Skift Travel News Blog

Spain’s Tourism, Trade and Industry Minister Reyes Maroto will quit to run for mayor of Madrid, triggering a cabinet reshuffle, she said on Monday.

During her stint in government, Maroto took the lead on protecting the tourism sector during the pandemic and now heads negotiations over European Union-financed subsidies for industries such as car and microchip manufacturing.

Who will replace her in Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s cabinet is unclear.

“I have decided to step forward and run for mayor of the city of Madrid (…) I want to be the next mayor of Madrid and I am going to put my heart and soul into it,” Maroto told a tourism event on Monday.

TV station TVE and newspaper El Pais had reported she would be candidate earlier on Monday.

Municipal and regional elections in May will be a preview of the general elections to be held at the end of the year.

(Reporting by Inti Landauro, Additional reporting by Emma Pinedo; Editing by William Maclean)

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United Arab Emirates’ budget carrier FlyDubai has suspended operations to Colombo in Sri Lanka until further notice, amid the escalation of protests in the South Asian country.

“FlyDubai flights between Dubai and Colombo Airport have been suspended from July 10 until further notice,” said an airline spokesperson, while assuring to closely monitor the situation on the ground in Sri Lanka.

Passengers booked to travel on these flights will be contacted and offered a refund, the airline has said.

Following the unrest in Sri Lanka, the embassy of the United Arab Emirates in Colombo had also issued an advisory asking its citizens in Sri Lanka to take precautions and stay away from demonstration hotspots. It has also asked its citizens to avoid travelling to the country.

On Saturday, thousands of locals demanding the resignation of Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa stormed into his official residence braving teargas shells and water cannons — a scene that looked very familiar to the 1986 dethroning of the corrupt and brutal regime of Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos.

The visuals coming from the Sri Lankan president’s residence showed locals cooling off in the presidential swimming pool, sleeping on the bed and sofa as well as preparing food for dinner.

The political crisis coupled with the economic crisis has the South Asian island suffering from the worst economic crisis since independence in 1948.

The Sri Lankan president has now confirmed that he would be resigning on Wednesday, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has also announced his resignation.