Labour minister says it’s madness that people are still working in restaurants at 1am but opposition and tourism groups defend country’s nightlife

Working past 10pm can pose a risk to mental health, Spain’s leftwing labour minister, Yolanda Díaz, has warned, as she fended off criticisms for describing the country’s custom of keeping restaurants open until late into the night as “madness”.

The debate over Spain’s vibrant nightlife – and the long working hours needed to sustain it – was thrust into the spotlight on Monday after Díaz characterised the country’s late-night restaurant culture as out of step with the rest of Europe.

Police in Spanish city continue to search debris after blaze that consumed one of the buildings in less than an hour

The death toll from a fire that left two residential buildings charred ruins in the Spanish city of Valencia rose to 10 on Saturday after authorities announced they had located the remains of what they believed to be the last missing person.

Forensic police found the 10th victim inside the building, the national government delegate in Valencia, Pilar Bernabé, told journalists. Police would proceed with DNA testing to confirm the identities of all the victims, she said.

Thirteen reported injured as 22 teams of firefighters fight flames engulfing 14-storey building

Spanish firefighters have been battling high winds to put out a huge fire that gutted a multi-storey apartment block in Valencia and left four dead.

At least 13 people have been injured, including a minor and six firefighters, emergency services and regional officials in the eastern port city said, without providing details on the extent of the injuries. The emergency services earlier said seven people were lightly injured, mostly from smoke inhalation.

Close-run race could see PP ousted and Ana Pontón of BNG installed as area’s first female and nationalist leader

Spain’s opposition conservative party faces the prospect of defeat in its leader’s home region, where it has governed for much of the past four decades, when voters in Galicia go to the polls on Sunday.

The People’s party (PP) won an absolute majority four years ago under the then regional president, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, who now leads the national party, but polls suggest its declining fortunes could open the door to a coalition of the Socialist party and the surging Galician Nationalist Bloc (BNG).

Two officers died and two others injured when their patrol craft was rammed by speedboat off the coast of Barbate

Eight people have been arrested after two Spanish Guardia Civil officers were killed and two more injured when their small patrol boat was rammed by a speedboat driven by suspected drug smugglers off the southern port of Barbate.

Video of the incident, which took place on Friday night, showed a large speedboat hitting the police inflatable launch at high speed. Stretches of Spain’s southern coast have seen a series of violent clashes in recent years between police and smugglers bringing in drugs from north Africa.