BARCELONA (Reuters) - About 22,000 people protested in Barcelona on Saturday, in the latest demonstration to demand lower housing rental prices and better living conditions.
Housing has become a major issue in Spain as it struggles to balance promoting tourism, a key driver of its economy, and concerns over high rents due to gentrification and landlords shifting to more lucrative, short-term tourist rentals.
The price of rentals signed in the second quarter of 2024 in Barcelona was almost 70% higher than in the same period of 2014, data from the Catalan Housing Agency shows.
"We are spending half our wages in rent ... This must stop!," said Carme, 28, a spokeswoman for a tenants union.
Smaller protests were held across Catalonia, and in Burgos, Asturias in north Spain and Jerez de la Frontera in the south.
The government announced a crackdown on short-term and seasonal holiday lettings in July and plans to investigate listings on platforms such as Airbnb and Booking.com to verify if they have licences.
Demonstrations have been held this year in Madrid, the Canary Islands and Malaga, where seasonal hospitality workers struggle to find accommodation, with many sleeping in caravans or even their cars.
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The Spanish government has issued a defiant message to Silicon Valley, confirming it will push ahead with stringent new legislation designed to make social networks and Artificial Intelligence (AI) demonstrably safer.
Just one week after a similar move by Australia, Greece announced that it will ban access to social media for children under the age of 15 from January 1, 2027, as governments around the world weigh tougher rules amid growing concerns over mental health, safety and screen addiction.
A Dutch hospital has quarantined 12 staff members as a preventive measure after blood and urine from a hantavirus patient were handled without observing strict protocols, according to officials, as medics around the world work to stop the spread of the outbreak.
British paratroopers and military medics have been deployed to Tristan da Cunha after a suspected hantavirus case was confirmed, as first evacuation flights carrying passengers from the stricken MV Hondius cruise ship left Tenerife for Madrid and Paris.
The U.S.-Israeli war with Iran loomed over U.S. President Donald Trump's visit to China, as signs emerged that the conflict is causing a shift in alliances across the Middle East.
When Donald Trump boarded Air Force One for Beijing on Tuesday, he brought two cabinet members whose presence in China would have seemed unlikely a year ago, highlighting an unusual moment in U.S.–China relations.
The Eurovision Song Contest opened in Vienna on Tuesday amid heightened political tensions, as Israel competed in the first semi-final despite a boycott by five European broadcasters over the war in Gaza.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Tehran has “no trust” in the United States and will only consider negotiations if Washington shows seriousness. His remarks came as talks on Iran’s nuclear programme continued, with Trump and Xi also opposing Iran acquiring nuclear weapons.
A new trilateral energy partnership involving Uzbekneftegaz, Azerbaijan’s state oil company SOCAR and BP has been announced during Uzbekistan Energy Week 2026 in Tashkent.
China has launched the world’s first experiment to study how artificial human embryos develop in space, marking a major step in understanding whether humans could one day reproduce beyond Earth.
Every day, an elderly woman in China’s Shandong province looks forward to a video call from her son. He asks about her health, tells her he has been busy with work, and promises he will come home once he has saved enough money. She tells him she misses him. He tells her to take care of herself.
Deep in the ancient forests of southern China, researchers have discovered a small, shy snake with an extraordinary survival trick: when threatened, it creates the illusion that it has two heads.
A U.S. Department of Justice official said Washington was preparing to indict former Cuban president Raúl Castro in connection with the 1996 downing of aircraft operated by "Brothers to the Rescue", a Miami-based exile group that conducted search-and-rescue flights for Cuban migrants.
Australian citizens evacuated from a Dutch-flagged cruise ship hit by a deadly hantavirus outbreak have returned home after two weeks overseas. The passengers will now undergo quarantine and further testing in Western Australia.
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