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MADRID (Reuters) - A Spanish nurse who treated a priest in Madrid who died of Ebola is suspected to be the first case of the disease contracted outside West Africa, media in Spain reported on Monday, citing sources within the country's health authorities. Spanish newspaper El Pais and radio Cadena Ser were among those who said the nurse had tested positive for Ebola in initial tests and officials were awaiting final results. No one was immediately available in Madrid's health department to confirm the reports.

Inquiring minds may be interested in the latest events in Europe on an otherwise slow news weekend. Via translation from El Singular, 800 Towns in Catalonia Openly Pledge Support for Independence Referendum. This morning, more than 800 mayors delivered to Catalan president Mas certificates in support of the November 9 referendum for Independence. The mayors represent 96% of the Catalan municipalities. A total of 920 councils who have so far voted in favor of N-9, but some mayors did not want to participate in the event. Since 1918 there has not been a similar concentration of mayors in Catalonia....

A Spanish Nursing Assistant is the first case of infection of ebola in Europe. The health was part of the team that attended the missionary Manuel García Viejo, who died of ebola on September 26 at the hospital Carlos III de Madrid (currently attached to La Paz). Was she that went to the Alcorcón hospital when he felt a fever. The two analyses carried out have been positive, according to sources from the Ministry of health, whose Cabinet crisis is met. If confirmed, this will be the third case of ebola in Spain - the first two died - and...

The alleged recovery in Spain is already over. Retail sales are down month-over-month and year-over-year in July. August and September are both projected to be weak. Vial translation from El Economista, Manufacturers and Retailers Warn of Another Consumption Slowdown. After a slight recovery in the first months of the year, stagnation set in since June, according to almost all employers and associations of producers and distributors. The retail index INE already pointed to stagnation in June and a drop of 0.5% in July from a year earlier. Although the decline in July from the previous month is a somewhat lower...

MADRID — At first glance, Catalonia's face-off with Madrid over independence looks like it has much in common with the recent Scottish secessionist crisis, which panicked countries and markets alike. But the upcoming vote, which Spain’s highest court unanimously suspended after the Spanish government officially challenged it on Monday, shares little with Scotland's, other than the ultimate goal. The regional leader of Catalonia, Artur Mas, signed a decree Saturday setting Nov. 9 for the referendum. But, whenever the referendum might take place, the fundamental difference is that Catalonians are not being asked to decide whether to break away from Spain,...

Choral music not heard since the time of Henry VIII has been brought to life for the first time in 500 years, as an academic unearths an untouched manuscript and shows it to a modern choir. The manuscript, a book of 34 religious songs, was given to Henry VIII as a lavish gift from a French diplomat in his early reign. Containing songs referencing Henry and his then-bride Catherine of Aragon, it is considered the most "luxurious" surviving diplomatic gift of its kind. It remained in the Royal Collection after the king's death, and was later given to the nation...

A team of Spanish researchers have obtained the first partial genome sequence of an ancient pig. Extracted from a sixteenth century pig found at the site of the Montsoriu Castle in Girona, the data obtained indicates that this ancient pig is closely related to today's Iberian pig. Researchers also discard the hypothesis that Asian pigs were crossed with modern Iberian pigs. The study, published in Heredity, sheds new light on evolutionary aspects of pig species, and particularly on that of the Iberian breed, considered to be representative of original European Mediterranean populations... The sample dates approximately from the years 1520...

The Spanish missionary who was flown home to Madrid from Sierra Leone after contracting the Ebola virus has died, according to hospital sources.According to the Spanish news agency Efe, Manuel Garcia Viejo died from the disease at the Carlos III hospital in Madrid.Viejo was a medical director of the Hospital Order of San Juan de Dios and was working in the western Sierra Leonean city of Lunsar when he caught the disease.He was flown to Madrid in an isolation chamber by military plane and received by doctors in fully protective biohazard suits.Viejo is the second Spanish priest to die of...

Spain’s National Statistics Institute says money generated by drug trafficking, prostitution, smuggling and illegal gambling contributed some €9 billion ($11.4 billion) to the national economy last year. […] The figures are being included in GDP calculations on the recommendation of the European Union, which is trying to harmonize estimates across member states and get a full picture of economic activity, whether legal or not. …

The Spanish government has scrapped plans to restrict the availability of abortion because there was no consensus for change, the prime minister said Tuesday, in a move that brought the resignation of the justice minister who was in charge of introducing a new law. Spain now allows abortion without restrictions in the first 14 weeks of pregnancy. The government had promised to restrict abortion to only cases of rape or serious health risks. But the proposal triggered widespread denunciation, with critics saying it would put Spain back 40 years in terms of women’s rights. …

As a direct result of sanctions on Russia, there is an overabundance of fruits and vegetables in France, Spain, Poland, and elsewhere in Europe. Basic law of supply and demand dictates prices of crops would fall. And they did. While most foolishly want to stick it to Russia, few actually are willing to pay the price if it affects them. Here is another case in point: French Farmers Torch Tax Office in Brittany Protest. French vegetable farmers protesting against falling living standards have set fire to tax and insurance offices in town of Morlaix, in Brittany. The farmers used tractors...

This map shows how Europe would look if every separatist movement was granted its dream of independence. With the Scottish referendum just days away, the issue of regions breaking away from their traditional rulers is looming large over the continent. The map features well-known separatist movements, such as the powerful and vocal Basque Nationalist movement in northern Spain and southwestern France, as well as the more obscure, such as the Savoyan League, which supports the independence of the Savoy region of France, which has a population of around 405,500.

Tale of Two Countries Fearmongering in Scotland hits fever pitch as RBS and four other banks threaten to leave the country if Scotland votes "Yes" for independence. In Spain, Catalans staged a huge protest in favor of independence. The Spanish government hopes Scotland will vote "No" even though it seeks to halt a Catalan vote altogether. Let's take a close look at these stories starting with Scotland. RBS, 4 Other Banks Warn of Relocation to England if Scots Vote Yes

European Union leaders announced they will be consolidating energy and environmental goals under a new commissioner, effectively axing the intergovernmental groups’ climate arm as green policies are making it harder for citizens to pay their power bills. Former Spanish agriculture and environment minister Miguel Arias Canete was tapped by the EU Commission to take over a consolidated energy and climate office. Canete will be replacing Climate Commissioner Connie Hedegaard and Energy Commissioner Guenther Oettinger in what is seen as a huge blow to Europe’s global warming efforts.

Barcelona (AFP) - Catalans fired up by Scotland's independence referendum massed in Barcelona's streets in red and yellow shirts Thursday, forming a giant "V" to demand a vote on breaking away from Spain. Drawn up in lines of red and yellow to form stripes with the Catalan colours, hundreds of thousands of flag-waving demonstrators of all ages massed in the sunshine to mark Catalonia's national day, the Diada. The commemoration, which marks the Spanish conquest of Catalonia in 1714, was more sensitive than ever this year, coming amid calls for a November 9 vote on Catalan independence. -snip- "Now more...

Separatists growing in confidence as ranks grow, while attention paid to impending Scottish independence referendum Hundreds of thousands of Catalans will take to the streets on Thursday, the National Day of Catalonia, to demand the right to hold a referendum on their future, with some hoping that the sudden surge in support for Scottish independence might boost their cause. The demonstration will take the form of a huge "v" in the north of Barcelona, where two major thoroughfares converge. The v stands for via, vote and voluntat (will), though implicitly for victory, too. While victory may not be at hand,...

The debate over Germany’s insistence on eurozone austerity has flared anew as an ailing France continues to demand economic stimulus. The European Central Bank may now be siding with Paris, leaving Merkel looking increasingly alone. […] Berlin is particularly alarmed by the stance taken by ECB head Mario Draghi. At the annual conference of top central bankers from around the world at Jackson Hole, Wyoming in August, Draghi surprised those present by saying “there is leeway to achieve a more growth-friendly composition of fiscal policies.” It was a comment that came close to the kind of debt-fueled growth stimulus measures...

(English-language translation) San Juan, Sept. 1 - Starting today, the Puerto Rico Reunification with Spain Movement (MRE) is an officially-constituted group after its first assembly was attended by less than 40 people whose common interest is to make the Caribbean island a Spanish province. "Reunificationists, 116 years ago, the Spanish province of Puerto Rico was invaded and militarily occupied by the United States, causing the separation from the mother country Spain against its will," said José Nieves, the driving force behind this initiative, during the assembly held on Sunday during the long weekend in Puerto Rico and the United States...

Patricia Yurena, a two-time winner of her country’s national contest and a runner-up in last year’s Miss Universe competition, came out as a lesbian on Instagram this Tuesday.

The "recovery" news in Spain keeps piling up. Via translation from El Economista, Government has already taken 37% of the total 'pensions piggy bank'. If extractions continue at the current rate, the fund would be exhausted in 4 years. The Government of Mariano Rajoy has released 24.65 billion euros of the Social Security Reserve Fund in less than two years. Such amount represents nearly 37% of the total 66.815 billion fund accumulation. That figure marks the highest cumulative piggy bank draw-down in history, following its commissioning in 2000 and after eleven years in which successive governments did not need to...