Spain’s Health Minister helps resuscitate bather, Spain rakes in millions thanks to eclipse tourism, 164 Spaniards unaccounted for after Colombia earthquake and more news on Wednesday August 12th.
Spain’s Health Minister helps resuscitate bather
Spain’s Minister of Health Mónica García has helped resuscitate a 75-year-old man who almost drowned at a natural pool in the town of Villafranca del Bierzo in León, northern Spain.
The Más Madrid politician, who is spearheading anti-tobacco legislation in the country, was on holiday in the area when she had to practice cardiopulmonary resuscitation techniques on the man, alongside other people who were present at the scene.
Her intervention was crucial in saving the swimmer’s life.
EU shells out €6 billion to Spain from European recovery funds
The European Commission disbursed another €6.23 billion to Spain on Tuesday from the NextGenerationEU post-Covid recovery fund.
This payment brings the total amount received by the country to €78 billion, equivalent to 76.5 percent of the €102 billion allocated to it.
This is the sixth such payment from Brussels, €5.22 billion of which are non-repayable grants and €1.008 billion are loans.
The remaining €265 million covers two pending milestones from the fifth payment block—focused on the digitization of local administrations and elements of tax reform—which Brussels has now cleared as fully completed.
164 Spaniards unaccounted for after Colombia earthquake
A powerful earthquake that struck Colombia on Monday has generated deep concern in Spain, with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirming that 164 Spanish citizens are unaccounted for in the South American country.
So far, there are no reports of injuries or deaths among Spanish nationals in Colombia.
Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares announced this provisional figure on Tuesday, highlighting the full mobilisation of the Spanish Embassy and Consulate General in Colombia to assist the Spanish community.
Spain rakes in millions thanks to eclipse tourism
The highly anticipated total solar eclipse which will take place this evening at between 7.30pm and 8pm will have “a significant economic impact” on Spain, with a net contribution of €347 million and 446,700 more tourists during this week, according to calculations by the Spanish Ministry of Economy.
There has also been a 7.9 percent increase in flight bookings to Spain compared to the same period last year, especially to cities in the north where the eclipse will be total, with a 90 spike in bookings to the airports in Santander, Asturias and Bilbao.
