Unions reported a "massive" uptake in Spain's first nationwide 24-hour stoppage since 2012, which also aims to up the ante on wages and public services, weeks before the country goes to the polls in a snap election.
In Madrid, where many shops opened as normal, demonstrators rallied in the touristic centre and blocked some roads in pickets that were replicated across the country. Jaime Vazquez, a 48-year-old technician who repairs industrial machinery, told media he had downed tools "to ask for a decent home and the regulation of rent prices" as housing costs spiral. "The future is not very bright, that's why we have to fight to change it, so that my children and my grandchildren are able to access a home," he said.
The size of later demonstrations planned in Madrid and Barcelona will be seen as an indicator of public discontent before the November 29 vote, which the right-wing opposition is predicted to win.
'Chizza the Quizza' again tormented Tom with some particularly dastardly questions based on the theme of common sense - see if you can better Tom's score of 0/3. Answers at the bottom.
2 million people packed the streets of Argentina on Pope Leo XIV's first visit to the country
Answers:
1. Winter - known as the perihelion, the sun is about 3% closer to the earth than in July, but the distance doesn't affect the seasons, it's the axial tilt.
2. Nuts
3. None - the very top row of a QWERTY keyboard features function or number keys.
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