Spain

MADRID (Reuters) - Waving flags from cars and honking horns, supporters of Spain’s far-right Vox party protested on Monday against a partial lockdown imposed on Madrid to contain one of Europe’s worst coronavirus outbreaks.

“Viva España! Government resign!”, cried hundreds of supporters as they filled Madrid’s main thoroughfare and the party staged smaller demonstrations in Barcelona and Seville.

MADRID (Reuters) - Spain’s Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez appealed for unity on Saturday after the far-right Vox party said it would take legal action against a partial lockdown imposed on Madrid to contain one of Europe’s worst coronavirus outbreaks.

Vox, which is echoing the conservative-led Madrid regional authority’s opposition to the new restrictions implemented via a state of emergency, has also called for protests.

MADRID (Reuters) - Spain’s Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez appealed for unity on Saturday after the far-right Vox party said it would take legal action against a partial lockdown imposed on Madrid to contain one of Europe’s worst coronavirus outbreaks.

Vox, which is echoing the conservative-led Madrid regional authority’s opposition to the new restrictions implemented via a state of emergency, has also called for protests.

MADRID, Oct. 9 (Xinhua) -- The Spanish government on Friday decreed a 15-day State of Alarm with immediate effect for the Madrid region to limit the spread of coronavirus.

The decision was taken in an emergency cabinet meeting called 24 hours after a Madrid court had struck down a government order that imposed restrictions on mobility in the Madrid municipality and nine other municipalities in the region, arguing that limiting movement infringed "fundamental" rights.

MADRID (Reuters) - Bank of Spain governor Pablo Hernandez de Cos on Tuesday warned that potential harsher measures to contain the recent wave of COVID-19 contagion in the country may lead to an even deeper crisis than the bank’s worst-case scenario.

Spain, one of the worst-affected nations with more than 32,000 deaths and more than 800,000 cases, is heading for its worst economic performance on record in 2020, with an expected contraction of 10.5% or 12.6%, according to the Bank of Spain.

De Cos warned that underlying risks remain tilted downwards.

MADRID (Reuters) - Spain’s Supreme Court on Monday upheld an 18-month ban from public office for Catalonia’s separatist, regional head of government Quim Torra on charges of disobedience.

The case stems from Torra’s refusal to follow the orders of Spain’s electoral committee to remove symbols supporting jailed and self-exiled independence leaders from his government palace during a national election campaign in 2019. He defended his actions on the grounds of freedom of expression.

MADRID, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Monday met the leader of the Autonomous Community of Madrid, Isabel Diaz Ayuso, in an attempt to find a way to contain the spread of COVID-19 in and around the Spanish capital.

MADRID, Sept 16 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The coronavirus crisis cost the global tourism sector $460 billion in lost revenue during the first six months of 2020 as the number of people travelling plunged, the UN said Tuesday.

Revenue lost between January and June amounted to “around five times the loss in international tourism receipts recorded in 2009 amid the global economic and financial crisis,” the Madrid-based World Tourism Organization said in a statement.

MADRID (Reuters) - Spain’s economy minister Nadia Calvino called on Monday for all parties’ responsibility to allow the approval of a budget as soon as possible to cope with coronavirus pandemic.

“It is everyone’s duty and I appeal to the common responsibility so that as soon as possible we can pass a general state budget in our country that allows us to address this (extraordinary) situation from the health, economic and social point of view,” Calvino said during a financial event.

22 Aug 2020; MEMO: In the last 48 hours, Spanish authorities have discovered the lifeless bodies of 20 people trying to reach the Canary Islands from Africa in rafts, Anadolu Agency reports.

In August alone, 127 migrants have disappeared or lost their lives on the dangerous Atlantic route, while 359 people have arrived safely, according to local media.