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Spaniards living abroad will have more time to vote in the 20-D Spanish Elections. Spain’s Electoral Roll Office has twice agreed to extend the deadline for the postal vote: first it was extended from the 12^th of December to the 16^th, and this Wednesday the Spanish bodyhas announced its extension to the 18^th. The aim is to improve a system which was described as “an authentic odyssey” by the Catalan Minister for Public Administration Meritxell Borràs when more than 200,000 Catalans whom were registered to vote in the 27-S Catalan elections couldn’t ultimately do so. This decision to facilitate the vote for the 20-D Spanish Elections contrasts with the Spanish body’s failure to do so for those Catalans living abroad who repeatedly requested an extension of the deadline for voting in the 27-S Catalan elections. 

Today’s chaos in Catalonia’s railway system, operated by Spanish public train operator Renfe, is to be added to a long list of problems which have occurred on this network during the last decade. On this occasion, 60 short-distance trains and 25,000 passengers were affected by an attempted copper theft in three different train stations in the Barcelona area. This criminal act caused several small fires in the railway installations of Santa Perpètua de Mogoda, La Llagosta and Mollet del Vallès, around 20 kilometres away from Barcelona, which led to 30-minute minimum delays on four different lines. Alternative routes and extra buses have been added to guarantee the mobility of these citizens and according to the Spanish public company in charge of building and maintaining the railway infrastructure, Adif, the consequences will still affect nearly 60,000 people and 200 trains throughout the day.  

Prices have started to recover. They increased by 0.3% this past November in Catalonia and broke the negative trend of the last three months. Thus, the annual inflation rate is now 0%, according to the Spanish Institute of Statistics (INE). This increase has been caused mainly by the stabilisation of fuel prices, which dropped in 2014, the increase in the cost of electricity in comparison to the same period last year and the rise in the price of clothing and housing in November. Barcelona is the only region where the inflation rate is slightly positive; it was 0.1% at the end of November, whereas the previous month it was -0.1%. In the whole of Spain, prices rose by 0.4% last month in comparison to October but the annual rate is still negative, at -0.3%. 

Anti-Catalan Nationalism Ciutadans is a party born and raised in Catalonia. Although its trajectory has been short, they experienced the highest growth in the past 27-S Catalan elections and became the second force in the Parliament, with 25 MPs. Now they are running for the Spanish Elections for the first time and many polls forecast a great result for them. “Being Catalan doesn’t mean supporting independence” stated Ciutadans’ candidate for Barcelona, Juan Carlos Girauta, and criticised current Catalan President Artur Mas for assuming “what the majority of Catalans want even before they vote”. The party’s position regarding Catalonia’s push for independence has always been clear “Spain’s sovereignty is not negotiable” warned Girauta and assured that “the right of self-determination is only applicable to colonies and countries subjected to tyranny” and therefore “not for Catalonia”. 

The 15-hectare plot is worth 30 million euros and is located in El Prat de Llobregat, the same village where Barcelona El Prat airport is located, a municipality 10 kilometres away from Barcelona. Now the leading e-commerce company has a month to formalise the transaction, but it has already celebrated the awarding and has expressed in a communiqué its will "to keep on expanding" its logistics network in Europe. "This means that we are attractive, that we are well-placed and that we have a future" stated current Catalan President, Artur Mas. The awarding arrives a few days after the largest business organisation in Catalonia, Foment del Treball, noted in its 'Report of the Economic Situation' that Catalonia's push for independence hasn't affected foreign investment in the territory. On the contrary, during the first half of 2015, Catalonia attracted 1.959 billion euros, which represents a remarkable increase of 281.2% in comparison to the same period last year.

The renowned performing arts festival which takes place in Girona has set a new record in its 24^th edition: 78,922 spectators and an occupancy rate of 91.8% in the paying shows. Temporada Alta presented this year its most ambitious, international and diverse programme yet. A total of 110 productions, 36 premieres and 25 international performances took place either on the street or on one of the festival’s 30 stages. "The festival has been a great success" assured its director Salvador Sunyer, who proudly announced that a new venue will be opened in Lima, to be added to those in Buenos Aires and Montevideo. This announcement confirms Temporada Alta's internationalisation strategy and the will to build bridges with other companies around the world. 

Barcelona's candidacy has convinced UNESCO's directors, international experts and the Creative Cities Network and has this Friday joined the list of UNESCO Cities of Literature. From now on, the Catalan capital will have to promote literature, integrate culture into its economic and social development plans and collaborate with the other Creative Cities. The Catalan capital presented the richness of its literary heritage in both the Catalan and Spanish languages and the international power of its editorial sector as some of its main assets. However, the celebration of Saint Jordi, Catalonia's patron day, when Catalans exchange books and roses with their loved ones, has been the focus of the candidacy. In fact, UNESCO's World Book and Copyright Day is celebrated on the 23^rd of April, the same day as the Saint Jordi celebrations.

Christian-Democrat Unió is the smaller party within the former governing coalition CiU. After the political alliance's break up, Unió is running in the Spanish elections "to represent all those Catalans who defend a moderate position" and believe "in dialogue and agreement" as the only "possible solution" to improve Catalonia's relationship with Spain, stated its leader Josep Anton Duran i Lleida. According to Duran the "pro-independence forces are tricking the citizens" in Catalonia, as they have "already reached an agreement" but refuse "to explain its consequences to the citizens" which he assured "represents electoral fraud". Catalonia's independence, besides being "impossible" will lead to "political and economic instability", assured Duran i Lleida and added that none of the parties involved and "of course not the EU" will accept the rupture of a Member State nor another crisis within the EU "like the Greek one but with greater dimensions".

International experts from different fields debated on independence processes in the EU at the conference "Self-determination Processes: Challenge or Opportunity for the EU?" organised by the Public Diplomacy Council of Catalonia (DIPLOCAT) and the Centre for European Studies of Jagiellonian University in Krakow. According to DIPLOCAT's Secretary General, Albert Royo, the Catalan process is a "unique opportunity for the EU" to show that a "territorial conflict could be solved in a peaceful and democratic way". Professor of History at Pompeu Fabra University Fernando Guirao added that it would be “absurd” to talk about an automatic expulsion from the EU and Visiting Professor at the College of Europe Michal Natorski noted that "all secession processes are negotiated and finally accepted if they come to terms in a democratic way". Delegate of the Government of Catalonia to Austria, Adam Casals, also attended the conference.

The alternative left in Catalonia is gathered around En Comú Podem, a coalition which is running for the Spanish elections with members from Catalan Green-Socialist party ICV, alternative left-wing Podem, which is the Catalan branch of the Spanish party Podemos, and representatives from the 'En Comú' candidacies, which won significant mayoralties in the last local elections, for example that of Barcelona, with social activist and now Barcelona mayor Ada Colau as its strongest asset. En Comú Podem's programme focuses on social measures to beat the crisis which "is still lashing Spain" and improving the situation "of those who are suffering its consequences", stated its top member, Xavier Domènech. Regarding Catalonia's push for independence, Domènech defended the celebration of a "binding referendum" with "a clear question which can be answered with yes or no", he stated.

With top spot in Group E already guaranteed, Barça were only playing for honour on Wednesday night. And they managed to achieve just that by holding on for a 1-1 draw against a Bayer side that threw everything they could at the visitors in search of a winner that would mean they would join the Catalans in the last sixteen. Luis Enrique opted to rest several of his heavyweights, but did field Messi in attack alongside Munir and Sandro, and Ivan Rakitic started in midfield in the company of Samper and Champions League debutant Kaptoum of Barça B. The Germans took the initiative in the early exchanges but the optimism in the BayArena was silenced after 20 minutes when Leo Messi read a run to perfection and scored Barça's first and only goal. Three minutes later, Chicharito slammed the ball with his left foot past a helpless Ter Stegen to score his fifth goal of the tournament and gets things back square again.

The calendar for pro-independence cross-party list 'Junts Pel Sí' and radical left CUP to reach an agreement hasn't stopped despite the campaign for the upcoming Spanish elections. Although CUP reinforced their 'no' to instating Artur Mas as Catalan President after holding their National Debate, party leader Antonio Baños assured that this wasn't "CUP's last word". On the same day as Spain's electoral campaign officially began, 'Junts Pel Sí' presented a social action plan, in response to CUP's call to make a move and negotiate also in the social field. Following this, 'Junts Pel Sí' presented a social action plan at the end of last week which included measures to fight energy poverty and establish the deed of assignment in payment so as to avoid debt continuing for the particulars even though they have been evicted, amongst others. Representatives from both parties assured that such a move had given a breath of fresh air and renewed hope to the talks.

Catalonia "won't get anything" from a reform of the Spanish Constitution, on the contrary, "it will lead to frustration" assured current Catalan President, Artur Mas. "It is nonsense to suggest that Catalonia burns itself to flames by promoting a reform of the Spanish Constitution" as it will lead "to a dead end once again", assured Mas. He made these statements in response to the Spanish Constitutional Court (TC) President, Francisco Pérez de los Cobos, who urged the Parliament to propose concrete modifications of the Spanish Constitution in order to launch their demands rather than doing so by breaking the law. "We know that the Parliament has the right to propose constitutional reforms" stated Mas "but now it is not about rights, it is about politics, real politics" he assured. Mas made these declarations in Paris, where he was attending the Paris Climate Change Conference.

London's Shard, in the Tower Bridge area, is Europe's tallest building. Its viewpoint, located on the 72^nd floor, opened its doors in 2013 and has offered a wide range of events since then: silent discos, winter experiences and in the near future a very ambitious project: a traditional Catalan human tower performance. "The image would be amazing" stated 'The View from the Shard's marketing head Anna Domingo. Although she admits that there is not yet a specific date, she declared to CNA that they are "working very tight" with the Delegation of the Catalan Government to the UK "to promote the Catalan culture also from here". In 2012, Castellers de Vilafranca, one of the most iconic group of Castellers, displayed a tower on the 20^th floor of a building located right in front of New York's Empire State building.

The exhibition 'Big Bang Data' commissioned by Barcelona Centre of Contemporary Culture (CCCB) shows the big data explosion of the 21^st century and how it has transformed our lives by displaying a varied collection of pieces from international new media artists. "The exhibition is about changes" stated 'Big Bang Data's commissionaire, José Luís de Vicente "and how these big data has affected our privacy, relationships and even security". After touring in Madrid, Buenos Aires and in many other Latin America capital cities, the exhibit arrives in London absolutely renewed, with 20 fresh projects and 3 especially designed for London, such as an interactive map of the British capital according to the moods reflected on Twitter or a collection of selfies taken in the city. More than 125,000 visitors all over the world have already seen Big Bang Data, which will go to Singapore after London.