Only masonic temple in Spain reopens in Tenerife, Alicante airport back to normal after drone causes flight diversions, four in ten properties in the Balearic Islands bought by foreigners and more news on Wednesday October 29th.
Only masonic temple in Spain reopens in Tenerife
The city of Santa Cruz de Tenerife in the Canary Islands has reopened the only masonic temple in the country, a grandiose 120-year-old building which has been renovated and is now open to the public.
For decades, the building was a refuge for doctors, lawyers, merchants, and sailors – many of them British – who promoted the ideas of freemasonry in Tenerife.
Dictator Francisco Franco was a staunch opponent of the freemasons, so after the Spanish Civil War, the temple’s symbols were destroyed and it was converted into a military warehouse, before falling into disrepair. However, the building wasn’t destroyed, as in the case of most other masonic temples during Francoist Spain.
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Spain seeks EU clearance to expand cattle vaccination after outbreak
Spain’s agriculture ministry said Tuesday it has asked the European Commission for clearance to expand cattle vaccination after the country’s first outbreak of the highly contagious illness known as lumpy skin disease.
The first case was detected at the beginning of the month at a dairy farm in Girona province near the French border, after several cows showed symptoms.
Spanish authorities responded by culling infected animals and launching a vaccination campaign within a 50-kilometre (31-mile) radius of the outbreak.
The ministry said there are now 18 outbreaks in the province of the disease, which causes blisters and reduces milk production in cattle.
As a result, it has asked Brussels for permission to expand the vaccination campaign to other areas of Catalonia and the neighbouring region of Aragon.
The European Commission must approve the vaccine before it can be used, ensuring it meets EU safety standards and preventing trade or legal issues.
Alicante airport back to normal after drone causes flight diversions
The presence of at least one drone hovering near the runway at Alicante-Elche Miguel Hernández International Airport forced the airport to close for nearly two hours on Monday night.
Ten flights from Amsterdam, Lanzarote, Manchester (2), Liverpool, London-Stansted and Newcastle (United Kingdom), Paris-Orly, Frankfurt-Hann (Germany) and Krakow (Poland) have to be diverted to land at other airports.
Police are now investigating who was piloting the drone and if the incident has any links to similar drone sightings at other airports in Europe recently.
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Four in ten properties in the Balearic Islands bought by foreigners
The latest data from Spain’s College of Notaries shows that foreign nationals bought 42.3 percent of properties in Mallorca, Menorca, Ibiza and Formentera in 2024.
Of these, 26.9 percent were non-residents and 15.4 percent were residents in the Mediterranean islands.
This goes some way to showcasing that in some parts of Spain, affluent non-resident home buyers do represent a high volume of the market share, and are having an influence of rising housing prices and lack of stock.
Earlier this year, Pedro Sánchez’s government suggested that non-EU residents who buy properties in Spain should pay a 100 percent tax which would effectively double the price of their purchase.
An official proposal was presented by the ruling Socialists last May, but there is no indication yet as to when and if such a measure will eventually be brought into law.
With additional reporting by AFP.
