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[1/5] Several volunteers give Spanish classes to migrants outside the Las Raices Camp in La Laguna, Spain, November 5, 2023. The mix-up shows just how overwhelmed the Spanish archipelago is, Canary Islands president Fernando Clavijo told Reuters, after a record 32,000 migrants came so far this year. At Tenerife's Las Raices adult migrants' centre in San Cristobal de La Laguna, Camara and his friend from the voyage, 16-year-old Modou Lamin Jarju from Gambia, sat around with dozens of other west Africans. Reuters GraphicsOne of the most strained of the eight Canary Islands is El Hierro, its population of 9,000 more than matched by the arrival of 11,000 migrants this year. At its largest minors' centre on a recent day, some 300 children ate breakfast on a basketball court before Spanish lessons.

Persons: Borja Suarez, Moussa Camara, Camara, Classing, Fernando Clavijo, Fran Morenilla, Salaoum Colley, Amparo Morales, Clavijo, El Hierro, Corina Pons, Horaci Garcia, Charlie Devereux, Andrew Cawthorne Organizations: REUTERS, CRISTOBAL, LA LAGUNA, Reuters, Reuters Graphics Reuters, Las, Amnesty, Canaries, San Cristobal de La Laguna, Camara, Thomson Locations: La Laguna, Spain, Guinea, Europe, Islands, Spanish, Almeria, Canary, San Cristobal de La, Jarju, Gambia, El Hierro, European Union, Africa, Senegal

☆ Tens of thousands protest against possible Catalan amnesty deal
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-08 | by ( Graham Keeley | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/6] Unionist supporters protest against amnesty of separatist leaders and activists involved in the 2017 failed independence drive at Passeig de Gracia in Barcelona, Spain, October 8, 2023. Pedro Sanchez needs the support of Catalan separatist parties Junts and Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya, which want the unpopular amnesty in exchange for votes in parliament. An amnesty would put the government above democracy and the rule of law," said Javier Tapia, 55, a chemicals worker. The amnesty could potentially cover more than 1,400 people involved in the independence bid that came to a head in 2017, pro-separatist Catalan group Omnium estimates. Around 70% of respondents - 59% of them Socialist supporters – said they were against the idea of an amnesty in a poll in mid-September.

Persons: Passeig de Gracia, Albert Gea, Sanchez, Spain's, Pedro Sanchez, Junts, Alberto Nunez Feijoo, Santiago Abascal, Javier Tapia, Isabel Martinez, Feijoo, Francisco Franco, –, Graham Keeley, Joan Faus, Horaci Garcia, Guillermo Martinez, Andrew Cawthorne Organizations: Passeig, REUTERS, Barcelona, BARCELONA, Spain's, Socialist, People's Party, Vox, Sale, AMNESTY, European Union, Thomson Locations: Barcelona, Spain, Catalan, Catalonia

[1/5] Apple France workers on strike holding CGT labour union flags gather in front of the Apple Store near Place de l'Opera during a protest to demand higher pay and better benefits on the day Apple launches its iPhone 15, in Paris, France, September 22, 2023. REUTERS/Abdul Saboor Acquire Licensing RightsPARIS, Sept 22 (Reuters) - Workers at Apple (AAPL.O) stores in France began a nationwide strike over pay and working conditions on Friday in a protest designed to coincide with the launch of the iPhone 15. Staff at an Apple store in Barcelona, where about 250 people were queuing to enter the store on Friday morning, were set to join colleagues in France in protesting. "We have been talking since August to our colleagues on strike in France. In Spain, unlike them, not all the unions have agreed to strike," Paredes said.

Persons: Abdul Saboor, Anais Durel, Tarek, Pablo Paredes, Paredes, Manuel Ausloos, Louise Dalmasso, Horaci Garcia, Corina Pons, Charlottte Van Campenhout, Charlie Devereux, Sharon Singleton Organizations: Apple, REUTERS, Rights, Workers, CGT, Unsa, CFTC, Management, Staff, Paseo de, CNT Apple, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Apple France, Paris, France, Opera, Barcelona, Paseo, Paseo de Gracia, Spain, Madrid

☆ Sanchez Vicario blames ex-husband as fraud trial starts
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-12 | by ( Horaci Garcia | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

I trusted my husband," she told the court in Barcelona, sobbing at times. Sanchez Vicario was the first Spanish player to reach the top of women's tennis rankings. "I just expect the truth to be told and this to be over," Santacana told reporters outside the court, where he is yet to be heard. Sanchez Vicario was ordered in 2009 by the Supreme Court to pay a 5.2 million euros fine for tax fraud. In a civil suit in 2014, a Spanish court ruled in favour of the bank but the money was never paid, so the bank resorted to the criminal courts.

Persons: Arantxa Sanchez Vicario, Sanchez Vicario, Josep Santacana, Santacana, Sanchez, delcined, Fernando Kallas, Emma Pinedo, Horaci Garcia, Andrei Khalip, Angus MacSwan Organizations: Banque de Luxembourg, U.S, El Pais, La Vanguardia, Thomson Locations: BARCELONA, Spanish, Barcelona, Spain, Andorra

"Increasingly we are going to turn used clothes into raw material from Europe for fashion companies." Also in Spain, rivals including H&M, Mango and Inditex have created a non-profit association to manage clothing waste, responding to an EU law requiring member states to separate textiles from other waste from January 2025. OBSTACLESThe obstacles to significantly reducing clothing waste are formidable, despite the EU crackdown, industry sustainability commitments and initiatives like the Moda Re expansion. Adidas (ADSGn.DE), Bestseller, and H&M (HMb.ST) have invested in Finnish start-up Infinited Fiber Company, which manufactures fibre out of textile waste, cardboard and paper. As in Spain, textile waste associations would be set up in each country.

Persons: Albert Alberich, Inditex, Dijana Lind, Hugo Boss, Lind, Moda, Aissatou Boukoum, Mauro Scalia, Corina Pons, Helen Reid, Horaci Garcia, Nacho, Frank Jack Daniel Our Organizations: BARCELONA, Moda, Caritas, Union, European Commission, Union Investment, Adidas, McKinsey, Reuters, EU, ReHubs, Moda Re, United Nations, Inditex, Puma, Infinited Fiber Company, Thomson Locations: Spain, Barcelona, Spanish, Europe, Zara, Bilbao, Valencia, EU, Frankfurt, ReHubs Europe, Mali, Sant, AFRICA, Cameroon, Ghana, Senegal, Africa, Senegalese, Germany, Texaid, Switzerland, Vestisolidale, Italy, France, EURATEX, Madrid, London, Nacho Doce

☆ Drought in Spain empties reservoirs, forces limits on water use
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-08 | by ( Horaci Garcia | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Residents enjoy Boadella reservoir, which is 20% of its capacity, as Spain braces for the third heatwave of the summer near the Spanish-French border, in Darnius, Spain, August 6, 2023. REUTERS/Nacho DoceAGULLANA, Spain, Aug 8 (Reuters) - Artur Duran holds his hand out by his waist to show the level of water he remembers two years ago at the Darnius Boadella reservoir in northeastern Spain. Catalonia's authorities last week imposed new water usage restrictions on 22 villages around the reservoir, near the French border, as the aquifer supplying them is also emptying. Several heatwaves recorded in Spain and wider Europe this summer have worsened the drought, lowering reservoirs' levels as water evaporation and consumption increased, said Ruben del Campo, spokesperson for Spain's meteorological agency AEMET. The village of Agullana with 900 residents has been keeping its water usage below the 200-litre cap for several months, but its mayor said further steps will be implemented.

Persons: Doce, Artur Duran, sunbathed, Ruben del Campo, Josep Jovell, Horaci Garcia, Joan Faus, Andrei Khalip, Alexandra Hudson Organizations: REUTERS, Reuters, Authorities, Alexandra Hudson Our, Thomson Locations: Spain, Spanish, Darnius, Catalonia, Spain's Andalusia, Europe, Agullana

☆ Brazil's Dani Alves indicted for sexual assault after months in Spanish jail
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

A police van drives past members of the media entering Barcelona court, as Brazil soccer player Dani Alves is to be formally indicted into court over an alleged sexual assault in a Barcelona night club, in Barcelona, Spain August 2, 2023. REUTERS/Horaci Garcia/File PhotoBARCELONA, Aug 2 (Reuters) - A Spanish judge on Wednesday formally indicted former Barcelona and Brazil defender Dani Alves, who has been jailed on remand for over six months for alleged sexual assault of a woman in a Barcelona nightclub in December. He was arrested on Jan. 20 and has been held in a prison outside Barcelona without bail. In Spain, a claim of rape is investigated under the general accusation of sexual assault and convictions can lead to prison sentences of between four and 15 years. Reporting by Horaci Garcia, writing by David Latona; Editing by Andrei KhalipOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Dani Alves, Horaci Garcia, David Latona, Andrei Khalip Organizations: REUTERS, Thomson Locations: Barcelona, Brazil, Spain

☆ Spain's election: With fans, swimwear and sweat, Spaniards brave summer heat to vote
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-23 | by ( Aislinn Laing | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MADRID, July 23 (Reuters) - Spaniards got up early, voted in swimwear and turned ballot papers into fans to beat sweltering heat on Sunday as they took part in an election that many saw as ill-timed in the middle of summer. By midday, long queues were reported outside polling stations, where staff installed fans, set up portable air conditioning machines and gave out bottles of water to keep voters and polling staff cool. There were sporadic reports on local media of elderly people fainting as they went to vote. Another 2.47 million people - about 7% of those eligible to vote in Spain voted before Sunday by post. "I've always voted early," one elderly man told RTVE.

Persons: I've, RTVE, Jose, Alberto Nunez Feijoo, Pedro Sanchez, AEMET, Aislinn Laing, Horaci Garcia, Frances Kerry Organizations: Twitter, Reuters, People's Party, Socialist, Thomson Locations: MADRID, Mallorca, Spain, Malaga, Barcelona, Madrid, Andalusia, Navarra, Aragon

☆ Spain election: Trans youths' families fear for rights under a right-wing government
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-18 | by ( Horaci García | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/4] Members of Chrysallis (Association of Transgender Children and Youth Families) take part in a Gay Parade in Barcelona, Spain, July 15, 2023. REUTERS/ Albert Gea/file photo/file photoBARCELONA, July 18 (Reuters) - Ana Valenzuela and her 12-year-old trans daughter, like some other families with transgender children, fear that if Spain's conservative People's Party (PP) and far-right Vox take power in this month's election, they could roll back hard-won LGBT rights. "It's very sad that children are conscious of this," said Valenzuela, who advised the government during the drafting of the "Trans Law". Vox has vowed to repeal the Trans Law and has joined the PP in challenging it before the Constitutional Court, arguing it violates child protection rights and the right to bodily integrity. Olga Nadal, vice-president of trans youth rights group Chrysallis Catalunya, said the community could not afford to see the law repealed.

Persons: Albert Gea, Ana Valenzuela, Valenzuela, Vox, Olga Nadal, Mariano Rajoy, Emi Blanco, Horaci García, David Latona, Alexandra Hudson Organizations: Chrysallis, of Transgender Children, REUTERS, People's Party, Vox, Trans, Alexandra Hudson Our, Thomson Locations: Barcelona, Spain, BARCELONA, Sunday's, Chrysallis, Catalan

The European Space Agency (ESA), whose satellites monitor land and sea temperatures, has warned that Italy, Spain, France, Germany and Poland are all facing extreme conditions. Temperatures next week could break Europe's current record - 48.8 Celsius recorded in Sicily in August 2021. [1/5]A woman cools off near a fan at a caf?, during a heatwave across Italy, in Rome, Italy, July 14, 2023. ACROPOLIS NOT NOWIn Athens, with temperatures peaking above 40 Celsius, authorities closed the Acropolis Hill, home to the Parthenon temple that is visited by millions of tourists every year, from noon to 5 p.m. (0900 GMT-1400 GMT). Others were brought down from the Acropolis Hill in golf carts and transferred to wheelchairs.

Persons: BURNS, Joan Ballester, Guglielmo Mangiapane, Angel Abad, Abad, Deborah Kyvrikosaios, Angeliki, Stamos Prousalis, Antonio Bronic, Malgorzata, Horaci Garcia, Guillermo Martinez Catherine Macdonald, Rachel Norstrant, Rich McKay, Keith Weir, Gavin Jones, Frank Jack Daniel Our Organizations: Phoenix, European Space Agency, ESA, Barcelona Institute, Global Health, caf, REUTERS, Reuters, Madrid's La, Thomson Locations: ATHENS, PHOENIX, Greece, Acropolis, Europe, Italy, Spain, France, Germany, Poland, Sicily, El, United States, Phoenix, Arizona, Portugal, Rome, ACROPOLIS, Athens, Croatia, Madrid's La Paz

France has pledged to invest 12 billion euros in such urban renewal projects between 2014 and 2030 while many priority areas also benefit from other forms of government aid and subsidies. Researchers point out that total state support to poor areas nonetheless amounts to less than 1% of annual national output. Macron said this week that France would push ahead with urban renewal plans and look at ways to get faster results. Thomas Kirszbaum, a sociologist at Lille University who specialises in urban policy and integration, acknowledged that urban renewal efforts often lead to local improvements but did little to address a wider sense of discrimination. Instead, government officials argue that successive urban renewal plans have produced educational and other gains which allay a wider sense of social exclusion.

Persons: Nahel, Horaci Garcia, Macron, Cedric Gouth, Emmanuel Macron, Farid Hamoudea, Woippy, Gouth, ”, Mouhad Moradab, Woippy's, Moradab, Chad Jallouz, Thomas Kirszbaum, Jallouz, Leigh Thomas, Juliette Jabkhiro, Elizabeth Pineau, Tassilo Hummel, Mark John, Mark Heinrich Our Organizations: Saint, REUTERS, Reuters, Paris, Woippy’s, SECOND, Lille University, Labour Ministry, Thomson Locations: Nanterre, Eloy, Woippy, French, Metz, France, North, Paris, Europe, Belgium, Germany, Luxembourg, Woippy's, Moroccan

☆ Spanish researchers aim to 'trick nature' with artificial womb
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-29 | by ( Horaci Garcia | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BARCELONA, June 29 (Reuters) - Researchers in Barcelona are trying to "trick nature" by creating an artificial womb for extremely premature babies after tests on animals kept foetuses alive for 12 days. Their artificial placenta prototype recreates a protective environment with a translucent container made of biocompatible material inside which the foetus' lungs, intestines and brain can continue to develop. Babies born after six months of pregnancy or less are considered extremely premature with a high risk of death or disability. It's a challenge, it's extremely delicate to achieve this, to trick nature to make this possible," Gratacos said. "Although it is an exciting development, the artificial placenta is not intended to replace a natural placenta," Werner said.

Persons: Eduard Gratacos, Gratacos, Kelly Werner, Werner, Horaci Garcia, Emma Pinedo, David Latona, Andrew Cawthorne Organizations: Reuters, Fundacion La Caixa, Caixabank, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Columbia University, Science Media Centre, Thomson Locations: BARCELONA, Barcelona, Spanish

[1/5] A police officer cuts marijuana plants in growing process at underground room of a house during a marijuana raid operation in Mataro, near Barcelona, Spain April 27, 2023. Consumption of marijuana and its high-potency derivatives is also booming in Barcelona itself, including in private clubs. Their model, however, faces uncertainty as the new Barcelona mayor's top security official said in March he wanted to ban cannabis clubs. In 2017, Catalonia fully legalised the clubs, fuelling their proliferation, but courts later overturned the move for procedural reasons. But many clubs, which are often barely recognisable from outside, do not stick to the rules because they are voluntary, complained Eric Asensio, head of the Catalan federation of cannabis clubs.

Persons: Pol, Antoni Salleras, Salleras, Alexis Goosdeel, Bernardo Soriano, Eric Asensio, Horaci Garcia, Joan Faus, Catarina Demony, Aislinn Laing, Andrei Khalip, Toby Chopra Organizations: REUTERS, Barcelona, BARCELONA, Reuters, Cannabis, Thomson Locations: Mataro, Barcelona, Spain, Spanish, Catalonia, Americas, Europe, Morocco, Latin America, Worth, Geneva, Amsterdam, EU, France, Catalan, Lisbon

I think we have to trust what they are doing and be confident," Nargeolet, 39, told Reuters in the town of La Massana, Andorra, where she lives. [1/3]Sidonie Nargeolet, daughter of submersible passenger Paul-Henri Nargeolet, speaks during an interview in Ordino, Andorra, June 22, 2023. "What worries me is that they are not being found because there will be a moment in which they will run out of oxygen," Nargeolet said. What he liked the most was to be in a submarine, (near) the Titanic. "So whether he's in a submarine and whether he's in the Titanic, I know he likes it.

Persons: Paul, Henri Nargeolet, Sidonie Nargeolet, Nargeolet, Horaci Garcia, Joan Faus, Jon Boyle, Angus MacSwan Organizations: Reuters, REUTERS, U.S, Expeditions, Thomson Locations: MASSANA, Andorra, La Massana, Ordino

☆ Church tower reemerges from parched reservoir in drought-hit Spain
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The weather will be drier and hotter than usual this spring along the northeastern Mediterranean coast that includes Catalonia. The dry weather will heighten the risk of wildfires even as it brings average rainfall nationwide, Spain's meteorological agency AEMET said. "Heat waves in this geographical area of the planet are more frequent, are increasing more frequently than in other regions," he said. Spain's drought nationwide measured over 12 months is no worse than it was in 2017, 2012 and 2005. But the average water level in Catalonia's reservoirs stands at just 27%, slightly above the level in parts of the southern region of Andalucia.

☆ Spanish prisoners craft Christmas 'pooper' figures of world leaders
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

FIGUERES, Spain, Dec 14 (Reuters) - Inmates at a prison north of Barcelona have produced thousands of clay figurines of world leaders and celebrities with their pants down and defecating, in keeping with a tradition from the north eastern Catalonia region of Spain. [1/7] Catalan traditional figurines "caganers" representing Putin and Zelenski are displayed in a shop, which symbolise defecation and fertilisation of the earth, and are believed to bring prosperity and luck for the coming year, in a shop in Barcelona, Spain, December 14, 2022. REUTERS/ Albert Gea 1 2 3 4 5Originally the "caganer" (pooper) figures were shepherds hidden among nativity scenes, to be spotted by family and friends, but the tradition has expanded to include famous figures in the headlines over the past year. The Puig les Basses prison taught inmates how to make the statuettes in collaboration with a private family business, Caganer.com, which this year added Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to its collection of more than 600 models, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, the late Queen Elizabeth II and her son and successor King Charles III. Reporting by Horaci Garcia; writing by Charlie Devereux; editing by Alexandra HudsonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Spain fans were dejected to see their team crash out of the tournament. "We go back to Spain crying and we will have to reflect," said Julia Calvet, 21, in a Barcelona bar. In Barcelona, Morocco fans packed into the central Raval neighbourhood to celebrate, lighting flares and singing. "We needed to win so that Moroccans have confidence in themselves in Spain," Anass, a 22-year-old Moroccan cook told Reuters in downtown Barcelona. Spain retained the enclaves of Melilla and Ceuta, which were previously colonial territories, after Morocco gained independence in 1956.

☆ Thousands march in Spain to demand end of violence against women
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-25 | by ( Elena Rodriguez | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/6] A demonstrator with a red paint on her face attends a protest to mark the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women in Madrid, Spain, November 25, 2022. REUTERS/Violeta Santos MouraMADRID, Nov 25 (Reuters) - Thousands of people took to the streets in Madrid and Barcelona on Friday evening in marches to mark the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. Since 2003, when statistics started to officially count fatalities, 1,171 women have died as a result of gender violence in Spain, according to the Ministry of Equality. The law, known as the "only yes means yes" law, classifies any non-consensual sex as rape but also sets lighter minimum sentences for certain sexual crimes. Chants of "only yes means yes" rang through the crowds on Friday evening.

☆ Spain's steely roller derby skaters championing inclusivity in sport
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( Horaci Garcia | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/5] A view of tattoos on the leg of a skater of Barcelona’s Steel Groin roller derby team as the skaters stand during a training session in Barcelona, Spain November 16, 2022. REUTERS/Nacho Doce 1 2 3 4 5There are about 25 roller derby teams in Spain and over 1,200 leagues worldwide, mostly in the United States. Roller derby was developed in the United States in the 1930s. The Barcelona team began playing on the streets of the coastal city in 2010 and registered as a club in April 2011. "I'm able to be myself in roller derby".

☆ Shakira, Pique reach agreement on child custody after break-up
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-08 | by ( Horaci Garcia | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BARCELONA, Nov 8 (Reuters) - Colombian pop star Shakira has reached an agreement with former partner Gerard Pique over the custody of their two children following the break-up of their 11-year relationship earlier this year, Shakira's representative in Spain said on Tuesday. Shakira Mebarak, 45, and FC Barcelona defender Pique, 35, were together since 2011 but never married. They met shortly before the 2010 World Cup in South Africa when he featured in the music video for Shakira's "Waka Waka (This Time for Africa)", the tournament's official song. The custody agreement was reached one week after Pique announced his imminent retirement from professional football and departure from FC Barcelona. Prosecutors claim she failed to pay up to 14.5 million euros ($14.48 million) in tax on income earned between 2012 and 2014.

MADRID/BARCELONA, Sept 21 (Reuters) - Spain has fined Delivery Hero's (DHER.DE) local business Glovo 79 million euros ($78 million) for allegedly violating labour laws, its labour minister Yolanda Diaz said on Wednesday. "(Glovo) has violated fundamental labour rights and they have obstructed the work of the investigation. In May 2021, Spain passed one of Europe's first laws relating to gig-economy workers' rights, requiring riders for food delivery platforms be made employees on formal labour contracts. A woman wearing a protective face mask amid the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) walks past Glovo food delivery couriers in Kyiv, Ukraine August 6, 2020. REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko/File PhotoBut some, such as 19-year-old Glovo rider Giancarlo from Peru, said they have still not been offered a formal contract.

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