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 A senior Catalan official on Saturday said an offer of talks with Madrid over his region's independence push was aimed at negotiating secession from Spain, not stopping it. https://www.thelocal.es/20171014/catalan-talks-with-spain-would-aim-at-independence Sat, 14 Oct 2017 17:10:47 +0200 catalan-talks-with-spain-would-aim-at-independence Spain has given Catalonia's separatist leader until October 16th to clarify whether he intends to push ahead with independence, warning that Madrid could take control of the region if it insisted on breaking away. https://www.thelocal.es/20171012/spain-sets-deadline-in-catalan-independence-dispute Thu, 12 Oct 2017 10:19:50 +0200 spain-sets-deadline-in-catalan-independence-dispute Spain's Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy has formally asked the Catalan regional government to confirm if it has "declared the independence of Catalonia". https://www.thelocal.es/20171011/spanish-pm-rajoy-asks-catalan-government-to-clarify-if-it-declared-independence Wed, 11 Oct 2017 13:50:00 +0200 spanish-pm-rajoy-asks-catalan-government-to-clarify-if-it-declared-independence Spain is trying to make sense of a decision by Catalan regional leaders to sign a declaration of independence then immediately suspend it. Here's some of the noteworthy reaction from the Spanish press to a confusing evening. https://www.thelocal.es/20171011/a-lot-of-broken-eggs-no-tortilla-how-spains-press-reacted-to-suspended-independence-declaration Wed, 11 Oct 2017 12:37:19 +0200 a-lot-of-broken-eggs-no-tortilla-how-spains-press-reacted-to-suspended-independence-declaration Spain is a paradise of socializing, culture and good health, just don’t come here to make your fortune or climb the career ladder. https://www.thelocal.es/20150923/reasons-why-you-should-and-should-not-be-an-expat-in-spain Wed, 23 Sep 2015 11:51:29 +0200 reasons-why-you-should-and-should-not-be-an-expat-in-spain Police in Spain said on Tuesday they freed a young Spaniard kidnapped and held for a ransom of €35,000 ($39,000) for six days in southern Spain, and arrested ten French nationals. https://www.thelocal.es/20150901/spain-police-free-kidnapped-man-detain-10-french-nationals Tue, 01 Sep 2015 17:36:36 +0200 spain-police-free-kidnapped-man-detain-10-french-nationals A man who witnessed the execution of a Republican soldier as a ten-year-old boy in 1939 has led investigators to the unmarked grave. https://www.thelocal.es/20150731/little-boys-memory-helps-find-civil-war-soldiers-remains Fri, 31 Jul 2015 14:32:23 +0200 little-boys-memory-helps-find-civil-war-soldiers-remains Madrid's new administration faced its first casualty of office with the resignation of a councillor on Monday following a storm of criticism over anti-semitic tweets he had sent in 2011. https://www.thelocal.es/20150615/madrid-official-apologizes-over-anti-semitic-tweet Mon, 15 Jun 2015 10:34:36 +0200 madrid-official-apologizes-over-anti-semitic-tweet The leader of radical left-wing party Podemos, will meet Spain's King in Brussels on Wednesday, in what could be an awkward encounter after his party's comments on abolishing the monarchy. https://www.thelocal.es/20150414/potentially-awkward-meeting-between-king-felipe-and-pablo-iglesias Tue, 14 Apr 2015 14:30:54 +0200 potentially-awkward-meeting-between-king-felipe-and-pablo-iglesias Madrid's city hall stands accused of gagging free speech after cancelling a concert by Basque thrash rockers Soziedad Alkoholika on grounds that they could "incite public disorder". https://www.thelocal.es/20150310/basque-rock-group-banned-from-playing-madrid Tue, 10 Mar 2015 13:06:00 +0100 basque-rock-group-banned-from-playing-madrid Spanish actress Penelope Cruz has made her directing debut with a lingerie commercial that features her very pregnant sister Monica alongside footballer Cristiano Ronaldo's model girlfriend. https://www.thelocal.es/20130802/penelope-cruz-shoots-spicy-lingerie-video Fri, 02 Aug 2013 12:12:00 +0200 penelope-cruz-shoots-spicy-lingerie-video The Local takes you on a tour of some of Spain's wackiest sayings involving animals. https://www.thelocal.es/20130327/ten-beastly-spanish-expressions Wed, 27 Mar 2013 18:38:00 +0100 ten-beastly-spanish-expressions Spain will seek deeper into recession this year and the unemployment rate, which is already at a record 26 percent, will rise further as it continues to feel the fallout of the collapse of a property bubble, the central bank said on Tuesday. https://www.thelocal.es/20130326/no-growth-until-2014-spains-central-bank Tue, 26 Mar 2013 18:08:00 +0100 no-growth-until-2014-spains-central-bank Spain's Crown Prince Felipe has arrived in Caracas where he is attending the funeral of Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez. https://www.thelocal.es/20130308/prince-felipe-arrives-in-caracas-for-chavez-funeral Fri, 08 Mar 2013 14:10:00 +0100 prince-felipe-arrives-in-caracas-for-chavez-funeral