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Word Press Photo 2016 winners on show in Barcelona

November 11, 2016 06:48 PM | ACN

The 155 pictures that won the last ‘World Press Photo’ contest – the main photojournalism event at international level - will be on show at the Barcelona Centre of Contemporary Culture (CCCB). The Photographic Social Vision foundation, which is in charge of the creation, production and promotion of photojournalism and documentaries, launched this week the 12th edition of the ‘World Press Photo’ exhibition in Barcelona, which will run until the 11th of December. The images presented to the public were taken in 2015 throughout the world and won the prestigious international photojournalism award. In this year’s edition, visitors can see the photos of the awarded Spanish photographers Daniel Ochoa de Olza, Sebastián Liste, José Bautista and Mikel Aristregi. 

Wide international coverage of 26th edition of the Castells Competition

October 4, 2016 06:46 PM | ACN / Marina Force

Impressive aerial shots showing the riot of colour on display at the 26th edition of the Castells Competition in Tarragona, southern Catalonia, have travelled around the world. Media outlets such as the BBC, Russia Today and The Los Angeles Times published videos, pictures and articles on the contest. Catalonia’s ‘human tower’ competition, ‘Concurs de Castells’, took place at Tarraco Arena Place, an old bullring, attracting 20,000 spectators and 32 teams. The biennial event saw one group, ‘Els castellers de Vilafranca’, secure its eighth title on the trot. However, one of the most applauded performances was that of the Chinese team ‘Els Xiquets de Hangzhou’, the first ever international team to compete at the contest. Around 380 professionals from 120 different media outlets covered the event on Saturday and Sunday. 

Puigdemont chooses Brussels for his first official trip abroad

April 18, 2016 06:52 PM | ACN

Brussels is the chosen destination for Catalan President Carles Puigdemont’s first official trip abroad. It will be from the 30th of April to the 2nd of May and comes after Puigdemont’s visit to Paris, scheduled for March, had to be cancelled due to the coach accident which killed 13 Erasmus students in Freginals, in the South of Catalonia. Puigdemont made the announcement this Monday during a meeting with the delegates of the Catalan government abroad, the Catalan Government’s representative to the European Union, Amadeu Altafaj, the Catalan Minister for Foreign Affairs, Raül Romeva, and the Secretary for Foreign Affairs, Jordi Solé. During the meeting, Puigdemont also confirmed the government’s will to open new delegations in the Vatican and Morocco as soon as possible.

The world’s best photojournalism arrives in Barcelona

November 12, 2015 08:01 PM | ACN / Sara Prim

Barcelona's Centre of Contemporary Culture (CCCB) is currently hosting the 134 photographs awarded by the 'World Press Photo', one of the most important photojournalism competitions. Until the 13th of December, visitors can view a wide range of documentary photographs portraying scenes related to issues such as the Ebola epidemic, the Ukraine crisis and the migration drama in the Mediterranean. However, one of the most outstanding pictures to be displayed in Barcelona's CCCB is Mads Nissen’s 2015 winning picture, which portrays the intimacy of a homosexual couple in Saint Petersburg, and was vetoed at the last ‘Visa pour l'Image’ festival in Perpignan due to its "excessive dramatisation". The eleventh edition of the 'World Press Photo' exhibition also includes seven winning pieces in the media category. 

Financial Times advises to “give some ground and negotiate” with Catalonia

September 29, 2015 03:45 PM | ACN / Shobha Prabhu-Naik

Pro-independence parties have “achieved” their goal in “winning 72 of the 135” seats in the Catalan Parliament, stated an editorial in the Financial Times published this Tuesday. The British business daily insisted that once Spain has held national elections at the end of this year, a new government in Madrid needs to enter into talks with President Mas, to “find a third way between independence and the status quo”. However, the editorial is titled “Catalonia needs to step back from the brink”, since it puts forward the idea that Mas has “less legitimacy to implement his plan” considering that the percentage of voters who supported a clear ‘yes’ for independence was less than 50%.

FC Barcelona arrive in the USA

July 20, 2015 02:45 PM

At around 2.00pm local time on Sunday afternoon (11.00pm CET) Barça landed at Los Angeles airport following a twelve hour direct flight from Barcelona. The blaugranes had left at 11.00am CET for the United States after a week of training prior to their pre-season tour across the Atlantic. California welcomed FC Barcelona with cloudy skies but warm temperatures with Los Angeles being the first of three US cities that Barça will visit during their stay. In the City of Angels, the team checked into the plush Ritz-Carlton, Marina del Rey. Luis Enrique and Andrés Iniesta gave the team's first press conference of the tour at the hotel, followed by Barça's first training session at the StubHub Center in Carson.

Alternative left leader to seek agreements with other leftist parties to run Barcelona City Council

May 25, 2015 09:50 PM | ACN

The most likely future Mayor of Barcelona, Ada Colau, has held a press conference the day after election night, in which her alternative left, green and pro-self-determination coalition Barcelona en Comú became the most-voted party in the Catalan capital, obtaining 11 seats, far from the 21-seat absolute majority. Colau stated that she would “start a round of talks” with the other left-wing parties to look for government agreements as of this Monday. She will contact the social-democrat Catalan independence party ERC (5 seats), the Catalan Socialist Party (4 seats) and the radical independence and alternative left-wing party CUP (3 seats). However, she did not rule out the possibility of reaching specific agreements with other parties on some important issues. She also highlighted her commitment to Catalonia’s right to self-determination. In addition, Colau also accused the current Mayor from the centre-right pro-Catalan State coalition CiU, Xavier Trias, of signing last-minute contracts before leaving office.

Xavi Hernández: “It's time to go”

May 21, 2015 09:00 PM | Jordi Clos

The midfielder announces he's leaving Barça at the end of the season, after 17 years with the first team. "I'd like to announce that I'm leaving Barça after this season. The decision is definitive yet difficult. I think now is the time to leave, that's the way I feel.” Thus, with those words and raw emotion, Xavi Hernández, the greatest midfielder in FC Barcelona history, made his farewell to the club of his life.He continued: "It was the right decision to stay this year. I still feel important [to the team], but I think it's time. I need a change of scenery. I signed a contract with Al-Sadd [in Qatar] for two seasons and I have a very exciting project at the Aspire Academy. It's the ideal place to continue training."