Juan Carlos, the king of Spain, plans to abdicate, according to the country’s prime minister. A new constitutional amendment will reportedly be proposed to allow for the abdication. Crown Prince Felipe is to become the new monarch. Spain’s King Juan Carlos is abdicating after almost 40 years on the throne and his son Prince Felipe will succeed him, Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said on Monday... 

Thousands of activists took to the streets of Germany and Spain on Saturday to protest the EU’s policies as the union prepares for parliamentary elections at the end of May. In Germany, the EU’s powerhouse, people participated in a day of anti-Brussels protests in Hamburg and the capital Berlin. A rally in Berlin broke out into clashes between protesters and police. Around 1,000 people marched... 

Financial problems in Spain increase the number of children living below the poverty line. The charity Save the Children has warned of growing poverty among children in Spain, saying the situation needs to be addressed urgently. The charity launched a petition on Tuesday urging the Spanish government to do more for deprived children in the crisis-hit country. According to the aid group, a third of... 

A huge cloud was filmed engulfing the main beach in Alicante, causing concern among locals and holidaymakers and prompting debate as to its cause. The huge white mass is seen rolling across the sands of Albufereta beach, obscuring everything in its path – despite an otherwise cloudless sky. Some speculated that the cloud was smoke from a fire, while others compared the apocalyptic scenes to the... 

An anti-austerity demonstration that drew tens of thousands of people from across Spain to central Madrid has turned violent, leaving 88 injured and 29 arrested as protesters clashed with security forces. On Saturday, some protesters sought to break through a police barrier and make their way toward the nearby headquarters of the ruling conservative Popular Party. Riot police then attacked the protesters,... 

Russia has warned that Moscow may consider quitting the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) as the United States has deployed a ballistic missile destroyer to Spain. Mikhail Ulyanov, the Russian Foreign Ministry’s top disarmament official, said Sunday that if the US continues to enhance its anti-missile capabilities through NATO’s missile defense shield in Europe, then Moscow may be forced... 

A Spanish court has charged Princess Cristina, the younger daughter of King Juan Carlos, with tax fraud and money laundering amid a lengthy corruption case involving her husband. Judge Jose Castro, an examining magistrate in Palma de Mallorca, announced the decision on Tuesday, saying there was evidence that Cristina had committed crimes. According to Spanish media, Cristina is scheduled to appear... 

The Catalan regional parliament has set November next year for a referendum on the Spanish province’s independence. The government in Madrid blandly said the vote won’t happen, but activists wonder how it might be stopped. Catalonia’s four pro-independence parties, which hold a majority in the regional parliament, announced Thursday that the rich industrial Spanish province will hold a referendum... 

Spaniards wait in line at a government employment office in the Madrid suburb of Santa Eugenia. Spain’s National Statistics Institute (INE) says the country’s population is shrinking at an accelerating pace amid soaring unemployment. The INE said on Tuesday that nearly 260,000 people moved from the crisis-hit country in the first half of 2013, while only 134,312 migrated to the country. This left... 

Gibraltar, one of the British Overseas Territories, is on the UN list of areas awaiting decolonization. Spain has sent a survey ship into Gibraltar’s territorial waters amid continuing tension with the UK government over the sovereignty of the breakaway island nation. The Ramon Margalef, a 50-meter oceanographic survey ship defied repeated orders from British Royal Navy patrol boat HMS Sabre... 

Spain’s unemployment has increased sharply in October, leaving some 87,000 more Spaniards without work, data from the labor ministry shows. The ministry released the data on Tuesday, putting the number of registered jobless last month at 4.81 million. The increase followed another rise in September of over 25,000 people. Analysts say the reason for the two months of decline is due to layoffs in... 

Amaya Muñoz cries in the arms of friends on being evicted from her home; the operation was conducted by 100 police officers. This is the mirror image of the horror affecting countless families across Spain, who are losing their jobs and their homes in the most shocking wave of austerity. Amaya Muñoz is the drama of the Spanish population facing austerity policies: she is jobless and homeless. “You... 

Spain’s public prosecutor has opened a preliminary inquiry into allegations that the US spy agency has conducted illegal surveillance operations on millions of Spanish citizens. Spain’s Attorney General Eduardo Torres-Dulce called for an information gathering process to determine whether a crime was committed and if Spain should consider opening a formal investigation, his office said in a statement... 

Europe’s main human rights watchdog has warned that Spain’s austerity program could have a devastating impact on children, as cuts have increased child poverty, malnutrition and inadequate housing. Nils Muiznieks, the Council of Europe’s Commissioner for Human Rights, published a report on Wednesday based on a visit to Spain earlier this year. He called on Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy’s... 

Official figures show that the unemployment rate in Spain has increased again with nearly five million people out of work in the recession-hit country. Figures released by Spain’s Labor Ministry on Wednesday indicated that the number of people registered as out of work rose by 25,572 people in September. The ministry added that the total number of unemployed people in Spain remained at around 4.7...