On April 30th, Marçal Font received an order that caught his attention at Librería Fénix, a landmark for the trade of antique books in the Catalan city of Badalona.
"I've been a secondhand bookseller for 20 years, so I've had millions of strange purchases, which means I'm not alarmed anymore," he tells BBC Mundo. He is also a poet and professor of Comparative Literature at the University of Barcelona.
The order came from a company located in Canada, but this wasn't the first time the bookstore had shipped Catalan books abroad. "We send books as far as Japan, it's not unusual; but the (purchase) pattern was strange."
When a new series of orders arrived at the beginning of May, Font decided to investigate for fear that it was a fraud.
"It's not common to look for who buys from us, but in that case we started looking, mainly because the orders came in a window of one hour or 40 minutes. We had three or four emails asking for a random number of books. And the associated shipping costs were outrageous."
Wednesday, August 12, 2026
What is the "Panama Project" and how did it reveal the destruction of thousands of ancient books to train AI?
On April 30th, Marçal Font received an order that caught his attention at Librería Fénix, a landmark for the trade of antique books in the Catalan city of Badalona.
"I've been a secondhand bookseller for 20 years, so I've had millions of strange purchases, which means I'm not alarmed anymore," he tells BBC Mundo. He is also a poet and professor of Comparative Literature at the University of Barcelona.
The order came from a company located in Canada, but this wasn't the first time the bookstore had shipped Catalan books abroad. "We send books as far as Japan, it's not unusual; but the (purchase) pattern was strange."
When a new series of orders arrived at the beginning of May, Font decided to investigate for fear that it was a fraud.
"It's not common to look for who buys from us, but in that case we started looking, mainly because the orders came in a window of one hour or 40 minutes. We had three or four emails asking for a random number of books. And the associated shipping costs were outrageous."
'Harry Potter' actress earns more on OnlyFans than in her entire film career

Monday, August 10, 2026
Karol G releases "No me arrepiento de sentir tanto", her sixth album with Drake and Bruno Mars
Beyond the names, the album proposes a fundamental shift. Where her previous albums celebrated partying, this one explores heartbreak, loss, and personal rebuilding—a change the artist herself foreshadowed when explaining the title: "I don't regret being who I am, loving the way I do, laughing," she said when presenting the project. The singer has shared that many of the compositions emerged from a period of introspection, between solitary walks and long days of writing.
Yamal acquires Shakira and Piqué's palace in Barcelona
Lamine Yamal, the Barcelona star, lives in a luxurious mansion valued at more than 10 million euros, which features an outdoor pool with a waterfall, a private football pitch, a cinema room and numerous luxury facilities.
According to the Spanish newspaper "Sport" , Lamine Yamal, who has just turned 19, has become one of the youngest players to lift the World Cup, as well as a figure who arouses great media interest.
His meteoric rise in European football has generated increasing curiosity about his private life, especially regarding his current place of residence as a Barcelona striker.
Lamine grew up in the Rocafonda neighborhood, in the city of Mataró, before starring in a remarkable rise with Barcelona and the Spanish national team.
Yamal made his debut with Barcelona's first team in 2023, when he was just 15 years old, and a few months later he appeared for the first time with the Spanish national team, becoming the youngest player to score a goal for them.
Since then, he has won three league titles, the European Championship and the World Cup, becoming a key player for both club and national team.
The young striker currently resides in a luxurious mansion in the city of Esplugues de Llobregat, within the exclusive Ciudad Diagonal residential complex.
The property is valued at over 10 million euros and previously belonged to Shakira and Gerard Piqué, making it one of the most iconic places in the Barcelona universe.
The house was designed by architect Mireia Admetller in 2012, and has an area of more than 3,800 square meters distributed over three floors and two underground levels.
The Italian island that expects a tourism boom after the premiere of The Odyssey
Friday, July 31, 2026
Ulysses' island awaits a wave of tourists after the premiere of Nolan's film

Standing on the ferry while waiting to dock on the Greek island of Ithaca, Giorgia Ongarato can't help but talk about the Odyssey, the epic poem that inspired Christopher Nolan's cinematic success.
The Italian lawyer says her dream was to visit Ithaca, the home of Ulysses in the poem.
Dressed in a t-shirt that reads "Odyssey" next to a verse, she explains enthusiastically: "I studied Greek when I was a child and I studied the Odyssey."
Although she made it clear that the film was not her gateway to the story of Ulysses struggling to return home after the Trojan War, the 50-year-old says she is also a fan of the film, which she calls "wonderful".
Businesses and authorities on the island now hope that the film will inspire many more to follow in their footsteps.
Ithaca is far from the main tourist centers of Greece and, despite its crystal clear waters and spectacular bays, it has never been a regular stop for travelers.
Its interior is rugged, covered with olive and cypress trees, and is surprisingly calm even in the middle of the tourist season.
Although the film has sparked interest among many, it has also generated some controversy in Greece.
There are no Greek actors among the main roles and locations far from Homer's homeland were chosen above all.
Although some parts were filmed in Greece, not a single scene was shot in Ithaca.
Thursday, June 25, 2026
Nagasaki, the 81st anniversary of the atomic bomb worries pacifism advocates
| A huge plume of smoke rises after the explosion of the second atomic bomb ever used in warfare over the Japanese port city of Nagasaki, Japan, August 9, 1945. - AP Photo As Japan commemorates the anniversary of the 1945 atomic bombings , its leaders are pushing for a new debate on nuclear weapons that challenges the country's traditional pacifist stance. |
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has refused to clarify whether she will maintain the position known as the three non-nuclear principles , and last month Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi called for a "no-taboo debate" on the issue. In December, an unidentified senior government official suggested in an off-the-record session with local media that Japan should possess nuclear weapons .
Friday, May 22, 2026
Who is the businessman married to a Walmart heiress who irritates half of the sports world?
Arsenal 's Premier League title ended a 22-year wait and also added another trophy to the sporting empire of American billionaire Stan Kroenke.
Through his Denver -based holding company Kroenke Sports & Entertainment , the 78-year-old real estate entrepreneur controls professional franchises in American football, basketball, hockey, soccer, and lacrosse, all of which have been champions at least once since becoming part of his group.
Arsenal's success came years after Kroenke acquired a minority stake in the club in 2007. He gradually increased his control until he owned the entire team in 2018, after buying out his rival, Russian oligarch Alisher Usmanov, in a deal that valued the club at around $2.3 billion.
Following the championship, sports business journalist Joe Pompliano told X that Kroenke "is experiencing a historic moment" as a sports investor.