Category Archives: Spain

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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Foreign offices: the Britons who work from home – abroad

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Covid has forced many people out of workplaces. Some have saved money by moving overseas

When the coronavirus lockdown forced Mason Palmer, 26, to start working from home, the digital content creator had a rethink about where that home was and in July he moved from Bristol to Milan. “I’ve always loved travelling to Italy,” he says. “I was always going over there; it was like an expensive hobby.”

He did not expect his boss to necessarily be on board with his plans and suggested that he move to working for the company, Working Word, on a freelance basis. But the firm was open to the idea and his boss kept him on staff. “Now I’m like the unofficial Milan branch,” he laughs.

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Lockdown measures and rising anger in Madrid as Covid takes hold again

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As cases rise sharply, the regional government has floundered. From Monday, the worst-affected areas face new restrictions

People in the queue to be tested for Covid-19 at the Buenos Aires health centre in south Madrid on Friday morning were met with a bleak but polite homemade sign.

It still bore the previous day’s information, spelled out in marker pen: consultations – by phone and in person – 483; Covid consultations, 19; PCR tests, 78; and number of staff absent, 13.

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Dazzling makeover of 90-year-old Spanish lighthouse divides opinion

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Infinite Cantabria by Okuda San Miguel is a riot of colours, geometric shapes and animals

A 90-year-old lighthouse perched on a lush cape in northern Spain is at the centre of a cultural row after a dazzling paint job by a local artist left the tower outshining its lamp – and some critics blanching.

For almost a century, the lighthouse, near the Cantabrian town of Ajo, was a mute, monochrome sentry beaming its light out over the Atlantic.

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‘We’ve learned how we need to act’: Spain braces for second wave of Covid

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Despite a big rise in infections, particularly among younger people, there is no sense of panic on the streets around Madrid

An hour or so before lunch on Thursday, Ángela Falcón stepped out of the church of Our Lady of the Assumption and on to the hot and busy streets of Parla.

“I’m scared and I very seldom come out but when I do, I stop by the church to pray,” said the 71-year-old.

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Scientists baffled by orcas ramming sailing boats near Spain and Portugal

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From the Strait of Gibraltar to Galicia, orcas have been harassing yachts, damaging vessels and injuring crew

Full story: ‘I’ve never seen or heard of attacks’ – scientists baffled by orcas harassing boats

Scientists have been left baffled by incidents of orcas ramming sailing boats along the Spanish and Portuguese coasts.

In the last two months, from southern to northern Spain, sailors have sent distress calls after worrying encounters. Two boats lost part of their rudders, at least one crew member suffered bruising from the impact of the ramming, and several boats sustained serious damage.

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‘Not a game’: Europe pleads with young people to halt Covid-19 spread

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Health authorities across continent try to reach under 30s as cases among younger people rise

As the number of Covid-19 cases rises sharply in parts of Europe, health authorities from the UK to Spain are calling on young people to do more to halt the spread of the virus. This is how the situation looks in a number of major European countries and how it is being tackled.

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Spain is first country in western Europe to record half a million Covid cases

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Experts fear that France and the UK will follow the country’s rapid rise in new infections

Spain has become the first western European country to record more than half a million Covid-19 cases, logging a total of 525,549 infections as concerns also grow over the rise in cases in France and the UK.

The Spanish milestone comes amid a continuing surge in infections as millions of children begin returning to school after a six-month hiatus.

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Woman who helped deported Syrians ‘ashamed of UK government’

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Barbara Pomfret came to aid of group left homeless in Madrid after forced removal from UK

A British woman living in Spain who helped 11 Syrian asylum seekers who were left homeless and hungry on the streets of Madrid after being forcibly removed from the UK has said she is ashamed of the UK government’s behaviour.

The all-male group were left destitute after being put on a flight to Madrid by the Home Office last week. They had arrived in the UK in small boats from Calais and are part of a Home Office plan to remove almost 1,000 such arrivals.

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Ibex population thrives in French Pyrenees a century after being wiped out

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A bumper litter of kids has helped the distinctive, long-horned wild goats to prosper after being introduced from Spain

The population of ibex recently introduced to the French Pyrenees is thriving more than a century after the native species was wiped out in France.

Officials have counted 70 newborn ibex this year at the Pyrenees national park and nearby Ariege regional park in the craggy mountains that separate France and Spain.

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Coronavirus live news: Hungary shuts borders with second wave ‘knocking on door’; Greece delays school reopening

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Hungary introduces measures stricter than at height of pandemic; Greek pupils’ return delayed for a week; Spain saw 75% drop in tourists

Spain recorded 8,115 new cases of Covid-19 on Tuesday evening, 2,731 of them diagnosed in the previous 24 hours, according to the latest figures from the national health ministry.

The latest statistics bring the country’s total to 470,973 cases, of which 99,889 have been logged over the past fortnight. Over the past seven days, 159 people have died from the virus, bringing the death toll to 29,152.

Cuban authorities launched a strict 15-day lockdown of Havana on Tuesday in order to stamp out the low level but persistent spread of coronavirus in the capital.

Aggressive anti-virus measures, including closing down air travel, have virtually eliminated Covid-19 in Cuba with the exception of the capital, where cases have increased from a handful a day to dozens daily over the last month.

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Global report: schools across Europe reopen as Covid cases grow

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Parents and teachers fear face masks and other measures not enough to prevent second wave

Tens of millions of pupils, most wearing face masks, have headed back to class in France, Belgium, Poland and Russia, as schools across Europe cautiously reopened amid spiralling numbers of new coronavirus cases in several countries.

Parents and teachers around the continent have expressed fears that strict physical distancing and hygiene measures such as hand cleansing stations will not be able to prevent a second Covid-19 wave, maybe coinciding with the autumn flu season.

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UN refugee agency calls on EU nations to let in migrants rescued in Mediterranean

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UNHCR and IOM say 200 rescued people urgently need to get off Banksy-funded ship

The UN refugee agency urged European nations on Saturday to let in hundreds of migrants rescued from the Mediterranean by humanitarian boats, including one financed by the British street artist Banksy.

The UNHCR and the International Organization of Migration (IOM) said more than 200 rescued refugees and migrants needed immediately to get off the nonprofit search-and-rescue ship Louise Michel, saying it was far beyond its safe capacity.

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Coronavirus live news: India records its highest daily toll, WHO to review emergency alert rules

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Spanish children over six to wear masks at school; Tour de France in doubt; US Midwest states report record tallies. Follow latest updates

The UK on Thursday recorded the highest number of new coronavirus cases since 12 June, with government figures reporting 1,522 positive cases.

The number of new cases, which cover the 24 hours to 9am on 27 August, were up 474 on the previous day.

Related: UK sees highest number of new Covid-19 cases since mid-June

The risk of severe illness and death to children from Covid-19 is “vanishingly rare”, according to the biggest study yet of those admitted to hospital, which the researchers say should reassure parents as they return to school.

The study included two-thirds of all patients admitted to hospitals across England, Scotland and Wales with Covid-19. Of these, 651 – less than 1% – were children and young people under 19. Six of these patients – less than 1% – died. All had severe underlying health conditions.

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Coronavirus live news: France reports 7,379 daily cases in new post-lockdown record

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France records second highest daily tally since March; Italy considers evacuating tourists from Sardinia; Spain’s daily count falls; face masks mandatory in Paris

US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said a White House proposal to spend $1.3tn (£1tn) in coronavirus economic relief would not be enough to meet the needs of American workers and families.

Pelosi said in a statement she hoped the Republicans would come to the negotiating table and accept the Democratic offer of $2.2tn in spending.

Nationwide restrictions cannot be ruled out should England see a spike in coronavirus cases this winter, the health secretary has warned.

Matt Hancock said countries in others parts of the world were already experiencing a second wave, adding it was “a very serious threat”.

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Global report: India sets new national daily case record

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Parisian pedestrians must wear face coverings from Friday; Spain says school children over six must wear masks; China goes 12 days without local case

India has set a new national record of daily coronavirus infections, reporting more than 77,000 cases in 24 hours, just shy of the global one-day record tally held by America.

India’s health ministry reported 77, 266 new cases on Friday. The largest ever one day rise is 78,427, reported by the US on 25 July. India also recorded more than 1,000 new deaths taking total fatalities, to 61,529, the fourth highest total in the world, behind the US, Brazil and Mexico.

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The amphibians of Alhambra – a photo essay

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Its stunning Moorish architecture makes the Spanish monument one of the world’s most visited. But photographer Ugo Mellone found the resident frogs, toads and newts just as fascinating

The Alhambra, which sits on a hill in Granada, Andalucía, is the only preserved palatine city of the Islamic period and a Unesco world heritage site. Once the residence of the Nasrid sultans, it is one of the most visited national monuments in the world.

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