By , MADRID (Reuters) - Britain made a mistake when it decided at the weekend to slap a quarantine on people traveling from Spain, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on Monday, saying much of the Mediterranean country had a lower coronavirus infection rate than the UK.Sanchez was speaking just after Britain dealt a new blow to any hopes of reviving Spain’s tourism by extending guidance advising against all non-essential travel, which already applied to mainland Spain, to include the Balearic and Canary Islands.“The error, in my judgement, and hence the lack of alignment of the United...…By , MADRID (Reuters) - Britain made a mistake when it decided at the weekend to slap a quarantine on people traveling from Spain, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on Monday, saying much of the Mediterranean country had a lower coronavirus infection rate than the UK.Sanchez was speaking just after Britain dealt a new blow to any hopes of reviving Spain’s tourism by extending guidance advising against all non-essential travel, which already applied to mainland Spain, to include the Balearic and Canary Islands.“The error, in my judgement, and hence the lack of alignment of the United...WW…

By , , MADRID (Reuters) - Spanish authorities said on Friday they would turn a Madrid conference centre into a giant military hospital for coronavirus patients, as Europe’s second-worst outbreak claimed another 235 lives and the government warned the worst days lay ahead.Spain’s worst single-day death toll yet brought the country’s total fatalities above 1,000.Spain has swiftly followed Italy to become the second European country where hundreds of people are being killed by the coronavirus daily. The death toll shows little sign of slowing.Some 5,500 hospital beds, including intensive care...…By , , MADRID (Reuters) - Spanish authorities said on Friday they would turn a Madrid conference centre into a giant military hospital for coronavirus patients, as Europe’s second-worst outbreak claimed another 235 lives and the government warned the worst days lay ahead.Spain’s worst single-day death toll yet brought the country’s total fatalities above 1,000.Spain has swiftly followed Italy to become the second European country where hundreds of people are being killed by the coronavirus daily. The death toll shows little sign of slowing.Some 5,500 hospital beds, including intensive care...WW…

By , BRUSSELS/BARCELONA (Reuters) - The European Parliament has voted to waive the immunity of the former head of Catalonia’s regional government and two other separatist lawmakers, taking them a step closer to extradition to Spain, where they are charged with sedition.The chamber announced on Tuesday that EU lawmakers had voted clearly in favour of stripping the immunity from prosecution of Carles Puigdemont and two former cabinet members, Toni Comin and Clara Ponsati.The three told a news conference at the parliament in Brussels that they would appeal against the vote at the European...…By , BRUSSELS/BARCELONA (Reuters) - The European Parliament has voted to waive the immunity of the former head of Catalonia’s regional government and two other separatist lawmakers, taking them a step closer to extradition to Spain, where they are charged with sedition.The chamber announced on Tuesday that EU lawmakers had voted clearly in favour of stripping the immunity from prosecution of Carles Puigdemont and two former cabinet members, Toni Comin and Clara Ponsati.The three told a news conference at the parliament in Brussels that they would appeal against the vote at the European...WW…

By , BARCELONA (Reuters) - Separatist parties won enough seats on Sunday in Catalonia’s regional parliament to strengthen their majority, although a strong showing for the local branch of Spain’s ruling Socialists pointed to a dialogue, rather than breakup, with Madrid.With over 99% of ballots counted, separatists won 50.9% of the vote, surpassing the 50% threshold for the first time. The most likely scenario was for the two main separatist parties to extend their coalition government.The final outcome is unlikely, however, to lead to any repeat of the chaotic, short-lived declaration of...…By , BARCELONA (Reuters) - Separatist parties won enough seats on Sunday in Catalonia’s regional parliament to strengthen their majority, although a strong showing for the local branch of Spain’s ruling Socialists pointed to a dialogue, rather than breakup, with Madrid.With over 99% of ballots counted, separatists won 50.9% of the vote, surpassing the 50% threshold for the first time. The most likely scenario was for the two main separatist parties to extend their coalition government.The final outcome is unlikely, however, to lead to any repeat of the chaotic, short-lived declaration of...WW…

By , BARCELONA (Reuters) - Separatist parties won enough seats on Sunday in Catalonia’s regional parliament to strengthen their majority, although a strong showing for the local branch of Spain’s ruling Socialists pointed to a dialogue, rather than breakup, with Madrid.With over 99% of ballots counted, separatists won 50.9% of the vote, surpassing the 50% threshold for the first time. The most likely scenario was for the two main separatist parties to extend their coalition government.The final outcome is unlikely, however, to lead to any repeat of the chaotic, short-lived declaration of...…By , BARCELONA (Reuters) - Separatist parties won enough seats on Sunday in Catalonia’s regional parliament to strengthen their majority, although a strong showing for the local branch of Spain’s ruling Socialists pointed to a dialogue, rather than breakup, with Madrid.With over 99% of ballots counted, separatists won 50.9% of the vote, surpassing the 50% threshold for the first time. The most likely scenario was for the two main separatist parties to extend their coalition government.The final outcome is unlikely, however, to lead to any repeat of the chaotic, short-lived declaration of...WW…

By , BARCELONA, Spain (Reuters) - Outgoing Catalan leader Quim Torra said on Monday that regional elections would be held in the coming months after Spain’s Supreme Court upheld a ruling barring him from public office for 18 months, sparking protests in Barcelona in the evening.Slideshow In a televised address, Torra said he would appeal the sentence, which he described as a politically motivated move to overthrow the Catalan government.Nevertheless, the ruling took effect as soon as Torra was officially notified of it, meaning Catalan deputy leader Pere Aragones is expected to become...…By , BARCELONA, Spain (Reuters) - Outgoing Catalan leader Quim Torra said on Monday that regional elections would be held in the coming months after Spain’s Supreme Court upheld a ruling barring him from public office for 18 months, sparking protests in Barcelona in the evening.Slideshow In a televised address, Torra said he would appeal the sentence, which he described as a politically motivated move to overthrow the Catalan government.Nevertheless, the ruling took effect as soon as Torra was officially notified of it, meaning Catalan deputy leader Pere Aragones is expected to become...WW…

By BARCELONA (Reuters) - Wearing face masks, thousands of Catalans on Friday staged dozens of small protests calling for the region’s independence from Spain despite warnings from health officials to avoid gatherings during the COVID-19 pandemic.All rallies respected social distancing and were peaceful except an unauthorized march in the evening in central Barcelona in which a few hundred separatist protesters, some with torches, burned a mannequin with Spain’s King Felipe’s face and boxes with the logos of Spanish corporations and public institutions.In the morning, unidentified people had...…By BARCELONA (Reuters) - Wearing face masks, thousands of Catalans on Friday staged dozens of small protests calling for the region’s independence from Spain despite warnings from health officials to avoid gatherings during the COVID-19 pandemic.All rallies respected social distancing and were peaceful except an unauthorized march in the evening in central Barcelona in which a few hundred separatist protesters, some with torches, burned a mannequin with Spain’s King Felipe’s face and boxes with the logos of Spanish corporations and public institutions.In the morning, unidentified people had...WW…