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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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Teen Sentenced to 20 Years for UK Murder Plot Tied to Iran-linked Group

A red double-decker bus rides past as a Union Jack flag flutters on the Victoria Tower at the Houses of Parliament in London, Britain, October 15, 2026. REUTERS/Isabel Infantes
A red double-decker bus rides past as a Union Jack flag flutters on the Victoria Tower at the Houses of Parliament in London, Britain, October 15, 2026. REUTERS/Isabel Infantes
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Teen Sentenced to 20 Years for UK Murder Plot Tied to Iran-linked Group

A red double-decker bus rides past as a Union Jack flag flutters on the Victoria Tower at the Houses of Parliament in London, Britain, October 15, 2026. REUTERS/Isabel Infantes
A red double-decker bus rides past as a Union Jack flag flutters on the Victoria Tower at the Houses of Parliament in London, Britain, October 15, 2026. REUTERS/Isabel Infantes

A Norwegian teenager who planned to commit murder in Britain after being recruited by a Swedish organized crime group linked to the Iranian government was on Friday sentenced to 20 years' detention.

Johannes Natland, now 19, was arrested in a hotel room in Huddersfield, northern England, in March ⁠2025 with two ⁠firearms and ammunition in his possession.

Natland was recruited by the Foxtrot Network, a Swedish organized crime group used by the Iranian state and sanctioned by ⁠both Britain and the United States, prosecutors said.

He admitted possessing a semi-automatic pistol, a revolver and ammunition, but denied conspiracy to murder and claimed he did not intend to carry out the plan.

But he was convicted in July after a retrial ⁠and ⁠was sentenced at London's Woolwich Crown Court to detention for 20 years.

Natland was the latest young adult to stand trial in Britain and elsewhere over serious criminal acts allegedly carried out after being recruited online for money, often as an unwitting proxy for a foreign state.

World

UN: Millions May Be Forced to Move as Climate Change Hits South Asia

International Organization for Migration (IOM) chief Amy Pope, seen here in 2023, warned of a lack of urgency globally about the risks that vulnerable communities are facing. Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP
International Organization for Migration (IOM) chief Amy Pope, seen here in 2023, warned of a lack of urgency globally about the risks that vulnerable communities are facing. Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP
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UN: Millions May Be Forced to Move as Climate Change Hits South Asia

International Organization for Migration (IOM) chief Amy Pope, seen here in 2023, warned of a lack of urgency globally about the risks that vulnerable communities are facing. Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP
International Organization for Migration (IOM) chief Amy Pope, seen here in 2023, warned of a lack of urgency globally about the risks that vulnerable communities are facing. Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP

Climate change is threatening livelihoods and forcing people from their homes across South Asia, but technology and government action could help limit the damage, the UN migration chief told AFP on Friday.

Rising seas, flooding and drought threaten homes and farmland, Amy Pope, Director General of the International Organization for Migration (IOM), said during a visit to New Delhi.

In the Himalayas, she pointed to Nepal's August 26 disaster, when a mountain and glacier collapse triggered deadly flooding, where IOM sent humanitarian aid to help.

In a worst-case scenario, up to 40.5 million people in South Asia may be forced to move by 2050, according to IOM.

"When they can't produce food, when they can't feed their livestock, it increases the likelihood of displacement," said Pope. "The first adaptation is often for people to move."

Pope said climate change was also accelerating urbanization in India.

"As people seek shelter from heat, they're going into urban centers," she said.

- 'Migration as a tool' -

The risks are particularly acute in South Asia, where vast populations and limited resources leave many communities vulnerable.

"There's a lack of urgency globally about the risks that vulnerable communities are facing," Pope said, warning that funding to help residents prepare for climate change remained inadequate.

"The cost of a humanitarian disaster is in the billions. The cost of investing in some of the resilience measures can be far less," she said.

Better data and artificial intelligence could help governments identify communities at risk before disaster strikes, Pope said.

"With the advancements in AI forecasting, you can now better anticipate those communities that are at high risk of displacement," Pope said.

By combining weather forecasts with information about local livelihoods, authorities can identify which communities most need help.

"If you know a community is at risk, we don't need to wait until they're displaced to respond," she said.

Measures could include improving farming methods, training people for other jobs and, where necessary, relocating communities repeatedly hit by floods or drought.

Finding the money for such programs is a major obstacle, Pope said, with governments often struggling to navigate the systems available to fund climate adaptation.

India's investments in early-warning systems, disaster response and technology offer grounds for optimism, she said. But no government can meet the scale of the challenge alone.

International migration can also help people earn a living while filling labor shortages abroad.

South Asia already has established migration routes, offering opportunities to build on existing links.

"Here we have government partners who recognize both the threats to their communities but they're also using migration as a tool for development," Pope said.

She warned that growing demand for workers must be matched by safe, legal routes to employment.

Otherwise, migrants risk exploitation by traffickers and smugglers, including through fraudulent overseas job offers.

India's technological capacity could also help its workers compete internationally as artificial intelligence reshapes employment, Pope said.

AI could threaten some jobs, particularly those involving routine analysis of documents and reports, but other sectors still rely heavily on human labor.

"If we can marry that capacity with the labor mobility, so that the workers are being skilled for those jobs as they're emerging, they will be ahead," Pope said.

"This is a place where I have more optimism than in places where we're dealing with the most acute crises," she said.

World

Iran President Says Conflict in Mideast Amounts to 'Ecocide'

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian visits an exhibition that showcases the defense ministry's latest advancements in defense and space in Tehran. Photo: -/Iranian Presidency/dpa
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian visits an exhibition that showcases the defense ministry's latest advancements in defense and space in Tehran. Photo: -/Iranian Presidency/dpa
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Iran President Says Conflict in Mideast Amounts to 'Ecocide'

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian visits an exhibition that showcases the defense ministry's latest advancements in defense and space in Tehran. Photo: -/Iranian Presidency/dpa
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian visits an exhibition that showcases the defense ministry's latest advancements in defense and space in Tehran. Photo: -/Iranian Presidency/dpa

Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian on Friday urged countries to condemn what he called "ecocide" in the Middle East caused by "wars of aggression".

Pezeshkian said the conflicts in Gaza and the wider Middle East had inflicted a significant toll on nature that extended beyond borders and required "international solutions", AFP said.

"What has occurred in our region as a result of wars of aggression is ecocide, or environmental genocide, and it must be condemned," Pezeshkian told a nature summit in Armenia attended by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.