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After taking it for the last three years, Barça lost their Spanish Super Cup title on Wednesday night, going down narrowly in Madrid and losing the tie on the away goals rule. Higuaín and Cristiano Ronaldo put Real Madrid ahead early on and Barça played with 10 men for more than an hour after Adriano was sent off. Messi brought Barça back into the tie with a superb free kick just before the break. Pedro, Alba, Montoya and Messi all came close to getting the goal that would have meant Barça retained their title.

The Catalan Government stated it will meet the 1.5% deficit target for the Autonomies, although it considers it to be abusive considering they manage the main public services and the Spanish Government has kept for itself all the flexibility allowed by Brussels. In addition, the Catalan Government and the Catalan economy suffer from a perpetual lack of investment by the Spanish Government, which takes away 8.5% of Catalonia’s GDP each year, a quantity much higher than the deficit target. The day after Catalonia’s request for €5 billion from the Liquidity Fund, there was no recognition of Catalonia’s fiscal deficit at a Spanish or European level. There were only calls to continue with the austerity efforts. However, the Catalan Government warns of a “serious problem” if the Liquidity Fund is not in place on time by September.

For the first time complete compositions by the Catalan Baroque composer will be available on CD by the end of this year. The University of Lleida and the Pyrenees’ Early Music Festival are co-producing the recording. The composer’s work is a superb example of Early Iberian and Italian music and highlights the close cultural ties that existed between both sides of the Mediterranean. Recording has begun at Intèrpret Produccions in Lleida.

Barça will face off against Real Madrid on Wednesday evening (22.30 CET) as the Catalans look to claim their first title under Tito Vilanova. FC Barcelona come into the match against Real Madrid with a 3-2 advantage from the away leg of the Spanish Super Cup. Any result from the last Real Madrid v. Barça matches at the Bernabéu (five victories and two draws) would be enough for FC Barcelona to claim the title. Tito Vilanova may have to rule out Carles Puyol, who sustained a cheekbone fracture in this weekend’s game against Osasuna, even though the captain travelled with the team to Madrid.

Catalonia and the Balearic Islands opened their own pavilion and exhibition at the 13th Architecture Biennale in Venice on Monday. They are participating in the ‘Collateral Events’ alongside the official programme. The exhibit shows the work of 9 young Catalan and Baleric architects, focusing on an architecture with a greater human dimension.

The Spokesperson for the Catalan Government emphasised the money requested comes from Catalan taxpayers, since Catalonia pays €17 billion each year for services and investments in the rest of Spain. Nonetheless, the Catalan Executive stated it will meet the deficit targets and will follow the already approved austerity plan. The Spanish PM and leader of the People’s Party (PP) confirms it will “help Catalonia as we help the other Autonomous Communities”. However, the PP Spokesperson in Catalonia said the Catalan Government will have to accept whatever the conditions are. The Catalan Socialists want to know what the €5 billion will be spent on before supporting the decision. The Catalan Independence parties criticised the decision for having given away Catalonia’s autonomy.

The player's recovery will mark his availability for the return leg of the Spanish Supercup against Real Madrid to be played on Wednesday. Puyol fractured his cheekbone in a collision with Lamah with 15 minutes still on the clock in the match against Osasuna (1-2). The Barça captain played the entire 90 minutes of the game.

Skye Edwards, the lead singer from the British band Morcheeba will be performing tracks from her new solo album at the Figueres Acústica Festival in northern Catalonia. The festival, as part of an initiative to internationalise the event, is also organising a week long holiday for the singer and her family. Edwards will perform her new material at the festival this Saturday and will also talk about her experiences in Catalonia on social media websites.

Answering a letter from the Catalan President, the Spanish Prime Minister, Mariano Rajoy, stated he would study the proposal voted by the Catalan Parliament which aims to reduce the solidarity contribution from Catalonia to the rest of Spain and have all taxes raised by a Catalan-run agency. However, Rajoy had previously stated this issue was out of discussion, especially in the current economic context. A vast majority of the Catalan Parliament considers that it is precisely due to the financial stress provoked by the crisis that it is urgent to debate the excessive transfer of revenues from Catalonia to the rest of Spain. The Spanish PM also stated he has agreed to meet with the Catalan President to discuss this proposal, but he expects to talk about many other issues.

Catalonia’s Forest Technology Centre has cited that the lack of rain, high temperatures and the wind have slowed down the growth of mushrooms in the Pyrenees. The centre’s mathematical models expect the yields to be lower than in previous years and long term forecasts predict a lack of rain in autumn, which will also cause the yield of mushrooms to be less than average.

Compared to a year ago, the Catalan Healthcare System spent 24.6% less last July than in the same month of 2011. In July 2011, Catalonia spent €143.52 million on pharmaceutical products while it spent €108.10 million last month, when the drug prescription fee began and citizens started to pay a greater share of the cost of prescription drugs. Furthermore, drug prescriptions fell by 20%. In the whole of Spain, pharmaceutical spending also decreased by 24% last July, compared to a year ago.

50.2% of the people travelling between Barcelona and Madrid in the first six months of the year used the High Speed Train (AVE), instead of the car, bus or airplane. 1.4 million people used this AVE line between January and June, a 6.2% increase compared to the same period last year. In addition, the Port of Barcelona had 905,000 passengers in the first half of 2012, making it the first port in Spain in terms of passenger traffic.

Two second half goals from Messi turned around an early strike by Osasuna’s Joseba Llorente to give Barça the points in Pamplona. Real Madrid was defeated by Getafe. Real Madrid and FC Barcelona will play the second leg of the Spanish Super Cup Final next Wednesday.

17 Catalan companies and institutions will be represented at the biennial Internationale Tanzmesse nrw Düsseldorf in Germany from August 29th to September 1st. Also, two Catalan companies will be performing at the event, designed as an international platform for dance professionals to showcase their work and as a networking event for the contemporary dance sector.