Category Archives: Spain

Europe struggles to stem rapid resurgence of coronavirus

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Concern in Germany and maximum alert in France, as other countries report record infection rates

Several mainland European countries have recorded their highest daily number of Covid-19 infections since widespread testing began, as governments struggle to stem a rapid resurgence of the virus that risks overwhelming some healthcare systems.

The figures came as the World Health Organization reported a record one-day increase in global coronavirus cases, with the total rising by 338,779 in 24 hours. The previous record for new cases was 330,340 on 2 October.

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Minority of Europeans think US election will be free and fair – poll

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Exclusive: majorities in seven countries favour Joe Biden and rate Donald Trump poorly

Fewer than one in 10 Europeans expect next month’s US presidential election to be completely free and fair, and an overwhelming majority say they would like Joe Biden to triumph over Donald Trump.

According to a YouGov tracker survey in Britain, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Sweden, in only one of these countries – Italy – are more than a tenth of voters confident that the American electoral process will prove irreproachable.

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Previous incident may have led Orcas to target boats, say experts

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Inquiry into encounters off coasts of Spain and Portugal says speed could be a factor

Experts investigating a series of extraordinary encounters between orcas and yachts off the coasts of Spain and Portugal believe the animals responsible may have been triggered to target boat rudders by an earlier “aversive incident” involving some kind of vessel.

Related: 'They were having a real go': man tells of orca encounter off Spain

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John McAfee, antivirus software pioneer, charged with tax evasion in US

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Entrepreneur has been arrested in Spain after US prosecutors alleged he hid millions, including in assets such as real estate and a yacht

John McAfee, the antivirus software entrepreneur, has been charged with evading taxes after failing to report millions earned promoting cryptocurrencies, consulting work, speaking engagements and the sale of the rights to his life story for a documentary, US prosecutors have alleged.

McAfee hid assets from the Internal Revenue Service, including real estate property, a vehicle and a yacht, in the names of other people, prosecutors said.

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Coronavirus: Europe struggles to contain surge of cases

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Rise in infection rate in Paris as Spanish authorities clash over Madrid lockdown

Bars in Paris have been ordered to close for two weeks, Madrid residents may no longer leave their city and Ireland is set to introduce tighter national restrictions as governments struggle to contain a Europe-wide surge in Covid-19 cases.

As infections in the Paris area rose to 270 for every 100,000 people – and as high as 500 for every 100,000 among 20- to 30-year-olds – with 36% of intensive care beds occupied by Covid-19 patients, the city’s police chief said bars must close from Tuesday.

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Madrid region performs U-turn and says it will obey Covid lockdown rules

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Self-governing Spanish region warned by central government that new measures are legally binding

The regional government of Madrid, the area of Spain hardest hit by the second wave of the coronavirus, has said it will obey new lockdown restrictions imposed by the central government but plans to appeal against them in court.

Efforts to tackle the spread of the virus in and around the capital have been hindered by political intransigence as the Madrid region engages in a standoff with the central government.

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Global coronavirus deaths pass 1m with no sign rate is slowing

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Johns Hopkins University data points to rises in countries that seemed to have slowed spread

The number of people who have died from Covid-19 has exceeded 1 million, according to a tally of cases maintained by Johns Hopkins University, with no sign the global death rate is slowing and infections on the rise again in countries that were thought to be controlling their outbreaks months ago.

The milestone was reached early on Tuesday morning UK time, nine months since authorities in China first announced the detection of a cluster of pneumonia cases with an unknown cause in the central Chinese city of Wuhan. The first recorded death, that of a 61-year-old man in a hospital in the city, came 12 days later.

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Frustrated Madrid residents call for new approach in Covid pandemic – video

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Hundreds of protesters gathered in Madrid’s working-class neighbourhood of Vallecas demanding that authorities change their tactics on the pandemic.

Madrid authorities ordered mobility restrictions in areas where a total of 850,000 people live, sparking complaints of discrimination and protests

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Masked Spanish councillor’s English accent proves to be a dub misstep – video

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A councillor from Valencia surprised listeners with a minute-long speech in stunningly fluent English and without the slightest trace of a Spanish accent for the city's bid to become the European Capital of Innovation 2020, an honour later awarded to Leuven in Belgium.

Carlos Galiana was being live-dubbed by a native English speaker – with a noticeable regional accent. The Spanish newspaper El Español reported the council did not have an interpreter stand next to Galiana because of strict commission instructions

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Outcry as Spanish councillor uses face mask to ‘fake speaking English’

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Valencia councillor criticised after it emerges speech made in perfect English was dubbed

Some have railed against the mandatory use of face masks, attacking them as a muzzle on their civil liberties. Others have civically adopted them without so much as a whimper. And then there are those who have seen the opportunities they present amid the crisis.

Valencia may have lost its bid to become the European Capital of Innovation 2020 – the Belgian city of Leuven claimed the honour – but a councillor from the city in eastern Spain did his hometown proud with a minute-long speech in stunningly fluent English and without the slightest trace of a Spanish accent.

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What lessons can Europe learn from Sweden’s Covid-19 experience?

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Experts say that while contested ‘light touch’ response warrants study each country must find right approach for them

EU governments that locked down are increasingly emulating the one that did not, but experts warn that Sweden’s Covid approach, relying more on voluntary compliance than coercion, will not suit all – and big questions remain over whether it has worked for Sweden.

As infections surge in several European countries, France, which is currently averaging nearly 12,000 cases a day, has ruled out another national lockdown, instead pursuing a strategy the prime minister, Jean Castex, calls “living with the virus” and imposing local measures.

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Orcas ram boat off the coast of Spain – video

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Three orcas rammed a boat off the coast of Spain.

The incident lasted 45 minutes, during which the animals bit off part of the the sailing boat's rudder as the crew had to travel to a port in Galicia to check for further damage.

A number of incidents involving orcas and sailing boats have been reported near Spanish and Portuguese coasts, but the reasons behind the behaviour are still not clear

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Spain bans yachts from stretch of sea after orcas damage boats

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Yachts less than 15 metres told to avoid area near coast of Galicia after series of incidents

Small yachts have been ordered to steer clear of a stretch of water off the north-west coast of Spain after at least three boats were damaged by a gang of boisterous orcas.

On Tuesday, Spain’s transport ministry said yachts of less than 15 metres in length would be banned from sailing close to the coast between Cape Prioriño Grande and Estaca de Bares point in Galicia for a week.

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As Covid cases rise again, how are countries in Europe reacting?

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Tighter measures are being imposed, but they vary across the continent

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Madrid’s Teatro Real cancels opera after social distancing protests – video

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Audience members clapped and shouted in protest over a lack of social distancing measures in Madrid on Sunday night causing an opera to be pulled at the last minute.

A performance of Verdi’s A Masked Ball at the Teatro Real was abandoned after two failed attempts to begin. The decision was made to bring down the curtain at about 9.10pm.

One member of the audience said there were rows of more than a dozen people without any gaps between them. In a statement, theatre management said the house had been operating at just 51.5% of its total capacity

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Madrid opera halted by audience protest over lack of social distancing

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Spectators at Teatro Real say they were crammed into seats without space between them

A performance of Verdi’s A Masked Ball was abandoned in Madrid on Sunday night after audience members protested over the lack of social distancing measures – especially for those in cheaper seats.

One member of the audience at the Teatro Real opera house said there were rows of more than a dozen people without any gaps between them.

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Protests in Madrid over coronavirus lockdown measures

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Protesters call for regional president who blamed ‘way of life of immigrants’ for rise to resign

By midday on Sunday, the chants of “Unity!” and “Healthcare!” that echoed around a busy crossroads in north-east Madrid had given rise to a more specific demand: “Ayuso resign!”

On Friday, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, the president of the Madrid region, announced that 850,000 people – many of them living in some of the poorest parts of the city and surrounding area – would be placed in partial lockdown from Monday in an attempt to arrest the second wave of the virus.

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‘We pick your food’: migrant workers speak out from Spain’s ‘Plastic Sea’

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In Almería’s vast farms, migrants pick food destined for UK supermarkets. But these ‘essential workers’ live in shantytowns and lack PPE as Covid cases soar

Photographs and drone footage by Ofelia de Pablo and Javier Zurita

It is the end of another day for Hassan, a migrant worker from Morocco who has spent the past 12 hours under a sweltering late summer sun harvesting vegetables in one of the vast greenhouses of Almería, southern Spain.

The vegetables he has dug from the red dirt are destined for dinner plates all over Europe. UK supermarkets including Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda, Lidl and Aldi all source fruit and vegetables from Almería. The tens of thousands of migrant workers working in the province are vital to the Spanish economy and pan-European food supply chains. Throughout the pandemic, they have held essential worker status, labouring in the fields while millions across the world sheltered inside.

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Global preparation: how different countries planned for the second wave of Covid-19

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Lockdowns brought temporary relief to some but, everywhere, test and trace is key

The first wave of coronavirus swept through a world unprepared. Authorities struggled to test for the disease, and didn’t know how to slow the spread of Covid-19.

Lockdowns brought the virus under temporary control in some places, including the UK, buying a window for the revival of education and the economy, and time to prepare for future waves that epidemiologists said were almost inevitable.

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More than 100 cats – and owner – evicted from Spanish flat

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Huge clan is believed to have originated from a pair of cats taken in three years ago

Animal charities in southern Spain were urgently seeking homes for 110 cats on Saturday after they and their owner were evicted from a flat in the Valencia region.

Spama Safor, an animal shelter in the south-eastern seaside town of Gandia, had initially thought there were only 96 cats in the flat. But by Saturday evening, the charity said it had removed a total of 110 cats and urgently needed help to shelter them “at least until they are vaccinated or sterilised”.

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