Spanish News

Spain's proficiency in English has ranked the worst in the EU. A new ranking suggests the Spanish are making very little progress when it comes to mastering English. The nation has been placed below the French in the annual EF English Proficiency Index. Furthermore, this year saw Italy overtake its Latin-influenced neighbour. The report read: "English proficiency levels are rising in the European Union. France’s scores have improved for the […]

Spain's deadline to exchange pesetas for euros has been extended until 30th June, 2021. The 134-history of the peseta currency (Pta/Ptas) ended in 2002 with the eurozone. But some €1.6 billion-worth of coins are estimated to be sitting among Spain's 18 million households, according to the Spanish treasury. A final deadline was set for the last day of 2020, but due to the pandemic this has just been extended six […]

An explosion of LPG bottles has caused serious damage to a 1st floor apartment located on a busy street in Torrevieja this morning. The explosion at 06:15 this morning caused damage to cars and shut off the Diego Ramírez street as firefighter and police attended the scene. Torrevieja's judicial police are reportedly searching for the owner, who 'accumulated' propane and butane LPG bottles in his or her apartment. Torrevieja's provincial […]

The Spanish government is working on a reform of the criminal code that would halve the prison terms for sedition – a crime that several leaders of the 2017 Catalunyan declaration of independence are serving time for. Justice Minister Juan Carlos Campo is expecting to have a draft bill ready before the end of the year, according sources in the Spanish executive, which is headed by a centre-left coalition of […]

Satellite Ingenio was set to be a 'milestone' in Spain's aerospace engineering industry. The 'Vega' rocket launched by the European Space Agency (ESA) has failed just 8 minutes after launching around 3am this morning. Vega was to transport the Spanish Ingenio satellite and the French Taranis satellite – but the mission has failed. https://twitter.com/ESA_EO/status/1328516862683062272 An ESA press release said the mission was 'lost' just minutes after lift off. "Eight minutes […]

El Verger's government put the signs up yesterday (Monday 16th November) in anticipation of the UN International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. *EXPLICIT "Hey handsome, with those nuts I could make a mean stew." Public, vulgar pick-up lines might seem an odd way to celebrate the UN's International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. Indeed, they are causing anger in El Verger after the government […]

A series of warm days around 11th November is traditionally called the 'veranillo de San Martín' in Spain. 27°C in Alicante – it sounds like the stuff of summer. But the 25°C+ temperatures currently registering across the Costa Blanca are actually typical to mid-November, when the northern hemisphere enjoys a few days of warm before a temperature decline to winter. Spain's Met Office (AEMET) is today predicting the following temperatures […]

A baby goat has been rescued from an underground pipe under Denia's Camí Vell de Pego, where it became trapped on Monday. Firefighters arrived at the scene after passersby heard the animal bleating helplessly. The emergency team initially tried to push the goat out by inserting a smaller pipe further down the section. Eventually, a firefighter entered the pipe himself and reached the baby ruminant who had become separated from […]

Texting or calling while at the wheel will now cost you six points on your licence in Spain, under new measures to become active in January 2021. Distractions at the wheel have been the biggest cause of road deaths in Spain since 2016, according to an announcement by Minister of the Interior Fernando Grande Marlaska today. The doubling of the punishment comes alongside a package of new amendments to the […]