One of Palma’s most atmospheric summer cultural events is preparing for a spectacular finale, with the music of Gustav Mahler set to fill the ancient courtyard of Bellver Castle under the stars.

The 2026 edition of Nits a Bellver will draw to a close on Saturday, August 29, when the Orquestra de Cambra de Mallorca takes centre stage for La Primera de Mahler, an ambitious closing concert devoted to one of classical music’s most influential composers.

Beginning at 9pm, the performance will bring together two works from opposite ends of Mahler’s creative life, creating a fittingly dramatic farewell to almost three months of music, opera, jazz and dance at one of Mallorca’s most distinctive landmarks.

From youthful energy to a final masterpiece

Conducted by Bernat Quetglas, the Orquestra de Cambra de Mallorca will perform Mahler’s Symphony No.1, known as the “Titan”, alongside the Adagio from his unfinished Symphony No.10.

The pairing promises an emotional journey through the composer’s life.

Mahler’s First Symphony is bursting with youthful ambition, vitality and inspiration drawn from the natural world. Completed when the Austrian composer was still a young man, it went on to become one of his best-known works.

The Adagio from Symphony No.10 comes from a very different point in his life. Written during Mahler’s final months, it belongs to the unfinished symphony he was working on before his death in 1911 and offers a far more introspective conclusion to the evening.

Together, the works will take audiences from the optimism of Mahler’s early career to the intensity of his final musical reflections.

A spectacular setting

Few venues could provide a more memorable backdrop.

Perched above Palma and surrounded by pine forest, the 14th-century Castell de Bellver has once again been transformed into an open-air performance space throughout the summer.

Nits a Bellver began on June 10 and has featured an eclectic programme spanning classical music, jazz, opera, gospel, dance and contemporary performances. Highlights have included Belén Aguilera, Rigoletto, the Harlem Gospel Travellers, the Gala de Ballarins Mallorquins and a series of concerts forming part of the Palma Jazz Festival.

The Mahler concert will provide the grand finale on August 29, bringing the curtain down on the third edition of the summer series.

Tickets for the finale

Tickets are priced at €25 for the arcades, €30 for the central courtyard and €40 for the first floor. Advance online sales remain available until two hours before the performance, while the Bellver Castle box office opens one hour before the concert.

With a summer night, a centuries-old castle and one of classical music’s most powerful symphonies coming together, the final Nits a Bellver concert promises an appropriately stirring end to Palma’s summer of music.

Brazilian meat, chicken, eggs and other animal products face a full ban from entering the European Union from September 3 after Brussels ruled the South American giant cannot prove it meets strict rules on antibiotic use in its livestock.

European Commission officials have confirmed Brazil has been struck off the list of countries authorised to export these goods to the EU. The move comes from long-running worries that Brazilian producers still use antibiotics to boost animal growth, which is a practice banned across the EU because it adds to antimicrobial resistance, which the World Health Organization calls one of the biggest threats to human health. Officials say they lack solid guarantees that Brazilian cattle and poultry stay free of restricted drugs throughout their lives.

Trade in these products currently runs to around $1.8 billion a year for Brazil. Other Mercosur members, including Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay,  keep their export rights for now.

Mercosur deal already under fire from farmers

This decision arrives just months after the EU-Mercosur trade agreement provisionally took effect on May 1. That pact cuts tariffs and opens preferential quotas for South American beef and poultry, something many European farmers have fought tooth and nail against.

Spanish producers led some of the loudest protests. Tractors rolled through Madrid and as far as Brussels and other cities earlier this year as ranchers and growers warned that cheaper imports produced under looser sanitary and environmental rules would undercut local farms. Groups such as ASAJA, COAG and UPA repeatedly argued that European standards on animal health, antibiotics and animal welfare should apply equally to anything crossing the border. “We are not against competition,” one Castilla y Leon farmer told protesters, “but the rules have to be the same for everyone.”

French, Polish and Italian farmers voiced similar fears. Brussels always insisted that sanitary rules stay in force no matter what the trade deal says. The Brazilian delisting proves that point in practice, even if the timing has left Brazilian officials furious and promising to reverse the decision.

Where Spanish beef comes from, and why quality counts

Spain produces more than 700,000 tonnes of beef a year. Volume leaders sit in the north-east and centre:

Suckler-cow herds are still the strongest in Castilla y Leon, Extremadura and Galicia, where extensive and semi-extensive systems still dominate.

Quality is a different story. Protected Geographical Indications (IGPs) and native breeds give Spanish beef a clear edge for many consumers and chefs.
Galicia’s Ternera Gallega, based largely on the Rubia Gallega breed, ranks as the best-known and highest-volume quality label. Meat from these animals, especially older “vaca” or ox, earns high praise around the World for its marbling, tenderness and deep flavour. Asturias offers Ternera Asturiana from mountain pastures. Castilla y Leon brings Carne de Avila (Avileña-Negra Iberica raised on dehesa systems) and Carne de Salamanca (Morucha). Extremadura’s Ternera de Extremadura, mainly Retinta cattle, also carries strong recognition.

Regions renowned for the best quality

Quality reputation is driven by native breeds, traditional extensive or semi-extensive rearing (pastures, dehesas), and official quality labels (mainly IGPs). The stars of the show are usually:

These labels demand specific breeds, feeding regimes and traceability. They deliver the kind of product European shoppers increasingly seek when they want guarantees on how animals were raised.

Spanish ranchers now point to the Brazilian ban as proof that sanitary standards matter. With MERCOSUR quotas still in play for other countries and domestic production already under pressure from costs and weather, many see the September cutoff as a chance to push local quality harder in shops and restaurants across Spain and the wider EU.

Brazil continues talks with Brussels and has introduced new protocols for antibiotic-free export chains. Whether those steps arrive in time remains unclear. For now, the message from European farms is simple: rules are rules, and Spanish beef definitely already meets them.

Holidaymakers heading from Vienna to Crete on a Ryanair jet faced a right nightmare start to their break on Friday. The plane took off around 12.30pm but then unexplainably, oxygen masks suddenly dropped from the cabin ceiling half an hour into the flight. The crew turned the aircraft round and headed straight back to Vienna Airport.

Technical checks followed on the ground. A passenger video showed adhesive tape being used on the affected area, which made everyone feel better (sarcasm). The pilot then announced to the passengers that a new departure was lined up for 3.40pm. That left travellers stuck on board waiting.

Passenger asks for water, and row kicks off

The long, frustrating delay brought about a second drama. One man asked a flight attendant for a free bottle of water, saying he felt unwell. An argument broke out over whether it should be free of charge or not, and witnesses say he muttered the English insult “bitch”. Tempers flared and police were eventually called.

Seven officers boarded soon after and the man and his partner were ordered off. He repeated that he only wanted water because he was feeling ill. Hand luggage checks followed in the overhead bins to make sure nothing belonging to the pair stayed behind on the plane.

Then, another dramatic turn came next. The man collapsed on the tarmac. Emergency crews rushed in, and nearly an hour later he left the ambulance. The pair were taken away from the apron by bus.

More than four hours stuck on board and no take off

Police involvement had cost the flight another departure slot. The new takeoff time then slipped to 4.30pm. The remaining passengers sat through the long wait with one Viennese traveller telling the Austrian media outlet Heute that everyone still had to pay for food, drinks and water after more than four hours on the plane. The toilets were out of action at times too. That same passenger said it was definitely his last trip with the budget airline.

Whose law applies when you are up in the air?

Planes are not law-free zones, even if they feel like a bubble cut off from the world. Clear rules cover crimes, medical emergencies and injuries once the doors close.

The passenger rights platform Flightright points out several little-known points. Legal expert Lucia Cegarra explains that travellers need to know crew powers, their own duties and the legal limits that apply on board.

Crimes and disruptive behaviour on flights

Anyone causing trouble, threatening crew, attacking other passengers, refusing safety instructions faces real consequences, or even insulting cabin crew. Territoriality normally applies, and a country continues to enforce its laws inside its borders, even if it is in the air. International flights make that tricky, so the “law of the flag” comes into play. Rules of the state where the aircraft is registered can apply. In this case, the Ryanair flight might carry an Irish or Maltese flag, and so generally adheres to the laws from those states.

Several legal systems might get involved depending on the facts: the country whose airspace the plane is flying through, the state of registration, or the place where it lands. The captain holds special powers. He or she must keep order and safety and can take any steps needed if people or the aircraft are at risk. That covers aggressive passengers, those ignoring crew orders or anyone putting safety in danger.

The crew can move people to different seats, calm things down or order an unscheduled landing in an emergency. Passengers must follow crew instructions. Refusal risks trouble on the plane and probable legal action once it lands.

Injuries during a flight

Turbulence, a fall in the aisle or spilt hot coffee can leave someone hurt. An airline may be liable in certain cases. The Montreal Convention covers many international flights on this point.

Report the incident straight away to the crew and gather evidence. Photos, witness names and a written confirmation help. Claims can be assessed later depending on the exact cause and circumstances.