Conservative judges froze passage of measures meant to overhaul appointments to their court

Spain’s prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, has vowed to use “whatever measures are needed” to end to a long-running judicial deadlock after conservative judges at the country’s constitutional court took the unprecedented step of suspending the passage of legislation that would overhaul the way appointments to their court are made.

Last week, Sánchez’s Socialist-led coalition government managed to get its changes to the penal code through congress, the lower house of Spain’s parliament.

People’s party expected to repeat 2018 defeat of Socialists – but failure to gain absolute majority could lead to deal with far right

People in Andalucía have gone to the polls in an early regional election that the incumbent conservative People’s party is expected to win comfortably, in what would be a blow to Spain’s Socialist prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, before a national vote expected at the end of 2023.

More than 6 million people are eligible to vote in Spain’s most populous region, where temperatures were expected to cool slightly after a week of extreme heat that officials feared would reduce turnout.

Isabel Díaz Ayuso’s conservatives take 65 of 136 seats and will need support of far-right Vox party

Spain’s conservative People’s party has won a resounding victory but fallen just short of an absolute majority in a Madrid regional election dominated by the coronavirus pandemic and marked by a bitter and deeply polarised campaign.

The PP, led by incumbent regional president Isabel Díaz Ayuso, won 65 seats in the 136-seat regional assembly, more than doubling its tally in the 2019 regional election and taking more seats than all three leftwing parties combined. However, its failure to cross the majority threshold of 69 seats means it will now have to rely on the help of the far-right Vox party to form a new government.

Toxic cloud alert activated following a big explosion near Tarragona

A massive explosion at a petrochemical plant in the northeastern Catalan region of Spain has killed one person and gravely injured at least six others.

The blast in the port city of Tarragona sent a column of black smoke into the sky and prompted local authorities to warn people in surrounding areas to stay inside as a precaution.

Pedro Sánchez secures backing in parliament to govern with anti-austerity alliance group

Spain will be led by a coalition government for the first time in 80 years after the acting prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, narrowly secured parliamentary approval for a joint administration between his Socialist party and the anti-austerity Unidas Podemos alliance.

The investiture vote on Tuesday, which Sánchez won by 167 votes to 165, with 18 abstentions, ends the nine months of political deadlock resulting from two inconclusive general elections last year.