Spain walloped by heavy snow, rain, gales that leave 3 dead

MADRID (AP) — Heavy snow, rain and gale-force winds lashed many parts of Spain on Monday, killing at least three people and prompting five provinces to go on top emergency alert. The storm forced the closure of Alicante Airport and some 30 roads in the eastern region. Some 10,000 people in and around the...

Catalan ex-police chief on trial for role in secession bid

MADRID (AP) — The former head of Catalonia's regional police and three others are standing trial on charges of rebellion and sedition for their alleged roles in the illegal bid by the Catalan regional government to break away from Spain in 2017. The trial starting Monday in the National Court could inflame...

Volkswagen creating first innovation hub in North America

Volkswagen is partnering with the University of Tennessee and the Oak Ridge National Laboratory to create the company's first innovation hub for developing new technology in North America, officials said Friday in a statement. Initial work at the hub in Knoxville will include research opportunities for UT...

Spain's Balearic Isles crack down on pub crawls, happy hours

MADRID (AP) — Authorities in Spain's tourist-magnet Balearic Islands are clamping down on binge-drinking tourism in three hot spots, introducing what they claim is the first law of its kind in Europe. The islands' regional government based in Palma de Mallorca on Friday passed a law prohibiting the...

Banker found guilty of smuggling Picasso painting from Spain

MADRID (AP) — A Spanish court sentenced a former bank president to 18 months in prison on Thursday after finding him guilty of trying to smuggle a painting by Pablo Picasso that was deemed a national artistic treasure out of the country. The court also fined ex-Bankinter head Jaime Botín 52.4 million...

List of seeded players for the Australian Open

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Men= 1. Rafael Nadal, Spain 2 Novak Djokovic, Serbia 3. Roger Federer, Switzerland 4 Daniil Medvedev, Russia 5. Dominic Thiem, Austria 6. Stefanos Tsitsipas, Greece 7. Alexander Zverev, Germany 8. Matteo Berrettini, Italy 9. Roberto Bautista Agut, Spain 10. Gael Monfils, France...

Spain: Death toll from chemical plant explosion reaches 3

TARRAGONA, Spain (AP) — The death toll climbed to three Wednesday from a massive explosion and fire at a petrochemical plant in Spain as one person died in hospital and another body was found in the wreckage, authorities said. Another seven people were injured in the blast near a northeastern city late...

Business as usual? How Europe's royals mix work and duties

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — As the British royal family wrestles with the future roles of Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan, it could look to Europe for examples of how princes and princesses have tried, with varying degrees of success, to carve out careers away from the pomp and ceremony of their...

Spain: Chemical plant explosion kills 1, injures at least 9

MADRID (AP) — A massive explosion at a petrochemical plant in northeastern Spain on Tuesday killed one person and injured at least nine others, three seriously, regional authorities said. A press spokesman for the port city of Tarragona, where the plant is located, said a preliminary investigation...

A chemical emergency alert has been activated in northeastern Spain following a big explosion in an industrial zone