Catalonia proposes solo 2030 Winter Olympics candidacy
Government to take "opportunity" to host sports competition despite final decision depends on Spanish Olympic Committee
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Spanish Olympic Committee 'opens possibility' for solo Catalan bid for Winter Games beyond 2030
Olympic authority in Spain rules out bringing Catalonia-Aragon 2030 project to IOC: 'We cannot place a bid now'
2030 Winter Olympics bid negotiations will continue, says Spanish Olympic Committee
COE president Alejandro Blanco: "I will resume conversations with those who want to take part"
Fridays for Future spokesperson: ‘We all have a role and our futures are at stake’
Student-led initiative Fridays for Future seeks to spread awareness ahead of Friday’s climate action
Football won
Camp Nou payed tribute to their guests, Chapecoense, at the emotional and supportive 52nd Joan Gamper Trophy
Future of Sixena medieval frescoes unclear
Aragon is calling, with a judicial order, for the return of 44 artworks by July 31, Catalan authorities argue law prevents their removal and demands more time
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Leader of Spanish extreme right organisation Manos Limpias arrested for coercion
The Spanish Police’s division for Economic and Fiscal crimes (UDEF) arrested this Friday Miguel Bernard, the leader of Spanish extreme right organisation Manos Limpias, for having allegedly extorted several banks and companies, asking them for money in exchange for not promoting legal actions against them. Luis Pineda, the president of the Association of Banking Users, Ausbanc, has also been arrested for the same crime and the investigation is still ongoing. Manos Limpias is a trade union of public employees, which has promoted several investigations and judicial procedures concerning different public figures and renowned companies in Spain. In 2014 they presented a criminal complaint against former Catalan President Artur Mas for charges of rebellion and sedition and also sued pro-independence grassroots organisation Catalan National Assembly (ANC) and its former President, Carme Forcadell.
North African gas to reach Central Europe through Catalonia by 2020 to reduce 40% Russian dependency
A strategic gas pipeline is to be built through the Catalan Pyrenees, linking the Iberian Peninsula with France and Central Europe. The Midcat project aims to reduce Europe's dependency on Russian gas by 40%, diversifying the sources of supply. The pipeline should be operational by 2020, announced on Thursday the Spanish Minister for Industry, José Manuel Soria. The day before, French President, François Hollande, Spanish PM, Mariano Rajoy, Portuguese PM, Pedro Passos Coelho, and European Commission President, Jean-Claude Juncker, re-launched the project's construction. Midcat started to be planned in 2007 but it was halted for several years, mainly due to a lack of interest from French companies and institutions, which were not guaranteeing to build their part. Now, the crisis with Russia has reignited the urge to find alternative gas suppliers for Central Europe.
Catalonia is among the top three European countries in the recycling of household waste
Catalonia is among the top three European countries in the recycling of household packaging, with about 220,000 tonnes collected in 2013, according to the CEO of Ecoembes, Oscar Martin. Speaking at the opening of the first ‘Congress of Sustainable Catalonia’ on Friday, Martin also announced that 84% of Catalans separate waste either every day or almost every day, in what he called an “act of civility.” Ecoembes is a Spanish environmental organisation that concentrates on the ‘ecodesign’ or packaging so it can be more easily recycled. The first 'Congress on Sustainable Catalonia: Society and the Environment’ has been organised by the Catalan Department of Planning and Sustainability, in collaboration with Ecoembes.