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BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Tens of thousands of Spaniards marched in downtown Barcelona on Saturday to protest the skyrocketing cost of renting an apartment in the popular tourist destination. Protesters cut off traffic on main avenues in the city center, holding up homemade signs in Spanish reading “Fewer apartments for investing and more homes for living" and “The people without homes uphold their rights.” The lack of affordable housing has become one of the leading concerns for the southern European Union country, mirroring the housing crunch across many parts of the world, including the United States . Organizers said that over 100,000 had turned out, while Barcelona’s police said they estimated some 22,000 marched. Either way, the throngs of people clogging the streets recalled the massive separatist rallies at the heigh of the previous decade’s Catalan independence movement. Now, social concerns led by housing have displaced political crusades. That is because the average rent for Spain has doubled in last 10 years. The price per square meter has risen from 7.2 euros ($7.5) in 2014 to 13 euros this year, according to the popular online real estate website Idealista. The growth is even more acute in cities like Barcelona and Madrid. Incomes meanwhile have failed to keep up, especially for younger people in a country with chronically high unemployment. Protestor Samuel Saintot said he is “frustrated and scared” after being told by the owners of the apartment he has rented for the past 15 years in Barcelona’s city center that he must vacate the premises. He suspects that the owners want him out so they can renovate it and boost the price. “Even looking in a 20- or 30-kilometer radius outside town, I can’t even find anything within the price range I can afford,” he told The Associated Press. “And I consider myself a very fortunate person, because I earn a decent salary. And even in my case, I may be forced to leave town.” A report by the Bank of Spain indicates that nearly 40% of Spaniards who rent dedicate an average of 40% of their income to paying rents and utilities, compared to the European Union average of 27% of renters who do so. “We are talking about a housing emergency. It means people having many difficulties both in accessing and staying in their homes,” said Ignasi Martí, professor for Esade business school and head of its Dignified Housing Observatory. The rise in rents is causing significant pain in Spain, where traditionally people seek to own their homes. Rental prices have also been driven up by short-term renters including tourists. Many migrants to Spain are also disproportionately hit by the high rents because they often do not have enough savings. Spain is near the bottom end of OECD countries with under 2% of all housing available being public housing for rent. The OECD average is 7%. Spain is far behind France, with 14%, Britain with 16%, and the Netherlands with 34%. Carme Arcarazo, spokesperson for Barcelona’s Tenants Union which helped organize the protest, said that renters should consider a “rent strike” and cease paying their monthly rents in a mass protest movement. “I think we the tenants have understood that this depends on us. That we can’t keep asking and making demands to the authorities and waiting for an answer. We must take the reins of the situation,” Arcarazo told the AP. “So, if they (the owners) won’t lower the rent, then we will force them to do it." The Barcelona protest came a month after tens of thousands rallied against high rents in Madrid. The rising discontent over housing is putting pressure on Spain’s governing Socialist party, which leads a coalition on the national level and is in charge of Catalonia’s regional government and Barcelona’s city hall. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez presided over what the government termed a “housing summit” including government officials and real estate developers last month. But the Barcelona’s Tenants Union boycotted the event, saying it was like calling a summit for curing cancer and inviting tobacco companies to participate. The leading government measure has been a rent cap mechanism that the central government has offered to regional authorities based on a price index established by the housing ministry. Rent controls can be applied to areas deemed to be “highly stressed” by high rental prices. Catalonia was the first region to apply those caps, which are in place in downtown Barcelona. Many locals blame the million of tourists who visit Barcelona, and the rest of Spain, each year for the high prices. Barcelona’s town hall has pledged to completely eliminate the city’s 10,000 so called “tourist apartments,” or dwellings with permits for short-term rents, by 2028.Impact Development Group Inc. Provides Corporate Updates On Activities In Panama
CFPB sues Walmart, fintech partner for illegally opening accountsTAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Tampa Bay's surest path to the NFL playoffs is a division championship. The Buccaneers will need help to repeat in the NFC South , but only if they first and foremost give themselves a chance. That means winning their remaining games at home against Carolina and New Orleans, while the Atlanta Falcons lose at least once in the final two weeks of the regular season. The Bucs (8-7) and Falcons share the best record in the division, however Atlanta holds the tiebreaker after sweeping the season series between the teams. Tampa Bay, which has won three consecutive division titles, is the only NFC team that has made the playoffs each of the past four seasons. “We’ve got to take care of business or else we’ve got no shot,” quarterback Baker Mayfield said after a 26-24 loss at Dallas cost the Bucs control of the NFC South race. “This one, we've got to take it on the chin,” Mayfield added. “It's a short week. It's Christmas week. We've got to focus on Carolina and figure out a way to win.” If Atlanta is able to maintain its lead, Tampa Bay could make the postseason as a wild card if the Bucs win out and the Commanders lose twice. Coach Todd Bowles sounds confident that his players understand the challenge ahead and will clean up mistakes that contributed to the end of their four-game win streak. “We’ve got to win a ballgame (this week). If we don’t win a ballgame, we don’t give ourselves a chance,” Bowles said Monday. “We have to focus on us like we’ve been doing,” the coach added. “We have to correct the mistakes, and we have to go out and win Sunday, and we’ve got to win the next week, and then we’ll see what happens after that.” What's working The offense, which ranks third in the NFL at 389.8 yards per game, isn't a fluke. Despite losing to the Cowboys, Tampa Bay finished with 410 yards total offense. It was the team's fifth straight game — as well as an NFL-high ninth overall — with 400-plus yards. The Bucs are seventh in rushing (143.7 yards per game) after ranking 32nd each of the past two seasons. What needs helps The defense yielded 292 yards passing against the Cowboys, 226 of it in the first half when Cowboys WR CeeDee Lamb had six catches for 100 yards and a touchdown. Bowles said shoddy tackling was the biggest issue — not poor coverage. Lamb had one reception for 5 yards after halftime. Stock up Mayfield's chemistry with rookie WR Jalen McMillan, who has 27 receptions for 336 yards and five TDs, continues to grow. McMillan had five catches for 57 yards and a touchdown — his fourth in the past three games — against Dallas. He was also the intended receiver on Mayfield's deep throw that CB Jourdan Lewis intercepted in the end zone to help the Cowboys hold off the Bucs in the closing minutes. Stock down Turnovers were costly against Dallas. The end-zone interception stopped the Bucs from cutting into a 26-17 deficit with 6:22 remaining in the fourth quarter. Rachaad White's fumble with 1:31 left ended any hope for a last-minute victory. On both plays, defenders ripped the ball out of the grasp of the offensive player. “We knew they were going to rake at the ball going into the ballgame," Bowles said. "We just have to have two hands on the ball, and we have to fight for it. We have to take better care of the football. That’s priority No. 1.” Injuries Bowles said it's too early to project the status of several starters for coming games, including S Antoine Winfield Jr. (knee), who has missed the past two games. TE Cade Otton (knee) and LB K.J. Britt (ankle) were inactive against the Cowboys, while reserve WR Sterling Shepard left during the game with a hamstring injury. Key number 80. Bucky Irving leads all NFL rookie RBs with 920 yards rushing. He needs 80 over the next two games to reach 1,000. He scored his seventh rushing touchdown against Dallas. That tied Errict Rhett and Lars Tate for the second-most rushing TDs by a rookie running back in franchise history. Doug Martin set the record of 11 in 2012. Next up Host Carolina on Sunday. NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nflSerial killer talks peace
