Mikel Merino has once again become Spain's hero. The Navarrese player scored in the 91st minute the goal that gave the Spanish team qualification for the quarterfinals of the World Cup after an in extremis victory against Portugal (0-1). But he wasn't just the protagonist of the night on the pitch. After the match, the 30-year-old player, currently at Arsenal and trained at Osasuna before playing for Borussia Dortmund and Real Sociedad, explained the difficulties he has had to overcome to reach this point.

Thursday's round of 32 saw three new teams qualify for the round of 16. Spain convincingly beat Austria (3-0), Portugal eliminated Croatia in a dramatic finish (2-1), and Switzerland defeated Algeria (2-0).

Rescue teams have freed Hernán Gil alive, a 47-year-old man who had been trapped for almost a week under the rubble of a collapsed building in La Guaira, Venezuela, following the two earthquakes that shook the country last week. More than a hundred operatives participated in an international operation led by Chilean firefighters that lasted nearly 72 hours.

Wednesday's round of 32 of the World Cup saw three new qualifiers for the round of 16. England came from behind against the Democratic Republic of Congo (2-1), Belgium staged an epic comeback against Senegal (3-2 after extra time), and the United States defeated Bosnia and Herzegovina (2-0) despite playing half an hour with one player less.

Catalonia has closed the month of June with more than 200 deaths attributable to heat, according to estimates of mortality attributable to heat from the Daily Mortality Monitoring System (MoMo) of the Carlos III Health Institute. It is the highest figure in a June since records began. MoMo is the only tool that allows us to map deaths that occur daily in the State almost in real time, which are calculated using the excess mortality indicator; that is, how many deaths that occur [observed] exceed those that were expected [estimated] in a given territory and period.

The European Union launched this Tuesday the new tax of 3 euros per product on low-cost packages from outside the community bloc, a measure that directly impacts platforms such as Shein, Temu, and AliExpress. The decision, which marks a change in the model of massive online purchases of small value, is part of a reform of customs controls with which Brussels aims to respond to the explosion of international e-commerce. According to data from the European Commission, last year the EU received nearly 5.9 billion packages of this type, four times more than three years ago. The vast majority, 90%, come from China.

The name of Julán Álvarez is on everyone's lips, including the president of Barça, Joan Laporta, who spoke about him on the day he was sworn in again as the club's top official. In an impromptu press conference after the swearing-in ceremony, Laporta assured that the offer made by Barça about a month ago remains firm, but that "it is not unlimited in time".

The new round of the World Cup round of 32 has once again confirmed that France is one of the main candidates to lift the title. Didier Deschamps' team authoritatively defeated Sweden (3-0) and signed another demonstration of offensive potential, with Mbappé as the absolute reference of the squad, well supported by Olise and Barcola. The French imposed their rhythm from start to finish and did not suffer at any moment.

The round of 16 of the World Cup has seen two of the tournament's biggest surprises with the eliminations of Germany and the Netherlands. Paraguay has beaten the mannschaft on penalties after a 1-1 draw in 120 minutes of play between regulation time and extra time, and Morocco also forced extra time with a goal in added time against the Dutch and also ended up winning from eleven meters, which unleashed euphoria among North African fans.

Rescue teams continue to work against the clock in the areas most affected by the double earthquake that shook Venezuela, with the hope of finding survivors becoming increasingly limited. Four days after the tremors, the toll is dramatic: 1,450 dead, 3,150 injured, and thousands missing.

The Castellers de Barcelona made history this Thursday by completing a 3 of 7 at an altitude of 3,454 meters, at the Jungfraujoch station in the Swiss Alps. The structure, crowned next to the building known as Top of Europe, becomes the documented highest-raised castell.

Bodega Fermín, one of the establishments with the longest history in the Barceloneta neighborhood, has begun to remove its historic signs by order of the Barcelona City Council. The signs, installed in 1973 and which became an identifying mark of the establishment, have been affected by the application of the ordinance on urban landscape uses, which limits the type and volume of commercial identifiers in certain areas of the city.

The Major Oak, one of the most emblematic trees in the United Kingdom for its size and its connection to the legend of Robin Hood, has died after a process of progressive deterioration. The oak, located in Sherwood Forest, in the north of England, was between 800 and 1,200 years old and was considered one of the country's great natural icons and cultural heritage.

Leo Messi's family confirmed this Thursday that Jorge Messi, the Argentine footballer's father, has been admitted to the hospital for a health problem about which no details have been disclosed. In a statement, the family environment indicated that he is "under medical supervision, recovering and evolving favorably within the framework he presents," the family said.

Nacho Duato, one of the most prominent figures in Spanish contemporary dance and former artistic director of the Compañía Nacional de Danza between 1990 and 2010, explained in an interview on the program Cara al show, on La Sexta, an episode he experienced when he was 17 years old, upon arriving in Madrid to start his career as a dancer. He explained it during his visit to the program presented by Marc Giró, where he detailed an attempted sexual assault and a subsequent physical assault by an actor now deceased and, according to him, "very famous".

The Ångermanland court, in northern Sweden, on Tuesday sentenced Tomas Runsten, a 61-year-old man, to four years and five months in prison. According to the verdict, he allegedly sexually exploited his wife for three years and exposed her to between 250 and 275 men in exchange for money since 2023. The case has inevitably been compared to that of Dominique Pelicot in France — for which he is known as the "Swedish Pelicot" — both for the extent of control exerted over the victim and for the way intimate life was turned into a system of sustained exploitation.

The president of the Spanish employers' association CEOE, Antonio Garamendi, has raised his tone regarding the political situation the State is going through and which is marked by different judicial fronts: "The [Spanish] panorama is devastating [...] We are heading for institutional drift," Garamendi denounced during the closing of the CEOE General Assembly held this Wednesday in Madrid. The employers' leader also called to "lift the carpets, because the cases of corruption are incredible".

Russia launched one of the most massive aerial attacks in recent months against Ukraine early Monday. Among the affected targets is the Dormition Cathedral of the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra, one of the great spiritual and cultural emblems of Ukraine and Orthodox Christianity, founded in the 11th century, which is a UNESCO World Heritage site. The attack caused a spectacular fire.

The show had not yet ended and everyone already had it clear that the blessing of the Sagrada Família's Jesus tower would be one of the images of the year. This Thursday, the front pages of the world's press certified it. As in the '92 Olympic Games, Barcelona once again showed itself splendid in a global ceremony. The day after the event, it was easy to overhear conversations everywhere about the impressive effect of the drones recreating the figure of Antoni Gaudí or the beauty of the light show. Comments that, often, oscillated between pride in the image offered and reservations about whether this could lead to an increase in tourism in the Catalan capital.

Rosalía has been honored this Thursday in London with the Ivor Novello award forinternational songwriter of the year, one of the most prestigious in the music industry, which recognizes her career and places her among the most outstanding figures in the musical Olympus. In previous editions, artists such as Paul McCartney, Elton John, and Adele have received it. Rosalía has thus achieved a new historic milestone at 33 years old.