The Artà Demand Unit goes on alert, activating the measures of the Special Action Plan for Situations of Alert and Possible Drought.

Water reserves in the Balearic Islands have increased to 46% during September, an increase of 3 percentage points over the previous month, but still 6 points less than in the same period last year, when they stood at 52%. This situation continues to call for rigorous monitoring and responsible management of available resources.

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Water reserves in the Balearic Islands increase to 46% during September

This month there has been a change of scenario: the Artà Demand Unit (UD) has gone on alert. Thus, the UD of Artà, es Pla and Formentera are currently in the alert scenario, activating the measures established in the Special Plan of Actions in Situations of Alert and Possible Drought. These measures include the limitation of garden irrigation, street cleaning, ornamental uses and beach showers by the managing entities without connection to desalination plants, as well as restrictions on water supply in rural areas and the promotion of awareness campaigns by the administrations.

Meanwhile, 82.2% of the Balearic Islands territory, comprising the UD of Menorca, Manacor-Felanitx, Migjorn, Palma-Alcúdia, Tramuntana Norte, Tramuntana Sur and Eivissa, remains in pre-alert.

About the evolution of bookings by Demand Unit, four DUs have registered a decrease: Artà, Manacor-Felanitx, Tramuntana Sur and Formentera, while three DUs have experienced an increase: Menorca, Migjorn and Tramuntana Norte. The UDs of es Pla, Palma-Alcúdia and Eivissa have remained stable. The general index for the demarcation is 0.365, a slight increase compared to the previous month, but lower than last year (0.429) and two years ago (0.438).

As for the percentages of bookings by island, Mallorca has risen from 43% to 47%, Menorca has increased from 39% to 44%, and Eivissa has increased slightly from 32% to 33%. Despite this improvement, the overall situation in the Balearic Islands is still less favourable than it was a year ago.

According to AEMET data, September was a normal month in terms of rainfall, with an average of 48.8 l/m² compared to the usual 61.2 l/m². By islands, Menorca recorded 48.1 l/m² (vs. 56.9 l/m²), Mallorca 49.0 l/m² (vs. 62.7 l/m²) and Eivissa 55.3 l/m² (vs. 60.1 l/m²). In contrast, Formentera had a dry month, with only 22.2 l/m² (vs. 42.6 l/m²).

The percentage of accumulated annual rainfall in the Balearics stands at 76%, with Mallorca at 77%, Menorca at 87% and the Pitiusas at 56%. In terms of temperatures, the month of September has been considered normal, with an average temperature of 22.1ºC and an anomaly of -0.2ºC.

Considering the current situation and the recorded rainfall, it is expected that stocks may continue to increase during the month of October, with no significant changes in the scenario expected.

The exhibition will be on display at the Museum of Mallorca from 3 June to 8 September.

The Consell de Mallorca is organising an exhibition dedicated to Joaquín Sorolla. The president of the Consell de Mallorca, Llorenç Galmés, has announced that “for the first time, the 12 works that the artist produced on the island will be shown together in the same room”.

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The Consell de Mallorca organises an exhibition dedicated to Sorolla

The exhibition will be inaugurated on 3 June at 7 p.m. at the Museum of Mallorca and will be open until 8 September. During these months, stressed the president of the Consell de Mallorca, Llorenç Galmés, “it will be possible to enjoy the essence of Sorolla: his textures, brushstrokes and experimentation with colours and light that he carried out in places like Palma, the coast of Valldemossa and Pollença”.

The Sorolla Museum has contributed 10 works that the artist produced on the island: seven paintings of Cala Sant Vicenç, a portrait of a pagan woman and two of Mallorcan houses. In addition, Es Baluard and a private collection in Madrid have left two more works by Sorolla that complete his journey around Mallorca.

This is the last stop of the project “Sorolla. Travelling to paint”, which is being carried out to commemorate the centenary of the death of Joaquín Sorolla Bastida (1863-1923), an event declared an Event of Exceptional Public Interest for the years 2022, 2023 and 2024. The aim is to take Sorolla’s works to the main places where they were executed: they have already been to San Sebastián, Toledo, Galicia, Valladolid and Seville, and the last stop is Mallorca.

Sorolla was in the Balearic Islands in the summer of 1919. This trip was of particular importance for the painter’s career, as the paintings made on this trip were Sorolla’s last view of the Mediterranean, as the following June he suffered the cardiovascular accident that kept him away from painting until the end of his life three years later. “This exhibition, therefore, represents the perfect closure to the project,” said Galmés.

The presentation will take place at the Arxiu d’Imatge i So de Menorca next Thursday 12th December at 7pm in the auditorium of Can Victorii in Maó.

Within the framework of the exhibition ‘LA MODA DE ANTAÑO. Como se vestía en Menorca entre 1850 y 1930’ the Arxiu d’Imatge I So de Menorca proposes a new activity to present the fashion of those years.

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Presentation: The English influence in 19th-century Menorcan fashion

Aina Gilabert Solé has done her baccalaureate research work on the English influence on 19th-century Menorcan fashion and has completed it with the creation of two reproductions of dresses from the period. Thus, on Thursday 12th December at 7 p.m. in the auditorium of Can Victori in Maó, she presented the results of this research.

The activity will consist of an explanation of how the historical research was carried out and the results, as well as the presentation of the reproductions of the dresses and the challenges she had to face when sewing them.

The presentation of the work ‘THE ENGLISH INFLUENCE ON 19th CENTURY MENORCAN FASHION’ will take place on 12th December at 7 p.m. in the auditorium of Can Victori in Maó (Camí des Castell, 28). Free access.

Exhibition ‘LA MODA DE ANTAÑO. How people dressed in Menorca between 1850 and 1930’. Auditorium of Can Victori de Maó (Camí des Castell, 28). Visiting hours: Monday to Friday from 9 am to 1.30 pm and on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 4.30 pm to 8 pm.

The Minister of Territory, Mobility and Infrastructures, Fernando Rubio, today received representatives of AEVAB and BALEVAL to gather their contributions to the study of the road network load that the island institution is preparing.

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The Consell de Mallorca meets with car hire companies

The Minister of Territory, Mobility and Infrastructures, Fernando Rubio, met today with representatives of the two car hire associations of the Balearic Islands to study measures agreed with the sector to study solutions to the saturation of Mallorca’s roads. Rubio was accompanied by the island directors of Mobility, Rafael Oliver, and Infrastructures, Rafel Gelabert. The delegation from the Agrupación Empresarial de Alquiler de Vehículos con y sin Conductor de Baleares (AEVAB) was headed by its president Ramon Reus. For its part, the Balearic Association of Car Rental with and without Driver (BALEVAL) was represented by its board of directors, chaired by Othman Ktiri.

Fernando Rubio explained that the Department of Territory, Mobility and Infrastructures is working intensively to draw up a study of the load on the island’s roads, a document that until now has never been carried out in Mallorca to find out with official and contrasted data what the causes of the traffic jams on Mallorca’s road network are. Rubio reiterated that the study will also propose solutions, both with infrastructures and possible regulations, and that the Consell is ‘willing to take courageous measures’ to improve the mobility of Mallorcans, as the president of the Consell de Mallorca, Llorenç Galmés, has stated on several occasions.

The car hire companies have shown their willingness to collaborate with the Consell in the search for effective solutions to alleviate the saturation of the island’s roads.

Today’s meetings with AEVAB and BALEBAL are the second that the Department of Territory, Mobility and Infrastructures will hold with representatives of the sectors involved and civil society. The aim is to hear their opinions first-hand and reach a consensus on possible solutions to the saturation suffered by Mallorca.

The Balearic Islands are pioneers in the implementation of ultrasound scanners in primary care health centres

Throughout 2024, Primary Care has trained a total of 618 professionals: 424 doctors, 124 nurses, 50 physiotherapists and 20 paediatricians in the Balearic Islands in the programme for the implementation of clinical ultrasound in health centres. The Balearic Islands have also been the first autonomous community to train all resident doctors in basic clinical ultrasound in 2021.

The First Conference on Clinical Ultrasound in Primary Care (ECO-APIB) in the Balearic Islands took place today at the Hospital Comarcal de Inca. This conference aims to explore advances in ultrasound in primary care with a programme divided into different workshops with practical training in ultrasound aimed at health professionals (and residents) in medicine, paediatrics, nursing and physiotherapy in the Balearic Islands.

The conference, which is attended by over one hundred participants, features thirty workshops and eight national speakers who are experts in ultrasound. Some of the presentations focus on the usefulness of ultrasound in emergencies or in the evaluation of rheumatological diseases, among others. Clinical ultrasound has established itself as a tool of excellence and a complementary diagnostic tool. It represents an important reinforcement in the capacity to make decisions, providing added value to the quality of healthcare activity.

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Primary Care has trained more than six hundred professionals in clinical ultrasound in the Balearic Islands

Primary Care in Majorca, pioneer in the use of clinical ultrasound

Ultrasound scanners are becoming a very useful tool in health centres to achieve a better approach to diagnosis. In no case do they replace anamnesis or examination; they are an extension of the physical examination, which facilitates diagnosis, treatment, follow-up and prioritised referral in practically all clinical scenarios.

The Primary Care Management of Mallorca has been a pioneer in the commitment to implement clinical ultrasound in health centres. In fact, it began in 2019 and since then has made significant progress in different aspects throughout the Balearic Islands: investment in the provision of ultrasound scanners for all health centres, investment in ongoing training in clinical ultrasound for primary care professionals (with courses, on-site workshops and eco coach), and the creation of the Balearic Islands Primary Care Clinical Ultrasound Classroom (ECO-APIB), with ultrasound stations and training spaces. The Clinical Ultrasound Technical Commission has also been created in the Technical Office of Primary Care in Mallorca.
The ECO-APIB Illes Balears classroom has seven ultrasound stations and a teaching team made up of 18 doctors, 3 paediatricians, 3 nurses and 1 physiotherapist. Training in clinical ultrasound has been expanding year after year: basic, advanced, hepatobiliary-pancreatic, thoracic and pulmonary, echocardoscopy, urology, emergency care, paediatrics, vascular, thyroid, renal, musculoskeletal, etc.

The Inca Town Council reaffirms its commitment to the farming sector and local farmers with the approval of a direct subsidy to the Pagesa de Inca Cooperative. In this way, the town council of the capital of Raiguer has granted a subsidy of 40,000 euros to improve the development of its work and contribute to increasing efficiency and sustainability.

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Inca Town Council and the Pagesa de Inca Cooperative signed a collaboration agreement

“This agreement is another example of the commitment of the Inca Town Council to the local agricultural sector. The Pagesa de Inca Cooperative plays a crucial role in our community and this modernisation of their facilities will allow them to continue their valuable work more efficiently,” says the Mayor of Inca, Virgilio Moreno.

The main objective of this direct subsidy is to provide economic support to the farmers of Inca, in order to promote the maintenance and growth of the sector. This aid will provide the Cooperativa Pagesa de Inca with the resources necessary to equip and modernise the shop, warehouse, offices and meeting room at the headquarters of the Cooperativa Pagesa de Inca.

“The main objective of this grant is to strengthen the sector and ensure its sustainable development. In this way, we support the Cooperativa Pagesa de Inca, a reference entity in the town, in its work of advising and training local farmers, as well as promoting agriculture and the development of the primary sector in Inca”, explains the councillor for the Environment, Helena Cayetano.

The signing of the grant agreement for the modernisation and adaptation of the cooperative’s headquarters was presided over by the mayor of Inca, Virgilio Moreno, and the president of the Pagesa de Inca Cooperative, Tomeu Martorell. Also present at the meeting were the councillor for the Environment, Helena Cayetano, and other representatives of the cooperative.

The entity will manage 13,000 terminals between basic and advanced TAD in 2024, 14,800 in 2025 and 15,900 in 2026.

The budget distribution is 483,760 euros in 2024, 3,610,630 in 2025 and 3,587,677 in 2026.

The Consell de Govern has authorised the councillor for Families and Social Affairs to allocate a maximum expenditure of 7,682,067 € for the agreement with the entity Servicios de Teleasistencia SA for the home telecare service for people in a situation of dependency from October 2024 to September 2026.

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7.6 million is allocated to the entity Servicios de Teleasistencia SA for the agreement from 2024 to 2026

The distribution of the budget is as follows:

483,760 € in October and November 2024 concerning the number of terminals previously contracted (7,200 basic TAD and 4,800 advanced TAD. The newly contracted terminals (800 basic TAD and 200 advanced TAD) will be with the effects of the agreement.

3,610,630 from December 2024 to November 2025.

3,587,677 from December 2025 to September 2026.

Currently, of the 12,000 terminals contracted by Servicios de Teleasistencia SA, 7,200 terminals are basic TAD and 4,800 are advanced TAD. The request that the entity has formalised is to manage: 8,000 basic TAD terminals and 5,000 advanced TAD terminals in 2024, 8,600 basic TAD terminals and 6,200 advanced TAD terminals in 2025, and 8,500 basic TAD terminals and 7,400 advanced TAD terminals in 2026.

The reference price per terminal/month is 14.96 € (VAT included) for basic TAD and 24.44 € for advanced TAD in 2024, 16.65 € (VAT included) for basic TAD and 26.30 € for advanced TAD in 2025 and 18.37 € (VAT included) for basic TAD and 28.17 € for advanced TAD in 2026.

The railway company signs an agreement with the Guardia Civil for the delivery of 300 transport cards and will extend this initiative to other entities

Serveis Ferroviaris de Mallorca (SFM) has signed a collaboration agreement with the 17th Zone/Commandery of the Civil Guard of the Balearic Islands to allow free travel to all its members in the services managed by the railway administrator. For this purpose, 300 non-nominative transport cards have been delivered to them, which can be used by all the members of this corps belonging to the demarcation of the island of Mallorca.

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SFM

The cards provided through this initiative have an identification number that will allow to have a personalized record of its use by the Command and the main objective is that the members of the corps can have easy access to both train and metro stations to facilitate possible interventions or develop research and intelligence work, but also encourage the use of public rail transport among its members.

The measure gives continuity to other similar agreements already in effect by SFM, such as the one made under the same conditions with the National Police a few years ago or with the Local Police of Sineu, more recently. Likewise, SFM intends to follow the same steps with other local police forces in municipalities along the railway corridor.

On the other hand, SFM has opened the application for obtaining group tickets to new entities, such as associations or leisure and free time entities, the different groups of the Moviment Escolta i Guiatge de Mallorca, entities that work with people with functional diversity or senior citizens or other similar groups that want to benefit from the advantages of this ticket.

Until now, the purchase of group tickets was authorized exclusively to schools attached to the Ministry of Education of the Government of the Balearic Islands, being free of charge for students in kindergarten, primary and secondary schools and offering very low fares for the rest of the courses.

It should be remembered that the group ticket must be requested to SFM in advance and following the established channels and it is not necessary to have the Intermodal Card to make use of it by any member of the group traveling on the train. It is a type of ticket widely used for excursions or outings by schools since, apart from the economic benefit if you do not have an Intermodal Card, it allows you to organize the trip with the advice of the railway company’s staff and speeds up the access and exit of the stations for the comfort and safety of both the group making the trip and the rest of the users of the railway network.

This volunteer project of the Mallorca Integra Foundation offers rides to elderly people living in the centre managed by IMAS.

Combating unwanted loneliness, promoting intergenerational relationships and reconnecting the elderly with their surroundings and the community are the objectives of the project ‘En bici sin edad’ (‘By bike without age’). A volunteer action implemented with great success in other Spanish and European cities which, for the first time, comes to the Balearic Islands, thanks to the Mallorca Integra Foundation, in collaboration with MBW Proa Premium and the ‘la Caixa’ Foundation.

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La Llar d’Ancians launches the project ‘En bici sin edad’ to combat loneliness and reconnect with the community

Users with reduced mobility or who do not have a family at the Llar d’Ancians residence, which IMAS manages in Palma, will be the first in the autonomous community to be able to enjoy this innovative yet simple experience, which offers outings on electric tricycles with capacity for up to two people, to go for rides around Palma, visit their old neighbourhood, see the Christmas lights or the sea, accompanied by a volunteer who drives the vehicle.

‘This is a project that contributes to promoting active, healthy and integrated ageing within the community, which is what IMAS is committed to’, stressed the Vice-President of the island’s institution, Magdalena García Gual, who thanked the work of Mallorca Integra, MBW Proa Premium, the “la Caixa” Foundation and the volunteers who make it possible. ‘Volunteering contributes to the common good, the work you do complements that of the professionals and allows the elderly to enjoy activities like this, which strengthen their self-esteem, sense of belonging and social integration’, she said.

The Vice-President of IMAS closed the presentation ceremony of ‘En bici sin edad’, which was also attended by the Councillor for Families and Social Affairs of the GOIB, Catalina Cirer, the Director of Social and Health Care of the Consell de Mallorca, Rosa Llobera, the Councillor for the Elderly and Interculturalism of Palma City Council, María Luisa Marqués, as well as representatives of the sponsoring organisations and the directors of the Mallorca Integra Foundation, Catalina Miralles and Aurora Sampol, who will coordinate and direct this project.

The councillor for Health, Manuela García, and the councillor for Education, Antoni Vera, attended the vaccination of 237 children at the Santa Mónica school in Palma, 65% of those vaccinated.

The pilot school immunisation plan continues, with 2,900 students born between 2019 and 2021 to be vaccinated.

The councillor for Health, Manuela García, accompanied by the councillor for Education, Antoni Vera, went today to the Santa Mónica school in Palma to show her support for the flu vaccination of 237 children in the second cycle of infant education, 65% of the 365 children enrolled in the school at these educational levels.

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The Pilot Plan for Childhood Immunisation against the flu has now been completed in 16 schools

The heads of Health and Education were accompanied during their visit to the Santa Mónica school by the director of Primary Care Nursing, Victòria Pascual, and Toñi Tarongí, pedagogical director of Infant and Primary Education, among other authorities.

Manuela García welcomed the high percentage of pupils whose parents gave their permission for them to be vaccinated and thanked them for their responsible attitude, reminding them that vaccination is recommended for this group of healthy children because the flu does not cause the most common symptoms of the epidemic disease, such as fever and fatigue, among them. ‘Young children who contract the flu can have serious complications such as pneumonia, asthma attacks or otitis,’ he said.
Vaccination is also recommended for this group even though the lethality rate among children under 15 years of age is very low. Ninety-five per cent of children who die from the disease are under five years of age.
Moreover, this age group has the second highest rate of hospitalisation and ICU admission due to influenza after the elderly. Not to mention the role that these children play in transmitting the flu in their homes and with their close relatives, sometimes elderly and fragile people in whom contagion can have tragic consequences.

These children under five years of age have been immunised as part of the pilot child vaccination plan, which was launched in coordination with the Ministries of Health and Education on Monday 14 October and will continue until 14 November. In this pilot scheme, 2,900 schoolchildren born between 2019 and 2021 from 24 public and state schools on the islands, as well as one private school, will be able to be immunised in their school. Eleven schools in Mallorca, eight in Ibiza and Formentera and five in Menorca are participating in this plan. This pilot plan has already been completed in 16 schools.
The acceptance rates for this vaccination at school have been as follows, by island: in Mallorca, 52%; 40% in Menorca; 32.3% in Ibiza and 50% in Formentera.
The children participating in this pilot plan are immunised in complete safety. Nurses from the health centres closest to the schools come to the classrooms with a first-aid kit to treat any possible adverse effects of the vaccines and remain there for up to half an hour after the last child has been immunised to prevent them from occurring. Children with severe egg allergies or intolerances or those with significant immunodeficiency will be excluded from this school vaccination.

Children aged 2 years to 4 years and 11 months have been given a convenient and painless intranasal flu vaccine. For the youngest children, from six months to two years of age, an inactivated injectable vaccine will be administered.

The Ministry of Youth and Children has presented the institutional campaign Signs that could mean a lot, with the aim of raising awareness against violence against children and adolescents.

Institutional campaign to make violence against children visible: ‘Signs that could mean a lot’.

The campaign encourages people to pay attention to the signs that can give away these types of situations, which are often invisible or even normalised.

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Youth and Children presents an institutional campaign to make violence against children visible

Violence against children and adolescents is often minimised or relegated to the private sphere. They have a strong impact on the physical, emotional and social development of children and adolescents, and can limit the life projects of those who suffer them.

The Minister for Youth and Children, Sira Rego, said: ‘The silence surrounding the violence suffered by a child or adolescent speaks of society as a whole, of our lack of care and respect for children’s rights. To break this invisibility and combat it requires a commitment at all levels, from institutions to those who work or spend time with children, including families.

Children and young people who experience violence often find it difficult to put words to what is happening to them, especially younger people. The campaign encourages paying attention to signs that may indicate that someone is suffering from violence, such as sudden changes in behaviour, uncontrolled fears, somatisation, mutism, avoidance of people or places they used to like, fear of undressing, self-harm or violent play.
‘Just as society has realised that male violence against women is unacceptable and that it must be expelled from all public and private spheres, we must act forcefully to eradicate violence against children and adolescents’, added the minister.
Rego presented the campaign together with the Director General for the Rights of Children and Adolescents, Sandra de Garmendia, who stressed that regardless of whether it is physical or psychological violence and who perpetrates it against them, violence against children and adolescents is ‘unacceptable’.
‘They violate their fundamental rights, recognised in article 39 of the Spanish Constitution and in various international treaties such as the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child,’ the director general stressed.

Signs that could say a lot follows in the wake of two previous institutional campaigns, promoted by the Directorate General for Children and Adolescents. The campaigns are part of the efforts to eradicate violence against children promoted by the Organic Law for the Comprehensive Protection of Children and Adolescents against Violence ( LOPIVI).

The initiative includes projects by universities, town councils and private individuals that will promote studies on the chronology and practices of the past.

The Consell de Mallorca is subsidising a total of 10 archaeological research projects over three years with a total of 692,415 euros. The aim is to promote scientific archaeological research on the island and contribute to the conservation and maintenance of the island’s historical heritage.

The vice-president of the Consell de Mallorca and councillor of Culture and Heritage, Antònia Roca, explained that the selected projects contemplate different lines of research, including the analysis of ancient structures, studies of chronology and functionality, and studies on past fauna and flora. The subsidy will be distributed as follows: 140,641 euros in 2024, 276,889 euros in 2025 and 274,885 euros in 2026.

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The Consell de Mallorca subsidises a total of 10 archaeological research projects over three years with almost 700,000 euros

The grant programme includes projects promoted by universities, research centres, town councils and other entities. ‘This diversity reflects the richness and transversality of archaeology as a fundamental discipline for society,’ says Roca. He also stresses that ‘with this initiative, we reaffirm our commitment to the preservation of Mallorca’s cultural heritage and support researchers who contribute to the understanding of the island’s history and identity’.

It is important to note that in 2024 the Consell de Mallorca has allocated a total of 565,000 euros to seven municipalities on the island to acquire archaeological sites: Manacor, Alcúdia, Petra, Selva, Santa Margalida, Llubí and Sencelles will thus be able to incorporate spaces of great historical and cultural value into their public heritage.

Visit to the Es Turassot archaeological site

The Vice President of the Consell de Mallorca and Councillor of Culture and Heritage, Antònia Roca, visited the Es Turassot site in Costitx, along with the Mayor of Costitx, Antoni Salas, one of the subsidised projects that received the highest scores for its quality, suitability and technical, temporal and economic viability.

In this navetas settlement, the council will carry out excavations to analyse the domestic and economic practices of the period, as well as the chronology and functionality of its structures. Roca stresses that ‘this project will provide a better understanding of the spatial organisation, economic activities and cultural changes in the settlements of the Pla de Mallorca, which will contribute to scientific knowledge and the dissemination of the island’s archaeological heritage’.

Salas stresses that ‘the navetas settlement of Es Turassot is a unique opportunity to enhance the historical heritage of Costitx, as it is an exceptional testimony to understanding how the communities of the Pla de Mallorca lived and interacted millennia ago’.

Beneficiaries

The beneficiaries of these 10 projects are universities and research centres, local councils and individuals. Specifically, the beneficiary universities and research centres are the UIB, which will carry out two studies: one on the Indigenous communities of Mallorca during the Iron Age and another on the Closos de Can Gaià and its surroundings; the IMEDEA, which will study the chronology and functionality of Mallorcan sanctuaries; the Instituto de Ciencias del Patrimonio-CSIC, which will carry out an interdisciplinary research project on the exploitation and use of copper in the prehistory of Mallorca; the Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont (ICP), which will study the island’s early ecosystems; and finally, the University of Valencia, which will re-excavate the Sec shipwreck to understand commercial and technological aspects.

As for local councils, the beneficiaries are Costitx Town Council, which will carry out the excavation and study of the set of navetas of Es Turassot, from the Talayotic period, to analyse domestic and economic practices; Montuïri Town Council, which will investigate the transformations of the Son Fornés settlement after the Talayotic period; and Santanyí Town Council, which will carry out a study on fortifications and social changes in Mallorcan settlements in the Second Iron Age.

Finally, as far as private individuals are concerned, there is only one beneficiary: the Sóller Botanical Garden Foundation – Balearic Museum of Natural Sciences, which will carry out a study on fauna and flora linked to extreme climatic periods in the Mediterranean.

Nearly 6.5 million passengers travelled on TIB between January and April, an increase of 1.9 million (42%) compared to the same period last year.

The Ministry of Housing, Territory and Mobility of the Government of the Balearic Islands, through the Transport Consortium of Mallorca (CTM), has recorded in the first four months of the year, from January to April 2024, nearly 6.5 million passengers who have travelled on the TIB bus, which represents an increase of 42.2% in the number of users compared to the same period of 2023, when free travel on all public transport was already in force.

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The number of passengers travelling on TIB buses rises by 42%

During the first four months of this year, the increase was more than 1.9 million passengers compared to the same period in 2023, from 4.5 million to nearly 6.5 million. This 42% increase in demand for TIB network buses comes between two periods in which free transport had already been introduced for users travelling with the Intermodal Card.

At present, the interurban public transport of the TIB network connects the different municipalities and areas of Mallorca with 71 bus lines. To cope with the increase in demand, both during the winter season and in the new service for the summer season, reinforcement measures have been adopted, mainly to increase frequencies on the bus lines.

During the winter season, from 1 November to 21 March, the TIB network was reinforced with an increase of 27 bus lines compared to the previous winter, an improvement of 53% of the total number of lines operating in this period. Likewise, for the summer season, this year the start of the reinforcement of the service was brought forward to 22 March compared to the last high season.

For the summer season, frequencies have been increased on a total of 24 bus lines, resuming service on sixteen lines and incorporating a new line (131) in the Serra de Tramuntana, between Santa Ponça, Banyalbufar and La Granja de Esporles.

Ten new compressed natural gas buses are expected to be added to the TIB’s current sustainable fleet in the coming weeks, increasing the current fleet, which currently has 201 compressed natural gas buses and eighteen electric buses.

About the reinforcements adopted for the summer season, in the Ponent area, the nuclei of Palmanova and Magaluf (104) have been better connected with services every 15 minutes in each direction, and, compared to last summer, the improved offer in the tourist area of Costa de la Calma also stands out, which almost doubles connectivity with Palma and Santa Ponça, with a new frequency of 25 minutes.

In the northern area of Mallorca, the late-night service on the suburban line connecting Alcúdia-Can Picafort (324) has been reinforced, reaching beyond 00.00 h with a stable frequency of 12-13 minutes; line 302 has been improved compared to 2023 by increasing the frequency to one bus every twenty minutes during peak hours and extending the service until 0. 10 am to ensure that hotel and restaurant workers can return home; and in the centre of Cala Sant Vicenç, line 321 has brought forward the daily start time to 7.10 am.

On the Llevant coast, the Cales de Mallorca line (416) has increased its services by 50% since the end of March, and in the Migjorn area, the Campos-Palma express services (501) have been added throughout the day. Concerning the Aerotib lines that connect with Palma airport, the A32 and A42 lines have increased their service by 10 % compared to the summer of 2023.

This is the second request sent by the island institution since last April: if no response is received, action will be taken by the subsidiary execution mechanism provided for in the Law on Historical Heritage.

The Consell de Mallorca requests the Ministry of Culture to temporarily cede Alaró Castle for its urgent conservation. The vice-president of the Consell de Mallorca and councillor of Culture and Heritage, Antònia Roca, has informed that this is the second request made to the Spanish government since last April and assures that, should the administrative silence continue, the Consell de Mallorca will initiate the necessary actions to guarantee the conservation of the Castle of Alaró.

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The Consell de Mallorca asks the Ministry of Culture to temporarily cede the Castle of Alaró for its urgent conservation

Roca explained that Alaró Castle, a state-owned Asset of Cultural Interest (BIC), is in a state of deterioration that threatens its stability and the safety of visitors. This alarming deterioration in recent years affects the walls in particular.

Despite the joint efforts of the Consell de Mallorca and the Alaró Town Hall, no significant intervention has been carried out by the Ministry of Culture, the monument’s owner. Roca believes that the situation is unsustainable and that immediate intervention is necessary, which the island’s institution will carry out if the Ministry continues to neglect the monument.

The first phase of the conservation project proposed by the Consell de Mallorca would focus on the castle’s access area, with actions that include removing vegetation, repairing areas of deterioration on the walls and replacing construction mortar.

‘Alaró Castle is a symbol of our heritage, but if we do not act soon, we run the risk of losing a cultural asset of great value. We demand that the Ministry of Culture authorise us to intervene urgently and that it temporarily cede the use of the castle to us so that we can carry out these conservation works,’ said the vice-president and councillor Antònia Roca. ‘If we do not receive a response, the Consell de Mallorca will act by the subsidiary execution mechanism provided for in the Law of Historical Heritage of the Balearic Islands,’ she explained.

The Consell de Mallorca has included in its request detailed technical reports, including the conservation report of July 2021 and the technical report of 2024, which show the need for immediate action to guarantee the safety of the monument.

From this April, the Balearic Islands will improve the children’s vaccination schedule with the inclusion of the 20-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine. Until now, and since 2016, babies have been immunised against 13 serotypes in three doses. From this April, and following the authorisation of the European Medicines Agency for the use of the 20-valent pneumococcal conjugate pneumococcal vaccine, the Balearic Islands will be the first Autonomous Community to include this booster vaccine in the children’s vaccination schedule.

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Health reinforces child vaccination against pneumococcus

The Director General of Public Health, Elena Esteban, explained this morning, in a presentation at the Palmanova health centre, all the details of the vaccine recently incorporated into the children’s vaccination schedule, which can achieve up to four times more protection than the previous vaccine of 13 serotypes, taking into account the circulating serotypes.

As explained by Elena Esteban, who was accompanied by the coordinator of the Primary Care vaccination centre, Verónica Vega, the immunisation of babies with the new drug will be carried out in four doses: at 2, 4 and 6 months, with a booster at 11 months.

This booster vaccine with 20 serotypes has been included in the adult population’s schedule as a single dose since last October. Vaccination against pneumococcal disease in adults is indicated for people aged between 65 and 75 years and people with risk factors for invasive pneumococcal disease: transplant recipients, cancer patients, immunocompromised people, people with immunodeficiencies, cardiovascular or respiratory diseases or people institutionalised in nursing homes.

The Directorate General of Public Health of the Regional Ministry of Health has purchased 40,000 doses for the period between 31 March 2024 and 30 March 2025, with an investment of 1,961,000 euros. Of these, 25,500 doses are expected to be administered to the paediatric population, which usually achieves a vaccination coverage of 90%.

Pneumococcal pneumonia and invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) are a major health problem, mainly associated with the existence of risk factors and also related to age. In Spain, in recent years, the National Epidemiological Surveillance Network (RENAVE) has recorded between 3,000 and 4,000 cases per year, mainly affecting children under five years of age and older people.

Vaccination is an essential tool to prevent invasive pneumococcal disease, and for this reason, the vaccine was included in the children’s schedule in 2016. In the case of older people, the vaccine was already administered to people in at-risk groups and 2018 the Public Health Commission approved universal vaccination at 65 years of age.

The Social Security Reserve Fund exceeded 8.3 billion euros in September and will end 2024 with 300 million more than expected.

The Social Security Reserve Fund reached €8.356 billion on September 30, the highest level since December 2017, and is set to end the year with nearly €9.3 billion accumulated.

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The Government revises upwards the “pension fund”, which will close the year with 9,300 million

The so-called ‘pension piggy bank’, which ended 2023 with 5,578 million euros, has so far this year received contributions worth 2,623 million euros, thanks to the Intergenerational Equity Mechanism, which came into force in 2023, to provide resources to this fund through a percentage of the contribution for common contingencies, distributed between the company and the worker with the same distribution as in social contributions.

In September alone, the Reserve Fund received allocations of 314.7 million euros, to which will be added those corresponding to the last three months of the year.