https://feeds.thelocal.com/ Read the latest news and views from Spain in English en-us news@thelocal.com (TheLocal) webmaster@thelocal.com (TheLocal) TheLocal RSS Feed On February 23 2021, Spain marks 40 years since a failed coup attempt triggered a cultural revolution within the military, leading to its forced modernisation and social integration. https://www.thelocal.es/20210223/everybody-freeze-how-a-failed-coup-40-years-ago-reshaped-spains-military Tue, 23 Feb 2021 17:46:31 +0100 everybody-freeze-how-a-failed-coup-40-years-ago-reshaped-spains-military Spain’s Ministry of Defense has tweaked its uniform rulebook after a female recruit was kicked out of the army for showing a tattoo on her ankle; visible with the previously mandatory skirt she had to wear at military parades. https://www.thelocal.es/20180709/spanish-army-skirts-around-tattoo-troubles-by-launching-unisex-uniform Mon, 09 Jul 2018 15:03:02 +0200 spanish-army-skirts-around-tattoo-troubles-by-launching-unisex-uniform Spain is planning to boost defence spending by 73 percent to €18 billion ($22 billion) by 2024, an announcement that sparked outrage among opposition MPs who say social services will suffer. https://www.thelocal.es/20180125/spain-to-up-defence-spending-by-73-pct-over-seven-years Thu, 25 Jan 2018 10:00:50 +0100 spain-to-up-defence-spending-by-73-pct-over-seven-years The fierce reputation of Spanish Legion soldiers is being put to the test: too fat, some of them have been offered a weight-loss plan to save the "prestige" of the force. https://www.thelocal.es/20180105/too-fat-to-fight-spanish-legion-soldiers-put-on-diet Fri, 05 Jan 2018 18:58:48 +0100 too-fat-to-fight-spanish-legion-soldiers-put-on-diet Spanish defence companies failed to make passing grades in an analysis of ethics and corruption standards released by Transparency International UK on Monday. https://www.thelocal.es/20150427/transparency-spanish-arms-firms-fail-to-meet-mark-defence-corruption Mon, 27 Apr 2015 14:35:27 +0200 transparency-spanish-arms-firms-fail-to-meet-mark-defence-corruption Spain's top soldier was accused of inflaming tensions over Catalonia on Tuesday when he appeared to compare the current independence push in Catalonia with the collapse of the Spanish empire in the nineteenth century. https://www.thelocal.es/20141119/weak-spain-to-blame-for-catalonia-army-chief Wed, 19 Nov 2014 12:29:00 +0100 weak-spain-to-blame-for-catalonia-army-chief Underpaid and demoralized Spanish soldiers are being supplied with rotten and insect-infested rations, a dissident lieutenant claimed in a newspaper piece on Friday. https://www.thelocal.es/20141114/blogger-opens-can-of-worms-over-army-conditions Fri, 14 Nov 2014 17:20:00 +0100 blogger-opens-can-of-worms-over-army-conditions A lieutenant who's sold 10,000 copies of a book in which he exposes alleged cases of corruption in Spain's military has gone on hunger strike after being detained in a military prison. https://www.thelocal.es/20140721/army-whistle-blower-on-hunger-strike-in-jail Mon, 21 Jul 2014 15:56:00 +0200 army-whistle-blower-on-hunger-strike-in-jail For the first time ever, a Spanish soldier has been jailed for allegedly mistreating military prisoners as part of ongoing investigations into a brutal attack at a Spanish army base in Iraq in 2004. https://www.thelocal.es/20140703/spanish-solider-jailed-on-iraq-torture-charges-military Thu, 03 Jul 2014 13:13:00 +0200 spanish-solider-jailed-on-iraq-torture-charges-military Spanish Defence minister Pedro Morenés has laid out plans for new arms programmes that will include unmanned drone aircraft despite the Armed Forces' €29.5 billion ($32.5 billion) debt . https://www.thelocal.es/20130820/spain-plans-to-build-drone-aircraft-in-2015 Tue, 20 Aug 2013 15:00:00 +0200 spain-plans-to-build-drone-aircraft-in-2015 A Spanish army sergeant has landed a 10-month jail sentence for touching the buttocks of a female superior officer. https://www.thelocal.es/20130805/buttock-rubbing-soldier-handed-jail-term Mon, 05 Aug 2013 12:39:44 +0200 buttock-rubbing-soldier-handed-jail-term