 10 days ago, has forced thousands out of their homes, with the lava destroying hundreds of homes, businesses and huge swathes of banana plantations. Fears that the lava’s […]

Canaries volcano lava reaches sea, raising toxic gas fears

MADRID, Spain (AFP) — Lava from the erupting volcano on La Palma reached the ocean on Tuesday night, the Canary Islands Volcanic Institute (Involcan) said, raising the fear of toxic gases being released. “The lava flow has reached the sea at Playa Nueva,” Involcan said on its Twitter account. The Cumbre Vieja volcano erupted on 19 September. © Agence France-Presse

Volcano lava flow halts but many confined over toxic gas fears

LOS LLANOS DE ARIDANE, Spain (AFP) — A Canary Islands volcano that has been erupting for over a week fell silent Monday as coastal residents were confined over toxic gas fears when the lava hits the sea. La Cumbre Vieja, which straddles a southern ridge in La Palma in the Atlantic archipelago, erupted on September 19, spewing out rivers of lava which have slowly crept towards the sea. But on Monday morning, there was no […]