Economy Minister appointed deputy Spanish PM, Spanish singer Rosalía quits concert with food poisoning, motorways in Spain face busiest Easter in two decades and more news on Friday March 27th.
Spain says to boost energy partnership with Algeria
Algeria and Spain will boost their “strategic” energy partnership at a time when Algiers has been Spain’s leading gas supplier for three years, the Spanish foreign minister said on Thursday.
Beginning a two-day visit and with no end in sight to the Iran war, José Manuel Albares called Algeria a “stable, reliable and steady gas supplier” after meeting President Abdelmadjid Tebboune.
Spain and Algeria are connected by the MedGaz pipeline, which is operating at full capacity but whose capacity could be increased by a billion cubic metres a year, US expert Geoff Porter has told AFP.
Albares said that during Thursday’s talks, “it became clear that Algeria is a strategic friend and partner for Spain”.
Algerian Foreign Minister Ahmed Attaf’s office hailed relations between both countries, “particularly in the energy sector”.
Spain’s foreign minister on Thursday also welcomed a “spectacular increase in Spanish exports” to Algeria over the past two years, including a threefold rise in 2025 year-on-year.
The Algerian presidency said Tebboune told Albares of his decision to reactivate a 2002 friendship treaty with Spain.
The treaty had been suspended since 2022 when Madrid voiced its support for a plan for Moroccan sovereignty over the disputed territory of Western Sahara, where Algeria backs the Polisario independence movement.
Advertisement
Spanish PM appoints economy minister as deputy
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez on Thursday appointed Economy Minister Carlos Cuerpo as deputy prime minister, replacing María Jesús Montero, who is stepping down to run in a regional election.
A career economist with experience in European institutions, Cuerpo, 45, is one of the highest-rated ministers in Sánchez’s cabinet in opinion surveys.
Under his watch, the Spanish economy posted growth of 2.8 percent last year, one of the fastest rates in the European Union.
Nato says Spain is meeting defence targets
All Nato member states have reached defence spending levels equal to or greater than 2 percent of GDP, the threshold set by the Atlantic Alliance before US President Donald Trump intensified pressure on its partners to increase spending to 5 percent.
Spain, reluctant to accept this new target, is officially listed above the previous level for the first time, although it remains near the bottom of the list along with Albania, Canada, and Belgium.
“Spain is doing what it has to do,” said Nato head Mark Rutte, while insisting that the Sánchez administration will need to invest more in the future.
Advertisement
Spanish motorways face busiest Easter in two decades
Spain’s DGT traffic authority is launching its special Easter operation from 3pm this Friday until midnight on Monday April 6th.
During this period, it expects 17.1 million long journeys (each of at least 50 kilometres), which is the highest forecast for this holiday period since 2002.
This may be partly down to a loss of confidence in the country’s rail network after two deadly accidents and numerous other incidents earlier this year, and the perceived instability of air travel amid rising jet fuel prices and war in the Middle East.
Faced with this increase in cars on the road, the DGT has warned drivers about the importance of planning their trips in advance and choosing the safest route to avoid unforeseen events.
Advertisement
Spanish singer Rosalía quits concert with food poisoning
Spanish singer Rosalía was forced to interrupt a concert in Italy half way through due to food poisoning, according to fan footage posted on social media.
The 33-year-old Grammy-winning singer was performing at the Unipol Forum in Milan on Wednesday, when she stopped to tell the crowds she was feeling unwell.
“I’ve tried to do this show. Since the beginning I’ve been sick. I’ve had big time food poisoning,” she said in English in a video posted on X.
“I’ve tried to push it until the end, but I’m feeling extremely sick. I’m puking out there. I really want to give the best show, and I’m like in (on) the floor,” she said.
After saying she would try to carry on if physically possible, a sad-looking Rosalía eventually blew a kiss to the crowds and — with a hand on her stomach — walked off stage.
Rosalía, hailed for her genre-defying versatility, was in Milan as part of a tour which began in France earlier this month and will end in Puerto Rico in September.
The singer, who won best international artist at the Brit Awards this month, has earned widespread praise for her fourth album “Lux”.
The sweeping, spiritual work, released at the end of last year, marks a departure from her previous flamenco and R&B rhythms.
The album features lyrics sung in 13 languages including German, English and Sicilian in addition to her native Spanish.
With additional reporting by AFP.
