Unlike last year, in this year's university entrance exams (PAU) there will be no major changes either in the format of the exams or in the correction criteria. The exams on June 9, 10, and 11 will be marked by an unprecedented context, both due to the Pope's visit and the open conflict between teachers and administration which, according to the Government, will not affect the selectivity. Also because it will be the first edition in which mobile phone detectors and electronic devices will be used to prevent students from cheating. This Friday, more details have emerged on how these devices will be used, which can detect radio frequency signals from a mobile phone or any device with wifi or Bluetooth connection, such as a wireless microphone or a smartwatch. There will be them in all universities, but not in all classrooms. They will be randomly distributed and, in case of suspicion, the exam proctor may request that one be brought.

The High Court of Justice of Catalonia (TSJC) announced this Wednesday that it has expanded the investigation for alleged irregular awards in Altafulla to ERC deputy and former minister Joan Ignasi Elena and former Initiative leader Joan Herrera. The investigation, however, has several ramifications. At the Supreme Court, the former mayor of Altafulla and current Congressman for Comuns, Félix Alonso, is being investigated, and there is still a third prong in the hands of a court in El Vendrell: there, the investigating judge has already brought the former ICV minister during the tripartite government, Salvador Milà, to the brink of trial for prevarication, as reported by El País and confirmed by Efe. The decision is pending the appeal filed by Milà before the Provincial Court of Tarragona.

Financial or property donations signed before a notary have grown by 20% to "all-time highs," and the Notarial College of Catalonia links this to the housing crisis and the need for assistance to buy a home. "They respond greatly to the desire to help a son or family member who wants to acquire a home, and donations can be the solution: either money to buy one or property if parents are fortunate enough to have more than one," explained the vice-dean of the College, Raquel Iglesias, at the presentation of the data from the V Notarial Observatory of Catalonia. "Donations out of pure generosity, without need, do exist, but we don't see them as much," she clarified.

The Olympic Village murderer earned this nickname the night he was celebrating his 18th birthday. A few hours made the difference between being tried as a minor or as an adult —as happened with the rest of those involved in the beating to death of a 24-year-old in a car park. It was April 1, 2000, and only four months had passed since the law on criminal responsibility of minors had been approved, with a less punitive model focused on education and reintegration. Now, this norm has once again faced pressure from the far-right and victims' families to increase criminal penalties for minors who commit extremely violent crimes, murders, or rapes.

Workers involved in reintegration in Catalan prisons have announced a strike for Thursday, June 11, as prison sources have explained to ARA. It is the third professional group to have called for stoppages this year, after teachers and healthcare workers. "We are the only group whose working and safety conditions are still pending review," denounced the inter-center committee of the Centre d'Iniciatives per a la Reinserció (CIRE), the public company that employs and trains prisoners.

The Supreme Court considers that people with a "particularly close connection" have the right to judicially intervene against the decision of a patient who wishes to receive euthanasia. It is the majority, but not unanimous, response of the magistrates of the High Court after addressing this Tuesday the debate on whether relatives have the right to judicially intervene to prevent a relative from receiving euthanasia.

Silvia Guerrero learned on August 21 that her son Juan had been stabbed that early morning in a fight in Tàrrega. He was 18 years old and was only a few months older than the sole accused of his death, who was 17. She still doesn't know when the trial for her son's death will be, and since then she has dedicated herself to demanding that the criminal consequences for minors be more severe and more similar to those assumed by adults. With the families of four victims, a month ago they presented 130,000 signatures in Congress to demand it. Juan's family has requested that the accused of killing him serve eight years of confinement, the maximum provided by law.

The Supreme Court considers that people with a "particularly close connection" have the right to judicially intervene against the decision of a patient who wishes to receive euthanasia. This is the majority, but not unanimous, response of the magistrates of the High Court after addressing this Tuesday the debate on whether family members have the right to judicially intervene to prevent a relative from receiving euthanasia.

Joan Liébana was 30 years old and had recently become a firefighter when on June 17, 2021, he died during a fire at an industrial warehouse in Vilanova i la Geltrú. Almost five years later, his colleague and the corporal in charge of the operation have admitted to a crime of less serious negligent homicide, and have accepted a sentence of fines of 4,500 and 5,400 euros. The two defendants admitted that they did not realize the firefighter had not left the warehouse with them until two colleagues who were ventilating the warehouse found him an hour later.

Just one month after leaving prison, the man who left the Ponent penitentiary center with a high risk of reoffending has acted again. The Guardia Urbana of Lleida arrested him this Friday afternoon for attempting to rob a supermarket in the capital of Segrià, according to sources consulted by ARA. The arrested man allegedly drew a weapon —which appears to be a replica— and left the premises without managing to take anything. The police located him an hour later in another part of Lleida.

Finally, justice will investigate the use of OC spray – popularly known as pepper spray – against pro-Palestinian demonstrators. Specifically, the actions of the Mossos d'Esquadra during the general strike on October 15 against a group of people sitting near Sants station, where a protest was beginning at that moment. The demonstrators wanted to stop the departure of a bus carrying the Hapoel Jerusalem team to Manresa to play a basketball game. The Barcelona judge who received the case did not admit the complaint from six demonstrators against agents and police commanders, but now the Barcelona Court of Appeal corrects this decision and orders the first judge to investigate the case. The court anticipates that the actions of the Mossos "could be understood as disproportionate".

The Prosecutor's Office has requested a 26-year prison sentence for Santi Laiglesia, the main suspect in the murder of Helena Jubany in 2001 in Sabadell. It is the same request that the Jubany family has made for the trial of the case, which will be held with a jury. In addition to a murder offense, both the public ministry and the private prosecution also attribute to him another of illegal detention. Laiglesia spent 41 days in provisional prison for this case between the end of 2025 and the beginning of this year, and at the time the Prosecutor's Office's sentencing request became known, he is free.

This Sunday was the time to test the efforts of the past week to prepare the evacuation of the passengers trapped on the MSHondius and coordinate their return home with an operation that would guarantee health and safety at all times. The cruise ship arrived at dawn off the Canary coast, and the ship's lights were visible from the port of Granadilla before sunrise. At that moment there were 147 people on board, and during the day 94 have disembarked. Some passengers will still spend one more night on board awaiting the last repatriation flights, which will be completed this Monday for 24 more passengers to return to their countries. After these last departures, only 30 crew members will remain on the cruise ship, who will be in charge of taking it to the port of Rotterdam, in the Netherlands, where the disinfection of the ship will be finalized.

The complex operation that this Sunday must evacuate the passengers and part of the crew of the MVHondius has involved great diplomatic efforts to coordinate the actions of the different countries, but also to allay the fear of hantavirus and the reluctance for the cruise ship to approach the Canary coast. Concerns that have also served to fuel political attacks. The outbreak totals six positive cases – including the three fatalities – so the ship will arrive in port without any new infections having been confirmed.

Health and emergency authorities are working against the clock to prepare for the arrival of the MV Hondius this weekend in the Canary Islands. The luxury cruise ship, the focus of the hantavirus outbreak, will anchor in the port of La Granadilla, in Tenerife, and from there passengers and crew will be transported to their home countries. In fact, the Spanish government has assured that no one will disembark without prior confirmation that their plane is ready to take off. On board are passengers and crew of 23 different nationalities, from within and outside the European Union, and since Thursday meetings have been held to also organize repatriations.

The Barcelona Court has released the mother of the baby who was allegedly mistreated and sexually assaulted in Barcelona without bail. In contrast, in the case of the father, the justice system has decided to keep him in provisional prison. One of the key elements in the investigation has been the content of the couple's mobile phones and computers. Before the child was hospitalized, the woman had searched for information related to the baby's health status, and about "the distress she herself felt regarding her relationship" because the man "did not treat the baby well".

The Prosecutor's Office has "no doubt" about the "unequivocal evidence" against the parents of the baby allegedly mistreated and raped in Barcelona. Sources from the Prosecutor's Office stated this after Tuesday's hearing at the Barcelona Court, where the defense of the child's mother distanced herself from the father's to try to get him out of prison. Both the public prosecutor and the private prosecution from the Generalitat have requested that the couple remain in provisional prison. In contrast, the lawyers defending the man and the woman separately have requested that they be allowed to await trial at liberty.

"Since the accident, I couldn't stop thinking about how he was, because I didn't know what had happened to him, whether he would live or not." Carlos Roberto Hernández recalls that the car windows shattered into pieces and scattered around him. Before he had time to wonder what had happened, he saw a person fall next to his car, on Carrer Mallorca in Barcelona, right in front of the Sagrada Família. The one who had fallen was Javier, who was on a motorcycle, and he collided with his car, which had braked suddenly. The motorcyclist broke three finger tendons and needed up to four operations after the accident. Even today, he hasn't been able to return to his job as a plumber and doubts if he will ever be able to work again.

The director of the Puig de les Basses prison, Jordi Oliveras, has resigned from his post following the suicide of three inmates at the penitentiary center since the beginning of the year. The last one was this Monday, when a prisoner who was in isolation took his own life. The Department of Justice and Democratic Quality reported this Friday that in the coming days there will be "a change" at the head of the Figueres prison and a new director will be appointed. According to the department, the director until now has placed his position at the disposal of the Secretariat of Penal Measures and Reintegration and its head, Elena Pérez, has accepted the resignation.

The prison system's response to the murder of a cook at Mas d'Enric has not satisfied all workers. In fact, it has fueled protests from some prison professionals. Two years after the crime, some workers denounce a "sustained discrimination" compared to their colleagues, security officers. Those protesting are staff from the same public company where Núria López worked when an inmate killed her and then committed suicide. Now, the inter-center committee – which represents the workers of this company throughout Catalonia – threatens a strike if the Generalitat does not agree before next Tuesday to give them the same improvements that Interior officials and other professionals in the sector have received.