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... 

A potentially catastrophic asteroid has been discovered by astronomers, who say there’s a slim chance that the 410-meter-wide minor planet will crash into Earth in 2032, creating a blast 50 times greater than the biggest nuclear bomb. The asteroid, described as 2013 TV135, was found in the Camelopardalis (Giraffe) constellation by the Crimean Astrophysical Observatory in southern Ukraine, the Minor... 

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... 

Thousands of Spaniards have taken to the streets of the capital to protest against the country’s monarchy. The march was held on Saturday in Madrid, where people called for the abdication of King Juan Carlos, an end to the monarchy and an establishment of a republic. Protesters walked with banners reading, “Checkmate to the King,” and chanted, “Tomorrow, Spain will be a Republic.” Critics... 

Spain public debt has climbed to record 92.2 percent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) for the second quarter of this year amid deteriorating financial woes. The Bank of Spain announced on Friday that the Spanish debt for the period between April and June surpassed the government’s year-end target of 91.4 percent of GDP, reaching the unprecedented 92.2-percent level. This is while... 

The dead body of an unknown creature washed ashore onto a Spain beach A team of ichthyologists from Florida State University suggests that the washed ashore strange sea creature in Spain belongs to the shark family. They claim that the remains of a mysterious, bizarre sea animal found on a Spanish beach look like a type of shark (elasmobranch). “That is definitely a shark skeleton,” one of the... 

Spain can’t trust UK on Gibraltar, official says. Spanish director general for foreign affairs has said Spain cannot trust Britain amid escalating tension between London and Madrid over Gibraltar. Speaking to the BBC’s Tom Burridge, Ignacio Ibanez said the row between the two countries would continue until a new artificial reef was removed from waters off the British-ruled territory. Moreover,... 

Spain’s Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy Spain’s Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy says the government will take “all necessary measures” to defend its interests in British-held territory of Gibraltar amid a diplomatic row with London. Rajoy’s remarks on Friday came after reports revealed that the British Royal Navy is set to send aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious and two frigates to Gibraltar... 

Britain sends warships to Gibraltar as dispute with Spain continues. Britain is sending navy warships to Gibraltar amid growing tension between London and Madrid over the territory’s sovereignty. According to reports, Royal Navy rapid-reaction force including aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious and two frigates will sail for the Mediterranean on Monday, August 12 for a four-month deployment after...