Today in Spain: A roundup of the latest news on Thursday

Spain aims to shorten teachers' work hours

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez on Wednesday said that his government would promote a law that would make it mandatory for teachers to have a maximum 23 hours of classroom time in primary school and 18 hours in secondary, high school, and other educational levels.

Sánchez also announced that the government intends to "continue promoting a reduction in the teacher-student ratio" and reduce the bureaucratic burden on teachers , other common gripes of teachers in Spain.

While in regions such as Galicia, Castilla-La Mancha, Aragón, Murcia and Extremadura similar reduced teaching hours are already in places, in other regions such as Madrid and Castilla y León teachers work longer hours.

It's worth remembering that a teacher's work week in Spain is 37.5 hours (including out-of-class work).

Spain arrests 19 for alleged migrant killings on Atlantic trip

Spanish police said Wednesday that they had arrested 19 people accused of murder and torture aboard a migrant boat heading from Senegal to the Canary Islands, where at least 50 people went missing.

The wooden vessel was rescued adrift south of Gran Canaria in the Atlantic on August 24 with 248 survivors on board, the Spanish National Police said.

Authorities believe the boat originally carried around 300 people, and many of the missing are presumed to have been thrown overboard during the 11-day voyage.

Survivors told investigators that several fellow passengers began "attacking dozens of people, beating and mistreating them in various ways", police said in a statement.

"In some cases, they threw migrants into the sea alive and refused to rescue those who fell in by accident," it added.

Some of the killings are thought to be linked to superstitions, with victims accused of being "witches" responsible for engine breakdowns, food shortages or storms. Others were allegedly killed for protesting the harsh conditions.

EU and Spain seek 'face-saving' deal on UN climate target

EU countries will seek Thursday to settle on an emissions-cutting plan to bring to a key UN conference in Brazil, as divisions on the bloc's green agenda threaten its global leadership on climate.

Right-wing electoral gains in several member states and the European Parliament have curbed ambitions, and the European Commission has pivoted to boosting industry, faced with fierce competition from China and US tariffs.

That was where the commission's proposal to cut emissions by 90 percent by 2040, which was to inform the UN goal, got bogged down.

Denmark and Spain are among those pushing for approval. But others, like Hungary, the Czech Republic and Poland, think it over-ambitious and detrimental to industry.

France, which is suffering from shaky finances and a prolonged political crisis, wants more clarity on the investment framework to support decarbonisation before committing.

Basque Country to play Palestine in football match to stand up for Gaza

On November 15th, the Basque Country national football team will face the Palestinian national team in a friendly match at San Mamés Stadium in Bilbao.

The aim of this unofficial game is to honour the victims of Israel's destruction of Gaza, and with it Spain continues to show its support for the Palestinian people, more so than any other Western nation at present.

"There is no peace without justice, and 'whitewashing' through sport a genocide like the one being committed in Gaza, with thousands of dead, innocent children, and a famine already declared by the United Nations, is a political position that contravenes the Olympic Charter and the most basic values ​​of sport," The Spanish government said in reaction to criticism of the fact that Spain's Vuelta cycling race was marred by pro-Palestinian protests.

With additional reporting by AFP.