The parents of a three-month-old baby who died on Friday in Sabadell have been jailed this Sunday for allegedly abusing him. As the ARA has been able to confirm, the Mossos d'Esquadra arrested the parents and one of the hypotheses now being investigated is that the baby suffered violent shaking, the most frequent form of serious abuse in infants under six months old.

Two men have died in a tragic road accident this Sunday morning in Barcelona. According to police sources, a vehicle fleeing the police in the wrong direction collided head-on with another car that was stopped at a traffic light. Both the reckless driver, who was around 30 years old, and the driver of the stopped vehicle, aged 58, lost their lives in the accident. The passenger of the second car was also injured and was taken in serious condition to the Hospital del Mar, where she has been stabilized. Her life is not in danger.

A cultural, historical, and personal journey through emblematic spaces that have been disappearing in the United States and the United Kingdom: gay bars. Capitán Swing has published [in Spanish] Gay Bar. Fragments of those parties, the book with which essayist Jeremy Atherton Lin (1974) reflects on these venues, their utopias and taboos; the feeling of euphoria, disinhibition, and sexual freedom that breathed there, and the need (or not) for them to still exist. We interview him via Zoom on the occasion of International LGTBIQ+ Pride Day.

The judicial process to clarify whether the death of Mango founder, Isak Andic, was an accident or a homicide is advancing. This Monday, the High Court of Justice of Catalonia (TSJC) confirmed that the judge from Martorell investigating the case has accepted the Public Prosecutor's Office's request to reconstruct the fatal fall, which took place on December 14. The businessman fell during a hike in Montserrat, accompanied only by his son, Jonathan Andic, who is currently the only person under investigation for the case. On the other hand, the magistrate has summoned Jonathan's sisters (and the businessman's daughters), as well as the family's therapist, for questioning, as confirmed by Europa Press.

Historic step to eliminate the toxic legacy originating from urban and industrial growth in Catalonia. This Wednesday, Parliament unanimously approved the law that sets the horizon of 2032 to eradicate the nearly four million tons of asbestos that still remain in the country's constructions. The norm establishes the foundations for the progressive removal of a material prohibited since 2002 but which continues to be present in thousands of buildings, infrastructures, and supply networks.

With the arrival of summer, forests and agricultural lands across the country are threatened by high temperatures, low humidity, and dry vegetation, but also by human activity, which is the main cause of fires in Catalonia, whether by accident or negligence or by intentional acts. Experts and authorities warn that the country has fully entered the high fire risk season and, in fact, this weekend, several simultaneous fires in the natural environment in Lleida have strained emergency services. At present, the Government has activated level 3 out of 4 – very high fire danger – in about fifty municipalities in Ponent and Central Catalonia, and on the eve of Sant Joan's Eve, the Minister of the Interior, Núria Parlon, has asked the public for "maximum caution" when setting off fireworks – they must be at least 500 meters away from forests and natural surroundings – and when lighting bonfires.

Some 600 members of various choirs who were due to participate this Wednesday in the mass and the act of blessing the cross of the tower of Jesus of the Sagrada FamiliaWhile they were singing the Virolai, however, they observed "a lot of secret police" climbing up to where they were. "I thought it was just the general protocol for the Pope and that was it," admits one of the affected singers. Before they had even finished singing the hymn to the Virgin of Montserrat, the officers began to make them come down from the choir lofts and led them outside.

Artificial intelligence (AI) data centers will skyrocket water and electricity consumption and condition the lives of billions of people worldwide. The United Nations (UN) released a report this Wednesday on the environmental cost of this revolution by 2030, and the projections are worrying. Researchers for Water, Environment and Health (UNU-INWEH) anticipate a sharp increase in energy consumption, an intensification of water conflicts, and land overexploitation. At the same time, scientists warn that most consumption occurs when large systems like ChatGPT or Gemini respond to our queries and urge the use of the "concise mode": fewer words, getting straight to the point, to obtain shorter and more direct, energetically more efficient responses.

Migrants living in the State visit the doctor less often, have fewer chronic illnesses, and consume fewer medications than those born in the country. However, the lack of early access to the healthcare system leads them to go to emergency services more often and require more hospitalizations. This is the snapshot offered by the report "State of Health and Use of the Healthcare System by the Migrant Population in Spain" from the Ministry of Health, which concludes that people of foreign origin have, on average, a better state of health, use fewer healthcare resources than natives, although they contribute almost equally to the economic sustainability of the system.

Seated in a row, they hold a plastic glass with half-finished cava while they chat. "It's good, but I won't have any more, okay?", one warns. "The cream xuixos here are very good. And the ensaïmadas too. Oh, and the chocolate! And the cream", another enumerates. Anna Maria, Maria Antònia, and Mirna live in the neighborhood's elderly residence located a few meters from the centenary Ideal pastry shop in Vila de Gràcia. This Saturday morning they came down to attend the popular farewell party that has been organized in front of this establishment. The business, open since 1919, is on borrowed time: the Álvarez family will have to close it on May 31st if they don't find someone willing to take over.

Cranes and excavators are already working on Barcelona's future major scientific district. The Ciutadella del Coneixement is taking shape to be operational in 2031. This is the forecast of the administrations for this scientific, urban, and cultural project, which aims to turn the Parc de la Ciutadella and its surroundings into one of the main research and innovation hubs in Spain and Southern Europe. Practically everything will be up and running within five years. In fact, the rollout of this plan, considered strategic for the country, will be progressive, as the eight architectural interventions are completed. For example, the Old Fish Market, the Center for Biosciences of the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), the Castle of the Three Dragons, or the State Public Library.

The new Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo is a "public health emergency of international concern", according to the World Health Organization (WHO). With more than 300 probable cases and at least 88 reported deaths, health authorities fear that this outbreak may have a possible geographical spread greater than expected – it affects border areas with Uganda, but there is also a case in the Congolese capital, Kinshasa, about 3,000 kilometers away by road. Given this serious information, however, the Spanish government calls for calm: "with the available information" the risk of transmission "in the Spanish population is considered very low" and, therefore, it rules out imposing travel restrictions or commercial activities with either country, although it advises against traveling to the affected areas.

Since November 2023, public health specialist Javier Padilla (Madrid, 1983) has been the Secretary of State for Health. Last week he led the unprecedented operation to disembark the ship MV Hondius in the Canary Islands, affected by a hantavirus outbreak that, to date, has caused ten infections and three deaths. He speaks to ARA via video call.

As happened six years ago due to the covid-19 pandemic, the hantavirus outbreak has shown that zoonoses, diseases transmitted between animals but with the potential to infect humans, are one of the great threats of the present and future for the health of the population. Although there are some parallels between the current escalation of infections and the covid-19 crisis —mainly the animal origin of the virus—, experts insist that the current situation is very different and assure that hantavirus does not have the capacity to cause a upheaval of the magnitude that coronavirus caused. It is much less contagious and, therefore, it is more unlikely to spread. However, they acknowledge that the growth of global mobility, the rise of extreme climate phenomena and rising temperatures will make the appearance of these types of diseases increasingly frequent.

After days of indecision, the luxury cruise ship MV Hondius, which is docked in Cape Verde affected by a hantavirus outbreak, will finally disembark at a port in the Canary Islands. This has been agreed by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Spanish Ministry of Health, following an inspection of the ship by a group of epidemiologists and in compliance with international law and the humanitarian spirit. There are 147 people on board, and seven have been affected by hantavirus, three of whom have died.

African swine fever (ASF) continues to spread – this Thursday 13 new positives have been confirmed, bringing the total to 297 cases – and there are already 19 municipalities with restrictions on access to the Collserola Natural Park. Faced with this situation, sources from the Generalitat confirm to el ARA that they have asked the organization of the Tour de France to consider a change of route in the second stage of the competition – at the beginning of July –, as it would have to pass through an area currently affected by safety and prevention measures against the infectious disease.

Rodalies users will pay again to use the train starting Saturday, May 9. After arguing that these past three months are "the period in which the most intense work and investment has been made in Rodalies to improve its operation," the Government has noted a "progressive improvement" in the service and, therefore, sees it viable to lift some exceptional measures, decreed "to accompany users during this period," as announced this Thursday by the Minister of Territory, Sílvia Paneque. Thus, the last day to use the railway network for free will be Friday, May 8.

Donald Trump's crusade against academia and science does not stop. The US president has summarily dismissed the twenty or so experts on the independent council overseeing the National Science Foundation, the key agency for planning resources allocated to scientific—especially basic—and technical research in the US. Two recently dismissed members of this body—which has a budget equivalent to 8.5 billion euros—have made public that last Friday they received an email sent by the Office of Presidential Personnel, "on behalf of the president," thanking them for "their service" and dismissing them. According to them, "no other argument" was provided.

Kypros Nicolaides (1953, Cyprus) is a doctor and professor at King's College London, from where he has led important advances in prenatal diagnosis and the prevention and treatment of complications during pregnancy. Considered a leading figure in fetal medicine, among his achievements is the creation of combined screening to detect chromosomal abnormalities, such as Down syndrome, which has become the international standard for pregnancy monitoring. L'ARA interviews Nicolaides in Barcelona, where he received the XX Dexeus Dona Foundation International Award, a recognition of his career.

Just past the 40th minute of the league match between Barça and Celta this Wednesday, and almost simultaneously with the moment Lamine Yamal fell to the ground injured after scoring the only goal of the match, a Barça fan suffered cardiac arrest that chilled the atmosphere at the Camp Nou. A 56-year-old supporter collapsed in the stadium's side area. The match was interrupted to attend to the affected person, as per protocol in such cases.