Madrid crystal-roofed courtyard opens to public

The Galería de Cristal, a courtyard topped with a spectacular 2,400-sqm crystal dome in Madrid city council’s new headquarters at the Palacio de Cibeles, has opened to the public. With under floor heating and air conditioning the courtyard, which was...

Road deaths fall by half in Madrid

Latest figures released by city authorities show that the capital has seen a 44 per cent drop in road traffic fatalities since 2004. The city signed the European Road Safety Charter in 2005, with the aim of cutting fatalities in...

Madrid patients wait too long for doctor’s appointments

Up to 50 per cent of those with appointments to see specialist doctors in Madrid fail to keep their appointments because waiting times are so long that most go to accident and emergency units or seek private care, says the...

Madrid has new rules on mobile phone masts

The installation of new mobile phone masts and other telecommunications equipment will be strictly limited under tough new rules implemented by Madrid’s city council on health and safety grounds. Although any link between communications equipment and ill health has yet...

Speeding in Madrid’s M30 tunnels

Almost 40 per cent per cent of Madrid’s speeding fines are generated from one stretch of road in the city – the 43-kilometre tunnels of the M-30 ring road. In addition, 39.5 per cent of speeding fines in the city...

Few private pensions in Madrid

Only one in every five workers in Madrid has a private pension plan, according to a report by the ministry of economy and housing. Around 4.5 million Spaniards hold a private pension plan, into which they pay an average of...

Madrid unemployment highest among immigrants

Almost half of all those unemployed in Madrid are immigrants say city authorities. In 2009 the number of unemployed foreigners in Madrid rose by 82 per cent, while the number of unemployed Spaniards rose 23 per cent. The situation is...

Madrid in top 20

Madrid has been ranked 12th out of a list of 27 cities worldwide for global competitiveness, according to report by Deloitte and Madrid Global, higher than cities such as Sydney, Miami and Berlin. Its main disadvantages were air quality, cost...

Sexually transmitted diseases in Madrid rise sharply

The number of reported cases of sexually transmitted diseases in Madrid has more than doubled in the last five years, according to figures released by the Boletín Epidemiológico de la Comunidad. Cases of syphilis and gonorrhea have risen every year,...

Madrid bars diesel vehicles

Madrid mayor Alberto Ruiz-Gallardón has announced that new diesel-fuelled taxis and buses are to be barred from the city’s fleet, also confirming that the city’s public transport operator Empresa Municipal de Transportes (EMT) will no longer buy any diesel-fuelled vehicles....