Vatican confirms Pope’s visit to Spain in June, Spanish government warns youngsters €400 culture voucher can’t be used at nightclubs and more news on Thursday February 26th.
Vatican confirms Pope’s visit to Spain in June
Pope Leo XIV will visit Spain from June 6th to 12th, the Vatican confirmed Wednesday, in what will be the US pontiff’s fourth international trip since his election last year.
The Vatican said details of the itinerary would follow later, while a Spanish cardinal had previously said a potential papal visit could include events in Madrid, Barcelona, and the Canary Islands.
READ ALSO: What we know about Pope Leo’s planned visit to Spain in 2026
Advertisement
Yolanda Díaz won’t run in next general election
Spain’s Second Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Labour Yolanda Díaz announced this Wednesday that she will not be a candidate in the 2027 general elections at the head of the left-wing coalition made up by Sumar, United Left (IU), Más Madrid and the other left-wing parties, in which Podemos has ruled itself out.
In a message posted on social media accompanied by a video, Díaz says she has made a “very considered” decision, that she is committed to continue working both inside and outside the government, and assures that she wants to give “time and space” to the Spanish left.
Catalan ERC leader Gabriel Rufián has emerged as the possible head of a new left-wing bloc and potential kingmaker for Pedro Sánchez in a general election which the PP and Vox are expected to gain an absolute majority from.
Spanish government warns youngsters €400 culture voucher can’t be used at nightclubs
The Spanish government has warned recipients of the €400 youth voucher that those who use it fraudulently will have to reimburse the government.
This statement was issued by the Ministry of Culture following the appearance of a video on social media showing a group of young people attempting to gain entry to a Madrid nightclub using the cultural voucher.
In response, the department headed by Ernest Urtasun states that companies that allow the misuse of the bonus “will be penalised and face the possibility of expulsion from the programme.”
Since 2022, Spain’s Youth Cultural Voucher gives young people turning 18 a €400 voucher to spend on books, newspapers, music, video games, cinema tickets, theatre tickets and other cultural activities and material.
READ MORE: How to apply for Spain’s €400 youth culture voucher
Advertisement
Indonesia sentences two men for Spanish tourist’s murder
An Indonesian court sentenced two men to 18 years in prison on Wednesday for the murder of a Spanish tourist last year on the resort island of Lombok.
The remains of 72-year-old Maria Matilde Munoz Cazorla were found at a beach on the island weeks after she was reported missing in July, according to local police.
The court in the city of Mataram found the two men, Suhaeli, 34, and Heri Ridwan, 27, “legally and convincingly guilty of committing the crime of premeditated murder”.
They had entered Cazorla’s hotel room in the island’s Senggigi area — where she was last seen — planning to rob her, presiding judge Kelik Trimargo told a hearing.
But when she was woken up by sounds from a nearby mosque, the two men strangled her to death, Kelik said.
With additional reporting by AFP.
