Year: 2020

French police have thwarted an alleged plot to raid Fontainebleau palace near Paris. Five Spaniards and a man thought to be Chinese are in custody. They deny any involvement in the post-Christmas raid. Police believe the six were targeting Napoleon III's treasures from Empress Eugenie's Chinese Museum and are probing possible Chinese mafia links. Fontainebleau was targeted only four years ago. Some 20 priceless artefacts were taken and never recovered. […]

Former Catalan deputy regional premier Oriol Junqueras will not be released from prison to take up his seat as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP). The criminal bench of the Spanish Supreme Court has informed the legislative body of the European Union that he is barred from office after being jailed. Junqueras is currently serving a 13-year prison sentence after being convicted of sedition and misuse of funds by […]

The new coalition government will include five members from the left-wing, anti-austerity Podemos party and three of its four deputy prime ministers will be women. Podemos leader Pablo Iglesias will be the deputy prime minister in charge of social rights and sustainable development. His fellow party heavyweight, and wife, Irene Montero becomes the minister of equality. Also from Podemos, Yolanda Díaz will be minister of employment; Alberto Garzón, Health minister […]

The Spanish coastguard reported rescuing approximately 200 migrants on Christmas Day – as attempts continue apace by thousands of desperate people. These can be added to the 150 who arrived last Friday via fifteen boats in the waters of the Canary Islands, Andalusia, Murcia and Alicante. The United Nation’s International Organisation for Migration said a reported 1,246 people died in 2019, making the dangerous journey across the Mediterranean to Europe.