English in Madrid

Source: Wikipedia (Luis Garcia)   Greenpeace kicks off protests before ‘gag law’ is passed tomorrow GREENPEACE activists have kicked off the anti-gag law protest by draping a yellow banner which proclaims ‘protesting is a right’ off a crane near Spain’s parliament. The Public Security Law ‘ley mordaza’ comes into effect tomorrow, July 1, and human rights groups and campaigners are set to protest up until midnight in Madrid. It has generated widespread controversy, international criticism and raised issues over the freedom of expression. "This law lacks justification, as there are no great problems of citizen security in Spain" said Miguel Ángel Soto, Greenpeace spokesman. "The law is there to silence the voices that criticise the government's leadership." The law will make many types of public gatherings and demonstrations illegal and protestors will not be allowed to assemble outside Congress. It will also permit the expulsion of migrants caught entering S...

Young Spanish royal Don Froilan accused of racial abuse at theme park after trying to jump queue The nephew of King Felipe is alleged to have said: 'I'm fourth in line to the Spanish throne' A young member of the Spanish royal family has been accused of racially abusing a staff member at a theme park in Madrid, after being told that he was not allowed to jump the queue for a ride. A nephew of King Felipe, 16-year-old Don Froilán, apparently lost his temper at the Parque de Atracciones last week, when he attempted to jump a long queue. After being challenged by a schoolteacher, Froilán is alleged to have said: “I’m fourth in line to the Spanish throne.” According to El Economista newspaper, an attendant at the park then told the teenager that he would have wait his turn for the ride, at which point, Froilán shouted: “You shut up, you f***ing chino.” “Chino” is used in Spain to describe a person of Chinese origin. It is not the first time Froilán – or Felipe Juan...