In a poll ahead of last week’s far-right surge in the European Parliament election, the Continent’s mayors listed housing as one of the most important issues facing their constituencies.
Cash-strapped municipal councils that had previously built housing gave up on new construction and sold off existing stock — but the private sector failed to pick up the slack.
The housing associations are not run for profit and two-thirds of the rent collected goes into a national building fund, which has been used since 1967 to finance the construction of new homes and the refurbishment of existing stock.
Bent Madsen, CEO of the Danish Federation of Non-Profit Housing Providers, said that even though about a quarter of the dwellings were assigned to vulnerable groups — like single families or refugees — anyone could apply for a home, regardless of income.
For publicly owned homes built after 2000, rent per person per square meter is 40 percent cheaper than market prices, according to data analyzed by the Danish Federation of Non-Profit Housing Providers.
Rebecca Omoregie, vice director of Wohnbaugenossenschaften Schweiz, an association of nonprofit housing developers, said that the co-ops were democratically organized, with all residents having the same rights and say regarding the buildings’ management.
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Top comedian-turned-politician Micheal Usi has been sworn as Malawi’s vice-president at a ceremony held in parliament in the capital, Lilongwe.The 55-year-old replaces Saulos Chilima, who died in a plane crash earlier this month, along with eight other people.Dr Usi received a standing ovation when he spoke after his inauguration, saying he accepted the role with a mixture of sadness and gratitude.He promised to honour his predecessor’s memory and thanked President Lazarus Chakwera for believing in him as he takes up his position as vice-president in the power-sharing government.
The 'magnetic' Malawi vice-president who inspired hopeHis appointment has certainly left Malawians divided.Some have been sharing clips of his acting career on social media and questioning whether he is serious enough to take up such a senior role.Others however have praised President Chakwera for appointing Chilima’s party deputy and honouring the spirit of the alliance between their two parties.Dr Usi is no stranger to controversy given his acting career.
He is popularly known as “Manganya”, the name of a mischievous character he still plays in popular TV sitcom Tikuferanji.His aide told the BBC on Friday that he was filming an episode as recently as last week.He has been a staple on national radio and television for more than two decades making him one of the most recognisable local celebrities.Dr Usi has also been a passionate advocate for developing and promoting Malawi's film industry in which it is difficult to make a living.In fact, he first funded his acting career by working as a hospital clinician.
He has a qualification in clinical medicine - most patients in Malawi will be seen by a clinician as the country has a shortage of doctors.This fuelled his passion to improve the lot of poor communities and for many years he worked at Adventist Development and Relief Agency (Adra), a Christian non-governmental organisation.He served there in various capacities, including heading the organisation as its country director - and through him Adra funded various soaps on radio and TV that also aimed to educate people about HIV and other social issues.The new vice-president, who is married with two daughters, also holds a PhD in youth development from the University of Bedfordshire in the UK.Despite his position at Adra, his acting career never took a backseat - and he was participating in various productions, mostly in the local Chichewa language.Such was his popularity as a comedian that when he founded a political movement around seven years ago - many people just thought it was a prank.This is because he had a reputation as a trickster - his most famous ruse was fooling people into believing that he had been a good boxer at high school and was looking to return to the ring.He organised a non-title bout against a leading local boxer.
His movement was called Odya zake alibe Mulandu, which loosely translates as “he who does not take what belongs to others but only eats what’s his is a free man".It soon became part of a newly formed political party, the UTM, headed by Dr Chilima.This was ahead of the 2019 elections - and Dr Usi and Dr Chilima started addressing rallies together.Both being highly eloquent speakers, their meetings often drew huge crowds and in February 2019, Chilima named his new political associate as his running mate for the vote.
The pair came third, but the results were then nullified by the high court because of irregularities.In fresh elections that were held in 2020, the UTM joined eight other opposition political parties to form an electoral alliance, which picked Dr Chakwera as presidential candidate with Dr Chilima as the running mate, which went on to victory.Dr Usi, was by this stage Chilima's deputy and was named in cabinet as minister of tourism, culture and wildlife, a position he held between July 2020 and February 2023.He later moved to become the minister of natural resources and climate change, his role until his elevation to vice-president.Some senior members of the UTM were notable by their absence at his inauguration on Friday - signalling division in the party over his appointment.Dr Usi did not evade the issue at his swearing-in, promising to get the party together so that they could heal and honour the legacy of Chilima, who was regarded as a magnetic politician with a special connection with people, especially the youth.
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Barcelona, a top Spanish holiday destination, has announced it will bar apartment rentals to tourists by 2028, an unexpectedly drastic move as it seeks to rein in soaring housing costs and make the city livable for residents.
The city’s leftist mayor, Jaume Collboni, said on Friday that by November 2028, Barcelona would scrap the licences of the 10,101 apartments currently approved as short-term rentals.
National governments relish the economic benefits of tourism – Spain ranks among the top-three most visited countries in the world – but with local residents priced out in some places, gentrification and owner preference for lucrative tourist rentals are increasingly a hot topic across Europe.
Barcelona’s local government said in a statement it would maintain its “strong” inspection regime to detect potential illegal tourist apartments once the ban came into force.
But that has not prevented the number of visitors to the city – known for its Belle Epoque architecture, museums and beaches – from continuing to increase, especially after Covid pandemic travel restrictions were lifted.
The rally will come on the heels of other similar demonstrations held in recent months in other Spanish tourism hotspots such as the Canary Islands and Palma de Mallorca.
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Russian President Vladimir Putin Thursday warned South Korea that sending lethal weapons to Ukraine would be a “big mistake.”
His comments come after Seoul announced it would consider arming Ukraine in response to Russia and North Korea signing a mutual defense pact on Wednesday.
I hope they won’t do it, it would be a big mistake,” Putin said at a press conference in Vietnam, where he is conducting a two-day state visit aimed at deepening strategic cooperation.
Earlier this week, Putin used his first trip to North Korea in more than two decades to shore up relations with Pyongyang, which has pledged its support for the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine.
While Putin claimed the two pariah states’ defense treaty was "defensive in nature," Seoul lashed out at the agreement, with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol calling it “absurd.”
Bound by its Foreign Trade Act, the country cannot export weapons except for “peaceful purposes.”
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Storage needs are obvious for years if not decades. Yet there are none viable so far, at least at larger level. Germany is most obviously suffering from it.
It is a problem. First, energy prices are negative if there is a worldwide surplus - thinks summer with long sunny and perhaps windy days, hence you have to pay for somebody to take it. But the real problem is that they can't store for times when they need it, and when that time comes (specially during winter), they burn coal. A lot of it. Or gas. Basically they have to cover worst case scenario with production.
The negative energy price problem is entirely made up. the companies running the grid can ground surplus energy any time. nobody gets paid to take energy in Germany ever. Free energy is not a problem. It's a solution.
Also Germany has lots of pump storage plants and can store enormous amounts of electricity and use them when they later need it.
Germany is about to phase out coal and gas and just still uses it, because the transition period is a bit slow.
Hm, OK, what are they going to do during short and cloudy winter days? And you are optimistic if you think Germany has enough pump or other storage to survive winter without burning coal, gas or imports. A lot of those.
first of all solar produces power even on cloudy days, just less.
it's rarely cloudy in a whole country the size of Germany, but if it is, it's usyally also good conditions for wind power.
in any case, Germany has some ermergency plans. the LNG terminals they quickly started building while having russia problems were planned so they can be switched to green hydrogen imports in the future.
also it's normal to trade energy with European neighbours. everyone is trying not to be a burden for their neighbours though. btw this was of great help when Frances rivers ran dry during the last hot summer and Frances nuclear reactors couldn't operate due to lack of cooling water.
Germany isn't done switching to 100% renewable yet. Lots of homes are still connected to city wide gas networks (for stoves and heating, but it's on track and things are looking good.
German citizens energy bills are required to have diagrams about the energy mix used to provide them with electricity and coal and gas grow smaller every year.
Four members of the UK's richest family are on trial in Switzerland amid allegations they spent more money caring for their dog than their servants.
It’s alleged that Prakash and Kamal Hinduja, together with their son Ajay and his wife Namrata, confiscated staff passports, paid them as little as $8 (£7) for 18-hour days, and allowed them little freedom to leave the house.
Although a financial settlement over exploitation was reached last week, the Hindujas remain on trial for trafficking, which is a serious criminal offence in Switzerland.
They deny the charges.This week in court, one of Geneva’s most famous prosecutors, Yves Bertossa, compared the almost $10,000 a year he claimed the family had spent on their dog, to the daily amount they were allegedly paying their servants.The Hinduja family's lawyers did not specifically deny the allegations of low wages, but said they must be viewed in context - noting that the staff were also receiving accommodation and food.
Mr Bertossa is calling for prison terms, and millions of dollars in compensation as well as legal fees.
It is not the first time that Geneva, a hub for international organisations as well as the world’s wealthy, has been in the spotlight over the alleged mistreatment of servants.
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Former Israeli Knesset member Moshe Feiglin quoted Adolf Hitler as he called for Israel to resettle the Gaza Strip and create a "Hebrew Gaza."
Feiglin, who quit Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud Party to found the right-wing Zehut Party and plans to challenge Likud in Israel's next elections, made the comments during a panel discussion on Israel's Channel 12 that was shared on social media on Sunday, as Middle East Eyereported.
"We are not guests in our country, this is our country, all of it..." Feiglin said, adding, "As Hitler said, 'I cannot live if one Jew is left.' We can't live here if one 'Islamo-Nazi' remains in Gaza."
This week’s trip, beginning on Tuesday, highlights North Korea’s growing strategic importance for Mr. Putin, especially its ability to supply badly needed conventional weapons for the war in Ukraine.
But at the Group of 7 summit in Italy last week, the G7 leaders condemned “in the strongest possible terms the increasing military cooperation” between the two nations, including Pyongyang’s export of ballistic missiles and Russia’s use of them against Ukraine.
Mr. Kim’s answer was to double down on his nuclear weapons program, while envisioning a “Neo-Cold War” in which his country hoped to elevate its strategic value for China and Russia in Northeast Asia while the United States, Japan and South Korea expanded their own military cooperation.
Mr. Kim toured sensitive Russian space and military facilities during his trip to Russia last year, at one point toasting with Mr. Putin to what he called their “sacred struggle” against the “band of evil” in the West.
Faced with an onslaught of international pressure over his invasion of Ukraine, Mr. Putin has tightened his relationship with American adversaries around the world, including in Iran, North Korea and Syria, posing challenges for Washington outside Europe.
is a trend that should be of great concern to anyone interested in maintaining peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula, upholding the global nonproliferation regime, and supporting the people of Ukraine as they defend their freedom and independence against Russia’s brutal invasion.”
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