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Euronews
9 hours ago
- Business
- Euronews
Spain's economy grows 0.7% as it continues to outshine eurozone peers
The Spanish economy is continuing on a strong growth trajectory despite global trade uncertainties, with national output (GDP) growing by 0.7% quarter-on-quarter from April to June. GDP jumped by 2.8% year-on-year, according to data published on Tuesday by the National Statistics Institute (INE). In the previous quarter, yearly growth was also recorded at 2.8% and quarterly growth came in at 0.6%, allowing Spain to emerge as one of the fastest growing economies in the eurozone. While other major European economies are grappling with structural crises and the impact of geopolitical tensions, the Spanish economy is progressing solidly. Domestic demand has been key, contributing 0.9 percentage points to quarterly growth. Household spending continued to be the main driver, supported by an expanding labour market. In fact, the second quarter marked a new milestone, with more than 22 million people in employment, according to the Labour Force Survey (EPA). At the same time, the unemployment rate fell to 10.29%, its lowest level since 2008, although still well above the eurozone average. 'The Spanish economy was initially projected to follow a robust growth trajectory through 2025, with a slight moderation expected in 2026. Most forecasts anticipated annual GDP growth in the range of 2.2% to 2.6% for 2025,' said professor of macroeconomics Evi Pappa, at the Universidad Carlos III in Madrid. 'However, data from the first and second quarters of 2025 indicate that Spain is surpassing these expectations,' she added. Miguel Cardoso-Lecourtois, chief economist at BBVA Research, told Euronews that the 'engines of growth' in Spain are nonetheless changing as foreign tourism and government consumption slow. The latter is affected by political fragmentation, preventing the approval of a new budget, while domestic policies to tackle overtourism are slowing spending by non-Spanish residents. 'Growth is now more tilted towards domestic consumption and investment,' said Cardoso-Lecourtois. 'This is happening as inflation is coming down (energy prices), employment growth continues to be strong, wages continue to increase and interest rates go down. … Although government consumption is weak, public investment is relatively strong thanks to emergency funds aimed at helping flood victims in Valencia and NGEU funds.' It also appears that the Spanish economy will escape significant direct effects from the recent trade agreement between the United States and the European Union, which includes a new 15% tariff on many EU exports to the US. 'Given Spain's small share of trade with the US and strong domestic economy, it looks well placed to continue to outperform the euro area over the coming quarters,' said Ángel Talavera, head of Europe economics at Oxford Economics. Peter Vanden Houte, chief economist with ING, told Euronews that Tuesday's GDP figures mean Spain's 2.6% annual growth target is 'certainly achievable'. He added that interest rate cuts are also driving the construction industry in Spain, supporting growth.
Time of India
21-07-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Want to work remotely in Spain? The Digital Nomad Visa has you covered
As work becomes increasingly untethered from geography, nations are racing to attract the global remote workforce. Among the latest to join this competitive arena is Spain, which has launched its long-awaited Digital Nomad Visa on June 10, 2025. Designed for non-EU professionals employed by foreign companies or freelancing for international clients, this visa allows individuals and their families to reside legally in Spain—without being part of the local labor market. The move is not merely bureaucratic—it is strategic. Spain is signalling that it wants to be more than a destination for tourists or retirees; it aims to be a launchpad for digital talent, creative thinkers, and globally-mobile professionals who fuel innovation without the constraints of physical office spaces. Who can apply? Spain's Digital Nomad Visa is open to a wide range of non-European professionals. Eligibility is based not on nationality alone but also on work structure and experience: Eligible applicants include: Remote employees working for non-Spanish companies. Self-employed individuals or freelancers with clients outside Spain. Professionals working with Spanish clients—provided such work does not exceed 20% of their total income. Qualifications required: A recognised undergraduate or postgraduate degree, or Three years of proven professional experience in a relevant field. This flexibility allows professionals across industries—technology, design, marketing, consulting, writing—to consider Spain as a viable long-term base. Visa duration and renewals The visa is available in two pathways depending on where the application is submitted: From abroad : Grants an initial 12-month stay. From within Spain : Allows up to three years of residence immediately. Renewal is possible in two-year increments, up to a total stay of five years, after which applicants may be eligible for long-term residency or permanent relocation within the EU. Income and financial requirements To ensure financial independence, Spain mandates proof of sufficient income to support the applicant and their dependents. These thresholds are indexed to Spain's minimum wage: Minimum Monthly Income: Individual: €2,760 Couple: €3,797 Per additional adult dependent: €1,035 Per child: €346 Applicants must submit evidence of income—such as contracts, pay slips, or bank statements—along with proof of ongoing remote work. Required documents and process The visa application process involves assembling a thorough portfolio of documents: Completed visa application form Valid passport and photographs Proof of employment or freelance contracts Academic degree or professional experience letters Criminal background check from the applicant's home country Health insurance valid across Spain Proof of accommodation and financial solvency Applicants can apply via their local Spanish consulate or, if already in Spain, through the immigration office. Processing Time : Typically ranges from 15 to 45 days, depending on the application pathway. Family inclusion and benefits Spain's policy is inclusive. Spouses, children, and even dependent parents can accompany the primary visa holder—provided the combined income meets the adjusted thresholds. Dependents enjoy the same residency status and access to healthcare and education systems as Spanish residents. Tax incentives and mobility perks One of the most attractive aspects of the Digital Nomad Visa is the possibility of opting into Spain's 'Beckham Law', which allows foreign workers to be taxed at a flat rate of 24% on Spanish-source income (up to €600,000) for a period of up to six years. Additional benefits include: Schengen mobility : Visa holders can travel freely across the 27 Schengen countries. Residency card eligibility : Enables smoother integration and access to services. Access to Spain's healthcare system and public infrastructure. Why Spain is doubling down on digital nomads This visa isn't simply about remote work—it's about future-proofing Spain's economy. As part of its broader Startup Act, the initiative is designed to attract international talent, stimulate local innovation ecosystems, and repopulate urban and rural communities with creative professionals. With cosmopolitan cities like Madrid, Barcelona, and Valencia, alongside serene coasts and mountain towns, Spain offers not only affordable living but a rich quality of life—making it a compelling base for long-term digital nomadism. Final word Spain's Digital Nomad Visa marks a bold entry into the global competition for mobile talent. With a clear legal framework, family-friendly policies, and financial incentives, the country positions itself not just as a sunny getaway but as a stable, modern, and inspiring home for remote professionals. For the global workforce untethered by borders, Spain is no longer just a dream—it's a door wide open. Ready to navigate global policies? Secure your overseas future. Get expert guidance now!
Yahoo
29-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
‘Historic milestone' as court hears the horrors of Peru's forced sterilisation programme
During the 1990s, Peru's government carried out a ruthless campaign of forced sterilisation, depriving hundreds of thousands of women of the right to bear children. Now, for the first time, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights has held a public hearing on the abuses – a case hailed as a 'historic milestone': Celia Ramos vs Peru. Celia Ramos was, like most affected by the mass sterilisation scheme, a woman living in poverty. Houses in her village of La Legua, Piura, were made of canes and mud, had limited electricity and no sewage system. Yet despite the hardships, Ramos, a mother to three girls, was a woman 'full of life,' her eldest recalls. Then, in July 1997, 34-year-old Ramos was sterilised – despite repeatedly refusing – as part of the National Reproductive Health and Family Planning Programme. Nineteen days later, after suffering respiratory arrest from medication used during the operation, she died. 'It was very abrupt – she was young and healthy and cheerful,' said daughter Marisela Monzón Ramos, who was 10 at the time. 'The entire family was shaken. My grandmother had to be sedated because the pain was too great. We felt the impact at every level.' Ramos was one of at least 270,000 women sterilised under the national programme, launched and overseen by then-president Alberto Fujimori and his health ministers between 1996 and 2001. The Peruvian government has argued the sterilisation programme was part of a broader reproductive health policy, claiming it would decrease poverty, lower maternal and infant mortality rates, and curb fertility. But estimates suggest fewer than one in ten of those sterilised gave consent, while most of those affected were poor and indigenous, and often illiterate or non-Spanish speaking. Ramos' ordeal began with a visit to the local health centre for a routine check-up, where nurses encouraged her to undergo sterilisation – which she refused. According to family testimony, health workers then visited Ramos' home at least five times to 'harass' her into the procedure. 'They came insistently on several occasions,' said Monzón Ramos told the court on Thursday. 'I thought, why do they come so much looking for my mother? She didn't want to have the procedure.' Carmen Cecilia Martínez, an associate director for legal strategies at the Centre for Reproductive Rights (CRR), which represents the family, said that health workers were 'under pressure to meet 'goals' that were imposed to execute the national policy'. Lawyers say doctors were given compulsory sterilisation quotas and received financial incentives for performing the operations. 'The doctors obeyed a scale of orders that were controlled by the highest level of the country. We have evidence of the goals and quotas,' María Ysabel Cedano García, who also represents Ramos's daughters, told the Telegraph last year. Testimonies reveal that thousands of women were harassed and threatened into undergoing the procedures, with many blackmailed, and others tied down, blindfolded and knocked out with horse tranquilliser. Ramos underwent a tubal ligation on July 3. Her legal team – which also includes DEMUS (The Legal Study for the Defense of Women's Rights) and the Centre for Justice and International Law – insists she never gave consent. 'She was subjected to forced sterilisation,' said Martínez. 'The health centre was unfit for any medical procedure, the conditions were precarious, and she died.' Peru's Ombudsman's office has linked 18 deaths to the scheme. Last year, the Telegraph reported on the ongoing fight for justice. Florentina Loayza recalled how at the age of 19 she was sterilised under the pretence of receiving vaccinations. 'The doctor put a drip in my arm and I fell unconscious. That is when they mutilated me,' she said. 'Since then, I have been living in hell.' In another case, 27-year-old Mavila Rios De Rengiro, went to a clinic believing she was having a smear test. 'They told me I was having a pap smear, and then they locked us in,' she said. 'I was afraid. The doctor didn't speak to me. I woke up in terrible pain and with a lot of blood.' It took years for the scale of abuse in Peru to become public knowledge, partly because it unfolded against the backdrop of a brutal internal conflict that left nearly 70,000 dead. Many of Fujimori's supporters continue to deny that forced sterilisations ever took place. The Ramos case was first brought before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights in 2010. In 2021, the Commission declared the Peruvian State responsible for violating Ramos' rights and recommended reparations. However, Peru failed to act, and in 2023 the case was referred to the Inter-American Court. 'This is a historic opportunity to establish the responsibility of the Peruvian state – not only for multiple human rights violations committed against Celia Ramos but also for the thousands of affected women,' said Martínez. In 2024, a landmark UN commission ruling concluded that Fujimori's policy amounted to sex-based violence and intersectional discrimination. It said that widespread and systematic forced sterilisation could constitute a 'crime against humanity' under the Rome Statute. Yet the CRR said that the Peruvian State 'adopted a denialist position' during Thursday's hearing. 'It denied that forced sterilisations were systematically committed and questioned the existence of human rights violations affecting thousands of women,' it said. Nancy Northup, the president of the CRR said that the 'decades of silence have only prolonged the cruelty'. 'Every survivor, and those like Celia Ramos who tragically did not survive, deserves her day in court.' Ramos's legal team have requested the court declare the Peruvian state responsible for committing crimes against humanity and for violating multiple rights, including the right to life, personal integrity and health, reproductive autonomy and protection of Ramos and her family. María Elena Carbajal, who was also a victim of the programme, said that the 'road to justice is long'. 'It's been over 28 years of uncommitted and unaccountable governments,' she said. Monzón Ramos said she and her sisters hoped that 'after nearly three decades since our mother's death, the truth of what happened will be acknowledged'. 'That justice will be done, that a real and thorough investigation will be opened, and that the State will recognise and repair the harm we have suffered,' she said. Protect yourself and your family by learning more about Global Health Security Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. 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Evening Standard
28-05-2025
- Sport
- Evening Standard
Real Betis vs Chelsea FC: Three factors that could decide the Conference League final
Spanish teams have won every final they have contested against non-Spanish opposition in UEFA competition stretching back to the 2001-02 season, with the only defeats coming in games between two LaLiga sides. On top of that, the Spanish national team have also won all three European Championship finals they have contested in that time.
Atlantic
18-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Atlantic
The Couples Are Talking Past Each Other on SNL
There's a low-stakes thrill in eavesdropping on strangers from afar, especially if the exchange descends into chaos. Yet a sketch in last night's season finale of Saturday Night Live —which revolved around two couples at a bar boisterously fighting for a preferred table as two men watched nearby, whiskies in hand—raised the stakes of voyeurism in fascinating ways. The sketch begins with Ego Nwodim and Marcello Hernández 's characters having glasses of wine at a bar; she is ready to move in after three weeks of dating, and he is sweatily trying to steer the conversation elsewhere. He gets a break when another woman, played by this week's host, Scarlett Johanssen, insists that their table belongs to her and her man—played by musical guest Bad Bunny. After Nwodim urges Hernández to defend her honor, he gets in Bad Bunny's face—shouts, ' Ay! '—and they erupt in loud Spanish. But here's what he really says: 'I'm sorry, but my woman is a pain in my ass!' Picking up on the stray mention of ' culo,' Nwodim jumps in: 'That's right, he's about to beat your ass!' The table argument is a flimsy premise, but it establishes Johanssen's character as territorial and, crucially, inspiring terror in her paramour. Instead of demanding the table, Bad Bunny commiserates with Hernández: 'Well mine too—and I'm afraid of her!' He looks back at Johanssen nervously, then confesses: 'I know we're not supposed to say that women are crazy. But this one? She's crazy!' Hearing him say ' loca,' Johanssen chirps up: 'Do you hear that? He's gonna go loca on you!' Meanwhile, the eavesdropping barflies (played by Andrew Dismukes and James Austin Johnson) look on with glee at what looks like a raging bar fight: 'I feel like I'm watching a telenovela,' Johnson says, scratching his chin and practically licking his chops. Dismukes hopes it'll end in a 'slap and kiss': 'See in their culture, the line between passion and violence is paper thin.' Johanssen's botched attempts at Spanish ('I'm about to asparagus nothing more and your ankle!') make for good comedy, but the sketch's best work isn't done by the peeved girlfriends or the barflies' misbegotten commentary. Instead, it lies in the gap between what these non-Spanish speakers are confidently reading into the situation, casting these men as macho Latino guys in some exotic melodrama, and what the men are actually saying. They're not only misunderstanding the words; they're missing the subtext. And so might some viewers. For these onlookers, the boyfriends are assuming archetypal roles that are completely at odds with how they actually feel, and their conversation deepens into a heart-to-heart between two strangers who don't know how to quit a relationship they know is bad for them. As the argument grows more heated between Nwodim and Johanssen, Bad Bunny reassures her: 'Baby baby baby, you're talking about asparagus. Let me handle this.' He lets out a little 'heh'—in a moment that displays his natural comedic timing. Instead of puffing his chest out, he goes even deeper with Hernández: 'Why do you think we have such bad luck in love?' he cries out. Hernández takes the opportunity to confess a hard truth about himself, bellowing: 'Honestly, I think I seek it out!' In fact, the sketch is even more nuanced than non-Spanish-speaking SNL viewers will know, in part because of the live show's limitations. The terse subtitles elide the subtleties of Hernández and Bad Bunny's banter in Caribbean-inflected Spanish. (Hernández is Cuban and Dominican, and Bad Bunny is Puerto Rican.) When Hernández admits that 'in his heart, I think I want a woman who's off her rocker'—his literal phrase is 'crazier than a coffee maker'—the subtitles neuter the sarcasm entirely, reading: 'Because deep down I want a woman who is not mentally stable.' At other points the subtitles arrive too late, for instance making Bad Bunny's expertly delivered lament—'Instead of thinking with our head, we think with the other one!'—land with a slightly awkward thud. Some parts of their dialogue aren't even translated, such as when Bad Bunny says: 'I feel you, brother.' The gag at the end is that no one gets the table at all. Hernández and Bad Bunny agree that there are some perks to their current circumstances, particularly in the bedroom. They cackle and bro-hug, confusing Johanssen. 'Why are you two laughing? What did you just say?' She didn't know what was going on after all, because just like the barflies, she thought she was watching a telenovela: A machista argument about honor, resulting in blows and a triumphant return to their favorite two-top. On the surface, this is just another SNL sketch about messed-up relationships and whether straight men are okay. But in its deliberate and inadvertent mistranslations, it also poses an intriguing question to its audience: How much truth can we really discern from a stranger that we watch from across the distance of a bar table or a language barrier? Nothing much, it turns out.
