Spain’s property prices rise by 16.9 percent year-on-year in April, labour minister calls for sick leave and holiday fund for the self-employed, and more news from Spain on Thursday 7th May.
Israeli court rejects Spanish flotilla activists’ appeal challenging detention
An Israeli court on Wednesday rejected an appeal contesting the detention of two foreign activists seized by Israeli forces from a Gaza-bound flotilla, with the rights group representing them denouncing the ruling as “unlawful.”
Saif Abu Keshek, a Spanish national of Palestinian origin, and Brazilian Thiago Avila were among dozens of activists aboard a flotilla intercepted in international waters off the coast of Greece on Thursday.
The two were seized by Israeli forces and brought to Israel for questioning, while the others were taken to the Greek island of Crete and released.
On Tuesday, an Israeli court extended their detention until Sunday to allow police more time to interrogate them, according to their lawyers.
The lawyers then filed an appeal at the Beersheva district court against the detention, but it was rejected.
Spain’s Labour Minister calls for sick leave and holiday fund for self-employed
Spain’s Minister of Labour, Yolanda Díaz, has argued for reforms for the self-employed in the country including a new fund to help freelancers and small business owners take sick leave and holidays.
The left-wing minister, from the Sumar party, called for wider tax reform, given that large companies are taxed at between 3 percent and 5 percent whilst self-employed workers are taxed at 17 percent.
Díaz also proposed creating a fund to cover situations of illness and temporary incapacity, holidays and care responsibilities for the self-employed, a system widely used in Nordic countries which has proven successful for supporting the self-employed.
Murcia regional govt rejects Spain’s mass migrant regularisation
The Regional Assembly of Murcia agreed on Wednesday to reject a controversial migration amnesty bill. Following a proposal by far-right Vox, the chamber rejected the national Socialist (PSOE) regularisation policy of more than 500,000 migrants in Spain.
The proposal was backed by the centre-right Partido Popular (PP) and two former Vox MPs who are now in the Mixed Group, whilst leftist parties the PSOE and Podemos-IU voted against it.
The motion was defended by deputy spokesperson for the Vox parliamentary group, María José Ruiz, who claimed that this regulation aims to “create a smokescreen to cover up all the scandals” of Pedro Sánchez’s government, whom she called an “aspiring dictator”.
Prices for second-hand homes in Spain rise again by double digits
The price of second-hand homes in Spain rose by 16.9 percent year-on-year in April, reaching €2,748 m/2, according to the latest Idealista property price index.
That represents a 3.7 percent rise over the last three months, a 1.5 percent increase compared to the previous month, and the highest price for second-hand homes in Spain since Idealista began keeping records.
All regions experienced higher prices compared to the previous year. Murcia (+23 percent) leads the increases, followed by Cantabria (19.2 percent), Asturias (17.7 percent) and Andalusia (17.6 percent).
Increases of less than 10 percent were recorded in Castile and León (9.1 percent), La Rioja (9 percent), Galicia (8.8 percent) and the Balearic Islands (8.6 percent).
With additional reporting by AFP.
