Practically, ten years after the Brexit referendumGibraltar returns to the single market, the fence is definitively taken down, and while it remains under British sovereignty, the Rock cedes border control of ports and airports to the Spanish police. The future of Gibraltar now has a defined legal roadmap according to the full text of the agreement between Brussels, London, and Madrid, which the Spanish and British foreign ministries made public this Thursday morning. The legal formulation –a text of more than 1,000 pages– puts it in black and white the political agreement to which the three capitals involved In the negotiations, in addition to Gibraltar itself, they reached an agreement in June of last year.

Isabel Díaz Ayuso dismissed her Education Minister, Emilio Viciana, on Monday, and the decision has had repercussions within the Madrid PP. On Wednesday, Antonio Castillo Algarra, one of the directors of the Spanish Ballet of the Community of Madrid and a close associate of the dismissed minister, resigned, as did the members of parliament who resigned on Tuesday, the so-called the popcornsIn fact, they were part of a theater group directed by Castillo Algarra himself, who is also an advisor to Ayuso. The decision came from "political consistency," for reasons unrelated to the Ballet, and according to Europa Press, further resignations are not ruled out. Furthermore, the Madrid government has also dismissed two directors general from the Ministry of Education: the Director General of Universities, Nicolás Javier Casas, and the Director General of Secondary Education, Vocational Training, and Special Education, María Luz Rodríguez de Llera Tejeda. The three Popular Party members of parliament who have resigned from the Madrid Assembly are: Pablo Posse, Mónica Lavín, and Carlota Pasarón. Posse was the first to announce his resignation, doing so during the Education Committee meeting held this morning in the Assembly. There, according to the EFE news agency, Posse—who until now was the PP's spokesperson for Education in the Madrid Assembly—also explained that these three resignations will not be the only ones, as two directors general of the regional ministry will also step down: Nicolás Javier Casas, Director General of Universities; and María Luz Rodríguez de Llera, Director General of Secondary Education, Vocational Training, and Special Education. Sources within the Madrid government assure that no other dismissals have been approved so far. According to the Madrid PP, the resignations of Posse, Lavín—until now the PP's spokesperson for Social Policy in the Assembly—and Pasarón—spokesperson for Youth—are due to "personal reasons" of the three deputies, but the fact is that the resignations came the very next morning. The first change in Ayuso's government apparently did not please the three PP deputies who left the Assembly. The now former Minister of Education confirmed on Tuesday that his resignation was "at his own request" and thanked the Madrid president in a message to X for the opportunity to have served in the position over the past few years. Mercedes Zarzalejo will replace Viciana. In fact, according to Europa Press, the new minister will also form her own team, and therefore some officials will not resign voluntarily. Posse indicated that two directors general would like to resign.

The clash of models between the Spanish government and the Community of Madrid shows no signs of slowing, and this Tuesday it was healthcare that took center stage. Pedro Sánchez's administration took a first step to safeguard public healthcare and, as it had been warning, laid out in writing the path it intends to follow. The Council of Ministers approved in its first reading a draft bill on healthcare services that aims to "slam the door," in the words of Health Minister Mónica García, on the publicly funded and privatized model promoted by the People's Party (PP) during José María Aznar's term. The Catalan healthcare system's employers' associations have already announced that they will demand the protection of the "unique" nature of Catalonia's publicly funded model. The bill, therefore, represents a direct attack on the healthcare system championed by Isabel Díaz Ayuso in the Community of Madrid. In fact, the president of the Madrid region was quick to react, accusing the government of "wanting to destroy healthcare" in Madrid and leading it into a "revolution" so that "nothing works."

While Gabriel Rufián embarks on a nearly solitary journey. To forge alliances with left-wing forces throughout the state, Sumar has taken a right-wing approach, anticipating the move of the Republican spokesperson, and has announced a new coalition with Comunes, Más Madrid, and Izquierda Unida for the upcoming general elections. The presentation of the new "common alliance" will take place on Saturday, February 21st, at the Círculo de Bellas Artes in Madrid. "A solid and trustworthy space over time that allows the transformative and plurinational left-wing movements of the State to come together," the four parties assert. In fact, the new agreement will be a kind of revalidation after the three years of experience of Sumar, the platform that Yolanda Díaz was solemnized in April 2023 and who ran in the June 23rd elections. Meanwhile, Rufián is sticking to his roadmap. The ERC spokesperson in Congress admits that, despite having "0% political support," he has a "much higher percentage of popular support" and defends his commitment to going beyond Catalonia's borders: "Representing someone from Algeciras doesn't make me any less Catalan or less pro-independence."

The People's Party (PP) of Madrid pressured a councilwoman from the party in Móstoles not to report the town's mayor, Manuel Bautista, for sexual and workplace harassment. as published The CountryThe newspaper has obtained a copy of the complaint the woman filed with the Popular Party's national committee on rights and guarantees, in which she explains the events and details up to six attempts to seek support from her party. She says it was all in vain. The party denies having covered anything up and claims that the internal investigation it opened was closed because there was "no evidence to support the complaint." "It's a fabricated case against the PP," reacted the president of the Community of Madrid, Isabel Díaz Ayuso. The leader of the PP, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, also sided with the mayor and said that the party did not consider the conduct proven, while the mayor himself defended his innocence and ruled out resigning. Feijóo, in any case, said that any woman has the right to seek justice, in statements made in Aragon and reported by Europa Press.

Problems are piling up on the high-speed rail line between Madrid and Barcelona. Adif, the infrastructure manager, which has been working for days to correct all the defects in the train network, has asked all operators serving this line to cancel the last trains of the day to allow more time for on-site work. In practical terms, this means that starting this Monday, there will be no high-speed service between Barcelona and Madrid after 8:00 p.m. This situation will only affect this corridor, and the Ministry of Transport has not yet specified how long it will last. Renfe, Iryo, and Ouigo have already canceled the last trains of the day because, with all the speed limits that had been established for safetyHigh-speed train journeys are so long that the last trains of the day occupy part of the nighttime maintenance slot. While there is no commercial service, workers thoroughly inspect and repair the infrastructure, and sources at Adif (Spain's railway infrastructure manager) indicate that there is not enough time to carry out the "adequate" checks. Renfe, which operates the AVE high-speed train service, has explained that it is canceling the journeys that departed from Madrid (Atocha station) at 8:27 p.m. and 9:07 p.m. and arrived at Sants station at midnight. Trains departing from Barcelona (Sants) at 9:05 p.m. and 9:15 p.m. and arriving at Atocha station shortly before midnight have also been canceled. "Automatic rebookings have been made for passengers affected by these cancellations," the company explained.

"I could call Mourinho at three in the morning and he'd answer." That's what Álvaro Arbeloa said before visiting Benfica's stadium on the final matchday of the Champions League group stage. It was a crazy match that went to the home side (4-2) with a goal from goalkeeper Trubin in the 98th minute, which secured the Portuguese team's place in the round of 32 (a 3-2 victory would have eliminated them on goal difference). Real Madrid's defeat – combined with the other results of the day – also dropped them from third to ninth place and forced them to play this qualifying round to reach the round of 16. The draw has paired Arbeloa with Mourinho once again. The first leg will be on February 17th or 18th at the Estádio da Luz, while the return leg will be on February 24th or 25th at the Bernabéu.

"I'm informing you that we're stopped. We'll resume our journey shortly, but we don't know when. We're stopped due to traffic on the network and the snow. And also due to structural problems." This message, issued this afternoon by a driver of a high-speed train stopped between Barcelona and Madrid, reflects the chaos on the AVE high-speed rail lines in recent hours. This chaos adds to the disruption experienced in recent days on the Cercanías commuter rail network. Furthermore, flights departing from Madrid are also experiencing delays this Wednesday due to the snowstorm.

A Madrid court continues its investigation into the protocols in place in the Community of Madrid during the pandemic that restricted the transfer of elderly residents from care homes to hospitals, effectively denying them healthcare. Due to the coronavirus, 7,291 people died in care homes. On Monday, Carlos Mur, who is under investigation in the case and was the Director of Social and Healthcare Coordination at the time, testified and began pointing fingers at higher levels of the administration. For the private prosecution, led by the Marea de Residencias (Care Home Tide) movement, his testimony represents a significant step forward, despite revealing a strategy of evading responsibility among those involved in healthcare management. After four failed attempts to get him to testify, he finally did so via videoconference from Andorra.

It was supposed to be temporary, but it will ultimately last longer than expected. Adif has decided to maintain the temporary speed restriction on the Barcelona-Madrid high-speed rail line following a complaint from a train driver, even though early Wednesday morning it announced that service was returning to normal along almost the entire route. However, this is not the only section affected after the Adamuz accident, where the condition of the tracks is being investigated as a possible cause of the crash: sources at La Moncloa (the Prime Minister's office) have reported that speed will also be restricted on the Valencia-Madrid route due to complaints from another train driver. In the case of the section affecting Barcelona, ​​the speed will be limited to 160 kilometers per hour on a stretch between kilometer markers 100 and 178, between Madrid and Zaragoza, out of a total distance of 667 kilometers. This decision was made after a Renfe train driver "complained about the track."

"It's very strange that it happened on a straight stretch of road." This was one of the first assessments made on Sunday night by railway experts, train drivers, industry workers, and even the Minister of Transport, Óscar Puente. The area where they collided Two trains in Adamuz (Cordoba), an accident that has already left at least 40 deadIt's flat terrain: a long straight stretch with the only element being a switch.

The poor electoral results that Sumar has suffered since its launch have led parties to the left of the PSOE to begin a period of reflection on their future. While general elections are not yet on the horizon, United Left, one of the coalition's members, is already publicly calling for going "beyond" Sumar and developing an alternative for when the time comes for Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez to call the public to the polls. This was stated by the leader of United Left, Antonio Maíllo, in a speech this Saturday before the party's coordinator. who has been setting a profile for months Regarding Yolanda Díaz's party, it's an appeal directed at Sumar, but also at Comunes, Más Madrid, Compromís, and the CHA. It also includes Podemos, although the purple party distances itself from that political space, having formalized its split by joining the mixed group shortly after the general elections.

The classic rivalry between the cities of Barcelona and Madrid saw a new chapter unfold this Wednesday in the Senate regarding housing. The mayors of both capitals, Jaume Collboni and José Luis Martínez-Almeida, appeared before the Spanish upper house to explain the strategies each is implementing to address their cities' housing crisis. It wasn't a direct confrontation – they spoke separately – but it served to highlight that Barcelona and Madrid's approaches to this issue are currently diametrically opposed. The main difference in opinion between the two mayors quickly became apparent. While Collboni has long boasted of "changing the rules of the game" and of having made Barcelona a leader in rent regulation, Almeida began his remarks by criticizing market regulation. The Popular Party leader has said that the state housing law and measures like the rent cap represent a "strangulation" and "excessive interventionism," consolidating a disproportion between the obligations of "landlords and tenants." According to Almeida, the solution should be completely different and should be based on expanding the housing supply by building new homes. Therefore, he has advocated "making life easier for real estate developers from a fiscal and regulatory standpoint" by incentivizing "rapid construction." In this regard, he boasted that Madrid is the European city with the most land ready for construction and assured that the City Council currently has the capacity to issue 60,000 building permits for apartments. Beyond private sector activity, the mayor of Madrid also touted the public investment he said the Spanish capital is making. Thus, he asserted that last year Madrid built more public housing than Catalonia, Asturias, Navarre, and Castilla-La Mancha combined, even claiming that the municipal public housing company, with 10,000 homes, is the "largest public housing developer in Spain." This claim was refuted by other political groups, who pointed out that Barcelona currently has more public housing units and that, moreover, when considering each city's population, the proportion of public housing in Madrid is lower. Although both mayors emphasized that they did not want to "confront" the cities, they did have time to question some decisions. Almeida, for example, opposed implementing a rent cap in Madrid, arguing that "there is nowhere" where rental prices have fallen without a corresponding substantial reduction in the supply of this type of housing. Collboni, for his part, defended the Barcelona model, stating that it works and recommended that Madrid also "apply the law."

FC Barcelona and Real Madrid will face off this Sunday, January 11th (8 PM CET) in the Spanish Super Cup final at the King Abdullah Sports City Stadium in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. This match will be the second Clásico of the season and will be for the first title of the year. Barça comes into the match after defeating Athletic Club 5-0 in the semifinals, while Madrid comes from a 2-1 victory against Atlético de Madrid. Hansi Flick's team leads La Liga, four points ahead of their eternal rivals. In the Champions League, Barça is fifteenth and Real Madrid is seventh. Both Barça and Madrid have qualified for the Round of 16 of the Copa del Rey. Both teams are in good form. Barça has nine consecutive wins, while Madrid has five. However, the feeling surrounding Xabi Alonso's team's performances hasn't been positive.

Carla Julià (19 years old), Clara Serrajordi (18 years old), Aïcha Camara (19 years old), and Sydney Schertenleib (18 years old). They are the future of Barça, but since this season, they are also the present. All four started in Barça's 12-1 thrashing of Madrid CFF in another impressive performance at the Johan Cruyff Stadium, which boasted one of the best attendances of the season with 4,743 spectators. Despite rotations – Ona Batlle, Mapi León, Claudia Pina, Graham Hansen, and Laia Aleixandri didn't start, the latter two due to injury – Ewa Pajor was once again the one to break the deadlock. The Polish striker perfectly capitalized on a brilliant run and through ball from Clara Serrajordi to put Barça ahead.

María Jesús Montero has long been waging a crusade against Madrid's "tax dumping." The First Vice President and Minister of Finance has made no secret of her support for discouraging this practice, and this Friday, within the framework of the presentation of the new regional financing modelShe has brought it up again. "It's important to set limits and [approve] mechanisms to prevent tax evasion," she said.

Reality sometimes surpasses fiction, and Vicky López's story could be the script of a film worthy of a Gaudí Award. Besides having talent—and the Madrid-born player certainly has it—you also need that element of luck, of being in the right place at the right time, and, almost by chance, Vicky had it. More than ten years later, she has become one of the most promising players in women's football and the current winner of the Kopa Trophy, which recognizes the best under-21 player. When she accepted the award, the Barcelona player wanted to say a few words about Alba Mellado, the woman who discovered her, whom she described as her "mentor and teacher." The former footballer explained to ARA that it was one of the most special nights for her. "I am very grateful and proud of Vicky; many people don't remember those who were there at the beginning."

The privatization of Madrid's healthcare system is once again under scrutiny. And all eyes are on the Torrejón de Ardoz Hospital. It's at the center of the storm after... The Country Audio recordings have surfaced in which Pablo Gallart, CEO of Ribera Salut—the company that manages the hospital—is heard ordering the rejection of unprofitable patients or procedures to lengthen waiting lists. His aim was to perform fewer surgeries, thus reducing the need for staff and resources, and consequently increasing profits. This occurred during a September 25th meeting with group and hospital management: "In Torrejón, in 2022 and 2023, we decided as an organization to make an effort to reduce the waiting list. All I ask is: let's reverse course," he said. He also argued that Torrejón Hospital is operating at a loss, stating that it will never be profitable until the concession ends, and lamenting that the government's contribution is insufficient to cover expenses. Company sources consulted by The Country They countered that, taken out of context, the content of the audio recordings could be altered or misinterpreted and lose its meaning.

We have an important figure regarding financing, which hasn't been published anywhere, that we'll discuss shortly. But first, President Pujol continues to recover well from the pneumonia for which he was hospitalized and could be discharged relatively soon. This would allow him to appear remotely before the judge of the National Court next Monday, with Pujol in Barcelona and the judge in Madrid. This appearance is clearly designed to target Pujol, because it will allow the judge to decide whether the former president is fit to testify at his trial or not, when it turns out that forensic doctors have prepared a report for the judge confirming what we already told you yesterday in our analysis: that Pujol is not fit to testify or defend himself. And so, the question is: if the doctors appointed by the court to evaluate Pujol's condition... You've already been told that he's not in a condition to testify.Why are you summoning him to appear? Should a judge medically evaluate a person? It's just wishful thinking.

The Community of Madrid will finally send its cancer screening data to the Ministry of Health after weeks of back-and-forth between Isabel Díaz Ayuso and the Spanish government. This afternoon, the Ministry of Health and all the autonomous communities agreed to share data on breast, colon, and cervical cancer screenings based on three indicators: the number of invitations to participate in the screening programs, the response rate to these invitations, and the number of positive cases detected during these screenings. The ministry, headed by Mónica García, requested the data from all the communities after... The breast cancer diagnosis scandal in Andalusiawhich affected at least 2,000 women.