El Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera, the unexpected micro-border

El Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera, the unexpected micro-border

Spain has a certain tendency towards atypical borders. The municipality of Llívia or the border by turns — six months French, six Spanish — of the Island of the Pheasants, between Irún and Hendaye are two good examples. In this line, Spanish geography has the curious honor of hosting the shortest border in the world. It is barely 85 meters of sand that separate Spain and Morocco on African land due to the Spanish possession of the Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera.

Read More
Catalonia faces another day of simultaneous fires in Aiguamúrcia and Lladurs

Catalonia faces another day of simultaneous fires in Aiguamúrcia and Lladurs

Bombers de la Generalitat has been working since this morning against a vegetation fire declared at 12:45 in the municipality of Lladurs (Solsonès) affecting the Santa Eulàlia area, where the fire has been gaining intensity. However, around 17:00, the same Bombers reported that they have already managed to reduce the intensity of the fire, so they have begun to withdraw some of the resources assigned to this fire. The fire, Bombers adds, is surrounded so its capacity to spread has been reduced.

Read More
'El Niño' strongest in a century will favor an autumn with more storms

‘El Niño’ strongest in a century will favor an autumn with more storms

The El Niño phenomenon, which is already developing in the Pacific Ocean, could be the most intense in a century, according to a warning issued this Friday by the British Meteorological Office (Met). Strong storms and rains will hit northwest Europe, including the United Kingdom, this autumn and winter, while in the tropics, southern Africa, and northeastern Australia there will be a higher risk of drought. 2027 is already anticipated to be the warmest ever recorded, explains the Met. Meanwhile, despite the weak connection between El Niño and the climate in Spain, a very strong episode could favor wetter than normal autumns or early winters, according to Aemet.

Read More
The King is 'Flip' again in his return to Lakefield College where he studied COU

The King is ‘Flip’ again in his return to Lakefield College where he studied COU

The first time Felipe de Borbón entered the grounds of Lakefield College School (LCS), located in the Canadian town of the same name in the province of Ontario, 160 kilometers north of Toronto, he was a 16-year-old teenager, whom his parents, King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofía, had sent with the purpose of distancing him from a protective environment and so that he could interact with other young people. This Thursday, the then young prince, whom his classmates called Flip, returned to the classrooms where he studied the equivalent of COU, and although he carried with him his status as King of Spain, he did so as an alumnus, acknowledging that that first experience away from home marked his early youth.

Read More
Regularization drives foreign employment to a record 3.5 million

Regularization drives foreign employment to a record 3.5 million

Foreign employment has accelerated strongly in Spain coinciding with the launch of the extraordinary regularization process for migrants carried out by the Government of Pedro Sánchez. Social Security reached a new record of 3.51 million foreign affiliates on average in July, after adding 66,046 employed in a single month and 420,875 in the last year, according to data published this Friday by the Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migrations.

Read More
The nebulous status of former presidents: no obligations or limits

The nebulous status of former presidents: no obligations or limits

The indictment of former president José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero for alleged influence peddling in the Plus Ultra case brings to the table a debate that has not been resolved in Spain: what can former presidents do to make a living when they leave Moncloa? The reality today is that they can basically do the same as any other citizen, but with a much larger network of contacts and a greater capacity for influence. The statute of former presidents is regulated by a minimal royal decree, which does not impose any obligations, incompatibilities, or restrict their private activities, beyond the legal limits that apply to any citizen. And that nebulous area in which they remain is certainly an advantage, but also a risk.

Read More