Spain is grappling with a cost-of-living squeeze that has pushed up housing and energy costs, eroding disposable income and – lottery sellers say – the dream of striking it rich

International News via Reuters:

Spain’s lottery sellers have urged the government to raise the price of tickets for the country’s traditional Christmas draw and boost the top prize known as the “Fat One” to keep up with inflation, the head of their main association said on Wednesday.

Spain is grappling with a cost-of-living squeeze that has pushed up housing and energy costs, eroding disposable income and – lottery sellers say – the dream of striking it rich.

“The jackpot hasn’t changed in 14 years, while prices have climbed about 26%,” according to Borja Muniz, President of ANAPAL, the group representing Spain’s 4,100 lottery shops.

“Before, you could buy two apartments with it. Now it barely covers one,” he told Reuters.

ANAPAL proposes lifting the price of a tenth of a ticket, called “decimo”, from 20 euros to 25 and raising the top prize from 400,000 euros ($466,500) to 500,000 euros per winning decimo.

Their proposal has been sent to the state-run lottery agency and the Budget Ministry. The agency organising the Christmas draw declined to comment.

Lottery sellers say inflation and rising costs have eaten into their profits and want their commission on Christmas draw sales raised to 6% from 4.5%, in line with other national draws.

($1 = 0.8575 euros)

Reporting by Jesus Calero; Editing by William Maclean

A series of deals with Europe and the U.S. later eased the supply crunch

International News via Reuters:

The European Union has established a “special channel” of communication with Chinese authorities to secure the flow of rare earth materials vital for EU industries, EU Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic said on Wednesday. 

The move follows China’s export controls on rare earths, which raised concerns in Europe after their introduction earlier this year about potential disruptions to the production of electric vehicles, wind turbines and other technologies that depend on permanent magnets.

A series of deals with Europe and the U.S. later eased the supply crunch, while the European Union, the U.S. and others are also racing to build alternatives to the Chinese rare earth supply chain.

Sefcovic said he had discussed the issue directly with Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao several times, stressing that poorly managed export procedures could have a “very negative impact on production and manufacturing in the EU”.

Sefcovic was speaking in Kuwait, where he was attending the 2025 GCC-EU Business Forum, and made the remarks in response to a Reuters question.

Brussels and Beijing agreed to prioritise applications from European companies, and through the new channel, officials on both sides are working together to review and fast-track export permits for rare earth materials, he said.

According to Sefcovic, European firms have submitted around 2,000 applications to Chinese authorities since the controls came into force, with just over half already approved. 

He said Brussels was continuing to press Beijing for faster processing of the remaining cases, while simultaneously working to diversify supply by developing new sources in Europe, including from rare-earth and magnet production in Estonia.

On Tuesday, the EU Commission said EU and Chinese officials had discussed general licenses to ease the export of rare earths, to match the kind of licenses the United States says it secured from China.

Reporting By Ahmed Hagagy; Editing by Aidan Lewis

The operation began in Kazuno, a small town nestled among forested mountains that has seen a sharp rise in bear sightings

International News via Reuters:

Japan deployed troops to the country’s rugged north on Wednesday to help trap bears after local authorities said besieged communities were struggling to cope with an unprecedented wave of attacks.

The operation began in Kazuno, a small town nestled among forested mountains that has seen a sharp rise in bear sightings. For weeks, residents have been urged to avoid the thick woods and stay indoors after dark to keep clear of bears foraging near homes for food.

“Even if just temporary, the SDF’s help is a big relief,” said Yasuhiro Kitakata, who oversees the town’s bear department. “I used to think bears would always run away when they heard noise, but now they actually come toward you. They’re truly frightening animals,” he added.

There have been more than 100 bear attacks with a record 12 people killed across Japan since April, according to the Ministry of the Environment. Two-thirds of those deaths were in Akita prefecture, where Kazuno is located, and nearby Iwate.

In Akita, authorities say bear sightings have jumped six-fold this year to more than 8,000, and attacks are on track to set a new record, prompting its governor to request help from the Self-Defense Forces last week.

“The townspeople feel the danger every day,” Kazuno Mayor Shinji Sasamoto said after meeting 15 or so soldiers who rolled into town in an army truck and jeeps, equipped with body armour and a large map.

“It has affected how people live their lives, forcing them to stop going out or cancel events,” Sasamoto said.

The troops were there to transport, set and inspect the steel-barred traps used to capture bears that are later shot by trained hunters hired to cull the population. 

On a mountain road outside the town, local forestry officials showed soldiers how to assemble and load the traps onto trucks. The white-helmeted troops carried bear spray and were guarded by others with shields and long wooden poles shaped like rifles usually used for bayonet drills.

“I thought maybe something was on fire,” said a local resident who stepped outside to see what was happening, her radio blaring to scare off bears. “We all try not to encounter the bears, but we keep hearing about people getting attacked,” she said, declining to give her name.

After Kazuno, a town of around 30,000 people known for its hot springs, scenery and variety of sweet apples, the soldiers will head for the cities of Odate and Kitaakita under an agreement lasting until the end of November. 

ATTACKS IN SUPERMARKET, HOT SPRING RESORT

Rising bear numbers, climate change-driven shifts in natural food sources and depopulation of rural areas are increasingly bringing people into contact with bears, while an ageing cohort of hunters who authorities once relied on find themselves overwhelmed.

In recent weeks, bears have attacked customers inside a supermarket, jumped a tourist waiting at a bus stop near a UNESCO World Heritage site and mutilated a worker at a hot spring resort. Some schools have temporarily closed after bears were spotted wandering around their grounds.

Bear attacks usually peak in October and November as the animals forage intensively before winter hibernation.

“Last year there was an abundance of food in the mountains, and many cubs were born. This year, the food supply has run out,” said Kitakata in Kazuno.

Japanese black bears, common across most of the country, can weigh up to 130 kg (287 pounds). Brown bears on the northern island of Hokkaido can weigh as much as 400 kg.    

It is not the first time Japan has deployed troops to assist in wildlife control. The military provided aerial surveillance for hunts of wild deer around a decade ago and culled sea lions to protect fisheries in the 1960s.

Tokyo will this month announce a package of emergency measures to deal with the bear problem including recruiting more licensed hunters, Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Kei Sato told a press conference. In September, the government relaxed gun rules to make it easier for hunters to shoot bears in urban areas.

“As bears continue to enter populated areas in many regions and injuries from bear attacks increase daily, we absolutely cannot afford to put off bear countermeasures,” he said. 

Reporting by Tim Kelly and Tom Bateman in Kazuno and John Geddie in Tokyo; Editing by Edwina Gibbs and Hugh Lawson