Two British brothers aged 11 and 13 drown in Catalonia, Airbnb has now taken down 65,000 illegal Spanish listings, Spain on high alert for wildfires and more news on Thursday July 31st.
Two British brothers aged 11 and 13 die in Catalonia
Catalan authorities have confirmed that two British brothers in the Catalan holiday town of Salou have died after getting into difficulty at Llarga beach.
Police said there was a yellow flag at the time which allows swimming with caution. It’s believed the two minors struggled with the high tide in a rocky area of the beach.
The boys’ father, who was also in the water with them, was resuscitated after receiving CPR for several minutes.
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Airbnb has now taken down 65,000 illegal listings in Spain
Spain’s Consumer Affairs Ministry said on Wednesday that Airbnb has withdrawn the 65,000 holiday let listings in Spain that it said it would after last May a thorough investigation of its platform found a huge number of unlicenced tourist lets.
In fact, the ministry headed by Pablo Bustinduy has been informed by Airbnb that an additional 55,000 more listings don’t have the necessary paperwork, which could well mean they are also removed from the platform soon.
Spanish inflation rises on higher electricity prices
Spain’s inflation rate picked up for the second straight month in July on the back of higher electricity prices, preliminary data showed Wednesday.
Consumer price rises in the European Union’s fourth-largest economy rose by 2.7 percent on an annual basis, up from the 2.3 percent rate registered in June, the national statistics institute INE said.
That it its highest rate since February when prices rose by 3.0 percent.
The rise was mainly driven by an increase in electricity prices, which had falled in July 2024, and, to a lesser extent, to a rise in fuel prices, which were higher than in the same month of the previous year, the agency said in a statement.
Spanish inflation has been fluctuating for several months.
The Bank of Spain predicts it will hit 2.5 percent for the whole of 2025, above the European Central Bank’s two percent target.
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Two blazes rage on as Spain on high alert for wildfires
A blaze has destroyed more than 2,500 hectares (6,180 acres) in the western province of Cáceres, leading to the evacuation of six hamlets and road closures.
In the neighbouring province of Avila, another fire that began on Monday had cut off the village of El Arenal and is still raging on Thursday.
A wildfire in Tenerife is now under control while in Pontevedra in the northwestern region of Galicia firefighters are trying to tame a blaze.
Almost the entire country will be at extreme risk of forest fires this Thursday, according to Spain’s national weather agency Aemet.
With additional reporting by AFP.
