Pedro Sánchez asked the Tribunal Supremo to intervene against what he called an attempted "atropello" against the ley de nietos. He accused Feijóo and Abascal of trying to block the vote of 400.000 descendants of Spaniards exiled during the Franco regime. The court case could decide nationality access for many descendants abroad.
Spain has handed over just 47.000 protected homes since 2023, far short of the 184.000 promised, according to El Diario. Pedro Sánchez had pledged 183.000 public homes and called this the "legislature of housing". The Banco de España estimates a deficit of 750.000 homes, growing by 250.000 a year, and experts see public housing as key to containing rents.
A general strike over housing access and wages is set for November 11, the first involving UGT and CCOO since 2012. So far this year, 502.536 Social Security affiliates have joined ordinary strikes, and 579.000 when including general strikes, with 1,2 million working days lost. A higher participation total would require going back 17 years.
An official report sent to Congress says the government's second housing decree, drafted with Sumar, may have "negative effects on rental housing supply", but says they are not "appreciable". It says the government limited itself to regulation in "zonas tensionadas" rather than full price controls. Tenant compensation could have been higher.
About 3,1 million households on Spain's regulated gas tariff (TUR) must repay, starting January 1, 2027, the difference resulting from the government's cap on the October 1 price rise, plus interest. The cap avoided a rise above 45%, but the TUR still rose about 15%. Repayments will run through quarterly TUR revisions until the amount is recovered.
The average pension for new retirees exceeded 1.700 euros a month for the first time, reaching 1.711,4 euros in August, according to Seguridad Social. The system-wide average rose to 1.374,6 euros in September, up 4,6% year-on-year. Autónomo (self-employed) pensions average 1.062,8 euros, well below the general regime's 1.734,7 euros.
Valeria Corrales, a science communicator from Huesca, won the international award named after Stephen Hawking, given by the Starmus festival. Her city honored her work by launching a rocket during the San Lorenzo festivities. She studies Computational Media Sciences at the Georgia Institute of Technology.
Residents in peripheral Ceuta neighborhoods such as Los Rosales say they live in fear ahead of the King and Queen's visit. The eviction of the El Trampolín shantytown pushed more migrants into their streets after more than 80.000 entered through Tarajal in late July. Some elderly residents say they no longer leave home.
Major electricity suppliers now offer contracts holding the energy price steady for three, five or even 10 years, after prices peaked at 300 euros/MWh this year. Endesa fixes the price for three and five years, Iberdrola offers five- and 10-year options, and Repsol offers a five-year tariff. The fixed price covers kilowatt-hour consumption.
Spain is in a new coronavirus wave driven by the XFG variant, with 493,8 cases per 100.000 inhabitants in the week of September 28 to October 4, up 3,3% from the previous week. Hospitals have seen no impact so far, and pandemic intensity remains classified as "low". XFG is dominant across much of Europe, with no evidence so far that it is more dangerous.
Spain marks the Día de la Fiesta Nacional on October 12 with a military parade in Madrid, presided over by the King and Queen. The route runs from the glorieta del Emperador Carlos V through Paseo del Prado and Paseo de Recoletos to plaza de Colón. The event begins at 11 a.m. and includes 82 aircraft, a parachute jump, and ground units.
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