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The Guardian
7 days ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
Spanish town ordered to scrap religious festivals ban mainly impacting Muslims
Spain's central government has ordered officials in a Spanish town to scrap a ban on religious gatherings in public sports centres, describing it as a 'discriminatory' measure that breaches the right to religious freedom as it will mainly impact Muslims. 'There can be no half-measures when it comes to intolerance,' Ángel Víctor Torres, the minister for territorial policy, wrote on social media on Monday. Rightwing opposition parties, he added, 'cannot decide who has freedom of worship and who does not'. Last week, it emerged that the conservative-led council in Jumilla, a town of about 27,000 residents in the region of Murcia, had backed the ban. As its Muslim residents had for years used the facilities to come together to mark Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha, the motion was widely seen as targeting the town's estimated 1,500 Muslims. The proposal was initially put forward by the far-right Vox party, which called for an outright ban on public celebrations such as Eid al-Adha. Vox's hardline motion was watered down and subsequently backed by the People's party (PP), which removed the explicit reference to Eid al-Adha and instead stipulated that municipal sports facilities could no longer be used for 'cultural, social or religious activities foreign to the city council'. Vox had demanded the measure in exchange for backing the budget put forward by the town's PP mayor. As the far right celebrated what it described as the 'first measure' to ban Islamic festivals in Spain's public spaces, the outcry was swift. The head of a prominent Muslim association in Spain described the ban as 'institutionalised Islamophobia', while the country's migration minister called it 'shameful'. In Jumilla, the PP defended the motion, arguing that it did not single out any religion or belief and highlighted that 72 nationalities coexisted in the town without any issue. The local mayor, Seve González, told El País the council was aiming to 'promote cultural campaigns' that defended 'our identity' and protected the 'values and religious expressions of our country'. In Madrid, the Socialist-led central government seized on the measure, portraying the PP as beholden to the far right, forcing the party to compromise with Vox while also drifting further to the right in order to compete for votes. Spain's migration minister, Elma Saiz, said those who paid the price would be citizens who had spent decades peacefully living in Jumilla and had helped to sustain a local economy centred on vineyards and crops such as olives and almonds. She told the broadcaster Antena 3: 'Foreigners make up 20% of those who contribute to social security in Jumilla. These towns would collapse without them.' Saiz brushed off the claim that the ban was aimed at protecting Spanish identity, citing the country's history as a Muslim stronghold. 'To me, that seems utterly ignorant,' she said. 'It overlooks that we would not be the country we are today if we could not appreciate the contribution of Muslim culture to our language, our works of art, advances in architecture and civil engineering.' Among the chorus of voices c ondemning the ban was the Catholic church, which described it as a form of discrimination that was incompatible with the right to religious freedom, while the Federation of Jewish Communities of Spain told news agency Europa Press that the measure was a 'serious democratic setback'. The leader of Vox, Santiago Abascal, said he was 'perplexed' by the stance of the Catholic church. Speaking to a far-right YouTube channel, he suggested the church's view could be linked to its reliance on public funding or to clergy abuse scandals that he claimed have 'absolutely muzzled' it. On Monday, a central government representative said the council in Jumilla had a month to formally respond to Madrid's request. If it failed to respond, the central government would explore what other legal options are available, the spokesperson added. Sign up to This is Europe The most pressing stories and debates for Europeans – from identity to economics to the environment after newsletter promotion The measure came weeks after unrest gripped Torre-Pacheco, about 60 miles (100km) from Jumilla, with baton-wielding groups taking to the streets to 'hunt' people with foreign origins after an assault on an older person. In the lead-up to the unrest, after the pensioner told local media he believed his attacker had been of north African origin, racist messaging on social media rocketed by 1,500%, according to tracking by the central government. The events in Jumilla and Torre-Pacheco hinted at how the far right had started down a path that put all of Spain in danger, said Mounir Benjelloun Andaloussi Azhari, the president of the Spanish Federation of Islamic Religious Entities. 'The goal of all this – let's not forget – is so that the far right can win votes,' he told the news site 'And if they need to criminalise an entire population to do so, if they have to generate hatred, if they have to lie and make coexistence impossible, if they have to say this is an 'invasion' they will do it.' He had lived in Spain for 30 years, but said it was the first time he – along with many others – had felt persecuted: 'All for a handful of votes. At the expense of citizens' fear, at the expense of Spain's image around the world, and at the expense of betraying those who once proposed a stable model for Spain that guaranteed a series of rights that they now want to do away with.'
Roya News
11-08-2025
- Politics
- Roya News
Spain overturns town ban targeting Muslim festivities
Spain's central government has intervened to overturn a controversial local measure that prohibited religious celebrations in municipal sports facilities, a decision widely seen as targeting Muslim festivities. The town council of Jumilla, located in the southeastern Murcia region, approved the ban last week with the backing of the conservative Popular Party (PP). Officials claimed the move was intended to 'promote and preserve the traditional values' of the area. The measure had been a key demand of the far-right Vox party in exchange for supporting the PP mayor's budget. The order to scrap the ban came swiftly from Madrid. Minister for Inclusion and Migration Elma Sainz denounced the decision as a 'racist motion', while Territorial Policy Minister Ángel Víctor Torres announced on X that the measure violates Spain's constitution and must be rescinded. Jumilla, a town of around 27,000 residents, is home to a sizable Muslim community, many employed in the agricultural sector, who have for years used public sports venues for gatherings such as Eid al-Fitr, the holiday marking the end of Ramadan. The dispute comes amid heightened tensions in Murcia, following nights of unrest in another town where far-right activists and immigrant residents clashed after an assault on a retired man by a young North African. Even the Catholic Church spoke out against the Jumilla ban, noting that public religious expressions fall under Spain's constitutional right to religious freedom. Vox leader Santiago Abascal expressed 'perplexity' at the Church's position, speculating it could be linked to state funding or clergy abuse scandals that he claimed had 'gagged' the institution.
Daily Mail
10-06-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Massive power cut hits British holiday hotspot with 'entire Spanish island left without electricity'
A huge power outage has plunged a British holiday hotspot into complete darkness. The blackout began at around 5:30pm in La Palma following a generator failure, according to the electricity company Endesa, which reported an error in the generator at the Los Guinchos plant, in Breña Alta. Endesa claims it does not expect power to be fully restored in the short-term, leading the Canary Islands emergency 112 service to activate the Canary Islands Emergency Plan (PLATECA) in a state of 'alert'. 'The Canary Islands regional government has activated the Canary Islands emergency plan in response to the 'zero power' alert on La Palma,' the emergency services announced. The President of the Canary Islands, Fernando Clavijo, also took to social media to confirm he is following the situation. 'In coordination with the administrations of La Palma within the framework of the Canary Islands Emergency Plan that we activated this very afternoon following the registration of the energy blackout on the island and continuing the efforts to restore energy in the shortest possible time,' he wrote on X. According to local reports, firefighters are currently assisting people who are trapped in elevators, and there is no power coverage in several areas across La Palma. An estimated 50,289 users across the island have also been affected by the massive blackout. Following the sudden outage, the Minister of Territorial Policy and Democratic Memory, Ángel Víctor Torres - who stated that he was informed of the energy blackout after the meeting of the Territorial Council of Democratic Memory held in Zaragoza - indicated that the Government of Spain is aware of the evolution of the situation. 'Hoping that the energy is restored as soon as possible, I send all my support to the people of La Palma,' the minister said on X. La Palma's president Sergio Rodriguez also reacted to the failure by describing La Palma as an island 'which is not in the first world' and demanding measures from Madrid and the region's government. He said: 'The power station we've got is obsolete and slows down our development.' Reports around 8.30pm said electricity had been re-established to around 30 per cent of the customers affected by this afternoon's outage. La Palma is heavily reliant on fossil fuels, particularly diesel, for its electricity generation due to its isolated location and lack of interconnection with the mainland or other islands. It comes after a series of blackouts have hit the island in recent months. Santa Cruze de Palma, Los Llanos de Aridane and El Paso have all experienced recent, unrelated, power outages. The latest of these, on May 8, left the power out for hours and affected several of the eight municipalities in La Palma. Spain's Energy Minister Sara Aagesen today urged private electricity companies to speed up sharing information needed to identify the causes of the worst ever blackout to hit Spain and Portugal. More than a month after one of Europe's biggest electricity system collapses left around 60million people in the two countries without power, the cause has yet to be determined and the blame game has intensified. 'At the beginning, when we requested information, it arrived very quickly,' Aagesen told reporters from Nice, France, where she was attending a UN conference. 'Now we're in a situation where information arrives in dribs and drabs, much more slowly.' She acknowledged though that the information required was now more detailed and, at times, more complex. 'But I insist, I continue to call for this information to be delivered as soon as possible so we can identify the causes and implement the necessary measures,' she said. Spain's energy ministry is leading one of the probes looking into the April 28 events, which sent investigators from the country's cybersecurity and intelligence services to private energy companies' premises to gather information.
The Irish Sun
10-06-2025
- The Irish Sun
Huge blackout hits Brit holiday hotspot leaving tens of thousands without power after ‘turbine failed'
A MASSIVE power outage has left a British holiday hotspot completely dark. Outages began around 5:30pm and were first detected in homes and offices on the island of La Palma. Advertisement 2 The entire island was left dark by the outage Credit: Getty The isle was left completely dark by the massive outage with tens of thousands of residents left without power. It is thought the outage was caused by the tripping of a generating turbine. An estimated 50,289 users across the island have been affected by the huge blackout. Previous outages have hit the island's major cities with the biggest, Los Llanos de Aridane, left dark in recent months. Advertisement Desperate restoration efforts are underway on the island with authorities scrambling to fix the issue. Authorities have instructed residents to stay calm as they work to restore power to the island. It comes after a series of blackouts have hit the island in recent months. Santa Cruze de Palma, Los Llanos de Aridane and El Paso have all experienced recent power outages. Advertisement Most read in The Sun The latest of these, on May 8, left the power out for hours and affected several of the eight municipalities in La Palma. Today's outage has been the worst of the recent blackouts with power out across the whole island and tens of thousands of users affected. The Minister of Territorial Policy and Democratic Memory, Ángel Víctor Torres said: "I send all my support to the people of La Palma." He went on to promise that power would be restored as soon as possible. Advertisement 2 Authorities are working to restore power as soon as possible Credit: Alamy
Scottish Sun
10-06-2025
- Climate
- Scottish Sun
Huge blackout hits Brit holiday hotspot leaving tens of thousands without power after ‘turbine failed'
More than 50,000 people have been left without power POWER CUT Huge blackout hits Brit holiday hotspot leaving tens of thousands without power after 'turbine failed' Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) A MASSIVE power outage has left a British holiday hotspot completely dark. Outages began around 5:30pm and were first detected in homes and offices on the island of La Palma. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 2 The entire island was left dark by the outage Credit: Getty The isle was left completely dark by the massive outage with tens of thousands of residents left without power. It is thought the outage was caused by the tripping of a generating turbine. An estimated 50,289 users across the island have been affected by the huge blackout. Previous outages have hit the island's major cities with the biggest, Los Llanos de Aridane, left dark in recent months. Desperate restoration efforts are underway on the island with authorities scrambling to fix the issue. Authorities have instructed residents to stay calm as they work to restore power to the island. It comes after a series of blackouts have hit the island in recent months. Santa Cruze de Palma, Los Llanos de Aridane and El Paso have all experienced recent power outages. The latest of these, on May 8, left the power out for hours and affected several of the eight municipalities in La Palma. Today's outage has been the worst of the recent blackouts with power out across the whole island and tens of thousands of users affected. The Minister of Territorial Policy and Democratic Memory, Ángel Víctor Torres said: "I send all my support to the people of La Palma." He went on to promise that power would be restored as soon as possible.
