Body of missing US student found in Barcelona, FT calls Spain ‘role model’ for handling Iran energy crisis, pigeon poops on Madrid mayor mid-speech and more news on Friday March 20th.
Body of missing US student found in Barcelona
Spanish Maritime Police have located the body of the American student who went missing in Barcelona in the early hours of Tuesday March 17th.
Jimmy Gracey was a 20-year-old American student at the University of Alabama who disappeared after leaving a popular nightclub in the Catalan capital while on spring break with friends. He was from a town near Chicago, in the state of Illinois.
“We inform you that officers of the Mossos d’Esquadra (Catalan police) have located the lifeless body of a person in the water in the Somorrostro area (a beach). Efforts are underway to identify the body,” the Mossos d’Esquadra stated in a press release before Gracey’s identity was confirmed.
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Spain seeks 173-year jail term for ex-banker
Spanish anti-corruption prosecutors have requested a 173-year prison sentence for former BBVA bank chief Francisco González over alleged corporate spying, judicial sources said on Thursday.
BBVA was placed under investigation in July 2019 for allegedly hiring a private investigation agency run by former police commissioner Jose Manuel Villarejo to spy on politicians, journalists and business figures.
González, 81, was chairman of BBVA, Spain’s second-largest bank, from 2000 to 2018, when the bank is said to have engaged the agency. He has denied any wrongdoing.
Prosecutors are seeking five years for active corruption and a further 168 years for 42 counts of discovery and disclosure of secrets, the sources said.
Spain’s maximum effective prison term is capped at 40 years.
Ten other individuals, including Villarejo, and BBVA itself, also face charges.
Financial Times calls Spain ‘role model’ for handling Iran energy crisis
British newspaper The Financial Times has published an article which hails Spain as a leading example of how a rapid transition to renewable energy can shield a national economy from global oil price volatility, specifically in the context of the war with Iran and the oil blockade at the Strait of Hormuz.
By aggressively expanding its wind and solar infrastructure, the country has successfully decoupled its electricity prices from the fluctuating costs of fossil fuels.
As a result, Spain has managed to maintain lower and more stable energy bills for its citizens compared to many of its European neighbours during periods of geopolitical instability.
“Spain looks well placed in two ways,” writes the FT’s Camilla Palladino.
“Its speedy rollout of renewables has put a lid on electricity bills — but that should help bolster its political independence too.”
Pigeon poops on Madrid mayor’s head mid-speech
Madrid mayor José Luis Almeida has once again highlighted his gaffe-prone nature after a pigeon pooped on his head while he was paying tribute to murdered journalists during an outdoor ceremony in the Spanish capital this week.
Almeida reacting jokingly by saying that “a pigeon has had the great idea of landing one on the new haircut I got yesterday.”
The PP politician has previously been caught on camera breaking his glasses while playing basketball during a press event and kicked a football into the face of a photographer.
With additional reporting by AFP.
