Bullfighting is still a celebrity sport in Spain

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 15:13:56 +0000

Some argue that bullfighting is on its way out in Spain, especially in Catalonia, where a proposed bullfighting ban may become a reality in the coming months. But a look at the numbers tells a different side of the story.

Bombing rattles Spain

Wed, 29 Jul 2009 17:17:53 +0000

Spain woke up Wednesday morning to a mix of fear, relief and indignation. A car bomb parked next to a 14-story building of Guardia Civil offices and homes in the northern town of Burgos exploded at 4 a.m., stripping the facade down to its framework but "miraculously" causing no casualties. Reportedly 65 people suffered injuries, mostly with cuts, none of them serious. One hundred seventeen people — Guardia Civil agents and their families, including 41 children — were inside the building, sleeping.

School's out of the closet

Sat, 25 Jul 2009 17:48:27 +0000

This year’s Gay Pride parade poster shows a triangle similar to the traffic sign warning to watch out for children crossing the road. The slogan is “Escuela sin armarios” or “School without closets.”

Antonio Poveda, president of FELGTB, Spain’s Federation of Lesbians, Gays, Transsexuals and Bisexuals, said the message is that homosexuality should be more visible in schools.

Stinging business

Fri, 12 Jun 2009 17:19:43 +0000

Jellyfish can ruin a summer vacation. Their presence on the coasts — which can neither be anticipated nor prevented — means at best not swimming and at worst a painful sting.

But an increase of swarms on Mediterranean shores has yet to reach levels that could supply a practical use for these creatures beyond their translucent poses in underwater photography.

Spaniards scold the country's ruling party in European elections

Sun, 07 Jun 2009 21:34:04 +0000

Spain's leading opposition party, PP (center-right People's Party), received the largest number of votes in the European elections: 42 percent and 23 seats. PSOE, the ruling center-left Spanish Socialist Workers' Party, received 38.66 percent of the votes and 21 seats.

US citizens pursued by Spain’s National Court

Mon, 08 Jun 2009 13:10:05 +0000

There are currently four cases open involving the United States in Spain’s National Court: two related to Guantanamo; one to the killing of a Spanish news cameraman by the U.S. military in an attack on a hotel in Baghdad; and one about CIA flights taking prisoners to Guantanamo or other prisons, which is investigating whether Spanish authorities knew about and allowed stopovers of those flights in Spain.

Garzon stops at nothing

Thu, 30 Apr 2009 15:13:56 +0000

Spanish National Court investigative judge Baltasar Garzon opened an investigation on torture in Guantanamo and other prisons and initiated preliminary proceedings against “the possible authors, instigators, necessary cooperators, and accomplices,” according to a court document. These would include “members of the American air forces or military intelligence and all those who executed and/or designed a systematic torture plan and inhuman and degrading treatment against prisoners under their custody.”

The Spanish press gives Obama mixed reviews

Wed, 29 Apr 2009 17:17:30 +0000

The Spanish media have focused on highlighting President Barack Obama’s high popularity rates in the U.S., while underscoring his style, “diametrically opposed” to his predecessor’s: pragmatism over ideology and willingness to listen before making a decision, abroad and at home.

Some dailies, such as El Periodico and El Mundo, define President Obama’s work on these first 100 days as “hyperactivity” in a positive way, while the conservative ABC points out he has done “nothing deserving praise.”

Joaquin and Goliath

Sat, 18 Apr 2009 17:39:33 +0000

The news that Spain could open an investigation on Guantanamo has sparked a media storm in Europe and the United States.

The document filed in the Audiencia Nacional, Spain’s national court, urging an investigation of six former Bush administration officials for devising the legal framework for torture in the island’s detention center, has experts on both sides of the Atlantic debating matters of jurisdiction, politics and international law.

Protecting humans

Fri, 03 Apr 2009 14:20:44 +0000

Spain is set to change its 20-year-old abortion law. To counter increased social acceptance of abortion in traditionally Catholic Spain, the Bishops’ Council launched a campaign against the proposal for a draft bill with the slogan, “Protect My Life.”

Police raid Heaven

Fri, 13 Feb 2009 16:30:22 +0000

Heaven, the Madrid downtown club that recently saw the murder of a doorman and a promoter, was raided by the police last weekend. Police report seizing more than 200 doses of various drugs — including cocaine, ecstasy, popper, speed, hashish and marijuana. Drug possession in small quantities for individual consumption is not a crime in Spain, though dealing is. The police intervention was part of an ongoing operation to eradicate drug consumption in public places, the police explained.

Supreme Court rules on "Education for Citizenship"

Thu, 29 Jan 2009 00:08:10 +0000

Spain’s Supreme Court decided today against the petition of conscious objection by parents who don't want their children to take an "Education for Citizenship" course. The conclusion was reached, after two-and-a-half days of deliberation, with favorable votes of 22 magistrates out of 30.

View from Madrid: Viva Obama

Tue, 20 Jan 2009 16:11:22 +0000

Admiration for Barack Obama’s charisma and unprecedented enthusiasm at this historical moment of seeing an African-American President of the United States brought rare agreement among political analysts and columnists commenting in Spanish media on today’s inauguration. “Images move the world today and the icon of a black family in the White House contains so much positive energy that the history of humanity will never be able to escape it,” wrote novelist Manuel Vicent in El País.

A GQ prince

Thu, 15 Jan 2009 04:38:57 +0000

The January issue of GQ magazine in Spain features Felipe de Borbon, crown prince, on the cover, with the title “The XXI Century King.” In a black-and-white portrait, he frowns, with his hand on his jaw, in a gesture of deep reflection — or preoccupation.