Gerry Hadden
Gerry Hadden reports for PRI'sThe World. His assignments have sent him to the northernmost village in Norway to the southern tip of Italy, and just about everywhere else in between.
In Spain, the price for power? Forgiving separatists.
Spain’s socialist party seems ready to form a coalition government after inconclusive elections in July. But to do so, they’ve had to promise to grant amnesty to fugitive Catalan separatists for their attempt to break away from Spain in 2017. The Catalan separatists' party has become kingmaker, but folks on the right say the deal threatens Spain’s democracy.
This Spanish hip-hop star is stepping into global music
Cow plague threatening ranches in southern Europe
For ‘dinosaur music,’ prehistoric instruments set the tone
‘Walking soccer’ trend in Spain keeps people of all ages in the game
Rewilding in Spain brings back ancient bovine
Rewilding Spain has reintroduced “back-bred” cattle from nearly 10,000 years ago. They hope the aurochs roaming here once again benefits the environment as well as the economy.
Spain all-boys choir finds a new tune and admits girls
After more than 700 uninterrupted years of boys-only belting, Spain’s La Escolania de Montserrat Choir is finally mixing things up. Beginning this September, a select group of girls will be allowed to join the boys at the altar, singing the liturgy at Saturday afternoon and Sunday masses. Choir organizers are calling it a revolution.
'Organizing chaos': Moroccans in Spain send aid convoys home after devastating earthquake
Moroccans continue digging out victims from this month’s 6.8-magnitude earthquake in the Atlas Mountains. The death toll now stands at nearly 3,000 people. Many more have been left homeless. Morocco’s government has so far only accepted aid from a handful of countries, but Moroccans overseas are stepping up. In Spain, they’re collecting supplies to send to victims, but it isn’t always easy.
Formerly homeless American in Barcelona helps others get off the streets
Some years back, an American in Spain became homeless after a string of bad luck. Now, he’s helping others who’ve hit a similar rough spot. Especially other foreigners with an entrepreneurial spirit.
Barcelona gets bombarded by selfie-taking tourists
Spain’s on the rebound with tourism after huge losses during the pandemic. Those in the tourism business are relieved. But visitors are back with a vengeance and they’re not always well-behaved, irking locals who miss the quieter days.
Spain made history with Women's World Cup victory — despite team tensions
Supporters are hoping their win leads to greater equality in professional soccer.
Spain to compensate thalidomide victims decades later
Europe’s final victims of a drug scandal dating back more than half a century are finally being compensated. Partially, at least.
Iceland fast-tracks Ukrainian refugees to residency, employment
About 5,000 Ukrainian refugees have arrived in Iceland since the start of the war, and continue to do so at a rate of about 200 arrivals per month. The government gives them nearly instant resident status, on humanitarian grounds. It has also created a website in Ukrainian to help them navigate the bureaucracy and culture.
This small Icelandic city thinks big about going green
The small town of Akureyri, in Iceland, has set itself a big goal: to become the world’s first carbon-neutral city by 2030. It hopes that going green can serve as a model for other places.
‘Blue Blob’ slows glacial melt in Iceland as temperatures rise across the globe
About 10% of Iceland is still covered by glaciers — what Icelanders call their “white diamonds.” Now, a mysterious patch of cold water in the North Atlantic Ocean, known as the “Blue Blob,” is helping slow down the rate at which these glaciers are melting. But scientists are concerned about how long this will last.