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Hello Jammu News at 10:30:00 PM 0


Madrid, Mar 23 :  The coronavirus death toll in Spain surged to 2,182 after 462 people died within 24 hours, the health ministry said on Monday.

The death rate showed a 27-per cent increase on the figures released a day earlier, with the number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 rising to 33,089 in Spain, one of the worst-hit countries in the world after China and Italy.

Despite an unprecedented national lockdown which was put in place on March 14, the number of deaths and infections have spiralled in Spain, with the figures growing as the country steps up its capacity for testing.

And the lockdown, which was initially put in place for two weeks, will be extended until April 11 to try to curb the spread, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said -- in a measure which will be put to parliament on Tuesday.

The rise in infections in this country of 46 million people has brought Spain's healthcare system to the brink of collapse, particularly in Madrid, the worst-hit area, which has registered 10,575 cases, and where 1,263 people have died -- accounting for 58 per cent of the national death toll.

Some 3,910 healthcare workers have tested positive for the virus, or around 12 percent of those infected, the health ministry's emergencies coordinator Fernando Simon said.

Officials have repeatedly warned that the number of deaths and infections would continue to rise this week and that the worst was yet to come.

"We have yet to see the impact of the strongest, most damaging wave, which will test our material and moral capacities to the limit, as well as our spirit as a society," Sanchez said on Sunday.

In terms of people who have recovered, government figures show there are currently 3,355 cases, just over 60 percent of whom are in Madrid.
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Hello Jammu News at 3:42:00 PM 0

Madrid (Spain), Jun 13: In a disappointing start to the series, Indian women team was blanked 0-3 by hosts Spain in the opening match of the five-match series at the Consejo Superior de Deportes Hockey Stadium, here today. 
It was an evenly matched encounter between the two teams but the hosts were helped by the efficient finishing shown by Lola Riera (48', 52') and Berta Bonastre (6') whose goals were enough to secure the victory.
Spain dominated possession in the opening quarter as 26-year-old Bonastre found herself in the right spot to score the opening goal in only the sixth minute. 
The hosts looked to add a second goal but India's defence held on throughout the first quarter. 
The visitors had chances of their own, but could not produce clear goal-scoring opportunities. Skipper Rani Rampal had a glorious chance in the 14th minute but her shot ended up going wide.
India started the second quarter fairly well as Anupa Barla's shot in the 19th minute was saved by Spanish Goalkeeper Maria Ruiz. The next minute Rani had her second chance of the match but could not get the equalising goal. 
India were awarded a penalty corner in the 24th minute but the resulting shot went just wide of the Spanish post. Two minutes later, the hosts looked to counter India and forced a reflex save from goalkeeper Savita, who made sure that the visitors went into the half-time break only a goal down.
The Indian shot-stopper was called into action again at the start of the third quarter when she made a save from a penalty corner. At the other end of the pitch, Rani tried to make amends of the missed opportunities but her shot on goal was saved by Maria Ruiz.
The visitors looked to find an equaliser in the final quarter of the match as they took a more attacking approach and let runners get past the Spanish defenders on the flanks. 
However, in an unfortunate turn of events for Sunita Lakra, a common-ball hit her head and the referee decided to give a penalty stroke to the hosts, which was well converted by Riera in the 48th minute. 
Four minutes later, Riera was awarded her second goal of the match as her drag-flick from a penalty corner was deflected by Sunita Lakra's stick into the back of the net, giving Spain a 3-0 lead. 
India tried to find an opening in the latter stages of the match, but the Spanish ensured comfortable victory with sufficient players behind the ball. (PTI)
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Hello Jammu News at 1:32:00 PM 0

Madrid, Nov 13: Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy has said regional elections next month in Catalonia will help end "separatist havoc" in the north-eastern region, the BBC reported.
He addressed a campaign event on his first visit there since imposing direct rule on the region a fortnight ago. Defending his decision in Barcelona, he said he had "exhausted all roads" after the Catalan Government's unilateral declaration of independence last month. Speaking at a campaign event in Barcelona for his Popular Party (PP) on Sunday, Mr Rajoy called on the participation of the "silent majority" to "convert their voice into a vote". "We must reclaim Catalonia from the havoc of separatism," he added, saying: "With democracy, we want to reclaim Catalonia for everyone." He told PP supporters that the right result would boost Spain's economic growth next year to above 3 per cent. He called on companies not to leave the region, after hundreds of firms moved their headquarters away amid uncertainty over the region - which accounts for a fifth of Spain's economy. He also urged people in Spain to continue buying Catalan products. For a short while, the man who ultimately runs Catalonia was in Catalonia. But Mariano Rajoy's advisers made sure he would not run into vocal pro-independence opponents. Instead, he spoke to the party faithful. Mr Rajoy's main campaign event was held inside a hotel ballroom, in front of mostly older supporters. Spain's Prime Minister came here in order to win the regional Catalan election he's called for 21 December. His People's Party doesn't command widespread support in this region. But the pro-Spain Movement as a whole makes up about half the population of Catalonia. An election victory for this sector would make it much harder for pro-independence forces to make another attempt to break away from Spain.
After speaking for 25 minutes, Mr Rajoy posed for pictures and made his way out of the hotel amid a crush of supporters. He said he will meet the opponents but did not spell out a time-frame. Several key Catalan leaders are currently being detained over the move. Some 750,000 people protested in Barcelona on Saturday against the arrests, local police estimated. The crisis was sparked by a disputed referendum held in Catalonia in October, which had been declared illegal by the Spanish courts. Catalan officials said the independence campaign won 92% of the vote, from a turnout of 43%. Many of those who were against independence did not cast votes, refusing to recognise the legitimacy of the referendum. The Catalan Government subsequently declared independence. In response, the Spanish government dissolved the region's parliament, imposed direct rule and called a snap regional election on 21 December. The sacked former ministers are accused of alleged rebellion and sedition, while the two activists were arrested over a mass protest before the referendum. The left-wing ERC party, a key ally of Mr Puigdemont, has announced that some of the prisoners, including party leader Oriol Junqueras, as well as some of the sacked ministers who also went to Belgium, will stand on its electoral list. However, the ERC has rejected a call from Mr Puigdemont to fight the election as part of a single pro-independence bloc with other parties - as they did in 2015. A recent opinion poll in Catalan newspaper La Vanguardia suggests that the ERC will win the biggest share of the vote in December. Mr Rajoy's PP won just 8.5% of the vote in the last regional elections two years ago.
In another development, the mayor of Barcelona, Ada Colau, has condemned Catalonia's pro-independence leaders, the BBC said. UNI
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Hello Jammu News at 11:59:00 AM 0

Madrid, Nov 1: Spain's high court has summoned sacked Catalan leader Carles Puidgemont and 13 other members of his dismissed government to appear later this week. It also gave them three days to pay a deposit of €6.2m ($7.2m) to cover potential liabilities, a BBC News report said on Wednesday. The summons comes after Spain's chief prosecutor on Monday had said he would press charges including rebellion. Mr Puigdemont is in Belgium with several former ministers. He earlier said he was not there to seek asylum. Carles Puigdemont triggered a crisis in Spain by holding an independence referendum in early October in the semi-autonomous region despite Madrid's opposition and the Constitutional Court declaring the vote illegal. Spain's central government has now taken direct control of Catalonia. Mr Puigdemont turned up in Brussels on Monday as Spanish Attorney-General José Manuel Maza called for Catalan leaders to face charges of rebellion, sedition and misuse of public funds. The Audiencia National has now summoned the sacked Catalan officials -- who are yet to be formally charged -- to testify on Thursday and Friday. If they do not appear, prosecutors could order their arrest. Meanwhile, the Speaker of Catalan's dissolved Parliament Carme Forcadell and other former lawmakers have been summoned to the Supreme Court because they still have parliamentary immunity. Mr Puigdemont earlier said he would return to Spain if guaranteed a fair hearing. Several of Mr Puigdemont's former colleagues who remain inside the country may decide to accept the summons and appear in court, reported the BBC. Prosecutors' arguments against the group were "serious, rational and logical", Judge Carmen Lamela said in a ruling. The charge of rebellion carries a maximum 30-year jail term. Speaking at a press conference earlier on Tuesday, Mr Puigdemont said he was not trying to escape justice by travelling to Belgium but wanted to be able to speak freely. His comments came as Spain's constitutional court suspended the declaration of independence made by the Catalan parliament on Friday. Mr Puigdemont also said he would accept the result of snap elections in Catalonia on 21 December, which were called by Spain's Central Government after it invoked Article 155 of the constitution, temporarily suspending the region's autonomy. "I want a clear commitment from the state. Will the state respect the results that could give separatist forces a majority?" Mr Puigdemont asked reporters. The Spanish government has previously said he is welcome to take part in the fresh polls. In a separate development on Tuesday, Spain's Guardia Civil -- a paramilitary force charged with police duties -- raided the offices of the Catalan police force. According to media reports, they searched eight offices for communications relating to the referendum on 1 October. UNI
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Hello Jammu News at 4:30:00 PM 0

MADRID, Oct 30: Spain's control over Catalonia will be tested on Monday when politicians and civil servants return to work amid uncertainty over whether they will accept direct rule imposed by the central government to stop the region's independence bid. Hundreds of thousands of supporters of a unified Spain filled Barcelona's streets on Sunday in one of the biggest shows of force yet by the so-called silent majority that has watched as regional political leaders push for Catalan independence. Spain's Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy assumed direct control of the region on Friday. He sacked its secessionist government and called a snap election for December 21. However, some of the most prominent members of the Catalan administration, including its president Carles Puigdemont and vice-president Oriol Junqueras, said they did not accept the move and only the people of Catalonia could dismiss them. The main civic group behind the pro-independence campaign have called for widespread civil disobedience and have given detailed instructions to the around 200,000 civil servants working for the Catalan region of how they should behave. Most of them start their working day at 9 a.m. (0800 GMT) and, if too many did not turn up or decided not to accept instructions, it would cast important doubts over the Spanish government's strategy to draw a line under a one-month crisis that has dented economic growth and fuelled social unrest. It is also not clear if senior government officials and lawmakers who declared the region's independence from Spain on Friday would try to gain access to their offices and if the Catalan police Mossos d'Esquadra would prevent them. La Vanguardia newspaper said on Sunday members of the Catalan cabinet had left their offices, which were now under the central government's effective control. Several Spanish ministers said at the weekend they were convinced civil servants would obey orders and reminded that those who did not could lose their job. Spain's interior ministry named a new chief for the regional police on Saturday who has insisted that the 17,000 officers of the force should remain neutral. Interior Minister Juan Ignacio Zoido praised the Mossos for their work in an open letter on Sunday and urged them to accept temporary direction from Madrid. "We have opened a new chapter and in this new chapter the Mossos d'Esquadra will become again the police of all the Catalans. This is your duty," Zoido said in the letter. Another test of the government's response will be whether companies stop relocating out of Catalonia in search of stability and legal certainty after several hundred moved out earlier this month. The government's move to impose direct rule received the backing of several influential Catalan business lobbies who called on firms to stay in the region. REUTERS
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Hello Jammu News at 12:22:00 PM 0

Madrid, Oct 30: Spain's Foreign Minister Alfonso Dastis has said "reality is already sinking in" for Catalonia after Madrid dismissed the provincial Parliament. Alfonso Dastis told Sky News that authorities intended to restore law and order in the autonomous region after the regional Parliament declared itself independent of Spain. He said: "It was difficult indeed but let me tell you that those who disregarded autonomy were the former Catalan Government and those who supported them because they simply stopped convening the Parliament, they simply stopped going. "What we intend to do is to restore the Catalan law, first and foremost, in Catalonia and to give a say to the Catalan people in order to make sure both the Catalan law and the Spanish constitution are respected. "We are not taking autonomy away from Catalonia. We are just re-establishing it in fact." Hundreds of thousands of anti-independence protesters, chanting "Viva Espana" (long live Spain) and "prison for Puigdemont", marched through the centre of Barcelona carrying Spanish and Catalan flags on Sunday. According to the Sky New, within the sea of red and yellow Spanish national flags that descended on central Barcelona on Sunday the political leaders firmly against independence were mobbed as heroes. "This was a unity march but also part political rally. 'President, President!' the crowd yelled as Ines Arrimadas, the glamorous 36-year-old leader of the centre right Citizens Party, tried to battle through the crowds to reach her vehicle. "There's no doubt this is a political crisis in Spain but it isn't as simple as one side or the other -- with Madrid or against Madrid. Polls suggest a third way -- where Catalonia is given even more devolved powers - has high levels of support." Police estimated the turnout was 300,000, while organisers said more than one million joined the rally. The government in Madrid sacked Catalan regional President Carles Puigdemont and dismissed Parliament on Friday. Mr Puigdemont, who is facing arrest on charges of "rebellion", called on Saturday for Catalan people to peacefully oppose Madrid's takeover of the region. He has said he does not accept his dismissal, with the Catalan Government saying it was given a mandate to secede from Spain following the referendum on 1 October. Asked whether Mr Puigdemont could continue in office, Mr Dastis said: "We don't think he will have the means to run a parallel government. "We hope that the administration, the civil servants in Catalonia, will respect the measures that have been taken and that they will go on implementing those ordered and go on ensuring that the public services are delivered in Catalonia. "Reality is already sinking in, will continue sinking in and they will realise that they cannot do something without the authority of law and they will be usurping authority. We are there to ensure, that for a limited time, that normality is restored in Catalonia, that life can go on and that elections can be organised in order for the Catalan people to decide their own future," he said. He added that Mr Puigdemont could be eligible to stand in regional elections on 21 December which were called after Madrid dissolved the Catalan Parliament, provided "he is not put in jail at that time". Secessionists won 48% of the vote in Catalonia in the last regional election in 2015, but won more seats because Spanish election law gives more weight to sparsely-populated areas. UNI
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