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This year’s edition of the Catalan comic exhibition has chosen Westerns as one of its main themes but also includes retrospective exhibitions of superheroes like 'Superman', 'The Avengers' and the 'X-Men'. Another focus of the Comic Fair is the presence of authors and cartoonists from last year’s edition along with different types of conferences and cultural and artistic activities. International artists such as Manu Lacernet, Guy Delisle, Liniers and Lorena Canottiere have confirmed their participation at the event which will be held from the 11th to the 14th of April.

The Barcelona Half Marathon took place on Sunday in the Catalan capital. At exactly 8.45 am the first group started out on its 21km run followed by two other groups, five and ten minutes later. Only one hour and four seconds later the first runner reached the finish line: Eliud Kipchoge, from Kenya. With a time of 1 hour, 7 minutes and 32 seconds, the first woman passed the finish line, Atsede Baysa, from Ethiopia. The 14,325 participants registered for the 2013 run set a new record in the race’s history.

Two second half goals from Leo Messi turned the result round after Ighalo had put a brave Granada ahead and gave Barça three more points in their title bid. With the World Number One leading the team though, Barça put in an impeccable second half performance and set things up nicely for Wednesday’s trip to San Siro, when the Catalans will be playing AC Milan at the Champions League last 16 first leg.

The Catalan Government and most of the political parties have criticised the Spanish Government’s project to reduce local powers. Furthermore, the Catalan Vice-President, Joana Ortega, emphasised the “unfair vision” of local governments given by the Spanish Finance Minister. Ortega underlined that in Catalonia, most of the town halls ended 2012 with a budget deficit of 0%, which is “not in line with the mismanagement image given” by the Spanish Government. Furthermore, while the Spanish Government is aiming to reduce the number of councillors earning a salary to only 18%, Ortega reminded them that in Catalonia only 10% are now earning a salary. Political parties in Catalonia criticised the Spanish Government for taking away power from the government level closest to the citizens.

FC Barcelona go to Granada on Saturday for the first in a marathon series of five games in 14 days, including massive matches with Milan in the European Champions League and Real Madrid in the Spanish Cup. The Manager has said in the press conference before the Granada vs. FC Barcelona game that “we are in comfortable position in the league but that should be no excuse for any kind of relaxation”. “We’re into the nice part of the season when in a few days there are lots of things at stake. In terms of fitness and morale this is a good moment for us” commented Roura.

Barcelona plays host each year to the world’s largest cell phone-related technology event, the Mobile World Congress, and the Catalan city is becoming an international hub in this field, concentrating several platforms, business initiatives and cultural projects. In fact, Barcelona was declared the Mobile World Capital, in order to act as a global meeting point and platform for mobile related industry. The Mobile World Centre was unveiled on Thursday in Catalunya Square, in the heart of the city, and will become a permanent lighthouse for mobile technology. It will display human stories of how this technology can help in everyday life, explaining the latest developments and also the history of this industry.

A week before Ildefonso Falcones’ third novel ‘The Barefoot Queen’ goes on sale, CNA interviews the Barcelona lawyer that became internationally acclaimed in 2006 thanks to his best-selling debut ‘Cathedral of the Sea’. The novel, set in medieval Barcelona sold seven million copies in 40 countries and introduced him to the literature scene as one of the main Spanish authors of historical novels. Now, on the 21st of February, he will publish his third book, which will be on sale simultaneously in Spain, Latin America and the United States. Falcones explains what writing means to him as well as the difficulties of the creative process.

The 20th event of the most important electronic music festival in Southern Europe has been announced, unveiling new names in its line-up and announcing a change in location. For the first time, the morning and afternoon sessions of Sónar Barcelona will not be held in the CCCB and MACBA art centres – located in the Raval neighbourhood – but they will be moved to the Fira de Barcelona pavilions next to the Montjuic hill. Besides the already-confirmed Pet Shop Boys and Kraftwerk, other names have been added to the festival’s line-up: Justice, Jamie Lidell, Laurent Garnier, Soulwax, Seth Troxler, Diplo, Major Lazer, Skrillex, TNGHT, bRUNA, Liars and Francesco Tristano. The next event will take place in the Catalan capital between the 13th and 15th of June.

The music festival will celebrate its 13th anniversary with an impressive lineup and the participation of a long-list of prestigious artists. The Primavera Sound Music Festival, which takes place every year in late May in the city of Barcelona, is considered to be one of the best international music events in Southern Europe. It is also one of Barcelona’s musical highlights, along with the Sonar festival in June. This year’s Primavera Sound edition presented what is said to be the best list of participating artists since the beginning of the festival. Indie, rock and electronic music will be the mainstays of the festival.

Barça Regal won the 23rd Cup in Club history this Sunday evening thanks to a superb performance in the final against Valencia Basket.This is the third Cup won by the Blaugrana of the Xavi Pascual era. Pete Mickeal was named the MVP of the final.

A great performance from Barça to beat Getafe with goals by Alexis, Messi, Villa, Tello, Iniesta and Piqué. In the absence of midfield maestro Xavi, Andrés Iniesta and Leo Messi directed a free-flowing Barça attack while assistant coach Jordi Roura was able to rest some of his overstretched players. The game was the first morning kick-off seen in the Camp Nou for several decades.

Researchers from the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB) have managed to completely cure dogs with type 1 diabetes through a single session of gene therapy. It is the first time ever that the effectiveness of a treatment against this illness in large animals has been proved in the world. This achievement opens the door to being able to translate a similar therapy to humans and cure type 1 diabetes, which currently has no cure and means that patients have to control their blood insulin levels for their whole lives through hormone injections, as untreated it can be fatal. Diabetes mellitus type 1 is an autoimmune illness that destroys the cells of the pancreas that produce insulin, an essential hormone in the process of transforming glucose into energy for the body’s cells.

The four-time Ballon d'Or will be a Barça player through June 30 of 2018. Messi has signed his new contract with FC Barcelona, which adds two additional years to his previous contract, set to expire in June 2016. Messi, who joined FC Barcelona when he was 13 years old and made his first-team debut three years later, will be 31 when his contract expires.

Valdés, Piqué, Puyol, Alba, Busquets, Iniesta, Cesc, Pedro, Villa, Alexis, Messi, Mascherano, Alves and Adriano will play for their respective national teams on Wednesday in friendlies. Alexis Sánchez, who was named to Chile's national team, will make the shortest trip, seeing that his national team is set to play in Madrid. On the other hand, Spain, with nine Blaugrana named to the team, will travel the farthest. The Spanish side will play in Qatar against Uruguay. Carles Puyol could play his 100th match for the Spanish national team.

After having reached an agreement on the measures to increase competitiveness with the trade unions last week, the Japanese multinational car manufacturer finally confirmed on Monday that its Barcelona plant will be building Nissan’s new saloon car model as of July 2014. The decision will bring in a direct investment of €130 million, creating 1,000 direct positions in the Nissan factory and 3,000 indirect jobs in the Catalan automobile parts supply industry. After seven months of talks, including a critical period when Barcelona seemed to be out of the race, the Nissan managers and trade unions finally reached an agreement early last week, based on a 20% salary reduction for new workers and guaranteeing the oldest jobs. The President of the Catalan Government, Artur Mas, emphasised that Nissan’s announcement confirms that Catalonia is “an attractive and reliable country”.