Brown bear spotted sprinting down highway in Navarre, Spain triples funds to investigate diseases affecting women, three accused of robbing foreigners’ homes in Alicante and more news from Spain this Tuesday June 16th.
Brown bear spotted sprinting down a road in Navarre
A brown bear was spotted early Sunday morning wandering along a secondary road in the northern region of Navarre, between Ochagavia and Ezcaroz.
The sighting coincides with the latest data on the bear population in the Pyrenees. According to the Transboundary Monitoring Group, it is estimated that around 130 bears lived there in 2025. Current figures estimate a population of between 109 and 143 individuals.
Genetic studies conducted throughout the year have identified 108 distinct bears, confirming a population growth trend of 11.6 percent.
Spain triples funds to investigate diseases affecting women
Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has announced that the government will implement a new health programme that includes tripling investment in women’s health, reaching nearly €18 million annually.
“This initiative will serve to boost research, diagnosis, and treatment in areas that have not received the necessary attention and that affect the lives of thousands of women in our country. We are talking about chronic pain, autoimmune and thyroid diseases, cardiovascular and mental health, menopause, and hormonal health,” the Prime Minister stated.
Three accused of robbing foreigners’ homes in Alicante
Two women and a man have been accused of “being part of an organised gang specialising in robbing houses in several municipalities of the province” are to stand trial at the Provincial Court of Alicante.
According to the Public Prosecutor’s Office, during the year 2020, ” they chose summer homes belonging to foreigners and stole jewellery, money, credit cards and documents”.
The prosecution is seeking prison sentences for the three main defendants, ranging from three years and eight months to seven and a half years for alleged repeated theft and fraud.
The price of domestic flights Spain increased by 25% in May
Air travel is getting more and more expensive in Spain according to the latest figures. Airlines operating in Spain raised the price of tickets for domestic flights by 25.6 percent in May, the largest increase since records began, data from Spain’s National Institute of Statistics (INE) revealed, surpassing the 21.3 percent of April 2015.
According to the final data from the May Consumer Price Index (CPI), the sharp increase that month came after ticket prices fell by 2.5 percent in April. At the same time, the price of tickets for international flights rose by 2.5 percent in May after registering its largest monthly drop of 18.9 percent in April.
