Madrid

Vicky sits in a park in Madrid. She’s smiling because her hospice caretakers have arranged for her to fly home to the Dominican Republic to visit her mom and family one last time.

'What I really needed was a hug': Madrid hospice workers make sure the unhoused won't die alone

Dozens of people who are homeless die every year in Spain, often on the streets — and usually alone. But one small hospice program is trying to make a difference by connecting with homeless people and spending time with them, even at the very end of life.

'What I really needed was a hug': Madrid hospice workers make sure the unhoused won't die alone
This address is listed on an official police website back in China as an “Overseas Police Service Center,” but the locale appears abandoned. 

China has a police network that stretches across some 30 countries, NGO says

China has a police network that stretches across some 30 countries, NGO says
A parishioner enters into the Catholic church of Cazurra, a village of around 75 inhabitants, in the Zamora province of Spain, Saturday, Nov. 27, 2021.

‘People want to shed light’: Spain finally investigates sexual abuse within Catholic institutions

‘People want to shed light’: Spain finally investigates sexual abuse within Catholic institutions
A man is shown hugging a woman who is looking into the camera with empty stadium seats in the distance.

Post-9/11, Europe's weak spots make it a target for extremists

Post-9/11, Europe's weak spots make it a target for extremists
A waiter wearing a mask and an apron with her hair pulled back tends to a dining table.

England indoor dining resumes, but where are all the staff?

England indoor dining resumes, but where are all the staff?
La Francachela restaurant in Madrid, Spain.

Spain test-drives a nationwide 4-day workweek

The Spanish government has proposed a three-year pilot project to help companies switch to a four-day workweek, and will partially fund companies who may need to hire additional staff or reorganize workflows. 

Spain test-drives a nationwide 4-day workweek
Merkel stands at a podium flanked by two German flags.

Merkel reverses plan for strict Easter lockdown in Germany

In today's Top of the World: Merkel reverses plan for strict Easter lockdown in Germany; China lashes out at major brands for speaking out against Uyghur human rights abuses; Vice President Kamala Harris tapped to tackle mass migration at the US-Mexico border.

Merkel reverses plan for strict Easter lockdown in Germany
A man walks through a plaza during the day

Will car-obsessed Madrid join Europe’s biking and walking trend? 

As several cities welcome record numbers of cyclists, Madrid lags far behind the walking and biking trend. Activists are trying to change that with an anti-car movement.

Will car-obsessed Madrid join Europe’s biking and walking trend? 
Demonstrators march near the Arch of Triumph during a protest condemning the arrest of rap artist Pablo Hasél in Barcelona, Feb. 22, 2021.

Protesters in Spain say rapper’s arrest is an attack on freedom of expression

Over the past week, thousands of protesters rallied in rapper Pablo Hasél’s defense while hundreds of artists — including Spanish filmmaker Pedro Almodóvar and actor Javier Bardem — signed petitions calling for his release.

Protesters in Spain say rapper’s arrest is an attack on freedom of expression
Demonstrators wave a large rainbow flag outside congress in support of a proposal to legalize same-sex marriage in Buenos Aires. 

Royal Spanish Academy dismisses movement to make Spanish more gender-inclusive

LGBTQ and feminist activists have spearheaded a movement to use the letter “e” to diverge from the binary structure of masculine "o" or feminine "a" in Spanish. But the Royal Spanish Academy, the leading authority on Spanish grammar and vocabulary, has yet to recognize the need for this shift. 

Royal Spanish Academy dismisses movement to make Spanish more gender-inclusive
Rescue workers carry the body of a dead migrant after a boat with 35 migrants from the Maghreb region capsized at the beach of Orzola, in the Canary Island of Lanzarote, Spain, Nov. 25, 2020.

Canary Islands face influx of migrants from West Africa

About 20,000 African migrants have reached the Spanish archipelago this year, half of whom arrived in the last two months alone. More than 500 have died attempting the journey.

Canary Islands face influx of migrants from West Africa
Venezuelan opposition leader Leopoldo López kisses his wife Lilian Tintori with their son and daughter after a news conference in Madrid on Oct. 27, 2020. López who has abandoned the Spanish ambassador's residence in Caracas and left Venezuela after years

Exiled Venezuelan dissident says Sunday's National Assembly elections are a 'fraud'

Leopoldo López, in exile in Spain, is speaking out against the Venezuelan National Assembly elections being held Sunday by the government of President Nicolás Maduro.

Exiled Venezuelan dissident says Sunday's National Assembly elections are a 'fraud'
Women run on a soccer field

In Spain after lockdown, soccer resumes for men — but not for women

Women’s soccer will not return this season — despite making historic strides toward equity with a collective bargaining agreement signed in February.

In Spain after lockdown, soccer resumes for men — but not for women
Two protesters hold signs with anti-racist messages

From Minneapolis to Madrid, racial profiling and police harassment cost lives

The death of George Floyd in the United States has resonated in Spain, where black people are seven times as likely to be stopped by police as white people.

From Minneapolis to Madrid, racial profiling and police harassment cost lives
Ambulances and fire brigade vehicles gather at the site of a passenger plane crash in a residential area near an airport in Karachi, Pakistan, on May 22, 2020.

Plane crashes in Karachi with at least 99 aboard; Khashoggi's children 'pardon' father's killers; Trump to withdraw from arms control treaty

Plane crashes in Karachi with at least 99 aboard; Khashoggi's children 'pardon' father's killers; Trump to withdraw from arms control treaty