Spain

MADRID, Oct 15 (NNN-Xinhua) — Judge Pablo Llanera, examining magistrate in the trial of 12 Catalan politicians over events related to the Oct 1, 2017, independence referendum, on Monday reactivated the European arrest warrant for former Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont.

MADRID (AP) — The Latest on the conviction of Catalan politicians and activists (all times local):

9:00 p.m.

Health authorities in northeastern Spain say 37 protesters have been injured during ongoing clashes with police at Barcelona’s airport.

Tempers flared in Spain’s Catalonia region after the country’s Supreme Court found 12 separatist leaders guilty of illegally promoting Catalan independence. Nine received prison sentences.

MADRID, Oct. 14 (Xinhua) -- The Spanish Supreme Court on Monday sentenced Oriol Junqueras, former deputy leader of the Catalan regional government, to 13 years in prison for sedition and the misuse of government funds for his role in the Catalan independence referendum on Oct. 1, 2017, which was declared illegal by the Spanish Constitutional Court.

The former speaker of the Catalan regional parliament Carme Forcadell and other former members of the assembly have been given sentences to between nine and 12 years in prison.

MADRID, Oct. 12 (Xinhua) -- The acting Spanish government has approved a package of emergency measures to limit the effects of the collapse of British holiday operator Thomas Cook on the Spanish tourist sector.

Among the series of emergency measures approved on Friday that valued at about 800 million euros (about 883 million U.S. dollars), 200 million euros have been designated to help affected Spanish companies, according to a communique by the Spanish Ministry for Industry Trade and Tourism

MADRID (Reuters) - Spain’s Supreme Court plans to convict and sentence Catalan separatist leaders to a maximum of 15 years in prison over a 2017 bid for independence, a judicial source said on Saturday.

The most prominent of the 12 Catalan leaders on trial would be found guilty of charges of sedition and misuse of public funds but none would be convicted and sentenced for the more severe charge of rebellion, the source told Reuters.

The decision was taken unanimously by the seven members of the top court, the source added.

11 Oct 2019; MEMO: The actor and businessman Mohamed Ali has called on the Egyptian people to demonstrate peacefully on rooftops on Thursday at 6 or 7 pm to demand the departure of the coup president Abdel Fattah El-Sisi.

In a new video released on Wednesday evening that he called for a different tactic to avoid security strikes or arrests.

9 Oct 2019; MEMO: Spain has announced its support for Turkey’s planned military operation into northern Syria, making it the first European country to do so.

Spain’s official North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) Twitter account made the announcement in a series of tweets on Monday. “NATO Support to Turkey is aimed at contributing to a de-escalation of the crisis along the Alliance’s border.”

MADRID, Oct 8 (NNN-Xinhua) — Acting Spanish Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Luis Planas said that the U.S. tariffs of 25 percent on Spanish agricultural products are “unacceptable.”

Planas said this in a press conference here after a meeting with representatives of Spanish regions, or autonomous communities.

The minister estimated that the impact of the tariffs on Spain’s agriculture sector would be at around 750 million euros (822 million U.S. dollars).

MADRID, Oct. 4 (Xinhua) -- The new tariffs of 25 percent on European Union (EU) agricultural products announced by the U.S. government will harm Spanish key exports, Spain's Secretary of State for Commerce Xiana Mendez has said.

The tariffs, planned to come into effect on Oct. 18 for EU food and drink, will affect key sectors of the Spanish economy, such as olive oil, wine and milk-based produce such as cheese, Mendez said in a press conference on Thursday.

GIRONA/BARCELONA, Spain (Reuters) - Protesters gathered in the Catalan town of Girona early on Tuesday to mark the second anniversary of a banned independence referendum, some of them throwing eggs at police and toppling garbage containers.

Tensions between separatists in the region and Madrid have run high in recent days after Spain’s high court sent seven Catalan activists to jail over suspicions they were planning violent action in favor of Catalonia’s independence.