Spain

EU threatens to shut down popular app that pays users to watch videos

Arts, Culture & Media

The European Commission is calling the new TikTok Lite app “toxic as cigarettes.” It’s a spin-off from the makers of the original TikTok, that pays people to watch videos. The EC says it was launched without regard for risks of addiction, or safeguards against children using it. Now they’re threatening to suspend it.

Man cuts quartz in factory.

Lungs of stone: How Silica has sickened a generation of quartz cutters

Health & Medicine
Small canoes piled next to each other on a waterway

‘I put myself in their shoes’: Migrants to Europe find empathy on a small island

Migration
Children stand in front of the building of the Peruvian Congress as part of a call to demand accountability for cancer patients in Peru, September 2023.

Desperate cancer patients in Peru look for options across the Atlantic

Health & Medicine
Nolotil painkillers are still prescribed in Spain, but is banned in many other countries.

‘People are dying’: A popular painkiller in Spain may have killer side effects

Health & Medicine
Lower reservoir on El Hierro island

Spanish island dumps diesel for wind, water and sunshine

Environment

El Hierro, a tiny island in the Canaries, is halfway to the UN goal of ditching fossil fuels. But finding just the right renewable energy mix is proving tough.

A Catalan pro-independence protestor wearing an Estelada, or Catalan independence mask, stands in front of police, not seen, during a protest in Barcelona, Saturday, Oct. 26, 2019.

In Spain, the price for power? Forgiving separatists.

Global Politics

Spain’s socialist party seems ready to form a coalition government after inconclusive elections in July. But to do so, they’ve had to promise to grant amnesty to fugitive Catalan separatists for their attempt to break away from Spain in 2017. The Catalan separatists’ party has become kingmaker, but folks on the right say the deal threatens Spain’s democracy.

musical group in field

Spanish musician María José Llergo turns roots into wings with ‘Ultrabelleza’

​​​​​​​The Spanish artist María José Llergo has just released her first full-length album, called “Ultrabelleza.” Her voice carries the legacy of flamenco, the traditional music of her homeland, but on this new record, her roots have turned into wings, allowing her to explore other genres.

C. Tangana YouTube screenshot.

This Spanish hip-hop star is stepping into global music

Music

Ever heard of Celtic Trap? It’s not exactly a thing yet, but it might be soon thanks to C. Tangana in the mix.

COWS GRAZING ON A FARM WITH A GEEEN MOUNTAIN LANDSCAPE

Cow plague threatening ranches in southern Europe

Disease

Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease, or EHD, is typically found in the tropics and affects cattle, deer and other animals. But due to abnormally high temperatures in Europe, cases are now spreading quickly across Spain, Italy and France. The virus causes internal bleeding, miscarriages and sterility. It’s rarely fatal, but ranchers are concerned for their animals and livelihoods.