Local

The reading of the municipal register corresponding to January 1 of this year, just made public by the City Council, shows a Barcelona that is a collector of records. The municipality started this year by breaking many maximum population records. Not at a global level, as there is an almost imperceptible decrease of 0.1%, leaving the number of registered people at 1,729,963 (about 2,100 fewer residents than a year ago), but yes in various categories such as people born abroad and of non-Spanish nationality, Barcelonans who have surpassed a century of life, or the number of births, which in this case reaches a historic low: the 11,012 registered throughout 2025 represent the lowest value since 1900, with the only exception of 1939.

Shortly after the pandemic restrictions were lifted, the people in charge of the historic hat shop Mil de Barcelona shared on these pages that they were very worried because the lease contract for their store on Fontanella Street was nearing its end and, on top of that, dark clouds were looming everywhere. The fourth and fifth generations of these hatters were not sure their business could survive. On both sides, 24-hour supermarkets were opening at full speed. The family feared becoming part of the honorable list of iconic businesses that had disappeared due to the whirlwind of these times.

A homeless man was slightly injured on Sunday night after an individual tried to burn him with a lighter while he was sleeping on Entença street in Barcelona.

Union disunity worsens this Tuesday in Valencia with tensions over the salary agreement that the Ministry of Education, Culture and Universities reached yesterday with the CSIF and ANPE unions. STEPV, CCOO-PV, and UGT-PV, who did not sign the agreement yesterday, wanted to know if the review according to the CPI agreed for the last salary increase established in the agreement – 50 euros in 2028, after the 75 euros increase in July 2027 and the other 75 euros in January 2027 – and the regional Secretary of Education, Daniel McEvoy, clarified it right at the start of this afternoon’s new negotiating table meeting, making it clear that the 2028 CPI review will be made “on the total of the 200 euros and not on the last 50, thus attending to the request of the trade union organizations.” Now the non-signatories can choose between joining or denouncing the agreement.

The investigating judge in the dana case has ordered the president of the Diputació de València, Vicente Mompó, to be summoned again as a witness to be questioned regarding the statement made on Monday by the mayor of Torrent, Amparo Folgado, who told Judge Ruiz Tobarra that around 6 p.m. on October 29, 2024, she called Mompó, who was present at the Cecopi although not obliged to be there due to his position, to warn him that water was flowing down the l’Horteta ravine with an “extraordinary” flow level.

The Government of Isabel Díaz Ayuso estimates that the Pope’s trip to Madrid, from June 6 to 9, will generate a return of between 90 and 120 million euros, according to the spokesperson of the regional Government, Miguel Ángel García Martín, who announced it yesterday. The Madrid Executive will use various infrastructures, both owned and contracted, during those days for the different meetings that the Pontiff will have with citizens and pilgrims coming from different parts of Spain and around the world.

The assembly of teachers responsible for grading the University Entrance Exams (PAU) in the Valencian Community has increased pressure on the Ministry of Education this Tuesday amid the ongoing conflict with public school teachers, who are engaged in an indefinite strike. The approximately 250 teachers responsible for reviewing and grading the university exams have warned that they might not join the panels in charge of supervising and grading the tests, a decision that would seriously jeopardize the normal conduct of the examination session.

One of the most popular meeting points in downtown Barcelona, the Apple Store on Passeig de Gràcia, reopened its doors this Tuesday after a six-month interior renovation. The changes included replacing the floor, removing the trees in the central area of the store, and the large video screen at the back, opposite the entrance.

Juanfran Pérez Llorca has closed the budget agreement for the Generalitat Valenciana for 2026 with Vox. This was confirmed by the spokesperson of the far-right party, José María Llanos. The pact, according to the Vox spokesman, was possible after both parties negotiated that the accounts include national priority in access to public aid, a reduction in taxation, and measures in favor of housing. The goal is for these budgets to be approved next Friday after the meeting of the plenary of the regional government, with the idea that they will be ratified in the Corts Valencianes the week of July 21 to 24.

The Ministry of Health has estimated the impact on Madrid’s healthcare system of the doctors’ and specialists’ strike for a Framework Statute since December at more than 16.4 million euros, with more than 10,470 surgeries and 215,344 consultations suspended.