After the storm comes the calm, they say, but also laments, anger, criticism, understanding, and resignation, often all at once. After the rain and wind wiped out a large part of Thursday's headliners at Primavera Sound, on Friday there was a great desire to enjoy a good day of concerts and to discuss the situation that left Massive Attack, Doja Cat, and Bad Gyal out of the festival. The warmth of the sun on a breezy afternoon was also celebrated as a victory, and doubts were shared about how the refunds for Thursday's tickets would be handled. The festival management announced that on Monday the "refund operation will be detailed", which will only be made to people who bought a ticket for Thursday – which cost 150 euros – and not to those who purchased a pass for the entire festival – priced at up to 390 euros.

L'Eixample and Ciutat Vella will be the two districts most affected by the visit of Pope Leo XIV this week in Barcelona. The pontiff will land this Tuesday at El Prat airport and an extraordinary security operation will begin, with up to 7,000 police officers. The Pope's passage will also involve road closures that will last for days in some parts of the city and various disruptions to transport.

The Prosecutor's Office has asked the Martorell judge investigating the death of Mango's founder, Isak Andic, to order a reconstruction of his fall. This means that the public ministry wants the businessman's son and sole suspect, Jonathan Andic, to return to the Collbató caves to clarify what happened, according to ACN. The Prosecutor's Office has requested several investigative measures, now that the investigation is no longer secret, among which the return to Collbató with the suspect present stands out.

No face-to-face meetings or concessions. The letter that Volodymyr Zelensky sent to Vladimir Putin in which he asked him to end the war in Ukraine has received the expected response: an unappealable no. The Russian president appeared at the St. Petersburg Economic Forum amidst escalating bombings and with his soldiers struggling to advance a few meters on the front, but he showed himself convinced, once again, that the conflict can only end with Russia's victory. 

A ceasefire is a pause in the war, a moment when the bombs fall silent, either to give a respite to exhausted civilians and soldiers or, in the best of cases, to open an opportunity for diplomacy. But in recent months, in the mouths of Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin or Benjamin Netanyahu, this concept has been completely emptied of content to become merely a smokescreen behind which the war continues.

The medieval monastery of Sant Pere de Rodes, in Cap de Creus, has managed to revive one of its greatest lost treasures: its 12th-century marble portal. Through the Eyes of History, an audiovisual project, the monument has recreated the original composition of this Romanesque gem, accompanied by an immersive experience that transports the visitor directly to the feudal era.

144 years ago the Sagrada Familia began and for more than 100 years it has been the undisputed symbol of Barcelona. If the Eiffel Tower defines Paris and the Empire State defines New York, there is no doubt that what defines Barcelona, and almost Catalonia, is this basilica which has recently become the tallest religious building in Europe. Next Tuesday, the 10th, it will be a century since Antoni Gaudí, the architect who dreamed it up and designed it, died. In fact, he dedicated 43 years of his life to it and is buried there. Pope Leo XIV will commemorate his centenary with a mass, in which he will also bless the Tower of Jesus, the central and tallest of the complex.

They first started in the network of Libraries of Barcelona and the Diputació, but now the staff stoppages of the Public Reading System have spread throughout Catalonia. As of this Friday, public libraries in Catalonia will go on an indefinite strike – called by the CGT – which includes stoppages every Friday and Saturday until the labor dispute, which they claim affects the sector, is resolved. They are demanding better working and salary conditions, and denounce a lack of staff, work-life balance problems, and a "precariousness" of the service.

There is only one positive side from which to look at the conflict between teachers and the Department of Education: it can finally put teaching at the center of the country's concerns.We are not facing another labor conflict, but rather the explosion of corporate discontent resulting from persistent social unrest that has settled in schools. A teacher told me, with her spirits crushed: “Teachers have to face very powerful demands without the corresponding resources. No one dares to say it because it seems like you are attacking inclusive education, but when you have children with behavioral disorders in the same classroom and students who don't understand you at all because they have just arrived, or you know that on the days you go on strike there are children who might miss a hot meal, you feel very unhappy”.For years now, the Catalan school system has been functioning with alarm bells ringing, and precisely for this reason it would be good for everyone to find the right tone. Starting with the Government, which cannot confuse a salary increase with empathy; but continuing with the opposition, because the three largest parties in Parliament have or have had governing responsibilities. And with the unions, which run the risk of losing the social support that the protests initially counted on. It would be the appropriate time to seek a great national agreement. And for this, leadership, courage to commit, and energy are needed to overcome the situation and get out of the loop of mistrust, errors, and complacency. Not many months ago, I wrote here – speaking of teachers, doctors, farmers, and mobility – that we were in national emergency. And this type of emergency can only be overcome with the effort and will of everyone.

Like an eternal return, a persistent democratic migraine, the pornographic recordings, the stench of the sewers, the triangulations of the subsoil mud, and the dirty money from commissions return. It happens, however, that in murky waters, full of accumulated toxic sediments, everything is always mixed at once, one thing and the contrary: legitimacy and illegitimacy, legality and illegality, naivety and arrogance. Because, in purity, it seems entirely legitimate – considering the chronology of events – that if a party and a government feel like victims of the depths of a state that already sufficiently accredited its darkness and miseries, then it tries to find out the actors, dynamics, and arteries. To denounce them publicly, to nullify them politically, and to judge them criminally, of course. Not the contrary. Because it is not that it seems illegitimate, it is that it is, radically, to pretend that the fight for a supposed democratic regeneration is carried out with identical dirty war, clumsy saviour teams and, even, using structural actors – Villarejo, once again – of the plot they intended to dismantle. Laugh to keep from crying. Felipe González used to say that At this stage of democratic degradation, we have already seen them in so many colors as to know that these types of conspiracies always end up filled with very curious, careless, and quite boastful characters, who so often boast of relationships, information, and contacts that often never existed. Even, completely naive, they think they will get away with it and never doubt if they will end up sinking the one they intended to rescue. That is, they do not fully understand the high police and military technostructure of the State. Of this State within the State, which has always seen separatism as a threat, saw in Podem a systemic risk and thinks that the current legislative majority is an anomaly to be corrected. Otherwise, in other latitudes of night and fog, the opacity of parallel structures is recurrent and habitual, and they tend to be very peripheral – trying not to leave any remains, traces, or faces. Neither the PP with the Kitchen nor the PSOE with the Leire case have made much effort. Another crude naivety that reveals where we are, but not yet what bill we will pay.The paradox, in any case, is that if everything were a lie, the PSOE's response is understandable, but if everything is true, it also is. The PSOE says that those involved were "charlatans, opportunists, and resentful." Really? Because they are two former organization secretaries –Ábalos and Santos Cerdán– whom Sánchez appointed. So, where is the catch? How far does the ripple effect go? How deep is the crater? We only need to rummage through the archives to see that we are back to square one. Seeing Grande-Marlaska change his version three times in less than a week about the finally confirmed conversations of Leire Díez with the director of the Civil Guard is simply devastating: from denying them to acknowledging them. One day, one thing, and the next day, the opposite. It won't be for lack of paradoxes. The food chain of all this is that the last one attacked –the PSOE of Pegasus and the police infiltrators, believe it or not– thinks they are the first. The PSOE now believes this –which looked the other way when the blows were falling on Podem–, Podem said it a few years ago –as if the harshness against independence hadn't existed before–, and Catalan independence said it in 2017 –forgetting the years of anti-legal exception in the Basque Country and a long cycle of repression against Catalan social movements and new criminal suspects, from Julia García-Valdecasas to Núria Pórtulas, or from the Three of Gràcia to the Eleven of El Raval–. If we start rewinding, we already know clearly where we will end up: in the blind spots of the Transition. In what lurked in the heart of the State.

When the impact of the indictment of former Spanish president José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero has not yet faded, the Leire case, which investigates an alleged plot to torpedo judicial cases affecting government members or those close to Pedro Sánchez, threatens to become a ticking time bomb against the PSOE. In the last few hours, we have seen how the summary has forced the socialists to qualify or directly rectify previous statements. Now, for example, it can no longer be claimed that Leire Díez was nobody in the PSOE, when we know that she met with Santos Cerdán 22 times; that she entered Ferraz normally; that she spoke with the party president, Cristina Narbona, and that she met up to three times with the director of the Civil Guard, Mercedes González.

"Discovering these Hebrew fragments has been one of those wonderful coincidences," says Laura Tienda, director of the Terra Alta Regional Archive. They are the first parchments in the Hebrew language found in the Terres de l'Ebre and were in Casa Coll, an imposing building of medieval origin located in the historic center of Vilalba dels Arcs, on the corner between Carrer Major and Carrer del Call. The house belonged to the same family until recently and has a very long history: it served as headquarters for the Carlist general Ramon Cabrera during the 19th century and suffered severe damage during the Civil War.

Barcelona presented this Friday a new calendar for the transformation of La Model. Nine years after the last inmates left the Eixample prison, the City Council has announced that it has just put out to tender the contract for the construction of the first facilities in the complex, with the aim that the works can begin in November of this year. To complete the remodeling, however, it will still be necessary to wait at least two terms. The horizon set by the municipal government foresees that the project will not be completely finished until 2035.

Around 150 workers have been evacuated due to the large-scale fire that is burning this Friday the factory owned by Montesa Honda in Santa Perpètua de Mogoda (Vallès Occidental), both from this company and from nearby factories, according to the Local Police of the municipality.

China being the world's factory is starting to become a problem for the rest. Especially now that what they produce is essential, and with superior technology to ours; the times when the country did reverse engineering are long gone. Trump complained, and now the European Commission also does, which has set out to reduce a growing trade deficit between the Union and the Asian giant.

The educational situation in Catalonia is complex, generating intense emotions, firm positions, and frustration. In this context, it is important to remember a key idea. When emotional tension increases, the capacity for reflection and the quality of decisions decrease. In conflict situations, the brain's amygdala, responsible for emotional reactions, activates defensive responses, while the prefrontal regions, responsible for critical thinking, planning, and complex decision-making, reduce their effectiveness. In other words, when we feel threatened or neglected, we listen worse, nuance less, and find less space to build agreements. Therefore, reducing tension is not weakness, but a possibility for dialogue. Stable agreements are not usually born from emotional escalation, but from the recovery of a minimum of trust that allows us to listen to the other without giving up our own positions.However, it would be a mistake to reduce the current debate to issues of ratios, salaries, or resources for diversity support, even though their importance is undeniable. These elements are essential for a quality education, but they do not, on their own, explain the complexity of the current moment or resolve all its tensions. Collective humility is needed to recognize that education is a living system where pedagogical, social, cultural, economic, technological, and emotional factors interact. There are no single causes or simple solutions.In this context, the curricular debate should also become a central element. We live in a dynamic and changing world, and education must serve to empower society in its leading role in these changes. We often simplistically, and too often partisanly, oppose memory and skills, knowledge and creativity, content and motivation. But the human brain does not work like that. Scientific evidence shows that creativity requires prior knowledge, that critical thinking requires information, and that problem-solving depends on mental schemes built through learning. Therefore, mnemonic learning remains relevant. The problem is not memorizing, but doing so without understanding. The great challenge is to place knowledge in meaningful contexts, connected with current reality and the interests of the students. Creativity does not replace knowledge, but it is key to reorganizing it and making it operational. That is why it is equally essential.

We live in times of polarization. The rules that seemed consolidated since World War II are cracking in the face of an increasingly uncertain global scenario. Since the fall of the Berlin Wall, globalization has advanced strongly, transforming economies and societies, but it has also contributed to concentrating political, technological, economic, media, and military power in very few hands, making the decisions of a few affect the lives of everyone. Today, in the full era of social networks and artificial intelligence, it has never been easier to control the collective narrative nor so difficult to discern what is true and what is manipulation.The risk is evident: ending up subordinate to a logic of algorithms and interests that often ignore human dignity. When this happens, the person ceases to be an end in themselves and becomes a means, just another piece of data within a system that prioritizes efficiency or profit over the common good. This subtle, often invisible, dehumanization silently erodes the foundations of coexistence.At the same time, we have been losing the ability to listen to ourselves. We live surrounded by informational bubbles that reinforce our convictions and exclude disagreement. Everything is reduced to brief messages, impactful headlines, and videos of a few seconds. But reality is complex, and so are people. When we forget this, we simplify the world to the point of making it unrecognizable and leave out essential dimensions of life, such as nuance, vulnerability, or doubt.It is in this context that the figure of Leo XIV acquires a relevance that goes beyond the strictly religious sphere. His discourse is uncomfortable because it does not align with any side nor does it allow itself to be instrumentalized. He speaks of building bridges instead of raising walls, of putting the person at the center, of not turning differences into hatred. He recalls that governing is, above all, knowing how to listen to people's suffering with honesty and without filters.

Money is now mostly digital. In the eurozone, circulating euro banknotes represent only about 10% of the total money supply: the rest is mainly provided by the banking system. Furthermore, the use of cash has been rapidly declining, from 68% of daily transactions in the euro area in 2019 to 40% in 2025. In Sweden, only 10% of consumers paid for their last purchase in stores in 2024. It can be said that the digital euro project is a response to this decline in cash, but Christine Lagarde, President of the ECB, has stated that it is not just a means of payment but also a political statement about Europe's sovereignty. Indeed, the ECB wants to preserve the monetary anchor and the payment system, which today largely depends on digital infrastructures and American companies. Digital money is not just a technological issue but also an institutional and political one, as we state in the report Digital money (CEPR, 2026).

I am writing these lines from a cafe, in Barcelona, the kind that has wifi and where they don't judge you if you write for a while (and they also don't want to serve you toast with alvoexpat). There's a driver who has left his car in a no-parking zone to quickly go buy something at L'Ametller. He didn't realize that by leaving it on that corner, he's blocking the bus, which is stuck in the middle of the road. The chaos is phenomenal. And lulled by the sound of horns, I hear, on El matí de Catalunya Ràdio, the mayor of Barcelona. He says he will eliminate the service of I am therefore calling on all users, especially tourists, who use them. There is very, very little time left and the rate of fines cannot be reduced! The service must continue to be a disaster until 2027. You must rent bikes and park them wherever you feel like it (or wherever your ramen is), as you have been doing. You must rent bikes and abandon them in the middle of the sidewalk, because you're too lazy to park them where they belong and you prefer to get a fine that you won't pay. You must hurry across pedestrian crossings, trying to run over any grandmother crossing with her walker. You must ring your bell, with pleased hysteria, in the Francesc Macià lane, when someone crosses your path with the noble and extravagant intention of catching a taxi from the stand and hasn't brought – to avoid stepping on your sacred path – Doraemon's gorrocòpter

The Generalitat signs a pre-agreement with the unions representing the majority of the sector and, on the other hand, a very broad majority of teachers who participated in the consultation reject it. It is not the first time something similar has happened. In December 2023, the Department of Health reached an agreement with the majority unions, also in nursing, and on the other hand there was an indefinite strike that lasted more than 40 days, led by organizations that until then were very minority. The major farmers' mobilizations in February 2024 were not led by the majority union Unió de Pagesos nor any other agricultural union, but by a new organization called Revolta Pagesa which operated outside the established representation.

A bottle of red wine with a label of dubious origin. However, with the Pope's name printed in large letters to attract the attention of tourists who want to take home a presumably local product with the pontiff's face. All for 28.99. If the wine doesn't attract so much attention, there are many other souvenirs to buy on the occasion of the visit of Leo XIV to Barcelona that are beginning to appear in the souvenir shops around the Sagrada Família. It will be in the temple where the Pope plans to celebrate a mass on June 10. visit of Leo XIV to Barcelona that are beginning to appear in the souvenir shops around the Sagrada Família. It will be in the temple where the Pope plans to celebrate a mass on June 10.

The Tax Agency already has on the table a series of requests from the National Court to review the PSOE's accounts, but, on the other hand, it will not have to do so with those of the PSC. Judge Santiago Pedraz has finally excluded the Catalan socialists from the tax requirements, even though the Civil Guard insisted on including the PSC in the investigation. From the PSOE, and from the people implicated in the Leire case, the magistrate is looking for bank accounts, deposits, withdrawals or cash payments and invoices.

Raid by Barcelona City Council on a network of illegal tourist flats near the Sant Pau Hospital. The first deputy mayor, Laia Bonet, explained this Friday that, following a citizen complaint, the Directorate of Inspection Services (DSI) has detected 31 illegal tourist flats in the same building. During the inspection, several irregularities were found regarding both the fraudulent use of the dwellings as tourist flats and works carried out without the proper license. Consequently, the City Council has initiated 34 proceedings, seven of which may lead to fines of up to 600,000 euros for very serious violations of the tourism law.

The New York Times has made a striking deployment: it has dedicated itself to analyzing the 602 times Elon Musk has made one of his fabulous promises and has set a date for them. It turns out that only in 19% of cases has he met the announced deadlines. This does not mean that the rest are failures, because there are projections for years to come, but the report sheds light on an interesting pattern: that of the promising technological carrot that is dangled in front of people's noses. And what we should ask ourselves is why he makes this profusion of projections that no one demands of him. The answer is that all the wealth of the richest man in the world is not based on assets that have a concrete value, but rather, in reality, when his fortune is calculated – and publicized – what is done is a calculation of the value of his companies. And this value is never an analysis of present-day assets, but fundamentally estimates of the future. Now that he is preparing for the IPO of SpaceX, the 1.8 trillion dollars he aspires to be valued at are, fundamentally, expectations.

The cooling has been forceful this Friday after the active front that crossed Catalan territory on Thursday. We woke up with a lot of coolness everywhere, and at midday the atmosphere was very pleasant, with the heat under control and many highs between 20 and 25º C, or a little higher in parts of Ponent, the Ebro, and Central Catalonia. All this after the spell of showers and strong storms that between Thursday and Friday morning swept through a large part of the country, with downpours and very significant local accumulations (you will find the most outstanding data and images of this episode at the end of this news). A first weekend of June begins that will be quite profitable, but some afternoon showers will still fall in some areas, especially on Saturday. Temperatures will start to rise, with a warmer atmosphere at midday. But the heat will remain moderate, with good sleeping nights.

A dinner on the terrace of the Windsor restaurant in Barcelona (Còrsega street, 232) with live music on Fridays and Saturdays for fifty euros flat, all-inclusive, desserts, coffees, and drinks. It is the proposal launched by the director and owner, Joan Junyent, who explains that the dishes follow the basic premises of the restaurant: Catalan and local cuisine.

The joke goes that the PSC is now the Christian Social Party. Salvador Illa has been explicit since he became president in his ideological positioning, which he bases on Christian humanism. The same that Pope Prevost, Leo XIV, defends, as has been made clear in his first encyclical. The social aspect of this pontiff is even more solid than that of his popular predecessor, the Argentine Bergoglio. Prevost has become a strong global voice in favor of welcoming immigrants, in favor of the most vulnerable, against the renewed warmongering of Trump, Netanyahu, and Putin, in favor of cultural dialogue and against platform capitalism which polarizes society, both ideologically and economically, with a logic of merely pecuniary use of algorithms and artificial intelligence.

“Never leave us!”, shouted a gentleman. “Return!”, “Hospitality!”, “Main festival!”. The public shared what they thought of when they thought of Motel Empordà. We are at this pilgrimage site on its 65th anniversary. On June 4, 1961, Josep Mercader inaugurated this temple of good cuisine and culture just outside Figueres. Culture understood in a broad, generous, and deeply rooted way.

Taipei and San Francisco have been the scenes this week of a trend change in personal computing. At Computex in Taipei, Jensen Huang announced Nvidia's entry into the PC processor market with the RTX Spark chip, shaking up a sector dominated for decades by Intel, AMD, Qualcomm, and Apple. In San Francisco, Microsoft held the Build 2026 conference at a particularly symbolic moment: exactly two months after formalizing its separation from OpenAI (which has just surpassed 1 billion ChatGPT users), the company wants to demonstrate that it can walk alone in artificial intelligence.

The question of authorship is a topic that seems very specialized, but it has a lot to do with the conceptions of contemporary society. Who was, really, the author of a work of art or architecture? And what does the right of authorship imply? In Barcelona, we have two popular and significant examples of this controversy: the Sagrada Família and the German Pavilion of Barcelona in Montjuïc.Regarding the authorship of the Sagrada Família, we must start from the recent contribution made by the College of Architects for Gaudí Year: the Gaudí Constellation; an interactive digital tool that vindicates the importance of the great quality of the architects, artists, artisans, and industrialists who collaborated on Gaudí's works, a collaborative architecture that completely refutes the idea that he was a solitary genius. It was quite the opposite, a skilled leader of competent and creative teams. The result of teamwork in Gaudí's work is clearly evident in the Palau Güell and La Pedrera or Casa Milà-Segimon: the qualities and innovations were achieved with the best architects (such as Josep Maria Jujol and Joan Rubí i Bellver); the ceramics by Pujol i Bausis, manufactured in La Rajoleta; the furniture by F. Vidal y Compañía; the wrought iron by Germans Badia i Miarnau, and by Mañach; the iron structures by Tallers Torras, Ferreteria i Construccions; the contributions of painters such as Iu Pasqual, Aleix Clapés, Javier Nogués and Teresa Lostau; and the intervention of qualified glassmakers, cabinetmakers, and flooring manufacturers. This is how quality, texture, light, reflections, decoration, and furnishings were achieved; which does not detract from Gaudí's merit, but rather places him in a creative context, qualified by great architects, artisans, artists, and industrialists. A phenomenon that not only characterizes Modernism, but also the will of Catalan society. Unlike what William Morris advocated and the Arts and Crafts movement put into practice, rejecting mass production, in Catalonia the values of craftsmanship were enhanced with the possibilities of industrial production.

With the exciting aroma of the paellas that would serve as a popular lunch and with some fireworks escaping in the background, Sala Beckett presented its new season this Friday on a street-level stage. "Welcome to the Beckett's birthday party in Poblenou!", exclaims director Toni Casares with a burst of voice. Ten years ago, the venue moved from a basement in Gràcia to this large headquarters in the old industrial neighborhood, a former cooperative exceptionally renovated by the award-winning Flores i Prats studio. "It is a success story resulting from a conflict that could have ended badly. The process of expelling activities inherent to the city due to speculative processes was then beginning," recalled the current Secretary of State, Jordi Martí, formerly delegate of Culture and deputy mayor of Barcelona City Council. He participated in the search and capture of the new space to save a theater project that had proven fundamental for Catalan authorship and with a historic past of commitment. As recalled by the Councilor for Culture, Xavier Marcé, "the venue was founded in the late 70s by José Sanchis Sinisterra and Teatro Fronterizo".

Sport makes fairy tales seem real at times. All those youngsters who want to be like Serena Williams or Rafa Nadal dream that one day they will reach a Grand Slam final. Few achieve it. But, from time to time, in tennis, logic seems to break into a thousand pieces and an unexpected guest arrives at the final. It's as if the system fails and a door opens for a modest athlete. This year, a second-tier player who has been competing for years without making much noise has reached the grand final of Roland Garros. The Pole Maja Chwalinska arrived in Paris without attracting anyone's attention and has magically become the woman of the moment.

Before they could judge him, the man confessed that he posed as a police officer to humiliate other men and sexually assault a girl in a Barcelona nightclub. His partner at the time, a Municipal Police officer, admits that she covered for him and also participated in the humiliations. Their confessions have allowed them to reach an agreement with the Prosecutor's Office and avoid the trial that was scheduled for this Wednesday, in which he faced nine years in prison and she faced three. Finally, the sentence is two and a half years for him and two for her, according to the conformity agreement consulted by ARA. The agreement with the prosecution includes that they will not have to go to prison to serve these sentences on condition that they do not re-offend.

"Educational dignity has won" and "It wasn't about money. We are fighting for a new educational model." These have been the messages of the two main banners of this Friday's teacher mobilization. The first was the banner at the head of the demonstration that gathered about 15,200 teachers in Barcelona's Lluís Companys promenade, according to the Guardia Urbana, and up to 90,000 according to the unions. A banner that, unlike those of recent demonstrations, was entirely yellow – the color in defense of public schools – and without the name of any union. The second banner is that of the stage in Parc de la Ciutadella, where the demonstration ended with speeches and a booing of the teachers at the spokesperson for the USTEC union, Iolanda Segura, after the organization campaigned for a yes vote on the agreement with Education and in its own consultation, 65% of teachers and professors voted against it.

To my surprise and during a concert, Rigoberta Bandini, the artistic alias of Paula Ribó, has announced important personal news: she is expecting her second child. The singer made the announcement while performing at the Las Noches del Botánico festival in Madrid. "There was a moment in the show when I didn't know whether to say it or not, but I'm not alone doing this show," said Bandini, touching her belly as the audience erupted in applause.

La Sagrada Família is a Catholic church, a monument, and a tourist attraction. But it is also one of the economic engines of the city of Barcelona, both for the business it indirectly generates, for example through tourism, and also for its direct business volume, for the investments it makes, and for the jobs it creates. The figures are clear: in 2025, the basilica closed with generated income of 134.5 million euros. A turnover that has been growing in recent years.

The Hitchcockian thriller of Cinema Truffaut has reached its end. After weeks of extensions and uncertainty, the Girona City Council announced this Friday that it has finally awarded the public tender to the company Rambla de l’Art - Cambrils, which had achieved a higher score, for economic reasons, than the current project of the Col·lectiu de Crítics de Girona. Therefore, Truffaut will cease to be managed by the non-profit association that created the project and has managed it in an exemplary manner for the last 25 years. In the next fifteen business days, the critics will leave their positions and lower the cinema's blinds, awaiting the arrival of the new managers.

The meat industry is the main agri-food sector in Catalonia, both in terms of business volume and employment. And within this field, the cured meats sector has a very significant weight and is a benchmark within the State. According to a new mapping of the sector published this Friday by Promotora d'Exportacions Catalanes (Prodeca) – an organization attached to the Department of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Food – the cooked and cured meats sector in Catalonia has consolidated itself as a leader in production and export in Spain as a whole, with a share of 44% of turnover volume and 58% of export sales volume.

A naval drone detonated this Friday in the Romanian port of Constanta, in the Black Sea, near an oil terminal, causing a large explosion. The incident, caused by a device similar to those used in the war in Ukraine, left no victims, according to the Ministry of Defense. Images from the scene shared on social media show a large plume of smoke rising on the horizon of the coastal city's port.

Thursday night, Florentino Pérez went to campaign for the Real Madrid presidency elections on Horizonte, the far-right television nest at Mediaset. That Iker Jiménez, an expert in aliens and psychophony, interviewed him is the real paranormal phenomenon of journalism. Obviously, it was an act of revenge against Atresmedia for having invited his opponent, Enrique Riquelme, to El hormiguero the night before. But it was a bad idea to choose a program that was broadcast while the Spanish national team was playing. Part of the electorate must have been watching La 1 at that time.

A passenger traveling from Girona - Costa Brava airport to Brussels last Wednesday was shouted at and reprimanded by a security control agent for asking for instructions in Catalan. According to what he explained to ARA and also stated in the complaint filed with Aena, after passing through the scanner, the man had to stop to go through the explosive substances control. The agent who was checking the luggage asked him "In what language?", to know how to give him the instructions. "Catalan", he said. That's when the shouts started. "I'm not a call center where you press five and I speak whatever language you want!", she told him. And she shouted towards the other security colleagues "They don't pay me enough to learn Catalan!", and other phrases of this kind, with an attitude that the other security colleagues supported.

"I believe that today or tomorrow they will take us to Montjuïc. [...] I have nothing but to thank our Lord God who gives me reason and occasion to suffer [...] Do not lose hope. Cheer up!".These are the words written by Domènec Ribas Prat on November 11, 1938, two and a half months before Franco's troops occupied Barcelona. Ribas (1888-1955), manager of Magatzems Jorba —Can Jorba, on Portal d'Àngel in Barcelona—, addressed it to his wife, Neus Jorba, just after learning of the sentence condemning him to death. Although his file has not been preserved at the Model Prison, the text indicates that when he wrote the letter his transfer to Montjuïc Castle was imminent. Together with the text, Oriol Font, the businessman's grandson, has handed over to the association Memòria i Història de ManresaMemòria i Història de Manresa an unpublished drawing by an unknown author that portrays the businessman during his captivity in Montjuïc.

The Leire case has become a real ticking time bomb for the PSOE. The trickle of information about the investigation and the appearance of names being dragged through the mud has forced the socialists to step forward to distance themselves from what the judge believes was a "criminal structure" to "destabilize" judicial investigations. The mantra repeated in Ferraz is that the accused made "use of the PSOE's name in vain." Pedro Sánchez has finally spoken out, stating during an official visit to the Balkans that everything was done behind his back: "I was never informed about Leire Díez's adventures. I never endorsed and never had knowledge of something I would never have tolerated," he said from Montenegro. The Spanish president acknowledged that everything that has come to light fills him with "disappointment, concern, and indignation" and announced that the PSOE's legal team is studying "what actions will be taken" in "defense of the party's honorability and integrity."

Young people and migrants are particularly suffering from the housing crisis in Catalonia, as in many other European regions. These two groups are an important part of the low-income population, who are the ones who suffer the most from this problem.

The commercial name of a new car is one of the elements that an automotive manufacturer takes the most care in, analyzes, designs, and evaluates. It is not easy to find a word that is easy to remember, has an attractive sound, and can be pronounced in most languages of the world, let alone make this word associated with the collective imagination of buyers. However, in recent years, several manufacturers have named some of their models with at least curious and fun names that will surely make you smile.

Sometimes, environments outside your bubble allow you to speak more freely than in front of an expert but disapproving audience. Eager to see if I can catch fresh fish, I attend a talk about creative industries organized by BCD at Juno House (an elegant club located in the old flour mill on Aribau street) with the general director of Penguin Random House, Núria Cabutí, and the editor of Edhasa and president of the Catalan Publishers' Guild, Daniel Fernández. The talk begins with a brief but interesting linguistic dispute (and the event ends up being held in Catalan) which links to the fact that "Barcelona is the capital of publishing in Catalan and Spanish". "There is no other industry that, from Catalonia, leads as the publishing sector leads", highlights the event's presenter, the publicist Enric Jové. "Well, it has been difficult for us to get the Ministry of Industry to understand that we are an industry. The book's business volume in Spain is 3,000 million euros. In a very good year, Spanish cinema grosses 80 to 100 million. But they have the Goyas and a brutal propaganda machine —says the president of the Guild—. However, we are an industry that has intellectual prestige. That's why Amazon started selling books".

In an election, what is usual is that parties look towards the future. It is also not strange to look at the present if what is sought is to renew the presidency or a majority in Parliament. In certain contexts, some formations, for the future, seek to evoke the past. What is less common is that citizens arrive at the polling station and find that the two options they have to vote for evoke different pasts in their country's history, however different they may be. This is the scenario that Peru finds itself in this Sunday, as it celebrates the second round of the presidential elections.

This year, the United Nations is promoting climate action on World Environment Day. The slogan "For the climate, now" invites us to act united for a world that is moving towards a paradigm shift through two strategies: mitigation, to limit global warming, and adaptation to protect people and territories.

Fundació Enciclopèdia Catalana has announced that it is beginning a new phase two and a half years after going through a delicate moment, which resulted in a reduction of staff through an employment regulation file (ERO) to dismiss 15 people. After managing to overcome the latest crisis, and coinciding with its sixtieth anniversary, the editorial conglomerate has made public its new business strategy, which bets "on education, on knowledge in Catalan (also in digital environments) and on the international projection of the catalog".

Pope Leo XIV will land next Tuesday in Catalonia, a country with a strong link to the Holy See since its birth. Relations have had their ups and downs, especially when Catalonia had a voice and vote in the world, with the Catalan kings of the Crown of Aragon. After the disappearance of the Papal States in 1870, the great shift occurred with the Second Vatican Council. The bond, however, also raises a question: why does the senyera have the same colors as the flag of the Papal States?

An honorific welcome to Pope Leo XIV with international resonance and a defense of Catalonia and Catalan "national language and identity". FC Barcelona, various social entities such as Òmnium and the ANC, other Catholic organizations, former presidents of the Generalitat and Parliament, and numerous political and religious personalities have signed a manifesto published as an advertisement this Friday in some international media, such as Avvenire or Corriere della Sera, as well as Catalan ones like ARA.

Nausicaa Bonnín (Barcelona, 1985) is waiting to do the interview with ARA reading Garlanda, Maria Rovira's book, who confesses it's making her die of laughter. Dedicated to the world of acting from a very young age – she went on stage before she was ten – she conveys a sense of someone grounded, without airs and with great naturalness. This Sunday she premieres 33 días on Atresplayer, the first fiction series born from Carles Porta's factory and based on the case of Brito and Picatoste. Bonnín plays the Mossos d'Esquadra investigator in charge of the case.

A window of opportunity for Ukraine. This is how various military analysts describe the situation of the conflict with Russia, after Kyiv has taken the lead in the dominance of medium-range drones, those sent about 150 kilometers from the front line and crucial for disrupting enemy logistics, which are sent about 150 kilometers from the front line and are crucial for disrupting enemy logistics. The Ukrainian army has managed to slow down the Russian offensive on the southern front and is now threatening the roads that supply weapons, food, and fuel to the soldiers. If it is capable of isolating the Russian lines, it could even launch a counter-offensive, some experts point out. However, Moscow will react sooner or later.

On June 11, millions of people will be paying attention to everything that happens at the Azteca Stadium in Mexico City. For the third time in its history, this venue will host the opening match of a World Cup, in this case the duel between Mexico and South Africa. Never before has a stadium been the venue for three different World Cups, although this year it will not be able to host the final, as it will take place on July 19 at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. In a modern 21st-century World Cup full of newly built stadiums with commercial brand names, the Azteca connects with the past. A stadium with its own personality, now that all modern stadiums look alike. The venue in southern Mexico City has undergone a major renovation to adapt it to new times, although it remains that stadium where in 1970 Pelé led the most beautiful team of all time and where in 1986, Maradona touched the sky with Argentina. A stadium to which songs have been dedicated, which appears in films and which hides a surprising story, as to build it, one man was on the verge of losing everything.

Barça is preparing for the first transfer market without restrictions imposed since before the covid pandemic. Joan Laporta has had to win two elections for the presidency of the Blaugrana to be able to go shopping with a normalized salary cap. Incorporating talent for the same value as is freed up – a quick definition of what is known as the 1:1 rule – will allow the president, for example, to fill part of the important space left by Robert Lewandowski with an expensive signing like Anthony Gordon's. He has reasons, therefore, to be happy after so many years of complications.

The singer Maria Jaume (Lloret de Vistalegre, 1999) is one of the emerging voices in Catalan music, with a proposal that combines joy and rootedness: songs that draw from popular culture without losing sight of social concerns or giving up the freshness of pop. In her latest album, Sant Domingo forever, released in February, she pays a joyful and honest tribute to her town's main festival.Sant Domingo Forever is an album animated for such internationally turbulent months…

Actress Sílvia Bel (Barcelona, 1970) discovered the “artistic bug” at a very young age. She came from a humble family: “At home they were very poor, they were republicans and had lost the war.” Her father had started working in a factory at just 14 years old and had always had a great intellectual curiosity: “He had always wanted to go to university, but he didn't have the opportunity due to life circumstances.” For this reason, he placed many hopes in his two daughters and wished they would study a university degree. Although initially she didn't quite fit in at home, Bel decided to study dramatic art at the Institut del Teatre.

Can Gabriel is a house that explains how it is made. Also how the building in the historic center of Palma where it is located is made. The radical intervention carried out by the architects of TEd’A, the team led by Jaume Mayol and Irene Pérez, is explained through an architecture that turns construction processes into part of the daily experience of living. This is a work that claims the beauty of bare materials, of joints, of seams, of textures, and of visible imperfections. And it shows that, sometimes, a good way to transform a space is to start by leaving it to the bones. This project has become one of the most celebrated works of recent Spanish architecture: awarded at the XVII Spanish Biennial of Architecture and Urbanism, distinguished with an award by La Casa de la Arquitectura, finalist of the FAD 2025 awards, and selected for the Mies van der Rohe awards.

Jep Morales Albert (Girona, 1972) has built a dream of reeds, tarpaulins and recycled materials that concentrates everything that makes him enjoy: cooking, music, art and contact with nature and people. La Carreta del Ter has been stopping for six years now behind the Bordils pavilion, in a "magical space in constant transformation" that, in the middle of the fields, offers tapas, burritos, paellas, good live music and extraordinary sunsets. "Here you find people of all ages and conditions, it's like Noah's ark (animals included) where everyone is welcome," explains Jep Morales.

Global tourism has entered a zone of permanent turbulence. We are no longer talking about a conjunctural crisis, but about a reconfiguration of the rules of the game. According to the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), one in every seven travelers on the planet passes through the hubs of the Middle East (Dubai, Doha or Abu Dhabi), points that have suffered massive blockages and diversions due to instability in the Middle East. This situation not only affects airports, but also drives up the price of travel. Fuel already accounts for 30% of airlines' costs and, as Pedro Aznar, Professor of Economics and Finance at Esade, warns, the increase in the cost of flying will hardly be reversible, although it cannot increase indefinitely.Security has no discount

Faced with this scenario, Catalonia emerges as a "refuge destination" that is not the result of chance but directly responds to the traveler's psychology. Pedro Aznar's analysis is categorical, tourism is not a basic necessity, but an activity based on enjoyment where the perception of safety is non-negotiable. So the traveler does not give up long-distance travel, but shifts their objective if the area is not safe. "If geopolitics constantly changes and the perception of many tourists is that the Middle East is not safe, it can have relevant effects, which are also not compensated by price discounts. Families, especially, prioritize certainty." In this way, instability in the Middle East or the Eastern Mediterranean acts as a driver that displaces flows towards more stable areas, as is the case in Catalonia. According to Jordi Vinyoles, vice-president of the Corporate Association of Specialized Travel Agencies (ACAVE), in this context Catalonia and the Balearic Islands have positioned themselves as some of the beneficiaries. “Events can be changing, but in our country, there will clearly be an increase in tourism demand this year,” he assures. This is a movement confirmed by the executive director of the Catalan Tourism Agency (ACT), Patrick Torrent, who details that cruises that were supposed to call at the Eastern Mediterranean are now looking for ports in Barcelona or Tarragona, and that even corporate events planned in the Persian Gulf are changing latitude towards Catalan territory.

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Summer in Catalonia is being painted with new colors. It's no longer just about couples with children or groups of friends, a growing wave of single travelers and single-parent families has been transforming the sector for a long time, but little by little. According to Idescat data, the demographic reality is that already in 2021 in Catalonia, 802,800 people lived alone (26.4% of the total households) and 373,500 were single-parent households. These are almost 1.2 million family units looking for a different way to enjoy holidays and leisure, and they are driving a market that is growing annually at a state level. This emergence contrasts with a statistical paradox. Divorce petitions in Catalonia fell by 9.1% in 2025. But the data could be misleading. The decline in marriage has gone from a rate of 5 marriages per 1,000 inhabitants in the 90s, to 3.45 registered in 2024. And the rise of de facto couples (350,200 households in 2021) means many breakups go unnoticed by the courts. Furthermore, factors such as the housing crisis could be slowing down official proceedings, but not the reality of separation.Faced with this scenario, the tourism sector is evolving. From the Catalan Association of Specialized Travel Agencies (ACAVE), it is observed how the single and single-parent family segment has broken old stigmas. It is no longer about people looking for a partner, but rather mature travelers seeking a social experience, identifying with a group, and optimizing costs. It is a specialized market where between 60% and 70% of bookings are made by women, a fact that has even led to the creation of exclusive products for the female audience, whether they are solo travelers or mothers with children. A journey that shows a life changeFor an adult facing parenthood alone, vacation logistics can be a difficult mountain to climb. Initiatives like La Tribu, created by Patricia Moya a decade ago, have gone from Meet-up groups to massive support networks where travel is just an excuse to "bond". Patricia, who has managed this growth especially since the pandemic, maintains that the project is not born out of regret, but out of the need to normalize separation and find willing hands to help when surveillance or emotional support is needed.This new travel culture requires a very specific rhythm and social environment. For example, ACAVE highlights that the growing offer focuses on small groups with facilitators who mix cultural focus with leisure spaces like theme parks. This is what Eduard Martín, separated a year and a half ago, was looking for his 5-year-old daughter in a space like La Tribu: "an environment where she would have children to share with besides me, and I could enjoy little moments" of decompression with other adults. For parents like him, the added value of having monitors on stays on the Costa Brava or in Sort allows that, while the children play, the adults can socialize in a human and organic way, sharing experiences of a life change that, even though painful, becomes lighter in community.“Human contact is vital for mental health.” Carme Garcia Gomila, psychoanalyst doctor of the SEP (Spanish Society of Psychoanalysis), points this out by quoting the renowned psychiatrist Wilfred Bion, according to whom “human beings do not get together to do things, but rather we do things to be together”. If parents are calm and well accompanied, children will also be better, and in these spaces “the whole family, both children and adults, are cared for by a larger entity that helps them to relax and also promotes communication between parents and children.”Although the group is mixed, Laura, who has been participating in La Tribu with her daughter for years, observes a curious dynamic: “Out of 50 families, maybe we are 35 mothers. It's harder for fathers to get involved, but once they do, they become very integrated.” Eduard confirms this from the other side: “Sometimes it's more difficult for the adult than for the children. They integrate right away, but it's harder for the adult to take the step. When you join, it's great, because you end up explaining what happened to you and sharing it.”Garcia describes this process as “liberating and cathartic,” especially because nowadays people are very lonely and their closest networks don’t always know how to handle a breakup. “And if, in addition to taking trips, these groups have continuity afterwards, very strong bonds of friendship are created between parents and children that greatly favor their well-being”. Human contact against digital fatigueBeyond rest, the ultimate purpose of these meetings is emotional identification. As Patricia explains, it's about finding “similar families. You are with your child in a new life and you want to meet people in the same situation”. Perhaps for this reason, when it comes to romantic love, the group maintains a delicate balance. “People avoid it quite a bit, because there are already apps for that and here they try not to complicate things,” points out the organizer. In fact, Laura also emphasizes the importance of preserving this single character to respect the grief and often difficult experiences that many carry in their backpack, and to prioritize human quality and the absence of technology over affective-sexual search. This solidity of the model is what leads Eduard to consider that, even if he had a partner in the future, he would continue seeking this travel format because “it brings a plus that breaks the monotony” of the traditional nuclear family.  “Many divorced people are fleeing dating apps looking for deeper connections and meeting people in a more empathetic environment than in an app or digital platform,” explains Carme Garcia, who highlights these spaces for the possibility they offer to establish broader human contact. “In these cohabitation spaces, the purpose is more open; a relationship can develop, but it is not the specific goal of 'hooking up' that previous 'singles' trips had.” Furthermore, she recalls that there is no need to force new relationships with desperation, since “if a project has gone wrong, you can spend a season alone, with friends, and see what you need”. The children's mirror Ultimately, this shared environment allows children, the main protagonists, to build a space where they can better understand each other among peers and normalize growing up between two homes. And this is, perhaps, the most prized value: "they create their own tribe," says Patricia, a space where they normalize the situation of living with separated parents. Carme Garcia recalls that, moreover, these "tribes" make up for the lack of extended families from before, where many cousins would gather. Now families are smaller, perhaps with a couple of cousins, so sharing spaces with children alike, with single parents, makes them feel they have found their own space. A sector that still looks to the pastDespite the maturity of this demand, they denounce that the hotel sector still drags the burden of the “2+2” model. “That’s why many families look for groups like ours”.  Patricia regrets that many single-parent families feel psychologically out of place in traditional settings where tariffs penalize the single parent with the controversial individual supplement, or forcing them to pay the price of an adult for a child. ACAVE, for its part, points out that some establishments are beginning to offer facilities outside of the high season.The success of these initiatives shows that future tourism in Catalonia is no longer measured solely by overnight stays, but by the ability to generate networks. A model that must be unique and sustainable to adapt to an increasingly less uniform society, and which finds in shared travel the best tool.

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For decades, the collective imagination of Catalan summer has been inseparable from hot sand and scorching sun, but with fresh water. However, this idyllic postcard is cracking under the weight of meteorological data that paints a scenario of accelerated tropicalization. Climatic comfort, that invisible asset that made the Catalan coast the favorite refuge of millions of people, is being lost.The data from the latest Seasonal Climate Bulletin are conclusive: the summer of 2025 has been crowned the warmest in the 121 years of data from the Ebre Observatory. This is not an isolated event, but a trend where century-old records are broken with alarming frequency. Aleix Serra, head of data quality control at the Meteorological Service of Catalonia (Meteocat), is clear: “We can talk about heat records, but never cold ones are broken.” This meteorological asymmetry confirms that summer is "expanding" with increasingly widespread heat conditions throughout the calendar.The idyll of the sea breeze as the only remedy for the August heat is giving way to a more diverse vision of holidays in Catalonia. And in fact, according to data from the Catalan Tourism Agency (ACT), August 2025 registered a 4.8% decrease in the number of foreign tourists compared to the previous year. While awaiting the figures for 2026, what is clear is that the coast no longer cools as it used to, a fact that is driving a redistribution of flows towards the Pyrenees and the interior. This is not a break with the traditional model, but rather an evolution where thermal comfort gains weight. The coastal oven and the marinade collapse

Catalonia's great thermostat, the Mediterranean Sea, is losing its regulatory capacity. On July 18, 2025, the water temperature in L'Estartit reached a historic record of 26.8°C, more than 2°C above the climatic average. Aleix Serra warns that this temperature increase causes the sea to lose its ability to mitigate heat near the coast. This is especially noticeable at night: "At the end of summer, the water continues to be very hot, and this is what causes tropical nights for entire months," he explains.Last summer, 36 torrid nights were recorded in which the thermometer did not drop below 25°C, a figure that only finds precedents in the historic years of 2003 and 2022. In places like Cap de Creus, the minimums reached almost 30°C. “Summer is becoming increasingly extreme,” insists Serra, and although it cannot be assured whether 2026 will take another step forward, “the trend is undeniable”. The Pyrenees refrigerator

This physical reality is already translating into a change in behavior that has reached travel agencies. From the Corporate Association of Specialized Travel Agencies (ACAVE), they confirm that the phenomenon of coolcations} (cool vacations) is a trend that is gaining visibility in a context of climate change. “There is a type of traveler who seeks quieter places, fleeing more severe climatic conditions,” explain the employers' association.The fear of repeating the heat of previous summers has boosted interest in destinations such as Iceland, the Faroe Islands, Scandinavia, or the Azores. According to ACAVE, after the pandemic there has been a growing demand for nature tourism related to sports such as cycling and trekking, seeking activities different from the traditional sun and beach.

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Global warming is advancing and temperatures continue to rise relentlessly. This spring has been no exception. In fact, Catalonia has experienced the warmest spring since records began, according to data from the seasonal climate bulletin published by the Meteorological Service of Catalonia (Meteocat). This report covers the three months of meteorological spring – March, May, and June – even though astronomical summer will not officially arrive until June 21.

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Can oil put out fires? The question seems like a contradiction, almost a prank. Obviously, no one would think of putting out flames with oil. But if we think about the origin of this product, the idea makes perfect sense.

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The success of the II Bonpreu Esclat Solidarity Rice Dish speaks for itself. The initiative has managed to raise 16,432 euros through ticket sales, a figure that adds to the 382,666 euros already achieved by the Una Generació amb Empenta project, which groups together the different solidarity actions promoted by the Bon Preu Group.

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Volodymyr Zelensky warns Vladimir Putin that if he does not decide to end the war in Ukraine, he runs the risk of being a victim of a coup. In an open letter to the Russian president, the Ukrainian leader assures that it is not a threat, but that this is how Russian history works. "When Russia gets tired, changes occur," he writes. According to Zelensky, if Putin does not come to the conclusion that this conflict must end, "he will have to fight for his own survival".

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Tension cannot be maintained indefinitely. The teachers' vote against the agreement reached by the unions and the Government must give way to a new phase. It is urgent to find a way out that does not involve union confrontation.

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Se tiene que morir mucha gente is a title that suggests a pessimistic view of life, a bad temper that denotes existential weariness and an extra dose of sarcasm. It fits with what the series released by Movistar+ proposes, created by the comedian, screenwriter, and writer Victoria Martín. Co-creator of the podcast Estirando el chicle, a successful phenomenon thanks to its irreverent and feminist content, Martín has acquired her own voice with a tendency towards self-parody and black humor that reflects the insecurities of her generation. She also turned this universe into a novel, which she has now adapted for the screen with a raw and acid style.A lot of people have to die works from a very generational perspective, especially with the female audience. It revisits the crisis of the thirties of three lifelong friends: Bárbara (Anna Castillo), Elena (Macarena García) and Maca (Laura Weissmahr). The first is addicted to benzodiazepines, the second is pregnant —unintentionally— by a millionaire much older than her, and the third has a tendency towards toxic relationships. Their love-hate bond and having to share an apartment will further complicate their existence.The best thing about the series are the witty and agile dialogues that give a lot of personality to the protagonists. The idea of including an alter ego of Bárbara as a child as another character to underline her immaturity is sensational, especially because it portrays the crueler and unfiltered nature of an indignant girl. But more than a discomfort against the world and the environment, the big problem the series wants to explain is the lack of self-esteem. They can't stand people, but above all, they can't stand themselves.Mental health problems are a constant in the series, but filtered through black humor. And here is where some of the most uncomfortable aspects emerge. Addiction to benzodiazepines is lightly integrated into the character of Bárbara, and the pregnant woman's behavior of drinking alcohol and smoking is hard to perceive as part of the comedy. There is a trivialization of these circumstances that, depending on how you look at it, is difficult to manage. The series trusts that humor will defuse the seriousness of the events, but ends up falling into the romanticization of mental health problems. Too often, some fictions that want to portray the female universe turn self-destruction into an attractive attribute of the characters, into an element of fascination. Addictions, anxiety, or risk-taking behaviors become the mark of their personality to endow them with charm and complexity. This happens very especially when these characters want to present themselves as irreverent, modern, and indomitable. There is a comical idealization of discomfort and emotional instability. It's as if mental health problems endowed people with charisma. And when this confusion is transferred to real life, then we are not talking about comedy, but about drama.

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"We have been working for many, many years for the Patum to be a success, and above all an example of harmony, of sharing, of friendship and of joy, and the City Council's plea is that this continues to be so." In this way, the mayor of Berga, Ivan Sànchez, called on Wednesday to maintain the complicity of recent years at the start of the festival. This festive atmosphere has soured this Thursday, just one day later, due to the presence of Sílvia Orriols on the balcony of the City Council. The president of Aliança Catalana was met with an unprecedented booing at the first jump of the full Patum, in which the 'guita' carried the anti-fascist flag. Hundreds of people, some with whistles, have heckled the also mayoress of Ripoll with shouts such as "Out with fascists from the Patum!" or "Jump, jump, jump, fascist whoever doesn't vote!".

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From time to time, rain claims a spot as a headliner at Primavera Sound. It happened a couple of years ago during PJ Harvey's memorable concert and it happened again this Thursday evening, when the Fòrum venue was already full of a crowd ready to spread out among the different stages. The combination of rain and wind, with gusts of up to 80 km/h, conditioned the first day, and "for safety reasons" performances on the two main stages on the marine platform (where four concerts were cancelled) were temporarily suspended, and later on other stages. It was the decision taken diligently by the festival's management, and communicated in Catalan, Spanish, and English throughout the venue. The festival will announce on Monday the protocol for the return of Thursday tickets.

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In 2022, the Ministry of the Interior, then led by Esquerra Republicana, approved an internal instruction to try to stop sanctioning with the so-called gag law people who protest peacefully, especially in cases of preventing an eviction. We are talking about situations like sitting on the floor in front of the home, gathering around the residence, protesting by offering peaceful resistance and encouraging other people who are not part of the mobilization to participate, and which until then often ended with a fine for disobedience. Now, however, several entities report that with the new Ministry of the Interior, led by the PSC since the end of 2024, this has changed.

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Barça, bewildered by the refereeing and the zonal defense set up by Sito Alonso, lost to UCAM Murcia (87-90). The Blaugrana team played with fire and ended up getting burned against an opponent who knew how to play their cards. The quarter-final tie will be decided on Saturday in Murcia. Joel Parra and Kevin Punter missed two three-pointers to force overtime, but the final stretch was conditioned by some refereeing decisions heavily criticized by the locals. "We fought and we competed, but the last two personal fouls decided the game. They had great success," lamented Xavi Pascual.

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"My life has always been a bit like an auca," states Joan Pera. That's why, when he decided to write a show about his life, his comedies, feelings, and memories, he thought of doing it with this structure of panels in which, alone on stage, he reviews his career with a comic tone: when he went to school, when he started dedicating himself to theater, when Capri, Paco Morán, and Woody Allen appeared in his life. L'auca del senyor Pera, directed by two of his usual accomplices, Daniel Anglès and Jaume Viñas, is playing starting this Thursday at the Teatre Condal.

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Thousands of Albanians are occupying streets and beaches across the country to protest against tourist investments that have taken over the entire coast and threaten its biodiversity. A flamingo-shaped float is passed from hand to hand in the center of Tirana. Other flamingos are also seen in different formats: posters, flyers, badges, and even on sugar packets. Thousands of Albanians display the image of this bird in one way or another, which has become the symbol of what is the largest environmental mobilization recorded in Albania in recent years. This is why the movement has been dubbed “the flamingo revolution,” in reference to this bird that inhabits the protected landscape of Vjosa–Narta, one of the country's most important natural areas, and which developments linked to luxury tourism threaten.

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Dear bureaucrats of Europe who, nestled in gamer chairs, make decisions about our way of life and being:

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"Due to a family emergency, Rosalía has to postpone her upcoming concerts in Miami and Orlando", promoter Live Nation communicated this Thursday. The singer was scheduled to perform this Thursday and Saturday at Miami's Kaseya Center and next Monday at Orlando's Kia Center.

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For just a few hours, Washington managed to create the impression that a new era could be opening in Lebanon. After two days of trilateral negotiations, the United States announced a ceasefire agreement late Wednesday between Israel and Lebanon, presented a roadmap for the deployment of the Lebanese army in the south, and set new talks for the end of June. But while the statement circulated among government palaces, another reality was asserting itself on the ground.

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In one of his plays, Camus explains that Saint Demetrius had an appointment with God himself in the steppe one day. On his way, he found a peasant whose cart had got stuck up to the axle in thick mud. He didn't think twice. He rolled up his sleeves and helped him. He had to work hard, but in the end, they managed to free the cart and Saint Demetrius ran to his appointment. But God was no longer there.I have thought a lot about this "he was no longer there". My theologian friends tell me that God was the farmer, but they don't convince me. My experience tells me that I am always late for appointments with God, even if for much less philanthropic reasons than those of Saint Demetrius. But I am not so late that I cannot see some trace of his evanescent presence. Thinking about it, when the mayor of Masnou invited me to give an intervention in public space, I responded by writing on a pedestrian crossing in the town that "The soul is the cage where the dandelion of the bird that has just escaped floats".The place where I most clearly feel the echo of the expanding wave of his presence is in the face of good Christians, of whom there are some, even if they don't care much for marketing. I can assure you: interacting closely with them is one of life's great experiences. It is possible to doubt God's existence. It is within anyone's reach. The Bible is full of doubters and the wary. But in the face of a good Christian, it is difficult not to believe that the light that illuminates their face is vicarious of another, greater light. It has been good Christians who have made me, a very mediocre Christian, understand the meaning of Nietzsche's words in Beyond Good and Evil: “To the homines religiosi one could include among artists as their supreme category.”I met Viqui Molins many years ago, at a bookstore stand on Sant Jordi's Day. I was struck by the number of neglected people, with evident existential wounds, who came to greet her. She knew their names and surnames, the history of their despair. She was interested in their problems with a welcoming and sincere normality. I asked her what exactly she did. "I am a Teresian nun," she told me. I already knew that, but there was something deeper in her than a mere charisma of label. She explained to me that she took care of the bad thief. "It's easy – she clarified – to take care of the good thief. He has stumbled, you help him up and from that moment on he walks straight and grateful; the bad thief, however, takes advantage of you helping him to vomit to steal your wallet." And at that moment I saw the light of her face.

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These days, a significant advance has been made for the salary equalization of the social action sector with public workers that aims to resolve a chronic inequality: according to data from the Department of Social Rights and Inclusion, the social sector is currently remuneratively 37% below the average public salaries. In the presentation of the measure, President Illa announced it as a way to "take care of those who take care of us".For a long time, social entities have suffered this injustice which makes it impossible to attract and retain talent in the care sector. Interested workers either do not decide to choose these professions, which often involve strong emotional and physical burdens, or, when they are there, they end up moving to better-paid sectors. A situation that drastically reduces the connection and social recognition of these professions, so necessary for justice and social cohesion, for dependency care and, ultimately, for offering opportunities to people. The Generalitat has committed to contributing annually approximately 150 million euros, up to a total of 600 million, to reduce this labor gap in four years. It is, without a doubt, a brave and determined policy aimed at reversing a situation that hinders the quality of support for people. Never before has such a notable contribution been made. But beyond good intentions, this commitment is still just a first step that needs to refine many aspects. To begin with, the measure will not reach the entire social sector. In the case of the Pere Tarrés Foundation, for example, only 3% of the more than 200 workers under the social action agreement will benefit from this equalization.And this is because the new salary model will not automatically extend to all administrations and legal instruments involved in the complex social services system. Some of these tendered or contracted services depend on municipalities and county councils, which through the so-called program contract may see their funding increased, but then the improvements must be effectively passed on to the entities and providers that end up providing the services. Current legislation and the complexity of administrative relations will also not facilitate the universal application of the model. Sometimes services are provided through tenders governed by a public procurement law that does not allow prices to be revised even though the applicable labor agreement between the social entity providing the service and the workers' representatives requires it. A real absurdity that condemns these conditions to be maintained throughout the entire duration of the tender, and even to be extended in subsequent mandatory extensions. To this must be added that some services are provided through subsidies from the Generalitat itself, which foresee economic limits set in the calls according to already obsolete parameters that have not been modified either. And if these aids do not grow, it will be difficult to equate salaries either in the case of those activities driven by the direct initiative of the entities.Finally, the announced improvement will only affect specialized services within the Department of Social Rights, but, on the other hand, other departments of the Generalitat, such as Labor, Justice, and Equality and Feminism, which also regulate and fund projects that reach the social sector, will not benefit. For the salary equalization that is proposed to be real and complete, a joint action by the entire Government in all directions would be necessary. In summary, this non-uniform application of the measure will generate more tension in collective bargaining, which necessarily must go up, and will place the services provided by entities with such reduced margins that they will not allow payment of all expenses, or directly with losses.The legislative initiative on the instruments for the provision of social services that is expected to be approved by Parliament before the end of the year could correct some of these inefficiencies, provided it foresees the adaptation of services to real costs. It is also urgent to amend the law on contracts to review and update prices and stop strangling the entities that provide services to people. Only fair and well-funded regulation will allow for quality in social services and will, once and for all, give prestige to the people who make their vocation their profession. Only a modern policy, which takes into account the current needs of the social sector, which reduces bureaucracy and administrative inefficiencies, and which applies a transversal and multi-departmental vision, will truly respond to this praiseworthy intention expressed by the president of taking care of those who take care of us. Of all of us, leaving no one behind.

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Netflix has reached an agreement with Televisió Espanyola for the programs of La revuelta to be incorporated the next day into its catalog. These are episodes that can be found on the (very well designed) RTVE Play app, and for free, but the streaming giant knows that becoming Broncano's second window for young people who no longer consider traditional channels can be very beneficial for it. The public entity, for its part, obtains income that reduces the cost of the program, and the presenter also benefits doubly: he gains a new broadcast channel that can give him more visibility and, at the same time, he takes a small step onto the platform, knowing that if Vox and PP come to power, the first thing they will do is evict half of RTVE, himself first.

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The change in weather that arrived yesterday has left an extensive spell of showers and strong storms in many regions in recent hours. The rain started on Thursday at midday, mainly in the Pyrenees, and gained ground. Since then and until this morning, thunder and showers have swept through a large part of the country, also reaching the entire coast, and in several cases, there have been true downpours that have left a lot of water in a short time. Only areas of Ponent and Ebre have remained on the sidelines of this episode. The most rainfall has been in the eastern Pyrenees and pre-Pyrenees, especially in Ripollès, northern Osona, and Berguedà, where total accumulations have been very significant and have caused various incidents and the sudden rise in the flow of rivers such as the Ter or Llobregat. More than 100 l/m² registered in some municipalities stand out, such as Campdevànol (Ripollès). Also accumulated were 90 l/m² in Sant Joan de les Abadesses and 75 in Sant Pau de Segúries (Ripollès), 90 in Montesquiu (Osona), or 73 at the Santuari de Queralt (Berguedà). Rain that has marred events like La Patum or Primavera Sound, while in the early morning hours a local downpour also left more than 50 l/m² in Les Cases d'Alcanar (Montsià).

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The summary of the Leire Díez case, which is being investigated in the National Court, includes the recording of two meetings held by the so-called PSOE's plumber with Francisco Martínez, who was the number two to minister Jorge Fernández Díaz as Secretary of State for Security and who is currently sitting on the defendant's bench for the Kitchen case. On July 15, 2024, he himself told Leire Díez how Gonzalo Boye – Carles Puigdemont's lawyer – and Javier Pérez Dolset – who is also under investigation – had offered him to be included in the amnesty law. As can be heard in the recording to which ARA has had access, it was the businessman who contacted him to put on the table a "collaboration" under which, in return, he would have to "give explanations" and "recognize the authenticity" of some documents to the investigation commission on Operation Catalonia. He was surprised by it all: "It seems strange to me, I didn't see any possibility that I could be included in the amnesty in legal and political terms, but I thought I had nothing to lose by sitting down. And I sat down many times with the businessman Javier and the lawyer Gonzalo," he explained.

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You go out onto the street and see the city full of banners welcoming the Pope with the symbol of the Generalitat of Catalonia and the City Council of Barcelona. They spread like a dystopia. Welcome Leo XIV. Some official buildings have also hung posters and all we're missing are the tricorn hats of the Guardia Civil guarding them. They are no longer needed. A progressive pope is like a pacifist soldier. Buying into these definitions is to resign oneself to war and regression. The institution that the Pope represents is, among other things, anachronistic, hierarchical, and sexist. Which, admittedly, can be said of many other institutions. The monarchy, not to mention. And everything is maintained and we pay homage to everything. Lest we live without it. Coincidentally, the Spanish monarchy and the Pope have in common that their representatives, good men, are heads of state. And the citizens, solicitous, kiss their feet. Of course, with freedom. That the dystopia, if you look at it from afar, is only aesthetic. And it seems to you that you can still choose. But we must take into account the permanent plea, asking for permission from the popes and the Pope, that events in Catalonia be held in Catalan. Although events like these, to maintain the distinction they deserve, should be held exclusively in Latin. If we accept the habit that makes the monk, let it be from head to toe. The feet that are kissed. 

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The Catalan biopharmaceutical Ona Therapeutics has closed a Series B funding round of 74.2 million euros to continue developing its cancer treatments. The new capital injection has been co-led by Valencian investor Columbus Venture Partners and French manager Mérieux Equity Partners, in addition to the public Cofides and the family office Korys. Current partners also participated: Asabys Partners, Alta Life Sciences, Bpifrance, CDTI, FundPlus NV, and Ysios Capital.

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In what we call a "polarized" society, the last great trench separating sides is age: it's about pitting older people against younger people. Boomers versus zoomers (which extends to the division between those who will inherit something and those who will inherit nothing). It's a bitter debate, going beyond the classic "when I was young" or "in my day." Some spread generational resentment so that young people see older people as the privileged ones in history, with their pension, their paid-off apartment, and their second home, and older people see young people as a glass generation that complains about everything, commits to nothing, and shatters at the slightest breeze.

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The North American investment multinational Blackstone has limited the withdrawal of money from investors in its main private credit fund following a surge in investment liquidations. This is another case of massive money withdrawals from an investment vehicle dedicated to private credit, a branch of the financial industry that has been showing problems in recent months in the United States, where it operates as a shadow banking sector. shadow banking.

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The most important and anticipated sporting event of the year is almost here. On Thursday, June 11th, the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Canada, and Mexico begins, the first to be contested by 48 national teams (instead of the current 32). Three countries and sixteen cities will host the 104 matches, culminating on Sunday, July 19th (9:00 PM) with the grand final to be played at the MetLife Stadium located in New Jersey (near New York City). This event will mark a generational shift in the world of football, as it will be the last World Cup for Leo Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo, among others, and the emergence of new global stars like Lamine Yamal, who will play in his first World Cup.

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The football club of the Valencian municipality of Bonrepòs i Mirambell (Horta Nord) has opened an investigation to clarify whether an erotic show was organized with the participation of a woman who stripped during the celebration of one of its youth teams (16, 17 and 18 years old) which, moreover, took place in a municipal facility. The entity has already taken precautionary measures against the person responsible for the institution who would have promoted or allowed the performance.

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The managers of BSM, the municipal company that manages the Tibidabo amusement park, have described it as a "crazy idea" and a "dream come true". The fact is that they have wanted to reinforce the gastronomic offer of this leisure space for some time. Enrique Tomàs and Christian Escribà are already present. Soon, it will be the turn of Albert Adrià, who cannot yet specify what, but they are already working on various proposals. In fact, it was Adrià himself who recommended Rafa Zafra to take charge of La Masia Tibidabo, the project that is starting this Friday and which they presented today to authorities and civil society.

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Summer is here, mobility in Barcelona decreases and, as every year, Transports Metropolitans de Barcelona (TMB) takes advantage of the downturn to carry out the toughest improvement works on the network. This summer, the most important actions will be carried out on L1, L9 and some interchanges such as Verdaguer and Plaça de Catalunya. Before starting the works, TMB will carry out information campaigns to warn citizens about the changes.

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From June 14 to 17, the fourth edition of the international cinema and artificial intelligence festival +RAIN Film Festival will be held, an event promoted by Pompeu Fabra University that renews the debate on the impact of AI in cinema, audiovisual, and digital culture. As explained at the presentation by the festival director and professor of communication theories and quantitative research methods Frederic Guerrero, in the first editions, the discussion revolved around art and cinema created with artificial intelligence, while, for now, the thematic focus has shifted towards the social impact of AI in different aspects, such as accessibility, sustainability, and ethical implications.

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The judge of the dana has rejected calling former Valencian president Carlos Mazón as a witness after the Provincial Court of Valencia ruled in favor of the former head of the Consell and accepted his involvement in the case. The court, in a decision supported by the Public Prosecutor's Office, considered that the now conservative deputy has the right to this protection because the investigation may provide information that could lead to his future indictment. Unlike a witness, who is obliged to tell the truth, if he were to be summoned in the future as a defendant, he could, for example, lie and not answer all parties, without any consequences for himself.

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It has been fifteen years since Mercat de les Flors, Festival Grec and Temporada Alta first brought shows by Peeping Tom to Catalan audiences. The fascination with those incredibly original creations by a Belgian company, with never-before-seen dancer movement and a hyperrealistic, almost cinematic atmosphere, sealed their love affair with the city. Directors Gabriela Carrizo and Franck Chartier even moved to Barcelona, although Peeping Tom maintains its headquarters in Brussels, and, especially in alliance with the Teatre Nacional, they have staged their latest shows from here, international co-productions that tour mainly in Europe and North America with a Catalan hallmark. This is the case with Chroniques, which can be seen in the Sala Gran of the TNC for more days than usual for dance: from June 4 to 14.

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Twelve days after relegation to the Second Division, Girona has broken the cold and distant silence in which it had settled. It has done so without subterfuge, with most of the top officials facing the music. Such an act is not remembered at Montilivi. The president, Delfí Geli; the chairman of the board of directors and owner of 16% of the club's shareholding, Pere Guardiola; the general director, Ignasi Mas-Bagà; and the sporting director, Quique Cárcel, have conveyed an image of unity and defense of a project that will remain strong and stable despite the setback.

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Two hours after learning that 39,500 teachers have voted against the preliminary agreement between unions and Education, the minister Esther Niubó, appeared to explain that the measures of the pact would go ahead. "The commitment to implement this agreement is there," she defended, and recalled that "only" USTEC has said it will not sign the agreement, while Professors de Secundària, CCOO, and UGT will. The minister explained this after an emergency meeting with President Salvador Illa.

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It has gone around the world, like everything related to the toxic twins of international politics, the row that a few days ago Trump gave Netanyahu over the phone: "You are a son of a bitch," he told him. "You would be in prison if it weren't for me. I'm saving your ass." A possible subject of study is the identification between leaderships that claim to be strong and the brothel language that floods Western politics and media.In any case, for once, Trump fell short. When it came to Netanyahu, he could have continued to hurl insults and curses, and whatever he said would have been justified: on the condition, of course, of also reversing the insults against himself. Trump blamed Netanyahu and the attacks by the Israeli army against Lebanon for Trump's repeated failures in negotiations with Iran, and with good reason. But he could also blame himself and his administration, which insist on pursuing the productive strategy of combining negotiations with bombings over Tehran. Trump has been announcing an agreement for weeks that, in his words, is always imminent and desired by the ayatollahs' regime with a desperation that, for now, is only evident in Trump himself (the latest announcement, quite doubtful, is for this coming weekend; Netanyahu, meanwhile, says he has agreed to a ceasefire in Lebanon, but his ceasefires are so elastic that they include massacres of civilians, as in Gaza). Let's remember that Trump announced the supposed victory of the US and Israel over Iran eleven days after the first unannounced attack: "Our army has practically destroyed Iran. Its air forces are finished." Almost three months later, Iranian aviation, drones, and missiles continue to torture American armed forces that are short of resources. The warlike fury of the Trump administration generates profits in the form of spoils obtained in piratical actions against international law (for example, Venezuelan oil, which the US is now plundering with the collaboration of Delcy Rodríguez and the same elites who already parasitized the country with Maduro; there has been no regime change, nor anything similar), but it also depletes budgets and armaments.

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Cape Fear is not exactly a new story: besides being based on a book –The Executioners by John MacDonald from 1957–, it has been adapted twice for the cinema. The first time was in 1962, starring Gregory Peck and Robert Mitchum, and the second in 1991, with a film directed by Martin Scorsese and starring Robert De Niro. Now this psychological horror story makes the leap to television with AppleTV's series Cape Fear, starring Javier Bardem, Amy Adams, and Patrick Wilson. The fiction premieres on the platform this Friday.

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Barcelona's underground is dotted with air-raid shelters, and they all have a story behind them. 1,322 have been located, but there could be many more. The latest to be discovered could be shelter 230 of the Passive Defense Board and would connect to the area around the Abaceria Market.

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New warning from the European Commission to Spain over the legislation the Spanish government used to block the failed public takeover bid (OPA) launched by BBVA against Sabadell. Brussels has sent a new letter to the State reminding it, as it already warned last summer, that it is not complying with European regulations on banking acquisitions, mergers, and spin-offs. This is Brussels' prior warning before what is known as a reasoned opinion, which, if not heeded, will lead to the case being brought before the European justice system.

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