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Barcelona hosted its last bullfight on Sunday. As of January 1st 2012, bullfighting will be banned in Catalonia. The Catalan Parliament decided to forbid this activity in July 2010, with a law that generated a substantial amount of controversy. Bullfighting is associated with Spanish nationalism, and the ban has been interpreted by many as a political stance, in addition to defending animal rights. In Catalonia, over the last decades, bullfighting has lost most of its popular support and only one arena has remained open.

Josep Guardiola has named 20 players for the Champions League game on Wednesday against BATE Borisov. These are the 18 fit first team players plus Isaac Cuenca and Jonathan dos Santos from the reserves.

FC Barcelona have destroyed Atlético Madrid with a formidable display of tactics and skills. Villa, Miranda (og) and Messi put the home side ahead after just 26 minutes and the best player in the world was simply amazing in the second half.

Between 2007 and 2010, Catalan research centres and private companies participated in a total of 1,047 projects funded by the Seventh Framework Programmes for Research and Technological Development of the European Union. In total, Catalan researchers have received 384 million euros from the EU in the last four years, which represents a 73% increase in relation to the previous programme, which ran from mid 2002 to 2006.

Sales abroad accumulate 19 consecutive months of two digit increases compared to the same period last year. In July, exports increased by 14% in relation to July 2010. The export sector is becoming the main engine of the Catalan economy, together with tourism.

The study by the Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute has managed to demonstrate that a molecule similar to glucose can cause the death of cancerous cells. The research would enable to shortly develop treatments for the alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma.

The Port of Barcelona registered a record in the number of containers destined to international exports. China has consolidated its position as the main destination of containers departing from Barcelona. In addition, the number of cruisers boomed by 17% in the first eight months of the year compared to the same period last year.

The campaign “We Are What We Eat” has been presented. The project, promoted by the FC Barcelona Foundation, fosters healthy habits and Barça players participate in the ads. It will offer culinary workshops, educational debates and sports circuits in collaboration with the Fundació Alícia and the Fundació SHE.

1.9 million foreign tourists visited Catalonia in August, representing a 2.9% increase on the same month in 2010. Catalonia hosted almost a quarter of all international tourists visiting Spain. The number of international visitors who came to Spain in August increased 9.4% compared to last year, totalling 7.64 million.

The use of the Catalan language is growing but it is clearly used less than Spanish in Catalonia. Some sectors are especially behind, such as judicial system, where only 14.5% of judicial sentences were written in Catalan.

Valencia and FC Barcelona shared the points in a great match at the Mestalla stadium. Valencia were on top in the first half, and led 2-1 at the break, but Guardiola’s team responded in style after half-time, and ended up picking up a vital point.

The Catalan President Artur Mas has asked the European Union “not to forget about a land that feels European and needs deeper and closer ties with Europe” in the ‘FERRMED Trans-European Cluster Conference’ in Brussels. Previously he has met with the Vice President of the European Commission, responsible for Industry and Entrepreneurship, Antonio Tajani. The Mediterranean Railway Corridor would directly link Central and Northern Europe with Spanish ports and subsequently North Africa.

Thousands of Erasmus students choose Catalonia each year as their exchange destination. The students, from across Europe, started either their work or study placements, last week. The CNA interviewed two of the new arrivals about their reasons for this choice and what they hope to gain from their experiences.

Barça’s manager, Pep Guardiola is convinced that the Spanish League game against Valencia will be “a great match”, but warned of the problems Emery’s team could pose, especially given the great moment of form they are enjoying. Guardiola also talked about Qatar, the Qatar Foundation and the board’s decision to make the club’s general assembly to validate the agreement reached.

The current Catalan Government, which took office last Christmas, hired an external auditor to better understand the state of the public finances. Deloitte has increased the Government’s deficit for 2010, from 3.86% to 4.2%, in line with the last data known and internally audited. The Catalan Minister for the Economy, Andreu Mas-Colell, explained that “one out of every three euros spent [in 2010] was not covered by tax revenues”. The main opposition party, which formed part of the previous Government and was in charge of finances, stated that their management cannot be made responsible for the deficit increase, as the deficit calculation criteria has changed.