Three Spaniards killed and 99 unaccounted for in Venezuela earthquake, Spanish TV causes outrage by adding subtitles for Andalusian accent, Spain to require mobile network coverage during blackouts and more news on Friday June 26th.
Three Spaniards killed and 99 unaccounted for in Venezuela earthquake
Nine Portuguese and three Spanish nationals have died in the two major earthquakes in Venezuela that have killed at least 235 people, the countries’ foreign ministries said on Friday.
Spain’s Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares said 99 Spanish citizens were unaccounted for and another four trapped under the rubble.
The Spanish community in Venezuela numbers 147,000 people, according to Spanish government figures which do not specify how many are dual nationals, a common circumstance.
Albares said the Spanish cooperation agency had “mobilised an initial package” of one million euros ($1.1 million) through the Red Cross “to respond to the most urgent needs”.
The Spanish defence ministry announced the arrival in Venezuela of a plane carrying 59 army rescuers, two engineers and eight units with sniffer dogs.
Spain sues EU over civil service nationality changes
Spain is suing the European Commission over changes to rebalance the makeup of nationalities in the EU’s civil service, reports Euractiv.
The Commission, the Brussels news site reports, “has long struggled to fix its skewed nationality mix that favours 13 member states – including Spain, Belgium, Italy, Romania, and Greece. Other countries such as Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Czechia and the Netherlands, are under-represented according to the EU executive’s own data,” it adds.
Spain has therefore filed a lawsuit at the Court of Justice, alleging “discrimination on the ground of nationality” ahead of proposed changes.
Spanish TV causes outrage by adding subtitles for Andalusian accent of World Cup star mother
The documentary broadcast on TVE, ‘Denominación de Origen’, focused on the more personal lives of the players in the Spanish national team.
It has sparked some backlash in Spain, however, particularly regarding player Fabián Ruiz’s mother, Chari Peña, who was subtitled throughout the programme because of her Andalusian accent.
READ ALSO: A handy guide to understanding Spain’s regional accents
In the documentary, while speaking with the closed accent and ceceo characteristic of the region, Chari appears with subtitles for every one of her remarks.
The Andalusian accent is notoriously difficult to understand due to a combination of fast-speaking speeds, dropped syllables, and unique local slang.
Spanish government to require mobile network coverage be maintained during power cuts
Spain’s Minister for Digital Transformation and the Civil Service, Óscar López, announced on Thursday that the government will require operators to maintain four hours’ coverage for 75 percent of the population in the event of a power cut.
The Minister made these remarks whilst speaking at the DigitalES Summit, where he stated that this “new digital right” will be approved before the end of the year “so that operators can begin to gradually implement new security plans and battery backup for telecommunications masts”.
Spain to face invisible challenges at next World Cup match
The Spanish football team is not only facing off with other teams at this 2026 World Cup, but also the elements.
Spain arrived in the United States on June 5th, 10 days before their opening match against Cape Verde in Atlanta. Now based in Chattanooga, two hours from the stadium in Atlanta, Spain now faces not only high temperatures but another challenge: altitude.
If they get through the group stage, they will have to cope with constant changes in weather, time zone and altitude. The first test will come against Uruguay, in Guadalajara, at over 1,500 metres above sea level.
With additional reporting by AFP
