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The Catalan Government Spokesperson, Francesc Homs, has ironically stated that the situation in Catalonia “must be the most international of political domestic issues in the wide world”, if the Spanish PM Mariano Rajoy is talking about it before the US President. Homs exclaimed: “every time, people say it is an internal issue and that it would be a mistake to treat it internationally, but Rajoy cannot stop talking about it in his public appearances”. Homs praised the international community for their silence on the Catalan issue, as they have likely been “pressured” by Spain to voice their disapproval. However, he did not directly refer to Barack Obama, who had avoided commenting on Catalonia’s potential independence at the White House press conference on Monday evening.

Dani Alves, Xavi Hernández, Andrés Iniesta and Leo Messi were yesterday named as part of the FIFA/FIFPro World XI 2013 - a team chosen by more than 50,000 players from around the globe. With four players in the side, Barça were once again the club with most representatives. FC Barcelona have been the team providing most players to the World XI for the last 8 years (though they shared that honour with Real Madrid in 2012, when both sides provided 5 players each). Leo Messi has appeared in each of the last 7 selections and Xavi in the last 6.

The “very moderate” growth expectations for 2014, between 0.5% and 1%, will make it “difficult” for the unemployment rates to fall below the current 27%. This was the conclusion of the 2014 Economic Report of Barcelona-based ESADE, one of the top business schools in the world. The main author of the report stressed that this “slow and costly” growth should contribute only in a “very reduced” way to creating new jobs in 2014. However, he also explained that the Labour Market Reform would have positive effects on employment levels in the medium and long term. The study indicates that consumption in 2014 will “remain restricted” due to the high unemployment rates and reduced wages.

Next to the Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy (who went to the White House), the President of the United States, Barack Obama, did not talk about Catalonia despite being asked about it directly by a journalist. Obama did not repeat the formula expressed by other international leaders – it is Spain’s internal matter – but instead preferred to avoid the issue. He did not explicitly back the Spanish PM, despite the fact that Rajoy had stated, only a few minutes earlier, that “Catalonia’s independence will not happen”. Rajoy’s meeting with Obama and the following press conference at the White House were also controversial because the Spanish Government banned several media that were covering the trip and only allowed one Catalan newspaper to attend it.

During the Congress of the International Society for the Performing Arts (ISPA) in New York, the managers of the Bescanó Theatre (Northern Catalonia) will discuss their peculiar protest against the Spanish Government’s VAT increase on cultural products from 8% to 21%. In November 2012, instead of selling traditional tickets at a higher price or lowering their profit margin, the Bescanó Theatre managers decided to sell carrots to their audience, due to the lower VAT on fresh food. Spectators bought carrots for a price equal to the usual entrance fee and were gifted a theatre ticket in exchange. This ‘carrot rebellion’ as well as the “devastating” consequences of the VAT increase on the performing arts in Spain will be addressed on the 15^th of January.

The Barça forward, who has won the last four editions of the Ballon d'Or, finished second behind Cristiano Ronaldo and ahead of Frank Ribéry. Messi has finished in the top three for seven consecutive years and has won the last four editions of the prize. After the Gala, Leo Messi said, “it’s a pleasure to be here for a seventh consecutive year. It’s very nice.” When asked about Cristiano Ronaldo, he said: “before anything else I want to congratulate him. He had a great year and his emotion is very understandable.” The 26-year-old Argentinian garnered 24.72% of the vote, while Ronaldo got 27.99% and Ribéry got 23.36%. This is the highest vote percentage of any second-place finish since the FIFA World Player and Ballon d’Or were consolidated into one award.

The Maison Européenne de la Photographie (MEP) in Paris will open on Wednesday, January, 15^th an exhibition entitled ‘Camouflages’, devoted to the renowned photographer Joan Fontcuberta . Thanks to 10 series of photographs, visitors will journey through the works of the Catalan artist, who was awarded the prestigious Hasselblad prize in 2013, considered as ‘the Photography Nobel Prize’. The jury had highlighted that Fontcuberta was “one of the most imaginative contemporary photographers” of our time. The exhibition, which will occupy three of the four floors of the MEP, explores the notions of ??camouflage, concealment, and disguise: camouflage of the artist, of photography, of reality, and of truth.

The Catalan National Assembly (ANC), the grassroots organisation that organised the two massive demonstrations for Catalonia’s independence in 2012 and 2013, is working on another initiative to allow Catalan citizens to hold a self-determination vote. This past weekend it installed 700 stands throughout Catalonia with 3,000 attorneys-in-fact to collect signatures for an independence referendum and, if this is deemed impossible, the unilateral declaration of independence, in accordance with international law. The ‘Sign a Vote for Independence’ initiative started last June and will continue during the upcoming months, but on Saturday and Sunday, a special push was given to boost the process. The ANC said the massive signature collecting had been “a success”. Figures will be provided next week although the campaign is still ongoing.

The Secretary General of the Spanish Socialist Party (PSOE), Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba, sent a letter to the President of the Spanish Parliament, Jesús Posada, asking him to create “a parliamentary body to talk about the renovation of the territorial model”. This was one of the conclusions of last week’s meeting between Rubalcaba and the Catalan Socialist Party (PSC), which is part of the PSOE. The final objective is to push for a broad Constitutional reform to create a true federal Spain and better fit Catalonia, providing an alternative from the current status quo or independence. However, the initiative faces a negative answer from the People’s Party (PP), which runs the Spanish Government and holds an absolute majority in the Parliament and Senate.

Artur Mas, President of the Catalan Government, signed an article published in New Europe’s special edition ‘Our world in 2014’, explaining why Catalans want to hold a self-determination vote on the 9^th of November, 2014. The European section of the publication includes articles from the French Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault, the Italian PM Enrico Letta, the UK Finance Minister George Osborne and two EU Commissioners, Neelie Kroes and Androulla Vassilliou, among others. In his article, Mas asked the Spanish Government to “abide by its professed democratic principles and to allow the referendum”. The Catalan President explained why a majority of Catalans are supporting independence from Spain due to historical, political, economic, cultural and identity-related reasons. “In twenty-first century Europe, we solve these disputes peacefully and democratically, with ballot boxes and votes” he stated.

A gripping game between the two league leaders ended without score. Martino saved Messi and Neymar for a second half that both sides had chances to win. Barça played serious, intense football throughout, trying to stay faithful to their possession and passing game, with Atlético Madrid concentrating on a more direct approach, with much reliance on counter attacks and dead ball situations.

People who follow a Mediterranean diet enriched with extra virgin olive oil will reduce by 40% the risk of having diabetes, and by 18% if the diet is enriched with nuts. This is one of the main conclusions of a scientific study conducted by 18 research centres throughout Spain on 3,500 people. Jordi Salas-Salvadó, Director of this study, said that such results would change the usual perception of diabetes prevention. The Mediterranean diet is not solely efficient against diabetes. Indeed, the results showed that following such a diet also reduced by 30% the chances of contracting cardiovascular diseases.

Barcelona’s El Prat Airport has ended 2013 strongly to reach a new record of 35.2 million passengers, amounting to a 0.2% increase over the previous year in a context of economic crisis. According to figures released by the Spanish Airport Authority (AENA), in December 2013, 2.3 million passengers transited through El Prat, meaning 5.3% more than during the same month last year. On the other hand, Madrid’s Barajas Airport continues on a downward trend, with its yearly number of passengers dropping to 39.7 million, an 11% decrease. Girona Airport, the second largest in Catalonia, has registered negative figures for the fifth consecutive year. However, this latest decrease has been more moderate (-3.8 %) than during previous years and in 2013 it received 2.74 million passengers.

In 2013, in terms of occupancy rates, the town of Lloret de Mar (Costa Brava, north-eastern Catalonia), is the second tourist destination in Catalonia, behind Barcelona, and the fifth in Spain. According to data published by the Spanish Statistics Institute (INE), Lloret de Mar registered 4,989,836 overnight stays during 2013. Foreign tourists were an overwhelming majority, accounting for 4,310,537 of these stays. Besides, between January and December, the town surpassed one million tourists, with a majority of foreign visitors, from France (203,400 people) , Germany (124,000), Russia (107,600) and the United Kingdom (84,800).

The last 20 years have brought us only three matches between Culés and Colchoneros in which Barça and Atlético were the top ranked teams in La Liga. In this particular situation, Atlético have the historic edge seeing that they won two of the three matches. This season Barça and Atlético are level on points, but the Blaugrana are on top due to their better goal average. In the 2012/13 season, when Barça, league leaders on 43 points, hosted Diego Simeone’s men (37 points) for round 16 of La Liga. Barça won 4-1, and Tito Vilanova’s team took a nine-point advantage over their most immediate pursuers. The Blaugrana went on to win the title after securing a record-breaking haul of 100 points.