Ouigo train workers to go on strike in June, migrant boat capsize that killed seven in the Canaries on primetime TV, Spain denies Telegraph’s claim that blackout was caused by ‘experiment’ and more news on Thursday May 29th.
Migrant boat capsize that killed seven in the Canaries on primetime TV
Four women and three girls drowned on Wednesday after migrants disembarking an overcrowded boat in Spain’s Canary Islands accidentally capsized the vessel, rescuers said, in the latest tragedy on the perilous route.
The accident was filmed by a TV cameraman, bringing the reality of Spain’s tragic migrant crisis to millions of households on the evening news.
Emergency services in the Atlantic archipelago confirmed the seven deaths “after the capsizing of a vessel” in La Restinga port on the island of El Hierro.
They said on X that one of the girls was aged five and another 16.
Spain’s maritime rescue service, which located the boat some six nautical miles from shore, said it was carrying 159 people, including 49 women and 32 minors.
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Spain denies Telegraph’s claim that blackout was caused by ‘experiment’
Spain’s government on Wednesday denied a press report that an “experiment” on the national power grid caused a huge blackout that crippled the Iberian Peninsula one month ago.
Authorities have been scrambling to find answers after the April 28th outage cut telecommunications, halted transport and plunged cities into darkness across Spain and Portugal.
Conservative British daily newspaper The Telegraph reported Friday, citing unnamed sources in Brussels, that Spanish authorities “were conducting an experiment before the system crashed, probing how far they could push reliance on renewables in preparation for Spain’s rushed phase-out of nuclear reactors from 2027”.
“The government seems to have pushed the pace recklessly, before making the necessary investments in a sophisticated 21st-century smart grid capable of handling it,” it added.
Asked about the report in parliament, Ecological Transition Minister Sara Aagesen said: “It is false, totally false, that the government carried out any sort of experiment on the grid prior to the outage.”
Spain to create more smoke-free areas
Spain’s Ministry of Health will extend smoke-free spaces to work vehicles such as delivery vans as well as university campuses, and open-air nightclubs and dance halls.
Speaking to Spanish radio station Cadena SER, Health Minister Mónica García spoke of her government’s intention to pursue the smoking ban on bar terraces: “We will prohibit smoking on terraces because it is a measure supported by scientific evidence and by a large majority of citizens, including many smokers.”
Ouigo train workers to go on strike in June
The Spanish Union of Railway Drivers (Semaf) has called a five-day strike next June for the 100 drivers working at low-cost rail company Ouigo.
The stoppages will be part-time on June 12th, 13th, 23th, and 27th, and full-time on June 26th.
The strikes will affect all of the company’s trains in the 15 destinations where it operates: Madrid, Barcelona, Tarragona, Valencia, Alicante, Elche, Zaragoza, Seville, Malaga, Cordoba, Valladolid, Segovia, Albacete, Cuenca, and Murcia.
With additional reporting from AFP.
