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 When she posted jokes on Twitter about a 1973 assassination committed by Spain's Basque separatist group ETA, Cassandra Vera never for one moment thought they would land her a one-year jail sentence. https://www.thelocal.es/20170416/spanish-woman-jailed-over-twitter-terrorism-jokes Sun, 16 Apr 2017 09:50:28 +0200 spanish-woman-jailed-over-twitter-terrorism-jokes A Spanish court on Wednesday sentenced a young woman to jail for posting jokes on Twitter about the 1973 assassination of a senior figure in the Franco dictatorship. https://www.thelocal.es/20170329/woman-sentenced-to-jail-for-twitter-jokes-as-critic Thu, 30 Mar 2017 00:03:55 +0200 woman-sentenced-to-jail-for-twitter-jokes-as-critic For the first time, a Catalan court has convicted a man of so-called 'Catalanophobia' after he posted a derogatory tweet about Germanwings plane crash victims. https://www.thelocal.es/20170317/man-jailed-for-racist-tweet-about-catalan-plane-crash-victims Fri, 17 Mar 2017 16:27:27 +0100 man-jailed-for-racist-tweet-about-catalan-plane-crash-victims A Spaniard is facing up to two years in prison for making a joke about Spain's King Felipe on social media. https://www.thelocal.es/20160517/spaniard-faces-jail-over-kill-the-king-joke Tue, 17 May 2016 12:59:59 +0200 spaniard-faces-jail-over-kill-the-king-joke The abdication tweet from Spain’s Royal Palace announcing that King Juan Carlos would renounce the throne was one of the most re-tweeted posts by world leaders, according to a report released on Tuesday. https://www.thelocal.es/20150428/embargo Tue, 28 Apr 2015 11:22:06 +0200 embargo The hashtag #PaellaEmoji has been trending across social media after a campaign to get an emoji for the popular Spanish dish went viral. https://www.thelocal.es/20150311/spaniards-demand-paella-emoji Wed, 11 Mar 2015 17:14:00 +0100 spaniards-demand-paella-emoji When an earthquake shook the country on Monday Spaniards flocked to social media to make fun of the big drama surrounding the little tremor. https://www.thelocal.es/20150224/twitter-explodes-with-hilarious-earthquake-reaction Tue, 24 Feb 2015 10:30:00 +0100 twitter-explodes-with-hilarious-earthquake-reaction A man who posted a message on Twitter celebrating the death of a football fan has been fined over €60,000 ($68,000) for his "threatening and offensive" behaviour. https://www.thelocal.es/20150223/tweeter-fined-60000-for-celebrating-football-fan-death Mon, 23 Feb 2015 11:35:00 +0100 tweeter-fined-60000-for-celebrating-football-fan-death A humble Spanish shoeshine man has given authorities in Brazil a valuable Twitter account to publicize next year´s Rio Olympics. https://www.thelocal.es/20150217/shoeshine-man-gifts-prized-twitter-accounts Tue, 17 Feb 2015 09:51:00 +0100 shoeshine-man-gifts-prized-twitter-accounts Some of those who voted on Sunday in Catalonia's symbolic poll on independence from Spain weren't satisfied with the three official options and took the opportunity to add a personal touch to their ballot papers. https://www.thelocal.es/20141111/spoiled-catalan-votes-send-mixed-messages-on-twitter Tue, 11 Nov 2014 12:20:00 +0100 spoiled-catalan-votes-send-mixed-messages-on-twitter A photograph of a handsome Spanish anti-riot policeman on the force's Instagram page has proved a winner with visitors, the latest success story for the innovative social media team at Spanish Police. https://www.thelocal.es/20141028/spanish-cop-heats-up-instagram-twitter-social-media Tue, 28 Oct 2014 13:53:00 +0100 spanish-cop-heats-up-instagram-twitter-social-media A top Spanish news agency has apologized after accidentally using a hashtag containing a colloquial term for homosexual in a tweet about Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy. https://www.thelocal.es/20140925/news-agency-sorry-for-calling-spanish-pm-gay-mariano-rajoy Thu, 25 Sep 2014 16:10:00 +0200 news-agency-sorry-for-calling-spanish-pm-gay-mariano-rajoy A surge in the number of Arab followers of the official Twitter account of Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy has prompted a flurry of press attention and satirical comments on social media. https://www.thelocal.es/20140905/spanish-pm-gets-thousands-of-mystery-twitter-fans-mariano-rajoy Fri, 05 Sep 2014 15:38:00 +0200 spanish-pm-gets-thousands-of-mystery-twitter-fans-mariano-rajoy A 20-year-old man who was arrested by police after posting a YouTube video of himself driving from the passenger seat on a highway near Barcelona has been given a six-month suspended sentence. https://www.thelocal.es/20140728/spains-stupid-driver-gets-suspended-jail-twitter Mon, 28 Jul 2014 12:40:00 +0200 spains-stupid-driver-gets-suspended-jail-twitter A Spanish judge has given a woman seven days to apologize on Twitter to a town mayor she verbally abused on the social media network. https://www.thelocal.es/20140715/judge-forces-woman-to-apologize-on-twitter Tue, 15 Jul 2014 18:15:00 +0200 judge-forces-woman-to-apologize-on-twitter An eccentric millionaire has chosen Madrid as the latest location for his philanthropic Hidden Cash initiative, hiding banknotes in envelopes in the city's Retiro park on Thursday. https://www.thelocal.es/20140703/madrid-park-sees-cash-in-envelope-hunt-announced-on-twitter Thu, 03 Jul 2014 14:55:00 +0200 madrid-park-sees-cash-in-envelope-hunt-announced-on-twitter Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo celebrated his goal during Saturday's Champions League final in time-honoured style — by ripping his shirt off. Here The Local gives the top Twitter parodies of that magic moment. https://www.thelocal.es/20140527/eight-topless-ronaldo-memes-real-madrid-twitter-spain Tue, 27 May 2014 19:37:00 +0200 eight-topless-ronaldo-memes-real-madrid-twitter-spain Spain's major bullfighting organizations have called on authorities to take action against people making "despicable" comments on Twitter about a bullfight on Tuesday which was cancelled after all three bullfighters were injured. https://www.thelocal.es/20140522/bullfighting-groups-twitter-abuse-spain-matador Thu, 22 May 2014 15:00:00 +0200 bullfighting-groups-twitter-abuse-spain-matador Spain's royal family launched their new Twitter account on Tuesday and are already asking users to be "correct" and "well-mannered" when leaving comments. https://www.thelocal.es/20140521/spains-royals-unveil-new-twitter-account Wed, 21 May 2014 15:15:00 +0200 spains-royals-unveil-new-twitter-account Spanish police have arrested 17 people, including two minors, accused of promoting terrorism and humiliating terror victims on social media sites. https://www.thelocal.es/20140429/your-murdered-ones-are-our-happiness Tue, 29 Apr 2014 12:20:00 +0200 your-murdered-ones-are-our-happiness