
Argentina defeated England 2-1 in the World Cup semifinal on Wednesday and will play the final on Sunday, July 19, against Spain. The side coached by Lionel Scaloni overturned a deficit and broke down late in the match the resistance of an opponent that sat back after taking the lead.

By Jim Watt - A historic transformation of the frontier between Gibraltar and Spain has taken place at the land border. Under a landmark post-Brexit treaty between the UK and the EU, the physical border fence — traditionally known as “La Verja” in Spain — has been completely dismantled, and on Wednesday, at midnight, the crossing was fully open to pedestrians.

The government of Argentine President Javier Milei has dismissed Marcelo Alejandro Nimo as specialized attaché for Investment Promotion and International Trade at the Argentine embassy in Spain, ending an internal conflict the official had been engaged in with the ambassador in Madrid, Wenceslao Bunge Saravia.

Spain's former Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero appeared on Wednesday before Judge José Luis Calama, of the Audiencia Nacional, as an investigated person in the Plus Ultra case, in what constitutes an unprecedented event in Spanish democracy: it is the first time a former head of the Executive sits before a magistrate as a suspect. He will answer questions from the judge and his lawyer, but not from the Anti-Corruption prosecutor.

The Spanish National Police's Economic and Tax Crime Unit (UDEF) considers that former Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero may have exercised non-visible leadership in an alleged influence network that facilitated the EUR 53 million bailout of airline Plus Ultra during the covid-19 pandemic. The report, comprising more than 300 pages and submitted to National Court judge José Luis Calama, was disclosed on Saturday by the outlet Infobae España and forms part of the judicial file investigating the maneuvers to obtain the public aid from the State Industrial Holdings Company (SEPI) in 2021.

The World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed on Wednesday that the variant responsible for the hantavirus outbreak aboard polar cruise ship MV Hondius is the Andes virus, the only documented strain capable of human-to-human transmission, raised the total number of linked cases to eight, and launched the international tracing of 23 passengers who left the ship two weeks ago during a stop at the island of Saint Helena. The confirmation of the strain represents a significant epidemiological development and substantially widens the scope of the health investigation.

The Spanish government on Tuesday night authorised the docking in the Canary Islands of the polar cruise ship MV Hondius, on which a hantavirus outbreak has already left three people dead, after Cape Verdean authorities denied it entry to their ports and following a formal request from the World Health Organization (WHO) that invoked Spain's “moral and legal obligation” to assist the 147 passengers and crew on board, including 14 Spanish citizens.

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez on Friday cemented a political alliance in Barcelona between the European and Latin American left against the advance of the far right on both continents. At the first bilateral Spain-Brazil summit, held at the Pedralbes Palace with military honors and the participation of roughly ten ministers from each side, both leaders displayed total alignment and signed a series of cooperation agreements.

Uruguayan President Yamandú Orsi will travel to Barcelona on Friday to attend the fourth Democracy Always summit, a gathering of 19 heads of state convened by Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, where the Uruguayan leader will focus his remarks on the value of multilateralism, according to Foreign Minister Mario Lubetkin.

Spanish shipyard Cardama did not file an appeal against the Uruguayan government’s decision to terminate the contract for the purchase of two offshore patrol vessels for the Navy, meaning the measure is now final and the Ministry of Defence will move ahead with a claim for damages. The confirmation came on Thursday from Presidential Secretary Jorge Díaz.