Today In Spain: A roundup of the latest news on Monday

Boy dies as heavy rains hit Catalonia

At least one person died in Catalonia Sunday after much of the region in northeastern Spain was hit by torrential rains that disrupted rail and air travel, officials said.

Firefighters said they found a body in a river in the town of Sant Pere de Riudebitlles near Barcelona while searching for two people whose car was reportedly swept away by floodwater. The victim is a child aged 11 or 12 and of those missing is his father.

"The authorities are investigating whether it belongs to one of the individuals sought in the ongoing search, or if it is the victim of an unrelated incident," they added on X.

Over half of Spaniards against pro-Palestine La Vuelta protests

Polling has shown the political divide in Spain over the recent controversial pro-Palestine protests that caused the cancellation of La Vuelta bike race.

A laSexta poll found that left-wing PSOE and Sumar voters were in favour of the protests with percentages exceeding 94 percent in both cases. However, right-wing and far-right supporters of Vox and PP are on the opposite side with figures of 94.7 percent and 100 percent.

Overall, 51.6 percent of all those polled were against the protests.

READ ALSO: Left and right clash in Spain over Vuelta's pro-Palestine protests

Head of Spanish navy says its mission is to ‘help and save’ migrants at sea

Spain's Chief of the Naval General Staff (AJEMA), Admiral General Antonio Piñeiro, has stated that the mission of the Navy is to "help and save" migrants in boats if they are in danger, not to return them or block their passage.

Piñeiro made the remarks during a speech in response to the leader of Vox, Javier Ortega Smith, who asked him if he thought it was necessary to increase the presence of Navy ships in the Strait of Gibraltar and in waters off the Canary Islands, Ceuta and Melilla to stop irregular migrants arriving on Spanish coasts by boat.

Vox has proposed deploying the Navy along the usual migratory routes to block the entry of boats into Spanish territory. "We can't, we're not for that," Piñeiro replied.

Pensioners in Spain earn more than workers under 35, study finds

A report from the Juan de Mariana Institute found that new retirees in Spain receive €1,760 per month, compared to the €1,670 average monthly salary of workers under 35.

The report found that the share of national wealth among those over 75 has increased by 12 percentage points in 20 years, while for those under 35 their slice of the pie has decreased by five percent during that time.

"While the government's political discourse continues to focus on fuelling a false narrative of class inequality, the data show that the most significant and relevant economic differences in Spain in 2025 are not those separating rich and poor, but rather the gaps in the economic capacity of young and old ," the think tank warns.

Spanish bank BBVA raises offer for rival Sabadell

Spanish banking giant BBVA raised its takeover offer for Sabadell on Monday as it seeks to lure its smaller rival's shareholders before the October 7 deadline to accept its hostile bid.

The announcement came 10 days after Sabadell's board urged shareholders to reject BBVA's bid, saying it undervalues the bank.

BBVA said in a statement on Monday that it was raising the offer to Sabadell shareholders by 10 percent to 3.39 euros per share.

The new offer values Sabadell at €19.5 billion ($22.9 billion).

BBVA said it would not make further improvements to the bid or extend the deadline for shareholders to accept it.

"With this improved offer, we are putting an extraordinary proposal in the hands of Banco Sabadell shareholders," BBVA chairman Carlos Torres Vila said in the statement.

With additional reporting by AFP.