Spain's parliament kills shorter work week bill in blow to government

MADRID (Reuters) -Spain's lower house has shelved a bill that would have shortened the work week by 2-1/2 hours, dealing yet another blow to the fragile Socialist-led minority government which is struggling to pass the reforms it had pledged through a fragmented parliament. Business-friendly Junts, which seeks Catalonia's secession from Spain but sometimes backs the central government, joined the conservative People's Party and far-right Vox for a 178-170 majority. This parliamentary defeat - the latest of several - comes as Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez courts parties to help him pass a budget that is more than two years overdue while he tries to distance himself from corruption scandals that have dogged his third term in office.