More evacuations due to wildfires spreading across the country, further heat warnings issued, and more news on Tuesday August 12th.
More than 4,000 people have been evacuated due to wildfires across the country
Dozens of fires remain active this Tuesday across Andalusia, Castilla-León, Castilla-La Mancha, Extremadura, Galicia, and Madrid, and more than 4,000 people have had to be evacuated. The heat wave sweeping across Spain has been accompanied by strong gusts of wind as of late, which has complicated the fire situation even further.
The wildfire in the Sierra de la Plata area in Tarifa in the Cádiz province has led to the mass evacuation of 2,000 residents, while León is facing a similar situation, with some 1,800 residents from several municipalities also having had to be evacuated.
The fire in the Madrid town of Tres Cantos has forced the deployment of the Military Emergency Unit and the evacuation of two residential areas in the area. One of the two injured suffered burns over 98 percent of his body and has died in hospital.
READ ALSO: Spanish firefighters struggle to contain blaze at Roman-era site
Heat warnings issued across 46 Spanish provinces
Spain’s State Meteorological Agency (AEMET) has issued heat warnings for 46 provinces across the country as the intense heatwave continues.
Seville is expected to be one of the worst affected areas which has been issued a red level warning for extreme temperatures reaching up to 44C.
While record highs are expected in the Andalusian capital, 23 other provinces are also on orange alert for intense heat, including Madrid, Córdoba, Granada, Ourense, and Badajoz. Orange warnings are also still in place in La Rioja, Álava, Navarra, Huesca, Zaragoza, Toledo, Jaén, Cádiz, and Gran Canaria.
Other regions, such as Alicante, Valencia, Murcia, Albacete, Lugo, and Palencia, are under yellow warning for heat or storms.
Temperatures will exceed 40C across a large swathe of southern inland Spain and 34C in the rest of the country, including the Balearic and Canary Islands.
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Spain’s BBVA says still pursuing Sabadell takeover bid
Spanish bank BBVA has said that it would still pursue its takeover of rival Banco Sabadell, despite facing a series of regulatory and political hurdles since launching the hostile bid last year.
Even though Sabadell shareholders approved measures last week aimed at thwarting the bid, “BBVA has decided not to withdraw its offer… it remains in effect”, it said in a statement.
At the bank’s annual general meeting, Sabadell approved in particular the the sale of its British unit TSB to Santander, hoping to make a takeover less attractive to BBVA.
BBVA, Spain’s second-biggest bank, with a big footprint in Latin America and Turkey, announced its all-share bid in May 2024, valuing Sabadell at around €15 billion.
The proposed deal aims to create a European banking powerhouse capable of competing with industry heavyweights including BBVA’s bigger Spanish rival Santander.
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Spanish police bust ‘spiritual retreat’ offering hallucinogenic drugs
Spanish police said that they had dismantled a group accused of running a “spiritual retreat” that offered hallucinogenic drugs to clients from around the world.
The gang is suspected of operating from a villa in the southeastern town of Pedreguer, charging over €1,000 for multi-day stays that included consumption of ayahuasca, San Pedro cactus and a frog venom known as Kambo.
“The retreats were held in groups of up to twenty participants, who were attended to by six employees of the organisation during the ‘astral journeys’,” the Guardia Civil police force said in a statement.
A photo released by the force showed a large room with several mattresses on the floor, along with water bottles and tissue boxes and a guitar leaned against a wall.
Police say the group held several retreats a week without the means to respond to intoxications, and generated hundreds of thousands of euros in undeclared income last year.
It promoted the retreats online with promises of a “mystical” experience and health benefits that drew clients “from around the world, the majority from Europe”.
Police arrested two men and a woman suspected of leading the group and placed five other people under investigation for allegedly acting as “spiritual guides” at the retreats.
They face charges of drug trafficking, money laundering and criminal association.
With additional reporting by AFP.
