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Fresh Protests to Hit Spain after Housing Measures Defeated

Demonstrators carry red flags during a march which began in Puerta del Sol square, where a protest camp has been set up, demanding political action to stop evictions and address the housing crisis, following the eviction of an 87-year-old woman from her home, in Madrid, Spain, October 2, 2026. REUTERS/Alejandro Martinez Velez
Demonstrators carry red flags during a march which began in Puerta del Sol square, where a protest camp has been set up, demanding political action to stop evictions and address the housing crisis, following the eviction of an 87-year-old woman from her home, in Madrid, Spain, October 2, 2026. REUTERS/Alejandro Martinez Velez
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Fresh Protests to Hit Spain after Housing Measures Defeated

Demonstrators carry red flags during a march which began in Puerta del Sol square, where a protest camp has been set up, demanding political action to stop evictions and address the housing crisis, following the eviction of an 87-year-old woman from her home, in Madrid, Spain, October 2, 2026. REUTERS/Alejandro Martinez Velez
Demonstrators carry red flags during a march which began in Puerta del Sol square, where a protest camp has been set up, demanding political action to stop evictions and address the housing crisis, following the eviction of an 87-year-old woman from her home, in Madrid, Spain, October 2, 2026. REUTERS/Alejandro Martinez Velez

Fresh protests over housing are due to take place in Madrid and other Spanish cities on Saturday, a day after parliament rejected two government measures to strengthen protection for tenants.

The government introduced the measures after nationwide protests following the eviction, on a stretcher, of 87-year-old Maricarmen Abascal from a Madrid apartment she had occupied for around seven decades, said AFP.

The defeat was another political setback for Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and has renewed questions over whether his minority government can survive until the next scheduled general election in 2027.

Catalan separatist party Junts -- whose support was essential to approve the two decrees -- voted against them, arguing they lacked rigor.

After the vote, the leader of the main opposition conservative Popular Party (PP), Alberto Nunez Feijoo, urged Sanchez to "call elections as soon as possible".

After eight years in power, Sanchez had the backing of "neither the streets nor parliament", he added.

Recent opinion polls have generally placed the opposition Popular Party ahead of the Socialists.

The Tenants' Union, which has been coordinating the protests, has called for demonstrations on Saturday in more than 50 cities.

"There is an irreparable disconnect between what the people want and what the parties vote for," it said in a statement.

In Madrid, activists and protesters have been camping for about a week in Puerta del Sol, one of the capital's main tourist squares.

Demonstrators are due to set off from several locations around the city at noon before converging on Plaza de Cibeles in central Madrid.

The package of measures defeated on Friday included the automatic renewal of rental contracts when they expire, as well as measures aimed at restricting the eviction of vulnerable tenants.

They also targeted so-called vulture funds -- investment firms that buy properties at low prices in pursuit of higher returns.

Housing has for years been a top concern for Spaniards as supply falls short of demand, with rents and house prices soaring as elsewhere in the European Union.

Average rents in Spain have almost doubled over the past decade, while asking prices for homes have risen by about 90 percent, according to real estate website Idealista.

Abascal's eviction catalyzed long-running anger about runaway housing costs.

She was forced to leave the Madrid flat where she had lived after it was acquired by an investment company that sought to increase her rent by 275 percent, according to housing campaigners.

The backlash led the property's new owners to reach a deal allowing her to return to the flat at a low rent.

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World

Trump Says US Does Not Need Iran Deal

US President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance look on during a Veterans Day ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia, US, November 11, 2026. REUTERS/Kylie Cooper
US President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance look on during a Veterans Day ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia, US, November 11, 2026. REUTERS/Kylie Cooper
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Trump Says US Does Not Need Iran Deal

US President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance look on during a Veterans Day ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia, US, November 11, 2026. REUTERS/Kylie Cooper
US President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance look on during a Veterans Day ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia, US, November 11, 2026. REUTERS/Kylie Cooper

President Donald Trump said on Thursday the US does not need a deal with Iran and directed Vice President JD Vance, who has played a role in efforts to resolve the war, to focus "his complete and total attention" on alleged crime and corruption in Democratic-run cities and states.

Trump's directive came a day after the Wall Street Journal reported that Vance was considering face-to-face peace talks with a hard-line Iranian security official and a week after the vice president blamed the costly war with Iran for Republicans' midterm elections drubbing.

Trump's comments marked a shift in tone after he had suggested ⁠in recent weeks ⁠that Iran would be more willing to strike a deal in the eight-month conflict after the US elections.

"We don’t need a deal with Iran. Those days have long since passed. We’ve got their money, Hundreds of Billions of Dollars, and we’ve got their Strait!" Trump wrote on social media, referring to the Strait of Hormuz, the critical ⁠shipping route near Iran where the US military has been working to secure safe passage for international shipping.

Trump said he asked Vance to focus instead on a domestic issue the president previously put in his portfolio: leading an effort targeting alleged fraud in Democratic-run cities and states throughout the US.

"Our Budget could be quickly BALANCED with the correction of this large-scale criminal activity. CORRUPTION is in the Democrat Leadership’s blood!" Trump wrote on Thursday.

Vance's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday that ⁠Vance was considering ⁠meeting with a senior Iranian security official, a move that would have put Vance at the center of peace negotiations. Reuters has not confirmed the potential talks.

Vance, who is viewed as a leading contender for the 2028 Republican presidential nomination, distanced himself from the war last week after Republicans' midterm election rout by Democrats.

The vice president blamed the costs of the Iran war in part for the party's losses. He also said an earlier recommendation to end the war was "sound advice."

Trump responded to Vance's position by defending the war as necessary to stop Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.

World

Iran: Four Tankers Struck by Explosions in Strait of Hormuz

Iran: Four Tankers Struck by Explosions in Strait of Hormuz
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Iran: Four Tankers Struck by Explosions in Strait of Hormuz

Iran: Four Tankers Struck by Explosions in Strait of Hormuz

Four oil tankers were hit by explosions in the Strait of Hormuz, Iran's military said on Thursday, adding that the vessels had ignored warnings and entered what it considers restricted areas of the strategic waterway.

Tankers are still facing attacks across the strait, despite a rebound in traffic and expectations of a de-escalation in the war between the United States and Iran that have been reflected in falling oil prices.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards Navy said two supertankers were disabled by explosions on Wednesday after they ignored ⁠warnings against using what ⁠it said was an "unauthorized route".

Reuters could not immediately verify the Iranian account.

The two vessels "exploded after hitting naval mines", Iranian state media reported, broadcasting what it said was video footage of the incidents.

Iran's army later said two other tankers had hit mines on Thursday afternoon while sailing through the eastern Strait of Hormuz after ignoring ⁠warnings and disabling their radar systems, state TV reported. The tankers entered a restricted area and subsequently caught fire, it reported.

Earlier in the US-Israeli war with Iran, which began in February, the IRGC Navy announced its attacks on tankers. More recently, however, it has instead reported that vessels have caught fire after hitting naval mines while traversing the southern part of the strait, which it has declared an unauthorized route.

In several of those cases, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations agency (UKMTO) has said vessels had been struck by unknown projectiles.

The ⁠UKMTO said ⁠in reports on Thursday that a vessel was hit by an unidentified projectile about 14 nautical miles northwest of the UAE emirate of Ras Al-Khaimah on Wednesday while exiting the strait, causing a fire in its engine room.
Firefighting efforts were under way and all crew had been evacuated, it added.

At least 10 ships were hit in the first 10 days of November, after 37 attacks in October, which was the highest monthly tally since the conflict began in late February, according to data from the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.

World

Death Toll Rises to 8 in New York Building Collapse

Members of the New York City Fire Department and first responders work at the scene a day after a building collapsed in Brooklyn in New York on November 12, 2026. (Photo by CHARLY TRIBALLEAU / AFP)
Members of the New York City Fire Department and first responders work at the scene a day after a building collapsed in Brooklyn in New York on November 12, 2026. (Photo by CHARLY TRIBALLEAU / AFP)
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Death Toll Rises to 8 in New York Building Collapse

Members of the New York City Fire Department and first responders work at the scene a day after a building collapsed in Brooklyn in New York on November 12, 2026. (Photo by CHARLY TRIBALLEAU / AFP)
Members of the New York City Fire Department and first responders work at the scene a day after a building collapsed in Brooklyn in New York on November 12, 2026. (Photo by CHARLY TRIBALLEAU / AFP)

At least eight people died after a three-story building in Brooklyn collapsed at the edge of a construction site, New York City’s mayor said Thursday, as emergency workers searched for others still trapped.

Search crews peered into crevices in the rubble, pulling out victims and at least one survivor through the overnight hours. At least 17 people were injured, including three firefighters, Mayor Zohran Mamdani said. It's not clear how many more people might remain trapped.

The building gave way Wednesday afternoon while construction workers were digging at a neighboring lot, a city official said. The cause was still under investigation.

“We heard the boom and we all rushed outside and saw smoke and dust everywhere,” said Brigitte Anama, a hairstylist at a salon across the street.

Customers and stylists jumped up and ran onto the sidewalk that was engulfed in dust. Anama saw emergency workers pulling people from the site, including what appeared to be a child. “People were saying ‘Pray for the baby, pray for the baby,’” she said.

Two deaths were announced Wednesday and the others were confirmed Thursday. Authorities said late Wednesday that at least seven children were among the injured or dead.

“There are no words for a loss of this magnitude,” Mamdani posted on X. “My heart is with the families and loved ones of those we have lost, those who are injured and everyone grieving today.”

This was the second high-profile structural problem with a building in New York in the past five months. In July, several buildings in Manhattan were evacuated after support columns buckled inside a skyscraper that was formerly the headquarters of Pfizer.

Rescuers with dogs searched through the night Flatbush Avenue, a busy thoroughfare in Brooklyn, remained at a standstill Thursday morning as firefighters picked through the rubble.

Hundreds of firefighters and police officers wielding pickaxes and power saws worked through the night, clambering over the rubble, punching holes in the ruins to pull out dust-covered survivors.

Rescue dogs sniffed piles of twisted wood and brick that were dotted with brightly colored clothing and vinyl record albums. Two excavators removed large chunks of debris. Firefighters filled buckets with debris, passing them down a line.

Heavy rain was forecast for Thursday afternoon, and Fire Department Commissioner Lillian Bonsignore cautioned that could hinder search-and-rescue operations.

“It'll turn to mud,” she told WNYW-TV, vowing firefighters would work through the rain if necessary.

Much of the collapsed building, comprising apartments sitting atop ground-floor commercial space, wound up in a huge pile inside the adjacent construction pit. Another building that shared a wall with the collapsed structure remained standing, but its wall was shorn off, exposing the rooms inside, including a bedroom and closets filled with shoes and clothing.

On Wednesday night, firefighters pulled a pregnant woman from the rubble, hoisted her up on a stretcher and rushed her to a waiting ambulance. Other survivors were rescued as the night wore on, The Associated Press reported.

Bonsignore said the rescue teams were performing “dangerous and perilous” work. “Every move is choreographed,” she said.