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The language skills of Catalonia’s population to understand, read, speak and write in Catalan have reached record highs, according to a report from the Statistical Institute of Catalonia (Idescat) with data from 2011. That year, 95.2 % of the residents could understand Catalan, 79.1 % could read it, 73.2 % knew how to speak it, and 55.8 % knew how to write in this language. According to the Idescat figures, the foreign nationality population has registered the highest increases: 82.1 % of them stated they could understand Catalan in the 2011 survey, whereas, according to the previous census from 2001, only 61.1% of the foreign-born population had good language comprehension skills.

The telecommunications company Cronos Group, based in Hong Kong, is opening its European offices in Barcelona to offer services throughout the continent and worlwide. According to the Catalan Ministry of Business and Employment, the company is expected to create 25 new jobs in the first year operating from the Catalan capital. Currently 10 people are already working in Cronos’ Barcelona offices. The project received the assistance of the Catalan Government’s programme ‘Invest in Catalonia’, which focuses on attracting foreign investment and international business. Cronos’s Managers explained they have decided to settle in Barcelona because it had become the world capital of the mobile phone and of telecommunications, since each year it organises the main international event in this sector. Furthermore, Cronos Group praised the talent and skills of Catalan workers.

Nothing can stop Barça in the Spanish League. FC Barcelona overcome their injury woes to beat Granada with goals from Andrés Iniesta (pen), Cesc Fàbregas (pen), Alexis Sánchez and Pedro. In the 81^st minute, Adama Traoré came on to make his first team debut replacing Neymar.The return from the international break could not have been more perfect. Four different players scored, Pinto kept a clean sheet,and none of Valdés, Alves, Xavi or Messi were particularly missed, with the latter showing off his Golden Boot before the match.

“The absence of players is always unfortunate, and now we’re missing the best goalkeeper in the world” said Martino referring to Leo Messi, but also to Víctor Valdés, Dani Alves, Xavi, Jordi Alba, Tello, Dos Santos and Afellay. Cesc Fàbregas and Piqué have been declared fit this Friday. Alves is the most recent injured player and will be out for some 10 days. Martino has called up Dongou Tsafack and Adama Traoré due to the long list of absentees. “Neymar’s response has been superb right from the start. He’s also shown that he has the capacity to withstand the pressure” Martino said in a press conference held on Friday before Saturday’s game against Granada. “We shouldn’t be thinking about the missing players, but in those who are taking their places”, he concluded.

Over 4,000 people have visited the 27^th edition of the World Electric Vehicle Symposium (EVS27), which is the main international congress and trade fair in this field. It was held from the 17^th to the 20^th of Novemberin Fira de Barcelona’s Gran Via venue. According to the organisers, this year’s edition which took place in the Catalan capital for the first time was “the most successful” and also “the most international”, with attendees from 58 countries, 1,300 delegates and 232 exhibitors. During the fair, the major brands exhibited their new electric models while the latest technologies for electric vehicles, especially batteries and charging systems, were also on display. Meanwhile, the World Electric Vehicle Association (WEVA) awarded on Wednesday afternoon the E-Visionary Prize, distinguishing Malaga (Spain), Indianapolis (US) and the Japanese Goto islands as the three most sustainable urban environments in the world.

Catalan pharmaceutical company Grífols has purchased 21.3% of Belgian biotech company TiGenix for €12 million through the subscription of a capital increase. TiGenix is a leading company in the field of cell therapy. The agreement settled on the appointment of two Grífols Members on TiGenix’s Board and a preferential right to negotiate the development and commercialization of all TiGenix products, with the only exception of advanced-medicinal product ChondroCelect. Earlier this month, Grífols had already strengthened its therapeutic arsenal by buying part of the Diagnostics unit of Swiss multinational Novartis for $1,675 million.

The Spanish Government has finally set a date for the first direct High Speed Train between Barcelona and Paris. Passengers will no longer have to switch trains near the French border and a direct TGV will link Paris and Barcelona from the 15^th of December. The journey will last 6 hours and 20 minutes, since there is no high-speed railway in the 200-kilometre stretch between Perpignan and Nîmes and trains circulate at a regular speed. The High-Speed railway between Nîmes and Montpellier should be operative by 2017, but the French Government announced last June that the construction of the 150 km between Montpellier and Perpignan would be delayed beyond 2030. The Catalan Executive as well as French and Catalan Euro MPs have requested the French Government to reconsider its decision after the EU has included the Mediterranean Railway Corridor among its 9 main transport priorities until 2020.

"My goal is to return and return fit", emphasised FC Barcelona super star at the Golden Boot ceremony held in the Catalan capital, referring to his injury period. The Argentinean striker, very pleased after receiving his third Golden Boot and for the evolution of his recovery: “I’m improving gradually, and now almost without pain”. "It's a very nice group award, because I could not have won it on my own", he stated. His dedication was similar to ones for the other major individual trophies: "It’s for my family, the people who love me, and the squad". Among those attending was President Rosell who saw Messi "in good shape".

Barcelona’s City Council has launched idBCN, a mobile application that allows citizens to make themselves identified through their cell phone. This new digital identification system is a world pioneer in this field and allows citizens to access all kinds of paperwork and online services in a legal and safe technological framework. The initiative follows a series of actions promoting Barcelona’s current status as the Mobile World Capital, while also stressing the city’s commitment to becoming a leader in the world of ‘smart cities’, new technologies and mobility sectors.

The FC Barcelona keeper sustained a proximal myotendinous rupture in the calf muscle of his right leg during last night's friendly between Spain and South Africa. Valdés will be out of action for approximately six weeks. picked up the injury last night during the international friendly between Spain and South Africa in Johannesburg. The keeper came on for Iker Casillas in the second half, but he was forced to abandon the pitch on the 80^th minute due to his injury. Reina came on in Valdés’ stead.

The German chemical and pharmaceutical company has picked Barcelona to provide shared services to its subsidiaries in Greece, Turkey and Latin America, which account for 25% of the total group sales. Bayer’s Shared Service Centre in the Catalan capital will expand its tasks and responsibilities by taking over the accounting, controlling and IT services for these geographical areas. The expansion will take place over 2014 and the centre will pass from being in charge of 11 countries to 22, managing over 50 Bayer subsidiaries. The General Manager of Barcelona’s Centre, Erik Schonebeck, stated the project would “consolidate” the 300 existing jobs in the Catalan capital but no further new jobs would be created in the short-run. Barcelona hosts one of Bayer’s 5 global headquarters.

After years of debate, the new European Union’s Transport Priorities have finally been approved. The European Parliament has approved the Commission’s plan to build 9 major transport corridors connecting the continent from West to East, North to South and in diagonal. The Mediterranean Corridor for freight and passengers is one of these 9 priorities and will link Barcelona and Tarragona to the Gibraltar Straight and Central Europe, connecting major production centres, import/export infrastructures and tourist destinations. The final plan ignores the Spanish Government’s request to include the Centre Pyrenees Corridor as well, a project that was bypassing Catalonia and therefore Barcelona, despite being Spain’s main industrial, export and tourist centre and being geographically attached to France.

Barcelona has hosted the CitiSense forum on smart cities on the 17^th and the 18^th of November. Over 250 mayors and representatives from a hundred different countries have shared their knowledge and experience on smart cities, open innovation, energy savings and efficient mobility with 69 experts. Barcelona was chosen because it serves as a laboratory for both innovation and knowledge and also for its proud history among smart cities. By organising this forum, the World Bank was hopeful that other cities with a margin of “smart” growth would take advantage of the experience of more advanced cities in this area such as Barcelona. The CitiSense forum was intentionally launched simultaneously with the Smart City Expo, which takes place in Barcelona and aims at promoting internationally methods and projects in this field.

Researchers from Barcelona’s Centre for Regenerative Medicine (CMRB), the Catalan capital’s Hospital Clínic and the Salk Institute of California have successfully created three-dimensional renal structures which are virtually indistinguishable from embryonic kidneys. They have started creating kidney cells from human stem cells, and ultimately proven that these newly created cells could aggregate in vitro to form a “micro-kidney”. The team led by Juan Carlos Izpisúa, from the CMRB, said that this scientific breakthrough would facilitate the study of kidney diseases and enable scientists to work on new treatments. He added that this achievement was a great step towards developing therapies based on the use of stem cells.

Emin Capital will buy Barcelona’s Torre Agbar, designed by Jean Nouvel, for €150 million. North-American Hyatt will invest a further €35 million to transform the 145-metre-tall building into one of its grand luxe hotels. Grand Hyatt hotels – the US company’s luxury brand – tend to occupy iconic buildings in the world’s main business cities. The Agbar Tower has become one of the most emblematic buildings of the Catalan capital, with its blue and red lightening and bullet shape imitating a flame. Nouvel’s tower was unveiled in 2005 to host the main headquarters of the water distribution multinational Agbar. The Catalan multinational, which owns the 50,000-square-metre tower, will now look for another building in Barcelona to place the 700 people working in its central offices.