The tiger mosquito is now present in 87 Catalan towns and villages, having first appeared in the Iberian Peninsula in the municipality of Sant Cugat del Vallès in 2004 (article in Castilian, La Vanguardia). It increased its presence from 55 towns in 2007 to over 80 least year, a dramatic rate of growth for an insect whose sting can be more painful than standard mosquito stings, appears during the day rather than at night and is recognised for its stripey markings. (See 'Urban pests' in Related Content for an article about tiger mosquitoes)
The daughter of Pablo Picasso's second wife Jacqueline, Catherine Hutin, has presented the Barcelona Museu Picasso with a drawing by the Spanish artist from his series of preparatory works for the painting he produced based on Velazquez's Las Meninas (article in Catalan, Avui). The artwork, dating from August 16th, 1947, had previously been seen in the exhibition 'Olvidando Velazquez Las Meninas' but has not been seen in public on many occasions in the past. The director of the museum, Josep Serra, expressed his pleasure at the donation because it completes a series of works that the painter himself had presented to the musem in 1968.
The Barcelona council has announced a budget of over €100 million to help deal with those suffering from poverty in the city (link to news item on the city council website, www.bcn.cat). The Council's Action Plan Against Poverty—Programa d'Acció Contra la Pobresa de l'Ajuntament—will see €111 million being spent to tackle the problem on 10 different programmes that will seek to deal with food supplies, emergency housing and help for the unemployed, amongst other issues.