Society

European police union says the agency "should be able to maintain direct contact" with the Mossos d'Esquadra

The 21 dead and 45 injured in the ETA car bomb attack were honored on the 30th anniversary of the massacre

Minister of Home Affairs suggests there are “political reasons” behind the decision

"Justice has been done," says Catalan Foreign Affairs Minister Raül Romeva after Paris ceremony

The Government affirms that they will add the personnel as planned this June

Barcelona hosts a conference with international experts on refugee integration

The Abernethy deformity affects one out of 30,000 children and causes severe complications

Figueras moved to New York for school and soon found himself working at the internationally acclaimed firm nARCHITECTS

The closure of La Model ends one of the darkest chapters in the history of Catalonia and Spain

Daniel Kahl, a German Barça fan, was not allowed to enter the stadium at the Copa del Rey final for carrying the ‘Estelada’

Manuel Moix owns 25% of an off-shore company in Panama

Up to 222,581 people are living below poverty limits, almost nine time mores than in 2008

Catalan transsexuals do not need a psychiatric diagnosis of gender dysphoria to carry out a sex change operation through the public healthcare system. The Health Department implemented this pioneering system in Europe in October. LGTBI groups are satisfied with this new Catalan model in contrast with the last one, which treated transsexuality as an illness. Transsexual groups in Catalonia welcomed the decision for three main reasons. The first one is obvious: doing the sex change would be easier. The second one is related to the old Catalan model, mainly carried out in the Hospital Clínic, one of the most important public hospitals in Barcelona. “Doctors judged you in that hospital. They wanted you to be a standard transsexual, otherwise they said you had no gender dysphoria,” explains Carla Agulló, who went there to receive hormonal treatment and psychological attention. The third reason has symbolic importance. “We think transsexuality is a condition, not a problem,” explains Cristina Nadal, who is in charge of the health area of the Catalan Health Service.

Taxis in Barcelona are on strike to protest online platforms such as Uber or Cabify, which they consider to be unfair competition. Commuters and tourists at Sants, Barcelona’s main train station, or El Prat, the city airport, had to face long queues to take the bus or alternative transport methods because the taxi stands were completely empty. The strike, which started at 6am on Tuesday, will last for 24 hours. Up to 20,000 taxi drivers are expected to take to the streets in a big rally in Madrid, with more than 2,500 drivers from the Barcelona’s Metropolitan also attending. Taxi driver unions are threatening with more mobilizations on the 29th of June and are weighing the possibility of an indefinite strike starting on July 31st, just at the peak of the holiday period. They think their demands are being ignored by the government and that online platforms such as Uber are “destroying” their business.

More than 36% of the students who register in a university master in Catalonia are graduates from a foreign university, according to the Secretary's Office of Universities and Research most recent data corresponding to the course 2015-2016. Almost four out of 10 students registered in the Catalan university system for postgraduate studies have studied in an international university system. The Secretary of Universities and Research, Arcadi Navarro, said this shows “the good quality of Catalan universities”, which achieve notable positions in international rankings among the best European and international universities. He also noted an annual rise in these registrations, which means that every year more foreign graduates choose Catalonia for continuing their university training.