Society

It is the most effective AIDS vaccine to date. It has been tested on HIV patients and reduces the viral load up by three times. It needs further test but in the future the new vaccine could replace the current retroviral treatments.

The Catalan radio station Pakcelona made the most of the closure of it’s local FM broadcast to strengthen it’s presence on the World Wide Web.

A workshop held in Birkbeck University explored the dialogue between Barcelona and London in hosting the Olympic Games- showing that London can learn from the Catalan City's experience as host in 1992 but has its own challenges to overcome.

Catalan Police assisted the investigation of an international criminal ring this week. The criminals were involved in money laundering and the financing of cannabis plantations. It is estimated that the group could have spent about 3 million buying properties in Catalonia’s Costa Brava.

The Sant Pau Hospital in Barcelona will have 2 new buildings in 2014 dedicated to biomedical research. The new space will be of 17,000 square metres. The new buildings will be integrated into the daily activities of the university health centre. Then, at a second phase, the space for research will reach 28,000 square meters.

A Spanish police trade union has complained to the government for not teaching Catalan to police agents. While money is being invested in simultaneous translation in the Senate, there is no way to help police stationed in Catalonia integrate socially, claims the police union CEP.

Catalan Víctor Perez is only 18 years old but he currently resides in Belgium where he is training to become a professional dancer. A student at one of the most prestigious dance schools in Europe run by the international renowned choreographer Anne Teresa de Keersmaeker, the youngster from Sant Cugat is one of the top 60 contemporary dancer pupils.

Numerous talented Catalan researchers are pioneering new research in a prestigious British university but they still cannot find a job in Catalonia.

"Although there is a very high standard in Barcelona, the clients are not the same”, this is the opinion of a Catalan web developer who is currently based in Manhattan. This is his story.

In Paris, back in 2005, the death of young boys fleeing from police, spread violence and unrest across the outer suburbs. Now, in Catalonia, the accident of a 16 year-old who fell from a building while escaping police, has sent a wave of violence and vandalism across the town of Salt, forcing the deployment of more security officers in the area.

Two Catalans opened a guided tour business in Berlin making the most of the economic crisis and the fact that the city was ‘fashionable’. They set up ‘Cultourberlin’, a project that would offer Spanish and Catalan tourists guided tours of Berlin

A young Catalan architect with no employment opportunities at home opens an office in Paris to work on buildings in Asia.

A Barcelona Commercial Court cancels the clause that penalises Ryanair passengers without printed boarding passes. Judge says the €40 fine is ‘abusive’ and obliges Ryanair to pay 285.55 euros to the passenger who filed the complaint. The reason: a boarding pass is an essential document to travel and paying an extra cost violates the Montreal Convention.

Catalan researchers from the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona claim the new substance could be used to treat stress, phobias or depression. The drug development was done in cooperation with the Emory University in the US. The new drug still has to go through a long testing process.

They decided to abandon the protest after health authorities implemented a financial penalty.