“I should be going 80 [kmh] and I’m going 190 [kmh],” the driver of the train that crashed in Santiago de Compostela in northwestern Spain on July 24 reportedly told his company’s emergency service on the phone after the …
Spain
Hold The Onions: Spanish Beer Ad Stirs Up A Paella Controversy
As beer commercials go, it hardly seems controversial. There are no disembodied male arms reaching for the bottle that rests in the small of a prostrate woman’s naked back (thanks, Guinness), and no catfight between scantily-clad women over whether Miller Lite really does taste great or is less filling. Yet this year’s traditional …
Spain: Deportation Case Casts Light on Push for Catalan Independence
On Thursday, Barcelona police arrested a Moroccan-born man and informed him that he was being deported from the country where he has legally lived and worked for the past 14 years. They say he is a spy. He denies it
Spain and Portugal’s Huddled Masses Seek Jobs in Former Colonies
There are few better places that illustrate the impact of the Spanish conquest of Latin America than the Plaza de Armas in Cuzco, Peru. Cathedrals with foundations of perfectly hewn Incan stone sit atop the ruins of what was once the mountain capital of the great Incan empire. Chapels gleam with Andean gold and silver, a testament to the …
The Suspect Princess: Is This Good for Spanish Democracy?
Her father the King was a hero for standing up to a military coup attempt, but Princess Cristina’s contribution to Spanish modernity may be facing the judicial system
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Falkland Islanders went to stay under British rule, Spaniards are abandoning their horses as they struggle to make ends meet and China agrees to talks with U.S. over cyber hacking
Road KingdomsSpain
Gin & Tonic: Spain’s Obsession, Despite the Recession
The first time I drank a gin and tonic, a real gin and tonic, it was three in the morning in an old converted castle in the tiny town of La Alberca, outside Salamanca, Spain, not more than 40 miles from the Portuguese border. It …
Must-Reads from Around the World
New Delhi’s air pollution was worse than Beijing’s on Thursday, China’s surplus labor will disappear by 2025 and Argentina refuses to hold talks over Falkland Islands
It’s Official: Eurozone Enters Second Recession In Three Years
Despite positive growth in France and Germany, official figures show the 17-nation euro bloc sinking into its second recession since 2009—with experts warning the worst is yet to come.
Europe Rises Up: Day of Anti-Austerity Rage Grips the Continent
From Portugal to Greece, activists and workers furious with the new conditions of austerity governments are imposing on their societies took to the streets in what was dubbed the continent’s first ever united General Strike.
France ‘Biggest Problem’ in Euro Crisis, Say German Officials
France smarts at German comments despairing French economic response to the euro crisis, and media reports contending Berlin is preparing a To-Do reform list for sluggish leaders in Paris.
Antiausterity Protests Sweep the Euro Zone
The seasons of discontent roll on in Southern Europe, as protesters in debt-ridden Spain, Greece, Italy and Portugal have taken to the streets in reaction to the continuing economic crisis paralyzing their societies
Spain’s Anti-Austerity Movement Rocks Madrid
With the Spanish economy teetering on a precipice, the ruling government of conservative Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy announced new austerity measures—a move that triggered mass protests in the country’s capital.