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☆ Catalan Leader Denies Spy Agency Claim He Led Separatist Protest Group
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-26 | by ( Jan. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

By Joan FausBARCELONA (Reuters) - Catalonia's regional leader on Friday denied allegations by Spain's spy agency CNI that he had secretly led a radical separatist protest group, which he said CNI had used as a pretext to snoop on him. Pere Aragones told reporters he had received on Thursday some heavily redacted declassified CNI documents related to the alleged espionage he had been subject to, and he called for those responsible to be held accountable. Asked about the documents, Spain's Justice Minister Felix Bolanos reiterated that the government did not know about nor authorise the alleged spying. "(The documents) make this affirmation that is obviously out of touch with any minimum sense of reality," Aragones told reporters, adding that the documents provided no explanation for such suspicions. Aragones said the documents were full of falsehoods and their aim was to destroy the legitimate political project of Catalan independence from Spain.

Persons: Joan Faus BARCELONA, Spain's, CNI, snoop, Pere Aragones, Felix Bolanos, Aragones, Paz Esteban, Esteban, Joan Faus, Andrei Khalip, Hugh Lawson Organizations: Citizen, Pegasus, Spain's Locations: Canada, Spain, Barcelona

☆ Amid Drought, Water Curbs in Portugal's Algarve, Spain's Catalonia
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-18 | by ( Jan. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

By Sergio Goncalves and Joan FausLISBON/BARCELONA (Reuters) - Portugal's caretaker government has ordered cuts to the amount of water used in farmland irrigation and in urban environments including hotels in the tourism-dependent southern region of Algarve, where a severe drought has nearly emptied reservoirs. Across the Iberian peninsula, Spain's northeastern region of Catalonia is suffering its worst drought on record and authorities in the greater Barcelona area said on Thursday they would reduce water pressure in some towns' supply systems. If nothing was done in relation to moderation on the consumption side, we would reach the end of 2024 without water for public supply," he said. In the southern region of Andalusia, officials on Thursday said there would be water restrictions in big cities such as Seville, Cordoba or Malaga by the summer in the absence of substantial rain before then. (Reporting by Sergio Goncalves; additional reporting by Joan Faus in Barcelona and Emma Pinedo in Madrid; editing by Andrei Khalip and Bernadette Baum)

Persons: Sergio Goncalves, Joan Faus, Duarte Cordeiro, Emma Pinedo, Andrei Khalip, Bernadette Baum Locations: Joan Faus LISBON, BARCELONA, Algarve, Catalonia, Barcelona, Portugal, Andalusia, Seville, Cordoba, Malaga, Madrid

☆ Police Evict Squatters From Barcelona Buildings
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-30 | by ( Nov. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +1 min

BARCELONA (Reuters) - Riot police on Thursday evicted a group of squatters from two buildings in Barcelona that had been occupied for several years, following a court order in a case that has triggered significant attention in Spain. In the raid, that started before dawn, police officers approached the adjacent buildings walking inside a metal cage to protect themselves from rocks, smoke guns and fire flares thrown by the squatters. Officers cut the gates to eventually enter the buildings and remove its occupants, including one person who was hanging on a cord along the facade of one of the buildings. The buildings are located in a wealthy Barcelona neighbourhood. (Reporting by Albert Gea, Joan Faus and Jesus Aguado; Writing by Joan Faus; Editing by Christina Fincher)

Persons: Albert Gea, Joan Faus, Jesus Aguado, Christina Fincher Organizations: Riot Locations: BARCELONA, Barcelona, Spain

Borrell said all EU members attending the meeting of Mediterranean nations in Barcelona and almost all attendees overall had agreed on the need for a two-state solution. In response to that attack, Israel bombarded the enclave and mounted a ground offensive in the north. A two-state solution envisages a state for the Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip alongside Israel. Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan spoke as a representative of a group of ministers from the Arab League and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation. Jordan's Safadi added, however: "Some among us are still refusing to call for a ceasefire... We demand it be implemented immediately."

Persons: Josep Borrell, Mohammad Shtayyeh, Nasser Nasser, Borrell, Ayman Safadi, Riyad al, Maliki, Prince Faisal bin Farhan, Jordan's Safadi, Joan Faus, David Latona, Aislinn Laing, Ed Osmond, Alex Richardson, Nick Macfie Organizations: Palestinian, West Bank, Rights, European Union, Palestinian Authority, Hamas, Reuters, Union of, Saudi Foreign, Arab League, of Islamic Cooperation, Thomson Locations: Ramallah, Rights BARCELONA, Spain, Palestinian, Gaza, Barcelona, Israel, Jordanian, Qatar, Egypt, United States

☆ Shakira reaches deal with tax authorities to avoid $15 million tax fraud trial - judge
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

[1/4] Colombian singer Shakira and her lawyer Pau Molins arrive at court for her trial facing allegations of tax fraud in Barcelona, Spain November 20, 2023. REUTERS/Albert Gea Acquire Licensing RightsBARCELONA, Nov 20 (Reuters) - Colombian singer Shakira on Monday reached a settlement with prosecution to avoid a trial over charges she failed to pay 14.5 million euros ($15.74 million) in Spanish income tax between 2012 and 2014. As part of the deal that puts an end to the trial, prosecution changed jail time for the singer with fines, the judge said during the trial's first hearing. Reporting by Joan Faus, editing by Inti LandauroOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Shakira, Pau Molins, Albert Gea, Joan Faus, Inti Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Monday, Inti Landauro, Thomson Locations: Colombian, Barcelona, Spain, Rights BARCELONA

☆ Spain to provide bodyguards for fugitive Catalan Puigdemont amid amnesty row
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Catalan separatist leader Carles Puigdemont sits inside a car, on the day a deal was signed with Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) for Spanish government support, which is expected to include an amnesty law for Catalan separatist activists, in Brussels, Belgium November 9, 2023. Tensions are running high in Spain over a controversial amnesty law agreed with Puigdemont's party Junts that will exculpate hundreds of politicians and activists involved in an attempt to separate Catalonia from Spain that peaked in 2017. Puigdemont, who is the subject of an extradition order for leading the failed attempt, is likely to be the most high profile beneficiary of the amnesty law, a draft of which was registered in parliament on Monday. Opposition leader Alberto Nunez Feijoo, of the centre-right People's Party that is leading protests against the amnesty, said the security agreement was "surprising". The prospect of amnesty has brought thousands of opponents to the streets for 12 days in a row.

Persons: Carles Puigdemont, Yves Herman, Pedro Sanchez's, Puigdemont, Felix Bolanos, Alberto Nunez Feijoo, He's, Junts, Sanchez, Charlie Devereux, Joan Faus, Emma Pinedo, Aislinn Laing Organizations: Spanish Socialist Workers ' Party, PSOE, Catalan, REUTERS, Rights, Socialist, Reuters, People's, Spanish, Thomson Locations: Brussels, Belgium, Rights MADRID, Spain, Catalonia, Catalan, Waterloo, Copenhagen

☆ Brazil's Dani Alves to stand trial for sexual assault in Spain
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BARCELONA, Nov 14 (Reuters) - Former Barcelona and Brazil defender Dani Alves will face trial in Spain on charges of sexual assault of a woman in a Barcelona nightclub last December, a Spanish court said on Tuesday. Alves was arrested on Jan. 20 and has been held in a prison outside Barcelona. 15 in Barcelona, which is yet to set a date for the proceedings to begin, said there were sufficient grounds for Alves to stand trial, following requests by the public prosecutor and the woman's lawyer. In August, judges formally indicted Alves after finding evidence of wrongdoing by the 40-year-old player. Reporting by Joan Faus, Editing by Andrei Khalip and Alex RichardsonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Dani Alves, Alves, Joan Faus, Andrei Khalip, Alex Richardson Organizations: Thomson Locations: BARCELONA, Barcelona, Brazil, Spain

Just holding the deal together through a full four-year parliamentary term will be a tough challenge, many predict. "The next legislative term will be very tough for the PSOE, it is likely it won't finish the whole term," said Catalan political analyst Joan Esculies. Spaniards have also been called to show their ire in town square demonstrations across the country on Sunday. For Andoni Ortuzar, the Basque Nationalist Party leader who also struck a deal with the Socialists on Friday, whether the government could hold would be a test of Spain's plurality. "We are different - we consider ourselves a different nation - and the question is whether we can live together comfortably," he said.

Persons: Sanchez, Pedro Sanchez, Francisco Franco, Junts, Carles Puigdemont, Joan Esculies, Alberto Nunez Feijoo, Andoni Ortuzar, Susana Vera, Emiliano Garcia, Puigdemont, Lluis Orriols, Ortuzar, Belen Carreno, Joan Faus, Emma Pinedo, Aislinn Laing, Alex Richardson Organizations: Deal, Spain's Socialists, Socialist, PSOE, People's Party, Socialists, Basque Nationalist Party, REUTERS, Catalan Socialist, Carlos III University, Thomson Locations: MADRID, BARCELONA, Catalan, Belgium, Catalonia, Spain, Madrid, Castilla, La Mancha, Spanish, Catalunya

Catalan separatist leader Carles Puigdemont delivers a statement after a deal was signed with Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) for Spanish government support, which is expected to include an amnesty law for Catalan separatist activists, in Brussels, Belgium November 9, 2023. The promise of a wide amnesty for Catalan separatists, including himself, that the 60-year-old fugitive from Spanish justice won in return is already dividing the country where protests have erupted in recent days. Puigdemont made his intentions clear in his inauguration speech, vowing to start "the constituting process of an independent state". A year and a half later, following an October 2017 independence referendum deemed illegal by Spanish courts, the same parliament declared Catalonia's independence. But he appears to have changed his tune since an interview published by Catalan newspaper ARA a week before Spain's election last July.

Persons: Carles Puigdemont, Yves Herman Acquire, Catalonia's, Pedro Sanchez, Puigdemont, Artur Mas, Spain's, Mariano Rajoy, Sanchez, Junts, Andrei KhalipMacfie Organizations: Spanish Socialist Workers ' Party, PSOE, Catalan, REUTERS, Rights, Spanish, Catalonia's, Spain's, ARA, Thomson Locations: Brussels, Belgium, Rights BARCELONA, Spain, Spanish, Madrid, Girona, Germany, Italy, Catalonia

☆ Spanish Socialists and Catalan Junts reach deal for government support, amnesty
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

A law granting amnesty to those prosecuted over Catalonia's attempt to secede from Spain was included in the deal, political leaders said and the deal text showed. The agreement included Junts lending its votes in parliament to support legislation for a full four-year term, he said. But Junts, which seeks another independence referendum, said supporting each law would depend on progress in talks involving Catalonia's political conflict. As a deal between Junts and the Socialists edged nearer in the past week, the mood in the country has become increasingly febrile, with protesters clashing with police outside the Socialists' headquarters in Madrid. An amnesty could exculpate as many as 1,400 activists and politicians involved in the attempt to separate Catalonia from Spain.

Persons: Junts, Feijoo, Puigdemont, Pedro Sanchez, Santos Cerdan, Alberto Nunez Feijoo, Sanchez, Carles Puigdemont, Jaume Clotet, Belen Carreno, Joan Faus, Graham Keeley, Aislinn Laing, Charlie Devereux, Alison Williams, Toby Chopra, Bernadette Baum, Sharon Singleton, Alex Richardson Organizations: Companies Spain's Socialists, Conservative, Socialist Party, PSOE, Socialist, Socialists, Police, People's Party, Spanish Socialist Workers ' Party, Basque Nationalist Party, Thomson Locations: Catalan, Madrid, MADRID, Spain, Brussels, Junts, Catalonia, Belgium, Waterloo

☆ Barcelona Dockers Refuse to Handle Military Material Amid Gaza War
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-07 | by ( Nov. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

The decision on Monday is mostly symbolic and seeks to encourage other Spanish ports to follow suit, the secretary of the OEPB union, Josep Maria Deop, told Reuters on Tuesday. Deop said organisations promoting peace could help the union figure out which containers contain military equipment. He said he was convinced there were military shipments from Barcelona because "it's a port that moves all types of goods". Israel has been targeting Hamas military operations in Gaza in the wake of the Oct. 7 attacks by Hamas Islamists on Israeli towns that left 1,400 people dead and 240 abducted. Spain exported military equipment worth 1.3 billion euros ($1.39 billion) in the first half of 2022, with shipments to Israel amounting to 9 million euros, according to the latest available official data.

Persons: Joan Faus BARCELONA, Josep Maria Deop, Deop, EFE, Joan Faus, Andrei Khalip, Bernadette Baum Organizations: stevedores, Reuters, Western Locations: Barcelona, Gaza, Belgian, Barcelona's, Israel, Spain, Libya, Western Sahara, Nicaragua

[1/2] Shipping containers move at the port of Barcelona, after stevedores' union has refused to load and unload any military material amid the war in Gaza and urged the protection of civilian populations in areas of conflict, in Barcelona, Spain, November 7, 2023. REUTERS/Nacho Doce Acquire Licensing RightsBARCELONA, Nov 7 (Reuters) - The Barcelona port stevedores' union has refused to load and unload any military material amid the war in Gaza and urged the protection of civilian populations in areas of conflict, following a similar move by Belgian transport unions last week. The decision on Monday is mostly symbolic and seeks to encourage other Spanish ports to follow suit, the secretary of the OEPB union, Josep Maria Deop, told Reuters on Tuesday. He said he was convinced there were military shipments from Barcelona because "it's a port that moves all types of goods". Israel has been targeting Hamas military operations in Gaza in the wake of the Oct. 7 attacks by Hamas Islamists on Israeli towns that left 1,400 people dead and 240 abducted.

Persons: stevedores, Josep Maria Deop, Deop, EFE, Joan Faus, Andrei Khalip, Bernadette Baum Organizations: Shipping, REUTERS, Rights, stevedores, Reuters, Western, Thomson Locations: Barcelona, Gaza, Spain, Rights BARCELONA, Belgian, Barcelona's, Israel, Libya, Western Sahara, Nicaragua

☆ Spain's Socialists win backing of Catalan separatist ERC, still waiting on Junts
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BARCELONA, Nov 2 (Reuters) - Catalan separatist party Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya (ERC) reached a deal with Spain's Socialists (PSOE) to support acting Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez's bid for a second term, both parties said on Thursday. However, the crucial backing of rival party Junts remains pending amid last-minute negotiations. Seeking the support of the Catalan parties, Sanchez said on Saturday he favoured granting an amnesty to people involved with Catalonia's failed 2017 independence bid. The agreement with ERC included "an amnesty for all", the Catalan party's chairman Oriol Junqueras told reporters, without elaborating. Junts held a meeting in Brussels to decide whether to back Sanchez's investiture, but it ended without an agreement with the PSOE, said a Junts source.

Persons: Esquerra, Pedro Sanchez's, Junts, Sanchez, Catalonia's, Oriol Junqueras, Pere Aragones, Felix Bolanos, Bolanos, Junqueras, Emma Pinedo, Belen Carreno, Charlie Devereux, Joan Faus, Gareth Jones Organizations: ERC, Spain's Socialists, PSOE, Thomson Locations: BARCELONA, Catalan, Basque, Spain, Brussels

☆ Spain to create emergency accommodation for 3,000 migrants
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Borja Suarez/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsMADRID, Oct 26 (Reuters) - Spain said on Thursday it would create additional emergency accommodation for 3,000 undocumented migrants in military barracks, hotels and hostels amid a 55% jump in arrivals by sea this year, which has triggered political tension. Escriva declined to disclose how many additional beds will be created, but a ministry source told Reuters it would be around 3,000 in total. But this time the central government's approach has been to expand emergency accommodations across the country, hoping to ease pressure on the Canaries. Following police screenings, migrants will be placed in the military barracks, hotels, hostels and other types of accommodations on a voluntary basis, the ministry source said. Escriva argued the situation was well-handled and manageable, and said some conservative politicians were whipping up what he called xenophobic rhetoric.

Persons: Borja Suarez, Jose Luis Escriva, Escriva, Isabel Diaz Ayuso, Belén Carreño, Joan Faus, Emma Pinedo, Jonathan Oatis Organizations: Gran Canaria, REUTERS, Rights, Union, Canaries, Madrid, Thomson Locations: Spanish, Arguineguin, Gran, Spain, Rights MADRID, Madrid, West Africa, Canary, Italy, Lampedusa

[1/5] Bass-Baritone Gerald Finley and soprano Julia Bullock perform during an opera rehearsal "Antony and Cleopatra" at Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona, Spain, October 18, 2023. REUTERS/ Albert Gea Acquire Licensing RightsBARCELONA, Oct 23 (Reuters) - Barcelona's opera house has hired an "intimacy director" to ensure performers are comfortable taking part in passionate scenes, in a first for Spain and a rarity for continental Europe. The role's creation comes after the #MeToo movement rocked the movie industry but also the opera world with sexual harassment accusations. Intimacy director Ita O'Brien will oversee William Shakespeare's adapted play, 'Antony and Cleopatra', which opens at Barcelona's Gran Teatre del Liceu opera house on Oct. 28. Lesca said there should be an intimacy director in every opera.

Persons: Gerald Finley, Julia Bullock, Antony, Cleopatra, Albert Gea, Ita O'Brien, William Shakespeare's, O'Brien, Adriana Bignagni Lesca, Charmian, Lesca, Luis Rubiales, Placido Domingo, Joan Faus, Aislinn Laing, Deborah Kyvrikosaios Organizations: Gran Teatre del Liceu, REUTERS, Rights, Gran Teatre del, HBO, Netflix, Thomson Locations: Gran, Barcelona, Spain, Rights BARCELONA, Europe, Gran Teatre del Liceu, United States, Britain, Spanish

☆ Spain's Acting PM Sanchez Meets Catalan, Basque Separatists in Bid for New Term
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-13 | by ( Oct. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

MADRID (Reuters) - Spain's Pedro Sanchez met with Catalan pro-independence party Junts and became the first Spanish prime minister to hold official talks with Basque separatist party EH Bildu on Friday, as the caretaker leader seeks to form a new government. Sanchez's Socialists need support from Catalan and Basque separatist groups to win an investiture vote before Nov. 27 or face a fresh election next year after an inconclusive vote in July. "We're still far from a historic compromise," Junts parliamentary spokesperson Miriam Nogueras said about a potential agreement, after meeting Sanchez. Bildu helped Sanchez form a government in 2020 by abstaining in the investiture vote and has already pledged unconditional support as he seeks a new four-year term in office. "Today's photo of Pedro Sanchez with Bildu ... is undoubtedly a picture of humiliation," said Cuca Gamarra, parliamentary spokesperson for the opposition People's Party.

Persons: Spain's Pedro Sanchez, Junts, EH, Miriam Nogueras, Sanchez, Nogueras, Esquerra, Mertxe Aizpurua, Gorka Elejabarrieta, Bildu, Pedro Sanchez, Cuca Gamarra, Joan Faus, Belen Carreño, Charlie Devereux, Andrei Khalip, Alexander Smith Organizations: Catalan, Basque, Sanchez's Socialists, ETA, Bildu, People's Party Locations: MADRID, Spanish, Catalan, Basque, Catalonia, Spain

☆ 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

☆ Santander creates two new global businesses for retail, consumer areas
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-18 | by ( Jesús Aguado | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Santander Bank logo is seen in this illustration taken March 12, 2023. The new Retail and Commercial unit and Digital Consumer Bank will join Santander's other global operations in Corporate and Investment Banking, Wealth Management and Insurance and Payments, it said in a statement. The bank is benefiting from higher interest rates in Europe as it seeks to expand its investment banking business. Global heads will define the common business and operating model based on global platforms, said the bank, with all operations aligned under five global business areas. The Digital Consumer Bank will be led by Jose Luis de Mora.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Ana Botin, Daniel Barriuso, Jose Luis de Mora, Javier San Felix, Matias Sanchez, Jose M ., Victor Matarranz, Jesús Aguado, Joan Faus, Richard Chang Organizations: Santander Bank, REUTERS, Rights, Spain's Santander, Digital Consumer Bank, Corporate, Investment Banking, Wealth Management, Insurance, Santander, Corporate & Investment Banking, Thomson Locations: Rights MADRID, Europe

☆ Three Real Madrid youth players arrested over sexual video with minor
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MADRID, Sept 14 (Reuters) - Spanish police arrested on Thursday three Real Madrid youth players for allegedly distributing a sexual video featuring a minor, with the arrests heightening the furore about sexism and macho behaviour in Spanish soccer. The case stems from a complaint filed by the mother of a 16-year-old girl in the Canary Islands regarding an alleged recording of sexual relations, police said. Police said the three had been detained at the Real Madrid sports complex in Madrid and a fourth player was being investigated. One of those arrested is a reserve team player and two play for the third team. Real Madrid issued a statement saying only that a total of four youth team players had been questioned by police "in connection with a complaint about an alleged release of a private video via WhatsApp" messaging system.

Persons: Luis Rubiales, Spain's, Jenni Hermoso, Rubiales, El, Elena Rodriguez, Fernando Kallas, Joan Faus, David Latona, Andrei Khalip, Alexandra Hudson Organizations: Spanish, Real Madrid, Police, Alexandra Hudson Our, Thomson Locations: MADRID, Madrid

☆ At mass grave exhumation, daughter of Spanish Civil War victim seeks closure
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-13 | by ( Juan Medina | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

"I want to know where he is because I have never known," Navacerrada told Reuters this week at the cemetery of Colmenar Viejo where two mass graves have been found. A total of 108 civilians, many associated with leftist parties and unions, were executed and buried at the Colmenar Viejo cemetery between April and December of 1939. The exhumation of the first mass grave started last year with the financial support of Spain's leftist government and led to finding the remains of 12 people. Spain transitioned to democracy following Franco's death in 1975 but the legacy of his four-decade fascist dictatorship still divides Spanish society. Reporting by Juan Medina Additional reporting and writing by Joan Faus Editing by Frances KerryOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Benita Navacerrada Lopez, Facundo Navacerrada Perdiguero, Francisco Franco, Read, Navacerrada, exhumations, Pedro Sanchez, Vox, Luis Perez Lara, San Sebastian de los Reyes, Juan Medina, Joan Faus, Frances Kerry Organizations: Science Society, Reuters, Socialist, People's Party, Vox, Thomson Locations: Colmenar, VIEJO, Spain, Madrid, Colmenar Viejo, Spanish, San Sebastian

☆ 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

☆ Catalan kingmaker tells Spain's Sanchez not to take support for granted
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-02 | by ( Joan Faus | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Sarah Meyssonnier/File PhotoBARCELONA, Aug 2 (Reuters) - Spain's Socialists (PSOE), seeking to form a government after a hard-fought national election, should not take the support of Catalonia's separatist parties for granted, one of their leaders said on Wednesday. "It is Pedro Sanchez who has to make the moves to get support," Aragones said. To renew its support, ERC wants further talks, to cut the region's contributions to the national public finances, and to take control of local train services. Junts is demanding a referendum on independence and an amnesty for all separatists facing legal charges related to the failed 2017 independence bid. Aragones said the two parties' leverage could help obtain a referendum and amnesty, but also concessions in financial or cultural issues.

Persons: Pere Aragones i Garcia, Sarah Meyssonnier, Pere Aragones, Pedro Sanchez's, Sanchez, Pedro Sanchez, Aragones, Junts, Joan Faus, Charlie Devereux, John Stonestreet Organizations: of, Entrepreneurs de France, Paris, Paris Longchamp Racecourse, REUTERS, Spain's Socialists, PSOE, ERC, Socialist, People's Party, Thomson Locations: of Catalonia, Paris Longchamp, Paris, France, Spain, Catalan

[1/2] "Junts x Catalunya" members raise up an "Estelada" flag (Catalan separatist flag) as they celebrate the results of the European Parliament elections in Barcelona, Spain, May 27, 2019. REUTERS/Albert Gea/File PhotoBARCELONA/MADRID, July 26 (Reuters) - Spain may be heading for a repeat of Sunday's inconclusive election unless Catalan separatist parties compromise on their demands for an independence referendum in exchange for their support. After neither the right nor left bloc won enough seats to form a majority, Catalan separatist parties Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya (ERC) and Junts have emerged as kingmakers. However, Sanchez, who rejects Catalan independence, has long said he opposes a referendum or an amnesty. INDEPENDENCE SUPPORT DECLININGEven if Sanchez were willing to concede, a referendum could prove difficult to implement.

Persons: Albert Gea, Esquerra, Pedro Sanchez, Sanchez, Junts, Carles Puigdemont, Ramon Tremosa, mignon, Tremosa, Josep Rius, Alberto Nunez Feijoo, Feijoo, Mariano Rajoy, Joan Esculies, Isabel Rodriguez, Yolanda Diaz, Diaz, Jaume Asens, Puigdemont, Wayne Griffiths, Rius, Pedro Sanchez's, Joan Faus, Belen Carreno, Charlie Devereux, Aislinn Laing, Rosalba O'Brien Organizations: REUTERS, ERC, Junts, Sanchez's Socialists, Socialists, European Union, People's Party, Socialist, Monday, Volkswagen's, SEAT, Catalans, Vox, Thomson Locations: Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain, BARCELONA, MADRID, Catalan, Catalonia, Belgium, Socialist, Madrid, Volkswagen's Barcelona, Spanish

[1/4]Spain's opposition People's Party leader Alberto Nunez Feijoo and People's Party spokeswoman Maria Concepcion Gamarra attend a meeting at the People's Party (PP) headquarters in Madrid, Spain, July 24, 2023. Puigdemont, who still wields considerable influence within Junts, said in mid-July the party would not support Sanchez. "We are sure about that, and that there will be no repetition (of the election)," the source said. Sumar lawmaker Jaume Asens has already begun talks with Junts on the platform's behalf, a source in the party said. Another PSOE source said the party would leave the PP to make the first attempt to form a government.

Persons: Sanchez, Alberto Nunez Feijoo, Vox, Feijoo, Sumar, Pedro Sanchez, Esquerra, Carles Puigdemont, Maria Concepcion Gamarra, Juan Medina, Jordi Turull, Turull, Puigdemont, Jaume Asens, Junts, Franco, Spain's, Eurointelligence, Joan Faus, Belen Carreno, Emma Pinedo, Inti Landauro, Charlie Devereux, Angus MacSwan, Aislinn Laing, Christina Fincher Organizations: Conservative, Exiled, People's Party, Socialist, PSOE, Socialists, ERC, Vox, People's, of Navarre, UPN, Canary Coalition, REUTERS, Basque Nationalist Party, Sumar, Puigdemont, Thomson Locations: Spain, Exiled Catalan, BARCELONA, MADRID, Basque, Catalan, Canary, Belgium, Catalonia, Madrid, Bildu, Junts, PSOE, Barcelona

The results from Sunday's vote left neither the left nor right bloc with an easy path to form a government. Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez' Socialists have more options but face potentially unpalatable demands from Catalan separatist parties. Those could include insistence on an independence referendum, triggering the kind of political chaos seen in 2017 when Catalonia last tried to break from Spain. Sanchez could win over left-wing separatist party Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya (ERC), as he did to form a minority government in 2019. The Socialists, which oppose independence and any vote on the issue, may have a hard time accepting such a demand.

Persons: Pedro Sanchez, Begona Gomez, applauds, gridlock, Ignacio Jurado, Vox, Sumar, Sanchez, Esquerra, Junts, Miriam Nogueras, Carles Puigdemont, Ignacio Torreblanca, Charlie Devereux, Belen Carreno, Joan Faus, Cynthia Osterman Organizations: Socialist, REUTERS, Carlos III University, People's Party, Socialists, PSOE, ERC, Congress, Spanish, European Council, Foreign Relations, Thomson Locations: Madrid, Spain, Catalan, MADRID, Catalonia, Belgium, Basque, Barcelona

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