Lately, Salvador Illa can't stop stumbling. We have reached a point where, in this country, everything seems on the verge of overflow and collapse. Regarding the government partners, the transfer of IRPF, for the moment, remains stalled, which led ERC to reject the budgets. As if that were not enough, the desire to have a say and vote on El Prat airport (named Josep Tarradellas from Madrid) seems increasingly unlikely. At least if we judge by the intransigent attitude of Maurici Lucena, president of Aena.Lucena has repeated on several occasions that “it cannot be and, moreover, it is impossible”. He is acting exactly like that sergeant in the chickpea joke, who explained to the recruits that the bombs, if they didn't fall by gravity, would eventually fall “por su propio peso”. A militant of the PSC and former spokesperson for that group in Parliament, Lucena repeated on Thursday, the 16th, that what Catalonia is demanding is not feasible and would be —attention— unconstitutional. “There is only room —he emphasized— to deepen coordination with the territories”, which means that, if anything can be decided, nothing at all. And so that no one could get their hopes up, he concluded: “The rest is outside the legal and constitutional framework”. Lucena, as you can see, presents himself as an expert in constitutional law. On the legal-legal issue, you can read the article written in this same newspaper by Professor Joan Ridao. As Ridao concludes, and contrary to what the socialist preaches, we are facing a strictly political issue.. As Ridao concludes, and contrary to what the socialist preaches, we are facing a strictly political issue.

Four European Cups, four World Cups, 7 Leagues, 5 Cups..., the list of trophies won by Anna Casarramona i Vivas (Manlleu, 1994) seems endless. For 18 seasons, she has become one of the best Catalan athletes, leading the wave that changed women's roller hockey, and bringing it to the brink of professionalization. Now she is retiring, playing her last matches with HC Palau, which has become a model club, with hundreds of boys and girls on wheels and a top-tier changing room for the first women's team where Anna receives the ARA.

There are people who buy a book for Sant Jordi to give to someone who never reads any books, which is like me being given a ticket to go see Formula 1. There are people who lament that there are people who buy books for Sant Jordi who then don't read them. But how many of us don't have books from previous years piling up that we haven't opened yet? There are people who want the celebration to be perfect. But perfection is a theoretical concept.

European justice definitively invalidates Germany's multi-billion euro aid to the airline Lufthansa during the covid pandemic. The General Court of the European Union (CJEU) has overturned the European Commission's decision and, therefore, confirmed the annulment of the German state's rescue of the airline for 6 billion euros, as had been ruled by the General Court of the European Union (GCEU).

Mariano Rajoy, former president of the Spanish government, testified this Thursday before the National Court in the Kitchen case. Almost a decade after testifying in the Gürtel case, he appeared today and, in an interrogation that lasted 35 minutes, answered questions about the Popular Party's slush fund, about the operation to spy on and steal information from Luis Bárcenas, and about the use of reserved funds.

Temperatures have clearly dropped this Sant Jordi, with a markedly less warm atmosphere and most highs between 20 and 25 °C, far from the over 30 °C reached in Ponent and Ebre in recent days. A decrease caused by the strengthening of cooler maritime wind from the east-northeast, which has been strongly felt on the coast, with gusts that locally exceeded 50 km/h and waves between 1 and 2.5 meters high in some cases. The sun dominated in most regions, but some afternoon showers also recurred in the Pyrenees, the Alt Maresme, and the Montseny area, although less significant and extensive than in previous days. These spring showers will repeat on Friday and the weekend in mountain areas, while in most of the country, sun and calm will continue to dominate. The atmosphere will become warmer again in the coming noons.

The saga surrounding the sale of Warner Bros. is nearing its end. Today, the media group's board of shareholders approved the merger with Paramount Skydance, as explained by the company in a statement. Paramount had remained the sole potential buyer after Netflix withdrew its offer this February. The streaming platform's board of directors considered that attempting to match or exceed the money offered by Paramount was not justified.

Salvador Illa asked for "common sense" from the justice system after learning that the National Court was forcing Jordi Pujol to travel to Madrid to testify, and this Thursday the Minister of the Presidency and Justice, Félix Bolaños, did so. "Surely [Jordi Pujol's health status] could have been checked in Barcelona. But it is a decision of the court," he stated in an interview on Catalunya Ràdio. Bolaños is confident that with the forensic doctor's examination, "Pujol's health status will be verified and a definitive decision will be made." "Judicial processes should not be more burdensome for the people who suffer them than strictly necessary," Bolaños added.

The number of travelers in Catalan hotels in March surpassed all records, reaching 1.56 million, as published by the INE this Thursday, a level never before reached, and an increase of 12.6% compared to the same month last year. The historical maximum, also registered in the demarcations of Barcelona and Girona, is mainly explained by the increase in international travelers who, for the first time in a March, have exceeded 900,000.

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.

Rosalía has debuted as an actress in the series Euphoria playing Magick, a pole dance dancer in a striptease club. The Catalan singer could be seen in the second episode of the third —and final— season of one of HBO Max's major titles, which returned to the screen after a four-year wait.

The real estate sector continues to focus on the first ring of Barcelona as an escape valve for the capital's lack of land. RTV Grupo Inmobiliario has announced an approximate investment of 29 million euros for the development of two new residential projects in Sant Adrià de Besòs. The operation, which has been closed with the acquisition of two strategic plots, foresees the construction of 77 units that will transform the Forum area and the La Catalana neighborhood.

The eve of Sant Jordi, FOC (Fundació Òpera Catalunya) brought the 2025-26 season to a close with a new production of La traviata, an opera that the Sabadell-based entity has staged on several occasions throughout its long career. And I take this opportunity to suggest that FOC create a virtual consultation source listing the titles and casts programmed since 1982.On this occasion, Verdi's opera has a double cast, although it could end up being triple if Maria Miró, initially scheduled as one of the announced Violettas – the other is Montserrat Seró – joins the scheduled performances in and out of Sabadell, after a vocal ailment has kept her away. At the premiere performance, the leading soprano was Tina Gorina. The singer from Sant Feliu de Guíxols, who had already sung the title role in Valencia, displayed sensational musicality, especially in a brilliant second act with unforgettable moments, such as the way she articulated the phrase “Dite alla giovine, si bella e pura”.Good material, too, from the Mallorcan tenor Antoni Lliteres, a devoted Alfredo, with the cabaletta included in the second act after resolving with conviction and firmness De miei bollenti spiriti.For his part, baritone Luis Cansino showed excellent taste in phrasing and in the use of dynamics in his duet with Violetta and the subsequent aria (and also cabaletta) before Alfredo. His voice is uneven, but Cansino knows his stuff and made good use of the basic material.Good material also from the pit, with a brilliant Symphony of Vallès and with brilliant moments (also the Cor d’Amics de l’Òpera), although the direction of Andrés Salado did not always get it right in the concertation and with some false entry that occasionally misled the performers on stage.Carles Ortiz is a veteran director, who knows how to stage very well and who has the complicity of the spatial conception of Jordi Galobart and the movement of Jaume Sangrà. In this case, at the service of a very well-known title about which practically everything has already been said. However, the idea of ​​transferring the original action of the opera (1840s) to the glamour of high society in 1950 not only keeps the spirit of the original plot alive and current, but also helps to emphasize the loneliness of the protagonist. A complete success.After the tour that took the show to Manresa, Vic, Reus, Viladecans, Cornellà, Lleida, Sant Cugat del Vallès, Granollers, Girona, Tarragona and Barcelona, FOC is already warming up for a new season, with works such as L’elisir d’amore, the duo Cavalleria rusticana / Pagliacci, Cançó d’amor i de guerra and Aida. Two of these titles, by the way, also present next season at the Liceu... couldn't they agree?

The United States Secretary of the Navy, John Phelan, has been removed after several months of internal disputes with high-ranking Pentagon officials, including Secretary of War Pete Hegseth. The dismissal, announced this Wednesday by Department of War spokesman Sean Parnell, highlights the differences within the leadership of the U.S. defense organization, immersed in the war against Iran. The Pentagon announced his departure in a brief statement, saying he was leaving the administration "with immediate effect," without providing further details. It was the Reuters agency that reported that it was a forced dismissal and not a voluntary departure, as confirmed by sources from several American media outlets.

The Ministry of Health is studying possible sanctions and corrective measures for the health centers that treated the baby allegedly abused in Barcelona, whose parents remain in preventive detention. The child went through the Hospital del Mar, the CAP Roger de Flor, the Hospital Sant Joan de Déu, and the Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, which visited him twice and detected a femur fracture. The infant was referred to the Vall d'Hebron Hospital, a reference center for child abuse care, on March 16, after detecting serious injuries in the patient and alleged sexual assaults. It was then that the protocol against child abuse was activated.

The war industry does not stop, driven by the need for European powers to shield themselves from international geopolitical instability. The defense giant CSG, owner of the historic Granada Ammunition Factory (FMG), has sealed a contract of approximately 250 million euros for the supply of large-caliber artillery ammunition to a European client. The operation, financed by a Western European country, underscores the growing dependence on long-range technology in modern conflicts.

Nine years after testifying in the Gürtel case, Mariano Rajoy has returned to the National Court to testify in the Kitchen case. He arrived in San Fernando de Henares at 9:40 a.m. by car and accessed the judicial premises through the parking lot. He responded for thirty minutes, in a statement that began with monosyllables and evasiveness and ended with three pleas in which he distanced himself from the facts and lent a hand to the defenses of the accused. The star phrase came right at the beginning, during the interrogation by the PSOE lawyer, who asked him if he was M. Rajoy, el Asturiano, or el Barbas: "My name is Mariano Rajoy, as everyone knows, and then each person calls me what they want; ask them." After this first display, he dedicated himself to categorically denying everything. "Did you give Bárcenas an envelope with the remainder of the B fund? Did you put the last page of Bárcenas's papers into the shredder? Do you have knowledge that Bárcenas was pressured or intimidated by order of party officials?", asked the PSOE lawyer. These are three questions that the former PP treasurer assured on Monday when he testified as a witness. "Absolutely false", Rajoy limited himself to answering on all three occasions.

Catalonia will test a new strategy to address coexistence problems in some schools and institutes: Mossos d'Esquadra officers will be deployed undercover in various educational centers. The move is part of a pilot plan that will be activated in 13 centers to test a new collaboration model between the departments of Education and Interior, as reported by El País and confirmed by ARA.

The restoration of the chapel of Santa Escolastica at the monastery of Sant Cugat del Vallès has provided an exceptional surprise. After removing the Baroque altarpiece for restoration, a mural painting of a Calvary, datable to the mid-14th century, has come to light on the back wall. At the time of removing the altarpiece, the knees of Christ were exposed. Afterwards, the restorer Beatriz de Colmenares continued removing fragments of plaster until revealing the figure of Christ and, on either side, the figures of Saint John (on the right) and the holy women (on the left), among whom are the Virgin Mary, fainting, and Mary Magdalene lamenting.

After two editions focused on the horror of Gaza, this year the World Press Photo has turned its gaze towards the deportations of immigrants to the United States and has decided to award American photographer Carol Guzy, of ZUMA Press and iWitness. Thus, the award for photo of the year goes to Separated by ICE, a photograph taken for the Miami Herald in one of the few federal buildings in the U.S. to which photojournalists had access. Guzy's image captures the dramatic moment when a family is separated by U.S. government agents.

With just over two weeks to go until the classic, Barça already knows it will have to play against Madrid and seal the league title without its biggest star. The results of the tests carried out this morning on Lamine Yamal have confirmed that he has a hamstring injury in his left leg and will miss the rest of the season - which ends on May 24 - with Barça. The statement also clarifies that it is "expected" that the footballer will be available for the World Cup and will undergo conservative treatment to recover.

Four months ago, the parakeet fans were very happy. It should be remembered that last season the 'periquitos' did not secure their permanence until the last half hour of the league

Sant Jordi 2026 once again fills Catalonia with books, roses, kisses, and vibrant streets. In this photo gallery, which complements the live coverage from ARA, we will collect throughout the day the best images of a celebration that combines culture, festivity, and spring like no other. This year, ARA dedicates its special edition to the figure of the dragon, inseparable from the legend of Saint George, with pages illustrated with some of the dragons that inhabit Barcelona's urban landscape. The newspaper also offers reports and articles on the myth of the dragon, the most complete coverage of the day, and proposals such as The book recommender for Sant Jordi 2026 for those still looking for reading material.

How many lives can a book have? In Celrà, straddling Girona and Empordà, for 16 years a recycled reading project has been beating, giving a new life to more than 300,000 books. It shares space with the town library in the old Pagans Factory, a gem of Catalan industrial modernism converted into a municipal space, where the Town Hall coexists with the municipal swimming pools, the library, the music school, art school, and a civic center with a bar and restaurant, and a free indoor play area for children and babies.

The definitive impulse to start writing, a self-confidence therapy, the stimulus to tell that story that is kept in a corner of the soul or a creative activity for an active retirement. The students of the Vicenç Pagès Jordà Writing Room of the Girona City Council are as diverse and heterogeneous as the motivations that have led them to want to write. But all of them, despite their different origins, ages or abilities, are touched by the same passion for writing. And for reading! Since the founder of the school, the late writer from Figueres Vicenç Pagès, did not conceive of one activity without the other.

The popularity of German Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz has fallen to historic lows in Germany. Merz has achieved something that seemed difficult when he arrived at the Chancellery almost a year ago: in a few months, he has become more unpopular than his predecessor in office, the Social Democrat Olaf Scholz. According to a Forsa survey for RTL and NTV, 80% of Germans are dissatisfied with Merz's management. Only 18% (two percentage points less) of respondents are satisfied with the work of the Christian Democrat Chancellor.

Wholemeal and high-fiber biscuits. Also with chocolate or caramel touches. Some gluten-free, lactose-free, and salt-free. Round, square, or even dragon-shaped. In Catalonia, Gullón biscuits are a classic on supermarket shelves. Their green logo appears stamped on boxes of dozens of different formats, each aimed at a specific consumer. With over 130 years of history, it is a historic company in the Spanish biscuit sector, but also a European giant: in 2024 it had a turnover of 690 million euros, directly employs over 2,100 people, and is present in 125 countries.

Robert Serna i Mundet is a guy from El Raval. He was born there, lives there, and has his business there. He is self-taught. Talent and effort opened the doors to the world of restoration for him at just twenty-two years old. Since then, he has participated in his own and others' projects, always at the forefront of prestigious kitchens.One day, walking through the old Barri Xino, he discovered a small corner on Requesens street and decided to turn it into his refuge to be happy. Cal Robert opened its doors in 2014. At first it was more of a bar than a restaurant, but eight years ago, with David's arrival in the kitchen, the project found its definitive direction: traditional Catalan cuisine with a touch of Iberian flair. Starters to share and main courses to each one's liking. A simple formula that works if the product and execution are good. The team is as important as the food, and with Marc in the dining room, a small but very efficient team is completed.There are fixed dishes and others (those on the blackboard) that change according to the seasonality of the product. Thus, neither they nor the clients get bored: every day there is something new to taste. We start the meal with some black pudding bags and some chard fritters. We continue with a dish of tripe and some meatballs that comfort us from the outside cold and confirm our success in visiting Robert. Before dessert, a hake tail in the Donostiarra style reconciles us with product cuisine. A cream millefeuille, a meringue and lemon tartlet, and a cheesecake fulfill the purpose of ending the meal.Wine deserves a very remarkable separate chapter. The menu is oral and changing. Robert explains it to us: “We only work with local wines and none cost more than nineteen euros. It makes no sense to spend twenty euros on food and order a seventy euro wine. We are looking for a wine profile with good value for money to be able to offer them at a reasonable price.” We choose a bottle of Un Onzè black wine from the Cal Cabo winery, in Sant Martí de Maldà. They have vineyards in the Corb valley. Sometimes, oil can be as important as food and drink. In the case at hand, we highlight it for its quality. It is from Nalec, the smallest town in Urgell. “My father-in-law is from Nalec. In the mornings I make breakfasts and I try to give an outlet to the oil, the wine and the sausages from there. They are very good!”The universe of Raval

Cal Robert is much more than a bar-restaurant: it is a service to the neighborhood. It collaborates with neighborhood associations and NGOs based in the neighborhood, especially with Pallapupas, the beloved hospital clowns. It has also unofficially become the bar for the Taller de Músics. The clientele comes mainly from Sant Antoni and L'Eixample, as the population of Raval is increasingly diverse and does not always match its gastronomic proposal or the establishment's budget. The average bill is around thirty-five euros per person.Robert is a Raval resident who loves his neighborhood. El Raval has life and color, but this particular universe of Barcelona is often underestimated and feared in equal measure. We take advantage of its geographical location to walk through these streets in the heart of the city. El Raval and Cal Robert show us two of the realities of our country: the diversity of our fellow citizens and the good health of Catalan cuisine. We can be happy.

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Three golden points for Barça in a match marked by Lamine Yamal's injury and a first half that lasted 67 minutes (1-0). La Liga, closer. Next, some immediate thoughts.

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The ceasefire in the Iran war seems to be increasingly turning into a kind of safety belt in the midst of a free fall. The Iranian attacks come after the US had already boarded an Iranian-flagged vessel, the Touska

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Mishima completed their first Olympic cycle of La Nit de les Roses this Wednesday. It has been four years since they were the first band to perform at the historic La Paloma venue in the heart of Barcelona's Raval after its renovation, and they did so by proposing a pre-Sant Jordi party that fuses words and music, as befits the most literary band on the contemporary Catalan scene. As Manuel de Pedrolo said, if they are roses, they will bloom. And these have burst forth proudly: if seeing them chanting Mishima's songs and the applause for the writers who acted as openers are the barometer, this is a tradition that has come to stay. 

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The Mishimas completed their first Olympic cycle of La Nit de les Roses this Wednesday. They have already In times of fear for the future of Catalan, David Carabén sent an optimistic message: “Our language is in good enough shape that we had to go over it a few times these days to select authors”. The lineup was certainly a luxury. Opening the proceedings was the latest recipient of the Premi d'Honor de les Lletres Catalanes, the poet Biel Mesquida, who torrentially recited the last three pieces from his latest book, Trast

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"The extraordinary thing is that it seems normal." With this slogan, Barça celebrated the men's league in the 2018-19 season. The team then led by Ernesto Valverde had just won their eighth league title in eleven seasons. At that time, the first women's team only had four league titles to their name. Since then, the blaugranes have been crowned champions of the domestic competition in the next seven seasons and now have eleven league titles. The latest one, this Wednesday after beating Espanyol 1-4 away. With more than ten points ahead of Real Madrid and with four matchdays left to finish the competition, Barça already has the second trophy of the season in their trophy cabinet, after the Spanish Super Cup.

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"The extraordinary thing is that it seems normal." With this motto, Barça celebrated the men's league in the 2018-19 season. The team then led by Ernesto Valverde had just won their eighth league title in eleven seasons. At that time, the first women's team only had four league titles to their name. Since then, the Blaugranas have been crowned champions of the state competition every season and now have eleven league titles. The last one, this Wednesday after winning 1-4 on Espanyol's ground. With more than ten points clear of Real Madrid, and with four matchdays left to finish the competition, Barça already has the second trophy of the season in their trophy cabinet, after the Spanish Super Cup.

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Sant Jordi, the great civic and cultural festival of Catalonia, endures everything. Literary sugar excesses and critical or humorous boutades. However cutesy we make it, however much of a profile some people adopt, we all end up celebrating the diada. It's unbeatable. Who gives up choosing a book? Who doesn't want to receive or give a rose? It's so hard to stay on the sidelines... It's a marvel that somehow works on its own, by the force of popular adherence that overcomes all mental and ideological borders, that is part of what we call shared identity. Because the magic formula doesn't fail: book and rose. So simple and so brilliant. As they say now in gastronomy, they pair well: reading and love-nature.

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Since the outbreak of the covid-19 pandemic, which altered the usual functioning of classes, attendance at Catalan universities has been weakening. However, since university education is not compulsory, there is no official data on this type of absenteeism. Now, however, the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB) has published the first report by a public university on this phenomenon, which concludes that 40% of its student community does not attend class in some subjects.

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Look how big the Sant Jordi festival is, that every year it completely bypasses all the country's news agendas and reduces the day's events to the category of “the rest of the day's news”.

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The Jardí de Granollers School, where the teacher arrested for possessing over 100,000 child pornography files worked, has stated that he will not be reinstated. "He is completely prohibited from any form of contact, in person or digital," adds the center in a message sent to families, explaining that they never had any indication or suspicion about the teacher, nor any complaint against him.

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The emergence of an entire generation of female television fiction creators has spawned a subgenre until recently (almost) unheard of: the parenting comedy. Titles like Better things, Catastrophe, Working Moms, and The Letdown tackle motherhood from a desacralized perspective that turns humor into the best weapon to face the reality of parenting, without Instagram filters. In our country, we can place Mira lo que has hecho, with Berto Romero, and Això no és Suècia, by Aina Clotet and Mar Coll. In some episodes, this latter series brought together a group of real-life mothers in the fiction who shared their experiences as such in mutual support meetings. One of these mothers was Marta Bassols, a well-known (and beloved) writer, actress, and cultural agitator on the Barcelona scene. Now she is the one promoting another series about the tribulations of motherhood, Yo siempre a veces, co-written with Marta Loza, sponsored by Javier Ambrossi and Javier Calvo, and starring Ana Boga.

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For Ali Smith, reading is so important and has shaped her in such a decisive way that this Wednesday afternoon she stated, in a packed Saló de Cent of Barcelona City Hall: "Books and libraries have a relationship and significance similar to what we humans have with water. I know that three-quarters of my body is water. I suspect that three-quarters of my body is also made of books".

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After the crusade to change the name of Saint George's Day, I hope the thick heads are creating a manifesto to change the name of Saint Patrick's Day (intolerable that it is called that) to "beer day", damn it. Now then. Saint George's Day is such a radiant, radical and joyful day, so unique, so sensible and wild, that wanting to change its name or intention, wanting to change a thread of its dress, is wanting to crash against the fence. The tradition of making the 'tió' poop, which we love, you can explain with a gesture of sufficient irony in your mouth – "they hit a log so that it poops gifts, hehe" –. But with Saint George's Day, irony and sufficiency would not be understood, they have no place. Saint George's Day is the tangible and angel-touched proof of that "los catalanes hacen cosas" from the missed M. Rajoy. You take the most civilized and cultured being in the world to see how we queue under the sun to get them to sign... a book, and he rubs his eyes and asks for medication.

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The event that brought together the current Minister of Economy and three former ministers, held on Monday at the College of Economists of Catalonia, and which this newspaper reported on Tuesday, was a ray of hope due to the common ground expressed by politicians from different parties who can achieve broad majorities.

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The arithmetic forces the PP to make a pact with Vox and, therefore, to assume part of their program and ideology. The conservative press tries to defuse the notion that this constitutes a somewhat humiliating act of submission –they, who precisely have this verb always at their fingertips– and that is why one comes across headlines like Wednesday's in la Razón: “Imminent pact in Aragon with «national priority» and no change in immigration”. Meanwhile, El País squeezes Feijóo and company's dangerous friendships as much as possible and opens its front page with “The PP assumes Vox's idea of «national priority»”. In the initial paragraph, they explain that this principle “points to the discrimination of foreigners”. The drama of it all is that the reader who does their homework and informs themselves from more than one medium with non-coinciding editorial lines ends up confused and not quite knowing whether the popular party has indeed succumbed to xenophobic policies or if it is Vox who has settled for a semantic gesture –this unsettling thing of national priority– devoid of content because what counts is rootedness, regardless of origin. Polarization is a close cousin of confusion. And a twin of disaffection.

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A woman walking her dog saw something floating in the Baells reservoir, in Berguedà. It was wrapped and tied with a belt. It could be guessed that it was a human body. The woman called the emergency number and within a few minutes the Mossos d'Esquadra had already confirmed it was a corpse. It happened on Wednesday, April 15th. No one had gone missing from the nearest municipality, Vilada, but the answer was eventually found in Berga: a sixty-year-old resident of the old town was not at home. Everything pointed to someone having killed him.

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To understand what kind of film Michael is, the biopic about Michael Jackson that has just been released, one only needs to look at the credits, where John Branca and John McClain appear as main producers, the lawyers appointed as executors of Michael Jackson's post-mortem business and who have turned him into the most profitable dead celebrity in the world, with more than 3.5 billion euros generated since Jackson's death in 2009, according to Forbes. Like so many other biopics, Michael exists above all as a commercial strategy that must protect and reinforce a brand. Therefore, the margin of artistic freedom that director Antoine Fuqua (Training day, Brooklyn's Finest) or screenwriter John Logan (Gladiator, Skyfall) have had is perceived as very scarce.

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A hundred tourists arrived in Barcelona last Tuesday night on a date as significant as Sant Jordi. They went to the hotel they had booked, the Standbyme, next to La Boqueria Market, through the Booking platform. But the reservation did not appear anywhere. One of the receptionists at this central hotel in the Catalan capital, Josefina, explained in statements to Efe that on Tuesday, around 8 p.m., they lost access to their Booking profile, coinciding with the massive arrival of people supposedly with reservations to stay in their rooms. The affected parties speak of a digital scam.

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We have become extraordinarily skilled at choosing, practically in everything. We choose the best school, the best extracurricular activity, the most ergonomic backpack, the BPA-free lunchbox, and the flat-soled sneakers. We choose sugar-free, we choose to restrict mobile phones, we choose respectful clothing as if clothing could behave disrespectfully, and we choose toys with a Montessori label.

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Just over a week ago it became known that the provisional resolution of the tender for the management of Cinema Truffaut had been made and that the Girona Film Critics Collective had not won by a difference of 4,000 euros in relation to the company Rambla de l’Art de Cambrils. They are still in the allegations phase and, therefore, we must be cautious, but reaching this point is already a disaster.The Girona Film Critics Collective is a non-profit organization that for more than 25 years has been behind the Cinema Truffaut project and has made it grow, in a selfless and passionate, cinephile, popular, and demanding way at the same time; and not only that, but it has sustained it at times when the City Council has been less concerned. Truffaut is one of the few public cinemas that exist, with a declared public vocation based on auteur film releases, the recovery of classics, the demands of the social fabric, debate and reflection, Catalan cinematography, the presence of international figures, and alliances with cultural agents and initiatives in the territory. Its management has been impeccable, but now a company from Cambrils has been prioritized over this non-profit organization.In 2023 I wrote an article titled "For a fair play cultural", once I decided that when the contract for the direction of Bòlit, the contemporary art center of Girona, ended, I would not extend it for two years for reasons related to the management model. Then, I transferred that experience to some chapter of the book La servidumbre de los protocolos due to reasons related to the management model. Then, I transferred that experience to a chapter of the book

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The Italian Guardia di Finanza has dismantled a network accused of exploiting prostitution and managing nightlife-related events that allegedly provided services to high-level footballers. Among the players mentioned are Real Madrid's Dean Huijsen and Inter's defender, a target for Barça, according to information that has emerged in the Italian press. As confirmed by the EFE agency, the operation, which is being investigated by the Milan Court at the request of the Public Prosecutor's Office, has resulted in four people under house arrest, accused of facilitating prostitution by organizing escort services, as well as money laundering derived from this activity.

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Her hair really catches the eye. She herself admits that she feels observed wherever she goes and that she is tired of being stopped in the street to be asked if they can touch her hair or if they simply touch it without her permission. Isabel Balde, 32, has beautiful afro hair. The kind that's a huge ball of curls. "People are not aware that touching someone's hair is invading personal space," she says, as her hairdresser styles it and she looks proudly in the mirror. It wasn't always like this. She used to hate her hair.

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After a week marked by afternoon downpours and storms with hail and sleet in some regions, this Sant Jordi the weather will not be clear. It will be a pleasant and quite sunny day in most of the country to enjoy the book and rose stalls outdoors, but there will be exceptions. In the morning, some drizzles may occur in the northeast and in the Ebro, and in the afternoon some irregular downpours and storms will be repeated in the Pyrenees and Pre-Pyrenees. All this with a clear drop in temperatures due to the entry of cooler northwesterly winds. A decrease that will be particularly noticeable in the interior and will make the heat much more contained in the middle of the day. All this after storms were repeated this Wednesday, especially in the Pyrenees and Pre-Pyrenees, in the northeast and in the Ebro, while a warm peak was experienced, with maximums of up to 31 or 32 °C in the west and in the interior of the Ebro, highlighting the 32.2 ºC reached in Vinebre (Ribera d'Ebre).

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The Port of Barcelona has launched the 5th Strategic Plan for the period 2026-2030, the largest investment cycle in the history of the port infrastructure, which will extend until 2040 with actions on accesses, terminals and facilities. This was explained at a press conference by the president of the Port of Barcelona, José Alberto Carbonell, and the head of strategy for the infrastructure, Jordi Torrent, who presented the strategic plan approved at the end of January by the board of directors.

]]> This Saturday I had the good fortune to see in Lloret de Mar I count every step I take on the ground, a monologue that Lluïsa Cunillé wrote especially for the actor Oriol Genís, directed by Xavier Albertí. The play is of a delicacy that we only find at the highest levels of art, performed by three top personalities of Catalan theatre. I am very grateful for the idea of a Xavier Albertí cycle in Lloret, his city, and I hope more towns would program theatre with this ambition.Now that it is Saint George's Day, few people will buy theatre books, even though theatre is perhaps, together with poetry, also little sold, the most rigorous form of literature. What can we do if culture (which in Latin means cultivation) involves burying and watering a seed that is not seen but is there, and with much more life inside than the plants already grown and ready to be consumed. Theatre has given us tragedy, the most essential form of human consciousness.And, therefore, few people will buy, and I'm sorry, a recent book from Arola Editors (an editorial harmed by the scandal of denied subsidies for Catalan books, but with an impressive catalog, of incalculable importance for our theatre),  Ansietats teatrals reunides, by Esteve Miralles.

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Not even a week after the PP and Vox reached an agreement in Extremadura, the two formations are following the same path in Aragon and have also reached a pact to invest the popular Jorge Azcón. The popular party and the far-right party announced the understanding this afternoon in a joint appearance by Azcón and the Vox spokesperson in the Aragonese Cortes, Alejandro Nolasco. The staging is a carbon copy of what they followed in Extremadura to present a policy in line with the Extremaduran one, in which national priority in public policies has been the keystone. But in this case, the furious anti-Catalanism that has characterized the right in the region has reappeared, and this makes it understandable that there is an essential point that includes the defense of "freedom against indoctrination" with two star measures: "freeing Aragon from the imposition of Catalan" and initiating the "abolition of the Aragonese Institute of Catalan". That is, the PP and Vox have agreed to eliminate Catalan in Aragon.

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The Geely E2 (also called EX2 in Latin American markets) is an affordable 4-meter-long electric car with about 395 kilometers of range and power outputs of up to 116 hp that last year became the best-selling car in China. Aware of the potential of its urban electric vehicle, the Chinese automotive giant Geely made the leap to Europe some months ago, but the fact of having to pay tariffs and transport and distribution costs means that its cars are not so competitive on the Old Continent.

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The German airline Lufthansa has reported that the closure of its short-haul airline Lufthansa CityLine will reduce the group's capacity by 1% and means the elimination of 20,000 flights, equivalent to about 40,000 metric tons of aviation fuel, a product whose price has doubled since the outbreak of the war in the Persian Gulf.

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Weeks after the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz and the resulting energy crisis, the European Commission has presented the long-awaited plan to try to mitigate its consequences. The main point is the flexibility of aid that state and regional administrations can adopt to reduce electricity bills, as well as greater coordination between countries in the purchase and storage of fuel to avoid competing with each other. On the other hand, Brussels has ignored the request of Pedro Sánchez's government and rules out generalizing the imposition of an additional tax on what are known as the electricity companies' "windfall profits", the additional profits they make when fossil fuel prices skyrocket.

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Adif plans to restore freight train traffic through the Rubí tunnel next week. According to the manager of railway infrastructure, from the night of April 28, trains will once again run through this strategic point for the transport of goods by rail to France. This marks the completion of the first phase of the reinforcement, stabilization, and improvement work on the tunnel's infrastructure, which has lasted seven weeks.

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Spain was one of the seven countries of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD, the think tank of the world's most developed economies) where last year the rise in taxes on wages far outstripped the increase in salaries, resulting in a loss of real income. The calculation, however, does not take into account the value of the public services citizens receive, which are funded by taxes.

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What other Catalan word can be formed with the letters of somni? Ten seconds. The new contest Rescat wants to involve the viewer in playing with language, so as to test not only their lexical knowledge, but also their creativity and ability to outsmart opponents. The new format on La 2, presented by actor Peter Vives in his debut as a master of ceremonies for a contest, will occupy the schedule from eight-thirty to nine o'clock, every day from Monday to Friday until the summer. It premieres this Thursday and, for now, there will be 60 programs awaiting whether this production by La Manchester, Ricard Ustrell's production company, takes root and achieves renewal.

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Dragons are fodder for pop culture. Film, series, literature, music, and comics have used dragons, stretching the limits of what this mythological creature can represent: an imposing fantastic beast, a cute little animal, an exotic creature... In fiction, the dragon is a malleable character that can be adapted to family comedy, monster movies, or epic fantasy. We chose 10 that have gone down in history.

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“When something gets stuck in my head, it doesn't leave, and now the bike has gotten stuck in it”, explains Paula Blasi, one of the Catalan athletes of the moment. This weekend she achieved the greatest success of her career, winning the 12th edition of the Amstel Gold Race, held between Maastricht and Valkenburg, with a route of 158.1 kilometers. A prestigious race where she beat the best female cyclists in the world with a great attack and in which she was not initially supposed to participate, but was called up by her team, UAE, at the last minute because other more experienced cyclists were missing. "I will need a few weeks or months to realize it. It's my first time in the Ardennes and I've had problems with positioning, I can't believe what has just happened to me", she explained euphorically.

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The Mossos d'Esquadra are investigating an incident during the passage of the Correllengua Agermanat –the race that travels through Catalan-speaking territories to advocate for the unity and promotion of the language– through the town of Cardedeu, in Vallès Oriental. According to sources consulted by ARA, a person participating in the race suffered a wound to the neck that could have been caused by a projectile.

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"I ask for sanity." After the National High Court's decision to summon Jordi Pujol to testify in person, Salvador Illa has defended the former president and called on the justice system to reconsider the health conditions in which he finds himself. The head of the Catalan executive recounted a call he received last week from Pujol, in which he explained that he was very "excited" to attend the inauguration of the Pau Casals Year in El Vendrell, but that he was "weak" and did not feel "up to it" to go.

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One of the questions that the eighth day of the Ábalos case trial has tried to resolve is where the cash bills that José Luis Ábalos and Koldo García had came from. During the investigation, the Civil Guard detected more than 95,000 euros from the former Minister of Transport and former number three of the PSOE without bank tracing. This reinforced the thesis of "the existence of undeclared cash income" and triggered the opening of a separate piece in the National Court on the financing of the PSOE. The investigating judge raised the hypothesis that the PSOE helped Ábalos or Koldo to "launder" money. This Wednesday, in the Supreme Court, two lines of action have become apparent during the testimony of Mariano Moreno, who was the party's manager between 2017 and 2021. First, he assured that Ferraz "never" handed over 100, 200, and 500 euro bills, which are the ones the Civil Guard suspects Koldo and his circle managed – using code names. Later, the lawyer for Ábalos's former advisor, wanting to show that all the money he received was "of legal origin," wanted to highlight possible errors in the documentation that the socialists sent to the courts.

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The discursive cession to Vox in Extremadura, with the acceptance of the "principle of national priority", has borne the expected fruit for the PP. After a first attempt frustrated a month and a half ago, the popular candidate, María Guardiola, has been invested as president this Wednesday with the votes of the popular party and the far-right, which doubled its results in the regional elections of December 21. "As what the polls say does matter to me, I know that this project is only possible with Vox [...] That is why I will not apologize for governing with those who represent an important part of Extremadura," the president of Extremadura emphasized, who revalidates the position she has held since 2023. However, at the same time, in Congress, the popular party has rejected a motion from Vox defending the principle of "national priority" for access to public policies, understood as the differentiation between national and non-national when receiving aid, an interpretation that the PP rejects.

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Richard Gadd was an unknown actor and creator until 2024 when he premiered Baby Reindeer on Netflix, a miniseries that explained his experience as a victim of harassment and also sexual abuse. The production was a phenomenon that even obsessed some viewers – some supposed fans revealed the identity of Gadd's harasser and she sued the series and the platform–. After that whirlwind, the Scotsman premieres Half man, a new miniseries with which he wants to reaffirm his authorial voice: a new uncomfortable and impactful story about toxic masculinities, homophobia, and dependency relationships. The series will be available on HBO Max starting this Friday.

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In a country that is both Catholic and priest-eater like ours, the relationship between religion and politics has historically been sinuous and critical. Polarization became very extreme during the Civil War, the echo of which continues to resonate. Vox-PP remind us of it every day. At the same time, there are surprising phenomena: we have, for example, a socialist president, Salvador Illa, who does not hide his Christian humanism in the midst of a society that is going in another direction, increasingly secularized and orphaned of meaning. And at the same time, we have an independentist far-right that banally warns about the dangers facing Christian civilization, whose values it does not practice.

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The Calvià town hall, Mallorca, is once again celebrating this year (it did last year too) a festival called Saint George, which is essentially Sant Jordi but aimed exclusively at tourists and British residents, who are very numerous in this beautiful corner of the Serra de Tramuntana. The town hall, governed by the PP with the support of Vox, considers (these are verbatim words from their website, translated from Spanish) that it is their responsibility to “highlight the significant British presence in the municipality, and foster coexistence through culture, music, and shared leisure”. To this end, and in the coastal town of Palmanova, “this festive day will take place, including an extensive program of activities for all ages in a family and multicultural environment”. The aforementioned activities “highlight the English identity and the vitality of this group with a significant presence in the municipality”. The rulers of Calvià have discovered multiculturalism of whites with whites, which would be tourist multiculturalism. This beautiful celebration will not take place on Sant Jordi's Day, but this coming Sunday, April 26th, to encourage people to go for a peaceful walk with their children. If the British are in the mood, perhaps they can greet them and take a photo. The “cultural activities” include tribute concerts to The Beatles and Freddie Mercury, face painting workshops, an “artisanal” market, and “themed” parades about the legend —here the translation is impossible— of Saint George and the dragon. The Saint George of Calvià, it hardly needs to be said, dispenses with any reference to Sant Jordi and to the culture and language of Calvià, Mallorca, and the Balearic Islands, which are Catalan language and culture. It is part of a political vision that considers the island a Spanish enclave, and if convenient also British, and which at the same time does not neglect to work on the tourist projection of the municipality (the only and true obsession of elites with a pathological relationship with easy money) under the sign of de-seasonality, a concept that once progressivism advocated thinking it was about better distributing tourism and its impact throughout the year, but which has ended up meaning massification and collapse for as many months as possible. For a long time, Calvià has had far-right municipal governments that also have to face, every year, a dilemma: Jaume I and his troops landed in Mallorca on September 10, 1229 in Santa Ponça, precisely within the term of Calvià, and they find it a problem to celebrate the anniversary because then they have to balance to hide that those Christians who killed Moors (good) were Catalans (very bad).The day before Saint George, on Saturday the 25th, the Book Day will be celebrated in Calvià, with stalls selling this product. Perhaps writer Mendoza will have time to stop by, as he will find in Calvià a celebration alternative to Sant Jordi very similar to the one he demanded a few days ago.

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Third case of African swine fever (ASF) positivity outside the high-risk zone detected in Catalonia since the start of the outbreak. The Minister of Agriculture, Óscar Ordeig, announced this Wednesday that one of the 16 positive cases detected last week was found in Castellbisbal, which until now was considered a low-risk zone and now becomes high-risk and subject to restrictions

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The judge investigating the allocation of protected housing in Alicante has summoned 15 people to testify as defendants and seven as witnesses. Among those investigated are the former Councilor for Urban Planning of the city, Rocío Gómez, the head of the Contracting Service of the City Council, María Pérez-Hickman, the municipal architect, Francisco Nieto, the sole administrator of the promoting cooperative, Francisco Ordiñana, and the head of the Protected Housing section of the Department of Housing, Employment, Youth and Equality, Roberto Palencia. The five must testify on May 20.

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The relations between the PSOE and Junts have not been going well for some time —they avoid negotiation since the Junts considered the investiture agreement broken—, but this Wednesday the spokesperson for Carles Puigdemont's party in Congress, Miriam Nogueras, has raised the tone against the Spanish president. To the point of reproaching him that he has been "governing without a majority" in the Spanish chamber for "too long" and that he makes no decisions: "What argument does he have left not to call elections?"

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It's a tradition that's gaining traction, the Estrella Damm Musical Sant Jordi, which this year coincides with the 150th anniversary of the brewing company. As usual, different spaces in the Old Estrella Damm Factory on Rosselló street in Barcelona will host about twenty concerts between 11:30 AM and 9 PM, featuring groups and artists of all kinds, such as Maria Jaume, Els Amics de les Arts, Buhos, Ven'nus, Naina, Xarim Aresté, Pastora, and Lildami.

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Deutsche Telekom is considering a merger with its US subsidiary, T-Mobile US, according to reporting by Bloomberg late Tuesday nightBloomberg. The operation, according to this publication, would be the largest corporate transaction in history between listed companies and, as several media outlets point out, would result in the world's largest operator by market capitalization.

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“Have you visited the wine cellar yet?” is the first thing the chef Fran López says to me when I step into Villa Retiro, the hotel with a Michelin-starred restaurant in Xerta. He is referring to the Celler Cooperatiu del Pinell de Brai, one of the Cathedrals of Wine, which exemplify López's project very well, a project that transcends the walls of his restaurant and shows the chef's commitment to the territory. Now that Villa Retiro is 20 years old, it is a good time to focus on it and also celebrate it with the menu he has designed for the occasion, which could be nothing else but a tribute to the Terres de l'Ebre.

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The political crisis surrounding Keir Starmer over the appointment of Peter Mandelson as the UK's ambassador to Washington in December 2024 has worsened this week, after Olly Robbins' appearance in Parliament has revealed numerous contradictions in the process followed. The discrepancies between Downing Street's account and the testimony of who until last week was the highest-ranking Foreign Office official responsible for overseeing the designation, once again place the prime minister's judgment at the center of the controversy, and leave him in a very compromised position.

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A farm in some corner of rural Germany is the center of El sonido de la caída, the revelation film from Cannes 2025 that unfolds over four generations of inhabitants of this house. But Mascha Schilinski's second feature (much more ambitious than her opera primaDark Blue Girl) distances itself from the grand narrative sagas that explain the history of a country from the extensive particularity of a family. And not only because the major events that mark Germany of the last century are barely intuited or are only captured by how they indirectly affect the protagonists. Above all, because Schilinski places at the center the perspective of a series of female characters who have not usually starred in grand historical narratives to compose a film around female subjectivity, also understood as an intergenerational collective experience.

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"Don't you have a smaller or thinner one, so it doesn't weigh too much to read in bed?" Beyond literary quality, book format, or other publishing specifics, a book's length can push us towards or against buying it. A study of 2,500 bestsellers from the New York Times revealed a few years ago that the average number of pages had grown from 320 in 1999 to 400 in 2014. Is there a similar pattern with books originally written in Catalan? If we take a look at almost 5,000 narrative and essay books originally published in Catalan in recent decades, the trend is confirmed: books in Catalan (including those released simultaneously in another language) are getting longer.

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Sant Jordi's Day. As is tradition, the streets of Catalonia become a hive of books, roses, and senyeras. And, in the midst of the great celebration of reading, a genre that tries to make a space for itself is politics: leaders often swap the lectern for the pen to fix their narrative or explain their "truth". Below, we analyze the list of titles that have been most purchased in recent years (since 2018), based on data provided by the publishing sector consulted by ARA, with a predominance of titles linked to the Procés.

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Every Wednesday, Emma Osorio practices judo at the Municipal Sports Center Olímpics on Passeig de la Vall d’Hebron, in Barcelona. She has been doing so for three years, accompanied by 17 other boys and girls between 12 and 19 years old who, like her, have autism spectrum disorder (ASD). These are adapted sessions, led by judo instructors and volunteers, in which the young people practice everything from the typical greetings and stances of this sport to pair and group dynamics, including strength training and other aerobic exercises.

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The dragon is one of the quintessential fantastic animals in the history of literature. Its power has fascinated millions of readers, young and old, spurred by the creativity of novelists and poets from all over, but the image it presents has been changing: the dragon can be menacing, dangerous, and violent, although also, on some occasions, benign and compassionate, and can even possess a wisdom superior to that of humans. "I am fire. I am death," proclaims Smaug, the imposing and fearsome dragon with whom Bilbo Baggins must verbally contend in The Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien. "Never give up, and sooner or later you will find good luck," recommends Fuixur, the majestic white dragon, to the intrepid Atreyu in The Neverending Story, by Michael Ende. For Ursula K. Le Guin, who expanded and renewed the abilities of these enigmatic animals in the Earthsea novel cycle, dragons represent the human capacity to imagine: "If dragons frighten us it is because we tend to consider the works of imagination as suspicious or even despicable," the author defended in the article Why, as Americans, are we afraid of dragons? (1974).

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Veolia has finalized the disappearance process of the Agbar brand – the former holding company of the Societat General d'Aigües de Barcelona (SGAB) – born more than 158 years ago. The French multinational, which has the investment arm of La Caixa, Criteria, as one of its shareholders with 5%, has registered the absorption of the company Veolia Spain by Veolia Agbar, according to the Official Bulletin of the Commercial Registry (Borme).

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The third building on the grounds of the old Fish Market will be dedicated to research to diagnose and, above all, find solutions to society's challenges. ThThe rector of Pompeu has insisted that the new project is presented as a do tank

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There are lines that precede their own existence. In southern Lebanon, one of them does not appear on any map, has not been validated by any agreement, nor recognized by the United Nations. However, it already imposes its logic on the ground, on displacements, and on destruction. The Israelis call it the "yellow line". And, as often happens in this region, what is born as a provisional military device tends to become permanent.

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Japan is moving towards a tightening of controls in strategic technological sectors, a direction that is beginning to generate concern in the business community. Within the framework of the new economic security law and in a context of geopolitical rivalry with Beijing, Tokyo has strengthened mechanisms to protect critical infrastructure and data, especially in areas such as semiconductors, artificial intelligence, or batteries. Although the legal framework does not establish explicit restrictions on international recruitment, various sectors warn that the increase in regulatory complexity and the introduction of stricter security criteria could deter the arrival of foreign talent in areas crucial for the country's growth.

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Pol, Nil, Jan, Roc and Jacobo have met at Sol Soler on Plaça del Sol in Gràcia for some beers. As soon as they entered, Roc saw a girl who caught his attention.

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The fable of the cicada and the ant contrasts those who spend the summer entertained without worrying about winter – the cicada – with those who seek and store food to face the cold months – the ant –. When bad weather arrives, the former finds herself destitute and asks the latter for food, who eventually takes pity on her. During the worst years of the Great Recession, this story resonated across Europe: the State and other southern countries were seen as those who did not do their homework, while the northern countries, led by Germany, were the ants. Dutchman Jeroen Dijsselbloem summed it up like this when he was president of the Eurogroup in 2017: "I cannot spend money on alcohol and women and then ask for help".

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A little more than two weeks before the classic, Barça takes for granted that it will have to seal a league title that cannot escape it in any way without its great star. We will have to wait for the tests that Lamine Yamal will undergo this Thursday, but with barely a month left until the end of the competition and with a World Cup just around the corner, the feelings at the end of the match against Celta did not invite optimism. With a penalty goal, just before suffering an injury to his left leg and the stadium freezing over because a fan suffered cardiac arrest, the Rocafonda winger did what will probably be his last service of the season for Barça. The victory (1-0) against Celta dyes the League a little more blaugrana on a complicated night at Camp Nou.

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First box or stripe overcome. Barça debuted the play-in with a good grade. The Catalan team eliminated Estrella Roja (80-72) and will play for a ticket in the fight for the title against Monaco, who lost to Panathinaikos (87-79). Despite an unexpected eclipse when they were winning by 22 points, the Barça team played with personality to secure the victory at the Palau Blaugrana.

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What better space to talk about Francesc Cambó (1876-1947) than the place that was his home? Specifically, his library, which remains intact, with all the shelves and all the books. This was the setting for a conversation between Borja de Riquer, the historian who knows the most about the factotum of the Lliga and his complex trajectory, and the deputy director of ARA, Ignasi Aragay.

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After Àngel Ros tried it during his time as mayor of Lleida, the PSC is once again trying to ban the burqa and niqab in the capital of El Segrià at the hands of socialist mayor Fèlix Larrosa. Amidst the rise of the far-right, which has put the ban on the burqa and the fight against Islam on the table in recent years, the government of the Paeria de Lleida presented this Tuesday the proposal for an ordinance on civility and coexistence, which foresees, among other things, prohibiting the use of the full-face veil in public spaces and municipal offices. The previous attempt to veto the burqa clashed with the Supreme Court, which struck down the initiative by considering that a city council could not regulate it.

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Manel Gasch, abbot of Montserrat and president of the Pau Casals Foundation, has bypassed the usual thank you speeches. At the same time, he has eliminated the false modesty that often appears at award ceremonies. At the ceremony for the awarding of the

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The PP will bring to a vote this Wednesday in Congress a text in which it asks to "prioritize access to aid, subsidies and public benefits, as well as access to protected housing and social rent, for people who prove a real, lasting and verifiable connection to the territory, inspired by the principle of national priority". In this way, the popular party affirms, they transfer to the lower house "the soul" of the agreement with Vox in Extremadura. Undoubtedly, this is a relevant move, as Alberto Núñez Feijóo decides to adopt a principle that has historically been linked to the far-right, and especially to French lepenism, despite the reservations expressed by prominent figures in his party such as Isabel Díaz Ayuso or Juanma Moreno Bonilla.

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The Valencian publishing house Tirant lo Blanch, aimed at the university public, has a very interesting collection that mixes two seemingly distant concepts like cinema and law. The idea is apparently simple, but very effective in engaging readers looking for a more enjoyable way to approach issues that can be dry. The key is to find a legal expert willing to play along. Many have done so so far, and thus we find, for example, the criminal lawyer Jordi Nieva discussing democratic institutions based on John Ford's classic The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. The latest addition to the publishing house is Joan Ridao, Professor of Constitutional Law at the UB and a lawyer in Parliament (and a former ERC leader), who tackles one of his specialities, the regulation of lobbies, based on the film Miss Sloane (2016), directed by John Madden and starring Jessica Chastain.

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After suspending Vice President JD Vance's trip to Islamabad, Donald Trump has announced that he is extending the ceasefire with Iran at the request of Pakistani Marshal Asim Munir and Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. Once again, Pakistan comes to the rescue of the Republican. The US president assures in a message on Truth Social that he will maintain the truce until Iranian leaders "can present a unified [agreement] proposal," as "Iran's government is severely fractured." Even so, Trump assures that he will maintain the naval blockade in the Strait of Hormuz. The ayatollahs have been demanding that the Americans lift the military cordon as a condition for being able to sit down to negotiate again.

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On Monday evening, during the break of Telenotícies, TV3 announced the premiere of La gran cita on the 3Cat platform for Tuesday. But Toni Cruanyes reminded us, on two occasions, that we could already watch the program that same Monday. A lack of coordination within the channel that caused confusion for the viewer.Dulceida, “an expert at organizing parties”, joins the cast ofinfluencers who create content in Spanish but have been awarded a program on public Catalan television. To conceal their fragilities in front of the camera, they have opted for the walk and talk formula, walking and talking at the same time, to reinforce their authority.The big date is a dating show with elements of reality. The one hundred participants who want to hook up have previously been paired through artificial intelligence. They know there is someone highly compatible and will look for them based on the relational dynamics proposed by the show. “It’s an experiment that will change their lives,” assures Dulceida. The format is much more powerful than last season's stale Love Cost. It seems more like a logical evolution of that Thirty Years' Love at First Sight with all the influences of private television and technology.The program has a tacky sheen typical of a graduation party with glamorous pretensions, but it makes up for it with an excellent cast, good direction, and impeccable sound design. It has merit, considering the complexities of the format. The big event is inclusive: it incorporates sexual options and gender diversity without establishing categories, with the virtue of not objectifying or sexualizing the participants. So far, three episodes have been released corresponding to the first stage of the game: the construction of the finalist couples, who will be tested in the following episodes to check their evolution.The big event hooks thanks to the confluence of different factors. On the one hand, the contestants' temperament. Absolutely normal young people, who convey authenticity and are part of our most everyday reality. They thus distance themselves from the artificial and histrionic stereotypes typical of this television genre. On the other hand, the game stimulates the audience, who, from home, becomes a predictor and a judge. It is impossible not to comment or value the contestants' decisions and choices. Any program that provokes a smile from the viewer while watching it has a lot won. The idea of a mirror is also key: seduction exposes the protagonists to a vulnerability and fragility in which, more or less, everyone feels reflected. Excitement, ridicule, shame, disappointment... are emotions that provoke easy identification. And that is why the program becomes appetizing. However, as the program progresses, interest wanes, because the ensemble game is diluted. The conflict becomes individualized, the drama becomes personalized, and the elements of reality are accentuated. It will be interesting to see how it evolves and how it all fits into public television. The most obvious proof is the fear of premiering it on TV3 and limiting it, for now, to the digital platform.

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At the end of this year, the mandate of António Guterres, current Secretary-General of the United Nations (UN), expires. And the race to succeed him has begun with a very present question: will the organization be led by a woman for the first time in its 80-year history?

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Why can a man freely decide when to destroy frozen sperm and a woman cannot do so with her eggs? This anomaly, established in current law, was debated this Tuesday afternoon in Congress, which will take a first step to eliminate this "discrimination". An initiative by the PSOE that the plenary will take into consideration and which proposes to equate the regulation on the cryopreservation of oocytes to that of semen in such a way that women are not forced to preserve them throughout their fertile lives. Today, the only way to destroy them is by obtaining the opinion of two experts stating that the woman can no longer become pregnant. On the other hand, a man can decide at any time and without any oversight if he wants to dispose of his semen deposited in biobanks. Vox is the only party that has positioned itself against the proposal.

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For the Valencian sociologist Rafael Xambó, the media coverage and judicial investigation of the murder of the independentist militant Guillem Agulló were entirely tendentious. 33 years after the crime, the also specialist in media, publishes The Murder of Guillem (Rebel Edicions, 2026), with a prologue by the writer Núria Cadenes and an epilogue by the former CUP leader David Fernández. An extensive work in which he analyzes why only Pedro Cuevas was convicted and the other four far-right militants who accompanied him were acquitted. The book will be presented on April 23 at the Ateneu del Pallars in Tremp, on the 24th at the Ateneu La Baula in Lleida, on the 28th at the Casal Popular Tio Cuc in Alicante, on the 29th at the Casal Jaume I in Elche, and on May 5th at the Ona bookstore in Barcelona.

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Afternoon storms have lost extent this Tuesday and have concentrated mainly in parts of the Pyrenees and Pre-Pyrenees, where some downpours with hail or sleet have recurred. The heavy hailstorm in Ribes de Freser (Ripollès) stands out, where the accumulated ice thickness has been significant, hindering mobility in the municipality and leaving a completely white landscape. Locally, 20 or 30 l/m² have been exceeded, with the more than 30 that fell in Gisclareny (Berguedà) being noteworthy, and showers will still fall in the north of the country until early evening. All this after the heavy downpours on Monday left an exceptional hailstorm for this time of year in Osona, with stones between 2 and 3 cm in diameter in some cases. Although not a size record, it is the earliest hailstorm with the largest amount of large stones recorded in Catalonia (you will find more details at the end of this information). This is not at all normal outside the usual hailstorm season, which runs from June to September.

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