All posts tagged: Spain

Hantavirus cases linked to cruise ship outbreak rise to 13 – POLITICO

Hantavirus cases linked to cruise ship outbreak rise to 13 – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

“The situation remains stable. Passengers who got sick are receiving needed care, while others remain in quarantine,” Tedros added. The outbreak of the rodent-borne disease was first reported on May 3 aboard the MV Hondius, which was carrying 150 passengers, and has caused three deaths. It triggered a global search for the cruise’s passengers who had already disembarked and activated disease-prevention measures across multiple countries. European public health authorities coordinated the evacuation of all passengers and crew over the past two weeks from Tenerife and the Netherlands, helping them be repatriated, tested and placed under quarantine. The ship, which had docked in Rotterdam, was set to depart for Vlissingen, in the Netherlands, but its departure was delayed after authorities said it needed additional cleaning, the boat’s tour operator said. In total, 13 cases have been reported, including 11 confirmed and two probable. Spain reported the 13th case on Monday, saying the patient had been in isolation at the Gómez Ulla military hospital in Madrid. No deaths have been reported since May 2. Other cases include a …

Spanish Police Recover Missing Lucas Valdés Paintings Before Auction

Spanish Police Recover Missing Lucas Valdés Paintings Before Auction

Published by Jenni Sidey

Spanish police have recovered two 17th-century paintings by the Sevillian artist Lucas Valdés that disappeared nearly a century ago after the 1929 Ibero-American Exposition in Seville, according to authorities. The works surfaced earlier this year when they were consigned for auction, prompting an investigation by Spain’s National Police and the country’s culture ministry.  The two oval-shaped oil paintings on pine panel once belonged to the Hospital of the Venerable Priests in Seville, where they formed part of the decoration for the church’s main altarpiece. The paintings were loaned out for the 1929 exposition and never returned. Their whereabouts remained unknown for decades.  Related Articles According to El País, the investigation began in September 2025 after Spain’s Culture Ministry, alerted by the Archdiocese of Seville, notified police that two works scheduled to go up for auction appeared to match the long-missing Valdés paintings. Authorities intervened before the sale could proceed, effectively freezing the transaction while investigators confirmed the works’ identities.  Police ultimately contacted the paintings’ owners to explain the works’ legal and patrimonial status. Following negotiations involving the Archdiocese …

De la Fuente says Spain come before club loyalty after first World Cup squad without Real Madrid players

De la Fuente says Spain come before club loyalty after first World Cup squad without Real Madrid players

Published by Sam Flores

MADRID, May 26 : Luis de la Fuente stressed that Spain’s badge outranks any club crest on Tuesday after naming a World Cup squad with a distinctly Barcelona hue and, for the first time, no Real Madrid player in sight. The European champions head into next month’s tournament among the favourites, with De la Fuente’s 26-man squad built around eight Barcelona players and none from the Spanish capital’s biggest club, bringing the fierce El Clasico rivalry into the national team’s debate. Defenders Dean Huijsen and Dani Carvajal were among the Real Madrid names to miss out on a team chasing Spain’s second World Cup title after their 2010 triumph in South Africa. De la Fuente dismissed the idea that the decision could cost him support among Real Madrid fans. “For me, the greatest team there is — the very greatest — is the Spanish national team,” De la Fuente said during a breakfast with media representatives organised by Spanish public broadcaster RTVE and news agency EFE. “I don’t look at where players come from or …

EU’s net payers prepare revolt as €1.8 trillion budget takes shape – POLITICO

EU’s net payers prepare revolt as €1.8 trillion budget takes shape – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

In addition to Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Austria, the Netherlands, Germany, France, Ireland and Belgium are expected to be represented in the talks, which are being held ahead of a General Affairs Council in Brussels where the EU’s Multiannual Financial Framework (long-term budget) is to be debated. But a rival camp of 16 countries — including Italy, Spain and Poland — are pushing back on the mooted cuts. They argue that spending on agriculture, payments to poorer regions and fishing must be increased from the Commission’s budget proposal, where they make up less than half of total spending. “In the Commission’s proposal, Cohesion Policy, CAP (Common Agricultural Policy) and the CFP (Common fisheries policy) are the only policies facing reductions in real terms, despite the overall increase in the size of the new MFF,” the countries wrote in a joint statement on Monday evening that was coordinated by Romania. Signatories include Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and Spain. Swedish European Affairs Minister Jessica Rosencrantz talks to …

How Wine, Truffles and Honey Could Help Europe Fight Wildfires

How Wine, Truffles and Honey Could Help Europe Fight Wildfires

Published by Sam Flores

Flames engulfed a forest in Catalonia, Spain, ripping across a wooded expanse and heading straight for hundred of acres of pines and underbrush. But before it reached them, the inferno encountered Celler Abadal, an 800-year-old family vineyard that sprawls across the red-clay hills. As the fire approached the tidy rows of grapes, separated from the tree line by only a few yards of barren soil, a strange thing happened. The blaze stopped. It was an example, in 2017, of an unexpected piece of good news. Certain landscapes, including vineyards, can help to slow or even partly stop runaway forest fires. “It’s not only that it is beautiful,” said Ramón Roqueta, the owner of Celler Abadal, walking across his terraced vineyard on a sunny day this month, pointing out a largely treeless hill where flames once raged. “It’s also making the area more resilient.” Wildfires in Europe are growing more intense and catastrophic over time. Last year, the continent experienced its worst wildfire season since records began in 2006, with nearly 2.5 million acres scorched. Already, …

Five EU countries call for tougher trade weapons to tackle China – POLITICO

Five EU countries call for tougher trade weapons to tackle China – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

While the document didn’t explicitly name China, it implicitly refered to Beijing by stressing that “some of the European Union’s (EU) main trading partners are breaking with this multilateral framework by imposing new trade barriers or contributing to systemic and structural industrial overcapacity.” The non-paper’s signatories, which include all of the EU’s biggest economies except Germany, urged the Commission to “contemplate more frequently the opportunity to open safeguard investigations in case of sector-wide trade disruptions.” The countries also called for the bloc to “be more proactive” in bringing breaches of trade rules before the World Trade Organization, and to allocate more human resources to its investigative units. In what appears to be a push to make trade enforcement more geopolitical, the five countries also called for adding “economic security” among the criteria that are assessed when deciding whether to open trade defense probes which can result in tariffs and other trade sanctions. “This approach would help preserve the Union’s remaining production capacities in strategic sectors and value chains, thereby protecting the Community’s industrial base,” they …

Europe sweats as ‘heat dome’ causes record May temperatures – POLITICO

Europe sweats as ‘heat dome’ causes record May temperatures – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

Multiple cities in the west of France are set to break May temperature records by several degrees, with Nantes expecting 35C heat on Monday — which would break a 2017 May temperature record by nearly three degrees.   The UK’s weather agency warned of “a notable heatwave” with highs of up to 33 degrees on Monday, which would break May temperature records for the country, while Belgium is set for highs of up to 31C. A “heat dome” is responsible for the current high temperatures, France’s Météo-France weather agency said. Warm air moving up from Northern Africa has become trapped under a high-pressure system over Western Europe. The effect is similar to that of a lid on a pot, with warm air forced downward and baking affected regions with prolonged, blistering heat. Météo-France noted the phenomenon is becoming more common as a result of climate change. “We expect to see such heatwaves more and more frequently,” the agency said. “They will occur earlier and become more intense.” The UK has issues heat health alerts across …

EU’s public debt could become ‘explosive’ without action, IMF warns – POLITICO

EU’s public debt could become ‘explosive’ without action, IMF warns – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

“The ‘muddling-through’ approach that many countries have adopted so far is reaching its limits, and a more strategic response seems essential to respond to rising spending pressures,” it added. The European Court of Auditors also told the finance ministers that doing nothing is not an option, highlighting the need for fiscal consolidation measures. The IMF paper calls EU countries to incentivize work and hiring across the ​27-country bloc, simplify citizens’ savings flow across the bloc into investments, energy markets integration and implementation of climate-resilient projects. Pension reforms and a higher retirement age would also help. EU should agree ‌that ⁠innovation, energy and defense are public goods and should be financed through joint borrowing, it adds. The bloc has remained deadlocked on the idea of sharing the debt to unlock additional funds, with some countries like Spain, Italy, Greece or France strongly in favor and others, like Germany, strongly opposing. “We are faced with a new and permanent spending needs,” EU Economy Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis said in a press conference after the meeting of finance ministers. …

Eldest son of Mango fashion empire founder held in murder inquiry into father’s death

Eldest son of Mango fashion empire founder held in murder inquiry into father’s death

Published by Sam Flores

The eldest son of Spanish clothing empire Mango’s founder Isak Andic, Jonathan Andic, was released on Tuesday after posting one million euros’ bail following his arrest as part of a murder inquiry into his father’s 2024 death. Jonathan was alone with his 71-year-old billionaire father when the clothing empire founder plunged to his death in the Montserrat mountains near Barcelona on December 14, 2024. FRANCE 24’s Carys Garland has more. Keywords for this article Source link