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This weekend Lewis Hamilton won the F1 race in Barcelona followed by Mercedes team mate Nico Rosberg. The two drivers fought hard for the victory and Hamilton finished only 0.6 seconds ahead of Rosberg. Daniel Ricciardo, from Red Bull, completed the podium. Sebastian Vettel ended in fourth position, after starting the race 15^th. Hamilton is now leader of the championship. More than 200,000 people went to the Barcelona-Catalunya Circuit to watch the F1 Grand Prix over the three days, 60% of which came from abroad.  

Atletico Madrid and Barça will fight it out for this season’s league title at the Camp Nou next weekend after both of them drew this Sunday evening and Real Madrid bid farewell to any hopes of challenging when they went down to Celta. Barça’s goalless draw at Elche was enough to keep them in with one last chance next week, with Atletico unable to get the win that would have give them the title, drawing 1-1 at home to Malaga.Barça dominated possession and territory against Elche, but were unable to convert that into goals.

This weekend the Formula 1 World Championship comes to Catalonia once again thanks to a long tradition which blends the motor industry and competition. Catalonia has several industries related to cars and motorbikes. Aside from SEAT, Nissan, Honda and Rieju are important factories that supply components worldwide. Catalonia plays host to a packed motor sports calendar. The Formula 1 Grand Prix, the GP Motorbike Grand Prix, the World Rally Championship all take place in Catalonia among other endurance series, classic races and indoor or outdoor motorbikes championships. Moreover, Catalan drivers are competing in a lot of international categories. For instance, last year the three Motorcycle World Champions – Marc Márquez, Pol Espargaró and Maverick Viñales - were all Catalans.

Trapezi, the main circus fair of Catalonia, which takes place in Reus from the 8^th to the 12^th of May, is bringing more than 36 theater and circus companies, performing more than 80 shows. With 24 domestic proposals and 11 international ones, Trapezi is filling the streets and theatres of Reus this month with different shows and a great diversity of spectacles. The aim of the fair is to internationalize the Catalan circus factory and to promote meetings among all those involved in the event. The Catalan Government wants to turn Trapezi into a professional event and make it a tool for projecting Catalan circus troupes all over the world. Throughout this edition the organization is emphasizing innovative performances and new formats.

Desmond Tutu, the South-African Archbishop who fought the Apartheid regime and won the Nobel Peace Prize, has been awarded the 26^th Premi Internacional Catalunya. This is the most prestigious prize given by the Catalan Government and follows the decision of an independent jury formed of high-profile professionals from Catalonia and abroad. The jury has chosen Tutu from 162 other names from 51 different countries for "his vigorous and constant fight for social justice and the improvement of living conditions of those oppressed". Last year, the Premi Internacional Catalunya was awarded to the former Prime Minister of Norway Gro Harlem Brundtland and to the young Pakistani education activist Malala Yousafzai for "their determination and courage in the defence of human rights". Other awardees have been Lula da Silva, Haruki Murakami, Jimmy Carter, Jacques Delors, Amartya Sen and Aung San Suu Kyi, among others.

28 employers’ associations, chambers of commerce and business organisations have signed a manifesto that explicitly backs Catalonia's right to self-determination. They presented the initiative on Thursday, in a lighthouse on the Costa Brava. The document is based on a previous agreement reached among employers and business associations just from Girona Province (north-east), but now it has been shared with organisations from throughout Catalonia. Some media, mostly edited in Madrid and abroad, are portraying the business community as against the self-determination process, but there are many employers that are backing it, even among the larger companies. A few weeks ago, the President and co-owner of the pharmaceutical Grífols – which is one of the world leaders for blood-derivate products – backed the Catalan President and his efforts to organise a self-determination vote.

If Barça win the remaining six points this season, the Blaugrana will retain the Spanish League crown! La Liga, just like life itself, presents us with a multitude of situations. When it looked as though the title was impossible for Barça after this weekend’s draw with Getafe, the Blaugrana were given a new chance to defend the title they won under the tutelage of Tito Vilanova. This Wednesday evening Real Madrid drew with Valladolid at the Nuevo Zorrilla (1-1), thus leaving the La Liga title in Barça’s hands. The fact that the Blaugrana host Atlético Madrid at the Camp Nou in the last game of the season means that Barça will have the chance to claim the title in front of the Camp Nou faithful.

Despite all opinion polls indicating the contrary, the Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy stated that "the majority" within Catalonia do not support the demands to hold a self-determination vote and therefore he does not have "any dispute" with Catalan society. According to all the opinion polls, between 75% and 80% of Catalans support the organisation of a self-determination vote, regardless of whether they would vote for independence or not. "I am willing to talk about everything, but not about breaking national sovereignty and unity", stated Rajoy on Wednesday. The PM insisted that he wants to talk about the things that really concern "all the Catalans", which are the economic recovery and the funding of the Catalan Government, according to him. On Tuesday, he recognised that Catalonia's self-determination process was "a deep political problem".

Following an appeal from the Spanish Government, the Constitutional Court has confirmed the cautionary halt adopted in January 2013 and it has now definitively banned the Catalan Executive's drug prescription fee. The measure had been adopted to reduce pharmaceutical spending by limiting superfluous drug demand in order to reduce the overall public spending. It was one of the austerity measures adopted by the Catalan Government in 2012 to reduce public deficit, in order to meet the strict deficit targets imposed by the Spanish Executive. The measure meant that Catalans had to pay a one-euro fee for each drug prescription, with a maximum of 60 euros per year and with many exceptions for people with chronic diseases, on low incomes and pensioners. On the same day, the Constitutional Court has backed the Catalan Executive's judicial fees, also appealed by Madrid.

In April, 12,645 jobseekers left the Catalan Public Employment Service's lists, which is the sharpest unemployment reduction for an April month since 1998. At the end of April there were 611,822 people registered as unemployed in Catalonia, a 2% drop on March figures and a 6.88% reduction compared to April 2013. This 6.88% annual drop is also the sharpest since June 2000. Furthermore, in annual terms, registered unemployment has been decreasing in Catalonia for the last 10 consecutive months, although April is traditionally a good month for employment due to the new contracts linked to Easter holidays. In the whole of Spain, registered unemployment decreased by 111,565, representing a 2.33% drop and leaving the total number of registered jobseekers at 4,684,301. In annual terms, it dropped by 6.11%, being the 7^th consecutive month with annual reductions.

Nine people were arrested on Monday in an operation run by the Guardia Civil, which is investigating an alleged misappropriation of public funds regarding work on the construction of the Madrid-Barcelona-France High-Speed Train line in the Catalan capital. The Anti-corruption Public Prosecutor’s Office suspects that €6 million could have been diverted. The Guardia Civil has searched the Madrid and Barcelona offices of Adif, the public company run by the Spanish Government which is in charge of building and maintaining train infrastructure in Spain. In addition, they have also searched the headquarters of private construction companies, such as Isolux Corsan, which has its headquarters in Barcelona. The details of the investigation are secret and cannot be disclosed yet, following a judicial order.

The Japanese car manufacturer started production of its new e-NV200 van, the electric version of the existing NV200, on Monday. The new model will be Nissan’s first van to be 100% electric. The vehicle will be exclusively built in the company’s plant located in Barcelona’s Zona Franca industrial district, which is very close to the city’s sea port, one of Europe’s main gateways for imports and exports. The production of the new e-NV200 has meant the creation of 700 new jobs, according to Nissan’s CEO and Vice President for Industrial Operations in Spain, Frank Torres. Barcelona’s City Council has reached an agreement with the car manufacturer to promote the use of this van among the Catalan capital’s taxi fleet and distributors operating in Mercabarna, the city’s wholesale market.

The Camp Nou was witness to a game that produced a bitter twist right at the end. Lafita scored for Getafe in injury time and the draw leaves FC Barcelona with practically no hope whatsoever of winning their fifth league title in six years. Both Messi and Alexis had put Barça ahead, but the visitors found a reply both times, scoring with their only two serious attempts on goal.

Joan Colomo, Alberto Montero and the band Anímic are playing on the same day, Saturday 3^rd May, at one of the main musical events of the UK, combining international artists with cinema and digital arts. The festival gathers more than 40,000 punters and 3,000 professionals, taking place from the 1^st to the 3^rd of May in different Liverpool venues. The Sound City Festival is a must-go event to discover new pop and rock talents, among which are the 3 Catalan representatives. The first is the singer and song-writer Joan Colomo, who will be presenting his latest album 'La fília i la fòbia'. The second is Valencia-born composer Alberto Montero, who will play parts of his 'Puerto Príncipe' album. Finally, the last Catalan band is Anímic, who will show their latest work 'Hannibal'.

For the third time, Barcelona El Prat has been awarded as the best airport in southern Europe at the World Airport Awards 2014. The awards, given by Skytrax, are the result of the assessment of almost 13 million passengers from 110 different countries, and has involved 410 airports all over the world. In the global ranking, Barcelona holds the 38th position. In 2013, the Airport of Barcelona registered a record in the number of travellers, with 35.2 million passengers, August being the one with the greatest number of travellers in Spain for the first time ever.