The Earth got its Moon when a small planet collided with our planet more than four billion years ago. This impact hurled molten rock into space, which eventually coalesced to form the satellite we can see every night from across our planet. But what of our neighbor, Mars? The Red Planet has two small, irregularly […]
El podcast ‘Hogar de cenizas’ habla con los afectados del volcán para entender por qué nos cuesta tanto construir un hogar
Episodio 4 - ¿Hay hogares que vale la pena dejar ir?
El 19 de septiembre de 2021, Eva tuvo que marcharse de su casa, porque a pocos kilómetros montaña arriba había erupcionado un volcán. Cinco años después, aunque su casa finalmente se librase de la lava, sigue viviendo en un contenedor. ¿Qué ha fallado en La Palma para que 110 familias no hayan podido reconstruir su vida?
Rayco, que vivía en el centro de Todoque, ha comprado una finca con un pajero para reformar en Mazo, a 50 minutos de su antigua casa. “Cada vez que quiero socializar tengo que atravesar media isla. Si viviese en el Oeste me sentiría más acogido, allí es donde me crie, pero está todo carísimo”.
Vicente entraba en su casa cada semana para barrer ceniza. No barría el suelo, barría el tejado: su vivienda había quedado totalmente sepultada por la lluvia de piroclasto. Limpiaba la ceniza, sabiendo que tras marcharse, su casa volvería a quedar tapada. “Llegué un día y me di cuenta de que ya no había casa. Tenía que descubrirla yo. Tenía que desenterrarla”. Vicente dejaba unos palos sobresaliendo de la chimenea para saber, al regresar, donde comenzar a excavar de nuevo y no perder de vista la casa bajo un manto de ceniza.
Vicente, uno de los afectados por el volcán de La Palma.
El volcán Tajogaite cumplió el pasado 19 de septiembre cinco años, pero no todas las familias de la isla han podido recuperar su hogar. En total, la lava se llevó 1.600 casas y dos barrios enteros -El Paraíso y Todoque- que han quedado bajo un manto de roca negra.
Por vivienda afectada, el Gobierno central ha concedido una ayuda de 60.000 euros, el Gobierno canario, 30.000 más, y el Cabildo otros 10.000. Quién tuviera la vivienda asegurada, ha podido recibir del Consorcio el valor de su casa. Pero para recibir todo esto, lo esencial es tener una casa. Y sobre el papel, muchos afectados no la tenían. ¿Cómo es posible?
En La Palma, donde el salario mínimo es regla y la mayor parte del territorio no es urbanizable -por lo tanto, el que hay es caro- muchos vecinos levantan sus casas poco a poco, a lo largo de los años, partiendo de pequeños cuartos de apero en una finca o en un terreno rústico. Y nunca llegan a regularizar esa vivienda. Hay quién diría que es picardía. Para muchos es necesidad.
En este contexto, mucha gente no ha podido siquiera demostrar que han sido afectados por un volcán porque no vivían oficialmente en la zona.
En La Palma, el volcán no solo se lleva cuatro paredes. Se lleva el esfuerzo de años de levantar una casa, piedra a piedra, y se lleva a los vecinos que han ayudado a levantarla. Porque cuando la mano de obra es cara, en La Palma las “gallofas” ganan terreno y es la comunidad quién ayuda en la obra. Hace cinco años, el volcán se llevó las paredes, pero también separó a los vecinos.
Calle de casas contenedor de los afectados por el volcán de La Palma.
Los contenedores
No son casos aislados, sino que se trata de uno de los principales problemas de esta erupción, y da respuesta a por qué, cinco años después, 110 familias siguen viviendo en los “barracones”, que se construyeron como medidas supuestamente temporales.
La vida en estos contenedores no es sencilla: quién vive ahí ahora, antes del volcán solía vivir en una casa terrera, con su huerta y animales. Los contenedores tienen unos 50 metros cuadrados y están situados en un parking. En la localidad de Los Llanos, los vecinos se quejan de la falta de insonorización y de aislamiento, tanto del frío como del calor. Eva cuenta que no es capaz de sentir el contenedor como un hogar porque “no estoy en mi ambiente, porque no puedo moverme. De aquí al sofá, del sofá a la cama, de la cama al sofá. Salir no salgo, porque todo el mundo ahí afuera está con la oreja pegada”.
Viviendas en contenedores para personas afectadas por el volcán, que humea detrás, al fondo.
Otra dificultad por la que están pasando los afectados es la adaptación a un formato de vida no acorde con sus costumbres. “Vivíamos entre familias y nos llevábamos muy bien con todos los vecinos”, cuentan dos hermanas de La Laguna, barrio que se perdió parcialmente. En los lugares afectados, lo más habitual era vivir en lugares con huerto o jardín, lo que contrasta con el reducido espacio del contenedor. “Árboles frutales, naranjos, orquídeas. Teníamos de todo. Nosotras estábamos acostumbradas a vivir en casas terreras. Y eso está debajo del volcán”.
Eva concluye: “El container no está para vivir personas. Esto es de chapa. La chapa está pensada para meter muebles y animales, y nosotros no somos eso”.
El estatus de damnificado
Los vecinos damnificados han podido construir de manera legal en terreno rústico. Pero, ¿quién se considera damnificado del volcán? Ahí radica otro de los grandes problemas.
Rayco no se considera damnificado a efectos legales, ya que su casa estaba a nombre de sus padres. Por tanto, no ha podido acogerse a las ayudas y facilidades para construir que ofrecen las Administraciones. Lo mismo le sucede a aquellos que, tras el fallecimiento del propietario original, no actualizaron el registro de la propiedad. Si el propietario de la vivienda está muerto, sus herederos -hijos, sobre todo- no han podido recibir las ayudas por la pérdida de la casa, aun estando empadronados en ella.
Vecinos desalojando sus casas en La Palma durante la erupción.
Vicente ha tardado tres años en recibir la consideración de afectado. Su casa sigue en pie, aunque quedase sepultada bajo la ceniza. “Se ha pagado el valor de lo perdido bajo la lava. Pero ¿qué ocurre con estas viviendas que están deterioradas, con grietas, no hay paredes, no hay servicios...? Para esto no ha habido ninguna dotación”. Vicente no puede habitar su casa, porque hasta su barrio en Las Manchas todavía no llega ninguna carretera, ni agua o luz. Es un barrio todavía sepultado por la ceniza. Tan solo algunas viviendas como la suya sobresalen de entre el desierto negro.
Muchos vecinos denuncian violencia burocrática. “ Vas al Ayuntamiento y todo son problemas. Como si no fueras afectada, ¿sabes?”, cuenta Esther, que perdió la casa el último día de erupción y quiso reconstruir sobre la lava, en su propiedad. “ Para construir, tuve que pedir que me quitaran de la zona de exclusión. Me quitaron, después me volvieron a poner, sin dar explicaciones. Pedíamos permiso para aplanar, para quitar la lava. Te cobran hasta por los permisos para aplanar el terreno. Encima que pagas al palista, te cobra el ayuntamiento. Todo son problemas”.
Una mujer llora sentada sobre sus cosas después de vaciar su casa por la amenaza del volcán de La Palma.
La pérdida del hogar
Es difícil sentir un hogar allí donde es difícil construir un proyecto de vida. La incertidumbre ha inundado las vidas de sus vecinos, y preguntas como “¿hasta cuando podré quedarme en el contenedor?”, o “¿cuándo podré empezar reconstruir mi casa?” se arremolinan en la mente de los vecinos.
“Vecinos que nacieron ahí, se criaron ahí, y de pronto toda tu raíz… ¿qué pasa con toda esa parte que desaparece y no queda rastro?”, relata Belqui, cuya casa en el barrio de Tajuya se salvó por muy poco.
El volcán se ha llevado, en tan sólo 85 días, lo que para muchos vecinos es el esfuerzo de 30 años de trabajo. Y les ha quitado, además del esfuerzo, y en contraposición, el descanso. Porque un hogar también es poder llegar a casa y tumbarse en el sofá, sabiendo que nadie ni nada interrumpirá ese momento.
Durante cinco años, los vecinos damnificados han pasado por muchas ubicaciones, pero ninguna a largo plazo, y ninguna donde poder descansar plenamente. Habitaciones en albergues, contenedores, casas de familiares o alquileres temporales han compuesto algunas de las soluciones aportadas a los vecinos. Pero llevando siempre una maleta a cuestas, es difícil construir un hogar.
Todos estos testimonios y sentimientos, en el podcast Hogar de Cenizas, de Canarias Ahora y elDiario.es.
High school and university students in France continued their protests on Tuesday, October 13, demanding government investment in public education. Approximately 480,000 protesters took to the streets in the latest iteration of the mobilization, with families, teachers, and trade unions backing students’ demands.
The mobilization remains marked by widespread police violence. Police used tear gas and dispersal grenades on crowds, including at Tuesday’s central march in Paris. Hundreds of students were injured and thousands arrested in these incidents, prompting reactions from human rights organizations.
In response, the public joined students as they blocked high schools and organized marches to physically shield them from potential harm. Trade union members, notably from the education sector, were highly represented in these support lines.
“The CGT reaffirms the urgent need to address the demands of those who are the country’s future ,” the General Confederation of Labor (CGT) asserted. “The CGT salutes their fighting spirit. It welcomes the strong anti-fascist tone of the demonstrations, which shows that there is no inevitability to the continued flourishing of fascist ideas or to the far right’s rise to power.”
Students demand access to higher education
Since the beginning of the month, French students have organized three massive demonstrations to warn against the state of education under austerity. “For several weeks, high school and university students have been mobilizing to denounce the deterioration of their study conditions, the Parcoursup system, staff and resource shortages, policies that are dismantling public services, and – more broadly – the future this society holds in store for them,” the trade union federation Solidaires recognized in their statements.
Trade unions continued their support for student mobilizations. The banner reads: “Electricity and gas workers stand with the youth. Our rage is nuclear.” Source: CGT/Facebook
Equal access to higher education has been high on the protesters’ demand list since the beginning. This refers in good part to how students are currently recruited into university courses – the Parcoursup admission platform. Introduced in 2018 under Macronist ministers to replace a previous system that randomized selection for oversubscribed courses, Parcoursup was supposed to “rationalize” admissions.
In practice, however, critics and applicants emphasize the platform allows institutions to apply unclear selection criteria and even discriminate against students from working-class areas.
In September 2026, the left party La France Insoumise warned that 126,652 students were not able to access a course as a result of the system – up from 77,000 in 2023. “This selection process is the product of austerity-driven political choices deliberately implemented by successive Macron-era governments,” the party warned.
“Parcoursup is a social sorting machine,” Solidaires echoed. “The platform organizes competition among young people for places that the State deliberately refuses to create. It transforms the right to study into a privilege, scarcity into selection, and austerity into supposed individual failure.”
Commodification of education
Jean-Luc Mélenchon, the left’s presidential candidate, pointed out that these choices are part of a broader political agenda: “the commodification of education and knowledge.”
Trade union briefs on the subject back this interpretation. At the beginning of this school year, Solidaires warned that thousands of those left without higher education placings are being sacrificed in the name of austerity.
“But not everyone experiences this violence in the same way,” they wrote. “The wealthiest families can afford private schooling, fund housing on the other side of the country, or sustain a year without studying. Young people from working-class backgrounds, however, have no way out. A lack of options means either being forced into the job market or military service – abandoning their plans for good – or facing precariousness, isolation, and debt at a private institution.”
“We have shifted from an egalitarian system to a discriminatory one: pay for your own future,” Mélenchon concluded in a recent interview.
The left leader anticipated that student demands will be an important topic during the upcoming election campaign, where the left is contrasting a program of rupture with neoliberal policies to the far right’s intention to build a debt brake not unlike Germany’s. In practice, this would translate into years of sustained attacks on social security and public services.
Trade unions and progressive organizations announced their support for the youth mobilizations will continue as they build campaigns to resist the government’s intention to impose billions in cuts to pensions and social security while spending record amounts on rearmament.
For their part, student unions invited their members to remain active and join a general mobilization against the cost of living crisis this Saturday, October 17.
El Niño, a naturally occurring climate pattern that involves unusually warm surface waters in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean can alter atmospheric circulation and significantly influence rainfall and temperatures patterns far beyond the ocean, according to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). The WMO, the United Nations’ weather agency, says this warming is already underway and getting stronger. In an Oct. 8 update, it put the chance of an El Niño continuing through February 2027 at nearly 100%. It expects the event to be strongest in December. Regional forecasters predict a 90% chance of heavier-than-usual rain in southern Ethiopia, central to southern Somalia and northeastern Kenya between October and December 2026. Excessive rainfall could cause flooding, destroy crops, spread disease and make health services inaccessible in some areas, depending on local conditions and the season. A National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) map illustrates typical seasonal rainfall shifts associated with El Niño, rather than a specific forecast for 2026. Graphic courtesy of NOAA. Action Against Hunger, an international aid organization, says families in southern Madagascar are enduring food shortages earlier than usual following a season of poor harvests. Its teams are treating children for malnourishment, as households continue to endure worsening food insecurity. Cuts in aid are also making help to tackle malnourishment harder to obtain. The United Nations International Children’s Fund (UNICEF) reported on Aug. 21 that 205 health and nutrition facilities in Somalia had closed because of funding cuts, forcing families to travel farther to find care.…This article was originally published on Mongabay
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Tens of thousands of people took to the streets of Belgium from October 9-12, marching against the government’s austerity and militarization policies, as well as in solidarity with Palestine.
“Four mobilizations, one shared struggle: that of the Belgium of those at the bottom — who refuse to foot the bill for a system that benefits a tiny minority, and who refuse to remain complicit in an apartheid state,” wrote the Workers’ Party of Belgium (PTB-PVDA). “They thought they could impose their anti-social measures without resistance. They were wrong.”
50,000-strong demonstration against austerity
The weekend began with a 50,000-strong demonstration against austerity in Brussels on October 9, building on months of resistance to budget cuts, anti-labor reforms, and threats to pension rights. Various blocs joined the protest, including the youth movement, who demonstrated against tuition hikes, education budget reductions, and attacks on services they depend on – notably public transport.
“The government is desperately trying to balance its budget,” the General Labour Federation of Belgium (ABVV-FGTB) wrote in their protest call. “And to find the missing billions, it seems to have made a habit of always digging into the same pockets: ours. Yours.”
“If money is needed, the government should go get it where it actually is: from great fortunes, capital income, big corporations and their lucrative handouts.”
Protests on October 9, 2026. Source: ABVV-FGTB/Facebook
The Confederation of Christian Trade Unions (ACV-CSC) echoed concerns about the unfair distribution of the burden envisioned by the De Wever–Bouchez administration. “The budget must be balanced, but the distribution of the burden must also be fair,” the confederation’s leader Marie-Hélène Ska said. “The Prime Minister appeals to everyone’s sense of responsibility. It is time for him, too, to abandon dogmas and clichés and put forward an honest proposal.”
“Twenty months into this government’s term, social resistance remains very much alive,” wrote PTB-PVDA President Raoul Hedebouw. “Many young people are also taking to the streets to protest austerity measures and stand up for their future.”
Protests reject complicity in genocide, inadequate climate policies
The following day, Palestine solidarity groups around the country joined the global day of action against genocide and occupation with local actions. Like other European governments, the De Wever–Bouchez administration has failed to take substantial steps to hold Israel accountable for crimes committed in the Gaza Strip since October 7, 2023, causing widespread anger at home.
This failure has gone hand in hand with plans for massive investment in armament at the expense of public services and climate justice policies.
60,000 people joined a climate march on October 11. Source: Comac/Facebook
As a result, on Sunday, October 11, approximately 60,000 people – once again with strong participation from the youth – joined a climate march.
The demonstration’s demands were heavily influenced by the memory of the past summer, when heat waves and wildfires ravaged parts of the country. Due to previous cuts to public services, firefighting forces responded to the crisis in inadequate numbers, with implications for their health and overall response capacity.
“We need a genuine plan to tackle heatwaves, strengthened public and emergency services, and massive investment in public transport, home insulation, and renewable energy that is accessible to everyone,” PTB-PVDA said.
“The De Wever–Bouchez government wants to balance the budget by targeting our public services and imposing austerity,” Hedebouw wrote, drawing a direct link between the government’s cut drive and the state of essential services like firefighting. “But if we cut funding for public services, we will all pay the price. What will happen during the next fire if we have fewer firefighters and insufficient equipment?”
Wealth tax demands
The protests rolled out as the government is trying to balance the national budget. Yet the scale of the response indicates the chosen path will remain contested every step of the way.
Another sign came on Monday, October 12, as trade unions in the public sector called for strikes and mobilizations to protect these services and the workers who make them run.
“The plans currently on the table are unacceptable to many people,” Hedebouw emphasized. “They see their purchasing power steadily eroding while fuel prices skyrocket. Yet at this very moment, De Wever is proposing a VAT hike, an attack on wage indexation, and further cuts to our healthcare system.”
Protesters insisted the government should design and implement policies that would enable adequate funding for labor rights, public services, and climate transformation – policies that begin with a millionaire tax as outlined by the country’s left.
BANGKOK — Marine biologist and photojournalist Sirachai “Shin” Arunrugstichai has taken many notable photographs in Thailand, from white bleached coral reefs to beaches blackened by oil spills. He shot the viral, award-winning photo of orphan baby dugong (Dugong dugon) Marium being hugged by her carer. Many of Shin’s works have ignited public awareness of marine conservation in Thailand. He recently took part in a scientific study on necrophilia behavior in squids, which was inspired by his photographs. In an interview with Mongabay, Shin, 39, talks about his career journey, recent research and how his work can make a difference. Trained as a marine biologist, Thai photojournalist Sirachai Arunrugstichai has a passion for taking pictures of marine wildlife and telling stories through photographs. Image courtesy of Pratch Rujivanarom. Mongabay: Can you tell me how the research about necrophilia behavior in squid began? Sirachai Arunrugstichai: I was working at Mergui Archipelago in Myanmar from 2019 to 2020. We found ghost fishing nets wrapped around an entire reef. So, our team went diving to retrieve the net. I caught a glimpse of what appeared to be two squids mating. I thought it was strange, so I swam closer. I found that one squid was trapped in the net while another was outside, mating with it. I felt it was very unusual that a dying squid would still be mating. However, after I finished photographing them, I noticed that the trapped squid was actually already decaying. Its tentacles were completely severed, and there were…This article was originally published on Mongabay
“Protected areas are protected areas,” says Nadège Nzoyem, WWF’s regional director for the Congo Basin. For her, mining has no place in landscapes that governments have committed to conserve. Yet keeping extractive industries out and ensuring effective protection remain major challenges across the region. A recent analysis by U.S.-based Earth Insight highlights the conflict between conservation commitments and extractive interests. Across the tropical countries examined, the report says, oil and gas blocks overlap across nearly 62 million hectares (153 million acres) of protected and conserved areas. Mining concessions overlap with another 43 million hectares (106 million acres). In the Congo Basin, 29% of identified terrestrial Key Biodiversity Areas remain unprotected. The findings raise questions about where protection is needed and how effective it is against industrial pressures. WWF’s “Living Planet Report 2026” adds to those concerns. It reports an average 80% decline in monitored wildlife population sizes across Africa between 1970 and 2022. The figure is continent-wide, not specific to the Congo Basin. Next week, the global community will meet for the biodiversity COP17 in Armenia, where the urgency of meeting the global 30×30 target puts protected areas under greater scrutiny. Conserving 30% of land and waters by 2030 means more than drawing boundaries, the Earth Insight report argues. It requires effective management, equitable governance, and respect for Indigenous peoples’ and local communities’ rights. Semi-industrial mining at Muchacha along the Ituri River, in the southwestern sector of Okapi Wildlife Reserve in the DRC, has caused deforestation and contamination of water…This article was originally published on Mongabay
A Airbel, empresa especializada em marketing olfativo com mais de uma década de atividade, está a reforçar a sua aposta no setor hoteleiro. Em entrevista ao TNews, a empresa explica como são desenvolvidas identidades olfativas adaptadas ao posicionamento, conceito e perfil de cada unidade hoteleira e descreve a abertura da sua primeira loja na Madeira, no passado dia 1 de outubro, como um "passo importante" na consolidação da presença na região.
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Duarte Nobre Guedes, presidente do Conselho Diretor da Associação Nacional dos Locadores de Veículos (ARAC), alertou para o "aumento de situações de criminalidade associadas ao roubo e ao uso indevido das viaturas de aluguer, com enormes prejuízos para o setor e para a sociedade" na sessão de abertura da VII Convenção Nacional da ARAC, que decorre esta sexta-feira, 9 de outubro, em Óbidos.
O presidente da Turismo Centro de Portugal, Rui Ventura, alertou que as dificuldades de mobilidade e acessibilidade podem comprometer a promoção turística dos territórios e a distribuição dos benefícios económicos do turismo.
Spanish trade unions representing millions of workers have announced a general strike for November 11. The announcement comes amid nationwide mobilizations for the right to housing and only days after Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez called early elections for November 29.
The strike was announced by the two largest union organizations, the General Union of Workers (UGT) and the Workers’ Commissions (Comisiones Obreras, CCOO), alongside the General Confederation of Labor (CGT), Basque unions ELA and LAB, and the Galician confederation CIG.
It will be the country’s first general strike in 14 years, excluding the feminist strike of March 8, 2018.
Housing and wages are the same struggle
“A key demand of this strike is to vindicate decent salaries to afford housing,” the Madrid Tenants Union wrote.
In their strike call, unions emphasized several demands that have been on their agenda for months. These include reductions in working hours, wage increases, health and safety measures in the workplace, eradicating precarious employment and progress in collective bargaining – a process that has been obstructed by employers for almost a year.
Yet, echoing the sentiment voiced on the streets, where hundreds of thousands have protested and erected encampments against a predatory housing system, the trade union call links all these demands to the right to housing.
“This is a strike with very clear foundations and labor demands,” CCOO’s Carlos Gutiérrez said. “Is it being called because working families cannot access affordable housing? Yes. But we cannot separate the inability to access affordable housing from the wage situation in our country and what is happening in the workplace.”
Maricarmen Abascal during a protest in June 2026. Source Sindicato de Inquilinas e Inquilinos de Madrid/Facebook
The general strike builds on a protest wave triggered by the eviction of 87-year-old Maricarmen Abascal in late September. After years of battle to keep the home she had been living in for 70 years, Abascal was carried out of the apartment on a stretcher. She remained hospitalized until Wednesday, October 7, when the Madrid Tenants Union announced her death.
“Although a historic agreement was reached that would have allowed her to return to her home, this solution came too late,” the organization wrote. “An absolutely avoidable situation, following an agonizing process.”
A strike against all who “do nothing to solve the housing crisis”
Many of those participating in the protests recognized that Sánchez’s administration failed to implement policies that would truly address the housing crisis. Yet union and civil society statements emphasize the problem goes much further than the behavior of a specific political option.
“It’s important to make clear that this is not a strike against any particular government, but against those who do nothing to solve the housing crisis, and also against the employers, who have kept the Agreement for Employment and Collective Bargaining (AENC) blocked for nearly a year,” Patricia Ruiz from UGT was quoted as saying in Público.
Political parties from the center-left to the left have largely expressed support for the strike. Even PSOE figures who share the responsibility for not addressing the housing crisis signaled support for concerns outlined by trade unions.
While a general strike held only a couple of weeks ahead of an election would usually spell trouble for the incumbent administration, local political analysts say this is a peculiar situation that could swing both ways.
Right-wing options are polling high, but ongoing housing mobilizations could steer the electoral campaign away from scapegoating migrants toward issues of social justice – topics they are generally keen to avoid.