DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Juventus deny withdrawal from Super League project
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MADRID, June 6 (Reuters) - Juventus have not withdrawn from the European Super League (ESL) project, the Italian club said on Tuesday following a media report that they had sent Real Madrid and Barcelona a letter informing them of their departure. But Juve added that they will discuss with Real and Barca, the other clubs remaining in the project, a potential exit. "Juventus will proceed with any communications due under the law following the outcome of the discussions and evaluations (regarding a potential exit)," the club said. A spokesperson for the Super League was not immediately able to comment. The breakaway Super League was formed in April 2021, when 12 of Europe's top football clubs launched a bid to wrestle control of the game and its lucrative revenue away from European soccer governing body UEFA.

Persons: Barca, David Latona, Elvira Pollina, Joan Faus, Emma Pinedo, Janina Nuno Rios, Inti Landauro, Ken Ferris Organizations: Juventus, European Super League, Real Madrid, Juve, Real, Barca, UEFA, Super League, League, Manchester United, Manchester, Tottenham Hotspur, Arsenal, AC Milan, Inter Milan, Atletico Madrid, Thomson Locations: MADRID, Barcelona, Manchester City, Liverpool

☆ EU's Borrell: Russia won't enter negotiations while trying to win war
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-29 | by ( Joan Faus | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

"I see a concentration of troops on both sides, the clear will of Russia to try to win the war," Borrell told an event in Barcelona. "(Russia) will not go to a negotiation until it has tried to win the war." He added that Russia has repeatedly signaled it would not cease the campaign until its military goals have been achieved. (Russian President Vladimir) Putin has amassed over 300,000 men there, twice as many as he had when he launched the invasion," Borrell told reporters after the event. We have to be prepared, which means continuing to help Ukraine, because if we don't help it, Ukraine cannot defend (itself)," Borrell said.

☆ Real Madrid lodges hate crime complaint over Vinicius incident
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MADRID, May 22 (Reuters) - Real Madrid have lodged a hate crime complaint with Spanish prosecutors over racist chants hurled at Brazilian player Vinicius Jr during Sunday's match at Valencia's Mestalla stadium, the club said in a statement on Monday. "Real Madrid C.F. shows its strongest rejection and condemns the events that occurred yesterday against our player Vinicius Jr," it said. The attacks, in its view, "constitute a hate crime" for which the club has filed a complaint with the State Attorney General's Office, the club said. Reporting by Fernando Kallas; Writing by David Latona; Editing by Inti LandauroOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Spanish football admits it has racism problem after Vinicius incident
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

MADRID, May 22 (Reuters) - Spanish soccer has a racism problem, football federation chief Luis Rubiales said on Monday, after Real Madrid lodged a complaint following alleged insults hurled at their Brazilian star Vinicius Jr. It is "a serious problem that also stains an entire team, an entire fan base, an entire club, an entire country." "Probably Vinicius is more right than we think and we all need to do more about racism," Rubiales said. Real Madrid said on Monday they have lodged a hate crime complaint following the incident in Valencia. It is the 10th episode of alleged racism against Vinicius that has been reported to prosecutors this season, according to LaLiga.

☆ Captive breeding helps endangered Iberian lynx population hit record
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Known for its pointy ears, long legs and leopard-like spotted fur, the Iberian lynx is a species distinct from the more common Eurasian lynx found from France to the Himalayas. The ministry's report partly attributed the demographic boom to the success of a captive breeding and reintroduction programme launched in 2011. Since then, 338 lynx born in captivity have been released into the wild. "This positive demographic evolution allows us to be optimistic about the reduction of the risk of extinction," the ministry said. However, it added that it was necessary to continue ongoing conservation efforts, given that the species remains classified as endangered.

☆ Mick Jagger's daughter Jade fined for attacking police in Spain
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] Designer and model Jade Jagger poses during the inauguration of her exhibition "Don't take it personally" at Studio 57 gallery in Paris, France, July 6, 2017. REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes/File PhotoMADRID, May 19 (Reuters) - A Spanish court on Friday ordered Jade Jagger, the daughter of Rolling Stones singer Mick Jagger, to pay 2,200 euros ($2,422) in fines and compensation for attacking a police officer on the island of Ibiza. The 51-year-old jewelry designer was arrested on Wednesday along with a man following an altercation at a restaurant in the island's capital, Ibiza Town. In Spain, prison sentences under two years are generally suspended if the defendant has no prior convictions. ($1 = 0.9084 euros)Reporting by Emma Pinedo; Editing by David Latona and Bill BerkrotOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Mick Jagger's daughter Jade arrested in Ibiza
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MADRID, May 18 (Reuters) - Jade Jagger, the daughter of Rolling Stones singer Mick Jagger, has been arrested on the Spanish island of Ibiza for attacking police officers, a police source said on Thursday without providing further details. She was arrested on Wednesday along with a man following an altercation at a restaurant in the island's capital Ibiza Town, Spain's largest newspaper El Pais reported, citing witnesses. The man became aggressive with waiters and the couple were thrown out, according to El Pais. When they arrived, the man resisted arrest and Jagger attacked police officers by scratching and punching, El Pais added. She will appear in court on Friday, according to El Pais.

☆ Two killed in Spain blast in suspected gender-based violence incident
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Vincent West | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/3] Police cordon off the area where a man and a woman died in a suspected bomb blast related to gender violence, according to the Basque regional security department, in Orio, northern Spain, May 16,... Read moreMADRID, May 16 (Reuters) - Two people - a man and woman - died in an explosion in the town of Orio in northern Spain, the Basque regional security department said on Tuesday, and media cited authorities as saying the incident was being investigated as likely gender-based violence. A Reuters witness said police had cordoned off an area around a sidewalk bench where the blast occurred, next to a children's playground. There were few signs of an explosion, with the bench, shrubs behind it and a bin nearby apparently undamaged. News agency EFE, quoting police sources, reported the preliminary investigation pointed toward a package held by one of the victims being the source of the explosion. Reporting by David Latona; Editing by Andrei KhalipOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Severe drought spreads in Portugal, officials seek EU help
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Around 90% of mainland Portugal is suffering from drought, with severe drought alone affecting one-fifth of its territory, twice as much as in March and nearly five times the area reported a year earlier. Some parts are in an extreme drought situation, which did not exist at the same time in 2022. The northeast and southern regions were particularly badly hit, and the dry weather conditions were expected to continue. With temperatures above normal for this time of the year, the agency said April 2023 was the third-driest and fourth-warmest in the last 92 years in mainland Portugal. Neighbouring Spain has registered the driest start to a year since records started, its weather agency AEMET said on Wednesday, with less than half the average rainfall during the first four months of 2023.

☆ UN chief says peace talks in Ukraine conflict not possible right now
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

"Unfortunately, I believe that at this stage, a peace negotiation is not possible. Both sides are convinced that they can win," Guterres said. "At the moment, I do not see any possibility of achieving immediately - we are not talking about the future - a comprehensive ceasefire, a peace negotiation," he added. Asked about mediation efforts by China or Brazilian leader Lula, Guterres stressed that achieving peace in the conflict could not happen at the moment, though he hoped that "in the future it will". Reporting by David Latona; Editing by Philippa FletcherOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Spain considers ending or curbing controversial 'golden visa' scheme
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/ Albert GeaMADRID, May 8 (Reuters) - Spain could pull the plug on its so-called "golden visa" scheme that grants residency rights to foreigners who invest in real estate in the country, according to the leader of a left-wing party negotiating the issue with the government. "Spanish citizenship cannot be bought," Errejon said, adding that golden visas had led to a "brutal" rise in housing prices and forced locals out of their neighbourhoods without creating any new jobs. Earlier on Monday, El Pais newspaper reported Spain was considering tougher requirements for golden visa applications. From the start of the golden visa scheme in 2013 until last November, Spain issued almost 5,000 permits, with Chinese investors leading the list, government figures show. Errejon said the visas represented a "backdoor privilege" for millionaires, turning Spain into a "sort of colony, often attracting dark money".

☆ LaLiga loss shrinks as ticket revenues recover after pandemic
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LaLiga expects the current season to produce a net profit of just below 30 million euros, "still far from levels reached in the pre-COVID years", with revenues adding a little over 1%. COVID restrictions hit ticket sales and player transactions in 2020-21, leading to the Spanish league's first loss since 2012. Revenues reached almost 4.84 billion euros in 2021-22, landing just short of the record of nearly 5.07 billion in 2019-20. However, the amount of money spent on infrastructure jumped to 430 million euros, exceeding pre-pandemic levels. Last month, the club secured a financing deal worth 1.45 billion euros with 20 investors, including Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan, after having renegotiated the initial terms.

ALCARACEJOS, Spain, April 27 (Reuters) - Residents of a small town in southern Spain gathered at the main square to collect drinking water as large swathes of the Iberian Peninsula braved unseasonally hot weather that have exacerbated a long drought. Meteorologists expected temperatures to hit almost 40 Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) in some areas of Spain this week. She recalled times when they had running water for only a few hours a day, but never needing to carry the bottles home. [1/5] A bird walks at the Sierra Boyera Reservoir, which is at 0.01% of its capacity, in Belmez, southern Spain, April 26. Residents can receive up to five litres (1.3 gallons) per day from a truck that drives through the affected villages.

☆ Spain to exhume fascist movement founder's body from Madrid mausoleum
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( Charlie Devereux | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Juan MedinaMADRID, April 24 (Reuters) - Spain on Monday will dig up the body of Jose Antonio Primo de Rivera, founder of the fascist Falange movement that supported the Francoist regime, and remove it from a mausoleum carved into a mountainside near Madrid. Last year, the Valley of the Fallen was renamed Valley of Cuelgamuros - the original name of the site - under Spain's new Democratic Memory law. "It's another step in the resignification of the valley," Presidency Minister Felix Bolanos told reporters in Barcelona on Friday. The son of dictator Miguel Primo de Rivera, who governed Spain from 1923-1930, Jose Antonio was shot by firing squad in November 1936 by left-wing Republican forces in Alicante. Franco, a conservative general, and Primo de Rivera, a flamboyant playboy, had little love for each other, according to Francos's biographer Paul Preston.

☆ Ferrovial shareholders vote on Dutch move in possible prelude to U.S. listing
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( Corina Pons | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

MADRID, April 13 (Reuters) - Ferrovial (FER.MC) shareholders vote on Thursday on a plan to move the Spanish construction group's holding company to the Netherlands, paving the way to a listing in the U.S. and potentially access to subsidies available there. The government fears more companies could follow suit and argues that a full U.S. listing is perfectly possible for a Spain-based company, although there are no such precedents. The move must be approved by a majority of shareholders to go ahead in a meeting that starts at midday (1000 GMT). Several investment funds have said they will vote in favour and two independent proxy advisers recommended backing the move. Ferrovial also wants to approach institutional funds in the U.S. willing to buy stakes if it gets a listing there.

[1/5] Javier Ramiro, Co-Chief Scientific Officer of Spanish indoor hops farming start-up Ekonoke controls the plantation of hops in Alcobendas, Spain, March 23, 2023. "We're on a mission to save the world's beer," Ines Sagrario, chief executive and co-founder of Ekonoke, told Reuters. Strict hygiene measures such as protective clothing for staff ensure the space remains pest-free, taking the pesticides on which traditional farming often depends out of the equation. The most obvious challenge indoor farming faces, he said, is its high energy cost. "Demand from breweries is quite inelastic; you can't make beer without hops and they don't want to produce less," Sagrario said.

☆ Spain's data regulator asks EU data protection committee to evaluate ChatGPT issues
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MADRID, April 11 (Reuters) - Spain's data protection agency AEPD has asked Europe's data protection committee to evaluate privacy concerns surrounding OpenAI's artificial intelligence chatbox ChatGPT, the agency told Reuters on Tuesday, after the software was temporarily banned in Italy. "The AEPD understands that global processing operations that may have a significant impact on the rights of individuals require coordinated decisions at European level," a spokesperson for the agency said in an emailed statement. "Therefore, in the short term, it has requested that the issue of ChatGPT be included in the next Plenary of the European Data Protection Committee, so that harmonised actions can be implemented within the framework of the application of the General Data Protection Regulation." Reporting by Aislinn Laing; Writing by David LatonaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Europe cannot turn its back on China, Spanish minister says
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MADRID, April 11 (Reuters) - Europe cannot ignore China's role as a key trading partner and important geopolitical player that could help put an end to the war in Ukraine, or provide debt relief for low-income countries, Spanish Economy Minister Nadia Calvino said on Tuesday. "We need to use the time to reinforce our common safety net protecting most vulnerable countries ... and here again we cannot just ignore China. Top officials from China will make their first in-person attendance at the Washington meetings in three years. Calvino said she hoped to deliver good news on debt relief to these countries later this year. Reporting by David Latona and Belen Carreno; Editing by Andrei Khalip and David HolmesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

REUTERS/Nacho DoceMADRID, April 5 (Reuters) - A 68-year-old Spanish TV actress said that her newly adopted daughter was conceived using her dead son's frozen sperm and is in fact her granddaughter, reigniting a debate over the bioethics of surrogacy and children's right to privacy in Spain. The weeks-old baby, named Ana Sandra, was born to a surrogate mother identified on Wednesday by the Lecturas magazine as a Cuban woman living in Miami, Florida. "This girl isn't my daughter, but my granddaughter," TV actress Ana Obregon told celebrity magazine ¡Hola! Obregon's only biological child, her son Aless Lequio, died of cancer in 2020 at the age of 27. Obregon rose to prominence in the 1980s and starred in Spanish sitcoms in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

[1/6] Spanish Labour Minister and Second Deputy Prime Minister Yolanda Diaz applauses as she presents new political platform 'Sumar' in Madrid, Spain, April 2, 2023. REUTERS/Isabel InfantesMADRID, April 2 (Reuters) - Spanish Labour Minister Yolanda Diaz launched her bid to become the country's first woman prime minister on Sunday at a packed event in Madrid, where the absence of two government ministers signalled a deepening rift among the progressive left. Today, I want to become our country's first female prime minister," Diaz told the crowd to a standing ovation. Although she has yet to release a detailed platform, Diaz outlined the broad outline of her manifesto, including a new "bill of rights" and a democratic, economic and social "contract" for the next decade. She also touted her ministry's accomplishments, such as raising the minimum wage and a pro-union labour law reform.

☆ In Beijing, Spanish PM urges Xi to speak with Ukraine's Zelenskiy
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( Eduardo Baptista | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Sanchez told a news conference in Beijing he had informed Xi, who visited Moscow on March 20-21, that Spain supported the proposals made by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. They include a demand to restore Ukraine's territory to the status quo before Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea. "I transmitted our concern over the illegal invasion of Ukraine," Sanchez said, adding that he "encouraged Xi to talk to President Zelenskiy". Last month, Beijing put forward its own 12-point peace plan and called for a comprehensive ceasefire in the conflict. Sanchez urged China to seek a more balanced economic relationship with Spain and called for greater transparency.

☆ Spain's Asturias ravaged by fires as authorities blame 'terrorist' arsonists
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( Vincent West | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Dozens of fires have already been put off by emergency services in Asturias and the neighboring region of Cantabria over the past two days. [1/6] Firefighters use a controlled burn to tackle a wildfire in Setienes, Asturias, Spain, March 31, 2023. In the past, intentional fires have often been linked to pastoralists seeking to gain more grazing land for their cattle. The densely-forested mountainous region is one of Spain's rainiest areas, though fires are common in March, according to the regional government. A combination of scarce rainfall, high temperatures and winds has placed most of northern Spain at a high wildfire risk.

☆ Zara founder buys luxury apartment building in Dublin for $108 million
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MADRID, March 31 (Reuters) - Spanish billionaire and Zara founder Amancio Ortega has bought a luxury residential building with 120 apartments for rent in Dublin, Ireland, for around 100 million euros ($108 million), his private firm Pontegadea said on Friday. It is the first residential building that Ortega's firm has bought outside the United States, Pontegadea said, adding it was part of its strategy to invest in multiple real estate assets. The Opus 6 Hanover Quay building is at the heart of Silicon Docks, the nickname for Dublin's business and technology district, and offers luxury apartments and townhouses for long-term rent, according to the building's website. Pontegadea has focused on investing in real estate assets worldwide and in Spain's energy infrastructure. ($1 = 0.9189 euros)Reporting by Corina Pons Editing by David Latona and Mark PotterOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Endangered Komodo dragons hatch at Spanish zoo
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( Jon Nazca | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/5] Embum, a one-month-old baby Komodo dragon, one of the five Komodo dragons born at Bioparc Fuengirola, rests in a terrarium in Fuengirola, southern Spain, March 28, 2023. REUTERS/Jon NazcaFUENGIROLA, Spain, March 28 (Reuters) - Five Komodo dragon hatchlings have been born at a zoo in Spain, the first successful breeding of the world's largest lizard - an endangered species - in the country for a decade. "This is a great achievement for all of us," Milagros Robledo, the head of the Herpetology department at the Bioparc Fuengirola zoo in southern Spain and self-described "mother" of the dragons, told Reuters on Tuesday. The baby dragons' parents mated on June 24 last year, when Spaniards celebrate the feast of St John. In the wild, newborn Komodo dragons tend to move to the treetops and need no maternal or paternal care, Robledo said.

☆ Villagers flee as winds fan wildfire in eastern Spain
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/4] An evacuated resident from Los Peiros, is driven back to her home from San Agustin, following a wildfire raged in eastern Spain, March 26, 2023. REUTERS/Lorena SopenaMADRID, March 27 (Reuters) - Officials evacuated people from three small villages in eastern Spain on Monday as winds and dry weather fanned a wildfire ravaging the area. "The climate emergency is not a future emergency, it is a current and urgent crisis," he said. Spain is experiencing a long-term drought after three years of below-average rainfall. Reporting by David Latona; Editing by Andrei Khalip and Andrew HeavensOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Search resuls for: "David Lat"

25 mentions found