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The Camp Nou was treated to a night of emotions and spectacle – capped when the football squad appeared one by one, in order of shirt numbers, to rapturous cheers from the adoring crowds. Luis Enrique and his staff were also honoured in a fitting tribute to all the hard work they do, and which so often goes unnoticed behind the scenes. Celebrations like this are becoming common place of late at the Camp Nou, and may things remain that way! With 28 titles won in the last decade, the legend just keeps growing. The night erupted in a sea of red and blue confetti and pyrotechnics and so the curtain came down on another triumphant season at FC Barcelona. After the summer, it all starts again!

The Catalan Government’s budget for 2016 has been drafted and €700 million more is to be allocated to social spending compared to the budget of 2015, according to the Catalan Vice President and Minister for Economy Oriol Junqueras. He also stated that the Health sector will see an increase of €317 million, while the Education budget will increase by €211 million and that of Social Services will grow by €173 million. An additional 50 million more euros are to be allocated to the sectors of Universities and Research, stated the Catalan Vice President. The budget will be increased for the first time in many years, with the goal of being “realistic” and avoid “generating expectations that cannot be satisfied”. The budget will be delivered this Tuesday to Parliament’s President Carme Forcadell and opened for discussion amongst the groups in the Catalan Chamber.

Three Catalan business schools were ranked in the fifty best in the world category, according to the the 18^th edition of the elaborate analysis by the Financial Times (FT) Executive Education 2016. The three schools that received the highest scores were the Iese Business School (in first place), the Esade Business School (in eighth place) and the Eada Business School Barcelona (in 44^th place). The final analysis was a composite of two separate rankings, a combination of Customised Programmes and Open-Enrolment Programmes. The Iese Business School was placed as number one in the Customised Programmes Ranking and number two in the Open-Enrolment Programmes Rankings, “coming closest of any school since the survey was launched in 1999 to topping both rankings”, according to the Financial Times. 

The victory in the Vicente Calderón strengthens FC Barcelona's position as the most successful team of recent years as they claim the Copa del Rey for the second successive season. Jordi Alba’s goal in the seventh minute of extra time capped a stunning turnaround of events and handed FC Barcelona a well-deserved 2–0 victory over Sevilla in the 2016 Copa del Rey final on Sunday night at the Vicente Calderón Stadium in Madrid. With the La Liga championship already in the bag, Sunday’s Copa del Rey win — the 28th in Club history — means Barça have emerged on top in both of this season’s national competitions, giving them the coveted domestic double and ensuring the 2015/16 season will be hailed as a success for years to come.

83 cultural and art institutions in Barcelona and the surrounding areas will open their doors for free this weekend during the so called ‘Night of Museums’ . The event is held across 40 countries in Europe, and offers cultural events such as exhibitions, circus acts, screenings, poetry readings, and much more. Participating museums will be open from evening until past midnight, and will showcase 60 temporary and permanent exhibitions. This 2016 edition of the festival sees the novel participation of Barcelona’s collaborative creative spaces the Art Factories, in the ‘Creation & Museums’ initiative. Initially, the presentation of the 65,000-piece stamp collection belonging to Ramon Marull will be presented in the exhibition ‘Estigues atent al segell’. 

Those supporters who carry pro-independence flags at the Copa del Rey final will be able to access the stadium. The judge of judiciary number 11 of Madrid accepted the appeal presented by lawyers' group 'Drets', which called for the “automatic suspension” of the Spanish government’s decision to ban the flags during the football match between FC Barcelona and Sevilla FC. Thus, according to the resolution, the cautionary measure requested by ‘Drets’ has been “partially estimated” and therefore “the execution of the appealed action is suspended”. The decision announced by the Spanish government’s Delegate in Madrid, Concepción Dancausa, triggered much criticism amongst civil society but also from most of the political parties. FC Barcelona also presented a lawsuit which is still being studied by another judge in Madrid

50,000 euros were raised for the Red Cross’ work with refugees in the charity auction ‘Joan Miró & Refugees’, hosted by Christie’s Auction House in London this Thursday. The collection was comprised of 24 pieces and the proceeds will all go towards aiding the Red Cross in their “attention and acceptance of the refugee population that is amassing in Eastern Europe”, stated Red Cross Vice Chairman Rosa Maria Marco. One of the display features of the collection was the piece ‘Thank You’, a sign of gratitude for the Red Cross, created by the artist in 1974. Indeed, Miró had a connection with the organisation since the 60s, when a young doctor in one of their hospitals saved the life of his only daughter, whose car had been hit by a train. The auction was organised with the help of the Mayoral Gallery, which helps showcase Barcelona’s most important artists of the post-war period.

The Catalan company Grífols announced on Tuesday that they have purchased 20% of Singulex, the American multinational life science product provider based in Alameda, California. The acquisition was made after signing a capital increase worth $50 million, according to a statement given by Singulex to the National Securities Market Commission (CNMV). Singulex, which is valued ‘pre-money’ at $200 million, works in the field of diagnostic technology, such as technology used for screening blood and plasma donations, which could be used in the future to ensure the safety of transfusions and other similar procedures. The acquisition will not only grant Grífols a place on the American company´s board, but will also give the Catalan company access to the worldwide licence for the use and commercialisation of Singulex technology.

Catalonia and Barcelona are guests of honour at the 2016 Warsaw Book Fair in the Polish capital. Catalan literature is to be represented by ten Catalan authors, who will attend the 6^th edition of the book fair along with 800 booths representing 25 different countries. The Catalan presence at the book fair will consolidate existing relationships and create new ties with Polish literature circles as well as promote the translation of Catalan works into Polish. At the fair, Catalonia will be represented by a booth, a professional programme and a series of literary events. This year will be the 6^th edition of the Warsaw Book Fair, which last year saw 860 exhibitors from 29 different countries, gathering up to 800 authors from around the world and more than 72,000 visitors.

Former Catalan Minister for the Presidency, Frances Homs, is being investigated by Spain’s Supreme Court for helping to organise the 9-N symbolic vote on independence in 2014. Homs, who is currently the leader of Catalan coalition ‘Democràcia i Llibertat’ in the Spanish Parliament, is accused of disobedience, perversion of justice and misappropriation of public funds, the same charges for which former Catalan President Artur Mas, former Vice-President Joana Ortega and former Catalan Minister of Education Irene Rigau were also summonsed last October. Homs lamented the “low democratic quality” of the Spanish State and assured that he will testify before the court “carrying the pro-independence flag”. 

Secretary General of ‘abertzale’ Basque separatist party Sortu and former member of Basque terrorist group ETA, Arnaldo Otegi met this Wednesday with Parliament’s President, Carme Forcadell. The meeting provoked huge media expectation and also triggered fierce criticism amongst several groups in the Parliament. The People’s Party of Catalonia (PPC) and Spanish Unionist ‘Ciutadans accused Forcadell of “listening to terrorists” and met with the Association of Victims of Terrorism (AVT) instead. Earlier this morning, Otegi explained in an interview with Catalunya Radio that Catalonia’s pro-independence process “has no turning back” and that the aim of his visit is “to listen and to learn”. Otegi also hoped that the Basque pro-independence process would have a leader such as former Catalan President Artur Mas.

Barcelona’s CosmoCaixa science museum has inaugurated an exhibition replicating that of the Natural History Museum in London called ‘Wildlife Photographer of the Year’. The 100 photos on display were selected out of 42,000 images received in the eponymous contest put forth by BBC Wildlife Magazine in 2015. The pictures chosen for the exhibition were also selected because they stimulated “defence of biodiversity and protection of the environment” stated the director of Research and Knowledge of the ‘Fundació la Caixa’ foundation, Jordi Portabella. One can also admire the two winning images from the 2015 contest: ‘A tale of two Foxes’ and ‘Ruffs on Display’, taken respectively by Don Gutoski and Ondrej Pelánek.

The Spanish government’s Delegate in Madrid, Concepción Dancausa, warned that those supporters who attend the Copa del Rey final between Barça and Sevilla carrying pro-independence flags won’t be able to access the stadium. According to Dancausa, 2,500 police agents will work to guarantee the security at Vicente Calderón Stadium in Madrid and will set in place two lines of security controlling access to the arena. Thus, they “will make sure” that nobody is carrying “dangerous items such as or bottles or materials of racist, xenophobic, political or religious propaganda which may lead to public confrontations”, she stated. At the last Champions League final on the 6th June, UEFA fined FC Barcelona for showing pro-independence flags during the match and earlier this year the club was sanctioned with a 30,000 euro fine for the same reason.

The Catalan Government wants to put a stop to ‘binge tourism’ and will therefore expel from the Catalan Tourism Agency (ACT) those establishments which promote it. The decision came after a meeting with representatives from the Association of Tourism Employers of the Counties of Penedès and Garraf (ADEPG). Director General of Tourism Marian Muro called on businessmen of the sector “to be brave” and preserve Catalonia as a prestigious tourist destination and “contribute” so that its image “won’t be damaged”. Indeed, an operator that organised the so-called ‘Karibean Spring Break’ in Salou, which was promoted directly to young foreigners and used binge drinking and the expectation of sex as a promotional tool to lure the young tourists, has withdrawn this tourism package from the market.

The Catalan Ministry for Health has confirmed this Tuesday that there are four new cases of people infected with Zika virus in Catalonia, one of which is a pregnant woman. Thus, the number of infected with Zika virus in Catalonia totals 45, 29 women and 16 men. The disease is especially grave for pregnant women as it may cause malformations in the baby’s brain, which may lead to it being underdeveloped. Indeed, in the beginning of May the health authorities in Catalonia confirmed the first case of Zika-linked microcephaly, as the foetus of an infected woman suffered from several malformations. All those affected by the virus reported having been in South or Central America, in those areas where Zika is most active, and confirmed that they were bitten by mosquitoes during their stay.