The Latest: Psaki: Biden aims to avoid vaccine supply crunch

WASHINGTON — White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki was asked about a potential pause in vaccinations in New York, where the state is reporting a shortage in vaccines available for first doses. Psaki says the White House has asked the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to “look into what is...

Spain's jab rollout dogged by delays, elitist queue-jumpers

MADRID (AP) — Public outrage is growing in Spain as cases of politicians and well-connected opportunists jumping the queue in the national coronavirus vaccination campaign come to light, even as delivery delays have forced some regions to stop new inoculations. Spain’s Defense Ministry has been the...

In a first for Spain, Jesuits admit to decades of sex abuse

MADRID (AP) — The first comprehensive internal inquiry on sex abuse allegations by a religious order in Spain has identified 81 children and 37 adult victims of 96 Jesuits since the late 1920s, a much higher number than the cases that had so far been publicly known. Associations of victims are welcoming...

The Latest: Shanghai locks down 2 major hospitals over cases

BEIJING — Shanghai has imposed lockdowns on two of China’s best-known hospitals after they were linked to new coronavirus cases. Outpatient services have been suspended at Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center and Renji Hospital, both of which have been cordoned off along with some surrounding...

Court leaves in question date of forthcoming Catalan vote

MADRID (AP) — A regional election in Catalonia, initially set for next month, remains up in the air after a court took a preliminary decision Thursday against a 3-month delay ordered by the northeastern Spanish region’s government due to the surge of COVID-19. The Catalonia High Court said that,...

The Latest: Sri Lanka reopens tourism after 10-month closing

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — Sri Lanka is welcoming tourists again after keeping the doors closed to visitors for nearly 10 months due to the coronavirus pandemic. The government’s action Thursday is seen as an effort to revive the island nation’s tourism industry, which has been badly hit by the...

Gas explosion rips through Madrid building, killing 4

MADRID (AP) — A powerful gas explosion tore through a residential building in central Madrid on Wednesday, killing four people and ripping the facade off the structure. A tower of smoke rose from the building, where repairs were being done to a gas boiler, and billowed through Toledo Street, near the...

Madrid's mayor says at least 2 people have died in a blast after an apparent gas leak

Madrid emergency services say they have rushed to a building in the city center following an explosion

Boats emerge from Sahara sand to transport migrants to Spain

DAKHLA, Western Sahara (AP) — Beneath a star-packed sky in the Sahara, smugglers and handymen unearth a boat buried in the sand, a made-to-order vessel for carrying migrants from the North African coast to Spain’s Canary Islands. With seasoned skill, the men hoist the blue-bottomed wooden boat atop...