Organisers say 150,000 joined protest in Madrid urging the government to ‘end the housing racket’ and to demand access to affordable housing Tens of thousands of people have taken to the streets of Spain in the latest protest against housing speculation and to demand access to affordable homes. Organisers claim that up to 150,000 joined the protest in Madrid while smaller demonstrations were held in about 40 cities across the country. Protesters from Málaga on the Costa del Sol to Vigo in the Atlantic northwest chanted “end the housing racket” and “landlords are guilty, the government is responsible”. Continue reading...

Trump’s unilateral 10% tariff on all imports from many countries has begun, with higher levies on goods from 57 larger trading partners to start next week Downing Street said that UK prime minister Keir Starmer spoke to Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese and Italian premier Giorgia Meloni, and had “been clear the UK’s response will be guided by the national interest”. Issuing a read-out of their separate conversations on Friday, Number 10 said the leaders “all agreed that an all-out trade war would be extremely damaging”, reports the PA news agency. He discussed this approach with both leaders, acknowledging that while the global economic landscape has shifted this week, it has been clear for a long time that like-minded countries must maintain strong relationships and dialogue to ensure our mutual security and maintain economic stability.” Of course, we don’t want to see tariffs on UK exports, and we’re working hard as a government in discussion with our counterparts in the US to represent the British national interest and support British jobs and British industry.” We need to end this trade war as quickly as possible, but the government’s attempts to appease the White House and its offers to cut taxes on US tech billionaires simply aren’t working. Instead, the best way to end this crisis is to stand shoulder to shoulder with our European and Commonwealth friends. We must coordinate our response and strengthen our trading relations with our reliable allies. That’s how we can protect our economy from Trump’s bullying.” Continue reading...