Spain launches Europe’s most powerful quantum supercomputer, IMF ranks Spain as world’s fastest growing major economy again and more news on Wednesday October 15th.
IMF ranks Spain as world’s fastest growing major economy for second consecutive year
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has ranked Spain as the fastest growing major economy in the world for the second year in a row, raising Spanish GDP forecasts for this year by four tenths of a percentage point to 2.9 percent for 2025.
The IMF’s estimates for Spain are even more optimistic than those of the Spanish government itself. Economy Minister Carlos Cuerpo updated internal forecasts last September and raised GDP to 2.7 percent for 2025, but the IMF foresees the Spanish economy surpassing it.
This comes as Spain was also named economy of the year by the respected magazine The Economist.
General strike across Spain to protest war in Gaza
Spanish trade unions are mobilising for strike action today on Wednesday, October 15th in support of the Palestinian people.
The major CCOO and UGT unions have called partial strikes and CGT a general strike for a “day of struggle” in “all private and public workplaces in the country” to “denounce the genocide of the Israeli state”.
The unions are seemingly maintaining the call despite the announcement of the peace plan agreed between Hamas and Israel. As with any strike, a minimum number of essential personnel is established in health, education or transport services.
The partial stoppages registered by CCOO and UGT will take place in three time slots: from 02.00 to 04.00 hours in the early morning, then from 10.00 to 12.00 hours in the morning, and from 17.00 to 19.00 hours in the afternoon. The strike called by CGT is for 24 hours, all day on 15th October.
READ MORE: What to expect from Spain’s general strike on Wednesday
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Basque government and IBM inaugurate Europe’s most powerful quantum supercomputer
San Sebastian in the Basque Country now has the most powerful quantum supercomputer in Europe, the IBM Quantum System Two.
The computer, christened ‘IBM-Basque Country’, is the 156-cubit Heron processor, the company’s most advanced and the only one of its kind in Europe.
The choice of the Basque city to install this supercomputer is part of an agreement that the Basque government and provincial councils signed in 2023 with the US multinational as part of the Basque Quantum alliance, the aim of which is to make the Basque Country the epicentre of quantum computing.
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Spanish bar puts a mannequin dressed as a Guardia Civil at the door to make speeding cars slow down
A bar in the small town of Burgohondo, in Ávila, has gained headlines for its unorthodox approach to speeding motorists.
Known for its landscapes and as a meeting point for motorcyclists from all over the Castilla y León region, Burgohondo’s Islemm bar, one of the most popular biker bars in the area, has placed a mannequin at the door dressed in what appears to be a Guardia Civil uniform.
The aim is to cause all speeding drivers to slow down when passing the bar, and motorwing website El Motero reports that it has had an “immediate effect” with drivers taking their foot off the accelerator.
