Spain - The African Mirror

Oct

2023

Nightclub fire kills at least 13 in Murcia in Spain

AT least 13 people have been killed in a fire in a nightclub in Murcia in southeast Spain, emergency services said, adding that rescuers were still searching for people unaccounted for after the blaze. Outside the club, young people hugged, looking shocked as they waited for information after the fire that broke out in the early hours in Atalayas, on the outskirts of the city. "I think we left 30 seconds to 1 minute before the alarms went off and all the lights went out (and) the screams saying there was a fire," one survivor, who was not identified, said.…

Jul

2023

By The African Mirror

Spain rescues boat with 86 migrants, hundreds likely still missing

NEWS

SPANISH maritime rescue that dispatched a plane and a ship to search for a fishing vessel from Senegal with about 200 migrants on board and missing for nearly two weeks, discovered what appears to be a different migrant boat. The reconnaissance plane spotted a boat 71 miles (114 km) to the south of the island of Gran Canaria, which the rescue service initially thought could have been the missing boat. But its spokesperson later said the rescue vessel found 86 people on board and only a further investigation would show where it had sailed from. The boat was being towed…

May

2023

By The African Mirror

Spain probing African migrant voyage after reported Moroccan gunfire

NEWS

SPAIN said it was probing reports of casualties among a group of migrants trying to reach the Canary Islands from Africa after a charity cited survivors as saying Moroccan soldiers opened fire killing at least one of them. The Moroccan authorities did not immediately respond to emailed and telephoned requests for comment on the allegation that its forces shot at the group of more than 40 migrants as they sought to depart on a dinghy early on Tuesday morning. Reuters could not independently verify the report. "We are investigating," a Spanish police source told Reuters, referring to reports of injuries.…

May

2023

By The African Mirror

Spain arrests 7 after racist incidents targeting Vinicius Jr

FOOTBALL

POLICE detained seven men over separate alleged hate crime incidents against Real Madrid football player Vinicius Jr as Spain's main soccer league urged changes to Spanish law that would enable it to take steps to curb racism in stadiums. Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti expressed support for Vinicius Jr, whom he expected would remain at the club. He lambasted Spain's "obsolete" protocols to deal with racism in the sport and said he would consider taking his players off the pitch if they were to be abused again during a game. Full Real Madrid statement here "At PUMA, we do not tolerate racism,…

Mar

2023

By The African Mirror

Spain hotel worker arrested for hate crime against Morocco players

FOOTBALL

A 27-year-old worker at a Madrid hotel hosting the Morocco team was arrested for an alleged hate crime after posting derogatory comments on Islam and racist slurs against the players on social media, Spanish police and the hotel said. Local police told Reuters the employee, a waiter at the Spanish capital's five-star Eurostars Hotel Tower, asked players to take photographs with him. He then uploaded the images to Instagram with xenophobic insults and tagged the Moroccan team's account, with the post quickly receiving over 70,000 views. The man is due to appear before a judge shortly, police said. "We wish…

Feb

2023

By The African Mirror

Spain, Morocco seek reset of testy relationship at Rabat summit

WORLD

BELÉN CARREÑO and AHMED ELJECHTIMI SPAIN and Morocco have agreed to set aside their differences, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said, as they seek to repair a relationship marked by frequent disputes over migration and territory. Sanchez was speaking at a summit in Rabat where the two countries signed as many as 20 agreements to boost trade and investment, including credit lines of up to 800 million euros ($873 million). "We have agreed on a commitment to mutual respect, whereby in our discourse and in our political practice we will avoid everything that we know offends the other party, especially regarding our…

Dec

2022

By The African Mirror

Morocco makes history, carries hopes of Africa, Arab world

SPORT

MOROCCO rode a wave of passionate support and kept the World Cup dreams of the Arab world alive as they eliminated fancied Spain in a penalty shootout on Tuesday to reach the quarter-finals. In doing so, they became the first Arab nation to advance to the last eight, ensuring a breakthrough for the region in the first global tournament in the Middle East, and also became the fourth African side to go this far in World Cup history. Their victory will be seen as not only a triumph for Morocco but vindication of the controversial FIFA decision to hand Qatar the hosting…

Dec

2022

By The African Mirror

Morocco’s Hakimi up against country of his birth at World Cup

SPORT

MARK GLEESON ACHRAF Hakimi was born in Madrid but will have little hesitation plotting the downfall of Spain when he and his Moroccan teammates take on the 2010 World Cup winners on Tuesday. The flying wingback is one of the key players in the north African outfit whose last-16 match in the Qatar World Cup against Spain, at the Education City Stadium in Al Rayyan, gives them a chance to reach the World Cup quarter-finals for the first time.Advertisement · Scroll to continue Hakimi could even have been on the opposite side, as he was called up when still a…

Dec

2022

By The African Mirror

Morocco’s ‘avocado head’ plots another World Cup shock

SPORT

SHADY AMIR SPAIN will be favourites to beat Morocco in the World Cup last 16 on Tuesday but the teams' experiences in the group phase were a reminder of the unpredictability of tournament football. Spain, who humbled Costa Rica 7-0 in their opening game, finished second in Group E behind Japan while Morocco defied the odds to win Group F ahead of Croatia and Belgium. The Spanish, world champions in 2010, lost their last group match to Japan and face a difficult test from a Moroccan side growing in confidence under coach Walid Regragui. After Morocco had beaten Canada 2-1…

Jul

2022

By The African Mirror

Wildfires rage in France and Spain as heatwaves sear Europe

WORLD

LAYLI FOROUDI and SERGIO GONCALVES WILDFIRES raged in southwestern France and Spain, forcing thousands of people to be evacuated from their homes as blistering summer temperatures put authorities on alert in parts of Europe. More than 12,200 people had been evacuated from France's Gironde region by Saturday morning as more than 1,000 firefighters battled to bring the flames under control, regional authorities said in a statement. "We have a fire that will continue to spread as long as it is not stabilised," Vincent Ferrier, deputy prefect for Langon in Gironde, told a news conference. Wildfires have torn through France in…