Newsvine Spain-related posts

Spain and Japan have world's highest life expectancy: A few tips from Spanish centenarians on how to live to 100

With more than 17,000 people aged 100 or over, Spain is the country with the greatest life expectancy after Japan, OECD data and the latest population census shows. Over a year, Reuters photographer Andrea Comas interviewed and photographed Spaniards aged 100 or more across th …

Happy Kings' Day from Madrid / Feliz Día de los Reyes desde Madrid

Last night's Kings' Parade / La Calbalgata de los Reyes de anoche

'Why do Spaniards do their 'business' in the sea?' and 10 more news stories published in the El País English edition this year

Why do Spaniards 'shit' in the sea and can you sleep in the Spanish heat? Top 10 Spain news stories read by English-speakers this year

Spain's most popular newspaper, El País, publishes a small English-language edition. Here are the top ten stories of the English edition in 2015.

Not one of the top ten, but one of the final articles to appear in El País English edition in 2015 is: Spain's 1st Black Member of Parliament, Rita Bosaho: 'Achieving equality should be a question of state.'

As the first black person to be elected to Spain's Congress, Rita Bosaho says she is "overcome" by the media attention she has received over the last week. Born with Spanish nationality in Spain's former African colony of Equatorial Guinea, she came to Spain at the age of four, …

Catalans say no to independence, but... / Spain picks Basque language film for Oscars / Felipe & Letizia vs William & Kate

My latest Spain related posts at Newsvine:

 

Spain Chooses Basque-Language Fim 'Loreak' as Oscar Submission 

The Spanish Academy of Cinematic Arts and Sciences announced this morning that Jon Garaño & Jose Mari Goenaga's "Loreak" (Flowers) has been selected to represent the country in the Best Foreign Language Film category at the 88th Academy Awards. This is the first-ever …

 

 Majority in Catalonia voted 'no' to independence from Spain 

Catalonia, the north-eastern region in Spain, held a regional election on Sunday. Its legal purpose was to elect a regional assembly that should elect a new regional government. But the outgoing president and his political mates decided this would not be the real purpose of the …

He's young, handsome with centuries of kings, queens in the family tree. She's smart, glamorous with no blue blood. William & Kate? No, King Felipe and Queen Letizia of Spain.  

King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia of Spain, in Washington this week for their first official visit — without the frenzied media mob that follows the British monarchy. There are no breathless morning television countdowns, no stakeouts for their trips to Mount Vernon or the …

Spanish man fined for calling police slackers on Facebook; King and Queen to visit St. Augustine, Florida for its 450 birthday

Excerpts from Newsvine seeds. Click on headline for more:

Spanish man fined for calling police 'slackers' on Facebook

The first known individual to fall foul of Spain’s controversial new “gag law” has spoken out against what he sees as the repression of free speech after he received a fine for describing his local police force as "slackers" on Facebook. Eduardo Diaz, a 27-ye …

King and Queen of Spain to attend 450th celebration of St Augustine, Florida

King Felipe and Queen Letizia of Spain are scheduled to visit in Sept. 18, 19, and 20 which is when St. Augustine is hosting the annual U.S. – Spain Council. This will be the first ever visit for the royals to the United States as heads of state. "We've been celebrating  …

San Fermin bull-run gore count; Hug, Kiss, Steal; Granada mayor tells teen girls 'nearly naked' looks best; One thing Left & Right agree on; More Spanish speakers in USA than Spain

Click here or on the individual links below for my latest Spanish stuff on Newsvine.

Spain's San Fermin closes with no gorings on final day's running of the bulls, but 37 gorings and other injuries during 9-day fiesta

No-one was gored this morning in the final 'encierro,' or bull run, of the San Fermin Festival in Pamplona, Spain, but so far today five people have been taken to hospital for other injuries, including craneofacial, cervical, foot and arm traumas. According to local officials, t …

Busted: Gang of thieves who hug and kiss victims

Spain's national police have broken up an organized band of thieves using hugs and kisses to distract victims.  Authorities have charged nine people in various cities across the country with using a technique called 'abracitos' ('little hugs') to commit robbery. The me …

Mayor tells group of Honor Students, 'The more naked women are, the more stylish; and men, the more they wear, the more stylish.'

The mayor of Granada, Spain, has told a group of recent high school graduates that the less clothes women wear, the better they look. Mayor José Torres Hurtado had just finished awarding certificates to the city's 10 students who received the highest scores on univer …

In Madrid, the Left and Right agree: Spain is not Greece

According to Spain's ruling right-wingers, the Popular Party:

US now has more Spanish speakers than Spain – only Mexico has more

The United States is now the world’s second largest Spanish-speaking country after Mexico, according to a new study published by the prestigious Instituto Cervantes. The report says there are 41 million native Spanish speakers in the US plus a further 11.6 million who ar …

Unvaccinated child dies of diphtheria / Citizenship granted to Sephardic Jews. Descendants of expelled Muslims get nothing

Spain related Newsvine posts:

Unvaccinated child dies of diphtheria in Spain: first case in nearly 30 years

Spanish media is reporting that a six-year-old infected with diphtheria died early this morning. The boy, from the town of Olot in the region of Catlonia, had not been vaccinated against the disease, which had not been seen in Spain in nearly three decades. He had been unde …

500 years after expulsion at pain of death, Spain grants citizenship to Sephardic Jews. Descendants of expelled Muslims get nothing.

A century ago, Marcelo Benveniste’s four Jewish grandparents emigrated from the Greek island of Rhodes to Argentina. Unlike many new arrivals on far-flung shores, they had little difficulty navigating their way through the challenges of a foreign tongue as as they already …

No Communion, No Money, No Catholic; Innit in Spanish; Anti-Drunk-Walking

My latest Spain related things on Newsvine:

I'm simply Christian now: Divorced Catholic leaves Church after being refused communion, but asked for money

Last Sunday was an important day for Angela Conesa: her son had his First Communion. However, Angela was not able to take communion herself that day. Why? Because, as local Church officials reminded her in a letter a few days before the event, divorced Catholics who remarry civi …

Handy Spanish phrases for British tourists (Video)

To help prepare British holidaymakers travelling to Spain this summer, former professional soccer player and now Hollywood actor, Vinnie Jones, delivers a performance like never before as he launches his own Spanish lessons. Check it out for all those essential Spanish phrases li …

Spain wants to ban drunk walking and set speed-limit for joggers

Spain's Acadamy Awards; Cervantes' grave; King Cake = Rosca de Reyes; Mosque or Cathedral; Top 20 TV programs in one word

Spain-related Newsvine posts:

Marshland (La Isla Minima) big winner at Spain's Academy Awards; Antonio Banderas honored for career

In the photo above: Raúl Arévalo and Javier Gutiérrez in a scene from Marshland (original Spanish title: La Isla Mínima)

The moment archaeologists uncovered what may be the grave of Cervantes in Madrid (Video)

Archaeologists believe they may have found the remains of Miguel de Cervantes, author of Don Quixote, the world's first modern novel.  

About King Cakes, Twelfth Night and the beginning of Carnival season

In Louisiana, Mardi Gras, or Carnival, season officially begins on 5 January with parties where King Cakes are served—a very special holiday food with roots going back to medieval Spain, France and beyond. Today these delicacies are served up all over the sta …

Should it be called a cathedral, a mosque, or both? And who has the right to decide?

A cultural-religious-political battle is being waged over the name of the famed UNESCO World Heritage Site: The Mosque-Cathedral of Cordoba. Take a walk around the city of Cordoba, Spain and pretty soon you are bound to come across the word mosque, or rather its Spanish eq …

Spain's top 20 TV broadcasts in 2014 can be summed up in one word: Soccer

It's not too often that a national network brags that an episode of one of its series hit the number 21 spot, but that is just what happened in Spain recently. Late last week Telecinco proudly announced that the May 6th episode of 'El Principe' was NOT the most watched TV broadcast of 2014 ...

Vikings in Spain / Spanish Language Media Spreading Russian Disinformation About the Amero / Holiday Greetings

All things Spanish from Newsvine:

Vikings may have siesta'd in Spain, claims researcher in Scotland

Dr Irene Garcia Losquino is now aiming to secure funding for a comprehensive archaeological examination of possible Norse communities in Iberia. A number of stone Viking anchors were washed ashore in the Galicia region following a storm in March. Dr Losquino, of the universit …

Here comes the Amero again – and this time it's going to unite North and South America

Non-English language news services are promoting 'financial expert' predictions of North American monetary union. Several Spanish language news sites are reporting analysts saying that the U.S. dollar has "a very specific expiration date." But a little research leads back to an  …

Merry Christmas from Madrid, Spain (photos) / Feliz Navidad desde Madrid, España (fotos)

                                             Taken with my  ...

Spanish Dictionary Accused of Racism / Police Woman Returns From Mtaernity Leave, Gets Killed In Shootout / Real Madrid's Breaks Own Record

My latest on Newsvine.

Anti-Gypsy Sentiment Creates Demand For Royal Spanish Academy Recall

The definition of gypsies in the Royal Spanish Academy Dictionary has been reported to say that gypsies are liars and cheats, a definition that has caused many people within the Hindu community to feel absolutely disgusted. The President of Universal Society of Hinduism, Rajan  …

Police woman returned from maternity leave killed in bank robbery shootout

A 36 year-old policewoman was killed and her partner gravely injured in a confrontation with a suspected bank-robber earlier today in the city of Vigo, Spain. A shootout between police and a suspected thief at the entrance to a bank in this city on Spain's Atlantic coast en … 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Madrid extends record winning streak
Real Madrid rewrote the club's record books after beating Malaga 2-1 to record their 16th successive win in all competitions. Goals from Karim Benzema and Gareth Bale proved decisive as the European champions continued their phenomenal run of form which has seen them brush aside …

¡Sí, se puede! ¿O no? Catalan Independence? Podemos in Power?

My latest Newsvine article looks at the independence consultation in Catalonia on November 9, while my last post was to a guide to Spain's new Podemos political party:

At 80% In Favor, Catalonia Overwhelmingly Voted For Independence From Spain. Or Did It?

An informal vote on independence in the Autonomous Region of Catalonia, Spain has shown more than 80% of participants in favor of separation from the country, local officials have said. Spanish media is reporting that a total of 2,236,806 persons out of an estimated …

¡Sí, se puede! A Guide to Spain's Surprising New Political Party: Podemos ('We Can')

Seven months ago almost nobody had heard of them. Now Podemos is the hottest political property in Spain. But just who are they, what do they want, and could they win the country's next elections? The Local takes a look behind the curtains. Why is it called Podemos? Podemos m …

A billion, a triilion and Little Nicholas

My latest Spanish related Newsvine posts: 

In Spain and other Spanish speaking countries 1 billion is 1,000,000,000,000 while in the USA, UK and other English speaking countries it's 1,000,000,000. Why? Read:

How much is 1 billion? 1 trillion? More? That depends on where you are.

Police in Spain have arrested a 20-year-old alleged con man who embarrassed the establishment by posing as a bigwig and even got himself photographed shaking hands with the king. Fresh-faced and curly-haired, the sharp-suited wheeler-dealer Francisco Nicolas Gomez Iglesias...Read about it:

Little Nicholas: Fresh-Faced 'Con Man' Fools Spain's Elite

Jesus x 2; Catalonia, Scotland, Spain, UK; Queen Letizia Goes to School in New York; Madrid's Cruel Bus Shelters; Paragliding in Arcones

Excerpts from and links to my latest Newsvine articles and posts relating to Spain:

Miracle? Spain's monkey image of Jesus appears on a cake in Japan

Jesus appears to have forgiven the Spanish woman who botched his face in what was 'probably the worst art restoration project of all time.'  Yes, the Lord seems to have chosen to use the infamous monkey-like image of Himself to evangelize by appearing on a popular Japanese  …

'Beardless Jesus' found in Spain on one of the earliest known images of Christ

It is engraved on a glass plate dating back to the 4th Century AD, reports from Spain say. The plate is believed to have been used to hold Eucharistic bread as it was consecrated in early Christian rituals. It measures 22cm [8.66in] in diameter and fragments of it were unearth …

Catalonia tries to follow Scotland's example, but Spain refuses to follow UK's

Catalonia's president on Saturday formally called a referendum to decide whether Spain's richest region should be independent, defying Madrid which vowed to block the move. Shortly after Artur Mas set the vote for Nov. 9, the Spanish government said the referendum would not ta …

Queen Letizia of Spain promotes bilingual education at New York City public school

Arriving at the Dos Puentes [Two Bridges] Elementary School, the stunning royal was an immediate hit with the children who had hundreds of questions for the queen. "How come you aren't wearing a crown?" asked one schoolboy, while another said, "What's it like to be a queen?"  …

Madrid's conservative mayor replaces perfectly fine city bus shelters with new 'anti-homeless' models

With an unemployment rate nearing 20%, ongoing housing evictions and homeless shelters at capacity, Spain's capital is doing its best to prevent the destitute from finding a place to sleep. Take a walk on a busy Madrid street these days and you will soon see an example …

Great Paragliding Video From Arcones, Spain / Genial Vídeo de Parapente desde Arcones, España

Clive Mantle of South Africa recently posted this video of his August paragliding adventure just north of Madrid, near the village of Arcones, a place he calls a 'paragliding mecca.'  / Clive Mantle de Sudáfrica publicado recientemente este vídeo …

Read about Catalonia, la Diada, succession and secession

My latest article on Newsvine:

The Diada, Catalonia's 'national' day, was originally about succession, not secession

September 11 is known as la Diada in Catalonia. It is a day that originally commemorated a military defeat that took place on this date in 1714: the fall of Barcelona to Bourbon troops led by the Duke of Berwick after a year long siege. Today the day has been transformed into a celebration of pro-independence nationalism throughout the autonomous…

Graves, Breast Implants, Sex, Tattoos and Juana la Loca

My Newsvine Articles and Posts with Spain related content, June-September 2014

First mass grave of 14th-century plague victims found in Spain

Photo: An overview of the pit excavated in the Basilica of Sant Just i Pastor. / Irene Gibrat

The Basilica of Sant Just i Pastor, in the heart of Barcelona’s historic Gothic Quarter, has been a place of Christian worship since the fourth century. In recent years it has provided archeologists with rich bounty:

Woman carrying 1.7 kilos of cocaine in breast implants arrested at Madrid airport

Spanish police have arrested a woman with 1.7 kilos of cocaine concealed inside her breast implants. The Venezuelan citizen was taken to a hospital immediately, due to the health risks associated with the toxicity of the drugs. The 43 year-old had come to Madrid on a flight …

Spanish police ticket 3 couples having sex in van – for not wearing seat belts

The sex ended up costing them 100 euros a person which, believe it or not, was actually a bargain. Police on the Spanish island of Ibiza who stopped a van last week during a routine DUI checkpoint were surprised to discover, while talking to the driver, that there were three cou …

Juana La Loca Syndrome in Venezuela

Juana La Loca Syndrome: that's how one Venezuelan writer describes the rush of his fellow citizens to get tattooed with images of and tributes to Hugo Chavez. Writing in Spain's Estrella Digital, former Radio Caracas Television Internacional reporter Noe Pernia compares the …

Summer Solstice in Spain: Saint John's Night (Noche de San Juan)

Barceloneta Beach, Barcelona

Read about 10 observances of the summer solstice on the Spanish peninsula, as well as about two on Spain's islands: Summer Solstice in Spain: Fiestas of Fire!

Newsvine Articles & Posts re: Spain on Newsvine, April-June 2014

Two articles:
Spain's lonely King says: 'I don't want my son to wither away waiting like Prince Charles'

Dancing in the streets to celebrate Second Easter in Barcelona

Two posts:
Madrid college dorm bans men from using washing machines, expects females to do it for them

Group sues Spain over decision to give country's top policing award to a statue of Virgin Mary

Latest Newsvine Posts & Articles re: Spain

Click on the headline to see the complete post:

Professional golfer jumps into lake to escape attacking hornets, and manages to birdie right after (Video)

Spanish golfer Pablo Larrazabal was forced to jump into a lake to escape a swarm of hornets that attacked him at the Malaysian Open, and still managed to card a 68. In fact, made a birdie and improved to two under for the tournament. Keep up to date with the European Tour at www. …

 

 

 

'Pet poo police' go undercover

Undercover officers wearing hidden cameras will patrol the streets of Colmenar Viejo (Madrid region) and take live footage of dogs doing their business – and if the walker does not clear up the mess, they will be fined up to 750 euros [$1030] based upon the evidence. Cou …

 

Historians claim to have found Holy Grail in Spain

Margarita Torres and José Ortega del Río have spent three years researching the history of the chalice and, on Wednesday, presented in León a co-written book, Los Reyes del Grial (The Kings of the Grail), containing their findings. The onyx chalice itself, …

 

 

Dancing In The Rain by Ruth Lorenzo: Spain's entry in 2014 Eurovision Song Contest (Video)

 

 

 

 

 

Pooperoni? Baby-Poo Bacteria Help Make Healthy Sausages

Bacteria from baby poop can help make delicious sausages, which could transform savory meats into health foods much like probiotic yogurts, according to new research. For millennia, cultures across the globe have relied on microbes to help create a dazzling variety of foods an …

 

 

President of Catalan Region says Spain cannot block non-binding independence vote

BARCELONA - Spain cannot block a non-binding vote on Catalan independence that could become the basis for negotiations on Catalonia's future, the president of the north-eastern region said in an interview published on Sunday. "If I call a consultation, not to declare the inde …

Madrid's mohawked 3 Michelin-starred chef David Muñoz to open street food restaurant in London

London is about to get a taste of StreetXO food. Hot off the addition of a third Michelin star to his extremely popular Madrid dining room, DiverXO, restaurateur David Muñoz plans to open a fast food eatery in London. Muñoz, who says he cooks 'wildly...because, bas …

 

7,000-year-old European hunter-gatherer had blue eyes but dark skin

Genetic tests reveal that a hunter-gatherer who lived 7,000 years ago had the unusual combination of dark skin and hair and blue eyes. It has surprised scientists, who thought that the early inhabitants of Europe were fair. The research, led by the Institute of Evolutionary Bi …

 

It's a bird! It's a plane!! It's a whale?!?! (Video)

The AWWA Sky Whale is a new concept in aviation from the mind of industrial designer Oscar Viñals of Barcelona, Spain. Viñal has envisioned a colossal cetacean-shaped aircraft with a system of curves and conduits designed to reduce drag and get the three-story 'gre …

 

Prosecutors in Barcelona file murder and torture charges against 8 police over gay businessman's beating

Last October Juan Andres Benitez Alvarez, the owner of two stores in the city's LGBT-friendly Gayxample* district, died while in police custody. Today prosecutors asked for eight members of the Catalan regional police force, Los Mossos d’Esquadra, to be charged with murder …

 

 

Residents of Villapene, Spain puzzled by theft of city limit sign. Villapene means Penisville.

A group of friends who stole a road sign from the Spanish village of Villapene, or 'Penisville', and then used it as a prop in a joke wedding photo have apologized and returned it to disgruntled locals. The theft came to light after a group of young people in the village in Sp …

 

Madrid's Street Performers Now Must Audition To Hold Out A Hat

On the train, in the park, on the famed medieval Plaza Mayor — the Spanish capital of Madrid is famous for its street performers. And with more than a quarter of Spaniards out of work, more people than ever before have been crisscrossing the city with their violins and v …

 

Annual coup d'état and flour fight in Ibi, Spain: It's the Els Enfarinats festival (Video)

The annual festival of Els Enfarinats takes place in the town of Ibi in Alicante, Spain on December 28,[1] as part of celebrations related to the Day of the Innocents [the Spanish equivalent of April Fool's Day]. In the day long festival, participants known as the Els Enfarinats …

 Three members of family die of poisoning after eating expired food

A husband, wife and their 14 year-old daughter have died of food poisoning in the Spanish town of Alcala de Guadaira, a suburb of Seville. The probable cause was a meal consisting of donated items eaten on Friday night at the family's home. A 13 year-old girl was also taken ill  …

 

 

Driver arrested after destroying 2 police cars, causing a door to fly over spectators' heads, nearly running over an officer

Police strongly suspect the man was drunk. A dramatic high-speed pursuit through the streets of ​​Valencia, Spain ended up with two police cars destroyed by a fleeing suspect. During the incident one officer barely avoided being run over by the escaping vehicle.  The …

 

At 400,000 Years, Oldest Human DNA Yet Found Raises New Mysteries

In a paper in the journal Nature, scientists reported Wednesday that they had retrieved ancient human DNA from a fossil dating back about 400,000 years, shattering the previous record of 100,000 years. The fossil, a thigh bone found in Spain, had previously seemed to many expe …

 

Spain: Judge rules women who bared breasts in parliament did not disturb the peace – but the fact that they spoke while doing so did

Women going topless in the Spanish parliament is not a serious breach of the peace. That is what Judge Ramiro Garcia de Dios Ferreiro declared in his order to release activists who were arrested in Madrid yesterday after they caused a bit of a scene in the Congress of Deputies.  …

We heard a scream, then he was gone: Tourist falls from cliff to his death while taking photos

A man from Spain who had hiked up to western Norway’s famed high mountain plateau known as “Preikestolen” (The Pulpit Rock) disappeared off its steep side while taking photos Tuesday afternoon. His body was found Wednesday, after he’d plunged to his deat …

 

Spanish judge rules driving schools can charge women more because it is proven that men are better drivers

Judge Javier Albar was asked to decide whether a driving school in Zaragoza was discriminatory for offering male learners a cheaper deal on a course of driving lessons that their female counterparts. The offer, made in November 2011, advertised a deal where for 665 euros male  …

Knock-off Ferraris sold over the Internet (Video)

Buyers were aware they were getting custom made fakes. Spanish Police have closed two workshops where autos were transformed into phony luxury cars, such as Ferrari and Aston Martin, and then sold through two websites for about 40,000 euros ($50,000) a piece. A real Ferrari wou …

Man shoots 11 year-old playing outside because noise was keeping him awake

Police in Madrid have arrested a 30 year-old man as a suspect in the near-fatal shooting of an 11 year-old playing near his home. According to the the El Mundo newspaper, the man allegedly shot the boy from his apartment window because the noisy child was preventing him from sle …

Vacation Over: Couple detained after skipping out on bills at 7 luxury hotels. Traveled with daughters, aged 9 and 11.

Barcelona police have arrested a man and a woman accused of defrauding seven luxury accommodations in different cities across northern Spain of 31,500 euros ($42,000 USD).  According to the El Periodico newspaper, the Polish couple, who were traveling with their t …

Want to buy a used subway line? Cash-strapped Madrid sells out

Sol, is the Spanish word for sun. Could there be a better name for the most important square in Spain's capital. The square, where Puerta del Sol, or the sun gate in the old city wall, once stood, marks Spain's geographic center. From this ground zero, the national roads lead o …

 

 

Man cons sneaky smartphone users out of over $50,000 with non-existent WhatsAppSpy application

Scam artist 'robbed' more than 11,000 users by sending them over eight million advertising messages – which they paid to receive. A fictitious smartphone application dubbed 'WhatsAppSpy' was too tempting to resist for thousands of people who got stung in one of the latest  …

French Naturist Group to Fight Anti-Nudity Laws; Wants France to Remain #1 Nudist Travel Destination, Sees Spain As Competition

In a recent court case in France, judges heard how a naturist enjoying a naked hike in the woods dived for cover in the bushes when he unexpectedly walked into the path of a mother and her son. Despite the risks he took to conceal himself, he was reported to the police by the m …