The Pope appoints the first woman to lead Vatican communications from the network that clashed most with Francis

The Pope appoints the first woman to lead Vatican communications from the network that clashed most with Francis

The Vatican media will have a new head. Or rather, a new female head. Her name is Montserrat Alvarado, Mexican by birth and American by adoption, and she will be the new prefect of the Dicastery for Communication, starting November 1. For the first time, a woman will lead the media galaxy of the Holy See. Additionally, she will be the first layperson chosen to hold the position of prefect alone. Alvarado will be in charge of one of the largest Vatican “ministries,” which oversees Vatican News, Vatican Radio, L’Osservatore Romano, Vatican Media, the Holy See Press Office, the Vatican Publishing House, the Vatican Printing House, and the Vatican Film Library.

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The Pope will have a private meeting with Illa on the afternoon of Tuesday, June 9

The Pope will have a private meeting with Illa on the afternoon of Tuesday, June 9

Pope Leo XIV will meet with the President of the Generalitat, Salvador Illa, on Tuesday, June 9 in the afternoon, at 4:15 PM. It was a meeting that was not on the public agenda of the Pontiff and was already planned, since between the midday prayer at the Barcelona cathedral and the event at the Lluís Companys stadium there were several free hours which, according to the trip organizers, were for private meetings of the Pontiff.

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Back to work after the DANA: Néstor's second chance

Back to work after the DANA: Néstor’s second chance

The impact of the DANA of October 29 is measured not only in mud but also in unprecedented economic paralysis. According to reports from the Valencia Chamber of Commerce and the Generalitat, the disaster affected more than 54,000 companies and put the livelihood of over 190,000 workers at risk due to ERTEs, reduced working hours, and layoffs. With nearly 10,000 shops and local businesses devastated, the reconstruction of the ground zero area demands a specialized workforce that the current market cannot supply.

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Five Navarra regional police officers die in a traffic accident in Elgoibar

Five Navarra regional police officers die in a traffic accident in Elgoibar

Five Navarra regional police officers died this Wednesday in an accident on the AP-8 highway, in Elgoibar (Gipuzkoa), after their vehicle collided with a tanker truck, as confirmed in a message on X by María Chivite, president of the Government of Navarra. The accident, reported by the Basque Department of Security, occurred around 9:15 a.m. at kilometer 69 for reasons that are still unknown.

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From The Cure to Addison Rae, the essentials of Primavera Sound

From The Cure to Addison Rae, the essentials of Primavera Sound

By now, there will be few owners of a ticket for Primavera Sound who have not drawn their own route through the 18 stages that this 24th edition will have, six of them large-sized. Pop, rock, electronic, folk, as well as any of their derivatives, will have their reference from June 3 to 6, and the following are a reflection that serves as a starting point to get to know the rest or, simply, to whet the appetite of those who cannot attend the Parc del Fòrum during Barcelona’s big festival week.

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Robert Smith, leader of The Cure: "I never thought I would make it past 30... and here I am"

Robert Smith, leader of The Cure: “I never thought I would make it past 30… and here I am”

September 12, 2024. Robert Smith is at the Abbey Road studios in London. Smith has spent time here recently listening to the atmospheric mix of ‘Songs Of A Lost World’, The Cure’s first new album in 16 years. Today, however, he can be found in Studio 3, where, in an interview as rare as it is revealing, he will delve not only into this new record but also into the past and future of one of the most enduring and fascinating musical institutions of British rock.

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Brussels wants to exclude Silicon Valley giants from sensitive European data

Brussels wants to exclude Silicon Valley giants from sensitive European data

The philosophy of prioritizing the European lands in the technological sphere. The European Commission has developed an ambitious technological sovereignty package with which it aims to try to reverse the enormous structural dependence that the European Union has on foreign digital products and services. Especially, from the U.S. and China. The set of legislative measures —which still requires the approval of the European Parliament and the Twenty-Seven— introduces a series of new criteria that could exclude Silicon Valley giants, such as Amazon, Microsoft, and Google, from highly sensitive public tenders. For example, those that handle the most critical public data of the community countries.

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Brussels encourages Spain to review the reduced VAT on hotels and restaurants

Brussels encourages Spain to review the reduced VAT on hotels and restaurants

The European Commission recommends that Spain limit the use of the reduced VAT and specifically points to hotels and restaurants, as, in its view, these preferential rates have a “very limited redistributive effect” on society despite their high cost to the State. That is, they benefit higher incomes more than lower ones because they consume it the most, according to community sources. Meanwhile, the impact of this tax that is not collected is enormous: the 10% VAT for hospitality is costing Spain 0.4% of GDP, or the equivalent of almost 7 billion euros each year.

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Trump's pressure forces Meliá to stop managing 15 hotels in Cuba

Trump’s pressure forces Meliá to stop managing 15 hotels in Cuba

The pressure from the Trump Administration is forcing more and more Spanish companies to drastically reduce their activity in Cuba. The latest to give in has been the hotel chain Meliá, which will stop managing 15 of its establishments on the island, the company announced this Wednesday. The decision comes just one day after Iberostar announced its exit from 12 establishments and adds to the moves taken in recent months by Minor Hotels and Royalton Hotels & Resorts.

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