Barça's decision to suspend the tribute to the world champions has caused an earthquake on social media and a certain degree of discomfort in some Catalan press. Only in this way can it be explained that, for example, this topic does not appear on the front page of the "Sport and be frankly hidden in that of World Sport. In programs like The Jugones beach bar, as expected, they took advantage and accused Joan Laporta of mixing politics and sport, of dividing Barcelonismo, and of positioning himself in favor of the independentists. And well, there are several reflections to be made here.

A few days ago, Vox spread the idea that they had banned the halal menu in Valencian schools. The majority of media outlets took the bait and debates for and against multiplied on social media. But it turns out it wasn't true. The newspaper El Paíspublishes this Wednesday a report by journalist Ignacio Zafra that is an example of good journalism. Zafra has looked into the details of the approved regulation, which only states that, in the case of meat, "the slaughter of the animal must have been carried out using a prior stunning procedure", and has confirmed with sources from the meat sector that most halal products already comply with this requirement. Immediately after, he called the Ministry of Education and they confirmed to him that the claim of the ban is false, and that schools can continue to offer menus according to students' beliefs, whether for religious, medical or any other reason. For example, if a vegan menu is desired.

During the 2024 presidential campaign, Donald Trump assured without any proof that Haitian immigrants were eating the cats and dogs of Springfield, Ohio neighbors. That had no real basis, and in any normal country it would have meant the absolute disqualification of the politician, but in the United States, as everyone knows, Trump won the elections by a landslide. I have thought about this in recent days, seeing that some Spanish media, mostly from the 'fatxosfera' (far-right sphere), have published news denouncing that immigrants from Ceuta devour cats, pigeons, seagulls, and any other animal that runs in the street. In one of these news items, a photograph was attached showing a dead cat next to a dumpster. Fortunately, the Efe agency's fact-checking service carried out the relevant checks and ruled that the photograph was neither from now nor from Ceuta, but was from 2025 and from Gran Canaria.

From time to time a controversy erupts because a columnist reveals that an article has been censored, and announces that they are leaving the newspaper in question amid accusations of persecution and warning that freedom of expression is in danger. The latest example has been that of notary Juan José López Burniol at La Vanguardia. In these cases, I believe it is necessary to educate to explain why it is an obligation for newspapers to exercise censorship. The media have an editorial line, which is expressed through editorials, and then they have an expanded editorial line that draws a framework that includes everything that can be published in that newspaper. The premise is very clear: a medium does not have to agree with the opinion of its columnists, but it does have a social responsibility towards society and, therefore, must decide which ideas it wants to be a mouthpiece for and which it does not.

Who hasn't found themselves immersed, these hot days, in an absurd discussion with someone from Madrid or Aragon about whether Catalonia was ever an independent territory or if they were mere counties dependent on the Kingdom of Aragon? About whether Jaume I was Catalan or Aragonese? In these cases, it's always good to have a good historical summary at hand, like the one published these days in the newspaperEl Punt Avuiby historian Cristian Palomo. This is precisely one of the functions of the press: to translate historiographical (or scientific in general) erudition into educational pieces accessible to the general public. Not everyone needs to know the genealogical tree of the House of Barcelona inside out, but we should have some basics that allow us to easily and quickly discredit some theses.

If there is one thing the far-right does well, it's playing the victim. Since they present themselves as anti-system, any criticism they receive from the media is used to claim that the establishment is persecuting them, etc., and it's usually a discourse that resonates with their followers and from which they benefit. A textbook example has occurred these days in Germany, when the magazine "The Mirror has published a cover with a close-up photo of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) candidate in the state of Saxony-Anhalt, Ulrich Siegmund, and the headline: "Germany's most dangerous man".

The fachosphere has been buzzing these days against the case of Wafae Atid, a young Moroccan woman who participated in the attempt of massive entry into Spain by sea through Ceuta and who explained her case to El País. In statements made in perfect English, Atid explained that in Morocco "men are above women" and at home they gave her problems, for example, when traveling alone or adopting a certain lifestyle. Automatically, some profiles took advantage to track her social networks and reveal that the young woman had been in places like Qatar or Indonesia and that there was no evidence that she was going through great hardship. A campaign quickly began against her, for being a fraud, and against El País, for giving her a voice.

Isabel Díaz Ayuso's all-powerful chief of staff, Miguel Ángel Rodríguez, has taken offense because a media outlet, in this case El País, published that the Madrid president has rented an apartment in an exclusive urbanization in Puerta del Hierro. "It's the first time a politician's home is being persecuted... Incredible," he tweeted.

Madrid has been a political pressure cooker for some time, but in this summer of high temperatures, fires, earthquakes, and migratory crises in the capital of the State, there is a ray of hope, a comment that is whispered and that more or less says this: "Finally, this is the last summer of our lives with Pedro Sánchez as president." So much so that a newspaper like The World has decided to create a permanent section titled "Sánchez's Countdown." The name is well chosen because it can be interpreted in two ways: Sánchez's own countdown to calling elections, or each reader's countdown to consign Sánchez to the dustbin of history.

On Monday, an unpleasant incident occurred in Ceuta that quickly began to spread across the networks. An extremist assaulted a journalist from the digital media El Pueblo de Ceuta believing, due to his appearance, that he was an immigrant. Firstly, it is striking that this individual feels so impunity to think he can assault an immigrant in front of all the media without repercussions. Secondly, the incident is a demonstration of what happens when racial bias is applied generically: a certain skin color equates to a specific human condition. The man ended up apologizing and acknowledging his error [sic], but that's not all.

Rodri's signing for Barça has caused considerable discomfort in the Madrid press. You only have to see the space they dedicate to it on the front pages this Monday. A tiny sliver on the front of "Marca" and a small box on the front of "As". If you don't look closely, you might think it's advertising for some product. The best player in the World Cup, who is also Spanish, is coming to play in the Spanish League, but the most important thing is the result of a friendly match for the Whites, for heaven's sake. But inside they can't downplay it, so what they do is try to answer the great mystery. How is it that Rodri, who dreamed of playing for Real Madrid from birth, hasn't fulfilled his dream and has joined the ranks of the eternal rival. The answer is very clear: just as Feijóo isn't president because he doesn't want to be, Real Madrid hasn't signed Rodri because they didn't want to.

When I was starting to worry about not finding good merchandise to start my summer shift in replacement of Àlex Gutiérrez, I came across a piece that, on its own, would be enough to write a whole week of Pareu màquines (don't worry, I won't). It's a piece from the supplement Yo Dona, from El Mundo, titled as follows: “Isabel Díaz Ayuso wears her summer fetish dress to La Paloma: plunging neckline and cut-outs at the waist to show off her abs”. I really don't know where to start.

It's three o'clock and we've just made the paella with my father in Borriana. Sara and I look at each other and decide that the moment has arrived, both awaited and feared, to head towards Artana and see with our own eyes how our home is and how burnt the surroundings are. Artana has been, along with Eslida, the village in the Espadà mountain range that has suffered the longest evacuation: a week, from Saturday midday to Friday night. Today is Saturday and we think that most of the inhabitants will have returned by now. Although the start of the fire caught us away, we've been talking with friends and neighbours all week, and that's why we know the houses are fine. But we're afraid of what we'll find. It's one thing to see it on TV and another to see it yourself.

Margaryta Yakovenko (Tokmak, Ukraine, 1992) arrived in Spain at 6 years old, but every summer she returned to her hometown to spend it with her family. In 2022, with the Russian invasion, everything changed. Now Tokmak is an occupied city to which she cannot return. This is the common thread of the book Occupation (Seix Barral).

The CEO survey confirms the trends that ARA's already pointed to and which draws a double axis of growth on the Catalan political map: one that concentrates opposition to Salvador Illa's executive, and which is currently held by Aliança Catalana, and another that gathers the left-wing vote considered most useful to stop the far-right, which is currently ERC of the Junqueras-Rufián tandem. To summarize, we can say that Aliança is the anti-Illa party and ERC is the anti-Orriols party. And currently, the survey places these two parties vying for second position in hypothetical parliamentary elections.

Let me start by saying that this article is speculation. But speculation based on a real foundation, and that is that right now ERC has a problem with its leader in Madrid, Gabriel Rufián, and Junts has one with its absolute leader, Carles Puigdemont, about whom there is currently no consensus on what his future should be once the amnesty is applied, in principle in the autumn, and he definitively returns to Catalonia. Furthermore, there is a strong possibility that the Spanish elections will be the next to be held, as Pedro Sánchez could use the rejection of the budgets as leverage to confront two models of country. And this would place them around February or March, before the municipal elections in May.

Glòria Freixa (Barcelona, 1969) says she is running in the primaries for her children. She exudes drive and conviction.

The papal visit has left a lot of headlines and striking images, and at a superficial glance it can be said that it has come as a balm for Pedro Sánchez. But the real headline left by this visit is that, once again, it has become clear that the supposed non-confessionality of the State is more apparent than real, and that the weight and influence of the Catholic Church are of such magnitude that even civil powers bow before it.

Thirty-four years later, Barcelona is once again dazzling the world while Madrid sees that three decades of turbo-capitalism and concentration of resources and power have not served it to shorten distances with the Catalan capital when it comes to achieving a global impact like that of 1992. Thirty-four years later, Madrid has not only not had the Olympic Games, but has had to see how the blessing ceremony of the tower of Jesus of the Sagrada Família by Leo XIV has taken all the praise and headlines in the world press and left the visit of the Pope himself to the Spanish capital a few days earlier in an absolute second place. And this without going into comparing the quality of what has been seen in Catalonia in recent days (cathedral, Lluís Companys stadium, Brians, Montserrat and Sant Agustí) with the events in Madrid, particularly the performances with an evangelistic air at the Santiago Bernabéu.