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Neymar, Pedro and Cesc (2) score to put Barça three points ahead of Atletico Madrid at the top of the Spanish League table with a 1-4 win at Betis’ Benito Villamarín on Sunday evening. This wasn’t as straightforward a win for Barça as the score might suggest though, with a brave Betis side never giving up and the worrying sight of Leo Messi limping off in the first half. It was Betis who created the chances early on, with the excellent Victor Valdés saving the day with two great stops from Jorge Molina and Juan Carlos, as FC Barcelona struggled to deal with the loss of Messi  - replaced by Iniesta on 20 minutes.

The Spanish League leaders are going to Seville without Piqué or Busquets for the final match before the international break. The former is out as a precautionary measure and the latter is being rested, and their absences will make what is already a difficult fixture even harder still. Bur despite Martino’s rotation system, Barça are still unbeaten this season, and will hoping things stay that way. However, Barça have only won two of their last eleven games at the Villamarín Stadium against Betis, a ground at which they have struggled to get results since 2000.

The National Art Museum of Catalonia (MNAC) has opened two terraces to its visitors who will enjoy never-seen-before panoramic views over Barcelona city and Montjuïc Mountain. This intervention was part of the investment policy of the museum to increase its revenues. Visitors will pay an entrance fee to access the roof of the ‘Palau Nacional’ while the new available space will also be rented out for concerts and other events. Director of the MNAC Pep Serra explained this initiative would help diversify the uses of the museum and give people a new “reason” to go up to Montjuïc for a visit.

On Thursday morning most of Catalonia’s chemists’ were closed and their owners and employees were demonstrating on the street. They were protesting because neither the Catalan nor the Spanish Government is paying them on time for the prescribed drugs, which they have to buy in advance with their own money. It is the second time since October 2012 that they have been protesting for the same reason. The situation improved slightly a few months ago, but delays in the Spanish Government’s transfers of money to Catalonia have made the Catalan Executive unable to pay on time and a significant debt has accumulated. According to the chemists, they are owed €416 million, corresponding to the last 4 months.

The University of Lleida (Western Catalonia) will be leading the INNOSTORAGE Project regarding efficient thermal storage. They will focus their study on improving energy-storing by using Phase Change Materials and their temperature changes. The project, which is financed by the European Commission, aims at reducing CO2 emissions and saving energy by finding new efficient energy-storing systems. Thanks to the Marie Curie International Research Staff Exchange Scheme (IRSES), INNOSTORAGE brings together searchers from Catalonia, France, Israel, the United-States, Australia, and New-Zealand.

The Parliament of Catalonia rejected a proposal to call for a “unilateral” self-determination referendum in the event that the Spanish State “blocked” the possibility of organising a vote by agreement. The motion was rejected with the votes of the Centre-Right Catalan Nationalist Coalition (CiU) – which runs the Catalan Government – and the three parties defending the unity of Spain: the Catalan Socialist Party (PSC), the People’s Party (PP) – which runs the Spanish Government, and the anti-Catalan nationalism and populist party Ciutadans (C’s). The motion supporting the idea of calling for a self-determination referendum in “a unilateral way” had been presented by the radical left-wing and independence party CUP, which has only 3 MPs in the 135-seat chamber. However it was also backed by the second-largest group, the Left-Wing Catalan Independence Party (ERC) and some of the MPs from the Catalan Green Socialist and Communist Coalition (ICV-EUiA).

The 143 pictures that won the last World Press Photo contest – the main photojournalism event at international level, which is held each September in Perpignan – will be on show at the Barcelona Centre of Contemporary Culture (CCCB). Among such photographs are many scenes taken at Gaza and Syria along with pictures of sports, nature, social issues and current affairs. Director of the Photographic Social Vision foundation Sylvia Omedes stated the exhibition “was the best opportunity to see the state of the world through the best photos taken in 2012”.  

Two goals from Messi and another from Busquets send Barça through to the last 16 of the UEFA Champions League. with the opening and final goals against Milan at the Camp Nou on Wednesday evening. The first was a penalty and the second from a lovely move with Cesc. With Busquets grabbing one more in between the Argentinean’s brace,  Milan could only reply with a Piqué own goal just before the break.

Barcelona City Council and the Catalan Government’s programme ‘Invest in Catalonia’ are among the winners of the 2013 Financial Times’ Foreign Direct Investment (fDi) Innovation Awards, which “recognise the world’s most creative investment promotion agencies”. Barcelona City Council has received an award in the town-planning category thanks to its pioneering role in the development of smart cities: the Catalan capital has prioritised smart-city applications and projects, trying to become one of the world leaders in this category. In addition, ‘Invest in Catalonia’, a programme of the Catalan Government’s agency for business competitiveness ACCIÓ, received the award in the business matchmaking category.

This Wednesday’s match will bring together two of the continent’s most storied football teams for what is considered to be a classic in European football, a Barça vs Milan showdown. A victory for FC Barcelona would see the Catalans qualify for the next round of the competition. Adriano Correia has been declared fit for this evening's match against the Italians. Tata Martino has named a total of 20 players to the team for this evening’s game. Rotations are expected, but perhaps not as many as usual. AC Milan, with Balotelli ready for action, have been unable to win in their last four matches.

The Catalan Government has presented its budget proposal for 2014, which posts a 1% deficit, representing a 35.5% annual reduction and amounting to €1.98 billion, in line with the 2014 deficit targets imposed by the Spanish Government. The budget prioritises healthcare, education and social policies, which represent 71% of the total non-financial spending. Non-financial spending grows by 0.2% and reaches €20.30 billion, while the total spending amounts to €29.31 billion. The Catalan Finance Minister stressed that spending had not been reduced this year since in the last 3 years it had already dropped by 22%. Budget cuts “have reached their limit”, as otherwise “social cohesion” and “the Welfare State” would “be at risk” he said. In 2014 the Catalan Executive will spend the same per inhabitant as it was doing in 2004 taking into account inflation (€1,901).The adjustment for 2014 focuses on increasing revenue by €3.2 billion, mostly through new taxes (€910 million) and the sales of assets and privatisations (€2.32 billion). On top of this, the Catalan Government forecasts a 0.9% economic growth for 2014, leaving behind the recession of 2012 (-1.2%) and 2013 (-1.1%).

The Catalan Government has forecasted a 0.9% economic growth for 2014 in its budget proposal for next year, leaving behind the recession of 2012 (-1.2%) and 2013 (-1.1%). The positive figures are mostly due to the strength of the export sector – which will continue to improve its results. The main factor slowing down growth will be the internal demand, which will continue to decrease although it will do so at a lower pace. In addition, the Catalan Executive believes the unemployment rate will decrease and reach 23.1% by the end of the year. It is expected 2013 will end with a 23.7% unemployment rate, higher than the 22.6% rate registered at the end of 2012.

The Spanish PM, Mariano Rajoy, considered that “to reform the Constitution in order to satisfy those who will not be satisfied”, referring to the citizens supporting Catalonia’s independence from Spain, who represent more than 50% of Catalans according to polls, would be “a great mistake”. Answering a question from the former Catalan President José Montilla, Rajoy stated before the Senate that “Spain and national sovereignty are not negotiable”. However, despite these red lines, Rajoy affirmed that his attitude towards Catalonia is “to talk” in order to find a negotiated way out. More than 80% of Catalans would like to hold a self-determination vote in Catalonia.

However, in annual terms, Catalonia registered a fourth consecutive drop in unemployment figures with a 1.93 % decrease compared to October 2012 and 12,474 fewer jobseekers. By the end of October 2013, 633,832 people were registered as unemployed at the offices of the Catalan Public Employment Service (SOC), meaning a 2.08% increase since the month of September, with 12,921 extra people unemployed. These latest figures, which were released by the Spanish Ministry of Employment and Social Security, also indicate a third consecutive month of growth in unemployment. In the whole of Spain, registered unemployment also increased for the third consecutive month.

Eight officers of the Catalan Police have been indicted by the judge and consequently temporarily suspended from active service by the Catalan Government, it was announced on Monday. The 8 policemen are suspected of beating up a middle-aged man while they were arresting him, causing his death, trying to destroy evidence and obstructing justice, according to the judicial report. The victim – gay businessman Juan Andrés Benítez – died a few hours after his arrest from a heart attack, allegedly provoked by 5 punches received on his head during his arrest. The case has generated significant controversy, since it is not the first time that Catalan Police have been involved in a violent abuse scandal. At the same time, the Spanish Police were requested to act as judiciary police and issue an investigation report on the facts.