Spain News in English - Expat Guide to Spain

January 17, 2020

Spain’s oldest police force gets first female chief

Spain appointed Friday a woman to head the country’s oldest police force, the Guardia Civil, for the first time in the agency’s 175-year history. The interior ministry said in a statement it had appointed Maria Gamez, formerly the central government…

January 17, 2020

Spain’s Balearic Islands crack down on alcohol-fuelled holidays

Spain’s Balearic Islands passed a bill Friday aimed at clamping down on alcohol-fuelled holidays in the Mediterranean archipelago which bans happy hours when drinks are offered a discount and open bars. “This is the first law adopted in Europe which…

January 16, 2020

Spanish banker gets jail term for trying to smuggle out Picasso work

A Spanish court has sentenced a former top banker to 18 months in jail for trying to smuggle a Picasso painting deemed a national treasure out of the country on a sailing yacht. The court also fined ex-Bankinter head Jaime…

January 16, 2020

Spain’s Alicante airport to reopen day after fire

Spain’s Alicante airport was set to reopen Thursday afternoon after a closure of nearly 24 hours because of a fire, frustrating thousands of tourists heading for the Mediterranean coast. “The fire is under control but it has not been extinguished….

January 16, 2020

MEPs weigh Spain’s request to lift Catalan separatists’ immunity

The European Parliament began on Thursday debating a Spanish request to lift the immunity of two Catalan separatist MEPs wanted by Madrid. “This request has been submitted to the JURI (legal affairs) committee” to examine the request against the two…

January 15, 2020

Fire forces closure of Spanish airport in tourism hotspot

A fire broke out Wednesday on the roof of the airport in Alicante, a city on the eastern Mediterranean coast which is a tourism hotspot, forcing its closure to air traffic. “The fire is under control but it has not…

January 15, 2020

Three killed in blast at Spain chemical plant

A worker died Wednesday from injuries suffered in an explosion at a chemical plant in northeastern Spain, raising to three the number of those killed in the accident. The man was one of two who were rushed to hospital with…

January 15, 2020

Two jailed Catalan separatist leaders granted temporary release

Two of the nine Catalan separatist leaders jailed in Spain last year over a failed 2017 independence bid will soon be granted a 48-hour release from prison, the pro-independence regional government said Wednesday. Spain’s Supreme Court in October sentenced Jordi…

January 15, 2020

Two killed, 8 hurt in blast at Spain chemical plant

Rescuers found a body at a chemical plant in northeastern Spain on Wednesday, raising to two the number of those killed when an explosion ripped through the facility, triggering a massive blaze which raged through the night. Catalan regional interior…