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After lower house approval, the bill to grant tens of thousands of Sahrawis citizenship now goes to the Spanish Senate.

Spanish lawmakers have backed legislation that would grant citizenship to tens of thousands of Western Saharans who were born when Spain ran the disputed territory now largely controlled by Morocco.

Spain’s lower house of Parliament on Thursday approved the legislation 168-31, with 145 abstentions.

The bill still requires Senate approval before becoming law.

The text grants Spanish nationality to Sahrawis born before September 29, 1977 and to their children through naturalisation, even if they never resided in Spain.

Although the exact number of beneficiaries is unknown, Sahrawi groups estimate that between 70,000 and 120,000 people could benefit from the legislation, which supporters described as addressing a “historical injustice” by colonial Spain in the Western Sahara.

Tensions with Morocco

The vote comes at a particularly sensitive time for Madrid’s historically delicate relations with Rabat due to the migration crisis in Spain’s north African territory of Ceuta, and the mass arrival of at least 70,000 migrants from Morocco in July.

Spain’s leftist government has avoided blaming Morocco – which does not recognise Spanish sovereignty over Ceuta and Spain’s other North African territory of Melilla – but the right accuses Rabat of orchestrating the surge for political motives.

Morocco claims sovereignty over Western Sahara and began asserting control over the territory after Spanish ⁠rule ended.

The Algerian-backed Polisario Front independence movement seeks recognition ⁠of an independent state called the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic.

Many Sahrawis live in refugee camps in Tindouf in western Algeria, or elsewhere abroad, while others remain in Western Sahara.

Against this backdrop, the initiative to grant Spanish nationality to Sahrawis has divided opinion in Morocco but not prompted condemnation from the government.

Moroccan media quoted Ramadan Messaoud, a member of the Royal Advisory Council for Saharan Affairs, as saying in July that Rabat had “no problem” with Sahrawis obtaining Spanish citizenship. Others had done so “over the past few years”, noted Messaoud, who is also president of the Sahrawi Association for Human Rights.

‘Restoring’ identity

Western Sahara was a Spanish colony until 1975, when Spain relinquished its administration under agreements with Morocco and Mauritania.

Spain’s ruling Socialist Party and its junior left-wing partner Sumar, which filed the initiative, were among those who supported the bill, ‌while the opposition conservative People’s Party abstained and far-right Vox voted against it.

“With the adoption of this legislation, we are restoring – and I emphasise, restoring – the Spanish national identity card to those Sahrawis who once held it and from whom this state took it away,” said Tesh Sidi of the leftist Sumar coalition, the first woman of Sahrawi origin ⁠to serve in Spain’s Parliament.

The bill will now go to the Senate, where amendments are expected, before returning to the lower house for final approval.

MADRID: Spain’s ‌lower house voted on Thursday to grant citizenship to Sahrawis born when Madrid administered the North African territory of Western Sahara as a colony, a move that could inflame delicate relations with Morocco.

The legislation, which a statement from parliament said was approved with 168 votes in favor, 31 against and 145 abstentions, would also allow descendants of those granted citizenship to acquire it.

Some 70,000 to 110,000 Sahrawis could be eligible for Spanish citizenship, according ‌to local media.

Spain’s ‌ruling Socialist Party and its junior ‌left-wing partner Sumar, which filed the initiative, were among those who supported the bill, while the opposition conservative People’s Party abstained and far-right Vox voted against it.

“With the adoption of this legislation, we are restoring – and I emphasise, restoring – the Spanish national identity card to those Sahrawis who once held it and from whom this state ‌took it away,” said Tesh ‌Sidi of the leftist Sumar coalition, the first woman of Sahrawi ‌origin to serve in parliament.

Tensions with Morocco

Tensions have ‌grown between Spain and Morocco following the mass arrival of at least 70,000 migrants in Spain’s North African enclave of Ceuta in July.

Spain controlled Western Sahara under various administrative arrangements ‌from 1884 until 1976. Morocco claims sovereignty over Western Sahara and began asserting control over the territory after Spanish rule ended.

The Algerian-backed Polisario Front independence movement seeks recognition of an independent state called the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic.

Many Sahrawis live in refugee camps in Tindouf, Algeria, or elsewhere abroad, while others remain in Western Sahara. Spain had supported a referendum in the territory — in line with United Nations resolutions — until Sanchez’s government reversed course in 2022 and backed Morocco’s position. Tensions eased somewhat after that shift, with Madrid describing Rabat’s autonomy proposal for Western Sahara as “serious, credible and realistic”.

TO ESCAPE the chaos of summer and enjoy the delights of quieter hotels, lots of us like to book holidays between September and November.

Those three months have lots of names like the ‘magic period’ or ‘shoulder season‘ and taking a break then can save you some serious cash.

Whether you want a quick trip to Spain or a holiday to African resorts for winter sun, there are some great deals out there, and lastminute.com have helped us find some of the best.

They told us: “Once the peak summer period has passed, travellers can often find significantly better value on flights and holidays, while still enjoying warm weather and everything a destination has to offer, proving that it is better to leave it until the last minute.”

The cheapest spot is Costa Dorada in Spain where on average holidays cost £79pppn.

The Costa Dorada is a region along the Mediterranean coastline and includes popular spots like Tarragona and Salou.

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What’s even better is that you can definitely still spend time on the beaches too as in October there are average daytime temperatures of around 22C.

It’s also home to the enormous PortAventura World which is one of Europe’s biggest theme parks – and is home to Europe’s tallest and fastest accelerator coaster Red Force in Ferrari Land.

If it tickles your fancy, check into Hotel Best Negresco in Salou.

It’s a beach front spot with rooms that have views of the coast along with a restaurant, bar, swimming pool, sun terrace and spa.

A four-night stay for two with return flights to London Luton in October starts from £248pp – or £62pppn.

If you want to add half-board to have breakfast and dinner included it’s an extra £26pp.

The second cheapest destination for autumn is Sousse in Tunisia.

The coastal resort city is known for having bright blue waters and plenty of beach clubs.

Visitors can explore the Medina of Sousse – a historic walled quarter that is an open-air market where you can pick up ceramics, leather bags, shoes and jewellery.

With lastminute.com you can book to stay at the Hotel Royal Jinene Beach & Spa from £66pn – and it includes return flights and half board.

The hotel has an indoor pool, outdoor pool with a big slide, bar, restaurant and coffee house as well as activities like tennis and mini golf.

There’s also a spa and live music nights and a short walk away is the sandy Plage El Menchia.

A four-night stay for two people with half board and return flights to London Southend in October is £264pp – or £66pppn.

It’s back to Spain for the third cheapest destination in autumn which is the Costa Brava where on average a holiday is £87pppn – although there are cheaper deals to be found.

The coastal region in northeastern Spain has lots of beaches with cliff backdrops and coves.

The Costa Brava has 300 days of sunshine every year and is mild throughout September and October.

Hotel Tahití Playa & Suites 4Sup is right on the Mediterranean coastline and is just a few steps away from the beach.

It also has a swimming pool, restaurant with themed dinner nights, sun terrace, pool bar, activities like table tennis and yoga classes.

There’s also a spa as well as live performances and entertainment.

A four-night room only stay for two in October at Hotel Tahití Playa & Suites 4Sup including return flights to London Stansted is £153pp – or £38pppn.

The Albanian Coast is emerging as a cheap alternative to other coastlines – with white sand beaches, no wonder it’s loved by celebs like Dua Lipa.

Sarandë is known as the the ‘city’ of the Riviera.

It’s surrounded by the blue waters of the Ionian Sea with seafood restaurants and cheap beer, with pints as little as £1.30.

Here, you can book a stay in the four-star Bougainville Bay Hotel which is considered a gallery itself full of sculptures, paintings and mosaics.

The hotel is next to the sea and you can enjoy the views from its beautiful infinity pool.

It also has four bars, two restaurants and four swimming pools.

In October, temperatures in the daytime sit around 21C – although they do drop in the evening.

A four-night stay for two including breakfast in October at the Bougainville Bay Hotel including return flights to London Stansted is £229pp – or £57.25pppn.

Coming in fifth position for being one of the cheapest spots for a holiday in autumn is Hammamet.

The coastal resort town in northeastern Tunisia boasts golden beaches and there’s plenty of historical sites to explore if you fancy a wander.

Hammamet is a great spot for anyone wanting a dose of sunshine and heat as in October temperatures can be as high as 26C.

For Brits it’s ideal as it’s as little as three and a half hours away from the UK.

The Yocca Hotel Residence is slightly outside of the city with spacious rooms some of which have balconies, swimming pool, garden, terrace and restaurant.

A six-night stay for two at the Yocca Hotel Residence including return flights from London Gatwick is £308pp – or £51.34pppn.

CASABLANCA, Morocco: Morocco and Spain are arguing over the right to host the 2030 World Cup final — with besieged FIFA boss Gianni Infantino hovering backstage.

FIFA has yet to officially announce which country will host the biggest match of the biggest event in soccer. And even though the 2026 edition just finished with Spain winning the title this summer, Moroccan and Spanish officials are staking their claim on the next final.

The tussle over the soccer match also comes with Spain still reeling from a massive border crossing by tens of thousands of migrants who pushed through the frontier from Morocco into the north African Spanish enclave in late July.

One big game for two proud countries

The head of Moroccan soccer boasted that his country had it locked up on Thursday.

“The city of Benslimane will host the World Cup final. Hate it or love it, and if anyone wants to talk on top of that, let them talk,” Moroccan federation president Fouzi Lakjaa told a political rally.

“The city is Benslimane, the Hassan II stadium is the stadium, and I hope that Morocco will be playing it,” he added.

This week, the head of the Spanish soccer federation, Rafael Louzán, insisted it was Spain that deserved the game, while acknowledging that it has not been guaranteed that honor.

“We all signed to accept the candidacy … it’s too bad that, regarding the final, it wasn’t made clear, totally clear, where it is to be played,” Louzán said. “Spain, as world champion both in men’s and women’s soccer, must host the final.”

European soccer officials believe that the sprawling, multi-nation 2030 event, which includes Portugal and even a handful of games in South America, should be considered a European event with the final on the continent.

In a request for comment by the Associated Press on Thursday, FIFA said its decision will be made “in due course.”

Infantino has found support in Morocco

The dispute over the final comes with Infantino under intense pressure after UEFA, the umbrella organization of European soccer federations, led a successful revolt to scuttle his plan to sell stakes in the World Cup.

By contrast, six Arab nation federations, including Morocco’s, have backed him since that fiasco.

The King Hassan II Stadium near Casablanca is being built in Benslimane, on the outskirts of Casablanca. It is planned to seat 115,000 spectators. Spain can offer the home stadiums of Real Madrid or Barcelona as potential sites for the final.

Infantino has recently made two trips to Morocco, meeting with King Mohammed VI during annual celebrations of his ascent to the throne in July and then holding a FIFA crisis meeting there in August.

World Cup final spat among other tensions

When confirmed three years ago, the joint candidacy between Spain, Portugal and Morocco looked like a perfect event to bridge Europe and Africa and strengthen bonds between the western Mediterranean neighbors.

But the dispute over the final comes with diplomatic tensions between Madrid and Rabat already frayed over who was responsible when tens of thousands of mostly Moroccans driven by posts on social media pushed into the small Spanish enclave of Ceuta that borders Morocco. Spain’s prime minister said 140 people died in the crossing.

Spain’s government has been under political pressure at home to get tough on Morocco, which it has said acted in good faith in the border crisis. Spanish police assessments couldn’t rule out complicity by Moroccan security forces but said that it was unlikely the Moroccan government had intentionally orchestrated it.

The chatter among Barcelona fans this summer was all about who would be the club’s next star striker after Robert Lewandowski – the team’s top scorer for the past four seasons – left to play in the United States.

The 18-year-old Egyptian, Hamza Abdelkarim, was not an answer anyone would have given at the beginning of preseason. This time last year, he had only played a single game at senior level, and that was for Cairo giants Al Ahly.

But as Barca’s dogged pursuit of Argentinian striker Julian Alvarez from rivals Atletico Madrid ended in failure, and the club only managed to secure a 10 million euros ($11.5m) move for Gabriel Jesus on the transfer window’s deadline day on September 1, Abdelkarim emerged from obscurity to dominate headlines in Catalonia and Egypt.

Abdelkarim’s four goals in five games made him Barcelona’s top scorer during preseason. He even scored against his boyhood club, Al Ahly, in the Joan Gamper Trophy – the fixture that is used to introduce the team to the fans and inaugurate the league season – but chose not to celebrate the goal as a mark of respect.

“Hamza offers something different,” Adrian Healey, ESPN’s La Liga match commentator, told Al Jazeera.

Fans in Egypt and Barcelona have taken to calling him the Egyptian Erling Haaland on account of his physical prowess and presence in the box.

When the striker caught the eye of FC Barcelona, a low-risk, low-commitment agreement was struck in the winter transfer window with Al Ahly to bring him to Spain. A six-month loan period was cut in half due to paperwork issues, but Abdelkarim made up for lost time by scoring goals; not for the first team, or even the reserves, but the Under-19 team – netting six times in 11 games.

Abdelkarim had also impressed for Egypt at the 2025 U17 World Cup, grabbing two goals and an assist in four appearances.

Despite the lack of top-level experience, Abdelkarim had done enough to prompt Egypt national team manager Hossam Hassan to take a gamble by selecting the uncapped teenager for his World Cup 2026 squad.

The veteran Mostafa Mohammed was left at home in favour of Abdelkarim, who went on to make his debut against Brazil in a friendly and featured in four World Cup matches.

On the advice of Mohamed Salah, the striker decided not to take a vacation after the World Cup and returned to Barcelona immediately after Egypt were knocked out by Argentina in the round of 16.

“Mohamed Salah is always talking to me, and I follow everything he says. He is an example to be followed, and the success he achieved is not by accident,” he told Egypt’s OnSport after FC Barcelona lifted the Joan Gamper Trophy.

The exposure to a professional like Salah has only served to supercharge Abdelkarim’s development.

Barcelona had already seen enough and decided to make his loan move permanent in June, paying Al Ahly 1.5 million euros ($1.75m) for his services.

“I am not surprised at all in Hamza’s [emergence],” Ismail el-Hamalawy, a footballing content creator who has closely followed the young striker’s journey, told Al Jazeera, citing his World Cup performances.

“He is the striker Egypt has been missing for two decades,” el-Hamalawy told Al Jazeera.

The only other Egyptian-born player to have played in La Liga was Mido, who came through the ranks at Zamalek before leaving Egypt as a 17-year-old in 2000 and played in Belgium, the Netherlands, Spain, France, Italy and England.

At the turn of the century, most Egyptians followed Mido’s progress through newspapers and local talk shows. Now, Egyptians can easily track Abdelkarim’s development in real time online.

The interest has been so profound that Barcelona signed a surprise sponsorship with EgyptAir through the 2028-29 season this week as both entities look to leverage the image of Egypt’s next great footballer for commercial gain.

The club is now scrambling to improve his contract so that a larger buyout clause can be installed. As it stands, the 18-year-old could be poached by a rival club for only 15 million euros ($17m), so the Catalan giants are looking to place a 150 million euros ($174m) buyout clause to ward off any potential suitors.

An unused substitute in the first two matches of the season, Barcelona coach Hansi Flick has repeatedly told the media that the striker’s time will come.

“He deserves to play, and he will play,” Flick said. “I see him improving day by day. He has the right attitude and mentality.”

With such little top-level experience, it could have been considered irresponsible of the club to give the youngster too much responsibility too soon.

“He will have to [be] patient, but he will get minutes,” Healey said. “[But] I am not sure the signing of [Gabriel] Jesus changes much for him, as I see [Jesus] as just a stopgap solution. Abdelkarim might have had less minutes had Alvarez signed.”

On August 31, Abdelkarim replaced Raphina in the final five minutes of Barcelona’s 5-2 win over Rayo Vallecano.

With an official debut out of the way, the striker can focus on clearing the next hurdle – scoring his first official goal for the La Liga champions.

MADRID: Spanish Intelligence and security reports declassified on Wednesday had warned of possible “mass entries” by migrants into Ceuta just before thousands crossed into Spain’s North African enclave from Morocco.

Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez had told parliament when he announced he would declassify these 40 documents that there was “no information that conveyed the magnitude” of “the crisis we were going to suffer” on July 30 and 31.

“Internal communications have been detected in migrant groups in which they are trying to organise mass entries on the night of 29/07/2026,” reads a document from CENIF, a border division of the National Police, issued on the eve of the arrival of more than 70,000 migrants in the small Spanish territory.

CENIF said almost 1,000 people swam in from Morocco between July 1 and 28 — “a drastic upward trend compared to last year,” and “a consolidated and priority threat”.

An urgent memo from the National Intelligence Centre on the afternoon of July 29 warns of “several calls to carry out entries into Ceuta” in Facebook groups, one of them with over 160,000 members.

In a message on X Wednesday, Sanchez said that “with the information available at the time, no one could have foreseen the migration crisis that unfolded on the 30th and 31st. No competent body did so. Neither in Spain nor in the EU.”

He also said he had not received any document with “solid evidence that Morocco planned or carried out the incident”.

The government declassified the documents amid questions over Rabat’s role in the events and whether the Spanish government had been warned of the likelihood of mass entries.

Sanchez has insisted his government did not receive any report that would have allowed it to anticipate the scale of what was going to happen, nor anything containing “solid evidence that Morocco planned or carried out the episode.”

Doubts about Morocco’s role increased after the leak last week of a police report that pointed to the “permissiveness” of its security forces during the crisis.

A declassified document issued by military intelligence at midday on July 30 states that it is “highly likely that the Moroccan authorities are not actively encouraging the migratory wave, but have so far acted in a negligent and passive manner.”

The opposition accuses the government of failing to act despite being warned about what was going on and criticises it for exonerating Morocco, which it sees as being behind the mass entry.

“The government knew everything that was happening… They had the information. They are directly responsible for the invasion of Ceuta,” Ester Munoz, spokeswoman for the right-wing Popular Party in parliament, told reporters.

Once upon a time, in the woods outside Pola de Somiedo, lived a family of Cantabrian brown bears. The villagers reported sightings of a mother bear who had lost a leg to a hunter’s trap, her two cubs and two adult males, either of which might have been the father. In those days, at the end of the 1980s, they seemed to be the last of their kind in this part of Asturias. Meanwhile, the wider population dropped to about 60 bears across the surrounding Cantabrian mountain range that gave the species its name.

They have since clawed their way back from the edge of extinction here in northern Spain, and nature guide Luis Frechilla believes their numbers may now be upwards of 500 again. “They’re still classed as endangered,” he tells me, until the official count hits 1,000. But relative abundance makes them much easier to see today in Somiedo natural park – one of Spain’s first such protected areas, established in 1988.

Setting his scope on a tripod in a steep-angled pasture, Frechilla spots a bear almost as soon as we start looking. A juvenile, apparently, which means the animal is old enough to be foraging alone, but it’s still too small, and too far away, for him to tell if it’s a male or female. Another bear-spotter standing near us seems more willing to take a guess.

“Ooh, look at his little ears,” she says delightedly, beaming behind binoculars. No expert myself, I watch that distant fuzzy shape move across the viewfinder and along the sharp ridges opposite, blinking in and out of sight like a cursor on the trend line of a graph. I’m not sure that we are close enough to call this an encounter, but it is an experience.

The sun drops behind the peaks; the birds sing a dusk chorus in the birches and oaks; cowbells ring through the valley from the dairy herds that help this region of so-called “Green Spain” look and sound like the Swiss Alps. It gets cold at night up here, and it’s been known to snow in summer, though my own visit in late spring sees the mountaintops looking whiter than anyone around here can remember so deep into May.

That weather, and the sheer calorific spend of living and working at a median altitude of 1,300 metres, has made the traditional cuisine much sturdier here than elsewhere in Spain.

Down at the village inn, Casa Miño, we share a bottle of regional cider and a cachopo (beef fillet topped with serrano ham, peppers and goat cheese, and pounded into a single solid unit the size of a solar panel). I want fabada, too, the famous Asturian stew of white beans, pork belly and blood sausage. Frechilla says it’s a winter dish, customarily eaten for lunch – too heavy for the body to process later in the day. But I would order fabada at midnight in a heatwave, and keep eating it even while they loaded me into the ambulance.

The bears, meanwhile, don’t have much to feed on at the moment. They only woke from hibernation a few weeks ago, explains Alicia Madrid the next day, on a forest trail above the century-old hydroelectric power station at La Malva. A biologist with the conservation group Fundación Oso Pardo, Madrid tells me that Cantabrian bears don’t hibernate as long or deeply as other brown bears and are generally smaller and lighter than American grizzlies.

“They’re adapted to this terrain, and they can’t be too heavy because they have to climb a lot,” she says. Their paw prints in the mud look big enough to me, and the bite marks where they chewed clumps of long grasses, and the hairs shed where they scratched their backs against trees. Madrid shows us, too, the hefty rocks they overturned looking for insects. Further into the summer, there’ll be plenty of berries, acorns, chestnuts and maybe some meaty carrion to fatten them up.

The foundation has played a major role in the regrowth of bear populations, building bio-corridors with strategic placements of trees and bushes full of all the things they like to eat. Another key factor is the hunting ban, introduced in 1973. The trick now, says Madrid, is coaxing isolated cohorts to breed with other groups and boost genetic diversity.

Also: managing the tourists who come to see them, and balancing ecological imperatives against financial incentives. Later, after a long hike through the Valley of the Lake to reach the aptly named Lake of the Valley, I overhear Frechilla fielding the related concerns of two local women. Against a backdrop of blue sky, bright wildflowers and silver waters, the women seem to argue that conservation efforts amount to commercial exploitation. Frechilla gently insists that Somiedo natural park is a model of good practice in Spain. Much of the bears’ territory is closed to the public, and spotting expeditions are only permitted in the company of licensed guides. Nature tourism, he says, keeps villagers in jobs where farming culture cannot, and is proving vastly more sustainable than hunting bears for sport. As for protecting humans, there has been only one bear attack in recent memory, on an elderly lady whose evening stroll led her between a mother and cubs. She survived.

For now, at least, most residents seem willing to share the bears with outsiders. That evening, a small crowd gather by the side of a winding back road near Saliencia, some sitting comfortably on camping chairs with spotting scopes in their hands. Everyone is watching a large male bear – so big and so close that they don’t need the viewing equipment – as he lopes across a meadow to take a quick splash in the river. Another male is spotted in the treeline above, and the two circle each other at a distance for a while. There is some speculation that they might fight for this turf, and a man with two leashed greyhounds seems ready to take bets on it. Frechilla shakes his head.

“Maybe later in the season, when they’ve gained enough weight.”

These bears are doing better now, but it’s still a tough life. The reality of their ongoing baby boom is that only 30% of juveniles will survive on their own, after a year of maternal supervision. This is surely why I find it so moving when we follow reports of another sighting in the twilight: a mother and her two young cubs have been seen climbing a slope called El Diente, or “The Tooth”.

It’s getting dark and cold, but we can see them through the scopes, about a mile away from us across the high mountain pass at La Peral. I watch the mother bear waiting and cajoling as needed while the siblings struggle up the vertical planes of rock like toddlers trying to climb a baby gate. On the ridgeline, they turn to silhouettes, play-fighting against a white sky.

They disappear over the far side, but then a little one comes back, seeming to wave goodbye with both front paws in the air. I remember a story I read to my daughter once, which put a poignant time limit on the usual fairytale ending: “And they all lived happily together, for as long as they could.”

The trip was provided by the Spanish Tourist Office, Turismo Asturias and Casa Miño in Pola de Somiedo. Bear-spotting tours with nature guide Luis Frechilla can be organised through Wild Spain Travel. For more information on the Cantabrian brown bear and related conservation efforts, visit Fundación Oso Pardo

Who: Real Madrid vs Inter Milan
What: Champions League league phase
Where: Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid, Spain
When: Tuesday, September 8, at 9pm (19:00 GMT)
How to follow: Al Jazeera Sport will bring you all the build-up from 16:00 GMT ahead of our live text commentary stream

When Jose Mourinho left Inter Milan for Real Madrid in the summer of 2010, after leading the Italian outfit to Champions League glory, he was at the peak of his powers.

The Portuguese coach claimed an historic treble with Inter, clinching Serie A in the last week of the season and lifting the Coppa Italia.

Inter beat Bayern 2-0 in the Champions League final at Madrid’s Santiago Bernabeu stadium, winning the trophy for the first time since 1965 and becoming the first Italian team to win the treble.

The day after the final Mourinho said it was likely his last match in charge and about a week later his appointment at Real Madrid was finalised.

Now 16 years on, and beginning his second stint at Madrid, Mourinho kicks off the record 15-time Champions League winners’ European campaign against Serie A champions Inter on Tuesday at the Bernabeu.

Mourinho denies feeling pressure to lift Champions League

The Champions League is the only trophy that evaded Mourinho during his first stint at Real Madrid.

“No, it is two different spells,” he said when asked at a pre-match news conference if he was in debt to the club. “When I left in 2013, we won what we won and lost what we lost and ‌we gave it our all. And that was that. What I need to do now has nothing to do with the past.”

“Back in 2010, we weren’t even reaching the quarterfinals of the Champions League and it had been ages since we’d played in a semifinal. Now we’ve won six Champions Leagues in a little over a decade.”

All eyes will be on how Real respond to their first setback of Mourinho’s second spell – a 1-0 defeat ⁠by Real Betis in La Liga on Friday.

“We want to win every ⁠match, every competition,” he said. But you have to work to accomplish stability. Stability. Stability … Structure …

“So Real Madrid need to reach that stability that is so important to achieve something great. But Real Madrid are Real Madrid, you ⁠need to win here no matter what.”

‘We all need to improve’

Sitting alongside Mourinho, star striker Kylian Mbappe was asked several times about his relationship ⁠with Vinicius Jr and the atmosphere in the Real dressing room.

“What does an improvement in the dressing room mean?” Mbappe said when asked if there had been a change from last year.

“Do you have the feeling that something wasn’t right ‌last year? No, it’s the same as last year. It’s true we have a different coach, but it’s the same.”

Mbappe acknowledged his side have to improve in front of goal.

“I could say that I score more goals than some PSG players so they need to score more, but I have to be smart and acknowledge that I need to improve too, even if I do certain things that others don’t,” he said.

“It’s an endless debate. We all need to improve [in front of goal], and also with the ball.”

What happened in Madrid’s last match?

Mbappe missed a late penalty as Troy Parrott scored his first goal for Real Betis in their 1-0 win on Friday, ending Mourinho’s perfect start to the La Liga season.

Madrid had won each of their first three matches under Mourinho in his second spell in charge, but Betis goalkeeper Alvaro Valles denied Mbappe from the spot deep into stoppage time to seal a memorable victory at La Cartuja.

Vinicius Junior hit the post in the first half from Arda Guler’s pass across the face of goal, with Mbappe foiled twice by heroic blocks from Natan Bernardo de Souza and Marc Bartra.

As Madrid struggled to break Betis down, the hosts took a surprise lead nine minutes from time when Parrott fired home the rebound after Thibaut Courtois had produced a fine save to deny Nelson Deossa’s header.

What happened in Inter’s last match?

A last-gasp winner from Lautaro Martinez sealed a breathless win for Inter as the Serie A champions fought back from two goals down to edge visiting Napoli 3-2 on Saturday.

The game exploded in the second half when Matteo Politano guided home a shot in the 50th minute before Rasmus Hojlund’s curler doubled the Napoli lead three minutes later.

Inter responded almost immediately when Martinez hammered in his first goal of the season from a Dimarco cross. Substitute Marcus Thuram came agonisingly close to a leveller when he headed off the post.

The France international would not be denied twice, though, and smashed a towering header past Alex Meret in the 82nd minute to level the scores.

Chances fell at both ends before Martinez’s penalty box instincts proved decisive in the 91st minute as Napoli failed to clear in a goalmouth scramble and the Argentina striker pounced to settle an extraordinary match.

Prediction

The Opta supercomputer makes Real Madrid the favourites, with a win probability of 56 percent. Inter given a 22.3 percent chance of winning.

Head-to-head

They have faced each other on 19 occasions; Madrid won 10 games, Inter won seven, and two ended as draws.

Somewhat surprisingly, Inter have not beaten Real Madrid since 1998, a game in which the great Roberto Baggio scored a brace for the Italians.

Last five encounters:

• December 07, 2021:  Real Madrid 2-0 Inter Milan (Champions League)
• September 15, 2021: Inter Milan 0-1 Real Madrid (Champions League)
• November 25, 2020:  Inter Milan 0-2 Real Madrid (Champions League)
• November 03, 2020:  Real Madrid 3-2 Inter Milan (Champions League)
• November 25, 1998:  Inter Milan 3-1 Real Madrid (Champions League)

Real Madrid’s team news

Eduardo Camavinga, Arda Guler and Bernardo Silva will all miss the game due to suspensions carried over from last season.

Madrid also have a host of injuries to contend with as Eder Militao, Rodrygo, Ferland Mendy and Raul Asencio are all ruled out.

Aurelien Tchouameni, Thiago Pitarch, Endrick and Marc Cucurella face late fitness tests as they struggle to recover from injuries, but all are reportedly back in training.

Predicted starting XI:

Courtois (goalkeeper); Dumfries, Konate, Huijsen, Cucurella; Bellingham, Valverde; Diomande, Diaz, Vinicius Jr; Mbappe

Inter Milan’s team news

Left-back Federico Dimarco is unavailable due to a knee injury, while new signing Djed Spence is still working his way back to full fitness after an undisclosed injury and is unlikely to feature.

Predicted starting XI:

Josep Martinez (goalkeeper); Bastoni, Bisseck, Akanji; Diouf, Barella, Jones, Calhanoglu, Augusto; Lautaro Martinez, Thuram

RABAT: Moroccan media have criticized a Spanish police report that accused Morocco’s security forces of failures as tens of thousands of migrants crossed into the Spanish territory of Ceuta.

More than 70,000 migrants entered Ceuta from Morocco on July 30 and 31 in an unprecedented, chaotic surge that left scores dead and sparked European Union infighting over the touchy issue of migration.

The Spanish police report seen by AFP flagged a Moroccan police response of “total permissiveness” that it said facilitated the rush, with some officers directing migrants toward the water.

Moroccan police numbers around the border post were “clearly smaller than usual” and officers “made no serious attempt” to stem the surge, said the report.

But Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has consistently avoided blaming Morocco, noting that there was no “solid proof” that the North African country orchestrated the migrant rush.

Sanchez’s leftist government has tried for years to improve the countries’ historically delicate relations — notably over the status of Ceuta and Spain’s other north African territory, Melilla.

Moroccan authorities have yet to comment on the leaked police report, but several Moroccan media outlets have weighed in on its allegations.

Moroccan news site Hespress on Friday called it “particularly weak,” saying it lacked material evidence and contained “glaring contradictions.”

Hespress said the police report sought to make Morocco “the scapegoat” in Spanish political and judicial disputes.

Moroccan news site Le Desk on Thursday described the report as “botched,” pointing to factual errors including a reference to June 30 instead of July 30.

And TelQuel said that claims by some media that the report directly accused Morocco of “planning and executing” the influx were false, adding that the allegations did not name any Moroccan official as responsible.

News site Medias24 challenged the “permissiveness” claim by arguing that it was based solely on one satellite image that was “obviously just a snapshot.”

Last month, a senior Moroccan official told AFP on condition of anonymity there had been no Moroccan security failures during the influx.

Alcaraz hasn’t dropped a single set in four matches at the US Open after a win over Tommy Paul in the last 16.

Carlos Alcaraz beat American 20th seed Tommy Paul 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 in a high-voltage tennis hit-fest on Sunday to reach the US Open quarterfinals and remain firmly on track for back-to-back titles at Flushing Meadows.

The seven-time Grand Slam champion hit top form in New York after nearly five months out with a right wrist injury, and extended his major match-winning streak to 18 with a stunning display of shotmaking against a fellow big-hitter.

“I think I just played my game,” Alcaraz said. “I tried to play to my style. Tommy’s such a talented player, and his shots are pretty dangerous, and it’s difficult to control the ball when it comes to you. I was ready for a battle.

“I was trying to be aggressive all the time … I did well to put pressure on his return, which helped me stay calm and to think clearly. I was really happy with the performance.”

Alcaraz’s serve came under pressure in the third game when Paul fired an exquisite 161km/hour (100 mph) forehand winner around the net that brought Arthur Ashe Stadium to its feet. Still, the Spaniard stood firm before striking late to snatch the opening set.

The 23-year-old left a vapour trail with a crosscourt winner to carve out an early opening in the second set and swiftly took a 2-0 lead, before trading breaks with Paul and breezing through the remaining games for a commanding lead.

Even with much of the show-court crowd yearning for a home winner, second seed Alcaraz continued to steal the show with his audacious play, moving to the brink of improving his win-loss record against American players at the Grand Slams to 13-0.

After shifting down to cruise mode, Alcaraz briefly flinched at the finish line, but he regrouped to deliver the knockout blow and set up a meeting with American Ben Shelton or Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas in the next round.

Alcaraz hit a rocket of a forehand to bring up match point, another sign that he was reaching the peak of his powers at a venue where he has thrived ever since his maiden Grand Slam triumph four years ago.

“I think so,” Alcaraz said when asked about being back to his best in New York, where he has reached the quarterfinals in five of his six appearances now.

“It shows how special this place is to me; I’m just enjoying myself on court here. It doesn’t matter that I was out for over four months. Every time I come here, I play well.”

Spain has found no evidence that Moroccan authorities planned or orchestrated the massive migrant surge into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta in July, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez told parliament. His comments come amid conflicting accounts over whether the unprecedented border crossing was a spontaneous migration event or a coordinated operation designed to overwhelm Spanish border controls.

A Massive Border Surge

More than 70,000 migrants entered Ceuta from Morocco during the July 30 to 31 crisis, overwhelming local authorities and creating a major humanitarian and political challenge for Spain.

The scale of the movement has raised questions about how such a large number of people were able to reach the Spanish enclave within such a short period.

Sánchez Rejects Moroccan Involvement

Sánchez told lawmakers that neither Spain’s diplomatic services, the European Commission nor international organisations had provided evidence showing that Morocco had planned or carried out the incident.

However, he acknowledged that Moroccan security forces allowed crossings to continue during a critical 10 hour period on July 30, when arrivals reached their peak.

Sánchez said Spain had not yet determined whether this reflected deliberate inaction or an inability to control the situation.

Police Report Raises Questions

The government’s position has been complicated by a police report that reportedly described the influx as a planned and phased operation rather than a spontaneous movement.

According to reports on the document, Moroccan security forces were initially deployed in smaller numbers near the Tarajal crossing and did not make a serious effort to disperse the crowds. Some uniformed officers were also allegedly seen directing people towards the crossing.

However, the report did not identify individual officers or provide independently verified evidence that Moroccan authorities had ordered the operation.

Morocco Denies Enabling the Crossing

Moroccan authorities have rejected accusations that they deliberately facilitated the mass movement into Ceuta.

The controversy has nevertheless put renewed pressure on Spain’s relationship with Morocco, a crucial partner in controlling migration across the western Mediterranean.

Conflicting Accounts in Spain

The allegations have also created a political problem for Sánchez’s government.

Spanish authorities have previously attributed the surge largely to misinformation circulating online and the activities of smuggling networks. Reports suggesting possible Moroccan involvement therefore challenge part of Madrid’s explanation for how the crisis developed.

Spain’s police leadership has also pushed back against claims that an official police report conclusively blamed Morocco for orchestrating the incident.

Why Morocco Matters to Spain

Morocco plays a central role in Spain’s efforts to manage migration from North Africa. Any deterioration in bilateral cooperation could make it harder for Madrid to control future crossings and could turn migration into a wider diplomatic dispute.

Ceuta and Melilla are particularly sensitive because they are Spanish territories located on the North African coast and represent the European Union’s land borders with Africa.

Analysis

The central issue is no longer simply whether thousands of migrants crossed into Ceuta, but who enabled the conditions that made the surge possible.

Sánchez’s position protects Spain’s strategically important relationship with Morocco and avoids directly accusing Rabat without conclusive evidence. At the same time, the reported police findings create a credibility problem for Madrid because they suggest that Moroccan security forces may have played some role in allowing or directing the movement, even if they do not establish government-level planning.

The distinction between deliberate orchestration, passive border enforcement and inability to control the crowd is therefore crucial. Evidence of Moroccan officials physically facilitating crossings would not necessarily prove that the Moroccan state ordered the operation.

For Spain, the episode also exposes the vulnerability of Ceuta’s border to sudden mass movements and information campaigns. For Morocco, the accusations carry diplomatic costs because migration cooperation is an important component of its relationship with Spain and the wider EU.

The immediate challenge for Madrid is to establish what happened without turning an unresolved border investigation into a diplomatic confrontation with Rabat.

With information from Reuters.

Spain faces unrest as residents protest, while migrants and asylum seekers search for shelter and resources in Ceuta.

Thousands of protesters have rallied across Spain against the ongoing migrant crisis in Ceuta, a small Spanish territory on the African coast.

Roughly 50,000 people gathered in Madrid alone on Wednesday. In Ceuta itself, residents draped Spanish and city flags over their shoulders.

“Expel the invaders” and “Ceuta is not for sale, Ceuta must be defended” were among the crowd’s chants.

The protests fell on Ceuta Day, a local holiday that marks the Portuguese takeover of the North African city in the 15th century.

They also come a little more than a month after more than 70,000 migrants and asylum seekers crossed en masse from Morocco into Ceuta on July 30 and 31. The deadly surge killed at least 80 people.

While many of the arrivals have returned to Africa, some remain. Estimates vary as to how many. The Spanish government places the figure at about 5,000 people, including 1,200 minors, but local statistics have a higher count.

Among those who remain stranded in the Spanish territory is Otman Ianaya, 40. He swam to Ceuta with his wife and two young daughters, searching for better prospects.

“There is no work in Morocco,” he told the news agency AFP. “I want to build a future in my life.”

Some migrants and asylum seekers sleep on Ceuta’s beaches. The Spanish government has worked to expand emergency housing and increase funds to social services, but critics have blasted the effort as inadequate to answer the needs of so many people.

The strain has sparked isolated instances of violence, including fights, the stoning of a military patrol and reports of sexual assault.

Residents in Ceuta have also clashed with police and burned items belonging to migrants and asylum seekers, in protest of the influx of people.

“The situation has been chaotic, so much so that you can’t go out onto the street,” said Gema Guillen, a protester.

The July incident has also underscored political schisms.

Ceuta’s regional leader, Juan Jesus Vivas, represents Spain’s conservative Popular Party and has called the crisis a “violation of Spain’s territorial integrity”.

Meanwhile, Spain’s territorial policy minister, Angel Victor Torres, has accused the conservative and far-right opposition of exploiting the crisis “to attack the government of Spain” instead of helping the city.

Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has blamed the surge on a misread court ruling and online disinformation that he said encouraged people to cross the border.

He also said negative coverage of the crisis has since been amplified by Russian and Israeli-linked accounts, though he did not offer proof, instead citing findings from Spain’s intelligence community.

Madrid has pledged 309 million euros ($357m) in aid for Ceuta.

Amid the standoff, while some migrants are looking for economic opportunities, others are seeking asylum to escape alleged persecution back home.

“They are people in a vulnerable situation; we need to have a little bit of empathy,” said Halima Ahmed of Luna Blanca, a nongovernmental organisation that distributes food and aid to migrants and asylum seekers.

“People are tired, people are fed up… but that does not justify any type of violence,” she added.

Madrid, Spain – A wealthy American donor to Palestinian causes who faces extradition from Spain to the United States over alleged financial support of Hamas is a victim of “political persecution”, his wife and lawyers have told Al Jazeera.

James “Fergie” Chambers was arrested on the Spanish island of Ibiza in July while searching for a school for his son with his wife, actress Stella Schnabel.

US authorities have linked Chambers to the transfer of $7.5m to Tunisia and allege that the funds were ultimately used to provide financial support to the Palestinian armed group Hamas.

The indictment remains sealed, so the specific allegations against Chambers – who denies wrongdoing – are not yet known.

Chambers, heir to one of the richest families in the US, has supported a handful of humanitarian projects in Gaza with funds totalling more than $1m, a member of his legal team said shortly after his arrest.

The extradition effort is believed to be the first of its kind involving a US citizen accused of providing support to Hamas.

Chambers, who describes himself as a Marxist-Leninist, has been held in a Madrid jail for six weeks as Spanish authorities consider the US extradition request.

Schnabel, who is also an activist, said she was driving through the Balearic island of Ibiza with her husband to search for a school for their five-year-old son, as they were moving from Ireland to Spain, when he was arrested.

“Suddenly, several unmarked cars cut us off. Police officers got out of the cars and told us to get out of the car. I got out my phone, and they told me not to phone,” she told Al Jazeera. “They handcuffed Fergie. We said we loved each other, and he said, ‘Tell the kids I love them’. And they bundled him into a car, and he was gone. That was July 10. Over six weeks ago.”

Schnabel said US President Donald Trump’s administration was targeting her husband for being one of the largest donors to humanitarian projects in Gaza. This included supplying bread, water and medical care.

“He should be at home with his family, continuing his humanitarian work. Instead, he is facing political persecution because he has stood with the Palestinian people,” she said. “This sets a terrifying precedent for repression of the wider movement for a free Palestine, including precedent for the Trump administration exporting its repression far beyond the US borders to target the people of Europe.”

The US Department of Justice declined to comment when contacted by Al Jazeera.

The US sent the indictment and documentation to Spain last week, in time to meet the 45-day deadline after Chambers’s arrest in July.

Al Jazeera understands that the indictment is still sealed and has not been revealed to his defence team.

Spanish authorities must now assess the US request. Among the issues they may consider is whether the extradition would amount to political persecution, a circumstance that could provide grounds for refusing it.

Chambers comes from the family behind Atlanta-based Cox Communications. In 2023, he reached an agreement with his relatives under which his stake in the family business was bought back for approximately $250m, following a break with the family.

Since then, he has been funding dozens of projects in 20 countries, Schnabel has said.

On the central allegation about funding Hamas, Schnabel said this was a “trumped-up charge” for which the US has not provided a “shred of evidence”.

“My understanding is that the US appears to rely on the fact that he transferred $7.5m of his own funds from the US to Tunisia. The reality is that this money was transferred to Tunisia because we were living there, and for philanthropic activities, including supporting Club Africain [a football team],” Schnabel said.

“The money sponsored the club, helped to pay its debts and overdue salaries, rebuild its training centre and develop football fields for young people.”

The Tunisian side secured the league title in May.

Lawyers for Chambers have also pointed to his outspoken views on Israel and its genocidal war on Gaza.

In the week after the October 2023 Hamas-led attacks on Israel, Chambers posted on X about Israel’s response: “Stop calling it ‘collective punishment’. There’s nothing to be ‘punished’ for. No faction of the Palestinian resistance, Hamas or other, has done anything wrong. It’s simply genocide. Like it has been.”

In the wake of the 41-year-old’s arrest, FBI agents raided the rented property in Ibiza where Chambers had been staying, The Guardian reported.

Chambers is represented by Spanish human-rights lawyer Baltasar Garzon, who has argued that the case against his client is politically motivated and connected to his humanitarian work in Palestine.

“We request our client’s provisional release and to file all necessary legal actions with the courts,” he told Al Jazeera.

In 1998, Garzon sprang to international attention when he sought the extradition from London of the former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet. He has also acted in human rights cases in Spain and Argentina.

“We hope that Spain will not grant extradition in what we consider to be a case of political persecution based on our client’s ideas and humanitarian aid to Palestine,” he added, referring to Chambers.

Teenager struggled in Barca’s La Liga start at Elche but improves against Athletic Bilbao, according to Hansi Flick.

Barcelona coach Hansi Flick has indicated that teenage star Lamine Yamal is finding his way back to his “top level” before Monday’s La Liga clash against Rayo Vallecano.

The 19-year-old struggled in Barca’s first match of the season at Elche but improved against Athletic Bilbao in the second, Flick said, although he did not find the net.

“I know everyone is worried about how is Lamine, how is he doing. And of course, look at his situation – he played a World Cup after a huge injury,” Flick told reporters on Sunday.

Flick said the Spanish World Cup winner is returning to his best, which Yamal has not hit since suffering a hamstring injury in April.

The winger returned at the World Cup but, despite Spain’s success, had limited individual impact at the tournament.

“Now he’s coming back after three weeks holiday, and also the first game maybe was not his best game.

“But I said this, I was very happy that he starts the game and he worked for the team.”

Yamal disappointed in the first half against Athletic on Thursday but stepped up a gear after the break.

“He played 90 minutes against Bilbao. And for him at the moment, it’s also good to [have] 90 minutes on the pitch,” Flick continued.

“We saw him in some situations really on this top level. And now, you couldn’t see this in the training today, but I saw it, and it was excellent.

“Everyone loves Lamine, and he’s in a good way. And we have to support him, and we do that.”

Yamal seemed in a bad mood after the game against Elche but happier in training before the Rayo clash.

“Of course, it’s always good when the players are smiling, but it’s not every day the same way,” Flick added.

“I’m also not smiling every day. It’s like that.”

Barca won both of their opening fixtures with Raphinha playing as a makeshift number nine after the champions were unable to land top target Julian Alvarez from Atletico Madrid.

“Of course, I’m happy with my team. [Sporting director] Deco is working on that to strengthen the team. We don’t have pressure,” Flick said, reiterating he is content with the players available to him if Barca don’t sign a new striker.

The U.S. military is planning to revamp Moron Air Base in Spain, including creating new parking spaces for as many as nine additional B-52 Stratofortress strategic bombers. This effort comes even after Spain denied permission to use the base, and its naval station in the country, for direct strike operations on Iran during Operation Epic Fury. Long-range strikes by bombers flying from Europe played a major role in that operation. It also comes as the Pentagon is reviewing its posture in Europe, which could include major basing changes that fit the Trump administration’s vision for NATO and who it prefers to work with the closest, as well as tactical and strategic concerns.

The makeover is part of a nearly half-billion dollar construction program for U.S. facilities primarily in the Rota, Spain, area, which provide a great deal of support for American forces in Europe, Africa and the Middle East. It was announced on Thursday in a pre-solicitation notice posted on the government’s contracting portal that a contract is expected to be awarded next month.

Moron, located in southern Spain, is a Spanish Air Force Base, used by the U.S. Air Force to provide expeditionary combat support and the bed-down of transient aircraft. It also plays a major role in the “staging of aircraft and personnel in support of U.S. and NATO plans, exercises and contingency operations; and to provide Base Operating Support to tenant units,” according to the Air Force Fiscal Year 2027 Military Construction plan.

The first order of business is “a Combat Aircraft Parking Apron in Moron, Spain,” the recent pre-solicitation notice states. The plan calls for the “expansion of the Aircraft Parking Apron to provide nine (9) new aircraft parking spots in an unloaded condition, or three (3) new B-52 aircraft parking spots in a live ordnance [sic] loaded condition.”

The issue of being able to store live ordnance is critical, since extra space is needed for safety purposes in case of an unintended explosion.

“The current apron is not capable of supporting any loaded strategic bombers due to limiting factors associated with unrelated facilities violating inhabited building safety arcs,” the Air Force budget document explains.

Beyond the new parking spaces, the planned expansion at Moron also calls for 10 new fuel pits and associated piping, the relocation of a Civil Engineer Storage Complex – including a new covered storage building and an open storage yard – and the extension of apron shoulders and access roads, among other items.

The Air Force sees these improvements as an imperative.

“This project is required to enhance readiness capabilities at Moron Air Base, Spain,” the Air Force Fiscal Year 2027 military construction budget documents note. “A key enabler for training and combat operations is substantial infrastructure, promoting a quick response and positioning of forces within prescribed response times. The expanded Strategic Bomber Aircraft parking apron will increase Moron Air Base’s ability to meet future mission requirements.”

If these improvements are not made, “[a]dequate airfield infrastructure will not be available to the DoW [Department of War] or its allied partners, and personnel, aircraft, and resources will lack key facilities and infrastructure to support expanded airfield operations for training and contingency environments,” the budget document warns. “This limitation will impede sortie generation and flying schedules, directly limiting airfield presence and impairing airfield capability and readiness. Therefore, responsiveness for bilateral and multilateral exercises and training missions would be compromised, directly limiting theater presence and impairing mission capability, readiness, and contingency support.”

The project has a price tag of between $25,000,000 and $100,000,000 and is “expected to be completed 1,038 calendar days after notice to proceed,” according to the pre-solicitation notice.

In addition, the Multiple Award Construction Contract (MACC) calls for new construction, renovations, alterations, demolition, repair work, and any necessary design to a wide range of U.S. assets in the region. This includes “airfield, industrial, infrastructure, administrative, training, retail, food service, munition storage, community support facilities and both vertical and horizontal construction in the Rota, Spain region or other areas managed by NAVFAC EURAFCENT, [Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command/Navy Region Europe, Africa, Central],” the pre-solicitation notice explains. “This tool may also be used throughout the NAVFAC area of responsibility (AOR), worldwide.”

However, as the Air Force budget documents stress, the Moron project is a priority.

The installation has long played an important role for American airpower. It has served as a host for B-1B Lancer and B-52 Bomber Task Force missions and as a way station for a wide array of other aircraft from fighters to aerial refueling tankers.

“Morón Air Base is a vital link in any operation moving east from the United States due to its strategic location close to the Mediterranean and the Middle East, its massive flight line, long runway, aircraft refueling systems and excellent weather,” according to the 496th Air Base Squadron, the facility’s host unit.

The facility played a key role in the run-up to Epic Fury, providing a midway point for a wide array of U.S. military aircraft.

In March, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, one of Europe’s most vocal critics of Epic Fury, refused to allow the U.S. to use its bases in his country for direct attacks on Iran. In addition, Sánchez denied permission for the U.S. to use Spanish airspace for Epic Fury, creating a logistics headache for American aircraft movements to the Middle East.

Sanchez’s decision affected Naval Station Rota, another major U.S. installation in that country. Rota supports the movement of personnel, equipment, fuel, and supplies through its three operational piers. It also has a 670-acre airfield capable of supporting U.S. Navy and Air Force aviation operations, and some of the largest weapons and fuel storage facilities in Europe.

Rota is also the home of Destroyer Squadron 60 (DESRON 60), one of three U.S. Navy destroyer squadrons permanently based outside the continental United States and the only one of these to call Europe home.

Sanchez’s moves set off U.S. President Donald Trump, who was already angered by Spain’s refusal to raise defense spending to 5% of GDP, previously agreed to at last year’s NATO summit. In March, the American leader called Spain “a terrible partner” and threatened to cut off trade.

The situation reached a critical juncture at the NATO Summit in Turkey in July, with Trump again threatening Madrid. 

“We don’t want to do any trade business with Spain anymore… I’d like you to cut it off,” Trump fumed in Ankara to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent during a press conference with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte. “Spain is a terrible partner in NATO. They don’t participate; they don’t pay. I don’t want anything to do with Spain. Cut off all trade with Spain, please, including visits. Watch them, watch them come running back; oh, they’ll come running back.”

However, the rift eased after Sánchez agreed to bump up his country’s defense budget, Trump claimed.

On his way back to the United States after the summit, he told reporters aboard Air Force One: “I did have issues, and ​I still do. But Spain, they came back all the way today. Spain was very generous today.”

Asked what Spain had ​done, he said: “They honored a request for lots of payments, and if they didn’t, we wouldn’t have even ⁠talked to them.”

The two leaders displayed new-found cordiality for the cameras while sharing a box at the World Cup Final between Spain and Argentina at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. 

Though the Moron construction planning predated any of the political drama, as we noted earlier, the Pentagon is reviewing how many troops it will maintain in Europe and where it will base them. Undersecretary of War Elbridge Colby made a rare visit to NATO headquarters on Thursday to meet with officials to discuss the way forward. There, he pointed out that the Pentagon’s review is “designed to ensure that NATO is moving fast and irreversibly toward Europe leading, stepping up to take primary responsibility for the defense of Europe, stepping up to ensure our forces are postured for America’s global needs, and making sure that our access, basing, and overflight are clearly delineated and assured.”

There are a number of other military construction projects on the books for European installations, including about $4 billion earmarked for improvements to bases in the U.K. The largest planned expenditure is more than $1.6 billion for RAF Lakenheath, according to the Guardian. That’s where it is believed that the U.S. is poised to bring nuclear bombs back to the United Kingdom after nearly two decades.

Despite the geopolitical tiffs between the two nations, the investment in Moron and the larger construction package for Spain is a clear signal of how much the military and Congress value having access to bases in that country.

Contact the author: howard@twz.com

An issue everyone has faced at one time or the other led to a nightmare for Karen Cassidy, after tour operator Jet2 cancelled her entire booking due to the ‘no-show’

A mum who overslept and missed her holiday flight to Spain was left “in tears” after discovering that her entire all-inclusive package holiday had been cancelled without her knowledge. Karen Cassidy and her husband George Gale had been due to fly out to Malaga at just after 7am on August 14 but overslept.

Karen explained: “The baby had kept me up so I don’t think I ended up going to sleep until 2:00am then we were supposed to get up at 4:00am but just slept through our alarms.”

As soon as she realised that that they had missed their flight, Karen wasted no time in getting ‘straight on the internet’ and booked an alternative flight to Malaga for that afternoon.

But after finally arriving at the hotel at midnight, the “exhausted” mum-of-three, 36, says she was left “in tears” to discover her entire all-inclusive package holiday had been cancelled.

After calling holiday organisers Jet2 and “crying for 20 minutes” Karen says she was told there was “absolutely nothing they could do” and she had to pay another €350 (£300) to stay the night in the hotel.

Karen says that she and George ended up paying over £1,500 for alternative accommodation and travel – meaning the cost of their £1,114 family holiday ballooned to more than £2,600.

Sharing her experience on TikTok, Karen wants to raise awareness so that other people don’t make the same mistake she did.

She explained: “Our new flight was around 4:00pm then we were delayed for over an hour so by the time we got to the hotel it was midnight. Obviously they were like ‘we can’t find your booking.’ Then they explained ‘actually there is a booking but it’s a past booking.’ Jet2 had cancelled our entire holiday at 3pm.

“After everything I felt we had gone through, I was just shocked.”

A spokesperson for Jet2holidays said: “We’re sorry to hear about Ms Cassidy and Mr Gale’s experience and we understand how disappointing it must have been to arrive in Malaga and find that their holiday arrangements had been cancelled.

“Unfortunately, as the customers did not travel on their booked outbound flight or let us know that they planned to make their own way to Malaga, their remaining holiday arrangements were cancelled in line with the terms and conditions of their booking. When they got in touch with us after arriving in resort, our team offered to try to help and support them.”

Karen said that when they finally arrived at they hotel she was “exhausted and just in tears.”

She explained: ”They [Jet2] came back to me and said there’s absolutely nothing they can do, they have a no-show policy, because it’s been cancelled, they can’t go back on that.”

They had arrived at their hotel so late, Karen added, that they had very few alternatives. ”At this time, midnight, we don’t have that luxury option of going to shop around,” she said.

Karen shared her story on TikTok, saying that even though she had received critical comments from some other users, she wanted to make others aware of what she called Jet2’s “unclear” policy. She continued: “Through loads of rubbish comments from people calling me an idiot or people saying ‘what grown up can miss a flight’, there’s hundreds of people that don’t know.

“If I could save one person, I’m happy.”

One mum says her family was unable to use the pool because of the tactics used to grab all the spaces

A mum says sunseekers recruited their children to sprint over and claim sunbeds at a Spanish hotel – leaving her family unable to sunbathe onsite for half of the holiday. Cait Fennel, from Liverpool, set off to Salou, Spain, with her husband Matty Fennel, 34, and five-year-old son Ralphy Fennel for a week-long holiday.

After arriving at Hotel Best Oasis Park, Cait noticed there were no free sun loungers. The 42-year-old said holidaymakers would begin queuing outside the pool area at around 8:45am, despite the doors not opening until 10am.

The mum-of-one said the second the doors opened, holidaymakers would ‘charge’ towards the sunbeds, with speedy children apparently ‘unleashed’ to get there first. Cait said guests would leave their beach bags in a queue to reserve their place and would even ‘sneak’ in through the hotel gym to get to the pool first.

After three days of being unable to bag a sunbed, Cait conceded defeat and eventually joined the early queues – but didn’t run. The administration worker posted footage of the sunbed wars online, with the caption: “The sunbed wars are wild! Pool doors open at 10am – it’s survival of the fittest!”

Footage shows kids sprinting to the sunbeds while adults speedwalk behind, chucking towels onto the loungers. Photos also show desperate sunseekers dumping their beach bags in the hour-long queue.

Cait said: “The door opened at 10am and people started queuing at 8.45am. It was kids and adults every day, some were queuing inside as well. They’d leave their bags in the queue – there was a queue of beach bags.

“The second they opened the doors they would charge. They definitely enlisted the kids to run and get the sunbeds. It was madness. I’ve been on a lot of holidays and never experienced anything like that.

“There was a gym in the hotel and what people were doing was sneaking in the gym and as soon as the doors opened they would come out. That was the lengths people went to.”

Cait said the situation became so chaotic that her family avoided the pool altogether for the first three days of their holiday. Cait said: “The first three days we didn’t go to the pool for that reason. We saw how busy it was and never got beds. We had to get involved to an extent. We actually went down and attempted to get a bed, we didn’t run. The rest of the time we spent our time on the beach.”

Cait said the daily scramble took the relaxation out of their £3,000 holiday and believes the hotel could have done more to prevent the chaos. Cait said: “It’s not what you’re on holiday for, you go on holiday to relax. It was chaos, it was stressful. There were beds you had to get yourself and there were people running to the beds stacked up, which contributed to the chaos.

“It is just madness, it made no sense. The holidaymakers did what they had to do. We didn’t want to get involved in the chaos but we ended up having to queue.”

Cait’s post racked up more than 27,000 views with commenters slamming the situation. One wrote: “Worst nightmare.”

Another commented: “Sad people.” One added: “It is absolutely embarrassing.”

Best Oasis Park has been contacted for comment.

STRIKES at one of Spain’s busiest airports have already caused problems for holidaymakers – and could continue into next month.

Groundforce workers who cover ground-handling services, check-in and boarding started indefinite industrial action in early August with no end date in sight.

The strikes have been heavily impacting Barcelona El Prat which is Spain’s second busiest airport.

Due to the strike action by Groundforce, it’s been estimated that 11,600 flights and close to two million passengers could be exposed to the action across the two months.

Indefinite industrial action started on August 4 and has continued across the summer holidays with warnings that it’s set to continue.

Groundforce workers at Barcelona El Prat cover ground-handling services including check-in, boarding, ramp operations and flight coordination for 20 airlines at the airport.

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Airlines that use Groundforce include Lufthansa, Air France/KLM, Turkish Airlines and Finnair.

Many airlines fly from the UK to Barcelona including Ryanair, Wizz Air, easyJet and Vueling.

While they don’t use Groundforce, passengers could still be impacted by delays and queues in the airport.

The strike has had an impact on services with the CGT union reported 250 cancelled flights and 6,000 affected bags between August 4-18.

Talking to Breaking Travel News, Jürgen Himmelmann, Co-Founder of Global Work & Travel, said: “The important thing for anyone with a Barcelona trip coming up is that this strike doesn’t currently have a fixed end date.

“If you’re travelling in September, don’t assume that because your holiday is a few weeks away the issue will have been resolved by then.

“That doesn’t mean your flight will be disrupted, but it does mean it’s worth preparing now. Check which airline you’re travelling with, keep monitoring your booking and think about what you’d need with you if your checked luggage was delayed.”

A minimum service requirement has been set by Spain’s Ministry of Transport during the months of August and September.

Yan Diomande topped Real’s transfers, and Jose Mourinho says he is happy despite missing out on Rodri to Barcelona.

Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho says he is “very happy” with his squad, which he considers complete despite missing out on midfielder Rodri, later signed by rivals Barcelona.

Los Blancos revamped their squad this summer, signing six players including record arrival Yan Diomande, Bernardo Silva and Marc Cucurella.

However, Madrid’s approach for Rodri broke down, meaning that, beyond former Man City playmaker Silva, they have not strengthened in midfield.

“For me the squad is closed, but the market is still open – you never know if a player will come and say ‘I’ve been benched twice and I want to leave,’” Mourinho told reporters on Tuesday.

“In theory, no [more deals]… but something could always happen… In my head the squad is closed, and I have not asked for anyone. I am very happy with the players I have.”

With midfield maestros Toni Kroos and Luka Modric departing in 2024 and 2025 respectively, Madrid have struggled to control matches.

Mourinho’s side snatched a late 2-1 win at Espanyol on Saturday in their La Liga opener, starting with Silva and Federico Valverde together in midfield.

Mourinho said French defensive midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni was not ready to play against Real Sociedad on Wednesday.

“He’s got a problem, the holiday time wasn’t enough [for him to recover], seeing the games approaching, the player wanted to try … but we’ve decided that you can’t start a season in suffering,” explained the coach.

“You can finish a season suffering, the last couple of months, but you can’t start in August not at 100 percent.

“So we decided with him, the staff, the medical department, to get him to return at 100 percent.”

Mourinho said he had faith in Uruguayan international Valverde as a midfielder, despite previous coaches using him in a variety of roles, including right-back and right winger.

“For me he is a player for the centre of the pitch,” added Mourinho.

“Depending on the opponent and our objectives, he might be more set in his position or more mobile.”

Mourinho said that in modern football, players’ positions were less relevant.

“I don’t want to identify Tchouameni as the No. 6, Camavinga No. 6, Fede No. 8, Bernardo No. 10 … things dilute during games.”

AVROTROS says escalating international conflicts are undermining the event’s neutrality and fuelling divisions.

The public broadcaster in the Netherlands has announced it will not participate in next year’s Eurovision Song Contest because the event can “no longer be considered neutral” due to ongoing divisions over the war in Gaza.

“It is undeniable that international conflicts are increasingly affecting the Contest, undermining its neutral character. The Eurovision Song Contest has therefore become a platform for division,” said Taco Zimmerman, Director-General of AVROTROS, in a statement on Monday.

The widely-watched show has recently faced a series of boycotts over Israel’s participation. Organisers announced earlier this month that they would exclude any country involved in an armed conflict from hosting the competition.

“However, the recently announced changes… do not provide sufficient confidence that the independent and neutral character of the Eurovision Song Contest has been restored,” the AVROTROS statement added.

Israel finished second in the competition – the world’s largest live televised music event – in both 2025 and 2026.

Next year’s Eurovision is due to be held in Bulgaria’s Black Sea city of Burgas, after Bulgarian singer Darina Yotova, known as Dara, won this year’s contest in Vienna, Austria, with her catchy floor-filler ‘Bangaranga’. The contest on May 15 will be the first time the Balkan nation has hosted.

Since its launch in 1955, Eurovision has become the ultimate pop platform, catapulting Swedish icons ABBA to worldwide fame, while also boosting the careers of artists such as Celine Dion, Cliff Richard and Olivia Newton-John.

However, this year’s competition pulled in 131 million viewers, 35 million fewer than last year, after five countries boycotted over Israel’s participation. The Netherlands, Iceland, Spain, Ireland, and Slovenia all pulled out, with the latter three refusing to broadcast the show at all.